Polish President Andrzej Duda has proposed October 13th as a date for the next parliamentary elections, in hopes of making the campaign „as short as possible.”
During a Sunday visit to Nowy Targ in southern Poland, Duda stated his reasons for the relatively short timeframe, suggesting that „Poles want political disputes, that are a natural thing during a campaign (…), to end as soon as possible.”
Duda previously revealed that he would announce the finalized date after receiving the opinion of the State Electoral Commission (PKW), a procedure which was already in progress. In response, the head of the Commission, Magdalena Pietrzak, told the Polish Press Agency they would be discussing the presidential draft resolution on Monday, with an opinion expected to be issued Tuesday afternoon.
Early yesterday morning, French inventor and entrepreneur Franky „Flyman” Zapata successfully crossed the English Channel on his self-designed hoverboard after a failed attempt last week.
Zapata took off from a village outside Calais just after 6am local time, landing safely in Saint Margaret’s Bay near Dover in the UK some 20 minutes later. A previous attempt at crossing the channel with his jet-powered hoverboard and kerosene-filled backpack ended with Zapata crashing into the sea. The chief complication in the crossing was landing on a platform mounted on a boat in order to refuel. After losing his balance and falling on the previous attempt, Zapata addressed the issue by using a bigger platform and boat this time.
Zapata reportedly reached speeds of 160 to 170 km (over 100 miles) per hour during the crossing on the „flyboard” he and his team spent three years perfecting, a pursuit that has cost him countless hours of lost sleep and two fingers. „Whether this is a historic event or not, I’m not the one to decide that,” stated Zapata in an interview with Reuters, only „time will tell.”
Lechia Gdańsk triumphed against Wisła Płock 2 to 1 last night, scoring and winning for the first time in the current league season
The white and green had a strong start in the first half, with an early header goal by Artur Sobiech at the 12 minute mark. Additional attempts at a followup goal lacked precision and the score remained 1-0 at the half. Wisła Płock did not have the same issues with accuracy but luckily Slovak goalkeeper Dušan Kuciak was able to block several attempts by the hosts to score, only allowing one goal from Płock’s Dominic Furman near the end of the match due to interference from defender Michał Nalepa. Luckily Lechia had already built a good lead after a second goal by midfielder Rafał Wolski at the 74 minute mark.
The resulting victory for Lechia bumps the team up to 4th position in the Ekstraklasa League. The next match will take place on August 12th in Gdańsk against #5 ranked Jagiellonia Białystok.
Stage 2 of the Tour de Pologne, a relatively flat but technical stretch of 153km from Tarnowskie Góry to Katowice, was won yesterday by Slovenian Luka Mezgec
His first-place arrival in Katowice, the so-called „temple of speed” came at the end of a record-breaking sprint going over 82 km per hour. Pascal Ackermann of Germany kept the yellow jersey as the overall leader, as well as acquiring the white jersey for best sprinter. Charles Planet of France, currently ranked second overall, also acquired the blue „most active” jersey, in addition to his magenta „best climber” jersey from Stage 1.
Today’s stage will take the riders from Śląski or Silesia Stadium in Chorzów to Zabrze, with an additional Special Bonus planned in order to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Silesian Uprisings.
The 5th annual „Pociąg do Miasto” or „Train to the City” theatre festival opens today in various locations around Gdynia
Over the next six days, the festival will feature 12 performances of exceptional contemporary off-season theatre from all over Poland. In addition to evening performances for adults, the festival offers afternoon performances for children under the supervision of the Young Theater Critics. Venues are located around the city, and were chosen to correspond with the content and form of the performances as well as introduce Trojmiasto residents to unusual and exciting locales.
Today’s lineup includes the premiere of „The Trials of Jozef K” based on „The Trial” by Franz Kafka and „Atrapa i Utopia” a theatrical essay inspired by current events and contemporary Polish poetry.
