Ukraine and Russia are close to agreement on grain exports according to the Ukrainian foreign minister. The Ukrainian foreign minister made the statement in an interview for the Spanish daily „El Pais”.

The Minister said that the ball is in the Russian court – Ukraine is waiting for assurances that Russia will not attack grain transports in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian minister also suggested that Russia was hoping to spin the negotiations – to imply that Russia is defending the interests of African countries in crisis because of grain blockades.

Source – Polskie Radio

Poland’s Justice Minister has criticized the EU for its recommendation that the country separate the roles of justice minister and prosecutor-general.

The Commission made the recommendation in its third annual Rule of Law Report, published on Wednesday. Brussels urged Poland to “separate the function of the Minister of Justice from that of the Prosecutor-General and ensure functional independence of the prosecution service from the Government”. In response, the Polish minister argued that when Poland was entering the EU in 2004, the roles of justice minister and prosecutor-general were combined and Brussels “didn’t object” at the time, adding that “This fact best demonstrates the political nature of today’s recommendations”.

Source – Polskie Radio

The village of Grunwald in Northern Poland is gearing up for a re-enactment of the most famous battles of medieval Europe this weekend.

On July 14, 1410, the Fields of Grunwald saw allied Polish and Lithuanian forces defeat the German Teutonic Order. The Grunwald Foundation, the organizer of the event, is expecting some 50,000 people during the five-day pageant, with Saturday’s reenactment of the historic battle likely to be attended by around 30,000 spectators. More than 1,000 reenactors in shining armour will be in action, including members of knights’ brotherhoods from Poland, Lithuania and several West European countries.

Source – Polskie Radio

And finally, a 36 year old resident of a village in Northern Poland found himself in hot water after he joked about having a bomb in his luggage as he went through the security check at Gdańsk airport.

According to sources, the man was warned about his conduct, but continued to joke about having a bomb in his luggage and was then denied boarding to the plane and fined by the Polish Border Guards. The man was due to fly to Norway. It is commonly known that airport security do not take such „jokes” lightly and have previously made it known that passengers should not attempt such „humour” when going through airport security.

Source – Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be a sunny day with scattered clouds in a moderate breeze and temperatures of 19 degrees centigrade (66 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 11 degrees overnight. Tomorrow will be a day of sunny intervals in a fresh breeze and temperatures of 18 degrees during the day and 11 degrees overnight.

Martin Caren