Warsaw (Poland), Feb. 17 : The late Pope John Paul II was the subject of two assassination plots in his native Poland a senior member of the Polish Catholic Church has claimed.

Many believe that the man who made an assassination attempt on John Paul II in 1981was working on the orders of Bulgarian secret service.

Zdzislaw Krol, chancellor of Warsaw Metropolitan Curia, said the late pontiff faced plots against his life during his 1983 and 1987 pilgrimages to Poland.

Warsaw - Two Poles died on Tuesday after a rescue helicopter cras

Warsaw - Poland's National Bank warned on Monday against moving closer to adopting the euro, saying that at present there were few economic reasons to enter the precursory stage for adopting the euro.

It was "highly uncertain" that Poland could meet the criteria to stay in ERM-2, a pre-cursor program to joining the eurozone, said the report, released on Monday.

A qualifying country is required to spend at least two years in ERM-2 and run a budget deficit at no more than 3 per cent of the GDP.

Warsaw - The Polish zloty hit its lowest point in several years on Monday when it traded at 4.77 against the euro.

The zloty also traded at 3.3 against the Swiss franc and 3.74 against the dollar in what was a historic low point for the currency.

"This should simply be explained by dismal sentiments and a huge aversion to risk," analyst Piotr Poplawski of Bank BGZ told the Puls Biznesu daily. "In this situation, the Polish currency will head in the direction of 5 zlotys against the euro, and I expect that barrier to break next month."

Warsaw - Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski spoke of an opening in Polish-Russian relations based on compromise instead of rhetoric, local media reported on Friday.

Sikorski said Poland has "stepped away from rhetoric" and opted for "the language of pragmatism and looking for compromise, whenever we see signs of good will from the other side."

Sikorski proposed setting clear outlines that would mark relations between Poland, the European Union and Russia, reported the Polish Press Agency PAP. The EU should have "a shared strategy in relations with its Eastern partner," he said.

Warsaw - The United States and Poland topped a list that ranked countrie