Spanish PM hardens Catalonia stance with eye on election
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday he would stand firm against what he called “inflammatory” Catalan separatist rhetoric, hardening his stance towards the region and upping the stakes in a broader political game.
Yemen warring parties receive draft agreements at peace talks: U.N. spokeswoman
Both Yemeni parties at peace talks in Sweden have received four draft agreements and were expected to give their responses on Wednesday, a U.N. spokeswoman said.
To neighbors, suspect in French market killings seemed just a local boy
The fugitive Strasbourg man suspected of shooting and knifing people as he shouted “Allahu Akbar” at the French city’s Christmas market is a criminal who turned radical Islamist in jail, officials say.
Betting odds indicate 89 percent chance UK’s May wins confidence vote
The betting odds have shifted sharply towards British Prime Minister Theresa May surviving a no-confidence vote on Wednesday after a leadership contest was called by lawmakers upset by her handling of Britain’s planned exit from the European Union.
As Modi takes a beating at Indian polls, small parties see big chance
After suffering an electoral thrashing at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party in 2014, India’s small regional and caste-based parties are back in the reckoning months ahead of the next general election.
U.S. not swayed by WTO reform proposals
Proposals for reforming the World Trade Organization fail to deal with problems raised by the United States, the U.S. envoy to the WTO told its General Council on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia seeks new political bloc in strategic Red Sea region
Saudi Arabia is seeking an alliance with six countries bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a strategic area vital to global shipping and increasingly an arena of contention with regional rivals like Iran, Turkey and Qatar.
Francis to say first Mass by a pope on Arabian peninsula in UAE
Pope Francis will say the first Mass by a pontiff on the Arabian peninsula in February and visit one of its largest mosques when he travels to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Yemen warring parties agree to reopen Sanaa airport, still in talks on port
Yemen’s warring parties agreed on Wednesday to reopen Sanaa airport in the Houthi-held capital, sources said, as Western nations pressed the two sides to accept confidence-building steps before the end of U.N.-led peace talks in Sweden.
New mother on migrant caravan hopes Trump’s heart softens
Erly Marcial of Honduras joined the United States-bound migrant caravan with her family even though the 21-year-old was nearly eight months pregnant. She gave birth to a healthy baby on the grueling trail and is now hoping for another miracle.
