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Poland says goodbye to president 18.04.2010 Around 90,000 gathered in Krakow for the funeral of President Lech Kaczynski and First Lady Maria. After the funeral ceremony at St Mary's, which began at 14.00 CET, the funeral procession will begin at 15.30, making its way to Wawel Castle where, at 16.30, the coffins will be put into the specially built tomb. Though president’s from the US, Germany and top European officials cancelled their trips to Poland following the persistence of the ash cloud over Polish air space, leaders from Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Morocco and Azerbaijan are in the southern Polish city....

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President Lech Kaczynski and his beloved wife Maria will rest tommorow in the Wawel Castle in Krakow - the final resting place of Poland’s medieval kings and national heroes - the heart of Poland - close to Jozef Pilsudski (the leader of pre-war Poland).

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Poland holds public memorial for crash victims By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA and MATT MOORE (AP) – 1 hour ago WARSAW, Poland — Some 100,000 Poles filled Warsaw's biggest public square Saturday, joining together for a memorial and funeral mass for the 96 people killed in a plane crash a week earlier. They stood silent for two minutes before emergency sirens screamed and church bells pealed. The crowd in Pilsudski Square waved white-and-red Polish flags with black ribbons of mourning affixed to them. A massive white stage, a large cross in the center, was flanked by oversized photos of the dead, including...

Their Daughter People waiting in a line

US senator offers resolution honoring late Polish president (AFP) – 41 minutes ago WASHINGTON — A top US senator on Monday proposed a resolution honoring the lives of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and the 94 others killed when their airplane crashed over the weekend. "Together with the Polish nation and friends of Poland worldwide, I mourn this unbelievably tragic loss," Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said as he introduced the symbolic measure. The measure marks the "terrible tragedy," honors "the life and legacy" of Kaczynski and of all of the Poles who...

President Kaczynski’s last speech 12.04.2010 11:53 Below is the text of the speech which Lech Kaczynski, who died on Saturday, was going to deliver at the 70th anniversary ceremony of the Katyn massacre. “Dear Representatives of the Katyn Families. Ladies and Gentlemen. In April 1940 over twenty-one thousand Polish prisoners from the NKVD camps and prisons were killed. The genocide was committed at Stalin’s will and at the Soviet Union’s highest authority’s command. The alliance between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact and the Soviet attack on Poland on 17 September 1939 reached a terrifying climax...

Polish President’s body arrives home 11.04.2010 17:06 The body of the late President Lech Kaczynski arrived at Warsaw’s military airport, Sunday afternoon, and the coffin driven through streets lined with thousands of Poles wanting to pay their respects. The coffin was removed from the CASA military aircraft which had taken it from Smolensk where the president’s plane crashed on Saturday. Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk and Metropolitan of Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz were waiting on the tarmac to say mass. At 15.24 CET the coffin, draped in the Polish flag, was placed on the airport’s apron and then visited and kissed by...

Poland mourns 11.04.2010 09:59 Two minutes of silence were held in Poland at noon, Sunday, for President Lech Kaczynski, First Lady Maria and 94 other victims who died in the plane crash near Smolensk air base yesterday. Speaker of Parliament and acting head of state Bronislaw Komorowski announced a week of national mourning in a special TV address on Saturday evening, as Poland tried to get to grips with a plane crash that killed many leading politicians and military establishment figures, their way to Katyn memorial ceremonies. The body of the President and First Lady Maria will be returned to...

Russia to hold day of mourning after Polish president's death 18:1210/04/2010 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced on Saturday a national day of mourning after President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and an official delegation of senior officials were killed in a plane crash in western Russia. "On behalf of the Russian people, I express the deepest, most heartfelt condolences to the Polish people, and compassion and support to the relatives and friends of the victims," Medvedev said, addressing the Polish people. "On Monday, April 12, Russia will hold a national day of mourning." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Russian Prime...

Polish president's body 'found' in crash wreckage - source 18:0510/04/2010 The body of Polish President Lech Kaczynski may have been found in the wreckage of the plane that crashed earlier on Saturday in western Russia, a highly-placed police source told RIA Novosti. Speaking from the scene of the clean-up operation, the source said however that "additional tests, including DNA," would be needed to identify many of the bodies. All 97 people on board died when a plane carrying Kaczynski, his wife, and a delegation of senior officials crashed in thick fog while attempting to land at Smolensk airport. Kaczynski was...

President Obama says the loss of Polish President Kaczynski is ‘devastating’ April 10th, 2010 - 8:15 pm WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) — President Obama on Saturday released the following statement after Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and other senior government figures were killed in a plane crash in western Russia. “Today, I called Polish Prime Minister Tusk to express Michelle’s and my deepest condolences to the people of Poland on the tragic deaths this morning of President Lech Kaczynski, First Lady Maria Kaczynski, and all who were traveling with them to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre....

POLISH President Lech Kaczynski today nominated his brother Jaroslaw as prime minister, paving the way for a double act unique in the world with identical twins holding the top two government posts. "The president of the republic of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, has designated Jaroslaw Kaczynski as prime minister," the presidency said in a statement. The widely expected announcement came shortly after outgoing prime minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz submitted his resignation, which was accepted by President Kaczynski. Mr Marcinkiewicz's resignation at the head of Poland's coalition government means his cabinet automatically quits. Mr Marcinkiewicz, who made the surprise announcement on Saturday that...