Main news of July 6

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Yury Trutnev has approved a strategy for polar bear preservation in Russia, according to a statement

* Russia is convinced that there are no threats for Europe that would justify the deployment of a missile defense system near Russian borders, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said

* The Russian and U.S. parliaments are planning to prepare a new strategic arms cuts treaty for ratification by late July, a senior Russian lawmaker said

* The Ukrainian opposition will ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to abandon its plans to provide an almost $15-billion loan to Ukraine on the grounds that the money would be used in a "powerful" corruption scheme

RUSSIA

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that those guilty of corruption should be hanged but this is not the method for Russia and urged the enforcement of anti-corruption laws

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged speeding up police reforms, the president's initiative aimed at improving the image of Russia's law enforcement agencies.

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin outlined a new strategy for the North Caucasus intended to boost its economic development and stem the cause for rising violence in the region

* World famous Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev, who was detained on child molestation charges in Thailand, was released on bail, the Russian embassy in Thailand said

* Russia's state-run, non-profit Rosnano will invest some 1.2 billion rubles (about $40 million) in developing treatment for AIDS, hepatitis and cancer of the pancreas, the corporation said

* The naval phase of Russia's Vostok-2010 military exercises have drawn increased attention from the intelligence services of the United States and Asia-Pacific countries, a senior source in the Russian Navy said

* Two Russian vessels from the Russian Far Eastern regions of Primorye and Sakhalin arrived to South Korea to take part in tactical exercises

BUSINESS

* The road map for the South Stream gas pipeline via Bulgaria will be finally coordinated on July 8, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said

* Engines for Russia's new Superjet 100 airliner have failed to receive certification as they have several significant flaws, a Russian business daily said

SPORTS

* Russia's IBF heavyweight mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (19-0, 14 KOs) has begun training in New Jersey for a bout against IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 28 KOs) of Ukraine, FightNews.com reported

 * Russia might play at the 2010 Basketball World Cup in Turkey without its forward Andrei Kirilenko, Sovetskii Sport daily reported