Main news of September 17

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Pro-Russian party is emerging as the winner in the Latvian early parliamentary elections for the first time in 20 years since the tiny Baltic state restored independence, exit polls showed

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been nominated for a Chinese alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize, Confucius Peace Prize, the Chinese news portal sina.com said

* China has allocated $1 billion in loan on favorable terms to Belarus, which is in the midst of a financial crisis, China's top legislator Wu Bangguo said

* Ukraine is ready to discuss suspension of its gas transit system which pumps Russian gas to Europe, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told reporters

RUSSIA

* Russia should team up with Italy and France to produce modern regional aircrafts, Vladimir Dmitriyev, head of the country's national development bank VEB, said