Madrid postpones dialogue over Catalan crisis

The Spanish government announced Thursday that a meeting between Spain's president, Pedro Sánchez, and Catalan leader Quim Torra, scheduled for next week, has been postponed following the announcement of a snap election in Catalonia. "The sooner the snap election is held and the new government is formed, the sooner we will begin dialogue," the government said in a statement. The Catalan Republican Left (ERC) described the delay as "absolute irresponsibility".