50,000 Attend Polish President's Funeral

While the volcanic ash cloud forced Barack Obama to abandon plans to attend the funeral for Polish President Lech Kaczynski, Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev did manage to fly in, reinforcing a message of Russian solidarity after the plane crash that devastated Poland’s government last week. The funeral was held this afternoon in Krakow for the Polish president and his wife, along with many political and military members, and crowds chanted “Lech Kaczynski, we thank you” and waved flags and banners. Other attendees were Poland’s interim President Bronislaw Komorowski, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and the presidents of Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Georgia. An estimated 50,000 mourners watched in Mass on large screens outside.