NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
_1 Catalonia independence: Separatists in Spain’s Catalonia region are using the anniversary of their independence vote to regain momentum on an issue that divided families and challenged Spanish democracy. The referendum took place a year ago Monday, and separatists have called on supporters to fill the streets of Barcelona to mark the anniversary. The region’s new president and Spain’s new prime minister have signaled a desire for agreement. But observers fear reconciliation could derail over the status of imprisoned separatist leaders and the unresolved question of Catalonia’s future in Spain.
_2 Brexit turmoil: Ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson branded British Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for leaving the European Union “deranged,” fueling tensions as the ruling Conservative Party holds its annual conference. Johnson told the Sunday Times that May’s Brexit plan won’t work, particularly proposals that would require Britain and the EU to collect each other’s tariffs. May’s plan would keep Britain in the EU’s single market for goods, while letting the country write its own rules on services and strike free-trade deals with third parties. EU leaders have rejected that idea, saying the U.K. wants the benefits of membership without accepting its responsibilities.
_3 Refugee crisis: Spain’s maritime rescue service says it saved 466 migrants attempting the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean from North Africa to European shores. The service said its rescue craft pulled the migrants from 10 different boats intercepted in waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar on Saturday and Sunday. Over 300 people have died in waters separating Spain from the African coast so far this year, according to the United Nations, and over 1,600 have died in all trying to cross the Mediterranean. Turkey’s state-run news agency says a boat carrying migrants capsized Sunday off Turkey’s northern Aegean coast, killing at least five people.
_4 Powerful storm: A typhoon churned through Japan on Sunday, forcing cancellations of flights and trains. Farms and homes in Miyazaki on the southern main island of Kyushu were flooded as Typhoon Trami swept across southwestern Japan. Evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people over a widespread area, including more than 250,000 people in the city of Tokushima. At least 51 people were injured.
_5 Japan vote: Denny Tamaki, who campaigned criticizing the American military presence on the southwestern Japanese islands of Okinawa, won the election for governor Sunday, defeating a ruling party-backed candidate pushing the status quo. Tamaki’s victory throws into question Japan’s plans for a new air base still under construction in coastal Okinawa. Okinawa houses about half of the 54,000 American troops stationed in Japan under a bilateral security treaty, according to John Hutcheson, spokesman for the U.S. Forces in Japan. _6 Protest promise: Mexican Presidentelect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to never use military force against civilians as the country approaches the 50th anniversary of a bloody reprisal against students. Lopez Obrador promised Saturday at Tlatelolco Plaza in Mexico City to “never ever use the military to repress the Mexican people.” Troops fired on a peaceful demonstration at the plaza on Oct. 2, 1968, killing as many as 300 people at a time when leftist student movements were taking root in Latin America. Lopez Obrador has pledged to give monthly subsidies to students and to open more free public universities.