00:01Following Wednesday's deadly train crashed south of the Spanish capital Madrid,
00:05which killed at least 74 people and injured more than 100 others.
00:11Investigators have uncovered new details about what happened.
00:14According to the latest findings, a few minutes prior to the incident,
00:18an IT failure disrupted communications and caused the LZB safety system to fail.
00:24The collision, which happens just before 9am on the Madrid-Savir high-speed line,
00:29took place near the town of Urda in the central Spanish province of Toledo.
00:34The AV train, run by Remfi, ran into the back of an IRIO train that was stationary on the same
00:40track.
00:41The LZB safety system transmits information between railway infrastructure
00:45and trains to monitor traffic and maintain safe distances.
00:49But alternative procedures are in place to manage train movements,
00:53according to a reconstruction published by the Ministry of Transport and Communications,
00:58a controller authorised the AV driver to resume his journey under normal running conditions,
01:04even though the main signalling system had failed.
01:07The government has initially suggested possible human error at Ajif's control centre,
01:12but responsibility has not yet been determined.
01:16Now investigators will need to establish whether operating protocols were correctly followed
01:21and why the AV was given authorisation to resume its journey.
01:31At least 14 people were killed after a Russian drone struck a platform at a railway station
01:37in the central eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, where a train was standing, authorities said on Thursday.
01:45Ukraine's national police put the number of injured at least 10.
01:50This is not the first time Russian drone strikes have disrupted Ukraine's railway network.
01:55In September alone, passengers were evacuated for more than 5,800 train services
02:01due to the threat of Russian drone attacks, the national railway operator told AFP.
02:06Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike as horrific, saying Russian forces had attacked a platform
02:14where a regular commuter train and a regular passenger train were standing.
02:19Zelenskyy said the Russian drone strike on Dnipro showed that fair and decisive actions by America and Europe
02:26are needed against Russian escalation.
02:33The European Commission has opened a new round of low-interest defence loans
02:38and is urging member states to spend them on joint ventures with Ukraine
02:43as Kiev faces a €70 billion budget gap.
02:47On Thursday, €21.3 billion of unspent funding under the Security Action for Europe, SAFE, was made available,
02:55with the Commission hoping to steer some of it towards Ukraine.
02:59This will further support our member states to address urgent defence needs
03:04and we encourage them to use these remaining funds in ways that can help meet Ukraine's urgent needs.
03:12Some figures about SAFE's success.
03:13So far, 19 member states have requested more than €130 billion so far.
03:20All national plans have been approved by the Commission.
03:22We have already signed 16 loan agreements out of these 19 plans
03:28and 11 member states have already received pre-financing worth more than €13 billion.
03:35SAFE was created to help the EU countries urgently boost their defence capabilities and industrial output
03:42in response to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine
03:45and growing doubts over US security guarantees during Donald Trump's second term.
03:51Several member states, most notably Italy, Hungary and France, borrowed far less than anticipated.
03:58That left a pot of unspent money, which the Commission has now reopened through a second round of calls running
04:05until November the 13th.
04:12The EU and Canada want to bring their relationship to the highest level possible as they face a world of
04:19growing rivalries,
04:19Chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday ahead of a meeting with Canadian leader Mark Carney.
04:26The two-day summit is expected to launch an alliance for the future, a framework for closer cooperation on trade,
04:33defence, critical minerals, technology and research.
04:36First, it means close alignment on policies.
04:41We can work on everything from AI and climate to energy and security, you just name it.
04:48Second, it means close alignment on governance.
04:52It means more work shared by the European Commission and the Canadian government, for example.
05:00The cooperation could also entail parliament to parliament between our two parliaments and court to court.
05:10And third, this means close alignment on each other's programmes.
05:14Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has suggested Canada's proposed arrangement with the EU could be a hostile act and threatened
05:22tariffs on Europe.
05:24If he considered the move unfriendly, the US President's punishing tariffs, threats of annexation and affinity for Russia have left
05:31Europeans battered
05:33and increasingly distrustful of any policy with Washington's mark, pushing Canada and the EU to become closer than ever.
05:45Christine Lagarde will step down as President of the European Central Bank on February the 7th, 2027.
05:51The bank announced on Thursday, about nine months before her eight-year term was due to end.
05:58The news was announced in a statement by the bank's governing council, which thanked her for her service.
06:05European Council President António Costa was quick to praise Lagarde, who took office as ECB president in November 2019,
06:13after eight years as managing director of the IMF.
06:17Her successor will be appointed by the European Council, which brings together EU leaders.
06:23The ECB gave no reason for her departure.
06:26However, with this early departure, Lagarde is paving the way for the French President Emmanuel Macron
06:32to play a part in appointing her successor ahead of next spring's presidential election in France.
06:38Poles currently have far-right candidate Marine Le Pen as the front-runner, with hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon
06:45in second.
06:51More than a dozen EU countries have pushed back against European Commission plans to make electricity cheaper than gas through
06:59preferential taxation,
07:01warning that Brussels is overstepping its powers.
07:03At a meeting of EU energy ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday, those member states called for the controversial provision to
07:11be scrapped.
07:12The proposal is part of the Commission's efforts to encourage households and businesses to switch from fossil fuels to electricity,
07:19but the rising cost of expanding and operating Europe's electricity grid is increasingly being passed on to consumers through higher
07:28bills.
07:28The Commission proposal comes amid an energy crisis exacerbated since the US-Israeli war against Iran, which has seen prices
07:36soaring.
07:37The strongest opposition centred on the Commission's plan to let it set common rules for how electricity grid charges are
07:45calculated across the EU
07:47without having to seek fresh approval from member states and the European Parliament each time.
07:52Some countries argued that the plan would undermine the independence of national regulators over decisions that they believe should be
08:00made at national level.
08:01The Irish presidency, currently mediating EU negotiations, says it wants a compromise on network charges in December.
08:14U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has sent a letter to Iran's top national security official Mohsen Rezaei in
08:22an effort to revive peace negotiations.
08:25This comes as President Donald Trump considers launching a new round of military strikes against Iran after next week's U
08:33.S. midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported.
08:36The letter sent at Trump's direction is aimed at determining whether the U.S. and Iran can find enough common
08:43ground for Trump to hold off on strikes described by officials as short but intense on Tehran.
08:50Media outlet Axios separately reported that Vance emphasized in his letter that any negotiations aimed at preventing renewed U.S.
08:58military strikes would have to address Iran's nuclear program.
09:02But on Wednesday, when asked about the matter, Trump denied giving such instruction, saying the contact was primarily intended to
09:10facilitate the delivery of medical supplies to Iran.
09:14Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arachi said that Tehran remained willing to give diplomacy a chance while its armed forces
09:23stood ready to defend the country.
09:25On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Qatar presented Iran with a draft deal to end the war.
09:31But a senior Iranian official said it was unacceptable ideas, not a formal proposal.
09:42Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has declared his readiness to engage in peace talks with Israel's new government.
09:50Abbas is visiting Cyprus, where, during a meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, he called on him
09:56to act as mediator.
09:59Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis had earlier expressed his willingness to help the Palestinian people in whatever way he could.
10:06The meeting is, Mr. President, that is, Mr. President, is very important and active in our area.
10:13How can we work from the public, all within a positive cooperation, to develop safety measures and stability in the
10:22area.
10:23And of course, we are also in the position of Palestine, so that we can defend any role that we
10:31think is necessary for the Syrian democracy and to achieve our efforts.
10:35Mahmoud Abbas responded to the Cypriot president a short while later
10:39during a working lunch attended by delegations from both sides.
11:05So I would like you, and you would like to thank the two partners
11:13to enter between us, and we are ready for a political solution
11:19that has been made on the European Union and the European Union
11:24that has been created by the European Union.
