World briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 8, 2000

Quake aftershocks rattle western Japan

SAKAIMINATO, Japan -- Hundreds of aftershocks rumbled through parts of southwest Japan on Saturday, a day after a powerful earthquake struck, injuring at least 120 people and damaging thousands of homes.

A magnitude 4.9 quake shook Tottori Prefecture (state), 315 miles southwest of Tokyo, early Saturday, followed by a series of smaller temblors.

Friday's magnitude 7.3 quake, centered 6 miles underground in Tottori, buckled streets, knocked down houses and paralyzed road and rail traffic for hours.

None of the injuries were reported to be life-threatening.

Deadly Mexican plane crash investigated

MEXICO CITY -- Federal investigators and airline officials gathered at the site of a plane crash Saturday to determine what caused a DC-9 jet to skid out of control, slamming into houses and killing a mother and her three children.

They conducted interviews, examined the plane and studied weather conditions to establish why the aircraft, carrying 83 passengers and five crew members, was unable to stop Friday at Reynosa airport, across the border from McAllen, Texas. All the passengers were Mexican citizens.

"We can't speculate on what the cause was. It hasn't yet been officially determined," said Javier Quijano, an investigator from the federal Civil Aeronautics agency.

Aeromexico spokeswoman Erika Montes said the airline thinks the plane's brakes were working well, but that the aircraft couldn't stop because of heavy rain on the runway.

Elsewhere

SRI LANKA: Sri Lankan soldiers repelled a Tamil Tiger rebel attack on a northern army base, leaving 33 people dead, a government spokesman said Saturday. At least 30 rebels and two soldiers were killed and 11 soldiers were wounded during the fighting in Jaffna Peninsula, government spokesman Ariya Rubasinghe said. One civilian was killed by rebel shelling, Rubasinghe said. The Tamil Tiger rebels did not immediately offer any statement. The government's report could not be independently confirmed since journalists generally are not allowed in the war zone.

POLISH ELECTIONS: Poland, the first Eastern European nation to shed communism, slides comfortably into its third popular presidential election today after a predictable campaign reflecting the country's growing confidence in its democracy. The incumbent, Alexander Kwasniewski, appears headed for re-election with 50 to 60 percent of the vote. Even voters who say they would prefer a right-wing candidate from the Solidarity bloc concede that another term for the ex-communist president won't upset them.

CHESS: After five years and several sponsoring organizations, Garry Kasparov puts his version of the world chess championship on the line today in London against Russian Vladimir Kramnik. An Internet company, braingames.net, is sponsoring the 16-game match and putting up the $2-million purse. The favored Kasparov declared he is "planning to win" while Kramnik was noncommittal, saying, "I will do my best."

LUXEMBOURG MONARCHY: Crown Prince Henri was sworn in as Luxembourg's new monarch Saturday when his father, Grand Duke Jean, stepped down after 36 years at an abdication ceremony attended by royals from Belgium and the Netherlands. Henri, 45, became Luxembourg's sixth grand duke since 1890, when the modern monarchy was established. His father, 79, resigned to hand responsibility to his son.

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