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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 5 July 2023

The leaders of the Netherlands and Luxembourg tell Kosovo and

Serbia to normalize ties for E.U. hopes

By FLORENT BAJRAMI and to the three requests from
LLAZAR SEMINI Brussels to lower tensions
Associated Press with Serbia. They include
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — de-escalation efforts, fresh
The leaders of the Nether- election in the four Serb-
lands and Luxembourg on majority municipalities and
Tuesday said that normal- return to the EU-facilitated
izing ties between Kosovo dialogue on normalization
and Serbia would serve not of their ties.
only regional peace and After a long meeting with
stability but also their pros- Kurti, Lajcak said they
pects of future integration agreed to continue talks on
into the European Union. the concrete steps toward
Prime Ministers Mark Rutte de-escalation.
of the Netherlands and Belgrade and Kosovo’s
Xavier Bettel of Luxem- Serbs want special police
bourg were on a trip to Pris- forces to leave the north-
tina after a visit to Belgrade ern area, while Pristina says
on Monday. the number will be gradu-
They both called on Kosovo ally reduced.
and Serbia to de-escalate Belgrade also wants the re-
recent tensions that have lease of Serbs detained for
threatened to push the Bal- alleged violence against
kan region into instability as Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, right, welcomes Netherland’s Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Kosovar police, journalists
Europe faces Russia’s ag- center, and Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel at the Serbia Palace, in Belgrade, Serbia, and international peace-
gression in Ukraine. Monday, July 3, 2023. keepers. The Kosovo gov-
“We are here to listen. Associated Press ernment says a normal
And we are here to try to May after Kosovo police conflict that left more than Minister Albin Kurti gave legal process will be held
build these bridges which seized local municipal 10,000 people dead, most- their tacit approval to a EU- for them, inviting the EU to
are sometimes, between buildings in Serb-majority ly Kosovar Albanians. sponsored plan to end ani- monitor.
neighbors, not that easy to northern Kosovo to install The U.S. and the EU have mosity and help improve On Wednesday Lajcak
build,” said Bettel, adding ethnic Albanian mayors pressed Serbia and Kosovo their ties in the longer term. goes to Belgrade.
“so we have to avoid every who were elected in an to take steps to lower ten- But the agreement unrav- “I’m optimistic that good
new crisis.” April election that Serbs sions. Normalization of rela- eled almost immediately minds will prevail,” said
“I believe this is necessary overwhelmingly boycot- tions is the key condition for as both leaders appeared Rutte, adding that de-es-
not only for peace and sta- ted. the two countries to move to renege on their commit- calating the latest tension
bility in the region, but also Violent clashes injured 30 forward in their efforts to ments. was the first step to take
for the prospects of further international peacekeep- join the 27-nation bloc. When EU envoy Miroslav and immediately “try to get
EU integration,” Rutte said. ers and more than 50 eth- Just four months ago, Ser- Lajcak visited Pristina on back to a process, a step-
Tensions between the two nic Serbs, stirring fears of bian President Aleksandar Tuesday, Kosovar leaders by-step process to make it
countries flared anew in a renewal of the 1998-99 Vucic and Kosovar Prime gave a positive reception again.”q

The Taliban are outlawing women’s beauty salons in Afghanistan

By RIAZAT BUTT cial media. veys a verbal order from ban targets the capital, Ka- engaged with the authori-
Associated Press The ministry-issued letter, the supreme leader, Hi- bul, and all provinces, and ties in Afghanistan to get
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Tal- dated June 24, says it con- batullah Akhundzada. The gives salons throughout the the ban on beauty salons
iban are banning women’s country a month’s notice to reversed. The U.N. mission
beauty salons in Afghani- wind down their businesses. in Afghanistan, or UNAMA,
stan, a government spokes- After that period, they must took to Twitter, urging the
man said Tuesday. close and submit a report Taliban to halt the edict.
It’s the latest curb on the about their closure. The let- “This new restriction on
rights and freedoms of Af- ter doesn’t give reasons for women’s rights will im-
ghan women and girls, fol- the ban. pact negatively on the
lowing edicts barring them Its release comes days af- economy&contradicts
from education, public ter Akhundzada claimed stated support for women
spaces and most forms of that his government has entrepreneurship,” it said.
employment. taken the necessary steps Earlier, one beauty salon
A spokesman for the Tal- for the betterment of wom- owner said she was her
iban-run Virtue and Vice en’s lives in Afghanistan. family’s only breadwinner
Ministry, Mohammad Sidik It drew criticism from hu- after her husband died in
Akif Mahajar, didn’t give man and women’s rights a 2017 car bombing. She
details of the ban. He only Beauticians put makeup on customers at Ms. Sadat’s Beauty defenders on social media. didn’t want to be named
confirmed the contents of Salon in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 25, 2021. The United Nations on or mention her salon for
a letter circulating on so- Associated Press Tuesday also said it was fear of reprisals.q