diff --git a/telegram_bot_commands.py b/telegram_bot_commands.py
index f80c7bd..4848913 100644
--- a/telegram_bot_commands.py
+++ b/telegram_bot_commands.py
@@ -252,8 +252,13 @@ class TelegramBotCommander:
 
     async def start_async(self):
         """Start bot asynchronously (new API)"""
-        # Create application
-        self.application = Application.builder().token(self.bot_token).build()
+        # Create application (disable job queue to avoid timezone issues)
+        self.application = (
+            Application.builder()
+            .token(self.bot_token)
+            .job_queue(None)  # Disable job queue - fixes timezone error
+            .build()
+        )
 
         # Add command handlers
         self.application.add_handler(CommandHandler("start", self.cmd_start))
@@ -289,7 +294,20 @@ class TelegramBotCommander:
     def start_background(self):
         """Start bot in background thread"""
         def run_async_loop():
-            asyncio.run(self.start_async())
+            try:
+                # Create new event loop for this thread
+                loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+                asyncio.set_event_loop(loop)
+
+                # Run bot
+                loop.run_until_complete(self.start_async())
+
+                # Keep loop running
+                loop.run_forever()
+            except Exception as e:
+                print(f"❌ Bot thread error: {e}")
+                import traceback
+                traceback.print_exc()
 
         thread = threading.Thread(target=run_async_loop, daemon=True)
         thread.start()