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President Obama has warned Moscow not to encroach any further on Ukrainian sovereigntyor it would face new sanctions. Speaking in The Hague, Mr Obama said the United States and itsEuropean partners were prepared to put in place measures that would hurt entire sectors¹ of theRussian economy. Here’s James Robbins.

President Obama said he was concerned about the large numbers of troops Russia hadmassed on its border with Ukraine. While it was Russia’s right to do so, he said, it appeared tobe an effort at intimidation². Mr Obama said President Putin had a choice to make. Any furthermove beyond the annexation³ of Crimea would trigger far wider sanctions. They would be aimedat directly at whole sectors of the Russian economy including energy, finance and trade, even ifthat meant America and her European allies would be hurt,too.

Spain’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a planned referendum in November on Catalonia’sindependence from the rest of the country is unconstitutional. The court’s ruling came afterSpain’s central government challenged a move by Catalonia’s regional parliament, which said theregion enjoyed judicial⁴ and political sovereignty. Guy Hedgecoe is in Madrid.

Last year the nationalist majority in the Catalan parliament approved a declaration statingthat the region’s people were politically and legally sovereign. It was a mainly symbolic⁵ move,but Spain’s Constitutional Court has now ruled that it is unlawful. The decision is likely toheighten tensions between the region and the rest of Spain. The court did also address thereferendum, ruling that it is legitimate⁶ for Catalans to hold such a vote, as long as it takes placewithin 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 beenarrested for plotting an uprising against his government. It’s the latest development in nearlytwo months of political unrest. More details from Leonardo Rocha:

President Nicolas Maduro said that the three air force generals were arrested on Monday nightafter the authorities were tipped off by young patriotic⁷ officers. The three generals, who havenot been named, were plotting a coup⁸ and had links with the opposition⁹ side Mr Maduro. It’snot clear if this is an isolated¹⁰ incident or if there is a more serious rift¹¹ in the armed forces,which have provided a valuable support for Venezuela’s left-wing governments for more than adecade.

The US Supreme¹² Court has heard arguments in two cases that challenge President Obama’shealthcare reform, which requires employers to provide health insurance covering all legalforms of birth control. The two cases were brought by Christian-led companies, which want torun their businesses on religious principles. They argued that some contraceptive drugs anddevices are tantamount to abortion¹³.

World News from the BBC

Rescue workers in the north-western United States say they are expecting to find furthervictims of a landslide¹⁴ which devastated¹⁵ a village in Washington State on Saturday. Fourteenbodies have been recovered so far, but dozens of people have been reported missing orunaccounted for. Dogs and aircraft have been used in the search for survivors¹⁶. But the workhas been painstakingly¹⁷ slow and dangerous because the ground is highly unstable¹⁸.

The Kenyan government has ordered Somali refugees living in urban areas to return to theirdesignated camps. The Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku issued the order citing emergencysecurity challenges. There’ve been several incidents of violence in Kenya in recent monthsinvolving Islamist extremists thought to be allied¹⁹ to the Somali insurgent²⁰ group al-Shabab.

The health ministry²¹ in the West African state of Guinea has banned the sale and consumption ofbats to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. Sixty-two people have now been killedby the virus in Guinea with suspected cases reported in neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone.Thomas Fessy reports

Bats are local delicacies²² in parts of Guinea, but they are considered a possible cause of theEbola outbreak in the south of the country. Countries in the region have announced a seriesof preventative measures including stronger border control and health checks. Five out of sixpeople who’d crossed from Guinea into Liberia showing symptoms of the fever have died, butthe 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 theBundesliga with seven games to spare-- an unprecedented²³ feat²⁴. They notched²⁵ up a record19th consecutive²⁶ win by beating Hertha Berliner 3-1 in the German capital.