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A6   WORLD NEWS
                 Friday 18 September 2020

             Spanish court considers Catalan leader's removal from office



            Associated Press                                                                                                    the  region  politically  amid
            MADRID (AP) — Catalonia's                                                                                           the coronavirus pandemic.
            regional president on Thurs-                                                                                        However, Torra has refused
            day  vowed  not  to  waver                                                                                          to  call  snap  elections.  In-
            from  his  separatist  cause                                                                                        stead,  he  has  floated  the
            after  hearing  the  closing                                                                                        possibility  of  not  stepping
            arguments  at  Spain's  Su-                                                                                         down, letting his vice presi-
            preme  Court,  which  is  dis-                                                                                      dent do the formal business
            cussing whether to bar him                                                                                          of signing executive orders,
            from public office.                                                                                                 while he still tries to call the
            Quim  Torra  spoke  after  at-                                                                                      shots.
            tending the hearing at the                                                                                          "I'm not the one who will put
            nation's highest court of his                                                                                       this country through an irre-
            appeal  of  a  verdict  by  a                                                                                       sponsible  electoral  period
            lower  court  last  year.  That                                                                                     that will paralyze the Cata-
            court,  in  Barcelona,  ruled                                                                                       lan administration at such a
            that Torra was unfit to hold                                                                                        critical time," he said.
            public office for 18 months                                                                                         It  is  unclear  what  would
            for  having  violated  elec-                                                                                        happen  if  Torra  refuses  to
            toral law.                                                                                                          step down and the Catalan
            "I  am  in  Madrid  today  be-                                                                                      parliament does not name
            cause the judicial and po-                                                                                          a  new  president,  as  Torra
            litical  repression  has  gone                                                                                      has suggested in an act of
            too  far,"  Torra  said.  "What-  Catalan regional President Quim Torra arrives at the Spanish Supreme Court in Madrid, Spain,   defiance of the courts.
            ever  the  judges  now  de-  Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020.                                                              If  the  parliament  tries  and
            cide,  even  though  it  con-                                                                      Associated Press  fails  to  name  a  new  presi-
            travenes  a  parliament's                                                                                           dent,  that  would  trigger  a
            democratic  mandate,  it  paign period, when public  sion parties in the election.     what  his  response  will  be  two  month  countdown  to
            must  not  force  us  to  cede  officials are prohibited from  Torra  admitted  he  had  if he is ousted from power.  find one among the mem-
            one  inch  in  our  political  using public buildings to dis-  disobeyed  the  electoral  He  has  often  encouraged  bers  of  the  legislature.  If
            convictions and goals."      play political propaganda.   board, but argued that he  fellow  separatists  to  prac-  that  failed,  regional  elec-
            The court's ruling is expect-  The  lower  court  said  that  was  defending  the  higher  tice  civil  disobedience  to  tions  would  automatically
            ed in coming days.           the  banner's  message  de-  cause  of  political  and  hu-  further their goals.      be triggered.
            Torra  ran  afoul  of  Spain's  manding  the  release  from  man rights.               Torra's  partners  in  Catalo-  Polls  and  election  results
            electoral  board  after  he  prison of politicians and ac-  In  line  with  Catalan  law,  nia's  coalition  government  show  that  the  7.5  million
            refused  to  remove  a  ban-  tivists  who  had  broken  the  Torra has been allowed to  have urged him along with  residents of Spain's wealthy
            ner  reading  "Free  Political  law  to  promote  the  cause  remain in office during the  opposition  parties  to  call  northeastern  region  are
            Prisoners  and  Exiles"  during  of  Catalonia's  indepen-  appeal process.            elections  before  the  ruling  roughly equally split on the
            an  official  election  cam-  dence  favored  pro-seces-  Torra  has  not  made  clear  so as to avoid destabilizing  independence question.q

            India asks China to pull back troops, arms in Ladakh region



                                                                      He  said  that  was  not  ac-  the  tensions  and  said  Chi-  countries have often been
                                                                      ceptable  and  that  India  is  nese  border  troops  have  strained, partly due to their
                                                                      seeking  a  peaceful  resolu-  "always  strictly  abided  by  undemarcated border.
                                                                      tion through talks.          the (agreements) between  They  fought  a  border  war
                                                                      The  two  countries'  foreign  the  two  countries  and  are  in  1962  that  spilled  into
                                                                      ministers met in Moscow a  committed  to  safeguard-      Ladakh  and  ended  in  an
                                                                      week  ago  and  agreed  to  ing  China's  territorial  sov-  uneasy  truce.  Since  then,
                                                                      deescalate  tensions  in  La-  ereignty  and  maintaining  troops  have  guarded  the
                                                                      dakh,  but  Singh's  words  to  peace  and  tranquility  in  undefined  border  area,
                                                                      Parliament suggested they  the border areas."             occasionally     brawling.
                                                                      remain  high  and  that  set-  "What is pressing now is that  The  standoff  escalated  to
                                                                      tling  the  impasse  will  be  a  the  Indian  side  should  im-  a  deadly  clash  on  a  high
                                                                      long process.                mediately  correct  its  mis-  ridge on June 15 that left 20
                                                                      He  also  said  India  has  take,  disengage  on  the  Indian soldiers dead.
                                                                      counter-deployed    troops  ground as soon as possible  Singh  said  India  inflicted
            An Indian army convoy moves on the Srinagar- Ladakh high-
            way  at  Gagangeer,  northeast  of  Srinagar,  Indian-controlled   that have foiled "transgres-  and  take  concrete  ac-  "heavy"  casualties  on  Chi-
            Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020.                        sion attempts by China."     tions  to  ease  the  tension  nese  forces,  but  did  not
                                                     Associated Press  "We  should  be  confident  and lower the temperature  provide any numbers. Chi-
                                                                      that  our  armed  forces  will  along  the  border,"  Wang  na  has  not  given  any  de-
            NEW  DELHI  (AP)  —  India's  kh region.                  handle  the  situation  suc-  said at a daily briefing.   tails on its casualties.
            defense minister said Thurs-  Rajnath  Singh  told  the  up-  cessfully," Singh said.  In  New  Delhi,  Indian  Exter-  After  that  clash,  the  two
            day  the  country  faces  per  house  of  Parliament  He  said  it  was  "apparent  nal  Affairs  Ministry  spokes-  countries  partially  disen-
            challenges in its border dis-  that  China  has  amassed  from Chinese activities that  man  Anurag  Srivastava  gaged from the site in the
            pute with China and urged  troops and weapons in La-      their  words  don't  match  urged  China  to  "sincerely  Galwan Valley and at least
            Beijing  to  sincerely  imple-  dakh in violation of agree-  their actions."           work  with  the  Indian  side  two  other  places,  but  the
            ment  an  understanding  ments reached in the 1990s  In  Beijing,  Chinese  for-       for  complete  disengage-    crisis  has  continued  in  at
            they  reached  previously  and  is  trying  to  alter  the  eign  ministry  spokesperson  ment at the earliest from all  least  three  other  areas,  in-
            to  completely  disengage  status  quo  in  the  region  Wang  Wenbin  again  laid  friction areas."                cluding  glacial  Pangong
            their forces from the Lada-  through aggressive actions.  the onus on India to relieve  Relations between the two  Lake.q
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