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Showing posts from August, 2017

"Barcelona attack: Suspect says more attacks are coming"

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Mohamed Houli Chemlal was testifying in the Madrid high court, where the four surviving suspects are appearing. He was injured in an accidental blast that reduced a house to rubble in the town of Alcanar last Wednesday. Assailants went on to kill 15 people and injure more than 100 in a series of attacks in and around Barcelona the following day and early on Friday. Eight members of the alleged cell are dead - two were killed in the Alcanar explosion, and six were later shot by police. The last suspect was killed in a vineyard west of Barcelona on Monday. The surviving suspects were moved, under high security, from Barcelona to Madrid for Tuesday's hearing. Investigating judge Fernando Andreu was expected to read out the charges against them, likely to span counts of terrorism, murder and possession of arms. They began giving evidence before the judge in the afternoon. Image copyright EPA Image caption The four suspects in court were (L-R) Mohammed Aalla, Mohamed

China relaunches world's fastest train

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The top speed of the Fuxing or "rejuvenation" bullet trains was capped at 300km/h (186mph) in 2011 following two crashes that killed 40 people. From next week, some of the trains will once again be allowed to run at a higher speed of about 350 km/h. The higher maximum speed should cut about an hour off the journey time between Beijing and Shanghai. By 21 September, seven of China's bullet trains will be permitted to travel at the increased maximum speed. To mark the return of the higher-speed service, the trains have been named "Fuxing" - Chinese for rejuvenation - in line with a national government slogan and development plan. All the trains have been fitted with an improved monitoring system that will slow and stop the trains automatically in the event of an emergency. The nation's rail operator is believed to be looking into ways to upgrade track to let the engines run even faster - perhaps at speeds approaching 400km/h. China is believed t