News In Brief

AP, Madrid

Spain’s Interior Ministry says it is withdrawing thousands of police reinforcements who were deployed to its northeastern region of Catalonia in the run-up to an attempted referendum on the region’s independence in October.
Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said late Tuesday the estimated 5,000 reinforcements are no longer necessary following the return to normalcy after Spain seized control of the restive region following a declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament weeks after the referendum.

Russia defends idea of Syria peace congress

AP, Moscow

 Russia’s foreign minister says a Moscow-proposed peace congress scheduled for next month is crucial for reaching a settlement in Syria and is not hampering United Nations-led talks.
Sergey Lavrov’s statement on Wednesday comes a day after several dozen Syrian opposition groups issued a series of statements saying the talks in Russia’s Sochi next month are an attempt to “circumvent” the U.N.-led peace process.

6 children killed in India boat capsize

Xinhua, New Delhi

 At least six children were killed and three were rescued after a boat capsized in southern India, police said Wednesday.
The boat capsized late Tuesday in backwaters near Ponnani Kole in Malappuram district, about 359 km north of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala state.

Brazil orders Venezuela diplomat out

AFP, Brasilia

 Brazil on Tuesday ordered the top diplomat at Venezuela’s embassy, Gerardo Delgado, to leave the country, in retaliation for Caracas booting out the Brazilian ambassador.
“Brazil has decided to declare the Venezuelan charge d’affaires persona non grata,” a Brazilian foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.