The head of the new Polish Space Agency (POLSA) has revealed that the institution will be ready to begin its activities in the first half of March.

At a meeting between representatives of POLSA, the Pomeranian Special Economic Zone and of the city of Gdańsk, where the agency will be based, the head of POLSA, Professor Marek Banaszkiewicz explained that the agency will begin functioning within two weeks.

He added that negotiations over renting office space are currently being finalised. POLSA is expected to rent 300 square meters of office space in the Gdańsk Science and Technology Park.

The agency will initially employ twenty staff and is now recruiting people with relevant expertise. Professor Banaszkiewicz commented that “This is a difficult process because in Poland humanity studies are more popular than engineering ones; it is difficult to find people with a very good CV in space engineering.”

However the nearby Gdańsk University of Technology may help to change that as it is planning to create a new interdisciplinary degree related to space technology within the next year or two.

POLSA was called up last year to unite the diverse Polish organisations currently involved in space technology research and related sectors. Its aims include sharing knowledge acquired about space technology with any branches of Polish industry which could make use of it.

The agency has been provided with an annual budget of PLN 30 million (EUR 7 million).

Foresters have come across traces of bear activity in the south-eastern Bieszczady in the San and Solinka valleys, marking the end of winter hibernation for some of the region’s estimated 150 bears.

“Bears which have just come out of hibernation may be dangerous to humans,” reminds Edward Marszałek, spokesman for the Regional Directorate of State Forests (Lasy Państwowe – LP) in Krosno told the PAP news agency.

“For the successive time it seems that old bears hibernate only in a known and popular dens, and during this winter they didn’t come out only when temperatures dropped to the negative teens Celsius,” Marszałek said.

The bears were recorded a number of times by hidden cameras set up by foresters, with the ursine marauders regularly appearing on forest trails and logging tracks. A number were also caught pinching food from hay-racks during the winter months.

The number of bears in the south-eastern Podkarpacie region has grown six-fold since the 1970s.
“Some 40 years ago there were merely 20 and only appeared in the Bieszczady,” Marszałek said, adding that “a quarter of a century ago there were 50, while ten years ago there were 100”.

Currently in south-eastern Poland – chiefly in the Bieszczady, Beskid Niski and the Przemyśl lowlands – there are some 150 bears comprising 90 percent of Poland’s total ursine population.

According to LP spokesman Marszałek, the “high number of fauna, including bears, proves the good state of forests in the Podkarpacie region” which are “one of the most important domestic refuges for wild animals”.

Adult European brown bears are omnivorous and can reach up to 300 kg and live up to 50 years.

The decision will force Warsaw to move on with legal proceedings against people in Poland who allowed the jails to operate.

The Polish Foreign Ministry has already issued a statement saying that it will abide to the court’s decision.
The Strasbourg-based court ruled in July 2014 that Poland should quickly conclude a criminal investigation into the jail, and issue a total compensation of EUR 230,000 to two formers detainees of the jail.

“Poland is required to finally conduct a thorough and effective investigation, make public information concerning its role and hold those responsible to account,” Helen Duffy, the lawyer for Abu Zubaydah, one of the former detainees, said following the court’s decision on Tuesday.

The site of the Szymany airport in northern Poland was used as a secretive facility by the US Central Intelligence Agency to hold suspects for interrogation following the 9/11 attacks.

The head of the European Council, Donald Tusk is ready to step in if the Ukraine peace deal is breached, following an agreement of a ceasefire.

“Today we still have hope for a peaceful solution but the real test is the respect of the ceasefire. […] we remain cautious until words put down on paper translate into real deeds,” Tusk said, following an informal meeting of heads of state in Brussels on Thursday.

Several European presidents were briefed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on the talks held between the so-called Normandy Four, taking in the presidents of Ukraine, Russia, France and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, came after ten months of conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Former-Polish-PM Tusk said that the Minsk ceasefire agreement was “welcome news and gives hope. Hope is good, even essential, but not enough. The real test is the respect of the cease-fire on the ground.

“The first Minsk agreement was, as you remember, not respected. After my conversation with Chancellor Angela Merkel it’s my feeling that we should remain extremely cautious.”

Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Irish budget airline Ryanair, has said that the routes dropped by Eurolot are “not a huge opportunity” for the airline.

The comment comes as Eurolot, a subsidiary of LOT Polish Airlines, announced last week that from 1 April it will stop flying its regular scheduled routes.

“The big opportunity for Ryanair will be to continue to grow our domestic routes within Poland,” O’Leary said.

Earlier, it was mooted that the budget carrier would be able to take over the routes left behind by Eurolot.

Adrian Furgalski from the TOR transport and infrastucture advisory commented that “Ryanair will surely take over the majority of Eurolot’s routes, as [the airline] has the fleet and the money to do this”.

Eurolot is a majority state-controlled airline which operates domestic and international routes. Most of the the carrier’s aircraft are expected to be transferred to LOT Polish Airlines.

Police were forced to use water cannons and rubber bullets on protesting Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa miners on Monday.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the JSW headquarters despite the sub-zero temperatures on Monday in an indefinite strike where unions are asking for the resignation of company head Jarosław Zagórowski.

After burning tires and being litigious with riot police who gathered on the scene, twelve people were injured when police were forced to fire rubber bullets into the crowd.

Andrzej Gąska, a spokesperson for the police said that none of those shot at sustained any serious injuries.

“We appeal to the people who are gathered there to abide the law. Attacking police officers and destroying property is hardly a form of protest – it is simply a crime,” Gąska added.

By 4. p.m. Monday, police had arrested four individuals.

JSW workers started a strike on Wednesday calling for Zagórowski to step down.

Deputy head of the Solidarity trade union at JSW, Sławomir Brudziński said that miners did not want to strike, but were forced to due to the “shameful actions of the board and its chairman Jarosław Zagórowski in particular”.

A study carried out by research firm Nielsen has found that Poles are spending more money on beer than any other food or drink product.

According to the study, Poles spent PLN 14.5 million (EUR 3.4 million) on beer between December 2013 and November 2014.

In second position was vodka with PLN 10.3 million (EUR 2.4 million).

However, the biggest rise in spending concerned cheese. Spending on cheese climbed by 5.3 percent to PLN 5.4 million (EUR 1.28 million).

Meanwhile, of other products in the top ten, outgoings on juices and syrops rose by 5.2 percent to PLN 3.6 million (EUR 856 410).

A lottery player from the city of Suwałki in north eastern Poland has scooped the third biggest win in the history of the game, winning PLN 30, 216 854.10 (EUR 7, 257 million).

Saturday’s draw in Poland’s so-called Lotto had seen a considerable build up, as no one had won since 17 January, despite draws being held thrice weekly.

The lucky player paid PLN 32 (EUR 7.6) to take part in Saturday’s edition, choosing the numbers 5, 14, 34, 36, 38 and 41.

Those were precisely the numbers that came through.

No further details are known about the player, but the winner has 60 days to claim the prize.

The Polish Lotto game was started in 1957 by the Polish Sports Association.

The biggest win to date was in 2012 in Gdynia, northern Poland, with a scoop of PLN 33, 787 496,10 zł (EUR 8,1 million), followed by PLN 30, 927 429,60 (EUR 7,4 million) in Bolesławiec, western Poland, also in 2012

The Polish Border Guard (SG) detained in excess of 4,300 illegal immigrants in 2014, over 800 more than in 2013.

According to statistics compiled by the SG’s headquarters, Ukrainians were most frequently apprehended (2,000 people), a rise of 100 percent on the previous year.

There was also an 80 percent rise in the number of Vietnamese detained without the correct documents (420 people).

Other nationalities prominent on the list were Russians (264), Belarusians, Georgians and Syrians.
While Vietnamese and Syrians often regard Poland as a gateway to the West, Ukrainians typically want to stay in Poland to find work.

With Kiev currently at war with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, the SG found that most of the detained citizens had forged visas or employment documents.

Poland’s Silesia and Małopolska regions could be on track to become state-of-the-art meccas for businesses.

This renaissance could happen thanks to an injection of PLN 13 billion (EUR 3.11 bln) from the European Union. The funds could help revive the region and attract local and foreign investments.

A meeting on the subject is planned Wednesday between members of various ministries to outline a plan for the Silesia and Małopolska voivodships.

According to the 'Rzeczpospolita’ daily, privy to an as-yet unofficial outline, the ambitious plan will enable rapid economic growth for the two regions in the south of the country.

“To this end, we want to make use of EU funds, which are within easy reach,” Deputy Economy Minister Ilona Antoniszyn-Klik told the paper.

A cornerstone of the plan is road infrastructure. The creation of a coherent network between investment areas – including the Katowice Special Economic Zone – is essential for the development of the region, Rzeczpospolita says.

Other details of the restructuring plan include the establishment of a land-fund to deal with the revitalisation of derelict brownfield sites, as well as the modernisation of systems to make use of residual methane still found in coal mines.