FIGHTING TO TURN BACK THE VOTE

Fighting intensified in Chechnya as separatists tried to disrupt Russian parliamentary elections that they say are tailored to assure a victory for Doku Zavgayev, the current head of the region's Moscow-backed Cabinet. Rebels battled Russian troops and seized government buildings in two Chechen towns, seeking to keep turnout below the minimum of 25 percent required for election results to be official.