
Poland readies 'how to' guide to coping in case of war, natural disaster
The 40-page pamphlet, titled "Safety guide", gives advice on getting clean water, responding to air raids or blackouts and locating bomb shelters, as part of the first public awareness campaign of its kind in Poland in decades.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has repeatedly warned that the threat of a global war is serious and real, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine and allegations of Russian sabotage, disinformation and cyberattacks against the West.
Russia has repeatedly denied that it engages in sabotage or cyberattacks on other countries and says it has no intention of starting a war with NATO.
"Wars are not won on the front lines. The Ukrainian example shows it very clearly," said Robert Klonowski, Polish interior ministry deputy director.
The booklet warns that during a crisis supplies of food, medicine, and gasoline could run short, the government said.
The booklet, which will be released online in September in Polish, will later be translated into English and Ukrainian, with plans to produce a Braille and children's version, the ministry added.
Ministry plans to deliver printed copies to all 14 million households in Poland.
Poland, which borders Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, has been a leading voice calling for members of NATO to spend more on defence, and is itself allocating 4.7% of gross domestic product to boosting its armed forces in 2025.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
2 minutes ago
- The Sun
Bob Vylan Glastonbury set sparks antisemitism surge as hate incidents hit six-month high the following day
ANTISEMITIC incidents hit a six-month high a day after punk duo Bob Vylan's controversial Glastonbury gig. A total of 26 were reported after rapper Bobby Vylan chanted ' Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)' during the set. 2 2 The Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism in Britain, described the responses to events at the festival as 'absolutely chilling'. Police say inquiries are continuing in relation to the comments at the gig, which the BBC chose to livestream. The CST said the next worst day so far this year was May 17 — a day after Israel said it was expanding military operations in Gaza — when 19 incidents were recorded. A spokesman said: 'Both of these cases illustrate how sentiment and rhetoric towards Israel and Zionism influence, shape and drive contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, online and offline, often around totemic events that grab mainstream public attention.' Over the six months, there were 76 violent anti-Jewish assaults, three rated as 'extreme', the charity said. There were 84 incidents of damage and desecration of Jewish property, 21 of mass-produced antisemitic literature and 1,236 of verbal or written abuse. The six-month January to June total was 1,521, down on the 2,019 in the same period for 2024. CST chief executive Mark Gardner said the figures demonstrate 'extreme levels of Jew-hatred, committed in the name of anti-Israel activism'. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the numbers 'shamefully and persistently high'. She said antisemitism 'has a profoundly damaging impact on the individuals affected and the wider Jewish community' and said the Government was determined to 'root out the poison'.


Telegraph
2 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Britain already has a de facto wealth tax
New figures from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research show that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is on course to miss her borrowing targets by over £40bn, again raising the prospect of fresh tax hikes this autumn. There are few prizes on offer for guessing where the minds of Labour MPs will turn. Yet between inheritance tax, council tax, stamp duty, capital gains, corporation tax, and the tax on interest, there is scarcely an element of an individual's portfolio which isn't in some way squeezed to fund the ever-expanding welfare state. An additional 120,000 people are predicted by HMRC to pay income tax on the interest on their savings this year, bringing the total number paying to 2.64 million. Some of this is due to higher returns; another component, however, is down to the freeze in tax thresholds, driving down the inflation adjusted value of the tax-free limit. Britain is not a country blessed with an excessive level of private savings and with the Government actively attempting to boost investment, it might be thought that penalising one of the channels through which funds can be lent to firms would be discouraged. Such analysis, however, reckons without the obsessive equalising instinct which has taken root in Westminster. With the Government apparently fixated on the curious objective of divorcing living standards from economic contributions entirely, the need for tax revenue today is taking precedence over the need to provide for tomorrow. The result of this short-sighted creation of a hostile environment for wealth will surely be to further undermine the sustainability of the public finances in the long run.


The Sun
2 minutes ago
- The Sun
There's a really simple way to sort out our dysfunctional civil service, Keir – your latest gimmick is a waste of time
LABOUR is to make the civil service more 'working class' by offering internships only to those from 'lower socio-economic backgrounds'. Their eligibility will be judged on what job their parents did when they were 14. 4 4 Meaning that Sir Keir 'my father was a toolmaker' Starmer would make the cut. But his Chancellor Rachel Reeves, whose parents were teachers and therefore classed as 'professionals', would not. Talk about fiddling while Rome burns. Look, I'm not against limiting the number of Tristams and Jemimas who find themselves interning at the Houses of Parliament because 'Daddy' knows some politician 'from his club'. And the thought of some hand-picked, 'working class' realists rolling their eyes in despair behind the lectern every time the Government announces its latest, daft initiative is admittedly an appealing one. But what does 'class' actually mean these days, and how is it judged? Take me, for example. Born in 1962, my mum brought me up alone, I went to state school, and for several years we lived extremely happily with my godparents in their council house. Mum worked as a stable girl, then became a secretary, and eventually trained as a teacher — a job she was doing when I was 14. Which, according to the Social Mobility Commission that advises the Government on such matters, is a 'professional and managerial' occupation along with chief executive, doctor, journalist, engineer and nurse. So, along with Ms Reeves, that rules me out too. PM vows to drastically increase the numbers of channel migrants sent back to France 'Intermediate' occupations include driving instructor, IT engineer, shopkeeper and hotel manager, while 'working class' jobs are those such as cleaner, waiter and bricklayer. It's all very prescriptive and, let's face it, old-fashioned. Aside from a few Hyacinth 'Bouquets' in the suburbs, does anyone really care about class any more? And isn't this seeming Labour obsession with it just inverted snobbery? Back in the day when I was in charge of a busy newspaper department, I always recruited the best person for the job, regardless of their background. Pipe dream I met some immensely stupid people who'd been to private school, and some immensely smart ones who hadn't. And vice versa. Their education, class, religious beliefs, ethnicity, sexual preferences, eating habits, whatever, were irrelevant, and so too was whatever Mummy or Daddy did for a living. I looked for punctuality, enthusiasm, honesty, quick-thinking and a willingness to work hard. And that's what the civil service should be looking for too. Meanwhile, it's curious to learn that, despite its keenness to attract kids from lower socio-economic backgrounds, Labour's internships are still only being offered to undergraduates studying for a degree. Which rules out those bright 'working-class' kids for whom university is but a pipe dream for fear of racking up huge student debt. Such hard work A FRIEND of mine who runs a small business frequently regales me with amusing stories about the entitled attitude of some of those applying for junior positions. 'I don't work on Fridays,' said one applying for a 'full-time' role, while another stressed she would need at least a two-hour lunch break every day to return home and check on her new puppy. 'Some of them act like they'd be doing me a favour by turning up at all for the job I'd be paying them to do,' she laughs. I thought of this when I read this week that a 45-year-old asset manager on £330k a year took his employers to a tribunal after feeling 'shocked' and 'angry' at how small his £10k annual bonus was despite being 'almost entirely absent from work' while suffering from long Covid. Apparently, he thought his bonus (on top of his salary) should have been around £100k. For. Doing. Virtually. Nothing. Thankfully, common sense prevailed and the judge ruled in his employer's favour. But honestly, some people. Kinnock tax on health a big turn-off LABOUR'S former leader Lord Kinnock has called for the Government to slap VAT on private healthcare to help fund the NHS. Hmmm. Except it probably wouldn't because, chances are, it would simply result in a significant number of people giving up private healthcare to rely on the already overstretched NHS instead. Much like Labour's VAT raid on private schools which has forced many families to pull their children out and, instead, send them to the nearest good – and therefore oversubscribed – state school. Following the closure of the private Bishop Challoner School in Bromley, South East London, last month, state alternatives in the county received around 100 enquiries in just 48 hours. So it remains to be seen whether Chancellor Rachel Reeves – pictured this week at a holiday camp in Kent – takes the advice of Lord Kinnock, who has also suggested the introduction of a 'wealth tax' that, without doubt, would result in even more high-net-worth individuals departing these shores. Little wonder that, when polls suggested (wrongly) back in 1992 that he might win the general election, The Sun ran the front page headline: 'If Kinnock wins today will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights.' The public aren't stupid and Ms Reeves et al would be wise to remember that. JOB TO TACKLE CRIME 'IF I left my job, these would be the number one reason,' says a police officer. Is it lawless street thugs? The poor prosecution rates in courts? Or a lack of support from their superiors? Nope. It's too much support in the groin area. Namely the standard- issue cargo trousers that have been described by 69 per cent of officers as 'problematic'. 'They teach us all these good restraints and moves in public-safety training but I can't do half of them in these trousers,' says one officer. The study, by Lancaster University Law School, says officers have complained of crushed testicles, cuts, blisters and swelling from the tight, chafing fabric. Ouch. The Police Federation agrees, saying the restrictive uniforms are stopping officers from keeping their communities safe. In other words, it's tough to tackle crooks when your tackle's crooked. CHEERS TO OLD TIMERS AFTER emerging damp and starving from the I'm A Celebrity jungle last year, I was keen to indulge in a late night out. But post-8pm, the restaurants of Brisbane's Surfers Paradise were virtually deserted. Like Americans, they eat early. 'You Brits are party animals,' one muscle-bound waiter told me disapprovingly when I ordered an Aperol Spritz at, er, 8.30pm. Now it seems that restaurants in the UK are adapting to accommodate a growing trend for 6pm dining here too. Richard Piper, of Alcohol Change UK, says: 'Younger diners especially are making choices that reflect physical and mental well-being but also financial health. 'Earlier dining helps avoid expensive late-night drinking. People want to socialise without the hangover.' Great idea. So last week, a friend and I arranged to meet for dinner at 6pm. Trouble is, we were still there at 9.30pm, having scoffed and quaffed far more than if we'd stuck to our usual 8pm meeting time. Clearly, we're not cut out for this modern world. LIFE IN CHECK THE new grandmaster (shouldn't that be grandmistress?) of the Women's Chess World Cup is 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh from India. Former chess coach RB Ramesh says: 'She was a confident girl from a very young age. 'She didn't have that negative side to her, the one that tends to create self-doubt. That inner chatter that wrecks things, fortunately, was missing in her.' Maybe. Or perhaps, given that much of her spare time is spent practising chess moves, she isn't constantly on social media being fed impossible depictions of 'perfection' or hate-filled judgments from people who don't even know her.