WORLD NEWS

 WARSAW: Poland's parliament met in special session to honor President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, Maria, and other high-ranking Polish officials killed in a plane crash Saturday in western Russia.

Somber tones in the Polish parliament as lawmakers and invited guests filed in for a special session to commemorate those killed in Saturday's plane crash.

Speaker of Parliament Bronislaw Komorowski led the proceedings and invited representatives from the political parties to read out the names of the 18 lawmakers, who were among the victims.

Nearly 100 people were killed when the presidential plane crashed during its attempt to land in dense fog Saturday near the western Russian town of Smolensk. Among the dead were President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, some of the country's top military officials as well as lawmakers and prominent cultural and religious figures.

Meanwhile, the government continues to function under Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Parliament Speaker Komorowski, who, as mandated by the Constitution, has taken over as interim president. New elections are to be held by mid June.