Reports from Russia say that 17 security personnel have been killed during four days of fighting on the Chechen-Dagestan border in the North asus">Caucasus. Seven insurgents were also killed in what's been the worst violence in the region in months. Russia is facing an Islamist
insurgency
along its southern border more than a decade after it defeated a
separatist
movement in Chechnya.
Votes are being counted in the Baltic republic of Latvia in a referendum on whether Russian should become the second official language. The Central Election Commission said around two thirds of registered voters participated. Ethnic Russians, who make up a third of Latvia's population of about two million, feel
discriminated against
as
proficiency
in Latvian is needed to become a citizen and to vote.
The former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is expected to be questioned next week by police investigating an alleged
prostitution ring
. Sources familiar with the case say he's been summoned for questioning on Tuesday about sex parties that allegedly took place at restaurants and
swingers'
clubs in cities including Paris and Washington. Mr Strauss-Kahn resigned as head of the IMF in May after he was accused of trying to rape a New York hotel maid. That case collapsed.
That's the BBC News.
第二页:中英双语听力稿