World Bloggers

First Catalan poll gives slight lead to anti-independence parties Sunday 29 October 2017 15:47 REUTERS Tens of thousands of unionist supporters gathered on Sunday in the regional capital Barcelona, waving Spanish national flags and singing “Viva España” .(REUTERS) Political parties opposing a split by Catalonia from Spain had a small lead in an opinion poll published on Sunday, the first since Madrid called a regional election to try to resolve the crisis over Catalan demands for independence . The poll of 1,000 people by Sigma Dos for newspaper El Mundo , which opposes independence for the wealthy northern region, showed anti-independence parties winning 43.4% support and pro-independence parties 42.5%. Catalans will vote for a new regional parliament on December 21. Spain’s central government called the election on Friday, when it also sacked the regional president Carles Puigdemont and dismissed his government. It had said it would return the autonomous region t...

T-Charge: New London traffic charge comes into force Drivers of older, more polluting vehicles now have to pay almost twice as much to drive in central London. Mayor Sadiq Khan's £10 T-Charge, which mainly applies to diesel and petrol vehicles registered before 2006, has come into force. It covers the same area as the existing congestion charge zone, bumping up the cost to £21.50 for those affected. Opponents said the scheme would "disproportionately penalise London's poorest drivers". The measure is the latest attempt by Mr Khan to improve air quality in the capital and, according to the mayor's office, will affect 34,000 motorists a month. Old banger vs diesel: Which is more toxic? Reality Check: Does pollution cut short 40,000 lives a year? Pollution warning as London air quality alerts are issued How bad is air pollution in the UK? Speaking on the Today programme , Mr Khan said: "We've got a health crisis in London cause...

Catalonia’s Leader, Facing Deadline, Won’t Say if Region Declared Independence MADRID — The Spanish government has given a new ultimatum to Catalonia’s separatist leader to clarify whether he was withdrawing his plan to declare independence from Spain , after a Monday morning deadline for the separatists to make their intentions clear came and went. After a perplexing speech last Tuesday before Catalonia’s Parliament, Carles Puigdemont, the region’s leader, sent a letter to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy asking to negotiate a solution but declining to clarify whether independence had been declared. “Mr. Puigdemont has a serious problem, not only in terms of respecting legality but also respecting citizens who are asking for clarity,” Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, the deputy prime minister of Spain, said at a news conference in Madrid shortly after receiving Mr. Puigdemont’s letter. The Catalan leader “should respond yes or no” by Thursday, she said. “It’s in his hands to avoid th...

Homeowners returned to their neighborhood on Tuesday A firefighter douses hot spots of the Canyon Fire 2 that burned an Anaheim Hills neighborhood on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. More than 20 structures burned Monday, when winds fanned the brush fire into a neighborhood Red flag warnings are set to expire Tuesday morning The Canyon Fire 2 was part of Gov. Jerry Browns emergency declaration, which includes Wine Country areas affected by about a dozen fires In a neighborhood still smoldering, residents on Tuesday returned to Anaheim Hills to take stock of their losses after a vicious brush fire destroyed more than a dozen structures. More than 5,000 homes were evacuated Monday as fire crews struggled to battle a rapidly growing brush fire, dubbed Canyon Fire 2, that was estimated at 7,500 acres on Tuesday afternoon. Evacuation orders remained in place Tuesday. Dozens of structures have been destroyed and as many as 5,000 homes are still in danger. "Horrible, horrible ...

In Puerto Rico, Equal Parts Fear and Fellowship After Storm Neighbors gathered to clean out their homes damaged by Hurricane Maria in Canovanas, P.R., on Saturday. CreditVictor J. Blue for The New York Times TOA BAJA, P.R. — The little cluster of friends and neighbors had gathered in front of a concrete home in a flooded-out seaside neighborhood at sunset. They were relieved to be alive after Hurricane Maria, proud of the way they had helped each other, and anxious about whether the relative peace in battered Puerto Rico would hold. Wilmer Rivera Negron, 34, showed the generator that he was sharing with an older couple, 75 feet away. The couple’s daughter, Luz Collazo Pagan, 55, pointed to a huge pile of felled branches the neighbors had cut with machetes and moved off the street. Ms. Collazo, a lawyer, also showed the binders full of documents she was referring to as she tried to help her friends without firearms figure out how to buy them legally. “Basically, we’re drink...