Main news of April 18

A round up of what happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Poland said its final farewell to President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Mary, who died last week in a plane crash near Smolensk in western Russia

* Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, were buried in a crypt in the historic Wawel Cathedral

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev joined Polish and foreign leaders for the state funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife in Krakow

* Several foreign leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama canceled their flights to Poland for the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski due to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland

* Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano has thrown out about 140 million cubic meters of ash over the past three days, scientists estimate

* The president of Belarus said his country was ready to receive former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and give him and his family whatever help they need

* The death toll from the devastating earthquake in northwest China has risen to 1,706, with 90 people still missing, the official news agency Xinhua reported

RUSSIA

* Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged measures to bring home Russians stranded in European airports over the spread of a volcanic ash cloud

An ash cloud from a volcano that erupted in Iceland on Wednesday will reach Russian regions to the south of Moscow, the Russian Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Service said.

* A violin worth $400,000 belonging to a musician from the orchestra of Russia's famous Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theater has been stolen in Austria, local police said

 

SPORT

* Spartak Nalchik continued their fine start to the Russian Premier League season with a 1-0 home win over struggling Krylya Sovetov to retake top spot from Rubin

* Russia's first and only Formula One driver, Vitaly Petrov, scored his first championship points with a seventh-place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix