BARCELONA( REUTERS)-Thousands of Catalans chanted, sang and waved flags as they marched through Barcelona on Saturday( Sept 11), calling for the region's independence from Spain. The march, organised by the grassroots Assemblea Nacional Catalana( ANC), was the first since Spain's government pardoned nine Catalan separatist leaders who had been jailed for their role in a 2017 botched bid for independence, which was Spain's biggest political crisis in decades. Most marchers wore face coverings....

In their first major mass gathering since the start of the pandemic, thousands of Catalan separatists took to the streets of Barcelona on Saturday ahead of upcoming talks with the Spanish government.... People used face masks for the event, which went ahead after regional authorities dropped restrictions on the number of people who could gather with declining COVID-19 cases.... The central government says a vote would have to be on a proposal to improve the relationship of the northeast region