‘Europe is supporting Spain like a zombie’

Europe “cannot keep looking the other way” over the independence referendum in Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan president, said yesterday, insisting the bloc must confront the “abuses” unfolding within its borders.

In an interview with The Daily

Telegraph ahead of the vote on Sunday, Mr Puigdemont insisted the referendum would go ahead despite Spanish attempts to block it.

If the referendum returned a “Yes” for secession, the Catalan government would stick to its pledge to declare independence 48 hours later, he said.

But the Catalan leader dismissed the idea of an abrupt split from Spain, saying there would be “no alternative” but dialogue with Madrid, and Europe, on a stable and agreed transition to an independent state. This, he said, would be “a moment for Europe”.

“Europe that is looking the other way, staying silent, supporting Spain like a zombie – in that moment, Europe cannot keep looking the other way,” Mr Puigdemont said. He added: “The whole world is seeing it, that there is a problem”.

The EU has until now largely avoided making statements, restricting itself to expressions of support for the Spanish constitution. But pressure is mounting on Brussels, with Manuel Valls, the former French prime minister, yesterday urging “important voices” in the EU to weigh in, warning that Catalan independence would mean “the end of what is Europe”.

The United Nations meanwhile signalled concern over the Spanish crackdown, with human rights experts warning Spanish authorities of their responsibility to protect civilians’ democratic rights.

Spanish police have seized millions of ballot papers and been given orders to cordon off facilities intended for use as polling centres.

A huge security contingent has been deployed, with more than 4,000 Guardia Civil officers stationed in hulking cruise ships moored in Barcelona, and Tarragona to the south.

Mr Puigdemont, who has been threatened with arrest by the Spanish Attorney General, suggested that by ignoring what he described as serious abuses of fundamental rights, the EU was risking its moral authority. “How can we later criticise other countries outside the EU for adopting such measures to repress opponents, when we are tolerating this inside the EU, with European citizens? To me, the EU says there is a charter that protects you, you have fundamental rights, and they are staying silent when they are violating my fundamental rights.” Last week, police arrested 14 people – mostly high-ranking Catalan officials – in a sweeping round of raids, sparking angry protests across Spain. Warnings of prosecution have been issued to anyone facilitating the vote, with 700 Catalan mayors already summoned to court.

In the face of a popular backlash in Catalonia, Madrid defended its actions to the last, insisting its hand had been forced by those “in breach of the law”.

José Antonio Nieto, state security secretary, said yesterday that the government did not want to suppress freedom of expression but would act with “absolute determination” to prevent illegal acts. He added if the law was complied with, there would be no need for a “violent” response.

The question of legality and proportionality is much contested, with both sides offering differing interpretations. The government in Madrid, backed by top judges, insists there is no constitutional provision for such a referendum and the Catalan government is mounting “a coup” in the autonomous community. But the Catalan government – supported by its own experts – takes a different view.

Mr Puigdemont did not accept that the Spanish constitution definitively prohibited a referendum, claiming there were “formulas” that could enable a vote. He also insisted the law could be changed, if it were not for a “complete absence of political will”.

“We have to stay in Spain, just because? Because the law says so, because the police say so?” he asked. “In the 21st century it is unacceptable.”

The crackdown has only increased popular support for the vote, Mr Puigdemont claimed and latest polls appear to bear that out. While predictions vary considerably, recent surveys of likely voters forecast a win for the “Yes” camp of up to 70 per cent, though Madrid is trying to prevent as much voting as possible and it is unclear how many “No” voters will head to the polls. Observers will be watching closely – but the bigger concern is how much violence might spring from the result.

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has accused the Catalan independence movement of suppressing a silent majority who oppose secession, and of sowing division and hate in the region.

Pressed by The Daily Telegraph on complaints that anti-independence Catalans have been labelled fascists and traitors, Mr Puigdemont acknowledged incidents on the fringes but insisted Catalan leaders and the mainstream opposed such views.

The Catalan leader said he would respect a “No” vote, promising to call fresh elections in that event. But even then, this dispute is unlikely to go away.

‘We have to stay in Spain, just because? Because the law says so, because the police says so?’

Barnier says Brexit talks could stall for months over Britain’s bill

Brexit negotiations could be in deadlock for months unless the UK agrees to honour all its financial commitments, the EU’s chief negotiator suggested at the end of the latest round of talks.

Michel Barnier said Theresa May had created a “new dynamic” with her speech in Florence last week, but it became clear from comments in Brussels and elsewhere that standout issues remained.

Barnier made the comments yesterday together with the Brexit secretary, David Davis, after the latest talks. He said Davis was, in his own words, not yet ready to specify what past financial commitments would be met by the UK. The British government has so far only offered to ensure that no country loses out in the two years after the UK leaves in 2019, at an estimated cost to the Treasury of €20bn (£17.5bn).

“The UK explained also that it was not in a position yet to identify its commitments taken during membership,” Barnier said. “For the EU, the only way to reach sufficient progress is that all commitments taken at [by] 28 [member states] are honoured at [by] 28.”

Davis said “decisive steps forward” had been made, in particular on citizens’ rights. “This round was a vital one,” he said, as he called for pragmatism. In a move that could inflame Tory Eurosceptics days before the Tory party conference, Davis acknowledged that European law would take “direct effect” when it came to protecting citizens’ rights. This means 3.5 million EU citizens living in the UK can appeal to British courts using European law enshrined in the withdrawal treaty, which will override British law.

The development marks a stark U-turn on the government’s previous claim that such measures were “inappropriate and unnecessary”.

But the two sides still disagree on the role of the European court of justice in securing citizens’ rights, and “this is a stumbling block for the EU”, as Davis put it. A big gap remained on family reunification, he added.

EU leaders insist talks must make sufficient progress on Britain’s financial settlement, the rights of citizens and the status of the Irish border before they can be broadened to encompass future relations between Britain and the bloc. The UK had hoped to get the go-ahead on talks about future relations next month.

“I think it’s positive that Theresa May’s speech made it possible to unblock the situation, to some extent, and give a new dynamic to the situation,” Barnier said. “But we are far from being at a stage – it will take weeks, or maybe even months – where we will be able to say ‘Yes, OK, there has been sufficient progress on the principles of this orderly withdrawal’.”

Barnier and Davis were speaking after it emerged that the UK’s potential liability for EU debts had increased by about €3bn. The EU’s latest annual accounts released yesterday showed a €239bn liability, up from €220bn. On top of this is a €67.2bn liability for staff pensions, up from €63.8bn in 2015. Together, both could add at least €3bn to the UK Brexit bill.

Davis declined to reveal what May meant in Florence when she said the UK would “honour [the] commitments we made during the period of our membership”. “We are not doing the negotiation standing here,” he said.

The Netherlands’ foreign minister, Bert Koenders, accused the UK of “daydreaming”. “I don’t think I’m the only one worried about the lack of realism we see on the British side,” he said. “The clock is ticking. Big Ben may be still for renovation, but in Europe time ticks on.”

The government will continue a charm offensive of member states. May will meet Angela Merkel in Tallinn, Estonia, today on the margins of an EU leaders’ summit, where she is expected to say Britain is unconditionally committed to the defence and security of Europe.

However, last night the European parliament’s chief Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, said that Britain’s exit from the EU was a “waste of time and energy” and insisted that quitting the bloc was a “very negative project”. The former prime minister of Belgium said the move had fuelled a resurgence in the popularity of the union on the continent.

In a potentially significant move for a million British citizens in Europe, the government called on the EU to guarantee onward movement rights. This means, for example, a Briton living in Germany could move to any other EU country after Brexit. In return, the 3.5 million EU nationals in the UK would have an indefinite right of return, if they ever went abroad. The EU has yet to respond to the British offer.

Meanwhile, the European parliament is preparing to formally censure the government for discriminating against EU nationals since the Brexit vote.

POLITICS TAKES FIELD

Amid Donald Trump’s Twitter frenzy over the NFL anthem protest, Australia faces its own sporting controversy at the NRL Grand Final tomorrow, when a US rapper will sing an anti-homophobic song, writes Paul Toohey

WE’VE become a nation that dwells too much on trivial issues. Not standing for the national anthem – even though we’ve got a lousy one – is mercifully not yet one of them. But since the arrival of Donald Trump, and having got more than it bargained for, the US is turning nonissues into major stoushes and political opportunities. Eradicating history by hauling down Confederate statues is a shame, and it’s one that Americans will surely regret one day, if they don’t already. Now, it’s players kneeling for the national anthem at National Football League games, because of … what exactly? It began last year, prior to Trump’s election, when black NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and teammate Eric Reid didn’t stand for the anthem to highlight the killing of black citizens by police. Their protest was little noticed, but Kaepernick did explain at the time that he believed police were “getting away with murder”.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour,” he said.

Kaepernick and Reid decided to take it further by lining up for the anthem but bending on a knee, heads bowed.

As Reid wrote in an opinion piece for The New York Times this week: “We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half mast to mark a tragedy.”

Then, in August, came the Charlottesville riots and Trump’s refusal to condemn outright the white supremacists. A few more players began to kneel, or raise their fists, but it was hardly a movement. And it had little to do with anti-Trump sentiment – until last week, when the President was campaigning for a conservative senator in Alabama and, apropos of nothing except trying to generate himself a patriotic ratings spike, he launched himself at the negligible band of kneelers, and, in doing so, elevated their protest into an all-consuming national debate.

“Wouldn’t you love to see

Footy fans shouldn’t be subjected to a politicised grand final. Sport is sport! TONY ABBOTT

Purcell ready to take over Maher’s stable

Warrnambool trainer Aaron Purcell is looking to claim a stakes win at Mornington before he assumes control of Ciaron Maher’s stable at Caulfield.

Maher was suspended for six months on Monday by the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board over the ownership bona fides of five horses determined to be owned by convicted conman Peter Foster.

Purcell, who has 16 horses in work, first became aware he was a possibility to take over Maher’s stable on Monday before being told on Thursday an in-principle agreement had been reached.

“This time last year I had 40 in work and twice as many staff as I do now,” Purcell said.

“But taking over Ciaron’s stable is a different level again.”

Purcell will spend the weekend with Maher before taking control on Monday.

“One thing Ciaron has got is good people around him and good processes in place which will make my job a lot easier,” he said.

“I’ll be spending most of my time at Caulfield and once I get a handle on things I’ll be coming and going, splitting my time between the two places.

“Also some of the horses at Warrnambool will be better suited at Caulfield and vice versa, so I’ll be able to intermingle the stable as well.”

Today at Mornington, Purcell has imported stayers Swacadelic and Khezerabad in the Listed RM Ansett Classic (2430m).

Purcell said they would be suited by a good track and light weights. Swacadelic has been a victim of the strength of the early spring staying races.

“They usually get stronger as they go along, but this year Lloyd Williams and Darren Weir have had some really good stayers up early,” Purcell said.

“They’ve been quite competitive races and he’s been outclassed. He was a bit stiff at Moonee Valley and then last time Almandin made the rest of them look a bit second-rate.”

Purcell is hoping Khezerabad can recapture the flat form he displayed in France before being switched to jumps racing.

“I thought if I could get him back to his three-year-old form there was a good flat win in him,” Purcell said.

“If that doesn’t work then jumping is plan B.”

“One thing Ciaron has got is good people around him and good processes in place ...” Aaron Purcell

Tsunami fish wash up in US

Nearly 300 species of fish, mussels and other sea creatures hitchhiked across the Pacific Ocean on debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami, washing ashore alive in the US.

It is the biggest and longest marine migration ever documented, researchers and experts said.

Scientists and colleagues combed the beaches of Washington State, Oregon, California, British Columbia, Alaska and Hawaii and tracked the species to their Japanese origins. Their arrival could be a problem if the creatures take root, pushing out native species, the study authors said in the journal Science.

“It’s a bit of what we call ecological roulette,” lead author James Carlton, a marine sciences professor at Williams College, in Massachusetts, said.

It will be years before scientists know if the 289 Japanese species thrive in their new home and crowd out natives.

The researchers roughly estimated that a million creatures travelled 7725km across the Pacific Ocean to reach the west coast of the US, including hundreds of thousands of mussels.

Invasive species is a major problem worldwide with plants and animals thriving in areas where they do not naturally live.

A magnitude 9 earthquake off the coast of Japan triggered a tsunami on March 11, 2011, that swept boats, docks, buoys and other man-made materials into the Pacific.

The debris drifted east with an armada of living creatures, some that gave birth to new generations while at sea.

“The diversity was somewhat jaw-dropping,” Professor Carlton said. “Molluscs, sea anemones, corals, crabs, just a wide variety of species, really a crosssection of Japanese fauna.”

Last year, a small boat from Japan reached Oregon with 20 good-sized fish inside, a kind of yellowtail jack native to the western Pacific, Professor Carlton said.

Earlier, an entire fishing ship, the Sai sho-Maru, arrived intact with five of the same 15cm fish swimming around inside.

The researchers note another huge factor in this flotilla: plastics.

Decades ago, most of the debris would have been wood and that would have degraded over the long ocean trip, but now most of the debris is made of plastic and that survives.

More than 10 million tonnes of plastic waste enter the oceans each year.

Indian Railways is Doing A Difficult Job

Railways is coping with increasing demand for movement, resulting from expansion of central business district into south Mumbai that forces many to travel from the north

The stampede on a foot overbridge at Elphinstone station — that led to the loss of 22 lives and injured over 30 — is a tragedy that was waiting to happen. This is primarily because the suburban system, like everything else for the Indian Railways, is overstretched by decades of underinvestment.

All cushions have been exhausted, including land for building additional tracks. The situation has been exacerbated by the lack of an overarching authority that looks at transport needs of a new development and how it can be provided.

The case of converting land available after closure of mills into office and commercial space is illustrative. It increased the burden on an overloaded suburban train system, which was then left to the Indian Railways (IR) to address.

IR has been doing its best to cope with the increasing demand for movement resulting from expansion of the central business district in the south, rather than dispersing across all areas. This has forced people to travel from their homes in the north to their places of work in the south. As the demand for suburban transport has grown, IR has been adding new lines. Most of the network has four lines and a part of it even has six lines. It cannot add any more lines for lack of land for building tracks.

IR has also been increasing frequency of services and length of trains. It runs over 2,000 trains daily, with a 3-minute gap between trains. Over 7 million passengers use the suburban railway every day. The Railways has now reached a situation where adding more trains is problematic. The result of the relentless increase in demand is that coaches are carrying nearly 16 persons per square metre, which is just not possible without people

TRYING ITS BEST

HANDS TIED OVER FUNDS

hanging from the coaches and falling off.

Nearly 20 people die every day falling from trains or crossing the tracks. No one talks about this though it has been happening for years. The stations need revamping, including foot overbridges. But there is no money to replace some of this over-age infrastructure as was brought out by the reply of the then railway minister Suresh Prabhu to an MP requesting replacement of this foot overbridge. The problem has now reached a stage were IR is also a victim — of policies that have not coordi- nated land development with transport creation. Expecting the Railways to be able to provide enough transportation to meet the demand without massive injection of capital for revamping the system is being unrealistic.

An inquiry course has to be held in accordance with the Railway Act. But this will not go beyond immediate occurrence and, therefore, leave the problem unresolved.

To address the major challenges arising from existing shortfalls in the transport network — the results of decades of underfunding and the huge population and

WHERE THERE’S A WILL...

employment growth over the years — requires a political commitment to look at the ecosystem, develop the best strategies and investment programmes to support turning Mumbai into a world-class metropolis, meeting its economic and social objectives, as well as transport needs for the next 25 years.

IR is at the receiving end but that is being a bit unfair. The Railways management is professional and doing its best in a challenging environment created by lack of money.

The tragic accident has placed the ball in the minister’s court.

The only way to solve this problem to have consistent political direction in creating an arrangement at the highest political level, which coordinates land development and provision of transport of all types. Creation of funding mechanisms that provide for replacement of over-age infrastructure of the Railways by a modern system that can meet the needs of the city for the next 25 years and the rest of the Railways is also needed.

There is, of course, an immediate need to replace old, dilapidated foot overbridges and encroachments, which should be done immediately.

(Railway minister) Piyush Goyal has the challenging task of finding a way around the conundrum of increasing demand, lack of capacity and no money to create new capacity. The advantage he has is that the Railways management is capable of implementing, if he can provide the funds and political support where required.

Kohli looks at positives in defeat

A 61-run stand for the fifth wicket between Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey had given the home team hope but both departed in the space of four balls. Jadhav, who made a fighting 67, was caught on the boundary off a slower ball from Richardson, at which stage India needed 49 off 27. Pandey was bowled for an entertaining 33, Pat Cummins hitting the top of legstump. M.S. Dhoni was given a hero’s welcome by the crowd, but struggled to time the ball before dragging Richardson onto the stumps for 13. Virat Kohli’s men still lead the five-game series 3-1, heading into the final fixture at Nagpur.

India had stormed out of the traps, the openers batting with delightful ease under the lights during their stand of 106. Ajinkya Rahane played a series of delicious shots, slashing Pat Cummins past point one moment, deftly steering him wide of third man the next.

Rohit Sharma was not far behind, effortlessly clearing the ropes. Adam Zampa, who must have expected some pain this evening, was heaved twice over cowcorner as Rohit raised his fifty and team’s hundred in the 17th over.

Things were going swimmingly well when Rahane fell, caught at long-off for 53. Rohit was joined by Virat Kohli, and the two were soon involved in a mix-up — not for the first time — that cost the former his wicket.

Steve Smith produced a stunning, diving effort at point to stop Kohli’s cut, and as the captain watched the ball, Rohit charged to the striker’s end. He turned around but was never going to make his ground. Eight balls later, Kohli was bowled for 21 trying to steer CoulterNile through third-man.

Hardik Pandya walked out to resounding cheers from the stadium, and he did not disappoint. It took him only four balls to unleash his first six, a thunderous slap off Travis Head that clattered into the members’ stand.

There was more joy: consecutive sixes off Zampa that cleared the fence by some distance. The leg-spinner had the last laugh, though, when Pandya holed out to long-off. There was finally some comfort for Zampa, and some for Australia.

Earlier, the visitor set off at a brisk pace after winning the toss and electing to bat first. India made three changes, resting Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, and fielding Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Axar Patel instead.

India’s new-ball pair — Umesh in particular — was wayward and Australia’s openers cashed in, drilling anything wide through the covers.

India clearly lacked control in the absence of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah, and things scarcely improved after the first 10 overs. Axar Patel was brought on and Warner freed his arms at once. A short delivery was thumped over mid-wicket and a couple of wide offerings were gratefully squeezed to the point boundary.

Yuzvendra Chahal did not escape punishment either. Warner twice slog-swept him into the stands as Australia motored to 124 without loss in 20 overs. The 150 came up not long after, when Finch unfurled a sublime insideout drive for six off Axar. Warner reached his 100 off 103 balls as the openers broke an Australian record for first-wicket partnerships against India, surpassing the 212 Geoff Marsh and David Boon put together in Jaipur 31 years ago.

It was Kedar Jadhav who finally broke through with his flat, low-arm off-breaks, having Warner caught at long on. Finch fell five balls later, dragging a leg-cutter from Umesh into Pandya’s hands at mid-on. When Steve Smith was out for three, spooning a simple catch to Kohli on the leg-side to give Umesh his 100th one-day wicket, Australia had lost three for five in the space of 14 balls.

Yet another collapse seemed imminent but Peter Handscomb and Travis Head batted with patience, adding 63 runs for the fourth wicket. Australia: Aaron Finch c Pandya b Umesh 94 (96b, 10x4, 3x6), David Warner c Axar b Jadhav 124 (119b, 12x4, 4x6), Travis Head c Rahane b Umesh 29 (38b, 1x4, 1x6), Steve Smith c Kohli b Umesh 3 (5b), Peter Handscomb b Umesh 43 (30b, 3x4, 1x6), Marcus Stoinis (not out) 15 (9b, 1x4, 1x6), Matthew Wade (not out) 3 (3b); Extras (b-4, lb-7, w-12): 23; Total (for five wkts. in 50 overs): 334. Fall of wickets: 1-231 (Warner, 34.6 overs), 2-231 (Finch, 35.5), 3-236 (Smith, 37.1), 4-299 (Head, 46.5), 5-319 (Handscomb, 48.5).

India bowling: Shami 10-162-0; Umesh 10-0-71-4; Axar 10-0-66-0; Pandya 5-0-32-0; Chahal 8-0-54-0; Jadhav 7-0-38-1.

India: Ajinkya Rahane c Finch b Richardson 53 (66b, 6x4, 1x6), Rohit Sharma (run out) 65 (55b, 1x4, 5x6), Virat Kohli b CoulterNile 21 (21b, 3x4), Hardik Pandya c Warner b Zampa 41 (40b, 1x4, 3x6), Kedar Jadhav c Thursday’s match presented India’s middle-order the perfect opportunity to take the side home and impress skipper Virat Kohli. For a brief while Hardik Pandya, Kedhar Jadhav and Manish Pandey seemed up to the task before Australia pegged the side back.

“That’s exactly what we were discussing in the change room,” said Kohli. “When all of us had gotten out, Kedar and Hardik were batting, it was the ideal situation to understand how the game can be taken till the end. They did really good job Finch b Richardson 67 (69b, 7x4, 1x6), Manish Pandey b Cummins 33 (25b, 3x4, 1x6), M.S. Dhoni b Richardson 13 (10b, 1x4, 1x6), Axar Patel c (sub) b Coulter-Nile 5 (6b), Mohd. Shami (not out) 6 (6b, 1x4), Umesh Yadav (not out) 2 (2b); Extras (lb-4, w-3): 7; Total (for eight wkts in 50 overs): 313.

Fall of wickets: 1-106 (Rahane,18.2), 2-135 (Rohit, 22.6), 3-147 (Kohli, 24.2), 4-225 (Pandya, 37.1), 5-286 (Jadhav, 45.4), 6-289 (Manish,46.1), 7301 (Dhoni, 47.5), 8-306 (Axar, 49.1).

Australia bowling: Cummins 10-0-59-1, Coulter-Nile 10-056-2, Richardson 10-0-58-3, Stoinis 4.5-0-34-0, Finch 0.1-01-0, Zampa 9-0-63-1, Head 6-0-38-0.

Toss: Australia. Man-of-the-match: Australia won by 21 runs, trails five-match series 1-3. with that partnership. So there are positives. The wicket was such that one team had to bat better. But towards the end, Australia were quite good with their bowling.”

On resting two frontline bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kohli said: “No. I don’t think [resting them was wrong]. We have won the series and we need to test bench strength. Umesh [Yadav] and [Mohd] Shami bowled well. Maybe personally Umesh would have liked to give away less runs. But we only lost by 20 odd and bowlers have to be given that room.”