Spain shores up legal powers to prevent Catalan breakaway
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s parliament on Thursday approved measures giving the Constitutional Court powers to fine or suspend authorities that do not carry out its sentences, shoring up legal powers to deal with any bid for independence from Catalonia….
Cyprus president says window for deal exists
NICOSIA (Reuters) – A settlement to Cyprus’s long running division must address concerns of estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriots, the island’s president said on Thursday, striking a conciliatory tone amid peace talks on the ethnically-split island.
Bahrain withdraws ambassador from Iran after bomb-factory find
CAIRO (Reuters) – Bahrain said on Thursday it had recalled its ambassador to Iran, a day after it said security forces had discovered a large bomb-making factory and arrested a number of suspects linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Yemeni government, Saudi-led forces retake Red Sea strait
DUBAI (Reuters) – Loyalist Yemeni troops and Gulf Arab forces on Thursday seized control of the Arabian side of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden from Houthi fighters, a spokesman for the Gulf-backed government …
South Africa’s new visa rules costs tourism industry $540 million in annual revenue
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s new visa rules will cost the tourism industry $540 million in yearly revenue, the head of an industry body said on Thursday.
Afghan refugees languish in Athens far from ‘promised land’
ATHENS (Reuters) – Afghan refugee Khodadad spends his days huddled with his family in an Athens square with little food, no money and dwindling hopes of ever reaching their desired destination: Germany.
Croatia court orders retrial of former PM Sanader after graft conviction
ZAGREB (Reuters) – Croatia’s Supreme Court ordered a retrial of former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader on Thursday and annulled his 2014 conviction for rigging public tenders and abusing state funds.
Assad allies, including Iranians, prepare ground attack in Syria: sources
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria in the last 10 days and will soon join government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies in a major ground offensive backed by Russian air strikes, two Lebanese sources told Reuter…
Merkel’s popularity slides to four-year low amid refugee crisis
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel has seen her popularity slump to its lowest level in nearly four years, reflecting growing concern over the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees into Germany, a poll showed on Thursday.
Syria and Ukraine: two fronts in Russian war for influence
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia’s air strikes in Syria are in part designed to extract concessions from the West over Ukraine by making Moscow a key player in any attempts by world powers to hammer out a post-conflict settlement in Damascus, som…
