Europe

Spain issues European Arrest Warrant for ‘fugitive’ Catalan leaders

"The five are being sought for five different crimes, including rebellion, sedition and embezzlement in a Spanish investigation into their roles in pushing for secession for Catalonia. In jailing the former regional Government officials the judge said that the suspects' actions were 'premeditated and perfectly prepared and organised.' Judge Carmen Lamela said for the past two years they had systematically ignored decisions issued by the Constitutional Court in their push for independence."

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French Gov’t Has Paid Out Nearly $600,000 To ISIS Fighters In Syria

"Jihadis have claimed unemployment benefits and family allowance for years while living in Syria. Over the past five years, some 500,000 euros ($583,200) have gone directly from the French taxpayers to the terror group, according to the report. Other European countries have uncovered similar problems. Close to every person who left Sweden to fight for terror groups in the Middle East received welfare, according to a government report."

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‘Dislike’ and ‘Unfriendliness’ Can Be Hate Crimes, UK Police Confirm

"National bodies, including the College of Policing (CoP) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), both admit there is an 'absence of a precise legal definition of hostility', with the latter also referring individual forces onto 'dictionary definitions' for the purpose of investigating hate crimes. Dictionary definitions include a wide range of normal human behaviours and emotions, and images on social media suggest police officers are being told to look out for 'unfriendliness' as a sign of a hate crime. The CPS also mentions 'ill-will, ill-feeling, spite, contempt, prejudice, unfriendliness, antagonism, resentment, and dislike' as examples of hostility that could be taken from a dictionary."

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Spain Dismisses Catalonian Government, Dissolves Parliament, Fires Police Chief

"Spain dismissed Catalonia's president and Cabinet and dissolved its Parliament on Friday hours after lawmakers in the autonomous region defied Madrid and voted overwhelmingly to declare independence. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called new elections and fired the Catalan police chief, as part of an unprecedented package of measures to seize control of the renegade administration in Barcelona. The European Union has backed Madrid in its handling of the crisis. The United States also voiced its support for the Madrid government."

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Two wealthy Italian states vote for autonomy in shadow of Catalonia crisis

"In both regions, many people complain their taxes are wasted by the central government, accusing Rome of delivering low-quality public services and diverting money to the poor south widely seen by northerners as corrupt. Italy’s constitution does not allow regional fiscal autonomy, however, and Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina said that while Rome was open to talks it would not give up tax proceeds from the rich regions."

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Assange offers €20K reward for finding killers of Malta’s ‘one-woman WikiLeaks’

"The 53 year old ran the hugely popular ‘Running Commentary’ blog which led Malta’s Panama Papers investigation and highlighted several other corruption scandals in the Mediterranean island nation. The blog's most recent revelations took aim at Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and two of his closest aides."

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Spanish govt slammed over bizarre Catalan .cat internet registry cop raid

"The Spanish government has come under increasing criticism for raiding the offices of the .cat internet registry in the lead-up to a referendum on Catalans' independence. On Wednesday morning, police entered the registry's headquarters in Barcelona and seized all of its computers. The cops also arrested six members of staff, and held four of them for two days. Its CTO has been accused of sedition. The raid and arrest has sparked protests from the .cat company, as well as the Internet Society and the EFF."

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Spain threatens Catalonia with five-day deadline to overturn vote

"Rajoy said Catalan authorities broke the law by holding the referendum and incited street protests to give an appearance of legitimacy to the vote. He did not refer to the violence with which police cracked down on voting day but said 'nobody can be proud of the image' Spain projected, adding the only ones to blame were the Catalan leaders."

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‘Peculiar’ Market Strikes Again With Sale of 100-Year Austrian Bond

"Investors placed almost 11 billion euros of orders for Austria’s first century bond, which had a yield of 2.1 percent. That’s less than the current yield earned on Treasuries coming due in just 10 years. The 'quite peculiar' bond market reflects expectations of a subdued investor response to when the European Central Bank decides to rein in its super accommodative monetary policy, according to Kim Liu, senior fixed-income strategist at ABN Amro Group NV."

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