The US has threatened to move troops from Germany to Poland if Germany doesn’t increase its defense spending to 2% of GDP per NATO guidelines.
In comments to Germany’s press agency last week, US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell claimed it was “offensive to assume that the U.S. taxpayers continue to pay for more than 50,000 Americans in Germany but the Germans get to spend their (budget) surplus on domestic programs.”
Currently, Germany is forecast to spend 1.37% of its output on defense, with that number forecast to drop to below 1.25% by 2023. By contrast, countries like Poland and Latvia, who are wary of their proximity to Russia, have raised their defense spending to approach the 2% threshold, a fact which has not gone unnoticed by American officials.
In an apparent snub, US Ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, tweeted last week that “Poland meets its 2% of GDP spending obligation toward NATO. Germany does not. We would welcome American troops in Germany to come to Poland.” According to Reuters, there are currently more than 33,000 active duty American soldiers and an additional 17,000 civilian support staff living in Germany.
According to the US Department of Commerce, the Polish government allocated approximately 2% of their 2018 GDP to defense spending in the 2019 budget, an amount equal to about $11.76 billion US or 44.7 billion zloty for total defense expenditures, of which the vast majority, about $11.5 billion USD or 43.8 billion zlotych is dedicated to national defense.
German MP Dietmar Bartsch reportedly remarked in response on Sunday that if the US decides to “withdraw their soldiers, then they should take their nuclear weapons with them” as well.
Source: Reuters
Radio Gdańsk was in the village of Dziemiany on Monday to speak with residents on the two-year anniversary of one of the worst natural disasters in the region.
“An incredible roar and then dead silence,” were the most frequently spoken words by the inhabitants of Kashubia and Bory Tucholskie about the fateful night in which a 300-km per hour multi-cell storm caused the deaths of six people, including two young scouts. Hundreds of others were trapped and injured as gale-force winds destroyed roofs, downed power lines, and flattened thousands of hectares of forests. The scale of the disaster was shocking, and total losses in Pomeranian Voivodeship were estimated at 2.7 billion zlotych.
“At 5am a forest guard called me and in a grave voice said that I had to come immediately because a tragedy had happened,” remembers Daniel Lemke, manager of the Bytow forestry district. “Driving there I didn’t know what had happened yet. I was not prepared for it, but no one was because you cannot prepare for it…the first thing I remember from the moment I tried to enter the forest was the smell [of pine resin],” he went on to recall. “Secondly – silence, complete silence. No birds and no animals.”
“Even today… when I think about those events, one word comes to mind: powerlessness,” said sister Mirona Turzyńska, a Franciscan nun evacuated from the Orlik monastery. “Even the most powerful, most successful tough guy…can do nothing against the power of nature.”
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Last night’s match between Lechia Gdańsk and Jagiellonia Białystok ended in a disappointing 1:1 draw.
Despite taking an early lead with an opportunistic header by Sobiech in the first half, Lechia was unable to keep the visiting team from scoring late in the second half, tying the game 1:1. The resulting draw will keep both teams within spitting distance of the top five, but the outcome is less an ideal for Lechia, who have had only one win and three draws in their first four matches.
Lechia’s next chance to kickstart their Ekstraklasa season will come next Sunday when they travel to compete against 14th-ranked Raków Częstochowa.
Source: Trojmiasto.pl
Tennis players Hurbert Hurkacz and Iga Świątek have moved up in the world rankings this week after impressive performances in their respective tournaments.
After defeating Stefanos Tsitsipras, the highest-ranked Greek player ever, at the 2019 Rogers Cup/ATP Masters 1000 Tournament in Montreal, Canada, 22-year-old Hubert Hurkacz reached an all-time high ranking of 40th in the world. Dubbed “the silent assassin,” he scored the upset of the tournament by knocking out the fourth-seeded Tsitsipras before losing in the quarterfinals to French player Gael Monfil.
On the women’s side, 18-year-old Iga Świątek was promoted from 65th to a career high of 55th place in the world ranking of female tennis players after defeating the one time No. 1 ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
Currently, Świątek is participating in the WTA Western and Southern Open tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio. On Sunday, she defeated China’s Wang Yafan in 3 sets and advanced to the main bracket. Last night, her winning streak continued as she knocked out 25th ranked Caroline Garcia of France in two sets.
Source: PAP
With only a few weeks of summer left, it’s your last chance to take advantage of summer concert series around Trójmiasto.
Tonight and Friday night will feature classical organ performances with works by Bach and Chopin as part of the 62nd annual International Festival of Organ Music in Oliva, one of the three oldest musical festivals in Poland. The concerts will feature virtuoso organists of various nationalities and ages performing a diverse repertoire of musical periods and styles, as well as premieres of several new compositions.
Concerts begin promptly at 8pm in Oliva Cathedral. Tickets range from 15 to 25 zloty and can be purchased at the concert or online.
At Plac Kobrzeja tonight as part of the Jarmark Dominikanski’s “Concerts under the Stars”series, baritone Kamil Pękala and principal violinist Natalia Walewska will be performing a series of contemporary vocal and violin works.
The concert is free and starts at 8pm.
Source: Filharmonia Bałtycka, Trojmiasto.pl
https://imprezy.trojmiasto.pl/Koncerty-pod-gwiazdami-Wielka-klasyka-imp483865.html
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