Catalonia - Page 3

The EU has broken its silence on the violent suppression of Catalonia independence referendum, with the Commission backing Madrid and the Vice-president of the European Parliament branding the vote a “nationalistic coup against Europe”.

Contents: Cameroon police shoot and kill English-speaking protesters on Sunday; Catalonia’s leader says the region has ‘won the right to statehood’ from Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish riot police smashed their way into Catalan polling stations Sunday to try to halt a disputed referendum on independence, firing rubber bullets and attacking voters who were trying to stop them from confiscating ballots. The daylong melee injured at least 460 civilians and 11 police, authorities said.

Contents: Catalonia referendum poised to go ahead despite Spain’s harsh repressive measures; Hundreds of Catalan families occupy school buildings in defiance of police

Spanish riot police smashed their way into the polling station where Catalonia’s regional leader was due to vote in the disputed independence referendum on Sunday. Scuffles erupted outside between police and people waiting to vote.

BRUSSELS (AP) – Across Europe, people are watching the independence referendum Spain’s Catalonia region plans to hold Sunday closely and nervously, but quietly. A strong turnout that results in a majority vote for the “yes” side could embolden other breakaway-minded

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s National Court plans to investigate possible sedition charges for demonstrators who took part in a massive protest against a police crackdown on preparations for an Oct. 1 referendum on the Catalonia region’s independence.

The Madrid government has flooded Catalonia with almost ten thousand police officers, stormed Catalonia’s government buildings, confiscated thousands of ballot papers, and arrested Catalonia government officials. To those with long memories, this looks a lot like the beginnings of policies that led to the Spanish Civil War.

MADRID (AP) — Spain will deploy police reinforcements to Catalonia to help maintain order if an independence referendum pledged by Catalan officials but opposed by the national government goes ahead, officials said Friday.

Spain’s prime minister has called on Catalan separatists to end their “escalation of radicalism and disobedience” as the country faces its worst political crisis in 40 years of democratic rule.

MADRID (AP) — News reports says Spanish police have arrested 12 people in raids on offices of the regional government of Catalonia as a crackdown intensifies on the region’s preparations for a secession vote that Spain says is illegal.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The hundreds of thousands of people celebrating Catalonia’s national day in Barcelona have shouted in unison: “Independencia!” (Independence).

Reports suggest Abdelbaki Es Satty, the imam thought to have acted as the Barcelona terror attack’s mastermind, should have been deported from Spain in 2014 after completing a prison sentence — but judges accepted this would breach his human rights.

SAN SEBASTIAN (SPAIN) (AFP) – Hundreds of Basques turned out on the streets Saturday in support of Catalonia and its planned referendum on independence from Madrid, an ambition long fought for by Basque separatists. The demonstration was symbolic, in a

MADRID (AP) — Spain says it has appealed to the Constitutional Court to block a measure passed by the regional parliament of Catalonia that would allow it to fast-track a declaration of independence if its voters choose to secede from

BARCELONA (AFP) – The leader of Spain’s Catalonia region, where a separatist movement is in full swing, on Friday announced an independence referendum for October 1 in defiance of Madrid. People will be asked to vote on the question: “Do

MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday accused Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont of blackmailing the state following news reports that the powerful northeastern region has prepared a law to secede from Spain immediately if it is not allowed hold an independence referendum.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, declared last week that he supports the secession of Catalonia from Spain.

Police in Barcelona fired gunshots Tuesday to stop a man who stole a butane gas truck and drove it at high speed against traffic on a city highway, ramming several cars along the way, a police spokeswoman said. Authorities ruled out terrorism as a motive.

MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia’s parliament voted in favour on Thursday of pursuing a referendum on independence next September amid mounting tensions with Spain’s central government over whether the northeastern region can legally break away. The referendum poses a new headache

(AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of Catalans took to the streets on Sunday to demand their region break away from Spain, pressuring pro-independence leaders to unite and iron out differences over their secession plan. Crowds waved red and yellow striped

Catalonia’s separatists are set to vote in a new regional president on Sunday to push for independence from Spain, itself without a government, after the region’s leader stepped aside. The fate of Catalonia has hung in the balance since regional

Catalan far-left party CUP said on Sunday it would not support acting regional head Artur Mas in his bid for another term, forcing new local elections and increasing the likelihood all Spaniards may have to return to the ballot box

Contents: Catalonia parliament votes to secede from Spain; Israel’s Netanyahu promises Obama to implement two-state solution

Spain is on course for a constitutional crisis after pro-independence parties won an absolute majority in elections in the region of Catalonia. The elections were billed as a de facto plebiscite on secession from Spain, with the victorious parties pledging

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Catalan secessionists pushed for years for an independence referendum that Spain’s central government refused to allow. Now secessionists hope that Sunday’s regional parliament elections will put Catalonia on the road toward breaking away. Polls show pro-secession