Latest news with #Valdivia
Associated Press
7 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Colombian soldier killed, 2 wounded in an attack from explosives laden on a mule
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A Colombian soldier was killed and two others wounded Wednesday when explosives carried by a mule exploded in rural northeastern Colombia, authorities said. Antioquia Gov. Andrés Julián Rendón confirmed the soldier's death and blamed the National Liberation Army (ELN ), a group of about 6,000 fighters that is still fighting Colombia's government. Rendón said 'an equine armed with explosives' targeted soldiers patrolling near Valdivia. The army later confirmed the animal was a mule and condemned 'the cruel and macabre use of animals to carry out terrorism.' Explosives delivered by car and motorcycle are more common in Colombia. The army said the last record of an animal being used was in 2013, when a dog was armed with explosives. Horses and donkeys have also been used in the past. President Gustavo Petro had opened a dialogue with the ELN and other armed groups with the goal of what he calls 'Total Peace,' but suspended talks with the ELN in January after the group launched an offensive against a rival near the Venezuelan border that left more than 90 people dead.
Local Spain
06-02-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
Spanish exports to UK grow by 25% in five years since Brexit
Spanish exports to the UK increased by 25 percent in the last five years despite Brexit, reaching a trade surplus of more than €12.5 billion. This is according to a new analysis by the Spanish International Road Transport Association (ASTIC), published to mark the fifth anniversary of Britain's withdrawal from the EU. Despite post-Brexit bureaucracy and a period of initial legal uncertainty, the UK continues to be a key market for Spanish goods exports, ranking as the fifth largest destination in 2023 with 6 percent of the total. The UK follows France (16 percent), Germany (11 percent), Italy (9 percent) and Portugal (9 percent). Figures from Spain's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise show that the primary goods exported to the UK are food, beverages and tobacco, along with the car sector (both vehicles and components) and chemical products. That's not to say that Brexit, compounded by the supply chain shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, didn't hamper exports initially. In 2019, Spanish exports to the UK amounted to €19 billion. A year later, they fell to a little over €16 billion. In 2021, with the official end of the Brexit transition period, exports recovered slightly to €16.8 billion, and in 2022 grew to over €22 billion and then in 2023 exceeded €24 billion. Although the 2024 Annual Foreign Trade Report (COMEX) has not yet been published, ASTIC expects the figures to remain at similar levels. 'Five years after Brexit, the United Kingdom continues to be strategic for our trade thanks, among other factors, to the resilience, competitiveness, experience and specialised knowledge of the companies that make up our supply chain. Companies that help position our goods in the UK and that have successfully adapted to the new reality, including our transport companies, an essential part of the equation considering the approximate weekly transit of 9,000 Spanish lorry journeys to the UK,' said Ramón Valdivia, executive vice-president of ASTIC. When Brexit officially came into force, the need to comply with new rules and regulations posed a logistical challenge for transport companies, which have had to adapt to and comply with changeable customs and security requirements imposed by the British government. The need for more health certificates, security declarations and customs controls increased the bureaucratic burden of exporters and logistics companies, something Valdivia states Spanish companies were quickly able to overcome. 'After a difficult start, characterised by a high level of confusion and uncertainty and aggravated by the outbreak of Covid, which led to a significant increase in empty journeys and new administrative regulations that raised operating costs, even leading some transport companies to abandon routes to the United Kingdom, road freight transport between the two countries began to stabilise," adds Valdivia. 'The professionalism, flexibility and know-how of our supply chain has ensured that our export machinery does not run out of steam: bilateral trade relations between the two countries show a historic trade surplus in favour of Spain.'
