MOSCOW — A blaze at a Russian nursing home killed nine people early today, and emergency officials said it might have been started by a resident setting himself on fire.

A spokeswoman for the regional Emergencies Ministry, Daria Korovina, said two other people were injured in the fire at the facility in Vishny Volochek in the Tver region, about 120 miles north of Moscow. Some 480 people were evacuated, she said.

Korovina said investigators found a canister of flammable liquid in the room where the fire started, leading to speculation the resident set himself ablaze.

Russia suffers frequent fires at hospitals, schools and other state-run facilities. Many have been blamed on negligence and violations of fire safety rules. They have served as grim reminders of crumbling infrastructure and short life expectancy in Russia.

Russia records nearly 18,000 fire deaths a year, several times the per-capita rate in the United States and other Western countries.

WARSAW, Poland — Solidarity founder Lech Walesa says he will not attend the movement's 30th anniversary session because he is tired and disillusioned with the Polish group's current state.President Bronislaw Komorowski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk are to attend the session today in the Baltic port of Gdynia.It marks 30 years since the massive freedom movement led by Walesa forced then-ruling communists to sign concessions that eventually led to democratic changes in 1989.But 66-year-old Walesa, himself a former Polish president, said on his blog he is tired and can't attend. He also said he is unhappy with Poland's politics and economy today and with Solidarity itself, which he says is getting too involved in daily politics.

TOKYO — Residents of neighboring resort towns in central Japan are waging a battle against a marauding monkey that has bitten dozens of people in the past few weeks — and the monkey is winning.Nearly 60 people in the towns of Mishima and Susono near the scenic Izu peninsula and Mount Fuji have been chomped by the macaque since mid-August, mostly on the calves. Mishima now publishes a daily "biting monkey" alert on the town website, posting where the animal was most recently spotted and warning residents to keep doors and windows shut.Fed up with the troublemaker, a group of about 130 officials — including police and zookeepers — conducted a massive monkey hunt Sunday in hopes of capturing the animal. Despite the show of force — many came armed with binoculars, nets and tranquilizer guns — the search was fruitless.Officials in Mishima are continuing their monkey watch and have set up traps in case the animal returns.The monkey is a type of macaque that is one of the most common wild mammals in Japan and can reach nearly three feet tall when standing on its hind legs.The monkeys have for years been a nuisance in rural areas in Japan, where they damage crops and even steal food from grocery stalls. In recent years, they have occasionally been spotted in downtown Tokyo.