Polish hero accused of aiding communists

WARSAW • Poland's Lech Walesa, 72, who shot to world fame for his role in the collapse of communism, promised yesterday to defend himself in court against new allegations that he collaborated with the communist-era secret services.

The state history institute said it had confirmed as genuine some documents offered to it by the widow of a communist interior minister suggesting Mr Walesa, ex-leader of the Solidarity union movement that brought down communism in Poland and former president, had been an informant of the communist regime in the 1970s.

REUTERS

Bus-truck collision kills 53 in Ghana

ACCRA • At least 53 people died when a passenger bus collided with a cargo truck on a Ghana highway, police said yesterday.

The bus was heading to the northern town of Tamale. The cause of the accident is unknown, but police say both vehicles are suspected of speeding.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

El Nino's decline has begun: UN agency

GENEVA • The 2015-2016 El Nino weather phenomenon, one of the most powerful on record, has begun its decline but continues to have a strong influence on global climate patterns, the UN's weather agency said yesterday.

The World Meteorological Organisation said El Nino, which occurs every two to seven years, has "passed its peak".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE