Catalonia leader calls election framed as vote on independence
MADRID (Reuters) – Catalan leaders threw down a challenge to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday by pressing ahead with early elections next month portrayed as a proxy for a vote on independence.
Burundian activist shot amid violence tied to contested presidential vote
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) – A prominent Burundi human rights activist who openly opposed President Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial bid for a third term in office was shot and seriously injured on Monday, a family member and witnesses said.
Italy arrests 11 in search for Sicilian mafia boss of bosses
ROME (Reuters) – Police in Sicily arrested 11 suspected mobsters they believe were helping Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro evade capture and spread his orders to the rest of the criminal organization.
Immigrants in Germany swell to record high 11 million
BERLIN (Reuters) – The number of immigrants living in Germany rose by 3.7 percent last year to a record high of 11 million and a fifth of the population is of a migrant background, the Federal Statistics Office said on Monday.
Iranian censors act against critics of nuclear deal: ISNA
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s Press Supervisory Board has suspended a hardline newspaper and cautioned two other outlets for criticizing last month’s nuclear deal with world powers — a rare move for a body more used to upholding social conservatism.
Dutch crane collapse demolishes houses, injuring at least 20
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Two cranes hoisting a massive section of bridge collapsed in a western Dutch town on Monday, flattening a row of houses and injuring at least 20 people, authorities said.
Activists hail slavery pledge inclusion in new U.N. development goals
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The decision to include a pledge to eradicate slavery at the heart of a new global development pact is a major victory but there is a long way to go, campaigners against trafficking and slavery said on Monday.
U.S., allies stage 29 air strikes against Islamic State: statement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State conducted 29 air strikes against the militant group in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, the task force leading the operation said in a statement.
Libya probing guards seen in video beating jailed Gaddafi son
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyan state prosecutors are investigating unidentified guards purportedly shown in a video beating a son of Muammar Gaddafi held in a Tripoli prison, a statement said on Monday.
Calais crisis hardens tone of Britain’s immigration, EU debate
LONDON (Reuters) – Dramatic images of migrants storming the Channel Tunnel from France have prompted Prime Minister David Cameron’s government to ramp up anti-immigration rhetoric and spurred Eurosceptics to amplify calls for Britain to quit the Europe…
