http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41780116The Catalan regional parliament has voted to declare independence from Spain, while the Spanish parliament has approved direct rule over the region.
Catalan MPs backed the motion 70-10 in a ballot boycotted by the opposition.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy earlier told senators direct rule was needed to return "law, democracy and stability" to Catalonia.
What will the Spanish government do next?
Soon after the vote at the regional parliament, the Senate - Spain's upper house - made the unprecedented step of approving measures allowing the Spanish government to impose direct rule over Catalonia.
There were 214 votes in favour and 47 against.
Mr Rajoy is now expected to hold a cabinet meeting and decide what measures to take.
It could include the firing of Catalan leaders, and the Spanish government taking control of the region's finances, police and publicly owned media.
Thought about posting it in the Catalonia thread once it got brought back...but then again, this is major news, deserving its own thread. From the looks of it, things really are going south.
/update: Spain's Prime Minister Rajoy dissolves parliament of Catalonia, snap elections scheduled for 21th December
/update2: "Mr Rajoy said he said he was firing the head of the Catalan regional police, shutting down Catalonia's foreign affairs department and dismissing its delegates in Brussels and Madrid."
/update3: International reactions (probably the best site for an overview with links to the statements)