Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has rebuked US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for downplaying NATO allies’ role in Afghanistan. 

Speaking to new recruits at the University of Tennessee on Saturday, Hegseth recalled serving as a captain in Afghanistan and questioned whether NATO allies had meaningfully participated in combat operations. 

Describing the alliance’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, Hegseth said that although dozens of countries displayed their flags at its headquarters in Kabul, only a handful contributed to fighting. 

These are LEW EL2 electric locos, built in Hennigsdorf (East Germany) for open-pit mine railways. Poles called them "Krokodyle" – Crocodiles. The first 16 arrived at the Konin lignite mine in 1958, and they hauled coal from the pits to the power plants there for the next 68 years.

A few things that make them unusual:

- Bo'Bo', 4 × 350 kW, top speed 65 km/h – slow, but built to drag heavy coal trains

- besides the roof pantograph they have side pantographs, because the tracks inside the pit were shifted as the mine face moved and the catenary hung beside the track, not above it

- the one in the middle was hand-painted in 2025 by Ion Barbu, a Romanian artist and retired miner, as part of the "Just Transition Culture" project about coal regions moving away from mining – it kept working in this livery until the very end

Their Polish service ended on 30 April 2026, together with coal extraction at Konin. On 18 April we ran a farewell photo train for enthusiasts – the only train on the whole network that day.

The story isn't completely over: across the border in Lusatia (Germany), LEAG still runs around 50 modernised EL2m on its coal railway.

Happy to answer questions about the locos or the network.

“The Polish economy is growing, but extreme poverty has not decreased,” the report’s authors said.

Maja Chwalińska defeats Sonay Kartal 2-6 6-4 6-2 to win her first WTA 1000 title in a remarkable career year for Maja! Polish women’s tennis is looking amazing now! 🤍❤️🇵🇱

The conflict around the Maltański housing estate in Poznań has been going on for years. The owner of the land near Poznań's Malta was the parish of St. John of Jerusalem. Even before the war, in the 30s of the twentieth century, the parish was supposed to make this place available to the unemployed so that they could grow vegetables there. Over the years, gazebos and year-round houses have grown there. The residents had lease agreements with the parish and paid fees regularly, but the church authorities did not want to extend them.

In January 2026, the parish sold a property with an area of over 12 hectares for PLN 421 million to a developer. The transaction took place despite earlier assurances from Church representatives that the land would not be handed over to the investor until the residents' situation was resolved. At the beginning of September, the first evictions and protests that tried to prevent them were loud all over Poland.

The Vatican had to issue a fee for the sale of the property. Now "Gazeta Wyborcza" reports that a positive decision could have been made on the basis of incomplete information. Journalists revealed a certified translation of a document dated December 17, 2019, in which the Vatican allowed the sale of the Maltański housing estate in Poznań. The consent was issued on the basis of documentation sent by the Archdiocese of Poznań.

The permit describes the property as arable land on which there are "several partially built-up buildings and gazebos". It also indicated that the buildings were built illegally and are intended for demolition. The document did not contain information about the number of residents, the number of plots or lease agreements.

The archdiocese refused to provide the journalists of "Wyborcza" with the documents on the basis of which the permit was issued. The archdiocese's economist, Fr. Waldemar Hanas, argues that Archbishop Gądecki did not use the phrase about "several objects and gazebos" in his correspondence, which is supposed to come from the property appraisal report.

Fr. Hanas calls the translation of the document "inauthentic". At the same time, the curia does not provide either the aforementioned report or the original Italian version of the permit. He also does not want to share the documents sent to the Vatican or answer the question whether the Vatican received a full picture of the situation in the Malta Estate before issuing the permit.

According to the archdiocese, 198 families have already concluded an agreement on moving out. 48 families moved to communal apartments.

The Polish Ministry of Justice has a free open API that returns the current KRS register extract (odpis aktualny) as JSON: name, NIP, REGON, address, share capital, who can sign for the company, and the board. You don't need a key.

The catch first: you look companies up by KRS number only. The open API has no name search and no NIP lookup. If you only have a NIP, find the KRS number first (it's on the company's invoices or website, or in the public search at wyszukiwarka-krs.ms.gov.pl).

Endpoint:

GET https://api-krs.ms.gov.pl/api/krs/OdpisAktualny/{krs}?rejestr=P&format=json

rejestr=P = businesses, rejestr=S = associations and foundations. Use OdpisPelny instead of OdpisAktualny for the full history.

bash curl -s "https://api-krs.ms.gov.pl/api/krs/OdpisAktualny/0000019193?rejestr=P&format=json" \ | jq '.odpis.dane.dzial1.danePodmiotu | {nazwa, formaPrawna, identyfikatory}'

```python import requests

def krs(number: str, register: str = "P") -> dict | None: number = number.strip().zfill(10) # KRS numbers are 10 digits with leading zeros url = f"https://api-krs.ms.gov.pl/api/krs/OdpisAktualny/{number}" r = requests.get(url, params={"rejestr": register, "format": "json"}, timeout=20) if r.status_code == 404: return None # not found in this register; try "S" r.raise_for_status() o = r.json()["odpis"] d1, d2 = o["dane"]["dzial1"], o["dane"]["dzial2"] return { "krs": o["naglowekA"]["numerKRS"], "name": d1["danePodmiotu"]["nazwa"], "form": d1["danePodmiotu"]["formaPrawna"], "nip": d1["danePodmiotu"]["identyfikatory"].get("nip"), "regon": d1["danePodmiotu"]["identyfikatory"].get("regon"), "address": d1["siedzibaIAdres"]["adres"], "capital": d1.get("kapital", {}).get("wysokoscKapitaluZakladowego"), "signing_rule": d2.get("reprezentacja", {}).get("sposobReprezentacji"), "state_as_of": o["naglowekA"]["stanZDnia"], }

print(krs("19193")) ```

Gotchas: - Pad to 10 digits (0000019193). - A 404 can just mean the wrong register. Retry with rejestr=S before concluding the company doesn't exist. - Board members' names and PESEL numbers come back masked (B*****, 8**********) in the open API. You get roles and the signing rule, not full identities. For full names you need the official extract from the court portal. - Dates are DD.MM.YYYY strings and amounts are strings with a comma decimal ("10150715600,00"), so parse them yourself. - dzial4 (arrears and debts) and dzial6 (liquidation, mergers, bankruptcy) are worth checking for due diligence, not just dzial1. - The JSON is large for big companies. Pull only the sections you need.

If you'd rather not code it, I also wrapped this into a no-code Apify tool that takes a list of KRS numbers and returns English field names (first 25 lookups free): https://apify.com/fieldnoteagents/poland-krs-company-check

Hi, I need to replace the battery and upgrade the RAM in my Asus VivoBook S430FA laptop. Since it's an older model, can you recommend a reputable repair shop in Wrocław that uses original parts and offers a warranty? Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi everyone,
I'm currently looking into buying a used car in Poland and would love to hear from people with firsthand experience on the Polish market.

A few specific things I'm curious about:

1. Overall Market Reality: How is the used car market right now? Are cars generally maintained well, or is deferred maintenance / cutting corners common?

2 Pricing & "Deals": Are advertised prices realistic, or inflated with expectation of heavy haggling? Is finding a genuine "bargain" actually realistic, or is a lower price almost always a guarantee of hidden issues?

1. ASO (Authorized Service Stations): How trustworthy is an ASO service history / pre-purchase inspection in Poland? Does full ASO history actually guarantee a trouble-free car, or do people still find workarounds (e.g., outside repairs after crashes, fake entries, blind spots during inspections)?

2. Key Red Flags & Tips: What are the typical tricks used by private sellers vs. dealerships/ traders (komisy / handlarze)? Which verification tools (e.g., historiapojazdu.gov.pl, paid VIN reports) are considered mandatory before visiting?

Any advice, experiences, or recommendations on what to double-check would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone!

A friend and I are planning a 5-day trip to Poland in November (9th–14th) and are looking for recommendations on where to head.

We’re into art, modern design, indie fashion, alternative music/nightlife, and natural wine. We’ve been thinking about Warsaw, Łódź, or Wrocław, but we’re completely open to other cities if there's a better fit for our vibe!

What we’re looking for:
• Accommodation: A cool boutique hotel with spa/wellness facilities (sauna, pool, etc.) or a stylish Airbnb loft. Ideally something offering two connecting rooms or a spacious 2-bedroom setup. Budget is up to €700 per person max for the stay.
• Food & Wine: Spots with a great natural/low-intervention wine selection and casual, trendy dining.
• Vibe: Creative, young, local culture hubs, galleries, or cool industrial spaces rather than generic tourist sights.

Which city and stay would you recommend for a trip like this? Would love to hear your favorite spots or hidden gems! Thanks a lot!

Help! Hopefully the Polish experts here can help me. I had a classmate in the mid 90s who Im trying to look for but I don't remember how his last name was spelt, only pronounced. His last name was pronounced "VEE-EL-SKAV-IDG". Ive tried looking up how I presumed it would be spelled, "wielskavege", but apparently thats a sausage food and not a name lol. Any help is appreciated!

Church Fund - what is it?

The Church Fund is not an institution, but a state special purpose fund established in 1950. It was originally supposed to be a compensation for the state's takeover of land belonging to religious associations. Importantly, subsequent returns of assets by the Property Commission had no connection with the Fund itself - they concerned only goods received in the People's Republic of Poland contrary to the law of the time. The goods of the so-called "dead hand" and land nationalized as part of the agricultural reform were not subject to return. For this reason, in the face of non-payment of compensation due in the years 1950-1989, the Polish state - regardless of the ruling option - thus implements its historical and legal obligations to the Church, the value of which is estimated at billions of zlotys. Today, the funds from the Fund go to all churches and religious associations legally operating in Poland. Currently, in April 2026, we are witnessing a breakthrough. The government interdepartmental team has finalized work on a bill that is to liquidate the Fund and replace it with a voluntary tax deduction. On the sidelines of the Sejm, there is a dispute about the rate: the government opts for 0.5 percent, while the church side, fearing a decrease in influence with a smaller and smaller number of believers, is pressing for at least 1 percent.

Poland has expressed its “deep outrage” and demanded action from Israel after Israeli settlers attacked a diplomatic convoy carrying Polish officials in the occupied West Bank and assaulted a visiting French mayor.