Catalonia election: Puigdemont hails 'defeat' for Spanish state
Catalonia's ousted separatist leader, Carles Puigdemont, has declared that the Spanish state has been defeated in a snap regional election.
Speaking in Brussels where he is in self-imposed exile, Mr Puigdemont hailed the result as a victory for the "Catalan republic".
Separatist parties will hold a slim, reduced, majority in the new assembly.
However the Citizens party, which wants Catalonia to remain a semi-autonomous part of Spain, is the biggest party.
As a result, it is unclear who will be given the right to form a government.
The Spanish government imposed direct rule on Catalonia and called the election after declaring an October independence referendum illegal.
Japan boosts defence budget to record levels with eye on North Korea
Shinzo Abe’s plan includes missile systems to launch a pre-emptive strike, a move critics say violates the constitution
Japan’s government has approved a record defence budget, with money earmarked for costly missile defence systems and, controversially, weapons that could be used in pre-emptive strikes against North Korea.
The 5.19tn yen ($46bn) budget, up 1.3% from last year, is the largest ever and marks the six straight annual rise in defence spending under Japan’s conservative prime minister, Shinzo Abe.
Abe, who ended a decade of defence cuts soon after becoming prime minister in late 2012, has described the threat posed by North Korean ballistic missiles as a “national crisis”.
Venezuela presidential election: Nicolas Maduro's government blocks opposition candidates from competing
'The Venezuelan government and its illegitimate Constituent Assembly are inventing rules as they go along. This is not democracy'
Venezuela's pro-government constitutional assembly has stripped three of the country's most influential opposition parties of the right to participate in next year's presidential election.
The Constituent Assembly ruled that parties who boycotted this month's local elections had lost legitimacy, requiring them to reapply for legal status and potentially eliminating them from the 2018 presidential race.
The decree has infuriated Venezuela's opposition and drew criticism from the United States, whose embassy said: "The Venezuelan government and its illegitimate Constituent Assembly are inventing rules as they go along. This is not democracy."
Video: Police on motorbike run over protester in Buenos Aires
Violent clashes between police officers and protesters broke out in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires on December 18 during demonstrations against government reforms of the pension system. Of the many photos and videos that circulated online after the clashes, one video was particularly shocking: It showed two police officers on a motorcycle running over a young protester.
On December 18, thousands of protesters gathered in the streets of Buenos Aires, many around the Congress building. They were demonstrating against a bill currently under debate in parliament that aimed to modify the way that government pensions are calculated.
The government says that the reform will help reduce the country’s deficit and maintains that the buying power of retirees won’t be affected. However, opposition parties and unions say the reforms would actually lead to major cuts in pension payments, especially among the most vulnerable members of the public.
Child malnutrition soars in besieged Damascus enclave
By Nick Paton Walsh and Salma Abdelaziz, CNN
Despite many claims the war in Syria is ebbing, one besieged pocket of rebel-aligned civilians near the Syrian capital is at a "critical point," says the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
They are experiencing the worst outbreak of child malnutrition yet in the savage six-year civil war, and in need of an emergency medical evacuation of more than 100 children, say UN officials.
An estimated 400,000 civilians in the suburban enclave of Eastern Ghouta have suffered from both a lengthy siege and continued bombardment. This has come amid a climate of peace talks and a victory declaration from Moscow in which Russian President Vladimir Putin said his military forces would begin to withdraw.
JURY ACQUITS FIRST SIX J20 DEFENDANTS, REBUKING GOVERNMENT’S PUSH FOR COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT
ON THURSDAY, A jury acquitted six defendants charged with felonies stemming from their arrests at protests surrounding Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. The acquittal is a blow to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia: a jury rebuke in the first tranche of 194 defendants the government is seeking to collectively punish for the acts of a handful of individuals.
Supporters gathered outside the courthouse to meet the defendants as they left the building, holding a banner that read, “Love for all who resist.” When a group of four jurors exited the courthouse, demonstrators recognized them and cheered.
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