Local council in Stary Sącz (Lesser Poland Voivodeship) have revoked a so-called anti-LGBT resolution which discriminated against non-heterosexual people. One councillor did not like the decision so much that she stood up during the session and sang out Polish medieval religious hymn "Bogurodzica". That didn't affect the vote result, and the controversial resolution has been rescinded.

Andrzej Wróblewski's painting

The European Union proposed on Wednesday curtailing some rights of migrants at its borders with Belarus, including letting asylum seekers be held at border camps for up to four months and allowing for faster deportations.

Polish National Health Fund's inquiry into the death of a pregnant woman in County Hospital in Pszczyna has confirmed glaring irregularities as regards organisation, methods, and quality of service provided to the patient. The fund has also ordered the hospital to pay a fine of nearly 650,000 zlotys.

Journalists will be able to access the border area with Belarus in organised groups assissted by Border Guard units - Deputy Interior Minister Błażej Poboży informed on Wednesday. He added that reporters would first have to undergo safety training and submit a number of declarations.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda has signed the newly amended act on border protection into law, the chief of President's Office Paweł Szrot told Polish Press Agency on Tuesday evening. The new legislation will allow authorities to ban citizens, journalists, and NGOs from entering the border area.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the situation across the world is difficult and dynamic, especially after the appearance of the latest coronavirus variant - Omicron. Therefore, Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to reiterate its advice to avoid foreign travel.

Łódź City Social Services has launched a special bus that will offer hot meals and tea to people in homelessness crisis and other in need during winter. The line has been bringing help to people since 2002.

The Sejm passed an amendment to the border protection law on Tuesday, rejecting all changes proposed by the opposition-controlled upper house. President Duda has until midnight to signed the bill into law. If ratified, the legislation will allow the authorities to introduce a ban on remaining in the border area. Such temporary bans would be issued by the interior minister, based on the opinion of the Border Guard chief.

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki informed on Tuesday that the government has put forward a draft bill that would lower excise tax on electricity, bring excise tax on petrol to the lowest possible level, and lower VAT on natural gas. The so-called anti-inflation shield is meant to protect Polish families from the effects of inflation which, according to Statistics Poland, has increased by 7.7% in November, in a year-to-year comparison.

Argentina's Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world for a record-stretching seventh time on Monday, beating Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho to lift soccer's most prestigious trophy yet again.

One of Poland's oldest libraries, the Kórnik Library, wants to renovate a portrait of the White Lady from the Kórnik Castle. At the moment, the painting is being examined by experts. It is estimated that its restoration will cost over 100,000 zlotys.

Poland said on Monday it would ban flights to seven African countries, extend the quarantine period for some travellers and reduce limits on numbers allowed into places like restaurants, amid concerns over the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Polish Border Guard informed that it reported 92 attempts of illegal border crossing on Sunday (November 28), and that a group of foreigners tried to force their way into Poland near Mielnik, Podlaskie Voivodeship. Furthermore, Polish authorities have accused Belarusian guards of destroying the border fence in order to help migrants get through into Poland.

Poland will go to Russia to face the home team in a World Cup qualification play-off game. The winning team will then play a final game either against Sweden or the Czech Republic. Twelve teams will compete for the three remaining spots left for European teams. The pairs and paths were drawn on Friday in Zurich, whereas the play-off games will be played in March 2022.

Two Wrocław Police patrol cars escorted an ambulance carrying a heart for a transplant surgery. The officers waited for the ambulance at city limits, in order to help it make it through busy streets straight to the University Clinical Hospital.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday (November 26) his country stands "shoulder to shoulder" with Poland over the Belarus migrant crisis. Morawiecki welcomed Johnson's support, stressing the importance of "staying together in front of these challenges."

Approximately 600 police officers were involved in quashing a riot that broke out at the centre for foreigners in Wędrzyn (Lubuskie Voivodeship). A group of aggressive people tried to force the fence surrounding the facility they have been placed into. They were throwing chairs and other objects. The police said the situation has been calmed, and published a CCTV footage from the incident.

The Ministry of Health informed on Friday about 26,735 newly confirmed COVID infection cases and 421 COVID-related deaths. Furthermore, the number of active infection cases has jumped up to nearly 423,000, which is the highest number in the last 12 months.

A Border Guard officer, together with his service dog Jager, were helping the police to find a person who had robbed a gas station in Braniewo (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship). They found an abandoned building. Inside there was a man who suddenly attacked the officer with a sharp object, but Jager quickly apprehended him.

Lukashenko regime's exploitation of vulnerable people to pressure neighbouring countries is inhume and cynical, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after meeting with Poland's President Andrzej Duda on Thursday in Brussels. The president informed that he has proposed incresing NATO's readiness at the eastern flank.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has ordered the Chief Sanitary Inspector and the interior minister to inspect an illegal market of issuing false COVID-19 vaccination certificates. This illegal practice has been exposed by "Fakty" TVN reporters, who carried out an undercover inquiry at a vaccination point near Kraków.

Poland will cut taxes on petrol, gas and electricity and provide cash payments to households in a programme worth up to 10 billion zlotys ($2.40 billion) designed to help Poles deal with high inflation, the prime minister said on Thursday.

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal said on Wednesday that the European Court of Human Rights had no power to question its appointment of judges, rejecting a ruling by Europe's top human rights court in May.

Ground has collapsed at the allotment gardens in the town of Trzebinia (Lesser Poland Voivodeship). A huge hole was created as a result, but luckily no one got hurt. Fire service secured the area.

Poland will have to tighten COVID-19 restrictions if it does not see daily cases decreasing in the near future, the health minister said on Wednesday, after infections surged to their highest level of the fourth wave of the pandemic.

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Board of Education head Barbara Nowak on Tuesday publically advised against taking school students to see Adam Mickiewicz's "Forefather's Eve" at the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków. On Wednesday, Poland's Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek backed Nowak in her criticism of the play directed by Maja Kleczewska.

Donald Tusk criticised Polish government on Wednesday for inaction in the face of the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic. "Today is the last chance for PM Morawiecki to say what he's going to do stop the tragic statistics appearing every day," said the leader of Civic Platform. In his view, "lives of dozens of people each day depend on prime minister's decision". Poland reported 28,380 daily COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the health ministry said, a record for the fourth wave of the pandemic. The ministry also reported 460 deaths.

President Emmanuel Macron told Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Wednesday that France and other EU nations stood by Warsaw over its confrontation with Belarus but that did not mean the bloc would overlook concerns about the rule of law.