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☆ No one's buying Ivana Trump's townhouse — an extravagant unit filled with leopard print and pink marble — almost 9 months after her accidental death in the apartment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Notably, the price of Ivana Trump's former abode has not budged since being listed in November 2022. The home was listed with Douglas Elliman and features extravagant rooms tied to Ivana Trump's personality, as well as a haunting doll modeled after Ivana Trump. After Ivana Trump's highly-publicized and financially contentious divorce from Donald Trump, Ivana Trump was awarded a settlement worth $25 million and purchased the home for $2.5 million. Ivana and Donald Trump's three children, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump, spent their teenage years in the apartment. Correction: April 25, 2023 — An earlier version of this story misstated the months since Ivana Trump's passing.

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

People who fled contested territory in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region disembark at a railway station in the Russian port city of Nakhodka. Photo: Vitaliy Ankov/Sputnik/APAs Russia’s war on Ukraine grinds into a second year, some Ukrainians who fled the fighting and ended up in far flung parts of Russia are still unsure if they will ever be able to return home -- and whether they would be welcome when they get there. Ukraine describes these refugees as forcibly deported, though some Natalia says no one forced her to leave. “It was our decision,” she told CNN by phone from Russia’s far east, where she has resettled since arriving last spring. Over the course of many months, CNN has managed to reach a handful of Ukrainians like Natalia.

☆ Trump offered pizza to supporters in a Florida restaurant, asking: 'Does anybody want a piece that I've eaten?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Trump stopped by a pizza restaurant in Fort Myers, Florida, after giving a speech. A video shows him offering a half-eaten slice of pepperoni pizza to supporters. Over 100 supporters rushed to see Trump as he stopped to get pizza, causing "pandemonium," according to local outlet Wink News. The former president stopped by the eaterie after giving a speech at the Lee County GOP's 2023 Lincoln-Reagan Dinner. The event included speeches from Rep. Greg Steube, Rep. Byron Donalds, and political operative Roger Stone.

A 17-year-old critically ill elephant called Noor Jehan has died at Pakistan’s Karachi Zoo, with the animal welfare charity that had been treating her calling for the zoo’s closure. Noor Jehan represents so many more wild animals that suffer in captivity, in Pakistan and worldwide,” the group said. “We welcome that the Federal and Sindh government are considering shutting down Karachi Zoo permanently. Reuters reported that the director of Karachi Zoo Khalid Hashmi was removed from is role on April 8 over complaints of negligence. Noor Jehan was brought to Pakistan from Tanzania more than a decade ago, Reuters said.

CNN —The two rival forces battling for control in Sudan have both said they are ready to help evacuate foreign nationals, raising hopes international powers could soon rescue stranded citizens after a week of fighting. On Friday, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said they were ready to partially reopen all airports in Sudan to air traffic to allow countries to evacuate their nationals. Fierce fighting broke out in Sudan last Saturday between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), commanded by Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The State Department does not keep official counts of US citizens in foreign countries and Americans are not required to register when they go abroad. US State Department officials told staffers estimated 16,000 American citizens in Sudan, most of whom are dual nationals.

☆ A Black teen’s murder sparked a crisis over racism in British policing. Thirty years on, little has changed
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Katie Polglase Sarah El Sirgany Ivana Kottasová Martin Bourke Oscar Featherstone | Katie Polglase | Sarah El Sirgany | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

His killing and the subsequent failure of the London Metropolitan Police Service to properly investigate the crime sparked a national outcry. Within days of his killing at a bus stop in southeast London, five White teens were identified as being involved. It took years of campaigning by the Lawrence family — and public support from the likes of Nelson Mandela and the national press — to get the investigation moving. While an initial investigation by then-police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission cleared the police of any wrongdoing, the Rigg family kept fighting. Matthew Brealey/CNNFinding peaceAs the Lawrence family and their supporters mark the 30th anniversary of Stephen’s killing, they are still fighting for his killers to face justice.

☆ The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now so huge and permanent that a coastal ecosystem is thriving on it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Haram and her colleagues examined 105 items of plastic fished out of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between November 2018 and January 2019. Courtesy Linsey Haram/Smithsonian InstitutionCoastal aggregating anemones found on a black floating plastic fragment collected in the garbage patch. Oceans of plasticThe Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is twice the size of Texas, is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world. If you look up at night, you see all those white dots, that’s essentially what you see in the garbage patch. A bag of plastics and debris collected in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is unloaded in Sausalito, California in July 2022.

☆ Former Kosovo president Thaci pleads not guilty to war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Ivana Sekularac | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

THE HAGUE, April 3 (Reuters) - Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci on Monday pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity as his trial opened at a special court in The Hague. Thaci and three co-defendants, all former close associates in the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and later in peacetime politics, all pleaded not guilty shortly after hearings got underway. "I understand the indictment and I am fully not guilty," Thaci said in court. The trial, conducted by international judges and prosecutors, began with opening statements by the prosecution followed by defence lawyers and a representative of Kosovo's war Victims Council over the ensuing three days. Thaci, 54, resigned as president shortly after his indictment and was transferred to detention in The Hague.

☆ Kosovo war crimes court begins trial of ex-guerrilla chief and president Thaci
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

THE HAGUE, April 3 (Reuters) - Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci stands trial at a special court in The Hague on Monday for alleged war crimes during the 1998-99 insurgency that eventually brought independence from Serbia and made him a hero among compatriots. Thaci was indicted in 2020 by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers on 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including persecution, murder, torture and forced disappearance of people, including after fighting ended. Thaci and three co-defendants, all former close associates in the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and later in peacetime politics, have pleaded not guilty to all 10 counts. The trial, conducted by international judges and prosecutors, will begin with opening statements by the prosecution followed by defence lawyers and a representative of Kosovo's war Victims Council over the ensuing three days. Thaci, 54, resigned as president shortly after his indictment and was transferred to detention in The Hague.

A special Kosovo court set up in The Hague indicted Thaci in November 2020 on 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including persecution, murder, torture and enforced disappearance of people among other things during the uprising. Thaci, 54, resigned as president shortly afterward and was transferred to detention in The Hague. As the fighting abated and Serbian forces withdrew under NATO bombardment from Kosovo, Thaci traded in his green uniform for a blue suit and tie. Milosevic went on trial before a separate U.N. tribunal in The Hague for war crimes against Kosovo Albanians in the conflict, but he died in 2006 before a verdict was reached. Some senior Serbian officials including then-army chief Nebojsa Pavkovic and deputy prime minister Nikola Sainovic were sentenced to long prison terms over war crimes in Kosovo.

☆ EU was set to ban internal combustion engine cars. Then Germany suddenly changed its mind
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —When EU lawmakers voted to ban the sale of new combustion engine cars in the bloc by 2035, it was a landmark victory for climate. With cars and vans responsible for around 15% of its total greenhouse gas emissions, a phase-out of polluting vehicles is a key part of EU climate policy. The law envisions a total ban on the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars by 2035. Germany is now pushing against the idea that all internal combustion engines must be banned. Other European countries, including Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic, have joined Germany in demanding the exception.

☆ 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.

☆ Kosovo, Serbia leaders arrive for EU-backed talks on deal to normalise ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I am optimistic," Kurti said ahead of the meetings, taking place in the lakeside town of Ohrid in North Macedonia. Kosovo and Serbia agreed in Brussels last month to a Western-backed deal to normalise relations, following nearly 10 years of EU-mediated dialogue during which little progress was made. "The eyes of the EU & the Western Balkans are on Ohrid today," Borrell tweeted. Belgrade and Pristina need to mend bilateral ties for both to achieve their strategic goal of joining the EU. "I want to caution that we may not have a final agreement," Gabriel Escobar, the senior U.S. diplomat for the Western Balkans who is also attending the Ohrid talks, told Pristina-based RTV21 station.

☆ Kosovo, Serbia agree on "some kind of deal" to normalize ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/3] Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks to the media, in Ohrid, North Macedonia March 18, 2023.REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiOHRID, North Macedonia, March 18 (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Kosovo and Serbia have reached "some kind of a deal" on implementing a Western-backed deal to normalize ties on Saturday. This is not the final deal," Vucic told reporters in Ohrid. He said that despite disagreements on some issues, talks with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti were "decent". He said Serbia's path towards EU membership will be conditioned on implementing the deal. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci and Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Thousands in Belgrade protest against Western-backed Serbia-Kosovo deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Ivana Sekularac | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Protesters shout slogans and hold signs during a demonstration against a Western-backed deal on normalizing ties between Kosovo and Serbia in Belgrade March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Djordje KojadinovicBELGRADE, March 17 (Reuters) - Several thousand people gathered in Belgrade to protest against a Western-backed deal to normalise ties between Kosovo and Serbia, which they view as recognition of Kosovo independence. Bilateral ties need to be mended for Serbia and Kosovo to achieve their strategic goal of joining the EU. Protesters held Serbian flags and banners reading "Kosovo is not for sale," "Serbia, not European Union," and "No to capitulation." "This is just the start of the protest," said Milos Jovanovic, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, which was one of the protest organisers.

☆ Slovenia's ex-president raises 60,000 euros from sale of his old Renault 4
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] 30 year old Renault 4 put on auction by former Slovenian President Borut Pahor reaches a price at the auction of 60,000 euro in Vransko, Slovenia, January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Borut ZivulovicLJUBLJANA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Slovenia's former president, Borut Pahor, raised 60,000 euros ($64,164) for charities helping children diagnosed with cancer from the sale of his 1991 Renault 4 and handed over the keys to the winning bidder on Sunday. "Our intension was to help these fighters (children)," Fratar said. Pahor, a former fashion model, served two terms as Slovenian president, a mostly ceremonial position. ($1 = 0.9351 euros)Reporting by Borut Zivulovic; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trump seeks to bar evidence of 2 other alleged sexual assaults at rape defamation trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Trump's lawyers also asked Kaplan to prevent attorneys for Carroll, 79, from showing jurors evidence of Trump's speeches and statements when he campaigned for president. Leeds has said the now-76-year-old Trump sexually assaulted her on an airplane around 1979 after a stewardess invited her to sit next to him in first class. "Stoynoff's and Leeds' accusations against Trump, and his responses denying those accusations, are relevant evidence that he committed additional sexual assaults," the filing says. Carroll, in making her claims, joined at least two dozen or so women who have alleged sexual misconduct by Trump over five decades. During his own recent deposition by Carroll's lawyers, Trump repeated his claim that Carroll is not his type.

[1/4] A person rides on a motorcycle with Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) flag attached to it on the day of celebrations of the 15th anniversary of Kosovo independence in Pristina, Kosovo, February 17, 2023. "Our independence was achieved through struggle and sacrifice, but our independence will only grow through work," Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said ahead of the parade. Tensions with Serbia linger as Belgrade continues to support the refusal of 50,000 minority Serbs in north Kosovo to accept the country's independence, declared almost a decade after an uprising against repressive Serbian rule. Resolving their volatile stand-off is a major condition for Serbia and Kosovo to progress towards EU membership. The anniversary was ignored in the Serb-majority town of North Mitrovica in north Kosovo.

☆ Explainer: Why Kosovo's stand-off with Serbs goes on 15 years after statehood
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Serbs in north Kosovo vent their rejectionism by refusing to pay the state utility for energy they use and often attacking police who try to make arrests. North Kosovo Serbs on Dec. 10 erected multiple roadblocks and exchanged fire with police after a former Serb policeman was arrested for allegedly assaulting serving police officers during a previous protest. But with nationalist hardliners powerful on both sides, not least among north Kosovo Serbs, no breakthrough is on the horizon. The area of north Kosovo where Serbs form a majority is in important ways a virtual extension of Serbia. Local Serbs fear that once fully integrated within Kosovo they could lose benefits such as Serbia's free public healthcare and be forced onto Kosovo's private healthcare system.

"International companies that were supposed to arrive for the first time in Kosovo told us that they were delaying opening shops due to the unstable situation," Fatmir Zymberi told Reuters. The main, longstanding fount of tensions is the refusal of 50,000 ethnic Serbs in north Kosovo to recognise the government in Pristina or Kosovo as a separate country. The area of north Kosovo where ethnic Serbs form a majority looks in some respects like an extension of Serbia. The Kremlin denied influencing Serbia to stir up conflict, saying Belgrade was just defending the rights of Kosovo Serbs. "I am more worried than I have been in many years about the risk of conflict in north Kosovo that could then spill into reprisal attacks on Serbs in south Kosovo.

☆ UN chief slams fossil fuel industry expansion in Davos speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Guterres pointed blame squarely at the fossil fuel industry when addressing the Davos crowd, composed of billionaires, politicians and business leaders, including dozes of high level executives from the world’s biggest oil and gas companies. And like the tobacco industry, those responsible must be held to account,” Guterres told the conference. A new report published on Tuesday by the campaign group Reclaim Finance revealed that dozens of banks and financial institutions with net zero pledges are still pouring money into fossil fuels. Since signing, however, it found members have invested hundreds of billions into fossil fuels. Guterres called on companies to “put forward credible and transparent transition plans on how to achieve net zero,” by the end of 2023.

☆ Ivana Trump's will directs Eric Trump to sell all of her furs and donate the rest of her clothes to charity
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ivana Trump's will directed Eric Trump to sell all her furs and divy the proceeds among his siblings. Ivana Trump — a Czech-American former model, businesswoman, and ex-wife of Donald Trump — died in July 2022 at 73. Her longtime friend and furrier Dennis Basso spoke to the New York Times shortly after her death in July about Ivana's affection for furs. Basso told the New York Times he met Ivana at his debut fashion show in New York City in 1983. The execution of Ivana Trump's final wishes was finalized at the end of last year, according to probate records in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where she held her permanent residence.

☆ In her will, Ivana Trump left her former nanny a $1 million condo — and her Yorkshire terrier, Tiger Trump — and nothing to ex-husband Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ivana Trump's last will is now a matter of public record, following her death last July. She left a majority of her estate to her children: Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, records show. Ivana left her dog and a $1 million condo to her former nanny, and donated her clothing. Curry spoke at her funeral last July, alluding to Ivana Trump feeling isolated and in pain. Ivana Trump went on to marry twice more before her death at age 73.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

☆ Serbia's Vucic urges Serbs in Kosovo to remove barricades - official
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia and Serbs in north Kosovo have refused to recognise that and their licence plates are still being issued by Serbia. Serbs in north Kosovo have erected barricades and blocked roads for about three weeks following the arrest of former police officer Dejan Pantic by Kosovo police. Vucic has called on Serbs in the north to remove barricades, Petkovic added. Vucic and Kosovo Serb representatives will meet Wednesday evening near the Kosovo border and announce if the barricades will be removed, Petkovic said. Earlier on Wednesday, the United States, NATO and European Union urged maximum restraint by both sides in the standoff.

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