Poland coach Paulo Sousa's contract has been terminated by the Polish Football Association on Wednesday, president Cezary Kulesza said just days after the Portuguese's request had initially been rejected.

Polish prosecutors said on Wednesday they would not investigate an allegation that the phone of a high-profile government critic was hacked, amid accusations that opposition figures have been subject to illegal surveillance.

Emil C., a Polish soldier who has recently defected to Belarus, was sentenced on Wednesday to six months community service for mentally and physically abusing his mother. He was also served a one-year restraining order and told to stop excessive drinking. The soldier also has an arrest warrant issued after him, and is facing 10 years in prison for defection.

The Ministry of Health informed on Wednesday about 15,571 new cases of coronavirus infection and 794 COVID-related deaths, the highest number of daily fatalities in the fourth wave of the pandemic.

Russia's Supreme Court ordered the country's oldest human rights group to disband on Tuesday for breaking a law requiring it to act as "a foreign agent", capping a year of crackdowns on Kremlin critics unseen since the Soviet era. Poland's President Andrzej Duda and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed their concern and disappointment with the decision, as well as praised Memorial Society for its contribution in uncovering Soviet crimes.

A Polish opposition senator who believes his phone was hacked using sophisticated spyware developed by the Israel-based NSO Group has accused prosecutors of failing to act on the case, viewing it as a "hot potato" to be passed between offices.

Poland hopes to make progress in negotiations with the new Czech government over the open-pit lignite Turow mine near the border, Poland's prime minister said on Tuesday, referring to the most serious spat between the two European Union members in decades.

A 67-year-old German woman named Maria has been living in a forest near Kłobuck in Silesian Voivodeship for over a decade now. In the summer she used to sleep under a tree, using her backpack as a pillow. In the winter people kept on calling the police to save her from freezing, but she always comes back to the forest. She claims she is a doctor. The woman likes to talk and communicate through sign language. She knows German, English, and French. When she was hungry, the woman used to come to a local village for food. Reportedly, her family once took her back to Germany, but she returned to Poland. Last week, Maria was taken to a hospital for observation. We have asked local residents, social worker and the police about her.

Unvaccinated people, seniors, and those suffering from pre-existing diseases are most likely to face "the most tragic of possibilities" after contracting coronavirus, Health Ministry spokesman Wojciech Andrusiewicz said on Tuesday. This way he commented on the latest daily coronavirus report, according to which as many as 410 out of 549 of the latest COVID-related fatalities were unvaccinated people.

TVN Discovery Group has issued a statement regarding President Andrzej Duda's veto of the media reform bill, known as lex TVN.

On Dec. 26, 1918, the city of Poznań submerged in pitch black darkness. Local residents lit torches and paper lanterns to shed light for Poland's future prime minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski who arrived in the town that day. One such lantern has been preserved - it's 103 years old and belongs to Roman Trojanowicz's collection.

Three Home Army veterans, who took part in the Warsaw Uprising, have passed away during Christmas holidays - Maria Schejbal alias "Marzena", Maria Pajzderska "Marysia", and Ryszard Nowicki "Sokół".

Poland's President Andrzej Duda has decided to veto the media reform bill targeting Discovery-owned TVN channel.

Poland coach Paulo Sousa asked to end his contract by mutual consent after getting an offer from Brazilian top-flight club Flamengo but Polish football association president Cezary Kulesza has rejected the request.

Poland's Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro announced on Thursday he would ask the country's Constitutional Tribunal to declare the the EU rule of law conditionality mechanism is not compatible with the Polish constitution.

According to the latest data, eight new cases of Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been detected, which originated from two previously confirmed outbreaks - in Warsaw and Gdańsk, Health Ministry spokesperson Wojciech Andrusiewicz told Radio Plus on Thursday. He added that a total of 15 cases of Omicron have been detected in Poland so far.

Discovery, Inc. announced on Wednesday that the European Commission (EC) has granted unconditional antitrust clearance of the Company's proposed acquisition of AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia business.

Poland reported 775 COVID-related deaths on Friday, the highest daily number in the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the data from the health ministry showed.

"We already raised concerns some time ago because this new media law has been adopted - surprisingly for me because I really hope it will be discussed further - but it was adopted already in the context of a very problematic situation of media in Poland. Some speak about of politicision of media landscape in Poland," the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova told TVN24 reporter Sebastian Nepieraj on Wednesday.

"This judgement puts into question whether the rules, which the EU is based on, still apply in Poland," the Vice President of the EU Commission Vera Jourova told TVN24 on Wednesday. She was referring to the ruling issued by Poland Constitutional Tribunal earlier this year, which has challenged the EU law primacy over national laws. "The Tribunal itself raises doubts whether it’s still an independent court," she added. Earlier that day, the EU executive has launched an infringement procedure against Poland over said ruling.

Seventeen Polish and international organisations promoting media and journalist freedom on Wednesday signed a letter addressed to President Andrzej Duda. They call upon the head of Polish state to veto the media reform bill passed by the parliament last week. The signatories warn that the legislation "poses a fundamental threat to media freedom and pluralism in Poland".

"The Polish government thinks it is treated unfairly by foreign critics, but then it hurts itself with this media law," the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board said in an article criticising the recent media reform law passed by the Polish Sejm. "Targeting an American investment is doubly insulting. The U.S., through NATO, is treaty bound to send Americans to fight and die for Polish security," the WSJ argues. "Now more than ever, Warsaw should want to underscore its differences with nearby authoritarians," the American paper urges.

The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Poland because of serious concerns with respect to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal and its recent case law. Polish Deputy Justice Minister Sebastian Kaleta called the decision "an attack on Poland's constitution and sovereignty".

A collection of 14 works by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) have been purchased by the National Museum in Warsaw. The works from the Russian-French artist's late period will be at display in the spring of 2022.

Belarus and Poland are pushing refugees back and forth across their border and leaving them with little if any food, clean water or shelter, the U.N. Human Rights office said on Tuesday, urging both countries to "address this appalling situation".

A very valuable collection of post-WWII Warsaw photographs taken by Adolf Duszek has been discovered by his daughter Maria Anioł in their family home in Stare Bielany neighbourhood. Photography was Duszek's passion, especially documenting Poland's capital Warsaw in the 1950s, when the city was being rebuilt after being razed to ground by Nazi Germany. Bielany district authorities announced that an album with these amazing images would be published next year.

Polish attorney and government critic Roman Giertych's phone was hacked with the use of Pegasus system at least 18 times in 2019, according to an analysis carried out by Citizen Lab researchers. Pegasus is a surveillance tool that provides its operator complete access to a target’s mobile device, allowing the operator to extract passwords, files, photos, web history, contacts, as well as identity data.

Commenting on the controversial media reform bill passed by Polish parliament last week, vice-president of the European Commission Frans Timmermans told TVN24 on Monday he was deeply concerned, as " free media are of the essence of in every member state of the European Union". He also assured that if the bill becomes actually becomes law, "the Commission will review the bill and will take appropriate action, if necessary".

Judge Paweł Juszczyszyn was allowed to return to work at the Regional Court in Olsztyn on Monday, however this decision was overruled almost immediately by the court's president Maciej Nawacki. The latter's term as president ended on Friday, but the Ministry of Justice sent a fax to the court on Monday, annoucing that Nawacki has been appointed for another term. Nawacki has cancelled his leave of absence only to announce his first decision about revoking the decision allowing Juszczyszyn to return, issued by his deputy Krzysztof Krygielski, who was the court's acting president for this short period before Nawacki reappointment.

Deputy Minister of Sports Łukasz Mejza announced on December 10 that he had asked for a leave of absence as member of parliament. A positive decision was granted by Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Małgorzata Gosiewska, but Mejza's vacation officialy started on Monday (December 20). Despite his urgent need for vacation, the deputy minister was present at Friday's voting session in the lower house, and took part in voting over the 2022 budget and the so-called lex TVN.