Poland
World Cup hopefuls stay focused before showdown
Mar 22, 2013 00:01 EDT
With just over a year to go until the World Cup, some of Europe's leading nations are hoping to take a major step towards sealing their places in the finals in Brazil in a busy week of qualifying.
Poles chase away winter by burning and drowning dolls
Mar 21, 2013 15:32 EDT
Clutching a gaudy homemade doll in flames, students gathered Thursday on a frosty footbridge in central Poland to toss it into the river -- an ancient rite repeated across the country every March 21.
Pro-fracking filmmaker accuses IMF of censorship
Mar 21, 2013 14:36 EDT
The maker of a documentary in support of oil and gas fracking accused the International Monetary Fund Thursday of censorship after it declined to show a key clip from his film at a conference.
Ferdinand confronts 'haters' over Qatar trip
Mar 21, 2013 12:42 EDT
Rio Ferdinand insisted Thursday there was nothing controversial about his decision to fly to Qatar in the week he withdrew from England World Cup qualifying duty.
Rio Ferdinand confronts 'haters' over Qatar trip
Mar 21, 2013 11:58 EDT
Rio Ferdinand insisted Thursday there was nothing controversial about his decision to fly to Qatar in the week he withdrew from England World Cup qualifying duty.
70 years on, Czechs hail wartime Jewish league
Mar 21, 2013 01:09 EDT
Locked up in the Nazi transit camp of Terezin, Jewish prisoners created their own football league, which Czech football recently commemorated by finally granting it official recognition.
Paul McCartney to kick off world tour in Poland
Mar 20, 2013 17:26 EDT
Paul McCartney will kick off a world tour in Warsaw on June 22, four days after he turns 71, the former Beatle's official website annouced Wednesday.
Temelin, a Czech village overshadowed by disputed nuclear plant
Mar 20, 2013 14:51 EDT
Flanked by Germany, which is phasing out nuclear power, and Austria, which has already done so, the Czech Republic is pinning its future on atomic energy.
US commitment to Europe missile defence 'ironclad'
Mar 20, 2013 12:13 EDT
Washington's commitment to defending Europe from missile attacks remains unbending, a top US security official said Wednesday, after it froze the final phase of a plan to counter threats from North Korea and Iran.
Pennetta puts herself in Serena's path at Miami
Mar 19, 2013 22:25 EDT
Italy's Flavia Pennetta booked herself a second-round clash with World No. 1 Serena Williams at the Miami Masters after a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Swede Johanna Larsson.
Czech villagers embrace disputed nuclear plant
Mar 19, 2013 11:09 EDT
Flanked by Germany, which is phasing out nuclear power, and Austria, which has already done so, the Czech Republic is pinning its future on atomic energy.
Djokovic, Serena lead injury-hit Miami lineup
Mar 19, 2013 03:30 EDT
World number ones Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams head the fields at the Miami Masters hardcourt event that begins on Tuesday, although several big names will be missing.
Djokovic, Serena lead injury-hit Miami lineup
Mar 18, 2013 22:29 EDT
World number ones Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams head the fields at the Miami Masters hardcourt event that begins on Tuesday, although several big names will be missing.
Russia dismisses US missile defence move
Mar 18, 2013 08:19 EDT
Russia said Monday it saw "no concession" in the US decision to abandon the final phase of its missile shield for Europe in favour of deploying new interceptors against a possible attack from North Korea.
Russia says 'no concession' in US missile move
Mar 18, 2013 03:36 EDT
Russia said on Monday it saw "no concession" in the US decision to abandon the final phase of its missile shield for Europe while deploying new interceptors against a possible attack from North Korea.
Bayern break more records, Frankfurt slump again
Mar 17, 2013 14:47 EDT
Bayern Munich continue to break Bundesliga records and are now just two more wins from the title while Eintracht Frankfurt's slump continued on Sunday with a 2-1 defeat to VfB Stuttgart.
Schlierenzauer, Zyla take Oslo honours
Mar 17, 2013 12:52 EDT
World Cup champion Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria had to share the honours with Poland's Piotr Zyla on the large hill in Oslo on Sunday in landing his ninth win of the season and 49th of his career.
Bayern two wins from title after win at Leverkusen
Mar 16, 2013 16:05 EDT
Bayern Munich are just two wins from the Bundesliga title after their 2-1 victory at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday allowed them to stay 20 points clear at the top of the table.
US move on missile defense could revive talks with Russia
Mar 16, 2013 14:15 EDT
The United States is ready to abandon the final phase of its European missile defense system, a US official said Saturday, in a move that could revive arms control talks with Russia.
Dortmund floor Freiburg to trim Bayern's lead
Mar 16, 2013 13:10 EDT
German champions Borussia Dortmund routed Freiburg 5-1 on Saturday to provisionally trim runaway league leaders Bayern Munich's lead at the top of the Bundesliga to 17 points.
Facts from the Wikipedia page:
| Republic of Poland
Rzeczpospolita Polska
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
| Motto: None1 | ||||||
| Anthem: Mazurek Dąbrowskiego (Dąbrowski's Mazurka) | ||||||
 Location of Poland (dark green)
– on the European continent (light green & dark grey) | ||||||
| Capital (and largest city) | Warsaw 52°13′N 21°02′E / 52.217°N 21.033°E | |||||
| Official languages | Polish2 | |||||
| Demonym | Pole/Polish | |||||
| Government | Parliamentary republic | |||||
| - | President | Lech Kaczyński | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Donald Tusk | ||||
| Formation | ||||||
| - | Christianisation4 | 966 | ||||
| - | First Republic | July 1, 1569 | ||||
| - | Second Republic | November 11, 1918 | ||||
| - | People's Republic | December 31, 1944 | ||||
| - | Third Republic | January 30, 1990 | ||||
| EU accession | 1 May 2004 | |||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 312,679 km2 (69th3) 120,726 sq mi | ||||
| - | Water (%) | 3.07 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2009 estimate | 38,130,302[1] (34th) | ||||
| - | December 2007 census | 38,116,000[2] (34th) | ||||
| - | Density | 122/km2 (83rd) 319.9/sq mi | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2008 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $668.551 billion[3] (21st) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $17,536[3] (50th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2007 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $527.866 billion[3] (18th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $13,846[3] (50th) | ||||
| Gini (2002) | 34.5 | |||||
| HDI (2007) | ▲ 0.880[4] (high) (41st) | |||||
| Currency | Złoty (PLN) | |||||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| Internet TLD | .pl | |||||
| Calling code | 48 | |||||
| 1 See, however, Unofficial mottos of Poland. 2 Although not official languages, Belarusian, Kashubian, Lithuanian and German are used in 20 communal offices. 3 The area of Poland according to the administrative division, as given by the Central Statistical Office, is 312,679 km2 (120,726 sq mi) of which 311,888 km2 (120,421 sq mi) is land area and 791 km2 (305 sq mi) is internal water surface area.[2] 4 The adoption of Christianity in Poland is seen by many Poles, regardless of their religious affiliation or lack thereof, as one of the most significant national historical events; the new religion was used to unify the tribes in the region. | ||||||
