Tankers burn in the Strait of Hormuz, Russia rains cluster munitions on Kyiv hours after peace talks are announced, Israel seals the West Bank four days before its election, France locks down its cities ahead of Saturday protests, and rescuers battle freezing temperatures in Tibet. The last 48 hours, in seven stories.
Strait of Hormuz: Iran Claims Seven Tankers Hit in Biggest Single-Day Toll
Iran said Thursday that seven tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz overnight after being struck or hitting naval mines — the largest single-day toll for shipping there since the war involving Iran, the US and Israel began on February 28. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said four tankers were transferring oil when targeted and caught fire, while three others were disabled by mines. The claims could not be independently verified, and no casualties or vessel flags were reported.
The IRGC warned the conflict could extend to US military bases across the Middle East if Washington keeps guiding commercial ships through the strait. US Central Command said no American warship was hit and the strait remained open and monitored; President Donald Trump disputed Iran's account, according to the Associated Press. The crisis lands days before Israel's October 27 election and the US midterms, as the US deploys thousands of troops and a third aircraft carrier to the region.
Ukraine: Cluster Warheads Over Kyiv Hours After Witkoff-Putin Talks
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of firing three ballistic missiles with cluster warheads at Kyiv in an overnight barrage, hours after US envoy Steve Witkoff spent three hours with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Zelenskyy said the missiles detonated in the air near their targets, scattering explosives across an area roughly 400 metres wide. Russia fired 21 missiles and 210 drones across 12 regions, killing at least two and injuring 34 — including five children. Homes, power facilities, a subway station and a Kharkiv market were damaged, and Ukraine's air force said none of the ballistic missiles aimed at Kyiv were intercepted amid a critical shortage of Patriot interceptors.
Putin agreed in principle to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the US after November 10 but rejected a short ceasefire. Zelenskyy said strikes began "almost immediately" after the Witkoff meeting — proof of "no real change" in Moscow's stance. Authorities also ordered all families and children to evacuate frontline Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and Kyiv's prime minister revealed Russia struck 10 Kyiv data centres last month amid rising AI-aided cyberattacks.
West Bank: Netanyahu Orders Lockdown After Checkpoint Shooting
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an immediate security cordon around Hebron and preparations for a full West Bank lockdown after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire near the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint on Friday morning. Five Israelis in their 20s were wounded — two critically, according to Magen David Adom. Both attackers were killed in a prolonged gunfight witnessed by an AFP photographer. The military said a large quantity of ammunition was found in their vehicle and searches for accomplices were under way.
Netanyahu cancelled all Likud political meetings on Friday, praising troops for preventing "what could have been a major attack." Hamas praised the shooting as a "heroic operation" without claiming responsibility, while far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for full Israeli control of the West Bank. The clampdown lands four days before Israel's October 27 election, putting security back at the centre of a tight race for Netanyahu.
France: Macron Chairs Defence Council as Cities Ban Saturday Protests
President Emmanuel Macron was due to chair a defence council meeting on Friday to decide "the next steps" ahead of nationwide demonstrations called for Saturday, as authorities imposed protest bans, curfews and transport restrictions across France. Paris extended its nighttime curfew until Monday around Place de la République and Les Halles; Marseille, Lyon, Nice and Montpellier banned Saturday gatherings, extended curfews — to adults as well as minors in Marseille — and restricted public transport. Police deployments will rise 20 percent over last weekend.
The crackdown follows October 17 rallies of more than half a million people against living costs that degenerated into the country's worst street violence in years — the government admitted police lost control, and Lyon alone saw 200–300 shops looted. Macron blamed "organised ultra-left groups aiming to bring down the republic" and said only union marches should be authorized — a line civil liberties groups condemned as a threat to the right to demonstrate. A Paris student protest went ahead Thursday after a court overturned a police ban.
Tibet: 16 Dead, 76 Injured as Rescue Pushes On in Freezing Quake Zone
The death toll from Thursday night's magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Tibet's Nagqu region held at 16 on Friday, while the injured rose to 76. At least 339 homes collapsed or were damaged, and more than 12,000 residents were evacuated from the city, which sits about 4,800 metres above sea level. President Xi Jinping ordered all-out search and rescue and prompt medical treatment. Rescuers completed three rounds of household searches by Friday afternoon, with over 5,000 personnel alongside 300-plus police and 347 firefighters.
Cracked and leaning buildings could collapse in aftershocks — 413 have been recorded — while remote terrain, low temperatures and forecast snowfall complicate the response. Trains on the affected Qinghai-Xizang Railway section resumed at reduced speeds Friday morning. It is China's strongest quake since January 2024.
Sudan: UN Rights Chief Condemns Deadly Surge in Drone Strikes
UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Friday "strongly" condemned an escalation of drone attacks across Sudan that killed at least 306 people in the first three weeks of October. Türk said drones now account for the majority of conflict-related civilian deaths this year. His office documented strikes attributed to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces on homes, markets, medical facilities, displacement shelters and infrastructure — including an alleged SAF strike on West Kordofan shelters that killed 25 and a repeated strike on a transport truck that killed 139.
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned of a worrying rise in civilian harm from aerial attacks, most likely by armed drones. A BBC investigation published this week found the RSF deliberately targeted hospitals during its siege of el-Fasher in Darfur — at least 43 attacks on health facilities, with 55 medical workers killed. The US urged the UN Security Council on Friday to push for a humanitarian truce and expand Sudan's arms embargo; China and Russia opposed it.
Red Sea: 14 Indians Rescued After Yacht Incident Near Yemen
All 14 Indian nationals aboard a yacht involved in an incident off Yemen's coast are safe, the Indian embassy in Yemen said Friday, after the Houthis claimed to be rescuing the vessel near Jabal Zuqar island, close to the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the boat, carrying 14 Indians, had been targeted by Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities did not respond to Reuters' request for comment, and the circumstances remain unclear.
The incident follows the October 21 attack on Dammam's King Fahd International Airport, which killed one Indian national and injured two others, and an attack on Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oil field that injured another Indian. India's foreign ministry condemned the attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure as "unacceptable." More than a dozen Indian seafarers have been killed and three remain missing across the Gulf and wider West Asia since the regional conflict began in February, according to Reuters.
What to Watch Next
Israel's October 27 election, France's Saturday protests, whether US-Israel strikes on Iran resume, and whether the trilateral Ukraine talks materialize after November 10.