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Azerbaijan's Perspective on Regional Stability

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

In a significant diplomatic move, Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, held a press conference in Brussels this week. The conference offered an invaluable opportunity for the Azerbaijani government to shed light on its perspective regarding regional stability, cooperation, and the ongoing challenges in the South Caucasus. Hajiyev's remarks resonated with clarity and pragmatism, emphasizing the importance of diplomacy and cooperation to ensure peace in the region.The South Caucasus: A Complex RegionThe South Caucasus region has long been characterized by its geopolitical complexity and historical tensions. It encompasses countries like Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and is nestled between Russia, Turkey, and Iran. This intricacy has made it a focal point for international attention and diplomacy. The recent history of the region has been marred by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which was brought to a halt in 2020 through a ceasefire ...

Privacy Concerns Surrounding the European Central Bank’s Digital Euro

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

The European Central Bank (ECB) is one of several central banks looking into deploying a central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to research conducted by Washington D.C.-based think tank The Atlantic Council, 130 countries, representing 98% of the world’s total GDP, are currently exploring a CBC. While 11 have launched, 21 are in their pilot phase, and 33 are still in development.The ECB first published a CBDC report in October 2020 and applied for a trademark in the same month. Since then, the EU’s apex bank has made a few strides toward a Digital Euro, from an investigation phase to a potential testing and possible 2026 launch.Several arguments favor a Digital Euro, including security of transaction data, better efficiency with intermediaries eliminated, and increased privacy. However, stakeholders have raised multiple concerns, including utility and privacy.There are several thousand cryptocurrencies currently trading on hundreds of crypto exchanges worldwide. While there...

Tips and Tricks To Make Your Videos Stand Out

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

Sponsored ContentIf you haven’t hopped onto the video marketing bandwagon already, get this: Online videos will account for 82.5% of all web traffic in 2023, and 86% of marketers use videos as a content marketing tool. Plus, 94% of marketers say videos help them educate customers about their products or services.But with everybody producing videos, you must double down to make yours stand out and get noticed. Here are the top tips to help you create engaging video content to get views and inspire action from your audience.1. Harness the Power of Storytelling92% of consumers want brands to create ads that tell a story, and 64% have made a purchase after watching a branded social media video. Incorporating a compelling story into your videos can help captivate the audience, leave a lasting impression, and foster brand loyalty.Identify a narrative that resonates with your target audience and aligns with your brand image. The story arc should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Als...

Dear Abby: My snappy response about my invalid wife apparently offends people

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

DEAR ABBY: Twenty years ago, my wife was diagnosed with a life-threatening health issue. We both rebounded from it and have had a good run. Over the last three years, though, her health has turned south again.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: My husband’s young crush is back in town, and I’m not supposed to say anything Advice | Dear Abby: She caused me so much pain, and now she wants back in my life Advice | Dear Abby: He won’t buy a bed. Should I date him anyway? Advice | Dear Abby: I’m offended that my friend doesn’t want my medical advice Advice | Dear Abby: Am I right that life is too short to stay with my unpredictable husband? She has heart, lung, liver and stomach issues that prevent her from being active. Most of her time now is spent sleeping or sitting. She cannot walk farther than 20 feet without becoming exhausted, and this is with supplementary oxygen. She ha...

Week 4 high school football preview

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

Mike Donovan didn’t know much about the Weymouth team he was inheriting when he took over in March.It didn’t take him long to find out.The Wildcats have shown some resolve in going 3-0 heading into Friday’s Bay State Conference showdown against Milton. For Donovan, who arrived at Weymouth after a stint as assistant coach at Brown University, it was pretty much what he had hoped for.“I grew up in Stoughton and wanted to be coaching in a large public school,” Donovan said. “I saw a lot of positive characteristics in Weymouth and I could tell right away that we have great kids, kids who work really hard and it started in the summer with the workouts.”Weymouth’s quick start out of the gate has caught the eye of Milton coach Steve Dembowski. He’s been impressed with the way Weymouth has responded in close games (three wins by a combined 24 points).“I think coach Donovan has done a good job,” Dembowski said. “Their receivers can fly, they can pound the ball w...

Storm eases in Greece but flood risk remains high amid rising river levels

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

VOLOS, Greece (AP) — Bad weather eased in central Greece on Friday leaving widespread flooding and infrastructure damage across the farming region, which has been battered by two powerful storms in less than a month.Municipal workers were handing out bottled water in the storm-hit city of Volos, where power and water outages remained in some districts for a third day, while rescue crews used excavators to clear debris-strewn roads blocking access to remote nearby areas.The two storms, Daniel and Elias, struck central Greece and the island of Evia over three weeks in September, killing several hundred thousand farm animals and damaging highways, secondary roads and the rail network.Despite the improving weather, the risk of additional flooding remains high in several central cities and towns as river banks remain vulnerable to high water levels, authorities said.The government said more than 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in damages had been caused before the latest storm hit. It has...

Explosion at rally celebrating birthday of Islam’s prophet kills 21 people in southwest Pakistan

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A powerful bomb exploded near a mosque at a rally celebrating the birthday of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in southwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 50 others, police and a government official said.The bombing occurred in Mastung, a district in Baluchistan province, government administrator Atta Ullah said. Injured people were taken to nearby hospitals and some were in critical condition, he said.A senior police officer, Mohammad Nawaz, was among the dead, Ullah said. Officers were investigating to determine whether the bombing was a suicide attack, he added.Muslims in Pakistan and around the world celebrate the birthday of Islam’s prophet by holding public gatherings. The birth anniversary is known as Mawlid an-Nabi. During the daylong celebrations, Muslims also distribute free meals to people.Friday’s bombing came days after authorities asked police to remain on maximum alert as militants could target r...

Nisga’a Nation celebrates return of totem after it was taken almost a century ago

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

LAXGALTS’AP, B.C. — A ceremony will be held today by the Nisga’a Nation in northern British Columbia for a memorial totem that has gone to Scotland and back over the last century. The 11-metre totem was carved in 1860 to honour a dead chief, but it was taken almost 100 years ago by a person doing research in the village and then sold to the National Museum of Scotland.A Nisga’a delegation, including some with family connections to the totem, travelled to Scotland a year ago to ask for its return, which was granted by the museum and then approved by Scottish government.The totem’s arrival in the remote northern community comes the day before Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, held to honour residential school survivors and the children who did not come home.Nisga’a Nation President Eva Clayton says the return of the totem will set a tone for other Indigenous nations to begin efforts to repatriate their possessionstaken by governmen...

Statistics Canada to release July figures for real GDP today

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada will release its figures for how the economy started the third quarter this morning.The agency will report real gross domestic product numbers for July.Its early estimate for the month released on Sept. 1 suggested real GDP was essentially unchanged in July, though it cautioned at the time that the reading would be updated.It said that gains in the public, finance and insurance, and professional, scientific and technical services sectors were offset by weakness in the manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and construction sectors. The report comes after the economy reversed course in June and contracted.Statistics Canada says real GDP in June decreased 0.2 per cent as both services-producing industries and goods-producing industries declined.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2023.The Canadian Press

Air Canada pilots picket at Toronto’s Pearson as talks continue

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:20 GMT

TORONTO — Air Canada pilots are demonstrating at Toronto’s Pearson airport today, calling for better wages and working conditions as talks with the country’s biggest carrier continue.The Air Line Pilots Association kick-started the bargaining process in June, one day after fellow union members at WestJet ratified a new collective agreement.The union represents more than 5,000 Air Canada pilots.Both union and employer say the so-called informational picket at Terminal 1, which comes the same day their own nine-year deal expires, will not affect Air Canada’s flight schedule.Charlene Hudy, who heads the union’s Air Canada contingent, says the agreement has grown stale, with co-workers leaving for better pay in the United States.Air Canada says it remains engaged in productive discussions with the union, with the deal’s provisions remaining in effect.Pilots north of the border have been seeking gains that will bring them closer to deals won by their counter...