From missile barrages over Kyiv to court-overturned protest bans in Paris, this is what shaped the world in the last 48 hours — the biggest conflicts, protests and developments, in one place.
Russia pounds Kyiv as drones fly toward Moscow
Russia hit Kyiv with ballistic missiles overnight while Ukraine sent hundreds of drones toward Moscow, both sides escalating strikes even as diplomacy flickered. According to Reuters, Russia said on Wednesday it was ready to resume US-mediated talks with Ukraine next month, after President Vladimir Putin hosted US envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg. The renewed talk of negotiations has done nothing to slow the barrage — the strikes on the capital are the latest in a grinding campaign on Ukrainian cities.
Israeli strikes kill four in Gaza as fragile ceasefire frays
At least four Palestinians were killed and several wounded on Thursday in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said, in incidents spanning Gaza City, Khan Younis, central Gaza and Jabalia. In Gaza City, a drone strike hit a vehicle in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood; in the north, Israeli gunfire killed a Palestinian near the Jabalia refugee camp, according to medical sources cited by the Daily Sabah. The Israeli military said it had targeted Hamas militants in Khan Younis, Nuseirat and Gaza City. The violence comes as the World Food Programme warned it has been forced to scale back Gaza assistance — from 1.8 million people served to about 500,000 — citing funding cuts, while far-right Israeli protesters from the Tsav 9 movement blocked aid trucks at the Kerem Shalom crossing on Thursday, demanding a halt to deliveries, Haaretz reported.
France: court lifts protest ban, thousands march — and Saturday looms
Thousands of protesters marched through Paris on Thursday after an administrative court overturned a police ban on the demonstration, a direct challenge to President Emmanuel Macron's crackdown after a weekend of clashes and widespread looting that marked France's most violent unrest in years. Organizers signed a police document keeping the march stationary, and the gathering ended peacefully under heavy police presence. Elsewhere, cities including Lyon, Lille and Grenoble kept their bans in place. Macron has said bans target "groups with no legitimate authority," accused organized ultra-left groups of "sedition," and deployed 70,000 officers ahead of fresh demonstrations called for Saturday. Student unions, whose mobilization has kept the protest wave alive since it began over school staffing shortages last month, have called a big day of action for November 5.
Israel vows largest West Bank operation since 1967
Israel ordered a sweeping West Bank military operation after an attack killed two soldiers and left two gunmen dead, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing the largest operation in the territory since 1967. The checkpoint attack — which followed days of escalating lockdowns across the West Bank — marks a sharp escalation in a territory already under intense pressure. Israeli authorities have imposed closures and raids across multiple areas as the operation gets underway.
US pulls diplomats from Saudi Arabia as Houthi strikes escalate
The United States ordered diplomats to depart Saudi Arabia amid escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom, Reuters reported. The move follows Houthi claims of strikes on Saudi airports that killed at least one person, part of a widening campaign that has also drawn US and allied forces into defensive operations in the region. The withdrawal signals Washington's assessment that the threat to American personnel is serious and growing.
Macron declares Trappes shooting a 'racist terrorist attack'
French authorities are treating the Trappes shooting — in which one person was killed and four hurt — as a terrorist act. Macron declared the attack a "racist terrorist" one, after prosecutors opened a terror probe. The case has intensified the already heated national debate over security, immigration and the far right's rising profile ahead of next year's presidential election.
What to watch next
Whether Saturday's French demonstrations stay peaceful under the massive security deployment; whether the West Bank operation matches Netanyahu's rhetoric; and whether the new round of US-mediated Ukraine talks — promised for next month — can survive the ongoing barrage. The coming days will also test whether Gaza's fragile ceasefire holds through the weekend's violence.