From a suspected racist terror attack in France to a pivotal vote in Serbia, the world had no shortage of flashpoints in the last 48 hours. Here are the biggest global developments to know about.
France deploys 70,000 police after suspected racist terror attack
France is on edge as Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed that 70,000 police officers and gendarmes — backed by helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons — will be deployed nationwide on Saturday, October 24, ahead of more cost-of-living protests. President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a trip to Nigeria and Senegal and said demonstrations requested by unauthorized groups will be banned. The Louvre and other major Paris museums will close, and security services estimate between 300,000 and 400,000 people could turn out.
The clampdown follows a shooting on October 23 in Trappes and La Verrière, west of Paris, in which a 39-year-old man fired an automatic weapon for about 15 minutes — at a petrol station, a medical centre and a children's playground — killing one person and wounding four, including a 12-year-old girl. Officers recovered a Sten gun and a tear gas grenade from his car and found his apartment booby-trapped. Anti-terrorism prosecutors are investigating whether the victims, whom the local mayor said were of African origin, were targeted over race or religion. Macron called the shooting a racist terrorist attack. With elections six months away and Marine Le Pen polling as frontrunner, the weekend's events could reshape French politics.
Russia drops cluster bombs as Ukraine consolidates the front line
Russia has dropped cluster munitions on Ukraine while Kyiv works to consolidate its front lines, according to recent reporting, as the two sides head toward trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States. Analysts note that Russia's territorial gains this year are effectively nil — a sign of how attritional the war has become.
Separately, the White House says a "localised" ceasefire in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky, which U.S. officials say Melania Trump helped broker, could take effect to allow the rescue of trapped civilians, though Russia and Ukraine have said the timing is still being determined. The development is one of the few diplomatic openings in recent weeks.
UN chief warns of an "El Niño of war"
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on October 22 tied the cost-of-living protests sweeping Europe to conflict-driven economic shocks, warning the world is witnessing what he called "an El Niño of war" — a conflict phenomenon in one region that disrupts lives thousands of kilometres away. "Everywhere, pressures are building over the price of food, fuel and other basics," he told journalists in New York, citing fighting in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan as shocks that travel through energy markets, shipping and finance.
Guterres condemned violence and property destruction at demonstrations in France, Italy and elsewhere — "those responsible for criminal activities must be held accountable" — while urging governments to address peaceful protesters' legitimate grievances. In a grim parallel, the World Food Programme said on October 19 it had been forced to scale back food assistance in Gaza by about one-third, putting aid for 500,000 people at risk and warning it needs $450 million for Gaza and the West Bank operations from October 2026 through March 2027.
Sudan's pound collapses past 10,000, protests erupt
Protests broke out on October 22 in several cities in army-held eastern Sudan after the Sudanese pound slid past 10,000 to the U.S. dollar on the parallel market — a new record low, down from around 600 before the war began in April 2023. About a fifth of that collapse came in the past month alone. Prices of bread, meat, vegetables and other staples keep climbing, while drought has hit key grain-growing areas.
The government raised its customs dollar — the rate used to calculate import duties — to more than 5,600 pounds this week, while the official rate remains stuck at 4,200, less than half the street price. The unrest follows weeks of market strikes and closures over taxes and fees. Authorities have not yet commented on the protests.
Abyei market drone strike toll rises past 220
The reported death toll from the October 19 drone strike on Amiet Market in disputed Abyei has risen from 153 to more than 220, according to local officials, with two mass graves cited in later reports — figures the U.N. has not independently confirmed. South Sudan's Foreign Ministry summoned Sudan's ambassador in Juba, blaming Sudan's military for the attack, which also hit a nearby fuel depot and started fires that complicated rescue work.
An unnamed Sudanese military officer told the Associated Press the army struck fuel tankers it said were headed to the Rapid Support Forces; the AP could not verify that account. Médecins Sans Frontières said it was treating more than 20 wounded people, including patients with severe burns, while U.N. peacekeepers helped evacuate casualties.
Serbia votes on Sunday
Serbians head to the polls on Sunday, October 25, for snap parliamentary elections after President Aleksandar Vučić dissolved parliament and quit the presidency to run as prime minister at the head of his "United Serbia" list. The election was called early in September, originally due by December 2027, and follows student-led anti-corruption protests that began after the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse.
Students have entered the race as the "Student List" — and polls suggest a tight race: an Ipsos survey conducted October 20–22 put Vučić's list at 47.4% against the Student List's 40.0%, while an earlier NSPM poll showed the students ahead 44.4% to 42.7%. Ipsos estimates turnout could reach 64.7%. With 126 of 250 seats needed for a majority, Sunday's vote will decide whether Serbia's protest movement can convert street anger into parliamentary power.
What to watch next
The immediate tests are Saturday's protests in France and Sunday's vote in Serbia — both could harden or soften the political crises behind them. In Ukraine, the trilateral talks and the Oleshky ceasefire timing will show whether any diplomatic momentum exists. And the UN's warning hangs over everything: as Guterres put it, "conflict is feeding conflict, and the consequences are traveling farther and faster."
Sources
- Prothom Alo (AFP): France to deploy 70,000 police ahead of new protests
- The Nation: Rising prices and street protests share the same root cause, UN chief says
- See News: Protests erupt in army-held eastern Sudan as pound slides past 10,000 to the dollar
- Harava News: Drone strike on Amiet Market sparks protests as death toll passes 220
- Gazeta Express: A poll shows Vučić as the loser in Serbia
- EconoTimes: Guterres connects cost-of-living protests to war's economic shocks