Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz confirmed Poland’s commitment to the people of Belarus during an informal UN Security Council meeting last Friday.
During the meeting, Przydacz addressed representatives of 31 countries gathered at the online event, saying that Belarusian strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko was cynically using migrants, immigrants, and asylum-seekers to create tensions and put immigration pressure on the EU’s eastern border.
Since the beginning of August, Poland’s Border Guard has reportedly prevented some 15,000 attempts to enter the country from Belarus. The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, visited Poland last week, agreeing with Warsaw’s arguments that „firm steps” were needed in response to Belarus’ actions on the Polish border.
Przydacz also called on the Belarusian regime to release two members of the Association of Poles in Belarus who have been held in detention for the past eight months. Andżelika Borys, the head of the association, was detained by Belarusian police last March. Andrzej Poczobut, a senior member of the association, was also detained in Grodno, close to the Polish border, the same month.
Source: Radio Poland, PAP
Poland’s largest oil refiner, PKN Orlen, recently announced it would build a EUR 641 million oil-processing facility at its refinery in Mažeikiai in northwestern Lithuania.
PKN Orlen hailed the project as its biggest-ever initiative in Lithuania, with work expected to start later this year and reach completion in 2024.
During a news conference in Mažeikiai, PKN Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek praised „the various benefits of the project,” made possible „due to the warming up of Polish-Lithuanian relations in recent years, between the governments as well as in business,” he said.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin, who also visited Mažeikiai, lauded the „biggest project in Lithuanian history” as a means of addressing „21st-century challenges” such as „achieving eco-friendly energy transformation” and „boosting energy security in the region, including Poland.”
Source: Radio Poland, PAP
Poland’s national football team easily defeated San Marino 5-0 last night in their seventh 2022 World Cup qualifying match.
The lineup last night included the return of several familiar faces, including star striker Robert Lewandowski, Napoli midfielder Piotr Zieliński and Hertha Berlin forward Krzysztof Piątek.
The match also featured an emotional farewell, as West Ham United goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański officially retired from international football and Poland’s national team on Saturday night after 15 years representing the country. He left the pitch for the last time accompanied by an honor guard and a standing ovation from the crowd.
The Polish team now travels to Tirana to take on Albania in their next qualifying fixture on October 12. The match against Albania is set to kick off at 21:45 on Tuesday.
Source: Radio Poland, fifa.com
Polish tennis phenom Iga Świątek has advanced to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, after beating Croatia’s Petra Martic 6-1, 6-3 last Friday.
The 20-year-old Pole, currently ranked fourth in the world by the WTA, will now face Russia’s Veronica Kudermetova later today.
Last month, Świątek reached the round of 16 of the women’s singles at the US Open before losing in a hard-fought match to Olympic champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.
Source: Radio Poland, wtatennnis.com
Weather
Today will be mostly sunny, with very little chance of rain and a slight breeze coming in from the south. Temperatures will peak around a high of 13°C, or 56°F, dropping to a chilly overnight low of 3°C or 37°F. Clouds will begin to roll in overnight, with an increasing chance for rain moving into Tuesday.
Elizabeth Peck/am
