Main News of June 26

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* As many Syrian neighbors as possible, including Iran, should be involved in the conflict settlement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said

* The downing of a Turkish jet by Syrian forces should not be considered a provocation or allowed to further destabilize the situation in the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

* Ukraine’s Higher Special Court for Civil and Criminal Cases upheld the legality of dropping murder charges against ex-President Leonid Kuchma

* NATO condemned Syria’s downing of a Turkish military jet, in a statement issued following an emergency meeting in Brussels, but did not invoke Article 5 of its charter which could possibly allow joint armed intervention against Syria.

RUSSIA

* The Kommersant publishing house announced that is getting rid of its television channel, continuing a post-election spell of closures and reshuffles in Russian liberal media

* The agreement extending Russia's lease of a military base in Tajikistan by 49 years is under threat, Russian Ground Forces commander Col. Gen. Vladimir Chirkin said

BUSINESS

* Russia’s largest independent gas producer Novatek intends to buy assets in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, company head Leonid Mikhelson said

* Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras appointed Yannis Stournaras as the new finance minister, the Greek Government's official representative said

SPORTS

* The Russian and Spanish football federations have both received UEFA charges relating to alleged racist chanting by fans at Euro 2012, UEFA

* The Russia-based KHL is to challenge the NHL on its home territory for the first time by playing two regular-season games in New York, league vice-president Vladimir Shalaev said