Poland

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — When a priest arrives at a hospital in Chorzow to perform the last rites, nurse Mariusz Strug can see the fear in dying patients’ eyes. “After the sacrament, they knew what was happening,” he said.

But there have been no psychologists available to offer any consolation to the patients. Strug and another nurse would try to offer some kind words, but they were strained to the limit caring for 60 patients in their COVID-19 ward.

“People come to us and they want us nurses to perform a miracle,” said Strug.

WARSAW, September 11. /TASS/: The German government backs the Nord Stream 2 project, but sees its concern that Ukraine would continue to be a transit country for Russian gas, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a joint news conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Saturday.

"We did focus on energy ties as well, on the issues related to Nord Stream 2. I made it clear again that it is our concern that Ukraine remains a transit country for Russian gas," she said.

"This is what our agreement with the US is aimed at," Merkel added.

WARSAW, Sept 11 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Poland on Saturday, part of a goodbye tour of Europe for the continent's longest serving leader, risks being overshadowed by tensions over a gas pipeline and questions over her legacy in central Europe.

Having grown up in East Germany near the Polish border, Merkel, 67, was seen by some observers as a chancellor who could relate to the post-communist states of central Europe.

31 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Polish government has asked the president to introduce a state of emergency in parts of two regions next to the border with Belarus, the prime minister said today, as the country faces a spike in illegal border crossings, Reuters reports.

The state of emergency will last for 30 days, Mateusz Morawiecki said.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A group of pro-democracy activists in Poland entered the grounds of the country’s constitutional court in an act of civil disobedience Monday, on the eve of an expected court ruling critical to the country’s future relationship with the rest of the European Union.

Some stood outside with a large banner that said “Civic Shutdown of the ex-Constitutional Tribunal.” As smoke bombs sent black plumes into the air, a smaller group made it to the court’s main entrance. They had brought boards and nails hoping to nail the door shut, but didn’t manage to do that.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland has ended its evacuations from Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday, as the clock ticks down on dramatic Western efforts to help people flee the Taliban takeover ahead of a full American withdrawal.

President Joe Biden declared the day before that he is sticking to his Aug. 31 deadline for completing the U.S. pullout as the Taliban insisted he must, ramping up pressure on the already risky airlift from Kabul to get out as many people as possible in the coming days.

WARSAW, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Belarusian lawyer Mikhail Kirilyuk says he received an unsettling text message in October from an acquaintance linked to the country’s security services.

The acquaintance urged Kirilyuk, who had defended anti-government protesters and publicly criticised President Alexander Lukashenko’s rule, to leave the country. According to Kirilyuk, who said the text was sent via an encrypted messaging app and described its content to Reuters, the message also contained a warning: The attorney faced arrest and revocation of his license to practice law.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland deployed hundreds of troops at its border with Belarus to support border guards, the Polish defense minister said on Wednesday, amid a surge of migrants seeking to enter the country.

Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that more than 900 Polish troops are involved in the operation. It’s believed most of the migrants trying to cross are from Iraq.

Late Tuesday, a Polish deputy interior minister tweeted that the border with Belarus is sealed and that the soldiers have already been there for a week.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Israel on Saturday condemned Poland’s approval of a law that restricts the rights of Holocaust survivors or their descendants to reclaim property seized by the country’s former communist regime and announced it was recalling its top diplomat in protest.

WARSAW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Poland's president has decided to sign a bill that would set limits on the ability of Jews to recover property seized by Nazi German occupiers and retained by post-war communist rulers, a move likely to fuel tensions with Israel and the United States.

"I made a decision today on the act, which in recent months was the subject of a lively and loud debate at home and abroad," Andrzej Duda said in a statement published on Saturday. "After an in-depth analysis, I have decided to sign the amendment."