Sri Lanka featured prominently at the Miss Polski 2026 grand final gala, held in the historic Polish city of Nowy Sącz and broadcast live on Polsat.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Poland, Priyangika Dharmasena, attended as Guest of Honour at the glittering event, which showcased dance and musical performances, contestant introductions, and dress parades.

The pageant followed a promotional tour hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau from June 7–17, where the 24 finalists and their production crew visited Sri Lanka. 

The bikini segment was filmed on the island, highlighting its scenic attractions and generating wide media coverage in Poland.

During the gala, a presentation on Sri Lanka was screened, capturing the contestants’ experiences, hospitality, and photo shoots across exotic locations, further enhancing the country’s image as a premier tourism destination.

The crown went to Wiktoria Ptak, who now qualifies to represent Poland at Miss Supranational. 

She received a cash prize and two round‑trip air tickets to Sri Lanka for a ten‑day visit with full hospitality, offered by the organizers in collaboration with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Warsaw. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, in coordination with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Warsaw, held a series of tourism roadshows in the prominent cities of Warsaw, Poznan, and Krakow in Poland in May.

According to the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Warsaw, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau with a delegation from the travel trade of Sri Lanka, namely Golden Isle Travel, Resfebar Holidays, Lavingo Travels, Luxurious Sri Lanka, Blue Lanka Tours,  NKAR , Green Holiday, TAT, Aitken Spence Travels, Temple Tree Resort & Spa,  Connaissance de Ceylan, Jetwing Travels, Tourblue and Warkers Tours participated in the events with Polish tourism entities including Polish travel companies, and the media.

The Roadshows, held on 11,13 and 15 May, commenced with the ceremonial opening, where guests were taken to the event venues through traditional dance performances from the Sri Lankan dance troupe “Sri Ridma Dance Academy” from Naples, Italy, to the beating of drums. A tourism promotional video followed, showcasing the vibrant beauties of Sri Lanka to the audience.

Alighting the traditional oil lamp by guests and speeches by Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Poland, Priyangika Dharmasena, and Deputy Director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Bureau, Masitha De Thabrew ensued, after which lively dance performances were held for the Polish spectators.

In her address, Ambassador Dharmasena highlighted the beauties of Sri Lanka, which had been crowned as the “Most Beautiful Island in the World in 2025 by the global travel platform EnjoyTravel.com. She also underscored the importance of Poland as a growing source market for tourism to Sri Lanka, with 44, 989 visiting the country in 2025 and more potential for growth, as Sri Lanka targets 03 million tourists globally for 2026.

A networking session that followed was the most important item on the agenda, enabling the Sri Lankan travel companies to engage actively with their Polish counterparts seeking to build partnerships to enhance tourism activities of both sides.

During the Warsaw Roadshow, a presentation was made by Pawel Jagiello, a prestigious Polish photographer, depicting the beauties of Sri Lanka through photography in Sri Lanka.  At the end of the segment, books of photography were presented to Ambassador Dharmasena and Deputy Director De Thabrew. (Newswire)

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Poland plans to introduce new legislation to ban social media for children under 15 years of age and will hold platforms responsible for age verification, Education Minister Barbara Nowacka told Bloomberg News in an interview published on Friday.

The ruling Civic Coalition will present the draft outline on Friday, with fines planned for platforms that remain accessible to younger users, Nowacka said, adding that the law could take effect by early 2027.

“We see the mental health of children and young people, we see a decline in their intellectual competence,” said Nowacka adding that the size of penalties that companies would have to pay is still under discussion.

Several European governments including Denmark, Greece, France, Spain and Britain have explored similar restrictions amid claims that social-media services are harmful or addictive for minors.

The British government said in January it was considering restrictions to protect children online, after Australia implemented similar laws in December.

The initiative could put Warsaw at odds with U.S. tech firms such as Meta and Elon Musk’s X, some of which have pushed back against restrictions following Australia’s ban last year. (Reuters/ Bloomberg)

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Polish charter airline, Enter Air, resumed operations to Sri Lanka today, with the arrival of two flights from Katowice and Warsaw at the Katunayake Airport. 

According to the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), two inaugural Enter Air flights from Katowice and Warsaw, Poland, were welcomed this morning for the winter season. 

The arrivals were marked with a water cannon salute organized by the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited (AASL), adding a touch of grandeur to the occasion.

Passengers were greeted with warm Sri Lankan hospitality and gifted premium Ceylon Tea packs, sponsored by the Sri Lanka Tea Board. (Newswire)

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Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport this morning for a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka. He was welcomed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arun Hemachandra.

Minister Sikorski, who also represents Poland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is scheduled to hold official discussions today with Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

The visit aims to strengthen diplomatic ties and explore enhanced cooperation between Sri Lanka and the European Union. (Newswire)

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The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has arrested two individuals attempting to travel to Poland using forged visas.

According to the Police, the arrests were made following investigations into the two persons attempting to travel to Poland via Qatar.

The suspects arrested yesterday are aged 31 and 38 years old and are residents of Demodara and Beligala.

The two men are to be presented before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court today. The CID is conducting further investigations. (Newswire)

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Officials from the Department of Immigration and Emigration have left the island on a factory visit to Poland to inspect the printing of machine-readable passports, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. 

The visit comes amidst the rising backlog of unfulfilled applications for passports, following the government’s e-passport tender controversy. 

According to local media reports, the Immigration and Emigration Controller General and the Additional Controller General have travelled to Poland to look into the production of passports contracted to Thales and local partner Just in Time Technologies.

The e-passport tender issue has led to a crisis within the Immigration Department, resulting in long queues outside its premises.

The first batch of passports is expected to arrive in late October, with the government providing assurances that this will help ease the long queues.  (Newswire)

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry says Poland is considering looking at offering Sri Lankan workers employment in targeted sectors.

In a statement on ‘X’, Minister Sabry said the initiative has been proposed via a government-to-government (G2G) agreement for employment. 

The Foreign Minister further said that Poland was also considering easing visa facilitations for Sri Lankans. 

“I thank my counterpart @sikorskiradek for proposing this novel initiative at my request @PolandMFA @MFA_SriLanka,” he added, in his message on ‘X’. 

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry’s statement comes, as he concludes a successful visit to Poland. (Newswire)

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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s government lost a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, ending the rule of his national conservative party after eight years in power.

Poland’s parliament elected centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister on Monday, paving the way for a new pro-EU government after eight years of stormy national conservative rule by the Law and Justice Party (PiS).

Tusk becomes prime minister nearly two months after a national election that was won by a coalition of parties ranging from left-wing to moderate conservative. The parties ran on separate tickets but promised to work together under Tusk’s leadership to restore democratic standards and improve ties with allies.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s government lost a confidence vote in parliament earlier on Monday, ending the rule of his national conservative party after eight years in power.

The vote paved the way for the majority in parliament to elect Donald Tusk, a centrist, as prime minister, a role he held already from 2007-2014. 

The transition was delayed for several weeks by Poland’s president Andrzej Duda, who chose to keep his political allies in office as long as possible. 

Collective anger against the ruling PiS produced a record-high turnout in the central European country, with the right-wing populists accused of having long eroded the country’s democracy and women’s reproductive rights while targeting Poland’s LGBT community. 

Expectations are enormous for the incoming government, however. Plus populist nationalists will remain a powerful opposition force and continue to control several state institutions.

President Duda – whose presidential mandate does not end until 2025 – can exercise his right to veto laws adopted by parliament. He is a PiS ally. 

A change of government holds implications for Ukraine and the EU as well.

Tusk, a past EU leader, is expected to improve Warsaw’s standing in Brussels. 

His leadership will boost centrist, pro-EU forces at a time when eurosceptics, such as Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, are gaining strength.

Poland’s outgoing nationalist government was initially one of Kyiv’s strongest allies after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. However, ties have worsened as economic competition from Ukrainian food producers and truckers has angered Poles who say their livelihoods are threatened.

A blockade by Polish truckers at the border with Ukraine counts among the many problems Tusk will have to tackle immediately. The next days will be packed with political steps dictated by the Constitution.

The Tusk-led alliance won a clear majority of seats in the 15 October vote, but President Duda gave incumbent prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, the first chance at forming a government, widely seen as a delaying tactic.

The PiS used these two extra months of power “to strengthen itself institutionally and financially”, said analyst Kuisz.

The right-wingers appointed their representatives at the head of different institutions, with often irrevocable mandates, alongside the national prosecutor’s office and around 150 new judges. 

Morawiecki presented a new government to the Sejm, Poland’s parliament, on Monday, which was followed by a vote of confidence that he lost. 

Made up of the Citizen Coalition (centrist), the Third Way (Christian Democrat) and the Left, Tusk’s coalition has 248 deputies, compared to 194 from PiS and 18 others from the Confederation (far right). 

After intense negotiations between prospective coalition partners, a cabinet has already been agreed.

Tusk intends to be able to represent his country at the next European summit, Thursday and Friday in Brussels. (Euronews)

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Polish charter airline, Enter Air, commenced charter flight operations to Sri Lanka today (Nov 03). 

Enter Air’s first charter flight arrived with 206 tourists at the Katunayake Airport this morning.

Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited (AASL) said the passengers were welcomed by a traditional dance performance at the airport organized by Sri Lanka Tourism.

There will be a series of charter flights operating from Poland from today, November 03, 2023, until the end of March 2024. 

AASL said the frequency of the series of flights will be every 10 days, and it is in collaboration with Green Holidays Centre (Pvt) Limited. 

Enter Air is the biggest charter airline company in Poland and the second-largest airline in the region. (NewsWire)

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Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara has held a discussion with the Chairman of the Public Transport Commission in Poland. 

According to the Foreign Employment Ministry, the primary agenda of their meeting was to delve into potential Foreign Employment Opportunities for skilled workers from Sri Lanka within Poland’s public transport sector.

The collaborative session is part of Minister Nanayakkara’s broader initiative to understand and tap into Poland’s workforce requirements, particularly in the transport sector, to benefit the skilled Sri Lankan workforce.

Both parties have expressed optimism about this exploratory initiative, anticipating a win-win scenario that could foster closer economic and employment ties between Sri Lanka and Poland.

Accompanying the Minister were representatives from the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency: Chairman Suraj Dandeniya, and General Manager Mangala Randeniya.

Also present were Advisor cum Private Secretary to the Minister, Shan Yahampath, and Coordinating Secretary to the Minister, Bhagya Kariyawasam. (NewsWire)

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A 44-year-old woman has been arrested on charges of having defrauded Rs. 13 million from job seekers with the promise of securing employment in Poland. 

According to Lankadeepa, the suspect was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake upon her return from India today.

A total of 53 complaints had been filed at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) against the woman, who is a resident of Battaramulla. 

Investigations have revealed that the suspect had taken large sums of money and passports of individuals promising them jobs in Poland.

The foreign employment agency operated by the woman is reported to have been sealed by the SLBFE recently.

The Kaduwela Magistrate had imposed a travel ban on the suspect, who was apprehended by Immigration and Emigration officials at the Katunayake airport upon her return to Sri Lanka today.

Officials of the SLBFE had taken custody of the woman and had produced her before the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court.

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment is conducting further investigations. (NewsWire)

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