Category Archives: Poland

Outrage as Polish TV talent show contestants use blackface for Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé performances

Posted on by

Singer Kuba Szmajkowski and actor Pola Gonciarz heavily darkened their skin on Your Face Sounds Familiar, with Szmajkowski also wearing cornrows and using the N-word

A leading Polish TV talent show has been widely criticised for featuring celebrity contestants in blackface, impersonating Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé.

Singer Kuba Szmajkowski, a star in Poland who has 163,000 Instagram followers, won the second episode of the 19th series of Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo – the Polish iteration of long-running franchise Your Face Sounds Familiar – on Saturday after performing Lamar’s track Humble in blackface, fake cornrows and a fake beard. He also used the N-word, which went uncensored on the broadcast.

Continue reading...

Vatican beatifies Polish family executed by Nazis for sheltering Jews

Posted on by

Ulma family including unborn child all beatified for their actions to help Jews during second world war

The Vatican has beatified a Polish family of nine – a married couple and their small children – who were executed by the Nazis during the second world war for sheltering Jews.

During a ceremonious mass in the village of Markowa, in south-east Poland, the papal envoy Cardinal Marcello Semeraro read out the Latin formula of the beatification of the Ulma family signed last month by Pope Francis.

Continue reading...

Polish prime minister to hold referendum on EU’s immigration plan

Posted on by

Mateusz Morawiecki to ask voters if they want to accept ‘thousands of illegal immigrants’ under the bloc’s proposed new rules

Poland’s rightwing prime minister has said he will go ahead with a referendum on EU migration reforms, in which voters will be asked if they are willing to accept “thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa”.

Mateusz Morawiecki announced in a video published online on Sunday that the referendum would coincide with a parliamentary election on 15 October. Migration and security will be central topics of the election, as Morawiecki’s ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), seeks to retain power.

Continue reading...

Tensions rise as Belarus begins military drills near Poland and Lithuania

Posted on by

Leaders of the two Nato countries say they expect provocations from their neighbouring Russian ally and Wagner fighters

Belarus has begun military exercises near its border with Poland and Lithuania, as tensions heighten with the two Nato members over Russia-linked Wagner mercenaries who moved to Belarus after their short-lived mutiny in Russia.

Both Poland and Lithuania have increased border security since thousands of Wagner fighters arrived in Russia-allied Belarus under a deal that ended their armed rebellion in late June and allowed them and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to avoid criminal charges.

Continue reading...

Warsaw sends troops to border, accusing Belarus of violating its airspace

Posted on by

Polish military says army helicopters crossed eastern flank, adding to tensions caused by proximity of Wagner fighters

Poland has rushed troops to its eastern border after accusing Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, of violating its airspace with military helicopters.

The Belarusian military denied any such violation and accused Poland, a Nato member and one of Ukraine’s most fervent backers in its conflict with Russia, of inventing the accusation to justify a buildup of its troops.

Continue reading...

Lithuania and Poland ‘may close Belarus borders’ due to Wagner fighters

Posted on by

Lithuania says move may be needed as Poland warns mercenaries are in Belarus to bring crisis to neighbours

Poland and Lithuania are considering closing their respective borders with Belarus amid concerns over the presence there of the Wagner mercenary group, a Lithuanian deputy interior minister said on Friday.

“The considerations are real. The possibility of closing the border exists,” Arnoldas Abramavičius told reporters.

Continue reading...

Putin warns Poland against ‘unleashing aggression’ against Belarus

Posted on by

Russian president reacts angrily after Polish defence minister sends troops to guard eastern border

Vladimir Putin has said Russia will use “all means at its disposal” to defend Belarus after Poland and other EU countries voiced concerns about the deployment of Russian paramilitaries near their borders.

Putin delivered a series of aggressive remarks during a meeting of his security council, where he claimed without evidence that Poland was seeking to invade Belarus, a Russian ally, and that their elites were “dreaming of Belarusian lands”.

Continue reading...

‘Chinese agents could be following me’, says Australian artist at centre of censorship row

Posted on by

Australian consular officials will attend the opening of Badiucao’s show in Poland after Chinese ambassador demanded it be closed down

Australian consular officials in Poland will attend the opening of an exhibition in the country’s capital by Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao on Friday, to send a message to Chinese authorities who have allegedly tried to stop the show going ahead.

On Wednesday, Australia’s ambassador to Poland, Lloyd Brodrick, met Shanghai-born Australian artist Badiucao, as well as executives from the museum where the show is being held, Warsaw’s Ujazdowski Castle, Center for Contemporary Art (CCA Ujazdowski Castle).

Continue reading...

Poland criticises EU’s ‘unacceptable’ proposed charge for refusing migrants

Posted on by

Warsaw says it would not pay €22,000 ‘fine’ for each person it declines to host as ministers hold crunch talks in Luxembourg

Poland has entered crunch talks aimed at making radical changes to the EU’s migration and asylum laws with the claim that the proposals could result in a “step back” to 2015, when more than a million people flowed into the bloc.

The Polish deputy state secretary of the interior, Bartosz Grodecki, opened the summit of home affairs ministers in Luxembourg by declaring that Warsaw would refuse to pay proposed “fines” for not taking people.

Continue reading...

Nato members may send troops to Ukraine, warns former alliance chief

Posted on by

Security guarantees and membership path needed at Nato summit to avoid escalation, says Anders Rasmussen

A group of Nato countries may be willing to put troops on the ground in Ukraine if member states including the US do not provide tangible security guarantees to Kyiv at the alliances’s summit in Vilnius, the former Nato secretary general Anders Rasmussen has said.

Rasmussen, who has been acting as official adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Ukraine’s place in a future European security architecture, has been touring Europe and Washington to gauge the shifting mood before the critical summit starts on 11 July.

Continue reading...

Kremlin calls Poland’s decision to rename Kaliningrad a ‘hostile act’

Posted on by

Russian city will now be known as Królewiec in official documents, its name in the 15th and 16th centuries

The Kremlin has described Poland’s decision to rename the Russian city of Kaliningrad in its official documents as a “hostile act”, as ties continue to fray over the Ukraine war.

Kaliningrad, which sits in an exclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic coast, was known by the German name of Königsberg until after the second world war, when it was annexed by the Soviet Union and renamed to honour politician Mikhail Kalinin.

Continue reading...

EU parliament report calls for tighter regulation of spyware

Posted on by

Non-binding vote bans surveillance software after concluding Hungary and Poland used it to track journalists and opponents

The EU needs tighter regulation of the spyware industry, a European parliament special committee has said, after concluding that Hungary and Poland had used surveillance software to illegally monitor journalists, politicians and activists.

A special European parliament committee voted on Monday for a temporary ban on the sale, acquisition and use of spyware while the bloc draws up common EU standards based on international law. The moratorium would be lifted only on strict conditions, including independent investigations into the abuse of spyware in the EU.

Continue reading...

German president asks for forgiveness on Warsaw Ghetto Uprising anniversary

Posted on by

Frank-Walter Steinmeier becomes his country’s first head of state to speak at Warsaw commemorations

Germany’s president has asked for forgiveness for the crimes his country committed in the second world war, on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the first German president to speak at the commemorations in Poland’s capital, joined his Polish and Israeli counterparts to mark 80 years since Jewish insurgents’ doomed uprising against Nazi occupiers.

Continue reading...

Hungary and Poland provide model for Israel’s assault on judiciary

Posted on by

Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions remind many of first steps taken by ‘illiberal’ governments in Budapest and Warsaw

At the height of the protests in Israel over Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned judicial changes early last month, a Polish minister gave a revealing radio interview in Warsaw.

“Of course, we are talking with Israel, and to some extent we shared our experiences in this regard,” said the deputy foreign minister, Paweł Jabłoński, when asked for his views on the proposed Israeli laws.

Continue reading...

Zelenskiy welcomed with military honours on visit to Poland

Posted on by

Trip is first time Ukrainian president and first lady have travelled abroad together since Russia invaded

Military honours, tributes and praise welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, to Poland in a rare wartime foray out of Ukraine for the country’s president.

While Zelenskiy has also travelled to the US, Britain, France and Belgium, the trip to Poland stood out because it was announced in advance and undertaken without the secrecy of past foreign trips.

Continue reading...

Polish farmers threaten to ‘ruin’ Zelenskiy visit amid grain dispute

Posted on by

Grain producers say they are being undercut by tariff-free imports from Ukraine

Polish farmers are threatening to derail a visit to Warsaw by Volodymyr Zelenskiy over claims that Ukrainian grain is flooding their market, in a move that would provide Russia with valuable evidence of a crack in western solidarity.

Ukraine’s president is scheduled to visit Poland’s capital on Wednesday to express his gratitude for the country’s solidarity over the war with Russia, but Polish grain producers are warning they could take to the streets to “ruin” the occasion.

Continue reading...

Poland to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine in major escalation of military backing

Posted on by

Four Soviet-era MiG-29s to be sent as first instalment and could lead to other Nato members providing warplanes

Poland will become the first country to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine in the next few days, marking a significant upward step in military backing for Kyiv ahead of an expected counter-offensive.

The precedent, involving four Soviet-era MiG-29s as a first instalment, could lead to other Nato members providing warplanes, a longstanding Ukrainian request.

Continue reading...

Polish court convicts activist for helping woman get abortion pills

Posted on by

Justyna Wydrzynska sentenced to community service after telling court she sent pills to victim of domestic violence

A court in Poland has convicted an activist for helping a pregnant woman access abortion pills, sentencing her to eight months of community service in a landmark case over abortion rights in the predominantly Catholic country.

“I do not feel that I am facing the court alone,” said Justyna Wydrzynska at the hearing on Tuesday. “Behind me are my friends and hundreds of women I have not had the luck to meet yet.”

Continue reading...

Poland’s ruling party under fire after suicide of opposition MP’s son

Posted on by

Mikolaj Filiks, 15, killed himself after state-run radio station helped identify him as victim of paedophile

Poland’s ruling Law & Justice party has come under fire over the death of an opposition MP’s 15-year-old son, who killed himself after a report by a state-run radio station led to his identification as the victim of a paedophile.

The Polish parliament, the Sejm, stood for a minute’s silence on Tuesday during the funeral of Mikolaj Filiks. His mother, Magdalena Filiks, an MP from Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform, said last week that he had died in February.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.e

Continue reading...

Polish Leopard tanks arrive in Ukraine as west piles new sanctions on Russia

Posted on by

Poland’s PM visits Kyiv as allies demonstrate support on first anniversary of invasion

The first Polish Leopard tanks have arrived in Ukraine, as western allies including the G7 announced a range of further economic, military and financial sanctions against Russia, in a renewed effort to weaken Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

Speaking on the anniversary of the Russian invasion, Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, confirmed that four Leopard tanks had been delivered to Ukraine. “Poland and Europe stand by your side. We will definitely not leave you, we will support Ukraine until complete victory over Russia,” he said, standing alongside the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, during his visit to Kyiv.

Continue reading...