The new law on the judiciary will enter into force next Tuesday. President Andrzej Duda signed it yesterday despite vocal political opposition. The Act was passed by Sejm, rejected by the opposition controlled Senate, and then reconfirmed by the Sejm. The Judiciary Ordinance Act regulates the election of members of the Supreme Court and prohibits judges from questioning the status of judges already appointed by the president. The opposition has called this act a "muzzle law" but the government maintains that this Act merely clarifies the provisions of the Polish constitution.

The Speaker of the Sejm, Elżbieta Witek, announced the date of the Polish presidential elections later this year. Poles will go to the polls on Sunday, May 10. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the votes, the second round with the two leading candidates will be held two weeks later, on Sunday, May 24.

The continuing story of judicial reform in Poland took another turn today. The disciplinary chamber of the Polish Supreme Court suspended a judge from the city of Olsztyn and imposed a 40% cut in salary. The judge had persistently demanded copies of the enclosures to the applications made by candidates for judicial office to the National Council of the Judiciary. This is a violation of the law of 12th May 2011 which provides that only applications themselves, and not the enclosures, are to be made available.

"We may be facing a very difficult spring because of low rainfall. If this situation continues, then we can have the strongest drought in fifty years" - said the Minister of Marine Economy and Inland Navigation, Marek Gróbarczyk.

Polish Post Office (Poczta Polska) due to the suspension of flights to China has stopped acceptance of parcels and letters to this country - the press office of Poczta Polska informed yesterday.

Activists supporting Polish justice reform will meet this Saturday, February 8th in Warsaw, Poland before the Constitutional Tribunal building at noon. Dozens of thousands of people from all over the country declared to participate.

"France's role has undoubtedly grown enormously in the EU after Brexit", Polish President Andrzej Duda said at a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron in Warsaw on Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron is paying his first official visit to Poland. The French leader met President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The Polish-French political dialogue is not easy. President Macron said that Poland and France are closer than one might think but, at the same time, in a statement after talks with President Duda, he expressed concern over changes to the Polish judicial system.

February 1, marks the 76th anniversary of the assassination of Frantz Kutschera - dubbed the butcher of Warsaw. Kutschera, a German Nazi SS commander, ordered his units to spell terror on the streets of the occupied capital of Poland. The inhabitants of Warsaw saw hostages being taken in broad daylight, as well as mass shootings of hostages in order to subdue resistance. Finally, the Polish Underground issued a death sentence and a Home Army unit carried it out successfully. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote a letter to the surviving participants of the attack.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has told the magazine “Jewish News” that the £300,000 City Hall donation to the Auschwitz Museum was motivated in part by a desire to address what he called “the rewriting of history”. The Ambassador of Poland to the United Kingdom, Arkady Rzegocki, dismissed the Sadiq’s Khan’s claims and presented the facts about the Holocaust. Under the German occupation, Polish citizens had suffered every kind of atrocity imaginable, said the ambassador.

“Poland regained its freedom after 123 years of enslavement. We should take account of our historical experience and the memory of the causes behind the loss of freedom and independence. That experience commands us to resolve all disputes within our society. Following many years of servitude, the experiences of cruelty in the Second World War and years of Communism, Poland is rebuilding its identity, and Poles are beginning to acquire a feeling of self-confidence, to build up a sense of their own value. Meanwhile, outside forces are once again ordering us and dictating regulations against the will of society. In my opinion, discussing Polish matters outside of our borders, and enabling external interference in the shape of our independence, constitutes an obstacle to the building of a new, modern identity for Poles, one rooted in tradition and culture,” says Judge Julia Przyłębska, President of the Constitutional Tribunal.

Brexit is about to become a reality. Today at midnight, the United Kingdom will no longer be a member of the European Union. Some Polish citizens living in the UK worry about their future after Brexit, especially regarding working and living permits as well as other legal requirements.

Next Saturday, February 8th at noon, in front of the building of the Constitutional Tribunal on al. Szucha in Warsaw a demonstration in defense of the judicial reform will take place. The organisers of the demonstration are the "Suwerenni" Committee and "Gazeta Polska" Clubs. The editor-in-chief of "Gazeta Polska" weekly, Tomasz Sakiewicz calls for full mobilisation of the rule of law defenders in Poland.

"Defender-Europe 20 exercises are a strong confirmation of Polish-US joint commitment to security" said the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak on Wednesday at the briefing on Polish-American cooperation.

Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak announced on Thursday that Polish cities will receive subsidies for the purchase of 190 electric buses.

Yesterday, MEPs from the Civic Coalition and the Left supported the resolution adopted by the Council of Europe to monitor Poland in connection with its alleged violation of the rule of law. This is yet another example of the opposition supporting an anti-Polish policy pursued by external organizations.

"Railway is one of the strategic branches of the Polish industry, it has and will have strategic and military significance for the entire state economy" President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday at the opening of the Second Congress of Railway Development in Warsaw.

The Supreme Court's (SN) resolution has been suspended by the Constitutional Tribunal. This means that all judges appointed by the president and the new National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) have the right to adjudicate and issue verdicts.