With a hugely increased turnout of 77% (10 points more than in 2012), the Catalan elections gave an overall majority of seats to pro-independence parties. However, these parties did not get an overall majority of votes. The results showed the strength of the pro-independence feeling.

US regulators have discovered German carmaker Volkswagen has been systematically cheating its emissions tests on diesel vehicles, in order to increase its profits. The scale of the scandal is huge, but this is likely to only be the tip of the iceberg. Such “cheating” is an inevitable outcome of a system based only on profit.

Yesterday, Sunday 20th September, SYRIZA won the Greek elections. Tsipras claims this victory gives him a mandate to continue on the road of austerity dictated by the Troika. But the governing coalition has lost a total of 416,000 compared to the vote in January. The period ahead is one of continued economic, social, and political instability.