Last Week in the World of News

9/26,

Mexico

56 people were killed following an explosion in a busy area of a central industrial town.

Up to 348 people were injured.

The blast is suspected to have started in a fireworks store.

More explosions were then set off, possibly from nearby gas tanks owned by other local stores.

9/22,

New York City

Swiss banks froze $17 million in Russian accounts at the Bank of New York.

It is suspected that people with ties to organized crime have laundered millions of dollars through the bank's accounts.

9/27,

East Timor

Nine church workers 1.-...-..,rn;• were killed by Indonesian troops, and their bodies were disposed of in a nearby stream.

Among the dead were two nuns, a priest, a seminarian, and the local head of the Catholic church relief

9/21,

Taiwan

After killing at least 2,000 people, strong aftershocks continued to plague the island country of Taiwan following an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8.

Medical centers struggled to treat the more than 4,400 injured.

Damage is assessed to be more than $100 billion in Taiwanese currency.

9/27, South Korea

The South Korean government reported that it would not legalize the sale of dogs prior to the 2002 World Cup soccer finals.

Politicians feared that international animal rights groups might campaign to boycott South Korean goods and disrupt the country's role as co-host of the 2002 games.

Experts report that three million dogs are slaughtered for meat each year in South Korea.