Catalan Protesters Block Roads Over Spanish Cabinet Meeting

Protesters have blocked a major highway and dozens of roads leading to and from the Spanish city of Barcelona, as anger grows over a planned cabinet meeting in the want-away region.

Led by a coalition of pro-secession parties, thousands of protesters rallied on Friday to show their disgust at Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's decision to hold his weekly meeting in Barcelona, which failed in its bid for secession last year.

Cabinet meetings usually take place in Madrid, but Sanchez has vowed to take them to other cities as a sign of his commitment to decentralisation.

Images circulating on social media showed hundreds of protesters blocking roads and a motorway in the city, while in other videos, demonstrators could be seen throwing bottles and flares at police.

The venue of the meeting, a 14th-century Gothic palace in downtown Barcelona, was shielded by security cordons and fences, and hundreds of anti-riot police have been deployed to keep protesters away.