World

MADRID — “Less noise and more talking” is the rallying cry of Spain’s popular Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz, who’s hoping her straight-talking message of unity will reinvigorate Spain’s radical left in Sunday’s election.

Gone — at least in theory — are the divisions that plagued Spain’s left-wing coalition government in recent months, with Podemos throwing its support behind Diaz’s Sumar (“Unite”) platform after suffering a major defeat in the May 28 local and regional elections.

“The most important thing is that we join hands, we talk and we build bridges to show Spain what politics is all about,” said the 52-year-old lawyer, who is a member of the Spanish Communist Party (PCE), as she laid out her strategy earlier this year.

“It’s not about making noise or making a scene but about improving people’s lives,” said Diaz, who is credited with raising Spain’s minimum wage.

Number three in Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government, Diaz created Sumar a year ago and has managed to attract the support of 15 parties to stand as the sole candidate for the radical left in Sunday’s vote.

It was a key victory for the Galician-born politician who in three years has gone from being a virtual unknown to Spain’s most trusted party leader in the polls — a feat she accepted with a cool head, insisting she’s not looking to win any “medals”.

The party is tied for third place in the polls with far-right party Vox.

Activism with babe in arms 

Born in May 1971 in Fene near Ferrol, a working-class town in northwest Spain which was the birthplace of former dictator Francisco Franco, the labour law specialist made a name for herself over a decade ago for taking part in political meetings with her baby in her arms.

But it was her nomination as labour minister in 2020 which brought her into the spotlight.

And 18 months later, Podemos’ then leader Pablo Iglesias handed her the reins of the radical left after he stepped down from politics following an electoral setback.

“Yolanda Diaz could be the next prime minister of Spain,” Iglesias said at the time when the pair were very close.

The daughter of a leading trade union leader, she has established herself firmly within Spain’s political landscape thanks to her affable nature and her ability to compromise, which has been hailed by both unions and employers groups.

Diaz negotiated a crucial furlough agreement during the COVID crisis, secured a significant increase to the minimum wage and pushed through a key labour reform.

‘Dressed in Dior’ 

She is hoping to be able to capitalise on such achievements by highlighting her image as a pragmatist.

Unlike Podemos, whose leaders were quick to attack their Socialist coalition partners, she has been careful to avoid confrontation with Sanchez, who is hoping to be reelected and would likely seek to partner with Sumar.

Diaz, who frequently dresses in red, likes to recall the time Spain’s veteran Communist leader, Santiago Carrillo, kissed her hand when she was four years old.

“She’s like [France’s hard-left leader Jean-Luc] Melenchon, only dressed in Christian Dior!” grumbled Socialist veteran Alfonso Guerra, who has been critical of Sanchez’s alliances with the radical left.

It is a reproach that has been echoed in business circles where Sumar’s “universal inheritance” plan, which involves giving young people 20,000 euros ($22,500) to spend on study or training, has provoked a backlash because of its estimated 10 billion-euro price tag.

But Diaz has fought back, insisting it was a crucial way to ensure “equal opportunities” for all.

She is also facing opposition from parts of Podemos after Sumar said it would not accept the presence of Equality Minister Irene Montero on its list.

CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy — The Ocean Viking should have been on the water Friday, searching for migrants needing rescue in the Mediterranean.

Instead, the vessel operated by Marseille-based SOS Mediterranee was docked at the Civitavecchia Port outside Rome due to a bureaucratic tangle with Italy — leaving more migrants to fend for themselves in open waters.

"We would have been at sea right now," said SOS Mediterranee spokeswoman Claire Juchat during a tour of the ship.

"To be honest, it's a bit tough," she told AFP.

Stuck at port, a crew member tinkered with an engine while another smoked and looked at his phone.

The Ocean Viking was ordered to Civitavecchia where the 57 migrants it last rescued disembarked.

After a seven-hour inspection Tuesday, port authorities detained the ship over what SOS Mediterranee calls a "restrictive interpretation" of ship safety standards.

Authorities found there were not enough certified crew members to operate its life rafts, even though it holds more than the required amount of rafts.

The issue had never been raised during seven previous inspections over the past four years, said Juchat. It amounted to the latest roadblock thrown in the charity's path by Italian authorities, she added.

The Italian coast guard did not respond to AFP's questions about the inspection.

Rescuers shot 

There was an eerie emptiness on the anchored migrant rescue boat.

Reminders of the absent migrants were everywhere, from the hand-drawn map of the ship's last itinerary from Libya to Rome, to the sign declaring "You are Safe" outside the women's sleeping area.

In the middle of the deck is the men's shelter, a large converted container whose walls are decorated with pictures of giraffes, impalas, zebra and palm trees. Messages to migrants are written in various languages, including Arabic, Bangla and Farsi.

"When we have 400 people we unfortunately have people sleeping here as well," said Juchat, indicating the 69-metre-long wooden deck.

Ocean Viking and other ships have faced mounting challenges rescuing migrants this year.

A new law by Italy's new far-right government in effect since January has forced rescue ships to dock in assigned ports, often far away and requiring days of extra sailing.

That has pushed the Ocean Viking's daily operations costs up to about 24,000 euros ($27,000) per day from a previous 14,000 euros, Juchat said.

Last Friday, during the rescue of 11 migrants, Juchat said the Libyan coast guard — in a vessel donated by Italy — fired shots within close range of an inflatable rescue boat carrying her, other Ocean Viking crew and migrants.

"Our lives are put at risk... we should not be a target," she said, calling for more transparency and accountability from the Libyan coast guard, to whom the EU is giving "millions, training them and giving them boats”.

"And then we see these boats in the hands of these militias three weeks after," she said. "It's like the world upside down. We are rescuers, and [yet] being shot and being detained."

Eye on horizon 

It's not only the rescuers who face violence.

Down in Sicily, Hans Leijtens, the executive director of Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, wound up a two-day visit to Italy on tackling ballooning migration numbers.

Talking to journalists, he stressed the need "to seek partnerships that prevent departures because migrants are not aware of the dangers of the crossing. They board, sometimes at gunpoint".

On the Ocean Viking's main deck, the medical ward is empty, as is the small room where a midwife, specialised in sexual violence meets with female migrants.

To the stern of the ship stands a white, innocuous-looking container — the morgue.

From the bow, two enormous cruise liners are visible, docked at a nearby pier.

It's at the bow where the crew normally takes turns day and night scanning the horizon for migrant boats.

With binoculars and a sharp eye, rescuers can spot a boat.

"When you find them, you don't want to lose them," said Juchat.

NÁQUERA, Spain — The rainbow flags were the first to go when the far-right seized power in Naquera, an ultraconservative town in eastern Spain where many want “order and morality” to counter what it sees as the “anarchism” of the left.

It was in this town of 7,700 residents in the foothills of the Sierra Calderona that the far-right Vox won a victory in the May 28 local elections, becoming the biggest place in Spain to elect a mayor from the ultraconservative party.

And it has become a testing ground for the ultranationalists ahead of snap July 23 general elections — which polls say the right-wing Popular Party (PP) will win, although it may need Vox’s support to rule.

Last month, as Spain celebrated Pride Week, Naquera’s new town council decided to veto the hanging of rainbow LGBTQ banners from public buildings in a decision hailed by 80-year-old Vox supporter Jesus Gomez.

“We’ll stop” the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez because “these leftwingers have caused outright anarchism”, said the white-haired octogenarian who opposes Pride celebrations and wears a Spanish flag wristband.

He used to vote for the PP but the party left him “totally disillusioned” by dithering over its conservative values, whereas Vox — which was founded in 2013 by disgruntled PP members — represents “morality” and “order”, he says.

‘A hostile environment’ 

Standing outside Naquera’s town hall, Juan Cano says he was angered by Sanchez’s government making deals with regional separatists to push laws through parliament.

“I don’t like the deals they made”, particularly with the far-left Basque pro-independence party Bildu, considered the heir of the now-defunct armed separatist group ETA, the 65-year-old civil servant told AFP.

“There’s been so much criticism [about making deal with] the extreme right... but nothing about [deals with] the extreme left,” he said.

But not everyone in Naquera likes the stance of the town’s new mayor Ivan Exposito, who did not respond to AFP interview requests.

Despite his decision not to allow LGBTQ flags on public buildings, dozens of rainbow banners could be seen hanging from Naquera’s balconies and hundreds of people lined the town’s streets on June 28 to mark Pride.

One of those celebrating was Francisco Perez, who has lived in Naquera with his husband for over a decade “without any problems” although he says the atmosphere has turned “quite hostile”.

“All my old childhood memories are coming back, that feeling of fear as you walk down the street,” he told AFP.

“I think we’re taking a step backwards and that the situation is going to get quite difficult... If I could, I’d leave,” admits the 58-year-old, who works in the hotel industry.

And what’s happening in Naquera could happen across the country if a PP-Vox government is elected, warns local Socialist opposition leader Victor Navarro.

“Naquera is a testing ground because it’s one of the biggest towns where [the far-right] is governing and I think what’s happening here [could happen] at a national level,” he said.

‘Restoring freedom’ 

Several of the 140 municipalities run by Vox alone or in a coalition have done away with local equality and environment departments or dropped references to gender violence, instead emphasising the importance of tradition.

In Valdemorillo west of Madrid, the authorities cancelled “Orlando”, a Virginia Woolf play about a gender-changing poet, and in Santa Cruz de Bezana near Santander, they axed a screening of Disney’s “Lightyear” in which two female characters kiss.

Vox, which jointly rules three of Spain’s 17 regions, has run an election campaign pledging to roll back laws on gender violence, LGBTQ rights, abortion and euthanasia, as well as a democratic memory law honouring the victims of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975).

It has also vowed to outlaw pro-independence parties and protect the “rural lifestyle”, defending its religious festivals and popular traditions, such as bullfighting.

All of which has let Vox position itself as the party that will “restore freedom” in the face of an “inquisitorial left that judges people for their way of life and their hobbies”, said Guillermo Fernandez Vazquez, a political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University.

And such an approach has been key to the party’s growth from being a marginal political force in 2017 to becoming Spain’s third-largest parliamentary party in 2019.

Polls suggest Vox’s number of seats could fall from 52 to around 40 in the 350-seat parliament.

But although that would mean less representation, if the PP wins, Vox could end up taking a key supporting role that would see it entering government.

HELSINKI — US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Russia's Vladimir Putin has already lost the war in Ukraine, expressing hope that Kyiv's counteroffensive would force Moscow to the negotiating table.

As Russia launched fresh strikes and a new bout of nuclear-sabre rattling, Biden said there was no real prospect of Putin using nuclear weapons and insisted the war would not drag on for years.

Biden also used a visit to Finland, NATO's newest member, to pledge that Ukraine would one day join the alliance, despite NATO leaders failing to give Kyiv a timeline at a key summit this week.

"Putin's already lost the war. Putin has a real problem," Biden told a press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. "There is no possibility of him winning the war in Ukraine."

NATO leaders had dashed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky's hopes for a clear timeline to join the military alliance, saying at this week's summit in Vilnius that they would offer an invite only when "conditions are met".

But while Biden said no country could become a NATO member while it was at war — with Ukraine joining now meaning a "third world war" — he vowed Kyiv would one day join the club.

"It's not about whether or not they should or shouldn't join. It's about when they can join, and they will join NATO," Biden said.

Moscow's riposte to the NATO summit came in the form of its latest aerial assault on Ukraine, injuring four people, while Kyiv said it had destroyed 20 Russian attack drones and two cruise missiles.

In a sign of its anger at Western backing for Kyiv, Moscow said it would regard F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine as a “nuclear” threat because of their capacity to carry atomic bombs.

“Russia cannot ignore the ability of these aircraft to carry nuclear weapons. No amount of assurances will help here,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by the Russian foreign ministry.

But Biden played down the latest bout of nuclear rhetoric from Russia.

“I don’t think there’s any real prospect... of Putin using nuclear weapons. Not only has the West but China and the rest of the world has said don’t go there,” he said.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin should meanwhile be careful of poisoning following the mercenary group’s failed uprising in Russia, Biden added.

“God only knows what he’s likely to do. We’re not even sure where he is and what relationship he has. If I were [him], I’d be careful what I ate. I’d keep my eye on my menu,” Biden sad in Helsinki.

Biden also said he was “serious” on the prospect of a prisoner exchange for jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to get him home from Russia.

‘Unwavering’ 

The US president was holding talks in the Finnish capital after G-7 powers vowed to back Ukraine for as long as it takes to beat Russia.

Finland, which shares a 1,300 kilometre border with Russia, ended its historic military non-alignment and joined NATO following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Biden and the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden pledged “unwavering” support for Ukraine in a joint statement after the talks.

They also discussed climate, which Biden called the “only existential threat humanity faces”.

Biden is the first US president to visit Helsinki since Donald Trump’s summit five years ago with Putin, and his press conference took place in the same hall.

He pledged that the United States would remain a member of NATO, after being asked about what would happen if Trump, who mooted pulling out of the alliance, is reelected next year.

But Biden’s stress on the strength and symbolism of NATO contrasted with events at the NATO summit, when Zelensky slammed the “absurd” decision not to fast-track Ukraine’s membership.

Instead, G-7 nations later offered Ukraine a package of long-term security commitments, involving bilateral deals between Kyiv and the world’s richest nations.

Zelensky insisted the promises amounted to a “significant security victory” but did not disguise the fact that he would have preferred a timetable for Ukraine.

In Kyiv, recently-supplied Western weapon systems were insufficient to cover the whole country, the spokesman for Ukraine’s air forces Yuriy Ignat said after the overnight strikes.

“We do not have means to destroy ballistic missiles,” Ignat told national television on Thursday morning.

MARSEILLE — Aid group SOS Mediteranee on Thursday accused Italy of hampering its work after the authorities there ordered its migrant rescue ship Ocean Viking held "for an indefinite period" in port.

Officials had cited "a very small number of technical and administrative deficiencies," said the aid group.

The ship's immobilisation in the port of Citavecchia, north of Rome, "prevents us from carrying out rescue operations" for migrants in the Mediterranean, the NGO's co-founder and director Sophie Beau told AFP.

The authorities were creating a "very harmful" environment for civil society groups looking to aid migrants, she added.

Italy's government has since last year been led by far-right Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, whose coalition — also including Matteo Salvini of the anti-Migrant League Party — has cracked down on help for migrants.

After disembarking 57 people rescued off the Libyan coast on July 7, Ocean Viking was subject to a seven-hour inspection by port authorities on July 11, Marseille-based SOS Mediterranee said.

One of the “deficiencies” turned up by the examiners “requires deeper investigation involving different players in the certification process and the shipbuilder” which will take time, the group added.

‘Enormous need’ 

The Italian coastguard did not immediately respond to AFP’s questions about the inspection. But Beau said that the problem was related to the Ocean Viking’s 14 life rafts.

“The inspectors asked us whether there were 14 qualified people to deploy the rafts in case the ship had to be abandoned,” she explained.

“So far, we have never been asked to have so many people,” Beau added, calling the requirement “a very restrictive interpretation of the SOLAS [Safety Of Life At Sea] Convention” — an international agreement on construction, outfitting and operation of civilian ships.

“We don’t understand why this point had never been raised at the inspections carried out until now,” she said, citing seven over the past four years alone.

“We have faced really extremely frequent inspections, extremely zealous, redundant and repetitive,” Beau added.

While the Ocean Viking is stuck in port, “there is an enormous need for rescue provision, a shocking lack of ships in the zone” where migrants cross the central Mediterranean, she said.

Ocean Viking points to rising numbers of deaths among migrants attempting the crossing to EU territory since the start of 2023.

On Monday, the aid group said Libyan coast guards had fired live ammunition close to the Ocean Viking during a July 7 rescue operation.

JAKARTA — ASEAN foreign ministers were still working for a united position on the Myanmar crisis on Thursday, a day after the bloc's ministerial meeting ended.

Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since a military coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February 2021, unleashing a bloody crackdown on dissent.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations chair Indonesia had on Wednesday urged a political solution to the crisis at two-day foreign minister talks.

More than two years after the coup, the divided 10-member bloc's peace efforts remain fruitless, as the junta ignores international criticism and refuses to engage with its opponents.

By Thursday, ministers had still not agreed on a communique.

A southeast Asian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a joint text was still being worked out.

A second diplomat attending the meetings told AFP on condition of anonymity the delay was because "they are working on the language on Myanmar" and a joint communique could arrive as late as Friday.

An early draft seen by AFP on Tuesday had left a section on Myanmar blank, as the group wrangled over its content and language.

The second diplomat said some countries want outright re-engagement with the junta, while others are pushing for a five-point plan agreed two years ago with Myanmar's rulers to remain the basis for re-engagement.

This confirmed the “deep divisions within ASEAN on the Myanmar issue”, the diplomat added.

Thai dialogue track 

Thailand has launched a separate track to the ASEAN efforts, speaking directly with the Myanmar junta and other actors in the conflict.

Last month, Bangkok hosted the junta’s foreign minister for controversial “informal talks” that further split the bloc.

Then on Wednesday, on the second day of ASEAN talks, Thailand’s top diplomat announced that he met last week with Suu Kyi — who has been detained since the coup, and jailed by a junta court for a total of 33 years.

Don Pramudwinai said he met the Nobel laureate on Sunday in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw and said she was in “good health” and “encouraged dialogue”.

Don “freely discussed what he wanted” with Suu Kyi, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in an audio statement posted by the military’s information team Thursday, adding that her health was “good”.

On Thursday, Don told reporters: “It has been two years now, [and] not much improvement. So there must be reengagement with Myanmar.”

‘Safe, stable, prosperous’ 

Indonesia has said any other efforts must support ASEAN’s existing five-point peace plan to end the violence and renew talks.

The southeast Asian diplomat who spoke to AFP said ASEAN members would support Thailand’s initiative, “provided it served the purpose of complementing the chair’s role”.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir told reporters that all members were working towards the “same issue”, which was ensuring that Southeast Asia was “a region that is safe, stable and prosperous”.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Jakarta had engaged in “quiet diplomacy” with all sides of the conflict, and in its seven months as chair had held more than 110 engagements concerning Myanmar.

But analysts said Thailand was taking the lead on the crisis, undercutting ASEAN efforts and shifting the centre of negotiation to Bangkok.

A Thai foreign ministry official declined to comment on Indonesia’s work as ASEAN chair.

Southeast Asian ministers were on Thursday meeting with their South Korean, Japanese and Chinese counterparts for ASEAN-plus-three talks.

Economic cooperation, the disputed South China Sea and Myanmar were expected to be high on the agenda, analysts said.

“Japan and South Korea have an interest to prevent Myanmar from joining China’s orbit,” said Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations expert at Padjadjaran University.

China was represented at the talks by top diplomat Wang Yi instead of Foreign Minister Qin Gang after Qin pulled out for “health reasons”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

After that meeting, Wang was to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for their second round of talks in as many months, seeking to manage tensions.

VILNIUS- In a development that reassures Ukraine's security, President Joe Biden, on Wednesday, affirmed that the combined declaration of support from G7 nations emphasises their enduring commitment to Kyiv. This statement from the top-tier democracies sends a message that their backing for Ukraine is here to stay.

While addressing the NATO summit in Vilnius subsequent to the first-ever NATO-Ukraine council meeting, President Biden shared that the western nations are committing to long-term support to Ukraine's security. This comes as Ukraine advances in its journey towards full membership in the soon-to-be expanded 31-nation alliance.

The G7 leaders gathered at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on Wednesday and laid out an international strategy that sets the stage for lasting security assurances for Ukraine. This is intended to dissuade Russia from any future invasions.

This joint statement, which welcomes other countries to participate, was announced by G7 leaders from the US, Germany, Japan, France, Canada, Italy, and the UK, in addition to the European Union. The blueprint encompasses components like modern sophisticated military gear, training, intelligence cooperation, and cyber defense.

In return, Ukraine will commit to enhancing its government policies. This includes judicial and economic overhauls, along with boosting transparency.

President Biden assured that the G7 is dedicated to assisting Ukraine in bolstering its military as it anticipates joining NATO. He highlighted that Ukraine's destiny is intertwined with NATO, and the G7's support will be unwavering in the years to come.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lauded the multilateral agreement which smoothens the way for one-on-one negotiations with nations, calling it a substantial security triumph for Ukraine. However, he expressed his dissatisfaction over the ambiguous pathway to NATO membership for his country.

"Today there are security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to NATO," he said. "The Ukraine delegation is bringing home the significant security victory."

Zelenskyy also spoke of "a meaningful, powerful meeting" with Biden on the sidelines of the summit. "We discussed in detail the situation on the frontline, our capabilities, further long-term defense cooperation, and internal Russian processes given the recent events," Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — An explosives attack on police investigating a report of clandestine graves in a violence-wracked region of Mexico left six people dead and 12 wounded, authorities said on Wednesday.

“It’s an act of brutal terror,” said Enrique Alfaro, governor of the western state of Jalisco.

The “cowardly attack” targeted municipal police and staff from the state prosecutor’s office using seven improvised explosive devices, he said.

The region is home to the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent drug trafficking groups.

“This is an unprecedented event that shows what these organised crime groups are capable of,” Alfaro said.

“This attack also represents a challenge against the Mexican state as a whole,” he added.

The patrol was responding to a report from a member of a group searching for missing relatives who said she had received an anonymous tipoff about clandestine graves, the governor said.

More than 100,000 people are listed as having disappeared in Mexico and even looking for them can carry significant risks.

Alfaro said Jalisco’s security cabinet was “in permanent session” to investigate the attack, which has not been attributed to a specific criminal organisation.

Authorities learned of the incident shortly after 8:00pm Tuesday (02:00 GMT Wednesday), with reports indicating a burnt-out vehicle with five people inside in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, a suburb of the city of Guadalajara, police sources said.

Forensic investigators were sent to the scene, as well as several ambulances to transport the injured to hospital.

According to reports by local network Televisa, the explosion occurred near a vehicle in which the security officials were travelling.

While rare in Mexico, a car bomb killed a national guard member and wounded others in June in Guanajuato, another state hit hard by cartel-linked violence.

Authorities also reported a drone attack on a house in the Michoacan town of Apatzingan this month that wounded one person.

Also on Tuesday, 13 security personnel who had been taken captive the day before by protesters in the southern state of Guerrero were released after negotiations with authorities.

Officials said the protesters were infiltrated by a criminal group in Guerrero, which has endured years of violence linked to turf wars between drug cartels.

Mexico has recorded more than 340,000 murders and some 100,000 disappearances since the launch of a controversial military anti-drug offensive in 2006, most attributed to criminal organisations.