The cost of loans will rise after the Monetary Policy Committee raised interest rates for the second time in two months.
The main reference rate jumped to one and a quarter percent, following October’s increase to half of one percent.

The governor of the National Bank of Poland, Adam Glapiński, said at a press conference that the rate hike will not immediately impact inflation, which he predicted will peak at around 7 percent in January before falling again.

The governor added that increased inflation is the price for avoiding a deeper recession post-pandemic.

Glapiński said that, in his opinion, Poland emerged from the pandemic with „the smallest losses” among medium-sized countries.

He said that it was the decisive action of the central bank and the government, who enacted an enormous fiscal stimulus and huge public spending, that prevented a large-scale economic disaster.

Source: PAP

Belarusian diplomat called in over alleged border incident

The Foreign Ministry has said it called in the Belarusian chargé d’affaires after an alleged border incursion by armed and uniformed individuals on Monday night.

The spokesperson for the coordinator of special forces, Stanisław Żaryn, wrote on Twitter that Polish soldiers saw three people in uniform carrying „long weapons” on Polish territory.

He wrote that after being challenged, the individuals departed towards Belarus.

Afterwards, deputy foreign minister Piotr Wawrzyk met with the Belarusian diplomat to call for his government to immediately explain the incident.

According to a statement, Wawrzyk stressed in the meeting that such actions are unacceptable to Poland.

And he said that actions taken in recent weeks by the Belarusian authorities bore more and more signs of a deliberate escalation.

Source: polskieradio24.pl, gov.pl, Twitter

Recorded Covid infections reach 10,000 in a day

Official figures for daily Covid infections have topped 10,000 for the first time since April.

The rate announced yesterday—of 10,400 new infections—has increased by 24 percent in the last week.

Government spokesperson Piotr Müller told Radio Plus that the increasing rate of infection is not expected to slow down in the near future.

A year ago today there were almost 25,000 new infections.

Source: rp.pl

Polio outbreak in Ukrainian border region

Five children have been diagnosed with polio in the Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia, which borders south-eastern Poland.

None of the children was vaccinated against the disease, which can cause lasting paralysis and death.

Polio was officially eradicated in Europe in 2002.

Only 49 percent of youngsters are immunised against the disease in Transcarpathia, with many parents refusing to vaccinate on religious grounds.

In 2015 there was an outbreak of two cases of polio in the same area.

Source: bbc.com, euronews.com

Halloween convict gets trick not treat

A wanted convict has been sent to prison after an off-duty police officer in Brzeg spotted the man under a Halloween disguise.

Police had been seeking the 37-year-old for a year to serve his time for crimes against property.

The man commented after his arrest that his night out had ended up with a trick rather than a treat.

Source: PAP

Weather

It’s cloudy and windy across much of Poland today, with gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour in the south. In Gdańsk, winds will be light, and it’ll be cloudy and dry, with a high temperature of 9 degrees Celsius, 48 Fahrenheit. Overnight it’ll fall to 7 degrees Celsius, 44 Fahrenheit, before a similar day tomorrow with a chance of rain.

Andrew Carter/MarWer