Top officials on Friday took part in a ceremony in central Warsaw marking the formal end of Poland’s mission in Afghanistan as part of an international military deployment.

President Andrzej Duda said at the ceremony that the mission in Afghanistan was one of the most difficult in the history of the Polish army during peacetime, a mission in which 44 Polish soldiers and army employees were killed, and almost a thousand were wounded and injured.

Polish soldiers spent almost 20 years in Afghanistan, with over 33,000 troops and defence ministry employees taking part in the mission.

Source – Polskie Radio

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Poland’s top diplomat Zbigniew Rau met in Warsaw on Thursday to discuss a historic partnership treaty between their countries, as well as the situation in Belarus and relations with Russia.

The pair also discussed the issue of war reparations where there are differences between the two countries. Rau stated that from the Polish perspective the topic is still open and being pursued by the Polish government, whereas Maas stated that from the German perspective the matter is long since closed.

Maas also noted that the construction of a memorial to Polish victims of World War II in Berlin is an important gesture.

Source – Polskie Radio, The First News

Poland’s Iga Świątek has cruised into the fourth round of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, demolishing Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu with a near „double-bagel” win on Friday.

The 20-year-old Pole overpowered the 30-year-old Romanian 6-1, 6-0 in their third-round women’s singles match at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament in the British capital. Świątek  won the Girls’ Singles title at Wimbledon in 2018.

Source – Polskie Radio

A bronze sculpture made by acclaimed Polish artist Xawery Wolski has been erected on a roundabout in Sopot.

The 4 metre high work of art which is entitled „Echo” was funded by the Hestia Artistic Journey foundation, which celebrates its 20th anniversary, established by ERGO Hestia from Sopot.

The Foundation has been supporting young artists for many years, and this year it also organized an exhibition of paintings at the National Museum in Warsaw.

Source – Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be a warm and muggy day of thundery showers and temperatures of 24 degrees centigrade (75 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, dropping to 15 degrees overnight.

Sunday will remain warm with sunny intervals and a gentle breeze and temperatures reaching 24 degrees during the day and 16 degrees overnight.

MC/am