Catalan president puts off independence decree

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said in an address to Parliament Tuesday he has a mandate to declare independence for the northeastern region of Spain but wants to wait few weeks. His speech was highly critical of the Spanish government’s response to an Oct. 1 referendum in which Catalans overwhelmingly voted for independence. The opposition leader in the Catalan Parliament said Puigdemont’s statement amounted to a coup that has no support in Europe. Puigdemont called on lawmakers to suspend the effects of the independence declaration to give time for mediation with the Spanish government.