A plane carrying Polish president Lech Kaczynski and dozens of the country’s political leaders crashed in heavy fog over western Russia this morning, killing everyone onboard. Kaczynski was on his way to Smolensk for a ceremony to commemorate the murder of more than 20,000 Polish military officers by Soviet secret police. Among the other leaders on the plane were the commanders of all four military branches, along with the head of the central bank. The leader of the lower house of parliament, Bronislaw Komorowski, is now acting president. [NYT]
