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A mother who has gone on hunger strike after her activist son was detained in Egypt is calling on the foreign secretary to act fast - with time, she says, "running out".Laila Soueif told Sky News her son, Alaa Abd el Fattah, who has been in prison for most of the past decade, "has to come out now" as she fears her health will deteriorate if she has to carry on starving herself over his ongoing detention. The 68-year-old has been living on water and rehydration salts since 29 September, the day after Mr Fattah was meant to be released following a five-year prison sentence for "disseminating false news" after retweeting a report in 2019 that another prisoner died in custody. Image: Alaa Abd el Fattah with his mother. Pic: Family handout ...

In Azerbaijan, the oil is cheap, the skyscrapers are shaped like fire and donuts, and the ruling elite have got rich quick from its abundant fossil fuels. It could be the Dubai of the Caspian Sea.This former Soviet state is blessed with such abundant fossil fuels it oozes out of the soil, and in some places has been burning for decades. On a still day, the smell and taste of oil from the dozens of oil wells engulfing Baku catch in the back of your throat. Image: A beach on the Caspian Sea in Baku, Azerbaijan, with Soviet era oil platforms in the background. Pic: AP Delegates at the COP29 climate summit are now leaving the country with a bad aftertaste for another reason.Rich countries that have done far more to cause clima...

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.Ukraine's air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks. Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: "An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week"."Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state. "But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us."Russia did not comment on the attack. It comes...