Jan Szyszko

Activists climbed trees and blocked felling machines in Poland’s primeval Bialowieza Forest on Tuesday in a bid to stop what they say is an illegal logging operation authorised by the government.

The campaigners accuse Warsaw of ignoring EU orders to protect one of Europe’s last ancient woodlands – part of a wider clash between the bloc and its biggest eastern member.

Poland said on Monday it would press on with logging the country's primeval Bialowieza forest in defiance of a ruling by the European Union's top court, saying it needed to cut down trees to defeat insect pests, according to Straitstimes.com