Catalan language revival fuels backlash in Spain
CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT Spain (Reuters) – Francesca Munoz, the principal at Sant Miquel primary school near Barcelona, is fighting a linguistic crusade that has fueled a remarkable recovery of the local Catalan tongue – and of the region’s secessionist movement.
Bahrain charges opposition leader over meeting with U.S. diplomat
MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahrain has charged the country’s most senior opposition leader and one of his aides with holding an illegal meeting with a U.S. diplomat, the public prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
Myanmar jails reporters, newspaper boss for 10 years
YANGON, (Reuters) – Four journalists and a newspaper boss were sentenced in Myanmar on Thursday to 10 years’ jail with hard labor for reporting about an alleged chemical weapons factory, legal and media sources said.
Baghdad halts Kurdish cargo flights after ministers’ boycott
BAGHDAD/ARBIL (Reuters) – Kurdish ministers boycotted Iraq’s caretaker cabinet and authorities in Baghdad halted cargo flights to two Kurdish cities on Thursday in an escalating feud between the Kurds and the Shi’ite-led central government.
Turkish parliament gives legal recognition to Kurdish peace talks
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament approved a legal framework on Thursday for peace talks with Kurdish militants in an important step towards ending a three-decade insurgency a few weeks before a presidential election.
Seized nuclear material in Iraq ‘low grade’: U.N. agency
VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. atomic agency said on Thursday it believed nuclear material which Iraq said had fallen into the hands of insurgents was “low grade” and did not pose a significant security risk.
Turkish parliament gives legal recognition to Kurdish peace talks
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament approved a legal framework on Thursday for peace talks with Kurdish militants in an important step towards ending a three-decade insurgency a few weeks before a presidential election.
U.N. urges Saudi Arabia to release activists, halt lashings
GENEVA (Reuters) – The top United Nations human rights official called on Saudi Arabia on Thursday to release activists she said had been arrested for peacefully demanding freedoms, halt the use of lashings and investigate their alleged ill-treatment.
U.N. evacuates dozens of foreign staff from Libya
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – The United Nations has evacuated dozens of foreign staff from its mission in Libya due to a deteriorating security situation in the North African country, a U.N. spokesman said on Thursday.
EU imposes sanctions on South Sudanese military leaders
JUBA (Reuters) – The European Union announced travel bans and asset freezes on Thursday on two South Sudanese military leaders it said were violating ceasefire agreements put in place to stop fighting that has killed thousands.
