Catalan Leader Will Not Return to Spain_ Offers High Court Testimony From Belgium

The sacked Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said that he planned to ignore a court order telling him to return to Spain to face charges over the region's push for independence, but he did say he could testify from Belgium , according to Reuters. If Puigdemont does not answer Thursday's High Court summons, an arrest warrant is a possibility that would make it impossible for him to stand in the upcoming snap regional election that the central Spanish government called for to be held on Dec. 21.