Spain

Italy and France have been placed on an economic "watch-list" by the European Commission.

High debt and deficit levels are the reason for the EC's decision to put the second and third-largest Eurozone economies among 14 nations with "imbalances", according to a report published on Wednesday and cited by EUObserver.

BELGRADE - The police arrested three foreigners in Kraljevo, central Serbia, within the action aimed at provision of international legal assistance to Great Britain authorities, Serbian Prosecutor for Organised Crime Miljko Radisavljevic said.

The action was conducted in several countries against an international organised criminal ring involved in frauds, Radisavljevic told Tanjug.

DUBAI - Serbia's best tennis player Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals of the ATP tournament in Dubai late on Wednesday.

Djokovic notched up an easy 6-1, 6-3 win against world no. 51 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.

Next up for Djokovic is a match against Russia's Mikhail Youzhny, who defeated British number three James Ward earlier today by 6-1, 7-6 (7-3).

Catalan independence referendum would be illegal - PM

MADRID -- Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy has said that a referendum on Catalonia's independence, announced for November 9, would be illegal, and will not take place.

Economic growth across Europe is expected to be slightly stronger this year as the recovery gains ground, according to the European Commission's new forecast released Tuesday.

Some 11 million homes lie empty across Europe, according to figures collated by the Guardian from across the EU.

In Spain more than 3.4 million homes are vacant, the numbers are 2 million for both France and Italy, 1.8 million in Germany and more than 700,000 in the UK.

BELGRADE - Spanish Cinematheque in Madrid and the Barcelona-based Film Theater of Catalonia have staged a retrospective dedicated to the prominent Serbian film director Goran Paskaljevic, whose latest film "When Day Breaks" is currently shown in cinemas across Spain.

The European Union renewed for another five years a tariff against South Africa on a material for consumer batteries, saying Greek producer Tosoh Hellas AIC and Spain’s Cegasa Internacional SA need longer protection.

The EU reimposed the 17.1 percent duty on imports of electrolytic manganese dioxide from South Africa.

No reaction from NATO about announcements of "Kosovo army"

PRIŠTINA -- NATO has not officially commented on announcements made in Priština that the "Kosovo armed forces" would be formed, writes Koha Ditore.

DUBAI - Serbia's best-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic and Spain's Carlos Gomez-Herrera lost their first round match in the doubles competition of the ATP tournament in Dubai on Monday to the Polish-Czech pairing of Tomasz Bednarek/Lukas Dlouhi by 7-5, 1-6, 10-5.

Bednarek and Dlouhi will next face the winners of Lukas Rosol/Andreas Seppi - Mariusz FyrstenbergMarcin Matkowski.