From mass protests in France to strikes on Saudi airports, a devastating fire at a notorious Bavarian landmark, and a campus standoff in New Delhi, here are the biggest global developments of the last 48 hours.
France: 400,000 march as protest bans are challenged
More than 400,000 people protested across France on Saturday, challenging President Emmanuel Macron as police used tear gas and water cannons in Paris and other cities. Authorities deployed about 70,000 police officers and gendarmes nationwide, an increase of roughly 20 percent from the previous weekend, when more than half a million people took to the streets and some 3,000 shops were damaged or looted. Authorities banned rallies in cities including Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, and left-wing and green parties filed an emergency legal challenge against the bans at the Council of State, France's highest administrative court, calling them violations of freedom of expression. Major museums including the Louvre, Orsay and Picasso Museum were shuttered, and Art Basel canceled its weekend program. Thousands also marched in Orléans in a separate peaceful protest against the far right as Marine Le Pen's National Rally held a two-day congress there. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez acknowledged police had lost control in some cities during last weekend's unrest.
Saudi Arabia: Houthi strikes hit airports and oil sites
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement has struck Saudi airports and energy infrastructure in a string of attacks that killed several people and prompted the United States to order non-emergency embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia on October 21. An attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed at least one person and injured eight, Saudi authorities said, while debris from an intercepted drone near Aramco's Shaybah oil field killed two foreign workers and injured two others. Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport was hit on October 9, 10 and 11, closing on October 10. Major airlines including Lufthansa and Air France canceled flights until mid-November, and Brent crude touched $115 per barrel on October 23 amid shipping concerns. Foreign ministers from the R-4 bloc and the European E-3 were meeting in Istanbul to address maritime security in the Bab el-Mandab strait and the Strait of Hormuz.
Germany: Fire guts Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat
A fire that broke out on Friday night almost completely destroyed the Kehlsteinhaus, the Bavarian mountain retreat known as Hitler's "Eagle's Nest." Around 200 firefighters battled the blaze at the site 1,834 meters above Berchtesgaden, hampered by its remote location, rain, snow and strong winds. No one was inside and no injuries were reported. Police detained a 33-year-old German man near the scene, and prosecutors said he may have psychiatric problems; investigators are examining whether the fire was deliberately set and whether there was a political motive. The building, completed in 1938 as a guest house for Nazi officials, survived the Second World War and has operated as a restaurant since 1952, drawing about 350,000 visitors a year. Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann has pledged to rebuild it.
Taiwan: Typhoon Champi leaves 1 dead, over 500 injured
Typhoon Champi slammed into Taiwan with giant waves crashing ashore, killing one person and injuring more than 500, according to reports. The storm battered the island's coasts as authorities assessed damage and began recovery efforts, with the cleanup continuing into the weekend.
India: Jamia shifts classes online as protest enters day 13
Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi moved all classes online until further notice on Saturday as a student protest demanding the restoration of the university's students' union entered its 13th day. Five students have been on hunger strike since October 12, demanding an election schedule for the union, dissolved in 2006, the withdrawal of disciplinary action against protesters, and the removal of the Chief Proctor and Security Advisor. A meeting between university officials and students on Saturday morning turned confrontational, student groups alleged, and the dispute has drawn in politicians after claims about slogans raised on campus were denied by students and a visiting Congress MP. The university has formed committees to draft a union constitution, with a draft due by December 20.
West Bank: Israel launches Hebron operation after soldiers killed
Israel launched a major operation in Hebron after two soldiers were killed in a shooting nearby, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the city sealed. Israeli forces began house-to-house searches, evacuations and demolitions as part of a broader West Bank campaign, according to reports. The operation is the largest in the West Bank in decades by some accounts and has raised fears of further escalation.
Middle East: U.S. warns of Iranian plots as Hormuz tensions simmer
U.S. intelligence warned that Iranian plots against American officials in the Middle East are at an advanced stage, according to reports, part of the wider regional confrontation that has already disrupted Gulf shipping and energy markets. Iranian state media also reported explosions in the southern Hormozgan province overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, though the nature of the blasts was not disclosed. Iran has attempted to blockade the strait, through which around a fifth of the world's oil supplies passed in peacetime, while the United States has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports and ships.
What to watch next
Watch whether France's courts rule on the protest bans, whether the Saudi-Houthi escalation draws a wider response after the U.S. departure order, and whether investigators in Bavaria determine the cause of the Eagle's Nest fire. In New Delhi, the next test for the Jamia standoff is whether the university's constitution committee produces an election date students will accept.
Sources: Orissa Post, South China Morning Post, Arab News, The Indian Express, Particle News.