In the US, President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law a pandemic relief package worth nearly $2 trillion after it secured approval from both houses of Congress.
At 1.9 trillion USD, the 'American Rescue Plan’ will be one of the largest economic stimulus plans in world history, worth the equivalent of EUR 1.5 trillion or more than PLN 7 trillion.
The package includes $400 billion to be given directly to the public in the form of $1,400 stimulus cheques for low- and middle-income individuals and families. It will be the third round of stimulus payments sent out to Americans – two cheques for smaller amounts were sent out last year under the Trump administration.
The passage of the stimulus package is President Biden’s first major victory since taking office in January. The proposal made it through the House of Representatives and the Senate despite opposition from Republicans who argue the plans are too costly and are unnecessary with the virus in retreat and the economy already recovering.
The financial markets disagreed though, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a record high shortly after the stimulus plan was passed. Markets have been bouncing back in the US as the economy there begins to reopen thanks to the speedy rollout of coronavirus vaccines.
Poland has recorded its highest single-day increase in coronavirus cases so far this year, with 17,260 new cases detected over 24 hours.
The country is currently facing a 'third wave’ of the disease, though case numbers remain well below last year’s peaks. More than 1.8 million people in Poland have now tested positive, though 1.5 million have now recovered from the disease. 46,000 people are known to have died.
One year ago today, students at universities across Poland saw their classes canceled and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that educational establishments would be closing for two weeks. By the end of the week, Poland’s borders would be closed to air & rail and quarantines had been introduced for arrivals.
A Belarusian diplomat in Warsaw has been expelled from Poland amidst an ongoing diplomatic spat between the two countries.
The row began earlier this week when Belarusian authorities expelled a Polish diplomat working in the south-western Belarusian city of Brest. Consul Jerzy Timofiejuk was sent home on Tuesday after he attended a ceremony remembering Poland’s „Cursed Soldiers” last month.
In response, Polish authorities said the expulsion was „unjustified and unfriendly” and promised a swift reaction. Now, an unidentified Belarusian official at the country’s Warsaw embassy has been declared 'persona non grata’ and asked to leave Poland.
Belarus has been going through internal turmoil and protests since a controversial presidential election last year which the opposition – as well as Poland and much of the international community – claim was rigged to keep incumbent President Aleksandyr Lukashenka in power. Some have suggested the decision to expel a Polish diplomat is an attempt by the Lukashenka regime to distract from the country’s internal strife.
The Belarusian side claims the move was part of wider proceedings against the memorial ceremony for the Cursed Soldiers which the Polish consul had attended. The Cursed Soldiers – also known as the Indomitable Soldiers – were members of Poland’s World War 2 Home Army who fought against the Nazi German occupation and later against the Soviet occupation and communist regime post-war. Though they are often praised for resisting authoritarian regimes, they are also known to have committed atrocities against non-Poles, including Belarusians. Prosecutors in Belarus said yesterday that they were opening a criminal case over last month’s ceremony in Brest, with allegations of national or religious enmity and even glorifying Nazism, according to reports by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s Belarus Service.
In Gdansk, a memorial service is to be held later this month for the late Professor Jerzy Limon, who died earlier this month.
A funeral and commemorative Holy Mass will be held on March 27th at St. John’s Church in Gdansk before a burial at the Municipal Cemetery in Sopot.
Professor Limon, who was 70 years old, died on March 3rd after contracting COVID-19. He was best known for his work at the Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre and was one of the city’s most esteemed academics.
The Mass on March 27th will available to stream live on the Gdansk city portal, Gdansk.pl.
Snow and wintery showers remaining likely through the rest of this afternoon, turning to rain overnight as some warmer air covers the city.
Gusty winds from the south today set to calm down somewhat overnight.
tomorrow looking milder thanks to that warm air with a chance of some showers in the afternoon.
Thomas Holdstock
