BARCELONA, SPAIN—Spain’s government on Thursday set in motion plans to take away Catalonia’s local powers after its defiant regional president refused to give up his demands for Catalan independence. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont sent a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy just minutes before a deadline set by the central government for him to backtrack on his calls for secession. Puigdemont didn’t give in, but instead threatened to go ahead with a unilateral proclamation of independence if the government refuses to negotiate. Demonstrators protest against Catalan government's push for secession from the rest of Spain in Barcelona on Wednesday. Andrew Dowling, an expert in Catalan history at Cardiff University in Wales, said any declaration of independence in the Catalan parliament would be only symbolic without border and institutional controls.

Source: thestar October 19, 2017 11:48 UTC