Main news of July 15

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

WORLD

* More than 30 nations that have recognized Libya's main opposition group as the country's government declared that Muammar Gaddafi's regime had lost its legitimacy

* The subject of the so-called sectoral missile defense has been taken off the agenda of Russian-NATO negotiations, a source in the Russian delegation said

* A storm has blown up in Germany over the decision to award Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the prestigious Quadriga prize for his role in the development of Russia

* News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks resigned in the wake of the growing scandal over phone hacking by journalists at the group’s newspapers

* BBC television and radio journalists began a 24-hour strike over compulsory redundancies

RUSSIA

* In what could be seen as the start of a presidential campaign, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reflected on decisions he made that he said could have cost him his political career - and declared that the risk was always justified

* A fire broke out at a military base near central Moscow, accompanied by a series of explosions

* Russia's liberal opposition People's Freedom Party (Parnas) appealed  the Justice Ministry's refusal to register it ahead of December's parliamentary polls

BUSINESS

* Russia may build a third link in the Nord Stream gas pipeline intended to bring Russian natural gas to Germany on the Baltic seabed, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said

* Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz has filed a 1.52 billion hryvna ($187.5 million) suit against former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, who is now under a criminal investigation for signing a 2009 gas contract with Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom, Naftogaz representative Igor Kost said

* Russia's  Sberbank, which plans to complete acquisition of 100 percent of Volksbank Int this year, intends to use it as a basis for further acquisitions in Europe, Sberbank head German Gref said