Electoral silence has begun before the second round of local government elections. Two people suspected of attacking an associate of Alexei Navalny were detained in Poland. In turn, a powerful explosion occurred near Baghdad as a result of an “air attack”. Here are six things to know on Saturday, April 20.
1. The electoral silence has begun before the second round of elections
At midnight from Friday to Saturday, electoral silence began before the second round of local government elections, which will last until the end of voting, i.e. until Sunday at 21.
The second round of local elections will be held on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The election silence may be extended in strictly defined cases.
2. Detentions after the attack on Navalny's associate
Two people suspected of attacking Russian oppositionist Leonid Wołkov were detained in Poland, the Central Bureau of Investigation reported. Volkov, a close associate of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, was attacked in Vilnius on March 12.
The detained Polish citizens were brought to the Warsaw-Praga District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, where further actions were taken with them. The men are currently in temporary custody.
Detention of suspects in the attack on Leonid VolkovCBŚP
3. The House of Representatives is preparing to adopt an aid package for Ukraine
The US House of Representatives will vote on Saturday on a set of four bills on aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific, as well as on the confiscation of frozen Russian assets and a potential ban on TikTok. The projects envisage a total expenditure of USD 95 billion, including almost USD 61 billion to support Ukraine.
If, as expected, the House passes the bills, the package will go to the Senate, where work on it is expected to begin this weekend. This will open the way to breaking the deadlock on this matter that has been going on for half a year and enabling the resumption of military and financial support for Ukraine, which has almost ceased since the end of last year.
4. A strong explosion at a military base near Baghdad
A strong explosion shook around midnight on Friday a military base located south of the capital of Iraq – Baghdad, where soldiers of the so-called Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and former members of pro-Iranian paramilitary groups, the Iraqi security services reported.
According to these services, the explosion was the result of an “air attack”, but it has not yet been determined who committed it. The explosion caused no casualties, only material losses.
5. An extremely rare car burned down in Warsaw
On Friday, an electric Lucid car worth approximately one million zlotys burned down in Niepodległości Avenue. His driver wanted to avoid a collision with another car, lost control of the vehicle and hit a pole. The car caught fire. On Kontakt 24 we received a recording in which you can see the moment of impact.
The Lucid Air car is a great rarity on our roads. The car that burned down was registered in Poland, and according to Marcin Orzepiński from TVN Turbo, it is probably the only such car in our country. The car has been produced since 2021 by the American company Lucid Motors.
6. TVN and TVN24 journalists awarded
The 7th edition of the Sensitive Festival took place on April 18-19 in Gdynia. All awards in the Film Reportage category were won by TVN and TVN24 journalists. The first place for the reportage “I worked in hell and I was one of the devils” was won by the journalists of “Uwagi!” TVN Tomasz Patora and Joanna Pęcherska.
The special award “Sensitive Person” was given to TVN24 journalist Ewa Ewart.
Main photo source: Abaca/PAP/EPA