World
Spain's transport minister has refused to resign after two high-speed trains collided near Urda in Toledo province, killing at least 69 people and injuring dozens more. A preliminary report says the moving Renfe train was travelling at 160 kph or faster when it hit a stationary Iryo train on the Madrid-Seville line. The transport minister says a computer failure stopped six trains and the control centre then cleared them to move again under inexplicable circumstances. A trade union has demanded his resignation and protesters have gathered outside the ministry. It is Spain's deadliest rail accident since 2013 and the second fatal crash in less than a year.
BBC News
Politics
President Donald Trump cancelled weekend rallies in Iowa and Kansas, two states with unexpectedly competitive Senate races, and will instead hold tele-rallies reaching voters in nearly 20 states. The Republican National Committee called the switch a final 72-hour sprint before Tuesday's midterm elections. Democrats enter the last weekend with a national advantage and are favoured to win the House, while the Senate remains close. Trump said he did not feel he had to go to Kansas and predicted a strong Tuesday night. A Reuters/Ipsos poll put his approval at a record low of 31 percent.
USA Today
Business
Alphabet's market value fell by about $500bn after the company revealed that its AI-generated search summaries were affecting advertising revenue. Google shares hit a six-month low, spooking investors who had priced in steady growth from search ads. The drop came as United States technology stocks fell sharply, with AI-related spending across the industry approaching $1tn and Intel shares continuing to slide. The Nasdaq opened at its lowest level in more than two months. The sell-off reflects growing doubt about how quickly AI infrastructure spending will turn into profit.
BBC News
Technology
Spending on artificial intelligence data centres is approaching $1tn across the industry, and investors are starting to question the returns. Technology shares fell sharply, Intel continued to lose ground and the Nasdaq opened at its lowest level in more than two months. Nvidia is still pushing hardware out quickly, including a plan to invest $3bn in Meta's equity offering as the social media company deploys more of its chips for AI agents. The company's pre-built data-centre design is also cutting deployment time from months to about two weeks.
BBC News
Science
Archaeologists say they have found the world's oldest known shipwreck off the coast of Turkey, dating to the Early Bronze Age and up to 4,700 years old. Divers working with suction equipment uncovered a large ceramic storage jar still sitting at the site, along with the remains of the vessel. If the dating holds, the wreck pushes evidence of organised sea trade back by centuries. Researchers say the find will help map how copper, tin and other goods moved around the eastern Mediterranean long before written records.
BBC News
Sports
Charles Leclerc topped first practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix with a lap of 1:18.380, putting Ferrari almost seven tenths clear at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was second for Mercedes, 0.107 seconds back, with reserve driver Frederik Vesti third. Ten rookie stand-ins took part because Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were among those required to sit out the session. Arvid Lindblad was the quickest of the newcomers in tenth. Antonelli leads the standings on 365 points with four rounds remaining.
BBC Sport
Health
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration has proposed stricter sunscreen rules after a consumer report found that 16 of 20 popular sunscreens failed to meet their labelled SPF. Brands would have to test the finished product, not just the base formula, before listing it, retest it through its shelf life, and hand their SPF data to the regulator. Cosmetic sunscreens would face limits on SPF claims. The changes follow product withdrawals and will be introduced in stages. The regulator says it will not routinely check the data before products reach shelves.
BBC News
Environment
A fresh assessment of national climate plans finds they now promise only half the emission cuts the UN expected a year ago. The pledges put 2035 emissions just 6 percent below 2019 levels, against 12 percent projected last year, and leave the world on track for 2.1C to 3.2C of warming. The United States exit from the Paris Agreement and weaker pledges from several large emitters are behind the gap. The figures land three weeks before COP31 opens in Antalya, Turkey, where trade and adaptation finance are already contested.
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