Catalan officials held in Spain to halt referendum

MADRID/BARCELONA: Spanish police raided Catalan government offices and arrested officials on Wednesday to halt a banned referendum on independence, an action the regional president said meant Madrid had effectively taken over his administration. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the regional government offices in the centre of Barcelona’s tourist district, waving the Catalan flag and chanting “Occupying forces out” and “Where is Europe?”. “The Spanish state has established emergency rule,” Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said.