Catalonia’s Regional President Carles Puigdemont made it clear that though he would ideally hold the referendum with the central government’s approval, he would hold it “with or without Spain’s blessing.” [...] it would mean losing a sixth of its population, and a key economic contributor to the stagnant Spanish economy, in which some approximate 22 percent of the population are unemployed. But what would Catalan independence really mean? 

After meeting with the President of the Republic of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, said that relations between the two countries “have regained their traditional strength” following the State visit by the Argentine leader. He also committed to making “every effort” to ensure an agreement is reached between the European Union and MERCOSUR.

The program allows students to study abroad without having to pay additional tuition at their host universities. Participants also don't have to worry about lost time: All credits earned while studying abroad with Erasmus transfer to their home institutions. Students also get small monthly stipends from their home universities, which depend on where they go and how much money their schools have available to support them while they're there.

In Spain, for example, for every chime of the clock at midnight, people eat one grape. Each of the 12 grapes represents good luck for a month of the coming year, but only for those who can get them all in their mouths before the clock finishes striking. Here is a sampling of other traditions from around the globe that, like Spain’s grape-eating, have found their way to the United States.

Officials in Qatar and Spain are reportedly mulling the creation of a $1 billion joint investment fund – and a meeting is being scheduled for next year to progress the plans. Spanish ambassador to Qatar, Ignacio Escobar, told Gulf Times in an interview that a bilateral visit by Spanish officials to the Gulf state is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2017, and that the visit could include the signing of an agreement to establish the fund.