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.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
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