Spain: Catalonia independence - Carles Puigdemont faces PRISON if he declares independence - by Jon Rogers

José Manuel Maza, 66, gave a blunt message to the President of the north east region and said he would call on the Catalan police - Mossos d’Esquadra - to detain Mr Puigdemont, who has been the focal figures in the region’s push to break away from the rest of Spain.

Mr Maza, speaking at an event on cybersecurity in Madrid, said: “I am surprised that this is surprising. This is normal and natural in a state of law and, therefore, it is logical to pursue.

The rebellion crime is punishable by 30 years in prison if it is a crime of considerable gravity, of course."

He added that if the Catalan police did not comply with the order, Spain would take over control of the force.

Read more: Catalonia independence - Carles Puigdemont faces PRISON if he declares independence | World | News | Express.co.uk

Spain: Rajoy says he will sack Catalan government, call regional elections

Many Polls in Spain show
Carles Puigdemont should be locked up

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Saturday (October 21) said he would curb the powers of Catalonia’s parliament, sack its government and call a regional election within six months in a bid to stop efforts by the autonomous region to break away from Spain.

Rajoy said his government had taken the unprecedented decision to restore the law, make sure regional institutions were neutral, and to guarantee public services and economic activity as well as preserve the civil rights of all citizens.

The measures must now be approved by Spain’s upper house, the Senate, where a vote is scheduled for October 27.

Rajoy’s speech came after Spain’s central government met to discuss establishing control of the wealthy northeastern region following the referendum on secession three weeks ago.

Madrid says suspending some of Catalonia’s autonomy – a move that could be applied under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution – would guarantee “freedom, security and plurality” in the face of “rebellious disobedience.”

Rajoy said the goal of such measures, “is to go back to legality because it cannot be a portion of a country where law is not applied, where law doesn’t exist. And at the same time we need to go back to institutional normality.”

The country’s head of state King Felipe said he supports the central government’s stance, and affirmed the unity of Spain. He says “Catalonia is and will remain an essential part.”

“Spain needs to face up to an unacceptable secession attempt on its national territory, which it will resolve using legitimate democratic institutions, respecting our constitution, adhering to the values and principles of the parliamentary democracy in which we have lived for 39 years,” he added.

Note EU-Digest: The latest Spanish polls show that in the opinion of the majority of the Spanish  population PM Mariano Rajoy is considered being far to lenient to Carles Puigdemont. They find by a large majority that Puigdemont, like the two other party leaders of this illegal rebellious movement against the state of Spain, should also be locked up

Read more: Rajoy says he will sack Catalan government, call regional elections | Euronews

Spain-Catalonia: Puigdemont fails to clarify Catalan independence confusion

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has not given a clear answer on whether he has declared independence for the Spanish region.

The Catalan government has tweeted an English version of Puigdemont’s letter to Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy.

Puigdemont offers to meet him as soon as possible to discuss the controversy, but fails to give a yes or no response on independence. He calls for an end to the “repression” of the Catalan people and their government, citing charges against Catalan demonstrators and the chief of the Catalan police.

He also calls for a meeeting with Rajoy “as soon as possible” to find a solution.

Madrid has responded, the Spanish premier “deeply” regretting Puigdemont’s failure to clarify his stance.

Spain’s central government had set a deadline of 10am on Monday for Puigdemont to give a “yes” or “no” answer – and until Thursday to change his mind should the reply be affirmative. Madrid has threatened to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, if independence is declared.

In addition to the letter, Carles Puigdemont is said to have included documents including a copy of the breakaway Referendum Law that his minority government rammed through the regional parliament with help from its far-left ally CUP.

The move bypassed ordinary parliamentary procedure, prompting an opposition walkout.

Read more:Puigdemont fails to clarify Catalan independence confusion | Euronews

Spain gives Catalan leader eight days to drop independence-by Blanca Rodríguez, Sonya Dowsett

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday gave the Catalan government eight days to drop an independence bid, failing which he would suspend the Catalonia’s political autonomy and rule the region directly.

His move could deepen the confrontation between Madrid and the northeastern region but also signals a way out of Spain’s biggest political crisis since a failed military coup in 1981. 

Rajoy would probably call a snap regional election after activating Article 155 of the constitution that would allow him to sack the Catalan regional government. 

“The cabinet has agreed this morning to formally request the Catalan government to confirm whether it has declared the independence of Catalonia, regardless of the deliberate confusion created over its implementation,” Rajoy said in a televised address after a cabinet meeting called to consider the government’s response. 

He later told Spain’s parliament the Catalan government had until Monday, Oct. 16 at 0800 GMT to answer. If Puigdemont was to confirm he did declare independence, he would be given an additional three days to rectify it, until Thursday, Oct. 19 at 0800 GMT. Failing this, Article 155 would be triggered. 

It is not yet clear if the Catalan government will answer the requirement but it now faces a conundrum, analysts say. 

Read more: Spain gives Catalan leader eight days to drop independence

Spain Readies Forces Able to Arrest Catalan Leader Today if He Declares Catalan Independence - S.R Smyth and E.Duarte

Viva España un miembro de la Unión Europea

Spanish police are ready to arrest Catalan President Carles Puigdemont immediately if he declares independence in the regional parliament, according to two people familiar with the government’s plans.

While a final decision on whether to act has not yet been taken, Spain’s National Police force has elite officers deployed in Catalonia who are prepared to join a raid if Catalan police try to shield Puigdemont, said one of the people. If Puigdemont makes a statement that falls short of immediate independence, the government in Madrid may stay its hand.

The president is likely to use the words “declaration of independence,” but they will probably be qualified or hedged in some way, according to another person familiar with his plans. The Catalan government spokesman declined to comment on Puigdemont’s speech at a press briefing in Barcelona on Tuesday.

Puigdemont is due to address the regional legislature at 6 p.m with many of his supporters looking for him to announce a new republic to follow through on the illegal referendum held on Oct. 1. With his core supporters demanding he make good on the illegal vote for independence and officials in Madrid urging Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to finally crack down on the separatist campaign, Puigdemont’s rebellion may be running out of road.

Rajoy has insisted all along that he’ll use only proportionate force in relation to the separatist government in Barcelona. Even so, prosecutors have been exploring charges of sedition against other separatist leaders including Jordi Sanchez, head of the biggest pro-independence campaign group. Sedition carries a jail term of up to 15 years.

The National Police and the Civil Guard have sufficient officers in place to overcome any resistance they might meet, according to one of the people familiar with the government’s preparations. Both people asked not to be named discussing confidential plans.

Read more: Spain Readies Forces Able to Seize Catalan Leader Today -

Spain-Catalonia: Tens of thousands rally in Spain to avoid Catalan split

Tens of thousands of people joined protests across Spain on Saturday calling for an end to the political crisis that has rocked the country since Catalan authorities held a barred independence referendum last Sunday.

In 50 cities, including Madrid and Barcelona, thousands of people gathered under the motto "Let's talk" and called for leaders from Madrid and Barcelona to enter peaceful negotiations to end the crisis. Organizers urged the crowds at both sites to wear white T-shirts and not to bring any Spanish or Catalan flags.

Ninety percent of those who voted opted for independence, according to the official vote tally released by the Catalan government on Friday. But turnout was only 43 percent. The final figures approximated the preliminary results released immediately after the referendum.

Former Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez on Saturday joined calls for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to invoke Article 155 of the constitution. The article is described as being "for exceptional cases only" such as when a region’s failure to obey laws "gravely damages Spain’s general interest." It has never been invoked before.

On Tuesday, Spain's King Felipe VI accused the Catalan authorities of "disloyalty" and said the central government needed to ensure "constitutional order."

Read more: Tens of thousands rally in Spain to avoid Catalan split | News | DW | 07.10.2017

Spain: Catalan Government announces results of illegal referendum: figures nebulous and not substantiated

The Catalan government said around 2.26million people voted in the banned independence referendum to leave Spain on Sunday, representing a turnout of around 42.3 percent of Catalonia's 5.34million voters.

Throughout history plebiscites have often been tools for dictators to force voters to give up their freedoms while keeping up an appearance of having the nation’s support

This one in Catalonia was not any different, but adding to the controversy was also the fact that like in previous Catalan referendums less than 50 % of the Catalan voters turned out.

As to claims of police brutality, all fingers should be pointing to the Catalan government, which despite the fact that the Supreme court of Spain and the Spanish government ruled the referendum was illegal, the local Catalan government still went ahead with the referendum.

EU-Digest   

Spain: Catalonia's fake referendum: Why an independent Catalonia would be a huge mistake - by Victor Harel

Sunday’s referendum vote merely deepened the rift within Catalonia and Spanish society as a whole.

The confrontations — some of them violent, between citizens and police officers who were brought in from outside the region (a move necessitated by what the central government’s chief representative Catalonia called the passivity shown by the Catalan regional Mossos d’Esquadra force) — were greeted with horror by Spaniards, for whom they evoked long-buried nightmares of the Franco regime. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his government bear most of the responsibility for this.

The heads of the European Union vehemently oppose letting a “Catalan State” join the union. Such a move not only contradicts the essence and purpose of the EU; it would also open the door to a flood of demands for independence across the continent.

Catalonia’s leaders were not deterred by the rulings of Spain’s Supreme Court, were not eager to obey the law and were not suitably impressed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s determination to prevent Catalonia’s exit at “almost” any price. Rajoy simply can’t do otherwise, because on the sidelines of this battle, others watch and wait: the Basques, some Galicians and who knows what other part of the country might yet demand independence and separation.

Read more: Why an independent Catalonia would be a huge mistake - Europe - Haaretz.com

Spain: Hundreds protest against Catalonia independence vote in Barcelona

Hundreds of people took to the streets of the Catalan capital Barcelona on Saturday, to denounce the upcoming referendum on the region’s separation from Spain. The vote is scheduled to take place on Sunday.

Anti-independence protesters carrying Spanish flags gathered in front of the Catalan government building in Barcelona. At the same time, hundreds rallied in the Spanish capital Madrid, also to protest Sunday’s referendum.

Read more: Hundreds protest against Catalonia independence vote in Barcelona — RT Newsline

Spain-Catalonia: 'The door is open for dialogue with Madrid,' says Carles Puigdemont

Carles Puigdemont is president of Spain’s Catalonia region. As national authorities crack down on the region’s preparations for an October 1 independence referendum that Madrid says is illegal, Puigdemont has accused the national government of adopting a “totalitarian attitude”.

Puigdemont spoke with FRANCE 24’s Caroline de Camaret and RFI’s Sophie Malibeaux about the political crisis with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government and the potential consequences independence would have on Catalonia’s relationship with the European Union.

Asked why he won’t bow to pressure and call off the referendum, the Catalan leader told FRANCE 24 that regional elections provided the mandate to hold this vote. “This is not something we can cancel. We cannot say no to what has already been approved by the citizens. They decided on this through the ballot box,” Puigdemont said from Barcelona.

Read more: 'The door is open for dialogue with Madrid,' says Carles Puigdemont - France 24

Spain Catalonia: Ballot papers for banned referendum to be seized

The vote on breaking away from Spain, planned for 1 October, has been suspended by the constitutional court.

But Catalonia's pro-independence government says it will still go ahead.

As a result, the Public Prosecutor's Office instructed security forces to take everything which could help with the "consummation of the crime".

This includes promotional materials and the ballots themselves, Spanish newspaper El Pais reports [in Spanis

The order came as Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadal came out strongly against the plans.
 
Read more: Spain Catalonia: Ballot papers for banned referendum to be seized - BBC News

Spain Terrorist Attacks: King Felipe joins thousands on anti-terrorism march

Hundreds of thousands marched in Barcelona in a show of unity on Saturday evening, with chants of “I am not afraid”, after two terrorist attacks in the Spanish region of Catalonia last week left 15 dead.

The march was led by shopkeepers and residents of the city’s central boulevard, Las Ramblas, where a van ploughed into pedestrians on 17 Aug, killing 13 and injuring over 100.

The crowd applauded representatives of the police, fire services and medical professions, who were also prominent.

Spain’s King Felipe VI, prime minister Mariano Rajoy and the head of Catalonia’s regional government, Carles Puigdemont, dressed in dark suits, walked in the throng as people cheered while carrying red, yellow and white roses – the colours of Barcelona.

Read more: Spain attacks: King Felipe joins thousands on anti-terrorism march | World news | The Guardian

Spain: Suspect in Spain terrorist attacks says imam planned to blow himself up in Barcelona

A judge ordered two of the four surviving suspects in the extremist attacks in Spain held without bail, another detained for 72 more hours and one freed with restrictions Tuesday after the men appeared in court to answer questions about the events that killed 15 people.

National Court Judge Fernando Andreu issued his orders after quizzing the four about the vehicle attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, as well as about the fatal explosion at a bomb-making workshop that police said scuttled the group's plot to carry out a more deadly attack at unspecified Barcelona monuments.

The judge said there was enough evidence to hold Mohamed Houli Chemlal, 21, and Driss Oukabir, 28, on preliminary charges of causing homicides and injuries of a terrorist nature and of belonging to a terrorism organization. Houli Chemlal also has an additional charge of dealing with explosives.

Read more: Suspect in Spain attacks says imam planned to blow himself up in Barcelona - World - CBC News

Spain: Police shoot fugitive city’s van attack wearing possible bomb belt

A police operation was underway Monday in an area west of Barcelona, and a Spanish newspaper reports that the fugitive in the city’s van attack has been captured.

Regional Spanish police said officers shot a man wearing a possible explosives belt in Subirats, a small town 45 kilometres (28 miles) west of Barcelona.

Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, has been the target of an international manhunt since Thursday’s van attack in Barcelona. Authorities said Monday they now have evidence he drove the van that plowed down the city’s famed Las Ramblas promenade, killing 13 pedestrians and injuring more than 120 others.

Abouyaaqoub then is suspected of carjacking a man and stabbing him to death as he made his getaway, raising the death toll between the Barcelona attack and a related attack hours later to 15.

Read more: Spain: Police shoot man wearing possible bomb belt - Campbell River Mirror

EU-Spain- Terrorism: Why was Spain targeted by these Deranged Islamic terrorists? - by S. Jones and G.Tremlett

Images of the aftermath of the attack on Barcelona’s most famous street on Thursday will stir different images in the minds of different people. For those in France and the UK, they will be reminders of the attacks on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice and on Westminster Bridge in London.

For many Spaniards, they will bring back memories of 11 March 2004, when 191 people were killed and more than 1,800 others injured in a series of train bombings in Madrid carried out by al-Qaida.

Older Spaniards will also remember Eta’s violent struggle for Basque independence, a failed campaign that killed more than 800 people in bombings and shootings over a period of decades.

But if the spectre of Eta has faded six years after the group began giving up its weapons – and 20 years after its murder of a young politician marked a turning point in Spanish society – the same cannot be said of the threat of cowardly radical Islamic terrorism

Read more: Barcelona and Cambrils attacks: why was Spain targeted by terrorists? | World news | The Guardian

Terrorism - Spain: Barcelona attack: Van crashes into crowds in Ramblas tourist area

Deranged Radical Islamist Terrorists

A van has ploughed into crowds in the busy Las Ramblas area of central Barcelona in what police are treating as a “terror attack”.

A government official tweeted that 13 people have died and at least 50 have been injured.

Spanish police released a handout with information about and a photograph of Maghrebi Driss Oukabir, who is suspected of renting the van used to run down pedestrians in Las Ramblas.

The self-titled Islamic State group (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the deadly attack through its Amaq news agency.

"Once again a cowardly attack on innocent people by a deranged group of radial Islamist terrorists, whose territory of their self proclaimed "Islamic State" is crumbling away at an ever increasing speed".  

"To stay updated on terrorist movements{ check out the SITE Intelligence Group Website ". 

"SITE Intelligence Group is a for-profit US Bethesda, Maryland-based company that tracks online activity of white supremacist and jihadist organizations. From 2002 to 2008, SITE Intelligence Group was known as the Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Institute. SITE is led by the Israeli analyst Rita Katz".

"On a personal basis, in case you see any suspect activities in your area or neighborhood, immediately contact your local police or security agency"..

EU-Digest

Tropical Diseases Now In Europe: Holiday season means risk of tropical diseases - by Steve Bridges

Warmer weather and summer travel put tropical mosquito-borne diseases on the European health authorities’ radar.

The warming climate has unpredictable and wide-ranging impacts on the environment. Some climate effects on human health are direct, such as extreme weather and rising sea levels that threaten low-lying areas.

Other climate change effects on health are no less unpredictable but more indirect.  The Asian Tiger mosquito and Yellow Fever mosquito species are now present in parts of Europe thanks to warmer temperatures, bringing the risk of tropical diseases with them.

August and September are the primary transmission season for mosquito-borne diseases.

Italy saw the first locally acquired case of "chikungunya" in Europe, with over 200 individuals affected. Chikungunya causes fever and severe joint pain that is often debilitating and can vary in duration.

There have also been cases of "dengue fever" in France, Madeira, and Croatia. Dengue causes bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and plasma, joint pain, and fever.

And the first EU cases of "West Nile fever" were detected in Italy and Romania in 2016.

Read more: Holiday season means risk of tropical diseases in Europe

EU Medicines Oversight Body: Spain offers to host EU medicines agency after Brexit - by Ciaran Giles

Competition is heating up among European Union countries hoping to reap some of the benefits of Britain's exit from the EU, with Spain joining the list of nations bidding to host the bloc's medicines oversight body.

Health Minister Dolors Montserrat told a meeting of business representatives and journalists Thursday that Spain believes the Mediterranean port city of Barcelona is the ideal place to house the headquarters of the European Medicines Agency when it relocates from London.

Barcelona has offered its multicolored, aluminum-and-glass Agbar skyscraper as the headquarters. The city was runner-up when London was chosen as EMA headquarters in 1992.

The Netherlands and Portugal are also among several countries presenting bids for the lucrative oversight body. The Portuguese government said Thursday it would propose the capital, Lisbon, which is already home of the EU drug agency and the EU maritime safety agency.

The medicines agency, employing about 900 people, is one of the biggest EU institutions with an annual budget of more than 300 million euros ($325 million).

The EU is also expected to relocate the European Banking Authority as part of Brexit. It isn't known when the bloc will decide on where each body's new headquarters will be.

The EMA evaluates, supervises and monitors medicines developed for use in the EU and coordinates with around 1,600 companies.

Read more: Spain offers to host EU medicines agency after Brexit - ABC

Tourism: Travel trends for 2017: City - Sand - Sea

Dutch Beach: sometimes the beach is closer than you think

Where to go on holiday in 2017? To help potential customers decide, the travel companies have already got their catalogues out. And most agree that safety will again be a top priority among holiday-makers in 2017.

The facts and figures of the past months give the tourism industry cause for optimism: the demand for holiday offerings continues unabated - in spite of the lingering threat of terrorism. The UNWTO World Tourism barometer indicated an increase of 1.6 percent in overnight stays within Europe for the turbulent year 2016. So European tourism is still growing, even if no longer as rapidly as in previous years. And safety still ranks as the top selling point.

Spain and Portugal were last year’s most popular destinations and look set to top the list for 2017, as well. Travel companies are expanding their hotel capacities wherever they can.  Tui, the world’s largest tour operator, has acquired a good 20 percent more hotels on the Canary Islands alone. FTI has taken on 75 new hotels, and Alltours a full 100. But the beach capacity remains the same. Will vacationers find a spot to spread their towels on such overcrowded stretches of sand? In any case, they’ll have to splash out more cash for their summer vacation in Spain than in previous years. Prices are going up, as well.

Turkey registered 33-percent fewer tourists in 2016. Whether the sector has any real chance exists to recover from such a steep drop remains to be seen. The tour operators haven’t started cutting hotel capacity just yet, but they’ve slashed the prices: Tui by five percent, Thomas Cook and Neckermann by eight percent. The hotels offer the same high quality for less money. But will such a bargain be enough to counter holiday-makers’ fears in 2017? 
 
Read more: Travel trends for 2017: City - Sand - Sea | DW Travel | DW.COM | 06.01.2017

Europe: Dangerous radioactive particles have been detected across Europe from unknown source - by J. Hamill

DANGEROUS radioactive particles have been detected in seven different European countries and scientists can’t explain where they have come from.

Traces of Iodine-131 were found in Norway, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, France and Spain in January, but the public were not immediately alerted.

These radioactive particles are produced by atomic bomb explosions or nuclear disasters such as Chernobyl or Fukushima.

They appear to be emanating from Eastern Europe, but experts have not been able to say exactly what produced them.

Astrid Liland, head of emergency preparedness at the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, told the Barents Observer that the health risk was very low – which was why she did not raise the alarm after detecting Iodine-131 during the second week of January.

Read more: Dangerous radioactive particles have been detected across Europe and no-one knows where they came from