Carian mengenai topik Carles Puigdemont

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of a unified Spain filled Barcelona's streets on Sunday in one of the biggest shows of force yet by the so-called silent majority.

Today, all eyes will be on Spain as the national government is expected to strip Catalonia, one of its richest regions, of its autonomous powers.

"I ask Puigdemont to act sensibly, in a balanced way, to put the interests of all citizens first," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in parliament.

His move could deepen the confrontation between Madrid and the northeastern region but also signals a way out of Spain's biggest political crisis since a failed military coup in 1981.

In a much-anticipated speech to the Catalan parliament, Carles Puigdemont made only a symbolic declaration, claiming a mandate to launch secession but suspending any formal steps to that end.

A crowd estimated by local police to number 350,000 waved Spanish and Catalan flags and carried banners saying "Catalonia is Spain" and "Together we are stronger".

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said he favoured mediation to find a way out of the crisis but that Spain's central government had rejected this.

Catalan emergency services said 38 people were hurt, mostly with minor injuries, as a result of police action.

The central government has sent thousands of police reinforcements to stop people voting and has attempted to dismantle the infrastructure needed to conduct the referendum it says is illegal.

Abouyaaqoub had been on the run since Thursday evening, after he drove at high speed into throngs of strollers along Barcelona's most famous avenue, Las Ramblas.

Spanish investigators are still trying to determine what caused an inflatable bouncy castle to rocket into the air with seven children inside.

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