Catalonia declares independence from Spain; Madrid vows to 'restore legality'
BARCELONA, Spain - Catalonia's parliament declared independence from Spain on Friday, a historic vote that set the breakaway region on a collision course with the central government and courted international isolation.
Madrid, armed with Senate approval for imposing direct rule in the northeastern region, vowed to "restore legality" in Catalonia, raising fears of a broad crackdown that could spark shows of civil disobedience.
What was already Spain's gravest constitutional crisis in its nearly four decades of democracy boiled over into greater uncertainty, even
