THE election of Bronislaw Komorowski’s as president offered Poland’s pro-business ruling party an opportunity but also a challenge, as it prepared to govern without the obstacle of a hostile head of state.

AN ELABORATE state funeral for Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, was held yesterday bereft of many world leaders whose travel plans were paralysed by the plume of volcanic ash that has covered Europe.

An elaborate state funeral for Poland's President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, began today bereft of many world leaders whose travel plans were paralysed by the plume of volcanic ash that has covered Europe.

POLAND’S acting president vowed to move swiftly to set an election date and remove uncertainty after the deaths of President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of other high-ranking officials in a plane crash.

THE body of President Lech Kaczynski was returned to Poland yesterday where it was greeted by grieving dignitaries and thousands of Poles lining the route from Warsaw’s airport to the presidential palace.

Thousands of people stood silent in the streets of Poland’s cities today in a silent memorial to President Lech Kaczynski and the other 95 people killed in a devastating plane crash.

Poles wept before their televisions, lowered flags to half-mast and taped black ribbons in their windows after hearing that President Lech Kaczynski and the upper echelons of the establishment lay dead in woods a short drive from the site of the Katyn forest massacre, where 22,000 Polish officers were killed by Soviet secret police in one of Poland’s greatest national traumas.

Tom Queally rounded off his breakthrough season at a snow-covered Lingfield with a confident ride aboard Tranquil Tiger.

EUROPE’s leaders may have set themselves the goal of solving the world’s economic and environmental problems last week, but everybody has their own problems.

IT’S being billed as the battle of the Summit Queen versus the Polish Twins.

A GERMAN paper published photos comparing Poland’s president to a potato yesterday on the eve of a summit between Germany, Poland and France — five months after the three-way meeting was scrapped following a similar jibe.

THE US has its political power families — the Kennedys, Clintons, Bushes. But nothing quite like what is developing in Poland.

The US has its political power families: the Kennedys, the Clintons, the Bushes. But nothing quite like what is developing in Poland.

THE election of conservative Lech Kaczynski as Poland’s president on Sunday has sealed a shift to the right with the rise of tough-talking leaders who pledge to protect the country’s interests.

TOUGH-TALKING Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczynski led Poland’s presidential run-off last night after a campaign in which he stressed traditional Catholic values and the need for a social safety net.

POLAND’S centre-right parties, celebrating a crushing victory yesterday over the ruling left, faced tough talks on forming a coalition amid divisions over the scope of market reforms.