EU court advisor wants scrapping of Hungary-Poland challenge
The top adviser to the European Unionโs highest court says the principle of linking the blocโs budget disbursements to respect for rule of law is compatible with the blocโs laws and that a challenge by Hungary and Poland should be dismissed.
Polish forces securing border and cities on Independence Day
Thousands have marched in Warsaw to mark Polandโs Independence Day, led by far-right groups calling for strong borders, while its troops blocked hundreds of new attempts by migrants to enter the country illegally from neighboring Belarus.
Polish court acquits activists who put LGBT rainbow on icon
Polish LGBT rights activists gather outside a court which acquitted three women who faced trial on accusations of desecration, in Plock, Poland, Tuesday March 2, 2021. A Polish court has acquitted three activists who had been accused of desecration for adding the LGBT rainbow to images of a revered Roman Catholic icon. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)WARSAW โ A Polish court on Tuesday acquitted three activists who had been accused of desecration and offending religious feelings for producing and distributing images of a revered Roman Catholic icon altered to include the LGBT rainbow. Their aim was to protest what they considered the hostility of Polandโs influential Catholic Church toward LGBT people. Because of all the attention the altered icon has received, it is now a very recognized image in Poland, one sometimes seen at street protests.
Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk's art book hits bookstores
The Lost Soul, a unique art book with text by Nobel-winning Polish author Olga Tokarczuk about a man who loses his soul in the daily rush, hits bookstores in the United States this week. First published in Poland in 2017, the hardcover book originated from a private ceremony text intended for one person. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)WARSAW โ The latest book by Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk to be translated into English is a departure for the celebrated Polish author. The book has many meanings, also inspired by its nostalgic, meditative drawings by Polish artist Joanna Concejo. There appears a value through which we read the text in a different way and we also see the drawings in a different way than if they had stood alone.
EU moves to fine Hungary for flouting ruling on NGO law
The EUโs executive arm, the European Commission, is sending a โletter of formal noticeโ to the nationalist government in Budapest giving it two months to explain why itโs not complying. But Amnesty International, among those targeted, has described it as a โvicious and calculated assault on civil societyโ meant to silence critical voices in Hungary. Civil society organizations are key part of our democracies. We must support them, not fight them.โEve Geddie, the Director of Amnestyโs European office, said Hungary's โshameful harassment of civil society has gone on for too long. The Hungarian government must repeal the law immediately and end their smear campaigns against NGOs.โAd___Spike reported from Budapest.
Central European leaders push for faster vaccine deliveries
(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)WARSAW โ Central European leaders pushed Wednesday for faster deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines from every reliable manufacturer to speed up inoculations which they said is the way to conquer the pandemic and jump-start Europeโs economic recovery. The leaders of Hungary, Slovakia and Poland said they support purchasing vaccines from manufacturers regardless of โgeopoliticsโ provided they are safe and effective. Hungary is the European Union's first and so far only member state to administer Russia's Sputnik V vaccine without waiting for approval from the European Medicines Agency. โThere is no Eastern or Western vaccine, there is only a good or a bad vaccine,โ Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a news conference in Krakow, Poland. European Council President Charles Michel, who attended the celebrations, said EU leaders will discuss next week ways of increasing vaccine production and of speeding up inoculations.
Ready for Fat Tuesday? Find paczki at these Ann Arbor locations
ANN ARBOR, Mich. โ Itโs not officially Fat Tuesday unless powdered sugar is on everything. Hereโs where you can pick up some paczki in Ann Arbor:ARGUS FARM STOPThis year Fenton-based baking company Crust is supplying Argus Farm Stop with strawberry, raspberry and lemon paczki. DJโS BAKERYDJโs will have eight flavors of paczki available, including apple, blueberry, custard, cream, lemon, prune, raspberry and strawberry. AdWASHTENAW DAIRYPreordering has closed but the historic Ann Arbor business will have some paczki available for pickup on Tuesday. Paczki pickup will happen from Feb.12-16 at both the Ann Arbor North and Ann Arbor West Plum Market locations.
Holocaust scholars ordered to apologize in Polish libel case
The case was watched as a test case for the future of independent Holocaust research in Poland. The case has been closely watched because it was expected to set a precedent in the field of Holocaust research. AdAt stake in the case was Polish national pride, according to the plaintiffs, and according to the defendants, the future independent research into an extremely sensitive issue. Grabowski, a Polish-Canadian history professor at the University of Ottawa, and Engelking, founder and director of the Polish Center for Holocaust Research in Warsaw, are among Poland's most prominent Holocaust researchers. AdThe libel case has raised concerns internationally because it comes amid a broader state-backed historical offensive that critics say largely whitewashes wrongdoing by Poles.
Explosion damages Polish store near Amsterdam, 3rd in 2 days
Forensic experts inspect the debris after an explosion in Aalsmeer, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday morning Dec. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)THE HAGUE โ An explosion damaged a Polish supermarket in a Dutch town near Amsterdam early Wednesday morning, the third such blast in two days. Police said the explosion happened at a store in the town of Beverwijk, 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Amsterdam. Dutch media reported that the owner of the store also owns another Polish supermarket in Aalsmeer that was gutted by an explosion and fire early Tuesday. The same night, another explosion hit a Polish supermarket in the southern town of Heeswijk-Dinther.
Blasts badly damage 2 Polish supermarkets in the Netherlands
People inspect the debris after an explosion in Aalsmeer, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, in the early hours of Tuesday morning Dec. 8, 2020. Two Polish supermarkets in the Netherlands were badly damaged by explosions Tuesday but no injuries were reported police said. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)AALSMEER โ Two Polish supermarkets in the Netherlands were badly damaged by explosions early Tuesday, police said. Nobody was injured in the blasts in Aalsmeer, near Amsterdam, and in a small town in the North Brabant province. There are dozens of Polish stores dotted across the Netherlands, a popular destination for workers from Poland.
Poland, Hungary PMs meet over EU budget veto strategy
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, right, welcomes his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, left, for talks in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. The prime ministers of Poland and Hungary are meeting to discuss their threat to veto the European Union's next budget and massive pandemic aid package that links the disbursement of EU funds to the members' rule of law standards. Following the meeting, Morawiecki's spokesman said that the two governments are โopen to new proposals" from the EU presidency that is currently held by Germany. The two leaders argue that the conditionality of disbursement of funds goes against the EU treaties. Hoping to mollify the EUโs stance, Morawiecki recently vowed full transparency of the EU funds spending procedures in Poland.
Poland delays implementing abortion ruling amid protests
(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)WARSAW โ Polandโs right-wing government is delaying the publication and implementation of a high court ruling that tightens the abortion law and that has triggered almost two weeks of nationwide protests. A government official said Tuesday that the leaders are taking time to debate the contested ruling and find a solution. The constitutional court ruled Oct. 22 that aborting fetuses with congenital defects violates the constitution, in effect further tightening what was already one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws. Massive daily anti-government protests have been held by hundreds of thousands of people ever since the ruling. Women's rights activist are critical of Duda's proposal and Morawiecki's invitation for talks, and are planning more protests this week.
Norway grants asylum to fugitive Pole, raising controversy
WARSAW โ Norway has granted asylum to a Polish man who had fled prison term for fraud and forging of documents, but says the prison term was a form of political persecution under Poland's right-wing government. Observers say that Rafal Gawel's case is the first time political asylum has been granted to a Pole in more than 30 years since the fall of communism in Poland. โI am the first Pole who managed to win asylum since communist times,โ Gawel told The Associated Press over the phone from Norway. โIt's not like they don't know who they have granted asylum to,โ Gawel said. Gawelโs lawyer, Lukasz Niedzielski, said Monday that asylum in Gawel's case can be easily extended.
The Latest: Australian champ Kenin cries after French loss
Kenin was looking to win her second major title of the year after winning the Australian Open. ___4 p.m.Polish teen Iga Swiatek won the first set 6-4 against fourth-seeded Sofia Kenin in the French Open final. The womenโs French Open final between fourth-seeded American Sofia Kenin and unseeded teen Iga Swiatek has begun on Court Philippe Chatrier. Kenin is looking to win her second major title of the year after winning the Australian Open. The 31-year-old Gerard was playing in his second major final after losing in the Australian Open final four years ago.
Poland fines Russia's Gazprom $7.6 billion over pipeline
WARSAW โ Polish antitrust authorities have fined Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom $7.6 billion (6.5 billion euros) for building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, saying the project hurts Polish consumers and increases Europeโs dependence on Russian imports. Gazprom said it will appeal the decision by Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The regulator on Wednesday also fined five other international companies participating in the project a total of $61 million (52 million euros). The Polish authorities said the companies failed to obtain the required permission to jointly build and finance the pipeline, saying that violated antitrust laws. The other companies fined are French Engie Energy, Austrian OMV, British-Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall.