Supporting economic growth while taking care of the environment seems to be a key challenge today, said Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, on the second day of the Visegrad Group (V4) summit, also attended by the heads of state of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, the countries that together with Poland make up this informal regional group.

Many European countries have recently introduced the so-called digital taxes, which covers various forms of internet activity, including online advertising. The tax rate is 2 percent in Great Britain, 3 percent in France, Italy and Spain, 5 percent in Austria. The tax applies to companies whose global and domestic revenues exceed a certain threshold.

President Andrzej Duda took part in the 9th Summit of the Leaders of Central and Eastern Europe and China. This gathering is also known as 17+1 and was established to provide a platform for cooperation with China. This year the meeting is being held in Bejing, but is actually taking place online because of the coronavirus.

Poles are no strangers to heavy winters but the last few days have exceeded the wildest expectations. For a few more days the temperature will stay as low as - 18 celsius but much less snow is forecast. Drivers are advised to exercise caution due to black ice, and city officials and charities are watching over the homeless for whom the bitter cold is especially dangerous.

EUR 891 from the EU budget will be allocated to each inhabitant of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in the 2021-2027 perspective. "This is the highest result in Poland," said Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, Deputy Minister of Funds and Regional Policy.

Economic and regional cooperation, security, including energy, eastern policy, bilateral relations, fighting the pandemic and the rights of national minorities were the topics of Monday's conversation between the head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau, and the head of diplomacy from Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The Medical Council at Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki recommended on Wednesday that teachers should be vaccinated with AstraZeneca. But what if the teacher's age is over 60 and this vaccine is not recommended for it? The Council then recommends using other preparations - Pfizer or Moderna.

The winter weather will last until Wednesday. We will have a temporary spring in the west and in the center on Wednesday and Thursday, but we should expect winter to return from Friday, said Grzegorz Walijewski, IMGW (Institute of Meteorology and Water Management) spokesman and meteorologist.

Though charity activities can expect publicity in the media, at least 54 Catholic hospices work in Poland without any advertising. A pediatric hospice posted on Facebook asking for financial help, but administrators blocked the post for "social reasons".

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued on Friday a positive opinion on the authorization of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 in the EU. Now the decision to admit this preparation to the EU market must be made by the European Commission.

The 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp has been celebrated only virtually this year. On this occasion, the fate of 200,000 children - the vast majority of them Jewish - who were murdered by the German Nazis was particularly remembered. The ceremony was opened by President Andrzej Duda.

I absolutely do not recommend the further opening of schools. In the second week of February, we will repeat the teachers' screening tests and based on the results of these tests will we recommend further steps, the head of the Ministry of Health, Adam Niedzielski said.

Due to the intense snowfall that occurs on Monday in Podkarpacie province, the police calls for special care on the roads and for adapting the driving speed to the conditions.

The life and death question has been raised by the case of Mr. Sławomir who is in a coma in Portsmouth hospital for several weeks now. Deemed brainless he has been sentenced to death after the hospital denied him food and water. His family in the UK is OK with that while the Polish family wants him back to the country. This is a front-page story and here's an update: the Polish government issued a diplomatic passport for Mr. Slawomir and Warsaw Court demands to start feeding him and return to the country.

Recently, the authorities of Chodzież and Pniewy in Wielkopolska (Greater Poland province) have warned the inhabitants of the confirmed cases of wolves presence. The foresters urge to keep calm and point out that wolves - like other wild animals - are in the forests, but they don't care about meeting humans.

The name of the new manager of Poland’s National Football team has been revealed. The Portuguese national Paulo Sousa, a former Juventus player, will make his debut as coach at the World Cup qualifier against Hungary on March 25th.

The Institute of National Remembrance launches a new, annual journal dedicated to the history of the Jewish community in 20th-century Poland, preserving the memory of Polish Jews, and mutual and complex Polish-Jewish relations. As intended by the editors, the periodical serves as a forum for the exchange of current findings in the field of Jewish studies by researchers from various academic centers. The Institute organised a special press conference for the premiere of the journal.

The assumption of the US Presidency by Joe Biden is being followed with great interest in Poland. All the more so since Poles believe that the outgoing President, Donald Trump, contributed to a significant improvement in Polish-American relations and increased Poland's security.