Wednesday's deadly train crash has dealt a serious blow to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s campaign. The accident in Toledo province killed 69 people and came just nine months after another deadly crash on the same line, leading to accusations from experts and the public of underinvestment in railway infrastructure under Sanchez's government after years of rapid network ​expansion.

The BBC's Jonathan Head is in Cebu, reporting from outside the home where Markle resided.

Neither man is on the ​ballot but Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic former President Barack Obama took prominent roles on the campaign trail on Wednesday, with less than a week to go before congressional races that could shift the balance of power in Washington. Thirty-five ‌of the 100 Senate seats and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are being contested next Tuesday. Nonpartisan analysts generally favor Democrats' chances of capturing a majority in the ⁠House, with the contest for the Senate seen as very close.

The French government is looking for new ways to calm social unrest ahead of more planned demonstrations over the cost of living this weekend. The minimum wage was set to increase on January 1, 2027. Now, officials are considering making the change one month earlier and adding an extra boost.