Main news of March 18

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Georgian opposition parties said they will sue Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and TV channel head Georgy Arveladze over a faked report about a Russian invasion of Georgia

* Russia and Ukraine should celebrate the 65th Victory Day with a joint military parade in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said

* Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he is ready to negotiate with protesters on condition that they refrain from insulting verbal attacks, local media reported

* Moldovan communists began a boycott of parliament in an ongoing bid to force the resignation of acting President Mihai Ghimpu and his pro-Western acting government

* Another joint offensive against Taliban militants began in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province late on Wednesday, a source in Afghanistan's defense ministry reported

* U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Moscow on Thursday to discuss a new strategic arms cuts deal and take part in a meeting of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators

RUSSIA

* Russian and U.S. negotiators will wrap up a new strategic arms reduction pact in the very near future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

* Russia believes the dispute over Iran's nuclear activity can still be resolved through diplomacy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his U.S. counterpart

* The first reactor of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southwestern Iran should be launched this summer, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said

* An additional Soyuz capsule could be built especially for commercial space tourists, the head of Russia's Energia space corporation said

* A high-tech research and production hub, similar to the Silicon Valley in California, will be built in Skolkovo near Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said

* The first 10 Pantsir S1 (SA-22 Greyhound) antiaircraft surface-to-air missile systems entered service with the Russian Air Force, a Defense Ministry spokesman said

* A Soyuz-TMA-16 space capsule carrying two astronauts returning from the International Space Station (ISS) successfully landed in Kazakhstan, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported

SPORTS

* Russian athletes won eight medals, including two golds, at Vancouver Paralympics biathlon events

RELIGION

* The head of the Russian Orthodox Church called on the world to expose cases of bias and discrimination against Christians in Europe

BUSINESS

* A U.S. court has ruled to seize $419 million worth of assets of Russia's state oil major Rosneft under a lawsuit filed by managers of the now defunct oil giant Yukos, a business daily reported