Catalan parliament to respond to Spain’s planned takeover

BARCELONA, Spain — Catalonia’s regional parliament plans to hold a debate this week on the Spanish prime minister’s plan to take direct control of the region — a session many fear could lead to a vote declaring Catalan independence.

The president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, asked regional lawmakers to debate options for responding to the takeover moves announced Saturday by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Parliament’s governing body set the debate for Thursday.

Rajoy wants to trigger a section of the Spain Constitution that would allow the central government to step in to run Catalonia. Firing all Catalan top officials and calling an early regional election are among the steps the prime minister wants to take with the constitutional authority.

The actions are Rajoy’s response to the regional government claiming it had a mandate to secede from Spain based on an Oct. 1 independence referendum Spain’s top court had put on hold. Tatyana Felgenhauer, editor-in-chief Alexei Venediktov said. She is best known for co-hosting a popular morning radio show and also serves as deputy editor.

Felgenhauer, 32, underwent surgery at a hospital and was put in a medically-induced coma as doctors determine the best course of treatment, he said.

The attacker, after being apprehended, told investigators he had been in “telepathic contact with Felgenhauer” for five years.

The station said the attack was clearly premeditated. To get into the building, the assailant sprayed gas in the face of a security guard at the entrance on the ground floor then went up to the 14th floor, where the station’s studios are.