The United States has vowed to take action after two leading members of the Polish minority were detained in neighbouring Belarus this week. A senior member of the Association of Poles in Belarus, was detained on Thursday morning and the head of the association, was detained on Tuesday afternoon. A day later, she was sentenced to 15 days of confinement for organizing an „illegal mass event”.
The head of the US embassy in Warsaw, said in a tweet in Polish on Thursday that „the detention …of Poles in Belarus, is very disturbing and raises concerns..We will continue to work to hold the Belarusian authorities accountable and call for an end to the systematic persecution”.
Source – Polskie Radio, PAP
Polish officials responsible for law and order on Friday announced they would get tough on people who flout COVID-19 rules and expose others to risk amid a record surge in the epidemic.
Polish police chief Jarosław Szymczyk told reporters that over the last 24 hours, some 9,000 fines had been issued to people breaking coronavirus regulations, which require Poles to cover their mouth and nose in public with a face mask. Szymczyk said: „Unfortunately, we still encounter those who do not comply with restrictions. And often in an extremely disrespectful manner. There will be repression on our part [in such cases], and decisive at that”.
Source – Polskie Radio
Poles will be setting their clocks an hour forward as daylight saving time begins this weekend. European Union law requires all member countries to observe daylight saving time by moving clocks forward by an hour on the last Sunday of March and back by an hour on the last Sunday of October.
The European Parliament in 2019 voted in favor of abandoning the practice of moving clocks back and forward by an hour. EU lawmakers decided they wanted the time changes scrapped, leaving it up to national governments to choose whether to stay on permanent summer or winter time. A majority of Poles are against moving clocks forward in spring and then back again in the autumn according to surveys.
Source – Polskie Radio
Police in Gdańsk had an unusual call out this week when they were stopped by a driver whose wife had given birth in their car.
The drama unfolded near Gdańsk City Hall on Thursday as police were approached by the man who was trying to get to hospital with his pregnant wife but who was stuck in traffic. The man’s wife had just given birth in the car and was now literally left holding the baby. The police crew quickly escorted the young family to the hospital, clearing a way through the traffic. Mother and daughter are said to be doing well.
Source – Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today’s sunny start will cloud over after lunch leading to rain showers in the afternoon in a moderate breeze and temperatures reaching a pleasant 14 degrees centigrade (57 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, dropping to 3 degrees overnight. Sunday will remain cloudy with chances of rain at times and temperatures reaching 8 degrees during the day and 5 degrees overnight.
