Spanish cabinet holds urgent talks on Catalonia crisis

The Spanish cabinet has met to work out its response to an announcement from the head of the wealthy Catalonia region that he was proceeding with a declaration of independence, further fuelling Spain's worst political crisis in decades.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who is due to address the national parliament later in the day, chaired the closed-doors meeting at the government's headquarters in the Moncloa Palace, on the outskirts of Madrid.