Photos: Catalan crisis intensifies after Spanish king slams independence bid

King Felipe VI of Spain stepped into the political crisis over Catalonia on Tuesday, accusing the region’s separatist leaders of ‘inadmissible disloyalty’ and of creating ‘a situation of extreme gravity’ that threatened the country’s constitution and unity. The address aimed at calming the situation, but risked further fanning resentment and tensions in the region. ...read more

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Updated on Oct 04, 2017 06:21 PM IST

Young people wave Catalan pro-independence ‘Estelada’ flags and a placard reading ‘We are the granddaughters of the grandmothers you beat yesterday’ in Barcelona during a demonstration on a general strike day in Catalonia called by Catalan unions. Large numbers of Catalans observed a general strike to condemn police violence at a banned weekend referendum on independence. (Pau Barrena / AFP)

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Spain’s King Felipe VI addresses the nation during a general strike in. The address by the head of state came two days after Catalonia’s regional government pressed ahead with a banned independence referendum. His dramatic intervention late Tuesday aimed to calm Spain’s deepest political crisis in decades but risked further fanning resentment and tensions in the region. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou / AFP)

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Protesters gather at the Placa de la Universitat square in Barcelona during a general strike called by Catalan unions. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou / AFP)

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In Barcelona, a woman carries an independence Catalan flag as demonstrators marched downtown. (PTI / AP)

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People place flowers in front of ballot boxes during a protest against police actions during the banned independence referendum in front of city hall in Pineda de Mar, north of Barcelona. (Albert Gea / REUTERS)

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A woman hugs a fireman as others queue to lay flowers on ballot boxes used during the Catalan independence referendum in Pineda de Mar. (Lola Bou / AFP)

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In Barcelona, people rest before taking part in a demonstration two days after the banned independence referendum. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)