WORLD IN BRIEF: Google loses $500bn, Netanyahu in election row, Morocco’s Laprophan plans IPO and other stories

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Read History Go to My Account Log Out Enhanced by Google World WORLD IN BRIEF: Google loses $500bn, Netanyahu in election row, Morocco’s Laprophan plans IPO and other stories Spain train crash audio raises questions over control centre decisions Leaked audio recordings have raised fresh questions about the decisions

Listen to this article Share Spain train crash audio raises questions over control centre decisions Leaked audio recordings have raised fresh questions about the decisions made by Spain’s railway control centre shortly before a high speed train collision that killed 69 people near Urda.

The recordings, published by Spanish media, capture exchanges between train drivers and the Madrid control centre minutes before the crash. They appear to show that a train travelling from Madrid to Seville was cleared to move despite another train having stopped on the track ahead.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the disaster, one of Europe’s deadliest rail accidents in recent decades. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pledged a thorough investigation, while King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited injured passengers in hospital.

The Renfe train involved was carrying 397 passengers, while the stationary train, operated by private company Iryo, had 147 on board. Spain has begun three days of national mourning as investigators examine a reported automatic signalling failure and the decisions that preceded the collision.

Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and Arab party leaders have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies of trying to undermine the election result after his coalition lost its parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu’s Likud party alleged that Arab-led parties had benefited from bribery and possible foreign interference, prompting an investigation by Israel’s Shin Bet security agency into suspected illegal funding from Qatar and Turkey. Qatar has rejected the allegations as dangerous and baseless.

Final results gave Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, against 48 for Eisenkot’s bloc. The Joint List and Ra’am, two Arab-led political groupings, won a combined 19 seats after a surge in turnout among Arab voters.

Netanyahu’s critics say the allegations could be intended to make cooperation between Eisenkot’s bloc and Arab parties politically difficult. Such an alliance could provide the opposition with its only viable route to forming a governing majority.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, lost more than $500 billion in market value on Thursday as investors reacted to concerns that artificial intelligence could undermine its core search advertising business.

The company’s shares fell to a six-month low after its latest results raised questions about the impact of AI-generated search summaries on advertising sales. Alphabet’s market value dropped to about $3.46 trillion from $3.97 trillion a day earlier.

Revenue rose 25 percent year on year to $127.6 billion, supported by Google Cloud, where revenue more than doubled to nearly $31 billion. However, quarterly profit fell 25 percent, while Alphabet reported negative free cash flow of more than $9 billion.

The sell-off reflects wider investor concerns about the cost of the AI race, with Microsoft and Amazon also planning substantial spending. Investors are increasingly questioning whether heavy investment in AI can sustain growth without weakening established businesses that generate much of the companies’ revenue.

At least 14 people have been killed and several others injured after a Russian drone struck a crowded railway platform in Dnipro, central Ukraine, according to local officials.

Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said at least 14 people were wounded, including an 11-year-old boy. Ukraine’s state railway operator said a passenger train travelling to Zaporizhzhia was at the platform when the drone hit.

Railway officials said a heightened threat level had been announced before the attack, but many people remained at the station. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the drone struck a platform where commuter and passenger trains were standing and called for further sanctions against Russia.

Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s railway network, although Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians. Separately, a Russian missile strike in Chernihiv killed two 15-year-old girls and injured at least 25 others, according to regional officials.

More than 43 million Americans have cast ballots ahead of the US midterm elections, with early voting running at a pace that could surpass participation in previous congressional elections.

Data from the University of Florida Election Lab showed that four to five million votes were being cast daily in the run-up to election day. Political analysts have also reported unusually high turnout in Texas and among Hispanic voters.

Texas has recorded more than 5.8 million early votes, around 1.75 million above its total at the same stage in 2022. The state is a key battleground in the contest for control of the Senate and could help determine the balance of power during President Donald Trump’s term.

In states that record voters’ party affiliations, Democrats accounted for 44 percent of early ballots, compared with 31.2 percent for Republicans and 24.7 percent for voters without a declared party affiliation. The figures cover only states that collect such data and do not establish how unaffiliated voters intend to vote.

Ethiopia has received 12 Su-35 fighter jets from Russia as fighting intensifies in the northern Tigray region, raising concerns about wider regional security tensions.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described the acquisition as a milestone for Ethiopia’s defence capabilities, saying the deal had been agreed several years ago and the aircraft arrived ahead of schedule. He also announced plans to acquire four S-400 air defence systems from Moscow.

Abiy said the equipment would help protect Ethiopia against external threats, including risks to major cities and critical infrastructure such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Military intelligence analyst Qalaab Segatu said the purchase indicated that Ethiopia was preparing for possible conflicts beyond its internal security challenges.

The acquisition deepens military cooperation between Ethiopia and Russia, which signed agreements in recent years covering military training and technology. The deal comes amid heightened tensions in the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia’s strained relations with neighbouring Eritrea.

Twenty-seven Ugandan nationals recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine have been killed or are presumed dead, according to a diplomatic letter from Uganda’s embassy in Moscow.

The letter, seen by Reuters, listed 11 Ugandans confirmed dead and 16 whose bodies could not be located, including among prisoners of war. Uganda’s foreign ministry confirmed the document was authentic, while Russia’s embassy in Kampala did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reports of African nationals being recruited to fight for Russia have increased, with some reportedly promised civilian jobs before being sent to the front lines. The cases have triggered concern in countries including Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.

Ukraine said last year that more than 1,400 people from about three dozen African countries were fighting alongside Russian forces. Moscow has denied illegally recruiting African citizens, as governments across the continent face growing pressure to investigate recruitment networks and protect their nationals.

Three bodies have been recovered after an offshore drilling rig operated by Borr Drilling sank off the coast of Gabon, with two people still missing.

The Prospector 5 rig went down on Saturday near the southern coastal town of Mayumba. Gabon’s navy said the bodies were found on Wednesday, while Borr Drilling confirmed that recovery operations were continuing.

The company said 110 of the 115 people aboard had been accounted for by Monday, leaving five missing. The three bodies were located with the assistance of an underwater remotely operated vehicle.

The rig had been contracted to support drilling operations for BW Energy but had not begun drilling at the time of the incident. Authorities and the company are continuing recovery efforts as questions remain over the circumstances surrounding the sinking.

Moroccan pharmaceutical company Laprophan has secured regulatory approval for an initial public offering on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, seeking to raise 2.22 billion dirhams, or about $230 million.

The offering will combine the issuance of 4.1 million new shares with the sale of up to 2.41 million existing shares by current shareholders. The subscription price has been set at 341 dirhams per share, according to the prospectus published by the market regulator.

The subscription period is scheduled to run from November 9 to 17. The capital increase will provide the company with additional funding, while the sale of existing shares will allow current investors to reduce their holdings.

The listing adds a pharmaceutical company to Morocco’s public equity market as businesses seek access to capital through share sales. The outcome will depend on investor demand during the subscription period.

South Africa has selected Durban as its leading candidate to host the 2036 or 2040 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, with organisers considering a multi-city bid.

Lwandile Simelane, acting president of the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee, announced the choice on Thursday. She said events could also be held in other cities, including Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Durban, a coastal city of about four million people, was previously considered as a possible Olympic host following South Africa’s successful staging of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. An official bid did not materialise at the time, partly because of concerns about the costs involved.

The International Olympic Committee is expected to select the host city for the 2036 Games in mid-2029. South Africa’s proposed bid would place the country back in contention to stage one of the world’s largest sporting events, although funding, infrastructure and the distribution of events across cities will be important considerations.

Faith Omoboye is a foreign affairs correspondent with background in History and International relations. Her work focuses on African politics, diplomacy, and global governance.