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The rules were due to come into force at midnight on Monday. But on Sunday ethnic Serbs in the north barricaded roads and armed men fired shots in protest. The rules' implementation has been delayed for a month following consultations with the US and EU. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, after years of strained relations between its Serb and mainly Albanian inhabitants. It has been recognised by the United States and major European Union countries, but Serbia, backed by its ally Russia, refuses to do so, as do most ethnic Serbs inside Kosovo. Some 50,000 people living in majority Serb areas of the north use licence plates issued by Serbian authorities and refuse to recognise Kosovo institutio...

ROME -- Italy’s president, marking the 100th anniversary of one of the attacks that helped bring dictator Benito Mussolini to power, on Thursday encouraged Italians to reinvigorate their country’s democracy as a bulwark against fascism. President Sergio Mattarella was commemorating the trashing and torching by fascist thugs of a farm cooperative building in the northeastern city of Ravenna 100 years ago. The violent attack was one in a series launched by fascist supporters of the dictator, whose iron-rule would last into World War II. Italy's fascist legacy faces increasingly closer scrutiny these days as the country holds an early parliamentary election on Sept 25. Opinion polls indicate the far-right Brothers of Italy, which has neo-fascist roots, would be the top vote-getter, with the...

PARIS -- French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to his presidential palace Thursday for controversial dinner that marks another step in the Saudi leader’s diplomatic rehabilitation -- a move that has drawn harsh criticism in France after the gruesome Saudi killing of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The visit from the prince of the oil-rich state comes after France and other European nations are seeking to secure sources of energy to lessen their dependence on oil and gas supplies from Russia amid its war on Ukraine. France is also a major weapons and defense supplier to Gulf nations. This was the second stop — after Greece — of the crown prince’s first official visit to the European Union since Khashoggi’s death. French Prim...

MADRID -- Spain’s government has a message for women who are uncomfortable about their bodies when they wear bathing suits: Don’t be. The government’s Equality Ministry launched a summer campaign Thursday encouraging women to reject “stereotypes” and “aesthetical violence” — a reference to the social pressure some women feel to conform to beauty ideals. A poster advertising the campaign features women of different ages, sizes and skin colors in bathing suits on a beach. The slogan is: “Summer belongs to us, too.” In a tweet, Equality Minister Irene Montero said: “Enjoy (the summer) however, wherever and with whoever you like.” The head of the Women’s Institute, a government body, said gender stereotypes are at the root of discrimination based on physical appearance. “Expectations are ...

Heading out on your next travel excursion can be a stressful flurry of planning, prepping, and shoving everything into suitcases, but there is one way to make the trek a little more enjoyable: by upgrading your gear. That goes for seasoned jetsetters spending weeks abroad, or day-trippers looking to prep a casual weekend of walking. On any trip away from home, tech essentials like portable chargers or noise-cancelling headphones will make your trek even smoother. But the right travel clothing, and yes that means footwear, is going to make a world of difference for your overall mood, even if you’re just spending more time than usual on your feet. Nobody wants to pack shoes that will get destroyed on the road, or have to Google Translate how to ask for a bandage. For the best travel sh...

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for the first time publicly addressed critics of his landmark opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, using a speech in Italy to make light of Britain's Prince Harry and other foreign figures who have lamented the rollback of U.S. protections for abortion. "What really wounded me, what really wounded me, was when the Duke of Sussex addressed the United Nations and seemed to compare the decision -- whose name may not be spoken -- with the Russian attack on Ukraine," Alito said in a sarcastic tone. The decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, was released last month. Prince Harry had referenced "the rolling back of constitutional rights here in the U.S." as well as war in Ukraine as examples of why 2022 is "a painful year in a painful decade," during a spe...