Rajoy sets out Catalonia timeline

MADRID, Dec 30 : Spain's prime minister says the new Catalan parliament should hold its first session on 17 January, ahead of reinstating the region's government.
"I hope that as soon as possible we will be able to have a Catalan government that is open to dialogue and able to relate to all Catalans, not just half of them," Rajoy said in an end-of-year address to the nation.
He reiterated that a vote to select a new Catalan president must take place within 10 days of the new regional parliament convening.
Rajoy on Friday denounced as "absurd" the idea that ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont could govern from Belgium where he is in self-imposed exile to avoid arrest.  "It is absurd to pretend to be the president of a region when you live abroad, and even more absurd to pretend that you are carrying out this function from abroad," Rajoy said in his end-of-year press conference in Madrid.    -AFP