World Briefs CATALONIAN GROUPS APPOINT NEW LEADERSHIP

madrid» Catalonia’s pro-independence parties agreed Saturday to appoint a new leader to enable the creation of a regional coalition government and reinvigorate a push for independence from Spain by 2017.

Carles Puigdemont was selected to replace Artur Mas as the “Together for Yes” alliance’s candidate for regional government leader. Mas announced the decision at a news conference late Saturday, ending months of negotiations.

The Spanish government, which considers the secessionist initiative to be unconstitutional and has used the judiciary to challenge it, appealed to Catalonia’s leader to end the strategy of dividing and fracturing Catalan society.

“Dedicate your efforts to seeking solutions to your citizens’ problems rather than to generating new tensions,” it said in a statement.

warsaw, poland» Thousands of opponents of Poland’s new rightwing government held protests in Warsaw and other cities on Saturday against policies which they say threaten democracy and media freedom.

The street protests were organized by a new group calling itself the Committee for the Protection of Democracy that rallied tens of thousands of Poles last month against the ruling Law and Justice party. This time, thousands of people waving national white-and-red flags and European Union flags joined in the capital, as well as in the cities of Wroclaw, Krakow, Katowice, Lodz and elsewhere. They chanted “Free Poland, Free Media” and “Stop Spoiling Democracy.” Some had lips sealed with tape, to suggest freedom of speech was threatened.

The protesters say that changes the government made to bring a constitutional court and state broadcasters under the control of the ruling Law and Justice party threaten media freedom and democracy. B vancouver, british columbia» Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is condemning the pepper spraying of a group of Syrian refugees in Vancouver, which police are treating as a hate crime.

Police said the incident happened Friday night when people had gathered outside the Muslim Association of Canada center during a “welcome night” for newly arrived Syrian refugees. A man wearing a white hoodie apparently rode by on a bicycle and sprayed 15 to 30 people, police said.

“This isn’t who we are — and doesn’t reflect the warm welcome Canadians have offered,” Trudeau posted on Twitter on Saturday.