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Received — 23 October 2026 ⏭ The Guardian - Europe

Macron condemns racism after one killed in ‘terrorist’ shooting near Paris

Gunman opens fire from car in Trappes and Verrière, killing one and injuring five others, including a 12-year-old girl

Emmanuel Macron has condemned racism in French society after a gunman opened fire from a car west of Paris on Friday, killing one person, wounding a 12-year-old girl and injuring four others in what the president called a “racist terrorist attack”.

Macron arrived at the scene of the drive-by shooting in Trappes on Friday night, saying he was deeply saddened by what he called the “premeditated” attack. The 12-year-old girl, who was shot eight times, is being treated in hospital.

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© Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters

© Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters

© Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters

US and Israel are warned against launching fresh strikes on Iran

Multinational ‘anti-war bloc’ uses Istanbul summit to call for a diplomatic solution to Middle East crisis

Foreign ministers at a summit of eight European and Middle Eastern countries have urged the US and Israel not to renews their attacks on Iran, warning a fresh outbreak of fighting would spread conflict and push oil prices even higher.

The development of a new multinational “anti-war bloc” represents a challenge to the increasingly open plans by the US and Israel to relaunch strikes on Iran while talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme remain deadlocked.

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© Photograph: Massimo Percossi/EPA

© Photograph: Massimo Percossi/EPA

© Photograph: Massimo Percossi/EPA

Opposition deepfake video of Spanish PM’s wife sparks outrage before election

24 October 2026 at 07:51

Video shows AI likenesses of people linked to Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist party appearing to admit to wrongdoing

A political ad from Spain’s main opposition party that used a deepfake video of the prime minister’s wife has sparked outrage and set off a wider debate on AI, as the deeply polarised country gears up for general elections next month.

Launched this week across the social media channels of the conservative People’s party (PP), the video used artificial intelligence to manipulate the likenesses of various people linked to Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist party and appeared to show them admitting to acts such as soliciting prostitutes and taking kickbacks.

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© Photograph: JJ Guillen/EPA

© Photograph: JJ Guillen/EPA

© Photograph: JJ Guillen/EPA

Tinned mackerel, hand-crank radios and bags for poo: crisis-prepping guides around the world

UK allies have long urged people to stockpile supplies for a crisis. How are people from France to Australia being advised to prepare?

The UK has told people to fill their pantries with food for three days in case of catastrophe, joining a host of countries urging citizens to ready themselves for core systems failing.

Such advice, once dismissed as the preserve of preppers, has become more common in government circles as climate breakdown worsens weather extremes and geopolitical tensions turn cyber-attacks and sabotage into a regular occurrence.

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© Photograph: pundapanda/Getty Images

© Photograph: pundapanda/Getty Images

© Photograph: pundapanda/Getty Images

France to deploy 70,000 police on Saturday to prevent civil unrest

23 October 2026 at 16:34

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

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.

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© Photograph: Abdul Saboor/Reuters

© Photograph: Abdul Saboor/Reuters

© Photograph: Abdul Saboor/Reuters

Russia and Ukraine agree to local ceasefire in Oleshky amid deepening humanitarian crisis

People in Russian-occupied city facing severe shortages of food, water and electricity, with some reportedly surviving on weeds

The White House has said that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, where a deepening humanitarian crisis has left thousands of civilians struggling to survive.

In a statement on Friday, the White House said both sides had agreed to halt all military operations in the city from 27 October to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and preparations for the evacuation of civilians.

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© Photograph: 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen"/Reuters

© Photograph: 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen"/Reuters

© Photograph: 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen"/Reuters

‘An orchestra being gassed should be an alarm signal’: the musical activists targeted in Paris

23 October 2026 at 12:57

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

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.

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© Photograph: Sipa US/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News.

© Photograph: Sipa US/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News.

© Photograph: Sipa US/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News.

Puppy love: Finnish 24-hour newborn pup livestream is TV smash hit

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.

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© Photograph: Julia Kiiskinen/Yle - The Finnish Broadcasting Company/AP

© Photograph: Julia Kiiskinen/Yle - The Finnish Broadcasting Company/AP

© Photograph: Julia Kiiskinen/Yle - The Finnish Broadcasting Company/AP

Leaked trove reveals extent of far-right AfD’s efforts to court Trump and Maga allies

23 October 2026 at 12:07

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”.

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© Photograph: Omer Messinger/Getty Images

© Photograph: Omer Messinger/Getty Images

© Photograph: Omer Messinger/Getty Images

Briton facing forced separation from baby son after Sweden orders his deportation

Exclusive: Photographer Simon Montgomery told ‘state’s interest in regulated immigration’ outweighs his family concerns

A British photographer is facing deportation from Sweden and forced separation from his 16-month-old son after authorities ruled in favour of the country’s immigration interests.

Simon Montgomery’s application to remain after the birth of his son last year was rejected on several grounds by Sweden’s migration agency, a decision that was then upheld by the migration court.

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© Photograph: Supplied by Simon

© Photograph: Supplied by Simon

© Photograph: Supplied by Simon

Boom in weight-loss drugs could lead to fall in beer sales, Heineken warns UK pubs

23 October 2026 at 11:33

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.

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© Photograph: william87/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: william87/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: william87/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Melania Trump has helped broker ceasefire in Russian-occupied Ukrainian town, says White House – as it happened

Residents in Oleshky have been enduring a worsening humanitarian crisis due to the lack of food, electricity and other resources

The French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has just issued a statement on a shooting in a town west of Paris this morning where one person was killed and four others injured.

Police said a gunman had opened fire in Trappes, in the Yvelines, and neighbouring La Verriere. The gunman was later arrested in nearby Coignieres.

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© Photograph: 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen"/Reuters

© Photograph: 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen"/Reuters

© Photograph: 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen"/Reuters

Severe flooding in eastern Spain and UK hit by first named storm of winter

Storm Adam brings torrential rain to Valencia, Alicante and Balearic Islands, as Storm Austen strikes England and Wales

Storm Adam brought torrential rain to eastern Spain earlier this week. In Pego, Alicante, 632mm fell in 36 hours, with 430mm of this falling in just six hours, while the Valencian town of Oliva received 600mm in 24 hours.

The severe flooding led 145 municipalities across Valencia and Alicante to impose a temporary lockdown on about 850,000 people on Monday. At least five people have died, 500 have been rescued and 2,100 evacuated.

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© Photograph: Natxo Frances/EPA

© Photograph: Natxo Frances/EPA

© Photograph: Natxo Frances/EPA

EU leaders to press Burnham to pay more towards Ukraine’s defence

Officials will call on UK to ‘step up’ financial support at Brussels summit – with post-Brexit issues also on agenda

EU leaders will press Andy Burnham at a summit in Brussels to contribute more to Ukraine’s defence effort in 2027.

EU officials argue that the UK, Canada and Japan should do more to support Ukraine, but entreaties to these G7 countries for extra financial aid at recent international meetings have not been answered, Brussels says.

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© Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

© Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

© Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

Friday briefing: How a leaderless student group is challenging power in Serbia

23 October 2026 at 06:43

In today’s newsletter: ​Born from the fury surrounding the deadly Novi Sad station collapse, Serbia’s Student List has taken its protests all the way to the elections in an unprecedented grassroots campaign

Good morning. As waves of youth-led protests swell across Europe, prompted by the cost of living, unaffordable housing and education standards, in Serbia the younger generation is taking on the apparatus of the state itself.

In tight-run parliamentary elections this Sunday, the country’s most consequential political movement in decades, Student List, is challenging former Slobodan Milošević henchman Aleksandar Vučić and his 12-year domination of Serbian politics.

UK news | Every Briton is being urged to stock up to nine litres of bottled water and three days’ worth of food in new government guidance designed to ensure that households can survive a weather, cyber or other serious emergency.

Ukraine | Russia has carried out a massive “demonstrative” attack on Ukraine, bombarding Kyiv with ballistic missiles just hours after Vladimir Putin said he had agreed to resume trilateral negotiations.

UK politics | Nigel Farage’s newest billionaire donor was in business with a powerful Iranian religious foundation under the authority of the country’s supreme leader.

Europe news | Emmanuel Macron has said “illegitimate” demonstrations will be banned over the coming days as France seeks to get a grip on civil unrest after some of its worst street violence in years.

Energy | Great Britain is expected to pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe this winter as its reliance on imports to ensure a steady supply is forecast to deepen.

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© Photograph: Armin Durgut/AP

© Photograph: Armin Durgut/AP

© Photograph: Armin Durgut/AP

Some of Europe’s highest energy costs expected in Britain this winter

23 October 2026 at 06:00

Official forecasts show country will meet energy demand by paying high prices to secure imports

Great Britain is expected to pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe this winter as its reliance on imports to ensure a steady supply is forecast to deepen.

Energy system operators have said the country will have enough gas and electricity to meet demand over the coldest months – in part because of paying higher market prices than neighbouring markets to secure imports.

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© Photograph: Shomos Uddin/Getty Images

© Photograph: Shomos Uddin/Getty Images

© Photograph: Shomos Uddin/Getty Images

Milan braces for more unrest as debate intensifies over Italy’s ‘lost generation’

Protests and fringe violence expose sharp divide between marginalised and immigrant youth and those with greater prospects

Martina Miccichè was filming riot police kicking and beating a teenager with batons as they dragged him along Piazza del Duomo, the central Milan square hosting its cathedral, when she was struck by a flying object, causing a deep gash and bruising near her right eye.

The journalist had joined hundreds of mostly young people marching through the northern Italian city on Saturday afternoon to protest over soaring living costs and unaffordable housing, echoing the wider wave of economic discontent fuelling protests across Europe.

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© Photograph: Stefano Porta/LaPresse/AP

© Photograph: Stefano Porta/LaPresse/AP

© Photograph: Stefano Porta/LaPresse/AP

Youth mobility scheme may be delayed to ensure success of UK-EU summit

Visa quotas, university fees and NHS surcharges remain sticking points ahead of post-Brexit negotiations next month

A deadline for a youth mobility scheme between the EU and the UK could be deferred by six months in a bid to ensure Andy Burnham has a successful “reset” summit on 20 November, diplomats have said.

EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday heard that the UK was still insisting on international tuition fees, quotas and an NHS surcharge for EU students. This has fuelled fears the summit could fail, just as the prime minister is promising to unveil a new vision for Britain’s long-term relationship with the EU.

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© Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

© Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

© Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

Heat killed ‘staggering’ 50,000 people in Europe’s cities this summer, scientists warn

23 October 2026 at 05:01

People succumbed to heat at highest rates in Malta, Italy and Hungary, with health issues, loneliness and poverty exacerbating toll

Heat killed a record 50,000 people in European cities this summer, new research suggests, with scientists blaming climate breakdown for two in every three of the deaths.

Morgues and funeral homes filled with bodies from June to August as the heat added by planet-baking pollution cut short an extra 32,000 lives in urban areas, the researchers found. Hot days pushed vulnerable bodies into overdrive and warm nights prevented them from recovering.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Liechtenstein prince’s ‘surreal’ abortion veto dismays campaigners

Alois uses the first veto of his reign to quash parliament-approved bill backed by a national petition

The hereditary prince of Liechtenstein has used his veto for the first time in his reign to quash a bill aimed at bringing abortion laws in line with much of Europe.

The legislation was approved by Liechtenstein’s parliament last month after the presentation of a citizens’ initiative signed by roughly a quarter of the nation’s voters.

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© Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

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