From a deadly wave of Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia that forced the United States to pull diplomats out, to a Russian missile barrage on Kyiv hours after peace talks and mass protest bans in France, the last two days have been grim across several fronts. Here are the day's biggest global developments, every figure reported as stated by its source.
Houthi strikes batter Saudi Arabia; US pulls diplomats out
Operations at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam returned to normal on Thursday after an attack on Wednesday evening killed two people, a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said. Eight people were injured, including Saudi, Indian, Yemeni, Bangladeshi and Nepali nationals, according to Arab News.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Filipino and a Nepali worker were killed and two others injured by falling debris from an intercepted drone at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oil field in the Eastern Province, the energy ministry said; operations were unaffected. Attacks continued Thursday, with the Saudi-led coalition saying it intercepted and destroyed five drones over the Riyadh and Madinah regions.
The US State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency employees and their families from its missions in Saudi Arabia, spokesman Tommy Pigott said on X, citing Houthi attacks on civilian airports and critical infrastructure. Four US officials told Reuters that family members would also be withdrawn from several other US missions in the region. Gulf stock markets fell on the news, and Riyadh answered with strikes on missile launcher sites.
Russia rains 21 ballistic missiles on Kyiv hours after talks
Russia launched 21 ballistic missiles at Kyiv in three waves overnight on Thursday, hours after US envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg for three hours of talks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram. "There have been numerous hits and damages: residential buildings, energy infrastructure, a railway station, the metro, shopping centers and businesses," Zelensky wrote. "Even a monastery was among the damaged objects." At least two people were killed and 34 injured in Kyiv and the surrounding areas, he said, according to ABC News.
Ukraine's air force said Russia used a mixture of ballistic and cruise missiles, none of which were intercepted, plus 210 drones, of which 181 were suppressed, with impacts in 32 locations. In Kharkiv, an airstrike on a market killed two people and injured 17, local officials said. Russia said it had downed 808 Ukrainian drones overnight and that two people were wounded in Moscow.
The strikes came even as the Kremlin said it was ready to resume trilateral talks with the US and Ukraine after November 10. Zelensky called the timing deliberate; President Donald Trump said negotiators were "maybe now the closest we've been" to ending the war.
Gaza killings continue despite year-old ceasefire
Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least four people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, health officials in the enclave said, in the latest violence under a year-old US-brokered ceasefire. In Gaza City, a strike on a car killed at least one person; another strike killed a Palestinian man on a bike in Khan Younis and a man near the Nuseirat refugee camp; gunfire killed a woman near the Jabalia refugee camp, medics told Reuters. The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas militants in Khan Younis, Nuseirat and Gaza City.
Israel says Hamas has been rearming in violation of the ceasefire and has stepped up strikes in recent weeks; Hamas denies this and accuses Israel of undermining the peace deal. At least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, according to the territory's health officials, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed. Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in the assault launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
UN condemns wave of deadly drone strikes across Sudan
The UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the organization was alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes killing civilians, including children, and disrupting central services, according to Al Jazeera.
The deadliest recent attack occurred near a market in al-Dabba in West Kordofan, where a drone struck a transport hub on Sunday, killing 80 people, Al Jazeera reported. On Monday, a strike in Khartoum reportedly killed a father and his three children; an army drone hit the RSF stronghold of Nyala, killing 17; and a strike on a gathering of displaced people in Blue Nile province killed 41. The UN also condemned drone strikes in the Abyei region on the Sudan-South Sudan border that killed at least 28 civilians at Amiet Market and Todach on Monday, with many more injured and unaccounted for.
A Centre for Information Resilience investigation found 21 different drone models have been used in the war, sourced mainly from six countries: Belarus, Iran, China, Russia, Sudan and Turkiye. The UN's personal envoy Pekka Haavisto is in Geneva for the sixth consultative meeting on peace initiatives for Sudan.
France bans protests as Macron vows crackdown after riots
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that "illegitimate" protests would be banned in the coming days, blaming "seditious" ultra-left groups and vandals for last weekend's riots and looting. Speaking after a security council with intelligence chiefs and senior ministers, Macron said demonstrations organized by trade unions would be allowed but could be diverted along alternative routes to protect businesses and city centers, Reuters reported.
France was rocked on October 17 by some of its worst urban unrest in years, on the fringes of nationwide protests over the cost of living and education reforms. More than half a million people rallied; at least 2,500 were arrested after riots, looting and arson. In Lyon, where the tourist office was set on fire and between 150 and 200 shops were looted, authorities banned all protests planned for Saturday.
Businesses in central Paris have begun boarding up shop windows. The hard-left CGT union is threatening a rolling general strike from November 5 if the government does not give in to its demands.
Pakistan-Afghanistan border clashes risk 'open war'
Deadly fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan along their border has continued this week, with the Taliban claiming its fighters killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in cross-border attacks, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, according to Nepal News. The Taliban said the strikes were retaliation for a Pakistani airstrike on a market; Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called the attacks unprovoked and warned of a strong military response. The New York Times on October 22 described the situation as an "open war" between the two neighbors.
In the Kurram district, heavy clashes erupted in the Ghuzgarhi border area, with a missile reportedly striking a civilian area in Pewar and two Pakistani soldiers, Sepoy Fazalullah and Sepoy Imran Nazir, killed, local media reported. Pakistan closed the Torkham and Chaman border crossings, leaving hundreds of trucks stranded.
The economic fallout is mounting: business groups estimate more than $2.5 billion in lost trade since the two countries suspended commerce a year ago, Channel NewsAsia reported. Talks in Istanbul aimed at securing a lasting peace have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.
What to watch next
The coming days will test whether the escalation around Saudi Arabia spreads: watch for further Houthi strikes, the US drawdown across Gulf missions, and Trump's threats against Iran ahead of the US midterms and Israel's October 27 election. In Ukraine, promised trilateral talks after November 10 offer a slim diplomatic opening even as both sides keep striking. France braces for a potentially volatile weekend under sweeping protest bans, while Pakistan and Afghanistan slide deeper into confrontation and Sudan's drone war grinds on despite the UN's condemnation.