United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an investigation into civilian deaths in Ukrainian towns abandoned by retreating Russian forces.
Guterres posted his comments on Twitter a day after witnesses and officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes during their occupation of towns around Kyiv, including the killing of over 300 civilians in the town of Bucha.
After a visit to Bucha yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the killings as „genocide” and called the Russian invasion „the torture of a whole nation.” He later announced plans for an international justice administration to investigate the alleged crimes as „the time has come to make the war crimes committed by Russian troops the last such evil on Earth.”
Zelenskiy reportedly plans to address the UN Security Council today to build support for an international investigation into the killings in Bucha. US officials have also said they will ask the UN General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.
Russian officials have denied claims of war crimes committed by Russian troops and stated they will submit „empirical evidence” during the UN Security Council meeting today to bolster their claims.
Source: Radio Poland, Radio Gdańsk, PAP
Top Polish officials met yesterday with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to discuss international aid for war-ravaged Ukraine.
According to official sources, the meetings with President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau focused on Polish-Japanese cooperation and coordination of humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
During the talks, Morawiecki announced that Japan had agreed to provide USD 100 million „to support Poland and other countries helping Ukraine.”
Hayashi visited a Polish-Ukrainian border checkpoint at Medyka on Sunday and later held talks in Warsaw with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.
Poland on Monday reported it had taken in almost 2.5 million refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Source: Radio Poland, PAP
International ratings agency S&P Global has affirmed Poland’s „A-” long-term foreign-currency credit rating, with a stable outlook, as economies struggle with the fallout from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The credit-ratings company cited Poland’s diversified economy, European Union membership, and manageable levels of public and private debt as the rationale for the rating action.
The agency predicted, however, that the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine would have a significant impact on Poland’s economy and public finance, according to the Polish state news agency PAP.
S&P also trimmed its 2022 GDP growth forecast for Poland to 3.6 percent from a previous prediction of 5 percent and is also expecting a higher general government deficit this year, at 4 percent of GDP instead of the 3 percent predicted earlier.
Source: Radio Poland
Iga Świątek officially became the world No.1 in women’s tennis, becoming the first Pole to top the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.
The 20-year-old, coached by countryman Tomasz Wiktorowski, moved into the top spot vacated by Australian Ashleigh Barty, who announced her retirement last month.
On Saturday, Świątek dominated Japan’s Naomi Osaka to win the Miami Open tournament in Florida, claiming her sixth career singles title and 17th straight win this season.
Source: Radio Poland, wtatennis.com
Swiątek wasn’t the only Polish tennis player making headlines over the weekend.
Hubert Hurkacz, currently ranked world No. 14, won the men’s doubles competition at the Miami Open together with his American partner John Isner.
Hurkacz and Isner saw off the Netherlands’ Wesley Koolhof and Britain’s Neal Skupski 7-6, 6-4 in the championship match on Saturday to claim their first title together.
Source: Radio Poland, atptour.com
The 26th annual Easter Beethoven Festival kicked off last weekend with a grand gala performance of the Ninth Symphony at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.
The festival runs until Good Friday on April 15, with concerts broadcast live on Polish Radio’s Channel 2 and on the Youtube channel of the Stowarzyszenie im. Ludwiga van Beethovena.
Weather
Today will be mostly cold and overcast in Gdańsk, with a good chance for rain into the late afternoon and light winds coming in from the west. Temperatures will be slightly cooler than yesterday, with a high around 6°C, or 43°F, dropping to an overnight low of 1°C or 33°F. Slightly warmer weather is expected tomorrow, along with a chance for rain throughout the day and the potential for snow overnight.
Posłuchaj:
Elizabeth Peck/MarWer
