Spain headed for second election in 6 months

MADRID • Spain's King Felipe dissolved Parliament yesterday and called a parliamentary election for June 26, the second in six months after an inconclusive ballot late last year left the country's political landscape fragmented. The new ballot follows four months of fruitless coalition talks between the four main parties, including the People's Party of acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

REUTERS

Theft of food morsels by poor not a crime: Italy

ROME • Italy's highest court has acquitted a homeless man of stealing cheese and sausages, ruling that the theft of small amounts of food by the hungry poor is not a crime.

Ukrainian Roman Ostriakov was caught in 2011 pocketing €4.07 (S$6.30) worth of food in a supermarket in Genoa, after a customer spotted him in the act and reported the theft to a staff member.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

WhatsApp blocked in Brazil for 72 hours

SAO PAULO • A Brazilian judge ordered wireless phone carriers to block nationwide access to Facebook Inc's WhatsApp for 72 hours on Monday, the second such move against the popular messaging application in five months. The decision by the judge in Sergipe state applied to the five main wireless operators in Brazil and affected WhatsApp's more than 100 million users in the country.

REUTERS