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NATO builds up forces in Kosovo as tensions with Serbia rise

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

NATO said on Friday it is increasing its peacekeeping presence in northern Kosovo as a result of escalating tensions with neighboring Serbia, as the U.S. called on Serbia to withdraw a military build-up on the border with Kosovo.The heightening of tensions comes after about 30 heavily armed Serbs stormed the northern Kosovo village of Banjska last Sunday. A Kosovo policeman and three of the attackers were killed in gun battles.“We need NATO because the border with Serbia is very long and the Serbian army has been recently strengthening its capacities,” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti told the Associated Press. “They have a lot of military equipment from both the Russian Federation and China,” he said.“These people want to turn back time,” Kurti said. “They are in search of a time machine. They want to turn the clock back by 30 years. But that is not going to happen,” he said.Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Belgrade and Moscow have ref...

With playoff bye, Orioles will soon receive 5 straight days off — as many as the last 8 weeks combined: ‘It’s huge’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

Over the past quarter-century, only once had the Orioles won their division. Perpetually battling beneath the behemoth New York Yankees and company, Baltimore took home a lone American League East title — in 2014 — in that time frame.But after defeating the Boston Red Sox, 2-0, on Thursday night, the Orioles locked in not only the divisional crown, but the best record in the American League, the club’s first time with that distinction since 1997. It’s Baltimore’s best baseball season in decades and the party in the Camden Yards bleachers carried into the clubhouse and the city.But now that the beer-covered plastic from the locker room celebration has been tossed aside and champagne has been shampooed out of hair, the practicality of the accomplishment comes into focus. Yes, the Orioles have added another divisional title.More pressingly, though, they will soon get to rest.As one of the AL’s top two division winners, the Orioles will not have...

Jabrill Peppers living up to first-round billing in second season with Patriots

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

FOXBORO — The season Jabrill Peppers is having with the Patriots is a perfect example of why Bill Belichick likes to roll the dice on one-time high draft picks.There is — sometimes — potential to be untapped in a former top prospect, and that seems to be exactly what Belichick has done with Peppers.But the 2017 first-round pick deserves most of the credit for how he’s turned his career around since tearing his ACL in 2021. And it probably helps that Peppers is his younger self’s own worst critic.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Bill Belichick on ‘love’ for Terry Francona New England Patriots | The Patriots’ final practice before Cowboys game brings more good news New England Patriots | Pharaoh Brown recalls Bill O’Brien blocked his workout with Patriots years ago New England Patriots | Patriots mailbag: Could young receiver take snaps from JuJu Smith-Schuster? New Eng...

Cyprus hails Moody’s two-notch credit rating upgrade bringing the country into investment grade

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus on Saturday hailed a two-notch upgrade by credit ratings agency Moody’s to bring the east Mediterranean island nation back into investment-grade territory a decade after a financial crisis left the country on the brink of bankruptcy.President Nikos Christodoulides said he was “deeply satisfied” with the upgrade that he said was the culmination of years of fiscal discipline and will translate into attracting quality foreign investment and creating new jobs.“We unwaveringly continue on this path as a government … and so we will carry on with our governance,” Christodoulides said in a written message. “We will carry on buttressing our economy and expanding its dynamic course.”Moody’s said in its statement the upgrade from Ba1 to Baa2 with a concurrent change in outlook from positive to stable is due to previous and continuing economic, fiscal and banking reforms, as well as a significant drop in bad bank loans.The agency pointed to “sustained structural im...

Death toll from Pakistan bombing rises to 54 as suspicion falls on local Islamic State group chapter

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

QUETTTA, Pakistan (AP) — The death toll from a bombing in southwestern Pakistan as people celebrated the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday rose to 54 after two critically wounded patients died in hospitals overnight, officials said Saturday. A suspected suicide bomber or bombers blew themselves up Friday among a crowd in the Mastung district. It was one of the deadliest attacks targeting civilians in Pakistan in months. Nearly 70 people were wounded, including five who remain in very critical condition, authorities said. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack in Mastung, a district of Baluchistan province. But suspicion is likely to fall on the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate, which has claimed previous deadly bombings around Pakistan. IS carried out an attack days earlier in the same area after one of its commanders was killed there. Also Friday, a blast ripped through a mosque located on the premises of a police station in Hangu, a district in the northwestern K...

St. Paul high school coach charged with sexual contact with 15-year-old student

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

Prosecutors charged a St. Paul high school volleyball coach Friday with sexual contact with a 15-year-old student.Officers were called to Como Park Senior High School Thursday on a report of criminal sexual conduct and met with a teen who said Keng Cha, 29, “engaged her in sex on four occasions” from last fall to this month, according to a criminal complaint.She said that Cha had started texting her last year and, after about a month, asked her for sexual favors and nude videos. They had sex in the backseat of Cha’s vehicle and the last time was in the back parking lot of the high school on Rose Avenue, the complaint said.As officers were talking to the teen in the school office area, Cha sent texts to her, including one that asked, “Did you say anything to anyone about us?” the complaint said.Officers learned Cha was at the school with the athletic director, who was terminating his employment with the school district. Police took Cha into custody. He told po...

Horoscopes Sept. 30, 2023: Marion Cotillard, do something that makes you happy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Lacey Chabert, 41; Marion Cotillard, 48; Jenna Elfman, 52; Fran Drescher, 66.Happy Birthday: Recap your money management over the years, and you’ll discover a pattern that needs to be tweaked. Incorporate physical activity into your everyday routine, encouraging a healthier lifestyle. Be passionate about life, love and the things you decide to pursue. It’s your life, and it’s up to you to do something that makes you happy. Rid yourself of people and situations that bring you down. Your numbers are 3, 7, 22, 28, 35, 39, 43.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Recognize and separate good from evil. Speed things up to ensure you finish what you start and honor your promises. Share your feelings and intentions with someone you want to work with or have by your side. Make romance a priority. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Refuse to let emotions and temptation stand between you and the goal you want to reach. Put thought into your plans and turn the...

Word Game: Sept. 30, 2023

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — DEPARTS (DEPARTS: dih-PARTS: Goes away or deviates.)Average mark 46 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 57 or more words in DEPARTS? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — OBTRUDE orbed outed outer bode bore bout bred brut brute buteo tore tour trod true tube tuber turbo rebut redo redoubt robe rode rote roue rout route rube rude debt debtor debut detour doer dote doter doubt doubter dour drub duet euroTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Ga...

Bridge: Sept. 30, 2023

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.If you’ve followed this week’s columns, you’ve seen a treatment of “avoidance,” an elementary technique that involves preventing a “dangerous” defender from gaining the lead.In today’s deal, West leads a low spade against 3NT. If he has led from the king, South can play low from dummy, take the queen, go after the diamonds and make at least one overtrick.But that play is risky. If East has the king of spades, he will win and may shift to hearts, threatening declarer with the loss of too many tricks.WILL BE SAFECan South afford to win the first spade with the ace? Yes, because when he finesses in diamonds next, he will be safe even if West has the king. South’s queen of spades will be safe from attack, and he will have four diamonds, three clubs, a heart and a spade.As in many deals, declarer must consider what measures — such as avoidance &#...

Ask Amy: She won’t follow the bed rule and we’re thinking of barring her from our home

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:25:33 GMT

Dear Amy: My wife and I bought a condo in downtown Chicago a couple of years ago. We are often not there and have offered its use to friends and family.Our only request is that guests leave the condo tidy when they depart. This includes washing the sheets for the beds they’ve used and remaking the beds. We have a washer/dryer in the unit.My sister does not like doing this, so she brings a twin-sized flat sheet and a pillowcase with her when she visits. She puts the sheet on top of the flat sheet on the king-sized bed. She uses the blanket and the cover that we have on the bed.She believes this is sufficient and that she does not need to wash the sheets on the bed she has slept on.My wife and I don’t think my sister’s solution is appropriate and are considering telling her that if she is not willing to follow our rules, she is not welcome to use our condo.What do you think?– House ProudDear House Proud: I once had a well-traveled (invited) houseguest bring two sheets and a pillowcase...