Mas signs decree calling for independence referendum

The president of Spain's Catalonia region, Artur Mas, signed a decree on Saturday calling an independence referendum on November 9, a vote the central government has said would violate the constitution and has promised to block.

A long-standing pro-independence movement in the north-eastern region has gathered momentum during recent years of economic hardship.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has called an special cabinet meeting on Monday to formalise his government's legal challenge to the vote in the constitutional court.