Poland - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

After two years in Poland, Ukrainian refugees ask when – and if – they will go home

NEARLY one million Ukrainian refugees live in Poland, 41% of them school-age children. Two years after Russia launched its attempted full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they are facing destabilising and pressing questions: How much of a new life should they build; and when – if ever – will they be able to return home? The war has settled into a grinding stalemate in eastern and southern Ukraine, punctuated by periodic Russian missile barrages throughout the country. Out of a population of around 37 million, some 14.6 million people are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance and 3.7 million are internally displaced. Another 6.5 million Ukrainian refugees have been…

Jan

2024

By MAREK STRZELECKI and JUSTYNA PAWLAK

Tens of thousands protest in Poland against ex-ministers’ imprisonment

WORLD

TENS of thousands of opposition supporters massed outside Poland's parliament to protest against the new government's changes to state media and the imprisonment of two former ministers convicted of abuse of power. The march reflects mounting tensions in the country as the new pro-European Union coalition government led by Donald Tusk tries to undo the policies of the previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party administration. It also came as President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, said on Thursday he had started proceedings to pardon the two ministers in the last government who were jailed this week for abuse of…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Russia pledges harsh response after Polish ‘seizure’ of embassy school

WORLD

RUSSIA promised it would respond harshly to what it said was Poland's illegal seizure of its embassy school in Warsaw, an act it called a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. Polish state-run news channel TVP Info had earlier reported that police had shown up outside the Russian embassy school on Kieleckiej Street in Warsaw on Saturday morning. When asked about the incident, a Polish foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters the building housing the embassy school belonged to the Polish state. Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that the Polish authorities had burst onto the embassy…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Poles march to defend Pope John Paul II against abuse cover-up accusations

RELIGION

AGNIESZKA PIKULICKA-WILCZEWSKA and KUBA STEZYCKI THOUSANDS of Poles marched through Warsaw and other cities to show their support for the late Pope John Paul II in the face of what they said were false allegations that he concealed child abuse in the Catholic Church. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party faces a tough election later this year, and other religious conservatives have said any calls to re-examine his legacy amount to a plot to discredit the nation's biggest moral authority. That argument resonates strongly with many older Poles who John Paul inspired to stand up to Communism in the 1970s and '80s, although…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Russia’s Medvedev floats idea of pushing back Poland’s borders

WORLD

FORMER Russian president Dmitry Medvedev that the only way for Moscow to ensure a lasting peace with Ukraine was to push back the borders of hostile states as far as possible, even if that meant the frontiers of NATO member Poland. Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, made the comments in a message on his Telegram account exactly a year after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what it called a "special military operation" to protect Russian speakers and ensure its own security. Ukraine says it is defending itself from an unprovoked…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Dutch F-35s intercept three Russian military aircraft near Poland

WORLD

TWO Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft near Poland and escorted them out, the Netherlands' defence ministry said in a statement late. "The then unknown aircraft approached the Polish NATO area of responsibility from Kaliningrad," according to Reuters' translation of the ministry's statement. Kaliningrad is a Russian Baltic coast enclave located between NATO and European Union members Poland and Lithuania. "After identification, it turned out to be three aircraft: a Russian IL-20M Coot-A that was escorted by two Su-27 Flankers. The Dutch F-35s escorted the formation from a distance and handed over the escort to…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Poland sends over 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Egypt

COVID-19

POLAND sent over 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Egypt, the Polish foreign ministry said on Wednesday. "More than 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines are on their way from Warsaw to Cairo. The donation of vaccines to Egypt is an expression of solidarity with an important partner of Poland in North Africa," the ministry said on Twitter. Poland has earlier sent surplus vaccine doses to countries such as Australia, Spain, Norway, Ukraine or Taiwan. Around 60% of Poles are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Vaccine Tracker. Demand for the…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympics-Another record on track, Belarus sprinter heads for Poland

SPORT

AMY TENNERY and GABRIELLE TÉTRAULT-FARBER Another athletics world record was obliterated at the Olympics on Wednesday, as athletes coped with the heat of political and diplomatic controversy as well as Tokyo's broiling summer weather. American Sydney McLaughlin shattered her own record in the 400 metres hurdles while a Belarusian athlete left for Poland three days after refusing an order to come home against her wishes and seeking diplomatic protection. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was investigating the case of sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya while querying China over athletes who wore Mao Zedong badges on the medals podium but suspending a probe…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Foreign ministers of more than a dozen countries condemn mass arrests in Cuba

WORLD

THE foreign ministers of the United States and 20 other countries have condemned mass arrests in Cuba and called for full restoration of Internet access in the island nation that has recently been rocked by political unrest. The joint statement was issued by the governments of Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Guatemala, Greece, Honduras, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Korea, and Ukraine, alongside the United States. "Democracies around the world are coming together to support the Cuban people, calling on the Cuban government to respect Cubans' demands for universal human rights,"…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Polish abortion ban seen triggering wider retreat on women’s rights

WORLD

SOPHIE DAVIES POLAND’S decision to ban most abortions in the face of mass protest is emboldening like-minded neighbours, campaigners say, predicting a retreat on women's rights across eastern Europe. The October 22 ruling outlaws any termination due to foetal defects, ending one of the few remaining grounds for a legal abortion in Poland and sparking two weeks of demonstrations. It has also stirred interest among like-minded neighbours of largely Catholic, conservative Poland, campaigners say, voicing fears of a knock-on effect for millions of women in Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Belarus and Romania. "Behind these latest moves, lies a profound contempt for…