Europe

EU Brexit chief Michel Barnier on Friday handed Britain a two-week ultimatum to make concessions on a divorce agreement if it wants to unlock the next phase of talks in December.

Catalonia's sacked President Carles Puigdemont says he has not travelled to Belgium to seek asylum.

Catalan lawmakers voted Friday to declare independence from Spain but Madrid immediately moved to quash the breakaway bid in a sharp escalation of a crisis that has caused jitters in secession-wary Europe.

Pope Francis on Sunday called for constructive dialogue in Kenya where he said he was following the situation with "close attention" over disputed elections.

Six people have been killed in Portugal as the country was hit by a record number of forest fires, and three more have died in Spain where blazes sparked by arsonists have been fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Ophelia.

The European Union is seeking to reopen its embassy in Libya pending security conditions, officials said on Tuesday, offering further political support for the Tripoli government struggling to establish control.

Nuclear disarmament group ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its decade-long campaign to rid the world of the atomic bomb as nuclear-fuelled crises swirl over North Korea and Iran.

Spain's Constitutional Court has suspended next Monday's session of Catalan parliament, in a bid to pre-empt a possible push for independence.

A general strike threatens to bring large areas of Catalonia to a standstill, following the Spanish region's disputed referendum.

Catalonia's leader Carles Puigdemont has said the region won the right to break away from Spain, with his government claiming on Monday that 90 percent of voters backed independence in a banned referendum marred by clashes.