News Archives - Metro Plus

Spain mourns after latest train tragedy kills 68

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 05:02:00 +0000

Spain began three days of mourning on Oct 29 after its second high-speed rail collision in 2026 killed 68 people and injured scores, with relatives desperately seeking news about their loved ones.
One of Europe’s deadliest train disasters this century has raised fresh questions about safety on Spain’s rail network after the transport minister reported an “error” and “inexplicable circumstances” that led to the crash.
The collision happened in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha in the morning on Oct 28 when a service by state operator Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to private Spanish company Iryo.
Emergency services combed through the wreckage at night to find further victims on the key line linking Madrid with the southern city of Seville, hoisting pieces of mangled metal with cranes, AFP reporters saw.

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New York passes law restricting children’s use of AI chatbots

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:59:00 +0000

The governor of New York state signed a new law on Oct 28 preventing minors from using AI chatbots that act as companions, in one of the broadest moves yet for restricting consumer-facing models.
The law requires chatbot operators, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to verify the ages of users and restrict the use of certain traits by the artificial intelligence interface if the user is under 18.
If used by a minor, chatbots would not be able to produce any content that could leave its user to believe it “is human, alive, or experiences human emotions”, the law states.
It also cannot generate outputs that makes the user think it “has a personal relationship, professional relationship, or an authority figure role”, nor can it frame the content it produces as being a “personal opinion”.

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Australian teenager charged with terrorism, firearm offenses

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:57:00 +0000

A teenager from Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) has been charged with terrorism and firearms offenses, authorities said on Thursday.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP), NT police force and Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) said in a statement that the teenager from the capital of Darwin was arrested on Wednesday following an investigation into violent extremist material suspected of being posted online by an Australian user.
The investigation found that the teenager was the operator of various social media accounts where he allegedly accessed, discussed and posted violent extremist material.
Investigators executed search warrants in Darwin on Wednesday, where they seized documents and electronic devices.
The teenager was subsequently charged with one count each of collecting or making documents likely to facilitate a terrorist act, possessing violent extremist material obtained using a carriage service and possessing or controlling firearms and explosives manufacturing material.

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S. Korea’s special counsel seeks death penalty for ex-President Yoon

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:31:00 +0000

South Korea’s special counsel on Thursday sought the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk-yeol in his appellate trial over insurrection stemming from his 2024 martial law declaration.
The team of Cho Eun-suk, independent counsel in charge of Yoon’s insurrection and other relevant crimes, requested the death penalty for Yoon on charges of orchestrating the insurrection by declaring an unconstitutional emergency martial law despite the absence of war, incident or equivalent national emergencies.
It matched the team’s original sentencing demand from the first-instance trial, where a lower court handed Yoon a life sentence in February.
By law, the insurrection ringleader can only be sentenced to capital punishment or life imprisonment if found guilty.
The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.
The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon in April 2025, officially removing him from office.

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North Korea fires projectile toward sea off east coast, S.Korea military says

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:30:00 +0000

North Korea fired a projectile toward the sea off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Japan’s Coast Guard said the launched projectile could be a ballistic missile and had already fallen into the sea.
Japan’s Defence Ministry also said it had detected a North Korean launch of a possible ballistic weapon, according to Yonhap News Agency.
North Korea last fired ballistic missiles on October 12, amid heightened tension on the inter-Korean border over a mine blast that wounded South Korean soldiers last month.

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El Salvador to send over soldiers to Haiti for rescue while elections postponed

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:29:00 +0000

El Salvador will send over 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to rescue missing personnel and support anti-gang security operations, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, while Haiti’s electoral council postponed planned presidential elections to next year.
The Caribbean’s most populous nation has not held elections since 2016 and its last president was assassinated in 2021. Successive transitional leaders have postponed a vote citing insecurity as armed criminal organizations expand their territories.
Since 2024, foreign troops have deployed under UN-backed security missions intended to help Haitian police secure neighborhoods and pave the way to a secure and credible vote.
In July, Haiti’s electoral council scheduled the long-awaited election for December 13, but earlier this month it announced it was reviewing its schedule, without providing a specific timeframe.

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Taiwan flags ‘obvious’ threat from 50 Chinese vessels in wide sweep of waters

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:28:00 +0000

China has more than 50 navy and other official vessels operating in a wide swathe of sea stretching from southern Japan down to Taiwan and off the Philippines, a senior Taiwan official said, calling the threat level “obvious”.
Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, is stepping up efforts to issue details and maps depicting locations where Chinese warships and Coast Guard vessels operate.
“We’re staying vigilant about their activities,” said Joseph Wu, the secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council. “The simultaneous threat to Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines is obvious.”
Wednesday’s remarks accompanied a map he posted on X showing the locations of 53 ships, 34 of them navy warships, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning.
The carrier and its accompanying battle group were positioned to the east of the Philippines, with other formations off Taiwan’s east and southeast, along with three off the southern coast of Japan, according to the map.
Wu published a similar map on X in May.

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One injured in fire at South Carolina nuclear site; no contamination reported

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:26:00 +0000

A fire on Wednesday at a South Carolina complex that produced plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War left one person with minor injuries, a US Department of Energy spokesperson said.
The spokesperson, citing officials at the Savannah River Site that includes the Savannah River National Laboratory where the fire was reported, said the fire was extinguished and no contamination has been reported. The spokesperson said the person injured was an employee who was taken to the hospital. The Savannah River Site did not say what caused the fire.

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Airline groups urge US CDC to reconsider Ebola declaration requirements

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:25:00 +0000

Major American and foreign airlines urged the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reconsider new rules requiring all US-bound travelers to attest they have not been in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the prior 21 days.
The International Air Transport Association and Airlines for America, in separate previously unreported letters reviewed by Reuters, urged the CDC to reconsider the plan announced last week that takes effect on November 3 and is aimed at preventing entry by people exposed to Ebola.
“It is unreasonable for the U.S. government to require all airlines serving the U.S. market to modify their procedures to accommodate the collection of attestations from each individual flying to the United States in less than two weeks,” IATA, which represents over 370 member airlines in more than 130 countries, said in the letter dated Tuesday.
The new CDC order requires all US-bound airline passengers and crew members to file digital or paper attestations. The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Judge says Trump bid to set aside Cali ballots would ‘wreak havoc’ on democracy

Metro Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:24:00 +0000

A US judge strongly rebuked the Trump administration on Wednesday by rejecting a request by the Justice Department to temporarily block California from counting mail ballots for the midterm elections from more than 20,000 registered voters the department alleges are likely noncitizens.
The decision marks the latest setback for President Donald Trump’s effort to boost the federal government’s role in elections ahead of the November 3 midterms, with his Republican Party locked in a tight battle to retain control of both houses of Congress.
US District Judge David Carter issued the decision after a hearing on Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court over the Justice Department’s request for a temporary restraining order barring officials from counting any ballots from the individuals it flagged.

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