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Victims of Pegasus hacking will be notified and criminal proceedings could be brought against former officials Poland has launched an investigation into its previous government’s use of the controversial spyware Pegasus, with a parliamentary inquiry under way and the possibility of criminal charges being brought against former government officials in future.Adam Bodnar, Poland’s new justice minister, told the Guardian that in coming months the...

Coalition government to slim down school curriculum after cramming of subjects under previous nationalist administrationPoland’s new government is seeking to slim down the material taught in schools by about 20%, saying a cramming of the curriculum under the previous rightwing populist administration has left teachers and students exhausted.Speaking during a school visit in the Silesian town of Mysłowice over the weekend, the education minister,...

State media reports that chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, was in Ukraine to discuss Moscow’s next steps in the warRussia launched 19 attack drones at Ukraine overnight and six missiles, with the Ukrainian air defence systems destroying 13 of the drones and one missile, Ukraine’s air force said on Wednesday, reports Reuters.Some of the drones that were not destroyed did not reach...

Activist Bart Staszewski hails ‘meaningful and necessary’ apology as opening new chapter for state broadcasterA television presenter with Poland’s state broadcaster has apologised for the years of “shameful words” directed at LGBTQ+ people, in a moment hailed by a prominent rights campaigner as the closing of a chapter in Polish society.Bart Staszewski, an activist and film-maker, said the apology made to him live on...

Donald Tusk says Reagan, ‘who helped millions of us to freedom, would be turning in his grave’ as bill on US-Mexico border and Ukraine aid blockedHere’s the background to Donald Tusk’s blunt post this morning.Joan Greve, senior US political reporter for the Guardian, writes:Dear Republican Senators of America. Ronald Reagan, who helped millions of us to win back our freedom and independence, must be...

Images taken secretly some 80 years ago are being published for the first time to mark International Holocaust Remembrance DayA remarkable series of photographs of Jewish families being forced to leave their homes in Germany in the middle of the second world war has been published for the first time, following a chance discovery.The images are a striking new testament to the sudden upheaval...

Arrest at president’s residence of Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, of Law and Justice party, had sparked bitter political rowPoland’s president, Andrzej Duda, said he had pardoned two jailed politicians from the opposition populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which lost its majority in October elections, and called for their immediate release.The former interior minister Mariusz Kamiński and his ex-deputy, Maciej Wąsik, were imprisoned...

Move by Andrzej Duda, who is aligned with the populist PiS party ousted in last year’s elections, would defy supreme court rulingPoland’s president has said he plans to pardon two imprisoned opposition politicians for a second time, adding that he hoped the move would ease mounting tensions between the country’s new government and its populist predecessor.The former interior minister Mariusz Kamiński and his ex-deputy...

Andrzej Duda’s remarks escalate battle for rule of law with new government and come as politicians convicted of abuse of power begin hunger strikePoland’s president has said he will not rest until two politicians from the opposition nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party – both on hunger strike – are freed from prison, in a further dramatic escalation in the new government’s battle to...

An 18-hour Russian aerial barrage across Ukraine that killed 41 civilians has been followed up by further bombardment of Kharkiv on New Year’s EveRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesRussia pounded the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with missiles and drones in the hours leading into New Year’s Eve, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow accused Kyiv of carrying out a deadly air assault just across the...

Military production cannot remain on peacetime footing while war in Ukraine goes on, Radosław Sikorski says after visit to KyivPoland’s new foreign minister has called on European countries to boost long-term plans for military production after returning from his first foreign visit, to neighbouring Ukraine.“Wars are not decided by tactical engagements but by industrial capacities, and we are behind the curve,” said Radosław Sikorski,...

After Serhiy Sydorenko underwent corneal surgery in Poland last year, he saw his wife, children and a much-changed worldIt was a week before Christmas last year when Serhiy Sydorenko underwent corneal surgery on his right eye, a complicated operation that, if successful, would put an end to more than three decades of blindness for the 56-year-old Ukrainian.When the nurses first removed the bandages some...