Poland scrambles aircraft after Russian strikes on Ukraine
Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on Sunday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes targeting western Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said.
'The steps taken are aimed at ensuring security in the regions bordering the areas at risk,' the Command said on X.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
6 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland's presidential election
WARSAW — Conservative Karol Nawrocki has won Poland's weekend presidential runoff election, according to the final vote count. Nawrocki won 50.89% of votes in a very tight race against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11%. The close race had the country on edge since a first round two weeks earlier and through the night into Monday, revealing deep divisions in the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union. The outcome indicates that Poland can be expected to take a more nationalist path under its new president, who was backed by US President Donald Trump. A first exit poll initially showed Trzaskowski with a slight lead over conservative historian Nawrocki, but two hours later an updated 'late poll' showed Nawrocki winning 50.7%, more than Trzaskowski with 49.3% Turnout was 72.8% — higher than the 67.3% reported in the first round on 18 May. Voting started at 7 am and ended at 9 a conference at 6:30 pm, the chairman of the Polish National Electoral Commission said incidents had been reported during the voting, with "232 possible offences" taking runoff follows a tightly contested first round of voting on May 18, in which Trzaskowski won just over 31% and Nawrocki nearly 30%.Though the final result was still unclear on Sunday evening with the two locked in a near dead heat, both men claimed to have won in meetings with their supporters in Warsaw.'We won,' Trzaskowski told his supporters to chants of 'Rafał, Rafał.''This is truly a special moment in Poland's history. I am convinced that it will allow us to move forward and focus on the future,' Trzaskowski said. 'I will be your president.'Nawrocki, speaking to his supporters at a separate event in Warsaw, said he believed he was on track to win. 'We will win and save Poland,' he said. 'We must win tonight.'The new president will have significant influence over whether Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist government can fulfill its agenda, given the presidential power to veto laws. — Euronews
Arab News
02-05-2025
- Arab News
Polish right-wing presidential candidate visits Trump
WARSAW: Poland's nationalist presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki said on Friday he had an 'important' visit with US President Donald Trump at the White House, drawing accusations of election interference from some governing politicians. Nawrocki has the backing of the right-wing opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) and outgoing President Andrzej Duda and is polling second two weeks ahead of the May 18 ballot. The frontrunner, pro-European Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, has the support of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition (KO). 'An immensely important meeting... with US President D. Trump at the White House and joint talks on the strategic alliance as well as future cooperation,' Nawrocki wrote on his Facebook page. He added a campaign hashtag and photos of the two men posing at the White House during the Thursday visit. The White House also posted the photos to X and said: 'President Donald J. Trump welcomes Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki to the Oval Office.' Nawrocki separately told TV Republika that 'President Trump said, 'You will win'... I understood that as him wishing me success in the upcoming elections.' Some lawmakers from the governing coalition took to X on Friday to criticize the meeting. MP Roman Giertych accused Trump of being Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'friend' and of 'brazenly interfering in the elections in Poland.' Fellow lawmaker Tomasz Trela wrote: 'Mr Nawrocki, Trump will not be choosing our president for us, just like he didn't choose Canada's prime minister.' Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals won Canada's election on Monday after a campaign defined by threats from Trump. Nawrocki, a 42-year-old historian, has been campaigning on the slogan of 'Poland first, Poles first.' While Nawrocki does not question Poland's support for neighboring Ukraine against Russia's invasion, he has denounced the generous benefits accorded to Ukrainians refugees. He also wants Poland to boost its troop numbers and has called for controls on the border with Germany to keep out migrants.
Arab News
27-04-2025
- Arab News
IMF-World Bank meetings end with little tariff clarity, but economic foreboding
WASHINGTON: Global finance leaders came to Washington this past week seeking clarity on what it would take to get some relief from President Donald Trump's multi-layered tariff assault and on just how much pain it will bring to the world economy. Most headed home with more questions than answers. Many participants in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings had a sense that Trump's administration was still conflicted in its demands from trading partners hit with his sweeping tariffs. During the whirlwind week, many finance and trade ministers sought to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other key Trump administration officials, to no avail. Those that did were often told to be patient — even as the clock steadily ticks down on the 90-day pause Trump had granted on the steepest levies. Indeed, not a single deal was finalized over the course of the week despite the Trump administration touting the receipt of 18 written proposals and a full slate of negotiations. 'We are not negotiating. We are just presenting, discussing the economy,' said Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski. He added that he stressed 'how this uncertainty is bad for Europe, for the US I mean, it's actually bad for everyone.' Warnings that the tariffs — 25 percent on all US imports of vehicles, steel and aluminum and currently 10 percent for most everything else — would cause painful damage to the US and other major economies went largely unheeded by US officials. 'We know that they think — that it won't be that bad,' Domanski said. 'They think it's a short-term pain, long-term gain. And I'm afraid that we'll have short-term pain, long-term pain.' The Trump administration's most substantial trade negotiations during the week were with Japan and South Korea, but the results were inconclusive as Bessent cited 'productive' talks with both countries. Specific currency targets for the Japanese yen were not discussed, but both countries' currency policies are expected to be part of future talks as the US sees currency weakness against the dollar as a nontariff barrier to American exports. The IMF took a slightly more optimistic view of the economic fallout from the highest US tariffs in more than a century, slashing growth forecasts for most countries in its World Economic Outlook but stopping far short of predicting recessions — even for the US and export-dependent China, which now faces US tariffs of 145 percent on many goods. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva acknowledged that member countries were anxious about the uncertainty shock to a global economy buffeted by pandemic, inflation and wars but held out hope that trade negotiations would ease the tariff strains. 'We recognize that there is work under way to resolve trade disputes and reduce uncertainty,' Georgieva told reporters. 'Uncertainty is really bad for business, so the sooner there is this cloud that is hanging over our heads is lifted, the better for profit, for growth, for the world economy.' Several finance officials told Reuters that odds of recession were higher than the IMF's 37 percent chance, citing private sector forecasts. DEBT RISKS RISE Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, a faith-based nonprofit group advocating debt relief, said that the IMF's forecasts were clearly aimed at preventing market panic, even as officials in private meetings expressed concerns about new debt crises emerging. 'It was a do-nothing kind of week,' LeCompte said, adding that debt discussions were inconclusive and overshadowed by tariff talks. Reza Baqir, a former Pakistan central bank governor who now heads sovereign debt advisory at Alvarez & Marsal, said: 'For many developing countries, especially in the Global South, there is a real sense of despair that the agenda on Financing for Development is really not center-stage. And who is going to be there to champion that debate?' World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill also sounded an alarm on rising debt levels for emerging markets, noting that tariffs had prompted a sharp slowdown in trade and foreign direct investment that are crucial to developing country growth. He and other World Bank and IMF officials told countries to cut their own tariffs to boost growth prospects. NO US WITHDRAWAL Policymakers did breathe a sigh of relief when Bessent expressed US support for the IMF and the World Bank, declaring that they have 'enduring value' but criticizing their 'mission creep' into climate, gender and equality issues. Rather than withdrawing from the institutions as prescribed by the Project 2025 Republican policy manifesto, Bessent said he wanted to refocus them on their core missions of economic stability and development, with expanded World Bank energy financing options and an end to China loans. Participants at the meetings, along with financial markets, were encouraged by Bessent's comments early in the week that triple-digit US tariffs on Chinese goods and vice versa were unsustainable, suggesting that a deal to ease them could be reached soon. But China denied Trump's assertions that tariff negotiations were under way with Beijing, adding to the week's confusion over his tariffs and offering little reassurance to country delegations. 'I think most people left here bracing for things to get worse from an economic perspective,' said Josh Lipsky, a former IMF adviser who is now senior director of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center. 'The broad picture, when you step back, is very concerning.' But a big challenge for developed countries at the moment was the recent selloff in US Treasury debt and other dollar-based assets, which indicated an erosion of trust in US economic policies, Lipsky said. Trust in US economic leadership was the fundamental reason that the dollar had achieved reserve currency status, he said. While the US economy is too big to ignore the dollar for now, trading partners will try to seek alternatives unless that trust is repaired, he added.
