Polish leaders mark Solidarity deal
WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s warring president and prime minister have separately marked the 35th anniversary of a key deal between striking workers and communist authorities that opened the way to democracy.
The ceremonies were held Monday in the Baltic port city of Gdansk, where in 1980 the communists agreed to 21 demands by workers that included free trade unions and freedom of speech. The signing ended two weeks of strikes in the Gdansk shipyard and elsewhere and gave rise to the nationwide Solidarity movement, led by Lech Walesa. It took nine years and martial law that outlawed Solidarity from 1981-1983 before Poland became a democracy.
But President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, coming from parties that compete ahead of October general elections, attended different observances amid political differences.
Damage to temple in Palmyra unclear
DAMASCUS, Syria – The extent of damage from a massive explosion near the ancient Temple of Bel in Syria’s Palmyra is unclear, but it appears the structure is still standing despite an attempt by the Islamic State group to blow it up, a Syrian official said Monday.
Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of the Antiquities and Museums Department in Damascus, said there was conflicting information about the temple, one of the most prominent structures in a sprawling Roman-era complex, because eyewitnesses are unable to approach the site.
He said there was “undoubtedly” a large explosion that took place near the temple, and it appears that at least part of it still stands. “It is a huge temple built on a large sanctum,” he said.
Activists, including a Palmyra resident, said earlier that an Islamic State bombing extensively damaged the 2,000-year-old temple Sunday. The resident described a massive explosion, adding that he saw pictures of the damage but could not get near the site.
Flood traps animals in Moscow zoo
MOSCOW – A flood has swept through a private zoo in Russia’s Far East, trapping 14 brown bears and a lion in their half-submerged cages.
Video broadcast on Russian state television showed the bears standing on their hind legs and clinging to the bars with their front paws to keep their heads above the muddy water.
Vera Blishch, identified in the TV report as a bear trainer, checked on their condition from a boat Monday and said they were suffering from cold and lack of sleep.
One other bear at the Green Island zoo in Ussuriysk already drowned after a river burst its banks Sunday following a deluge caused by Typhoon Goni, the state RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The television report showed volunteers gathering food and medicine for the surviving animals.
Associated Press
