International news on October 18: Protests escalate across France

US, October 18: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has just announced that President Donald Trump's temporary suspension of extensive sanctions and tariffs against Russia will last 60 days, in order to analyze their impact on the global economy.
"The President (Trump) wants to use these 60 days to analyze what imposing sanctions and tariffs would mean for the global economy, as well as for the US economy itself," AFP quoted Rubio as saying on October 18, noting that these economic restrictions affect many other countries besides Russia.
President Trump said that easing sanctions on Russia is in the national interest of the United States and good for America, according to Reuters.
Protests spread across France.
French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu said 1,200 people were arrested in protests across France on October 17 and 150 police officers were injured.
"It's a miracle the death toll wasn't higher," he said while visiting officers on duty in central Paris after a day of clashes and looting. Prime Minister Lecornu declared the government would not be intimidated by violence.
According to Reuters, riots erupted in numerous cities across France on October 17th, as protests against the escalating cost of living and the decline of public services spiraled out of control, creating one of the worst outbreaks of violence in years.
While hundreds of thousands of people participated in peaceful street protests in dozens of cities, extremist groups attacked public buildings, looted luxury shops and supermarkets, and assaulted police officers and their vehicles.
In Limoges, the town hall was set on fire. In Marseille, protesters dressed in black stormed the town hall and painted anarchist images on the building. And in Lyon, protesters burned down the city's tourist office.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that around 550,000 people had participated in protests across the country. Meanwhile, the CGT union estimated the number of protesters at as high as 800,000, according to Reuters.
President Emmanuel Macron pledged to prosecute and punish those responsible for the attacks. "We will all stand united against those who sow chaos, who seek only to undermine our institutions and prevent those who are peacefully expressing their demands," he wrote on social media platform X.
ISIS launches bloody attack in Nigeria.
The self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility on October 17 for a bloody attack on a military camp in Nigeria a few days earlier. Reuters reported on October 18 that IS asserted it killed 21 soldiers in the attack on a military base in Borno state, in northeastern Nigeria.
According to military sources and local residents, at least 10 soldiers were killed and 20 others wounded in a coordinated attack on the base in the Guzamala area on the evening of October 13.
The Egyptian president wants Parliament to authorize aid to Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian parliament is expected to hold an emergency meeting today, October 18, after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asked lawmakers to allow support for Saudi Arabia's defense system against attacks from Houthi forces in Yemen, if Riyadh makes a request.
AFP quoted President Sisi speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy, saying that Cairo could not stand idly by while Saudi Arabia "was harmed or its security and stability were threatened."
He added that any military deployment requires parliamentary approval, and asked lawmakers to convene an emergency session to grant authority if the government receives a request.
President Sisi emphasized: "I'm not talking about fighting or attacking anyone. We're only talking about defense."
Following Sisi's request, Al-Ahram reported that the Egyptian Parliament would hold an emergency session on October 18, but provided no further details.
Source: Emirates News Agency