From a Nobel laureate’s return to Venezuela to mass protests in France and fresh strikes in Gaza, the last 48 hours have brought major developments on several fronts at once. Here are the day’s biggest global stories, with the latest reported details.
1. Machado returns to Venezuela after nearly a year away
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado announced on October 25 that she is back in Venezuela after more than 10 months outside the country, writing on X: “I am here. With you.” Within hours she appeared at the Church of Santa Rosa in Barquisimeto, in Lara state, where supporters surrounded her. Her return poses a challenge to interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who took over after United States forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January, and to a Washington-backed transition that has so far said Venezuela must stabilize before elections. President Donald Trump said he hoped Machado was safe, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio credited United States-supported reconciliation talks for her safe return.
2. Obama storms the midterm trail against Trump
Former President Barack Obama campaigned in Cleveland, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, on October 24, attacking President Donald Trump’s record as “chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence” and urging voters to treat the November 3 midterms as a “circuit breaker.” In Ohio he backed Senate candidate Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, blaming the war on Iran for rising fuel prices; in Michigan he backed Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson. Trump responded on Truth Social urging Michigan voters to back Republican Mike Rogers. With control of Congress at stake, the final 10 days of the campaign are now a direct clash between two presidents.
3. France: 1,314 arrested as protests and storms batter the country
France’s Interior Ministry said 1,314 people were arrested during nationwide demonstrations on October 25 over living costs, nearly triple the previous weekend’s figure, though officials said violence declined from October 17 levels. More than 400,000 people marched against President Emmanuel Macron, according to reports of the protests. At the same time, back-to-back storms Austen and Boelo cut power to nearly 290,000 homes at their peak, with about 59,000 households in western France still without power at midday on October 25, and more than 82,000 properties without electricity in the United Kingdom on October 25 as Storm Boelo battered northern regions with winds reaching 84 mph.
4. Gaza: eight killed as strikes hit a university campus
At least eight Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on October 25, including three security guards killed in an air strike on the Islamic University campus in Gaza City, the second attack on the institution within hours, according to medical sources cited by Anadolu Agency. Four Palestinians, including two women and a child, were killed in the latest attacks, with eight others wounded, as violations of the ceasefire agreement continued, the reports said. Separately, Israeli forces seized Palestinian homes in Hebron for use as military barracks and observation posts, displacing hundreds of families as the army entered a second day of operations following a checkpoint attack that killed two soldiers.
5. United States and Iran: strike warning as Hormuz tensions rise
President Donald Trump warned on October 25 that Washington could launch fresh military action against Iran as soon as Sunday, while also leaving the door open to a diplomatic agreement. The warning came as the United States Director of National Intelligence warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio of heightened Iranian threats, and as Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf said the United States had “entered a quagmire” in its war against Iran. The United States State Department also renewed travel advisories urging Americans to reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, citing heightened threats of armed attacks by Iranian-supported Houthis.
6. Ukraine: Starlink restored as Musk dispute continues
Ukraine said Starlink service is back to normal after disruptions, following a public dispute in which Elon Musk said Ukraine had violated Starlink’s terms by using it to kill people, and defended speed restrictions he imposed on the service. Ukraine disputed Musk’s claim that its military violated the terms of service. Russia and Ukraine also reported civilian casualties in overnight strikes on October 25. The Starlink row matters because the satellite service remains critical to Ukraine’s military communications, and any further restriction could affect frontline operations.
7. Houthi attacks hit southern Saudi Arabia as Riyadh airport reopens
Yemen’s Houthis launched a wave of missile and drone attacks across southern Saudi Arabia on October 25, as Riyadh’s international airport reopened following a deadly strike earlier in October that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, disrupting air traffic for two weeks. Flights resumed at Riyadh airport even as the new attacks were reported. The episode underlines how the Red Sea and Gulf security crisis continues to disrupt civilian aviation and shipping, weeks after the airport strike brought one of the region’s busiest hubs to a halt.
What to watch next
Watch whether Machado’s return pushes Venezuela toward an election timetable, whether the United States follows through on its Iran strike warning or reaches a deal, and whether France’s protests and storm recovery strain the government further in the week ahead. The Morning Post will update each of these stories as they develop.
Sources: USA Today, Al Jazeera, Yeni Safak, Al Jazeera