Poland

Switzerland bars exports to Polish firm after ammunition ends up in Ukraine

The Swiss government said on Friday it is barring exports to a Polish military hardware supplier after concluding that some 645,000 rounds of Swiss-made small-caliber ammunition ended up in Ukraine in violation of Swiss law. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said exports to the Polish company will be barred because the risk of diversion to Ukraine is assessed as being too high. Switzerland has long touted its neutrality in world affairs, and Swiss law bans exports of Swiss-owned or Swiss-made military hardware to countries in conflict. However the Swiss government has backed European Union economic sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The secretariat opened an investigation after a report by US-based news outlet Defence One last November indicated a Ukrainian company had taken receipt of 645,000 rifle cartridges of armour-piercing rounds made by SwissP Defense and delivered by a Polish importer, UMO. The investigation showed that the S

Poland urges polio vaccination after virus detected in Warsaw sewage

Poland's health authorities on Monday urged polio vaccinations for children after the virus was detected in Warsaw's sewage during regular tests this month. The state Main Sanitary Inspectorate in a statement said the presence of the virus does not necessarily mean people have been sick, but those who have not been vaccinated against polio could be at risk. The vaccinations are free in Poland for people under 19. New measures also include more intensive testing of Warsaw's sewage, renewing the vaccination stocks and updating the list of children still unvaccinated. Polio is most often spread by contact with waste from an infected person or, less frequently, through contaminated water or food. The polio virus mostly affects children under 5. Most people infected don't have symptoms, but in severe cases, polio can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis within hours, according to the World Health Organisation. It estimates that 1 in 200 polio cases results in permanent paralysis

In a first, US turkey shipment leaves for Indian market after tariff cut

The first shipment of American Turkey products for India left on Tuesday, marking a new phase in the bilateral trade relations between the two countries. The shipment comes over a year after India agreed to the American request to reduce high tariffs on US turkey products. US Senator from Virginia Mark Warner, who is also co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, said this marks a historic milestone in international trade, expanding the reach of American turkey products in global markets, and opening new doors for US turkey producers. "This shipment is a tremendous opportunity for Virginia's poultry producers and a huge step forward for US-India trade," he said. "As co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, I look forward to the ongoing cooperation between our two nations and to seeing a wealth of new opportunities open up for Virginia's poultry producers, Warner said. This shipment comes as a result of a trade agreement and tariff reduction, facilitated by a collaborative effort between th

Meta's oversight board seeks public remarks on hate speech moderation

After the Oversight Board raised the issue, Meta's policy subject matter experts reviewed both posts again but confirmed its original decisions were correct

Ukraine's rocky past with Poland is haunting Zelenskyy amid escalating war

The rift coincides with mounting war fatigue among Kyiv's Western allies, with Russian troops making grinding advances in the country's east

Poland temporarily suspends right to asylum amid tensions with Belarus

The 'Balkan trail' is used by Romanians, Bulgarians and citizens from former Yugoslavia who enter legally because regulations allow a one-month stay without a visa

Poland PM plans to suspend right to asylum as part of new migration policy

Poland's leader said Saturday that he plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as part of a new migration policy, pointing to its alleged abuse by eastern neighbour Belarus and Russia. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the state must regain 100 per cent of the control over who enters and leaves Poland, and that a territorial suspension of the right to asylum will be part of a strategy that will be presented to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Polish news agency PAP reported. He didn't give details, but said at a convention of his Civic Coalition that we will reduce illegal migration in Poland to a minimum." Poland has struggled with migration pressures on its border with Belarus since 2021. Successive Polish governments have accused Belarus and Russia of luring migrants from the Middle East and Africa there to destabilise the West. Tusk pointed to alleged misuse of the right to asylum by (Belarusian President Alexander) Lukashenko, by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, by

TCS announces launch of new delivery centre in Poland, aims to expand ops

The centre forms part of TCS' European delivery network, facilitating the delivery of hyper-connected services

TCS expands operations in Poland, aims to double workforce in a year

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday said it has expanded operations in Poland with the opening of a new delivery centre in Warsaw, and expects to double its workforce in the region to over 1,200 within a year. The new delivery centre showcases TCS' capabilities across industries and technologies, according to a regulatory filing. "The new delivery centre will allow TCS to access the skilled talent pool in the Polish Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry to provide hyper-connected services to global clients. "With the new delivery centre, TCS expects to double its workforce to 1,200-plus in a year to support its further growth in the region," it said. Indian Ambassador to Poland Nagma Mallick, TCS head of Europe Sapthagiri Chapalapalli and General Manager for TCS in Eastern Europe Prabal Datta inaugurated the centre. The new centre joins TCS' European delivery network, which facilitates the delivery of hyper-connected services to its customers across ...

Central Europe floods: Poland, Czech Republic evacuate amid 17 deaths

Torrential rains over the weekend severely impacted the Poland-Czech border, causing bridge collapses, evacuations, and major damage to vehicles and homes

Heavy rains in Central Europe cause flooding, leaving 16 dead in region

Exceptionally heavy rainfall pounding Central Europe has prompted deadly flooding in the region, with four new deaths reported Monday in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Romania. The flooding has swamped parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a low-pressure system crossing the region has unleashed record-high rains for days, and it was expected to affect Slovakia and Hungary later in the week. So far 16 people have been reported killed seven people in Romania, five in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Austria. In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting and later declared a disaster in flooded areas, a government measure to facilitate evacuation and rescues. He also said the government would provide 1 billion zlotys (USD 258,000) in immediate payouts to victims. The flooding in Poland has burst dams and embankments while receding waters left streets covered in piles of debris and mud. It prompted a hospital in the

Poland marks 85th anniv of Nazi Germany's invasion during World War II

Solemn ceremonies started early Sunday in Poland to mark the 85th anniversary of German Nazi forces invading and bombing Polish territory at the start of World War II. President Andrzej Duda attended observances in Wielun, the first civilian town targeted by German bombs in the small hours of September 1, 1939. Meanwhile, at a monument on the Baltic Sea's Westerplatte peninsula, where a military outpost was shelled by a German warship just minutes after Wielun was attacked, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz laid wreaths and attended a memorial roll call for fallen soldiers. At the time, the outpost's outnumbered troops fought for seven days before surrendering to the Germans, becoming a symbol of heroism and patriotism. In more than five years of war and brutal German occupation, Poland lost 6 million citizens or a sixth of its population, of which 3 million were Jewish. The country also suffered huge losses to its infrastructure, industry an

Doesn't have vote to liberalise Poland's abortion law, says Donald Tusk

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has acknowledged that he does not have the backing in parliament to change the country's abortion law, which is among the most restrictive in all of Europe. Tusk, a centrist, took power in December at the head of a coalition that spans a broad ideological divide, with lawmakers on the left who want to legalise abortion and conservatives strongly opposed. Changing the law to allow abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy was one of his campaign promises. There will be no majority in this parliament for legal abortion, in the full sense of the word, until the next elections. Let's not kid ourselves," Tusk said during an event on Friday where he was asked about the matter. Lawmakers to the parliament were elected last October for a term of four years. Tusk said his government is instead working on establishing new procedures in the prosecutor's office and in Polish hospitals in order to ease some of the de facto restrictions. This is already underwa

PM Modi leaves for trip to Ukraine after concluding two-day Poland visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday left for a historic visit to Ukraine after concluding his two-day "productive" trip to Poland during which he held wide-ranging talks with the Polish leadership. "PM @narendramodi concludes a productive visit to Poland, setting a new milestone in bilateral relations. This high-level Prime Ministerial visit after four decades will widen and deepen India-Poland relations," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X. Modi, who is visiting Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said that he will share with the Ukrainian leader perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict. His visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Moscow which triggered criticism from the US and some of its Western allies. This is the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the country became independent in 1991. "I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earli

India, Poland sign social security pact, plan to elevate partnership

India and Poland on Thursday upgraded their ties to the level of a "strategic partnership" and inked a social security pact to promote the mobility of skilled workers following wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk. In the meeting, both sides vowed to significantly expand the bilateral defence and security ties with Tusk expressing Warsaw's eagerness to be a key partner in New Delhi's aim to boost domestic defence production and modernise its armed forces. Modi arrived in this Polish capital on Wednesday, in the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Poland in nearly half a century. In the second leg of his two-nation trip, Modi will be in Kyiv for around seven hours on Friday. Following the talks, the two sides unveiled a five-year "Action Plan" for the India-Poland strategic partnership identifying a range of areas including defence, trade, agri-tech, energy, green technologies, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and mining

Diplomacy, not war: PM Narendra Modi's keynote on Ukraine crisis

India and Poland take relations to the next level with strategic partnership upgrade

EAM Jaishankar discusses Ukraine, Indo-Pacific with Polish counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said he held a good conversation with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski on several topics like the Ukraine conflict, the situation in the Indo-Pacific and bilateral cooperation. Jaishankar is here as part of visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's delegation. "A good conversation this morning with FM @sikorskiradek of Poland. Discussed the Ukraine conflict, Indo-Pacific situation and bilateral cooperation," Jaishankar posted on X. He expressed confidence that Prime Minister Modi's visit will give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties with Poland. Modi's visit to Poland is the first trip by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in the past 45 years.

India advocates permanent peace, believes in dialogue, diplomacy: PM Modi

PM Modi said that India's strategy is to maintain equal closeness with all nations as compared to its previous policy of remaining equidistant

Day 2: PM Modi to hold talks with counterpart Tusk, Prez Duda of Poland

PM Modi will also meet the business leaders and Polish influencers

India and Poland have agreed on social security agreement, says PM Modi

He also pointed out that Kabbadi emerged as a source of connection between the two nations