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Spain mourns as death toll in Toledo high-speed train crash reportedly rises to 69

A Spanish AVE high-speed train (file photo)
Stock image: Fedekuki / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Spain began three days of national mourning on Thursday, 29 October 2026, after a high-speed train reportedly ran into the back of a stationary train near the town of Urda in the central province of Toledo on Wednesday. The regional leader of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, said the death toll had risen to 69 after another body was found overnight.

What happened

According to reports, the moving train struck the stationary one from behind, and three carriages came off the tracks. On Thursday morning, rescue teams with sniffer dogs were still searching the wreckage, while cranes lifted carriages and police officers and soldiers combed the site. The number of people injured has not been confirmed in the reports seen so far, and the cause of the collision has not been announced.

What the government said

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the scene and promised a full investigation as well as safety improvements on the railways. He reportedly said Spain must strengthen train safety to win back public trust in high-speed rail, and said it was unacceptable for the country to suffer two high-speed accidents in a single year.

Background

The crash is Spain's second deadly high-speed rail disaster of 2026. In January, a train derailed near Adamuz in Andalusia and collided with a train coming the other way, killing dozens of people the first deadly accident on a Spanish high-speed train since the network opened in 1992. Spain has one of the largest high-speed rail systems in the world, and both disasters have raised hard questions about maintenance and signalling.

What happens next

Investigators are expected to examine the signalling and the movements of both trains in the hours before the crash. Further updates on the victims and the injured are expected as families are informed.

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Creators & podcastsReported
Side-by-side photos: VeryDarkMan holding a Ratel power station next to a TV, laptop and fridge, and Blord demonstrating his own power unit with a laptop
Image: social media

Blord vs VDM: who is fooling who? Blord claims his power station can run a fridge, fan, TV and treadmill for 12 hours

A day after VeryDarkMan's Ratel power station ran a TV, fan and fridge for 5 hours 17 minutes in his test, Blord has claimed his 1,000W unit can run a big fridge, an industrial fan, a TV and a treadmill for 12 hours. Nigerians are asking him to back it up with a full, uninterrupted test and to show its battery capacity.

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Barely 24 hours after VeryDarkMan demonstrated the performance of his Ratel power station, Blord has come out with his own claims, and Nigerians are already raising serious questions.

According to Blord, his 1,000W-rated power station can power a big refrigerator, a 128W industrial fan, a television and even a treadmill for 12 solid hours!

Wait a minute! How is that possible?

VDM tested his 1,200W-rated power station, and it lasted 5 hours and 17 minutes under the conditions of his demonstration.

Now Blord is claiming his 1,000W unit can run all those appliances for 12 hours, without showing a complete, uninterrupted test to back up the claim.

Blord, Nigerians need evidence, not just words!

However, there is something important here. A power station's watt rating tells us how much power it can deliver at once, while its battery capacity, measured in watt-hours (Wh), determines how long it can run appliances. So battery life cannot be judged from the 1,000W and 1,200W ratings alone.

Blord, show us the battery capacity, connect all those appliances and let the test run for 12 hours. No editing, no shortcuts!

VDM has shown his demonstration. Nigerians are waiting to see yours.

Do you believe Blord's 12-hour claim, or should he prove it with a proper live test?

Nollywood & celebs
A judge's gavel on a courtroom bench
Stock image: Joe Gratz / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Doris Ogala remanded in Lagos ahead of bail hearing as Sowore condemns detention

Nollywood actress and Abia governorship candidate Doris Ogala has been remanded in a Lagos correctional centre after being arraigned over a complaint filed by Pastor Chris Okafor. Her bail application is due to be heard on Friday. Activist Omoyele Sowore has described the remand as an abuse of state power.

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Nollywood actress Doris Ogala, who is the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate for governor of Abia State in 2027, has been remanded in a correctional centre in Lagos after appearing in court on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. Her application for bail is listed for hearing on Friday, 30 October.

What happened

Ogala was arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos on three counts linked to a complaint by the cleric Pastor Chris Okafor. The charges relate to the alleged publication of photographs, the alleged spreading of false electronic messages and alleged threats against the pastor. She has not been convicted of anything, and the allegations are yet to be tested at trial.

News of the remand first spread on Wednesday afternoon, when comedian Deeone shared it online. Reports differ on which Lagos facility she was taken to. Before she was led away, Ogala posted a short video from the courtroom in which she described the case as a political move aimed at stopping her governorship bid. Clips of the moment she was taken out of court were shared widely on Thursday.

Background

The dispute between Ogala and Okafor has played out on social media for months. It reportedly began after the pastor announced plans to marry another woman, which led Ogala to criticise him publicly. She has since spoken several times about their past relationship. In another video from court, she was also heard telling the judge that her former partner was using the law against her.

How people reacted

Human rights activist and politician Omoyele Sowore condemned the remand in a Facebook post, calling it an abuse of power. He accused the police of repeatedly using the Cybercrimes Act to shield powerful people, argued that what he called a private quarrel should not have become a criminal case, and urged the courts to stay impartial. He also said her rights as a candidate must be protected. Online, fans were divided, with some backing the actress and others saying she should answer the charges in court.

What happens next

All eyes are now on Friday's bail hearing in Lagos. Her party has not yet said how the case will affect her campaign in Abia.

Politics
President Bola Tinubu
Photo: Nosa Asemota / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tinubu leaves for Umrah in Makkah as Atiku and Sowore question the trip

President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja on Thursday for Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah and pray for Nigeria, the Presidency says. Atiku Abubakar's campaign has demanded proof of his daily activities there, while a presidential aide dismissed Omoyele Sowore's claim that the trip is for medical treatment.

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President Bola Tinubu left Abuja on Thursday, 29 October 2026, for Makkah in Saudi Arabia, where the Presidency says he will perform Umrah, the lesser Islamic pilgrimage. The trip has quickly become the latest flashpoint in the race for the 2027 presidential election.

What the Presidency said

Announcing the journey, the President's adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the visit was for spiritual reflection and prayers for Nigeria's peace, unity and progress. Before leaving, Tinubu was scheduled to commission new equipment for the Nigerian Air Force at the Presidential Wing of the Abuja airport. No return date was announced.

Atiku's demands

In a statement issued on Wednesday by Phrank Shaibu, communications director of the ADC presidential campaign, Atiku Abubakar claimed to have information that the President's real destination after a brief stop in Makkah was France. He asked the Presidency to publish daily proof of Tinubu's presence at the holy sites, to say whether the trip was linked to his health, to release the full itinerary and to explain how the journey was being paid for. The statement also raised questions about a reported loan request. Atiku said he would join other Nigerians in praying for the country but insisted the questions be answered.

Sowore's claim and the reply

Activist Omoyele Sowore also claimed the President was travelling for medical care. Responding on X on Thursday, Tinubu's aide on social media, Olusegun Dada, rejected the claim. He pointed to the President's recent schedule, including the flag-off of his re-election campaign in Kaduna, meetings at the State House and a Federal Executive Council meeting, and said a sick man could not keep such a programme. Dada added that Tinubu made similar trips before the APC primary and the general election in 2022.

What happens next

The opposition is expected to keep pressing for details while the President is away, and the Presidency has not said when he will return to Abuja.

Naija news
A Nigeria Police armoured vehicle
Stock image: theglobalpanorama / Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

State police moves closer as 30 state assemblies reportedly back constitution change

Thirty state Houses of Assembly have now approved the constitutional amendment that would allow states to set up their own police, according to Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila. That is well above the 24 needed, and the bill now goes back to the National Assembly before it can be sent to President Tinubu for assent.

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The plan to allow Nigerian states to run their own police forces has crossed a major hurdle. Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President and chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the reform, said 30 state Houses of Assembly have now endorsed the constitutional amendment, comfortably above the 24 required.

What happened

Gbajabiamila gave the update at the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja. He said 24 assemblies had approved the proposal by 23 October, and six more have since joined. Lagos, Niger, Kogi and Ebonyi were among the latest to vote in favour. A full list of the 30 states has not been published.

What happens next

The National Assembly must now collect the state resolutions and send the amendment bill to President Bola Tinubu for his signature. Separately, a draft National Policing Bill and 29 related amendment bills were sent to the Ministry of Justice on 19 October for review. After that review they will go to the President and then to the National Assembly.

The money question

Gbajabiamila stressed that states wanting their own police must show they can pay for it over time, including salaries, training and maintenance, and not just vehicles and equipment. States that are not ready will continue to rely on federal policing. He asked business groups to suggest ways of supporting funding, but warned that private donations must never buy influence over an investigation. Responding to fears that governors could misuse state police against opponents, he said a citizen's right to protection must not depend on who they support or where they come from.

Background

Calls for state police have grown for years amid kidnapping, banditry and communal attacks in many parts of the country. Senate President Godswill Akpabio also defended the reform this week. Earlier in October, only a handful of assemblies had voted, which made the recent rush of approvals a surprise to many observers.