Catalans are holding a massive, symbolic regional independence vote this weekend, in defiance of the Spanish government’s ban. The polls look set to draw upward of 1.5 million people, to whom the vote is now about freedom of expression. Artur Mas, the Catalan president, has remained defiant in the face of the exceedingly draconian bans by Madrid on any show of support for secession. The Catalan... 

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 Spanish government has taken the first steps to block Catalonia’s new vote on independence which is scheduled for next month. On Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy requested the Council of State’s opinion on Catalonia’s “consultation of citizens,” which the region intends to hold next month instead of a full independence referendum. On October 15, Catalan regional president... 

People walk by a poster in Madrid calling for financial help to fight Ebola in Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the spread of the deadly Ebola virus across Europe is almost inevitable due to irresponsible liberal and socialist uncontrolled tourism and immigration between Europe and Ebola affected African countries. The WHO’s European director, Zsuzsanna Jakab, made... 

Health officials in Madrid say three more people are in the hospital on suspicion of contracting Ebola. The news comes a day after a nurse who treated two Ebola patients at a city hospital became infected with the disease. One has tested negative. The nurse is now being treated with a drip using antibodies from those previously infected with the virus, Reuters reports. Approximately 22 people who... 

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... 

Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Barcelona, vowing to disobey Spain’s blocking of Catalonia’s independence referendum. Some 5,000 angry Catalans gathered in one of the city’s main squares on Tuesday, waving Catalan independence flags and chanting ‘We will vote”. “Not rain nor snow nor any court will stop us,” said Carme Forcadell, leader of the Catalan National... 

Spain’s Constitutional Court decided Monday that Catalonia has no right to vote for its independence. The independence referendum planned by Catalonia’s President for this November was unanimously suspended by 12 judges. Speaking in a televised address after an emergency cabinet meeting Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he regretted Catalonia’s president Artur Mas’s decision... 

The president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, has signed a decree calling an independence referendum for Nov. 9. The secessionist drive of the Spanish region has been rebuked by Madrid, which vowed to block the vote. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has called a government meeting Monday that is expected to provide a legal response to Barcelona’s announcement. Madrid plans to challenge the vote in... 

The Catalan parliament has passed a law giving its regional president the power to carry out a non-binding consultation vote on secession from Spain. Catalan nationalists believe this law enables them to hold the long-awaited independence referendum. On Friday, the Catalan parliament voted in favor of the new law, with 106 MPs supporting it and 28 voting against. The MPs hope it will bring Catalan... 

The Scots have lost their stab at independence by a tiny 10-percent margin. Analysts predicted that only a ‘yes’ vote would send waves throughout Europe, but the dire economic situation of other independence-seeking regions can’t be eclipsed so easily. In a historic referendum on Thursday, Scotland voted 55 to 45 percent to stay in the four-nation United Kingdom. This ‘yes’ vote,... 

Catalan President Artur Mas says a vote on the region’s independence from Spain will be “impossible” to stop even if Madrid is against the referendum. “If the Catalan population wants to vote on its future, it’s practically impossible to stop that forever,” Mas said in an interview on Wednesday. He said the Spanish government should realize that it cannot stand... 

A Spanish mayor has been charged for setting a town on fire after ignoring a fireworks ban. The illegal pyrotechnics resulted in a massive hillside blaze, which forced some residents of the town to evacuate from their homes. Despite a ban, which had been implemented because of an extremely high risk of forest fires, Mayor Ernesto Sanjuan gave the go ahead for a fireworks display on April 26 in the... 

Communists equipped with red hammer and sickle flags rallied through Madrid Anti-monarchy communist protesters have taken to the streets of the Spanish capital after new King Felipe VI was proclaimed monarch. Thousands of communist Spaniards hit the streets of Madrid on Thursday to show their dissatisfaction with the monarchy system in their country. The protesters slammed the current political system... 

Felipe VI has become the new king of Spain after his father, King Juan Carlos, abdicated to pave the way for his son to take over as his successor. Felipe, 46, took the Spanish crown early Thursday as an act of parliament signed by his father came into force. Carlos,76, signed his abdication on Wednesday in a short ceremony in favor of his son. Carlos reigned as Spain’s king after 39 years. His...