Lead Story
High-speed train rams stopped train in central Spain, killing at least 64
A Renfe AVE high-speed train traveling from Madrid to Seville slammed into the rear of a stopped Iryo train near Urda in Toledo province on October 28, derailing two carriages and killing at least 64 people, with figures still rising in early reports and one outlet citing 68 dead. Regional officials said roughly 80 people were injured, about 50 seriously and 15 critically. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer failure in the signaling system near Urda station triggered a red signal that automatically halted several trains in the area, and that an erroneous decision was then made to restart the Renfe train in violation of protocol; authorities are still investigating. It is the second major rail disaster in Spain this year, after 46 people died in a January collision in the south, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his schedule to focus on the response.
Read more →Lead Story
High-speed train rams stopped train in central Spain, killing at least 64
A Renfe AVE high-speed train traveling from Madrid to Seville slammed into the rear of a stopped Iryo train near Urda in Toledo province on October 28, derailing two carriages and killing at least 64 people, with figures still rising in early reports and one outlet citing 68 dead. Regional officials said roughly 80 people were injured, about 50 seriously and 15 critically. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer failure in the signaling system near Urda station triggered a red signal that automatically halted several trains in the area, and that an erroneous decision was then made to restart the Renfe train in violation of protocol; authorities are still investigating. It is the second major rail disaster in Spain this year, after 46 people died in a January collision in the south, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his schedule to focus on the response.
Israel's election remains deadlocked days after the vote, with coalition talks underway
Four days after Israel's October 27 parliamentary election, neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc nor the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has secured the 61-seat majority needed to govern, with early counts putting the blocs within a handful of seats of each other and Arab-led parties holding roughly 16-19 seats that could prove decisive. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have staked rival claims to lead the next government, while Eisenkot would likely need support from Arab-led parties he previously ruled out partnering with, and analysts say a Netanyahu-Eisenkot unity government is one possible outcome of the stalemate. Official results are expected within about a week of the vote, after which President Isaac Herzog will task a candidate with forming a coalition; Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister in the meantime, and a fresh election would follow if talks collapse.
Read more →Israel's election remains deadlocked days after the vote, with coalition talks underway
Four days after Israel's October 27 parliamentary election, neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc nor the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has secured the 61-seat majority needed to govern, with early counts putting the blocs within a handful of seats of each other and Arab-led parties holding roughly 16-19 seats that could prove decisive. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have staked rival claims to lead the next government, while Eisenkot would likely need support from Arab-led parties he previously ruled out partnering with, and analysts say a Netanyahu-Eisenkot unity government is one possible outcome of the stalemate. Official results are expected within about a week of the vote, after which President Isaac Herzog will task a candidate with forming a coalition; Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister in the meantime, and a fresh election would follow if talks collapse.
US envoy shuttles between Kyiv's allies and Putin as talk of a November summit grows
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on October 20, alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, with Zelenskyy also briefing Jared Kushner by phone; Witkoff called the talks productive and said they had built momentum toward renewed negotiations. He then traveled to St. Petersburg on October 21 to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling him he hoped three-way talks could resume and presenting ideas for a potential peace deal, though Putin has repeatedly refused to meet Zelenskyy face-to-face. Norway's prime minister suggested the Russia visit could pave the way for a leaders'-level meeting, and some reports say the Kremlin is open to resuming trilateral talks in November, even as friction persists between Washington and Kyiv over the shape of any deal.
Read more →US envoy shuttles between Kyiv's allies and Putin as talk of a November summit grows
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on October 20, alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, with Zelenskyy also briefing Jared Kushner by phone; Witkoff called the talks productive and said they had built momentum toward renewed negotiations. He then traveled to St. Petersburg on October 21 to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling him he hoped three-way talks could resume and presenting ideas for a potential peace deal, though Putin has repeatedly refused to meet Zelenskyy face-to-face. Norway's prime minister suggested the Russia visit could pave the way for a leaders'-level meeting, and some reports say the Kremlin is open to resuming trilateral talks in November, even as friction persists between Washington and Kyiv over the shape of any deal.
US heads into final stretch before Tuesday's midterms with record spending and early voting underway
With early voting underway ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, Democrats are fighting to flip control of Congress, with the heaviest spending concentrated in Senate battlegrounds in Texas, Ohio and Michigan; President Trump has said he will spend more than $400 million by Election Day. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have been campaigning heavily in the closing days, including a Trump rally in Corinth, Mississippi, while former President Obama has made appearances and ads for Democratic candidates nationwide. The campaign's final days have also been marked by disputes over attack ads, including accusations of AI-generated "deepfake" ads in Minnesota and fights over messaging in competitive House races in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Texas.
Read more →US heads into final stretch before Tuesday's midterms with record spending and early voting underway
With early voting underway ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, Democrats are fighting to flip control of Congress, with the heaviest spending concentrated in Senate battlegrounds in Texas, Ohio and Michigan; President Trump has said he will spend more than $400 million by Election Day. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have been campaigning heavily in the closing days, including a Trump rally in Corinth, Mississippi, while former President Obama has made appearances and ads for Democratic candidates nationwide. The campaign's final days have also been marked by disputes over attack ads, including accusations of AI-generated "deepfake" ads in Minnesota and fights over messaging in competitive House races in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Texas.
Seoul presses North Korea for apology and talks as DMZ mine dispute drags on
Weeks after a September 21 landmine blast seriously wounded three South Korean soldiers in the western Demilitarized Zone, South Korea's military continues to insist the mines were planted by North Korea as part of extensive border fortification work, estimating Pyongyang has laid roughly 960,000 mines in the DMZ since 2024. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff have called the mine-laying a violation of the armistice and demanded an apology, and on October 23 the Defense Ministry proposed military-to-military talks on the Military Demarcation Line in a bid to head off further escalation, a move analysts see as an attempt to prevent the standoff from spiraling. North Korea has rejected the South's investigation findings, calling them a "self-staged farce," and the dispute has unfolded alongside a wider rise in tensions, including North Korean ballistic missile launches and signals that Pyongyang will resume loudspeaker broadcasts across the border.
Read more →Seoul presses North Korea for apology and talks as DMZ mine dispute drags on
Weeks after a September 21 landmine blast seriously wounded three South Korean soldiers in the western Demilitarized Zone, South Korea's military continues to insist the mines were planted by North Korea as part of extensive border fortification work, estimating Pyongyang has laid roughly 960,000 mines in the DMZ since 2024. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff have called the mine-laying a violation of the armistice and demanded an apology, and on October 23 the Defense Ministry proposed military-to-military talks on the Military Demarcation Line in a bid to head off further escalation, a move analysts see as an attempt to prevent the standoff from spiraling. North Korea has rejected the South's investigation findings, calling them a "self-staged farce," and the dispute has unfolded alongside a wider rise in tensions, including North Korean ballistic missile launches and signals that Pyongyang will resume loudspeaker broadcasts across the border.