SPAIN PLAN TO SUSPEND CATALONIA'S AUTONOMY

Spain's government announced it plans to trigger article 155 of the constitution on Saturday, allowing it to suspend Catalonia's political autonomy, after Catalan's leader Carles Puigdemont threatened to declare independence. This will allow Spain to take over running of the region although some fear this will spark unrest.

Mr Puigdemont said earlier that, if Spain "continues repression" and refuses to hold talks, the region's parliament would vote on independence.

The Spanish government had issued a 10 am deadline for Thursday after Mr Puidgemont ignored one earlier in the week but, just minutes before the cutoff, the Catalan leader issued a letter that demanded further dialogue between the two parties.

"If the government continues to impede dialogue and continues with the repression, the Catalan parliament could proceed, if it is considered opportune, to vote on a formal declaration of independence," it said.