Spain

INDIAN WELLS - Serbia's Novak Djokovic reached the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters Series 1000 tennis tournament early Thursday by beating Marin Cilic of Croatia 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.

In a bid to reach the semi-finals, Serbia's highest-ranking male tennis player will face Julien Benneteau of France, who beat Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

Photo AP/Mark J. Terrill

INDIAN WELLS - Serbia's highest-ranking male tennis player Novak Djokovic reached the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters Series tennis tournament late Tuesday by beating Alejandro Gonzalez of Colombia 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

In a bid to reach the quarter-finals, Djokovic will play Marin Cilic of Croatia, who beat Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-4, 6-3.

Panathinaikos suffered on Friday an unexpected home loss to bottom club Laboral Kutxa with a 68-61 score that has dealt a major blow to its chances for qualifying to the quarterfinals of the Euroleague.

It would be fair to say Panathinaikos underestimated Laboral, that had only scored one win in its previous eight games in the second group stage of the competition.

The outlook for the global travel industry looks brighter for 2014 as European economic recovery and rising consumer confidence are prompting holidaymakers and businesses to loosen their purse strings again.

Tourists are spending more on their vacations, going for higher-quality or more frequent trips abroad.

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.