International
Trump pens executive order to get ‘transgender ideology’ out of military
President Trump signed multiple executive orders Monday night that could reshape the management and composition of the military, with provisions addressing diversity measures, transgender service members, and troops who were discharged for refusing COVID vaccinations.
He also signed an executive order to establish a process to develop what the administration is calling an American Iron Dome — a missile defense shield for the homeland.
(Iron Dome is the name often used for Israel’s system for intercepting rockets, which was developed with U.S. support.)
Mr. Trump signed the four orders aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington from a stop in Florida.
One of the orders would reinstate members of the military who were discharged for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
About 8,200 service members were discharged for refusing to comply with the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to data provided by the service branches.
However, the mandate was rescinded in January 2023 by the Biden administration, and since then, about 110 service members have rejoined the military.
The president also signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to determine a policy for transgender service members based on readiness within 30 days.
The action does not immediately ban transgender service members, however, it does state that the Defense Department’s policy for troop readiness is “inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria.
“The order also states that identifying as a gender that is inconsistent with one’s biological sex “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and that those doing so “cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
Speaking about his plans at a retreat with House Republicans Monday at his property in Doral, Florida, Mr. Trump said, “To ensure we have the most lethal fighting force in the world, we will get transgender ideology the hell out of our military.
It’s going to be gone.”Another order addresses diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military, banning the use of race- or sex-based preferences in the armed forces, the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department.
“I ordered the end to all of the lawless diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense policies across the government and all across the private sector and the military,” Mr. Trump said at the House GOP retreat.
“We’re getting it out and we’ve gotten it out pretty much. We did that in one week, and it wasn’t that easy, but everybody wanted it.
“Under this order, the defense secretary and homeland security secretary are to review the curriculum at the service academies and other academic institutions to ensure DEI and “gender ideologies” are eliminated.
The president announced plans last week to end DEI initiatives across the federal government, and the Office of Personnel Management ordered all federal DEI employees to be placed on leave.
International
Tens of thousands protest against Narendra Modi regime in Delhi
The protest was one of the largest shows of opposition strength in years, taking place amid a wider resurgence of anti-government dissent which has been systematically crushed over the 12 years of the Modi regime.
Thousands of opposition supporters have gathered in Delhi as protests against the Narendra Modi government continue to gather momentum.
Led by the Congress party, India’s opposition alliance has brought together supporters from across the country, amid growing anger over a large-scale revision of the country’s voter roll that has seen 130 million names erased.
Opposition leaders have alleged the process gives Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) an electoral advantage, and have called for the resignation and impeachment of the chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar.
The BJP has denied the claims.
Addressing tens of thousands of party workers and supporters, the opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said Kumar had “carried out the biggest crime. He has tried to silence the voice of people, strangulate our country.”
Gandhi said the opposition, united under the acronym India (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), would not let “democracy be finished in the country” and warned Modi: “You can’t run anywhere.”
The protest was one of the largest shows of opposition strength in years, taking place amid a wider resurgence of anti-government dissent which has been systematically crushed over the 12 years of the Modi regime.
The Guardian Uk
International
Survivors recount horrors as Spain mourns 68 dead victims of trains crash
Pablo Mejia, 42, escaped with injuries to his head, telling AFP that a last-minute change of seat saved his life.
• AFP photo showing truck crane operating at the site of a train crash between two high-speed units, a Renfe AVE train and an Iryo train around 150 km south of Madrid between Urda and Los Yebenes in the province of Toledo, on October 28, 2026.
Spain began three days of mourning on Thursday after its second high-speed rail collision this year killed 68 people and injured scores, with relatives desperately seeking news about their loved ones.
The collision happened in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha on Wednesday morning 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.
Josimar Medina, a 31-year-old Peruvian who was holidaying in Spain with his girlfriend, said he was sleeping on the Renfe train when “I woke up and I was in the air.”
Pablo Mejia, 42, escaped with injuries to his head, telling AFP that a last-minute change of seat saved his life.
Wearing a bloodstained grey jumper and holding his tattered suitcase, he recounted “a very strong hit… a lot of people on the floor, on top of each other, seats ripped out, suitcases, a lot of chaos”.“I think I’ve been born again,” he said.
International
Death toll in Spain rail crash reaches 64, injures 80
More than 500 passengers were travelling on the trains involved in today’s collision, the spokesperson for the regional government says.
At least 64 people have been killed, officials say, after a Spanish high-speed train collided with another train south of the capital Madrid, killed 64 passengers and injured 80.
The updated death toll makes the rail disaster the country’s worst since 2013, when 80 people died after a train derailed in north-western Spain.
More than 500 passengers were travelling on the trains involved in today’s collision, the spokesperson for the regional government says.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he is “shocked by the serious train accident” and is in constant contact with the transport minister.
Rail operator Adif says the incident occurred between a Renfe train and another of the Iryo company, which covers the Madrid to Seville route”
It was a catastrophe” – a 17-year-old, who was travelling on one of the trains, tells a Spanish broadcaster there was “chaos” at the scene
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