Europe

MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish government has information suggesting there are “violent groups” who want to keep Catalonia in a state of crisis, acting Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday.

“What they will find is a firm and considered response from the state’s security forces,” Sanchez told broadcaster La Sexta, when asked about the protests, at times violent, that have taken place in the northeastern region since several Catalan separatist leaders were jailed last week.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push ahead with plans to leave the European Union and with the government’s domestic agenda even if lawmakers fail to back a snap election, his spokesman said on Friday.

However, the spokesman said the government may not bring any Brexit laws to parliament if he cannot agree with opposition parties a new timetable to pass the legislation.

On Thursday, a government spokesman said that if opposition parties do not agree to an election early next week then the government would do the “bare minimum”.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union agreed to London’s request for a Brexit deadline extension on Friday but set no new departure date, giving Britain’s divided parliament time to decide on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for a snap election.

“There was full agreement on the need for an extension,” an EU official said after ambassadors to the 27 other EU member states met to discuss postponing Britain’s exit from the bloc, less than a week before the current deadline of Oct. 31.

GRAYS, England (Reuters) - Police investigating the deaths of 39 people, believed to be Chinese nationals, found in a truck near London said they had arrested two people on Friday on suspicion of human trafficking and continued to quiz the driver as a murder suspect.

As China called on Britain to seek “severe punishment” for those involved in the deaths, police said they had detained a man and a woman, both aged 38, in Warrington, northwest England, on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and of 39 counts of manslaughter

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has finally abandoned his promise of an October Brexit and pinned his hopes on a December election.

Two days after lawmakers stymied Johnson’s latest attempt to pass his European Union divorce deal, he said Thursday that the only way to break Britain’s Brexit impasse was a general election. Johnson said he would ask lawmakers to vote Monday on a motion calling a national poll for Dec. 12.

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the death of 39 people found in a truck container in southeastern England (all times local):

3:30 a.m.

The Chinese Embassy in London says the nationalities of the 39 people found dead in a container truck in England have not been confirmed, appearing to contradict a police statement that they were Chinese.

A statement dated Friday on the embassy website said police are verifying the identity of the victims and their nationality still cannot be confirmed.

LONDON (AP) — British police expanded an investigation into one of the country’s deadliest cases of human smuggling after 39 people were found dead in a refrigerated container truck near an English port. Essex police said the victims were believed to be from China, though its embassy said their nationalities were still being verified.

The Essex Police force said 31 men and eight women were found dead in the truck early Wednesday at an industrial park in Grays, a town 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of London.

SOCHI (Russia), Oct 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia and Ethiopia have signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The two countries signed the agreement on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit in the Russian resort city of Sochi.

DUBLIN, Oct 24 (NNN-Xinhua) — Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar expressed his support for the proposal made by the European Council’s President Donald Tusk to grant a Brexit extension requested by Britain, according to a government statement.

“The Taoiseach (prime minister in English) confirmed his support for President Tusk’s proposal to grant the request for an extension which was sought by the UK” during a Wednesday morning phone talk with Tusk, said the statement.

SOCHI, October 23./TASS/: The Kremlin is confident that all foreign military deployed in Syria illegitimately, must leave the country, Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"As for the presence of American soldiers in Syria, our position is well known — only the Russian units are present in Syria legitimately at the invitation of the Syrian leadership," Dmitry Peskov told reporters.