In Spain, Catalan MPs have elected a pro-independence speaker. The lawmakers elected Roger Torrent a member of the left-wing separatist ERC party as the Speaker in the opening session of the new Catalan Assembly in Barcelona yesterday. <br/><br/>Torrent beat an anti-independence candidate by 65 votes to 56. Separatist parties, who remain dominant after December's election, want Carles Puigdemont to be President again. But the ex-leader risks arrest if he returns from self-imposed exile in Belgium. <br/><br/>He is wanted by Spain on charges of rebellion and sedition over last year's independence drive. <br/><br/>Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he would not allow Puigdemont to be reappointed and rule from Brussels. The Prime Minister said, he would contest in the courts any move to elect Puigdemont remotely.