Train crash in Spain and Putin praising Musk – daily digest
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Train crash in Spain and Putin praising Musk – daily digest
A major train crash occurred in Spain for the second time this year. On October 28, south of Madrid, near the city of Toledo, a high-speed train collided with another train parked on the track.
At least 68 people were killed and 80 were injured as a result of the crash. 15 of them are in critical condition. At the time of the collision, there were 147 passengers on the stopped Iryo train and 397 passengers on the Renfe train that hit it. At least three carriages fell down the railway embankment. Rescuers are still searching for victims among the carriages.
According to the Spanish Transport Minister, a red signal lit up due to a failure in the computer communication system, and movement stopped automatically. However, after that, an erroneous decision was made to dispatch the Renfe train again. Renfe stated that its train resumed movement after receiving permission. The railway infrastructure operator has not yet commented.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the tragedy will be investigated and identified deficiencies will be eliminated.
"If safety needs to be further reinforced to restore trust in our high-speed rail system, we will do so. Because it is unacceptable for a country like Spain to experience two high-speed train crashes in one year," he said.
In January 2026, on the exact same route, a crash involving trains from the same companies killed 46 people. Back then, a train derailed and collided with a train coming from the opposite direction.
Russia has begun creating a satellite internet alternative to the US Starlink system, but it still remains far behind in this regard. Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged this on October 28, calling Elon Musk a genius.
Putin listened to a presentation by the Minister of Digital Development on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow. The minister stated that Russia had launched over 30 satellites as part of the "Rassvet" project.
"Wait a minute, I want to emphasize this: this is our first step. Elon Musk is a genius, he is a real genius," Putin said.
In response to Putin's question, the minister said that more than 5,000 of Musk's satellites were operational. According to the BBC, this number is actually much higher – the Starlink system has launched nearly 13,000 satellites.