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Kosovo-Serbia tension threatens the Balkan path to EU integration, the German foreign minister warns

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Germany’s foreign minister on Friday expressed the European Union’s deep concerns following the recent shootout between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead and sent tensions soaring in the region. Annalena Baerbock was in Tirana, Albania at a meeting of foreign ministers ahead of the Oct. 16 summit on the Berlin Process, an initiative from Germany and France to encourage six Western Balkans countries to keep working toward membership of the bloc. The foreign ministers of the six countries — Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia — are meeting with Baerbock, EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi and other senior officials from the bloc. “The foundation for mobility in the region is security and safety,” said Baerbock before the start of the meeting, adding, “The tensions within the last days between Serbia and Kosovo are also endangering this Berlin Process.”On Sept. 24, around 30 heavily armed Se...

Jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi wins the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting women’s oppression

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Imprisoned activist Narges Mohammadi, who has campaigned for women’s rights, democracy and against the death penalty in Iran for years, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.Mohammadi, 51, has done her work despite facing numerous arrests and spending years behind bars for her activism.“This prize is first and foremost a recognition of the very important work of a whole movement in Iran with with its undisputed leader, Nargis Mohammadi,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who announced the prize in Oslo. “The impact of the prize is not for the Nobel committee to decide upon. We hope that it is an encouragement to continue the work in whichever form this movement finds to be fitting.”Mohammadi’s most recent incarceration began when she was detained in 2021 after she attended a memorial for a person killed in nationwide 2019 protests sparked by an increase in gasoline prices. She’s been held at Tehran’s notorious Evin Pr...

Mongolia, the land of Genghis Khan, goes modern with breakdancing, esports and 3×3 basketball

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

HANGZHOU, China (AP) — There’s a minor sports revolution going on in Mongolia, the giant landlocked Asian country most associated with Genghis Khan and famous for its “three manly sports” of archery, horse racing and, the most prestigious, wrestling.The two-week Asian Games offer a glimpse at a changing Mongolia, a vast nation sandwiched between China and Russia with only 3.3 million people. Its ancient history is slowly giving way to the modern, including a growing passion for youth sports with breakdancing at the forefront.Yes, breakdancing.“There’s a huge potential in Mongolia to showcase that we are a powerhouse in breaking,” 25-year-old Khandjar Myagmarjav, the only woman on the four-person Mongolia breaking team at the Asian Games, told The Associated Press.Breaking is included in next year’s Paris Olympics, so that’s the next big stage for Mongolia to show off its moves.Despite its roots in street dance in urban America, the sport has surprisingly deep connections in Mo...

Stock market today: Global markets advance in subdued trading on US jobs worries

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly rose Friday in cautious trading ahead of an update on the U.S. jobs market. Tokyo was the only major market to decline, with other benchmarks moderately higher. U.S. futures and oil prices were little changed. Markets in China were closed for a holiday. They will reopen on Monday. Investors were awaiting a potentially impactful and comprehensive report on U.S. employment later in the day. France’s CAC 40 added 0.3% to 7,020.18 in early trading, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.5% to 15,143.44. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2% to 7,468.90. The futures for the Dow and S&P 500 were virtually unchanged. In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to finish at 30,994.67. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 6,954.20. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.2% to 2,408.73. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% to 17,485.98. Shares in Hong Kong jumped on strong buying of property and technology stocks that have s...

U.N rights commission accuses South Sudan of violations ahead of elections

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The U.N Human Rights Commission on South Sudan accused the country’s National Security Service (NSS) of threatening media and civil society and undermining prospects for a democratic transition.A new report based on the Commission’s independent investigations in 2023 released on Thursday details attacks on journalists and civil society, both within and outside the country.Journalists have been subjected to surveillance, intimidation, and human rights violations including arbitrary detention, according to the U.N report.“Independent media and a vibrant civil society represent critical voices in developing accountable governance, and the democratic processes required to enable peace and ensure human rights,” said the chair of the commission, Yasmin Sooka.South Sudan is going through a political transition period after a civil war that wracked the country from 2013 until 2018, when a peace agreement was signed by President Salva Kiir and his rival turned Vice P...

REVIEW: The Royal Hotel is nail-biting tension through and through

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

Picture this, you’re travelling through the Australian outback and you find yourself with no money. You take a job at a bar in a mining town in the middle of nowhere to survive, and you realize that you’re the only young woman in this town. Almost everyone else is a man surrounded by testosterone, and every time they see you they’re getting drunk and looking at you like you are prey.Toby Wallace, Hugo Weaving, and Jessica Henwick in the Royal Hotel courtesy of Elevation Pictures.That’s the situation the two lead characters of the Royal Hotel find themselves in. Hanna (played by Julia Garner from Ozark and the Assistant) and Liv (played by Jessica Henwick from Glass Onion and Iron Fist) take a job at a small pub called the Royal Hotel to make some money and find themselves becoming the obsession of several men in their town. As the days go by, the two main characters find the pressure building and the walls closing in on them.Directed by Australian filmmaker K...

Weekend need to know: Thanksgiving, Pumpkinfest, Screemers, Oktoberfest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

It’s the Thanksgiving long weekend and events are going on all weekend including the holiday Monday.Plus, Screemers haunted house is back at Assembly Park in Vaughan, as well as Toronto Oktoberfest at Fort York.There is a scheduled subway closure on part of Line 1, alongside ongoing road closures. Scroll below for details.Click here for a full list of what’s open and closed on the holiday Monday.Here’s what to do this long weekend:Top eventsThanksgiving eventsJamaal Magloire Foundation Thanksgiving Food DriveScarborough native and Canadian basketball legend, Jamaal Magloire, is hosting his charity’s third annual Thanksgiving Food Drive presented by Longo’s on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 395 McCowan Rd.The family-friendly event is designed to provide 1,000 meals to families this holiday weekend.Woodbridge FairThe annual Woodbridge Fair is happening all weekend long, including Thanksgiving Monday, at 100 Porter Ave. in Woodbridge.The fair includes midway rides and games, ...

Narges Mohammadi wins Nobel Peace Prize for fighting oppression of Iranian women

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Imprisoned activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday for fighting the oppression of women in Iran.“This prize is first and foremost a recognition of the very important work of a whole movement in Iran with with its undisputed leader, Nargis Mohammadi," said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who announced the prize in Oslo. "The impact of the prize is not for the Nobel committee to decide upon. We hope that it is an encouragement to continue the work in whichever form this movement finds to be fitting.”Authorities arrested Mohammadi in November after she attended a memorial for a victim of violent 2019 protests. Reiss-Andersen said Mohammadi has been imprisoned 13 times and convicted five times. In total, she has been sentenced to 31 years in prison.She is the 19th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the second Iranian woman, after human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won the award in 2003.Mohammadi was be...

Fordians, Silver Warriors play to draw in state ranked matchup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

WATERFORD, NY (NEWS10) -- The Waterford-Halfmoon girls soccer team has picked up right where it left off this season after winning the Class C state championship game last year. The Fordians entered Thursday with a record of 11-1-1, ranked second in the state in Class C. They faced a tough test Thursday night, welcoming in Niskayuna, ranked eight in the state in Class AA with a 9-1-2 record. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The two teams battled it out in the first half, entering the break scoreless. Imani Bloomfield got the Foridans on the board first, launching a free kick into the back of the net with 19 minutes remaining in the game. Eight minutes later, Niskayuna's Addison Brys knotted it back up. The Fordians and Silver Warriors played to a 1-1 draw. The Fordians sit at 11-1-2 on the year, while the Silver Warriors are now 9-1-3.

EU launches the Youth Empowerment Fund to support young people contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:09 GMT

The European Commission and the world's largest youth organizations, the “Big Six”, announced a partnership to launch the EU Youth Empowerment Fund, markingthe first anniversary of the Youth Action Plan for EU External Action, the EU's policy framework for a strategic partnership with young people to build a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future. As a flagship initiative of the Youth Action Plan, and designed by, with and for young people, the EU Youth Empowerment Fund is a €10 million pilot initiative, to be implemented through the Global Youth Mobilization (GYM). It will provide and facilitate access to vital resources for young people to contribute to the sustainable development of their local communities and societies in EU partner countries across the world to reach the objectives of Agenda 2030, in line with the EU's Global Gateway strategy.During the Fund's launch in Nairobi, International Partnerships Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen said: “Our Youth Action Plan has ...