Main news of September 9

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours.

RUSSIA

* Police detained three men suspected of involvement in a terrorist attack in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz that killed at least 17 people, including the bomber.

 

* President Dmitry Medvedev said police would stop at nothing to track down and destroy those responsible for the terrorist attack in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz.

* While Moscow's Muslims celebrated the end of Ramadan, for Feruza Ashurova and many others there was still no respite from the daily struggle to survive.

WORLD

* A U.S pastor's plan to burn copies of Koran on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks may become a pretext for violence, Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said.

* Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov says he is doing all he can to learn the Ukrainian language.

Lawmakers from Ukraine's opposition Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc walked out of parliament in protest at the majority coalition's refusal to impose a moratorium on the increase of utility charges and the retirement age.

BUSINESS

* Russia's Federal Financial Markets Service may attend an extraordinary shareholders meeting of Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel as an observer, the head of the service said.

* Russia will team up with foreign firms to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) on its soil, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said.

* India and Russia agreed to set up a joint venture to manufacture a military transport plane.

SPORTS

* The American coach of the Russian basketball team praised the United States as worthy winners of their quarterfinal at the FIBA Basketball World Championship in Turkey.