Poland's Health Ministry informed on Thursday about 16,878 new cases of coronavirus infection and 481 COVID-related deaths. Since the start of the pandemic Poland has reported 4,265,433 COVID-19 infections and 101,419 deaths related to the disease. Government spokesman Piotr Müller told TVN24 about prime minister's approach to the question of introducing vaccination duty for teachers, and a project of allowing employers to demand COVID tests from employees.

Poland's upper house of parliament, the Senate, has approved launching a special committee that will look into reported cases of Pegasus surveillance software usage. Two independent sources confirmed the tool was indeed used against opposition senator Krzysztof Brejza.

Rainbow is not offensive, the District Court in Płock said and upheld a not guilty sentence for three activists accused of insulting religious feelings. In 2019, the three women posted images around the St. Dominic Church in Płock showing Virgin Mary in a rainbow halo. This way they wanted to stand up for the rights of LGBTQIA people in Poland. "Full marks for this verdict, we're innocent," said Elżbieta Podleśna, one of the activists.

Poland's state-owned oil giant PKN Orlen informed on Wednesday that Saudi Aramco (officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company) would buy shares in a refinery owned by Lotos, whose 417 gas stations would be taken over by Hungary's MOL oil and gas conglomerate. In a separate deal, Lotos' fuel warehouses will be bought by Poland's Unimot group. The signed agreements are necessary steps Orlen needs to take in order to complete its merger with Lotos. Selling a certain part of the target company's assets is one of the conditions set out by the European Commission.

Polish passport allows holders to visit 183 countries and territories without a visa, according to the latest Henley Passport Index 2022. Japanese and Singapourean documents allow travellers to the borders of as many as 192 countries and territories, the highest number in the ranking. The top ten has been dominated by EU states passports.

Three people have been injured in a fire caused by a leak in a gas pipeline in Cesarka, a village located in Łódź Voivodeship. "The gas caught fire and the flames were approx. 10 meters tall," said Jędrzej Pawlak from Voivodeship Fire Service Headquarters in Łódź.

Polish lawmakers are expected to debate on Wednesday a nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party bill that critics say could curb access to teaching on LGBT and reproductive rights and give the ruling PiS more control over schools.

Poland will cut value added tax on gas, food and petrol as part of a second package of measures to soften the blow from surging inflation, the prime minister said on Tuesday.

A resident of Chełm (Lubelskie Voivodeship) kept a pony in his apartment. He told the city guards that he had purchased the animal for his uncle and intended to take it a nearby village soon.

The European Union executive is set to demand that Poland pay around 70 million euros ($80 million) of fines for failing to scrap a contentious system for disciplining judges, sources have told Reuters.

European Parliament President David Sassoli, an Italian socialist and former journalist, died on Tuesday in hospital in Italy, his spokesperson and office said. He was 65. Among condolences coming in from all over the world there were those extended by Polish officials and politicians, including President Andrzej Duda and the country's former prime minister Donald Tusk.

Poland's total number of coronavirus-related deaths surpassed 100,000 on Tuesday, the health minister said, as the country grapples with a fourth wave of the pandemic.

The Voivodeship Administrative Court in Kraków has nullified resolutions counteracting "LGBT ideology", adopted by Lipinki municipal council and Tarnów county council. The court pointed out among other things "aggressive and stigmatising language of the resolutions". The decision is not yet final, but activist groups do not hide their satisfaction with the ruling.

The District Court in Warsaw has discontinued the case of writer Jakub Żulczyk, accused of insulting President Andrzej Duda in a Facebook post from November 2020. At the time, in the context of presidential election in the USA, Żulczyk called the president "a moron".

Minister of Foreign Affaires Plenipotentiary for Dialogue with the Jewish Diaspora Jarosław Nowak has been recalled from office. In an interview for "Jewish News" a few days ago, Nowak criticised Polish government's policy on Jewish minorities, calling an amendment to law on IPN from 2018 "one of the stupidest amendment ever".

Lesser Poland educational board chief Barbara Nowak will not be dismissed. "Her comment was unfortunate, but we don't think it should be a reason for dismissal," Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Ryszard Terlecki from PiS said on Monday.

Consumer prices according to the flash estimate in December 2021, compared with the corresponding month of the previous year, increased by 8.6% (price index 108.6), and as related to the previous month increased by 0.9% (price index 100.9) - Poland's state-run agancy Statistics Poland said on Friday.

"Young people nowadays have much worse starting position than a few years ago, and things like promotion, income level, and as a result making a living, will be harder to achieve," psychologist and sociologist Doctor Joanna Heidtman said in TVN24 on Friday. She commented on a Eurofound report "Impact of COVID-19 on Young People in the EU", according to which only 37% of young Poles, aged 18-29, look to future with optimism. Among all EU states, only young people from Spain had lower percentage of optimistic predictions - 35%.

In an interview for private broadcaster Radio Zet, Lesser Poland Education Board chief Barbara Nowak has called vaccination "an experiment". In response, Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Friday that she should face consequences for her words. "I condemn all signs of lack of reason and call for basic moderation".

"The unusual thing is that Kaczyński completely discarded the narrative his own government has used so far," Gazeta Wyborcza journalist Wojciech Czuchnowski told TVN24 on Friday. He was referring to a fragment of Jarosław Kaczyński's interview for right-wing "Sieci" weekly magazine, in which the leader of the ruling PiS party admitted the government had purchased Pegasus spying software. "Superwizjer" TVN journalist Bertold Kittel said that those in power "will do whatever they can to sweep this case under the carpet".

Belarus summoned the Polish charge d'affaires in Minsk to inform him about the expulsion of a Polish diplomat, Warsaw said on Wednesday.

Inflation in the first quarter of 2022 will partially decrease thanks to anti-inflationary shield, but increase again in the second quarter to reach its peak at around 8% in June, the Governor of the National Bank of Poland Adam Glapiński said at a press conference on Wednesday. He added that, based on current forecasts, he would recommend the Monetary Policy Council increase interest rates further by at least 50 basis points.

About a dozen people gathered in front of Warsaw's Zachęta National Gallery on Wednesday to show their protest against the recently appointed new director of the institution. The protesters displayed colourful banners with slogans targeting the new director, but also referring to present issues.

A Warsaw Uprising participant and a "Wigry" scout battalion nurse Janina Gruszczyńska-Jasiak, nom de guerre "Janka", passed away on Tuesday at the age of 99. She was an eyewitness of German heavy explosive carrier blast which killed over 300 Polish insurgents and civilians on August 13, 1944.

Rescuers from Tatra Volunteer Search and Rescue (TOPR) received information about a tourist in need of help. The man called to report he was experiencing acute shortness of breath. TOPR launched a search-and-rescue mission and began checking shelters, valleys, and asked a drone operator for help. The following day, the mission was called off as the tourist had sent a text message in which he asked not to bother him as he was sleeping.

Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for coronavirus, a top aide told the state news agency PAP on Wednesday. The president is in isolation, the aide added.

Over half a million drivers have already driven through the recently opened tunnel which is part of Warsaw's southern ring road. Some of them did some weird things to say the least, others acted in a downright dangerous and illegal manner. One of them decided to... stand on his head.

Poland's Monetary Policy Council (RPP) decided to increase the NBP reference rate by 0.50 percentage points, i.e. to 2.25%. "Striving to decrease inflation to the NBP target in the medium term, the Council decided to increase NBP interest rates again. The increase of the NBP interest rates will also curb inflation expectations," the RPP said in a press release from Tuesday's session.

A 19th-century wooden forester's lodge located at Rydzowa Street in Warsaw's southernmost residential neighbourhood of Kabaty will get renovated, Warsaw City Hall announced. The renovation, under the watch of the city historic preservation office, will take 18 months.

It was two metres tall and stood in the middle of Dąbrowskiego Street in the centre of Leszno (Greater Poland Voivodeship). A police patrol was dispatched to deal with the unusual "pedestrian". The officers have took photos from this non-ordinary intervention.