Polish lawmakers on Friday adopted a judicial reform that could unblock billions of euros in European Union funds withheld in an ongoing row between Warsaw and Brussels over the rule of law in Poland.

"We've become part of history which most likely will determine the shape of Europe, the West, and the whole globe," Poland's President Andrzej Duda said in his address to the country's diplomatic corps. He also spoke about investments in the army, and mentioned countries which don't spend enough on defence. "In the face of a full-scale war right next to the eastern border of NATO and EU, we must demand a swift change of this shortsighted policy," he argued, adding that such cutbacks happen at the expense of "the Lithuanians, Poles, Latvians, Estonians, or Romanians".

Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko greeted Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, Bratislava Mayor Matus Vallo, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib and Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony, before proceeding to discuss assistance to the Ukrainian capital and country amid the tenth month of Russia's full-scale invasion. On the second day of the visit, Rafał Trzaskowski travelled to Bucha, where the Russian had carried out mass killing of civilians.

Jakub Kumoch announced on Thursday (Jan. 12) he was leaving the Chancellery of the President of Poland. "Supporting the Republic of Poland in the first months of the war and taking part in shaping Polish-Ukrainian relations was an honour to me. Unfortunately, the family situation and permanent separation from my dearest have turned out an insurmountable obstacle for me and my children," he said in a statement. A few hours later, the chancellery informed that Kumoch would be replaced by Marcin Przydacz, a foreign ministry undersecretary.

"This ovation was for our whole society for showing heart, for openness," Poland's President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday (January 11), commenting on his meeting with residents of Lviv and huge ovation he had received from them. Duda said that the Poles were helping the Ukrainians despite the crisis and many other worries. "Our Ukrainian neighbours see it and acknowledge it," he stressed. He also mentioned his visit to the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów, calling it symbolic. "This cemetery is a burial ground of defenders of Poland, defenders of Lviv against Soviet aggression," Polish president said.

Polish lawmakers on Wednesday voted to continue work on a judicial reform bill designed to unblock billions in European Union funds, marking a step forward for changes whose chances of becoming law are uncertain due to splits in the ruling camp.

Japanese passport is the strongest travel document in the world, according to the latest ranking released by Henley & Partners. Japanese citizens are now able to visit an astonishing 193 destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free. Polish passport, along with the Hungarian, has been ranked 9th.

Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski visited Kyiv on Wednesday (January 11), assisted by his counterparts from Prague, Budapest, and Bratislava. This was his first trip to Ukraine's capital city since Russia attacked that country in February last year.

Poland has decided to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition, the Polish president said on Wednesday, as Warsaw seeks to play a leading role in reaching a consensus among Western allies on such support.

In an interview for TVN24, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski wished peace to Ukraine and prosperity and growth to Poland in 2023. He said that in 2023, he hoped for "peace in Ukraine, prosperity and thriving in Poland". He added that "if the Ukrainian people win and push Russia back out of Ukraine, it will be the biggest endorsement of the Western definition of democracy and free market that we will have seen in years". "The military cooperation between America and Poland is stronger than it's ever been," Brzezinski stressed. The ambassador also argued that "freedom of the press is one of the fundamental ways of protecting our populations against disinformation".

"We've been through this. As a matter of fact, for us TVN is like a barometer of the government's actions with respect to the media. What the central government has been doing in the last few years, we've been facing in these years locally, on our soil," said Andrzej Andrysiak, an editor of Gazeta Radomszczańska. According to Wojciech Szacki of Polityka Insight, Antoni Macierewicz's accusations against TVN24 journalist Piotr Świerczek are "a bunch of insults, rather than a rational polemic with a journalistic material".

Six Constitutional Tribunal judges demaned a General Assembly be summoned in order to select candidates for this court's new president. They claim that the sitting president Julia Przyłębska's term has ended. In turn, Przyłębska issued a statement in that regard. Country's president Andrzej Duda also commented on the issue on Thursday (January 5).

Polish Empty Seat Foundation (Fundacja Wolne Miejsce) is cooking Christmas dishes on Thursday, in order to take them from Katowice to Lviv on Friday. And they do all this so that Lviv residents can take part in a Christmas dinner on Saturday (January 7). Due to security reasons, the event will be held at a square in front of the city's railway station.

Inflation in December 2022 was at 16.6% year on year - according to a preliminary data released by the Central Statistical Office of Poland (Statistics Poland). Economy experts expected a 17.3% increase in consumer prices.

Poland's Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak has signed a deal foreseeing purchase of 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks from the United States. "We are strengthening Polish Armed Forces in order to realistically and effectively deter an aggressor. One of the elements of this strengthening is to provide Polish Army with equipment that is the crucial argument in our entire deterrence policy. Abrams tanks are such an argument," the minister said.

No changes in interest rates. The Monetary Policy Council has decided to keep NBP interest rates unchanged for the fourth time in a row. The main, reference interest rate stays at 6.75%. Wednesday's decision matches predictions of economy experts.

As a sign of solidarity with TVN24, dozens of Poland's largest nationwide and local media outlets have decided to publish on their websites a report titled "The Power of a Lie" by our own Piotr Świerczek. The report exposes lack of reliability in the works of the so called Smolensk Subcommittee led by MP Antoni Macierewicz, whose task was to investigate the 2010 presidential aircraft crash that killed Poland's then president Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and 94 other people. Now, instead of safeguarding the freedom of speech, Poland's National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT), acting on Antoni Macierewicz's request, seeks to punish TVN for its report.

Germany has rebuffed the latest push by Poland's nationalist government for vast reparations over World War Two, saying in response to a diplomatic note that the issue was closed, the foreign ministry in Warsaw said on Tuesday.

National Revenue Administration officers from Rzeszów have prevented an attempt to smuggle five live peregrine falcons from Ukraine into Poland. They detained a 57-year-old man at a border crossing in Medyka and charged him with animal cruelty. Also criminal proceedings have been launched against the smuggler.

This is a real perfect storm of infections. I can't remember an infection season like this one - chairman of Warsaw Family Doctors Dr Michał Sutkowski told TVN24 on Tuesday (January 3). He was referring to a wave of influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 infections that is sweeping through Poland. Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska announced that 389,000 people contracted the flu virus in the last nine days.

The death penalty for heaviest crimes should be permissible. I don't agree with the teachings of the Church in that regard, because I'm a supporter of the death penalty, although we don't have it - said Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

National Revenue Administration from Lublin (Revenue Administration Chamber in Lublin) have discovered three ancient swords in a postal parcel sent from Ukraine. Two of them are typical Scythian culture weapons, whereas the third is a Sarmatian sword. The market value of the artefacts has been estimated at 6,000 zlotys.

Poland's southeastern city of Rzeszów will earmark 650,000 zlotys to finance in vitro fertilisation (IVF) programme for residents. This should be enough to support at least 40 couples struggling with infertility, but who are eager to have a baby.

Jacek Jaworek is still wanted for triple murder - the prosecutor's office has just prolonged the investigation into the case until April 10. Furthermore, the investigators have asked the United States for help in determining the prime suspect's whereabouts. Jaworek is suspected of killing his brother, his brother's wife, and their son.

France and Poland have signed a deal for the sale of two French observation satellites to Poland, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Twitter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday met his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda for nearly two hours of talks during his trip home from the United States.

Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz will leave at the end of the month, with the country's FA (PZPN) saying on Thursday it will not renew his contract after the team's last-16 World Cup exit.

A draft law aimed at unlocking billions of euros in frozen EU funding could be "extremely destructive", Poland's ruling party leader was quoted as saying on Saturday, casting further doubt on the legislation's future.

A 97-year-old woman who worked as a German Nazi concentration camp secretary was convicted on Tuesday for her role in the murder of thousands of people, in what could be one of the country's last trials for World War Two crimes.