Two high-speed trains collided near Urda in Toledo province on Wednesday morning, killing at least 68 people and injuring about 80, in Europe's deadliest rail disaster since 2013 and Spain's second deadly high-speed crash this year. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer communications failure shut down the automatic train control system along a 63-kilometre stretch, after which the control centre authorised a Renfe train to resume running despite an active red signal, a decision he called "inexplicable". Spain declared three days of national mourning, and the disaster has shaken the re-election campaign of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez ahead of the November 29 vote.
Background: The same line saw another deadly crash nine months earlier, fuelling accusations of underinvestment in rail infrastructure.
Vance reaches out to Iranian hard-liner in bid to restart peace talks, alongside Trump's post-midterm strike warnings
🐱 Scout diplomat · Vance reaches out to Iranian hard-liner
Vice President JD Vance has written to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a former long-serving Revolutionary Guard commander, to test whether Washington and Tehran can find enough common ground to persuade President Donald Trump not to order a short, intense attack on Iran in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported. Trump confirmed on Wednesday evening that he approved Vance's request to make contact, saying Iran needs help with medical supplies and other needs. The letter, sent at Trump's direction, focuses on a possible framework for negotiations rather than specifics of a peace proposal; Rezaei said last week Iran would not negotiate until core demands are met.
Background: The morning edition reported Washington warning allies to prepare for a possible resumption of strikes after the midterms; the Vance channel runs in parallel with that military pressure.
Israel : Count at about 90% leaves Netanyahu bloc on 53, Arab parties on 19 as kingmakers
🐱 Scout anchor · Israel vote count nears completion, still no majority
With about 90% of votes counted in Israel's election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats and Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc 48, while Arab parties together hold a record 19 seats; neither side reaches the 61 needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, and certified results are expected around midday on Thursday. Reuters outlines two paths out of the deadlock: Netanyahu peeling away opposition defectors, or Eisenkot forming a minority government propped up by the Arab parties, which would require him to reverse his campaign pledge not to rely on them. (Follow-up)
Background: The morning edition reported the count past 86% at 53 seats to 48; the seat totals have held as counting advanced, and coalition arithmetic is now the focus.
Riyadh airport : Saudi coalition intercepts Houthi missile aimed at Eastern Province; air cargo still at 6%
🐱 Scout field reporter · Saudi coalition intercepts Houthi missile
The Saudi-led coalition said on Thursday it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthis toward the kingdom's Eastern Province; the Houthis said earlier this week they had targeted the Ras Tanura refinery there with a ballistic missile. Saudi civil defence issued emergency alerts in Najran and the Eastern Province but later confirmed the danger had passed with no casualties reported. Air cargo capacity at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport remains at only about 6% of normal levels despite Terminals 1 and 2 formally reopening, as foreign airlines keep services suspended. (Follow-up)
Background: The morning edition reported nearly 90% of Riyadh flights cancelled between October 8 and 25; the latest interception extends the Houthi campaign against Saudi targets.
Political developments and international relations
Brazil : Electoral court chief declares vote lawful as Bolsonaro rebrands himself "true leader"
Brazil's Superior Electoral Court President Kassio Nunes Marques declared on Wednesday that the 2026 presidential election complied fully with legal and constitutional requirements, noting only 34,300 ballots were cast after the extended deadline, far short of Lula's margin of more than 4 million votes. Flávio Bolsonaro, now in Miami, deleted an open letter calling himself "president-elect" and replaced it with a statement declaring himself Brazil's "true leader", while insisting he did not flee Brazil but left "for the sake of Brazil"; Lula criticised the secrecy surrounding his departure. (Follow-up)
Background: The morning edition reported Bolsonaro's arrival in Miami after defying a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports; the court's formal rebuttal is the new turn.
Hungary's new government keeps Orban-era US nuclear deal; parliament expected to approve
Hungary's government has asked parliament to make legally binding the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States signed by Viktor Orban's government in February, signalling that Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who ousted Orban in April, will stick with the deal despite Washington's open backing for his predecessor before the vote. The agreement covers civilian nuclear energy including small modular reactors and encourages Hungary to select US technology and companies as main suppliers for new projects; Magyar's government holds a two-thirds majority, so approval is likely.
Background: Foreign Minister Anita Orban arrived in Washington on Thursday to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio and sign memorandums on energy and law enforcement cooperation.
Central banks diverge: Canada hikes to 2.50% while New Zealand unexpectedly holds
The Bank of Canada raised rates 25 basis points to 2.50%, broadly in line with expectations, with a limited reaction in the loonie; the Reserve Bank of New Zealand surprised markets by holding its benchmark rate despite widespread expectations of another increase, prompting a sharp fall in the New Zealand dollar. The decisions came a day after the Federal Reserve held at 3.75%–4.00% in a 10–2 vote, with markets now pricing higher odds of a December hike and the 10-year Treasury yield near 5.02%.
Background: The morning edition reported the Fed's hold with two hawkish dissents in favour of a hike.
UK's Healey: welfare bill will fall by next election, but budget leaves long-term problem untouched
British finance minister John Healey told the BBC on Thursday that welfare spending will be lower by the time of the next election, saying "there will be a reduction in the benefits bill" delivered "in a Labour way", with a focus on young people out of work. His first budget on Wednesday offered short-term household support and raised taxes on banks, savers and landlords, but did not address the welfare bill for pensioners and working-age people in poor health, set to cost more than 11% of economic output this year.
Background: The morning edition reported Healey's first budget, including a bank surcharge rise to 6% and a £100 energy payment per household.
Tech companies, research breakthroughs and digital policy
Markets grade the AI trade on cash flow: Microsoft rises, Alphabet slides more than 10%
Investors punished Alphabet and rewarded Microsoft in the first session after both reported quarterly results: Alphabet slid about 10.5% in premarket trading after reporting negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion and capital spending of up to $205 billion for the year, while Microsoft climbed about 3.5% on a big cash-flow beat and strong cloud growth. Nasdaq 100 futures fell about 1.2% as software names also slid, with Fortinet down 25.4% and ServiceNow down 19% after their own results.
Background: The morning edition reported Azure up 48% and Google Cloud more than doubling, with both companies pouring tens of billions into AI infrastructure.
Oracle caps fundraising at $20 billion through FY2030, shares jump about 11%
Oracle said it would restrict additional fundraising to $20 billion through fiscal 2030 and gave strong fiscal 2030 guidance of revenue of $225 billion or more, sending its shares up about 11%. The pledge of funding discipline stood out in a session dominated by worries over unchecked AI infrastructure spending, alongside Microsoft's cash-flow beat.
Background: Alphabet's capital spending reached nearly $51.4 billion in the quarter with free cash flow turning negative, sharpening scrutiny of every hyperscaler's spending.
Military developments, security situations and conflicts
North Korea fires projectile toward sea off east coast; Seoul and Tokyo suspect ballistic missile
North Korea fired a projectile toward the sea off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said; Japan's Coast Guard and Defence Ministry said the projectile could be a ballistic missile and had already fallen into the sea. It was Pyongyang's first ballistic missile launch since October 12 and more than its tenth missile test this year, amid heightened inter-Korean tension after a mine blast wounded South Korean soldiers last month.
Background: Missile testing has continued through the year despite the tense border situation.
Russian official takes US journalists to besieged Oleshky as US-brokered ceasefire holds
A top Russian official, human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova, was en route to the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky on Thursday with four journalists from the US outlet Newsmax, while her Ukrainian counterpart also headed to the area, under a US-brokered six-day ceasefire that took effect early on Tuesday. The Kremlin said it hoped humanitarian relief would reach the area on Thursday or Friday, with demining under way; neither side has reported violations so far. The truce, brokered by First Lady Melania Trump with the involvement of Pope Leo, covers Oleshky and the wider Kherson region.
Background: Trapped residents in Oleshky have faced regular shelling and severe shortages of food and medicine, with Moscow and Kyiv blaming each other.
Reuters investigation: Iran's 5,000-plus secret military agencies slipped at least $2 billion of hardware past US blockade
A Reuters investigation found Iran created a secret network of more than 5,000 military agencies that imported at least $2 billion in hardware, explosives and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025, evading the US naval blockade and Western sanctions. A single agency, MOD 346428, imported large quantities of rocket propellants, explosives and weapons components critical for drones and missiles, much of it recorded as originating in China, Russia and Germany. The agencies share a Tehran address with the Ministry of Defense and are tied in some cases to the Revolutionary Guard and elite-controlled conglomerates.
Background: The findings address a central mystery of the war: how the Revolutionary Guard replenishes missile and drone arsenals while firing them in their thousands.
Cyclone Arnab : Official death toll rises to 6, 15,000 power poles down, cargo ship still grounded
At least six people were killed and power supply remained disrupted along India's eastern coast on Thursday, one day after Cyclone Arnab barrelled through the region; The Times of India, citing local officials, put the toll at nine, with deaths caused by electrocution and collapsing trees and houses. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said at least 15,000 electricity poles were damaged, with power restored in most districts except Konaseema and West Godavari. A Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel with 20 crew aboard remained grounded off Andhra Pradesh because of rough seas, after more than 180,000 people were evacuated ahead of landfall. (Follow-up)
Background: The morning edition reported five deaths and the storm weakening to a deep depression; the revised toll and damage scale are the substantive new developments.
El Salvador sends 2,000 troops to Haiti to rescue four missing soldiers
El Salvador has sent 2,000 troops to Haiti to try to recover four military personnel who went missing in an ambush on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. The troops are attempting a rescue in a security environment where foreign forces themselves face attack.
Background: Haiti's gang violence has repeatedly targeted foreign security personnel deployed to stabilise the country.
China's Communist Party confirmed the expulsion of 33 senior officials and unexpectedly elevated top general Zhang Shengmin to the elite Politburo during a four-day conclave focused on tightening internal discipline, Reuters reported. The gathering, the Party's Fifth Plenum since the current leadership cohort was formed in 2022, also set the 21st Party Congress for the second half of 2027 in Beijing. Only 279 full and alternate members of the Central Committee attended, against 376 originally named in 2022, the highest absence rate of the post-Mao era, underscoring the scale of the anti-corruption campaign.
Background: The plenum is the Party's top decision-making gathering between congresses, and its personnel moves set up the twice-a-decade leadership contest.
US adds BGI and MGI Tech to Uyghur forced labour list; Beijing condemns move
The United States added three Chinese medical equipment makers, MGI Tech, BGI Genomics and Shenzhen BGI Technology, to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List on Wednesday, Reuters reported; US Customs is instructed to block their goods unless exporters rebut the presumption of forced labour. China's commerce ministry condemned the move on Thursday, saying it ran contrary to the consensus between the two heads of state and that Beijing would safeguard its interests. MGI Tech and BGI Genomics rejected the allegations.
Background: The list targets entities Washington says use or facilitate forced labour of Uyghurs and other minorities or source material from Xinjiang; Beijing rejects the allegations as groundless.
