UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will be looking to finally sign off a new agreement with the EU as three years of negotiations come to a dramatic conclusion. An announcement had been widely anticipated yesterday, but late last night it was reported that last-minute talks would go on into the early hours this morning.
The BBC reported this morning that it understood that a draft agreement was „pretty much ready”, and CNN said a deal looks „tantalisingly close”.
Mr Johnson is under immense pressure as the summit marks the deadline for him to pass his deal before a new law kicks in and requires him to ask the EU for another extension.
Even if he succeeds in Brussels, the PM will face another challenge back in London as media sources report that Northern Irish lawmakers are unhappy with the proposed new deal. Mr Johnson will need their votes in order to get his deal passed by the British parliament.
The UN Security Council is „deeply concerned over the risk of risk of dispersion of terrorists” from camps in Syria according to a statement to the press yesterday.
It follows the incursion by Turkish troops into northern Syria last week, raising fears that captured Islamic State group terrorists could escape from camps in the region.
The president of the Security Council said in a brief statement yesterday that the council also expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis. However, the statement made no direct mention of Turkey’s offensive.
The five European members of the council, including Poland, made a separate statement in which they „condemned Turkey’s unilateral military action”. The United States’ representative likewise called on Turkey to cease its offensive.
President Trump announced sanctions costing billions against Turkey in response to the incursions however said that the US is „not a policing agent” and that the US was ”trying to get Turkey to do the right thing.”
The expansion of Gdansk Airport’s passenger terminal has been confirmed as the airport signs the contract for extension work.
The extension of Terminal 2 will see faster security, automatic passport control gates, and a huge boost to the airport’s passenger capacity.
The new extension will also accommodate non-Schengen zone flights, finally improving service for those flying out to the UK or Ireland, popular holiday destinations in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Georgia as well as destinations outside Europe.
Gdansk Airport is already a world leader, with Airhelp ranking GDA as the fifth best in the world on its Global Airport Rankings.
And yesterday marked 41 years since the election of Karol Wojtyla as Pope John-Paul 2 and the ascent of Everest by Wanda Rutkiewicz.
October 16th 1978 was a historic day for Poland. The first non-Italian in over 300 years became the head of the world’s biggest faith community. This caused euphoria on the streets of Poland. There was less celebration in the Kremlin as this change was seen as one of the key factors in the downfall of soviet communism. Less than two years later, Solidarity was formed which eventually led to the fall of the Berlin wall and freedom from soviet communism throughout Europe.
The same day also saw, Wanda Rutkiewicz, a computer engineer, become the first Pole and the first European woman to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain. Rutkiewicz’s extraordinary career also included becoming the first woman to climb K2, doing so without the use of oxygen tanks. She died in 1992 climbing the world’s third highest mountain.
The weather for Thursday: a pleasant, autumnal day today. Cloudy with low winds and temperatures this afternoon peaking at around 16 degrees Celsius, that’s 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Staying quite warm overnight and into tomorrow with only a slight chance of rain in the evening.
RGEN NEWS/TH
