EU officials have condemned the recent crackdown on protesters in Belarus after elections on Sunday which were „neither free nor fair” according to international observers. In a statement released on Tuesday, the EU threatened to „take measures against those responsible for the observed violence, unjustified arrests, and falsification of election results” in Belarus.
At least one person has died after police clashed with protesters earlier this week after the opposition announced plans to challenge the results of Sunday’s presidential election, accusing incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko of rigging the vote. Helmeted police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, and used stun grenades and batons to disperse thousands of protestors in Minsk, with similar outbreaks of violence reported in cities around the country.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called for a special summit of EU leaders to focus specifically on the issue of Belarus.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he had chosen California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate for the upcoming US presidential elections in November.

As political pundits were quick to point out, Biden’s long-awaited decision adds diversity to the Democratic campaign ticket in terms of race, gender, and age, a strategic choice in light of the rising popularity of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements. At 55, Harris is one of the youngest sitting Senators in Congress, and will be the first African American woman to represent one of America’s two major political parties in a presidential election.

Before becoming a US Senator in 2017, Harris served as the Attorney General for the State of California and District Attorney for the City of San Francisco. During her time in office, she became well-known for her efforts to reform the criminal justice system, improve minority access to healthcare, and address income inequality.

Source: PAP

A German-based energy company connected with the construction of the contested Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea has admitted that the project may never be completed.

The controversial 1,200-kilometre pipeline is designed to have the capacity to send around 55 billion cubic metres of Russian natural gas a year directly to Germany, while bypassing the Baltic states, Poland, and Ukraine.

Poland and the United States have both strongly opposed the project, saying it will pose a threat to Europe’s energy security by doubling Russia’s gas export capacity via the Baltic Sea.

The pipeline is 96 percent completed but construction ground to a halt in December 2019, when the main contractor – Swiss company Allseas – withdrew as a result of US sanctions.

Source: Radio Poland

Despite the additional pressures of sitting exams during a pandemic, Poland’s Central Examination Commission announced on Tuesday that 74 percent of Polish high school students passed the annual „matura” exam this year, only a slight drop from the previous years.

The Polish Matura exam is a rite of passage that determines Polish teenagers’ future to a large degree, and consists of a mixture of elective and mandatory subjects. High school students in Poland who fail one mandatory subject can resit the exam in September. Students who flunk more than one mandatory subject have to wait a year before taking the tests again.

In contrast, 80.5 percent of students passed the matura on their first attempt last year.

Source: Radio Poland

The Polish Navy has been hard at work creating the first accurate maps of the sea floor around Gdansk.

Hydrographic surveying ships from the Polish Navy’s 3rd Flotilla, based in Gdynia, have been using sonar to precisely measure the depth and landscape of the sea floor around the Bay of Gdansk and the Bay of Puck.

The ORP Heweliusz, a Navy survey ship, has been involved, along with a number of smaller craft.

The Bay of Gdansk can be up to 120m deep in some places but in others can be shallow enough to walk across, such as the Rybitwia Mielizna.

The new charts will provide useful data not only for the Navy, but also the Bay’s many civilian sailors as well as scientists and future surveyors.

Weather

Today will be sunny and warm, with temperatures peaking at 24°C, or 75°F, dropping overnight to a cool 14°C or 57°F. Things will continue to warm up over the next few days, with hot, sunny weather forecast for the weekend.

EP,TH/am