Polish soldier killed in Afghanistan gun battle

A 22-year-old Polish soldier was killed in Afghanistan after a firefight with rebel forces, Poland's defence ministry said on Saturday, cited by AFP.
The attack happened in the early morning in the Ghazni province, some 20 kilometres (15 miles) from the Polish troops' Afghan base, the ministry added.

Read more: http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n203947

Border lockdown as police hunt for Auschwitz sign

WARSAW — Polish police Saturday stepped up border checks as they intensified the hunt for thieves who stole the infamous Nazi German "Arbeit macht frei" sign from the Auschwitz death camp.

Road blocks were in place across the southern Polish region, while around 40 officers and forensic experts were mobilised to gather evidence at the camp itself, said regional police spokesman Dariusz Nowak.

Poland has sought the help of the international policing bodies Interpol and Europol to try to track down the criminals, he said.

"This is an absolute priority for the Polish police," added national police spokeswoman, Grazyna Puchalska.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ick8VGbWSrMYDRm5FrpAdzIENeHg

Conspiracy theories abound over theft of Auschwitz sign

There are no clues 48 hours after the theft Friday of the infamous Arbeit Macht Frei - Work sets you free - sign from above the entrance gate to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

While Poland is enlisting its finest investigators to solve the crime, its bizaareness is proving fertile ground for conspiracy theories on the Internet and in official responses.

Three of the usual suspects were immediately mentioned: the Jews, the Germans and the Russians. The infamous metal sign is so linked with the Jewish people, it has been said, it must be on its way to Jerusalem. Another theory: The Russians want to embarrass the Poles - or maybe the Poles wanted to embarrass the Russians before the 65th anniversary in January of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army. The Germans are suspected of wanting to bring home something that belongs to them, in their opinion.

There are four main avenues of investigation: hooliganism or sale for scrap metal or an act of neo-Nazism or a service for an art collector. The theft also may be the work nationalist elements upset by the plan to invest more funds in renovating the site.

Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1136214.html

Pope decrees beatification of Poland's 'Solidarity chaplain'

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday approved the beatification of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the "Solidarity chaplain" who was murdered by the Polish secret service in 1984.

The decree placed the charismatic priest, a staunch anti-communist who laced his sermons with political messages backing the Solidarity trade union movement of future president Lech Walesa, a step away from sainthood.

Three Polish secret service officers abducted Father Popieluszko in October 1984 after he celebrated his last mass in Bydgoszcz, central Poland.

They tortured him to death and then threw his body into the River Vistula, some 120 kilometres (70 miles) north of Warsaw.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jwq5SWqAfmvcB2ToaSCtVLSujw8w

Poland tightens border in hunt for Auschwitz sign

OSWIECIM, Poland -- The Polish government says it has tightened security as the search intensifies for the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign that was stolen from the Auschwitz memorial site.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Wioletta Paprocka said Saturday that border guards at Poland's eastern border with Ukraine and Belarus - which is also the European Union's eastern frontier - stepped up checks of goods out of Poland looking for the sign, which means "Work Makes You Free."

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/12/19/general-eu-poland-auschwitz-sign-stolen_7227082.html

Poland signals last-minute Russia gas deal hitch

WARSAW, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Poland's deputy prime minister cast into doubt on Friday an accord between Warsaw and Moscow aimed at securing Russian gas imports in 2010 and beyond.

Poland, facing an annual gas shortfall of 2.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) from 2010, announced a deal last week after talks in Moscow that envisages the import of 10.3 bcm of gas annually direct from Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) until 2037, up from 7-8 bcm at present.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE5BH1MA20091218

Poland declares state of emergency after 'Arbeit Macht Frei' stolen from Auschwitz

A state of emergency was announced in Poland today involving tightened border controls and random police checks as a nationwide hunt was launched for the infamous bronze sign to the former German Nazi death camp Auschwitz after it was stolen.

The discovery on Friday morning that the sign had been wrenched from the top of the entrance gate posts prompted international reactions of outrage from Washington to London and urgent calls for its return.

The sign, cast by camp prisoners, which offered the cynical welcome to new inmates "Arbeit Macht Frei" (work sets you free) and stands as a potent symbol of the suffering millions endured at the camp, is believed to have been removed by a gang in what authorities called a meticulously planned robbery.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/18/auschwitz-arbeit-macht-frei-sign

Infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign stolen from Auschwitz

The "Arbeit macht frei" sign that marked the entrance to the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz has been stolen. The theft of the sign that symbolised the Nazi era has shocked people in Poland.

Police said the "Arbeit macht frei" (work sets you free) sign that had spanned the gate at the main entrance to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland was stolen early on Friday morning.

The thieves removed the iron sign by unscrewing it on one side of the gate and pulling it off the other side.

Police say they do not have any leads on the identity of the thieves but they are questioning museum guards and checking security camera footage.

Museum spokesman Jaroslaw Mensfelt said it was the first serious case of theft at Auschwitz.

Read more: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5034155,00.html

Poland Defence and Security Report Q1 2010

Poland’s geographical position in Europe and its entry into the EU make it a prime location for the trafficking of illegal immigrants, arms and narcotics. The problems are not as extreme as those in countries further south, such as the Czech Republic and countries of former Yugoslavia. Nonetheless, a significant amount of funds will have to be invested in the Border Guards paramilitary unit, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, in order to secure the lengthy border with the Ukraine and prevent smuggling of goods and people into the enlarged EU.

Recent intelligence suggests that Islamist cells operating in Western European towns may have networks extending into countries such as Poland. In 2005, the Ministry of Defence said that in order to boost counter-terrorism operations it would increase funding for the military police (Zandarmeria Wojskowa, ZW) by 68.6% to US$63.5mn (PLN213mn) and the service was expanded with the creation of four battalion-sized operational units called Oddzial Specjalny by 2007. These units have approximately 2,000 professional soldiers, equal to about 45% of the military police’s manpower.

Read more: http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/Summary-Market-Report/poland-defence-and-security-report-q1-2010-192349.asp

Poland Autos Report Q1 2010

Despite the economic downturn sweeping the worldwide auto sector, new car sales in Poland have held up, helping the country outperform its neighbours. Consumer spending has not fallen sharply, and auto exports have gotten a boost from the weakening of the zloty against the euro, as well as from auto scrappage schemes across the EU. According to Samar, new car sales in Poland reached 264,898 units in the 10 months through October 2009. This represents a slight 0.6% improvement over the same period in 2008, but is still impressive considering the headwinds facing the global auto sector.

Scrappage plans across Europe have largely run their course, which is likely to remove a key driver of sales momentum. In particular, demand from Germany, whose junk car scheme ran out of funds in September 2009, is likely to be reduced going forward. Demand for exports is also likely to ease as the zloty has recouped some of its losses against the euro and is expected to keep strengthening in 2010.

However, robust domestic sales are expected to help offset reduced demand from overseas buyers.

Rad more: http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=54775&catid=365

Bomi working on expansion

Bomi, the prominent Polish retail group, is negotiating on acquisitions with over a dozen firms. The first transactions are expected to be completed in Q1 2010. The group intends to take over companies which manage between several and several dozen stores. In addition, Bomi is very interested in the acquisition of chains which operate in the south and the north of Poland, where the group’s logistics are strongly developed.

Read more: http://www.retailpoland.com/next.php?id=79543

Strengthening the Polish contingent in Afghanistan - decisions still ahead

Polish Government is considering to send additional 600 troops to Afghanistan and have further 200 in the strategic reserve, said Minister of National Defence Bogdan Klich during a joint press conference with the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rados?aw Sikorski on 2nd December.

As Minister Bogdan Klich, stressed however, formal decision to send more troops is still ahead of us and will be taken early next year. The final say in this issue will have the President of Poland.

The size of our involvement in Afghanistan after the increase of the number of forces falls within the optimum range of 3200-3800 soldiers to be deployed to operations abroad, as it is stipulated in the strategy of Polish forces’ participation in operations abroad, adopted by the Government in January this year.

Read more: http://www.defpro.com/news/details/12034/

Germany donates £50m to Auschwitz

Germany has donated more than £50 million to a global fund that aims to preserve the site of the Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum said that the 60 million euros pledged by the German government represented half the total it needs to ensure the future of the Second World War site as a permanent memorial to the Nazis' victims.

"This is a great day! The plan for the long-term preservation of this memorial is becoming a reality," said Piotr Cywinski, director of the state-run museum and head of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation which was launched earlier this year.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/6833049/Germany-donates-50m-to-Auschwitz.html

 

Polish senator's career 'destroyed' by prostitutes and cocaine video

Krzysztof Piesiewicz, a Polish politician, admitted his career was all but over after a newspaper posted a video on its website showing him cavorting with prostitutes while wearing a flowery dress and appearing to snort cocaine.

Senator Krzysztof Piesiewicz, a senior member of the governing Civic Platform party, claimed the video was part of a blackmail plot organised by the two prostitutes who made the film.

First shown on the website of the Polish newspaper Super Express, the footage shows the 64-year-old politician wearing a white dress decorated with flowers while slumped on a sofa as a prostitute applies make up to his face.

It also shows Mr Piesiewicz pressing to his nose to a table and appearing to snort a white powder, although the senator has denied accusations that it was cocaine, claiming instead it was a harmless powder and part of the blackmail plot.

While he admits arranging to meet a prostitute, the senator, who has been separated from his wife for 10 years, has claimed the women intoxicated him with something in order to make the film.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/6833432/Polish-senators-career-destroyed-by-prostitutes-and-cocaine-video.html

 

Seven ethical places to travel

The U.S. based group Ethical Traveler has come up with a list of ten developing nations it considers ethical destinations for 2010 travel, based on everything from promoting natural environments to building tourism industries that benefit locals. Here's their list of most ethical developing countries to visit next year, in alphabetical order.

Poland: Increased focus on rural tourism, which supports local farmers, most of them women. Launched a program for sustainable tourism in Eastern Poland, with more bike routes and public transit.

Read more:

http://www.thestar.com/travel/article/739859--seven-ethical-places-to-travel

Poles stand out - quietly

Maybe that's why we underestimate Poles. To make it big, they have to drop seven or eight consonants. But then they don't sound Polish.

We've sort of forgotten about the Poles.

And I don't mean the ones at Filmore's and the Brass Rail.

I mean the 300,000 of Polish descent who inhabit the GTA, no fuss, no muss.

Other immigrants grab all the attention.

Tamils, Tibetans, Somalis, Filipinos, Russians, Iranians, Serbs, Indians, Pakistanis. You can't miss 'em.

The Irish raise the roof on St. Patrick's Day. The Italians mob College St. when the Azzurri win. The Jamaicans rule during Caribana.

Meanwhile, the Poles quietly and diligently go about their business on Roncesvalles Ave. or in Mississauga.

Read more:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/mike_strobel/2009/12/10/12104091-sun.html

China, Poland sign military cooperation deal: military

WARSAW — NATO member Poland on Wednesday signed a landmark military cooperation deal with China, the Polish defence ministry said.

Polish Defence Minister Bogdan Klich inked the "historic" accord in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart, Liang Guanglie, the ministry said in a statement.

Under the deal, the two nations pledge to cooperate in areas such as military training, medical services and research, as well as environmental protection.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i3j934UBz3-9Kndne_mgH2_v6Juw

Chevron Wins Poland Shale License

Chevron Corp. (CVX - Analyst Report) – the second-biggest U.S. oil company – gained an exploration license in Poland to search for natural gas in the country’s southeastern region, in the vicinity of the city of Zamosc.

Covering an area of 800 square kilometers, the 5-year concession will allow Chevron’s subsidiary in Poland (Chevron Polska Exploration & Production) to carry out seismic study and exploratory drilling up to 3,500 meters underground, as well as to search for shale gas deposits (which is stored deep in underground rock structures). As per Poland’s environment ministry, the integrated major is only expected to evaluate the complexity of accessing the gas, but not to extract it. Financial details of the agreement were not available.  

Read more: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/28369/Chevron+Wins+Poland+Shale+License

54 detained in Poland in child porn case

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WARSAW, Poland — Polish police say they have detained 54 people across the country suspected of possessing and distributing child pornography on the Internet.

National police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski said the officers seized 56 computers and laptops, video cassettes, DVDs and CDs in private homes and offices during the Tuesday raids. He made the comments on Wednesday.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2009/12/16/12178541.html

Europe marks 150th birthday of Esperanto creator

WARSAW, Poland — Pomoj and pantalono — Esperanto for apples and trousers — went on sale in some Warsaw shops Tuesday as Europe marked 150 years since the birth of the creator of the international language.

Dr. Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof, a Jewish eye doctor born in the Polish city of Bialystok, then part of the Russian Empire, hoped that a universal language could bring understanding and harmony to the world.

Though Esperanto never caught on as a real lingua franca, it continues to have its faithful followers across the globe.

"I believe Zamenhof's idea was very right and I wanted to take part in this action to honor him," said Joanna Klimas, the owner of a clothing shop in Warsaw's former Jewish district that added tags with Esperanto names to her wares.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jyvStqVP5SV8_bi_KioZXa4LtntAD9CJS5981

Kacper Kowalski: aerial photographs of winter from a paraglider’s lense

Paragliding pilot Kacper Kowalski braves freezing conditions to capture beautiful photographs of Polish winter from above.

Kowalski, who won a World Press Photo award this year for his aerial photography, is showing the extraordinary winter landscapes in London for the first time.

It has taken him years to complete the collection because paragliding in the winter is difficult, dangerous and expensive.

“I focus on aerial pictures of winter because they are so rare. There are many obstacles that get in the way: snow at the take-off, no wind, and sometimes the lens freezes within 20 minutes of take-off – if your fingers haven’t frozen to the point of being numb first.”

“One winter I was only able to paraglide on one day in the season.”

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/6788482/Paragliders-rare-winter-photographs-go-on-display-in-London.html

'Polish Patterns' is at the Baltic restaurant in central London until the 9th of February

 

Chinese, Polish military officials vow to boost cooperation

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China and Poland will bolster military exchanges and cooperation in a bid to promote bilateral relations, senior Chinese and Polish military officials said in Beijing Tuesday.

China would work with Poland to promote lasting and in-depth ties, said Xu Caihou, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, in a meeting with Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich.

Xu hailed the development of bilateral ties since China and Poland established diplomatic ties in 1949.

He highlighted the high-level contact, booming trade and economic cooperation, and cooperation in culture, education, science and technology, as well as on international and regional issues.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/15/content_12651069.htm

Euro 2012 logo unveiled in Kiev

The official logo for Euro 2012, to be jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine, was unveiled on Monday.

The logo and slogan were presented by Polish Football Association president Grzegorz Lato, his Ukraine counterpart Grigoriy Surkis and UEFA President Michel Platini at a ceremony in Kyiv's Mykhailivska Square.

The logo is a stylized flower featuring the Polish and Ukrainian flags and a football, and the slogan is "Creating History Together." Euro 2012 is the first major football tournament to be awarded to Eastern Europe.

"I think the logo is very special and it shows the soul of our two peoples. When I see the colors of the Ukrainian flag in it, my heart fills with pride and happiness," Surkis said.

"It is of tremendous importance for such a worldwide event to have such a beautiful logo," Lato said. "It gives a flavor of the competition and of our two countries. The slogan also contains a clear message that Poland and Ukraine are ready to surprise the world and will deliver a unique experience to visitors in the summer of 2012."

http://en.rian.ru/sports/20091214/157234824.html

A/H1N1 flu takes more lives in Poland

WARSAW, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The A/H1N1 flu deaths in Poland has increased to 73, Chief Sanitary Inspectorate said Monday.

There have been 1,891 H1N1 flu cases confirmed in Poland. According to experts over 50,000 people in Poland may be infected with the disease.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/15/content_12647335.htm

Food that's simply wild

Lucy Malouf discovers Poland's bad culinary reputation is way off the mark.

'THE food in Poland is terrible," writes an old school friend by email from Britain. It's true he knows the place well — he's been married to a Polish woman for 20-something years and has travelled the country extensively in that time. But on the other hand, I haven't seen him since our school days, and how much does he know about food anyway? In these matters, I find it's best to rely on one's own judgement and so I'm about to spend two weeks experiencing Poland's culinary delights first-hand.

Nevertheless, my friend's words replay as my husband and I board the early-morning flight to Gdansk on Poland's Baltic coast. It's proved almost impossible to shrug off our notions of a dour land full of grey potato people and dingy restaurants serving sour cabbage and gristly stew. But when we arrive in Gdansk, we find the city busy withpreparations for the 20thanniversary of the elections that toppled communism. Kylie Minogue is due to perform at the old shipyards and there is a sense of excitement in the air. There's not a grey face to be seen. Instead, the streets are crowded with young people, there are shoppers and sightseers everywhere and the party mood is palpable.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/epicure/food-thats-simply-wild/2009/12/14/1260639163975.html

Poland, Estonia on top of McKinsey's league of dirt

A new study by McKinsey & Company says Poland and Estonia are among Europe's largest polluters with Poland pumping out 0.76 tonnes of CO2 per $1,000 of purchasing power parity.

The numbers make the Polish economy one of the dirtiest in Europe, second only to Estonia: 95% of Poland's energy is currently generated by old-fashioned coal plants, compared to France, which gets 40 percent of its power from 'clean' nuclear plants. Estonia's main environmental problem is its practice to extract oilshale and burn it in power plants to keep electricity production costs low.

http://balticbusinessnews.com/article/2009/12/14/Poland_Estonia_on_top_of_McKinsey_s_league_of_dirt

TAU honors Polish war hero

Tel Aviv University paid tribute Thursday to Poland's most revered World War II resistance fighter, Jan Karski, by unveiling a bench with a sculpture of the man who first reported the horrors of the Holocaust to the West and is considered among the righteous gentiles. 

"This is only the third such monument to him outside of Poland," Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska, Poland's Ambassador to Israel, told The Jerusalem Post, adding that apart from one in Poland, two others are located in the US.

She said the Tel Aviv University monument only served to strengthen ties between Israel and Poland, which in recent years have been working hard to come to terms with its role in the Holocaust.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447422719&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
 

China cracks EU roadworks market via Poland

WARSAW — China has cracked the European Union's road construction market by winning its first contracts in 2004 bloc entrant Poland to build two stretches of highway.
By 2012, just in time for Poland's run as co-host of the European football championships, China Overseas Engineering Group Company (COVEC) is set to complete just over 49 kilometres (30 miles) of the A2 highway linking Warsaw and Berlin.
COVEC's bid for a section of highway between the Polish and German capitals beat out several European competitors.
"This is the first roadworks infrastructure tender won by a Chinese company in Poland," Marcin Hadaj, spokesman for Poland's state GDDKiA roads and highways company, told AFP.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jEljdspQK3kB6PzMuaKhU8Og1CgQ

Folk creches keep alive Polish tradition

The seventh annual display of szopka -- ornate folk creches that originated as church puppet theaters in Cracow, Poland -- will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. today in the University of Pittsburgh William Pitt Student Union, 3959 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

The free event, which will include Polish holiday food and music, will feature szopka (pronounced SHOP-kah) made by 22 local artists who constructed the jewel-like architectural miniatures from wood, cardboard, foiled paper and ribbon.

Revered in Poland, the holiday tradition was brought to Pittsburgh by David Motak, who studied the art form in Cracow and began holding workshops locally in 2003 to teach the techniques that are passed from one generation to the next in Polish families.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09347/1020093-437.stm#ixzz0Zalz9NUl