News of the Day, 15:00 Moscow time

* Russia's budget expenditures could grow by 600 billion rubles ($17.3 billion) to 9.6 trillion ($275.8 billion) this year, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown could meet on the sidelines of a summit of G20 leaders in London on April 2, the premier's envoy, Lord Malloch-Brown, said

* North Korea's announced launch of a long-range rocket may complicate the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and hamper the six-party talks on the country's controversial nuclear program, said Mikhail Margelov, who heads the Federation Council's foreign affairs committee

* A Russian plane carrying 40 metric tons of humanitarian aid is expected to arrive in Afghanistan on Friday night, an emergencies ministry spokesman said

* Japan is ready to intercept a North Korean rocket if it appears to threaten the country's security, Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said

* Sibur-Russia Tyres said it was withdrawing from a deal to buy out the liabilities of a leading European tire producer, Amtel-Vredestein N.V

* Russia's largest diamond producer Alrosa could halt production at some of its plants from May to September as part of measures to reduce expenses, a source said

* A man in Azerbaijan bearing a striking resemblance to U.S. President Barack Obama has become a celebrity in the ex-Soviet Caucasus state, a popular Russian daily said