World leaders expressed shock at the horrific plane crash Saturday in Smolensk, Russia, that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and much of the nation's ruling elite. All 96 people on board did not survive the tragic crash.
Russian news agencies said pilot error had come under immediate suspicion.
AFP reported the Tupolev Tu-154 jet was carrying Kaczynski and his wife, the military chief of staff, central bank governor, deputy foreign minister, members of parliament and other top officials to a ceremony for thousands of Polish troops massacred by Russian forces in World War II.
Kaczynski was the identical twin brother of former prime minister Jaroslaw. He was on his way to attend commemorative ceremonies for the Katyn massacre, which decimated Poland's military and intellectual elite 70 years ago.
It was reported the crash occurred three days after Putin and his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, together attended a memorial for the victims of the massacre at Katyn.
The Putin-Tusk meeting there was seen as a huge symbolic advance in Russia's often thorny relations with Poland.
Poland went into mourning with this horrific tragedy on Saturday.
Susan Boyle, Cai Hua Tian Ma (Sweet Cauliflower Mama) and Lin Yu-chun have something in common - they don't have the looks but, boy, can they sing!
We already know a lot about Scottish spinster Susan who became a singing sensation after she was discovered on Britain's Got Talent show last year. Her debut album sold millions and we can say she's got it made.
Recently two other singing talents - one from Shanghai, China and the other from Taiwan - were discovered and videos of them on YouTube became the rage.
Cai Hua Tian Ma, as she is known, sells chicken at the market stall. She belts out English gospel songs with amazing grace and pulls in the crowd.
That was how the middle-aged woman with two pigtails was discovered and a video clip of her singing in front of a market crowd was posted on YouTube and overnight, the video pulled in more than 46,000 hits. Maybe more by now.
Apart from English gospel songs, she also sings Maria Callas and Mariah Carey numbers as well as local folk songs and Chinese opera.
While Cai Hua Tian Ma has restricted her singing at her chicken stall, Taiwanese Lin revealed his singing prowess on Taiwan's Avenue to Stardom talent show on April 9.
Known as "Little Fatty", the round-faced Lin sings like a soprano and wowed everyone with his rendition of Whitney Houston's hit "I Will Always Love You".
Lin, 24, soon discovered that a video clip of his performance
appeared on YouTube and in no time, racked up more than 2 million hits as people started to call him "Taiwan's Susan Boyle". No doubt, the hits will keep coming for a while.
One viewer on YouTube commented: "I got goose bumps."
AFP reported that Lin was "shocked" by the great attention he has received and cited him as saying: "I'm really moved and happy that people like my performance of Whitney's song. . .I'm honoured to be compared to Susan Boyle."
Lin, who works part-time at a musical instrument shop in Taipei, may well be on his way to stardom and nobody is going to laugh at Little Fatty again.
A middle-aged woman who is a chicken seller in Shanghai has been hailed as the Chinese Susan Boyle by netizens. China's singing discovery is nicknamed Cai Hua Tian Ma (Sweet Cauliflower Mama).
Susan Boyle, from Scotland, gained fame and millions of admirers since she wowed the judges on Britain's Got Talent show last year with her rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream" from the musical Les Miserables.
Cai Hua Tian Ma's rendition of an English gospel song on video clip, posted on YouTube, has become the latest hit among Web users in China.
Cai Hua Tian Ma made her first public appearance on the Internet when a patron at a market in Shanghai where she works, recorded a clip of her singing to the customers at her chicken stall, according to Malaysian Mirror.
The patron uploaded the video clip on the Internet on April 1 and within days, the video which was shown in various popular websites in China, has attracted more than 46,000 hits.
Cai Hua Tian Ma is seen on video with her hair tied into two pigtails and dressed in a red shirt with a Hello Kitty apron. Some netizens mistook her for the late Hong Kong billionaire Nina Wang.
Cai Hua Tian Ma, it is learnt, hails from a remote village in Anhui. She has no professional training in music. She cannot even read out all the 26 letters of the alphabet.
Apart from English gospel songs, she also sings Maria Callas and Mariah Carey numbers as well as local folk songs and Chinese opera.
