Preparations are being finalized in the US for the inauguration of incoming President Joe Biden, who is set to take the presidential oath of office later today.
Due to health and safety threats, inauguration festivities will be conducted mostly online, with the iconic National Mall in Washington, DC, closed to visitors. Over 20,000 national guardsmen are currently deployed as a deterrent against the violent demonstrations seen earlier this month when pro-Trump rioters broke into the US Capitol and interrupted election certification proceedings.
Outgoing US President Donald Trump, whom a majority of Americans believe is responsible for the events of January 6, will not be attending the inauguration, making him the first American president to skip his successor’s inauguration in over 150 years.
Source: Reuters, NPR
As a new administration takes over in the US, other elected and appointed officials, including diplomats, are stepping down as well.
The outgoing US ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, said in a farewell message yesterday that she was proud of the work accomplished during her tenure as ambassador and would continue to harbor „a deep affection for the Polish people” and their country.
During her time in Poland, Mosbacher oversaw Poland’s long-awaited entry to the US Visa Waiver Program, advocated for regional economic development and cooperation through the Three Seas Initiative, and strengthened Poland’s regional security through the US-Poland Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
Earlier this month, Mosbacher assured Poles that Polish-US relations were likely to remain strong after a transition to the new Biden administration. A nominee for her replacement has yet to be announced.
Source: Radio Poland, state.gov
Poland is pushing other EU member states to support urgent debate in the UN Human Rights Council after the arrest of prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Navalny was arrested upon arrival in Moscow on Sunday after he flew home to Russia from Germany, where he had been undergoing treatment for poisoning. On Monday, a Russian judge remanded Navalny to pre-trial detention for 30 days under the charge of violating the terms of a suspended jail sentence. According to Reuters, Monday’s ruling may be the prelude to Navalny being jailed for years.
President Andrzej Duda has appealed to fellow EU member states for „international solidarity in this situation,” adding in his Twitter post on Sunday evening that „the actions of the Russian authorities towards Alexei Navalny must not be without consequences for that country’s relations with the international community.”
Source: Radio Poland, Reuters
A set of quintuplets are reportedly in good health in a Poznań hospital after being born nearly 2.5 months premature.
The new arrivals—Anastazja, Klara, Laura, Wiktoria, and Maksymilian—were born last Sunday, with the smallest of the five weighing in at less than 700 grams or just over 2 lbs. The five are expected to remain in incubators for some period of time; their 30-year-old mother is also reportedly doing well and can be in close contact with them as she had already been vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to The First News, this is the first quintuplet birth in Poland in nearly 14 years, with the odds of such an occurrence at over one in 50 million.
Source: Radio Poland, The First News
Weather
Today will be mostly cloudy and cold, with a strong breeze coming in from the southwest and a chance for some rain or snow in the morning. Temperatures will be warmer than yesterday, with a high of 2°C, or 36°F, dropping to just above freezing (1°C or 34°F) overnight. Slightly warmer weather and even some sunshine is expected for tomorrow, with temperatures set to remain near freezing for the rest of the week.
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