British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has told his family in a letter that he has ended a seven-month hunger strike in prison in Egypt. “I’ve broken my strike. I’ll explain everything on Thursday,” says the letter to his mother, dated Monday. His sister said she felt “cautiously relieved”, but that the family needed to see him with their own eyes. It comes a day after they were handed a letter from Abdel Fattah saying he had resumed drinking water on Saturday. The 40 year old started refusing water on 6 November to coincide with the start of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, hoping to pressure Egypt into at least allowing British consular officials to visit him. Last Thursday, his mother was told by prison officials that he had undergone an unspecified “medical intervention with the knowledge of a judicial authority”. Egypt’s public prosecution meanwhile asserted that he was in “good health”, without providing any proof. The UK, UN, US and several other countries have called for his release.(BBC)…[+]

The Dutch government is banning the use of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, amid concerns over the health risks for the growing number of young people using it. The ban, which starts in January, makes it illegal to buy, sell or own the gas. However, the authorities say it can still be used for medicinal purposes and in the food industry. The government also hopes the ban will reduce the number of road traffic accidents involving the drug. According to road safety monitor TeamAlert, laughing gas has played a role in 1,800 accidents across the Netherlands over the past three years. Almost two a day, figures that really shocked us,” Maartje Oosterink of TeamAlert told AD newspaper earlier this month. The popular legal high has grown in popularity amongst clubbers and festival-goers in recent years, and is often used in combination with other drugs like MDMA (ecstasy) or ketamine. The gas is mostly sold in small metal canisters, which are emptied into balloons before it is inhaled.(BBC)…[+]

Three Israelis have been killed by a Palestinian in a knife and car-ramming attack near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, the military says. The attacker stabbed civilians by an industrial zone and petrol station before hitting others with a car, military and media reports say. The 18-year-old assailant was then shot dead after trying to flee on foot. The attack comes as Israel’s prime minister-designate is in the process of forming a new right-wing government. Elections earlier this month saw a bloc led by Benjamin Netanyahu win enough seats to take power, with the support of a far-right party, one of whose leaders has vowed to deport terrorists.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and media reports, the attacker stabbed a security guard at the entrance to Ariel Industrial Zone in the central West Bank before attacking more people at a nearby petrol station. He is then said to have stolen a car, crashed into others and continued his stabbing spree at the scene. The attacker is reported to have stolen a second car and caused another crash before being shot dead when he tried to escape.(BBC)…[+]