Catalonia
The Spanish government has accused the Catalan president of “encouraging radicals” after a day of protests to mark the first anniversary of the region’s unilateral independence referendum ended with riot police charging demonstrators outside the Catalan parliament.
About 180,000 people were estimated to have gathered in Barcelona yesterday to commemorate the vote and show their support for Catalan independence,.
Catatonia’s nationalist president, Quim Torra, praised those undertaking direct action earlier in the day, urging them to “keep up the pressure”.
The Catalan police force said 30 of its officers were injured last night as they tried to stop protesters forcing their way into the regional parliament and demonstrating outside the police HQ.
prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, urged Torra to rein in those responsible for the violence. “Catalan politics has to come back to the Catalan parliament,” he tweeted this morning.
The Catalan independence movement has always prided itself on being peaceful and democratic.
But with the movement increasingly divided and political progress limited, its radical sectors are growing impatient at their leaders’ failure to deliver the republic they promised and some have called for Torra to resign.
Tourist Numbers
Spain welcomed 10.2 million international tourists in Aug 1.9 percent fewer than during the same month the previous year in what marked a second consecutive month of decline this year .. according to the latest report from the National Statistics Institute this morning.
Despite the fall in the number of visitors, tourist spending – which topped around 11.5 million euros in Aug. – increased by 1.8 percent compared to the same period in 2017.
Missile
The Spanish Air Force has imposed a minimal disciplinary measure on the pilot who misfired an air-to-air missile in Estonia in August.
the pilot who accidentally launched the missile in Estonian airspace was found guilty of negligence, however, an investigation led to the discovery of mitigating circumstances.
He was sentenced to up to 14 days of detention or a financial penalty of up to one week’s wages.
The Estonian Defence Forces have yet to find the missile.
Missing Migrants
A search and rescue operation is underway after one small boat made land yesterday and two more were spotted about 35 miles off the coast of La Manga.
An aircraft from the Customs Surveillance Service was joined by a Search and Rescue helicopter last night.
The Guardia Civil are also involved in the search operation, using equipment that monitors the waters from land .. looking for the boats believed to be carrying immigrants from north Africa.
A small boat was located in the Orihuela municipality earlier yesterday.
Cyclist
Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde yesterday suggested he could retire from competitive racing after the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Valverde who’s 38, spoke following a reception at the National Sports Council headquarters in Madrid, a day after he clinched the gold medal in the men’s elite road race at the 2018 UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Austria.