Poland’s President has met with the British Prime Minister this week to discuss European security and the situation in Ukraine.

The Polish president told reporters afterwards that one of the topics of the conversation was an upcoming summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) group of eastern-flank NATO allies. The get-together will take place in Warsaw next week during US President Joe Biden’s three-day visit to Poland. Duda also thanked the British MP for unwavering support in Ukraine and that Britain had deployed its Sky Sabre air defence system to Poland to protect its skies.

Source – Polskie Radio

The Polish government has unveiled plans to earmark PLN 2 billion for the construction of 1,000 school gyms around the country in the next two years. The plan, which was suggested last year, was outlined by the Polish Sports Minister on Thursday.

The project which will start on March 1st is dubbed Olimpia to mark 100 years since Poland’s first appearance at the Olympic Games, in Paris in 1924, according to officials. The sports minister said that the project had been fine-tuned thanks to a pilot programme that saw the construction of five school sports halls last year. Local governments may apply for funds to help finance such projects.

Source – Polskie Radio

A top flight Polish general has been awarded the role of being head of Eurocorp, a multinational military group based in Strasbourg, France.

The Polish commander currently serves in the international Ukraine support team in Wiesbaden, Germany, overseeing training of Ukrainian troops together with senior US officers, the IAR news agency reported. In January 2022, Poland became one of Eurocorps’ Framework Nations, joining France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain. The 1,000-strong, 11-country Eurocorps is a rapid-response military force capable of commanding up to 60,000 soldiers. It can be used in humanitarian, rescue and peacekeeping missions by international organisations such as the European Union, NATO and the United Nations.

Source – Polskie Radio

And finally, firefighters from Gdańsk have returned from Turkey after helping with rescue efforts in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake there on February 6th.

An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit the Gaziantep province in Turkey on Monday, February 6. The Polish Heavy Search and Rescue Group HUSAR, consisting of 76 firefighters of the State Fire Service with eight dogs, including 15 firefighters from Gdańsk with two dogs, participated in the rescue operation. The Gdańsk group rescued 12 people from the rubble.

Source – Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be a rainy and cloudy day in a moderate breeze with temperatures of 9 degree centigrade (49 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 5 degrees overnight. Tomorrow will be a more sunny day with scattered clouds and strong winds with temperatures of 7 degrees during the day and 1 degrees overnight.

Listen to the broadcast:

Martin Caren/ol