A Fatal Decision Under Scrutiny In Spain (Europe)
Russian Strike On Dnipro Station Kills 14 (Conflict)
Iran Claims Three Tankers Hit Mines In Hormuz (Conflict)
Qatar Seeks Iran Nuclear Deal Before Possible Strikes (Middle East)
China Elevates Military Official Amid Party Purges (China)
Putin Courts Africa With Trade And Security Offers (Russia)
Lagarde Quits ECB Early Ahead Of French Election (Europe)
Bolsonaro Mocked At Home After Claiming Brazil Leadership (South America)
France Deploys 70,000 Police For Halloween Protests (Europe)
Australian Mushroom Killer Sentenced To Life Without Parole (Australia)
A succinct daily briefing delivered each weekday to help you stay on top of the stories shaping the world.
A decision to restart a high speed train at normal speed despite another train standing ahead has emerged as the central question in Spain’s latest rail disaster which killed 69 people near Toledo on Wednesday.
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer malfunction disabled a security system, stopping several trains before control passed to staff in Madrid. At about 8:36 a.m., controllers authorised a state-operated Renfe train to proceed without speed restrictions, although a private Iryo train remained stationary ahead. Puente said the decision breached protocol. Audio obtained by Spanish media reportedly captured the instructions, although its authenticity has not been independently verified.
The collision has renewed scrutiny of railway safety after another fatal crash on the same line in January. Fifty-seven injured passengers remained in hospital on Thursday, while train drivers staged a previously planned strike demanding greater safety investment. Spain has declared three days of national mourning.
Sources: Reuters, NBC News
A Russian drone struck a crowded railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, killing 14 people as passengers waited to board a train bound for Zaporizhzhia. At least 19 people were killed in attacks across Ukraine, including two teenage girls in Chernihiv and three people in a residential building in the Poltava region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the Dnipro attack and called for stronger sanctions against Russia. The strike follows a series of attacks on Ukraine’s transport and energy infrastructure which the Ukrainians have been unable to thwart as the country faces a critical shortage of air defence missiles. US President Donald Trump waived several sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales earlier this month.
The escalation comes as Russia and Ukraine observe a separate, six-day humanitarian ceasefire around Russian-controlled Oleshky. Neither side has reported violations, although Russian strikes elsewhere have continued. US-mediated peace talks are expected to resume next month.
Sources: Al Jazeera, CNN
Iran said three oil tankers struck mines and caught fire while using an unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz as a British maritime agency reported a vessel burning near Oman. The tankers were unidentified and the claims unverified. It is unclear whether the reports concern the same vessels.
Attacks on shipping in the strait have reached their highest level since the war began in February, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Oil exports through the waterway fell again last week even though the US Navy has been escorting tankers and enforcing a blockade of Iranian vessels.
The incidents come amid concerns about renewed US strikes after next week’s midterm elections. A third American aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are heading to the region. Iran also claimed to have captured an American drone, an assertion denied by US Central Command.
Sources: Associated Press, DW
Qatar is awaiting Iran’s response to a proposal to restore international inspections of its damaged nuclear facilities in exchange for limited US sanctions relief, as Washington considers renewed military strikes after next week’s midterm elections. Regional mediators are seeking to restart negotiations before a possible US-Israeli bombing campaign.
The proposal would allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to return to Iranian sites, potentially enabling oil sales and the release of frozen funds for humanitarian purchases. Iran has demanded an end to the US naval blockade and access to its funds before nuclear talks, while Washington wants initial concessions over Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said renewed inspections could establish the condition of Iran’s nuclear programme. US President Donald Trump acknowledged talks through mediators but questioned whether they would succeed. Saudi officials have urged Washington to allow more time for diplomacy.
Sources: Axios, Jerusalem Post
China’s Communist Party has promoted military anti-corruption figure Zhang Shengmin to its Politburo, a rare appointment between party congresses that comes amid extensive purges of senior officials. Zhang, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, is now the Politburo’s only military member, restoring the customary representation of the armed forces in the leadership body.
The four-day Central Committee plenum also recorded its lowest attendance since the Cultural Revolution era. Just 162 of its original 205 full members attended, while the party confirmed the expulsion of 33 full members and alternates. The committee now has 191 voting members, down from 205 when its term began in 2022.
The party confirmed its next congress for the second half of 2027, when President Xi Jinping is expected to secure another term and appoint a new leadership team. His anti-corruption campaign has removed senior military commanders and officials across the party.
Sources: Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal
Russian President Vladimir Putin used the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow to seek deeper political, economic and military ties with the continent, as Moscow works to counter Western pressure over its war in Ukraine. Delegations from 48 African countries attended the two day gathering, including 22 national leaders.
Putin accused Western countries of exploiting African resources and imposing predatory debt terms, while presenting Russia as a partner willing to share technology and develop local production. He offered cooperation on transport and agricultural infrastructure and called for greater African influence in the IMF and World Bank.
Russia’s trade with African countries exceeded $27 billion last year, while grain deliveries reached more than 18 million tonnes. Putin said Moscow has military cooperation agreements with 45 African countries. Russian military contractors remain active on the continent, alongside companies pursuing investments in mining, energy and logistics.
Sources: France 24, ABC News
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will step down on 7 February, eight months before her term expires, saying the neutrality required by her position prevents her from speaking openly about world affairs. Her departure allows European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, to select a successor before France’s presidential election, in which Marine Le Pen leads polling.
The announcement came as the ECB held interest rates unchanged while warning that rising energy costs threatened inflation. Lagarde’s successor will inherit concerns about French debt and nervous bond markets, alongside a contested political environment.
European Council President António Costa said the selection process would begin immediately. Former central bank governors Klaas Knot of the Netherlands and Pablo Hernández de Cos of Spain are viewed as leading candidates. Markets showed little reaction, although some European politicians questioned the timing of Lagarde’s departure ahead of the French vote.
Sources: Japan Times, Wall Street Journal
Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro has declared himself the country’s leader from the United States, drawing both criticism & derision from allies and opponents after losing Sunday’s election to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The senator initially called himself Brazil’s “true president” before revising his statement, having left the country via Argentina and Ecuador despite an order to surrender his passports amid ongoing investigations.
Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas rejected the challenge to the result, saying the electorate’s decision must be respected. Rogerio Marinho, Bolsonaro’s campaign coordinator, said there was no evidence of electoral fraud, while electoral court chief Kassio Nunes Marques defended the voting process.
Bolsonaro says he will lead the opposition from abroad but his position within the right is increasingly contested. His Liberal Party will hold the largest number of congressional seats from February, while party leader Valdemar Costa Neto said the organisation needed to move forward.
Sources: South China Morning Post, Straits Times
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has ordered around 70,000 police and gendarmes onto the streets for Saturday’s Halloween protests, warning of a very high risk of disorder. Demonstrations will be permitted but not in city centres, while authorities plan to ban evening gatherings promoted by radical groups online.
The deployment follows widespread rioting, looting and vandalism on October 17. Last Saturday, 410,000 people joined marches under a large police operation, although some street violence continued. Police tactics have drawn criticism, with several teenage protesters injured.
Student unions and the Yellow Vest movement are calling for further demonstrations over living costs, inequality and public services. Labour leaders have also urged a nationwide strike on November 5. Representatives of youth organisations met Nuñez on Thursday but criticised his response to allegations of police violence. The unrest comes six months before France’s presidential election, with Marine Le Pen leading opinion polls.
Sources: Reuters, Le Monde
An appeals court has ruled that Erin Patterson must spend the rest of her life in prison, rejecting her challenge to three murder convictions and removing the possibility of parole. The 52-year-old was originally sentenced to life with a 33-year non-parole period after serving relatives a meal containing poisonous death cap mushrooms in 2023.
Patterson was convicted of murdering her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived after weeks in hospital. Her lawyers challenged the fairness of the trial, including arrangements placing jurors in the same hotel as prosecution figures.
Victoria’s Court of Appeal dismissed all seven grounds of challenge and upheld the prosecution’s appeal against her sentence. Justice Stephen McLeish described the killings as extraordinarily cold and calculated, saying the original sentence did not reflect the seriousness of the offending. Patterson can seek a further appeal in the High Court.
Sources: BBC, The Guardian
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On this day …
On this day in 2015, China announced the end of its longstanding one-child policy, permitting all married couples to have two children. Introduced nationally in 1980 to restrain population growth, the policy had profoundly influenced Chinese society, family structures and demographic trends.
By 2015, declining birth rates, an ageing population and a shrinking working-age population had prompted concerns about the country’s long-term economic prospects. The government subsequently relaxed restrictions further, allowing three children per family in 2021.
The policy’s legacy continues to shape China’s demographic and economic outlook.
Can governments reverse long term population trends once they have become embedded in society?