The Ministry of Agriculture has extended the deadline for farmers to submit applications for subsidies in connection with the drought. Applications for additional payments to build storage reservoirs and irrigation systems will be accepted until 20th July this year. The threat of drought is increasing with each passing week. If there is no heavy rainfall in May, the agriculture sector is in danger of facing disaster. President Andrzej Duda appealed today for reasonable water management and conservation.

From Wednesday some public service tasks, which were suspended due to the coronavirus epidemic, returned to public administration offices. This is the effect of an amendment to the regulation regarding the partial abolition of coronavirus related restrictions.

The Biebrza National Park is on fire. Priceless peat bogs, grasses and forests have been burning for several days now. Yesterday the situation seemed to be under control but the fire flared up again more fiercely. Firefighters are having to operate in very difficult conditions given the swampy terrain. State Foresters deployed Dromader aircraft to cull the fire. The government has provided additional funds to fight the fire. We spoke to Captain Krzysztof Batorski about the dramatic fight against fire on the Biebrza.

On the first day of opening the forests in Poland, no crowds were noted, but visitors appeared, which could be seen, among others, according to the number of cars in parking lots, spokeswoman of the State Forests Anna Malinowska said.

Today marks the 77th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The celebrations at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes gathered a lot of participants despite the current restrictions due to coronavirus.

Minister of the Family, Labor and Social Policy Marlena Maląg gave assurances to the Sejm that the situation in retirement homes in the country is under control. Coronavirus infections among residents and staff have occurred in several such homes across the country in recent days. There are approximately 1500 retirement homes run by local governments and private companies in Poland, with over 100,000 residents.

According to recent data published by the Polish Ministry of Health, 380 new cases of infection have been recorded today, bringing the total to 7,500. Just today, 23 people in the country have died of COVID-19. In total, the deadly virus has claimed the lives of 286 Polish citizens. This Thursday marks the date of implementing a new restriction in connection with the coronavirus battle, prohibiting Poles from going into public without covering their mouths and noses. The Ministry of Health hopes that this will curb the spreading of the virus, allow the loosening of other restrictions, and put more people on the streets of Poland.

“Dinner for a hero” is an initiative aimed at helping elderly veterans of the Second World War in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Soldiers of the Territorial Defence Forces and volunteers bring warm meals to those who fought for Poland’s freedom.

Polish president Andrzej Duda honoured the victims of the Katyń Massacre – the murder of over 20 thousand Polish officers and representatives of the country’s intelligentsia by the Soviet Union - on the 80th anniversary of this gruesome event. The Polish head of state prepared a special statement to mark the anniversary.

The Financial Times website carries an opinion piece saying that Poland’s forthcoming presidential election on 10th May should be postponed, not least given the need to concentrate efforts on fighting the coronavirus. The article urges the EU to “call out the follies” of what it dubs “Poland’s Covoid-19 election” which it claims opposition parties and three qaurters of Polish society oppose. The piece has been seized on by the opposition, including Gazeta Wyborcza, as representing sensible mainstream European opinion although the author of the article, John Dalhuisen, is a former director of Amnesty International Europe and an opposition supporter. Interestingly, the FT today praised South Korea as a "beacon of democracy in Asia" for holding elections on April 15 "in stark contrast to Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines where strongman leaders are using the crisis to tighten their grips on power". A case of double standards, perhaps?

Today, Catholics around the globe are celebrating Easter Sunday. On this occasion, the Archbishop of Kraków, Marek Jędraszewski, addressed his best Easter wishes to the faithful throughout the country. During his speech, the Archbishop also referred to the words of Pope John Paul II who said that we all are obliged to proclaim the truth of the crucified and Risen Christ.

Even though the coronavirus pandemic has forced Poles to stay at home during this most important Christian holiday, that of Christ’s resurrection, it hasn’t stopped them from celebrating. Since only five people at a time are allowed to attend Holy Mass, Polish priests have had to come up with imaginative ways to bless the traditional Easter baskets. Despite the difficult situation the world is facing today, this year’s Easter was even more special for Catholics, who are not losing their faith in the face of adversity.

In these difficult times, we have to celebrate Easter in isolation, away from our relatives, This does not, however, mean that we cannot enjoy this unique holiday. Here is a special Easter message for our viewers from the deputy CEO of Telewizja Republika, Tomasz Sakiewicz.

10 years ago, on 10 April 2010, a plane carrying a Polish elite delegation crashed near Smolensk, Russia. 96 people were killed, including President Lech Kaczyński and his wife, Maria. The delegation flew to pay homage to Polish officers murdered by the Soviets in Katyn in 1940. Today in Warsaw and many other places in the country, a ceremony to commemorate the Smolensk catastrophe took place, though they were largely limited due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Caritas of the Archdiocese of Kraków donated to the hospital Żeromski 100 thousand zlotys for the purchase of a respirator - the organisation said on Friday.

Due to the state of the epidemic, access to forests is forbidden from April 3 to April 11. The forest guard and forest service may impose a fine of up to PLN 500 for breaking the ban and send a request to the sanitary inspection for punishment. In this case, the penalties range from 5 to 30 thousand PLN.

The European Court of Justice ruled today that Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary broke the EU law by refusing to take part in the mechanism of taking in migrants, which was forced on the countries of the EU by the European Commission. However, the Polish government’s spokesman, Piotr Mueller, stated that the ruling won’t mean anything in reality, as the relocation decisions expired in September 2017 and their completion is impossible today.

The head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Mariusz Kamiński, has announced that there will be an increased number of police patrols and military police on Polish streets. He also warned citizens to obey quarantine as the Polish government has increased the size of the fines for breaking quarantine from 5,000 to 30,000 zloty.