Catalan leader must drop independence by Thursday: Spain Deputy PM

Spain's government will take control of Catalonia and rule it directly if CatalanleaderCarles Puigdemont does notdropa bid to split the region fromSpainby Thursday at 1000 a.m. (0800 GMT),deputyPrime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.

"Mr Puigdemont still has the opportunity to start resolving this situation, hemustanswer 'yes' or 'no' to the declaration (ofindependence)," Saenz de Santamaria said.

Madrid had given Puigdemont until Monday 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) to clarify his position on independencewith a "Yes" or "No", but theCatalanleaderdid not directly answer the question.

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