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Kazakhstan and Switzerland review bilateral partnership

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu met with Federal Councilor and head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis on 5 July to discuss bilateral co-operation.The parties addressed the state and prospects for the development of cooperation in all fields, as well as interaction in a multilateral format, including important issues on the international and regional agenda.The sides also discussed the bilateral legal framework with plans to expand and enhance the partnership, particularly in areas of confiscation and return of assets obtained by criminal means.Nurtleu commended the interaction within the Bretton Woods institutions and the significant contribution of Switzerland to the establishment of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia Regional Capacity Development Center of the International Monetary Fund in Almaty.The sides stressed mutual interest in strengthening cooperation between the two countries, inclu...

Miss Manners: Their insinuating comments are getting on my nerves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What is the appropriate way to respond when someone asks, “What are you doing here?”Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I’m fed up with being told I’m using offensive words Advice | Miss Manners: I drove three days, then she said there was no room for me Advice | Miss Manners: She’s supposed to be a friend, but she drops innuendo about my marriage Advice | Miss Manners: Is it tacky to bring pastries when I turn in my son’s school application? Advice | Miss Manners: Is it your hair? Or is it because you’re kinda mean? This often happens when I run into friends, acquaintances or co-workers in the small city we live in. Do I need their permission to be in their part of town (which is less than 2 miles from my home)?What about when I’m talking about a cool venture that a friend from a different town is starting, only to hear, “I didn...

Larry Magid: Meta’s Threads is Twitter’s second biggest challenge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

Meta’s new Threads service is the second biggest challenge to Twitter. The biggest challenge is the antics of its owner, Elon Musk.Related ArticlesBusiness | Magid: Looking back on 40 years of writing tech columns Business | Magid: Buying a large appliance online vs. local store Business | Magid: Could a smartwatch or fitness device save your life? Business | Larry Magid: Using AI and apps for summer travel plans Musk, who took over the company last year and has fired thousands of employees, including many of its moderators, disbanded its safety advisory council (which I was on) and has made life a lot easier for scammers and bigots and less pleasant for those who want to use it for civil online conversations.As a result, thousands of people have left Twitter or drastically cut down their use, creating a void that has been filled by several Twitter alternatives including Bluesky, Mastodon, Post, Spill, T2 and Donald Tru...

Dear Abby: If she calls me dowdy, can I point out she’s fat?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I work from home, so I do not need to get dressed up every day. I wear T-shirts and athletic shorts because I usually coach my sons in after-school sports and want to be comfortable.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: My wife says I’m too sensitive about her lovers Advice | Dear Abby: What can I do about my husband’s embarrassing sneeze? Advice | Dear Abby: My ex-wife says these kids are my grandchildren. I’m not so sure. Advice | Dear Abby: My brother has cut all ties, and I don’t even know what I did Advice | Dear Abby: I don’t want to make my husband jealous but I’m excited about this new hobby Every day, my wife complains about my appearance, comparing me with other fathers. She has no problem yelling about it in front of my kids or her family. This happens often.She says, “People won’t want to do business with you if you dress like that!R...

United Nations cites ‘credible information’ of mass grave found in West Darfur containing bodies of at least 87 people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — United Nations cites ‘credible information’ of mass grave found in West Darfur containing bodies of at least 87 people.Source

The Struts rock sold-out 9:30 Club before launching The Atlantis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

The members of the band The Struts. (Courtesy 9:30 Club) The members of the band The Struts. (Courtesy 9:30 Club) Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.” toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews The Struts at 9:30 Club at The Atlantis (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var...

Sorry Russia, the Baltic Sea is NATO’s lake now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

VILNIUS — A resurgent NATO is set to tighten its grip on the Baltic Sea, complicating a vital transit route for Vladimir Putin’s navy in Russia’s backyard. This week’s alliance summit in Vilnius was Finland’s first as a NATO member. On the summit’s eve, Turkey agreed to back Sweden’s bid to join — paving the way for a strategic shift in a region Moscow once dominated. “[Sweden and Finland] make NATO much more geographically coherent. The Baltic Sea becomes a NATO lake, which is generally useful, also because of the Arctic’s increased importance,” said Ulrike Franke, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. NATO has steadily increased its control of the Baltic Sea — a crucial maritime gateway for the Russian fleet which has bases near St. Petersburg and in the heavily militarized Kaliningrad exclave. During the Cold War, only Denmark and Germany at the far western edge of the Baltic were in the alliance. Poland joining NATO in 19...

Mookie Betts’ return to Fenway highlights intriguing second half slate for Red Sox

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

All season long it’s felt like the Red Sox are walking a tightrope. As injuries have piled up there’s been a sense among portions of the fanbase that doom is lurking just around the corner.And yet, here they are, still in the hunt past the season’s midway point.For all the bad vibes that have surrounded the Red Sox at times, all of the club’s goals are still within reach. Boston goes into the second half still last in the AL East, yes, but also five games over .500 at 48-43 and only two games out of the last AL Wild Card spots. The club is also getting healthier, so it’s entirely possible we could look up a week from now and the Red Sox could be not only back in the postseason field, but pushing the Baltimore Orioles for a chance to host a first-round playoff series.The next few months are shaping up to be really interesting, so here are a few storylines to follow as the Red Sox move into the second half.Save the datesIn a little over a month Mookie Bet...

Sudan’s neighbors meet in Cairo at summit seeking to end raging conflict

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Leaders from Sudan’s six neighboring countries met in Cairo on Thursday for the most high-profile peace talks since conflict erupted across the northeastern African country in mid-April.The meeting, hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, was attended by the leaders of Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, the Central African Republic and Libya.Sudan has been rocked by violence since Apr. 15 when tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces burst into open fighting.The conflict has killed more than 3,000 people and wounded more than 6,000 others, Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim said last month. The actual death toll is likely much higher, doctors and activists say.The fighting has forced more than 2.4 million people to flee their homes for safer areas inside the country, according to the International Organization for Migration. Around 738,000 others have crossed into neighboring countries, the agency said.Thursday’s meeti...

Tens of thousands of doctors in England start ‘longest’ strike in health system’s history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:41:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s state-funded health care service is facing what is being described as its longest-ever strike as tens of thousands of doctors in England launched a five-day walkout over pay on Thursday.So-called junior doctors, those who are at the early stages of their careers in the National Health Service in the years after medical school, started their latest strike at 7 a.m., with many of them making their case for a 35% pay rise in picket lines outside hospitals across England.The British Medical Association, the doctors’ union, has asked for a 35% pay rise to bring junior doctors’ pay back to 2008 levels once inflation is taken into account. Meanwhile, the workload of England’s 75,000 or so junior doctors has swelled as patient waiting lists for treatment are at record highs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.“Today marks the start of the longest single walkout by doctors in the NHS’s history, but this is still not a record that needs to go into the h...