MADRID -- "Spain is a consolidated democracy ... This is Spain, and we have made it together -- people and institutions through coexistence and respect for the law," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Twitter.

The Spanish Supreme Court on Monday sentenced Oriol Junqueras, former deputy leader of the Catalan regional government, to 13 years in prison for sedition and the misuse of government funds for his role in the Catalan independence referendum on Oct. 1, 2017, which was declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

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LONDON -- British Queen Elizabeth II said the government's priority has always been to secure the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on Oct. 31.

The Queen said the government wants a new partnership with the European Union based on free trade and friendly cooperation when she opened a new session of the British parliament Monday in a ceremony packed with pomp and ceremony.

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ISTANBUL -- Turkey is currently in the process of implementing what it has previously decided about the Kurdish-held city of Manbij in northern Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.

"According to our reciprocal agreement with the United States on Manbij, terror organizations should have evacuated the city within 90 days," Erdogan told reporters at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul before leaving for Azerbaijan.

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BEIJING -- Realism prevailed as China and the United States achieved substantial progress in their new round of trade consultations, a former Australian minister told Xinhua.

Warwick Smith, who was Australia's minister for sport, territories and local government, said that amid multiple uncertainties that are causing economic concerns globally, China and the United States made progress in their trade talks thanks to a pragmatic approach from both countries. Enditem

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