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by Daniel Bosque with Michaela Cancela-Kieffer in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain – Catalonia’s parliament met Wednesday for the first time since it was dissolved following a failed bid to break from Spain in a session that will see separatists start the process to get sacked regional leader Carles Puigdemont back into power. Pro-independence parties are in the majority after winning regional elections on December 21 called by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to try and put […]
by Emmeline Moore Agence France-Presse TURIN, Italy (AFP) — Lionel Messi started on the bench but Barcelona advanced to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday and clinched top spot in Group D after drawing 0-0 with Juventus in Turin. Last season’s finalists Juventus remain second in the group following the stalemate, a point ahead of third-place Sporting Lisbon, and can secure their qualification with victory at Olympiakos on December 5. Five-time European champions Barca came into […]
by Marie Giffard with Mariette Le Roux in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards rallied in Catalonia’s capital Barcelona Sunday, waving national and European flags and chanting “Viva Espana!” to denounce regional lawmakers’ vote to sever the region from Spain. Crowds of protesters swarmed, singing and clapping, through Barcelona’s streets in a sea of red-and-yellow Spanish flags, brandishing placards reading “De Todos” (It belongs to all of us). […]
by Jordi Zamora Barcelo with Marianne Barriaux in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalonia’s secessionist leader Carles Puigdemont stood defiant Saturday against Madrid’s moves to depose him, urging “democratic resistance” to direct rule imposed in a bid to stop the region breaking away from Spain. In a televised statement, Puigdemont accused the central government of trampling on the will of independence-seeking Catalans who rejoiced at Friday’s vote by regional lawmakers to […]
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont will make a statement at 1130 GMT on Thursday, the regional government said, amid speculation he could declare independence from Spain or call new elections. The Catalan government said he would make an announcement, without giving further details. Puigdemont is under intense pressure from members of his party to call early elections to ease the separatist crisis, according to a source close to the Catalan leader, who […]
by Emmanuelle Michel with Marianne Barriaux in Barcelona Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) – Catalonia’s independence push is taking its toll on the region’s tourism industry, with revenues and hotel bookings down since a banned October 1 secession referendum that was marred by violence. “The tourism sector is one of the most strongly affected by the instability,” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told parliament last week as he defended his government’s handling of the Catalan crisis. Catalonia, with […]
by Daniel Silva and Diego Urdaneta Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – Protesters flocked to Barcelona on Sunday wrapped in Spanish flags to rally against plans by separatist leaders to declare Catalonia independent following a banned secession referendum. Catalans calling themselves a “silent majority” opposed to leaving Spain broke their silence after a week of mounting anxiety over Spain’s worst political crisis in a generation. Hundreds of people gathered on the city’s Urquinaona square waving red and […]
by Marianne Barriaux with Roland Lloyd Parry in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Tension mounted in Spain on Wednesday after Catalonia’s leader vowed that the region would declare independence within days, defying a stern warning from the country’s king that national stability was in peril. The courts meanwhile placed Catalan police officials and pro-independence civil leaders under investigation for alleged “sedition” as Spain sank deeper into its worst political crisis in decades. […]
Barcelona, Spain (AFP) — Some 700,000 people took to Barcelona’s streets Tuesday, city police said, to protest against police violence during a banned weekend independence referendum in Catalonia, demanding to be heard. As the entire region went on general strike, Catalans protested throughout the day in various rallies, calling on the EU to intervene in an escalating face-off between Catalan separatist leaders and Madrid.
BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) — Residents from the Barcelona borough of Sant Antoni de Vilamajor gathered at the main square, to spell out the message ‘Help us Europe’ on Tuesday (October 3). A video and still photo shared on social media showed the moment that locals spelt out their plea to Europe by sitting together in the shape of each letter, while chanting “we have voted.” The phrase was clearly seen from above. An eyewitness told […]
by Danny Kemp and Damon Wake Agence France Presse Brussels, Belgium (AFP) — EU leaders on Monday called for dialogue to solve the crisis over Catalonia’s banned independence referendum and urged an end to violence in a cautious first reaction to a thorny subject for the bloc. Breaking weeks of virtual silence on the subject after scores were hurt in clashes in Catalonia, the European Commission said the referendum was “not legal” under Spanish law […]
