The United States plans to carry out small ground-force exercises in Poland and Estonia in an attempt to reassure NATO’s Eastern European members worried aboutRussia’s military operations in and nearUkraine, Western officials said Friday.

Poland is to put $100 million (300 million Zloty) into supporting small Ukranian companies, which will obviously include tech companies by implication, and allow more Ukranian companies to list on its stock exchange.

If stepped-up US military activity with NATO partners such as Poland and Lithuania seems like a paltry response to Russia’s military occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea province, there’s a reason for that. The modest US show of force – a handful of jet fighters in Eastern European skies and a single warship to the Black Sea – is intended more to calm the nerves of former Soviet republics and satellites nervous about Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, regional experts say, than it is designed to send Russia into retreat with its tail between its legs.

One morning in June, the owners of the African restaurant La Mamma in Warsaw found ugly and offensive graffiti near its entrance. Someone in the Muranow neighborhood, the site of the former Jewish ghetto, apparently did not like the restaurant, which is a meeting place for Nigerian immigrants. To make sure the eatery’s owner got the message, the offender painted a black man hanging from a rope and added the words, “chocolate daddy.”

Lech Walesa has called for Poland to unite with Germany to form one European state, despite the bloody history between the two countries. The Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Polish president, whose Solidarity trade union played a key role in bringing an end to the Cold War, said the world had changed and needed new ways of organising itself.

The Padma Shri awardee was invited by Monika Mohta, India's ambassador in Warsaw, as part of her efforts to showcase India's soft power there. Rajiv Chandran of the UN, Geeta's husband, recounts how surprised they were by the popularity of Indian arts and culture there. During her visit, Geeta inaugurated the India Day at the University of Poznan and the Asia Week at the Gdansk University.

David Pountney, who is also the company's artistic director, was awarded the Order of Merit at a ceremony in Vienna. It recognises outstanding contributions to co-operation between Poland and other nations. He was honoured for staging Polish opera in his role as director of the Bregenz festival in Austria since 2003.

Turkey and Poland on Thursday signed a "Declaration of Will" for activities to mark the 600th year of diplomatic relations in 2014. A ceremony took place in the Polish capital of Warsaw on Thursday for the declaration. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu signed the declaration on behalf of Turkey and his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski signed it on behalf of Poland..."This is an honoring moment for me. Our two countries have good relations in all fields," Davutoglu said.