From ballot boxes in Israel and Serbia to street protests in France and retaliatory airstrikes on the Jordan-Syria border, the past 48 hours have brought political turning points on three continents. Voters, protesters and diplomats alike are now waiting on results, negotiations and next steps that could shape the weeks ahead.
Israel votes in first election since October 7 attacks
Israelis are voting on Tuesday, October 27, to elect the 120-member Knesset, in the country's first parliamentary election since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, Reuters reported. Polling stations are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., when television channels will broadcast exit polls. About 7.3 million Israelis are eligible to vote, and 38 parties are registered, according to The Indian Express, with about 11 expected to clear the 3.25 percent threshold for seats.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to remain in power, facing a challenge led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot and centrist rivals. Surveys cited by The Indian Express suggest neither bloc is projected to win the 61 seats needed for a majority, making coalition talks decisive. Reuters reported that the final tally is expected by October 30, with official results formally published on November 4. President Isaac Herzog will then consult party leaders and nominate the candidate judged most likely to form a government, who will have up to 42 days to do so.
Jordan strikes Syria after deadly church attack
Jordan said on Monday that its air force struck what it described as militant hideouts in southern Syria, days after gunmen opened fire during a funeral at Saint George's Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hammoud in Karak governorate on October 23, Reuters reported. Nine people were killed in the church attack and dozens were wounded, according to Jordanian authorities cited by Reuters. Jordanian officials said the attackers were linked to terrorist groups operating in Syria, though they did not name a specific group.
Syria's state news agency SANA, citing a local health official, initially reported five civilians killed in the strikes, including women and children, a figure later updated to eight dead, including three children and an elderly man, and four wounded, Gulf News reported. Jordan said the operation was conducted in coordination with Damascus, but Syria's government said it had not coordinated the strikes, expressed what it called a complete reservation, and opened an investigation, Al Jazeera reported. Syria's border authority also closed the Nassib crossing with Jordan. Earlier on Monday, Jordanian forces arrested three suspects, two brothers and their brother-in-law, after a shootout in Karak, officials said.
France offers admissions reform as student protests continue
France's government pledged on Monday to overhaul its university admissions system, seeking to calm weeks of student-led protests over school funding, overcrowded classrooms and living costs, the New Indian Express reported. Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste announced what he called substantial change to the Parcoursup admissions platform for 2027, before its replacement in 2028. Students have criticised the system for unclear selection criteria and unequal access to preferred courses.
The announcement followed a weekend of nationwide demonstrations. France's Interior Ministry estimated turnout on Saturday at more than 400,000, while organisers put it at nearly 800,000, the New Indian Express reported. The ministry said 1,314 people were arrested over the weekend, 53 police officers were injured, 75 fires were reported and 24 shops were looted, according to CNBC-TV18. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu met student representatives on Monday, and President Emmanuel Macron promised concrete measures during a visit to Marseille. Student leaders welcomed some concessions but said protests would continue, Reuters reported.
Serbia's student movement wins snap election
Serbia's long-serving leader Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat on Sunday, October 25, in a snap parliamentary election won by a student-led movement, Reuters reported via The Times of Israel. Vucic, who has dominated Serbian politics as prime minister or president since 2014, said in a televised speech: "It is clear that we have lost these elections, the Student List has won." Tens of thousands of people celebrated in Belgrade after the announcement, according to Reuters.
Based on a sample count, Vucic projected the Student List at 135 to 140 seats in the 250-seat National Assembly, against about 105 for his Serbian Progressive Party-led coalition. Independent projections by Ipsos and CeSID put the Student List at about 52 percent of the vote, according to China Daily. Turnout was reported at about 70 percent, the highest since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992. The movement grew out of nearly two years of protests after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people, Reuters reported. Formal results from the electoral commission are still to follow.
Ukraine, US and Russia set for November trilateral talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia will take place in November in an effort to restart stalled peace talks, AFP reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the meeting was planned for the United Arab Emirates in November. Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to talk, adding that territorial issues must be addressed at leadership level while other issues could be handled by technical groups.
The announcement followed a burst of US diplomacy. US envoy Steve Witkoff met Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo on Tuesday, then met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, AFP reported. Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Putin had agreed in principle to restart talks after November 10, with discussions focused on a security framework for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends. Earlier this year, the three countries held three rounds of negotiations in Abu Dhabi and Geneva, but progress was largely limited to prisoner exchanges, according to AFP.
Venezuela opposition leader returns after months abroad
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday, October 25, after ten months abroad, NPR reported. She announced her arrival on social media, writing: "I am here. With you." Machado made her first public appearance at the Church of Santa Rosa in Lara state, western Venezuela, where she was greeted by supporters, before travelling toward Caracas, where crowds swarmed her car, NPR reported.
Machado went into hiding in Venezuela in January 2025 after being briefly detained following a protest, then left the country and reappeared in December in Norway, where she received the Nobel Peace Prize, NPR reported. Opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez, who is in exile in Spain, confirmed her return and said he expected to join her soon. Her return poses a challenge to interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who took over after US forces captured former leader Nicolas Maduro in January, NPR reported. Machado has called for elections to be held soon, while Washington has said Venezuela must first stabilise, according to NPR. US President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that he knew nothing about her return.
Riyadh airport partly reopens despite Houthi threats
Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport partially resumed flights on Sunday, October 25, after a two-week closure following strikes by Yemen's Houthis, AFP reported. Terminal 1 was designated for domestic flights and Terminal 2 for international flights operated by national carriers. Flight tracking showed a plane departing early on Sunday for Jeddah, AFP reported.
The closure followed a wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia after a years-long truce broke down in the summer, AFP reported. An attack on October 10 killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade, according to AFP. Aviation analytics firm Cirium found that about 86 percent of scheduled flights at Riyadh airport, 4,071 out of 4,736, were cancelled between October 8 and October 25, Reuters reported. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned airlines and travellers against using the airport, calling it unsafe and a military target. The Saudi-led coalition said early on Sunday that it had shot down two drones in the Riyadh area, AFP reported.
What to watch next
Israel's exit polls and the tally expected by October 30 will show whether any bloc can form a government without prolonged coalition bargaining. In Serbia, attention turns to government formation after the Student List's projected majority. The date and venue for the November Ukraine talks, Machado's next moves in Venezuela, further French protest calls, and the Jordan-Syria border after the Nassib crossing closure will all be closely watched in the coming days.
Sources: Reuters, AFP, The Indian Express, Al Jazeera, Gulf News, NPR, The Times of Israel, China Daily, New Indian Express, CNBC-TV18.