Spain pulls police reinforcements back from Catalonia

Thousands of police reinforcements who were deployed to Catalonia in the run-up to an attempted referendum on the region's independence from Spain in October are being withdrawn.

The estimated 5,000 reinforcements are no longer necessary following the return to normality after Spain seized control of the region following a declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament weeks after the referendum, according to minister Juan Ignacio Zoido.