Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont was due to appear in a German court on Monday as Spain sought to extradite him over the region's independence fight after a night of protests there in which dozens of people were hurt in clashes with police.
Catalonia's parliament will hold a plenary session on Thursday to decide its response to the central government's move to dismiss the region's government while other independence activists have promised civil disobedience.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Saturday that his government will move to dismiss Catalonia's separatist government and call fresh elections in the region in a bid to stop its leaders from declaring independence.
Spain's vow Thursday to take over at least part of Catalonia's regional powers due to its drive for independence would involve triggering the never before used Article 155 of Spain's constitution.
Spain's government vowed to examine "all options" Wednesday in a crisis cabinet meeting hours after Catalonia's leaders said they had a mandate to declare independence but put it on hold, plunging the country into unknown territory.
Journalist Gerry Hadden offers a firsthand look, from a Barcelona polling center, at Spanish police's violent operations to disrupt the outlawed referendum on Catalan independence.
The pro-separatist parties that control the government of Catalonia are pushing decisively for a split from Spain. But opinion polls show the Catalan public split pretty much down the middle on the issue. And Spain's prime minister says he simply won't allow the country's break up.
Spanish government officials are dealing with a political hot potato these days. The country has one of the highest number of residential evictions in Europe. And as The World's Gerry Hadden says the Spaniards are "not taking it anymore."
Stephane Hessel inspired the Occupy Wall Street movement with his writing, and powered protest movements around the globe. But as those movements seemingly sputter out, Hessel had one more book of advice, specifically for protesters in Spain. It's set to be released now, shortly after his death.
The former French diplomat Stephane Hessel has died at the age of 95. His writings were so popular in Spain that his publisher there asked him to write a new book just for Spaniards. It's due to come out in two weeks.
Spain's new conservative government is making time from its efforts to rescue the country's moribund economy and instead work on rolling back laws changed under the last, Socialist government. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has introduced a bill to re-criminalize abortion.