World
Catalan separatist Puigdemont evades capture on chaotic return to Spain
Former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont defied an arrest warrant to appear at a rally in Barcelona on Thursday after seven years of self-imposed exile, before reportedly fleeing the scene with a car belonging to a regional police officer.
Amid a heavy police presence, Puigdemont had told a crowd of thousands of followers in the Catalan capital he aimed to revive the independence drive that plunged Spain into political crisis in 2017.
“They thought they’d be celebrating my arrest and they thought that this punishment would dissuade us,” he said. “Well, they are wrong.”
SPAIN’S PARLIAMENT VOTES TO GRANT AMNESTY TO CATALAN SEPARATISTS THROUGH CONTROVERSIAL BILL
Authorities suspect that, when he had finished speaking, Puigdemont got into a white car belonging to a police officer and left the vicinity, a Catalan interior department spokesperson said, sparking a frantic search by authorities.
Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont speaks on his return to Spain from seven years of self-imposed exile despite a pending warrant for his arrest, during a welcoming event organized by his party, Junts per Catalunya, at Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, Spain, August 8, 2024. (REUTERS/Lorena Sopena)
The regional police, known as the Mossos d’Esquadra, said two of its officers had been arrested as part of their investigation into Puigdemont’s whereabouts, including the owner of the car.
The separatist leader, 61, fled to Belgium seven years ago after a failed secession bid and has been living in exile ever since.
He faces an arrest warrant for alleged embezzlement related to a 2017 independence referendum ruled illegal by the Spanish courts. Puigdemont says the vote was legal and therefore the charges linked to it have no basis.
A Mossos spokesman said there was no prior arrangement with Puigdemont for his arrest and the force had decided the detention should be made “at the most appropriate time so as not to generate public disorder.”
Puigdemont ally Laura Borras described the arrested officer on X as “a patriot and exemplary Mosso.”
The hunt for Puigdemont created traffic chaos in Barcelona and near the border with France as police set up roadblocks and searched car boots.
In Barcelona, several Puigdemont supporters clashed with police in a bid to breach the cordon surrounding the park housing the regional parliament building. Officers clad in riot gear used batons and pepper spray to deter them.
DETENTION ORDER
Reacting to news that Puigdemont had again absconded from under the noses of a large police deployment, a Supreme Court source said a judge had been clear in his instructions that the former Catalan president was to be arrested.
“The Mossos know that they have a detention order… they had the obligation to detain him and bring him before the courts,” the source said.
Two national police unions also criticised the failure to arrest Puigdemont.
“Where are the Mossos? The best-paid police force in Spain incapable of doing their job, of arresting the coup-monger and fugitive from justice Puigdemont,” police union Jusapol said on X.
Two sources with links to the Catalan government said it had identified a problem with some rogue Mossos, who appear to be loyal to Puigdemont.
A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Puigdemont´s lawyer.
His arrest could jeopardise the Socialist-led national government´s fragile alliance with Puigdemont’s Junts party, on which it relies for legislative support.
Catalonia’s parliament on Thursday afternoon confirmed Salvador Illa, an ally of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, as head of the Catalan government.
“I will govern for everyone having into account the plurality and diversity of Catalonia,” Illa said.
The Socialists hope taking control in Catalonia after a decade of separatist rule will turn the page on the independence drive.
The Spanish parliament passed an amnesty law in May pardoning those involved in the failed 2017 secession bid, but the Supreme Court upheld arrest warrants for Puigdemont and two others who were also charged with embezzlement, ruling that the amnesty law does not apply to them.
The crowd of thousands, who had gathered near the parliament to welcome him, hoped his return would help build momentum towards independence, which has lost support in recent years.
“It represents the return of a symbol,” said Xavier Vizcaino, 63, who was wrapped in an independence flag.
No-one had expected him to disappear again.
Former Barcelona Mayor Xavier Trias, who was present at the rally, marvelled at Puigdemont’s flight.
“It was magic,” he told Reuters.
World
Colin Jost Says ‘SNL’ Rejected Joke About Pete Hegseth Reading ‘Pulp Fiction’ Bible Verse Two Weeks Before It Happened in Real Life
Donald Trump’s defense secretary Pete Hegseth was widely mocked in April after he read a fake Bible verse from Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 classic “Pulp Fiction” during a Pentagon worship service. It turns out Colin Jost sort of saw it coming.
During a recent visit to “The Tonight Show,” Jost revealed that before Hegseth’s viral gaffe he told the “SNL” writers room: “Would it be funny if Hegseth just did that Bible verse that they have in ‘Pulp Fiction’ Remember, from Ezekiel, Samuel L. Jackson?”
The writers shot down Jost’s pitch, deeming it “too ridiculous” and claiming it “would take up all this time in the cold open. “And then he for real did it, like two weeks later and I was like, ‘Well, the good news is, I’m being surveilled, so that’s a relief.’” Jost has been playing Hegseth on “SNL” this season to much acclaim from critics and viewers.
The real Hegseth was at a Pentagon prayer service in April when he read the altered version of Ezekiel 25:17 that’s delivered by Samuel L. Jackson’s character in “Pulp Fiction” before he shoots a man. Hegseth said the prayer was recited by the “Sandy 1” Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission in Iran.
Calling on everyone to pray with him, Hegseth then read a prayer that was nearly word-for-word the line delivered by Jackson in Tarantino’s film: “The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of camaraderie and duty shepherds the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother, and you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee. Amen.”
Watch Jost’s full interview on “The Tonight Show” in the video below.
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A car reportedly drove into a crowd in the northern Italian city of Modena on Saturday, injuring several people.
The vehicle slammed into a store window, and its driver allegedly stabbed a passerby who attempted to intervene, Reuters reported, citing local Italian media.
Mayor Massimo Mezzetti told Italian TV no one was killed but eight people were injured, including four who were in critical condition, according to The Associated Press.
Blood is seen next to a destroyed car on a street of Modena, Italy, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Lapresse via AP)
He said a woman pinned against a shop window may require the amputation of both legs.
Financial Police patrol a scene after a car incident in a street of Modena, Italy, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Lapresse via AP)
The driver is a 31-year-old man born in Bergamo and raised in Modena with Maghreb origins, Mezzetti said.
The man was detained and was being questioned at police headquarters as authorities worked to determine whether he was under the influence of substances or acted deliberately, the mayor said.
Mezzetti said the vehicle entered one of the city’s main streets and “drove onto the sidewalk, sending several people flying,” before crashing into the shop window.
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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
A tragedy unfolded in the night between Friday and Saturday on the island of Lampedusa, where a newborn migrant baby girl just a few weeks old died of hypothermia immediately after disembarking and while being rushed to the island’s outpatient clinic.
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At 4.30 a.m., after being rescued by the V1307 patrol boat of the Guardia di Finanza, 55 people from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria and Sierra Leone landed at Favarolo pier. Among them were seven women and six minors. The baby girl, whose condition immediately appeared critical, was taken together with her mother to the medical facility, where doctors could do nothing but declare her dead.
Investigation opened into the baby girl’s death
The Agrigento prosecutor’s office has opened an inquiry into the tragic case and ordered a post-mortem examination of the child’s body, a necessary step to confirm hypothermia as the actual cause of death.
The body is being transferred to the mortuary at the Cala Pisana cemetery, while in the coming hours the mother will be questioned by investigators to reconstruct the details of the crossing and establish exactly how and when the baby fell ill.
According to accounts from other migrants on board, the group had set off from Sfax-El Amra in Tunisia at around two o’clock yesterday morning, making the journey in a seven-metre metal boat that cost between 400 and 600 euros per person.
The baby girl’s mother, originally from Côte d’Ivoire, was later taken to the hotspot in the Imbriacola district together with her other daughter, aged around two. According to reports, the woman is currently in a severe state of shock over the loss of her child and is receiving continuous support from staff of the Italian Red Cross, which manages the island’s reception centre.
The centre’s director, Imad Dalil, confirmed to Italian media that psychosocial support measures had been activated. “The mother and the sister are here in the hotspot and are in good physical condition; for them and for the other people psychological support was activated immediately and in the coming hours the medical and psychosocial teams will continue their work,” he said.
NGOs’ reaction
The German NGO Sea-Watch voiced its outrage in a strongly worded post on X. “While the state attacks those who save lives at sea, investigating the captain of Sea-Watch, a one-month-old baby has arrived in LAMPEDUSA, dead in her mother’s arms, after a three-day crossing. Who will be held responsible for this injustice?” The outburst refers to the news, received by the NGO after arriving in Brindisi with 166 rescued people, that a criminal investigation has been opened against the captain of the Sea-Watch 5 on suspicion of aiding illegal entry.
The UN agency specialising in the protection and assistance of people forced to flee war, violence and persecution (UNHCR) also intervened to express deep condolences and grave concern over yet another victim claimed along the Mediterranean routes.
“A mother has lost her newborn daughter, who arrived dead this morning together with 54 other people in Lampedusa. Deep sorrow and concern for the many children and adults who should not be dying in the Mediterranean,” reads a post published on social media by UNHCR, which explains that the agency is on the ground providing assistance to the mother and all the other survivors of the landing.
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