Main news of August 19

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

Russia:

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the organizers of a bomb attack in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk must be tracked down and punished, and if they offer resistance, they must be eliminated on the spot

* Russian police investigating a blast in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk have obtained vital information that could help them get to the bottom of the case, the Russian interior minister said

*Wildfires in Russia have caused some 12 billion rubles ($394 million) in damage, Emergency Minister Sergei Shoigu said

* The Moscow regional government plans to flood some 230 square miles of peat bogs to prevent the return of dangerous fires that paralyzed Russia's capital for over two weeks

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan expressed hope in the development of bilaterally beneficial and fruitful cooperation between the two countries

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev instructed the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) to make sure that the recently adopted amendments expanding FSB powers contain clear definitions

* Russia's newest Borey-class strategic nuclear-powered submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, started a series of sea trials in the White Sea, the Sevmash shipyard said

* The Russian Defense Ministry will hold a tender on the purchase of a helicopter carrier, alongside ongoing negotiations with France on buying a Mistral-class ship, a Russian business daily said

* Russia's vast water resources may soon become a "strategic resource" as the global water deficit increases, the country's Security Council secretary said

* The Russian public health chief called for a complete ban on all alcohol advertising

* Russia's famous Kruzenshtern barque will take part in a pentannual festival of sailing ships in Amsterdam, a spokesman for the Baltic State Fishing Fleet Academy, which operates the vessel, said

* Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that the visit of a FIFA delegation to Russia to consider the country's bid to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022 was "formal," yet friendly

World:

* The Polish Chief Military Prosecutor's Office does not rule out that suspects may appear in the Polish presidential plane crash, Poland's Chief Military Prosecutor said

* The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. Department of State's report, which labels Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, was biased, Iranian media reported

* A Bangladeshi delegation will visit Russia later this week to discuss nuclear cooperation and visit nuclear power plants, Russia's nuclear chief said

* Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will head to Germany on August 30 to push for integration into the European Union, the country's head of information policies said

* The Indian Air Force will soon order an additional 59 Russian Mil Mi-17 helicopters on top of the 80 ordered earlier, the IAF chief said

Business:

* A tender on the purchase of a helicopter carrier for the Russian Navy will be announced in September, Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) said

* Russia lifted a trade ban on poultry imports from another U.S. company bringing the total number to 71

* Russia may have to import more than 5 million tons of grain in 2010-2011, Russian business daily Vedomosti quoted a source close to the Agriculture Ministry as saying

* Ukraine has signed an agreement with Russia on the purchase of a 10% stake in an international uranium enrichment center in Siberia, Ukraine's Nuclear Fuel state-controlled concern said

* A U.S. company has won a tender to supply 55,000 metric tons of wheat to Egypt, which faces grain shortages after its main supplier, Russia, banned grain exports amid severe draught, the Masrawy news portal said

 

* Airzena Georgian Airways is to begin direct charter flights between Tbilisi and Moscow on August 20, the airline's spokesperson said

* Norilsk Nickel's former board chairman Alexander Voloshin will join the board of leading Russian potash miner Uralkali, he said