Tag Archives: Europe

SPAIN: Madrid Arrests Eight Top Catalan Officials For Sedition, Issues Warrants For President And Others

The BBC reports: Eight sacked Catalan ministers have been remanded in custody by a Spanish high court judge over the region’s push for independence. Prosecutors had asked the judge to detain eight of the nine former government members who turned up for questioning in Madrid. They are accused of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds. The state prosecutor has …

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Spain Charges Catalonia Leaders With Rebellion

The New York Times reports: The Spanish attorney general said on Monday that Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan leader, and other top regional officials would be prosecuted for rebellion after illegally declaring independence from Spain. The attorney general, José Manuel Maza, stopped short of ordering the immediate arrest of Mr. Puigdemont and other separatist leaders in Catalonia, instead ordering them …

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Spain Sacks Catalonia Government, Assumes Control

The Guardian reports: Madrid has taken direct control of Catalonia for the first time in nearly four decades, firing the regional government and dismissing the head of the local police force, after the Catalan parliament made a unilateral declaration of independence. Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet were formally removed from their posts, and their powers and responsibilities taken over by …

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BREAKING: Catalonia Declares Independence

The New York Times reports: In a major escalation of Spain’s territorial conflict, Catalan lawmakers declared independence on Friday, setting up a showdown with the central government in coming days. Undeterred by the government’s threat to seize control of Catalonia, separatists in the region’s Parliament passed a resolution to “create a Catalan republic as an independent state.” In protest, lawmakers …

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SPAIN: Secessionists Call For “Mass Civil Disobedience” After Weekend Of Rallies, EU Backs Madrid [VIDEO]

CBS News reports: A pro-independence party in the Spanish region of Catalonia is calling for “mass civil disobedience.” They are upset about the Spanish government’s unprecedented decision and attempt to take over Catalonia’s government. The political crisis has escalated to the point that Spain’s central government is, in essence, saying “we’ll take over now” as they seek to impose direct …

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Spain To Remove Catalonia President And Impose Direct Rule, Secessionists To Rally Tonight In Barcelona

The New York Times reports: In a first for Spain, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced on Saturday that he would remove the separatist government of the independence-minded region of Catalonia and initiate a process of direct rule from Madrid. The announcement, made after an emergency cabinet meeting, was an unexpectedly forceful attempt to stop a yearslong drive for secession in …

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Spain Moves To Dissolve Catalonia’s Parliament

Reuters reports: The Spanish government has secured opposition support for dissolving Catalonia’s parliament and holding new elections there in January in its bid to defuse the regional government’s push for independence. The Socialists, the main opposition, said on Friday they would back special measures to impose central rule on the region to thwart the secessionist-minded Catalan government and end a …

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Tajikistan Creates Registry Of “Proven” LGBT People

Radio Free Europe reports: Prosecutors in Tajikistan say authorities have drawn up a registry of more than 300 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Central Asian state, a move purportedly aimed at protecting sexual minorities and halting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. An article in an official journal published this month by the Tajik Prosecutor-General’s Office …

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AUSTRIA: Constitutional Court Issues Initial Ruling In Favor Of Same-Sex Marriage, Final Ruling In December

From the Facebook page of attorney Helmut Graupner: In a decision of 12 October just delivered, the Austrian Constitutional Court followed all my arguments and reversed its case-law (that segregation in marriage and registered partnerships is admissible.) I am representing five children (and their same-gender parents) arguing that the marriage ban stigmatizes the children as illegitimate and the families as …

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LIVE VIDEO: Trump Gives Joint Presser With Greek PM

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump on Tuesday held a press conference in the White House Rose Garden with visiting Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece. This was the president’s second such media briefing in two days. On Monday, Trump held a previously unscheduled press event with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also in the Rose Garden. Trump on Tuesday …

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Austria Lurches Far-Right In National Election [VIDEO]

The Washington Post reports: Austria became the latest European country to take a sharp turn right on Sunday, with the conservative People’s Party riding a hard-line position on immigration to victory in national elections and likely to form a government with a nationalist party that has long advocated for an even tougher stance. The result puts the 31-year-old foreign minister …

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SPAIN: Catalonia President Declares Independence But Suspends Action To Allow For Talks With Madrid [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: The leader of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, said on Tuesday evening that his region had earned the right to independence from Spain, but he immediately suspended the process to allow for talks with the central government in Madrid. “I ask Parliament to suspend the declaration of independence so that in the coming weeks we can undertake …

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ROMANIA: US Christian Hate Groups Provide Help In Advance Of Referendum To Ban Same-Sex Marriage

Politico reports: Romania is gearing up to hold a referendum to amend the constitution to prohibit gay marriage, a move that civil rights groups warn could put the country on an “illiberal” path alongside the likes of Hungary and Poland. Romania’s civil code forbids same-sex marriage, and civil partnerships — whether between heterosexual or gay partners — are not legal. …

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SPAIN: Catalonia Leader Poised To Unilaterally Declare Independence After Violent Referendum [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: The leader of Catalonia insisted on Monday that Sunday’s independence referendum, though marred by clashes and rejected by the Spanish government, had earned his region the right to a separate state and that he would press ahead to make the vote binding. Without specifying when, Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan leader, said he would submit the …

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SPAIN: Catalonia Officials Declare Landslide 90% Vote For Secession After Violent Referendum [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Catalonia’s regional government declared a landslide win for the “yes” side in a disputed referendum on independence from Spain that degenerated into ugly scenes of mayhem on Sunday, with more than 800 people injured as riot police attacked peaceful protesters and unarmed civilians gathered to cast their ballots. Catalonia has “won the right to become an …

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SPAIN: National Riot Police Beat Voters As Catalonia Secession Referendum Descends Into Chaos [VIDEO]

CNN reports: Catalonia’s disputed independence referendum was in chaos on Sunday, with reports of hundreds injured as Spain’s national police launched a widespread crackdown on the vote. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont condemned “indiscriminate aggression” against peaceful voters. Spanish authorities appeared determined to deny the vote legitimacy by preventing as many people as possible from casting ballots in the referendum, which …

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GERMANY: Same-Sex Marriage Begins [VIDEO]

The BBC reports: Two men have become the first gay couple to marry in Germany, on the day gay marriage became legal there. Karl Kreile and Bodo Mende, a couple for 38 years, exchanged their vows at the town hall in Schöneberg, Berlin. Registry offices in several German cities were opening, unusually, on Sunday to allow couples to wed on …

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SPAIN: Separatists Occupy Polling Stations Ahead Of Banned Referendum On Catalonia Secession [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Police in Catalonia issued an ultimatum Saturday: the separatists, parents and children who are occupying schools to use them as polling stations for a disputed referendum on the region’s independence from Spain must leave by dawn. The police deadline of 6 a.m. Sunday is designed to prevent the vote from taking place, since the polls are …

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GERMANY: Infighting Roils Extremist AFD Party After Shocking Election, “Moderate” Leader Asked To Resign

The Washington Post reports: A senior figure in the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany says party co-leader Frauke Petry should quit, amid deepening infighting a day after its strong showing in national elections. Petry, who is co-chairwoman of AfD, announced Monday that she won’t join its new parliamentary caucus and walked out of a news conference. She’s been sidelined in the …

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GERMANY: Angela Merkel Wins Fourth Term, Extremist AFD Party Has Likely Taken 89 Seats In Parliament

The New York Times reports: Angela Merkel is headed toward a fourth term as German chancellor, according to normally reliable exit polls released just after the polls closed in Germany. But the polls also show that a far-right party, Alternative for Germany, has gotten some 13.5 percent of the vote, a significant showing of voter anger over immigration and inequality. …

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