Hackers knock out government website

A hacking attack on a Polish government website put it out of action for several hours yesterday.

The Public Procurement Office said that its e-Procurements platform was the subject of an attack from outside servers on Monday morning.

It wasn’t immediately clear if any data had been seized in the incident.

The role of the procurement office is to regulate public investment and to bring transparency to the hiring of companies by the government.

Polish government websites have previously been hacked, with the attackers in most cases believed to be Russian-speakers.

Source: AP

UK ceremony marks repatriation of Polish presidents

A ceremony has taken place in England to mark the repatriation of three Polish presidents who were buried there.

The remains of Władysław Raczkiewicz, August Zaleski and Stanisław Ostrowski were exhumed from their resting-places at Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery in Nottinghamshire, as part of a plan to create a mausoleum in Poland.

The three were all presidents of the Polish government-in-exile, which existed from the evacuation of the authorities in 1939, until 1990, when Lech Wałęsa was elected president.

The coffins will be flown back to Poland on Saturday this week, when they will be laid at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw, where a Mausoleum of the Presidents of the Republic of Poland in Exile will be built.

The Polish ambassador to Britain, Piotr Wilczek, called the men “remarkable figures in Poland’s resistance movement”, saying that, “they fought so hard for Poland’s independence, yet none lived to see the country become a free nation in 1989.”

Poland’s current president, Andrzej Duda, is expected to take part in the coming-home ceremony in Warsaw this weekend.

Source: PAP, BBC

Gdańsk court acquits three men over toppling of priest’s statue

A court in Gdańsk has acquitted three men who toppled the statue of a late priest accused of sexually abusing children.

The Gdańsk district court overturned the earlier verdict of a lower court which had last year found the three men guilty of insulting and destroying the monument of Henryk Jankowski in 2019.

The trio acted when officials initially refused to remove the statue following allegations of abuse against boys and girls by Jankowsi, made after his death in 2010.

After pulling down the statue, the three men reported themselves to police.

The monument was re-erected for a short time, before city councillors voted to remove it, and to strip Jankowski’s name from the square where it had stood.

One of the acquitted, Michał Wojcieszczuk, said he welcomed the end of the proceedings.

The court’s decision is final.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, AP

Voivode appeals for extra attention for vulnerable this winter

The voivode of Pomerania has appealed to community leaders to take special care of vulnerable people during the coming winter.

Dariusz Drelich said that the elderly, disabled and homeless face struggles around their basic needs in this season, often relating to adequate food, shelter, clothing and care services.

He emphasised that all municipal authorities, including local councils, police and health services need to work together to take care of these members of the community.

Anyone with concerns about a vulnerable person can report these to the Provincial Crisis Management Centre on their free 24-hour helpline number, 987.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Applications open for subsidised coal in Gdańsk

Gdańsk city council has opened applications for residents to buy coal at a preferential price.

The city will distribute coal from energy company PGE at a price of 2,000 zlotys per ton, with each eligible family able to buy up to three tons in total between this year and next.

Estimates show that around 7,000 households in the city use coal for heating, with around half of them expected to apply for the subsidised fuel.

Gdańsk council, along with other local government bodies in Poland, has taken on the unusual role of coal trader in response to the significant rise in heating and energy costs.

Applications can be made in person or via the e-PUAP online platform, and deliveries will be made within two weeks.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Grey skies and light winds from the southwest are today’s outlook for Gdańsk, with a maximum temperature of 13°C (55°F). It’ll stay dry overnight with a low of 9°C (48°F), and tomorrow will bringing almost identical weather to today’s.

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Andrew Carter/MarWer