TVN24 News in English

TVN24 News in English

Sejm likely to vote on "Lex Tusk". Obmudsman: this bill is unconstitutional

Polish lawmakers may vote on Friday on a bill that would create a commission to look into Russian influence in the country, in what the opposition says is a government attempt to launch a witchhunt against political opponents in an election year. "If Mr Donald Tusk has something on his conscience... he should be afraid," said PiS spokesman Rafał Bochenek. "This is a situation in which a political party, backed by one third of Polish voters, wants to change Poland's system by means of a parliamentary coup d'etat. Today we will witness an attempt at this coup," said former Interior Minister Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz of Civic Coalition.

WWII-era mass graves discovered at a private property in Wrocław

Polish archeologists have discovered mass graves from WWII-era in the garden of a private villa in Wrocław's Zalesie district. The graves contained the remains of exactly 128 people - mostly civilians, but there were also a few soldiers. All of them had died in the space of approximately one month during the siege of Breslau, as the city is called in German.

Pre-WWII opposition leaders sentenced in famous Brest trials exonerated by Supreme Court

Wincenty Witos and nine other former leaders of the Polish People's Party (PSL) and Polish Socialist Party (PPS) have been exonerated by Poland's Supreme Court on Thursday (May 25). The pre-WWII opposition activists had been sentenced 91 years ago in the famous Brest trials of 1932-1933, during the reign of the so-called Sanation movement. "A historic moment! After 91 years justice has been served!" - the current PSL leader, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said in a tweet.

Speaker of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada visits Poland and awards speakers of Polish parliament

Ukraine is now on a good and fast track toward EU membership while Poland has supported and will continue to provide military, diplomatic, and humanitarian support to Ukraine to repel Russian aggression, Speaker of the Sejm Elżbieta Witek said on Wednesday (May 24) after meeting with Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk. "We expect Polish companies will too take part in rebuilding of Ukraine," the Ukrainian guest said. Stefanchuk, who is expected to address Polish lawmakers on Thursday, also met with Speaker of the Senate Tomasz Grodzki and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

"An unprovoked attack". Poland's children's ombudsman wants to inspect LGBTQI+-friendly schools

Poland's Ombudsman for Children Mikołaj Pawlak has announced he wants to send inspectors to schools the students have named most friendly to LGBTQI+ pupils. Pawlak wants to check "how this friendliness is manifested". "We were shocked by this plan, because it's a stab in the back for schools which create a safe and open environment in their regions," coordinator of LGBTQ+ Friendly School Ranking in Poland, Dominik Kuc, told TVN24.

"State-of-the-art equipment virtually never before seen in Poland". GOCC goes shopping after record finale

"We are purchasing state-of-the-art equipment virtually never before seen in Poland," heart surgeon and co-founder of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (GOCC) Professor Bogdan Maruszewski said on Wednesday (May 24) at a press conference devoted to the 66th Open Tender, which is to buy medical equipment facilitating the fight against sepsis. The motto of this year's Grand Finale of the charity fundraiser was "Stay Healthy in a Healthy World". Although the tender was still ongoing, the chairman of the GOCC Foundation Jurek Owsiak said: "I'm confident we will beat sepsis".

Garry Kasparov: war in Ukraine will not go beyond next year

"I don’t think that the war will go beyond next year," the Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov said in an interview for TVN24's Michał Sznajder. Asked how long the reign of President Vladimir Putin of Russia would last, the political activist and dissident said he did not know exactly. "But clock is ticking and I think he is at his endgame, if we use chess terminology. It will depend on timing of Ukrainian victory," Kasparov added.

MOD chief: we are ready to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s

"We are ready to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft," Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak said on Tuesday (May 23) in Brussels. "I proposed this task be carried out within the framework of the EU mission that is being carried out in Poland," he added. Minister Błaszczak also discussed military issues with German counterpart Boris Pistorius.

"It should be treated as sabotage". PANSA did not purchase radars recommended by the military

The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) decided not to purchase special radars, even though the military requested Polish airports be protected against drones - tvn24.pl has found out. Civic Coalition MPs commented on this negligence at a press conference in the Sejm on Tuesday (May 23). "This should be treated as a form of sabotage, as there's nothing more important than the safety of passengers and crews in Polish planes," said Dariusz Joński. "Any potential collision with a drone is a huge danger to passengers," stressed Maciej Lasek, former head of the State Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation.

Mark Brzezinski: media freedom is an essential pillar of democracies around the world

"It's the press that holds the government and public officials accountable. You keep us in check. The voices of journalists are essential in ensuring transparent and trustworthy governance," U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski said on Monday (May 22) at a conference organized by Polish Chamber of Electronic Communications. The ambassador stressed that "media freedom is an essential pillar of democracies around the world".

Further seven K2 Black Panther tanks arrive in Poland

"Further 7 K2 Black Panther tanks from South Korea have arrived today by sea in the port of Gdynia," Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak informed on social media on Friday (May 19). He added the tanks would be delivered to the 20th Mechanized Brigade.

PM Morawiecki "opens" a bridge open for months. It's yet another such ceremony

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Thursday "opened" a bridge in the village of Tylmanowa in southern Poland. Although it sounds quite ordinary, the quotation marks in the previous sentence are necessary as said bridge has been open for months now. This has not been first such "grand opening" ceremony of a new investment involving government officials.

Poland calls on China to put pressure on Russia to end Ukraine war

Poland called on China to exert pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine during a meeting between two top officials in Warsaw, the Polish foreign ministry said on Friday. China attaches importance to Poland's key role in regional affairs, and is willing to continue to communicate with Warsaw on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, said China's Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui.

"Will keep you updated". Iga Świątek with thigh injury

World number one Iga Świątek is awaiting an update on a thigh injury sustained in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Wednesday (May 17). "The diagnostic is in progress. More info in the following days. Will keep you updated," the Polish player said on Twitter on Thursday.

"There is cause for great concern". EP committee assessed Poland's media freedom

European Parliament’s Culture and Education Committee on Wednesday (May 17) concluded their mission to Poland where they travelled to evaluate developments in education, culture, media and youth policies. The head of the committee, Sabine Verheyen, warned that when free media are in danger, so is democracy. "There is cause for great concern: academic freedom, artistic and cultural freedom and in particular media freedom and media pluralism in Poland are being attacked by the Polish government," she stressed.

Help arrived on time. Teenager from Poland helps to save boy in Australia

A teenage girl from Gierałtowice municipality (Silesian Voivodeship) read an online post saying that a young man in Australia was planning to commit suicide. The girl told her mom about it, and the woman called the local police station in Knurów. The police, in turn, called their counterparts in Perth, who found the troubled teenager and saved his life.

President Duda calls security bureau meeting ahead of NATO summit in Vilnius

President Andrzej Duda has called a meeting at the National Security Bureau to discuss preparations for July's NATO summit in Vilnius. Among those invited by the president for Thursday's meeting are: Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces General Rajmund Andrzejczak, and Operational Commander of the Armed Forces Branches Lieutenant General Tomasz Piotrowski.