A train driver died and four people were seriously injured in northeast Spain when two trains collided head-on outside Barcelona, the rail company and emergency services said.
The crash occurred on Friday during the after-work rush hour, near Castellgali some 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the Catalan capital, national rail company Renfe said in a statement.
The collision claimed the life of a 26-year-old driver and severely injured four passengers, while another 100 suffered minor injuries, the emergency services said on Twitter.
Sixty-five people were unharmed. Renfe said an investigation was opened into the crash.
In November, one person died and 49 others were injured on the same line when a landslide caused a train to derail.

One dead, four injured in Spanish train collision

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The US State Department announced Friday that the special US envoy for North Korea will meet again with North Korean officials before a second summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un -- hours after he returned to Seoul from talks on the summit's agenda.
In a statement, the State Department said talks during Stephen Biegun's three-day trip explored Trump and Kim's "commitments of complete denuclearization, transforming US-DPRK relations and building a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula" in preparation for the much-anticipated summit in Vietnam on February 27 and 28.
Biegun landed at Osan US Air Base Friday evening, foreign ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said.
The State Department confirmed Biegun agreed to meet his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok Chol again before the summit.
Biegun is expected to share details of his Pyongyang meetings with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Saturday.
Attention will focus on whether the ..

US envoy to meet with North Korea again ahead of Trump-Kim summit

A train driver died and three people were seriously injured when two Catalan regional trains collided northwest of Barcelona, the Spanish railway and emergency services said.
The accident took place on Friday evening near Castellgali, the national railway Renfe said in a statement.
In addition to the fatality and three serious injuries, 92 people suffered minor injuries, a local emergency service said on Twitter.
Around 400 people were on board the two trains when they smashed into each other, a Catalan regional train service said.
Renfe said an investigation into the accident was underway.
In November, one person died and 49 others were injured on the same line when a landslide caused a train to derail.

One dead, three injured in Spanish train collision

A 29-year-old Canadian who perpetrated the worst attack on Muslims in the West, when he shot dead six worshippers at a mosque in Quebec City in 2017, was sentenced to life in prison.
Alexandre Bissonnette, however, will have to wait 40 years -- longer than usual -- before he can apply for parole.
Judge Francois Huot rejected a prosecution request for a 150-year sentence, which would have the longest ever in Canada, but also noted the killer's "visceral hatred of Muslim immigrants" in his decision.

Quebec mosque shooter gets life, no parole for 40 years

Greek lawmakers have approved Macedonia's NATO accession bid, putting the final touches on a historic deal to end a 27-year name row between the two countries.
A majority of 153 lawmakers supported the legislation, while 140 voted against.
"Today's vote closes the most important round of obligations involving Greece," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told parliament ahead of the vote on Friday.
"I'd like to welcome North Macedonia, a country friendly to Greece, a country that must be an ally in efforts to establish security, stability and peace in the region.
"History will judge us. I feel we have carried out our patriotic duty," Tsipras said.
The ratification was part of a deal signed in June to change Macedonia's name to the Republic of North Macedonia, and lift Greek objections to its EU and NATO membership bids.
Tsipras on Friday said the deal had "upgraded" Greece's international standing.
Skopje must adopt the new name "in the public discourse, in addition to all street signs and ..

Greece backs Macedonia's NATO bid, completing name deal

The United States is hoping Afghanistan can strike a peace agreement including the Taliban before elections scheduled for July, US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has said.
"It will be better for Afghanistan if we could a get peace agreement before the election, which is scheduled before July," the US negotiator told a Washington conference on Friday, adding that there remained "a lot of work" to do.
Ashraf Ghani, who was elected in a fraud-tainted poll in 2014, is seeking a second term in conflict-riven Afghanistan's delayed presidential ballot.

US envoy in Taliban talks seeks peace deal before July

A Canadian landscaper was jailed for life Friday for the murder and sexual mutilation of eight men from Toronto's gay community whose bodies he dismembered and hid in planters.
Bruce McArthur, who admitted the killings last month, will be in his 90s before he is eligible for parole from eight concurrent 25-year sentences but Ontario Superior Court Justice John McMahon said he would likely never be released.
The 67-year-old killer sat quietly hunched over, hands folded in his lap, as a row of police detectives -- who have described the investigation as Toronto's largest ever -- watched from directly behind.
The judge said he noted that McArthur had shown no remorse for having preyed on vulnerable men on the margins of society, some of whom were struggling with drug addictions and their hidden sexuality.
When police stormed the killer's apartment in January 2018, they found a young man bound to a bed but unharmed who may well have become the ninth victim, the judge said.
The case -- ...

Canada serial killer jailed for life

Canada announced Friday it had partnered with US weapons maker Lockheed Martin on a Can$185 million project to design 15 warships.
"Our government is providing the Royal Canadian Navy with the ships it needs to do its important work of protecting Canadians," Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough said in Halifax, where the ships will be built.
Based on the British-designed Type 26 frigate, developed by BAE Systems for the British defense ministry, the ships will measure 492 feet (150 meters) from bow to stern.
Armed with sea-to-air missiles and with a range of 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) and a top speed of 26 knots (48 kilometers an hour), the ships will carry crews of between 157 and 208 sailors.
The design period is expected to last three to four years, with construction due to start in the early 2020s.
While the initial contract is for Can$185 million ($139 million), the cost of building all 15 warships will rise to Can$60 billion, according to the Radio-Canada public news ...

Canada partners with Lockheed Martin on next-gen warships

Two Palestinian teenagers were killed by Israeli fire on Friday during clashes along the Gaza border, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said.
Hassan Shalabi, 14, was killed by "live fire to the chest east of Khan Yunis" during protests along the frontier with Israel in the southern Gaza Strip, the ministry said.
It announced the death of 18-year-old Hamza Ishtawi shortly after, saying he was shot in the neck during similar clashes east of Gaza City.
Another 17 Palestinians were shot and wounded at different protest sites along the border, the ministry added.
The Israeli army declined to comment on the deaths, but said 8,200 "rioters and demonstrators" had been protesting along the frontier.
"They are hurling rocks at (Israeli) troops and towards the security fence, as well as a number of explosive devices that did not cross the fence," a spokesman said, adding that they had heard grenade explosions.
Israeli troops "responded with riot dispersal means and fired according to .

Two Palestinian teens killed by Israeli fire in border clashes: Gaza ministry

British electoral authorities said Friday they had officially recognised a new "Brexit Party" backed by Nigel Farage, a key campaigner in the referendum vote to leave the European Union.
Recognition by the Electoral Commission means the party can now contest elections in Britain -- and potentially in the European Parliament if Brexit is delayed beyond March 29.
"The party was founded with my full support and with the intention of fighting the European election on May 23 if Brexit has not been delivered by then," Farage told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
He said he would stand for election, adding that the party had received "hundreds of applications" from other would-be candidates, and "significant" funds had been pledged.
"The engine is running," he said.
In December, Farage left the UK Independence Party (UKIP) which he had co-founded and turned into a hugely influential force as its leader.
He fell out with the current UKIP leadership after it appointed a far-right activist, Tommy 

Farage's new 'Brexit Party' wins official recognition

President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka said Friday that she is not worried about any threat that the Mueller Russia meddling investigation might pose to her family.
The senior White House advisor, who is married to Jared Kushner, another of the president's closest advisors, told ABC News that there is "nothing" of substance in the 21-month-old probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between Moscow and President Trump's 2016 election campaign.
Mueller has already charged six former Trump aides and associates with various crimes.
Given that the investigation could nearly be over, ABC interviewer Abby Huntsman asked Ivanka Trump in an interview, "Are you concerned about anyone in your life that you love being involved?" "No. There's nothing there," Trump answered.
"Yet it's created weeks and weeks and months of headlines. I'm not. I'm really not" concerned, she said.
The rare interview with the president's 37-year-old-daughter came in conjunction with the launch 

Ivanka Trump 'not concerned' over threat of Russia probe

China on Friday denied what it termed "ridiculous" allegations of spying levelled by Lithuania as the Baltic eurozone state joined other western nations in expressing concerns about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.
The company has raised suspicions in the west for its close ties to the Chinese government and generated fears the company may be a tool of China's international espionage capabilities.
"It is absurd and ridiculous for the Lithuanian intelligence and security services to rely on conjecture and imagination to make unfounded distortions," the Chinese embassy said in a statement.
It said it was "shocked and surprised" by the "totally unacceptable" statements made by Lithuanian intelligence, insisting that "China does not pose any security threat to Lithuania".
Earlier this week, two Lithuanian intelligence agencies condemned China for an "increasingly aggressive" spy campaign which it said included "attempts to recruit Lithuanian citizens".
Darius Jauniskis, head of Lithuania's .

China denies 'ridiculous' spying allegations by Lithuania

US officials will be in Beijing February 14-15 for the third round of talks aimed at heading off an escalation of the ongoing trade war with China, the White House announced Friday.
Negotiators are working towards an agreement before the 90-day tariff truce expires March 1, after which the US is set to more than double punitive duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will lead the delegation, which also includes David Malpass, who President Donald Trump has nominated to be president of the World Bank, according to the statement.
However, strident White House China critic Peter Navarro was not listed as part of the US team.
While officials seemed optimistic after talks last week in Washington, more recent comments have jarred financial markets, amplifying concerns about how the dispute will impact global growth.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he did not expect to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi ...

Next round of US-China trade talks set for Feb 14-15: White House

Thailand's powerful King Maha Vajiralongkorn late Friday described an unprecedented move to make his older sister Princess Ubolratana prime minister as "highly inappropriate" and against "royal traditions".
Ubolratana, 67, the older sister of Vajiralongkorn, was announced hours earlier as a candidate in the upcoming elections for the Thai Raksa Chart party, which is steered by the divisive Shinawatra political clan.
Her shock entrance into frontline Thai politics was a first by a member of the powerful royal family and promised to reshape the political landscape of the country.
But a late-night statement from the palace left no doubt over the King's displeasure at the move.
"The king and royal family exist in a status above politics," said the statement, published in the Royal Gazette and given blanket television coverage.
The statement did not criticise Ubolratana, instead praising her public work.
But it appeared aimed at those behind her sudden stride into politics.
"To bring a ...

Thai King lambasts 'highly inappropriate' move to make princess PM

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed on Friday not to let in "fake" aid from the United States requested by opposition leader Juan Guaido, which is being stockpiled at the border with Colombia.
"Venezuela won't allow the spectacle of fake humanitarian aid because we're no-one's beggars," Maduro said at a press conference in Caracas.
He also hit out at European and Latin American ministers who called on Thursday for a new presidential ballot.
Meeting in Uruguay's capital Montevideo, the International Contact Group had urged "free, transparent and credible presidential elections" in crisis-wracked Venezuela "as soon as possible" to find a peaceful solution to the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido.
Under Maduro's guidance, Venezuela has descended into economic crisis marked by hyperinflation, recession and shortages of basic necessities including food and medicine.
Guaido has claimed 300,000 people could die if Maduro doesn't allow the humanitarian aid to enter.
Over the ...

Venezuela's Maduro vows to block 'fake' aid 'spectacle'

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was "not involved" in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and blaming him would be crossing "a red line," Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs said Friday.
"For anyone to think that they can dictate what we should do, what our leadership should do, is preposterous," Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Washington, where many US lawmakers have stated they believe Prince Mohammed is responsible for Khashoggi's killing last year at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
"Our leadership is a red line," al-Jubeir added.

Targeting crown prince over Khashoggi 'a red line': Saudi minister

European Union member states adopted a Franco-German compromise on Friday allowing Berlin to remain the lead negotiator with Russia on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe.
France, a pivotal player in the EU gas talks, had said earlier it would support European Union oversight of new offshore energy pipelines.
This had raised concerns in Berlin that resistance from other EU members could undermine plans for the undersea pipeline between Russia and Germany.
But Paris and Berlin now agree that chief responsibility lies with Germany, the "territory and territorial sea of the member state where the first interconnection point is located," according to a text seen by AFP.
The pipeline is due to emerge at the German Baltic port of Greifswald, from where gas will be distributed to other EU countries.
"There was indeed an agreement which was only possible thanks to close cooperation between France and Germany," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin when asked about Nord 

EU adopts French-German compromise on Russia gas pipeline

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday rejected a call by European and Latin American ministers to hold new presidential elections as soon as possible.
Meeting in Uruguay on Thursday, the International Contact Group had called for "free, transparent and credible presidential elections" in crisis-wracked Venezuela "as soon as possible" to find a peaceful solution to the power struggle between Maduro and opposition chief Juan Guaido.

Maduro rejects 'one-sided' international forum on Venezuela

South African rescuers said Friday that they had been forced to halt an operation to rescue about 20 people trapped in a disused mine, blaming disruption from workers who had not been paid.
Six people died after trespassing into the Gloria coal mine near the town of Middelburg in the eastern province of Mpumalanga, police told AFP, updating the earlier death toll of five.
The group went underground between Sunday and Wednesday to allegedly steal copper cables in the mine, which had been closed for several months.
"We have been prevented from continuing with the recovery operations by a disgruntled group of people who have not been paid their salaries," Mike Elliot, who represents the administrators of the mine, told local media.
"They refuse to allow us to continue with the recovery operations and that includes repairing the power to the mine, restoring the power to the fans so that we can put fresh air underground." He said some locals had attempted their own rescue ...

S Africa mine rescue halted with 20 trapped, six dead

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists the Premier League title race is something to get excited about rather than stressed about despite seeing his side overhauled by Manchester City in the past week.
City climbed to the top of the table on goal difference with victory against Everton in midweek but Liverpool's destiny remains in their own hands as they have a game in hand over Pep Guardiola's men, with both sides level on 62 points.
"It's getting exciting now," said Klopp on Friday. "There was never a doubt that would happen. That was always clear. I don't think that anybody thought we would be top of the league with 12 points between us and another team with three games to go.
"The only chance to improve our position, even though it is a good position, is by winning football games." Just over a week ago Liverpool had the chance to move seven points clear at the top, but back-to-back draws with
Leicester and West Ham on Monday have seen them reeled in by the champions.
Liverpool ...

Klopp excited by Premier League title fight

Shaking off his defeat in the Australian Open Roger Federer says he's "motivated and looking forward to the future" with a tilt at a ninth Wimbledon title uppermost in his mind.
After his last 16 loss to Greek young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas in Melbourne last month, the Swiss 20-time Grand Slam champion was quick to brush aside suggestions it was the beginning of the end.
In Geneva on Friday to launch the third edition of the Laver Cup, Federer mapped out his goals for the season with the hunger of a man carrying half his 37 years.
"Wimbledon obviously, also now Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami.
"I really would like to make a good season start, maybe that could launch the clay season and Wimbledon but I think Wimbledon yes, the US Open and after also the Laver Cup and the World Tour Finals at the end of the year."
He said his failure to defend his Australian Open title changed nothing and his aim was the same as always - to beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
"I continue my career...I'm ..

AFP

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