Main News of February 25

WORLD

* The European Union and Ukraine do not rule out that they may sign an Association Agreement by November, according to a joint statement adopted following 16th EU-Ukraine summit

* Incumbent Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan won the February 18 presidential election in the South Caucasus country, according to the final vote count from all 1,988 polling stations announced by Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC), CEC chief Tigran Mukuchyan said

* The trial against British oil giant BP began Monday in the United States, where a federal judge is set to determine whether the company was “grossly negligent” in its disastrous 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

RUSSIA

* Economic losses from drug addiction in Russia are comparable to the country's entire healthcare budget, the chief of the Russian Security Council said

* More than half of Russians display a generally positive attitude toward the United States, but only 39 percent feel the same way about bilateral relations, a significant drop since last fall, according to an opinion poll released Monday by the state-run All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Study (VTsIOM)

* Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a ban on smoking in public places, the Kremlin website said

SCIENCE

* The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on Monday launched a suitcase sized satellite into space aboard an Indian rocket that will search for large asteroids that could impact Earth and keep track of space junk in the solar system

* Scientists from Russia's Urals Federal University have discovered a meteorite fragment weighing more than one kilogram (2.2 lbs), the largest found so far from the meteorite strike that hit the Urals region on February 15, University expedition chief Viktor Grokhovsky said

DEFENSE

* Israel and the United States carried out the first successful test of the Arrow 3 missile defense interceptor on Monday, the Defense Ministry said

BUSINESS

* Ukraine and the European Union have signed a memorandum of understanding for Brussels to loan Kiev 610 million euros ($811 million) in macro-financial assistance, Ukraine’s UNIAN news agency reported

SPORTS

* FIFA imposed worldwide football bans on 58 players and officials Monday over a match-fixing and bribery scandal in China