Tag: poland

Polish politicians condemn Warsaw synagogue firebombing | European Union News

The attack comes amid a rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the globe in the wake of the Israel-Gaza war.

Poland’s political leaders have condemned a firebomb attack on a synagogue in Warsaw.

The Nozyk Synagogue in the capital was attacked with three firebombs early on Wednesday. The building sustained minimal damage, and there were no casualties.

Police said they have not established a motive for the attack and no perpetrator has been identified. Attacks against Jewish targets have risen around the globe since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October. However, it is also suspected Russia may be seeking to use the rising tension to encourage social divisions in Europe.

“We were informed overnight about an incident involving a bottle containing a flammable liquid being thrown onto synagogue grounds,” a police spokesperson said.

President Andrzej Duda called the attack “shameful” in a post on X. “There is no place for antisemitism in Poland! There is no place for hatred in Poland!” said the head of state, who is closely linked with the nationalist, conservative Law & Justice Party (PiS), which governed Poland for eight years before losing to an opposition alliance in last year’s elections.

“We must respond very robustly and strongly to this outrageous and vicious attack,” Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski declared.

 

The staunchly pro-Western minister also noted that the incident came on the 20th anniversary of Poland joining the European Union.

“Thank God no one was hurt. I wonder who is trying to disrupt the anniversary of our accession to the EU,” Sikorski wrote on X. “Maybe the same ones who scribbled Stars of David in Paris?”

In November after the outbreak of the Gaza war, more than 200 paintings of the Star of David appeared on buildings around Paris.

France later said a Russian destabilisation campaign had used automated social media accounts to whip up controversy and confusion about the symbols and feed alarm about surging anti-Semitism.

A Moldovan couple who was arrested in Paris for scrawling Stars of David on a school told media that they acted on orders from “an individual in Russia”.

According to the Anti Defamation League, anti-Semitism has soared in Europe since October 7.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Polish farmers suspend blockade of Ukraine border | Agriculture News

Polish farmers end blockade at the Ukraine border, after months of protests over cheap imports.

Polish farmers have called off their protest at the last border crossing with Ukraine, lifting a blockade that has dragged on for months, soured bilateral relations and buffeted Ukraine’s trade.

Truckers in Poland began blocking the border late last autumn, angered by what they said was Ukraine’s use of a wartime easing of border restrictions to win market share.

Farmers later joined their ranks, complaining about cheap Ukrainian food imports.

Polish farmers ended their blockade of the Rava-Ruska crossing on Monday morning, Ukraine’s border guard spokesman said, following months of diplomacy by Kyiv.

“Fortunately, we have all directions on the border with Poland unblocked,” said Andriy Demchenko, the border official, adding that trucks were crossing in both directions. Poland’s border guard spokesman confirmed that comment.

Mykola Solskyi, Ukraine’s minister of agrarian policy and food, praised what he said was “constructive work” by Poland.

Ukraine’s daily average food exports by truck were up almost 20 percent on Monday compared with mid-April, said Taras Vysotsky, Solskyi’s first deputy.

Trucks carrying grain, the issue at the heart of the Polish-Ukrainian dispute, will still face checks on the Polish side, Kyiv officials said.

‘A thing of the past’

Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Zvarych, said he believed the blockades were “a thing of the past”.

However, Roman Kondrow, the leader of a local farmers’ organisation in the region bordering Ukraine, said protests could resume if needed, Polish news agency PAP reported.

Adrian Wawrzyniak, a spokesperson for the Solidarity farmers’ union, told the Reuters news agency the farmers were continuing talks with the government and planned a protest in Warsaw on May 10.

In an attempt to address the protesters’ demands, Poland decided this month to pay 2.1 billion zlotys ($522m) in subsidies to farmers to compensate them for low grain prices.

The protests drew sharp criticism from Ukraine during the winter, when protesters spilled grain from trucks and train carriages.

Warsaw and Kyiv have been engaged for months in talks at different levels to try to find a solution, with Ukraine calling on the European Union to intervene.

Kyiv says its agricultural exports via Eastern Europe have not damaged EU markets, but that its trade has suffered from the protests. Ukraine has not published full data for its economic losses.

Ukraine is a major European grain producer. Talks on its agricultural sector are expected to be a central issue during its negotiations to join the EU.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Poland arrests man over suspected plan to kill Ukraine’s Zelenskyy | Russia-Ukraine war News

Prosecutors say Polish national is suspected of supplying information to Russian military intelligence.

A man has been arrested in Poland on allegations of being ready to spy on behalf of Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Polish prosecutors have said.

The Polish national, identified as Pawel K, is suspected of supplying information to Russian military intelligence and “helping the Russian special forces to plan a possible assassination attempt” against Zelenskyy, prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday.

It said the suspect had stated he was “ready to act on behalf of the military intelligence services of the Russian Federation and established contact with Russian citizens directly involved in the war in Ukraine”.

If convicted, the man could face up to eight years in prison, the statement said.

Ukrainian prosecutors had informed Poland about the activities, which had enabled them to gather “essential evidence” against the suspect, the statement added.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin said the suspect had been tasked with “gathering and transmitting to the aggressor state information about security at Rzeszow-Jasionka airport” in southeastern Poland.

The airport is under the control of United States troops. Zelenskyy frequently passes through the airport on his trips abroad. It is also used by foreign officials and aid convoys heading to Ukraine.

“This case underscores the persistent threat Russia poses not only to Ukraine and Ukrainians but to the entire free world,” Kostin wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“The Kremlin’s criminal regime… organises and carries out sabotage operations on the territory of other sovereign states,” he added.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski commended the work of his country’s special services and prosecutors in the operation as well as cooperation with neighbouring Ukraine.

Warsaw has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest backers since the Russian invasion in February 2022, although ties have frayed recently in a dispute over agricultural imports.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Polish lawmakers debate reforming strict abortion laws | Women’s Rights News

Poland has some of the strictest abortion laws in the European Union.

Lawmakers in Poland have begun debating changes to the country’s harsh abortion laws that had grown more restrictive during eight years of conservative nationalist governments.

Liberalising access to abortion has been a central campaign promise of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Civic Coalition that emerged victorious in elections in October that saw a high turnout partly due to women’s rights issues.

The country has some of the strictest abortion laws in the European Union, only allowing a woman to have an abortion in cases where the pregnancy has resulted from rape or incest, or if it threatens the life or health of the mother.

Lawmakers are expected to debate multiple bills that have been put forward by coalition groups.

Somehave sought to make abortion legal without limitations until 12 weeks of pregnancy while one bill looks to reinstate the right to abortion in case of foetal abnormalities, which would effectively return Poland to the situation before 2020 – when a constitutional court ruling had banned such procedures – while keeping most current restrictions in place.

The parliament session follows pressure from activist groups and women’s rights campaigners [File: Kacper Pempel/Reuters]

It is widely expected that President Andrzej Duda, a conservative ally of the former right-wing government, will veto any changes to legislation. He vetoed a law last month that would have allowed over-the-counter access to emergency birth control pills for girls and women aged 15 or higher.

Thursday’s parliament session follows pressure from activist groups and women’s rights campaigners, who have staged many rallies over the years against tightening abortion rules.

Women have also been resisting the draconian laws by using networks to access abortion pills and procedures.

In March, right-wing parliament speaker Szymon Holownia decided to postpone the debates until after local elections last weekend. This had caused some anger among activists and coalition partners in parliament.

Authorities in Poland have come under increasing pressure over abortion laws after multiple women died in cases linked with abortion complications.

Even legal abortions are often difficult to get in Poland because doctors and hospital administrators are unsure about the rules or refuse to perform terminations based on their own beliefs in the predominantly Catholic country.

In the case of sexual assault, women face the additional stigma of having to publicise the crime by reporting it to the prosecutor’s office to be determined eligible for legal abortions.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Diplomatic spat erupts between Poland and Israel after WCK killings in Gaza | Israel War on Gaza News

Israel’s ambassador has sparked outrage for accusing Poles of anti-Semitism following the killing of seven aid workers.

A diplomatic crisis has erupted between Poland and Israel following the death of a Polish aid worker in Gaza, with the Polish president denouncing a comment by the Israeli ambassador as “outrageous” and the foreign ministry in Warsaw saying it was summoning him for a meeting.

A Polish man, 35-year-old Damian Sobol, was among seven people who were killed while delivering food to besieged Palestinians in Gaza with the charity World Central Kitchen this week.

Israel has called the incident a “mistake” that followed a misidentification, despite the vehicles being clearly marked and the organisation having coordinated with the Israeli military prior to departure.

Amid shock and outrage in Poland over the incident, Israel’s ambassador to Poland, Yacov Livne, pushed back on Tuesday at what he said were attempts by the “extreme right and left in Poland” to accuse Israel of “intentional murder in the attack”.

He said on social media Tuesday that “anti-Semites will always remain anti-Semites, and Israel will remain a democratic Jewish state that fights for its right to exist. Also for the good of the entire Western world.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday called the comment “outrageous” and described the ambassador as “the biggest problem for the state of Israel in relations with Poland”.

Duda said authorities in Israel have spoken about the tragedy “in a very subdued way” but that “unfortunately, their ambassador to Poland is not able to maintain such delicacy and sensitivity, which is unacceptable”.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, though a political opponent of Duda, voiced a similar position and said that the ambassador should apologise for issuing a comment offensive to Poles. He said that Israel should pay compensation to Sobol’s family.

“We will expect… an immediate explanation of the circumstances and compensation for the victims’ relatives,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a news conference.

On Wednesday, Tusk also published a comment on social media addressing Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Livne, saying “The vast majority of Poles showed full solidarity with Israel after the attack launched by Hamas on October 7. Today you are putting this solidarity to a really hard test. The tragic attack on volunteers and your reaction arouse understandable anger.”

The Polish foreign ministry has summoned the Israeli ambassador for Friday morning, local media reported.

Polish and Israeli relations have recently been on the mend after several difficult years. Ties were badly damaged due to disputes over how to remember Polish behaviour during the Holocaust, when Nazi Germany occupied Poland and carried out the mass murder of Jews.

Israel did not have an ambassador in Poland for months under the previous government due to a row over Holocaust education trips for Israeli students to Poland. The post was reinstated last year.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Ukraine, Poland, Georgia: Which teams have qualified for Euro 2024? | Football News

Ukraine, Poland and Georgia are the last three teams to qualify for the 24-team continental championship.

Ukraine came from behind to beat Iceland in a playoff to qualify for Euro 2024, Poland secured their place at the tournament with a penalty shootout victory over Wales and Georgia qualified for a first ever major tournament in a dramatic night for European football.

The 24-nation Euro 2024 lineup was finalised on Tuesday with three qualifying playoffs giving a stronger Eastern European flavour to the tournament that opens on June 14 in Germany.

Mykhailo Mudryk’s sweeping low shot in the 84th minute lifted Ukraine to a 2-1 victory over Iceland and a second late comeback win in the playoffs for a team representing the war-torn country.

The “home” game for Ukraine was played in neutral Poland because international games cannot be played in Kyiv for security reasons during the war against Russia, whose team has been banned from trying to qualify by UEFA.

Georgia and star forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will make their major tournament debut at Euro 2024 after beating Greece 4-2 in a penalty shootout. It had been a tense and testy 0-0 draw in a raucous atmosphere in Tbilisi.

The decisive penalty was scored by substitute Nika Kvekveskiri placed his perfect shot low into the corner to seal Georgia’s 4-2 win.

Wild celebrations saw thousands of Georgia fans in a 50,000 crowd at the national stadium pour onto the field and some climbed the goalposts to sit on the crossbar.

Georgian players have been European champions before – in the Soviet Union squad that won the inaugural title in 1960.

Now the independent republic has earned the right to make its own football history in Germany.

A Georgia fan with a flare on the pitch celebrates after his team qualified for Euro 2024 with a win over Greece at Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia [Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters]

Meanwhile, Poland became the last team to book their ticket to Germany, beating Wales 5-4 in a penalty shootout in Cardiff also after a 0-0 draw.

Poland captain Robert Lewandowski, who had scored the first spot-kick of the shootout, could not bear to watch the action when his goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny pushed away the final penalty taken by Dan James.

“It’s big because I probably would have finished my international career tonight had we lost the game,” Szczesny said.

Poland have played at every Euros edition since star forward Lewandowski made his national team debut in 2008, including as co-host with Ukraine at Euro 2012.

Poland will go into a tough Group D with France, the Netherlands and Austria.

Ukraine are in Group F with Belgium, Romania and Slovakia.

Georgia go into Group F to face Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, Turkey and the Czech Republic.

Euro 2024 will be played in 10 German cities from June 14 to July 14.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Can Russia’s Gen Z make a real change? | TV Shows

Following the loss of Alexey Navalny and with the approaching Russian presidential election predetermined, what are the hopes of Russia’s Gen Z?

Russia’s Gen Z has only known life under Vladimir Putin – they have grown up with his increasingly anti-Western, patriarchal and patriotic narratives. Polling shows that young Russians are currently the group most critical of Putin’s rule and the most dissatisfied with Russia’s political system. As dissent grows on social media, research also shows that most of Russia’s Gen Z is apolitical.

With the upcoming presidential election seemingly predetermined and the opposition sidelined, what drives the activism of young Russians? Most importantly, how does the death of prominent opposition figure Alexey Navalny resonate with the generation he profoundly influenced?

Presenter: Anelise Borges

Guests:
Apollinaria Oleinikova – Political Activist
Yulia Zhivtsova – Political Activist and Teacher
Anna – Political Activist and Student

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Angry Polish farmers protest against EU rules, Ukraine farm imports | In Pictures News

Throwing smoke bombs and lighting fires, thousands of angry farmers demonstrated in Warsaw against European Union regulations and cheap Ukraine imports, with police reporting that two officers had been injured and a dozen protesters arrested.

Some demonstrators on Wednesday tried to force their way past security railings onto parliament grounds, according to police. Farmers also organised tractor blockades on roads across the country.

Polish farmers have been blocking border crossings with Ukraine since last month to protest against what they say is unfair competition from goods entering from Ukraine.

Ukraine has seen its agriculture sector crippled by Russia’s invasion in 2022. Many of its major export routes through the Black Sea have been blocked and its farmland rendered unusable by warfare.

In a bid to help Kyiv economically, the EU in 2022 scrapped tariffs on Ukrainian goods transiting the 27-nation bloc by road.

But logistical problems mean a lot of the Ukrainian cereal exports destined for non-EU countries have accumulated in Poland, undercutting local producers.

The border blockades and grain dispute have strained ties between the neighbours, even as Poland has shown staunch support since the Russian invasion.

Farmers in several other European countries have also been protesting for weeks over these conditions.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said last week the government was mulling a temporary closure of the border with Ukraine for goods.

On Monday, he called on the EU to impose full sanctions on food and agricultural imports from Russia and Belarus – a proposal backed by Ukraine.

Tusk said EU-wide sanctions would make it possible to “more effectively protect the EU’s agricultural and food markets” and “fully open up the possibilities of exporting Ukrainian produce … to third countries”.

Tusk is to hold talks with Polish farmers on Saturday.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Ukraine demands Poland punish protesting farmers for dumping grain | Protests News

Ukraine has called on Poland to punish those responsible for destroying 160 tonnes of Ukrainian grain in an attack at a Polish railway station.

Kyiv sent a note to Warsaw demanding that the Polish authorities find and punish the guilty, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on X on Monday.

The official said the destruction of the grain at the railway station amid protests was an act of “impunity and irresponsibility”.

“Those who have damaged Ukrainian grain must be found, neutralized, and punished. Two friendly civilized European states are interested in this,” Kubrakov wrote.

Earlier, the official had reported that 160 tonnes of grain, en route to other countries via the port of Gdansk, had been dumped at the railway station near Bydgoszcz, in eastern Poland. It was reportedly the fourth instance of Ukrainian grain being spilled by protesting Polish farmers in recent weeks.

Polish farmers have been at the forefront of the widespread protests by European farmers over recent weeks. However, they have been protesting against “unfair competition” from Ukraine for over a year.

The European Union suspended import duties, quotas and trade defence measures for imports from Ukraine in June 2022, after Russia’s war closed down many of the country’s usual grain export routes. However, the flow of cheap grain from the east quickly sparked protests by farmers and truckers in neighbouring countries.

Encouraged by the former nationalist government, which ruled until last year, Poland’s farmers and truckers have blocked border crossings and motorways.

Like peers across Europe, the new government in Warsaw has been wary of confronting farmers, apparently eyeing significant public support and the risk that a strong response to the protests could prove a boon for the far right at European Parliament elections in June.

On Friday, a Ukrainian government delegation visited the border with Poland to discuss the protests.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Kyiv had developed a five-step plan “of mutual understanding” to find a compromise for both countries.

“The blockade hits the entire Polish-Ukrainian trade and the economy of our countries. Not only Ukraine is losing from it, but Polish entrepreneurs who export goods worth $12bn annually to our market are losing from it.”

The plan outlines Ukraine’s agreement with a European Commission proposal to restrict poultry, eggs and sugar exports, including an appeal to the EU to ban Russian agrarian exports.

He added that Kyiv is also ready to apply a verification mechanism to grain, corn, sunflower and rapeseed exports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that it was important for Kyiv to maintain close relations with Poland. Still, he added that his country is ready to defend businesses that had been hurt by the border blockades.

Ukrainian border service spokesperson Andriy Demchenko said on television, “Unfortunately, the blockage continues.”

“In total, 2,200 lorries are queueing on Polish territory and [Polish] farmers are letting several vehicles through per hour in both directions. More blocked are those lorries coming from Ukraine,” he said.

Burning tyres

Beyond Poland, farmers from across Europe, including France, Germany and Belgium, have been blocking roads and protesting against foreign competition, as well as environmental regulations, raised costs, and low prices for produce.

Ukraine has said blockades on its grain exports have caused severe economic losses and affected its war effort.

On Monday, tractors surrounded the EU’s headquarters in Brussels as ministers met to seek ways to streamline farming rules and red tape fuelling the protests around the bloc.

Farmers burned tyres and set off fireworks in the street. Police used water cannon to douse the flames as the ministers discussed concessions.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

With lives shattered by war, Ukrainian teens build new dreams | Russia-Ukraine war

Two years ago, Ukrainian teenagers were busy with friendships, falling in love and trying out new things, just like their peers in other countries.

But plans and dreams were quickly shattered by the Russian invasion that began on February 24, 2022, forcing many young people to flee their homes, friends and schools and build a new existence in a strange country.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian teens ended up in neighbouring Poland, some with their families and some without, among the millions of refugees who fled to other European countries. Nearly six million Ukrainians remain displaced outside the country, a World Bank study shows.

Two years on, many of them have settled into new lives. But some struggle with anxiety, anger and despair, as well as a sense of limbo as they contemplate the possibility of returning to Ukraine one day if the conflict ends.

Transitioning to adulthood can be a tough ride, and the danger and disruption caused by the war have made it harder.

Marharyta Chykalova, who turns 17 in March, left her hometown of Kherson in southern Ukraine with her mother in April 2022 after sleeping in a basement for weeks – and fearing for her life – as Russian troops occupied the city.

They fled to Moldova, then to Romania before settling in the Polish city of Gdynia. Marharyta started learning Polish, trying hard to fit in at her new Polish school, but the first six months were tough.

She says she kept in contact with some of her closest friends at home, but felt lonely nevertheless.

To help cope with depression, the soft-spoken student joined theatre classes that allowed her to express her emotions on stage and helped her make new friends.

“Some people say that home is not a place where you live, but home is a place where you feel good,” she said. “I feel good on the stage, with people close to me. This is my home.”

Around 165,000 Ukrainian teenagers between 13 and 18 years of age are registered as refugees in Poland, according to January data from the Office for Foreigners.

Some gather at Blue Trainers, a community space in a shopping mall in Gdansk where they play board games, billiards and table tennis. Most of all, they connect with their Ukrainian and Polish peers.

Signing up for sports was a particularly popular way of coping with the shock of the war among youngsters.

Andrii Nonka, 15, from Kharkiv, arrived in Poland on his birthday, March 6, 2022, with his mother. His father stayed in Ukraine. Occasionally, he feels a strong desire to go back home to see his friends and father.

Joining a boxing club helped him find new friends and now he looks at Poland increasingly as an opportunity to find a good job, possibly in IT.

“I think because of the war, I have matured quicker,” Andrii said. “For now, it is hard to tell where my home is. For now, my home is in Ukraine.”

Dariia Vynohradova, 17, also from Kharkiv, left her parents behind and says she no longer wants to return.

“I don’t want to go back because Kharkiv is destroyed so much, there is nothing to go back to,” she said. “I will go back to visit my parents sometimes, but I want to stay here.”

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Exit mobile version