BBC News with Julie Candler
President Obama has warned Moscow not to encroach any further on Ukrainian sovereignty or it would face new sanctions. Speaking in The Hague, Mr Obama said the United States and its European partners were prepared to put in place measures that would hurt entire sectors of the Russian economy. Here’s James Robbins.
President Obama said he was concerned about the large numbers of troops Russia had massed on its border with Ukraine. While it was Russia’s right to do so, he said, it appeared to be an effort at intimidation. Mr Obama said President Putin had a choice to make. Any further move beyond the annexation of Crimea would trigger far wider sanctions. They would be aimed at directly at whole sectors of the Russian economy including energy, finance and trade, even if that meant America and her European allies would be hurt,too.
Spain’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a planned referendum in November on Catalonia’s independence from the rest of the country is unconstitutional. The court’s ruling came after Spain’s central government challenged a move by Catalonia’s regional parliament, which said the region enjoyed judicial and political sovereignty. Guy Hedgecoe is in Madrid.
Last year the nationalist majority in the Catalan parliament approved a declaration stating that the region’s people were politically and legally sovereign. It was a mainly symbolic move, but Spain’s Constitutional Court has now ruled that it is unlawful. The decision is likely to heighten tensions between the region and the rest of Spain. The court did also address the referendum, ruling that it is legitimate for Catalans to hold such a vote, as long as it takes place within the framework of the constitution. At the moment, that is not the case.
The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that three air force generals have been arrested for plotting an uprising against his government. It’s the latest development in nearly two months of political unrest. More details from Leonardo Rocha:
President Nicolas Maduro said that the three air force generals were arrested on Monday night after the authorities were tipped off by young patriotic officers. The three generals, who have not been named, were plotting a coup and had links with the opposition side Mr Maduro. It’s not clear if this is an isolated incident or if there is a more serious rift in the armed forces, which have provided a valuable support for Venezuela’s left-wing governments for more than a decade.
The US Supreme Court has heard arguments in two cases that challenge President Obama’s healthcare reform, which requires employers to provide health insurance covering all legal forms of birth control. The two cases were brought by Christian-led companies, which want to run their businesses on religious principles. They argued that some contraceptive drugs and devices are tantamount to abortion.
World News from the BBC
Rescue workers in the north-western United States say they are expecting to find further victims of a landslide which devastated a village in Washington State on Saturday. Fourteen bodies have been recovered so far, but dozens of people have been reported missing or unaccounted for. Dogs and aircraft have been used in the search for survivors. But the work has been painstakingly slow and dangerous because the ground is highly unstable.
The Kenyan government has ordered Somali refugees living in urban areas to return to their designated camps. The Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku issued the order citing emergency security challenges. There’ve been several incidents of violence in Kenya in recent months involving Islamist extremists thought to be allied to the Somali insurgent group al-Shabab.
The health ministry in the West African state of Guinea has banned the sale and consumption of bats to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. Sixty-two people have now been killed by the virus in Guinea with suspected cases reported in neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone. Thomas Fessy reports
Bats are local delicacies in parts of Guinea, but they are considered a possible cause of the Ebola outbreak in the south of the country. Countries in the region have announced a series of preventative measures including stronger border control and health checks. Five out of six people who’d crossed from Guinea into Liberia showing symptoms of the fever have died, but the Liberian authorities have yet to confirm whether these cases were Ebola.Thomas Fessy
Football news: and the German champions Bayern Munich have retained their title winning the Bundesliga with seven games to spare-- an unprecedented feat. They notched up a record 19th consecutive win by beating Hertha Berliner 3-1 in the German capital.