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Who will take Gdańsk and Kraków? Second round of local elections is next week

The local elections in Poland. We already know some winners but not all of them. In almost 650 places, run-offs will take place. Among the most closely watched in Kraków and Gdańsk. In the former an especially intense battle which involved a court. The current mayor demanded that the prime minister of Poland rectify his words about smog in the city, after he accused the local government of doing almost nothing to tackle the problem. The judge dismissed the motion. There will be an appeal.

Politicians comment on car accident involving deputy PM Beata Szydło's motorcade

The driver was most likely too unexperienced, in fact had only been assigned to the protection detail of Beata Szydło in October. We have more on the accident of the motorcade carrying the former prime minister of Poland who now is the deputy PM. Her driver has received a fine and penalty points but some experts and the opposition say that this should not end the debate, since recently there have been too many situations of this type.

Ninth day of strike of LOT airlines employees who demand chairman's dismissal

It's the ninth day of industrial action at the Polish national carrier and it won't be the last. The personnel and the management are having a very difficult time finding common ground, disagreeing even on the mediator selected to help end the stalemate. The workers continue to demand that the chairman of the company be fired. They also want the prime minister to intervene.

Belarusian delivery man terrorized by drunk and aggressive residents of Gdańsk

Totally drunk and aggressive residents of Gdańsk terrorized a pizza delivery man because he didn't bring sauce for the food and... he was a foreigner. The Belarusian native has been living and working in Poland for a year, but he says that the attack he endured because he wasn't Polish is making him think about leaving the country. He recorded the whole incident on his cell phone and the aggressors have already heard charges.

Two LOT airlines flights may have broken procedures. Authorities want explanation

Two LOT Airlines flights last Friday, to Tokyo and to Toronto could have broken procedures, according to tvn24.pl portal. LOT Polish Airlines says that aviation laws weren't broken and that personal upheavals necessitated changes in internal procedures. The Civil Aviation authority agreed to this but is waiting for further explanation. More flights continue to be cancelled as employees of the airline continue to strike.

Deputy PM Szydło's motorcade caused an accident. Driver got a ticket

The driver of the government limousine has been given a ticket and penalty points. He was behind the wheel of the last car in a motorcade that was transporting Deputy Prime Minister Beata Szydło. His mistake caused a crash in a small town of Imielin in Silesia. The accident was categorised as a collision, as no one got injured. Both drivers were sober.

EU court's chief: if you don't comply with ECJ rulings you cast yourself outside legal order

A country that doesn't comply with the decisions by the European Court of Justice is part of a process similar to Brexit, said the president of the ECJ. He reminded listeners that the EU was a union of values and rules and that the court of justice was standing in its defense. Before elections in Poland the court of justice issued a decision that effectively put judges that have been forced into early retirement back in their jobs. They are back, but the government says it was too fast.

U.S. lifts blocks on some fresh, frozen pork imports from Poland

The United States has lifted restrictions on some imports of fresh and frozen pork from Poland, specifically from facilities that are in contiguous areas free of the highly contagious hog disease African swine fever, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday.

Could light bulbs be the reason for Brexit? President Duda shed some light on the matter

"I'm under an impression that within the Eu, we suffer from democracy deficiency. Many people ask themselves why the EU is prohibiting this or that. For instance, why it's impossible to buy a regular light bulb in a store, and only energy-saving ones? You cannot buy one because the EU prohibited. These are the problems that people really struggle with. Perhaps it was one of the reasons behind brexit," said the Polish President during a meeting with his German counterpart in Berlin. Mr Duda's comment evoked a plentitude of responses all over Poland.

People's Party say "no" to coalition with Law and Justice in regional assemblies

Law and Justice continue a series of post-electoral meetings at the party headquarters in Warsaw. Apart from celebrating a good result in the elections voivodeships' sejmiks (regional assemblies), the party members are contemplating an audit of the campaign. Now, it's time for coalition talks, which the Civic Coalition is strongly counting on, especially after Polish People's Party said a loud and clear "no" to any alliance with Law and Justice.

Controversy as Polish parliament sets a national holiday on 12 November

The centennial of Polish independence falls on Sunday this year, so the ruling party plans to make the next day, the 12th of November, a one-time national holiday, to let people celebrate. Some worry, however, that such a sudden, one-time change to the calendar would, for instance, disrupt medical procedures at hospitals.

Retired Supreme Court judges return to work after ECJ's injunction

The Supreme Court has assigned first cases for the judges who have returned to the court after the decision by the European Court of Justice, the press office of the Supreme Court infromed on Wednesday. Furthermore, some 20 of such sessions have been scheduled for the 22 and 23 of November.

German president: I hope Poland finds a road respecting European judicature

I hope that the Polish government will find a suitable road that respects the European judicature, said the German President in Berlin on Tuesday, while President Andrzej Duda was listening. This was during the German-Polish talks on the rule of law and the decision of the European Court of Justice regarding Polish law on the Supreme Court.