SPAIN
Cable theft delays trains
Thousands of rail passengers were hit with delays after the cable used in the signaling system of the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville was stolen at four locations, authorities said yesterday. The theft, which happened late on Sunday, affected dozens of trains traveling between Madrid and Andalucia, just as many people were returning home to the capital after a holiday weekend. Railway infrastructure company ADIF said on X that the high-speed train connecting Madrid and cities in the south was expected to resume service at about 9:30am from Madrid and in Seville, Malaga and Granada. State-owned railway operator Renfe said in a radio interview that services should return to normal by mid-morning yesterday. The cable theft took place at four points on the high-speed line in Toledo, ADIF said.
VENEZUELA
Protester dies in prison
A man detained during protests following President Nicolas Maduro’s controversial re-election last year has died in state custody, an opposition leader and a non-governmental organization (NGO) said. Lindomar Amaro, 27, was arrested for “inciting hatred, harassment, and possession of a weapon of war,” a military report said, and was being held in Tocoron prison, a maximum-security facility in the state of Aragua. The Venezuela-based Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners on Sunday said that Amaro died in prison on Saturday. “The reported cause was hanging inside his cell,” the NGO wrote on X, noting that Amaro had previously “attempted to kill himself.” Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who claimed the opposition’s victory in last year’s presidential elections, accused the president of responsibility for Amaro’s death. “This is one of the most horrendous crimes this regime has committed. Let no one doubt it: this death has ONE person responsible: Maduro,” Machado said on X.
CHINA
10 tourists die at sea
Four boats capsized in a sudden storm at a tourist spot in southwestern China, killing 10 people, state media said yesterday. More than 80 people fell into a river when strong winds hit the scenic area in Guizhou Province late on Sunday afternoon, China Travel Television (CCTV) said. The boats capsized after a sudden rain and hail storm on the upper reaches of the Wu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River. In one video shared by state media, a man could be seen performing CPR on another person, while one of the vessels drifted upside down. Initial reports said two tourist boats had capsized, but state media yesterday said that four boats were involved. The other two boats had no passengers, and the seven crew members were able to save themselves, CCTV said.
KENYA
President fends off shoe
President William Ruto fended off a shoe thrown at him during a speech about the cost of living which has been a source of public anger, videos shared on social media showed. Ruto has been compelled to abandon tax hikes and invite opposition members into his Cabinet, but discontent remains high. At a rally on Sunday in Migori County, Ruto blocked the flying footwear with his arm and did not appear to be injured, according to three videos. “We have said we are reducing the price of fertilizer, true or false?” he said as the shoe bounced off him, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Minister of the Interior Kipchumba Murkomen said police had arrested three people, the Star newspaper reported.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
SKEPTICAL: Given the challenges, which include waste disposal and potential domestic opposition, experts warn that the 2032 nuclear timeline is overambitious Indonesia is hoping going nuclear can help it meet soaring energy demand while taming emissions, but faces serious challenges to its goal of a first small modular reactor by 2032. Its first experiment with nuclear energy dates to February 1965, when then-Indonesian president Sukarno inaugurated a test reactor. Sixty years later, Southeast Asia’s largest economy has three research reactors, but no nuclear power plants for electricity. Abundant reserves of polluting coal have so far met the enormous archipelago’s energy needs, but “nuclear will be necessary to constrain the rise of and eventually reduce emissions,” said Philip Andrews-Speed, a senior research fellow at the
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