MONACO, Monaco - Athletes from Kosovo will be able to compete at the 2016 Summer Games after being granted full recognition on Tuesday by the International Olympic Committee. Air Max 97 Have a Nike Day Blue .The full IOC formally ratified a decision made in October by the executive board that clears the way for Kosovo to compete as an independent nation.Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, becomes the 205th national Olympic committee recognized by the IOC.This is one big day, one historical day for athletes of Kosovo, Besim Hasani, head of the Kosovo Olympic Committee, told the assembly. This is the beginning of a new era for the Olympic movement in Kosovo.IOC President Thomas Bach said: This was a very important decision, particularly for the athletes of Kosovo. Now they can start to prepare for Rio.Serbia has refused to accept Kosovos independence and Olympic recognition had been fiercely opposed by Serbian officials.But Hasani went out of his way in his speech to thank my colleagues from the Serbian Olympic Committee for their friendship and all our international partners for their support.Bach said Serbian Olympic Committee president Vlade Divac, the former NBA star, had not been happy with the initial IOC decision but accepted it in the interest of the athletes and in a gesture of sportsmanship.This is really a good example for the Olympic movement, Bach said.Serbian Sports Minister Vanja Udovicic, however, attacked the IOCs decision as a precedent that could have serious consequences for the global system of sports.What were the motives to accept the so-called European state that is not recognized by the United Nations? Udovicic said in a statement. And that is happening in a pre-Olympic year with the games taking place in Brazil, a country which did not recognize Kosovo.Kosovo plans to send a team to the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, next year, and up to 10 athletes are expected to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, including in the sports of judo, boxing and wrestling.We already have some very good athletes who in recent years achieved world gold medals and medals from European championships, Hasani said. Its a good example of what can be achieved through sports and through autonomy and thanks to diplomacy of sports.Kosovos best known athlete, Majlinda Kelmendi, is a reigning judo world champion. She had hoped to represent Kosovo at the 2012 London Olympics, but competed for Albania instead. She has Kosovo and Albanian citizenship.The IOC said Kosovo met the sports and technical requirements for acceptance, including the definition of a country in the Olympic Charter as an independent state recognized by the international community.Kosovo has not been accepted as a U.N. member. While more than 100 nations have recognized Kosovo, Russia and China have not. Most European Union members have also recognized Kosovo, with the exception of Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia.The IOC said Kosovos national Olympic body, set up in 1992, has more than 30 affiliated national sports federations, including 13 from Olympic sports. Six of those are full members of international federations.Kosovos top sports official, Memli Krasniqi, welcomed Tuesdays vote as a truly historic moment.The IOC has finally ended two decades of injustice and isolation which has plagued Kosovo sport and which has prohibited the thousands of Kosovo athletes to be equal on the world stage, Krasniqi told The Associated Press in Pristina.___Associated Press writers Nebi Qena in Pristina, Kosovo, and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade contributed to this report.___Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap Air Max 97 Silver Bullet Fake . The 48th-ranked Williams made her first appearance in Dubai since she won her second straight title here in 2010. Shed missed the last three years either because of injury or Sjogrens Syndrome. Air Max 97 Neon Seoul For Sale . Hes just beginning to get similar results. The right-hander struggled after winning the honour in 2008 and 2009, but a retooling of his game has begun to pay off and has the San Francisco Giants thinking about the Lincecum of old.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones has been appointed to hear Ray Rices appeal of the indefinite suspension handed down by the NFL.Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the appointment Thursday after consulting with DeMaurice Smith, the players union executive director.Rice was suspended indefinitely Sept. 8 for violating the NFLs personal conduct policy after a video of Rice hitting his then-fiancee in an elevator was released publicly. Goodell originally had suspended Rice for two games.Jones served in the Southern District of New York from 1996-2013. She also has been an attorney in the Department of Justice and currently is a partner in the law firm of Zuckerman Spaeder.We are grateful to Judge Jones for taking on this role, Goodell said in a release. She will have our full co-operation as she hears and decides this appeal.A month after Rice was initially suspended for two games, Goodell admitted he didnt get it right and announced tougher penalties for future domestic violence incidents. First-time domestic violence offfenders would face a six-game suspension, and repeat offenders would be suspended indefinitely. Air Max 97/1 For Sale. The policy didnt apply to Rice, who had already received his penalty.But once the video became public, the Baltimore Ravens cut the star running back, and the league banned him indefinitely. The league considered the video to be new evidence, giving Goodell the authority to further suspend Rice.The union appealed Sept. 16, saying Rice should not be punished twice.The NFLPA appeal is based on supporting facts that reveal a lack of a fair and impartial process, including the role of the office of the commissioner of the NFL, the NFL Players Association said in a statement when it filed the appeal. We have asked that a neutral and jointly selected arbitrator hear this case as the commissioner and his staff will be essential witnesses in the proceeding and thus cannot serve as impartial arbitrators.Now that Jones is in place, a hearing is expected to take place shortly.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '