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Security forces to include elite units usually used for counter-terrorism after worst street violence in years

• Europe live – latest updates

France will deploy about 70,000 police around the country on Saturday as the government seeks to prevent more civil unrest after some of the worst street violence in years erupted on the fringes of cost-of-living protests last weekend.

The interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said on ⁠Friday ⁠the security forces would include elite units usually used for counter-terrorism operations and hostage rescues, adding that there had been social media calls for violence from “ultra-left” groups.

Exclusive: Key figure in campaign group accused of saying she would ‘never hire a black person’, and second figure discussed Sydney Sweeney’s ‘assets’

The Free Speech Union (FSU) is reeling from internal grievances involving allegations of racism, workplace discrimination and sexually inappropriate remarks by senior members of staff, the Guardian can reveal.

A key figure in the campaign group, the chief operating officer, Sigrun Olafsdottir, departed late last week after employees alleged that she told a junior member of staff she would “never hire a black person” as a part of a one-on-one meeting late last year.

Cate Blanchett and Hannah Waddingham join William on sofa for special edition to celebrate prince’s Earthshot prize

The Prince of Wales has braved the chatshow sofa, making a surprise appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

In the pre-recorded show, to be aired on Friday on BBC One, William made a surprise appearance in a special Earthshot prize edition to promote his environmental initiative, which has an annual awards ceremony due to be staged in Mumbai, India, next month.

Voting rights advocates say directive would disenfranchise young and low-income voters, but Republicans say it’s needed to combat voter fraud

• US politics live – latest updates

The US supreme court has cleared the way for New Hampshire to prohibit student IDs as a form of voter identification ahead of November’s midterm elections.

In a brief unsigned order, justices sided with a Republican National Committee (RNC)-backed appeal on the matter. They cited a longstanding rule that lower federal courts should not “alter election rules” too close to election day.

The prime minister said the government is having conversation about emergency preparedness

A DUP minister has said he is confident MP Carla Lockhart will stay in the party despite leaving its main decision-making body amid a row with party leadership over the future of Stormont.

Lockhart is at odds with DUP leader, fellow MP Gavin Robinson, over whether the party should withdraw deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly from the power-sharing executive.

After Brody called out the ‘death and misery’ in Palestine, the Netflix hit’s Jewish creator said they don’t see eye to eye

The creator of the hit Netflix comedy Nobody Wants This has responded to star Adam Brody’s recent support of Palestine amid the Israel-Gaza war.

“Everyone is entitled to a different opinion,” Erin Foster said in an interview with the Not Skinny Not Fat podcast when asked about Brody calling for a free Palestine.

Switzerland says patient is wife of Swiss diplomat and believed to have contracted virus while travelling in Uganda

Health officials across Africa are racing to determine how Nigeria’s first Ebola patient ⁠in more than a decade ⁠became infected, amid fears ​the outbreak could spread further after reaching a fourth African country.

The Swiss foreign ministry said on Friday the patient in Nigeria, the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, had not travelled to the Democratic Republic of ⁠Congo, where the outbreak was first detected in mid-May before spreading to Uganda, Kenya and now Nigeria. The woman was believed to have contracted Ebola while travelling with her husband in Uganda, the ministry added.

Exclusive: Angela Eagle tells utility bosses next price review ‘must focus on value for money for customers’

• UK politics live – latest updates

Ministers will make an unprecedented intervention in water bills and how companies prioritise investment, directing bosses to bring down costs and stop leaks and sewage overflows.

Angela Eagle, the environment secretary, has told suppliers in England and Wales she plans to intervene in the next price review – conducted by the water regulator, Ofwat.

Victim left with life-threatening injuries after incident in Frances Street, Woolwich, south-east London

Police are searching for a suspect after a man was shot near the Royal Artillery barracks in south-east London.

The victim has been left with life-threatening injuries after the incident, which took place in Frances Street, Woolwich, located 600 metres from the barracks.

PM’s revelation follows launch of advice for households to have enough water and food to get by in civil emergency

• UK politics live – latest updates

Andy Burnham has said he has stockpiles of beans, soup and Twiglets in case of a civil emergency, as he said a new government campaign was not a reason for panic buying.

The prime minister was questioned on his domestic supply situation after the Be Ready campaign advised households to have enough bottled water and long-life food to keep going in case of an emergency, such as one caused by a weather event or a cyber-attack.

New PM has prioritised small fixes to show voters Labour can make a real difference, and government insiders are delighted at the public’s reaction

In the first episode of Armando Iannucci’s political satire The Thick of It, the hapless minister Hugh Abbot is in the back of a taxi, frantically brainstorming for an on-the-hoof policy he can announce to the assembled national press.

“So you want something sexy and eye-catching, and that is free and universally popular and instantly applicable. No one can possibly object to it,” says the addled junior adviser Ollie Reeder. “Well, really, you should have said something before then, because I’ve got a file about that fucking thick of that back in the office.”

CBP commissioner Rodney Scott says $46bn Texas project is justified amid court-ordered pause on wall’s construction

The Trump administration’s top border official defended plans to build a wall and other infrastructure in the Big Bend of Texas despite mounting opposition against the project and a court-ordered pause on construction, saying his goal of fortifying the country’s borders was “non-negotiable”.

Rodney Scott, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), said the $46bn wall project was justified despite a bipartisan coalition of landowners, local businesses and environmentalists who view it as a waste of taxpayer money that could be destructive to a region with historically low migrant crossings, in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press.

New World Orchestra’s musicians are shocked at French police targeting peaceful gathering with teargas

• Europe live – latest updates

As riot police encircled Place de la République last week, lobbing teargas canisters to disperse demonstrators, the conductor Étienne Jarrier and his orchestra played on. They kept playing even after everyone else had disappeared and teargas was being fired into the central Paris square.

It was only when Jarrier noticed his musicians were being directly targeted that he ordered them to stop. “There were teargas canisters landing in the double bass and music stand cases, and starting fires the musicians had to stamp out,” he told the Guardian.

Show features live chat sessions with breeders, a podcast and updates on dogs’ progress from birth to weigh-ins

A 24-hour Finnish TV show dedicated entirely to the live progress of a dog and her six newborn puppies is drawing millions of viewers.

As well as a 24-hour webcam, Pentulive (Puppy Live) includes live evening chat sessions with the dogs’ breeder, a podcast and an instant notification service that updates followers on the puppies’ progress – from their birth to weigh-ins and first nail trims – for eight weeks.

Byron Donalds removed mentions of the president from his website and has barely uttered his name – will his ploy prove successful in a tight governor’s race?

It took Byron Donalds, addressing a wildly supportive crowd at a rally in Florida’s bluest county, some time to list those he blamed for any “affordability” issues they might be experiencing.

Joe Biden, and the radical policies of the Democrats, were at fault, the Republican nominee for Florida governor insisted in his stump speech at Broward county’s Green Glades West ranch, even though neither has wielded power in Washington for almost two years.

Exclusive: Documents show German party’s scramble to request support after president’s 2016 election win and co-leader’s pursuit of Steve Bannon

A data leak from Germany’s far-right German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has revealed the extent of efforts by the party to court Donald Trump and other leading figures in the Maga movement, stretching back more than a decade.

The trove reveals the pains the AfD took in wooing the president, whom they saw from the beginning as a potential ally, with senior party officials agonising over the wording of an obsequious congratulatory telegram when he was elected in 2016, which included the wish that his “hopes as a person be fulfilled”.

Trump’s latest tactic to champion Republicans at midterm rallies? Assessing men’s bodies in meticulous detail

Speaking at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, earlier this month, to support the Republican senator Jon Husted, Donald Trump broke from his prepared remarks.

Trump said he had recently learned that Husted played football at university. The president, 80, said this had prompted him to conduct a physical assessment of Husted.

Investigation marks rare move by DoJ against an ally of the US president. Plus, why the world’s coral reefs are facing a dire future

Good morning. Corey Lewandowski, a former political adviser to Donald Trump and ⁠top aide at the Department ⁠of Homeland Security, ​is under criminal investigation over allegations he profited off his role in the US government. The Department of Justice has not yet issued subpoenas or other legal demands in the criminal investigation, and a lawyer ​for Lewandowski did not immediately respond to ‌a request for comment. The justice department under Trump has investigated several prominent critics of the president, but investigations of people close to Trump have been rare.

Lewandowski served as a top aide to Kristi Noem during her tenure as homeland security secretary. Lewandowski allegedly signed some DHS contracts despite having questionable legal authority ​as a special government ‌employee, according to one ​DHS official. Certain grants ​and contracts, including those involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were put on hold at Lewandowski’s direction, according to two other sources.

Where else has Trump suffered a legal setback? Donald Trump has been ordered by a US judge to cooperate with the discovery process mandated for his lawsuit against the BBC and to sit for a deposition by 11 December – or else he could be subject to sanctions, including possible dismissal of the $10bn lawsuit.

What request has Trump claimed he made of Google? Trump has said Google rejected his request to rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself or America. Google has previously acceded to Trump’s demands, with locations labelled “Gulf of America” and “Lake America” for US users at the president’s request.

Latest negative economic update comes as John Healey prepares to announce budget next week

• Business live – latest updates

Retail sales in Great Britain fell more steeply than expected last month, the latest negative economic update before the chancellor, John Healey, announces his budget next week.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the volume of goods sold fell 0.4% month on month in September, much steeper than economists’ consensus expectations of a 0.1% fall.

World’s second largest brewer says use of drugs such as Wegovy can reduce desire to drink alcohol

• Business live – latest updates

Heineken has warned British bars and pubs that the boom in popularity of weight-loss drugs could lead to a fall in sales of beer and cider.

The world’s second-largest brewer sent a presentation to British hospitality customers earlier this month that said the use of GLP-1 medication – such as Ozempic and Wegovy – could reduce the desire to drink alcohol. This in turn could result in “fullness and fewer serves” of pints in pubs and bars, it added.