Wanting to keep Belarus as its ally, Russia has little alternative to Lukashenko.

MirCorp announced that it had signed an agreement to create the world's first private space station.

Putin's visit to Finland is a welcome development, one in which Russia managed to get its signals right.

The draft federal budget for 2002 continues the glorious tradition of not repaying Western debts.

President Putin told visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Russia was prepared to make a ""substantial"" contribution to a settlement of the Middle East crisis.

Change was in the wind at Moscow's 14th International Book Fair, which kicked off Wednesday.

Entering a crucial stage of the operation to salvage the sunken Kursk, an underwater saw started cutting through the nuclear submarine's mangled fore section Tuesday.

A new move is sure to delight Russians hoping to visit the U.S. who dreaded the visa application process.

Federal troops shut all roads into Grozny on Tuesday after a bomb struck the headquarters of Chechnya's Moscow-installed authorities, but rebels still launched new attacks.

Explosion Hits Bus VLADIKAVKAZ, North Ossetia (AP) -- A blast tore through a passenger bus on the border between Ingushetia and North Ossetia on Tuesday, injuring three women, police said. The explosion hit in the evening in a neutral area between border checkpoints near the Ossetian village of Chermen, said Magomed Ozdoyev, duty officer of the Ingush regional police department. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. Ozdoyev said it may have been a bomb placed in a nearby tree. The bus had been traveling from the Ingush city of Nazran to Kurtat in Ossetia, and was heading into the disputed Prigorodny region when it exploded. Blast Rips Apart Rails MAKHACHKALA, Dagestan (AP) -- A bomb exploded early Tuesday on a railway in the Dagestani capital, Makhachkala, ripping apart four rails but injuring no one, police said. The bomb was estimated to be equal in force to 8 kilograms to 10 kilograms of TNT.

UES gave investors pleasant news with reports of a net profit under international accounting standards.

Russia said consumer price inflation fell to zero in August month-on-month after a small rise in July.

City Hall's budgetary watchdog said it would take control of building Moscow's third ring road.

The 'IS needs to integrate its banking systems and securites markets, the CEO of a leading bank said.

The State Audit Chamber denied reports of a new draft requiring the exchange of all foreign currency.

Trade Grows 9% MOSCOW (MT) -- Foreign trade turnover totaled $81.7 billion in January-July, up 9 percent over the same period last year, the State Customs Committee said Tuesday. Russia's foreign trade surplus, however, was $36.1 billion, down from $37.8 billion in January-July 2000. Trade with former Soviet republics rose 9.6 percent in the same period to $15.4 billion, while trade with the rest of the world rose 8.9 percent to $66.3 billion, Prime-Tass quoted customs as saying. Tax Target Surpassed MOSCOW (MT) -- Federal tax collections in August totaled 78.2 billion rubles ($2.65 billion), or 5 percent above target, Prime-Tass reported the Tax Ministry's press service as saying Tuesday. Gas Tariffs to Rise? MOSCOW (MT) -- The Federal Energy Commission this week granted Gazprom's request to raise what it considers unjustifiably low tariffs on gas. Prices are expected to rise 15 percent and 30 percent for businesses and individuals, respectively, on Oct.

NEW YORK -- Over the past several years, the United States has embarked on a program of secret research on biological weapons that, some officials say, tests the limits of the global treaty banning such weapons. The 1972 treaty forbids nations from developing or acquiring weapons that spread disease, but it allows work on vaccines and other protective measures. Government officials said the secret research, which mimicked the major steps a state or terrorist would take to create a biological arsenal, was aimed at understanding the threat better. The projects, which have not been previously disclosed, were begun under President Bill Clinton and have been embraced by George W. Bush's administration, which intends to expand them. Earlier this year, administration officials said, the Pentagon drew up plans to engineer genetically a potentially more potent variant of the bacterium that causes anthrax, a deadly disease ideal for germ warfare.

A brief look at the stories making headlines in the Russian-language press