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Poland

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Poland. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Warsaw

Head of State

President Andrzej Duda

Head of Government

Prime Minister Donald Tusk

Swedish Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari, carrying her baby Adam, speaks to journalists before a meeting of EU environment and climate ministers, in Luxembourg on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

European Union

Swedish minister brings baby to EU meeting, a first for the bloc

She did so to highlight the benefits of parental leave policies that do not force women to choose between work and family.

25 Jun 2026 - 9:03PM

European Union

EU releases €3 billion loan for Ukraine’s recovery

25 Jun 2026 - 7:45PM

Extreme weather

‘Health impacts likely’ as Europe bakes in early heatwave

24 Jun 2026 - 9:28PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Poland’s president strips Ukraine’s Zelensky of top award

The row began after the Ukrainian leader named a military unit after a WWII insurgent army that took part in massacres against Poles.

20 Jun 2026 - 2:51PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a meeting in Kyiv on Friday. Photo: EPA

China-EU relations

EU hits ‘make-or-break moment’ as divided leaders confront ‘China shock 2.0’

EU member states poised to confront internal divisions and launch aggressive trade defences against systemic threat posed by Beijing.

18 Jun 2026 - 10:17AMvideocam

Russia

Murder of Russian artist critical of Putin likely ‘political’: Poland’s Tusk

The case risks rekindling tensions between Poland and Russia, exacerbated by drone crashes on Polish territory last autumn.

18 Jun 2026 - 12:03AM

Crime

34 fetuses found in Polish doctor’s garden

The 57-year-old medical pathologist is suspected of using the fetuses to perform experiments and now faces up to 12 years in prison.

15 Jun 2026 - 10:43PM

Anti-abortion activists protest in Warsaw, Poland in 2024. The case of Magdalena H. has whipped up a storm in traditionally Catholic Poland, with many questioning how she managed to obtain the unborn babies’ bodies in a country with some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. Photo: AFP

Spain

Standing ovation: Pope warns Spain’s parliament of world’s ‘profound’ crisis

Weapons can impose a temporary silence but can never build lasting peace, he said, hours after Madrid mass for over one million people.

8 Jun 2026 - 7:57PM

Nepal

Missing Everest guide feared dead crawls back to Base Camp after 6 days

Dawa Sherpa was found alive by a Nepali team that helps set routes on the world’s highest mountain.

5 Jun 2026 - 2:29PMvideocam

China-EU relations

Putin in Beijing, ‘China shock’ in EU: 7 global relations reads

From ‘miscalculation’ by the Dutch navy to China on Iran mediation, here are highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents in May 2026.

2 Jun 2026 - 10:00PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: AP

European Union

EU’s 6 biggest economies agree on capital markets supervision

It is part ‌of a bid to boost EU’s competitiveness as it struggles with weak growth and fierce competition from the US and China.

29 May 2026 - 10:18PMvideocam

European Union flags flap in the wind outside EU headquarters in Brussels. The ⁠other 21 EU member states still need to agree to the proposals. Photo: AP

China-EU relations

EU heavyweights back industrial accelerator as China shock fears grow

Highlighting urgency, bloc’s major members offer qualified support of legislative proposal that has deepened tensions with Beijing.

28 May 2026 - 9:00PMvideocam

Nordic nations

Norway to join France’s nuclear umbrella, in move away from US reliance

European countries are seeking to strengthen their defence capabilities ⁠amid doubts about US commitments and tensions with Russia.

28 May 2026 - 6:50AM

Donald Trump

Trump pledges more troops for Poland as Rubio cautions allies

Trump announcement is an apparent reversal of his moves to reduce the presence of US forces in Europe.

22 May 2026 - 8:44PM

US soldiers on an Abrams tank take part in a military exercise in Korzeniewo, northern Poland, in 2024. Photo: AFP

Crime

UK jails driver for smuggling cocaine in Kardashian brand underwear shipment

UK border officials found the illicit haul hidden in a truck transporting Skims shapewear cargo.

19 May 2026 - 12:31PM

Kim Kardashian at the 2026 Met Gala in New York on May 4. Photo: AFP

European Union

Poland’s ex-minister facing prosecution at home travels from Hungary to US

Former Justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro faces prosecution for alleged abuse of power.

11 May 2026 - 8:45PM

US-China relations

Opinion | China shouldn’t view a tired US as signifying a Europe ready to pivot

As fractures within the US’ network of alliances deepen, China’s strategic window opens a little wider, with some key caveats.

10 May 2026 - 8:30PM

Italy

Rubio meets Pope Leo at Vatican to defuse tensions with Trump

The meeting comes amid the US president’s repeated attacks on the pontiff over the Iran war and nuclear weapons.

7 May 2026 - 10:04PMvideocam

Pope Leo (centre) meets US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday. Photo: EPA/Vatican Media

France

French activists sue ‘deceptive’ laughing gas suppliers

A road safety group is seeking a ban on Chinese and Polish companies behind a firm that markets the gas from operating in France.

22 Apr 2026 - 5:34PM

Sexual harassment and assault

Weinstein preyed on aspiring US actress, court told in rape retrial

The Hollywood mogul took advantage of Jessica Mann by enticing her with a film role she had no chance of getting, prosecutors say.

22 Apr 2026 - 2:44AM

China-EU relations

China’s CRRC drops bid for Lisbon metro deal as EU finds ‘billions’ in subsidies

Polish firm to replace state-backed Chinese giant as Brussels uses regulatory powers to curb what it says is market-distorting foreign aid.

21 Apr 2026 - 8:36PMvideocam

Workers operate on a production line at an assembly workshop of CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive in China’s Hunan province. Photo: Xinhua

Science

Canada Research Chair chemist Janusz Pawliszyn joins Chinese university

The Polish scientist who invented two widely used analytical chemistry techniques has been hired by one of his former students.

19 Apr 2026 - 10:00PM

Janusz Pawliszyn, inventor of two widely used analytical chemistry techniques, has taken up a professorship at Sun Yat-sen University’s school of chemical engineering and technology. Photo: Handout

Ukraine war

Inside Ukraine’s desperate race to track cultural artefacts looted by Russia

Russia has moved to formalise control over seized collections by adding 77 Ukrainian museums in occupied regions into its national catalogue.

18 Apr 2026 - 4:01PMvideocam

Japan

Japan ditches decades of arm export curbs as US reliability wavers

From drones for Ukraine to warships for Australia, ‘peace-loving’ Japan is fast pivoting towards arming the world.

18 Apr 2026 - 9:00AM

China-EU relations

Orban on the brink: could Hungary’s election dent China’s influence in Europe?

‘Most consequential’ vote is being pitched as a referendum on whether the country should move towards the East or West.

13 Apr 2026 - 6:40PMvideocam

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz is trailing the rival Tisza Party in the polls ahead of the April 12 election. Photo: Reuters

US, Israel war on Iran

Controlled escalation? Trump hails ‘victories’ in Iran but vows more strikes

US president tells anxious Americans that the conflict’s core objectives are ‘nearing completion’ but fails to lay out a clear timeline to end the war.

2 Apr 2026 - 8:31PMvideocam

President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. Photo: AP

Japan

Why Japan’s advanced fighter project may get Canadian tailwinds

With Ottawa’s interest in the stealth fighter, Tokyo hopes the multinational project for its air force’s modernisation can regain momentum.

2 Apr 2026 - 8:04AM

Mainland China

China’s looted heritage campaign: assertive, ambitious – and complicated

As the United States steps back from cultural governance, China aims to reshape how the world reclaims looted heritage – with Japan its biggest test.

29 Mar 2026 - 6:17AM

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Poland

Swedish minister brings baby to EU meeting, a first for the bloc

She did so to highlight the benefits of parental leave policies that do not force women to choose between work and family.

EU releases €3 billion loan for Ukraine’s recovery

‘Health impacts likely’ as Europe bakes in early heatwave

Poland’s president strips Ukraine’s Zelensky of top award

The row began after the Ukrainian leader named a military unit after a WWII insurgent army that took part in massacres against Poles.

EU hits ‘make-or-break moment’ as divided leaders confront ‘China shock 2.0’

EU member states poised to confront internal divisions and launch aggressive trade defences against systemic threat posed by Beijing.

Murder of Russian artist critical of Putin likely ‘political’: Poland’s Tusk

The case risks rekindling tensions between Poland and Russia, exacerbated by drone crashes on Polish territory last autumn.

34 fetuses found in Polish doctor’s garden

The 57-year-old medical pathologist is suspected of using the fetuses to perform experiments and now faces up to 12 years in prison.

Standing ovation: Pope warns Spain’s parliament of world’s ‘profound’ crisis

Weapons can impose a temporary silence but can never build lasting peace, he said, hours after Madrid mass for over one million people.

Missing Everest guide feared dead crawls back to Base Camp after 6 days

Dawa Sherpa was found alive by a Nepali team that helps set routes on the world’s highest mountain.

Putin in Beijing, ‘China shock’ in EU: 7 global relations reads

From ‘miscalculation’ by the Dutch navy to China on Iran mediation, here are highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents in May 2026.

EU’s 6 biggest economies agree on capital markets supervision

It is part ‌of a bid to boost EU’s competitiveness as it struggles with weak growth and fierce competition from the US and China.

EU heavyweights back industrial accelerator as China shock fears grow

Highlighting urgency, bloc’s major members offer qualified support of legislative proposal that has deepened tensions with Beijing.

Norway to join France’s nuclear umbrella, in move away from US reliance

European countries are seeking to strengthen their defence capabilities ⁠amid doubts about US commitments and tensions with Russia.

Trump pledges more troops for Poland as Rubio cautions allies

Trump announcement is an apparent reversal of his moves to reduce the presence of US forces in Europe.

UK jails driver for smuggling cocaine in Kardashian brand underwear shipment

UK border officials found the illicit haul hidden in a truck transporting Skims shapewear cargo.

Poland’s ex-minister facing prosecution at home travels from Hungary to US

Former Justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro faces prosecution for alleged abuse of power.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | China shouldn’t view a tired US as signifying a Europe ready to pivot

As fractures within the US’ network of alliances deepen, China’s strategic window opens a little wider, with some key caveats.

Rubio meets Pope Leo at Vatican to defuse tensions with Trump

The meeting comes amid the US president’s repeated attacks on the pontiff over the Iran war and nuclear weapons.

French activists sue ‘deceptive’ laughing gas suppliers

A road safety group is seeking a ban on Chinese and Polish companies behind a firm that markets the gas from operating in France.

Weinstein preyed on aspiring US actress, court told in rape retrial

The Hollywood mogul took advantage of Jessica Mann by enticing her with a film role she had no chance of getting, prosecutors say.

China’s CRRC drops bid for Lisbon metro deal as EU finds ‘billions’ in subsidies

Polish firm to replace state-backed Chinese giant as Brussels uses regulatory powers to curb what it says is market-distorting foreign aid.

Canada Research Chair chemist Janusz Pawliszyn joins Chinese university

The Polish scientist who invented two widely used analytical chemistry techniques has been hired by one of his former students.

Inside Ukraine’s desperate race to track cultural artefacts looted by Russia

Russia has moved to formalise control over seized collections by adding 77 Ukrainian museums in occupied regions into its national catalogue.

Japan ditches decades of arm export curbs as US reliability wavers

From drones for Ukraine to warships for Australia, ‘peace-loving’ Japan is fast pivoting towards arming the world.

Orban on the brink: could Hungary’s election dent China’s influence in Europe?

‘Most consequential’ vote is being pitched as a referendum on whether the country should move towards the East or West.

Controlled escalation? Trump hails ‘victories’ in Iran but vows more strikes

US president tells anxious Americans that the conflict’s core objectives are ‘nearing completion’ but fails to lay out a clear timeline to end the war.

Why Japan’s advanced fighter project may get Canadian tailwinds

With Ottawa’s interest in the stealth fighter, Tokyo hopes the multinational project for its air force’s modernisation can regain momentum.

China’s looted heritage campaign: assertive, ambitious – and complicated

As the United States steps back from cultural governance, China aims to reshape how the world reclaims looted heritage – with Japan its biggest test.

Opinion | China shouldn’t view a tired US as signifying a Europe ready to pivot