Catalan president calls on EU leaders to support push for independence
MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia’s president has called on European Union prime ministers for support as the region seeks a vote on independence in November this year, the source of an increasingly bitter fight with Spain’s central government.
Daughter sees foul play in death of Palestinian envoy
PRAGUE/GAZA (Reuters) – The Palestinian envoy to Prague was ‘deliberately killed’, his daughter alleged on Thursday, a day after he died in a mysterious explosion after opening a safe in his residence.
China denounces U.S. for sending Uighur ‘terrorists’ to Slovakia
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the United States on Thursday for sending the last three Uighur Chinese inmates at the Guantanamo Bay detention center to Slovakia, saying they were “terrorists” who posed a real security danger.
Panama presses Spain and Italy to resolve canal cost row
PANAMA CITY/MADRID (Reuters) – The president of Panama said on Thursday he would go to Spain and Italy to put pressure on companies to honor contracts to expand his country’s canal after the building consortium handling the project threatened to suspen…
Sunni fighters repel army in western Iraqi cities
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Sunni Muslim fighters clashed on Thursday with Iraqi troops trying to regain control of two western cities, in a serious escalation of their confrontation with the Shi’ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Netanyahu gloomy as Kerry returns for peace talks
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a gloomy assessment of peace prospects with the Palestinians on Thursday as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry began his 10th visit to the region in pursuit of a deal.
Berlusconi files appeals against sex conviction
MILAN (Reuters) – Italian center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi filed an appeal on Thursday against his conviction for paying for sex with a minor and abuse of office over former teenage nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug, legal sources said on Thursda…
Turkish military seeks review of coup plot convictions
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s military said on Thursday it had filed a criminal complaint over court cases involving members of the armed forces, a move which could pave the way for the retrial of hundreds of officers convicted on coup plot charges.
Italy’s Renzi pushes for change on election law
ROME (Reuters) – Italian center-left leader Matteo Renzi called on Thursday for swift reform of an electoral system blamed for the country’s bouts of political deadlock and said he expected an agreement could be completed within weeks.
U.S. senators press Afghan president over prisoner release
KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. senators visited the Afghan president on Thursday to try to push forward talks to sign a crucial bilateral security deal and halt the release of prisoners the United States considers a threat to security.
