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

Lukashenko Upbeat MOSCOW (AP) -- Visiting Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday he was hopeful about a planned union between Belarus and Russia, despite economic disagreements that have stalled the plan. Opening a meeting of the union's State Council in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko said there were ""serious and objective"" obstacles to building the union. ""At times, it is difficult to find a solution, but we will find one,"" he said. Lukashenko and then-President Boris Yeltsin signed a union treaty in 1996. Lukashenko said he and Putin would focus on the union's budget and on coordinating foreign policy. Putin said he wanted to see ""firmer parameters"" for the 2004 budget. Police Official Killed ROSTOV-ON-DON, Southern Russia (AP) -- Masked assailants gunned down a senior police official in Chechnya, police said Tuesday.

Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, denied claims Tuesday that Iran was hiding a nuclear site from the IAEA.

The Afghan president Tuesday welcomed the long-awaited UN approval to expand an international peacekeeping force beyond the capital, a move considered crucial for the nation's efforts to rein in warlords and prepare for historic elections next year.

Mechanics for the United States' third-largest public transportation system went on strike Tuesday, shutting down buses and trains that an estimated 500,000 daily riders count on to get around Los Angeles County.

""Claw of Bima, yep. That's the one,"" says Ibrahim, a Jakarta taxi driver, handing over 2,500 rupiah ($0.30) for a dose of Indonesia's herbal ""Viagra.""