World
Spain's Parliament votes to grant amnesty to Catalan separatists through controversial bill
- Spain’s Parliament voted to approve a controversial amnesty law for Catalan separatists linked to a 2017 secession bid.
- The legislation garnered support from Spain’s left-wing coalition, Catalan separatist parties and smaller factions, passing with a 177-172 vote.
- Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and others are expected to benefit from the amnesty.
Spain’s Parliament voted Thursday to give final approval to a controversial amnesty law for hundreds of Catalan separatists involved in an illegal and unsuccessful 2017 secession bid.
The legislation was backed by Spain’s left-wing coalition government, two Catalan separatist parties and other smaller parties. It passed by a vote of 177-172 in the lower house with the conservative Popular Party and far-right Vox opposing it.
The amnesty could benefit former Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont, who is a fugitive from Spanish law in Belgium after fleeing his country following the failed October 2017 breakaway bid that he led. It should also help hundreds more, including former government officials in Barcelona, average citizens who participated in the secession attempt or protests, and some police officers involved in the crackdown on an illegal independence referendum held by Puigdemont’s government.
SPAIN’S PARLIAMENT PASSES CONTROVERSIAL AMNESTY BILL FORGIVING CATALAN SEPARATIST CRIMES
The passing of the amnesty law, however, does not immediately clear up the legal mess of the separatists.
From left to right: Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance Maria Jesus Montero and Spain’s second Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz applaud after the approval of an amnesty law at the Spanish parliament’s lower house in Madrid on May 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
The law is likely to face legal challenges and will be reviewed by higher courts. It also must be applied by courts on a case-by-case basis. There are experts who question its constitutionality since they say it would create inequality between Spanish citizens by favoring some over others.
Since taking power in 2018, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has focused on reducing tensions in northeast Catalonia and he argues the amnesty is key to culminating that process.
But the amnesty was also a political necessity for Sánchez, who agreed to the act of pardon when he needed the support of separatist lawmakers in Madrid to form a new national government in November. It was initially approved by the Parliament’s lower house in March. The Senate, where right-wing parties hold a majority, vetoed it earlier this month, but the lower house pushed it through regardless.
SPANISH PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON CONTROVERSIAL AMNESTY BILL FOR CATALAN SEPARATISTS
Tensions ran high in the chamber. The vote was by roll call with each lawmaker standing up to vote verbally. An opposition lawmaker shouted “traitor!” at Sánchez after he stood up to vote “yes.”
The Parliament’s session had already taken a nasty turn during the debate when Socialist spokesman Artemi Rallo was interrupted by a Vox lawmaker who shouted out several times calling him a “sellout” and “corrupt.”
“Europe, Spain and Catalonia have said ‘yes’ to the amnesty, even if you don’t like hearing it,” Rallo shot back. He was referring to the endorsement of the amnesty law by the Council of Europe, a non-European Union institution that promotes human rights.
While the amnesty is popular in Catalonia, even among many unionists, the Popular Party and Vox have led protests against it in Madrid and other cities across the country. There have also been critics of the amnesty within Sánchez’s Socialist party.
Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo tried to shame the Socialists for granting the amnesty in exchange for “seven votes” of Puigdemont’s party that it needed to stay in power. He also warned Sánchez that once it is passed, he should expect little favors from the separatists, whose support is key to keep his fragile government in power.
“This is an exchange of power for privileges and impunity,” Feijóo said.
The long legislative road for the amnesty comes to an end during the runup to European Parliament elections on June 6-9 and when the Socialists are trying to form a government in Catalonia after beating the separatists in regional elections earlier this month.
The amnesty covered crimes related to the Catalan separatist movement between November 2011 and November 2023. The government estimates that several hundred people could be covered, while the separatists put that figure in the thousands.
After Sánchez pardoned nine leaders of the movement in 2021 who were in prison, there appear to be no separatists currently behind bars. But many face possible prison terms, fines, prohibitions from running for public office or potential trials.
The parliamentary spokespeople for the Catalan separatist parties had no words of gratitude for Sánchez and his government. Instead, they praised their followers and former leaders who spent time in prison and those who left the country like Puigdemont.
“Today truly is a historic day. Today there is no forgiveness. Today a battle has been won in a conflict that has existed for centuries between two nations,” said Míriam Nogueras, of Puigdemont’s Together party.
They also insisted that the next goal for the separatists will be to try to force Sánchez to go back on his pledge to never grant them an authorized referendum on independence.
Gabriel Rufían, a lawmaker of the Republican Left of Catalonia, told lawmakers, “Next stop: referendum.”
World
At least nine killed after Iranian strike on Israel’s Beit Shemesh
BREAKINGBREAKING,
The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service says that 20 others were injured by the impact.
Published On 1 Mar 2026
At least nine people have been killed after an Iranian missile strike on the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, as Tehran continued to launch retaliatory attacks a day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes.
The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said on Sunday that nine people were killed and 20 other people were injured by the impact, including two in serious condition.
The Israeli military said in a statement that search and rescue teams, and a helicopter to evacuate those injured are currently operating in Beit Shemesh, with the army’s spokesperson adding that the circumstances of the impact from the Iranian ballistic missile are under review.
More to come …
World
Sombr Altercation at Brit Awards Was Staged, Rep Confirms
Sombr was mid-performance at the Brit Awards when a random man bumrushed the stage and pushed the singer off the platform, leaving him stunned — only it was all planned, says his rep.
The singer-songwriter, who was nominated for international artist and international song, was at the end of his smash single “Undressed” when a man joined him on the podium and shoved him hard. Security guards aggressively removed the man from the stage, and Sombr returned to the microphone to segue into his next song.
Shortly after the performance came to a close, Sombr’s rep confirmed to Variety that the whole thing was part of the act. Fans were already split online over whether the incident was staged or real. Naysayers noticed that the offender was wearing a shirt that read “Sombr is a homewrecker” — a nod to his latest single “Homewrecker,” which some claimed was a dead giveaway. But others weren’t necessarily convinced it was a stunt, considering how hard he was pushed and how additional security guards came to his rescue.
Brits host Jack Whitehall remarked on the incident after Sombr’s performance concluded. “Such a shame we didn’t have the security ready,” he said.
The incident took place just days after Britain’s BAFTA Awards last Sunday, when John Davidson, the Scottish Tourette’s syndrome activist and real-life inspiration for the film “I Swear,” disrupted that ceremony with an outburst of racial slurs that occurred as “Sinners” stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage. “I can’t begin to explain how upset and distraught I have been as the impact from Sunday sinks in,” Davidson told Variety earlier this week.
Whitehall made a joking reference to that incident — which was not bleeped from the initial BAFTA broadcast and was audible to viewers — at the top of the Brits, saying “We’ve got the best in the business on the bleep button.”
Sombr is coming off a red-hot year that saw his various singles “Undressed,” “Back to Friends” and “12 to 12” impact the charts. He recently performed at the Grammy Awards, where he was nominated for best new artist alongside Addison Rae, Alex Warren, the Marías, Leon Thomas, Lola Young, Katseye and Olivia Dean, who ended up taking home the award.
World
Iran goes dark amid ‘regime paranoia’, blackout follows Israeli, US strikes on compound
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Iran was plunged into an internet blackout Saturday after Israel and the U.S. launched military strikes around the country, according to a global internet monitor.
Within hours of the strikes — which officials said targeted infrastructure and killed dozens of senior regime figures at a compound in Tehran— NetBlocks CEO Alp Toker confirmed connectivity started “flatlining.”
“We’re tracking the ongoing blackout, but our assessment is that this is straight out of Iran’s wartime playbook and consistent both technically and strategically with what we saw during the 2025 Twelve-Day War with Israel,” Toker told Fox News Digital.
“Iran’s internet connectivity is now flatlining around the 1% level, so the original blackout the regime imposed during the morning has been consolidated,” he confirmed.
“The blackout was imposed just after 7:00 UTC, not long after the attack on the Iranian regime compound,” Toker clarified, adding that Iran had been largely offline for approximately 12 hours following the attack.
“At 06:10 UTC, there is the main compound strike; at 07:10 UTC, telecoms disruption starts; at 08:00 UTC, the blackout is largely in effect; and by 08:30 UTC, connectivity flatlines.”
“Wartime national blackouts are exceedingly rare around the world, and it’s something we’ve only really seen at this scale in Iran,” he said.
President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Iran following an Israeli strike in Tehran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (@WhiteHouse/X)
In the wake of the attack, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the “heavy and pinpoint” bombing in Iran “will continue uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”
He claimed Iranian security forces and members of the regime’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were already seeking immunity. He urged them to “peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots.”
“We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces no longer want to fight and are looking for Immunity from us,” Trump said in the post. “As I said last night, ‘Now they can have Immunity; later they only get Death!’”
Toker argued the timing of the blackout suggested it was imposed deliberately as the regime sought to secure communications amid fears of further targeting.
TRUMP TELLS IRANIANS THE ‘HOUR OF YOUR FREEDOM IS AT HAND’ AS US-ISRAEL LAUNCH STRIKES AGAINST IRAN
TEHRAN, IRAN – FEBRUARY 28: Smoke rises over the city center after an Israeli army launches 2nd wave of airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The Iranian regime will have deployed this new blackout to counter potential cyberattacks during their own military operation, but also to avoid leaking the locations of senior regime figures through metadata and user-generated content,” he said.
“Communications would have been limited, and Iran’s leadership would have proceeded with the assumption that all communications, including satellite or whitelisted networks, carry risks,” he said before claiming that “paranoia would be well grounded at this point, with the blackout a belated but direct response to that.”
“Those participating directly would already know to avoid technology that could betray their whereabouts,” Toker said.
“However, the metadata may well have played a part in determining that the meeting of regime leaders was being held at the Tehran compound, who was in attendance, and at what time.”
DID THEY GET HIM? KHAMENEI’S FATE REMAINS UNKNOWN AFTER ISRAEL-US STRIKE LEVELS HIS COMPOUND
In this handout image provided by the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the nation in a state television broadcast on June 18, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. (Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images)
Toker revealed that the broader network around the regime leaders and around the compound wouldn’t have had the same strict restrictions.
“This kind of adjacent ‘background noise’ can be correlated against other intelligence sources to build an understanding of activity on the ground,” he added.
“Smartphones are a readily available, almost ‘free’ source of intelligence, and even when locked down, they eventually connect to international online services and generate insights that can be used to pinpoint regime figures,” Toker said.
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“In the aftermath of Saturday’s strike, this concern will have been high on the remaining Iranian leadership’s minds, especially if they didn’t have a clear and specific understanding of how the meeting was compromised.”
Iran has previously imposed sweeping internet shutdowns during periods of domestic unrest, including nationwide protests in January, which saw thousands killed, often seeking to curb the spread of information and restrict coordination.
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