cafebabel.com

Are half a million people homeless in Poland?

('polyglotta',) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:41:45 -0000

In Poland, as elsewhere, the data does not correspond to the logic of your average statistics; the minister of labour and social affairs states there are between 80 and 130, 000 homeless people, whilst Caritas Poland cites 30, 000 and other organisations number the destitute at 500, 000. We meet one community south of the Vistula river in Warsaw

Jędrzej Wijas: Polish election candidate’s heavy metal campaign

('Aleksandra Sygiel',) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:48:30 -0000

The PhD graduate from the Polish academy of sciences, 34, is running as a candidate of the left-wing party SLD (democratic left alliance) in the Polish parliamentary elections on 9 October. In a music video ‘A Concrete Message’, he gnarls out his political goals to a backdrop of heavy metal types. Interview

Director Tomasz Baginski: ‘We Polish often lack the ability to distance ourselves from issues’

('Angela Kubik',) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:31:42 -0000

His mini-film depicted Poland’s six-month presidency of the EU as a passionate dance and cost around 130, 000 euros to make. Poland’s most famous animation producer is a 2002 Oscar nominee in the short animated film category; so why so much criticism?

Flying coffins and Polish president plane crash: in search of answers

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:30:00 -0000

Russia and Poland have announced they are taking control of the Polish president Lech Kaczyński’s plane crash under their control. The shared investigation is one of many rapprochement strategies between the two countries, But more than six months after the investigation of the Polish national tragedy began, will the Russians be as transparent as they promised?

Building a mosque in Warsaw: is it all trouble and strife?

('Peter Robbins',) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:00:00 -0000

Muslims in Poland go back several centuries, beginning with the arrival of tatar settlers in the eastern reaches of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The muslim community in Poland has only recently begun attracting attention, with the building of a mosque financed by a Saudi sponsor in the Warsaw district of Ochota. Not everyone is happy

Freeganism in Poland: 'horror' of taking food from bins

('JK',) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:00:00 -0000

Freeganism, a way of life for a small percentage of the world’s population, is above all an extremely anti-consumerist attitude calling for restraint. It openly expresses opposition to corporations that only want to enrich themselves because today the sale of goods in their pure form is disappearing

Ars Homo Erotica: 'bring the toilet to Warsaw national museum'

('Emilie Prattico',) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:21:02 -0000

Before the Euro pride parade on 17 July, exhibition curator Pawel Leszkowicz talks lesbian art, punching viewers in faces and explains why art and the Polish capital's largest museum is a live nerve of democracies

Polish your smile in Poland: medical tourism in Warsaw

('Sarah Gray',) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:30:00 -0000

Frenchman Fabrice lives and works in Dublin but gets his teeth checked in his partner's home country, Poland. The idea is practical what with the ease of mobility within Europe - but would you be prepared to fly to your dental surgery instead of taking the bus?

Euro 2012 in Warsaw: hanging around the stadium

('Emilie Prattico',) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:00:28 -0000

The UEFA football championship kicks off in Warsaw’s brand new national stadium on 8 June 2012. While it prepares to host over 100, 000 fans and tourists, the Polish capital is abuzz with excitement about revealing how far it’s come to the rest of the world

Pro-European Polish president: order no. Komorowski

('eurotopics',) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:40:31 -0000

The Polish people didn't vote emotionally on 4 July. Bronisław Komorowski won Poland's presidential elections with 52.6% of the vote across 95% of constituencies. His challenger Jarosław Kaczyński, twin brother of the late president Lech, trailed at 47.4%. The German, Italian and Polish press hail the politically mature result

Polish elections: Jaroslaw Kaczynski, hamster candidate

('Katharina Kloss',) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:34:15 -0000

A second Kaczynski mandate would be going back to the Middle Ages, warns Artur Kurasinski, owner of Polish new media agency Revolver Interactive. He brings politically incorrect 'hamsters' back to life on his 2005-launched website chomiks.com. The presidential elections take place on 20 June, after late incumbent Lech Kaczynski was killed in April

Volcano: travelling Vilnius to Paris by train

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:19:15 -0000

Once upon a time, in the space of six days, airline companies lost 1.7 millions euros - and they weren't alone. I don't know exactly how many million euros Iceland 'owes' to the world aviation sector. With little sleep and lots of beer, it certainly owes me two days of my life by train across 2, 000 km of Europe

Lech Kaczynski laid to rest next to kings

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:57:52 -0000

Images of mourning in Poland which circulated the international media revealed one quite unexpected crack. After Lech Kaczynski’s family chose Wawel Castle in Krakow to be the president's last resting place, many citizens were outraged. Can you imagine French president Nicolas Sarkozy being laid to rest next to Napoleon in the Invalides? Or Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi finding peace in Rome’s Pantheon?

Young Poles react: Lech Kaczynski death, 'second Katyn tragedy'

('Hanna Sankowska',) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:13:38 -0000

In the same place where the Polish elite was executed 70 years ago, a new Polish elite dies in a horrid aircrash, that leaves Poles at home and abroad in a state of shock. Young Poles across Europe help demystify the tragedy

News: Polish president Lech Kaczynski dies

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:54:06 -0000

Smolensk, Russia. The Tupolev crashed one morning in April, the 10th. Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and other high-figuring state officials were amidst 88 passengers and eight crew members who died instantly. Having tried to land amidst bad fog, the presidential plane hit the trees on the fourth attempt which tore the jet up

Music: (subversive) songs for the European city

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:35:08 -0000

Madrid's famous Gran Via boulevard celebrated its 100th anniversary on 7 April, with a local survey seeing 'Gran Via' by crooner Antonio Flores top a list of songs dedicated to the city. From monkeys in Berlin to Red Bull and Swedes in Barcelona via Stalin in Warsaw, a selection of offbeat videos suggested by the cafebabel network

Finding a missing Finnish hitchhiker, 20, in Schengen Europe

('Hanna Sankowska',) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:50:21 -0000

For young Europeans, travelling around the continent is as natural as nipping round to the pub around the corner for a pint. But is a Europe without borders as carefree in practice as it is in theory? Excerpts from an article by a Polish journalist which recount the story of Emil Petrov, who went missing during his European escapade

New Year reads

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Jacek Dukaj, Toni Maguire, Nathalie Rouyer and Christian Semmelroth on our carousel of featured writers

Immigration: the plight of Poles in France

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Poland has been an official EU country since 1 May 2004. While Poles have the right to move freely around France, things get a lot more complicated when it comes to getting a job

October culture vulture

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 12:00:00 -0000

This autumn Europe’s cultural events move indoors, to cinemas and museums. A quick look at October’s culture calendar

Interrail for the future

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:23:00 -0000

Spanning north to south, stretching east to west: travelling in Europe as of 2020 will be easier and faster thanks to the upcoming Trans-European Transport Network (TEN)

Olga Karatch: 'Lukashenko takes EU leaders for great lumps'

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:05:00 -0000

The German presidency of the EU judged the local elections on January 14 in Belarus ‘undemocratic’. The country’s opposition has already announced its intention of contesting Lukashenko

Disappearing in the crowd: Vietnamese immigrants in Poland

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 12:44:00 -0000

Thousands of Vietnamese are repressed in their home country and are forced to leave Asia and try their luck abroad. For those who choose Poland, the transition is sometimes tough

War on huts, peace to the palaces!

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 12:00:00 -0000

Before long, demolition work will begin on the ‘Palace of the Republic’ in Berlin, a relic from GDR days. In other ex-socialist states there are similar buildings, and every one has its own story.