https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Police arrested 16 people who took part in overnight protests marking the anniversary of the illegal referendum on Catalan independence that triggered Spain's worst political crisis in decades, a spokesman said Friday. https://www.thelocal.es/20201002/police-arrest-16-in-catalan-referendum-anniversary-protests Fri, 02 Oct 2020 14:36:33 +0200 police-arrest-16-in-catalan-referendum-anniversary-protests Spain's central government on Thursday said the announcement of snap elections in Catalonia would delay planned talks between Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the region's separatist leadership. https://www.thelocal.es/20200131/madrid-delays-separatist-talks-over-catalan-snap-election Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:26:32 +0100 madrid-delays-separatist-talks-over-catalan-snap-election Catalonia's separatist president Quim Torra said Wednesday that the wealthy northeastern Spanish region would hold a snap election this year following a major dispute between its two ruling parties, both staunchly pro-independence https://www.thelocal.es/20200129/catalan-crisis-deepens-as-separatist-tensions-force-snap-election Wed, 29 Jan 2020 16:01:03 +0100 catalan-crisis-deepens-as-separatist-tensions-force-snap-election Catalan separatist Clara Ponsati has not set foot in her native Barcelona for two years for fear of the Spanish authorities. But her circumstances could be about to change thanks to Brexit. https://www.thelocal.es/20200128/will-brexit-bring-immunity-for-wanted-catalan-separtist-in-exile-in-scotland Tue, 28 Jan 2020 14:35:46 +0100 will-brexit-bring-immunity-for-wanted-catalan-separtist-in-exile-in-scotland Quim Torra, who heads Catalonia's separatist government, on Monday lost his status as a lawmaker in the region's parliament following a disagreement between the chamber's two main pro-independence parties. https://www.thelocal.es/20200128/catalonias-separatist-president-loses-mp-status Tue, 28 Jan 2020 09:22:40 +0100 catalonias-separatist-president-loses-mp-status Spain's Supreme Court on Thursday refused to recognise jailed Catalan separatist Oriol Junqueras as a European MP because of his October conviction over a failed 2017 independence bid. https://www.thelocal.es/20200110/spains-supreme-court-blocks-jailed-catalan-separatists-bid-to-take-seat-as-mep Fri, 10 Jan 2020 11:47:54 +0100 spains-supreme-court-blocks-jailed-catalan-separatists-bid-to-take-seat-as-mep A court in Spain ruled Thursday that Catalonia's president Quim Torra was unfit to hold public office for 18 months because he failed to remove separatist symbols from public buildings during an election campaign. https://www.thelocal.es/20191219/catalan-president-quim-torra-banned-from-holding-public-office-over-disobedience Thu, 19 Dec 2019 15:45:49 +0100 catalan-president-quim-torra-banned-from-holding-public-office-over-disobedience Spain should have released Catalan independence activist Oriol Junqueras from prison to allow him to become an MEP after May's elections, the European Court of Justice said Thursday. https://www.thelocal.es/20191219/spain-told-by-eu-court-that-it-should-have-freed-catalan-mep-from-jail-to-take-office Thu, 19 Dec 2019 13:46:31 +0100 spain-told-by-eu-court-that-it-should-have-freed-catalan-mep-from-jail-to-take-office Masked protesters set bins on fire and threw rocks and glass bottles at police who responded with foam bullets in a street near Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium as Barcelona and Real Madrid faced off Wednesday in the first Clasico of the season. https://www.thelocal.es/20191219/in-pics-dozens-injured-in-clashes-outside-barcelonas-camp-nou-during-clasico Thu, 19 Dec 2019 10:00:59 +0100 in-pics-dozens-injured-in-clashes-outside-barcelonas-camp-nou-during-clasico Barcelona and Real Madrid will travel to the Clasico on Wednesday from the same hotel as part of a large-scale security operation aimed at reducing the impact of Catalan independence protests. https://www.thelocal.es/20191218/tight-security-ahead-of-planned-protests-as-barcelona-play-real-madrid Wed, 18 Dec 2019 12:06:33 +0100 tight-security-ahead-of-planned-protests-as-barcelona-play-real-madrid Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of two jailed Catalan leaders, insisting that the "vague" and "overly broad" interpretation of sedition used to jail them could have a profound effect on the right to protest in Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20191120/amnesty-international-demands-immediate-release-of-jailed-catalan-leaders Wed, 20 Nov 2019 16:53:54 +0100 amnesty-international-demands-immediate-release-of-jailed-catalan-leaders The president of Catalonia's regional government went on trial in Barcelona on Monday for "disobedience" after refusing to remove separatist symbols from public buildings, amid heightened tensions in the Spanish region. https://www.thelocal.es/20191118/catalan-president-quim-torra-goes-on-trial-for-disobedience Mon, 18 Nov 2019 12:17:50 +0100 catalan-president-quim-torra-goes-on-trial-for-disobedience Former Catalan minister Clara Ponsati, wanted in Spain for her role in the region's unilateral bid for independence in 2017, was arrested by Scottish police on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.es/20191114/clara-ponsati-arrested-in-scotland Thu, 14 Nov 2019 15:14:47 +0100 clara-ponsati-arrested-in-scotland Catalan separatists once again blocked routes linking Spain and France on Wednesday morning in an ongoing protest to try to draw international attention to the Catalan independence issue. https://www.thelocal.es/20191113/500-cars-trapped-overnight-as-protesters-continue-to-block Wed, 13 Nov 2019 10:53:24 +0100 500-cars-trapped-overnight-as-protesters-continue-to-block UPDATED: Riot squads from the French Gendarme moved in to clear the highway linking France and Spain at La Jonquera border on Tuesday morning, dragging protesters from their camps and firing tear gas. https://www.thelocal.es/20191112/french-riot-police-move-in-on-catalan-protesters-at-blockade-on-spainfrance-border Tue, 12 Nov 2019 16:47:27 +0100 french-riot-police-move-in-on-catalan-protesters-at-blockade-on-spainfrance-border Catalan separatist activists blocked traffic on Monday on a motorway linking Spain and France, in a fresh protest against the sentencing last month of nine of their leaders to lengthy jail terms. https://www.thelocal.es/20191111/catalonia-protests-separatists-block-spain-france-highway Mon, 11 Nov 2019 12:10:51 +0100 catalonia-protests-separatists-block-spain-france-highway Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez strongly condemned posters that appeared on the streets of Barcelona on Wednesday describing Catalan journalists as "terrorists". https://www.thelocal.es/20191107/posters-slamming-catalan-journalists-as-information-terrorists-have-appeared-in-barcelona Thu, 07 Nov 2019 10:17:38 +0100 posters-slamming-catalan-journalists-as-information-terrorists-have-appeared-in-barcelona People across the world are demonstrating their discontent in increasingly creative and disruptive ways. https://www.thelocal.es/20191106/the-future-of-protest-is-high-tech-just-look-at-the-catalan-independence-movement Wed, 06 Nov 2019 15:08:07 +0100 the-future-of-protest-is-high-tech-just-look-at-the-catalan-independence-movement Several thousand Catalan protesters massed in Barcelona on Monday seeking to disrupt a visit by King Felipe VI as the country barrelled towards another election under the shadow of the separatist crisis. https://www.thelocal.es/20191105/catalan-separatists-stage-protests-as-king-of-spain-visits-barcelona Tue, 05 Nov 2019 08:26:41 +0100 catalan-separatists-stage-protests-as-king-of-spain-visits-barcelona Catalans who want to remain in Spain seek to make their voice heard. https://www.thelocal.es/20191028/catalonias-remainers-the-silent-majority-who-dont-want-independence Mon, 28 Oct 2019 10:39:45 +0100 catalonias-remainers-the-silent-majority-who-dont-want-independence