Boris Johnson faced another Brexit setback yesterday when Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercrow refused to allow the Prime Minister to hold a second vote on his Brexit deal.
Bercrow ruled it would be “repetitive and disorderly” to vote on the revised withdrawal agreement after it was voted down in Saturday’s marathon Parliamentary session. Moving forward, debate in the Commons will center around the 110-page Withdrawal Agreement Bill or WAB introduced yesterday, with some MPs already proposing adding a customs union amendment to the bill, an idea reportedly opposed by independents and “soft” Brexiteers.
Meanwhile, EU MPs moved forward with ratification of Johnson’s unsigned Brexit extension request during the first day of the EU Plenary session in Strasbourg. According to the European Council, the lack of a signature by the Prime Minister on the request to extend Brexit is irrelevant and does not change anything in the procedure.
Source: PAP, guardian.com
City officials are asking Gdańsk residents how they should spend 50,000 EUR in prize money after presenting the prestigious 2019 Princess of Asturias Award for Concord yesterday at the European Solidarity Center.
Similar to a Nobel prize, the Princess of Asturias Awards are given annually by the Spanish monarchy for excellence in eight categories including the Arts, Communication and Humanities, International Cooperation, Sports, Literature, Social Sciences,Technical & Scientific Research, and Concord.
Jury members chose Gdańsk as “an example of sensitivity towards suffering, solidarity, the defence of freedom and human rights, and extraordinary generosity.”
In her acceptance of the award, Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz noted that the late Mayor Paweł Adamowicz would “be very happy and proud” to add “Concord” to his oft-quoted description of Gdańsk as the “City of Freedom and Solidarity.” Dulkiewicz went on to note that the award “proves that Gdańsk is a very exceptional city – open, tolerant and free.”
A special email address (nagroda@gdansk.gda.pl) will be available until October 25th for residents to submit their ideas for how the city should use the 50,000 EUR award.
Source: https://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/
Olga Tokarczuk, winner of the 2018 Nobel prize in literature, announced plans yesterday to establish a foundation in Wrocław to support writers along with the study of literature and literary translation.
In a press conference at the Wrocław House of Literature, Tokarczuk announced her vision of the foundation as a meeting place for authors and translators from around the world to discuss „the possibilities of literature in assessing the world of the seen and the unseen, to describe a reality in which xenophobic and nationalistic attitudes are growing rapidly and dangerously, and to provide a space dedicated to conversation about art and man as part of nature.”
In support of her efforts, the city of Wrocław donated the historic villa of Polish poet Tymoteusz Karpowicz and his wife Maria to serve as a home for the foundation, which plans to conduct educational, scholarship and residential programs at the villa as part of its mission.
Source: PAP
Doctors from the Kraków startup Omni Calculator have developed the first Coffee Energy Calculator available in the Polish language.
The free online calculator is based on the work of scientists with the US Army, who spent ten years researching how to provide the optimal dose of caffeine to notoriously sleep-deprived soldiers.
According to project representative Natalia Nazim, „The calculator shows what happens to the body depending on the number of sleeping hours and doses of caffeine consumed. In this way, everyone can individually optimize the amount of coffee they consume per day.” The online calculator is reportedly one of only two in the world, and is free, easy to use, and doesn’t require registration.
You can calculate your own optimal coffee consumption at http://www.omnicalculator.com/food/kawa.
Source: PAP
Weather
Today will be partly cloudy and warmer than yesterday, with expected highs around 18 degrees celsius or 65 degrees Fahrenheit. A light breeze from the southwest will bring clouds in the early evening, with a slight chance of rain overnight. Tomorrow looks to be partly cloudy and cooler, with temps expected in the mid teens in Celsius, high 50s Fahrenheit.
RGEN News/EP
