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Union Berlin appoints Croatian coach Nenad Bjelica in bid to turn troubled team’s fortunes around

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

Union Berlin has appointed Croatian coach Nenad Bjelica as the successor to Urs Fischer in a bid to improve the team’s fortunes and leave the Bundesliga’s relegation zone.Union announced Bjelica’s signing on Sunday without giving details about the length of his contract.“In Nenad Bjelica, we have been able to attract an experienced coach who has worked successfully in various countries. He has a clear idea of how he wants to lead our team and what type of soccer it should play,” Union president Dirk Zingler said. “We are entrusting him with the task of leading the team to success again.”Union enjoyed unprecedented success under Fischer, who led the club to its first Bundesliga promotion in 2019 and ever higher in each of the following seasons, culminating in Champions League qualification.But this season has not gone to plan. Union lost nine Bundesliga games in succession before Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Augsburg, when the team was led by interim coach Marco Grote and assistant Marie...

17 Israeli hostages released and reunite with families during temporary ceasefire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

Two Israeli children have been reunited with their families after Hamas, released 17 hostages late Saturday night.Since the ceasefire, no American hostages have been released. The Biden administration said that the US will keep fighting to bring them home.A Red Cross convoy from Gaza made it to Egypt’s Rafah crossing before heading back to Israel on Saturday.Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals were released from Hamas captivity.Thomas Hand thought his daughter Emily was killed during the October 7th attacks after spending the night at a friend’s house.“They said ‘We found Emily, she’s dead,’ and I went, ‘Yes’ and smiled because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew,” said Hand.After spending her ninth birthday in captivity, the Irish-Israeli girl is alive and back in Israel as one of the 17 hostages released on day two of a hostage-prisoner swap.It accompanies a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting betwe...

Cranberry Bites / Belkys

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

Ingredients:All-purpose flour (for dusting work surfaces)8 ounce crescent dough sheet8 ounce wheel of brie cheese1 cup whole cranberry sauce (not jellied)Method of Preparation:Preheat oven to 375°F degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Spread a little flour out onto your counter then roll out crescent dough. If using crescent rolls rather than the crescent roll dough sheet, be sure to pinch the seams together to make one sheet. Cut dough into 24 squares.Place squares into muffin tin slots. Cut brie into small pieces and place inside the crescent dough squares. Top with a generous spoonful of cranberry sauce. Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and serve.Enjoy!

US national security adviser doesn’t rule out extension of 4-day cease-fire in Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday did not rule out the possibility that the four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that began Friday could be extended, but said that the decision was up to Hamas.“I think it is certainly a possibility, and we would like to see that happen,” Sullivan told NBC’s Kristen Welker during an interview on “Meet the Press.”Israel has proposed extending the ceasefire one additional day for every 10 more hostages Hamas releases beyond the 50 women and children the two sides agreed to in the initial deal. But it’s unclear whether Hamas will agree to such an extension.“Hamas is going to make the decision about whether they’re prepared to release another 10 hostages. Israel has put its cards on the table. They’re prepared to extend the pause in the fighting,” Sullivan said.“So the ball is in Hamas’ court. Will Hamas step up and release another 10 hostages? If they won’t, then they’re the ones choosing to bring an end to the pause i...

Moscow adds Meta spokesperson to criminal wanted list, TASS reports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

Russia’s interior ministry has added the spokesperson of U.S. tech giant Meta Andy Stone to its wanted list, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported. Stone “is wanted under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” the agency reported, citing the ministry’s database. The reason Stone was added to the list was not indicated, according to the report. In 2022, following Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, Moscow officially designated the American tech company — which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — as a “terrorist and extremist” organization. That opened the door to heavier legal proceedings against its users in the country.Western social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) were banned from Russia and are only accessible in the country through VPNs. On Sunday, Russian authorities also said they downed 24 Ukrainian drones. The day before, Russia had launched the larg...

Hamas, Israel prepare to swap more hostages, prisoners as fragile truce holds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

Israel and Hamas are expected to go through a third round of hostage-prisoner swap on Sunday amid a fragile truce in the fighting in the Gaza Strip.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has received a list of the names of the hostages set to be freed and has informed the families, Israeli media reported on Sunday. According to Haaretz, at least one of the hostages expected to be released is Russian and part of a deal between Hamas and Moscow. The exchanges are part of a four-day truce agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. that started on Friday. Overall, Hamas is set to free 50 hostages in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian prisoners. On October 7, Hamas’ armed wing led an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping about 240 more. In retaliation, the Israeli armed forces relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip and launched a ground operation, leveling entire neighborhoods and killing over 14,000 Palestinians. About 1.7 million Gazans ha...

Arab states condemn Geert Wilders for push to relocate Palestinians to Jordan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League on Saturday condemned statements by Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right politician who won this week’s election in the Netherlands, that Palestinians should be relocated to Jordan.The Palestinian Authority labeled the statements as “a call to escalate the aggression against our people and a blatant interference in their affairs and future,” the Wafa news agency reported. Jordan issued a separate condemnation and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Yemen, and the Arab League did the same, Arab News reported.“Irresponsible statements made by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders [are] considered interference in the internal affairs of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and [are] rejected and condemned,” the UAE embassy in the Netherlands wrote on X.A populist and anti-Islam far-right politician, Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), is known for his firm support for Israel. Over the last few years, h...

Lawyer for Italian student arrested in ex-girlfriend’s slaying says he’s disoriented, had psych exam

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

ROME (AP) — An Italian man who was extradited from Germany for the kidnapping and slaying of his former girlfriend hasn’t yet spoken about the “merits” of the accusations and will appear before a judge on Tuesday, his lawyer said.The hearing before the judge to decide whether Filippo Turetta should stay jailed while the investigation proceeds will be his first occasion to formally respond to prosecutors’ allegations that he kidnapped and killed Giulia Cecchittin, whose disappearance and slaying gripped Italy and fed demands for action to stop violence against women.Turetta, 21, was flown aboard an Italian air force plane on Saturday from Germany to Italy. He had been held for several days in a German jail after he was found by police a week earlier in his car, out of gas and parked on an emergency shoulder of a German highway after days of an international search.“He’s very, very tried” and “disoriented,” lawyer Giovanni Caruso told reporters on Saturday even...

Heavy snowfall in Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova leaves 1 person dead and many without electricity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Heavy snowfall and strong blizzards in Romania and Moldova on Sunday left one person dead and hundreds of localities without electricity, as well as forcing the closure of some national roads, authorities said.A 40-year-old man in Moldova died on Sunday after the vehicle he was in skidded off the road and crashed into a tree, Moldova’s national police said, adding that six road accidents had been reported by about midday.“We repeatedly appeal to drivers not to hit the road with unequipped cars and to drive at low speed,” Moldovan police said in a statement posted on Telegram, and warned against driving “without an urgent need.”In Romania, red weather warnings were issued in the eastern counties of Constanta, Tulcea, Galati, and Braila where winds were forecast to reach as high as 100 kph (62 mph), the National Meteorological Administration said.Romania’s Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja told The Associated Press on Sunday that more than 400 locali...

At least 5 injured, including teen after U-Haul truck crashes into SUV on South Side: CPD

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:20 GMT

CHICAGO -- At least five people, including one teen are injured after a U-Haul truck crashed into an SUV in Grand Crossing overnight, police said.According to police, officers responded to the crash near the 200 block of West 71st Street around 12:34 a.m. Two men were transported to Stroger Hospital in fair condition. Two additional men were transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center. They are listed in critical and fair condition. Investigation underway after officer shot in Bedford Park A 15-year-old boy was transported to Comers Children Hospital where he is listed in serious condition. The driver of the U-Haul truck was placed into custody by Illinois State Police.