Spain's PM gets the power to take over Catalonia
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Spain's Senate has authorized the government to apply constitutional measures to take control of the government of Catalonia.
A majority of senators gave Spanish Prime Minister the go-ahead Friday to apply unprecedented measures including sacking Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet. It also authorized him to curtail Catalan parliamentary powers.
The vote came shortly after the Catalan parliament itself voted in Barcelona to declare the region's independence and to begin forming a new state in a ballot boycotted by opposition deputies.
The Spanish government must now decide how and when to apply the measures. It says they are temporary and aimed at restoring legality in the northeastern region that is an economic powerhouse in Spain.
