The European Commission is working on a fresh set of sanctions against countries and goods which help Russia circumvent existing punitive measures.
According to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland supports new measures, including sanctioning several Asian countries for delivering some previously banned products to Russia.
Warsaw’s proposal suggests discontinuing Russian oil imports via the northern leg of the Druzhba pipeline to Germany while also seeking to terminate imports of Russian natural gas, including LNG, restrict diamond imports, and reduce cooperation in the area of nuclear energy.
Poland’s proposals have been met with mixed reactions by some EU member states. Hungary, which recently announced a revised contract with Russia’s Rosatom to expand the Paks nuclear plant, has been firm in its opposition to any sanctions on Russian nuclear energy programs.
Belgium, home to the world’s largest diamond trading hub, Antwerp, has so far effectively campaigned against restricting Russian diamond imports.
Source: Polskie Radio
A Ukrainian NGO has launched a unique mobile app designed to connect the millions of Ukrainians forced to flee the country after Russia’s invasion last year.
Developed by SmartApps Lithuania, the application “I’m Ukrainian” includes information on local job offers, meetings and cultural events with other Ukrainians, and services to help those displaced by the war.
According to some estimates, in the first ten months of Russia’s invasion, more than 14.5 million Ukrainians left the country, equivalent to roughly a third of Ukraine’s total population.
As the creators of the “I’m Ukrainian” app explained on social media and in an interview with Polskie Radio, The main aim of the project is to build “a platform of the digital community of Ukrainians abroad” and ensure that people who have been forced to flee the country do not forget their origins.
According to the developer, the application is now available in thirty countries, including those with sizeable Ukrainian refugee populations such as Poland, Germany, the US, the UK, Italy, and Spain.
The app is available to download online at https://iamukrainian.app/
Source: Polskie Radio, ukrainianinpoland.pl
A local restaurant in Gdańsk is the first dining establishment in Poland to qualify for a “Rasa Nadzima” certificate, a distinction given to producers who demonstrate a commitment to preserving native Polish species and biodiversity.
As Arkadiusz Onasch, the owner of Winne Grono, explained to Radio Gdańsk, native species or breeds “are defined as being native to Poland, such as those that are adapted to our environment and have been bred locally for hundreds of years without mixing with other breeds.”
“These are animals that are adapted to our difficult conditions,” says Arkadiusz, “they eat what is here, what has grown here” rather than industrially – produced food pellets used in commercial farming and livestock operations.
The “Rasa Nadzima” certificate, given by the National Institute of Animal Production in Krakow, typically grants the award to food producers, with its expansion to the field of gastronomy thanks mainly to the efforts of Onasch and his staff.
In the space of two years, says Onasch, Winne Grono “managed to obtain this certificate using well-sourced native breeds, traditional recipes, and ‘zero waste.’” He acknowledges that the certification “is a very big distinction for us, but as we are the first, no one knows how big yet.”
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Radio Gdańsk will host a live concert by local singer-songwriter Ola Chaładaj tonight at the Janusz Hajdun Concert Studio in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz.
An aspiring jazz vocalist studying at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, Chaładaj’s concert will feature alternative pop and soul-inspired tracks from her debut studio album, “Grunt.”
As Chaładaj herself explained to Radio Gdańsk, the concert “will be a musical story about a space in which there is room for dissimilarity and experimentation” where listeners are invited to “stop for a moment and feel the ground you are walking on….”
The concert will be broadcast live on-air at 20:05 and online via the Youtube channel and facebook pages of Radio Gdańsk.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be mostly clear and sunny, with little chance of rain and a light breeze coming in from the northwest. Temperatures will be slightly cooler than yesterday, with a daytime high of 12°C or 53°F dropping to a low of 2°C or 36°F overnight. Even warmer weather is expected tomorrow, with a chance for some rain showers returning midweek.
Elizabeth Peck/pb
