Ex-Catalonia officials in Spanish court

MADRID • The speaker of Catalonia's sacked Parliament appeared before Spain's Supreme Court yesterday in the latest legal case brought against separatist leaders for their role in the region's divisive independence bid.

A judge may decide to detain Ms Carme Forcadell and five former lawmakers on charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds after Catalan lawmakers voted last month to split from Spain.

They are suspected of having followed a "concerted strategy to declare independence".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Stiffer curbs on US travellers to Cuba

WASHINGTON • Tighter restrictions on US travellers to Cuba went into effect yesterday, officials said, almost five months after US President Donald Trump vowed a rollback of the Obama administration's diplomatic opening with Cuba.

The US Treasury said the measures are designed to steer American travellers away from Cuban firms tied to the military and towards the communist island's fledgling private sector.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE