US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that the youngest US hostage held by Hamas, 4-year-old Abigail Edan, had been released in the latest round of exchanges and was now in Israel, reportedly under the care of the Red Cross.
Biden went on to express his “hope that the break in fighting between Israel and Hamas fighters will be extended and allow for further prisoner exchanges” along with the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement published on Sunday, Hamas announced it wanted to extend the ceasefire with Israel by 2-4 days in exchange for the release of additional hostages who would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, according to the Times of Israel website.
Under the earlier agreement, the 4-day truce is set to end today.
According to the New York Times, Israel’s government has indicated it would be open to continuing the ceasefire if Hamas agrees to release 10 hostages for each additional day the truce is extended.
A previous agreement by the Israeli government would reportedly limit any extension to 10 days and place a cap of 300 on the number of Palestinian prisoners who could released as part of the original deal.
Source: PAP, nytimes.com
Prime Minister-elect Mateusz Morawiecki’s proposed new cabinet is set to be sworn in today, according to reports by a Polish presidential aide.
The swearing-in ceremony is slated for 16:30 CET at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, with a two-week window following the appointment for Morawiecki to obtain a vote of confidence in the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament.
Polish constitutional rules mandate the President appoint a new Council of Ministers by November 27. The current Prime Minister then has two weeks to present the new Cabinet members for approval by the Sejm.
If, as anticipated, Morawiecki’s government fails to secure an absolute majority of votes in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament will proceed to elect a new Prime Minister.
Source: Polskie Radio, Radio Gdańsk
A Polish consortium has been officially selected to design a mission to map the Moon and assess the possibility of resource extraction and processing.
Last week, the European Space Agency (ESA) approved the Twardowski project, led by Creotech Instruments, which will design the entire mission and a satellite based on their proprietary HyperSat microsatellite platform.
Other consortium members include the Institute of Geological Sciences and the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
According to Creotech president Dr. Grzegorz Brona, the project is an opportunity to send the most technologically advanced mapping satellite in the history of the space industry into the Moon’s orbit.
The Twardowski project is set to run for twelve months, starting in January 2024.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, PAP
Intercity rail traffic was delayed for several hours yesterday near Gdańśk Głowny after a fatal accident near Biskupia Górka.
The fatal accident occurred around 7:10 Sunday morning when a 65-year-old man fell under a train traveling from Gdynia to Katowice. Rescuers confirmed that the man died on the scene.
The accident occurred outside of any official rail crossing, and police are examining the circumstances of the incident.
Rail traffic through Gdańsk Głowny was suspended in both directions for over two hours.
As of 9:45 yesterday morning, traffic had been restored on the railway line from Gdynia to Warsaw, according to PKP officials, with train traffic slowly returning to normal after a second track was opened after 10:00.
As of 11:00 yesterday, trains passing through Gdańsk had an average delay of half an hour, though some trains were delayed much longer.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, PAP
Weather
Today will be mostly cloudy, with a recurring chance of rain or snow flurries throughout the day and a light breeze coming in from the northwest. Temperatures will peak around a high of 2°C, or 36°F, dropping to a freezing overnight low of -5°C or 23°F. Colder but sunnier weather is expected for tomorrow, with a chance for some rain or snow returning later in the week.
Elizabeth Peck
