From a full West Bank closure order to a typhoon shutting down Taiwan, the last 48 hours delivered a packed global news cycle. Here are the biggest developments around the world on October 22–23, 2026.
West Bank: full closure after Hebron checkpoint attack
Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire early Friday at the Farsh al-Hawa (Judea Junction) checkpoint near Hebron; the IDF says both attackers were killed in a shootout and their vehicle contained "a large quantity" of ammunition intended for a larger attack. Five Israelis were wounded, two critically, including a man in his 20s in "very serious" condition, according to Magen David Adom via CNN and Reuters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an immediate cordon on Hebron and "a full lockdown of all of Judea and Samaria starting today," cancelling his own party's political meetings for the day. The attack lands just days before Israel's October 27 election — the first since the October 7, 2023 attack — with Netanyahu's race running tight.
Hormuz fallout: tanker claims, oil spike, stranded pilgrims
Iran's IRGC Navy claimed seven oil tankers caught fire or were damaged overnight — four during ship-to-ship transfers in the northern Gulf, three on mines west of Hormuz — though AP said it could not independently confirm the claims. The IRGC threatened strikes on US regional bases if American escorts continue. Brent crude rose 3% Thursday to around $112 a barrel, its highest since May. In Saudi Arabia, a Houthi attack on Dammam's King Fahd International Airport killed two people, including one Indian national, with two more Indians injured, according to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. The fallout stranded Indian Umrah pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah after IndiGo, Akasa Air and Air India cancelled Saudi flights — opposition leader Asaduddin Owaisi claimed 4,000 were stranded, though India's MEA has not confirmed that figure. The US ordered non-emergency personnel and families out of its Saudi missions.
France: protest bans rain down before a tense Saturday
After an October 22 security council, President Emmanuel Macron announced that "illegitimate" (non-union) protests will be banned, with union marches allowed only on diverted routes. All Saturday protests are now banned in Lyon and Marseille, with restrictions in Paris, Lille and Grenoble and extended nighttime curfews. The move follows October 17 cost-of-living demonstrations — 500,000+ protesters, per Firstpost — that degenerated into the worst street violence in years: Macron cited some 3,000 shops looted and City Hall torched in Limoges, while Lyon's mayor reported 150–200 shops looted and around 200 arrests. An administrative court has already lifted the prefecture's ban in Paris once, and 20% more police are being deployed Saturday.
Tibet: rescue effort after magnitude 7.0 quake
China ordered an "all-out" rescue effort Friday after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Baqen County, Nagqu City, on the night of October 22 — the strongest quake in China since January 2024. The toll stands at 16 dead and 65 injured, per Reuters, with 12,489 residents evacuated and more than 300 houses collapsed. Authorities allocated 50 million yuan in emergency relief and 30 million yuan for recovery; 1,600+ local rescuers and 300+ police are at the epicentre, and the Qinghai-Xizang railway section resumed at reduced speed. Power has been restored to 1,937 households.
Ukraine: Kyiv barrage and the Starlink saga
Overnight October 21–22, Russia fired three waves of ballistic missiles at Kyiv — 21 missiles, three with cluster-munition warheads, one striking near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, per President Zelenskyy — killing 2 and injuring 34 including children; a market strike in Lozova killed 2 more. Meanwhile the WSJ reported Elon Musk had directed an intentional slowdown of Ukraine's Starshield military satellite network; President Trump said he called Musk, who confirmed "he put it back," though full restoration was not confirmed. US envoy Witkoff's praise of Vladimir Putin as a "humanitarian" during a Moscow visit drew a furious response from Kyiv's leadership.
Typhoon Champi: Taiwan shuts down
Almost all of Taiwan shut down Friday as Typhoon Champi — a former super typhoon and one of 2026's strongest Pacific storms — passed just off the northeast coast, packing gusts of about 191 kph near its centre. Schools, offices and financial markets closed; all 262 domestic flights and more than 350 international flights were cancelled. One person drowned near Xiaoliuqiu on October 22 and 171 people were injured, per the Straits Times; 2,639 people were evacuated from mountainous areas and more than 77,000 homes lost power, most restored since. The storm is tracking toward the Chinese coast and southern Japan.
Greece: parliament bans social media for under-15s
Greece's parliament passed a law Friday banning children under 15 from social media, effective January 1, 2027 — only Prime Minister Mitsotakis's New Democracy majority voted for it, with Pasok abstaining and left and nationalist parties against. Platforms have 2.5 months to devise age-verification systems and face harsh penalties for non-compliance. Australia was the first country to impose such a ban (2025, for under-16s); a similar French law was struck down by France's Constitutional Council in August. More than 20 countries now have comparable laws, per AFP.
What to watch next
Israel's October 27 election — whether the promised "full lockdown" of the West Bank materializes and how the security climate shapes the vote. France's Saturday protests — whether the bans survive court challenges and whether the beefed-up police presence prevents another October 17-style night.