“We will ask the Senate, with the aim of protecting the general interest of the nation, to authorize the government... to sack the Catalan president and his government,” Rajoy told a news conference. The measures must now be approved by Spain’s upper house, the Senate, where a vote is scheduled for Oct 27. The main opposition Socialists said on Friday they would back special measures and had agreed on the holding of regional elections in January. Heavy-handed police tactics to shut down the Oct 1 independence referendum drew criticism from human rights groups. Regional authorities said about 90 percent of those who cast ballots voted for independence.

Source: bd News24 October 21, 2017 12:33 UTC