Spain's top court halts Catalan independence referendum plan
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MADRID -- Spain's top court has ordered the suspension of the Catalan regional government's new plan for a referendum on the powerful northeastern region's secession from Spain.
The decision Wednesday is the latest in the legal battle between the central government and separatist-minded Catalan authorities who promise to bring about the region's independence next year. The Constitutional Court said it ordered the suspension while it studied a legal challenge to the referendum by the Spanish government.
Catalonia says it will hold a referendum by September. An attempt to hold a similar referendum in 2014 was blocked by the court.
The Madrid government says neither secession nor a referendum is permitted under the country's constitution.
