Tag: Catalonia

• Wednesday, October 4th 2017 - 07:02 UTC

  Catalonia expected to declare independence in matter of days; King says situation is extremely serious and calls for unity

  

  Catalonia will declare independence from Spain in a matter of days, the leader of the autonomous region has told the BBC. In his first interview since Sunday's referendum, Carles Puigdemont said his government would “act at the end of this week or the beginning of next”.

• Monday, October 2nd 2017 - 09:23 UTC

  Catalonia “closer to statehood”; Rajoy calls Spanish political parties to discuss the situation

  

  Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said on Sunday that the Spanish region has won the right to statehood following a contentious referendum that was marred by violence. He said the door had been opened to a unilateral declaration of independence. Catalan officials later said 90% of those who voted backed independence in Sunday's vote. The turnout was 42.3%.

• Friday, September 29th 2017 - 07:50 UTC

  Catalonia dispute: Madrid sends 6.000 extra police; Barcelona appeals to Europe to mediate

  

  Barcelona police have sealed off a warehouse said to be stocking ballot boxes, as Spain seeks to obstruct a Catalan independence referendum. The Guàrdia Urbana force was obeying an order from prosecutors to prevent the Catalan vote being held on Sunday. About 16,000 school and university students marched through Barcelona demanding that the vote go ahead.

• Monday, September 25th 2017 - 10:40 UTC

  Madrid and Barcelona clash over control of the Catalonia police force

  

  Spain’s central government and regional Catalan authorities argued this weekend over who controls the regional police force that is considered key to the success of a planned independence vote for the north-eastern region. The exchanges came as thousands of Catalan separatists rallied in public squares in Barcelona and other towns on Sunday in support of a disputed referendum on independence of from Spain.

• Thursday, September 21st 2017 - 15:31 UTC

  Civil disobedience escalates in Catalonia as Madrid stamps on independence referendum logistics

  

  Spain’s prime minister called on Wednesday on Catalan separatist leaders to end their “escalation” as several thousand people took to the streets of Barcelona to protest at Madrid’s attempts to stop a banned referendum on independence.

• Monday, September 18th 2017 - 10:41 UTC

  Scottish government supports Catalonia's right to decide its future

  

  The people of Catalonia should determine its future, the Scottish government has said. The region's government has insisted a referendum on independence from Spain will go ahead on 1 October. Madrid has vowed to block the vote, saying it is unconstitutional.

• Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 08:24 UTC

  Catalonia referendum: 700 mayors under investigation by Spain's top prosecutor

  

  Spain’s top prosecutor is investigating more than 700 Catalan mayors for cooperating with a planned referendum on the region’s independence after the nation’s constitutional court ordered the vote put on hold. Catalonia’s regional police force is under orders to arrest the mayors if they refuse to appear for questioning, State Prosecutor Jose Manuel Maza’s office said.

• Thursday, August 17th 2017 - 21:45 UTC

  Thirteen killed and tens injured in terrorist attack with a van in Barcelona

  

  A van mowed through crowds of tourists on Barcelona's most famous avenue on Thursday, killing at least thirteen people in an attack that was claimed by Islamic State. The head of the Spanish region of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, said at least 80 people had been taken to hospital and 13 had been reported killed.

• Thursday, November 17th 2016 - 09:48 UTC

  Narrative Prize for Cristina Fernández namesake in Spain

  

  Catalonian writer Cristina Fernandez Cubas was awarded the National Narrative Prize for her work 'Granny's Room' (La Habitación de la Nona) by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. The author will receive 20,000 euros.

• Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 12:33 UTC

  Catalonia challenges Madrid and will hold an independence referendum next year

  

  Catalonia is to hold a referendum on independence in a year’s time in a move that will infuriate Madrid but which should also return power to the pro-indy campaign in the regional assembly. President Carles Puigdemont told the Catalan Parliament yesterday: “We will look for an agreement (with central government) until the very end, we will at every moment work with the will to hold a referendum in agreement with the state.