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ing celebration.
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• MADRID (AP) -- Spain's King Juan Carlos, who led Spain's transition from dictatorship to democracy, will abdicate so his son Felipe can become the country's next monarch, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told the country Monday in an announcement broadcast nationwide.
• Rajoy did not say when the handover would happen because the government must now craft a law creating a legal mechanism for the abdication and for 46-year-old Crown Prince Felipe's assumption of power.
• Juan Carlos was expected to address the nation later Monday, the royal palace said in a tweet. The palace also tweeted a photo of the king shaking Rajoy's hand and presenting him with a letter announcing the abdication.
• Juan Carlos, 76, has been on the throne since 1975 and was a hero to many for shepherding Spain's democratic and economic transformation, but has had repeated health problems in recent years.
• But his longstanding popularity took a big blow following royal scandals, including an elephant-shooting trip he took in the middle of Spain's financial crisis during which he broke his right hip and had to be flown from Botswana back to Spain for medical treatment aboard a private jet.
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• RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- A last-minute dispute erupted on Monday between rival factions Hamas and Fatah over the make-up of their unity government meant to end a crippling seven-year political split among the Palestinians.
• It was not clear if the dispute would derail a ceremony planned for later in the day to swear in the new government of technocrats backed by both factions.
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said over the weekend he would swear in the new Cabinet on Monday.
• Just hours before the planned ceremony, senior Hamas officials said that they oppose the Cabinet lineup in its current form because Abbas has removed the position of minister for prisoner affairs.
• Abbas is perceived as having the upper hand in the unity negotiations because

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