Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigned and withdrew from the 29 November general election after a train crash killed 69 people. He announced proposed rail-safety changes and €30 million in aid for victims’ families and injured passengers.
Key Facts
The crash happened last week near Urda, about 80 miles south of Madrid.
A Renfe train struck the rear of a stationary train operated by Iryo.
A failed automatic safety system stopped trains on part of the track, but a control centre authorized the Renfe train to continue.
Puente proposed software to alert control centres to unusual traffic and an AI agent to help monitor the system.
Under the proposed rules, a second operator would confirm decisions made while the automatic safety system was down.
The train drivers’ union Semaf called strikes at Renfe for 10 and 12 November and criticized working conditions and the use of degraded systems.
A separate collision in Andalusia in January killed 46 people on the Madrid–Seville line.
Puente said the government would provide €30 million in aid to families of those killed and to people injured in the crash.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the 2026 U.S. midterm elections will affect the war in Ukraine. Speaking at a security conference in Germany, he thanked the United States for its support.
Key Facts
Zelenskyy said the U.S. midterm elections will affect the ongoing war in Ukraine.
He spoke at a security conference in Germany.
He thanked the United States for its support.
The article does not specify how the elections could affect the war.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc won the most seats in Israel’s general election, but it still faces a challenge in forming a government. Possible paths to a majority involve former rivals or far-right allies, and each comes with a political cost.
Key Facts
Netanyahu leads the Likud party.
The Likud-led bloc won the most seats in the general election.
Winning the most seats did not by itself secure a government.
Netanyahu faces a challenge in assembling a majority.
Potential coalition partners include former rivals.
Potential coalition partners also include far-right allies.
Each possible route to a majority involves a political cost.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Displaced Palestinian families have begun cleaning their homes in Hebron after Israeli forces withdrew from the city. Thousands of residents were only recently allowed to return following a 10-day siege.
Key Facts
Israeli forces withdrew from Hebron after a 10-day siege.
Displaced Palestinian families have started cleaning their homes.
Thousands of residents were recently allowed to return.
Hebron is in the occupied West Bank.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
British international law expert Dapo Akande has been elected as one of the International Court of Justice’s 15 judges and will serve a term of at least nine years. His election restores British representation on the court after Christopher Greenwood lost his seat in 2017.
Key Facts
Akande is a professor of public international law at Oxford and a fellow of All Souls College.
He qualified as a lawyer in Nigeria and is an elected member of the UN International Law Commission.
Akande has worked as counsel, adviser and expert in cases before international courts and tribunals, including the ICJ.
He said he would decide cases independently and impartially, applying the law.
The ICJ hears disputes between states and issues legal opinions.
In 2017, British judge Christopher Greenwood lost his seat, leaving the UK without a judge on the court.
The UK’s parliamentary process to complete its deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands is stalled amid objections from the Trump administration.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
King Charles told Commonwealth leaders that learning more about the history of slavery had strengthened his resolve to address past wrongs. He expressed sorrow but did not apologize or explicitly endorse reparations, while UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain did not support reparations and backed development assistance and debt-related support for Commonwealth countries.
Key Facts
Charles spoke at the opening of the Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda.
He said the transatlantic slave trade still casts a shadow over Commonwealth members and called the history shameful.
Charles said education, employment, trade within the Commonwealth and climate resilience could help address ongoing hardship.
Burnham said the UK did not support reparations for slavery.
Burnham said Britain supported Commonwealth countries through development assistance, debt support and green finance.
Reparations were not formally on the summit agenda, which included trade, climate resilience, finance, democracy and opportunities for young people.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne called for dialogue on reparatory justice and the lasting effects of slavery and colonialism.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigned on Tuesday, six days after a train collision near Urda killed at least 69 people and injured dozens. Puente said he could not remain in office after two serious rail accidents in less than a year, including a deadly crash in Andalusia in January.
Key Facts
The collision near Urda occurred on 28 October, south of Madrid.
A state-operated Renfe high-speed train struck the back of a stationary train operated by Iryo.
At least 69 people died and dozens were injured in the collision.
Puente announced his resignation at the end of a congressional session on 3 November.
He said he had decided to resign immediately after the disaster.
Opposition parties and some government allies had called for Puente to step down.
Leaked recordings appear to show a train was cleared to move even though another train had stopped about 25 kilometres ahead.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said authorities would investigate the details of the crash.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Ukraine is investigating clashes between protesters and authorities at a military dormitory near Kyiv. About 100 people gathered after social media posts alleged that recruits were being tortured and abused; the incident has raised suspicions that it was engineered to discredit Ukraine’s war effort, possibly with Russian involvement.
Key Facts
The clashes took place at a military dormitory near Kyiv.
Ukraine is investigating the incident.
About 100 people gathered at the dormitory.
The gathering followed social media reports alleging recruits were tortured and abused.
The article says there are suspicions the incident was engineered to discredit Ukraine’s war effort.
The title raises the possibility of Russian orchestration, but the article does not confirm it.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Spanish authorities confirmed that two Australians and one Japanese citizen were among the 69 people killed in a high-speed train collision. The crash happened near Urda, about 130km south of Madrid, when a Renfe train struck the back of a stationary Iryo train. Australian officials said they were providing consular support to the families of the Australians who died.
Key Facts
The confirmed death toll was 69.
The newly identified victims included two Australians and one Japanese citizen; authorities did not name them.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was assisting the families of the two Australians.
The victims included 54 Spanish nationals and 15 foreign nationals.
The foreign victims included four U.S. citizens, two Australians, two Japanese citizens, and one citizen each from Argentina, Canada, France, Mexico, Portugal, Tunisia, and the Czech Republic.
A Renfe train struck the back of a stationary train operated by Iryo near the village of Urda, about 130km south of Madrid.
The article says an automatic safety system stopped trains on a 63km stretch of track, but a control centre authorized the Renfe train to continue while the other train remained stationary.
The article describes this as Spain’s second high-speed train collision of the year; a January crash in Andalusia killed 46 people.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been summoned to testify in a High Court fraud trial, with his appearance expected around 15 December. He is not accused of wrongdoing; the case concerns allegations that former financial adviser Selman Turk misled Nebahat Isbilen, and includes disputed payments to Mountbatten-Windsor.
Key Facts
The trial is expected to begin in mid-November, and Mountbatten-Windsor is due to appear around 15 December.
A judge gave permission last month for Mountbatten-Windsor to be called as a witness.
Isbilen alleges that Turk misled her and used her wealth for his own benefit.
Court documents say Isbilen claims she paid £750,000 to Mountbatten-Windsor after Turk told her it would help with a passport.
Turk denies dishonesty and says the £750,000 was a gift Isbilen offered to build goodwill.
The case also concerns about £768,000 transferred from Isbilen's account in January 2020, which Turk describes as a loan for a Swiss chalet purchase.
The £750,000 was repaid in 2021 after Isbilen's lawyers contacted Mountbatten-Windsor.
Mountbatten-Windsor's evidence could be given in person or by video.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Andy Burnham is expected to announce three proposed UK-EU agreements at a meeting in Brussels on 20 November: an agricultural deal, access to the EU emissions trading scheme and a youth visa scheme. The article says the agreements could boost UK GDP by £17bn, or 0.4%, while some elements may not take effect until 2028.
Key Facts
The proposed agricultural agreement is estimated by the UK government to be worth more than £5bn to the UK economy by 2040.
The agricultural deal could ease trade in products including live molluscs and Scottish salmon and replace some animal transport certificates with pet passports.
UK producers could continue selling some products banned under EU law during a transition period.
Under a separate emissions agreement, the UK would pay the EU for access to its emissions trading scheme.
The proposed youth scheme would let people under 30 live, work and travel in the UK and EU; negotiators have not finalized the number of visas.
The UK is seeking a mechanism to limit travel from an EU member state that does not issue its agreed visa quota.
Officials are discussing a separate joint statement on future cooperation, including industrial policy and university tuition fees.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Melania Trump is scheduled to host Russian and Ukrainian representatives at the White House after a six-day ceasefire in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region. The White House says Trump helped arrange the pause, which allowed aid deliveries and evacuations; Russia says it has no plans for similar operations.
Key Facts
The ceasefire ran from October 27 through November 1, according to the article.
The White House says Melania Trump helped mediate between Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova.
Lubinets and Lantratova are expected to attend a White House meeting on Thursday, a Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent.
Lantratova is under U.S. sanctions and would need a State Department waiver to enter the United States, the article reports.
Melania Trump said the pause delivered aid and enabled nearly 800 people to evacuate; the article says about 50 children and 100 pets were also thought to have left.
Ukraine has not officially released the number of evacuees. Lubinets said the figures would remain undisclosed under the agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would welcome further ceasefires and was open to working with Melania Trump again.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia had no current plans or initiatives for further humanitarian operations.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of sending 21 experts to assist Houthi military operations. Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan said the experts are spread across six locations and work in areas including missiles, drones and naval operations. The accusation comes amid renewed fighting after a period of relative calm under a 2022 ceasefire.
Key Facts
Haidan said 14 of the experts are members of the IRGC and seven are from Hezbollah.
The government said eight experts are in Hodeidah, four in Sanaa, four in Saada, two in Hajjah, two in Amran and one in Khokha.
The listed areas of expertise include command and control, ballistic missiles, drones, electronic warfare and naval operations.
Haidan said the alleged activities threaten shipping in the Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Red Sea.
He called on the international community to designate the Houthis a terrorist organisation and enforce UN arms embargoes.
Government forces and allied fighters are battling the Houthis in five provinces, according to the article.
The renewed fighting has ended relative calm that followed a 2022 ceasefire; Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa.
Iran says the Houthis act independently, while the Houthis acknowledge an alliance with Iran and deny being its proxy. Hezbollah has rejected having a role in Yemen’s war.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A coroner’s inquest heard that lorry driver Andy Lloyd, 56, died after the grab arm of his truck hit an 11,000-volt overhead power line at a farm in Conwy, Wales. Lloyd climbed out of the cab and was electrocuted when he touched a metal step; his 14-year-old son was with him but escaped safely.
Key Facts
Lloyd was delivering hardcore to Tan y Dderwen Farm in Betws-yn-Rhos on 1 May.
His 14-year-old son had joined him for work experience.
The truck’s grab arm contacted overhead cables carrying 11,000 volts.
Lloyd was electrocuted after leaving the cab and touching the truck’s metal step.
Contractors helped Lloyd’s son out of the lorry, performed CPR on Lloyd and called an ambulance.
A Scottish Power engineer found the lorry still in contact with the cables after the power supply had tripped.
The coroner concluded that Lloyd died as a result of an accident.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The article says Palestinian Americans in the occupied West Bank are putting up U.S. flags, razor wire and metal fences at their homes. It reports that they are using these measures to try to deter attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Key Facts
The people described are Palestinian Americans.
Their homes are in the occupied West Bank.
They are putting up U.S. flags at their homes.
They are also adding razor wire and metal fences.
The article says the measures are intended to deter attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
King Charles III said the transatlantic slave trade fills him with “horror” and “the most profound personal sorrow” at the Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda. He did not issue a formal apology or announce measures to compensate for slavery’s harms, instead pointing to education, jobs, trade and climate resilience as ways to address past wrongs.
Key Facts
Charles said the slave trade still casts a shadow over Caribbean islands and other Commonwealth members.
He said the Royal Navy played a leading role in ending the slave trade.
Charles said people cannot change past actions but can learn from them.
He cited improving education access, investing in jobs, encouraging trade and strengthening climate resilience as ways to address past wrongs.
Buckingham Palace had said Charles would not issue a formal apology during his Caribbean tour, which included the Bahamas and Guyana.
Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said an apology should be Charles’s next step.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK was open to a formal apology but ruled out financial reparations.
The Commonwealth has 56 member nations.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Greenland’s parliament approved a security agreement with Denmark and the United States by a vote of 16-0, with seven lawmakers abstaining. The agreement permits more U.S. military activity in Greenland and will take effect only after required Danish and Greenlandic parliamentary procedures are complete.
Key Facts
Greenland’s parliament passed the agreement on Tuesday.
The deal was signed in September by U.S. President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
The agreement aims to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic.
It allows the United States to expand and modernize activities at Pituffik Space Base and paves the way for more U.S. bases in Greenland.
The agreement says Greenland will remain under Danish control, but its terms would still apply if Greenland becomes independent.
Danish lawmakers are expected to debate the agreement later this month.
No approval from the U.S. Senate is required.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
An independent Liberal Democrat panel concluded that it could not reopen the sexual harassment complaints against peer Chris Rennard without new evidence. Party leader Ed Davey said he was disappointed, while Rennard said the complaint should be published and argued that the renewed investigation should not have taken place.
Key Facts
The complaints were made by four women against Rennard.
The Liberal Democrats asked three independent adjudicators, who are party members, to reassess Rennard’s conduct.
The party sought a reassessment after receiving advice that a 2013 investigation had been flawed in several respects.
The panel concluded, after taking legal advice, that it could not reopen the case without new evidence.
Davey had suspended Rennard from the party while the investigation was reopened.
Davey said the women had been let down by the earlier process and expressed frustration that the case could not be reinvestigated.
Rennard said police and independent inquiries had investigated and dismissed the allegations in 2013–14.
A 2013 review said there was broadly credible evidence of behaviour that violated the complainants’ personal space and autonomy, while assessing the case as having less than a 50% chance of being proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
King Charles III addressed the history of slavery at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua. He described Britain’s involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade as a shameful chapter and said the Royal Navy played a leading role in ending the trade.
Key Facts
Charles spoke at the meeting’s opening ceremony in St John’s, Antigua.
He said the trans-Atlantic slave trade still casts a shadow over Commonwealth members.
Charles described the history as a source of profound personal sorrow.
He said the Royal Navy played a leading role in ending the international trade in enslaved people.
Charles called for modern partnerships to address past wrongs through future action.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was open to discussing a formal apology but opposed reparations.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch opposed an apology and reparations, saying Britain helped end the slave trade.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
President Donald Trump said the United States will stop providing Israel with about $4 billion in annual military assistance by the end of this year. CBS News reported that Trump made the suggestion in a recent interview.
Key Facts
Trump said U.S. military assistance to Israel will end by the end of the year.
The article puts the annual assistance at about $4 billion.
Trump made the statement in a recent interview.
CBS News correspondent Nicole Sganga reported on the statement.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
