The independence referendum in Catalonia has begun 1 Oct
Reports of at least 38 injured and police firing rubber bullets in Barcelona as people in Catalonia head to the polling booths to vote on independence from Spain.
The Spanish government has pledged to stop a poll that was declared illegal by the country's constitutional court and police are preventing people from voting, and seizing ballot papers and boxes at polling stations.
Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy says the vote goes against the constitution, which refers to "the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards".
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has condemned the "unjustifiable violence" of the Spanish state.In the town of Girona, riot police smashed their way into a polling station where Puigdemont was due to vote.
In a show of force ahead of the poll, Spanish authorities seized voting materials, imposed fines on top Catalan officials and temporarily detained dozens of politicians.Police have also occupied the regional government's telecommunications centre.
Catalonia is a wealthy region of 7.5m people in north-eastern Spain and has its own language and culture. It also has a high degree of autonomy, but is not recognised as a separate nation under the Spanish constitution.
The BBC has more on the unfolding events and back story here.
Impact on the euro will be at the very least of an unsettling nature and potentially a lot more than that with independence possibly being declared within 48 hours if voting goes that way.
What do our readers, especially those based in Spain/Catalonia, make of it all?
