Belarusian aircraft are to be banned from using European Union airspace as part of new sanctions against the Eastern European country.
The sanctions are a response to a shocking move by Belarus over the weekend – diverting a passenger airliner in order to arrest a government critic.

It’s been widely reported that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered the interception by Belarusian air forces of a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius, flying over Belarus, on Sunday. The flight was carrying Belarusian critic Raman Pratasevich, who was involved in last year’s pro-democracy demonstrations in the country.

Pointing to a supposed bomb threat, Belarusian authorities instructed the plane to land in Minsk, despite being mere kilometres from the Lithuanian border. Mr Pratasevich was arrested along with his girlfriend Sofia Sapega.

The incident has been met with outrage in the west, with EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen describing it as a „hijacking” and US President Joe Biden calling it „outrageous”.

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki even labelled the move as an „act of state terrorism”, while President Andrzej Duda called for „decisive action”.

EU leaders met yesterday to discuss a response to the incident. It was announced later that EU-based airlines would be advised to avoid Belarus and that Belarusian aircraft would be denied use of EU airspace and airports.

Announcements of further economic sanctions are expected in the near future, with the UK and US also likely to take measures.

A new exhibition in London is helping to raise awareness of the contribution of Polish pilots to one of World War Two’s most pivotal clashes.

The new Polish Air Force installation at the Battle of Britain Bunker museum in Uxbridge was opened at the weekend by Polish Ambassador to the UK Arkady Rzegocki along with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The exhibition is the first permanent open exhibition in the UK dedicated to the role of Polish aircrews in winning the Battle of Britain.

Elsewhere in the British capital, another exhibition at the UK’s National Gallery is celebrating the work of two of Poland’s proudest sons – painter Jan Matejko and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

For the next three months the gallery is displaying Majeko’s 1873 painting 'Astronomer Copernicus’ – an epic work depicting the renowned renaissance polymath from Toruń who put forward a sun-centred model of the solar system.

The painting will be featured alongside a 1543 copy of Copernicus’s works in an exhibition titled 'Conversations with God: Jan Matejko’s Copernicus’, open until August 22nd at the National Gallery in London.

EU member states have agreed on plans to launch a Union-wide Covid-19 „green pass”.

Agreed late last week by leaders of member states, the pass is expected to include information about vaccination status as well as coronavirus test results.

Set to roll out next month and be up and running by July, the green pass will be freely available in digital and paper formats. It’s hoped the pass could allow freedom of movement around the EU to resume summer travel, bringing much-needed income to Europe’s tourism industry.

The pass will prove if a person has been vaccinated, recently tested negative, or has recently recovered from Covid-19.

The proposal will now need to be put into formal legislation by the European Parliament in the coming days.

With just a day to go the teams have started arriving in Gdansk ahead of the Europa League Final tomorrow.

Manchester United have already touched down in the city with rivals Villarreal set to land later today.

Tune in to Radio Gdansk DAB2 tomorrow from 5 pm for a special English Service pre-game show with music, interviews, and commentary as well as all the results. That’s Radio Gdansk DAB2 at 5 pm or online at:

https://radiogdansk.pl/RGonline/Radio_ON_LINE/index2.html

Tomorrow’s match is set for a 9 pm kickoff at Gdansk Stadium.

Weather

A rather gloomy outlook today with showers likely throughout the afternoon, with heavy rain likely at times.

Temperatures today reaching around 17°C, 62°F.

A bright start in store for tomorrow though with sunshine expected early on, likely giving way to some showers and gusty winds later on.

TH/am