Main News of May 18

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* A spokeswoman for the German government denied reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed Greece hold a referendum on its membership in the Eurozone.

* German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested in a telephone conversation with Greek President Karolos Papoulias to hold a referendum on the country's membership in the Eurozone during parliamentary elections on June 17, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tsiodras said.

* UN envoy Kofi Annan’s plan for Syria is in jeopardy over attempts by certain forces to create a spiral of violence in the country, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said

RUSSIA

* Former finance minister Alexei Kudrin, who currently chairs the Civil Initiatives Committee, said that early parliamentary elections in Russia would improve the situation in the country.

* Sverdlovsk regional court sentenced an employee at a Russian defense firm to eight years in prison for passing secrets on the latest Russian weapons to a foreign intelligence service, the press service of the court reported

BUSINESS

* A successful initial public offering of the world's largest social network Facebook will influence positively on cost of shares of Russia's Mail.ru Group, which holds a stake in Facebook, analysts polled by RIA Novosti said

* The Indian government has approved an agreement to build a $7.6 billion pipeline from Turkmenistan to deliver gas to India, the Times of India reported

* The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) maintained its forecast for Russia's 2012 gross domestic product growth at 4.2 percent, the bank said

SPORTS

* Katusha rider Joaquim Rodriguez retained the pink leader’s jersey and his 17 second lead over closest challenger Ryder Hesjedal after the 13th stage of the Giro d’Italia

* Paul the Octopus shot to fame with his eerily accurate prediction of results at the 2010 World Cup, but now a prophetic Ukrainian pig will continue the trend by forecasting the outcome of Euro 2012 matches, Kiev government spokesperson Svetlana Bovkun told RIA Novosti