TARRAGONA, Spain/PARIS - Wildfires raged across Catalonia and French authorities stepped up restrictions on water use and driving in cities as swathes of western Europe remained in the grip of an intense heatwave.
Temperatures climbed towards 44 degrees Celsius in parts of northern Spain and southern France, driving many people to seek relief in the sea, rivers, lakes, fountains and swimming pools.
Spanish firefighters struggled to douse wildfires across nearly 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) in the northeastern region of Catalonia. They warned that the affected area could increase as much as fivefold because of the fierce heat and winds.
Helicopters dumped water on the fires, which raged some 80 km (50 miles) inland from the coastal town of Tarragona. There were no reports of casualties, but the regional government said some 30 people had been evacuated from farmhouses in the area.
The wildfires are among the worst Catalonia has seen in 20 years, the regional government said.
In neighboring France to the north, authorities extended restrictions on vehicles, already imposed in Paris and Lyon, to Marseille and Strasbourg in an effort to curb air pollution.
Some schools postponed summer examinations, and parts of northern France were put on drought alert, with water supplies to businesses, farmers and ordinary residents restricted. Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume announced a ban on the transportation of animals until the heatwave has ended.
Grid operator RTE said French electricity demand on Thursday was close to a summer record seen two years ago, as people turned on fans and coolers to full blast for relief from the scorching temperatures.
"Calls to the emergency services are on the rise nationwide. We are seeing the beginning of a clear impact of the heatwave. For us the worst is still to come," said Jerome Saloman, head of national public health.
He said four drownings had been recorded in France since the start of the week directly linked to the heatwave as people try to cool themselves. However, the full toll directly linked to the heatwave would only be known in the days or weeks ahead.
Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said four administrative regions in the south had been placed on red alert, the highest crisis level, with 76 others on orange alert.
“This episode of heatwave is unprecedented in France. It is exceptional in its intensity,” she told a news conference.
The red alert would mean school outings and outdoor sport and other festive activities are suspended or postponed. She cautioned joggers and other sport lovers to curb their activities.
There was at least relief for northern Germany on Thursday as temperatures slid to more normal levels for June. In Berlin it was 21 degrees Celsius, down from around 37 on Wednesday.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MADRID - Spain was plunged into crisis Friday
as Madrid seized power from independence-seeking Catalonia, the first
curtailment of regional autonomy since the brutal dictatorship of
Francisco Franco.
After regional lawmakers voted to declare a Catalan "republic", Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy moved swiftly to dissolve the rebel government and parliament, and called December 21 elections to replace them.
In an escalating standoff closely watched by secession-wary Europe, Rajoy fired pro-independence leader Carles Puigdemont and all his ministers as well as the director of the regional police, and Catalan envoys to Madrid and Brussels, to halt what he termed an "escalation of disobedience."
Secessionist lawmakers voted 70 to 10 in the 135-member parliament Friday to declare Catalonia "a republic in the form of an independent and sovereign state".
They take their mandate from the "Yes" result in a banned and unregulated October 1 independence referendum spurned by many more than half of Catalan electors.
Observers warned of trouble ahead, with Catalan officials and public servants likely to defy orders from caretaker envoys sent by the central government.
"Tensions are likely to rise significantly over the coming days," suggested Teneo Intelligence, a risk analysis group.
"Demonstrators might try to prevent the police from removing Catalan ministers from their offices... This increases the risk of violent clashes," it said in a statement.
'DEMOLISHED DEMOCRACY'
The region of some 7.5 million people accounts for about 16 percent of Spain's population, a fifth of its economic output, and attracts more tourists than anywhere else in the country.
Catalonia's inhabitants are fiercely protective of their language, culture and autonomy -- restored after a long period of oppression during nationalist Franco´s 1936-1979 rule.
In Barcelona, separatists broke out in ecstatic shouts of: "Independence!" and popped bottles of cava, a Catalan sparkling wine, as the outcome of Friday´s vote was announced. Separatist MPs cheered and embraced before singing the Catalan anthem.
But any cause for joy was soon nipped in the bud, and shares in Spanish companies, particularly Catalan banks, dropped sharply as the crisis deepened.
"We Spaniards are living through a sad day in which a lack of reason prevailed upon the law and demolished democracy in Catalonia," Rajoy said as he announced steps to "restore normality".
The sweeping measures were approved by the Senate Friday under a constitutional article designed to rein in rebels among Spain's 17 regions.
Madrid's allies in the European Union and the United States rallied behind Madrid as they voiced alarm over developments in Spain´s worst political crisis in decades.
European Council President Donald Tusk said Madrid "remains our only interlocutor" following the independence vote.
"I hope the Spanish government favours force of argument, not argument of force," he tweeted.
Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said Berlin "does not recongise such a declaration of independence" by Catalonia.
BATTLE OF WILLS
The issue is far from a clear-cut battle of wills between Madrid and Catalonia, however.
Polls show Catalans themselves are split, pretty much down the middle, on the issue of independence from Spain.
Dozens of opposition MPs walked out before Friday´s secret ballot in the Catalan parliament, one lamenting "a dark day" for democracy.
Later in the day, hundreds of anti-independence protesters gathered in central Barcelona, chanting "I am Spanish, Spanish!"
Waving the Spanish flag, several demanded Puigdemont be jailed for sedition, even as prosecutors announced they would file "rebellion" charges against him next week.
He risks up to 30 years in jail.
But outside the seat of the Generalitat, the Catalan government, the mood was festive, with fireworks and music.
"We are a free country," revelled Maria Altimira, 65.
DISOBEDIENCE
Catalan resentment at Madrid's perceived interference has been building for years, compounded by the 2008 economic crisis. Many complain that the region contributes more to the central purse than it gets back.
The UN urged both sides Friday to "seek solutions within the framework of the Spanish constitution, and through established political and legal channels."
But far-left groups have already threatened "massive civil disobedience" if Madrid usurps Catalan autonomy.
"We are likely to see more sustained unrest, possibly including strikes, as well as more serious clashes between national police and pro-independence activists," said Federico Santi, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a US-based politics think-tank.
"The main signpost over the weekend will be whether the regional government refuses to willingly and peacefully step down."
CALL FOR RESTRAINT
Puigdemont appealed for calm.
"We will have to maintain the momentum of this country (Catalonia) in the coming hours," he told lawmakers and onlookers in Barcelona after the legislature vote, and urged them to do so in the spirit of "peace, civic responsibility and dignity."
There are deep concerns over the economic impact of the showdown, with nearly 1,700 companies already having moved their legal headquarters out of Catalonia, which has an economic output equivalent to that of Portugal.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks retreated from records Thursday as
investors soured on financial shares following earnings from large
banks.
The pullback in the US came on a mixed day for European equities as investors continued to weigh the murky politics surrounding the Catalan independence movement.
US stocks have been on a tear since President Donald Trump last month unveiled a much-anticipated tax cut plan.
But they fell back Thursday despite better-than-expected earnings from JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. Both companies fell after the reports, with Citigroup shedding 3.4 percent.
"Considering the overbought nature of the stock market, the market was vulnerable to a negative surprise, or to ... profit taking," said Karl Haeling of LBBW. "You do have to wonder, at what point are we going to get a correction?"
Europe's stock markets held mostly steady as tensions eased over Catalonia.
S&P WARNS ON CATALONIA
Madrid investors, took profits a day after a relief rally to push the Ibex a touch lower in closing trade. Spanish shares had surged Wednesday after Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont called for independence to be suspended to allow for talks with the Spanish government.
Still, ratings agency Standard and Poor's warned that the crisis over Catalan independence from Spain could push the region into recession.
"The tensions between Catalonia and the central government, if unchecked, could lead to a sustained drop in business confidence and potential business disruption," said S&P credit analyst Elena Iparraguirre.
The euro retreated against the dollar, but the pound moved higher against the greenback following a report in German newspaper Handelsblatt that Britain could be given a 2-year extension to complete Brexit due to a deadlocking in negotiations between Britain and the European Union over terms of the divorce.
Oil prices fell after the International Energy Agency warned that more output restraint is needed from OPEC producer countries if the market is to find a sustainable balance.
Among individual equities, HSBC dropped 1.6 percent after announcing that it had chosen John Flint, its head of retail banking and wealth management, to succeed Stuart Gulliver as chief executive, who is retiring.
German airline Lufthansa jumped 1.8 percent as it announced plans to buy more than half the planes of bankrupt Air Berlin. Lufthansa has yet to say how much it will pay under the deal, but Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr told newspaper Rheinische Post that the group would invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in its low-cost subsidiary Eurowings following the takeover.
AT&T sank 6.1 percent as it confirmed many of its full-year financial targets, but said it expects a hit of $210 million in pre-tax earnings in the third quarter due to US hurricanes and earthquakes in Mexico.
AT&T also said it expects a drop of 90,000 in total US video subscribers as more consumers shun traditional cable packages in favor of streaming and other "over-the-top" services.
KEY FIGURES AROUND 2100 GMT (5 a.m. Friday in Manila)
New York - DOW: DOWN 0.1 percent at 22,841.01 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,550.93 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,591.51 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,556.24 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.1 percent at 12,982.89 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 5,360.81 (close)
Madrid - IBEX 35: DOWN less than 0.1 percent 10,275.90 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,605.54
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 20,954.72 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.2 percent at 28,459.03 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,386.10 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1828 from $1.1864 at 2100 GMT
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3260 from $1.3225
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 112.29 yen from 112.50 yen
Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN 69 cents at $56.25 per barrel
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 70 cents at $50.60 per barrel
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MADRID - Two men arrested after a van attack in Barcelona which killed at least 13 people on Thursday were connected to the incident but neither was the driver of the vehicle, police said.
Police confirmed that another man who ran over two officers at a checkpoint in Barcelona was shot dead, but added that it did not appear that the incident was linked to the van attack.
The driver of the van which mowed people down on the busy Las Ramblas avenue left the vehicle on foot and did not appear to be armed, a Catalan police official told a news conference.
They said that one of the two men arrested was Moroccan and the other was from the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa. They were arrested in two different towns in the region of Catalonia, Ripoll and Alcanar.
Separately, police said that the van attack appeared to be linked to an explosion at a house in Alcanar in the early hours of Thursday in which one person died and another was injured.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
