Thousands of Catalans have protested against the detention of eight regional ministers sacked over Catalonia's push for independence from Spain.

The officials - who appeared in Spain's high court - are accused of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.

Pope Francis made one of his most emotional anti-war addresses on Thursday, as he celebrated the Feasts of All Souls Day, he commemorated the day by visiting a WWII U.S. military cemetery as a reminder to humanity stating that the world seemed to be headed into war perhaps bigger than any before.

The Spanish state prosecutor’s office has announced charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement against the ousted president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, and members of his cabinet. Chief prosecutor Jose Manuel Maza said the leaders of the regional government in Catalonia “have created an institutional crisis that culminated in the unilateral declaration of independence and a complete disregard for our Constitution on October 27.”

A Spanish judge has issued a European arrest warrant for Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four members of his ousted cabinet, according to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. All are currently in Belgium, and failed to attend a High Court hearing in Madrid on Thursday.

The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2017 finds the parity gap across health, education, politics and the workplace widening for the first time since records began in 2006.

In a press release Thursday, Director, Media Relations at the WEF, Oliver Cann, said a decade of slow but steady progress on improving parity between the sexes came to a halt in 2017, with the global gender gap widening for the first time since the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report was first published in 2006.

Spain’s central government is set to put in place measures to take direct control of Catalonia in response to the region's declaration of independence last week, with Spanish officials expected to be put in place in the region's ministries on Monday.

On Friday, Madrid stripped Catalonia of its autonomy and removed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont from office.