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☆ NATO Puts on a Show of Force in the Shadow of Russia’s War
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Helene Cooper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

About 90,000 NATO troops have been training in Europe this spring for the Great Power war that most hope will never come: a clash between Russia and the West with potentially catastrophic consequences. In Estonia, paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Liberty, N.C., jumped out of planes alongside soldiers from Colchester Garrison in Essex, Britain, for “forcible entry” operations. In Lithuania, German soldiers arrived as a brigade stationed outside Germany on a permanent basis for the first time since World War II. And on the A4 autobahn in eastern Germany, a U.S. Army captain and his Macedonian counterpart rushed toward the Suwalki Gap — the place many war planners predict will be the flashpoint for a NATO war with Russia — hoping the overheated radiator on their Stryker armored combat vehicle wouldn’t kill the engine.

Persons: Russia — Organizations: NATO, Great, 82nd Airborne, Colchester Garrison, U.S . Army, Macedonian Locations: Europe, Russia, Estonia, Fort Liberty, N.C, Essex, Britain, Lithuania, Germany

☆ New York Democrats are worried about Tuesday’s special election. They have good reason to be
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Gregory Krieg | Veronica Stracqualursi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

But as the special election to succeed the disgraced former congressman has made painfully clear to Democrats, Santos’ victory was not a fluke or anomaly. (Less so 40 years ago, when Republicans ran roughshod here and Ronald Reagan alluded to Nassau County as a Republican’s idea of heaven.) Nassau County in 2024 is sharply divided and – in a word – angry. The year before, Democrat Laura Curran, the top official in Nassau County, was ousted by Republican Bruce Blakeman. But more liberal New York Democrats often point to the current problems as Cuomo’s legacy.

Persons: Republican George Santos ’, Santos ’, –, Tom Suozzi, Ronald Reagan, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, ”, Alyssa Cass, “ George Santos, Chuck Schumer, Laura Curran, Republican Bruce Blakeman, Santos, Hakeem Jeffries, “ Hakeem, “, he’s, Jay Jacobs, Jeffries, it’s, ” Jacobs, ” Curran, there’s, ” It’s, Curran, Suozzi, doesn’t, Andrew Cuomo, Jacobs, Cuomo, Kathy Hochul, ’, Mazi Pilip, Peter King, Adam Gray, Tom, Larry Levy, ” Levy, I’m, Joe Cairo, Mazi, it’s …, Mike Florio, Pilip, mailers –, Biden, Greg Abbott, George Santos ’, ” Suozzi, Trump, Alexandria Ocasio, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida, unvetted ”, Roe, Wade, Court’s Dobbs, we’re, it’ll, Jim Fornaro, aren’t, ” Fornaro, “ I’m, bummed, “ Suozzi, Nestor Oginar, Suozzi canvassers Rachel Klein, Stephanie Visconti, ” Klein, ” Visconti, Stephanie Visconti's Organizations: New York CNN, Democrats, Republican, Congressional, Republicans, Democratic, Biden, Trump, GOP, New York Democrats, Democrat, Nassau County Democratic, CNN, Grassroots, New York City Hall, New York Rep, Bloomberg, Getty, National Center for Suburban Studies, Hofstra University, Nassau County Democrats, Democratic Party, Nassau County GOP, New York Post, Long Islanders Builders Institute, Psychiatric, Republican Gov, ICE, George Santos ’ volleyball, Senate, Suozzi, Long, Engage Locations: Plainview, New York, Long, Nassau County, Glen Cove, American, “, Long Island, ”, York, Nassau, Massapequa , New York, Suozzi, Israel, ” Cairo, Pilip, it’s … Montgomery, Bucks, Pennsylvania, Oakland County , Michigan, America’s, New York City, York City, Queens, Texas, Cortez, Macedonian, North Carolina, New Hyde

☆ OSCE Meeting Causes Rift Over Whether to Share Stage With Russia's Lavrov
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

The United States and its allies are seeking to simultaneously keep the OSCE alive and hold Russia to account over its invasion of Ukraine. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters at a meeting with his counterparts from other NATO member states. Estonia had been due to take over the annually rotating OSCE chairmanship but Russia spent months blocking it. A last-minute deal for neutral Malta to take over the chairmanship must also be formally approved at Thursday and Friday's OSCE meeting in Skopje, hosted by the current chair North Macedonia. I think that is simply wrong," Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins told reporters at the NATO meeting.

Persons: Andrew Gray, Francois Murphy, Ingrid Melander, Russia's Sergei Lavrov, Margus Tsahkna, Lavrov, Tsahkna, OSCE Michael Carpenter, Antony Blinken, Vladimir Putin, Helga Schmid, Krisjanis Karins, Humeyra Pamuk, William Maclean Organizations: Organization, Security, Cooperation, OSCE, Central Asia, Ukrainian Foreign, AS, United, U.S, Macedonian, United Nations General Assembly, NATO Locations: Ingrid Melander BRUSSELS, VIENNA, Baltic, Ukraine, Russia, Balkans, Central, United States, Estonian, Estonia, Malta, Skopje, Macedonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moscow, West, New York, Latvian

☆ Neutral Malta to Chair OSCE After Moscow Blocks NATO Member Estonia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

OSCE countries' foreign ministers meet on Thursday and Friday in the North Macedonian capital of Skopje to discuss the chair role and renewing four senior OSCE officials in their posts at the Vienna-based organisation. Small, neutral European Union member state Malta was acceptable to all sides. The deal "brings with it the guarantee of another year of functionality and a legitimate chair," one senior Western diplomat said. Russia and staunch ally Belarus have still not backed the renewal of four senior OSCE officials in their posts, including veteran German diplomat Helga Schmid as OSCE secretary-general, diplomats said. "We do care about the top four but the chair is existential - the organization cannot operate without it," the Western diplomat said.

Persons: Francois Murphy VIENNA, Bujar Osmani, Helga Schmid, Francois Murphy, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Organization for Security, Cooperation, OSCE, Macedonian, Twitter, European, NATO, Union Locations: Europe, Malta, Russia, Estonia, Macedonian, Skopje, Vienna, United States, Canada, Central Asian, European Union, Britain, Ukraine, Belarus, Western, Moscow, Washington

"Coal in North Macedonia represents 40% of the energy source, so it's very big, it's very important," EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso told Reuters. Both of its coal-fired plants are ageing, outdated and run on lignite, the most polluting type of coal. An IFC spokesperson said the green transition, including in North Macedonia, was one of its key priorities, but that it was not in a position to confirm any plan details. "The world's richest countries need to work with the multilateral development banks to find effective, structural ways to channel significantly scaled up energy transition finance," he said. North Macedonia joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a group of countries committed to phasing out coal-fired power, in 2021.

Persons: Odile Renaud, Basso, COP27, REK, Renaud, Leo Roberts, E3G, Kate Abnett, Kirsten Donovan, Louise Heavens Organizations: European Bank for Reconstruction, World Bank, Reuters, Investment, United Nations, Climate Investment Funds, International Finance Corporation, IFC, Bank, Past Coal Alliance, Union, Thomson Locations: Dubai, wean, Macedonia, North Macedonia, South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, Senegal, North, Skopje, Europe, Macedonian, Pakistan, Colombia, Ukraine

The deal, which is expected to be announced at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai beginning on Nov. 30, will lay out a plan to close the country's two coal power plants and replace them with 1.7 gigawatts of renewable energy. "Coal in North Macedonia represents 40% of the energy source, so it's very big, it's very important," EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso told Reuters. Both of its coal-fired plants are ageing, outdated and run on lignite, the most polluting type of coal. An IFC spokesperson said the green transition, including in North Macedonia, was one of its key priorities, but that it was not in a position to confirm any plan details. North Macedonia joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a group of countries committed to phasing out coal-fired power, in 2021.

Persons: Odile Renaud, Basso, REK, Renaud, Kate Abnett, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: European Bank for Reconstruction, World Bank, Reuters, Investment, United Nations, Investment Funds, International Finance Corporation, IFC, Bank, Past Coal Alliance, Union, Thomson Locations: Dubai, wean, Macedonia, North Macedonia, South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, Senegal, North, Skopje, Europe, Macedonian, Ukraine

Over the last century Gaza passed from British to Egyptian to Israeli military rule. 1950s & 1960s - Egyptian military ruleEgypt held the Gaza Strip for two decades under a military governor, letting Palestinians work and study in Egypt. 1967 - War and Israeli military occupationIsrael captured the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. Hamas formedTwenty years after the 1967 war, Palestinians launched their first intifada, or uprising, after an Israeli military truck crashed into a vehicle carrying Palestinian workers near Gaza's Jabalia refugee camps, killing four. [1/4]A view shows the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, November 6.

Persons: Napoleon, Samson, Alexander the Great, shutdowns, Yasser Arafat's, Arafat, Israel, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, Israel evacuates, Mahmoud Abbas, Stephen Farrell, Nidal, Rosalba O'Brien, Peter Graff, Alistair Bell Organizations: Crusaders, Ottomans, United Nations, UNRWA, West Bank, Hamas, Brotherhood, Fatah, Oslo Accords, Palestinian Authority, REUTERS, Islamic, Palestinian, Gaza International, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Asia, Africa, Gaza City, Islam, Ottoman Empire, British, Palestine, Israel, Sinai, Ashkelon, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Israeli, Gaza's, Oslo, Palestinian, Jericho, Authority, Deir Al, United States

1967 - War and Israeli military occupationIsrael captured the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. Seizing the angry mood, the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood created an armed Palestinian branch, Hamas, with its power base in Gaza. [1/3]Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on the seaport of Gaza City, in Gaza, October 10, 2023. Israel stopped tens of thousands of Palestinian workers from entering, cutting off an important source of income. Conflict cycleGaza's economy has suffered repeatedly in the cycle of conflict, attack and retaliation between Israel and Palestinian militant groups.

Persons: Napoleon, Samson, Alexander the Great, shutdowns, Yasser Arafat's, Arafat, Israel, Mohammed Salem, Israel evacuates, Mahmoud Abbas, Abdel Fattah al, Stephen Farrell, Nidal, Rosalba O'Brien, Peter Graff Organizations: Crusaders, Ottomans, United Nations, UNRWA, West Bank, Hamas, Brotherhood, Fatah, Oslo Accords, Palestinian Authority, REUTERS, Islamic, Palestinian, Gaza International, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Asia, Africa, Gaza City, Islam, Ottoman Empire, British, Palestine, Israel, Sinai, Ashkelon, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Israeli, Gaza's Jabalya, Oslo, Palestinian, Jericho, Authority, United States

[1/5] FILE PHOTO-A drone picture shows where the former water line was more than one KM from the present line in Pretor, at Prespa Lake, North Macedonia September 6, 2023. The decline has continued over decades - the water at Lake Prespa, which is situated high in the mountains and is 5-million-years-old, is now more than 8 metres (8.74 yards) lower than the late 1970s. With a surface area of around 260 square kilometres, more than twice the size of Paris, more than two thirds of the lake belongs to North Macedonia and the rest to Greece and Albania. Any drop in water level can affect Lake Ohrid, a much larger lake just 10 km from Prespa and which draws around one third of its water from Prespa. "All (pesticides) go in the underground waters, in the lake, they go everywhere and are very dangerous for Prespa," said Mende Pandevski, harvesting plums close to the lake.

Persons: Vasilevski, Dragan Arsovski, Mende, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: NASA, The United Nations Development Program, Macedonian Geological Society, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Pretor, Prespa, North Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Lake, Paris, Ohrid, Skopje

☆ The American rebuild begins after dismal World Cup campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Americans, who own a record four World Cup titles and had never before finished worse than third place, left town long before the party was over after a shock defeat to Sweden in the last 16. "Our commitment to excellence remains unshakeable, and we believe this strategic plan will set the foundation for our women's national team to achieve greater heights in the years to come." The U.S. federation must also replace women's national team General Manager Kate Margkraf, whose departure was announced on Friday. But the Macedonian-American never shied from bringing the next generation into the fold, as he fielded the least experienced U.S. team in memory with 14 World Cup newcomers, compared to only eight in 2015. But fans looking for a glimmer of hope from the Americans' dismal campaign can look to the younger players.

Persons: Megan Rapinoe, Alyssa Naeher, Vlatko Andonovski, Matt Crocker, Crocker, Kate Margkraf, There’s, Andonovski, Sam Mewis, Catarina Macario, Mallory Swanson, Forward Sophia Smith, Naomi Girma, Alyssa Thompson, Julie Ertz, Fox, Amy Tennery, Pritha Sarkar Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, United, Spain, England, Sunday's, team, Soccer Sporting, Premier League, Southampton, women's, U.S . Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, U.S ., Vietnam, U.S, Soccer, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Sweden, United States, Melbourne, Australia, U.S, Sydney, Qatar, Paris, Tokyo, New York

☆ Ethnic Albanian party in North Macedonia offers deal to clear the way to join EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SARAJEVO, July 30 (Reuters) - The largest party representing North Macedonia's ethnic Albanian minority offered to pull its ministers from the government to meet a demand from the opposition to clear the way for European Union membership talks. Last year, North Macedonia's parliament passed a French-brokered deal aimed at settling a dispute with Bulgaria which had vetoed Macedonian-EU talks. read moreBulgaria lifted the veto on condition that North Macedonia amends its constitution to recognise a Bulgarian minority. The opposition protested against the deal, arguing that it should include a requirement that Bulgaria recognise the Macedonian language. North Macedonia has been a candidate for EU membership for 17 years but approval for talks was first blocked by Greece and then by Bulgaria.

Persons: DPMNE, Dimitar Kovacevski, Fatos Bytyci, Daria Sito, Peter Graff Organizations: European Union, Democratic Union for Integration, EU, Macedonian, Thomson Locations: SARAJEVO, North, Bulgarian, Bulgaria, Macedonia's, Macedonia, Macedonian, Greece

☆ Whose Queen? Netflix and Egypt Spar Over an African Cleopatra.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Vivian Yee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On this much, at least, everyone can agree: Cleopatra was a formidable queen of ancient Egypt, the last of the Macedonian Greek dynasty founded by Alexander the Great, who went on to even greater posthumous fame as a seductress, immortalized by Shakespeare and Hollywood. Beyond that, many of the details are fuzzy — which is how one of the world’s dominant streaming services ended up in an imbroglio with modern-day Egypt recently, called out by online commenters and even the Egyptian government for casting a Black actress to play Cleopatra in the Netflix docudrama series “African Queens,” which airs on Wednesday. Soon after the show’s trailer appeared last month, Netflix was forced to disable comments as they turned into a hostile, and occasionally racist, pile on. For the show’s makers, the four episodes about Cleopatra were a chance to celebrate one of history’s most famous women as an African ruler, one they portray as Black. But for many Egyptians and historians, that portrayal is at best a misreading, and at worst a negation, of Egyptian history.

The new Netflix docudrama “Queen Cleopatra,” produced and narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith, has already elicited a passionate response, though perhaps not the kind that publicists hoped for. “Queen Cleopatra” depicts the legendary monarch as Black. Many contemporary Egyptians view her as a key figure in the preservation of their history and even as a role model for contemporary Egyptian women. Scholars have long debated whether certain references in Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” suggest that the playwright believed she had dark skin. “Queen Cleopatra,” however, has touched an international nerve.

☆ Cleopatra wasn't a Black woman, Egypt tells Netflix in a feud over new drama-documentary
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Egypt has accused Netflix of misrepresenting Cleopatra by framing her as a Black woman. Dr. Mustafa Waziri of the Supreme Council of Archeology said it's a "blatant historical fallacy." The drama-documentary "Queen Cleopatra" is set to air on May 10, with Adele James cast as the queen. "Queen Cleopatra," the soon-to-be-released drama-documentary on the famed Egyptian queen, portrays her as a Black woman. Waziri said that depicting Cleopatra, a legendary beauty, as a Black woman is a "falsification of Egyptian history and a blatant historical fallacy."

As a result, the stakes of the inaugural trip by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have risen, with many EU members hoping Berlin will use this opportunity to set out a clear and united EU line on China, analysts said. Baerbock must now make Germany's position on Taiwan clear during her visit, German foreign policy parliamentarian Nils Schmid told Reuters, adding Macron's remarks had destroyed a hoped-for impetus for a common European China policy. The foreign minister is due to meet her counterpart Qin Gang and China's top diplomat Wang Yi on the two-day trip. Europe's view of China as partner, competitor and systemic rival is the compass of its policy, she added. "More von der Leyen than Macron should be her guideline," conservative foreign policy lawmaker Johann Wadephul, who will join Baerbock on her trip, told Reuters.

☆ Serbia wants to normalise ties with Kosovo but will not sign any agreement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BELGRADE, March 19 (Reuters) - Serbia wants normal relations with Kosovo but still won't sign any agreement with it, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday, a day after he verbally agreed to implement a Western-backed plan for the normalisation of ties. "Serbia wants to have normal relations with Kosovo. "I didn't want to sign the agreement on the implementing annex last night nor the EU-backed agreement (in Brussels last month)," Vucic told reporters. "I don't want to sign any international legally binding documents with Kosovo because Serbia does not recognise its independence." Under their verbal agreement, Kosovo committed to giving greater autonomy to Serb majority areas, while Serbia agreed not to block Kosovo's membership in international organisations.

☆ Four of six accused get lengthy sentences over Vienna jihadist attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A Vienna court on Thursday handed lengthy sentences, including life in prison, to four of six men accused of helping a jihadist prepare a deadly shooting rampage in 2020. While police said the gunman, Kujtim Fejzulai, who held Austrian and North Macedonian nationality, carried out the attack alone, the six defendants were accused of providing help beforehand. Two others received sentences of 20 and 19 years, the court said in a statement. The second defendant sentenced to life was Heydayatollah Z, 28, who lived with the attacker for weeks before the attack. The two defendants with the mildest sentences accepted the ruling, the court said, Of the remaining four, three plan to appeal and the other is considering it, added.

☆ ‘Demetrius’ Review: Aiming for Empire
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Peter Thonemann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nominations, please, for the title of Most Confusing Historical Period Ever. The third-century crisis of the Roman Empire? The Thirty Years’ War? The half-century after the death of Alexander the Great still beats all comers. But the intervening period was, frankly, a nightmare.

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