Officials in the UK and Poland are today commemorating the moment when Britain’s Royal Air Force and its Allied counterparts turned the tide of the battle after months of air raids by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe).
In preparation for the 80th anniversary of Battle of Britain Day, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Polish Ambassador to the UK Arkady Rzegocki laid wreaths at a military museum in west London over the weekend.
The ceremony aimed to honor Allied airmen who helped defend Britain against the Luftwaffe attacks during the summer of 1940, saving Britain from a planned Nazi invasion. Among those commemorated were 145 Polish pilots and thousands of ground personnel who took part in the fighting, “resisting the Nazi German offensive and giving hope to many in Europe,” according to comments by Ambassador Rzegocki.
Source: Radio Poland
Poland’s foreign minister has said he is optimistic about the chances of halting the construction of Nord Stream 2, a contested gas pipeline from Russia to Germany that is strongly opposed by Warsaw.
Zbigniew Rau told public broadcaster Radio Polska that Germany should choose not to complete the project for the sake of unity in the European Union. Poland and several other Central European countries – as well as the US – are vehemently opposed to the project, saying it would pose a threat to Europe’s energy security by doubling Russia’s gas export capacity via the Baltic Sea. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki even went so far as to call Nord Stream 2 “a new hybrid weapon” aimed at the European Union and NATO.
The gas link is close to completion and due to start operating next year. German politicians, however, have suggested they could withhold support for the project after mounting evidence of Moscow’s involvement in the poisoning of leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Source: Radio Poland
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is reportedly making further progress and is no longer on a ventilator, according to a statement issued by Berlin’s Charite hospital yesterday.
The hospital went on to report that Navalny “is currently undergoing mobilization and is able to leave his bed for short periods of time.” According to a report this morning in the New York Times, Navalny is reportedly “fully aware of his condition..fully aware of what happened and fully aware of where he is” and “plans to return to Russia as soon as he has recovered.”
News of Navalny’s improvement came just after the German government announced the independent findings of laboratories in Sweden and France. Both laboratories independently confirm that Navalny was poisoned with the Soviet-style nerve agent Novichok, lending further credence to the claim that the Russian government was involved.
Source: Radio Poland, PAP, NYTimes
Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party has put forward a new animal protection bill which aims to ban fur farming and the use of animals for entertainment.
The draft law, which was submitted to the Sejm on Friday, calls for the protection of animals through a series of mechanisms, including a ban on breeding fur animals and on the use of animals for entertainment and shows, as well as restrictions on ritual slaughter for religious purposes, increased funding for safe shelters, and the creation of an animal council at the Ministry of Agriculture.
The move was welcomed by representatives of animal rights’ organizations, with Mark Glover, director of the UK-based advocacy group Respect for Animals, pointing out that the breeding of fur animals in the UK has been banned for 20 years and “the country is better for it.”
Source: PAP
The Gdański Ogród Zoologiczny has a new attraction: the first female Arabian sand cat in the zoo’s 66-year history. 16-month-old Maolie was recently brought from the French Parc des Felins zoo in order to serve as the companion for Abu, the male Arabian cat already living here.
Arabian sand cats are quite small, weighing between 1.5–3.4 kg (3.3–7.5 lb) with large ears and furry paws evolved to help them in hunting and navigating their native habitat in the deserts of North Africa and Central Asia.
For now, the two Arabian sand cats will be housed in the lion pavilion and can be observed when they are in the outdoor enclosure. Zookeepers hope the two cats will get along and eventually have offspring.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Tuesday will be hot and mostly sunny, with almost no chance of rain and a light breeze coming in from the south. Temperatures will be warmer than yesterday with a high of 28°C, or 82°F, and an overnight low of 15°C or 59°F. More sunshine and warm weather are forecast for tomorrow, with temperatures set to take a steep drop on Thursday.
Elizabeth Peck/ako
