Spain
Protests swell over housing crisis
BARCELONA — Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in protests held across the European country on Saturday in anger over high housing costs with no relief in sight. Government authorities said that 15,000 marched in Madrid, while organizers said 10 times that many took to the streets of the capital. In Barcelona, the city hall said 12,000 people took part in the protest, while organizers claimed over 100,000 did. The massive demonstration of social angst that is a major concern for Spain’s left-wing government was organized by housing activists and backed by Spain’s main labor unions. The housing crisis has hit particularly hard in Spain, where there is a strong tradition of home ownership and scant public housing for rent. Buying a home has become unaffordable for many, with market pressures and speculation driving up prices, especially in big cities and coastal areas. A generation of young people say they have to stay with their parents or spend big just to share an apartment, with little chance of saving enough to one day purchase a home. (AP)
Sri Lanka
Modi inaugurates new solar plant
COLOMBO — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated construction work on a solar plant in neighboring Sri Lanka and witnessed the signing of energy and defense agreements seen as efforts to consolidate New Delhi’s influence in the debt-stricken island nation. India has been concerned about China’s increasing presence in Sri Lanka, which is located on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes in what India considers part of its strategic backyard. Beijing has provided Sri Lanka with billions of dollars in loans for development projects. But Sri Lanka’s economic collapse in 2022 changed the country’s priorities and provided an opportunity for India, as New Delhi stepped in with massive financial and material assistance. At the same time, China’s support for restructuring its infrastructure loans is vital for Sri Lanka. Modi on Saturday held talks with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the two virtually inaugurated construction work on an Indian-funded 120-megawatt solar power plant, which is being built as a joint venture between the two countries. (AP)
Cambodia
Major naval base is expanded
SIHANOUKVILLE — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Saturday presided over the opening of an expansion of his country’s main naval base, which analysts and the US government suspect will be used as a strategic outpost by China. Construction of a new pier to accommodate much larger ships, a dry dock for repairs and other features was completed in recent weeks at the Ream Naval Base in southern Cambodia, on the Gulf of Thailand. The project has drawn great attention mainly because Washington — noting that China is Cambodia’s closest ally and main source of investment and aid — believes that Beijing has been secretly granted special and exclusive privileges to use the base, a claim repeatedly denied by Cambodian officials. (AP)
