Spain PM meets with separatist Catalan leader to mend ties

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Spanish government and leaders of the Catalonia region will start formal talks this month in a bid to end one of the biggest political crises since Spain’s return to democracy in the late 1970s, the country’s prime minister said Thursday. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the timing of the talks after he met with the separatist president of Catalonia, Quim Torra, in Barcelona. As expected, the meeting produced no major breakthroughs on the divisive issue of Catalonia’s independence. “What I propose is that we need to start over,” Sánchez told journalists. “To restart the dialogue...