The Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany will remain shut down indefinitely for what Russian state energy giant Gazprom claims is “maintenance work” to repair an oil leak in one of the turbines.

The extended closure was announced shortly after the G7 agreed to introduce a price cap for Russian oil in a bid to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance its war on Ukraine.

EU Council President Charles Michel replied on Twitter that Gazprom’s announcement was “sadly no surprise” but vowed that the “use of gas as a weapon will not change the resolve of the EU.”

“We will accelerate our path towards energy independence,” Michel wrote. “Our duty is to protect our citizens and support the freedom of Ukraine.”

Source: Radio Poland, Reuters

Former Soviet leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mikhail Gorbachev was buried yesterday in Moscow without formal state honors or the presence of current Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gorbachev, who died on Tuesday aged 91, became a hero in the West for allowing eastern Europe to shake off more than four decades of communist rule. For many Russians, however, Gorbachev’s political policies of “glasnost” and “perestroika” were directly to blame for the collapse of the USSR, an event Putin has described as “the geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century.

On entering the Kremlin in 2000, Putin wasted little time rolling back the political plurality that had developed from Gorbachev’s policies and slowly began reclaiming Moscow’s influence over its former territories.

The many Western heads of state and government who would have attended Gorbachev’s funeral were absent on Saturday, kept away by the chasm in relations between Moscow and the West opened up by Putin’s move to send troops into Ukraine in February.

In an interview this week, Gorbachev’s long-time interpreter and aide, Pavel Palazhchenko, said that Russia’s actions in Ukraine had left the former leader “shocked and bewildered” in the final months of his life.

“It really crushed him, emotionally and psychologically,” Palazhchenko told Reuters.

Gorbachev, like his successor Boris Yeltsin, was buried in Moscow’s Novodevichy cemetery alongside his beloved wife Raisa.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

Around 185,000 children from Ukraine joined their Polish peers in kicking off the school year last week, according to Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek.

In an interview with private broadcaster RMF FM, Czarnek said the number was slightly lower than the one at the end of the previous school year since some children are enrolled in online courses in Ukrainian schools or have returned to their homeland.

Czarnek added that local governments in Poland have thus far received PLN 900 million (EUR 191 million) from the central government to help finance the education of Ukrainian schoolchildren.

An estimated 800,000 school-age children from Ukraine currently reside in Poland, according to estimates by the Ministry of Education.

Source: Radio Poland

Iga Świątek beat Lauren Davis of the US in two sets (6-3, 6-4) yesterday to advance to the Round of 16 at the US Open tennis tournament in Queens, New York.

The top-seeded 21-year-old Pole will next face off tomorrow against Jule Niemeier of Germany for a place in the quarterfinals.

The exact time of the match has yet to be announced.

Source: wtatennis.com

The Polish men’s basketball team lost to Finland yesterday in their second match of the FIBA Men’s EuroBasket 2022 tournament in Prague.

Poland emerged as a group favorite after their surprise victory over co-hosts the Czech Republic in their opening match on Friday but struggled to overcome an aggressive Finnish offense yesterday.

Poland’s remaining opponents in Group D include Israel, Serbia, and the Netherlands, with Serbia and Israel currently tied for the group leader with 2 wins and 0 losses each.

The best four teams of the group will qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament, which runs until September 18.

The Polish team will face Israel tomorrow at 14:00 Warsaw time.

Source: fiba.basketball

Weather

Today will be partly cloudy and cool, with almost no chance of rain and a gentle breeze coming in from the northeast. Temperatures will peak around a high of 18°C, or 64°F, dropping to an overnight low of 9°C or 49°F. Similar weather is expected throughout the week, with temperatures expected to warm slightly as the week progresses.

Elizabeth Peck/jk