12.08 Main News of August 11

WORLD

*Iran intends to sign an agreement with Russia soon on the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the Islamic Republic, Irans semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Sunday, citing Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

*Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has undergone an emergency hernia surgery, his office reported Sunday.

*US drones strikes killed up to five al-Qaida militants Saturday after hitting their vehicles in southern Yemen, media reported citing officials.

*Car bombings that rocked the Iraqi capital Baghdad and other cities across the country amid Eid al-Fitr celebrations killed dozens of people and injured hundreds, media cited Interior Ministry officials as saying.

*An American Christian missionary imprisoned in North Korea for crimes against the state, has been moved from a prison work camp to a hospital due to deteriorating health, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing his sister.

RUSSIA

*Unidentified individuals tried to blind the pilots of three airliners landing at the Moscow-based Sheremetyevo international airport, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

*Lon Snowden, the father of fugitive US intelligence expert Edward Snowden, has been granted a visa by Russian authorities and will travel to Russia to meet his son within weeks, according to a Sunday report on US television channel ABC.

*Thin crowds plagued the World Athletics Championships in Moscow for a second day in a row Sunday, as one of the first in a series of large international sporting events being hosted by Russia failed to attract substantial local interest.

*A suspected militant has been killed in a special operation in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, a spokesman for the regional department of the Russian Investigative Committee said Sunday.

*An official from Russias drug control agency was killed on Sunday evening by a group of gunmen in the capital of the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, according to police.

SPORT

*Usain Bolt stormed to victory in the final of the 100 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow on Sunday, beating his longtime rival Justin Gatlin.

*Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva backtracked Sunday on a vow that the ongoing 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow would be her last competition before retiring.

*Russia coach Fabio Capello insists his team is fully aware of the need to take three points from Windsor Park in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland in Belfast.