Ukraine makes further gains against Russia in east and south
Ukraine has made further territorial advances against Russian troops on the eastern and southern fronts, reclaiming 37 square kilometres of land over the past week, according to the Ukrainian deputy defence minister.
According to her, Ukrainian troops were advancing „in the Bakhmut direction,” in the eastern Donetsk region, while Russian forces were attacking „in the Lyman, Avdiivka and Maryinka directions” in the province.
Ukraine has also recently destroyed 13 Iran-made unmanned aerial vehicles fired by Russia in the early hours of Monday which were targeting southern, eastern and central Ukraine, according to authorities.
Today is day 496 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(PAP)
International centre opens in The Hague to prosecute Russia’s war on Ukraine
The International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine (ICPA) opened in The Hague, the Netherlands, yesterday.
The centre’s primary objective is to gather evidence of Russian crimes and ensure its secure preservation, with its establishment marking the first step in the process leading to a dedicated tribunal within the European Union.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Monday: „Evidence of countless crimes committed by Russia is piling up. We will do everything we can to hold Putin and his henchmen accountable.”
(Polskie Radio)
Polish government launches help for first-home buyers
A new government programme that offers subsidised mortgages began in Poland this week to help people aged up to 45 buy their first homes.
The new programme, dubbed First Home, was outlined by Prime Minister Morawiecki at a news conference in Warsaw yesterday. He explained that the scheme will offer people up to 45 years of age subsidised mortgages, with the interest rate kept at 2 percent for the mortgage payer for a period of 10 years.
Meanwhile, Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda said that under a government bill currently going through parliament, people buying their first homes on the second-hand housing market would be exempt from the usual tax on civil law transactions.
Mortgages available under the programme will be worth up to PLN 500,000 for single-person households, and up to PLN 600,000 for parents, married couples and single parents.
(PAP, gov.pl)
Record breaking clock in the church tower of St. Katherine is needs a new name. The Gdańsk Museum on Długa street has announced a competition
The clock with what is thought to be the longest pendulum in the world in the oldest church in Gdansk, is waiting to be christened. The Gdańsk Museum has just announced a competition. The new name of the clock will be announced during a Guinness World Records ceremony.
It is a 31-meter colossus that you can see up close when visiting the tower above the Church of St. Catherine within the walls of the old town. The clock was made in 2016 by Dr. Grzegorz Szychliński.
The clock has a pretty boring working name already, P-31m. „P” stands for pendulum and „31m” represents its length.
Suggestions for a name for the clock can be sent by anyone with inspiration to the Museum of Gdańsk via email up until August 7th; more details can be found on the Radio Gdańsk website.
(Radio Gdańsk)
The weather
Today will be sunny and windy; with afternoon showers and in many areas of the region a thunderstorm to follow. The winds will come in from the west. Daytime temperatures will see a high of 23°C or 73°F, with expected lows of 12°C or 54°F overnight. The wet and windy conditions are expected to ease off from tomorrow until the end of the week.
Tom Rado/aKa
