Britney Spears in Poland

In Poland, at Last!

Another pop giant will be visiting Poland in the summer. In August, Madonna, the queen of pop, will perform on the Polish stage and in July, Britney Spears, the ‘princess of pop’, will arrive in Poland together with her circus group. Britney’s official website Britneyspears.com explains that her European tour has been expanded and according to the website (see below) Britney will visit twelve European cities, one of which is Warsaw. The Polish capital will host Britney’s “Circus” on the 24th July at the Służewiec arena. Dziennik will keep Poles updated with details of the show and the price of tickets. Polish fans can already start preparing for the big show. Tour dates:
• June 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14 – O2 Arena – London, UK
• June 17 – M.E.N. Arena – Manchester, UK
• June 19, 20 – O2 Arena – Dublin, Ireland
• July 5, 6 – Bercy – Paris, France
• July 9 – Sportpalais – Antwerp, Belgium
• July 11 – Parken – Copenhagen, Denmark
• July 13 – Globen – Stockholm, Sweden
• July 16 – Hartwell Arena – Helsinki, Finland
• July 19 – SKK – St. Petersburg, Russia
• July 21 – Olympic – Moscow, Russia
• July 24 – Służewiec – Warsaw, Poland
• July 26 – O2 World – Berlin, Germany
Dziennik

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Present from Gordon Brown

Footy Buddies

Donald Tusk’s 12-month-old grandson Mikołaj received a present from none other than British PM Gordon Brown. The head of the British government gave him an Arsenal football strip. Mikołaj’s granddad admired his grandson’s present with jealousy; unfortunately, the strip is not his size. Gordon Brown visited Warsaw in order to take part in serious political talks, but he did not forget about Tusk’s grandson. He brought the famous red and white Arsenal strip with him, according to Fakt. To be honest, it is hard to say whether it was for Mikołaj or his granddad who seemed more delighted with the present than Mikołaj. It is not a secret that the Polish PM loves playing football. Sometimes he even skips voting in the Sejm in order to play the sport. Tusk’s passion for football explains why the Polish PM asked the Government Protection Bureau to guard the strip like the crown jewels. “Please do not lose it; it’s a very important present,” said Tusk.
Dziennik

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Bruce Willis – New Face of Polish Vodka

Vodka Face

Bruce Willis, the American action movie actor, will advertise Polish vodka for a mere $16 m. Willis tested the alcoholic beverage in person before signing the contract. “I choose products with which I want to be associated very carefully,” said Willis. The high quality and the reasonable price of Polish vodka made a very good impression on the actor. Bruce  Willis will take part not only in advertisements of vodka but also in a promotional campaign in Europe and China. “We are very pleased that we will be working with Bruce Willis,” said Krzysztof Tryliński, head of Belvedere Group, in an interview with bankier.pl. “When we thought about who would be the best icon of Sobieski vodka, we at once chose Bruce Willis. He has achieved exceptional success and at the same time he is an original and unique actor with a real personality.” Willis’s co-operation with Belvedere Group, the owner of the Sobieski brand, will last four years.
Dziennik

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Poland Prepared for Swine Flu?

Bigger Problem

According to the Polish Health Minister Ewa Kopacz everything is under control. But is it? All the Polish Ministry of Health has done in this matter is decide to distribute leaflets at Polish airports about how to recognise flu symptoms and where to go in case of infection. However, it transpires that no one has even attempted to determine who has actually arrived from Mexico. Interestingly, the World Health Organisation suggests that a country have medical supplies considered to be most effective for at least 20 percent of its population; however, Poland has only 5 percent. According to Dziennik, only a stroke of luck will prevent the virus from coming to Poland.

Determining the Possible Threat
First of all, neither the Polish Foreign Ministry nor the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS) knows how many Poles are staying in Mexico at this moment in time and it is those people who actually constitute a possible source of infection. Piotr Olszyński, a counsellor at the Polish embassy in Mexico admits they “do not have this data, because nobody has asked us to collect it”. Clearly, Poles returning from Mexico arrive by planes, therefore, airports are the only barrier to stop the virus, and at the same time, the weakest link in the chain of protection. At no Polish airport does anyone seek passengers who began their journey in Mexico and stopped in various places on their way home to Poland.

Vicious Circle of Incompetence
This case is paradoxical. Jakub Mielniczuk of Polish Airports claims “there is no such data in our computer system”. However, Marek Poławski, a director at LOT Ground Services (LGS), which deals with luggage at the airport, claims such data can be collected in a crisis situation: “it is on a passenger’s luggage. One just needs to order the staff to discover where baggage comes from and who it belongs to”. Polish Airports could have instructed LGS to do so, but it has not been asked to by GUS. However, the latter did not know about this method before and was informed of it by Dziennik only.

Ignorance of the Danger
Furthermore, the Government Centre for Security personnel know of the afore-mentioned method, but do not use it, because “the threat is not so serious yet,” says Dr Przemysław Guła. Moreover, people with possible symptoms of swine flu, e.g. coughing, are to be stopped by officers of the border patrol, who admit that they have not been properly instructed how to determine whether or not a person is infected. Finally, if, or rather when, swine flu crosses the border and arrives in Poland, doctors will be completely helpless as they do not know what to do with infected people, because they have not received any instructions whatsoever from the Health Ministry. Thus, are we prepared as well as Ms Kopacz claims?
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Criminal Caught

Behind Bars

First, gun shots in the Sadyba district of Warsaw were heard, then a screech of tyres and racing cars on Wiertnicza Street. Finally, there was a spectacular car crash and a dangerous criminal was apprehended. People who witnessed these  scenes told Dziennik that when the criminal was arrested the anti-terrorists found that he was carrying a bag filed with white powder. According to unofficial sources the apprehended criminal is probably Marcin Ś., nicknamed Śledź (Herring). It is believed that the gangster is a member of the so-called Nowotarska criminal group. At the Warsaw Police Department, Dziennik learned that officers from the Central Investigation Bureau (CBŚ) also took part in the chase. The witnesses who saw the crash report that the runaway car hit a cab which brought the criminal to a halt. Police officers wearing balaclavas dragged the gangster out of the car and then searched the vehicle. Whilst they removed the bag filled with white powder, smaller packs started falling out, apparently designed for portioning out drugs.
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Poland Prepares for Pig Flu

Dangerous Pigs

The extremely dangerous pig flu virus is crossing borders and is quickly spreading throughout the world. Recent sources report people suffering from the symptoms in Europe also. Therefore, it is only a matter of time when it will arrive in Poland. The Polish Health Minister Ewa Kopacz claims “we are prepared for the virus strike”. She also notes that “at all Polish airports leaflets are given to passengers informing them of the possible symptoms and instructing them where to go in case of infection”. She is reassuring the public that, up to now, there has been no case associated with the Mexico crisis. Nevertheless, on Monday April 27th at 2 pm, a government-formed crisis management board will convene in order to discuss how to prepare for hospitalising the infected and to estimate the risk of the virus coming to Poland. The Health Ministry, meanwhile, advises Poles to postpone any trips to Mexico, the USA, or Canada. In Mexico, the hitherto unknown virus has already killed 81 people; over 1,300 are infected. Moreover, the number of infections in the USA is increasing dramatically and increasingly more people are hospitalised in Europe.
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Swine Flu to Hit Poland

Dangerous Virus

Swine flu which is currently killing many people on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean will soon reach Poland, according to Wiesław Rozbicki from the Regional Sanitary and Epidemic Station in Warsaw. “Because of planes, swine flu virus may reach Poland sooner than everybody thinks. Especially as swine flu, contrary to bird flu, is transmitted by humans,” says Rozbicki. He is of the opinion that potential hosts are not only passengers of planes flying from Mexico or South America, where the virus is currently rampant, but also everybody who has recently been on any plane. “You can never exactly tell with whom you have had contact at an airport,” adds Rozbicki.
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Three Teenagers Killed

Don't!

At 2 o’clock a.m. in Dyniska Stare, near Tomaszów Lubelski, a group of 16-year-old teenagers were coming back home from a disco when a drunk driver hit them. Three of the group died on the spot and their friend is in a state of clinical death. “We were informed about the accident at 2.25 a.m. on Sunday,” says Ireneusz Stromidło, a spokesman of Tomaszów Lubelski Police Department. “Alcohol and excessive speed were the causes of the accident. The 20-year-old driver, who lives in Orchówek municipality, lost control of his car,” reports the police officer. Three people died on the spot: Mateusz K., Monika B. and Radosław P. All of them were 16-year-olds. “One girl survived the accident and was taken to hospital in Tomaszów Lubelski. Doctors say that the she is in a state of clinical death,” adds the police officer. The driver, wanting to avoid responsibility for the accident, escaped from the scene of the crime. However, police officers quickly established his place of residence. The driver who has been arrested had a BAC of 1.8 per cent. “The public prosecutor will now decide what will happen with the driver. He may be sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment,” says Stromidło.
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President to Attend Conference

Not Pleased

Lech Kaczyński, the President of Poland, has changed his mind and decided to take part in the government-organised conference celebrating the fifth anniversary of Poland’s accession to the EU. What persuaded him to attend it, though, was not the invitation sent by the PM’s chancellery, but, as he claims, talks with several European politicians which are planned to take place at the conference. It promises to be truly impressive: on April 30th, in the Palace of Culture and Science, speeches will be delivered by such well-known politicians as Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the EU Commission, Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the EU Parliament, as well as Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, President of the EU Committee on Foreign Affairs.

According to Wprost, what upset the President was the fact that he was invited to the conference as a guest, whereas “all over the world, it is customary for the president of a given country to open all ceremonies and not simply be a guest,” claims an anonymous aide to Mr Kaczyński. However, it is not only the President who is indignant regarding the conference. Leszek Miller, Poland’s former PM, notes “It was Aleksander Kwaśniewski and I who led Poland into the EU, not Mr Tusk nor Mr Saryusz-Wolski. In fact, the latter was an MP in the government whose mistakes had to be corrected by my cabinet”. He concludes saying this is a case of “changing history”. What is more, the ceremonies will be attended neither by Mr Kwaśniewski, who also expressed his negative opinions regarding the organisation of the conference, nor by Lech Wałęsa, according to Wprost. What is the response of the government? Paweł Graś, the government spokesperson, sent journalists to the Office of the Committee for European Integration, whose officials assured the media that all persons involved in Poland’s EU accession will be honoured at the conference.
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Patrycja Rescued

Found At Last

Over 100 police officers and firefighters have been searching for 12-year-old Patrycja who got lost somewhere in the vicinity of Srebrna Góra, in the Lower Silesian region. She was found in the same forest in which she went missing whilst playing. She is cold and frightened, however other than that, nothing happened to her. Fortunately, the moment Patrycja lost contact with the group, with whom she visited the forest as part of a “green school” initiative she was dressed in warm clothes and therefore did not freeze despite low temperatures. A helicopter equipped with infrared vision was used in the search operation. “Patrycja’s teacher realised the 12-year-old was missing on Thursday evening. They looked for her themselves before calling the police,” said Paweł Petrykowski, Wrocław Regional Police Station spokesperson.
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