Tag: poland

  • 10 easiest European citizenships

    10 easiest European citizenships

    Many people from developing countries aspire to acquire citizenship in European states. Some countries offer relatively straightforward paths to citizenship, while others present significant challenges. Sweden stands out as the easiest country in Europe for obtaining citizenship, whereas Estonia and Latvia are the most challenging.

    A recent study by CIS analysed Eurostat immigration data from 2009 to 2021 to identify which countries have the highest and lowest rates of non-EU residents acquiring citizenship.

    The analysis revealed that the nine most challenging countries to obtain citizenship are located in Central Europe. Estonia ranks as the most difficult country for non-EU citizens to naturalise, with the lowest average acquisition rate—approximately one in 200 residents. Additionally, the acquisition rate for men in Estonia is lower at 0.58 percent compared to 0.69 percent for women.

    Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania also have acquisition rates of less than 1 percent for non-Europeans, contrasting sharply with the average of 3.56 percent across European countries. Austria, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Germany follow, granting citizenship to about one in fifty non-EU residents. Denmark, outside Central Europe, presents the next highest hurdle with an acquisition rate of 2 percent.

    Over the past decade, six of the ten most challenging countries have seen an increase in citizenship grants year-on-year, particularly Denmark, which experienced a notable rise. Germany’s acquisition rate remained stable, while Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia saw declines.

    Many countries implement various programs aimed at attracting foreigners, including opportunities for investment, as well as citizenship and tax benefits.

    Individuals seeking migration often favour Golden Visa and Golden Passport routes, terms that are sometimes used interchangeably despite minor distinctions.

    10 Easiest European Countries to Get Citizenship

    According to the report, Sweden ranks as the easiest country, with nearly one in ten (9.3 Perce) non-EU residents obtaining citizenship—more than double the EU average.

    Sweden boasts the highest acceptance rates for both genders, with women experiencing a slightly higher acceptance rate of 10.02 percent compared to 8.66 percent for men.

    Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Iceland follow as the second to fifth easiest countries to acquire citizenship, with an acquisition rate of one in 25 (4 percent).

    Data shows that northern European countries generally have the highest citizenship acquisition rates, with Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Finland leading the pack.

    In southern Europe, Portugal emerges as the easiest, while the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom are the most accessible Western European states for citizenship. The UK ranks eighth, with nearly three in 50 (3.2 percent) residents granted citizenship.

    Poland and Croatia are the easiest countries in Central Europe for changing nationality, with acquisition rates of 4 percent and 3.9 percent respectively. Northern and Western Europe present the most accessible regions for nationality changes, with an acquisition rate of 5.9 percent compared to 1.9 percent in Central Europe and 3.6 percent in the South.

  • 300-year-old gold and silver coins discovered in Poland

    300-year-old gold and silver coins discovered in Poland

    A 300-year-old stash of gold and silver coins has been discovered by metal detectorists in a Polish mountain range.

    The coins belonged to a con-artist who collected them after defrauding people.

    A translated Facebook post from the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Kielce on May 8 claimed that Antoni Jaczewski, a “hermit, adventurer and false profit,” conned people throughout the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

    Jaczewski would “convince people of his healing power,” according to Polish folklore. He would then entice them to come to his mountain encampment. Eventually, people gave him gold and silver coins in return for his healing techniques, reports The News.

  • Farmers protest: From India to Europe

    Farmers protest: From India to Europe

    Farmers are protesting from India to Europe, separately, for their rights and to register their rebellion with sitting governments against soaring fuel, and fertilizer costs, lower prices of their produce, and restrictive regulations. The protests are shedding light on the very pertinent issues faced by the primary food-producing sector of countries owning big agricultural markets.

    Demands of Greek farmers

    Farmers in Greece are protesting across the country against rising costs. They are conducting a tractor rally all across the country. Manolis Liakis, a farmer from the southern island of Crete, talked to __ and singled out fuel costs as his biggest problem. He said farmers pay more than three times as much for petrol as shipping companies due to tax disparities. Farmers can’t sell their products “for ridiculously low prices while the consumer buys them at extremely high prices”, he said.

    Demands of Polish farmers

    In Poland, farmers are blocking roads to stop cheap grain imports crossing the border from Ukraine. They are demanding a “complete embargo” on Ukranian produce. During the protests on Tuesday against competition from imports of cheaper Ukrainian products, farmers in Gorzyczki, southern Poland, unfurled a banner saying “Putin, get Ukraine, Brussels, and our government in order”. Consequently, the farmers were warned by the government against raising the slogans.

    Demands of Spanish farmers

    Spanish farmers are gathering with hundreds of tractors in tow to protest against the unfair competition from outside the European Union. They want to include production costs in the end product so they don’t end up selling their goods at a loss. Additionally, they want imported products to be subjected to the same conditions that they have to face.

    Demands of French farmers

    French farmers blocked a milk transport in protest against wholesale prices they say are too low. The farmers’ unions have made it clear they want ironclad assurances that their grievances over produce prices and red tape have been addressed. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is trying to negotiate and pacify the raging farmers with the negotiations.

    Demands of Czech farmers

    In Prague, farmers are on the roads because they feel neglected in the policy-making process. After all, they are not given due attention by the government. “Around 3,000 tractors took to the streets,” The Czech Chamber of Agriculture said in a statement on the nationwide protests. Their demands included an end to restrictions on agricultural production, cutting red tape for farming, and introducing changes to the EU-Ukraine arrangements on farming imports.

    Demands of Italian farmers

    In Rome, cowbells are clanking with the message that Farmers feed the world, but can’t afford to farm.

    Demands of Indian farmers

    In India, massive protests have broken out over minimum crop price guarantees which were promised nearly a year ago but not implemented by the government. Thousands of Indian farmers riding tractors attempted to resume their push towards New Delhi. They were attacked by the police claiming the life of young farmer Shubhkaran Singh and injuring 25 others. Farm unions are demanding a law to set a minimum price on all crops, expanding a government scheme that already exists for staples, including rice and wheat. They have also demanded other concessions, including the waiving of loans and universal pensions for farmers aged 60 and above.


    Concerns of Canadian Farmers

    In Canada, there are fewer environmental regulations but farmers feel a disconnect with the central government whose main mandate is based on the environment. They have been pushing forward all kinds of policies about fertilizer reduction and disallowing certain pesticides. The green policies and higher costs have instead of favouring them making farmers feel ignored. Experts say the consumers feel that lower output prices and higher input prices are just a way for the government to tell them that do whatever they want but in a cleaner and environmentally friendly way.

    Conclusion

    Protesting farmers are trying to divert attention to the most neglected yet important sector of a country which is the food-producing sector which is the backbone of both the society and the economy of the country yet remains ignored by the political class for their vested interests.

  • This Mercedes has a smaller engine than the Honda Pridor

    This Mercedes has a smaller engine than the Honda Pridor

    In the 1990s, Poland-based Alpha Technology produced this miniature Mercedes SL 500, which was marketed at Mercedes Benz dealerships and select toy stores. This one, on the other hand, was kept in a wooden crate for years before being purchased by its present owner last year.

    It is powered by a 97cc Honda single-cylinder engine with a two-speed gearbox with reverse and has a black body meant to look like the R129 500SL. It offers a black vinyl interior, rear mechanical disc brakes, a handbrake, a gearbox, and three pedals.

    It boasts coil springs at all four corners, a 12-volt electrical system, a hinged trunk, and a four-spoke steering wheel, despite the fact that it is essentially a go-kart. Steel Gullideckel-style wheels with 135.00–6 Duro bias-ply tyres are also included.

    A multi-disc wet clutch transmits power from the 2.5 horsepower (1.8 kW/2.53 PS) engine to the rear wheels. The electrical system operates the lights and the horn, and it has a 1.4-liter (0.3-gallon) fuel tank.

    The convertible seems to be in good shape, owing to the duration of time it spent in a box, the lack of use has resulted in atrophy. According to the listing, some mechanical maintenance will be required before the go-kart can run as intended.

    Read more: Hyundai’s electric vehicle wins ‘World Car of the Year’ award

    It is for sale through Bring a Trailer in Merritt Island, Florida, and comes with the crate, factory books, and a bill of sale. As of this writing, the top offer is a tantalising $7,669.

  • ’Immoral’, Moscow to allow Ukrainian civilians to ‘escape’ and enter Russia

    ’Immoral’, Moscow to allow Ukrainian civilians to ‘escape’ and enter Russia

    After bombarding Ukraine, Russia said that their military will hold fire and six humanitarian corridors will be opened around Ukrainian cities to allow civilians to escape, reports Al Jazeera citing Russia’s Defence Ministry.

    Ukraine rejected the plan to give civilians in several key cities safe passage to Russia and Belarus as ‘immoral’.

    “This is a completely immoral story. People’s suffering is used to create the desired television picture,” the spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “These are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine”, he added.

    Kyiv also said that negotiations are taking place with Russia on establishing humanitarian corridors but warned that such escape routes are unlikely to be set up.

    Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Zelensky’s chief of staff, said each Ukrainian should be allowed to decide where they want to go. He also advised Ukrainians against evacuating to Russia.

    China’s Foreign Minister (FM) said that the country’s Red Cross Society will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

    As of yet, more than one million Ukrainians have fled to Poland since the start of the Russian invasion.

  • ‘Great people’: Indians praise Pakistan Embassy for assisting their students in evacuation from Ukraine

    Pakistan has won the hearts of Indian citizens after assisting their students in evacuation from Ukraine.

    Indian students were left alone as they could not find any Indian embassy officials who could help them evacuate safely from war zone areas.

    According to media reports, Indian nationals have been facing discrimination in Ukraine since India abstained from the right to vote against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    When Indian students reached Lviv, a town 70 kilometers away from Poland, they did not find any Indian embassy officials to facilitate them.

    A Sweden-based Professor, Ashok Swain, shared a video in which a student has described the current situation sitting with other Pakistani nationals in a dining hall of a building at the Romanian border.

    He said, “Only four of us are Indian. The rest of them are Pakistanis. You can see. There were many people when we reached Lviv yesterday from Kharkiv. There were no officials from Indian Embassy. We have tried many times to find them.”

    Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also confirmed the news about the facilitation given to Indian students from Pakistan Embassy in Ukraine.

    He said that Pakistani embassy officials helped Indian students in Ukraine on humanitarian grounds as they were in distress.

    Indian Twitter user, Gaurav Sabnis, appreciated the gesture shown by the Pakistani Embassy staff.

    He said, “First with that vandalized temple reconstruction and now this, the Pakistani government is showing that it has a much better grasp on the concept that doing the right thing can actually be good for your public image too. That you can ‘win’ with generosity.”

    Another Indian has shared his experience of hospitality when some Pakistanis helped him in the United Kingdom.

  • Pakistan embassy warns stranded nationals in Poland not to go anywhere else

    Pakistan embassy warns stranded nationals in Poland not to go anywhere else

    The Pakistan embassy has given a serious warning to stranded Pakistani nationals who were transported to Poland from Ukraine. This warning was given after 15 Pakistanis were arrested while trying to flee to Germany on Saturday, reports Samaa News.

    The embassy said that they would stop evacuation if Pakistanis did not follow said rules and regulations. Poland has given 15 days visas on a humanitarian basis to all Pakistanis who were evacuated from Ukraine.

    They have to return back to Pakistan after their visa expiration. They are also strictly not allowed to leave Poland during this duration.

    The embassy said that whoever tries to enter another country from Poland would face serious consequences.

    Pakistan Embassy has updated the evacuation details on their Twitter. Until now, 411 Pakistanis have been evacuated from Ukraine. Some people are on their way to Lviv from Kharkiv, Poltava, and Kyiv.

    The evacuation process has been delayed due to a rush of people wanting to escape the country.

    The embassy has requested all nationals to stay in contact with the authorities “for smooth evacuation as soon as possible.” 

  • Lahore tops the worst air quality list, again

    Lahore tops the worst air quality list, again

    Lahore on Wednesday topped the list of the most polluted cities in the world with the worst air quality levels.

    India’s Delhi is second on the list, Poland’s Krakow and Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek are placed in third and fourth spot respectively while Bangladesh’s Dhaka is on number five according to the air pollution data released by the US Air Quality Index (AQI).

    Screengrab of air quality and pollution city ranking

    Lahore recorded a particulate matter (PM) rating of 364 that classifies the city under the “hazardous” category of air quality.

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency regards air quality as satisfactory if the AQI is under 50.

  • VIDEO: Parachutist lands on pitch during soccer match

    VIDEO: Parachutist lands on pitch during soccer match

    A parachutist landed in the middle of a football pitch during a soccer match in Poland.

    Video doing rounds on social media shows the man lands on the half-way line on the pitch wearing a black and green jumpsuit.

    The players from Olimpia Elbag and PISA Primavera Barczewo stopped the match while the referee amused the crowd by showing the parachutist a yellow card. 

    Read More: Man kills co-worker with slap in face

    A man then rushed onto the pitch and helped the parachutist with the fall. The game continued after the intruder with the help of the staff gathered up his parachute and left the field.