Europe

EDINBURGH, Nov 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A former Catalan minister wanted in Spain for rebellion has vowed to fight against extradition after being arrested in Scotland where she is working as a university academic.

Professor Clara Ponsati, 62, was one of five fugitive Catalan officials being sought for trial in Spain after last year’s declaration of independence by leaders of the country’s wealthiest region. If found guilty of “violent rebellion” and misappropriation of funds she could be jailed for up to 30 years.

GENEVA, Nov 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Egypt faced strong criticism at a United Nations review of its rights record, with diplomats voicing alarm over detention conditions and shrinking freedoms in the country recently rocked by mass protests.

VENICE (Reuters) - Venice was inundated by exceptionally high water levels on Friday just days after the lagoon city suffered the worst flood in more than 50 years.

The central St. Mark’s Square was submerged and closed to tourists, while shops and hotels were once more invaded by rising waters bringing fresh misery to the fragile city.

Local authorities said the high tide peaked at 154 cm (5.05 ft), slightly below expectations and significantly lower than the 187 cm level reached on Tuesday — the second highest tide ever recorded in Venice.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s opposition Labour Party plans to nationalize BT’s broadband network to provide free internet for all, a radical election pledge to roll back 35 years of private ownership that caught both the company and its shareholders by surprise.

Labour said its proposed overhaul of Britain’s telecoms infrastructure would be paid for by raising taxes on tech firms such as Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Facebook and using its Green Transformation fund.

Hong Kong, Nov 15 (AFP/PTI) Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam on Thursday condemned a "barbaric attack" on her justice minister, who fell while being surrounded by a crowd of jeering pro-democracy protesters in London.

It was the most physical confrontation involving a member of Lam's cabinet since the protests, now in their sixth month, erupted in the international finance hub.

MADRID, Nov 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela’s former military intelligence chief has gone missing in Spain just days after a court approved a request for his extradition to the United States on drug trafficking charges, police said.

“They are currently looking for him,” said a spokeswoman for Spain’s national police, referring to Hugo Armando Carvajal.

Judicial sources said police had gone to his house in Madrid after Friday’s court decision but could not find him.

BRUSSELS, Nov 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain will lose influence in international affairs and become a “second-rate player” after it leaves the European Union, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

Backers of Britain’s 2016 vote to exit the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc, say that the country – the world’s fifth largest economy – will achieve a new global status unshackled from EU rules and closer to the United States.

Tusk said only a united Europe could confront an assertive China and play an effective global role.

KIEV, November 14. /TASS/: Ukraine is not planning to arrange a bilateral meeting between President Vladimir Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin before the Normandy Four summit, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristaiko said on Thursday.

"We are not planning a bilateral meeting with Putin," Pristaiko told a joint news conference with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg.

ATHENS, November 14. /TASS/: Port authorities in the Greek island of Rhodes have detained two Russians, who are suspected of helping migrants come to Greece from Turkey, Russia’s embassy in Athens told TASS on Thursday.

According to the port service in Rhodes, on November 2 two Russian citizens named Malenkov and Belenko were detained near the island’s coast. "They are suspected of transporting illegal migrants to Greece from Turkey," the diplomatic mission said.

KRASNOYARSK, November 14. /TASS/: Veteran Russian adventurer Fyodor Konyukhov plans to take off on a non-stop flight around the world on a Project Albatros solar-powered glider in 2020 or 2021, as the famed explorer told TASS.

"We are setting our sights on 2020 or 2021," Konyukov said.

The glider with a wingspan of 44 meters is currently under construction. Plans are in store to equip it with solar batteries so that a pilot can fly the glider in the daytime, while at night, the aerial vehicle will glide on its own.