France to deploy 70,000 police ahead of new protestsPresident Emmanuel Macron, who according to aides is postponing a visit later this month to Nigeria and Senegal amid the crisis, held a meeting of his defence council of top ministers and officials and was to meet security forces. He also hosted for the first time representatives of high school pupils, whose protests over conditions at their schools sparked the movement that has broadened into a nationwide show of anger against the government at the rising cost of living.
https://www.newarab.com/news/france-deploy-70000-police-ahead-new-protestsGerman youth plan France-style mass protestsGen Z regelt's website clearly states that the initiative is "against all violence," whether directed at people or property. Police say they are "vigilant and relaxed," adding that they intend to protect people's right to congregate and express their opinions. Still, images of massive damage and public violence from France, Italy and Spain have raised concerns among domestic policymakers and police, who have warned against allowing the protests to be hijacked by left-wing extremists.
https://www.dw.com/en/german-youth-plan-france-style-mass-protests/a-79727133Massive student-led rally marches in Belgrade ahead of Serbian electionThe Student List, a leaderless movement of student-backed candidates, wants to end more than 14 years of rule by Vucic’s rightwing populist Serbian Progressive party (SNS) in Sunday’s vote. Civil society groups have said the campaign has been marred by intimidation, arrests and misuse of public resources.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/23/serbia-election-student-list-rally-belgrade-aleksandar-vucic Protests spread across Syria amid surge in Israeli incursions in the south Participants voiced support for Syria’s territorial unity and called for an end to Israeli incursions and violations against civilians. They also urged the international community to respond to the continuing military activity in the south. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has documented 1,234 Israeli incursions into Syrian territory since the fall of the Al-Assad regime on 8 December 2024, including 130 between 1 and 23 October 2026.
https://www.syriahr.com/en/387080/ Israel prepares full West Bank lockdown after Hebron shooting Two Palestinians opened fire on Israeli troops at a checkpoint in northern Hebron early in the day. The Israeli army said two soldiers were killed and three others wounded. The two Palestinians were shot dead after a 20-minute exchange of fire. Israeli media said the men belonged to the same family in Hebron. Netanyahu said he ordered Hebron’s closure, alongside preparations for a full lockdown across the West Bank.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-prepares-full-west-bank-lockdown-after-hebron-shootingLebanon-Israel talks in US end without breakthrough as attacks continueTwo days of military talks between Lebanon and Israel at the headquarters of US Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa, Florida, appear to have ended without a breakthrough, as Israel continues its attacks on southern Lebanon and rejects Lebanese demands for a third-party mechanism to verify the Lebanese army's operations.
https://www.newarab.com/news/lebanon-israel-talks-us-end-without-breakthroughForeign citizen beaten to death during march in South Africa as anti-immigrant tensions flarePolice said the group approached the man, who was standing at the side of a road during a march through the streets of Durban’s city center, and assaulted him. Police did not immediately give the man’s nationality or details on what the march was related to. They said the victim was in his 30s or early 40s, and they were still trying to identify suspects in the attack.
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-migrant-south-africa-killed-protest-b34160c6e58b65b6da05e888af054ce8Allegations of torture and abuse shadow a Fulani-led vigilante group despite its role in clamping down on kidnappers.The group’s growing role in fighting kidnapping has also brought the organisation under scrutiny. While some residents credit its members with saving lives, others accuse them of serious abuses. One man says they held him for more than two months and beat him so badly that he lost consciousness. The two accounts reveal the uneasy place occupied by armed community vigilantes in a region where formal security forces have struggled to contain kidnapping and cattle rustling.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2026/10/23/pulaku-the-two-faces-of-nigerias-vigilanteshttps://archive.ph/MdbEFSudanese rights group warns of torture fears after arrests in Blue NileAt least eight civilians have been arrested in Roseires in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, by the Joint Security Cell (JSC) and are being held without access to lawyers or family members, according to a statement by the Human Rights and Development Organisation (HUDO Centre) this week, which fears they may be subjected to torture.
https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudanese-rights-group-warns-of-torture-fears-after-arrests-in-blue-nileThe Mexican prosecutor who let CIA agents into Chihuahua fled in May and remains at largeAuthorities have maintained that the CIA agents played no direct role in the dismantling of the drug laboratory targeted in the operation. But nor were they strangers to staff at the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office then headed by César Jáuregui Moreno. In the preceding months, they had taken part in activities ranging from training and instruction to operational planning.
https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-10-23/the-mexican-prosecutor-who-let-cia-agents-into-chihuahua-fled-in-may-and-remains-at-large.htmlhttps://archive.ph/Wf7PODe la Espriella sacks interior minister after Congress bungles Colombia’s 2027 budgetThe incoming interior minister is an ultra conservative Catholic with ties to the Society of St. Pius X, which considers the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church heresies and errors, and was declared in a schism with the church in June. In Colombian politics and particularly among the opposition, Ordoñez is mainly remembered as the inspector general who illegally removed former President Gustavo Petro from his post as mayor of Bogota in 2013.
https://colombiareports.com/de-la-espriella-sacks-interior-minister-after-congress-bungles-colombias-2027-budget/Former Ecuadorian left presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez denounces ‘absurd’ arrestMs Gonzalez faces charges of irregular financing of her 2023 presidential campaign, which her supporters say are “lawfare” as the Donald Trump-aligned Daniel Noboa regime represses its political opponents. She came second to Mr Noboa in the 2023 and 2025 elections with 47 and 44 per cent of the vote respectively.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/former-ecuadorian-left-presidential-candidate-luisa-gonzalez-denounces-absurd-arrest