Poland

WARSAW, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Polish experts have confirmed that the missile that killed two people at a grain facility in southern Poland in November was fired by Ukraine, Rzeczpospolita daily reported, citing sources.

The explosion of the missile in NATO-member Poland fuelled fears that the war in Ukraine could spiral into a wider conflict by triggering the alliance's mutual defence clause, but at the time Warsaw and NATO said that they believed that it was a Ukrainian stray, easing worries about escalation.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister said his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine, a comment that appeared aimed at pressuring Kyiv and put Poland’s status as a major source of military equipment in doubt as a trade dispute between the neighboring states escalates.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — In an unprecedented move, the Vatican on Sunday beatified a Polish family of nine — a married couple and their small children — who were executed by the Nazis during World War II for sheltering Jews.

During a ceremonious Mass in the village of Markowa, in southeastern Poland, papal envoy Cardinal Marcello Semeraro read out the Latin formula of the beatification of the Ulma family signed last month by Pope Francis.

In his homily Semeraro noted that for their “gesture of hospitality and care, of mercy” the Ulmas “paid the highest price of martyrdom.”

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s conservative governing party and the opposition showered potential voters with promises on Saturday as the country’s political parties revealed their campaign programs before the Oct. 15 parliamentary election.

The nationalist ruling Law and Justice party, which took power in 2015, wants to win an unprecedented third term. The government’s tenure, however, has been marred with bitter clashes with the European Union over the government’s rule of law record and democratic backsliding.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Film director Agnieszka Holland demanded an apology from Poland’s justice minister after he compared her latest film, which explores the migration crisis at the Poland-Belarus border, to Nazi propaganda.

Holland said Wednesday that she planned to bring defamation charges against Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro unless she receives an apology within seven days. She also demanded that he make a charitable donation of 50,000 Polish zlotys ($11,600) to an association that helps Holocaust survivors.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s internal security officers were searching for the source of a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease which has killed seven people and infected more than 100 others in the strategic city of Rzeszow, near the border with Ukraine, authorities said Friday.

Rzeszow region, in Poland’s southeast, is a key transit hub for international military support for Ukraine, following Russia’s full-scale invasion last year. Some 10,000 U.S. troops are also stationed in the area.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s controversial commission for examining Russian influence in Poland that is seen as targeting the opposition ahead of Oct. 15 parliamentary elections will not be formed before that vote, a prominent member of the ruling party said Friday.

The European Union and Poland’s ally the U.S. have strongly criticized the law calling for the commission, saying it would interfere with the democratic process in Poland. The EU has launched legal action against member country Poland over the contentious law.

WARSAW, Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wants to hold a referendum on irregular migration, asking citizens whether they support accepting irregular migrants as part of a European Union relocation plan.

Morawiecki announced his plan for a vote on Oct 15 – alongside the country’s parliamentary elections – in a new video published on social media over the weekend, which included scenes of burning cars and other street violence in Western Europe.

WARSAW, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Poland's biggest military parade since the Cold War takes place in Warsaw on Tuesday as the NATO-member country flexes its military muscle in what the government hopes will be both a message to Moscow and to voters ahead of elections in October.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has made boosting the armed forces a priority for Poland's ruling nationalists Law and Justice (PiS), and with the election campaign in full swing the immense display of military hardware provides a chance to burnish their security credentials.

WARSAW, Aug 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW), acting together with the police, has detained two Russians for allegedly disseminating propaganda for the Wagner Group, the interior minister has announced.

A Russian mercenary group, Wagner has been heavily involved in the fighting in Ukraine, but its future is uncertain after it was involved in an apparent rebellion against the Kremlin in June.