Polls have closed in Catalonia where people have held a symbolic independence vote despite the Spanish government’s opposition. According to the regional Catalan government, almost two million people took part in the independence polls, which opened at 9 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) and closed at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Sunday. The regional government had earlier said that 5.4 million Catalans and resident... 

The Spanish Council of State has ruled that a new planned symbolic referendum on independence in the Catalonia region is illegal, saying it backs a veto of the vote. A spokeswoman for the council said Thursday that the consultative body decided that the government should ask the Constitutional Court to declare the November 9 referendum as unlawful. The council made the ruling after receiving a request... 

The Catalan government says it will push ahead with its scheduled plan to hold an independence referendum, despite a Spanish Constitutional Court order to suspend the vote. Catalan President Artur Mas established a seven-member committee late on Thursday to supervise the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain which is due to be held on November 9. Earlier on Wednesday, the creation of...