An American company is still supplying Taser weapons linked to prisoner abuse by Israeli forces. Plus, 12 valuable lessons about life and death by hospice workers

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Good morning. An investigation has revealed that Israel is using US-made electroshock weapons on Palestinian detainees. The American company Axon is still supplying the Taser weapons despite evidence they have been used to torture prisoners. The news comes as US volunteers including a lawmaker helping Palestinians harvest olives were detained, and Heidi Levine revealed more details of her violent assault by Israeli settlers.

Human rights groups have condemned allegations of the repeated torture and ill-treatment of detainees held in Israeli detention centres and prisons using electric shock devices, with Amnesty calling for restrictions on exports of such devices. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said the abuse of detainees was strictly prohibited.

Who was detained by Israel near Nahalin in the occupied West Bank? The Israeli military detained about 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers helping Palestinians harvest olives near Bethlehem, including the New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, several rabbis and Israel’s former deputy attorney general. Soldiers said the area had been declared a closed military zone.

What more has Levine said about the Israeli settler attack on her? The Washington Post photojournalist who was attacked and seriously injured by Israeli settlers on Friday has described how she was saved with the help of local Palestinians. Witnesses said thee attack on her ceased only when young men used slingshots to aim stones at the settlers, forcing them back.

What is the latest development with US diplomats in the Middle East? The US state department has ordered some diplomats and the families of US government employees to leave Saudi Arabia, as it faces a barrage of near-daily attacks from Yemen’s Houthis. Reports have emerged of similar US withdrawals in UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain amid concerns of a return to conflict with Iran after the midterm elections.

Where has Elon Musk been spending his election campaign money? Elon Musk’s Super Pac has spent more than $500,000 in New York’s highly competitive 17th congressional district race to help Mike Lawler, the Republican incumbent, hold his seat. Lawler, a moderate Republican, is fending off a challenge from the Democrat Cait Conley in one of the most-watched races that could determine who controls Congress.

What has happened with letters containing white powder being sent to Congress? Nancy Pelosi’s office received “a suspicious letter” on Wednesday in what appears to be the latest incident of ill-intentioned mailings targeted at US Congress members. The offices of more than three dozen members of Congress across the political spectrum have received envelopes containing white powder in recent days.

What is Trump’s polling as the election looms? Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to 36%, the lowest recorded, with most respondents expressing frustration over his handling of the US economy, cost of living and Iran war. The president was heckled at least nine times during a campaign event yesterday, and reacted to a supporter punching a demonstrator by saying: “Man, I loved that.”

French government will show ‘absolute’ determination to stop the riots, Macron says

As we are waiting for Macron, first details of the planned police response to this weekend’s protests are emerging.

Junior interior minister, Jean-Didier Berger, said that the police presence will be “20% higher” than last weekend, with reinforcements from the army, elite police forces and gendarmerie.

French government will show ‘absolute’ determination to stop the riots, Macron says

As we are waiting for Macron, first details of the planned police response to this weekend’s protests are emerging.

Junior interior minister, Jean-Didier Berger, said that the police presence will be “20% higher” than last weekend, with reinforcements from the army, elite police forces and gendarmerie.

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?

The Thursday quiz is aware of standard international units of time, such as the Liz Truss (49 days) and the Scaramucci (11 days). Now a new unit of measurement has entered the chat: the Zacharia (five days). But whatever arbitrary length of time the world invents to measure chaos, political downfalls or social media meltdowns, the Thursday news quiz remains resolutely fixed. It is always seven days apart, unwavering, inescapable and ultimately reliable. Which means, once again, it is time for some questions on topical news, pop culture and general knowledge, with no prizes on offer except pride. Or shame. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 270

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is spending $80m to help Democratic candidates, while Trump has promised Republicans $400m. Plus a vital investigation into justice in Louisiana

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Good morning. Vast sums of money are being ploughed into November’s midterms, with the billionaire Michael Bloomberg spending $80m to help Democratic candidates, and Donald Trump announcing he intends to spend $400m to aid Republican candidates, with $300m already disbursed.

Bloomberg made the contributions in September and October, particularly focused on Democrats running to flip the US House of Representatives. Democrats believe they are favored to take back the House, though they’ve acknowledged trailing Republicans in fundraising. Republicans are also being aided by the president’s ally Elon Musk, who has spent $366m so far.

What are the main issues for voters in the midterms? In this explainer, Robert Tait looks at six key issues swaying how people might vote – the economy, Iran, immigration, Trump’s use of power, AI and datacenters and the state of democracy and voter rights in the US.

What is happening between the DoJ and California over voter rolls? The justice department’s list of suspected noncitizens in California includes a “high percentage” of people born in the US, Los Angeles election officials said. The statement, made in court papers, raises further questions about the reliability of the list of 20,000 people the DoJ is demanding be investigated.

What was strange about how the ADL reminded people about an antisemitic slur? The Anti-Defamation League ADL has denounced the use of the term “shylock” as antisemitic, without explaining that the slur had been used a day earlier by Trump in a speech in Kansas.

The DoJ has charged 28 green card holders in California, accusing them of fraudulently registering to vote. Plus, is the world really ready for AI actors?

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Good morning. The US Department of Justice has charged 28 green card holders in California, accusing them of fraudulently registering to vote and casting illegal ballots. The arrests – 11 people are in custody – mark the latest escalation in federal efforts against alleged noncitizen voting.

The crackdown comes days after the DOJ sued California to block the state from tabulating certain ballots in November’s midterms. California’s secretary of state, Shirley Weber, called the demands “outrageous”, pointing out that federal officials have spent months making “vague and unsubstantiated allegations”. Democrats and voting rights groups say the administration is laying the groundwork to sow doubt over November’s election results.

How are Congress members being targeted before the midterms? More than three dozen members of US Congress have had their offices targeted with envelopes containing white powder, less than three weeks before the election, as federal agents try to identify who is behind the campaign.

What has Donald Trump said about the French protests? At a rally in Kansas Trump described France as a once-great nation that had been “conquered, looted, and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists, and communists”. Earlier in the day, Trump repeated his baseless claim that migrants had “taken over” France, and also claimed that “Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon”. Muslims make up 10-15% of the population of the capital.

Mike Huckabee condemns attack on Washington Post photojournalist that has drawn lukewarm response from Israeli authorities. Plus, Japan is attempting to boldly go where no space mission has gone before

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Good morning. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has denounced a settler attack that left the Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine badly beaten and needing surgery as a “despicable act of terror”.

Levine, 63, an award-winning journalist who lives in Israel, was set upon last Friday by masked Israeli settlers who used clubs and other weapons to attack Palestinians attempting to harvest their olives. The photographer, who is in hospital recovering from hand surgery, broken ribs and other injuries, said she was beaten for more than 10 minutes.

What else has Heidi Levine said about the attack? She said: “I was attacked, pushed to the ground. Luckily, I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn’t even be here, because they just kept kicking and kicking me. I’ve been covering this region for over 40 years and I have never seen this country in such a state as it is today. I’ve invested decades of blood, sweat and tears into this. They cracked my bones, they haven’t cracked my spirit.”

How have Israeli authorities responded? In a move Levine said left her “shocked and insulted”, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been ambiguous in addressing the assault. He said he condemned “violence against anyone” but referred to the attack as “alleged” and said its circumstances remained unclear.

What is causing the wave of protests across Europe? School conditions, housing costs and the cost of living have brought demonstrators on to the streets in several countries including Spain, France and Portugal. Protests in Albania against the prime minister, Edi Rama, entered their sixth day on Sunday. Demonstrators there have said they are unhappy with perceived corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards.

This live blog is now closed.

• Macron criticises ‘unbridled violence’ after 2,400 arrests across France

French PM Lecornu says he has asked prefects to implement “a number of partial curfews” in certain “localised” urban areas to stop further disorder, which he attributes to “the extreme-left” and some criminal elements.

We will no doubt hear more on this from local authorities, as in the example of Marseille (10:32).

This live blog is now closed.

• Macron criticises ‘unbridled violence’ after 2,400 arrests across France

French PM Lecornu says he has asked prefects to implement “a number of partial curfews” in certain “localised” urban areas to stop further disorder, which he attributes to “the extreme-left” and some criminal elements.

We will no doubt hear more on this from local authorities, as in the example of Marseille (10:32).

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our European news coverage here

Just as the leaders sit down at the big table in Brussels, Romania has said that seven people are still missing after a fire on a vessel in Romanian territorial waters of the Black Sea.

Suspected Russian drones have hit several ships off Romania and neighbouring Bulgaria since last week in a spillover from the Ukraine war, AFP reported.

European Commission declined to comment on reported disruption to Starlink’s services in Ukraine

• Ukrainian soldiers have access to Starlink satellite internet restricted

Rutte gets asked “is Russia foolish enough to consider attacking any of Nato countries?”

He says “we don’t think so” and that there is “no imminent threat against Nato territory,” but stresses that “if we see a build up, we will react to it.”

“We will never, ever mount a attack towards anyone else because that is not in our interest. We are a defensive alliance.”

“But here’s the main thing: we are stronger. Russia is not in a good place. These hybrid attacks, whatever it is, are a sign of weakness. What they allow us to do is to talk about it the whole day and to be rattled and to have press conferences on it. We’re not going to do that. We will react where we need to react.”