Catalan leader defies Spain on independence vote

 

A student in Barcelona wears a white mask with a black cross across the mouth at a protest last week over the blocking of the referendum

The head of Spain's Catalonia's region has said a vote on independence from Spain will go ahead on 9 November though it will not be "the final say".

Artur Mas said it would be held under a different legal framework, apparently circumventing strong opposition from the central government in Madrid.
The Constitutional Court suspended the original vote while it heard the case.
Reports that the polls had been cancelled had been welcomed by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Economic and cultural grievances have fuelled Catalan nationalism.
The wealthy region of 7.5 million people contributes more to the Spanish economy than it gets back through central government funds.
Like other Spanish regions, it enjoys a degree of autonomy but campaigners accuse Madrid of recently seeking to undermine Catalan in favour of Spanish as the main language of instruction in schools.