Warsaw forbids gatherings in province; unrest grows

Polish authorities issued a ban on all public gatherings in one province and unrest spread through more than half the country Thursday, with Solidarity members charging the government was moving toward a ban on strikes.

It was the first such ban on union activities since Solidarity was formed in August 1980 and coincided with a crucial meeting of the union leaders to consider national strike action.

Polish television reported strikes or strike threats in 28 of Poland's 49 provinces, mostly over food shortages. But the sudden attack on union information activities produced mass confrontations two days in a row.