Spain spends €258m on trains too big for tunnels

(Image credit: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

published 8 February 2023

Two Spanish travel bosses have been fired after they ordered dozens of new commuter trains only to discover they were too big to pass through the tunnels on their routes. The Telegraph said the “embarrassing blunder” led to a “blame game” between Spain’s national rail operator, track company and the country’s coalition government. Xavier Flores, a senior transport ministry official, admitted there there had been “a problem related to the size of the trains”.

Pigeons cleverer than artificial intelligence

The pigeon is brainier than artificial intelligence, according to a new study. Researchers gave pigeons complex tests that high-level thinking such as logic or reasoning would not solve and found that they “one of the smartest creatures despite inspiring the insult ‘birdbrain’”, said the Daily Mirror. Prof Ed Wasserman, of the University of Iowa, said: “The pigeons are like AI masters.”

‘Chuckle crisis’ grips Britain

Britain is facing a “chuckle crisis” because 42% of us cannot remember the last time we laughed aloud, said the Daily Star. Some 95% of those questioned in a study agreed that having a belly laugh is great for your mental health. Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist at University College London, recommended regular giggling. “Cortisol is a stress hormone that laughter lowers,” she said, adding that even anticipation of laughter also “drops your adrenaline”.