Main News of August 18

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

RUSSIA

* A man was attacked by a shark while swimming near the Russian shores of the Sea of Japan, but he is in a stable condition after surgery, a spokesman for the regional center for disaster medicine said

 

* Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the air show MAKS-2011 outside Moscow to see the fifth-generation PAK FA T-50 fighter jet and stunt flights by the Strizhi and Vityazi (Knights) aerobatic teams

 

WORLD

* Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi may soon hand over power to the justice minister and leave the country, the Albawaba news portal said citing top military sources

 

* Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez confirmed plans to keep the country's foreign currency reserves in the banks of allied countries, including Russia

* A British national accused in Russia of running an illegal gambling business in Moscow has been transferred from a pretrial detention center and is currently under house arrest, a spokesman for Moscow police said

* New York City's Department of Sanitation says it's investigating how a salt-spreading truck crashed through the second-floor wall of a repair shop and was left dangling for hours

 

* U.S. President Barack Obama urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign "for the sake of the Syrian people"

* American law enforcement officials plan to monitor social media websites, including Facebook and Twitter, to fight the latest criminal phenomenon: flash mobs, The Washington Times reported

 

BUSINESS

* Russian Technologies state corporation hopes to hold an initial public offering next year for Russian Helicopters, its subsidiary holding which designs and manufactures civil and military rotorcraft, Russian Technologies head Sergei Chemezov said

 

* Leading European stock indices plunged due to spreading fear of slowing world economic growth and poor bank results

 

* Sukhoi Civil Aircraft signed a letter of intent with India's Aviotech to supply ten Sukhoi Business Jets (SBJ), the VIP version of its Superjet aircraft, Sukhoi President Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk said

 

* Russia's leading sport goods retailer Sportmaster may hold an IPO in London or Hong Kong in 2012, a banking source said