Poland

Poland reports virus spike linked to a southern coal mine

WARSAW, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poland saw a record spike in new confirmed coronavirus cases over the weekend, with most of the hundreds of infections reported by the health ministry linked to a coal mine in the country’s south.

The 1,151 new cases — 576 of them registered Saturday and 575 on Sunday — marked the EU country’s highest consecutive two-day total thus far.

Liberal Warsaw mayor injects suspense into presidential vote

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Childhood actor. Pro-democracy activist. Avid supporter of the European Union and LGBT rights.

Warsaw’s liberal mayor Rafal Trzaskowski made a late entry in Poland’s presidential election and has quickly emerged as the main challenger to the conservative incumbent, Andrzej Duda. He has injected competition and suspense into a race that Duda had previously seemed certain to win.

Poland's PM is confident presidential vote will be held in June

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland’s presidential election will be held in June, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday, amid speculation that a spat over legislation on the way the vote will be conducted may push the ballot date back well beyond next month.

“I’m sure that the election should take place in June; that the election will take place in June,” Morawiecki told a news conference.

Zero turnout as Poland holds bizarre ghost election

10 May 2020; AFP: Poland's election day Sunday will be one for the history books as polling stations remain closed and turnout will clock in at zero due to a political crisis set off by the coronavirus pandemic.

The EU member of 38 million people has found itself in the bizarre "Twilight Zone" predicament in which the presidential ballot is formally neither postponed nor cancelled, because the government and opposition were unable to agree on a constitutional and safe solution.

Poland’s May 10 presidential elections will not take place — coalition

WARSAW, May 7. /TASS/: The presidential elections in Poland, due on May 10, will not take place, leaders of the ruling coalition announced on Wednesday night.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the head of the ruling Law and Justice party, and his coalition partner Jaroslaw Gowin, who leads the Agreement political party, plan that after May 10, 2020, the Supreme Court would declare the elections void because it did not happen.

"The speaker of the parliament will announce new presidential elections at the earliest possible date," reads a statement, released by the Polish Press Agency.

Polish president selects acting Supreme Court head

WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish President Andrzej Duda nominated a former official from the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government’s Justice Ministry as acting head of the Supreme Court on Thursday, to pick a replacement for a vocal critic of PiS who is currently in the post.

Government critics say the retirement of Malgorzata Gersdorf opens the way for PiS to select a new chief who will support the party’s judiciary overhaul the European Union has called a subversion of democratic values.

Tusk urges Poles to shun May presidential vote out of 'decency'

WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish voters should boycott a presidential election set for May 10 out of “basic human decency” because of the new coronavirus pandemic, Donald Tusk, leader of the centre-right European People’s Party and a former prime minister, said on Tuesday.

Tusk said a government plan to hold the vote via a postal ballot was insufficient to mitigate safety concerns in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, and accused the ruling nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) of subverting the constitution.

Polish government gets pushback on postal presidential vote

WARSAW (AP) — The Polish government’s determination to move forward with a scheduled presidential election next month by making it an all-postal vote has sparked anxiety and anger amid the coronavirus pandemic, with critics slamming the plan as a threat to the health of both the public and Poland’s democracy.

Poland mandates mask use after Easter

WARSAW, April 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — People in Poland will be obliged to cover their nose and mouth in public, starting on April 16, in order to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, Polish Minister of Health Lukasz Szumowski said.

“When there are more and more sick people in Poland, some of them asymptomatic, it would help protect not those who wear these masks but others. Therefore, from Thursday, such obligation will be introduced for everyone in public space,” he said at a press conference.

EU gives green light to 115 million euro Polish virus measures

WARSAW (Reuters) - The European Union has approved a 527 million zloty (115 million euro) scheme by the Polish government to support its economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

The scheme is intended to partially cover interest on business loans and will take the form of direct grants, the European Commission said in a statement on Friday.

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