The Rest of the World Report | October 8, 2026 — Evening Edition

The Rest of the World Report | **October 8, 2026 — Evening Edition** The View From Everywhere Else Weekday morning and evening editions. Saturdays once. Good news on Sundays. All sources labeled. STUDENTS RETURN TO BASTILLE Tens of thousands of people filled Place de la Bastille in Paris on Thursday. They demanded better schools and an end to police violence. A wire-service journalist at the square counted “several tens of thousands.” The Interior Ministry counted 71,500 demonstrators nationwide. More than 500 people were detained. **Editor’s note, from Paris:** ROTWR’s editor was in the march. At least ten thousand people filled the mile from République to Bastille, in the editor’s account. Teachers and union members walked on the outer edge. The crowd sang La Marseillaise. The demands were more resources, safer buildings and more teachers. At Bastille, thousands more arrived from many directions. Students swarmed Bally Bagayoko when he arrived. Bagayoko is the mayor of Saint-Denis. He was tear-gassed on Tuesday. Videos showed him standing between students and riot police. He told RTL that France risked a “serious human tragedy” if tensions kept rising. He called for de-escalation and negotiation. The Paris police prefecture described the afternoon. At about 4:20 p.m., it said, paving stones and fireworks mortars were thrown at police on rue de la Bastille. No one was hurt. Half an hour later, about twenty people it called black bloc threw street furniture. Police answered with a water cannon and tear gas. The square was cleared by early evening. The movement has already moved the government. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said 3,000 replacement teachers are not currently in front of students. They are to be deployed in the coming hours and days. He said 114 high schools are rated red and 400 orange. He promised an emergency plan within hours or days. It is one of several moves this week. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu set out five workstreams, including teacher absences and building conditions. He said the government’s student platform has collected more than 40,000 contributions. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez suspended the use of stun grenades in policing protests. The Education Ministry’s morning projection counted 375 of France’s 3,700 schools suspended in whole or in part. It said 224 were fully closed. That is 30 percent fewer than at the same hour Wednesday. Ryad Rani, president of the National Union of High School Students, said 2,000 high schools were shut. Unions and students called a new strike and march for Tuesday, October 13. The FSU, the leading education federation, asked all education and university staff to strike. Sabrine Kharbach, a spokesperson for Union Étudiante, said the mobilization will continue until 10 billion euros are on the table. 🇺🇸 **What American readers need to know:** French students and teachers marched in Paris on Thursday. The Interior Ministry counted 71,500 demonstrators nationwide. The government promised 3,000 replacement teachers. A new strike and march is set for October 13. *Sources:* 20 Minuten *(Switzerland; live blog; Geffray’s announcements, ministry school counts)*; BFMTV *(France, commercial news channel; Lecornu’s address from Matignon, October 7)*; TRT World *(Türkiye, state-funded; AFP copy; Bastille crowd, police tear gas)*; IBTimes Singapore *(Singapore; Bagayoko tear-gassed Tuesday, RTL remarks)*; Sortiraparis *(France; October 13 strike and march, FSU call, Kharbach)* KRAMATORSK A Russian glide bomb killed at least 33 people in Kramatorsk on Thursday morning, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. The bomb hit two minibuses. Fire broke out in both. Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said 18 more people were injured. He said Russians are targeting civilians. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the toll could rise. He said the strike will not go without a response. Russia launched 142 Shahed-type drones overnight into Thursday, Ukraine’s air force said. Eighty-two were jet-powered. Air defenses downed or suppressed 126. Kyiv was hit again. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported three killed and at least 13 injured in the morning attacks. The Kyiv City Military Administration reported four killed and 21 injured across four districts overnight. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, announced emergency power shutdowns in the Brovary, Buchanskyi, Vyshgorod and Boryspil districts. The administration warned of water interruptions on the right bank of the city. The attack followed Wednesday’s mass strike on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday. At least 30 people were killed and 117 injured across Ukraine. Russia launched 48 cruise missiles and 130 drones. The air force said 39 missiles and 117 drones were shot down or suppressed. Strikes hit 18 locations. Pryluky, in Chernihiv region, took the heaviest toll. A cruise missile hit a residential building. At least 22 people were killed, five of them children. At least 54 were injured, including seven children. Four of the dead children were named as Oleksandr, Kyrylo, Serhiy and Maksym, who was eight. Kremenchuk had two killed and 47 injured. Oleksandriya had two killed, three injured and one man missing. Kyiv had at least four killed and 13 injured. Diplomacy has not moved. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Kathimerini, a Greek newspaper, on Thursday that no negotiated settlement is in prospect. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters, “There are currently no plans to hold talks in this format.” U.S. envoys traveled to Kyiv and Moscow in early September. That produced an agreement in principle on a trilateral meeting of Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. A month later, the meeting remains uncertain. 🇺🇸 **What American readers need to know:** Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Roger Wicker wrote to the administration. They urged it to enforce the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. It was signed September 18. Most provisions take effect October 18. The EU and UK have designated more than 600 shadow-fleet vessels. The U.S. has designated 216. *Sources:* Kyiv Independent *(Ukraine; Kramatorsk toll, Filashkin, Zelenskyy)*; Kyiv Independent *(Ukraine; overnight drones, Klitschko and city administration tolls, DTEK, water)*; Kyiv Independent *(Ukraine; October 7 strikes, tolls by city, children named)*; Kyiv Independent *(Ukraine; Rubio’s Kathimerini remarks, Ryabkov, envoy trips)*; Kyiv Independent *(Ukraine; Shaheen and Wicker letter, sanctions act, vessel counts)* THREE DEAD AT SAUDI AIRPORTS Three people were killed and 36 injured in attacks on two Saudi airports, Saudi civil aviation authorities said. Two women, a Moroccan and an Algerian, were killed at Abha airport. Twenty-eight people were injured there. A Sudanese man was killed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Eight people were injured there. On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh. A third missile was aimed at Khamis Mushayt. Saudi Civil Defense said debris from a Houthi missile intercepted over Riyadh damaged a kindergarten and a medical clinic complex. It did not say whether anyone was hurt. Pakistan’s Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed Pakistani forces are in Saudi Arabia. He said they are there “in multiple capabilities and domains.” Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement on August 7. Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye is assessing its help under the pact, particularly on air defenses. He said work on sending the pact’s text to the Turkish parliament for ratification is finalized. 🇺🇸 **What American readers need to know:** Three people died in attacks on two Saudi airports. Pakistan has confirmed forces in the kingdom. Türkiye says it is assessing its help under a three-nation defense pact signed in August. *Sources:* Arab News *(Saudi Arabia; airport casualty figures)*; Arab News *(Saudi Arabia; Thursday interceptions, kindergarten and clinic)*; Arab News *(Saudi Arabia; Pakistan, Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, Fidan)* BRITAIN’S JERUSALEM CONSULATE Britain’s consulate in Jerusalem will stay open as a UK Mission, British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband said. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the British consul general and 20 diplomats will leave Israel. Operations in Jerusalem would be limited to seven staff members. Sources said the order affects around 30 British diplomats and their family members. Britain will take no reciprocal action while the two sides engage in talks. The Foreign Office reaffirmed its position that East Jerusalem is occupied territory. The mission will remain independent, operational and serving the Palestinian people. Britain’s presence in the city dates back almost 200 years, before Israel was established in 1948. 🇺🇸 **What American readers need to know:** Britain is keeping its Jerusalem consulate open as a UK Mission. Israel says the consul general and 20 diplomats must leave. Britain says it will not retaliate. *Source:* Arab News *(Saudi Arabia; Reuters copy; Miliband, Israeli Foreign Ministry, East Jerusalem position, consulate history)* DEPORTED TO COUNTRIES NOT THEIR OWN Human Rights Watch reported Thursday that the U.S. has sent more than 500 people to African countries where they have no connections. The group interviewed 24 third-country nationals. They were sent to Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini and South Sudan. Interviews ran from February to July. People described flights on which they were shackled, sometimes for 18 hours or more. They had no meaningful chance to contest their removals. At least a dozen of those sent identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. They went to states that criminalize same-sex relations or public same-sex romantic conduct. An Ethiopian man deported to Cameroon described the flight. “We were chained and handcuffed, legs, hands, stomach,” he said. An unnamed U.S. official told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “The point is to scare people.” Michael Garcia Bochenek, Human Rights Watch’s interim U.S. program director, said the policy is designed to cause human suffering. He urged African governments to terminate or suspend the agreements. Burundi became the 15th African country to conclude such a deal. Forbidden Stories, a journalism consortium, estimates 25,000 people have been expelled worldwide under the program. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in December on whether the policy violates due process. For now, it has allowed the removals to continue. 🇺🇸 **What American readers need to know:** Human Rights Watch says the U.S. has sent more than 500 people to African countries that are not their own. Many were shackled, sometimes for 18 hours or more. The Supreme Court hears arguments in December. *Sources:* Human Rights Watch *(U.S.-based rights group; report; interviews, shackling, LGBT deportees, Senate testimony, Bochenek, Supreme Court)*; Arab News *(Saudi Arabia; AFP copy; Burundi, Forbidden Stories estimate)* THE OCTOBER 7 CALL RECORDS An Israeli major general says someone tried to alter records of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s calls. They were from the morning of October 7, 2023. Maj. Gen. Avi Gil made the claim to Israel Hayom. He said the attempt was allegedly made by Netanyahu’s chief of staff. He said he reported it to the attorney general. Gil suggested the aim may have been to move blame for that morning’s failures onto advisers. Gil confirmed that a senior Egyptian intelligence official visited Israel shortly before the attack. Asked about a warning, he said he did not know what message was relayed. “Whoever met with someone or received something is still concealing it today,” he said. Likud told Israel Hayom that Gil’s comments are part of an attempt to oust Netanyahu from power. Excerpts ran Thursday. The full interview is expected over the weekend. Netanyahu is seeking re-election on October 27. 🇺🇸 **What American readers need to know:** An Israeli major general says someone tried to alter records of Netanyahu’s October 7 calls. Likud calls the claim an attempt to oust him. Israel votes October 27. *Source:* Arab News *(Saudi Arabia; AP copy; Gil interview excerpts, Likud response)* BRIEFS **Trump says the U.S. will not attack Iran before the midterms.** He wrote Thursday that the U.S. will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections. He said his team is having productive discussions with Iran. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that Iran is reviewing Washington’s response to its proposal and could reply within days, according to Tasnim. U.S. officials said Wednesday that the Pentagon instructed U.S. Central Command several days ago to conclude preparations. The directive did not include a date for strikes. *Sources:* Arab News *(Saudi Arabia; AP copy; Trump post)*; Arab News *(Saudi Arabia; Reuters copy; Araghchi, Tasnim)*; Axios *(U.S.; Central Command directive)* **NUMBERS AT PUBLICATION** 🇮🇷 Iran: 3,684 killed 🇱🇧 Lebanon: 4,386 killed, 12,413 wounded 🇮🇱 Israel: 1,200+ killed, ~5,400 wounded 🇺🇸 US military: 23 killed, 861 wounded 🇵🇸 Gaza: 74,372+ killed, 5,060+ wounded (since ceasefire) 🇵🇸 West Bank: 322 killed (incl. 74 children), 5,927 wounded (incl. 946 children) since January 2025 🛢️ Brent crude: $103.90/barrel ⛽ US gas: $4.36/gallon Sources: Lebanon MOPH; gazacasualties.org (Gaza total). “Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1789 Get full access to The Rest of the World Report at www.restoftheworldreport.com/subscribe