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French foreign minister hopes Sweden, Finland join NATO soon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — France’s top diplomat said Thursday that she hoped the NATO applications of Sweden and Finland would be “ratified quickly” as the Turkish parliament was expected to vote soon on whether Finland should join the 30-member alliance.French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna referred to an upcoming NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital in July when she said that “we hope this summit will be a success and that there will be 32 countries at the Vilnius summit.”“The applications of Sweden and Finland should be ratified quickly,” she told a news conference.Both Sweden and neighboring Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022, abandoning decades of nonalignment in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. NATO requires the unanimous approval of its members to take in new countries. On Monday, Hungarian lawmakers ratified Finland’s request to join NATO. However, the approval of Sweden’s bid has stalled because of opposition from Turkey and Hungary. The...

Oscar Pistorius eligible for parole, could be free this week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius has applied for parole and is expected to attend a hearing on Friday that will decide if he can be released from prison 10 years after killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times through a toilet door in his home.Pistorius, who was convicted of murder in Steenkamp’s Valentine’s Day 2013 killing, could leave the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria on Friday if his parole is granted, although the Department of Corrections said the process may take days to finalize if his application is successful.Barry and June Steenkamp, the parents of Reeva, have said they oppose Pistorius’ release and are allowed to address the parole board at his hearing. A submission by a victim’s relatives is one of numerous factors taken into account.“He is a murderer. He should remain in jail,” Barry Steenkamp said in an interview with Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper pu...

Top UN court to rule in Iran-US dispute over frozen assets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United Nations’ highest court is set to rule Thursday in a case filed by Iran against the United States over frozen Iranian assets worth some $2 billion that the U.S. Supreme Court awarded to victims of a 1983 bombing in Lebanon and other attacks linked to Tehran.At hearings last year, lawyers representing the U.S. urged the International Court of Justice to reject the claim. Iran cast the asset freeze as an attempt to destabilize the Tehran government and a violation of international law.Iran took its claim to the world court in 2016 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that money belonging to Iran’s central bank could be used as compensation for the 241 American troops who died in the 1983 bombing, which was believed to be linked to Tehran. At stake are $1.75 billion in bonds, plus accumulated interest, belonging to the Iranian state but held in a Citibank account in New York.After the bombing of the a U.S. military base in Lebanon, a second b...

King Charles III to speak to German parliament, meet Scholz

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Britain’s King Charles III met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and is preparing to become the first monarch to speak before Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday as part of a high-profile visit aimed at bolstering ties between the two European powers.Charles, 74, is on his first foreign trip since becoming king. He and Camilla, the queen consort, arrived in Berlin on Wednesday. Crowds of wellwishers and Germany’s head of state, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, greeted the couple at the capital’s iconic Brandenburg Gate. They later attended a banquet in their honor at the presidential palace.Pomp and royal glamour aside, the three-day visit has a decidedly political purpose. The British government is trying to mend frayed ties with its continental partners following the painful process that preceded and followed the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.The fallout from Brexit has been considerable: Britain’s depart...

Crash Course: a run-through of the new MLB rule changes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- America's Pastime returns Thursday with MLB's Opening Day, but the game we know and love will look a lot different this year. NEWS10 ABC Sports Director Griffin Haas runs through the new MLB rule changes to make sure your up to speed for the first pitch.

Andre Jackson and the Huskies head to Final Four

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

STORRS, C.T. (NEWS10) -- Andre Jackson's basketball journey started in Albany. The Albany Academy graduate also started his March Madness journey here in Albany, helping UConn to two wins at MVP arena, starting the Huskies' tournament run. Now Jackson and UConn are Final Four bound, and they got a proper sendoff from the Huskie faithful Wednesday. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Jackson and UConn boarded the buses on their way to the airport just after 4:00 PM, on their way to Houston. Hundreds of UConn students turned out to show their support. The Huskies will take on another team that started their journey in Albany, Miami, in the Final Four on Saturday at 8:49 PM. The Huskies are currently the odds on betting favorite to win the title.

Wangsness' career day helps lead Saints past Marist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A quick start, a strong finish and career days from both senior attack Katy Wangsness and junior defense Laura Bonomo help send the Saints women’s lacrosse team to a convincing, 14-8 MAAC win against rival Marist on Wednesday afternoon at Hickey Field.  Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The Saints (7-4 overall, 2-0 MAAC) only trailed 1-0, but reeled off five consecutive goals to capture a lead that they would not relinquish the remainder of the game.  It got as close as 6-5 with just under 11 minutes to play in the third quarter, but Siena responded with three straight scores to provide an arm’s length lead. Wangsness was active throughout, notching a goal in each of the first two periods before unleashing a fury in the third stanza with three goals within a six-plus minute stretch to give Siena a 11-7 lead.  Wangsness’ five goals were a career high in a single game and her si...

Russia starts exercises with Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

Russia began exercises with its Yars intercontinental missile system and several thousand troops on Wednesday (29 March). This is likely to be another attempt by Moscow in order to demonstrate its nuclear power.Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, has made the Yars missile systems, which have replaced the Topol, part of Russia's invincible weapon and the mainstay for its ground-based nuclear arsenal.The defence ministry stated that the exercises involved more than 3,000 military personnel as well as 300 pieces of equipment.The drills include a comprehensive Strategic Missile Forces control check of the Omsk rocket formation, as well as a command-and-staff exercise with the Novosibirsk nuclear missile formation equipped with Yars systems.The ministry did not identify the regions but stated that the Yars mobile systems would conduct manoeuvres in three Russian regions during the exercises."Strategic missilemen will also carry out a series of measures to camouflage modern aerial reconn...

For Human Honour and Dignity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

The modernization of the country and the building of the New Uzbekistan based on the principle “The society is the initiator of reforms” require the conduct of a national vote on constitutional reforms, adapting our Basic Law to today’s social realities and the logic of our accelerated reforms - writes Gabit AydarovBased on the idea that “the people must be the only source and author of the Constitution”, a nationwide discussion was held on the draft Constitutional Law, during which more than 220 thousand proposals on its improvement were received from the population, the majority of which were taken into consideration.With the amendments and addends made to the Constitution, the existing 128 Articles have been increased to 155, of which 91 have been conceptually altered.For the first time, the Constitution stipulates as an inviolable provision that Uzbekistan is a sovereign, democratic, legal, social and secular State (Article 1). This norm of principle is aimed at preserving and f...

Ask Amy: It was a fun job until the bossy men took over

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

Dear Amy: I work at a food pantry in my small town. I have been volunteering since my retirement several years ago.The other volunteers and I loved working there, stocking shelves, packing boxes, etc. We are mostly older women, and a few husbands have helped out with the heavier lifting chores.The director has done a wonderful job assigning chores and running the organization, so we worked like a well-oiled machine.In the last couple of years, several recently retired men joined us.They all wanted to be the boss, changing the way things were done and in general added a lot of chaos to the environment with their foul language and arguing with each other.The poor volunteer director, who puts in more hours running this organization than she would at a full-time job, is at her wits end.Do other charities have this problem with pushy volunteers? How should this be handled?The director is just a sweet little 70-year-old lady. Who knew there could be so much trouble with volunteers?Senior ...