Catalan separatist merchandise is displayed at a stall in Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain. The parliament of Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia has approved a declaration of the region’s sovereignty as a major step towards its independence from Spain. The non-binding resolution was passed on Wednesday by 85 votes in favor, 41 against, and two abstentions, the Associated Press reported. The... 

Spain’s Catalan nationalist party Convergencia I Union (CiU) led by Artur Mas won the elections in the Catalan Parliament on Sunday, but failed to win an absolute majority that it expects to govern alone. CiU secured 50 seats of the 135-seat local parliament in the elections, a setback from its previous 62 seats, which appeared to be a failure of its pro-independence campaign. Another nationalist... 

Spain’s unemployment rate reaches 24.63 percent. Spain says its unemployment rate for the second quarter of the current year has reached the record high of 24.63 percent. According to the new figures released by the government of Friday, nearly 5.7 million Spaniards are now out of work. The country also says that almost 53,500 people lost their jobs between April and June alone. The jobless rate...