Catalans form human V for Vote to seek choice on split from Spain
BARCELONA Spain (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of Catalans packed the streets of Barcelona on Thursday to demand the right to vote on a potential split from Spain, their ambitions boosted by an independence referendum scheduled for next week in Scot…
Venezuela extends night closure of Colombia border to stop smuggling
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela said on Thursday it would extend an overnight closure of its border with neighboring Colombia for another three months in a campaign to stop widespread fuel and food smuggling.
Scottish support for independence slips behind unionists a week before vote: poll
EDINBURGH (Reuters) – Supporters of keeping Scotland in the United Kingdom have clawed back a 4 percentage point lead over separatists, a YouGov poll showed on Friday with just a week to go before Scots vote in a referendum on independence.
Syria’s Nusra Front releases U.N. peacekeepers in Golan
GOLAN HEIGHTS (Reuters) – Dozens of Fijian U.N. peacekeepers, released by al Qaeda-linked group Nusra Front in Syria, arrived in Israeli-held territory on the Golan Heights on Thursday, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.
Exclusive: Brazil’s Silva would cut spending, end forex intervention program
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Marina Silva would push for large budget cuts and end a central bank foreign exchange program aimed at supporting the currency if she is elected Brazil’s next president in October, a senior economic adviser told Reuters on Thursday.
Despite chaos, Libya hopes to hold constitution vote in December
BENGHAZI Libya (Reuters) – Libya hopes to hold a referendum on a new constitution in December, a committee said on Thursday, undeterred by a descent into chaos and violence that has forced the elected parliament to move hundreds of miles from the capit…
Two years after protests, ‘China risk’ still haunts Japan firms
DANYANG China (Reuters) – Amid a revival in sales of Japanese goods in China and talk of renewed investment from some big firms such as Toyota, a dusty industrial park near Nanjing offers a cold reality check on the health of ties between Asia’s two bi…
Right-wing Chile congressman arrested for dictatorship-era killings
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Forty-one years to the day after General Augusto Pinochet seized power in a military coup in Chile, a right-wing legislator was arrested on Thursday for alleged involvement in the killing of three activists during the 17-year Pinoc…
After tax reform triumph, Chile’s president faces rockier road
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has chalked up her first political victory since returning to power as Congress approved a key tax reform, but she faces an uphill struggle to make good on other promises.
Exclusive: U.S. to sanction Sberbank, tighten limits on other Russian banks – sources
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will take new steps on Friday to limit the access of major Russian banks, including Sberbank, to U.S. debt and equity markets to punish Russia for its intervention in Ukraine, sources familiar with the matter sa…
