Europe
NATO to send 700 more troops to Kosovo to help quell violent protests
NATO will send 700 more troops to northern Kosovo to help quell violent protests after clashes with ethnic Serbs there left 30 international soldiers wounded, the alliance announced Tuesday.
The latest violence in the region has stirred fear of a renewal of the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo that claimed more than 10,000 lives, left more than 1 million people homeless and resulted in a NATO peacekeeping mission that has lasted nearly a quarter of a century.
The clashes grew out of a confrontation that unfolded last week after ethnic Albanian officials elected in votes overwhelmingly boycotted by Serbs entered municipal buildings to take office. When Serbs tried to block them, Kosovo police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Also Read: 25 NATO-led peacekeepers injured in Kosovo in clashes with Serbs outside municipal building
More violence followed on Monday when Serbs clashed with police and NATO peacekeepers.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said an additional reserve battalion would be put on high readiness in case additional troops are needed.
"These are prudent steps," said Stoltenberg, who made the announcement in Oslo after talks with the Norwegian prime minister.
The NATO-led peacekeeping mission in the region is known as KFOR and currently consists of almost 3,800 troops.
Also Tuesday, KFOR's multinational peacekeepers used metal fences and barbed-wire barriers to reinforce positions in a northern town that has become a hot spot. The troops sealed off the municipal building in Zvecan, where unrest on Monday sent tensions soaring.
A former province of Serbia, Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence is not recognized by Belgrade. Ethnic Albanians make up most of the population, but Kosovo has a restive Serb minority in the north of the country bordering Serbia.
Stoltenberg condemned the violence and warned that NATO troops would "take all necessary actions to maintain a safe and secure environment for all citizens in Kosovo."
He urged both sides to refrain from "further irresponsible behavior" and to return to EU-backed talks on improving relations.
The United States and most European Union nations have recognized Kosovo's independence from Serbia while Russia and China have sided with Belgrade. China on Tuesday expressed its support for Serbia's efforts to "safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity," and Moscow has repeatedly criticized Western policies in the dispute.
In response to the confrontation last week, Serbia put the country's military on the highest state of alert and sent more troops to the border with Kosovo. The Serbs protested again Monday, insisting that both ethnic Albanian mayors and Kosovo police must leave northern Kosovo.
The confrontations worsened when Serbs attempted to enter the municipal offices in Zvecan, 45 kilometers (28 miles) north of the capital, Pristina. They clashed first with Kosovo police and then with the international peacekeepers.
In a video message issued Tuesday evening, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the mayors elected on April 23 "are the only ones who have the legitimacy to be at the municipal buildings and to the citizens' service."
Instigators of the violence have been identified, according to the prime minister, who named some Serb businessmen who oblige their employees to protest.
"In Kosovo, power is won through elections, not with violence and crime," he said.
The United States and the EU recently stepped up their efforts to negotiate an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo, fearing instability as Russia's war rages in Ukraine. The EU has made it clear to both Serbia and Kosovo that they must normalize relations if they're to make any progress toward joining the bloc.
"We have too much violence in Europe already today. We cannot afford another conflict," the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told reporters Tuesday in Brussels.
As a first step to easing tensions, he said, Kosovo police should suspend the operation focusing on municipal buildings in the north, and violent protesters should "stand down."
In response to the recent unrest, NATO has decided to increase its KFOR troops with the deployment of "operational reserve forces" for the Western Balkans, a statement said, without specifying a number. Another unit will be on standby "to be ready to reinforce KFOR if necessary."
A statement issued Tuesday by KFOR said 30 soldiers — 11 Italians and 19 Hungarians — were hurt, including fractures and burns from improvised explosive incendiary devices.
Three Hungarian soldiers were "wounded by the use of firearms," but their injuries were not life-threatening, the statement added.
Serb officials said 52 people were injured, including three seriously. Four protesters were detained, according to Kosovo police.
"Both parties need to take full responsibility for what happened and prevent any further escalation, rather than hide behind false narratives," KFOR commander Maj. Gen. Angelo Michele Ristuccia said.
Belgrade and Pristina have blamed each other for the escalation.
Meanwhile, ambassadors from the so-called Quint countries — France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the U.S. — met Monday with Kurti in Pristina and on Tuesday with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade.
Vucic later also met with the ambassadors in Serbia of Russia and China.
In a statement from his office, Vucic expressed "immense dissatisfaction and strong concern" over what he described as international "tolerance" of Kurti's actions that fueled violence against Serbs.
Urgent measures to guarantee the security of the Serbs in Kosovo are a precondition for any future talks, Vucic insisted.
Kurti has thanked KFOR troops for "valiant action to preserve peace in the face of violent extremism."
Russia and China both have sharply criticized Western backing for Kosovo's independence. Russian President Vladimir Putin often has cited the "precedent" of NATO bombardment of Serbia in 1999 to justify his unlawful annexation of parts of Ukraine.
The conflict in Kosovo erupted in 1998 when separatist ethnic Albanians rebelled against Serbia's rule, and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died.
NATO's military intervention in 1999 eventually forced Serbia to pull out of the territory and paved the way for the establishment of the KFOR peacekeeping mission.
Russia launches pre-dawn attack on Kyiv, killing at least 1; Moscow attacked by drones
Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on Ukraine’s capital Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending Kyiv’s residents again scrambling into shelters to escape a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardments. Moscow authorities reported a drone attack on the Russian capital.
At least 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv’s airspace in Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to the Kyiv Military Administration.
The buzzing of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defense systems.
In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack.
Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant damage” to several buildings and that no one has been seriously hurt, without elaborating.
Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin said.
There was no immediate comment on the attacks from Ukrainian officials.
It was the second reported an attack on Moscow, after authorities said two drones targeted the Kremlin earlier this month in what was labeled an attempt on President Vladimir Putin’s life.
In the attacks overnight on Kyiv, one person died and three were injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv district caught fire. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze but frequently the falling debris from drones being hit and the interceptor missiles have caused damage on the ground.
The building’s upper two floors were destroyed, and there may be people under the rubble, the Kiyv Military Administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated.
Resident Valeriya Oreshko told The Associated Press in the aftermath that even though the immediate threat was over, the attacks had everyone on edge.
“You are happy that you are alive, but think about what will happen next,” the 39-year-old said.
Oksana, who only gave her first name, said the whole building shook when it was hit.
“Go to shelters, because you really do not know where it (the drone) will fly,” she advised others. “We hold on.”
Elsewhere in the capital, falling debris caused a fire in a private house in the Darnytskyi district and three cars were set alight in the Pechersky district, according to the military administration.
The series of attacks that began Sunday included a rare daylight attack Monday that left puffs of white smoke in the blue skies.
On that day, Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv at about 11:30 a.m., according to Ukraine’s chief of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. All of them were shot down, he said.
Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in Kyiv’s central and northern districts during the morning, landing in the middle of traffic on a city road and also starting a fire on the roof of a building, the Kyiv military administration said. At least one civilian was reported hurt.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched a series of strikes early Monday targeting Ukrainian air bases with precision long-range air-launched missiles. The strikes destroyed command posts, radars, aircraft and ammunition stockpiles, it claimed. It didn’t say anything about hitting cities or other civilian areas.
25 NATO-led peacekeepers injured in Kosovo in clashes with Serbs outside municipal building
The NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force on Monday said that 25 of its troops were injured in the clashes with ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo who were trying to take over the offices of one of the municipalities where ethnic Albanian mayors took up their posts last week.
The Serbs started clashing with the police in the morning in the municipality of Zvecan, 45 kilometers (28 miles) north of the capital, Pristina. In the afternoon, KFOR soldiers called on Serbs to clear the way for two vehicles from the Kosovar special police forces.
The soldiers then used tear gas and stun grenades to protect the Kosovar officers in the vehicles and disperse protesters, according to witnesses and local media. The assembled Serbs responded by throwing rocks and other hard objects.
"Several soldiers of the Italian and Hungarian KFOR contingent were the subject of unprovoked attacks and sustained trauma wounds with fractures and burns due to the explosion of incendiary devices," said a KFOR statement.
Some Kosovo police vehicles and one belonging to journalists were damaged. Pictures showed graffiti with Serb nationalist symbols sprayed over them.
The violence was the latest incident as tensions soared over the past week, with Serbia putting the country's military on high alert and sending more troops to the border with Kosovo, which declared independence from Belgrade in 2008.
Kosovo and Serbia have been foes for decades, with Belgrade refusing to recognize Kosovo's sovereignty.
The United States and the European Union have stepped up efforts to help solve the Kosovo-Serbia dispute, fearing further instability in Europe as Russia's war rages in Ukraine. The EU has made it clear to both Serbia and Kosovo they must normalize relations if they're to make any progress toward joining the bloc.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov considered the situation in Kosovo as "worrisome," blaming the U.S. and NATO for claiming dominance in that part of the world.
"A big 'explosion' is brewing in the center of Europe, in the very place where, in 1999, NATO carried out aggression against Yugoslavia," he said from Nairobi, Kenya.
On Monday, Kosovar police and the NATO-led Kosovo Force, or KFOR, were seen protecting the municipal buildings in Zvecan, Leposavic, Zubin Potok and Mitrovica, four municipalities in the north that held early elections last month.
The votes were largely boycotted by ethnic Serbs, who form the majority in those areas. Only ethnic Albanian or other smaller minority representatives were elected to the mayoral posts and assemblies.
Police said that Serbs gathered early Monday morning at three of the municipal buildings — in Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok but not in northern Mitrovica. In Zvecan, they tried to enter using violence and tear gas. The situation remains tense in Zvecan, a police statement said.
Serbia's prime minister, Ana Brnabic, criticized the international handling of the events in Kosovo, saying that KFOR was "not protecting the people … they are protecting the usurpers," apparently referring to the new mayors.
"But we must protect the peace. Peace is all we have," she said.
Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said the Serbian army was wrapping up its deployment following the decision to raise the alert level. Vucevic, who said he was hoping for a political solution, also criticized KFOR, saying that their position "looks like they are protecting the police from unarmed people."
Serbs say they want both the new mayors, whom they called "illegal and illegitimate sheriffs," to resign and leave the offices, and special police to leave northern Kosovo, according to Goran Rakic, a local Serb politician.
KFOR increased its presence in the four municipalities, including Mitrovica. It called on all sides to refrain from actions that could cause escalation and urged both "Belgrade and Pristina to engage in the EU-led dialogue."
U.S. Ambassador Jeff Hovenier met with President Vjosa Osmani and then together with other western powers' ambassadors — the U.S., France, Italy, Germany and the U.K. known as the Quint — with Prime Minister Albin Kurti, urging him to take steps to de-escalate the situation and reduce tensions.
They suggested the newly elected mayors work in other buildings, not from the municipality buildings.
"Peaceful protest needs to remain peaceful," said Hovenier, denouncing the Serbs' violence.
EU Ambassador Tomas Szunyog denounced the attack on journalists' cars saying that "journalists must be allowed to conduct their work without fear for their safety."
Last Friday, ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, who are a majority in that part of the country, tried to block recently elected ethnic Albanian officials from entering municipal buildings. Kosovo police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd and let the new officials into the offices.
More than a dozen Serbs and five Kosovar police officers were injured. Serbian troops on the border with Kosovo were put on high alert the same day.
The U.S. and the EU condemned Kosovo's government for using police to forcibly enter the municipal buildings.
At a rally Friday evening in Belgrade with his supporters, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said, "Serbia won't sit idle the moment Serbs in northern Kosovo are attacked."
However, any attempt by Serbia to send its troops over the border would mean a clash with NATO-led troops stationed there.
The conflict in Kosovo erupted in 1998 when separatist ethnic Albanians rebelled against Serbia's rule, and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died. NATO's military intervention in 1999 eventually forced Serbia to pull out of the territory. Washington and most EU countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent state, but Serbia, Russia and China haven't.
Russia strikes Kyiv in daylight after hitting Ukraine's capital with series of nighttime barrages
Explosions rattled Kyiv during daylight Monday as Russian ballistic missiles took aim at the Ukrainian capital, hours after a more common nighttime barrage of the city by drones and cruise missiles.
Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv at about 11:30 a.m. (0830 GMT; 4:30 a.m. EDT), according to Ukraine's chief of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. All of them were shot down, he said, and puffs of white smoke could be seen in the blue sky over the city from street level.
Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in Kyiv's central and northern districts during the morning, landing in the middle of traffic on a city road and also starting a fire on the roof of a building, the Kyiv military administration said. At least one civilian was reported hurt.
The blasts unnerved some locals, already under strain after being awakened by the night attack.
"After what happened last night, I react sharply to every siren now. I was terrified, and I'm still trembling," shared Alina Ksenofontova, a 50-year-old woman who took refuge in the Kyiv subway with her dog Bublik.
The central station, Teatralna, was crowded with sheltering locals.
Artem Zhyla, a 24-year-old who provides legal services abroad, took his laptop with him and kept working underground.
"I heard two or three explosions, went to the bathroom, and then I heard five or seven more explosions. That's when I realized something terrible was happening," he said.
Like many others in the capital, he feels exhausted and stressed. However, he has no intention of giving up and plans to attend his yoga class to recharge.
"This is certainly not enough to break us," he said.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska both posted a video of what they said were frightened schoolchildren running and screaming down a Kyiv street toward a bomb shelter as sirens wailed.
"This is what an ordinary weekday looks like," the president wrote on Telegram.
Russia used Iskander short-range missiles in the morning attack, the spokesman for Ukraine's air force said on local television.
The missiles were fired from north of Kyiv, Yurii Ihnat said, without clarifying if he meant Russian territory. Kyiv lies around 380 kilometers (236 miles) from the Russian border.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched a series of strikes early Monday targeting Ukrainian air bases with precision long-range air-launched missiles. The strikes destroyed command posts, radars, aircraft and ammunition stockpiles, it claimed. It didn't say anything about hitting cities or other civilian areas.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned against indifference, saying the repeated strikes on civilian areas amounted to "war crimes."
"Russia's drone and missile attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities cannot be seen as usual, no matter how frequent they grow," he tweeted in English.
During the previous night, Ukraine air defenses brought down more than 40 targets as Russian forces bombarded Kyiv with a combination of drones and cruise missiles in their 15th nighttime attack on the capital so far this month, said Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration.
On Saturday night, Kyiv was subjected to the largest drone attack since the start of Russia's war. At least one person was killed, local officials said.
The Kremlin's strategy of long-range bombardment has brought many sleepless nights for Ukrainians.
Over the winter, Russian forces aimed their missiles and drones at power plants and other infrastructure. The apparent goal was to weaken Ukraine's resolve and compel the Ukrainian government to negotiate peace on Moscow's terms, but Ukrainians swiftly and defiantly repaired the damage.
In recent months, Ukraine has been receiving advanced air defense systems from its Western allies, improving its ability to fend off bombardments by the Kremlin's forces.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is to speak Tuesday at the United Nations Security Council about safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control and endangered by the fighting.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's amabssador to international organizations in Vienna, said IAEA head Rafael Grossi was expected to "set out specific ideas" about how to strengthen security at the plant, which is Europe's largest nuclear power station.
Across the country, the Ukrainian air force said that over Sunday night it shot down 37 out of 40 cruise missiles and 29 out of 35 drones launched by the Kremlin's forces.
Four civilians were killed and around two dozen others were injured, including three children and a pregnant woman, in Russian shelling elsewhere across the country, authorities said.
Russian warplanes dropped bombs on the town of Toretsk on Monday afternoon, killing three civilians, Donetsk regional Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said.
Strikes on the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region killed two people, officials said.
Meanwhile, in the Belgorod region of Russia on the border with Ukraine, one person was killed by Ukrainian shelling of the village of Grafovka, according to Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Russian missiles also slammed into a military airport In the western Khmelnytskyi region of Ukraine, destroying five aircraft and damaging the runway, local Gov. Serhyi Hamaliy said on television.
The strike sparked fires at nearby warehouses storing fuel and military equipment, he added.
What 5 more years of Erdogan's rule means for Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection in a runoff Sunday, following a nail-biter first round two weeks earlier. Having secured another five years, Erdogan now faces a host of domestic challenges in a deeply divided country, from a battered economy to pressure for the repatriation of Syrian refugees to the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake.
Here's a look at the challenges ahead.
Economy: how much longer can Erdogan's unorthodox policies be sustained?
Inflation in Turkey hit a staggering 85% in October before easing to 44% last month — although independent experts think the latest figure still masks how severe the cost-of-living crisis is in a country where people are having trouble paying skyrocketing rents and buying basic goods.
Critics blame the crisis on Erdogan's policy of keeping interest rates low to promote growth. Economists generally recommend raising rates to combat inflation.
Despite a faltering economy, Erdogan won the election, in part by softening the effects of inflation with public spending that experts say is unsustainable, including minimum wage and pension increases.
"The Turkish economy has been partying for a long time and well beyond its means. And I think in the period after the election, this is when we are going to pay for the feast that we consumed," said Selva Demiralp, professor of economics at Istanbul's Koc University.
Moving forward, the government will need to decide whether to stick to low rates, as Erdogan has promised, make gradual hikes, or combine small increases with other measures. All will be bring an "unavoidable slowdown" in the Turkish economy and higher unemployment rates, according to Demiralp, but the question is whether it's a controlled slowdown or a sudden stop.
Earthquake: Erdogan has vowed to rebuild — but at what cost?
Erdogan's overwhelming victory in the provinces hit hardest by the Feb. 6 earthquake that killed some 50,000 people came despite criticism that the government's response was slow and ineffective.
Voters in nine of the 11 provinces affected by the quake backed the president, including in especially hard-hit Hatay. In his victory speech, Erdogan said rebuilding efforts would be a top priority for his government.
The World Bank estimates that the earthquake caused $34.2 billion in "direct damages" — an amount equivalent to 4% of Turkey's 2021 gross domestic product. The recovery and reconstruction costs could add up to twice that much, it said.
Erdogan's two-decades in power have been marked by a huge boom in construction. Despite criticism that the lax enforcement of building codes contributed to the deadliness of the quake, many of his supporters believe he has shown that he can rebuild. But geologists and engineers have warned that a speedy construction campaign could also pose risks.
Syrians: Erdogan under pressure to send refugees home
Erdogan is deeply aware that sentiment has soured on the 3.4 million Syrians who fled violence at home for Turkey, especially as the country grapples with an economic downturn.
In his victory speech, Erdogan said some 600,000 refugees had already voluntarily returned to Syria, where his government is creating so-called "safe zones" in northern areas that it controls. An additional million would follow thanks to a joint resettlement program with Qatar, Erdogan said, without providing details.
But Emma Sinclair-Webb from Human Rights Watch said Syria is still not safe for many refugees — while the polarizing discourse in Turkey is also creating a dangerous situation for them.
Rights and freedoms: Erdogan signals crackdown to continue
Erdogan's presidency has been marked by a crackdown on freedom of expression and increasing hostility toward minority groups: Mainstream media is pro-government, internet censorship is widespread, new social media laws could limit expression online, and he has frequently targeted members of the LGBTQ community and ethnic Kurds.
In the aftermath of the 2016 failed coup attempt that Turkey blames on a U.S.-based Muslim cleric, the government used broad terror laws to imprison those with links to the cleric, pro-Kurdish politicians and members of civil society.
Sinclair-Webb, the human rights campaigner, said Erdogan's victory speech was a "taste of what's to come" when he targeted the imprisoned pro-Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas, as crowds chanted slogans for capital punishment.
He similarly used another victory speech to stir up anti-LGBTQ sentiment.
Erdogan once called the mistreatment of gay people "inhumane" but now refers to members of LGBTQ community as "deviants." Since 2015, his government has banned pride parades, as officials have increased the use of discriminatory language while trying to strengthen their conservative base.
Erdogan's government has also withdrawn Turkey from a landmark European treaty protecting women from domestic violence, bowing to conservative groups that claimed the treaty promoted homosexuality.
Anti-gay rhetoric only escalated during Erdogan's campaign.
"Mentioning it again at the first opportunity in the balcony speech on victory is a chilling reminder of how he's really putting LGBT people at great risk," said Sinclair-Webb, the human rights campaigner.
Turkey's oldest LGBTQ association, Kaos GL, said that Erdogan's win would not silence them.
"Even though they promise to shut us down, we came out once and we are not going back in," the organization and others said in a statement.
Spanish prime minister calls early general election after battering in regional vote
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday called an early general election for July 23 in a surprise move after his Socialist party took a serious battering in local and regional elections.
Prior to Sunday's debacle, Sánchez had insisted that he would ride out his four-year term with leftist government coalition partner United We Can, indicating that a election would be held in December.
But the outcome of the local and regional votes quickly changed things.
"I have taken this decision given the results of the elections held yesterday," Sánchez said Monday from the Moncloa presidential palace.
The woes for Sánchez and his PSOE party come as Spain is due to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1.
Sánchez said he had spoken to King Felipe VI and would hold a special Cabinet meeting later Monday to dissolve parliament. The date chosen for the early election comes in the middle of Spain's summer holiday period, with many people likely to be away from their voting areas.
The local and regional elections on Sunday saw Spain taking a major swing to the right and made the leading opposition conservative Popular Party, or PP, the main political force in the country.
"This is unexpected," said Ignacio Jurado, a political scientist at Madrid's Carlos III University. "Sánchez is trying to short circuit the PP's rise as soon as possible."
In the municipal vote, the Popular Party, or PP, won 31.5% of votes compared with 28.2% for the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, or PSOE. This was a 1.2 percentage point decrease for PSOE on 2019, but almost a nine point increase for the PP, which benefited from the collapse of the centrist Citizens party.
The PP, which is led by Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, won in seven of the 12 regions contested and dominated in several regions previously won by PSOE including Valencia, Aragon and La Rioja. It remains to be seen how much the PP will be forced to rely on far-right party Vox to form local and regional governments.
PP also won an absolute majority in the region and capital of Madrid, with Isabel Díaz Ayuso being reelected as Madrid's regional president.
Spain's regional governments have enormous power and budgetary discretion over education, health, housing and policing
Sánchez said that although the elections Sunday were local and regional, the trend in the vote sent a message.
"I take full responsibility for the results and I think it is necessary to provide an answer and put our democratic mandate to the people," he said.
The poor showing by both by the Socialists and United We Can was immediately taken as a dire assessment of public feeling towards the ruling leftist coalition. The new leftist group Sumar, headed by Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz, also failed to live up to expectations.
"Sánchez reacts to a shock with another shock," Spanish political expert Sandra León said. "He also avoids deterioration of his party in two ways: the costs of internal division in the government until December and the division with PSOE party barons in the regions."
She said the announcement will force the parties to the left of the Socialists — United We Can and Sumar — to regroup fast.
Although the coalition government has shepherded Spain out of the COVID-19 pandemic, made the economy among the fastest growing in the EU and introduced several ground-breaking laws, something was sorely lacking.
"The message received last night was clear: Things have to be done differently," Díaz tweeted.
Feijóo has capitalized on criticizing the coalition's reliance to stay in power through support from separatist parties such as the Republican Left in Catalonia and the Basque region's EH Bildu.
Sánchez has been in office since 2018, when he brought and won a no-confidence vote against the PP prime minister at the time, Mariano Rajoy. He then led the Socialists to a general election victory in 2019.
Why do Kosovo-Serbia tensions persist?
Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared anew this weekend after Kosovo's police raided Serb-dominated areas in the region's north and seized local municipality buildings.
There have been violent clashes between Kosovo's police and local Serbs, leaving several people injured on both sides.
Serbia raised combat readiness of its troops stationed near the border and warned it won't stand by if Serbs in Kosovo are attacked again. The situation has again fueled fears of a renewal of the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo that claimed more than 10,000 lives and left more than 1 million homeless.
Why are Serbia and Kosovo at odds?
Kosovo is a mainly ethnic Albanian populated territory that was formerly a province of Serbia. It declared independence in 2008.
Serbia has refused to recognize Kosovo's statehood and still considers it part of Serbia, even though it has no formal control there.
Kosovo's independence has been recognized by about 100 countries, including the United States. Russia, China and five European Union nations have sided with Serbia. The deadlock has kept tensions simmering and prevented full stabilization of the Balkan region after the bloody wars in the 1990s.
What's the latest flare-up about?
After Serbs boycotted last month's local elections held in northern Kosovo, where Serbs represent a majority, newly elected ethnic Albanian mayors moved into their offices with the help of Kosovo's riot police last Friday.
Serbs tried to prevent them from taking over the premises, but the police fired tear gas to disperse them.
On Monday, Serbs staged a protest in front of the municipality buildings, triggering a tense standoff. The election boycott followed a collective resignation by Serb officials from the area, including administrative staff, judges, and police officers, in November 2022.
How deep is the ethnic conflict in Kosovo?
The dispute over Kosovo is centuries-old. Serbia cherishes the region as the heart of its statehood and religion.
Numerous medieval Serb Orthodox Christian monasteries are in Kosovo. Serb nationalists view a 1389 battle against Ottoman Turks there as a symbol of its national struggle.
Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians view Kosovo as their country and accuse Serbia of occupation and repression. Ethnic Albanian rebels launched a rebellion in 1998 to rid the country of Serbian rule.
Belgrade's brutal response prompted a NATO intervention in 1999, which forced Serbia to pull out and cede control to international peacekeepers.
What is the situation locally?
There are constant tensions between the Kosovo government and the Serbs who live mainly in the north of the country and keep close ties with Belgrade.
Attempts by the central government to impose more control in the Serb-dominated north are usually met with resistance from Serbs.
Mitrovica, the main town in the north, has been effectively divided into an ethnic Albanian part and a Serb-held part, and the two sides rarely mix. There are also smaller Serb-populated enclaves in the south of Kosovo, while tens of thousands of Kosovo Serbs live in central Serbia, where they fled together with the withdrawing Serb troops in 1999.
Have there been attempts to resolve the dispute?
There have been constant international efforts to find common ground between the two former wartime foes, but there has been no final comprehensive agreement so far.
EU officials have mediated negotiations designed to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Numerous agreements have been reached during the negotiations, but were rarely implemented on the ground. Some areas have seen results, like introducing freedom of movement within the country.
An idea has been floated for border changes and land swaps as the way forward, but this was rejected by many EU countries out of fears that it could cause a chain reaction in other ethnically mixed areas in the Balkans and trigger more trouble in the region that went through bloody wars in the 1990s.
Who are the main players?
Both Kosovo and Serbia are led by nationalist leaders who haven't shown readiness for a compromise.
In Kosovo, Albin Kurti, a former student protest leader and prisoner in Serbia, leads the government and is the main negotiator in EU-mediated talks. He was also known as a fierce supporter of Kosovo's unification with Albania and is against any compromise with Serbia.
Serbia is led by populist President Aleksandar Vucic, who was information minister during the war in Kosovo. The former ultranationalist insists that any solution must be a compromise in order to last and says the country won't settle unless it gains something.
What happens next?
International officials are hoping to speed up negotiations and reach a solution in the coming months.
Both nations must normalize ties if they want to advance toward EU membership. No major breakthrough would mean prolonged instability, economic decline and constant potential for clashes.
Any Serbian military intervention in Kosovo would mean a clash with NATO peacekeepers stationed there. Belgrade controls Kosovo's Serbs, and Kosovo can't become a member of the U.N. and a functional state without resolving the dispute with Serbia.
Turkey's Erdogan retains power, now faces challenges over the economy and earthquake recovery
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a mandate to rule until 2028, securing five more years as leader of a country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia that plays a key role in NATO. He must now confront skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis and rebuild in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people.
Erdogan secured more than 52% of the vote in Sunday’s presidential runoff, two weeks after he fell short of scoring an outright victory in the first round. His opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had sought to reverse Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian leanings, promising to return to democratic norms, adopt more conventional economic policies and improve ties with the West. But in the end, voters chose the man they see as a strong, proven leader.
Erdogan thanked the nation for entrusting him with the presidency again in two speeches he delivered in Istanbul and Ankara.
“The only winner today is Turkey,” Erdogan said outside the presidential palace in Ankara, promising to work hard for Turkey’s second century, which he called the “Turkish century.” The country marks its centennial this year.
Kilicdaroglu said the election was “the most unjust ever,” with all state resources mobilized for Erdogan.
“We will continue to be at the forefront of this struggle until real democracy comes to our country,” he said in Ankara.
Supporters of Erdogan, a divisive populist and masterful orator, took to the streets to celebrate, waving Turkish or ruling party flags, honking car horns and chanting his name. Celebratory gunfire was heard in several Istanbul neighborhoods.
Leaders across the world sent their congratulations, highlighting Turkey’s, and Erdogan’s, enlarged role in global politics. His next term is certain to include more delicate maneuvering with fellow NATO members over the future of the alliance and the war in Ukraine.
Western politicians said they are ready to continue working with Erdogan despite years of sometimes tense relations. Most imminently, Turkey holds the cards for Sweden’s hopes to join NATO. The bid aims to strengthen the military alliance against Russia. Turkey is also central to the continuity of a deal to allow Ukrainian grain shipments and avert a global food crisis.
In his victory remarks, Erdogan said rebuilding the quake-struck cities would be his priority. He also said a million Syrian refugees would go back to Turkish-controlled “safe zones” in Syria as part of a resettlement project being run with Qatar.
Erdogan has retained the backing of conservative voters who remain devoted to him for lifting Islam’s profile in Turkey, which was founded on secular principles, and raising the country’s influence in international politics.
Erdogan’s rival was a soft-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. The opposition took months to unite behind Kilicdaroglu. He and his party have not won any elections in which Erdogan ran.
In a frantic outreach effort to nationalist voters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu had vowed to send back refugees and ruled out peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he was elected.
Erdogan and pro-government media portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, as colluding with “terrorists” and supporting what they described as “deviant” LGBTQ rights.
In his victory speech, Erdogan repeated those themes, saying LGBTQ people cannot “infiltrate” his ruling party or its nationalist allies.
Erdogan transformed the presidency from a largely ceremonial role to a powerful office through a narrowly won 2017 referendum that scrapped Turkey’s parliamentary system of governance. He was the first directly elected president in 2014 and won the 2018 election that ushered in the executive presidency.
Erdogan is now serving his second term as president under the executive presidency. He could run again for another term if parliament — where his ruling party and allies hold a majority — calls early elections. The number of terms was a point of contention ahead of the elections when critics argued Erdogan would be ineligible to run again since he had also held the office before the system change but he pointed to the constitutional amendments that brought in the executive presidency as justification.
The first half of Erdogan’s tenure included reforms allowing the country to begin talks to join the European Union, as well as economic growth that lifted many out of poverty.
But he later moved to suppress freedoms and the media and concentrated more power in his own hands, especially after a failed coup attempt that Turkey says was orchestrated by the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement.
Sleepless in Kyiv: Nighttime Russian air campaign terrorizes citizens in Ukrainian capital
The attacks come at night, when most in Kyiv are sound asleep. The sirens wail across the Ukrainian capital, rousing bleary-eyed residents, who, after 15 months of war, have customized individual routines to cope with Russia’s latest air campaign.
In the recent escalation of Russian attacks, Olha Bukhno, 65, a cleaner, says a prayer every night. “Please,” she asks, closing her eyes and addressing the heavens, “Let it be quiet.”
By her bedside is a bag packed full of essentials: documents, dry foods and water. At the sound of the alarm, she dashes downstairs to her building’s basement and takes shelter. Nearly two weeks ago, debris from a shot-down missile landed on the roof of a building next to hers in Kyiv’s Darnytsia district, causing a large fire.
“Every night, we are afraid,” she said, tearing up.
When the alarm blares, some in the city are consumed by fear, imagining the worst-case scenarios that could unfold; displacement, being trapped under rubble, being killed. Others embrace apathy, lying awake in bed, as the sounds of explosions ricochet across the skies.
But in the past month, when Russian air attacks escalated to near-nightly raids, most people are complaining of sleeplessness. In the war-defying bustle of Kyiv’s cafes, restaurants and salons, business goes on despite the ongoing war, but everyone has a story about how tired they feel.
“What is there to say? Everyone is exhausted,” said Oleksandr Chubienko, a pharmacist in Darnytsia, describing the recent temper of his customers.
Russia launched another wave of attacks on Kyiv in the early hours of Monday using a combination of drones and cruise missiles. More than 40 air targets were brought down in what was the 15th nighttime attack on the capital in May, head of the Kyiv Military Administration Serhii Popko said in a Telegram update. Falling debris broke through the roof of a residential building in the Podlisk district but there were no immediate reports of casualties
“One more difficult night for the capital,” said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Often the explosions are the sounds of Ukraine’s air defense systems successfully targeting the deadly cocktail of missiles and drones Russia has sent into Ukraine. On May 16, Russia launched an exceptionally intense bombardment, sending 18 missiles Ukraine’s way, 14 of which targeted Kyiv according to Ukraine’s air force spokesman. Ukraine said it shot down six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles that night, a capability it did not have last year.
On Saturday night, local officials in Kyiv said that Ukraine’s capital was subjected to the largest drone attack since the start of Russia’s war. At least one person was killed. It came on the eve of Kyiv Day, which marks the anniversary of the city's founding.
The increasingly regular series of strikes are part of a new Russian air campaign targeting Ukrainian counteroffensive capabilities, experts and Ukrainian officials said. The uptick was noticed after April 19, right after Ukraine announced it had received American-made Patriot missiles, a long-sought new shield against Russian airstrikes. Observers said the renewed intensity of Russian attacks appears to be aiming to overwhelm and target these new systems.
The May 16 attack caused “minor” damage to one Patriot air defense system near Kyiv, U.S. officials said, adding that it was still operational.
The latest string of attacks also come after a previous winter-time escalation in air raids this year targeted critical infrastructure, including power stations and military logistics facilities. Ukrainian forces have become more effective in shooting down Russian missiles compared to earlier in the year, with many crediting the American systems.
But the defense systems can’t shield civilians from every harm. The debris from destroyed Russian missiles have rained down on civilians, causing fires and injuries.
For many in the city, the sound of the air raid alarm is accompanied by the constant ring of Telegram, the preferred app in Ukraine for sharing updates about the airstrikes. With every update — “Another coming from East,” “More launched from sea! Take cover!” — people respond with an emoji expressing expletives.
But the calculations that civilians make about what to do next is often very different across all walks of life, with some staying at home, resigned to their fate and others speeding toward safer spaces.
In Darnitsya, leftover debris from the fire was piled inside a large garbage can. Charred pieces of wood and insulation lie under the springtime sun, as parents stroll by with their children and neighbors exchange the latest gossip.
Pavlo Chervinskyi, 45, tells his 4-year-old daughter that it’s all a game when their apartment windows rattle with the distant boom of the nighttime explosions. Every time there is an air raid, he carries her to the corridor and waits for the all-clear.
With every bang, he tells her “Putin is making a racket again,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It’s better than to try to explain to her what is really going on, he said, watching her make sand castles in the family’s neighbourhood playground. It’s not exactly a lie, he explained. “We are being subjected to a game of Russian roulette every night.”
But still, it’s better to avoid telling his child the whole truth. “It’s better that it’s a joke between us,” he said. “Now she is used to it, and she isn’t afraid.”
She slept right through the weekend attacks, the businessman said. “At least someone is getting rest,” he added, with a weary smile.
Mariana Yavolina, a physical therapist, had the misfortune of moving to the residential compound in Darnitsya the day of the attack. She returned to her new apartment after midnight that night. The air raid alarm was blazing, but Yavolina had had enough.
She lay on her sofa and looked up at the ceiling; her first moment’s rest from the long day. In the distance, explosions resounded.
One, then another. She looked at her Telegram app for updates.
“I try not to take it so seriously,” Yavolina said. “It’s so annoying, and if you want to live yourself you can’t be consumed by it all the time.”
Bit by bit that night, she convinced herself that it was ok to sleep.
The next blast shook the entire apartment, jolting her awake. Outside, plumes of smoke clouded the view as flames raged from the roof of the building beside her. The stench of burning was overwhelming.
Soon firefighters and police arrived at the scene, forbidding anyone to take video of the wreckage. But Yavolina filmed anyway and sent the footage to a friend serving in the army.
“Just flowers,” he responded — a local idiom meaning it could have been much worse.
Migrants with children stuck at Poland’s border wall; activists say Belarus won’t let them turn back
A group of some 30 migrants seeking asylum, including small children, has been stuck at Poland's border wall with Belarus for three days, Polish human rights activists said Sunday.
Although the migrants were outside Poland's border wall, activists from Grupa Granica (Border Group) said they were on Polish territory and Belarus was not allowing them to turn back.
"In Belarus, they are not safe," activist Marta Staniszewska said.
"The Belarusian services, as this group has told us, threaten them that if they return, they will be beaten, or that they will kill them," Staniszewska told The Associated Press.
The migrants say that several among them are sick, one girl has a toothache, and the children have mosquito bites, according to Staniszewska.
A representative of Poland's ombudsman's office visited and talked to the group on Sunday, but later told reporters that the decision about whether to allow them into the country belongs to the Polish Border Guard.
"If these persons are indeed within the jurisdiction of the (Polish) Border Guard and declare their willingness to apply for international protection, then .... such applications should be accepted," Maciej Grzeskowiak said.
Last year, Poland put up almost 190 kilometers (117 miles) of tall metal wall intended to stop thousands of migrants from Asia and Africa entering the country from Belarus.
The European Union has accused authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of aiding illegal border crossings in retaliation for EU sanctions. Lukashenko denies encouraging migration to Europe.
Poland's most powerful politician, the head of Poland's right-wing ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said recently that building the wall was a good decision. He said it was protecting Poland and the EU against hostile moves by Belarus and Russia.
Despite the wall, up to 150 migrants of various nationalities, often with Russian visas in their documents, try to cross illegally into Poland each day, according to the Border Guard.
On some occasions, such groups threw stones and sticks from behind the wall at the border guards, but then apparently moved away. It is not possible from Poland's side to determine what happens to the groups.