Twelve Catalan separatist leaders have appeared at the supreme court in Madrid facing charges including rebellion and sedition. If convicted, some of them would be going to prison for 25 years.
The semi-autonomous region of Catalonia held an independence referendum on 1 October 2017, and declared its independence from Spain weeks later. But the vote was declared illegal by Spanish authorities and the national government imposed direct rule.
Nine of the defendants have spent months in pre-trial detention, and arrived at the court on Tuesday morning under the guard. The remaining three had been free on bail. “It’s the most important trial we have had in democracy”, said the Supreme Court president Carlos Lesmes to the reporters.
The trial begins almost a year and a half after the failed independence bid – that remains controversial. Thousands gathered in a pro-unity demonstration against Catalan independence in Madrid on Sunday.
Sunaya Paison Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
Several French journalists have invited serious criticism from across the world over their anti-female comments. The criticism has been raised against the comments published in a secret group run by the journalists. The news regarding the secret group has been initially publicised by a French media, named ‘Liberation’. Interestingly, one of the media’s senior journalists has also been implicated in the undignified act.
Strict action has been initiated against all those involved in the act. Almost all journalists who have been found to have involved in the act has been suspended by their respective media houses.
The French media sees this as a serious issue. It is the first time that a French journalist has been found to have involved in this kind of act of serious nature.
Several veteran journalists have come out publically against the suspended journalists. They have remained the journalistic community that these kinds of unjustifiable activities would damage the trust the public places over the highly respected journalistic community.
The objectionable comments which have put the journalists under serious trouble have been published in the social media platforms. From the little that has been leaked in the social media platforms itself, it can be declared that all those involved in the act are senseless peoples.
Vignesh. S. G Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian polymath of the Renaissance whose areas of interest included invention, drawing, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been variously called the father of palaeontology, ichnology, and architecture, and he is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time.
Check out some of his famous paintings:
Bacchus
Mona lisa
Salvator Mundi
The Last Supper
The Virgin and Child with St. Anne
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance born in the Republic of Florence, who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. A number of Michelangelo’s works of painting, sculpture and architecture rank among the most famous in existence.
Angel
Delphic Sibyl
Pieta
The Creation of Adam
The Last Judgment
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright who spent most of his adult life in France. Picasso demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent in his early years, painting in a naturalistic manner through his childhood and adolescence. Picasso was exceptionally prolific throughout his long lifetime. The total number of artworks he produced has been estimated at 50,000, comprising 1,885 paintings; 1,228 sculptures; 2,880 ceramics, roughly 12,000 drawings, many thousands of prints, and numerous tapestries and rugs.
Family of Saltimbanques
Guernica
Portrait of Ambroise Vollard
Portrait of Gertrude Stein
The Old Guitarist
Filippino Lippi
Filippino Lippi was an Italian painter working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance. He was born in Prato, Tuscany, the illegitimate son of the painter Fra Filippo Lippi and Lucrezia Buti. His major works are: The Coronation of the Virgin, Madonna with Child, St Anthony of Padua and a Friar, Tobias and the Angel etc.
Apparition of the Virgin to St Bernard
Madonna with Child and Saints
Portrait of a Youth
Portrait of an Old Man
Tobias and the Angel
Sunaya Paison Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
Officials says that five members of an East Texas family, including a 15-month-old child, have been found shot dead at the family’s home. The officers states that the dead bodies of two men were found inside the house and those of two women and the infant girl were found outside the residence.
The bodies of adults were identified as Ashley Delaney, her husband Randy Horn, and Delaney’s in-laws, Carlos and Lynda Delaney. The child’s identity wasn’t immediately released. Chief Deputy Byron Lyons said that a women was locked inside a bedroom closet and was found safe. She said to the officials that she awoke about 5:30 a.m, hearing some popping noises and called her son, who alerted authorities about 10:30 a.m.
Lyons says a firearm was recovered from the house about 120 kilometers northeast of Houston and that no suspects were being sought. But he declined to describe the shootings as homicides and a suicide.
Sunaya Paison Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
The custard is flavored with lemon or orange zest, and cinnamon. The similar European recipes appears in the 17th century Spanish cookery books, usually under the name of Cream of Saint Joseph (“Crema de san José”), since it was a traditional dessert served during Saint Joseph’s Day, although nowadays it is consumed at all times of the year.
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 cinnamon stick
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Preparation
In a large saucepan, beat together the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until the ingredients are thoroughly blended and the mixture turns frothy. Add the cinnamon stick and lemon zest and stir. Add milk and cornstarch and slowly heat the mixture, and stir constantly, just until it begins to thicken.
Remove the pot from the heat immediately. (As soon as the mixture thickens and you feel resistance while stirring, remove the pot from the heat or the mixture may curdle or separate. If this happens, the texture of the finished crema Catalana will be grainy instead of smooth and creamy as it should be.) To cool, remove the cinnamon stick and ladle the milk mixture into 4 to 6 ramekins (depending on size). Allow them to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours.
Before serving, heat the broiler. Take the ramekins with the crema Catalana out of the refrigerator and sprinkle the rest of the sugar over each ramekin. When the broiler is hot, place the ramekins under the broiler on the top shelf and allow the sugar to caramelize and bubble, turning golden brown. This may take 5 to 10 minutes or so, depending on your broiler. Keep a close eye on your crema Catalana so that it doesn’t burn. Remove and serve immediately. Crema Catalana can be served chilled, but it gets more flavor when served warm from the broiler.
Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
The demand for snap election is active in Spain, which is at present in the hands of leftists. Hours before, the rights have successfully organised a protest in Madrid demanding the resignation of the ruling leftists. Through it has been triggered by the ruling’s lenient stand towards the Catalonian separatists’ demand (that is, the independence of Catalonia), all efforts have been directed solely towards the destruction of the political base of the leftists in the country.
The tread is not different elsewhere in Europe. It is evident in Italy (with the presence of the Five Star Movement and Northern League), France (with the presence of Marine Le Pen), the UK (with the victory of Brexit), and even in Germany (with the emergence of far-rights voices in the country).
Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK are the four biggest economies in the continent. It is on these economies the entire European Union stands. With the UK’s proposed departure and the ongoing friction between France and Italy, the union at present already has a buddle of problems to deal with.
It is sure that the union cannot survive another big blow. It is high time to articulate a applicable strategy to counter the emerging threat of euroscepticism.
Vignesh. S. G Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
The streets of Hungary filled with protesters against Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government and a so-called “slave law”. The protesters marched to President Janos Ader’s office, angry that he signed the legislation.
Demonstrations first broke out in December following an amendment to a law that increases the number of overtime hours employees can be asked to work. According to the challenge, the bosses can ask the employees to work up to 400 extra hours per year of overtime, while the current limit is 250. Meanwhile payment for this overtime can be delayed by up to three years.
Prime Minister Victor Orban says to get rid of “silly rules” so that those who want to earn more can work more. He also waived personal income tax for women raising at least four children and reiterated his hard rhetoric on immigration.
Sunaya Paison Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
Cookies, the baked food are always children’s favorite. The children would love to have some specially made and decorated cookies. Excite your child with some Hedgehog Cookies!
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk sugar, shortening, corn syrup, eggs, and vanilla extract in another bowl. Stir the sugar mixture into flour mixture till it got mixed. Refrigerate dough until chilled, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Scoop the cookie dough using a cookie scoop or 1 tablespoon so all the cookies are uniform; shape dough into teardrop-shaped cookies. Flatten the pointed side of each cookie to form the ‘face’. Place cookies on baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven until golden, for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
Pulse pecans in a food processor until they are finely chopped; transfer to a bowl. Melt chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching.
Dip the top of each cookie in the melted chocolate, spreading to fully coat the ‘body’ of each hedgehog. Press cookies, chocolate-side down, into the ground pecans forming the ‘fur’. Arrange cookies on a sheet of waxed paper to set, about 30 minutes. Transfer the remaining melted chocolate to a piping bag or plastic bag with a corner snipped. Pipe chocolate onto the pointed end of each cookie for eyes and a nose.
Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
Thousands of people gathered and protested Madrid on Sunday against the government’s handling of the Catalan question, as the country braced for the landmark trial of 12 separatist leaders this week. Protesters were angered by the government’s outreach to Catalan separatists and calls for new elections in Spain.
The people gathered were weaving Spanish flags and were residing the slogans for the nation’s security forces and for Sanchez to resign. Pablo Casado, who asked the voters to punish Sanchez’s socialists in upcoming European, local and regional elections in May, said that “The time of Sanchez’s government is over,”. During the upbeat demonstration recordings of popular music including Lady Gaga were also played.
The public proceedings at Spain’s supreme court, which are expected to last three months and which will be broadcast on television, will focus on the independence referendum held in October 2017 and the regional parliament’s subsequent unilateral declaration of independence.
Sunaya Paison Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
Several European Union countries have expressed their concerns about an oil pipeline project that connects Russia and Germany, named Nord Stream 2.
The main concerns are that the pipeline project will make Germany more reliant to the Russian oil and that reliance may be misused by Russia to fulfil its political and economic goals.
France is the first country that has come out publically against the deal. Later, supporting the stand taken by France, most countries in the east and central regions of Europe –overcoming their fear of retaliatory action from the Germans– have criticised the Germany’s move.
Germany has invested hugely in the project. The project is several decades old. At this moment, Germany cannot withdraw from the deal suddenly as such a move will cost them several millions.
France is likely to dilute its position in the coming hours. Though the EU countries are unhappy with the pipeline project, none wants to interrupt the project at this stage. These factors give confidence to Germany to go ahead with the project.
The EU primarily imports oil from Norway and Russia. Most EU countries are of the opinion that a pipeline that connects Poland and Norway should be created. The newly developed Russia-Germany pipeline which passes beneath the Baltic Sea gives a serious blow to the EU’s Norway plans.
Vignesh. S. G Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
