Reuters World News - Israeli strike, 'No Kings', dark matter and AI glasses

Episode Date: October 19, 2025

Israel launches a fresh attack on Gaza as both sides trade blame over ceasefire violations. Hundreds of thousands march in anti-Trump "No Kings" rallies across the U.S. The U.S. sends two survivors of a deadly Caribbean drug-smuggling strikeback to Colombia and Ecuador for prosecution. Shares in Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica surge after reporting record quarterly sales driven by its AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta glasses and new research offers fresh promise for confirming the existence of dark matter. Listen to our latest On Assignment episode on Viktor Orban's political future here. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here.  Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices.  You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Jonah Green in New York. It's Sunday, October 19th. Today. Israel launches a fresh attack on Gaza as both sides trade blame over ceasefire violations. Anti-Trump protests flood the streets of cities across the U.S. Pakistan and Afghanistan hold peace talks following fierce clashes. Neta's AI glasses are big business for Rayban, plus scientists move closer to confirming the existence of dark matter. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. The Israeli military has launched an attack on Gaza, according to local media.

It comes as Israel trades blame with Hamas over ceasefire violations. An Israeli military official says Hamas carried out multiple attacks against Israeli forces inside Gaza. A senior Hamas official says the militant group remains committed to the ceasefire which he accused Israel of repeatedly violating. The strikes dimming hopes that the weak-old ceasefire would lead to lasting peace in the enclave. Israel and Hamas have also been engaged in a dispute over the return of the bodies of deceased hostages, with Israel saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would remain closed until further notice. This is a developing news story. For the latest, make sure to check out Writers.com.

Protesters across the country took to the streets for no king's rallies. From New York to Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco, protesters of all age, some with children, some wearing inflatable animal outfits, denouncing what they view as the authoritarian tendencies and unbridled corruption of U.S. President Donald Trump. Organizers expected millions of people to turn out at more than 2,600. planned rallies in cities, small towns, and suburbs. Those who took part condemned Trump's aggressive moves to reshape government, including his militarized immigration crackdown, the criminal prosecution of his political enemies, an ascending of National Guard troops into

U.S. cities. Republicans had dubbed Saturday's rally as the, quote, hate America rally. The events were boisterous but orderly, with police largely keeping a low profile. The NYPD said over 100,000 marched on the five boroughs and that no protest-related arrests were made. The U.S. is sending two survivors of a deadly Caribbean strike back to Colombia and Ecuador for prosecution. The survivors were pulled from the water last Thursday after an American military helicopter fired on their semi-submersible vessel, killing two others aboard. President Trump says intelligence can. confirmed the boat was carrying fentanyl and other narcotics, but did not provide evidence. The strike is part of a major U.S. military buildup in the region, with destroyers F-35s and

thousands of troops now deployed near Venezuela. The Trump administration says earlier strikes have killed 27 people in total, raising legal questions from lawmakers about whether the operations comply with the laws of war. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denied any connection to drug smuggling and denounced the U.S. boat strikes as a violations of sovereignty and international law. Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire

following peace talks in Doha. The agreement comes after a week of the deadliest border clashes between the neighbors since the Taliban took power in 2021. In a post on X, Pakistan's defense minister, Kawaja Muhammad Asif, said both sides would sit down on Saturday in Istanbul. Editor YP Rajesh covers Southeast Asia. Pakistan has a single demand that Afghanistan should stop sheltering militants. Pakistan says are operating from across the border in Afghanistan and attacking Pakistan almost on a daily basis. These militants operate on both sides of the border

and Pakistan wants Afghanistan to stop supporting them. Afghanistan says they don't have any such militants on their side and they have a long list of demands and they demand Pakistan to recognize Afghanistan as an independent country, estimate of mutual relations, non-interference and internal affairs and more importantly, Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of sheltering ISIS militants, the local unit of ISIS, who attack Taliban in Afghanistan, just something Pakistan denies.

Shares in Rayban maker Esselor Luxottica have jumped nearly 14% after reporting its strongest quarterly sales ever, thanks to its new AI-powered Rayban meta-glasses. That's added almost $20 billion to its market value. Analysts call the smart glasses a game changer, comparing them to the rise of smartphones. I spoke with Consumer Goods editor Lisa Yucca about whether this is hype or the real deal. This is like the largest daily increase since the company exists. So is it a real thing? I mean, it's a bit hard to tell because we can't really see the numbers.

I mean, we have encouraging signs from the company. But as of last year, the sales from these glasses, which are just estimate, you know, are thought to be a fragment. a tiny fraction, let's say, of what, you know, Esolucotica actually makes in sale. But the encouragement today has really sort of sparked a massive frenzy that will only be sort of proven in succinct quarters when we start really seeing the actual data.

And so how big a deal might this be for Esselaulor Luxottica in the future? If we look at estimates from analysts, you know, these analysts were estimating the smart glasses, the so-called wearables division or segment that Leszellu Luxottica has to maybe make around 300 million, you know, euros. I mean, this is a company that makes over 20 billions in global sales, so it was a very small proportion. And after Friday's earnings announcement, analysts are expecting these wearables division, I mean, these smart glasses, to produce one billion in sales or even more.

So a troubling of what sales were last year in a very short period of time. And finally, to space, where there have been some developments in the quest to confirm the existence of dark matter. Our science reporter Will Dunham explains. Everything visible in the universe is made of ordinary matter. That means stars and planets as well as earthly stuff. like people and hubcaps and tacos. This is only 5% of the universe. Dark matter is thought to make up 27% of the universe.

Dark matter is invisible, meaning it does not absorb or reflect or emit any light. But scientists believe it exists because of its gravitational effects on a grand scale in the universe. Research into a glow of gamma rays at the center of our galaxy offers promise for providing confirmation.

and a new study finds good reason to believe that this glow is the result of dark matter particles colliding with each other. These collisions may be generating gamma rays. There's an alternative hypothesis about the cause of the glow, and it involves a class of rapidly spinning objects called neutron stars. The researchers evaluated these two competing hypotheses and concluded that the dark matter explanation was at least as likely as the neutron stars. The good news is that the world's most powerful gamma-ray telescope is being built in Chile and could provide an answer. It may become operational as soon as next year.

Oh, and about the other 68% of the universe? That's thought to be dark energy, but that's a whole different mystery. And for today's recommended Listen, our latest episode of On Assignment heads to Hungary, where Prime Minister Victor Orban is fighting for his political life in a tough, election. And while his anti-immigration policies might have fueled his grip on power, a sagging economy now threatens it. We'll drop a link to that story in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest

news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.