BRIEFS | SPAIN: Catalonia halts independence vote campaign

The regional government of Catalonia says it will heed a decision by Spain’s top court suspending its plans to hold an independence referendum but vows to continue efforts to hold a vote. Regional government spokesman Frances Homs said yesterday the Catalan government would present arguments in defense of the Nov. 9 referendum and seek to have the suspension lifted. The Constitutional Court agreed Monday to study appeals challenging the legality of the referendum that were filed by the Spanish government. The decision automatically suspended the vote and campaigning until the court makes a ruling. Pro-secession supporters called for demonstrations outside town halls later yesterday to protest the suspension. Polls suggest most Catalans favor holding the vote, but are roughly evenly split on independence.

UKRAINE CRISIS: EU keeps Russia sanctions in place for now

European Union ambassadors have decided to keep Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia in place for the time being. EU foreign affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said ambassadors from the 28 EU countries agreed yesterday that although there has been encouraging progress in bringing about an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, not enough has been done to justify rolling back sanctions. Kiev and the West have asserted that Moscow is fueling the separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine by providing arms and personnel, something Russia denies. The EU sanctions target sectors of the Russian economy, Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainian officials, businesses and organizations. Kocijancic said the EU will continue to monitor the situation and could propose to amend, suspend or repeal some or all of the sanctions, depending on developments.