BARCELONA, SPAIN—Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy urged voters in Catalonia on Sunday to defeat the separatists who led the region’s recent drive for independence when they go to the polls in an early election next month. After Catalonia’s Parliament voted Oct. 27 in favour of declaring independence, Rajoy responded by firing top government officials, dissolving the Parliament and ordering the early election. In Brussels on Sunday, those favouring independence for Catalonia rallied near the European Union quarter. Catalonia’s separatists, and even some moderates, have criticized the measures as heavy-handed. Rajoy linked the continued economic recovery of Spain, and especially Catalonia, to the removal of pro-independence parties from power.

Source: thestar November 12, 2017 15:00 UTC