Evening Brief, Sunday 1 November

Donald Trump told reporters at his Florida residence that the United States had largely knocked out Iran's military and nuclear capabilities, but still had to deal with one or two sites. He singled out Pickaxe Mountain, known in Persian as Kolang, near the Natanz nuclear complex in Isfahan province, after speaking by phone with Benjamin Netanyahu about the prospect of renewed strikes.

Marco Rubio said in Atlanta that Donald Trump had not decided on fresh military action and still preferred diplomacy. The reported argument inside Washington is plain enough: JD Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner want negotiations restarted, while Marco Rubio and the Pentagon chief doubt a deal can be reached with Iran's current rulers. Qatar and Pakistan continue to mediate before the US midterm elections on 3 November.

Mojtaba Khamenei met Iran's armed-forces commanders and ordered them to update target lists for American and Israeli assets. Mohsen Rezaei said Tehran had not answered JD Vance's letter offering direct dialogue and had not decided whether to change its nuclear doctrine. Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Iran sees no need to meet Americans at this stage. Tehran says its conditions cover the Strait of Hormuz and a regional ceasefire.

Donald Tusk used a national address to accuse Karol Nawrocki of crossing a constitutional line after the president returned from Senegal and entered Poland's Constitutional Tribunal early on Saturday. The clash followed judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska's one-month suspension of tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and deputy Bartłomiej Sochański, a move that brought police to the court grounds in Warsaw.

Police said officers secured the perimeter after Anna Korwin-Piotrowska warned of possible threats to judges and staff and a risk of disorder. Protesters threw objects at officers outside, and police detained three people who jumped the fence. Bogdan Święczkowski, a former PiS minister, called his removal a coup d'état, while the European Commission pressed Karol Nawrocki to validate eight new judges elected by the Sejm.

The political repair job already looks awkward. Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called for a constitutional reset, and Adrian Zandberg proposed that all current judges resign so a constitutional majority can appoint 15 new ones. Poland's justice minister has applied to lift the legal immunity of Bogdan Święczkowski and Bartłomiej Sochański, who are likely to face legal proceedings. Police commander Marek Boron wrote on Sunday that the intervention met legal and ethical standards.

Spanish forensic teams have identified 56 of the 69 people who died when Iryo and Renfe high-speed trains collided near Urda in Toledo province. The Guardia Civil said five carriages derailed and overturned onto an embankment after the crash on the Madrid-Seville line. The remaining 13 unidentified dead are foreign nationals, and missing-person reports remain open for each of them.

The identification work now depends partly on international cooperation. Officials say 54 of the identified dead were Spanish, one was French and one was Portuguese. Hospital counts differ by source, but dozens remain admitted and more than 70 have been discharged. Search teams used about 50 officers, dogs and drones overnight to look for biological remains near the site, while cranes removed the five derailed wagons from the embankment.

A court in Orgaz ordered the crane company hired by ADIF Renfe to provide enough operators and shifts after wagon removal stopped overnight for lack of workers. The same judge barred the gathering or publication of images and information about victims and families. Renfe kept three Family Assistance Centres open in Madrid, Toledo and Seville and maintained a 24-hour helpline.

Pedro Sánchez's cabinet is due to approve a royal decree of aid on Tuesday, and transport minister Óscar Puente will present a report to the government before speaking publicly. The Partido Popular and Vox both said they will join the court case as popular accusations. The proceedings remain under secreto de sumario.

Portuguese police cleared tent camps in Lisbon and Porto before dawn after marches against a rent bill that protesters say would ease evictions and remove caps on new rents. Officers gave several warnings, then moved in with dogs after protesters linked arms in human chains. Thirteen people were detained, six in Lisbon and seven in Porto, and all were released before court appearances on Monday.

Sérgio Soares, a PSP spokesman, said officers acted after paint and fireworks were thrown at police and a banner blocked their advance in Lisbon. All 13 injured officers were in Porto, where a plainclothes officer drew his firearm when protesters approached four officers who, according to the PSP, were being assaulted.

Ricardo Sá Fernandes, a lawyer for protesters from the Lisbon camp, said he will file criminal complaints against Minister of Internal Administration Luís Neves and PSP national director Coelho de Moura. Correio da Manhã reported that a CMTV camera reporter was hit with a baton while filming the Porto intervention and was treated at a hospital.

President António José Seguro asked the government and the Ombudsman's Office for full details of the interventions, including the condition of detainees and injured people. Prosecutors opened an inquiry into the clearances, and the interior ministry began an internal inspection to establish possible breaches and police responsibility. The Council of State meets on Monday on social cohesion.

Germany entered November with gas storage about 61.17% full, below the roughly 70% average target cited for 1 November and below the EU average of around 75%. The shortfall followed a summer in which the Iran war, disrupted energy trade and high prices made it less attractive for traders to buy gas and store it for winter.

Klaus Müller, head of the Bundesnetzagentur, said Germany remains safely supplied because LNG terminals can keep importing gas and fill levels are no longer the only decisive measure. The regulator rates the risk of a tight gas supply as low and sees no need to intervene, though it could withdraw booked storage capacity if required.

Industry reads the same numbers less calmly. INES, the storage association, called the shortfall a warning signal and said Germany has smaller safety reserves if winter turns very cold or imports falter. Italy, whose stores are 91% full after paying €300 million to secure reserves, accused Germany of burdening the rest of the bloc. Because Germany is the EU's biggest gas user and has the largest storage facilities, continued spot-market buying could lift prices for neighbours.