The United States has joined EU and UK leaders in imposing sanctions on Belarus in response to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk last Sunday. President Joe Biden’s administration announced yesterday it would begin imposing sanctions on nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises as of June 3 in response to what White House spokesperson Jen Psaki called “a direct insult to international standards.”
In cooperation with the EU and other allies, the US is reportedly considering additional sanctions against Belarus including banning Belarusian air carriers from US airspace. The Lukashenko regime is also accused of violating human rights in the detention of Roman Potasevch and others, corruption, and rigging the 2020 elections.
The US specifically called on Lukashenko to authorize an international investigation into the events of May 23, immediately free all political prisoners, start a comprehensive and genuine political dialogue with democratic opposition leaders and civil society groups, and hold free and fair presidential elections under OSCE auspices and monitoring.
Source: PAP
Restaurants, bars, and cafes were filled with patrons yesterday, as Poles celebrated reopening as the first step in a long-awaited “return to normalcy.”
Sanitary measures –including reduced occupancy, social distancing, and mask-wearing –are still in force, but restaurants are now allowed to serve patrons inside their premises. According to new rules, face masks and gloves must be worn by staff, while guests will have to be seated at a distance of at least one and a half meters from each other.
On Friday, public health officials reported only 946 new infections, down from a high of 35,251 single-day cases on April 1. Poland has thus far injected over 13.3 million first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while more than 6.3 million people had been fully inoculated, according to Poland’s health ministry.
Source: Radio Poland, PAP
Europe’s medicines regulator on Friday backed the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 12.
The move paves the way for a broader roll-out in the region after similar clearances in the United States and Canada.
The European Medicines Agency’s endorsement comes weeks after it began evaluating extending use of the vaccine, developed with Germany’s BioNTech, to include 12- to 15-year-olds. It is already being used in the European Union for those aged 16 and older.
The EMA said two doses of the vaccine, branded as Comirnaty, were required in the 12-15 age group and should be administered with an interval of at least three weeks, the same as for adults.
Pfizer and BioNTech in March unveiled trial data showing their vaccine offered 100% protection against the infectious disease. Inoculating children and young people is considered a critical step toward reaching „herd immunity” and taming the pandemic.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland
Polish archaeologists have helped discover an ancient settlement dating back to the 12th-13th centuries BC in the Georgian city of Kutaisi.
Kutaisi, Georgia’s third-biggest city and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, was until now thought to have been established in the 7th or 8th century BC.
New methods used by Polish and Georgian researchers, however, have indicated that the city is several hundred years older than previously thought. According to Jacek Hamburg, one of the archaeologists who discovered a fortification dating back to the 12th or 13th century, the founding of the city of Kutaisi may actually stretch back “down into the Bronze Age.”
Source: PAP, Radio Poland
Weather
This afternoon will be partly cloudy and cool, with a light breeze coming in from the north and very little chance of rain in the afternoon and early evening. Temperatures will peak around a high of 12°C, or 54°F, dropping to a low of 8°C or 47°F overnight. Tomorrow will have similar cool temperatures but a chance for more sun followed by a warming trend throughout the week.
EPeck/pb
