The Goncourt Prize, after initially downplaying a nepotism scandal, has bowed to public pressure. Relatives, spouses, partners, or indeed lovers of jury members will no longer be eligible for the award.

Singapore has trialled patrol robots that blast warnings at people engaging in "undesirable social behaviour", adding to an arsenal of surveillance technology in the tightly controlled city-state.

A district judge ordered Texas to suspend its law that imposes a near-total ban on abortions. The ruling comes after a challenge brought by President Joe Biden's administration.

Street begging is illegal in Lagos and carries a fine of around ₦15,000 and up to three months’ imprisonment. With authorities linking crime to the growing number of beggars, the Lagos state government set up a special team to stop panhandling in Nigeria’s most populous state. But these measures have not deterred beggars from thronging the streets of Lagos.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Friday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣⁣

Justice Department officials say the law is "plainly unconstitutional" and want it blocked until legal clarity is found on the matter. The court previously allowed the ban to go into effect.

A cocktail bar owner in Bangkok hopes fruity mocktails seasoned with Kratom, a recently decriminalised tropical herb, will help keep his business afloat amid a seven-month ban on alcohol service in the Thai capital. The city, once a popular nightlife spot, is under a curfew and bars, pubs and restaurants are prohibited from selling alcoholic drinks as part of coronavirus restrictions.

After the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, a petition calling for a ban on live firearms on Hollywood film sets has gathered more than 15,000 signatures.

Nigerian's in UAE are facing harsher times as restriction on work permits bites harder. Some of them spoke exclusively to The Guardian about what led to the current situation.

The book about censorship was banned over "offensive images" containing cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. The cartoons were the same ones published in the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in 2015.

Democratic Republic of Congo's environment minister said on Thursday (October 28) the country intends to ban all log exports and implement other measures to lessen threats to its carbon-absorbing tropical rainforest, a major bulwark against climate change. Home to a majority of the world's second-largest rainforest, Congo is under pressure to improve forest management and curb a high deforestation rate that has doubled in the last decade, according to U.N. figures. Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba announced the suspension of log exports to reporters in the capital Kinshasa, but did not say when it would come into effect.

The far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik party has called off a march on the capital, and the government has said allowing the party back into the political mainstream is in the "national interest."