Tag: Spain

Mass march for unity after Catalan independence move

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). […]

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Axed Catalan leader urges resistance to Madrid rule

  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 […]

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‘Independent’ Catalonia wakes up under Madrid’s control

by Daniel Bosque with Marianne Barriaux in Madrid © Agence France-Presse Barcelona, Spain | AFP Catalonia woke up Saturday under the direct control of Madrid as the Spanish prime minister took drastic measures to quash secession, deposing the region’s leaders and dissolving its parliament hours after lawmakers declared independence. In a dramatic escalation of a political crisis that has stoked alarm in Europe and sent shockwaves through Spain, Mariano Rajoy also decided to call snap Catalan elections on December […]

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Catalonia: What does it mean to declare UDI?

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) – Spain’s Senate on Friday voted to grant Madrid powers to impose direct rule on Catalonia, shortly after the semi-autonomous region’s parliament approved a motion declaring independence. Herewith are five questions about what it means to make a unilateral declaration of independence: What is a unilateral declaration of independence? Known by its acronym “UDI”, the term was first coined in 1965 when the former Rhodesia’s minority white government declared unilateral independence from British […]

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Catalan leader to make statement at 1130 GMT: regional govt

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 […]

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Rift deepens in wrangle over Catalonia’s autonomy

by Marie Giffard with Mariette le Roux in Madrid BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalonia appeared to be steering for a head-on clash with Spain  Wednesday after its separatist leader snubbed senators in Madrid preparing to depose his independence-seeking government before week’s end. As pro-secession activists protested in Barcelona, Carles Puigdemont turned down an invitation to address legislators in the Spanish capital on his threat of a unilateral Catalan breakaway. His refusal left little hope that Spain’s move to […]

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Catalan parties discuss next move after Spain raises stakes

by Alfons Luna and Marie Giffard  © Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalan parties were due to meet Monday to discuss their next steps at the start of a week that will see Spain dismiss the region’s government to stave off its threat to break away from the country. “What happens now, with everyone in agreement and unity, is that we will announce what we will do and how,” Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull said after […]

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Football: Catalan crisis leaves Barca between rock and a hard place

by Kieran CANNING Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu faces the club’s members at an annual general meeting on Saturday fighting an increasingly difficult battle to balance the conflicting interests of fans in favor of Catalan independence and millions of supporters in the rest of Spain and around the world. A powerful symbol of Catalonia, Barca have been caught in the political crossfire since an independence referendum for the wealthy northeastern region […]

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Nearly 1,200 firms moved their headquarters out of Catalonia

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Nearly 1,200 companies of all sizes have shifted their legal headquarters out of Catalonia to other parts of Spain since the region held a banned independence referendum, Spain’s commercial registrar said Friday. Between October 2, the day after the contested vote, and October 19 a total of 1,185 companies have relocated hoping to minimize instability, according to figures published by the Commercial Registries of Spain. The peak was reached on Thursday […]

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Spain to push ahead with suspending Catalan autonomy

by Katy Lee Agence France Presse MADRID, Spain — Spain said Thursday it will move to seize some of the Catalan regional government’s powers after its leader warned he could declare independence, escalating the country’s worst political crisis in decades. The central government in Madrid had given separatist leader Carles Puigdemont until 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Thursday to say whether or not he was declaring a breakaway state in the semi-autonomous region following a […]

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Wildfires kill 39 in Portugal and Spain

by Bruno Cravo Agence France Presse VOUZELA, Portugal (AFP) — At least 36 people have died in fires ravaging forests in northern and central Portugal over the past 24 hours, rescuers said Monday, after three people were killed in Spain in blazes sparked by arsonists and fanned by Hurricane Ophelia. The 36 deaths, which were confirmed by Portugal’s national civil protection agency and included a one-month-old baby, come four months after 64 people were killed […]

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Spain gives final call for Catalan independence decision

by Marianne Barriaux with Patrick Galey in Madrid Agence France Presse Madrid on Monday gave Catalonia’s separatist leader three more days to “return to legality” after he refused to say whether he would follow through on a threat to declare independence from Spain. Responding to an initial deadline set by the central government, Carles Puigdemont sent a letter early Monday calling for talks with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy “as soon as possible” amid Spain’s worst […]

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