Poland’s consumer price index hit 8.6% in December, the highest level since 2000, according to data released recently by the Central Statistical Office (GUS). Compared to last year, food prices have increased by 8.6%, while energy and fuel prices have risen by 14.3% and 32.9%, respectively. In month-to-month terms, prices rose by 0.9% on average.

The government has announced plans to alleviate the inflationary burden by introducing additional measures, including lowering the VAT on fuels from 23% to 8%. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is expected to announce more additions to the country’s anti-inflationary package tomorrow, according to government spokesperson Piotr Müller. The measures could potentially be extended if inflation continues to surge.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

A new strain of coronavirus has been discovered in Cyprus that combines both the Delta and Omicron variants, according to reports in Bloomberg News.

A team of researchers led by Dr. Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, is calling the strain „deltacron” because its genetic signatures are similar to the delta and omicron variants.

The research team has reportedly discovered 25 cases of the new variant thus far, but researchers emphasize that it is too early to determine its effects.

According to Bloomberg, the researchers have already uploaded their findings to GISAID, an international database that traces viruses.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

President Andrzej Duda is reportedly „doing well” with only minor symptoms after testing positive for coronavirus last Wednesday.

In an interview with the Polsat News channel yesterday morning, Presidential Minister Bogna Janke described Duda’s overall health as “good,” saying he “has minor symptoms and is under constant medical care.”

Bogna attributed the favorable prognosis to the fact that Duda had been fully vaccinated at the time of infection. The President received his initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last April and June and received a third booster dose on December 17.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

The captain of Poland’s national football team and celebrated Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has won Poland’s “Sports Personality of the Year” award.

Lewandowski was handed the award at a gala in Warsaw on Saturday evening. His victory was hardly surprising after winning the same poll in 2021 and leading Bayern Munich to another German title last season.

During his acceptance speech, Lewandowski noted that the award was particularly meaningful to him as he had been living abroad for 12 years and appreciated winning a title in his native country.

Awarded annually since 1926, the “Sports Personality of The Year” award is considered Poland’s most prestigious sports prize. The winner is the sportsperson who has “achieved the most in the previous year” as chosen by a public poll of readers of the “Przegląd Sportowy” newspaper.

Source: Radio Poland

One of the largest aircraft in the world, the Antonov 124 “Ruslan” transport plane, visited the Gdańsk airport over the weekend en route from Germany to Ireland.

The plane landed at the Gdańsk airport Saturday evening around 22:00 after flying in from Cologne, was unloaded overnight, and then departed for Shannon, Ireland, yesterday afternoon.

The An-124 Ruslan (NATO codenam: Condor) is a Soviet-made four-engine jet strategic transport aircraft designed by what was then the Antonov Design Bureau, a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company specializing in oversize aircraft.

At the time of its unveiling in December 1982 and subsequent official presentation at the Paris Air Show on May 28, 1985, it was the largest transport plane in the world.

Representatives of the Gdańsk Airport could not provide information on what was on board the Antonov or who ordered the transport.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be mostly clear but cold, with very little chance of snow and a slight breeze coming in from the east. Temperatures will peak around a high of -1°C, or 31°F, dropping to a chilly overnight low of -6°C or 22°F. Temperatures will remain at or below freezing through tomorrow, with slightly warmer weather returning later in the week.

Elizabeth Peck/ua