A top Russian official said on May 31, 2010, that there is no legal basis for reopening an investigation into the Katyn massacre, when thousands of Polish officers were killed by Soviet secret police. Russian news agencies reported Chief military prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky said "by law, it cannot be restarted, given the expiration of the statute of limitations period." International law, however, generally considers that genocide has no statute of limitations.

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation commemorated the 3rd anniversary of the Victims of Communism Memorial with a wreath laying ceremony on June 10 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. At least 12 foreign embassies plus nearly 20 ethnic organizations laid wreaths in honor of the more than 100 million victims of communism. Among the invited speakers were Representatives Dan Lipinski of Illinois and Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan.

Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said on June 12, 2010, that he wants NATO to develop a timetable to end its mission in Afghanistan. He stated he plans to raise the issue at the alliance’s next summit in Lisbon, Portugal, in November. His comments came after a Polish soldier was killed earlier in the day by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Poland has some 2,600 troops there, making it the seventh largest troop contributor to NATO’s mission.

The Lower House [Sejm] voted for a new ombudsman on June 11, 2010. The candidate of the ruling Civic Platform (PO), Irena Lipowicz, was supported by 251 deputies. Her nomination then went to the Upper House [Senat] for confirmation. Lipowicz takes over from Jan Kochanowski, who died in the Smolensk crash of the presidential plane on April 10th. In accord with the Constitution the people’s rights ombudsman is appointed by the Lower House, with the consent of the Upper House for a term of five years. Speaking in Parliament Irena Lipowicz underlined that her main priority would be the interests of elderly and disabled. Known for her conservative views, she is a professor at the Catholic Academy of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski in Warsaw.

Poland’s Interior Minister, Jerzy Miller, recalled two members of his department’s Real Estate Commission on June 12, 2010. The body is in charge of procedures for the return of Catholic Church property confiscated by former communist authorities in Poland. Malgorzata Wozniak, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, explained the dismissals are linked to information received from the prosecutor’s office, which charged seven members of the commission with fraudulent practices, making excessive compensation to the Church. The matter related to transferring ownership rights to a big plot of land in Warsaw as payment for the order of Elizabethan nuns. It has been speculated that the current value of this real estate exceeded by several times the relative value of the property confiscated decades ago.

An 4-year contract has been signed between the State Treasury and LOT airlines worth $7.3 million providing for the charter of two Embraer 175 planes for use by top state officials. Both chartered planes will have white and red national colors but, being civilian planes, will not bear the official emblem of the Polish Air Force. Together with complete crews, they will be placed at the disposal of the VIPs round the clock and will be flight ready within two hour notification. Technical maintenance will be provided by LOT.

Police from the central city of Lodz, Poland, have detained a 26-year-old man who allegedly wheedled money out of internet users pretending to be a charity worker raising funds for flood victims. It is estimated that the man, who pretended to work for Caritas Polska and other charity organizations, could have swindled at least 1,500 people. The fraud was uncovered when police launched an investigation after a popular social networking site reported that a man opened several accounts under different names and encouraged internet users to donate 5 to 10 zloty ($1.50-$3.00) to flood victims. Police established that it was not the first time that the man had conned money out of the social networking site http://nasza-klasa.pl.

A coach taking heavy metal fans back home after a thrash metal concert in Warsaw on June 16, 2010, crashed into an oncoming truck, killing the driver and injuring 15. The 22-year-old driver of the coach was killed instantly by the collision, with the truck driver being seriously injured. Fifty-five people were traveling home in the direction of Poznan after the concert at Warsaw’s Bemowo airfield, saw Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax all play on one stage. Everyone in the coach was asleep at the time of the accident.

Branicka Gallery in Berlin is presenting for the first time the work of Stanislaw Drozdz, the most famous creator of Polish Concrete Poetry, alongside the classic minimal and conceptual work of Carl Andre and Robert Barry, until September 4, 2010.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Archbishop of Poznan, Stanislaw Gadecki has resigned after the Vatican absolved his predecessor, Juliusz Paetz, who was accused of sexually molesting seminarians at his diocesan in 2002. It was reported on June 17, 2010, that, against the wishes of some leading figures in Poland’s Roman Catholic church, the Vatican had revoked a ban imposed on Paetz from leading religious ceremonies. The former archbishop has always maintained his innocence and no criminal charges ever resulted from the allegations.

A study by Polish research company IQS reports that about one-third of Poles who returned home after struggling to find and maintain employment in Western Europe may migrate once again in search of work. Thousands of Polish migrant workers came back to Poland when the recession hit developed economies in 2008-2009, but many have since struggled to find work in Poland. Barely a third of the returnees surveyed have a steady job, and many complain of a hostile Polish labor market. Poland was the only European Union economy to record GDP growth last year, but its unemployment rate stands at 12.3% and can be much higher in small towns and villages where many of the workers return.

Police in Gdansk took two men into custody on June 17, 2010, after they blew up an ATM and tried to get away with the cash. One of the men started to run away on foot, but was tackled by law enforcement officers. The second man jumped into a car and started to drive away, running over four policemen and a support officer who was lying on the ground. The getaway fell short of success after police opened fire on the car. A number of similar robberies had already taken place, notably in Bydgoszcz, central Poland, as well as in western regions of the country.

As of June 2, 2010, doctors in Poland must be personally covered by a third party liability insurance policy. However, many medics have decided not to rush with purchasing insurance, citing unclear regulations and the time it takes for such a bill to come into effect. The new law states that if doctors perform an error during medical practice, and they are not covered by an insurance policy, they will have to pay for damages caused to the patient out of their own pocket. Many doctors claim that this obligation does not apply to them, as they are fulltime hospital employees.

Polish actress Elzbieta Czyzewska, a star of many movies in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, died in a New York hospital on June 18, 2010, at the age of 72. She moved to the United States in 1967 at the peak of her spectacular career in both films and the theater, following the expulsion from Poland of her husband, the American journalist David Halberstam. In the 1960s she starred in thirty films, including Andrzej Wajda’s "Everything for Sale" and Wojciech Has’s "The Saragossa Manuscript." Her successful performance as Marilyn Monroe in the Polish premiere of Arthur Miller’s :After the Fall won her the name "a Polish Marilyn Monroe." In the United States, Czyzewska continued to work in the theatre and films, but her strong accent prevented her from scoring the successes commensurate with her great talent.

The Hilton Gdansk is a new hotel designed by renowned Polish architect Prof. Stefan Kurlylowicz. It is a striking addition to Gdansk's old city area and is designed to complement the city's wealth of historic buildings with its timeless features and use of traditional materials. The Hilton Gdansk is the second Hilton hotel in Poland, where the brand has had a presence since 2007 with Hilton Warsaw Hotel and Convention Center.

In related news, Hilton Worldwide has announced the signing of two franchise agreements for Doubletree by Hilton in Warsaw and Lodz, Poland. The announcement marks a significant entry for the Doubletree chain into the Polish market and the future arrival of the country’s largest conference hotel in the heart of the capital city. The two newly constructed hotels will provide business travelers with some of the most extensive hotel conference venues in Poland; with 10,700 square feet of dedicated meeting space in Lodz and more than 32,000 square feet of meeting space in the Warsaw Conference Center and Spa. Both facilities will open in 2012.

Fewer women serve in Poland’s armed forces than any other NATO member nation. Approximately 1,000 women of different military ranks are serving in the Polish army, which consists of 100,272 soldiers. Most women serve in the military health service. Compared to other armed forces within NATO, women are underrepresented in the armed forces. In the US Army, for example, with armed forces 1.4 million strong, 15%, or 200,000, are women. The number of women in the Polish armed forces has been gradually rising, however. In 2005 only 512 women served and in 2007 the number increased to 800 women.

From 3% to 7% of school children suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Poland. child development experts say that symptoms persist even throughout adulthood in 60% of cases. Even though people with attention deficit disorder are intelligent, it’s difficult for them to cope with an adult life. Tomasz Wolanczyk, Chairman of the Committee for ADHD of the Polish Psychiatric Association told Polish Radio on June 22, 2010, "The intensity of symptoms decreases with age, but requirements of the environment also change."

A new survey by the CBOS (Center for Public Opinion Research) agency shows that fire fighters are the most socially revered and respected professionals in Poland. Almost all respondents (93%) had a positive opinion one of the most crucial emergency services. Soldiers also enjoy high esteem in Poland with 73% of Poles respecting them. The June, 2010, survey also showed that support for the Catholic Church in Poland has decreased by 9% points in comparison with April. Nearly 64% have a positive opinion about the Church and 25% a negative one. The poll indicated that among the Church’s supporters are mainly elderly people, the less educated and inhabitants of rural areas, while among its critics are residents of large cities and people with higher education.

Newt Gingrich served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1990s. Since resigning his seat in 1999, Newt Gingrich has maintained a career as a political analyst, writer and producer of documentary films. He went to Poland in late June, 2010, for the premiere of his latest film, "Nine Days that Changed the World," about Pope John Paul’s first visit to Poland in 1979.

A new report says that the Weimar Triangle, the diplomatic triangle of Poland, France and Germany, needs "reviving and refreshing." Foreign Ministry Undersecretary of State Grazyna Bernatowicz stated at the presentation of the 900-word report on June 22, 2010, "The Weimar Triangle is not dead. It is necessary and needs revitalization." founded after the collapse of communism in 1990, the report contains 16 policy proposals to take the alliance to 2020.

Polish surgeons conducted a unique transplantation operation on a soldier of the nation’s special forces, when he received two hands from a dead woman. The 31-year-old man, whose name has not been revealed, was waiting for this surgery for more than three years. In 2007, he saved the life of his colleague, an inexperienced soldier. He snatched a bomb from his hands, saving the newcomer, but became disabled himself. The bomb explosion severed the man’s left hand and seriously injured his right hand, having left only two fingers on it.

A new survey taken in 19 countries, released in June, 2010, found that Polish women say they have their first sexual encounter at the age of 19, a year later than the average European female and two years later than German, British, Norwegian and Czech women. Gynecologist Malgorzata Binkowska said that despite young women telling pollsters that they use contraception, in 2008 there were over 21,000 teenage mothers below 19 years old in Poland.

"Hanoi–Warszawa" by the Polish director Katarzyna Klimkiewicz has been nominated for the European Film Academy Award in the short feature category. The movie tells the story of a young Vietnamese woman who illegally crosses into Poland from Ukraine. She wants to join her boyfriend in Warsaw and start a new life. Her journey through Poland, however, turns into a journey of humiliation and violence. She escapes her brutal traffickers and tries to reach Warsaw on her own. The film was produced by Kino Polska Television and has received several awards at festivals in Poland.

Poland has won European Union (EU) approval to give $478 million to an energy company to expand the country's gas storage by 60%, just as a new gas dispute between Russia and its neighbors threatens supplies. Poland wants to give the money to its state-owned oil and gas company PGNiG to increase gas storage to 1.6 billion cubic meters. Russia shocked European customers by cutting off gas supplies in a dispute with Ukraine last year.

During a visit to Powidz Air Force Base, Poland, on June 21, 2010, the 86th Airlift Wing at the Ramstein Base, Germany, and the Polish air force’s 3rd Airlift Wing became sister units. Brig. Gen. Mark Dillon, 86th Air Wing (AW) commander and his counterpart Brig. Gen. Tadeusz Mikutel, 3rd Air Wing commander, signed a letter of intention during the visit, pledging both organizations to strengthen their alliance, advance interoperability, and improve mutual security and cooperation. Powidz is home to Polish air force C-130Es that were formerly operated by the 86th AW before Ramstein transitioned to its new fleet of C-130Js and then phased out the C-130Es.

Until August 29, 2010, classical music lovers in Warsaw, together with the tourists visiting the city, will be able to attend the Chamber Ensemble Festival in the Royal Palace area. When the cultural institutions, such as theaters, philharmonic halls and operas close for the summer holidays, the festival takes on the role of an "outdoor concert hall." Eminent Polish and foreign chamber ensembles and orchestras will appear during this year’s edition, including the National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, "Leopoldinum" Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Youth Orchestra Vienna (China, Japan, Taiwan), Torun Chamber Orchestra, "Obligato" Strauss Orchestra, Radom Chamber Orchestra, Plock Chamber Ensemble, "Acoustic Brass" Wind Brass Quintet, Quatro Chamber Orchestra Prague of Czech Republic and "New Art" Radio Philharmonic.

While Acting President, Bronislaw Komorowski said after a meeting of the Polish National Security Council on June 24, 2010, that the Polish Army’s general staff head Gen. Mieczyslaw Cieniuch Poland will most likely withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in 2012. However, the final withdrawal schedule will be discussed at the autumn NATO summit in Lisbon. According to Komorowski, nobody opposed the plan at the council’s meeting.

Twelve tenors from six countries did battle during the 12th Grand Tournament of Opera Tenors, which opened at the castle of Pomeranian Dukes in Szczecin, Poland, on the Baltic coast, June 28, 2010. The tournament is the oldest event of this type in Poland and refers to a musical tradition from the Middle Ages. Each of the artists sings two arias, one from a classic opera and the second from a lighter repertoire, accompanied by the Opera Orchestra of the castle. The winner of the tournament is selected by the public, which awards the best singer with a rose. The tenor who collects the most roses is then granted a knight’s sword.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton planned to travel to Ukraine and Poland in early July as part of a five-nation trip. Clinton met with her Ukrainian counterpart at the beginning of the July 1-5 trip before heading to Krakow to attend the celebration marking the 10th anniversary of the Community of Democracies, a group co-founded by the United States and Poland. The schedule then included travel to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia for discussion on regional security and stability.

The Oscar statuette of Jan A.P. Kaczmarek is on display at the western city of Poznan’s Museum of Musical Instruments. The Poznan-born composer, now living in the U.S., was granted the Academy Award in 2005 for his music to Marc Forster’s film "Finding Neverland." The museum honored its citizen with a special exhibition and the composer decided to present his award for indefinite display. Kaczmarek also announced his plans to organize, as of 2011, an international film festival in Poznan that would attract stars of the film industry.

Polish driver Robert Kubica was at the center of all sorts of incidents in a Montreal, Canada, race in late June, including shunts, warnings, risky tire choices and multiple pit stops, before ending the race more or less where he started, in seventh place. Kubica and his Renault team spent the whole weekend fighting with his car’s set-up.

ZUS, the body which administrates social security payments in Poland, has won a groundbreaking decision in the Wroclaw appellate court on June 23, 2010, which could close dozens of football and other sporting clubs across the country. ZUS is claiming 3.5 million zloty from the Gornik Polkowice football (soccer) team in unpaid dues, resulting from win bonuses and other remuneration paid to players. It could set a precedent seeing ZUS hitting other sports clubs with massive demands for arrears, with potentially dire consequences. Polish Football Association rules require the license be removed from any sports club with tax or social security arrears.

A call center system was stolen from the Law and Justice (PiS) candidate’s electoral offices on the night of June 20, 2010, at the first round of presidential elections. After the election night it was discovered that telephones and the entire call center system, used to encourage voters to cast their ballot for Jaroslaw Kaczynski, were stolen. Neither members of Kaczynski’s electoral staff, nor police, managed to find the lost property, which was acquired with taxpayer money.

Former Foreign Minister and Auschwitz survivor Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, has been given bodyguards, after receiving death threats for his criticism of Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Bartoszewski had said the Law and Justice (PiS) presidential candidate’s only life experience has is of "breeding little furry animals," an obvious swipe at Kaczynski’s fondness of pet cats and his current bachelor status. Bartoszewski was adamant that he would not be fazed by public reaction and will continue to speak his mind.

Owners of an art gallery in Poznan, Poland, are facing jail for displaying a giant poster of a naked Mickey Mouse laying in front of a large swastika, located next to the city’s old synagogue. Located on Wroniecka Street, and a minute’s walk from the city’s Old Market square, the billboard has caused outrage with locals and councilors alike, and there have been suggestions that it actively promotes fascism, an offence carrying a three-year prison sentence. The old synagogue was raided and shut down by Nazi soldiers during the Second World War, after which it was flooded and converted into a swimming pool for German troops. Gallery manager Maria Czarnecka stated, "This billboard is for a poster exhibition and in no way does it promote fascism or support the Nazi regime."

The Polish government has decided to use fiscal authorities to launch an attack on smart drug shops. In just one year the number of smart drug stores in Poland has increased dramatically from 44 to 500. In a bid to eliminate the trade of psychoactive substances, tax inspectors will thoroughly control shops selling smart drugs. According to new regulations the Health Ministry will have the right to withdraw a substance from the market for 18 months, if it suspects that it might be harmful. After laboratory testing, harmful smart drugs will have to be removed from shops.

Powertrain Technologies in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, has launched production of TwinAir, a new line of revolutionary engines. It is described as a turning point in the development of drives with the lowest environmental affect. The TwinAir project cost 300 million Euros, including a significant contribution from the Polish government that granted tax reliefs. European Union funding was also used in the project.

Tomasz Mathea was appointed the new Admiral of the Fleet of the Polish Navy. He replaces Admiral Andrzej Karweta, who died in the April 10, 2010, presidential plane crash near Smolensk. Mathea, who previously served as a deputy chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, received the nomination from then Acting President Bronislaw Komorowski during an official ceremony at the Belvedere.

According to Poland’s Ministry of Education, 954 schools and 159 kindergartens were destroyed during the May and June floods. The cost of damages is estimated at almost $18 million in case of schools, with $2.5 million reported as damages of kindergartens.

Aleksander Kwasniewski, two-term President of Poland from 1995-2005, was named the 2010 recipient of the Irena Sendler Memorial Award by the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture in San Francisco. The award, presented in Warsaw on June 30, 2010, is granted to a non-Jewish Polish person who has worked to foster Jewish cultural renewal in Poland. The ceremony took place during weeklong festivities celebrating the San Francisco–Krakow sister-city relationship.

Russia and Poland are drafting an agreement on visa-free visits of residents of the two countries’ border regions, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said on June 23, 2010. To reach an ultimate agreement, an amendment to the relevant European Union regulations is needed to expand the visa-free system to the entire territory of Russia’s westernmost Kaliningrad region and adjacent regions of Poland, according to the source.

The town of Gori, Georgia, Stalin’s birthplace, removed a bronze statue of the Soviet dictator from its town square in mid-June, 2010. Nevertheless, a large Stalin bust was recently unveiled at the National D-Day Memorial in Washington, D.C. Thousands from all 50 states and over 40 nations have signed the petition of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation calling for the removal of the Stalin bust. The Foundation is calling on the National D-Day Memorial Foundation to follow the lead of Stalin's own countrymen who recognize his tyrannical role in history.