Catalonia elects new leader tasked with breakaway from Spain

Carles Puigdemont was elected regional president with 70 votes for, 63 against and two abstentions, giving Catalonia's high-profile independence movement a fresh lease of life and drawing a sharp rebuke from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who vowed to fight for his country's unity. "The government won't allow a single act that could harm the unity and sovereignty of Spain," Rajoy warned in a live, televised appearance in Madrid.