The written briefing — October 29, 2026
Good morning. Here is the Zark News Daily Briefing for Thursday, October 29, 2026 — the day’s biggest stories, in brief. We begin with a deadly train crash in Spain, the Pentagon’s new price tag for the war in Iran, a split Federal Reserve, a defeated Brazilian candidate landing in Miami, the election filing system coming back online in Washington, and a hard condition from Pakistan’s largest opposition party. Each headline below links to the full Zark News story.
At Least 68 Dead as One High-Speed Train Slams Into Another in Central Spain
At least 68 people were killed in Toledo province when a Renfe AVE train struck a stopped Iryo train on the Madrid–Seville line — 44 of the dead on the Iryo and 24 on the Renfe, with 58 people receiving hospital treatment. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a communications failure had stopped trains on the line, and that control then authorised the Renfe train to pass a red signal at normal speed instead of the 40 km/h the protocol required. It is the second fatal high-speed crash in Spain this year, on the same corridor.
Iran War Has Cost the U.S. $47.1 Billion So Far, Pentagon Tells Congress in New Estimate
The war in Iran has cost the United States an estimated $47.1 billion through mid-October, according to a Pentagon estimate compiled by U.S. Central Command and provided to Congress. About $29 billion of the total is the cost of replacing munitions, with roughly $11.9 billion for operations and $6.1 billion for lost and damaged equipment. The figure is $3.5 billion higher than the estimate given in early September and does not yet include repairing U.S. bases damaged by Iranian strikes.
Fed Holds Rates at 3.75%–4% as Two Officials Push for an Increase
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady at 3.75% to 4% in a 10-to-2 vote, with Governor Lisa D. Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth M. Hammack each favouring a quarter-point increase. The committee said economic activity is expanding at a strong pace but inflation remains elevated, and it made no commitment about its next move. Chair Kevin Warsh added that higher rates are already affecting which artificial-intelligence projects get funded.
Flávio Bolsonaro Lands in Miami After Fleeing Brazil, a Day After Trump Said He Would Approve His Entry
Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro landed at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on Wednesday, ending two days of uncertainty after he left Brazil in defiance of a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports, which have since been cancelled. Argentina’s migration department traced his route across the Tancredo Neves bridge and by private jet through Guayaquil, Ecuador. President Donald Trump, asked about Bolsonaro coming to the United States, said: “I would approve.”
FEC Restores Filing System After Hacking Attempt Took It Offline Days Before Midterms
The Federal Election Commission restored its electronic filing system on Wednesday afternoon, ending an outage of nearly two days that blocked the rapid campaign-money disclosures due in the final stretch before the November 3 midterms. Reuters reported that an FEC official told compliance firms a “bad actor” was attempting to breach the agency’s systems; the commission has not publicly confirmed an intrusion, and there is no evidence data was taken. One tool, FECfile+, remained in partial outage.
PTI Ties Support for 28th Constitutional Amendment to Imran Khan’s Release
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s parliamentary party says it will support the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment only if party founder Imran Khan is released immediately, according to the DNA news agency. Because constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority in parliament, the condition turns PTI’s votes into a potential deciding bloc. Khan has been imprisoned in Adiala Jail for more than three years, and the party is also contesting the emergency imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11.
That is the briefing for Thursday, October 29, 2026. Full stories, updates and the Urdu edition are at zarknews.com.
