Spanish PM dissolves Catalan parliament, calls December 21 election

Reacting to Catalonia’s moves towards independence, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Friday night announced he had dissolved the Catalan parliament, sacked the  police chief and interior minister, suspended cabinet ministers and called an election for Dec. 21. Rajoy also reported procedures in hand for the Spanish constitutional court to approve the invocation of Article 155 for nullifying Catalonia’s autonomous status. These steps, he said, were aimed at restoring “legal normality” to the citizens of Catalonia.