Times Of India
tisdag 3 november 2026
After the train crash – Spain’s Transport Minister resigns
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente is resigning following last week’s train crash, in which 69 people died, reports *El País*.
In January, another train crash occurred near Adamuz in southern Spain, resulting in 46 deaths.
“A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in his post after two accidents have occurred in less than a year,” Puente stated in the Spanish parliament on Tuesday.
At the same time, he maintains that the high-speed railway line between Madrid and Sevilla—the site of the accident—is “not abandoned or forgotten infrastructure.”
Puente points out that the government has initiated a renovation plan worth 780 million euros.
Following the accident, the Transport Minister has pledged to work “tirelessly” to restore confidence in Spain’s high-speed rail network, reports AFP.
He has served as Transport Minister in the Spanish Socialist government since 2023. Óscar Puente has also announced that he will not stand as a candidate in the upcoming Spanish elections.
The accident, which took place in the Toledo region of Spain last week, occurred when a high-speed train traveling from Madrid to Sevilla collided with another high-speed train that was stationary on the tracks.
The following day, Óscar Puente stated that the train accident was caused by human error, as an “inexplicable” order was issued from a central control center for Spain’s trains after a safety syst
Opposition kräver nyval för att slippa Fico
Several members of parliament in Slovakia have withdrawn their support for Prime Minister Robert Fico’s governing coalition.
Following these announcements, the opposition is calling for new elections.
The controversial Prime Minister Fico regained power in the EU nation of Slovakia in 2023 after successfully forming a coalition government. At the same time, he has signaled an openness to, among other things, increased engagement with Moscow.
However, Fico’s power base has eroded recently, as several former supporters of the government have turned their backs on him. Former Environment Minister Tomas Taraba—who was removed from office following a vote of no confidence—has already launched a party that challenges Fico.
According to the opposition, Fico no longer commands a majority in the 150-seat parliament, with only 75 members still supporting him.
Fico was first appointed Prime Minister in 2006.
Florida hit by half a meter of rain – in just 48 hours
More than half a meter of rain poured down over Florida in the span of two days.
That is more rain than Stockholm receives in an entire year.
“In the future, weather events like this will become even more likely,” says Lasse Rydqvist, a meteorologist at Klart.
Major flooding has struck Florida following heavy downpours on Sunday and Monday.
Klart meteorologist Lasse Rydqvist explains that warm air and moisture in the atmosphere caused intense rain and thunderstorm cells to form repeatedly over the same area. The rain brought flash floods, leading to road closures and the emergency closure of schools.
State of emergency declared
On Monday, state Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in seven areas: Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin, and St. Lucie, according to the television station WFTV.
“I live here, and I have never seen it rain this much, continuously, for more than 24 hours—and usually, we only see this kind of rain during a hurricane. This has been terrible,” writes meteorologist Max Velocity in a Facebook post.
At least one person has been found dead inside their vehicle in Palm Bay following the floods, the Palm Bay Police Department confirms.
Torrential floods replace streets
The Greek island of Rhodes has also been hit by torrential rain. There, streets turned into torrents following Monday’s heavy rain. The weather on the island is the result of cold air currents that have moved down over Southern Europe.
The weather phenomena behind the two flooding events are distinct from one another, and it is arguably too early to draw links to climate change, according to Rydqvist.
However, researchers have established that a changing climate causes weather systems to move more slowly, which results in higher volumes of precipitation falling over specific areas.
Rain is “dumped”
Rydqvist uses the analogy of a jump rope: if you move it more slowly, it swings with a wider arc—effectively “dumping” more precipitation in specific locations rather than spreading it out. Furthermore, climate change contributes to increased moisture in the atmosphere, which can fuel both types of extreme weather.
“This means we will see more intense downpours that deliver heavier rainfall than would have been the case in the past—for instance, 40 years ago,” says Rydqvist.
Society must adapt
The heightened risk of downpours—combined with warmer summers and drier ground that is less capable of absorbing large quantities of water—suggests that flooding events like those seen in Florida and Rhodes may become increasingly common in the future.
“Societies will have to adapt to these consequences. We need to ensure that water can be effectively drained away, which will require the construction of appropriate infrastructure.”
King Charles expresses sorrow over slavery
In a statement, Britain’s King Charles III describes the transatlantic slave trade as a “terrible injustice.” However, he does not offer an apology.
These remarks were made on Tuesday during the opening of the Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda.
“This shameful chapter in history fills my heart with horror and my soul with the profoundest personal sorrow,” the British monarch said during the meeting. Ahead of the trip, Buckingham Palace had indicated that the King would not issue a formal apology for slavery.
The statement follows comments by British politician Andy Burnham, who suggested that the UK should apologize for its role in the slave trade—a practice that enriched the nation over the course of centuries.
The British slave trade was abolished in 1833.
Millions offered for information on drug kingpin with powerful friends
Two million euros—nearly 22 million Swedish kronor—is being offered to anyone who helps the Dutch police locate a notorious drug kingpin.
This record-breaking sum is for information leading to the arrest of Jos Leijdekkers, one of Europe’s most wanted drug smugglers.
The 35-year-old is believed to be in the West African nation of Sierra Leone. He has reportedly appeared in photographs alongside the country’s president, Julius Maada Bio—with whose daughter Leijdekkers is rumored to have a child. In a statement, Dutch prosecutors described his capture as a “top priority.”
Leijdekkers is considered a key figure in the international cocaine trade. In 2024, a court in Rotterdam sentenced him in absentia to 24 years in prison. Additionally, he has been sentenced to 79 years in prison in Belgium.
According to Dutch authorities, any information provided will be kept confidential from the public.
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