Poland’s PKP state railway network experienced significant disruptions over the weekend as false emergency signals stopped trains across the country, raising concerns of a potential cyber-attack.
Officials say the unauthorized use of emergency radio signals seriously disrupted railway traffic in at least four regions of Poland, stopping and delaying nearly 100 trains.
Some analysts disagree that the incident should be called a cyber-attack, as perpetrators reportedly utilized the railway’s frequencies to send a signal that compelled an emergency halt to train services.
In an interview on Monday, Deputy Coordinator of Special Services Stanisław Żaryn emphasized the need to “approach this situation calmly,” telling reporters it was “not a foregone conclusion that we are talking about some kind of Machiavellian operation that a foreign state is behind.”
In a separate but equally concerning incident, the railway authority is delving into the reasons behind the derailment of two trains and a subsequent collision involving another two trains last week. Fortunately, there were no casualties reported in the aftermath of these incidents.
Żaryn further clarified that there seems to be no evidence linking Thursday’s events with the cyber-attack and no concrete evidence linking the cyber-attack to Russian intelligence agencies.
The Internal Security Agency (ABW) and the national police are currently investigating the matter.
Source: Polskie Radio
Officials paid tribute yesterday to two members of Poland’s wartime underground Home Army (AK), Danuta “Inka” Siedzikówna and Feliks Selmanowicz, who were executed by the communist regime following World War II.
Siedzikówna, or “Inka,” ‘as she was more commonly known, was a 17-year-old medical orderly when she was executed alongside Selmanowicz (codename Zagończyk) in Gdańsk on August 28, 1946.
Many who had served in the Home Army (AK), the underground force loyal to the Polish government-in-exile in Britain, were victims of a wave of terror perpetrated by the Soviet-backed communist regime that came to power in Poland after World War II. The victims were vilified as enemies of the state, executed, and buried secretly in unnamed graves.
Inka’s and Zagończyk’s remains were found in late 2014 by a team from Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) led by Krzysztof Szwagrzyk.
Source: Polskie Radio
Civic and cultural institutions across Pomerania are gearing up to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the August 1980 strikes and the historic Gdańsk Agreement, which marked the official birth of the “Solidarity” movement and trade union.
Celebrations kicked off last night with a “Bards of Freedom” concert in the historic BHP hall in Gdańsk Stocznia, featuring live performances and modern arrangements of well-known Solidarity-era songs by Jacek Kaczmarski, Przemysław Gintrowski, Wojciech Młynarski, Jonasz Kofta and poems by Zbigniew Herbert.
According to a representative from the Youth for Poland Foundation, one of the concert’s sponsors, the concert is a way to show how the current generation of Poles “lives in a truly free Poland” thanks to the “[August] agreements that were an important element in the march for freedom.”
The “Bardów Wolności” concert will be rebroadcast in its entirety on Radio Gdańsk on Thursday, August 31, starting at 19:00.
More information on this and other upcoming events can be found on our website at radiogdansk.pl.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Polish tennis stars Iga Świątek, Magdalena Fręch, and Magda Linette have all advanced to the second round of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in New York.
Świątek defeated Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of the women’s singles at Flushing Meadows on Monday. The 22-year-old Polish tennis star, who is the defending champion in New York, will face Australian Daria Saville tomorrow.
Fellow Pole Magdalena Fręch also had cause to celebrate yesterday after defeating home favorite Emma Navarro in three sets (7-6, 1-6, 6-2). On Wednesday, the 77th-ranked Pole will face world no. 10 Karolína Muchová of Czechia.
Late on Monday, 24th-seeded Magda Linette also defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-3, 6-1, and will face American Jennifer Brady tomorrow.
On the men’s side, world No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz is set to face Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland in their first-round matchup tonight at 20:15 CEST.
Source: Polskie Radio, wtatennis.com, atptour.com
Weather
Today will be mostly cloudy, with a good chance of rain throughout the day and a light breeze from the northeast. Temperatures will be on the cooler side, with an afternoon high of 19°C or 66°F, dropping to a low of 17°C or 62°F overnight. Similar weather is expected tomorrow, with a chance for rain showers continuing into Thursday.
Listen to the broadcast:
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