Today marks the 84th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. From 4:15 am this morning, marking the moment the first salvos were fired, commemorations are taking place at Westerplatte with the participation President and head of the armed forces, Andrzej Duda, and the head of the Ministry of National Defence, amongst other dignitaries.
On September 1st, 1939, the first artillery salvos were fired from the German ship Schleswig-Holstein in the direction of Polish positions at Westerplatte on the outskirts of Gdańsk and at the mouth of the river Vistula. At the same time, the German army, without declaring war, crossed the borders of the Republic of Poland along almost its entire length at dawn, thus starting World War II.
Source – Radio Gdańsk
The statistics office of Poland has indicated that consumer sentiment in the country has shown improvement this month, attributing the change to a decrease in people’s worries over the economy and the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The agency said its Current Consumer Confidence Index, which describes trends in personal consumption, rose by 2.6 points in August compared to July, while remaining in negative territory of “minus 22.3” points. Meanwhile, the so-called Leading Consumer Confidence Index, which provides an insight into expected trends in personal consumption in the coming months also rose slightly.
Source – Polskie Radio
Police in the Northeast of Poland have dismissed an officer after he was arrested on suspicion of send short-wave radio signals to cause the emergency stopping of trains around the city of Białystok.
The 29-year-old officer was detained for three months along with a 24-year-old acquaintance, on suspicion of unauthorised use of radio-stop signals to stop trains. The regional court in Białystok approved the detention after judging that the evidence collected by prosecutors suggested the suspects were highly likely to have committed the crimes.
According to experts, Poland’s system of emergency train stoppages “hasn’t been modernised in 50 years” and „still functions in an analog format rather than digitally,” making it relatively easy for users of shortwave radio transmitters to stop trains.
Source – Polskie Radio
And finally, a new investment will be built in Gdańsk to support the development of Offshore wind energy. The construction of the offshore towers factory in Gdańsk will create 500 new jobs in the city.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, the Deputy Mayor for Sustainable Development and Investments, and the President of the Gdańsk Economic Development Agency were present.
The new factory will go some way to restoring industrial functions in the area of the southern end of the island of Ostrów which is part of the Gdańsk shipyard.
Source – Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be a showery day with outbreaks of thunder at times in a moderate breeze and temperatures of 17 degrees centigrade (63 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 14 degrees overnight. Tomorrow will turn sunny in light winds, with temperatures of 22 degrees during the day and 10 degrees overnight.
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Martin Caren/ol