Nationalists Take Election in Spain’s Catalonia
Official results from local parliamentary elections in Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia show the majority of seats will go to nationalist parties that favor independence from Spain.
Returns from Sunday's vote show the national alliance of incumbent regional president and pro-independence candidate Artur Mas fell short of a majority, taking just 50 seats in the 135-seat parliament, down from 62. The separatist Republican Left (ERC) more than doubled its share of seats, taking 21.
The Socialist party (PSC), which does not favor independence, lost eight seats in the vote, bringing it from 28 to 20 seats.
In a televised appearance from Barcelona after the vote, Mas thanked his alliance for its support, but acknowledging that it now must share responsibility for governing.
The Mas government called early elections as part of a power struggle with the central government run by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Catalonia, which is home to factories, banks and other industries, is responsible for around one-fifth of Spain's economic output.
Many Catalans believe the central government gives back too little, considering the region's contributions.
Syrian Rebels Claim Capture of Helicopter Base Near Damascus
Syrian rebels say they have captured a government helicopter base near Damascus as they try to close in on President Bashar al-Assad's seat of power in the capital.
A video released by Syrian activists on Sunday appears to show anti-Assad rebels roaming around the Marj al-Sultan air base, about 15 kilometers east of Damascus, after they launched an assault the previous day. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels killed at least eight soldiers and destroyed two helicopters at the base, while at least 15 rebel fighters also were killed.
There was no government confirmation of the report.
Activists say Syrian opposition forces trying to end President Assad's autocratic rule have been gradually expanding their territory around Damascus, despite being heavily outgunned by government forces who remain entrenched in the capital.
In other developments Sunday, the Observatory said rebels seized a training base of a pro-Assad Palestinian militant faction near Damascus. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine condemned the attack on its base, which it said has been used to train thousands of Palestinians to fight Israel in the past 30 years.
Elsewhere, the Observatory said a bomb attack on a bus killed at least five people in southern Syria.
Syria's government describes the rebels as foreign-backed terrorists. The rebellion began in March 2011 with pro-democracy protests against Mr. Assad before evolving into a civil war. It is difficult to verify details of the fighting independently because Syria tightly restricts reporting by foreign journalists.
Egypt’s Morsi to Meet Judicial Council on Decree
Egyptian state media says President Mohamed Morsi will meet members of the country's highest judicial authority Monday to discuss his decree shielding his decisions from judicial review.
Mr. Morsi and the judiciary hinted at compromise Sunday to avert a full-scale political crisis.
The Supreme Judicial Council said the president's decree seizing new powers should apply only to “sovereign matters.” Although it did not clarify what that meant, its statement – read on television – suggested it did not reject the move outright. It called on judges and prosecutors who have called for a strike to return to work.
Mr. Morsi repeated assurances that the measures would be temporary, and said he wanted dialogue with political groups.
Egypt's stock market plunged nearly 10 percent Sunday in its first day open since the president's decree set off street violence. The losses on the Egyptian exchange are among the biggest since the turbulent days and weeks after the ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak last year.
Earlier Sunday, protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the site of the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak, threw rocks at police. Security forces fired back with rounds of tear gas in the third day of violence since the president's decrees put him above judicial oversight and extended the same protection to two Islamist-dominated bodies — the assembly writing a new constitution and the upper house of parliament.
President Morsi's supporters and opponents are both planning demonstrations on Tuesday that many fear will lead to more violence.
Prominent Egyptian democracy advocate Mohammed ElBaradei called Saturday for President Morsi to rescind the near absolute powers he has granted himself.
ElBaradei, addressing crowds in Tahrir Square, said the president must take the action to avoid the possibility of increased turmoil in the country that has recently shed its longtime repressive government.
Egypt's highest body of judges, the Supreme Judicial Council, also condemned President Morsi's decree.
The judges Saturday called the move “an unprecedented attack” on the independence of the judiciary. Judges in Alexandria have gone on strike, saying they will not return to work until the decree is withdrawn.
The protests began Friday, a day after President Morsi declared that his decisions cannot be appealed by the courts or any other authority. He cited a need to protect the achievements of the 2011 revolution that led to the ouster of Mubarak after three decades in power.
Mr. Morsi's decree Thursday includes an order for retrials of former officials who used violence to suppress last year's popular revolution against Mubarak. It also bars Egypt's judiciary from dissolving the upper house of parliament and an assembly drafting a new constitution – both dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Eurozone output contracts again, PMI survey says
Business activity in the eurozone continued to contract in November, a survey suggests.
The Markit eurozone Purchasing Managers' Output Index was little changed from October, up to 45.8 from 45.7. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
A sharper rate of decline in the services sector was offset by an easing of the contraction among manufacturers.
The survey also warned of a 0.5% drop in GDP in the fourth quarter.
Official figures released earlier this month showed that the eurozone economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter, between July and September.
"The PMI suggests that the downturn is set to gather pace significantly in the fourth quarter. The final three months of the year could see GDP fall by as much as 0.5%," Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit said.
"The eurozone economy continued to deteriorate at an alarming pace in November, and is entrenched in the steepest downturn since mid-2009," he added.
Sentiment among services businesses fell to the lowest since March 2009, said Markit.
Firms also continued to cut employment at the second-fastest rate since January 2010.
ING economist Peter Vanden Houte said it looked like the manufacturing sector was "bottoming out", as the contraction was becoming less severe.
"On the contrary, if you look at the services sector, we see that the PMI continues to fall and is now at the lowest level since 2009 and this is a reflection of extremely weak domestic demand and with the budgetary austerity continuing in Europe for sure, domestic demand is going to remain negative in the near future," he said.
'Anxious'
Economists watch surveys such as the PMI closely, particularly because they give an indication of future business activity.
The amount of goods purchased for use in production, which indicates how much demand companies are expecting, fell steeply in November, Markit said.
"Firms have clearly become increasingly anxious about the economic outlook and are seeking to control costs as much as possible. All this suggests that any swift return to growth is unlikely," Markit said.
Although the rate of output decline eased in France and Germany, it remained "substantial", Markit said, especially in France.
Concern is focused on Germany's service sector, which is contracting at its fastest pace in three-and-a-half years.
Eurozone economies are struggling as governments focus on reducing debt levels following the financial crisis by cutting spending and increasing taxes, measures that are undermining growth.
European markets were generally positive, despite the disappointing outlook. They were reacting to more positive news on the state of the Chinese economy.
The purchasing managers index for China's manufacturing sector expanded in November, for the first time in more than a year.
The latest data follows a rise in fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales in October, announced before China's leadership transition.
SABMiller reports higher profits on emerging markets
Brewing giant SABMiller has said that profits improved, driven by growth in emerging markets.
Pre-tax profit in the six months to September rose 12% to $2.28bn (£1.4bn), boosting the shares by 6%.
"We have recently seen moderation of economic growth in some countries," SABMiller said.
In terms of earnings before tax and other costs, Europe fell 10% to $516m. But the Asia-Pacific region surged to 265% to $506m.
Last year, SABMiller bought Fosters for $10.3bn, a deal which gives it almost half of the Australian beer market.
Against the backdrop of a declining UK beer market, where total beer volumes fell by 4.6% to the end of September, SABMiller said its UK volumes rose by 5% - led by strong sales of Peroni Nastro Azzurro.
Volumes of Kozel, a 4% Czech pilsner launched in the UK in 2010, also doubled.
The group's portfolio includes Pilsner Urquell, Miller Genuine Draft and Grolsch. It is one of the world's largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products.
Apple ordered to share HTC deal details with Samsung
A US judge has ordered Apple to disclose details of its patent-sharing deal with HTC to its rival, Samsung.
Apple and HTC signed a 10-year licence agreement earlier this month, but did not make the details public.
Samsung, which is also involved in various patent disputes with Apple, asked the courts to tell Apple to furnish the information.
It said it was "almost certain" the deal covered some of the patents at the centre of its dispute with Apple.
The court ordered Apple to produce a full copy of the settlement agreement "without delay", subject to an "attorneys' eyes only" designation, meaning it will not be made public.
The deal between Apple and HTC saw the two firms settle all their outstanding disputes over patents, ending a fight that began in March 2010.
According to some reports, the two companies were fighting almost 20 cases across the globe.
Legal advantage
While that fight has ended, Apple is still involved in legal tussles with Samsung.
The two rivals have filed cases against each other in more than 10 countries, each accusing the other of violating its patents.
Earlier this year, a Californian court awarded Apple $1.05bn (£652m) in damages against Samsung, after ruling that several of its software and design technologies had been infringed.
However, the South Korean firm has appealed against the ruling and has called for a retrial.
Some analysts said that the latest decision by the court, giving Samsung access to Apple's deal with HTC, may have a big impact on Samsung's legal battle with Apple.
"It is clearly a very smart move from Samsung - because the general feeling is that a lot of its patent disputes with Apple are very likely to be similar to those between HTC and Apple," Andrew Milroy of consultancy Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.
"And if there are similarities, it gives Samsung an advantage in any future legal issues and negotiations with Apple."
'Bad time'
The decision is the latest setback for Apple in its various legal clashes with rivals.
Last month, Apple lost its appeal against a UK ruling that Samsung had not infringed its design rights.
In a further blow, the US technology firm was asked by a UK High Court to publish a statement on its website admitting that Samsung had not infringed its designs.
Sales bans sought by Apple against Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in the US were also lifted in October.
Then, earlier this month, a judge in the US dismissed a case brought by Apple alleging that Google's Motorola unit was seeking excessive royalty payments for patents.
"Apple has been having a really bad time of late in its legal battles," said Mr Milroy. "They are going to have to re-examine the legal approach they take from here on."
Sony and Panasonic ratings cut by Fitch
Tech firms Sony and Panasonic have had their credit ratings cut to the level of junk status for the first time.
The Fitch ratings agency pointed to their weak balance sheets and declining position in the global electronics sector, where both are struggling to compete with the likes of Samsung.
Fitch cut Sony's rating by three notches to BB- and Panasonic's by two notches to BB.
The rating means that it believes that both firms will default on their debt.
It gave both firms a negative outlook, confirming their debt was no longer considered safe and investment-grade. The ratings mean that Sony and Panasonic will have to pay much more to borrow now.
Fitch said its downgrade of Panasonic was due to its "weakened competitiveness in its core businesses, particularly in TVs and panels, as well as weak cash generation from operations".
It also cast doubt on Sony's prospects, saying a "meaningful recovery will be slow, given the company's loss of technology leadership in key products, high competition, weak economic conditions in developed markets and the strong yen".
Earlier this month, Fitch followed Standard & Poor's by cutting rival electronics giant Sharp's rating to junk.
Panasonic has warned it is on track for an annual loss of almost $10bn (£6.3bn), while Sony expects a small profit after four years of losses.
Gaza and Israel Calm as Cease-fire Holds
A cease-fire that halted eight days of deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas held firm Thursday as thousands of flag-waving Gaza residents poured into the streets, while in Israel the mood was more subdued.
Following a night of quiet skies after an Egyptian-brokered truce deal came into effect, Gaza's Hamas prime minister hailed the territory's multiple militant groups for respecting the cease-fire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was “giving the truce a chance” but was prepared for the eventuality it could collapse. As a precaution, schools stayed closed in southern Israel, where nerves were on edge after a constant rain of rockets during the most serious Israeli-Palestinian fighting in four years.
With Israel and the Hamas militants who run the Gaza Strip having successfully maintained peace for a 24-hour period, border areas from Gaza will be opened, allowing people and goods to move in and out of the territory.
The Egyptian-brokered truce took effect at 1900 GMT Wednesday.
In the occupied West Bank, Israel's army said Thursday it arrested 55 suspected senior-level Palestinian militants it said were members of various armed factions.
Egypt is monitoring both sides for violations of the cease-fire agreement. The truce follows several days of intense aerial assaults on both sides of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 140 Palestinians and five Israelis dead.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a qualified welcome Thursday to the deal.
The agreement was reached amid hours of intense diplomacy involving Clinton, as well as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Clinton called the truce “a critical moment for the region.”
“The people of this region deserve a chance to live free from fear and violence and today's agreement is a step in the right direction that we should build on.”
Clinton also praised Egypt's new government for assuming a key role in the effort and for pledging to work with Washington to ensure the cease-fire holds.
On Wednesday, a bomb blast on a bus in central Tel Aviv wounded at least 27 people, some seriously.
New rounds of missile and air attacks rained down on Gaza following the Tel Aviv attack. Palestinians medics Wednesday said at least 10 people were killed, including a young boy.
Israel and Hamas had traded rocket fire since an Israeli missile killed Hamas's military chief in Gaza City last week. Israel says the attack was a direct response to months of almost daily rocket fire into southern Israel from Gaza.
Russia Opposes NATO Patriots on Turkey’s Syria Border
Russia has warned against NATO's possible deployment of Patriot missiles near Turkey's border with Syria.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday that Turkey's request for deployment to the Western military alliance “would not foster stability in the region.”
NATO ambassadors met Wednesday to consider Turkey's request, which followed weeks of talks between Ankara and NATO allies about how to shore up security on its 900 kilometer border to avoid a spillover from the Syrian civil war.
The alliance's secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said the deployment would augment alliance member Turkey's air defense capabilities and “would contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along NATO's southeastern border.”
Turkey said Tuesday it had found allies who agreed to supply it with an advanced Patriot missile system. Only the United States, the Netherlands and Germany have the appropriate system available. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said he had told his country's ambassador to NATO to approve Turkey's request.
Turkey's border villages have been hit by artillery fire from Syria as forces loyal to Damascus battle rebels seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad's government.
Rasmussen has said that any missile deployment would be a defensive measure to counter mortar rounds, and not to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria. Syrian rebels have called for a no-fly zone as they are almost defenseless against Syria's air force.
Former Ivory Coast First Lady Indicted by ICC
The International Criminal Court has unsealed an indictment against Simone Gbagbo, wife of former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, for crimes against humanity.
The court made the indictment and arrest warrant for Mrs. Gbagbo public on Thursday. The charges against the former first lady include “murder, rape, other forms of sexual violence, other inhumane acts, and persecution.”
Violence broke out in Ivory Coast in 2010 and carried over to 2011, following an election in which President Gbagbo refused to accept defeat.
Laurent Gbagbo is already in custody at the International Criminal Court, awaiting trial on similar charges.
Simone Gbagbo is currently in custody in Ivory Coast, where she is fighting charges that she helped to orchestrate the post-election violence.