World, in brief

France's interior ministry counted about 550,000 marchers in scores of cities on Saturday, and the CGT, one of France's biggest unions, counted 800,000. [1][2]

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said 1,200 people were arrested and 150 police officers were hurt. [3]

Most marches were peaceful, but masked groups on their edges looted shops in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux and Lille. [1][4]

In Limoges, in central France, a masked group set fire to the 143-year-old town hall, and most of its roof fell in. [5][6]

Rioters burned the tourist office in Lyon and broke into the town halls of Marseille and Lille. [7][1]

In Saint-Etienne a protester's hand was blown off, and a police source told the AFP news agency it was a police crowd-control grenade. [7]

A demonstrator in Paris died after their heart and breathing stopped, and police said the death was not linked to police action or to the clashes. [8]

The movement began in September at schools in poor suburbs north of Paris, where pupils protested over missing teachers and shabby buildings. [5]

The CGT and the 'yellow vests', a 2018 movement against high living costs, joined the pupils on Saturday, and the CGT asked for higher wages, pensions and lower prices. [9][3]

On 8 October the education minister promised 3,000 extra supply teachers, but the protests kept growing. [3]

Fuel prices have soared since the US-Iran war began this year, and French buying power has shrunk since 2024. [10]

Lecornu blamed the 'ultra-left', and the two front-runners for April's presidential vote took opposite sides: Marine Le Pen backed the police, Jean-Luc Melenchon the marchers. [4][2][3]

Why it matters. Watch whether the marches go on through the two-week school holiday, which France's government hopes will end the student movement. [2]

A fire after an incident at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, one of Canada's busiest army training bases, in the province of Alberta, killed and injured several people on Saturday. [22] Defence Minister David McGuinty confirmed deaths but gave no number and no cause. [23] Global News, a Canadian TV network, citing unnamed military sources, said at least seven died when a gas line was hit during live-fire training. [22] High winds pushed the fire through the base fence, and an Edmonton doctor said the patients would overwhelm the city's hospitals. [23][24]

Why it matters. Alberta votes on Monday on whether to begin the process of leaving Canada, and the fire closed the advance polling station in Wainwright. [24][25] The minister said more details would come in the coming hours and days. [26]

Masked Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of diplomats from Belgium, France and Poland, and Catholic Church officials, in Taybeh, a Christian village near Ramallah, on Saturday. [27] The visitors had come to see Palestinian farmers pick olives after near-daily settler attacks on the harvest. [27] Bernard Baudoux, a 78-year-old French mayor, said settlers kicked him and hit him with iron bars. [19] Middle East Eye, citing the Israeli paper Haaretz, reported that the army sat on calls for help for nearly two hours. [28]

Why it matters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office suggested the reports were part of a campaign to smear Israel, ten days before Israel's 27 October election. [27][19] The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the US has asked Israel to crack down on settler attacks. [29]

At least 17 people, among them a seven-year-old girl, died in a crush outside a festival pavilion in Kolkata, a city in eastern India, on Saturday night. [30][31] Crowds had gathered for Durga Puja, a Hindu festival. [30] A senior police officer said sudden rain and a public announcement set off pushing, and people fell to the ground. [31] Twenty-five people were hurt, and police detained 12 people, including the event's organisers. [30][32]

Why it matters. Deadly crushes at religious gatherings are not rare in India, because crowds are often badly managed, the BBC reports. [30] Two years ago 121 people died at a Hindu gathering in Uttar Pradesh. [30]

A heavily loaded truck broke through police barriers and hit worshippers at a temple in Gwalior, a city in India's Madhya Pradesh state, early on Sunday, killing at least 13. [32][33] About 40 people were hurt, five or six of them badly. [32] Police said the truck was in an area where heavy vehicles are banned. [32] It came a day after the crush in Kolkata. [33]

Why it matters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised money to the family of each person who died. [32] India recorded more than 183,000 road deaths in 2025, over 500 a day, its roads ministry says. [32]

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, its most powerful armed force, said two tankers, each carrying about two million barrels of oil, caught fire on Saturday after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz. [13] They said the ships had switched off their tracking systems and used a route Iran had not approved. [34] Iran has demanded that every ship ask its permission since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February. [13] The head of US Central Command said the strait is controlled by the US and its partners, not Iran. [34]

Why it matters. About a fifth of the world's oil passed through the strait before the war. [13] On the same day Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told Muslim countries' foreign ministers in Baghdad that Iran had sent a seven-day plan to reopen it through Qatar. [35][36]

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that President Trump will take up to 60 days to study what new sanctions and tariffs on Russia would do to the world economy. [37] Trump signed an order on Friday waiving them, days before they were due to start. [38] The US Senate had passed the law, named after the late senator Lindsey Graham, by 86 votes to 11. [38] Republican senator Thom Tillis called the waiver 'beyond irresponsible'. [38]

Why it matters. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, asked supporters to speak up for the law and called the pause a reward for Russia's president, Vladimir Putin. [39][40] He said Russia had just hit more than 15 power sites across Ukraine as winter nears. [39][41]

Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said on Saturday that Egypt is ready to help defend Saudi Arabia against Yemen's Houthi rebels if the Saudis ask. [16] He said this needs parliament's approval and asked for an emergency session, which was called for Sunday. [42][43] He said he means defence only, not attacking anyone. [16] Egypt joined the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen in 2015, but mostly guarded Red Sea shipping. [42]

Why it matters. Houthi attacks on ships have cost Egypt's Suez Canal about $11 billion in fees since 2023, its foreign minister said last month. [42] In the same speech Sisi said again that he will leave office in 2030. [44]

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to start paying some Yemeni government forces fighting the Houthis again, with Saudi Arabia giving them air cover, sources in Yemen told the Guardian. [17] The UAE used to train and pay the Giant Brigades, some of the best anti-Houthi fighters, but quit Yemen in January after a quarrel with Saudi Arabia. [17] Since then the Houthis have pushed across Yemen and cut most roads into Taiz, a city of almost a million people. [17][45]

Why it matters. It is the first clear sign that the two Gulf rulers are mending their split over Yemen. [17] The National, a UAE newspaper, reports that if Taiz falls the Houthis could move on Aden, Marib and Lahj. [45]

Two Saudi officers died when their reconnaissance helicopter crashed in Najran, near the Yemen border, the Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday. [46] It blamed a technical fault, while the Houthis said they shot it down. [46] They are the coalition's first military deaths since the war flared again in July. [46] The Houthis said Saudi air strikes on Friday killed three children, aged eight and ten, in a village in Dhamar province. [47]

Why it matters. Saudi Arabia did not comment on the children's deaths. [47] The Houthi health ministry says 124 people have been killed in Houthi areas since fighting resumed in September. [47]

Saudi Arabia now fires two interceptor missiles at each incoming Houthi missile or drone, down from five to seven, to make its shrinking stocks last, The National reports. [18] It wants more air-defence systems from Britain and France. [18] A UK defence source said Britain has 'very little left' to send, because its systems guard Eastern Europe against Russia. [18] The US is keeping its Patriot systems for its own bases. [18]

Why it matters. With fewer interceptors aimed at each attack, more attacks can get through. A Houthi missile hit Riyadh's airport last week, and the paper says Saudi Arabia is five times the size of Ukraine. [18]

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, reopened on Sunday after being shut by Houthi attacks. [15] Many airlines have not yet gone back. [15] Etihad cancelled its Abu Dhabi-Riyadh flights until Monday, flydubai until 19 October, and Air Arabia has given no date. [15] Emirates lists six flights between Dubai and Riyadh for 20 October. [15]

Why it matters. The Houthis have struck the airport 20 times since the start of October, killing 17 people and hurting more than 300, The National reports. [48]

Yemen's Houthis released 159 pro-government fighters under an amnesty, a Houthi official told reporters in Sanaa, the capital they hold. [49] He said the men had given themselves up without fighting when the Houthis took positions along the Red Sea coast last month. [49] The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed the release and helped with health checks, calls to families and transport home. [49] The Houthis say 323 others were freed the same way last month. [49]

Why it matters. It is the second release under the amnesty in two months, while Saudi Arabia faces daily Houthi drone and missile attacks. [49][17]

Protests over living costs spread beyond France on Saturday. [11] Police in Brussels and Liege, in Belgium, used tear gas and water cannon, and Belgium's interior minister called it organised violence. [50] In Milan and Bologna, in Italy, marches against high prices turned into clashes with police. [11][51] Tens of thousands marched in Lisbon, Portugal's capital, where house prices have more than doubled since 2017. [11] Housing groups joined the CGTP union federation's marches there, asking for higher wages and pensions. [52]

Why it matters. Portugal's government said it 'will not yield to shouts from the street'. [11] Belgian students have been marching against higher university fees, like the French pupils who started the wave. [50][11]

Students and other protesters fought riot police in Tirana, Albania's capital, for a fifth day running on Saturday. [53] Police used water cannon, tear gas and, by some reports, rubber bullets for the first time. [53][54] Police say 167 people have been arrested and 132 officers hurt in five days, and seven officers are suspended over claims of too much force. [54] The protesters want better schools and jobs, and Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation over corruption claims. [54]

Why it matters. Rama, in power since 2013, refuses to quit and blames his conservative opponents for the clashes. [54] The crowd outside his office on Saturday was the biggest yet. [53]

Thousands of people marched in Tunis, Tunisia's capital, on Saturday against President Kais Saied's government, worsening living conditions and limits on freedoms. [55] The march was led by the Tunisian General Labour Union, with opposition groups, and was among the largest against Saied in years. [55] Saied has gathered power into his own hands since 2021. [55] Unemployment is 14.9%, and 26.6% among university graduates, official figures show. [55]

Why it matters. Earlier this month police stopped a 'Dignity March' of jobless graduates walking about 300km to the capital to ask for public-sector jobs. [55]

Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over Romania's waters in the Black Sea on Saturday, minutes after they crossed into its airspace near Sulina. [56] Romania's defence ministry said they were jet-powered Geran attack drones, Russia's version of an Iranian drone. [57] On Sunday NATO jets tracked a suspected drone over northern Lithuania, which may have blown up on its own. [58] NATO ambassadors meet on Tuesday to discuss the Black Sea. [56]

Why it matters. Drones hit six ships off Romania and Bulgaria in ten days this month, and 11 sailors died on one of them. [14] Shipping insurers see no end to the danger, and the price of cover has shot up. [14]

The ruling coalition of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, a populist billionaire, won none of the 27 Senate seats up for election, final results showed on Saturday. [59] Pro-Western opposition parties won 22, keeping control of the 81-seat upper house. [59] It was Babis's first test since he won back power in October 2025. [59] He called the result 'catastrophic' but said his government's plans would go ahead. [59]

Why it matters. The Czech Senate has a big say over changes to the constitution and over who sits on the Constitutional Court. [59] Babis's government has ended direct military help to Ukraine. [59]

Hundreds of rallies by No Kings, a network that opposes President Trump, took place across the US on Saturday. [60] This time the aim was to get people to vote early in the 3 November midterm elections, which decide who controls the US Congress. [20][61] In Atlanta a city councillor told the crowd to use 'the power to vote'. [60] Polls suggest the Democrats could win back the House of Representatives, while the US Senate is too close to call. [20]

Why it matters. Trump's government sued California on Thursday to stop it counting mail ballots from people it calls 'likely' non-citizens. [60] The US Justice Department also warned local officials they could face criminal investigation for counting such ballots. [60]

President Trump is blaming senior aides for a weak midterm campaign, questioning spending and candidate choices, three people familiar with the talks told Reuters. [62] An AP-NORC poll found most voters think Trump is falling short and want big change in the US Congress. [12] About eight in ten voters named the economy or living costs as a top issue. [12] At a rally in Kentucky on Saturday, Trump said: 'I can do stuff that is unbelievable.' [63]

Why it matters. Losing the House would give the Democrats the power to summon officials and investigate his government in his last two years, Reuters notes. [62] His approval rating is at the lowest point of his presidency, pulled down by prices and the Iran war. [62]

Vice-President JD Vance faced hard questions from voters in a CBS News town hall shown on Saturday. [64] Joey Amor, whose wife was one of six US soldiers killed by an Iranian drone in Kuwait on 1 March, asked who would be held to account. [64] Vance said it was the first he had heard of it, then admitted 'a huge mistake' over where troops were placed. [64] He said the US wants a lasting promise that can be checked that Iran will not rebuild its nuclear programme. [65]

Why it matters. A Michigan voter who backed Trump in 2024, and now plans to vote for the Democratic Senate candidate, pressed Vance on high fuel prices. [64] Vance blamed Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz for those prices. [65]

Pope Leo XIV, the 71-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church, left Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Saturday, four days after surgery for lung cancer. [66][67] Surgeons removed the lower part of his right lung on Tuesday. [66] He walked to his car unaided and told well-wishers he was better. [67] His doctors have not yet said whether the cancer has spread. [67]

Why it matters. He was due to lead Sunday's prayer in St Peter's Square, his first public event since the operation. [67] People close to him say he wants to keep a trip to Latin America, including Peru, planned for early November. [66]

Pakistani troops and Afghan Taliban forces fired at each other for hours on Saturday in Kurram, a district on Pakistan's north-western border. [68] Pakistani officials said their artillery destroyed Taliban posts and killed Pakistani Taliban fighters trying to cross. [68][69] The Pakistani Taliban are an armed group that Pakistan says shelters in Afghanistan, which Afghanistan's Taliban government denies. [68] A day earlier Pakistan said talks with Afghanistan cannot be without conditions. [69]

Why it matters. Pakistan says more than 2,800 militant attacks have killed 3,000 people across the country this year. [68] The UN mission in Afghanistan has counted more than 1,100 civilians killed or hurt there by cross-border fighting this year. [68]

Macky Sall, Senegal's former president, withdrew on Saturday from the race to become the next head of the United Nations. [70] It came a day after an informal Security Council vote in which all seven candidates were blocked by at least one of the five permanent members. [70] Sall said he hopes to help a candidate everyone can accept to emerge. [70] Uganda's Olara Otunnu is now the only African left in the race. [70]

Why it matters. By tradition the job rotates between world regions, and this time most candidates are from Latin America. [70] Costa Rica's Rebecca Grynspan leads with seven votes in favour, but two permanent members oppose her. [70]

Juan Francisco Solorzano Foppa, a 43-year-old former prosecutor known for cases against powerful businessmen, was shot dead at a sports centre in Guatemala City on Saturday. [71] A second man also died. [71] Police said they arrested two men and seized a gun and a motorbike. [71] Foppa ran Guatemala's tax authority from 2016 to 2018 and helped prosecute dozens of business figures for unpaid taxes. [71]

Why it matters. President Bernardo Arevalo said those who ordered the killing, not only the gunmen, must face the law. [71] Foppa had publicly linked a street gang to a political party. [71]