Main news of July 15

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* The presidents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will pay weeklong visits to Nicaragua and Venezuela, two of the four countries that have recognized the former Georgian republics' independence

* Iran plans to commission several oil refineries by the end of 2010 and could become one of the largest gasoline exporters in a few years, the Islamic Republic's petroleum minister said

* The contract on supplying S-300 air defense systems to Iran has not yet been canceled, Rostekhnologii head Sergei Chemezov said

* Scientist Igor Sutyagin, who was one of four Russians exchanged last week as part of a Russian-U.S. spy swap deal, has received a residence permit, Sutyagin's lawyer told RIA Novosti

RUSSIA

* A major fire that broke out at an art center in Moscow has been extinguished through the efforts of dozens of firefighters, two of whom died, a senior firefighter said

* More than 25 senior Russian officials have followed the president's suit and opened accounts on the micro blogging site Twitter

* The EU hopes for swift results from Russia's investigation into the murder of human rights activist Natalya Estemirova

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on German companies to participate actively in the Skolkovo high-tech research hub project

* The identity of the murderer of human rights activist Natalya Estemirova has been established and the individual who arranged her murder will soon be found, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev invited German companies to participate in the modernization of Russian companies

* German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to assist with the possible introduction of visa-free regime between Russia and the EU

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accepted the early resignation of Murtaza Rakhimov, the longtime leader of the central Russian Volga republic of Bashkortostan

BUSINESS

* The Russian Transport Ministry has requested Boeing, the world's top aerospace company, to deliver Boeing 787 Dreamliners to the country's flagship carrier Aeroflot two years ahead of schedule by 2014, Minister Igor Levitin said

* The Turkish parliament ratified a cooperation agreement with Russia on the construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant, the parliament's press service said