Today marks the two-year anniversary of the deadly storm which struck regions of Pomerania the night of August 11th and 12th, 2017.
The furious storm that tore through the region two years ago caused flooding and extremely high winds, resulting in the deaths of 6 people, massive damage to homes and businesses in local communities, and the destruction of more than 40,000 hectares of forest. In an interview with the BBC two years ago, Poland’s chief forester, Konrad Tomaszewski, called it „undoubtedly the worst disaster in the history of Polish – and perhaps even European – forestry”, estimating that it would take decades for the natural habitat to recover.
The areas of Kościerski, Bytowski and Chojnicki were particularly hard hit, with destroyed power lines, flooding, and severe damage to the roofs of houses, schools,and institutions. In commemoration of those who died and to celebrate the efforts of community members and emergency services personnel during the catastrophe, Radio Gdańsk will be broadcasting live from the village of Dziemiany throughout the day, and listeners are invited to participate.
Source: Radio Gdansk, BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40959863
„Officially sanctioned” protests took place across Russia on Saturday in solidarity with those in Moscow, which saw tens of thousands of Russians take to the streets in the biggest mass demonstrations in nearly a decade.
Demonstrations took place Saturday in cities across Russia: from St. Petersburg in the west to Irkutsk and Novosibirsk in central Siberia to Vladivstok in the Far East. Despite the fact that the Saturday marches were authorized by local governments, detention monitoring agency OVD-Info reported that 352 people were detained in cities across Russia, with the majority -256 – detained in Moscow.
Protests against the exclusion of opposition candidates in the upcoming Moscow city elections have already resulted in outbreaks of violence, several arrests of organizers and key opposition figures, as well as the detention of more than 2,000 people. Protestors at Saturday’s event, billed as a protest „For Freedom and Justice” also appealed for the release of those detained as part of the „mass riots” investigation initiated by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation after the demonstrations on July 27th and August 3rd. 12 people are currently in custody and face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Source: PAP
https://www.pap.pl/aktualnosci/news,495796,rosja-owd-info-podczas-sobotnich-demonstracji-zatrzymano-352-osoby.html
For the first time in history, the Polish national team has taken top honors at the European Athletics Super League Championships, which wrapped up yesterday in Bydgoszcz.
The European Team Championships, formerly known as the European Cup, is an international track and field competition between different countries of Europe. Over the weekend, 12 national teams competed in a series of 20 track and field events in men’s and women’s categories, with Poland coming out on top with 345 points, followed by Germany in second with 317.5, and France with 316.5.
On Sunday, a record-breaking crowd of 16,000 spectators cheered for a series of victorious Polish athletes, in particular the women’s 4x400m relay team, whose triumph sealed Poland’s victory in the championships.
Source: PAP, European Athletics
https://www.pap.pl/aktualnosci/news,495823,lekkoatletyczne-dme-polacy-zwyciezyli-po-raz-pierwszy-w-historii.html
https://www.european-athletics.org/competitions/european-team-championships/index.html
The Polish men’s volleyball team defeated Slovenia 3:1 this weekend in Gdańsk to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
After starting off with a decisive 3-0 win against Tunisia on Friday, the Poles were optimistic heading into their most anticipated match of the tournament on Saturday. Some 10,000 spectators in Ergo Arena watched Poland win in straight sets against France, their strongest rival in the tournament and the reigning European champions.
Slovenia proved to be a bit more of a challenge on Sunday, but despite losing the first set, the Poles came back to defeat the Slovenes in their last match of the intercontinental qualifying tournament, making Poland the only undefeated team in the qualifiers.
Polish President Andrzej Duda congratulated the men’s team in a tweet, writing that “Thanks to their great attitude and gameplay we can get excited about volleyball matches with the Red and White at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year. Bravo!”
Source: PAP
If you missed this weekend’s sporting excitement in volleyball and track and field, you still have a chance to watch Lechia Gdańsk compete tonight against Białystok.
The #7 ranked Lechia Gdańsk will face off tonight at 6pm in Ergo Arena against the #9 ranked Jagiellonia Białystok. In their last matches Lechia defeated Wisła Płock 2-1, while Jagiellonia tied with Zagłębie Sosnowiec 2-2. Both teams will be looking to improve their rankings in the Ekstraklasa League.
EP/RGEN News
