From mass unrest in Paris to a deadly drone strike in Sudan, renewed diplomacy over Ukraine, and escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, the past 48 hours have delivered a dense burst of global developments. Here is what matters, with the latest confirmed figures.
France: Protest Bans and Curfews as Riots Rattle Paris
French police banned protests in parts of Paris on Thursday, October 22, as the country braced for more demonstrations just days after weekend rallies against the cost of living degenerated into some of the worst street unrest in years. The ban runs from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm around the Élysée Palace, both houses of parliament, the Louvre, the Champs-Élysées, and the Bastille, République, and Châtelet-Les Halles squares, according to the Malay Mail, citing AFP. Curfews imposed earlier in the week — including an 11 pm to 6 am order around Place de la République and Les Halles — were credited by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu with restoring overnight calm. Interior Ministry figures cited by AP and Bloomberg put Saturday's arrests at about 2,397, with more than 3,000 stores damaged or looted nationwide, and the Louvre closed on Monday after protesters blocked its entrances. President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in Doha on Wednesday, accused unnamed campaigning leaders — widely read as a swipe at US President Donald Trump — of exploiting the unrest for political advantage ahead of the US midterm elections. France's presidential election to choose Macron's successor is set for spring.
Ukraine: Trilateral Talks Advance as Strikes Kill Four
Diplomacy and destruction advanced in parallel this week. US envoy Steve Witkoff held what officials described as constructive talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday, then met Russian President Vladimir Putin for three hours in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, Le Temps reported. Both sides said afterward they were ready to resume US-mediated trilateral talks, with a working meeting possible in early November, though positions remain far apart. The diplomacy unfolded under a barrage of strikes: four people were killed across Ukraine on Wednesday — two when a drone hit a 24-storey apartment building in Kyiv, and an elderly couple, aged 81 and 83, whose house was destroyed in the Kharkiv region, the government said. Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky said Russian forces had struck energy infrastructure, railways and residential buildings continuously since Tuesday night, prompting emergency power outages in parts of Kyiv. Russia launched roughly 186 strike drones over the two days, about 150 of which Ukraine said its air defences shot down or suppressed.
Sudan: Market Drone Strike Toll Hits 153; Geneva Talks Resume
The death toll from a drone strike on Amiet market in the disputed Abyei region — claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan — rose to 153 on Wednesday, a local official said, as rescuers continued recovering bodies, Mathrubhumi English reported. Abyei's interim information minister, Yohana Akol, said the victims included Sudanese, South Sudanese, Ethiopians and Somalis, with at least 19 people hospitalized. Abyei authorities attributed the attack to the Sudanese army; South Sudan's foreign ministry summoned the Sudanese ambassador and condemned it. The same day, international representatives met at the UN in Geneva for a sixth consultative meeting — attended by the United States, China, Russia, Kenya, the African Union and IGAD — urging outside actors to stop supplying mercenaries, weapons and funds. The Abyei strike was part of a broader wave: medics and rights groups say more than 160 people have been killed in drone attacks across Sudan since Friday, including about 80 commuters hit at a transport hub in West Kordofan, AFP reported.
Gaza: Ceasefire Violations Kill More Civilians
Violence continued in Gaza despite the ceasefire agreement in effect since October 10, 2025. Medical sources told Türkiye's Anadolu Agency that Israeli attacks across the Strip on Tuesday killed at least five Palestinians, including a married couple — Akram Yassin and his wife Dina Abu Baker — in an airstrike on an apartment near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, plus a 17-year-old boy killed by gunfire near Khan Younis. On Wednesday, three more Palestinians were killed and a 10-year-old died of earlier wounds, Anadolu reported. Gaza's health authorities say at least 1,522 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire, while Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed by militants over the same period, Reuters reported. Israel says Hamas has been rearming in violation of the ceasefire; Hamas denies it and accuses Israel of undermining the peace deal. The developments come days before Israel's October 27 election, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a contested race including former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
Strait of Hormuz: Iran Threatens US Bases as Tanker Attacks Mount
Tensions between Iran and the United States sharpened sharply on Thursday, when Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to strike American bases across the Middle East if the US military continues escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz. "This is a serious warning," the Guards said in a statement on their Sepah News website, according to AFP reporting carried by the Malay Mail. Iranian forces said four ships were hit overnight in the wider Gulf, while The New Indian Express reported seven oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the strait in the latest incidents. On Tuesday the Guards said their naval mines had halted two tankers attempting what Tehran called an illegal crossing south of the strait, The Hindu reported. Separately, NBC News quoted US officials saying the US military has been reducing troop presence at bases across the Middle East, with staff cuts ordered at several diplomatic missions. According to The Week, American officials are weighing a planned three-day US-Israeli offensive after the November 3 US midterms, while talks mediated by Pakistan and Qatar remain deadlocked. The war, which began February 28, has shut the strait — previously carrying about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas trade — driving fuel prices sharply higher worldwide.
Cuba: Foreign Minister Denounces US Pressure Ahead of UN Vote
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on Wednesday denounced what he called an unprecedented US campaign of "coercive diplomacy" to pressure third countries to vote against a Cuban-backed resolution condemning Washington's trade embargo, CGTN reported. The draft resolution, titled "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba," will be put to a vote at the UN General Assembly on October 28 — the 34th such vote. Rodríguez said this year's resolution is the first to address the fuel and energy blockade Washington imposed in January 2026, and that the embargo has cost the island more than $178.7 billion over six decades. He accused the US of threatening sanctions, punitive tariffs, visa denials and suspension of cooperation programs to flip votes, calling the methods "genuine political violence, coercion, and blackmail." Washington has not responded publicly to the specific allegations.
What to watch next
The coming days are heavy with deadlines: Israel's election on October 27 and the US midterms on November 3 frame any escalation over Iran, the UN's Cuba embargo vote lands on October 28, and the early-November window for trilateral Ukraine talks will test whether this week's diplomacy has substance. In Paris, authorities will see whether protest bans and curfews hold through the weekend, and in Sudan, the Geneva coordination will face its first real test in slowing the drone war.