Catalan separatists pardoned

Spain cabinet yesterday pardoned nine jailed Catalan separatists behind a failed 2017 independence bid in a bid to break the deadlock over the political crisis in this wealthy northeastern region. The separatists were convicted over a banned referendum in October 2017 that was marred by police violence and followed by a short-lived declaration of independence, sparking Spain's worst political crisis in decades. Several fled abroad but 12 others were tried and convicted, with three-quarters of them handed prison terms of nine to 13 years.