Spain PM calls on Catalonia leader to drop independence plans to avoid ‘greater evils’

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called on Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Thursday to abandon plans to unilaterally declare the region’s independence, Reuters reports. Rajoy told EFE news agency that the solution to Catalonia’s crisis was a prompt return to legality. He also expects “a statement as soon as possible that there will not be a unilateral declaration of independence, because that will also avoid greater evils.”