TVN24 News in English

TVN24 News in English

Interior ministry: 2,000 troops will help secure Belarus border

Poland will send 2,000 troops to its frontier with Belarus, the deputy interior minister told state-run news agency PAP on Wednesday (August 9), twice the number requested by the Border Guard, to stem illegal crossings and maintain stability. Germany has offered to extend the deployment of three Patriot air defence units in Poland until the end of 2023, the defence ministry in Berlin said on Tuesday. Polish MOD confirmed on Wednesday it has received the German offer.

Waiting for parliamentary election. PKW issues opinion on proposed date

President Andrzej Duda has asked the PKW (the National Electoral Commission) to issue its opinion regarding October 15 as the proposed date of parliamentary election - the TVN24 reporter Agata Adamek has unofficially learned. The PKW chairman Sylwester Marciniak told the Polish Press Agency the PKW has sent its opinion regarding the election date to the Chancellery of the President. However, he did not reveal the proposed date.

Physician demands apology from health minister over personal rights violation

Doctor Piotr Pisula, whose personal information was published on social media by Poland's Health Minister Adam Niedzielski, informed he has filed a pre-trial call addressed to the minister urging him to issue an apology and donate 100,000 zlotys to Palium Hospice in Poznań. Minister Niedzielski rejected the accusation and reassured that no laws had been broken by him.

President Duda signs "800+" child benefit program bill into law

Polish families will receive a 60% increase in child benefit payments from next January, under a policy the ruling nationalists hope will help win them a third term in office in a national election due this autumn. "The greatest support for development in the future is the family," President Andrzej Duda said after he signed the bill increasing the benefit into law.

Ukrainian and Polish generals discussed use of various foreign weapons

The Command of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine informed on Monday (August 7) the commander of this formation Lieutenant General Serhiy Naiev met with Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces Lieutenant General Tomasz Piotrowski. According to Ukrinform, the two generals discussed Wagner Group presence in Belarus and the use of various types of foreign weapons.

Belarusian government in exile calls for support for "New Belarus" movement

Exiled opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko met in Poland on Sunday, on the eve of the third anniversary of their unsuccessful post-election protests, to display unity and plan strategy including the issuance of "New Belarus" passports. The Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, and the Coordination Council held a conference in Warsaw, while the Belarusian diaspora and Belarusian minority in Poland organized a march in Białystok.

U.S. defence secretary expresses support for Poland's response to incursion by Belarusian helicopters

Poland's Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak spoke over the phone on Friday (August 4) with U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III. According to Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Austin underscored U.S. support for Poland's response to the violation of Polish airspace by Belarusian helicopters. "Our commitments and obligations as members of the Alliance are clear – we jointly take care of our security. We are Allies," Błaszczak said on Twitter.

Poland strongly condemns prison sentence extension for Alexei Navalny

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny had an extra 19 years added to his jail term on Friday in a criminal case that he and his supporters said had been trumped up to keep him behind bars and out of politics for even longer. Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday (August 4) that it "strongly condemns the verdict against the Russian oppositionist".

"Policy of hyenas and jackals". MFA issues a statement regarding former minister's comment

Poland's former foreign minister Jacek Czaputowicz said that, in the context of Polish-Ukrainian relations, Poland pursues "a policy of hyenas and jackals". His comment has met with a response from his predecessor in office, current PiS MEP Witold Waszczykowski. "And this guy replaced me! Was it worth it?" - Waszczykowski said on Twitter. In an interview with TVN24, he argued that Poland has its interest and it should pursue it. The current Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau issued a statement regarding Czaputowicz's words.

ABW detains 16th suspected member of Russian spy network

Poland has detained another suspected member of a Russian spy network, bringing the total number of people detained as part of an investigation to 16, Interior Minister and Special Services Coordinator Mariusz Kamiński said on Friday (August 4).

EU Commission says Polish law on Russian influence "continues to raise serious concerns"

The European Union executive said on Thursday (August 3) that Poland's new law on Russian influence, dubbed "Lex Tusk" by the opposition, "continues to raise serious concerns". Despite criticism that it could serve as a tool to persecute political rivals ahead of a national election due this autumn, Poland's President Andrzej Duda - an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party - signed the law into force on Wednesday.

"The first chance in 70 years to look into the center of pre-1939 Warsaw"

The remains of old Warsaw - both pre and post-WWII - have been unearthed at the construction site of Central Square, a new development in front of the Palace of Culture and Science. "This is in fact the first chance in 70 years to look into the center of pre-1939 Warsaw," Warsaw City Hall officials said.

"Bloodcurdling scenes". Police release footage of a high-speed pursuit

Warsaw police has released footage of a high-speed car chase after an intoxicated driver. In an attempt to escape, the man drove his vehicle along the hard shoulder, next he switched to the opposing lane and sped against the traffic. Once he was apprehended by the police, it turned out he was under the influence of an intoxicant.

Justice minister fires prosecutor over sentenced nationalist's case

Poland's Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro has decided to dismiss the deputy chief of Poznań-Stare Miasto District Prosecutor's Office. At a press conference on Wednesday (August 2), he explained that "the liability is adequate to the tasks the prosecutor was responsible for". The minister was referring to the case of 24-year-old Marika, a woman sentenced for attempted robbery. Ziobro also said that, in said case, "glaring mistakes were made that resulted in a dubious legal classification".

Russia launches maneouvres on Baltic Sea. Polish MOD comments

The Russian navy has started scheduled drills in the Baltic Sea involving over 30 ships and boats along with 20 support vessels and 30 aircraft, Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday. Polish MOD has said it is "carefully monitoring the situation".

President Duda ratifies "Lex Tusk"

Poland's President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday (August 2) signed into law the amended bill that would set up a special commission to investigate Russian influence in Poland in 2007-2022. The bill is widely known as "Lex Tusk", as its critics argue it is primarily meant to target opposition ahead of this year's parliamentary election, including Civic Platform leader and former PM Donald Tusk.

Warsaw Uprising veteran: no one has right to govern us so that we feel humiliated

"At the beginning of the uprising the generals would ask: 'what do we need so many women for?'. And when the uprising was ending, we received the same rights as boys. And we shall not give up these rights," the Warsaw Uprising veteran Wanda Traczyk-Stawska said during commemorations of the 79th anniversary of the insurgency. She also stressed that although the constitution guarantees equality to everyone, the Polish government "has forgotten that women have their status guaranteed in this constitution".