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)…[+]

The most senior US general estimates that around 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the war in Ukraine. Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also suggested that around 40,000 civilians had died after being caught up in the conflict. The estimates are the highest offered yet by a Western official. He also said that signs Kyiv was willing to re-enter talks with Moscow offered “a window” for negotiations. In recent days, Ukraine has signalled a willingness to hold some discussions with Moscow, after President Volodymyr Zelensky dropped a demand that his opposite number, Vladimir Putin, must be removed from power before negotiations could resume. But speaking in New York, Gen Milley added that for any talks to be successful, both Russia and Ukraine would have to reach a “mutual recognition” that a wartime victory “is maybe not achievable through military means, and therefore you need to turn to other means”.(BBC)…[+]

Hurricane Nicole hit Florida on Thursday with 70mph (110kph) winds but has been downgraded to a tropical storm after it slowed on making landfall. States of emergency remain and evacuation orders are in place, with heavy rain and storm surges forecast. Nicole has already lashed Grand Bahama Island as a huge category one hurricane, with the scale of the devastation not immediately clear. Storms of this size so late in the year are extremely rare. After Florida, Nicole is set to hit Georgia and South Carolina. It could possibly even hit Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York later in the week. November hurricanes are rare in Florida. Since record-keeping began in 1853, the sunshine state has been hit by only two: in 1935 and 1985.

US President Joe Biden has expressed relief after Democrats fended off major Republican gains in the midterms. Republicans are inching towards control of the House of Representatives, but Mr Biden noted that a “giant red wave” did not materialise on Tuesday night. Either party could still win the Senate, which hinges on three races that are too close to call. The party in power, currently the Democrats, usually suffers losses in a president’s first midterm elections. Republican strategists had been hopeful of sweeping victories, given that inflation is at a 40-year-high and Mr Biden’s approval ratings are relatively low. But exit poll data suggests voters may have punished Republicans for their efforts to restrict access to abortion. Speaking at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Biden said the results so far had made him breathe a “sigh of relief”. It was a good day, I think, for democracy,” he said. He added that his optimism had been vindicated, and ribbed journalists who had predicted heavy Democratic losses. Buoyed by the better-than-expected night, Mr Biden said he plans to stand for re-election in 2024. “Our intention is to run again, that’s been our intention,” Mr Biden, who turns 80 this month, told reporters.(BBC)…[+]

Hurricane Nicole hit Florida on Thursday with 70mph (110kph) winds but has been downgraded to a tropical storm after it slowed on making landfall. States of emergency remain and evacuation orders are in place, with heavy rain and storm surges forecast. Nicole has already lashed Grand Bahama Island as a huge category one hurricane, with the scale of the devastation not immediately clear. Storms of this size so late in the year are extremely rare. After Florida, Nicole is set to hit Georgia and South Carolina. It could possibly even hit Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York later in the week. November hurricanes are rare in Florida. Since record-keeping began in 1853, the sunshine state has been hit by only two: in 1935 and 1985. Nicole comes just weeks after Hurricane Ian hit Florida, leaving more than 100 people dead.

The most senior US general estimates that around 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the war in Ukraine. Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also suggested that around 40,000 civilians had died after being caught up in the conflict. The estimates are the highest offered yet by a Western official. He also said that signs Kyiv was willing to re-enter talks with Moscow offered “a window” for negotiations. In recent days, Ukraine has signalled a willingness to hold some discussions with Moscow, after President Volodymyr Zelensky dropped a demand that his opposite number, Vladimir Putin, must be removed from power before negotiations could resume.

But speaking in New York, Gen Milley added that for any talks to be successful, both Russia and Ukraine would have to reach a “mutual recognition” that a wartime victory “is maybe not achievable through military means, and therefore you need to turn to other means”. The top general – who serves as President Joe Biden’s most senior military adviser – said the scale of the casualties could convince both Moscow and Kyiv of the need to negotiate over the coming winter months, when fighting may slow due to freezing conditions.(BBC)…[+]

Three people have leapt from a migrant rescue boat where they were being held after being refused permission to disembark in Italy, the BBC has been told. The three were among about 250 migrants refused permission to disembark after officials deemed them “healthy”. They were rescued by police, but it is unclear what will happen to them next. Their bid to reach the shore came as Rome repeated its vow to halt migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni used her maiden speech to MPs in late October to highlight the issue, saying she wanted to “stop the people traffickers from having the choice of deciding who enters Italy”. Far-right infrastructure minister Matteo Salvini told Italian radio on Monday it was not just people who were being trafficked in increasingly dangerous “organised trips”, but weapons and drugs too. Italy is one of the main entry points into Europe. Since the start of the year, 85,000 migrants have arrived on boats, according to the UN. Migrants set sail in small, overcrowded boats from North Africa, often get into distress and are rescued by charity vessels.(BBC)…[+]

The sister of jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah says she “hopes and trusts” that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be able to secure his release while visiting Egypt for COP27. Speaking from Sharm el-Sheikh, where the climate summit is taking place, Sanaa Seif told the BBC she was sure he “can do it if it is really a priority”. Abdel Fattah, 40, has been on hunger strike for more than six months. His family has said he has now stopped drinking water and may die within days. A spokesman for Mr Sunak in Downing Street said the prime minister had stressed his “deep concern” over the case during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. “The prime minister said he hoped to see this resolved as soon as possible and would continue to press for progress,” said the spokesman. Ahead of the trip, Mr Sunak told Abdel Fattah’s family in a letter that his government was “deeply committed to doing everything it can” to secure his release.(BBC)…[+]

Up to now, neither Russia nor Ukraine has been able to gain control of Ukraine’s skies, largely because their pilots don’t want to risk getting shot down by the other side’s air defence systems. While Russia’s air force far outweighs Ukraine’s, both in size and sophistication, Russia has resorted to firing long-range ballistic and cruise missiles, recently augmented by cheap, mass-produced Iranian Shahed-136 explosive-laden drones. Ukraine has had some success in shooting many of these down, but those that do get through have severely damaged Ukraine’s power and water infrastructure, just as winter is setting in. And now a new report is warning that Ukraine is in danger of running out of the weapons it needs to stave off the massive Russian air attacks. The report, from London-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), warns that unless Western nations maintain and step up their supply of air defences to Ukraine. then Russia is likely to use the same bombing techniques it used in Syria, to devastating effect.(BBC)…[+]