Poland prepares for Kaczynski burial

The bodies of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were flown from Warsaw to Krakow today for burial among Polish kings and poets at a tradition-laden ceremony that will be bereft of many world leaders whose travel plans were paralysed by a plume of volcanic ash.

The state funeral had been expected to draw numerous world leaders, but many were forced to cancel - including US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel - at the last minute because of the ever-expanding volcanic ash cloud that has enveloped Europe and closed nearly all of the continent's airports since Thursday.