Opel plans 700 new jobs in Poland for new Astra model

General Motors' (GM) European car unit Opel will create up to 700 jobs this year to produce its new Astra IV model at its factory in Poland.

The plant will operate 24 hours a day, going from two shifts, to three.

"This has been planned for a long time, and will be in operation by the middle of the year," Opel spokesperson Ulrich Weber told the BBC.

The move may help GM secure billions of euros in loans to help Opel return to profitability.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8523981.stm

Poles Throw Bicentennial Bash for Chopin

The stirring strains of Frederic Chopin's music are reverberating across the world as music lovers celebrate the composer's 200th birthday this year — from the chateau of his French lover to Egypt's pyramids and even into space.

But nowhere do celebrations carry the powerful sense of national feeling that they do in Poland, the land of his birth, where his heroic, tragic piano compositions are credited with capturing the essence of the country's soul.

Poland is going all out to display its best "product," as officials bluntly put it, staging bicentennial concerts and other events in and around Warsaw, the city where the composer — known here as Fryderyk Chopin — spent the first half of his life.

Read more:http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9885739

Georgia, Poland sign cooperation agreement on security

Georgia`s State Security Council has signed a cooperation agreement with the Poland`s Security Council. Georgian State Security Secretary, Eka Tkeshelashvili and Polish National Security Bureau head Aleksander Shchiglo signed the document today. The document covers the cooperation plan for 2010-2011 in the issues of energy and cyber threats, fight against terrorism and cooperation in the military sphere.

`We had very interesting discussion in regards with security, intensification of cooperation for to develop relations in this sphere. We agreed that Russian occupation is the greatest danger for Georgia and on all issues, which can be considered within the security of the state, the presence of Russian army on Georgian territories has negative influence. The fact of occupation means that Russia is prepared to violate the norms of international law again. Therefore, this fact is a danger not only for Georgia, but for Europe as well.

Read more:http://www.geotimes.ge/index.php?m=home&newsid=20486

2 who helped find Auschwitz sign rewarded

Polish police say they have paid rewards to two people who were instrumental in helping track down suspects in the theft of the infamous sign from the former Auschwitz death camp.

Krakow police spokesman Dariusz Nowak said Thursday that information received separately from the two people helped in finding the suspects quickly.

Read more:http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/02/18/12928471.html

Russia Flexes Military Muscle Over Proposed U.S. Missile Shield

U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Europe were blocking its new nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia, Sky News reported Wednesday.

The world's biggest nuclear powers were due to sign a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty two and a half months ago.

Both sides insisted a breakthrough was close, but resetting relations between these old enemies was proving more difficult than U.S. President Barack Obama might have hoped.

Russia recently embarked on a campaign of military muscle flexing. It regarded America's missile defense plans in Europe as a threat, and threats must be countered with shows of strength.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia must develop new offensive weapons to counter the proposed U.S. missile shield.

"You will see tactics of attack and shooting," a Russian general said.

Read more:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,586324,00.html

Poland government joins suit against Russia for 1940 Katyn massacre

The Polish government joined [Rzeczpospolita report, in Polish] a class-action on lawsuit Wednesday brought against Russia for the 1940 Katyn Massacre [Brittanica backgrounder; JURIST news archive] where 20,000 Poles were killed by the USSR. The suit [complaint], filed in May in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] is being brought by 13 Polish citizens who are relatives of the victims. They allege that the Russian government failed to provide adequate investigations into the incident and did not grant the relatives victim status. The complaint states:

[T]hey were denied an effective remedy which would have been able to reveal the true circumstances, in which their relatives had been killed. They pointed out that the above-mentioned deficiencies of the criminal investigation undermined the efficiency of other remedies, as the success of civil-law measures was made dependent on the result of criminal investigation.

The Polish government joining the suit gives it more legitimacy and enables the government to submit proposals to the court. Russia has until March 19 to respond to the allegations.

Read more: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/02/poland-government-joins-suit-against.php

Covidien, Poland to supply medical isotope

Irish medical supplier Covidien PLC says it will cooperate with Poland's Nuclear Energy Institute to develop a rare but medically useful isotope used to diagnose cancer, kidney and heart ailments.

The company, based in Dublin, said Wednesday it will work with the Maria Research Reactor just outside of Warsaw to produce the radioactive isotope Technetium 99m, which is made with Molybdenum 99.
Technetium 99m is used in some 35 million procedures each year to diagnose kidney and heart ailments along with cancer.
Read more: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/02/17/business-health-care-eu-poland-covidien-medical-isotope_7362538.html

Belarusian Crackdown On Polish Minority Puts EU Relations At Risk

The continued Belarusian crackdown against activists from its Polish minority is now likely to be discussed by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels next week, officials in Brussels say.

The current standoff between the authoritarian regime in Belarus and the independent leaders of its Polish minority has angered EU member state Poland and is threatening to develop into a serious test of the EU's belief in the redemptive powers of dialogue.

Should it continue, the crackdown could also reverse the rapprochement the EU has carefully nursed with President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, dubbed "Europe's last dictator," over the past two years.

Read more: http://www.rferl.org/content/Belarusian_Crackdown_On_Polish_Minority_Puts_EU_Relations_At_Risk/1961039.html

Addition of Polish Research Reactor Helps with Worldwide Supply Shortage

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, and the Institute of Atomic Energy in Poland (IAE POLATOM) today announced an agreement to augment and further diversify Covidien's supply of Molybdenum 99 (Mo 99) to produce the medical isotope Technetium 99m (Tc 99m).

Adding the IAE POLATOM'S Maria Research Reactor to Covidien's global supply chain is expected to help Covidien meet the needs of more than one million additional patients in just the first six months after the reactor begins supplying Mo 99.

"This is an historic agreement. It is the first time in decades that a new reactor has been brought into the global supply chain for medical isotopes," said Timothy R. Wright, President, Pharmaceuticals, Covidien. "We are excited that we will now be working together to provide more than a million patients around the globe with access to a critical medical isotope during this serious shortage."

Read more:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/covidien-announces-new-source-of-vital-medical-isotopes-2010-02-17?reflink=MW_news_stmp

Covidien cuts deal for medical isotopes in Poland

Covidien (COV.N), a supplier of medical isotopes used in scores of diagnostic tests, said on Tuesday it had cut a deal with the Institute of Atomic Energy in Poland to augment its supply of the scarce medical isotope Molybdenum 99.

Read more:http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1624623820100217?type=marketsNews

Belarus police break up pro-Polish protest

Belarussian police on Tuesday dispersed an opposition rally and detained about 20 protesters expressing solidarity with dozens of ethnic Polish activists detained the day before.

The demonstration in central Minsk had only just started when riot police in combat gear moved in to grab protesters as a female demonstrator tried to unfurl a poster, a Reuters photographer reported from the scene. Several opposition protesters had been detained before the rally which was banned by the authorities. Belarus's European Union neighbour Poland on Monday condemned the detention of about 40 ethnic Polish activists, days after Poland recalled its envoy in protest at an earlier crackdown.

Read more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE61F2DP.htm

Polish Job Losses Slow, Boding Well for Recovery

Polish job losses slowed in January, defying forecasts they would accelerate on an annual basis and suggesting consumer demand may boost a rebounding economy.

Employment at companies with more than 9 employees fell 1.4 percent from a year earlier, after declining 1.8 percent in December, the Statistical Office said today. The median forecast of 10 economists was for a 2.1 percent decrease.

Poland’s economy expanded 1.7 percent last year, making it the sole EU member to avoid an economic contraction. The economy will expand as fast as 3 percent this year, according to the government’s euro convergence plan published earlier this week.

Read more:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-16/polish-job-losses-slow-boding-well-for-recovery-update1-.html

Poland imposes sanctions on Belarusian officials

Belarusian officials implicated in violation of the rights of Belarusian Poles have been banned to enter Poland since February 16.

This decision was taken on February 15 during the meeting of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski (VIDEO).

First secretary of the Polish Embassy in Belarus Pawel Marczuk confirmed this information to charter97.org in the morning February 16. According to him, the list of the Belarusian officials banned from entering Poland hasn’t been made public yet.

Read more:http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2010/2/16/26408/

Polish Inflation Rate Rises Past Central Bank Target

Poland’s inflation rate rose above the top end of the central bank’s target range in January for the first time in five months, driven by the higher cost of fuel and energy.

The rate was 3.6 percent after 3.5 percent in December, the Central Statistical Office in Warsaw said in a statement today. The median estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 3.5 percent. Consumer prices rose 0.5 percent on the month.

Inflation was driven by fuel prices, which grew 1 percent from December and were 10.9 percent higher than in the same month in 2009. The central bank forecasts inflation will slow toward the 2.5 percent target of policy makers in the second quarter.

Read more:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-15/polish-inflation-rate-rises-past-central-bank-target-update1-.html

Belarus arrests members of ethnic Polish group

Members of a banned Polish cultural group in Belarus say police have arrested up to 40 members of their organisation, the Union of Poles.

Activists were arrested as they were travelling to a court hearing in the north-western town of Volozhyn.

Last week police seized a building owned by the union. Poland condemned that move and recalled its ambassador.

About 400,000 ethnic Poles live in Belarus, which has been accused by human rights groups of repression.

Read more:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8516777.stm

Chopin belongs to us, says Poland

"Welcome to Fryderyk Chopin Airport, Warsaw,” intones the flight attendant. And sure enough, there on the outside of the terminal building, looming through the darkness of a wintry evening, giant letters proclaim the name of the composer who wrote some of the best-loved piano music in the world. Here at Poland’s very gateway, Chopin is the national symbol chosen to introduce the country to its visitors.

But wait. Chopin is not a Polish surname, and his first one is often spelled Frédéric. Wasn’t he French? No. Chopin was Polish. To suggest otherwise is akin to blasphemy in Poland, and ought to be high on the list in any guidebook of things not to say in polite society.

Read more:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/7244031/Chopin-belongs-to-us-says-Poland.html

Poland’s Most Secret Secrets Revealed

Poland is traditionally a country where you can’t keep things secret. The more secret something is, the more likely that everybody knows it.

As if eagerly responding to the giddiness of the Quentin Tarantino character, Poland’s former prime minister and opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski revealed over the weekend that he has something against the ruling party’s favorite to defeat his twin brother in this year’s presidential election, but he just won’t say what.

Read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/new-europe/2010/02/15/polands-most-secret-secrets-revealed/

Sikorski offers Lukashenka stick and carrot

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has forwarded a letter to the Belarusian dictator through the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Syarhei Martynau.

Today «Gazeta Wyborcza» (Poland) has published a newspaper “Letter to Lukashenka”. According to the newspaper, the letter contains 10 parts, and Warsaw is to that this support them only come in Belarus respects the rights of the Polish minority. The matter concerns among other things, supporting Belarus in issues of receiving a new loan from the IMF, and lifting visa sanctions, beginning of some parts of the Eastern Partnership Program, and even “Belarus’ joining the Council of Baltic States as a full member”.

Gazeta Wyborcza also writes that the Foreign Ministry of Poland is preparing a list of Belarusian citizens for whom entry to Poland and the entire territory of the European Union is to be banned. Unofficially it is informed that the leader of the pro-regime union of Poles headed by Stanislau Syamashka, is blacklisted.

“The term of publishing this list is a matter of hours and days, not weeks,” stated Pyotr Paszkowski, a spokesperson of the Polish FM.

Read more:http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2010/2/13/26350/

Foreign analysts surprised by Czech GDP,recommend savings

Czech gross domestic product (GDP) contraction in Q4 last year was a bad surprise for some foreign analysts who say that the country will have to implement austerity economic measures.

They say at the same time that the GDP fall is the smallest in the eastern part of the European Union, except for Poland.

According to an estimate of Czech statisticians, the economy fell by 0.6 percent in the last three months of 2009 against the previous quarter and year-on-year decrease is estimated at 4.2 percent.

Witold Orlowski, chief economic adviser in the Polish branch of PricewaterhouseCoopers, compared the Czech and the Polish economy. Poland was the only EU country whose economy expanded.
The Czech Republic relies on exports much more than Poland and also its internal market is smaller than the Polish market that had pushed the output up, he said.

Read more:http://praguemonitor.com/2010/02/15/foreign-analysts-surprised-czech-gdprecommend-savings

Poland learns to love Valentine's Day

It’s difficult to miss the season at Warsaw’s swank Galerie Mokotow shopping center: Just inside the main entrance stands a bright red kiosk decorated with hearts that sells Valentine’s Day cards, chocolates and candies.

Just 20 years ago Valentine’s Day was almost completely unknown in Poland. But in the two decades since the end of communism it has quickly become one of Poland’s favorite imported holidays, and that is in large part due to the work of one woman.

Read more:http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/poland/100213/valentines-day