Kosovo and Israel formally established diplomatic ties on Monday in a ceremony held digitally due to the pandemic lockdown.
Kosovo Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla and her Israeli counterpart, Gabriel Ashkenazi, held a virtual ceremony to sign the documents in their respective capitals.
“Today we are making history. We are establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and Kosovo,” said Ashkenazi.
A government official takes a selfie dueing a ceremony held digitally, in the capital Pristina, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. Kosovo and Israel formally have established diplomatic ties in a ceremony held digitally due to the pandemic lockdown. Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla and her Israeli counterpart Gabriel Ashkenazi on Monday held a virtual ceremony signing the documents. The two countries considered it as “making history” and marking “a new chapter.” (AP PhotoVisar Kryeziu)
“We mark a new chapter in the historical bond between our countries,” Haradinaj-Stublla responded in her speech.
The decision on mutual recognition between Kosovo and Israel was achieved last September as part of a summit at the White House when Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic agreed to normalize economic ties in the presence of then-President Donald Trump.
Both Pristina and Jerusalem thanked Washington for its efforts to bridge the establishment of diplomatic ties.
A government official holding an umbrella passes by a monitor displaying Kosovo's Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla during a signing ceremony held virtually, in the capital Pristina, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. Kosovo and Israel formally have established diplomatic ties in a ceremony held digitally due to the pandemic lockdown. Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla and her Israeli counterpart Gabriel Ashkenazi on Monday held a virtual ceremony signing the documents. The two countries considered it as “making history” and marking “a new chapter.” (AP PhotoVisar Kryeziu)
At the summit, Belgrade also agreed to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, something it hasn’t done so far.
Ashkenazi said “Israel wants a stable Balkans,” adding that, “I consider Serbia as a close and significant partner in the Balkans.”
The Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017 and moved the U.S. embassy there in May 2018.
It encouraged other countries to do the same but was widely criticized by the Palestinians and many in Europe because the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains unresolved.
Kosovo’s Parliament declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after a U.S.-led 78-day NATO airstrike campaign against Serbia to stop a bloody crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Most Western nations have recognized Kosovo’s independence, but Serbia and its allies Russia and China have not.
Israel becomes the 117th country to recognize Kosovo, according to Haradinaj-Stublla.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s moonbound astronauts have reason to celebrate, and not just because their launch went so well. Their toilet is now working.
The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned as soon as the Artemis II crew reached orbit Wednesday evening. Mission Control guided astronaut Christina Koch through some plumbing tricks to fix it.
The three Americans and one Canadian are on track to bust out of orbit around Earth on Thursday night and zoom to the moon for a lunar fly-around. It will be Mission Control’s first translunar injection since Apollo's swan song in 1972.
Mission managers gave the “go” late Thursday afternoon for the engine firing. “We love those words, and we’re loving the view,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said.
To set the mood, Mission Control’s wake-up music for the crew was “Green Light” by John Legend featuring André 3000. The song segued into the 3-2-1 of the astronauts' thunderous liftoff, followed by a medley of greetings from NASA teams around the country.
“We are ready to go, and that was awesome,” pilot Victor Glover said.
While awaiting their orbital departure, the astronauts savored the views of Earth from tens of thousands of miles high. Koch told Mission Control that they can make out the entire coastlines of continents and even the South Pole, her old stomping ground.
"It is just absolutely phenomenal," radioed Koch, who spent a year at an Antarctic research station before joining NASA.
Mission Control managed to bump up the Orion capsule’s cabin temperature. It was so cold earlier in the mission — 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) — that the four astronauts had to dig into suitcases for long-sleeved clothes.
Commanded by Reid Wiseman, the mission is due to end with a Pacific splashdown on April 10. NASA is counting on the test flight to kickstart the entire Artemis program and lead to a moon landing by two astronauts in 2028.
Before that happens, Orion's toilet may need some design tweaks.
Located in the floor with a door and curtain for privacy, the capsule's lone toilet is based on an experimental commode that launched to the International Space Station in 2020. That station potty barely saw any use and has been out of order for years.
Known as the universal waste management system, the compact toilet uses air suction instead of water and gravity to remove waste, similar to earlier space toilets. It’s also designed to better accommodate female astronauts.
Koch and her crewmates had to resort to a bag and funnel system for urinating until she got the toilet working overnight.
Any toilet — even a fitful one — is better than none if you ask any of the six surviving Apollo astronauts.
NASA's Apollo capsules were too small to accommodate a toilet, so the all-male crews relied on bags to relieve themselves throughout the lunar journey. These so-called Apollo bags were repurposed during NASA's later space shuttle flights; they served as backup whenever the shuttle toilet acted up.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
In this photo provided by NASA, a view of the Earth from NASA's Orion spacecraft as it orbits above the planet during the Artemis II test flight, on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP)
In this photo provided by NASA, an Artemis program patch floating in the International Space Station's cupola, on March 30, 2026. (Jessica Meir/NASA via AP)
Spectators view NASA's Artemis II moon rocket launch from the A. Max Brewer Bridge, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Titusville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Spectators view NASA's Artemis II moon rocket launch from the A. Max Brewer Bridge, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Titusville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
