Media captionSarah Rainsford met protesters in Madrid who are calling for a united Spain
The Spanish government has said it would welcome the participation of sacked Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont in new elections.
The central government in Madrid has ordered that fresh elections for the regional parliament of Catalonia should take place in December.
It stripped Catalonia of its autonomy after the Catalan parliament voted to declare independence.
Mr Puigdemont is urging “democratic opposition” to direct rule from Madrid.
He condemned the suspension of Catalonia’s autonomy and promised to continue to “work to build a free country”.
Spain has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since an independence referendum, organised by Mr Puigdemont’s separatist government, was held earlier this month in defiance of a ruling by the Constitutional Court which had declared it illegal.
The Catalan government said that of the 43% of potential voters who took part, 90% were in favour of independence.
Madrid’s enforcer for Catalonia
Catalonia crisis: What next for Spain?
Friday saw the regional parliament declare independence, with Madrid responding by declaring the move illegal.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy then announced the dissolution of the regional parliament and the removal of Mr Puigdemont as Catalan leader, and ordered that fresh regional elections should be held.
What are the latest developments?
Saturday saw the government in Madrid remove Catalonia’s autonomy and take over government functions in the region.
And Spain’s interior ministry took charge of Catalonia’s police after firing senior Catalan police officials.
A central government spokesman in Madrid, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, said Mr Puigdemont had the right to continue in politics, despite his removal from office.
“I’m quite sure that if Puigdemont takes part in these elections, he can exercise this democratic opposition,” he said, quoted by Reuters.
“The Catalans will be able to say what they feel about what they’ve been seeing in this last year, with all sorts of failing the law, abusing the law and putting themselves outside the law,” he added.
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption
Puigdemont said Madrid’s actions were “premeditated aggression”
He spoke after Mr Puigdemont, in a pre-recorded address to Catalans on Saturday afternoon, said the central government’s actions were “premeditated aggression” that ran “contrary to the expressed will of the citizens of our country, who know perfectly well that in a democracy it is parliaments that choose, or remove, presidents”.
He added: “We continue persevering in the only attitude that can make us winners. Without violence, without insults, in an inclusive way, respecting people and symbols, opinions, and also respecting the protests of the Catalans who do not agree with what the parliamentary majority has decided.”
A poll published by Spanish national newspaper El Pais on Saturday suggests more Catalans (52% to 43%) are in favour of the dissolution of the regional parliament and the holding of elections.
Fifty-five per cent of Catalan respondents opposed the declaration of independence, with 41% in favour.
What powers did Catalonia have?
Before Madrid took over the Catalan government, the region had one of the greatest levels of self-government in Spain.
It has its own parliament, police force and public broadcaster, as well as a government and president, though those have now been dismissed.
Foreign affairs, the armed forces and fiscal policy were always the sole responsibility of the Spanish government.
What’s the reaction been?
Thousands celebrated Friday’s declaration of independence on the streets of Barcelona, Catalonia’s regional capital.
The same crowds that cheered each Yes vote from Catalan MPs reportedly booed Mr Rajoy as he made his announcement.
Media captionThe moment Catalan parliament declared independence
There were pro-unity demonstrations too, with protesters in Barcelona waving Spanish flags and denouncing Catalan independence.
Saturday saw several thousand people attend a rally in Madrid, waving Spanish flags and calling for national unity. Some accused Catalonia’s leaders of treason.
How did we get here?
After the 1 October referendum, Mr Puigdemont signed a declaration of independence but delayed implementation to allow talks with the Spanish government.
He ignored warnings by the Madrid government to cancel the move, prompting Mr Rajoy to threaten to remove Catalan leaders and impose direct rule.
Catalonia is one of Spain’s richest, most distinctive regions, with a high degree of autonomy.
Many Catalans feel they pay more to Madrid than they get back, and there are historical grievances, too, in particular Catalonia’s treatment under the dictatorship of General Franco. But Catalans have been divided on the question of independence.
16% of Spain’s population live in Catalonia, and it produces:
25.6% of Spain’s exports
19% of Spain’s GDP
20.7% of foreign investment
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Former president Barack Obama speaks at a rally in support of Phil Murphy, the Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey in Newark on Oct. 19. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Since leaving the White House in January, former president Barack Obama has turned heads, images of him slipping into a Broadway play with his elder daughter, Malia, and kitesurfing with billionaire Richard Branson in the British Virgin Islands were shared on social media sites.
His next stop: jury duty in Cook County, Ill.
Obama, a constitutional scholar who frequently invokes messages of civic engagement, plans to serve next month, the county’s chief judge told the Chicago Tribune on Friday. Obama owns homes in Washington, D.C., as well as Chicago. He’ll follow in the footsteps of presidential predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, both of whom appeared for jury selection after leaving the White House.
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans first shared the news with county commissioners during a budget hearing. He later told the Tribune that necessary precautions would be taken to accommodate security and scheduling needs. He did not specify the date or courthouse location Obama will report to in November.
“He made it crystal-clear to me through his representative that he would carry out his public duty as a citizen and resident of this community,” Evans told the Tribune.
A spokesman declined to comment on the former president’s private schedule.
The Tribune reported that other high-profile figures, like Oprah Winfrey, have also reported for jury duty in Cook County. Jurors can be summoned for civil or criminal pools and can be called to any of the county’s courthouses.
“Although it’s not a place where the public can earn a lot of money, it is highly appreciated,” Evans told the Tribune of Obama’s choice to serve. “It’s crucial that our society get the benefit of that kind of commitment.”
Obama skipped jury duty at least once before when in 2010 he was pre-booked with the State of the Union. According to CBS News, the summons were sent to Obama’s former home on the South Side of Chicago, but the president told the county court that he wouldn’t be able to make it.
Obama would not be the first former president to report for jury duty after leaving the Oval Office.
In August 2015, more than six years after the end of his presidency, George W. Bush received his jury duty summon and reported to the George Allen Dallas County Civil Court building. Bush sat through the jury selection panel and, though not picked to serve as a juror, spent about three hours at the court and posed for photos with his fellow jury candidates.
“If the former President can show up for jury duty what excuse do you have? #civicduty” tweeted a spectator.
In March 2003, Bill Clinton became Prospective Juror No. 142 in federal court in Manhattan. The New York Times reported that Clinton, whose name was avoided in the court hearing, was eventually dismissed in the jury selection in a case involving a gang shooting in the Bronx.
While serving as vice president, Joe Biden was called for jury duty in Delaware in January 2011. He too was not chosen as a juror.
Even members of the judicial branch don’t always make the cut.
In April 2015, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. reported for jury duty in Montgomery County, Md., and was being considered for a civil trial in a case involving a car crash. The Washington Post reported that Roberts answered questions about relatives — that his sister was a nurse and his brother-in-law was with Indiana State Police — but said nothing about his day job, which would be listed on a form.
“Roberts was not selected, and left court without comment,” The Post reported.
