World briefs 4/8/04

Clean up efforts under way after Mexican flood

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico -- Skies once filled with threatening clouds cleared and the cleanup of the destruction caused by flooding that killed 34 people got underway in this town on the U.S. border. But even as hundreds began picking up the pieces of their damaged homes and water-logged belongings, many of their neighbors were burying loved ones.

King authorizes Socialists to form next government

MADRID, Spain -- King Juan Carlos on Wednesday authorized the Socialists, surprise winners of the March 14 general elections, to form Spain's next government. The ceremonial move opens the way for the 350-member Chamber of Deputies, or lower house of parliament, to vote April 16 on the Socialists' candidate for prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The Spanish Socialist Workers Party won only 164 seats but apparently has enough support from other parties to win the 176 seats needed for a majority.

After 60 years, France finds Saint-Exupery's plane

PARIS -- It was one of French aviation's enduring mysteries: Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the pilot and author of the beloved tale "The Little Prince," took off on a World War II spy mission for the Allies and was never seen again. After 60 years, officials have confirmed that the twisted wreckage of a Lockheed Lightning P-38, found on the Mediterranean seabed not far from the rugged cliffs of Provence, belonged to Saint-Exupery, French air force Capt. Frederic Solano said Wednesday.

Arms control researcher sentenced for U.S. spying

MOSCOW -- A Moscow court sentenced a Russian arms control researcher to 15 years in prison Wednesday for spying on behalf of the United States. Igor Sutyagin, a scholar at Moscow's respected USA and Canada Institute, was jailed in October 1999 on charges he sold information on nuclear submarines and missile warning systems to a British company that Russian investigators claimed was a CIA cover.

Iran to start work on nuclear reactor in June

VIENNA, Austria -- Iran will start building a nuclear reactor in June that can produce weapons-grade plutonium, diplomats said Wednesday. Although Tehran insists the heavy water facility is for research, the decision heightens concern about its nuclear ambitions. One diplomat said the planned 40-megawatt reactor could produce enough plutonium for a nuclear weapon each year, an amount experts commonly say is 8.8 pounds.

-- From wire reports