Thousands of people have marched in Valencia and demanded the resignation of the region’s president over the response to devastating flooding that left more than 220 dead.

Protesters filled the centre of the eastern Spanish city and chanted “killers!” as they called for Carlos Mazon to go.

Some dumped muddy boots outside a regional government building, while one banner read: “Our hands are stained with mud, yours with blood.”

There were also some clashes with riot police in front of the city hall where the march began, with police using batons to force some protesters back.

Last month’s flooding, which has left the country reeling and requiring a huge cleanup effort, is one of the worst natural disasters in Europe for decades.

Mr Mazon is accused of issuing an alert too late – at 8pm on 29 October – well after water was already coursing into towns and villages.

The Valencian leader said he would have done so earlier if authorities had been notified of the severity of the situation by an official water body.

But Spain’s weather agency issued a red alert, the highest level of warning, as early as 7.30am that morning as the disaster loomed.

Mr Mazon is also being criticised for the slow and chaotic response to the natural disaster.

Thousands of volunteers were the first on the ground in many of the worst-hit areas on the outskirts of Valencia. It took days for thousands of police and military reinforcements to be sent in.

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“We want to show our indignation and anger over the poor management of this disaster which has affected so many people,” said Anna Oliver, president of Accio Cultural del Pais Valenciano, one the groups that organised the protest.

Nearly 80 people are still missing nearly two weeks on from the catastrophic floods, which saw the most deadly deluge in a single country in Europe in more than 50 years.

Thousands of people’s homes were destroyed and streets are still covered in mud and debris.

Some 220 people died in the flooding, with 212 of those in the eastern Valencia region. The search for more bodies is continuing.

Thousands of people also lost their homes and streets are still covered in mud and debris 11 days after heavy rainfall triggered the flooding.

Reputational risk no longer worth it for Qatar

Qatar had taken a lot of heat for its association with Hamas but stuck it out in the hope it could help broker a ceasefire deal with Israel.

Doha was regularly the venue for talks and Qatar’s leaders invested considerable time trying to bring Israel and Hamas to an agreement.

Although some accused Qatar of harbouring terrorists, it suited the US, and Israel, to have the Hamas political leadership in a friendly country.

There was some success – a seven-day truce in November 2023 which saw the release of more than 100 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

But further ceasefire attempts have repeatedly failed, Hamas’s leadership has been steadily killed off one by one, and so the reputational cost of hosting the group was deemed no longer worth it.

Hamas was only in Qatar with the approval of the United States, and it’s now been asked to leave at the request of Washington. It is a significant shift in policy from the Gulf state.

But Qatari officials have also lost patience, pointedly blaming both sides for the failure to reach a deal.

In a message also aimed at Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, a diplomatic source briefed on the matter told Sky News both Israel and Hamas “refused to participate in the negotiations except on their conditions, without showing willingness to engage constructively”.

Hamas will likely relocate to Turkey (where they already have a presence) or Iran, although there have been reports officials were recently in Algeria and Mauritania.

It will be seen as a huge blow to the hostage families in Israel, signifying that the sides have given up hope of securing a deal.

That isn’t necessarily the case – the eviction of Hamas from their cosy homes in Doha is partly a final attempt to pressure them into an agreement, but even if they do leave, Egypt could continue to play a mediating role.

That said, Hamas’s leadership in Gaza is in some disarray, the Biden administration is weak and in its final days, and the geo-politics of negotiating a deal if the group moves to Tehran will be incredibly complex.

At least 24 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in a bomb blast at a train station in Pakistan.

The bomb exploded in the southwestern city of Quetta when nearly 100 passengers were waiting for a train to travel to Rawalpindi.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group, have claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that a suicide bomber targeted troops at the railway station.

Government spokesman Shahid Rind said the bombing seemed to have been a suicide attack but an investigation was still ongoing to confirm the BLA’s claim.

TV footage showed the steel structure of a platform’s roof blown apart and a tea stall destroyed, with luggage littering the scene.

Police said about a dozen security forces are among the dead.

Mouzzam Jah Ansari, inspector general of police for Balochistan, said many of the injured people are in a critical condition.

“The target was army personnel from the Infantry School,” he said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said those who orchestrated the attack “will pay a very heavy price for it,” adding that security forces were determined to eliminate “the menace of terrorism”.

The outlawed BLA has long waged an insurgency, seeking independence from Islamabad, often targeting security forces and foreigners.

Last month, the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that targeted a convoy with Chinese nationals outside Karachi airport, killing two people.

In August, at least 73 people were killed in Balochistan province after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways.

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Balochistan, which is oil and mineral-rich, is Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, where separatist and Islamic militants operate.

It is also a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.