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US envoy hails ‘historic’ EU-brokered Serbia-Kosovo deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The United States envoy for the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue on Monday welcomed the European Union-facilitated deal on normalizing relations between neighboring Kosovo and Serbia as an “important and historic agreement.”Gabriel Escobar said the weekend deal between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Ohrid, North Macedonia “sets the conditions for normalization between Serbia and Kosovo on European terms.On Saturday EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Vucic and Kurti agreed on an 11-point EU plan to normalize relations following their 1998-1999 war and Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008.The plan calls for them to maintain good neighborly relations and recognize each other’s official documents and national symbols. If implemented, it would prevent Belgrade from blocking Kosovo’s attempts to seek membership in the United Nations and other international organizations. But it doesn’t explicitly call ...

N. Ireland unionists say no to Sunak’s Brexit deal, for now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s main British unionist party said Monday it will vote against a deal struck by Britain and the European Union to resolve a thorny trade dispute that vexed U.K.-EU relations and triggered a political crisis in Belfast.Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson said the deal “does not deal with some of the fundamental problems at the heart of our current difficulties” and the party’s eight lawmakers would not support it when the House of Commons votes on Wednesday.The U.K.-EU agreement, known as the Windsor Framework, aims to ease customs checks and other hurdles for goods moving to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. that were imposed after Brexit to maintain an open border between the north and its EU neighbor the Republic of Ireland. The open border is a key pillar of Northern Ireland’s peace process.Northern Ireland’s British unionist politicians strongly opposed the customs border, saying it undermines Northern Ireland’s place in the...

Germany hopes to repair reputation before hosting Euro 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — With the European Championship looming next year, host Germany hopes this week to start repairing the tattered reputation of its men’s national soccer team.Two World Cup flops and a poor showing in between have taken their toll on what was a proud heritage for Germany. The four-time World Cup winner no longer strikes fear among opponents.The German soccer federation wants to change that before the country hosts Euro 2024. It’s an opportunity to restore lost pride, albeit with the potential for more embarrassment. The campaign starts this week with friendly games against Peru in Mainz on Saturday, then Belgium in Cologne three days later.The federation has given coach Hansi Flick another chance to lead the team after its first-round exit at the 2022 World Cup. It also brought in former Germany striker and coach Rudi Völler as sporting director to oversee what it hopes will be a successful shakeup.Another one.Former coach Joachim Löw attempted a shakeup after Germa...

Paxten Aaronson makes debut for Eintract Frankfurt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

Paxten Aaronson, the younger brother of U.S. national team midfielder Brenden Aaronson, made his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt in a 2-0 loss at Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.The 19-year-old midfielder from Medford, New Jersey, entered in the 82nd minute Sunday.He transferred to the German club in January from Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union.Aaronson is on the roster for the U.S. under-20 team for exhibitions against the under-20 teams of France on Wednesday and England on Friday, and against Serbia’s under-21 team on March 28. The Americans are preparing for the Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia, which starts May 20.Brenden Aaronson, 22, is a midfielder with Leeds in England’s Premier League and was on last year’s U.S. World Cup roster. Paxten made his senior national team debut in a Jan. 28 friendly against Colombia.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Zellers Diner to make stop in Kingston on March 25th 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

Two days after its grand opening in Kingston, Zellers says its mobile food truck will be visiting The Bay to “dish out nostalgic favorites” from the original Zellers Family Restaurant.The Zellers Diner food truck will feature the Big Z Burger, the Hot Chicken Sandwich, Grilled Cheese, Chicken Fingers and Fries and Gravy.The food truck is expected to make a stop at all new Zellers locations within The Bay stores in Ontario and Alberta.The Zellers store itself will have a smaller footprint than what many are used to; about 740 to 930 square metres (8,000 to 10,000 square feet), depending on each location. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zellers (@zellersofficial)The Zellers food truck will be served by select restaurants that have been contracted by Zellers. Smokehouse BBQ, based in Edmonton has been contracted with serving Zellers favorites in Alberta, though its unclear if they will also be serving Ontario’s restaurants.First major event 2023,we ...

Woman from town of less than 30 people wins big on scratch-off

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

COWDREY, Colo. (KDVR) — A Colorado woman won big on a scratch-off. However, she didn't believe her luck at first because she lives in a town that only has a population of 27 people. According to the Colorado Lottery, Joanie L. of Cowdrey hit the jackpot on a local scratch-off and won $250,000 on the 100X The Cash Bonus Draw.Cowdrey, Colorado is a little town in Jackson County near the Wyoming border. The town is so small, only 27 people live within its jurisdiction. $11.5M Colorado Lotto+ ticket sold in Centennial Due to the town's size, the Colorado Lottery said Joanie was notified she was a winner in a slightly unusual way - through certified mail.Finding out you won a quarter of a million dollars on a scratch-off would certainly cause anyone to question its authenticity, but for Joanie finding out through mail in her quaint town, she was quite suspicious that the whole thing was a scam. However, it wasn't a scam at all, just her lucky day. Joanie was pleasantly surprised to wa...

Amazon to lay off 9,000 employees on top of 18,000 in Jan.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon plans to eliminate 9,000 more jobs in the next few weeks, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff on Monday.The job cuts would mark the second largest round of layoffs in the company’s history, adding to the 18,000 employees the company said it would lay off in January.In the memo, Jassy said the second phase of the company’s annual planning process completed this month and led to the additional job cuts. He said Amazon will still hire in some strategic areas.“Some may ask why we didn’t announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago. The short answer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall; and rather than rush through these assessments without the appropriate diligence, we chose to share these decisions as we’ve made them so people had the information as soon as possible,” Jassy said.

‘Speak up, fight back’: Tampa woman who fought off attacker in apartment gym to host free self-defense classes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Florida (WFTS) — The woman who fought off an attacker in her apartment gym is now partnering up with YouFit to offer free self-defense classes.Video shows Nashali Alma, 24, put up a fight when she was attacked in January. She eventually got away, and her attacker was later arrested. He’s charged with sexual battery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping.According to a criminal report affidavit, the suspect had a similar incident the day after the gym attack. He knocked on another woman’s door after watching her for several minutes on her balcony, according to authorities.Deputies said in that instance, the man took about four steps into the apartment before he was chased away by the woman’s fiance. According to reports, after his arrest the suspect admitted to deputies he wanted to have sexual relations with both women.When the video of the attack was released in February, Alma said her plan was to use that terrifying moment for good. Just a...

Russia blasts back at ICC over Putin arrest warrant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

Russia’s top investigative body announced Monday that it had opened a “criminal” case against the prosecutor and judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC).The move comes as part of a concerted effort from Moscow to intimidate the court in the Netherlands, which on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his part in “unlawful” forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia.Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened earlier Monday to target the court in The Hague with missile strikes. “It is quite possible to imagine a hypersonic missile being fired from the North Sea from a Russian ship at the Hague courthouse. Everyone walks under God and rockets. Look carefully to the sky … ” he said. Russia began criminal cases against the prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan and judges Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godínez on the basis of them having committed “signs of crimes” und...

Brockton boy gets visit from one of his favorite robots after completing cancer treatment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

A boy from Brockton who recently completed treatment for cancer got a special visit from one of his favorite robots over the weekend.Six-year-old Israel Belliard was diagnosed with kidney cancer at age four, and after finishing his latest treatment, he was paid a visit by Marty, the Stop & Shop robot usually found patrolling aisles throughout the grocery store chain.Having a love for all things robotic, including Marty, Israel came out and gave the bot a hug Sunday morning. Also a fan of dinosaurs, Belliard received tickets to Jurassic World Live for him and his whole family.This visit was part of the store’s annual “Help Cure Childhood Cancer” campaign, which raises funds for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute & the Jimmy Fund to fight against pediatric cancer.The 6 year old is a patient ambassador for this year’s campaign, so keep an eye out for Belliard’s face when you’re out on your next grocery trip.