Catalan parliament votes to declare independence, Spain strikes back with direct rule

Catalonia's parliament voted Friday to "create a Catalan republic as an independent state," marking a major escalation of ongoing tensions between Madrid and the autonomous region that overwhelmingly voted earlier this month for independence, The New York Times reports. Spanish courts ruled that the Oct. 1 independence vote was illegal according to the national constitution, and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has so far refused to explore conversations about the region's potential secessio...