Poland

Poland launches World War II victims database

Poland launches World War II victims database Warsaw - Seventy years after the outbreak of World War II, Poland will launch a database of some 2 million victims of the fighting, the daily Polska reported on Thursday.

The database will be available in the next several days on straty. pl, and will include the location and circumstances of the victims' death. Families or loved ones will have the option to add to the list of victims.

Polish climber dies in Himalayas

Polish climber dies in HimalayasWarsaw - Poland's best-

Poland's first Starbucks means "end of an era"

Poland's first Starbucks means "end of an era" Warsaw - Some urbanites may complain of a Starbucks on every corner of their city, but for Warsaw residents the arrival of the world's biggest coffee shop chain means further prestige and worldliness for Poland.

For Andrzej Bacinski, 34, it means the end of an era of wondering when the next world-known brand will finally arrive in the country.

"I remember Poland's first McDonald's, and the lines were so long," Bacinski said. "And this is the end of that era. We've got everything now."

Polish awards ceremony sparks row over communist history

Polish awards ceremony sparks row over communist historyWarsaw - A Polish awards ceremony sparked debate Tuesday when the
president honoured a controversial institute accused of lying about
Solidarity icon Lech Walesa.

President Lech Kaczynski honored historians and the chief of the
Institute of National Remembrance, which prosecutes Nazi and communist
crimes.

But the honours come amid criticism that the institute slandered Walesa and should be called the institute of "national lies."

The former anti-communist leader has even threatened to leave

Polish bankruptcies soar 11 per cent in 2009

Polish bankruptcies soar 11 per cent in 2009Warsaw  - Bankruptcies in Poland rose 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported Monday.

Some 100 companies declared bankruptcy in the first quarter of the year, it cited a study by credit insurer Euler Hermes as saying. The number was expected to rise as the trend spreads from urban centres.

"Many companies were created for the time of economic prosperity," analyst Andrzej Sadowski told the daily. "They didn't prove themselves in hard conditions."

Families compensated in case of Polish babies switched at birth

Families compensated in case of Polish babies switched at birth Warsaw - A Polish court awarded some 1.9 million zloty (566,403 dollars) to two families whose babies were switched at birth 25 years ago.

The families had demanded more than 2 million zloty in the case that's dragged in a Warsaw court for the past seven years, the Polish Press Agency has reported.

The children were switched at a Warsaw hospital in 1984 after the twins of one family were placed in the same ward with the daughter of another family.

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