TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A Swedish lawmaker said Friday that he has nominated the governments of the United States., Kosovo and Serbia for the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to secure a peace agreement between the two former Balkan war foes.
Swedish parliament member Magnus Jacobsson tweeted that he nominated the three governments “for their joint work for peace and economic development, through the cooperation agreement signed in the White House. Trade and communications are important building blocks for peace.”
Serbian President Aleksander Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti signed an economic normalization deal at the White House last week that also calls for Belgrade to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and for mutual recognition by Israel and Kosovo.
Kosovo, a former Serbian province, and Serbia have been negotiating under European Union mediation since 2011 on normalizing their ties. Serbia fought a brutal 1998-1999 war with separatist fighters in Kosovo. The war ended after NATO conducted a 78-day airstrike campaign against Serbia,
Kosovo was run by the United Nations for nine years before it declared independence in 2008. Most western nations recognize Kosovo’s statehood, but not Serbia.
Richard Grenell, U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia talks, retweeted Jacobsson saying that Trump was “nominated for a second Nobel Peace Prize for historic Kosovo-Serbia agreement.”
A Norwegian lawmaker, Christian Tybring-Gjedde, on Wednesday nominated Trump for the 2021 peace prize for the president’s work “for a peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel which opens up for possible peace in the Middle East.”
Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed last month to a historic deal normalizing relations and are scheduled to sign it at the White House on Sept. 15.
This story has been corrected to show that Magnus Jacobsson is a Swedish lawmaker, not a member of the Norwegian parliament.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.