By Max Bluer Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has this evening announced that his government will declare independence “in a matter of days”. Puigdemont made the announcement as part of an interview given to the BBC on Tuesday evening, just minutes before King Felipe VI went on national TV to denounce the Catalan regional leadership as “disloyal”, accused them of fracturing Catalan society and threatening the Catalan economy, and denounced the referendum as illegal. The crisis of Catalan secession from Spain deepened...

The Canary Islands and booming Balearics have long been in the spotlight as trendy holiday hotspots, but the ever-popular Spanish mainland is starting to reclaim its holiday crown. Not to be outdone by its sister islands, mainland Spain is much more than just the reality TV mainstay Marbella and infamous old-school resort of Benidorm. Holidays to mainland Spain have a lot to offer, with excellent family attractions, gorgeous coastlines and a whole host of cultural spots. Spain has definitely been...

While cruising makes the world your oyster, flying out to meet the ship of your choice can prove a pricey proposition. Luckily, cruise lines today are apt at finding ways of getting travellers to far-flung and exotic destinations without the hassle of flying outside UK borders. The range of destinations to cruise to has never been more varied either, which means that taking what’s known as a no-fly cruise is a way of seeing even the most exotic locales across...

Have you ever wondered how construction workers were able to reach those high heights with no visible signs of scaffolding used? Or perhaps you’ve walked past a construction site and noticed some large piece of machinery lifting people to reach tall heights, and you’re wondering what they probably are? Well, most often than not, you’re looking at a cherry-picker. Recently, those big pieces of machinery have found application in a variety of tasks, like from accessing over-head power lines to...

This week’s 24 hour walk out by tube train drivers has been suspended after talks between union Aslef and London Underground. The strike would have caused disruption to the capital, especially with the England v Slovenia World Cup qualifier football match at Wembley on Thursday evening. The dispute centres on broken agreements underground staff say they had with tube bosses over the shifts they work since the Night Tube made sections of the London underground run 24 hours. London Underground...

The giant panda's future is being threatened by hungry horses and cows, reveals new research. More than a third of the panda's habitat in China's Wanglang National Nature Reserve has been damaged by grazing livestock, suggests the study. The destruction of the habitat coincides with a nine-fold increase in livestock numbers within the park over the past 15 years, according top findings by Chinese and American scientists. Study leader Doctor Binbin Li, assistant professor at Duke Kunshan University's Environmental Research...

Ever thought about what your ideal home would look like? Two fifths of us desire a custom-built house, but what would it look like? According to a survey by GoCompare Mortgages, it’s an ‘eco-minimalist’ detached home with three bedrooms and a modest, medium-sized garden. The results also revealed that 90 per cent chose to include eco-friendly features – with solar panels leading the way with 59 per cent. For the garden, 24 per cent preferred it to be fuss free....

Dementia research has taken a massive step forward after researchers discovered an "ideal" biomarker that detects Alzheimer's disease before the onset of symptoms. They say the way of identifying dementia before symptoms even show using brain scans is perfect as the technique is completely non-invasive Around 60 per cent of people diagnosed with dementia, will have Alzheimer’s disease, and it is the most common form of dementia in the over 65 age group. Evidence has emerged over more than a...

Pizza Express Live has added to its portfolio of London venues with a new opening in Holborn. Set in the intimate basement of its newly designed restaurant and fitted with a top-spec Meyer Sound system, audiences will get to enjoy great pizza accompanied by great live acts. Every night of the week the venue will open its doors to some of the UK biggest comedy and music acts, with special appearances from the world of arts, entertainment and sport. Kicking off...