Family ‘devastated’ after Briton Simone White’s Laos methanol death

A British lawyer who is among six tourists to have died from suspected methanol poisoning in Laos has been remembered by her family as a much loved woman who had a “spark for life”.

Tributes from heartbroken loved ones and colleagues flowed in for Orpington solicitor Simone White, 28, who died along with two Australian backpackers, two Danes, and an American after becoming unwell while visiting the riverside party town of Vang Vieng.

“We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful, kind and loving daughter Simone. Simone was one of a kind and had the most wonderful energy and spark for life,” Ms White’s parents said in a statement.

“She was a soul who gave so much to so many and was loved by her family, friends and colleagues. Simone has been taken from us too soon, she will be sorely missed by her brother, grandmother and entire family.”

Ms White was a lawyer with global law firm Squire Patton Boggs, which described her in a statement as “a talented colleague with a bright future ahead of her and someone who epitomised (our firm’s) values.”

Ms White died after she reportedly fell ill last week while staying in the backpacking hotspot with her friend Bethany Clarke, also from Orpington, who said she had been in hospital after the incident as well.

In a post on a Laos backpacking Facebook group on 16 November, which has since been deleted, Ms Clarke wrote: “Urgent – please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars.

“Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”

Methanol is sometimes used as the alcohol in mixed drinks at disreputable bars and can cause severe poisoning or death. The NHS warns that as little as 4ml of methanol can cause visual hallucinations and blindness.

Ms Whites’ parents said their hearts went out to all other families “affected by this terrible tragedy” following the news that Melbourne teenager Holly Bowles, 19, had become the second Australian traveller to die in hospital a day after her best friend and sporting teammate Bianca Jones, also 19, passed away.

In a statement posted on social media earlier this morning, UK time, Australia’s foreign affairs minister Penny Wong offered her “deepest sympathies” to Ms Bowles’ family and friends and said all Australians would be heartbroken by her passing.

“Just yesterday Holly lost her best friend, Bianca Jones. I know tonight all Australians will be holding both families in our hearts,” Ms Wong said.

“The Australian government will continue to support Holly’s and Bianca’s families, just as we will continue our efforts with local authorities on investigations into this tragedy.”

Ms Bowles’ father, Shaun Bowles, told Nine News: “It is with broken hearts, and we are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace.”

Ms Bowles and Ms Jones played for the same suburban Melbourne Australian rules football club, Beaumaris, which posted a statement earlier this week paying tribute to Ms Jones following her death.

“Bianca’s infectious charm and tenacity made her a fondly regarded teammate and friend. Her smile, exuberance and happy nature made her a delight to be around,” the club wrote, adding Ms Jones and Bowles were not only teammates, but best friends.

It comes as Thai police have detained the owner and the manager of Nana Backpacker Hostel, where affected travellers who visited the town were staying, however no one has been charged over the incident.

An officer at Vang Vieng’s Tourism Police office said a “number of people” had been detained in the case, with staff at the hostel confirming that the manager and owner were among those taken in for questioning.

On Tuesday, Duong Duc Toan, manager of the hostel, told the Associated Press that staff were told by other guests that two women were unwell after they failed to check out as planned on 13 November. The hostel arranged transport to a hospital for them, he said.

It is not known where the contaminated drinks were served.

According to The Times, Mr Toan said more than 100 guests had received free shots as a gesture of hospitality, but said that the alcohol was from a certified distributor and had not been tainted.

Woman severely injured as hair dryer explodes in her hand

A 37-year-old woman in the southern Indian state of Karnataka suffered severe injuries when a hair dryer exploded in her hand, police said.

Police stated that the device was part of a parcel collected by the victim, Basavarajeshwari Yarnal from Bagalkote, allegedly on behalf of her neighbour, identified as Sasikala.

While initial investigations pointed to a short circuit as the cause of the explosion, a more detailed inquiry is ongoing, police said.

Authorities are reportedly also exploring the possibility of any prior disputes between Ms Sasikala and Ms Yarnal. The incident occurred on 15 November but came to public light only on Wednesday this week.

Bagalkote superintendent of police, Amarnath Reddy, told reporters that a preliminary investigation found that Ms Sasikala had reportedly informed Ms Yarnal that she was out of town and requested her to collect a parcel from the courier office on her behalf.

After collecting the parcel, Ms Yarnal allegedly opened it at Ms Sasikala’s request and found a hair dryer inside, the outlet said. When she attempted to use it, the device allegedly exploded, causing severe injuries to her fingers and palms.

“The hair dryer was for my friend Sasikala. She had asked me to pick up the parcel and then later asked me to open it. It tried to use the dryer but it exploded. The doctors said I have suffered grievous injuries,” Ms Yarnal was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The hair dryer was reportedly made by a Visakhapatnam-based firm.

“The police have registered a case and also sent a team to the victim’s house for a probe. A report on the probe carried out so far has suggested that the blast occurred due to a short circuit. The dryer was manufactured by a Visakhapatnam-based firm. We are probing all angles, including any possible rivalry that the neighbour must have had with the victim,” Mr Reddy said.

The victim, a widow of an ex-army personnel, is undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

The New Indian Express reported that Ms Sasikala had never ordered the hair dryer, adding mystery to the parcel’s origins. The police, however, said Ms Sasikala’s denial was likely due to the fear of being implicated in the incident. The outlet said investigators were tracing how the device reached Bagalkote and are examining potential foul play.

Trans woman wins record compensation for ‘electric shock treatment’

A transgender woman in China won a landmark legal case against a hospital that subjected her to a so-called “electroshock conversion therapy” without consent, receiving 60,000 yuan (£6,552) in compensation.

Admitted to the hospital in 2022 after her parents opposed her gender identity, Ling’er – who uses a pseudonym – was diagnosed with “discordant sexual orientation” and reportedly underwent seven electroshock sessions over 97 days.

“It caused serious damage to my body,” Ling’er told The Guardian. “Every time I underwent the treatment, I would faint … I didn’t agree to it, but I had no choice.”

She said the hospital “tried to ‘correct me’ to make me conform to society’s expectations”.

The “treatments” caused severe physical harm to Ling’er, including her ongoing heart issues.

Ling’er’s case marks the first successful legal challenge by a transgender person in China against such practices. Ling’er was awarded the compensation by the Changli County People’s Court in Qinhuangdao, Hebei.

She is a 28-year-old live-streamer from Hebei province in northern China. In August this year, the South China Morning Post reported that Ling’er had been saving the money earned from live-streaming for years, with the goal of undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

Ling’er’s parents had opposed her transition, leading to frequent arguments and to avoid further conflict, Ling’er reluctantly agreed to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital in 2022, despite not believing she had a mental illness, according to China’s Hongxing News.

“After being admitted to the hospital, I was tied to the bed with ropes, and many doctors controlled my body and administered electroshock therapy for days,” Ling’er told the outlet at the time.

The hospital stated that Ling’er’s mother had signed a consent form.

Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ activists hailed the verdict as a victory for trans rights in a country where conversion therapy persists in a legal grey area. Ling’er said: “In China, the situation for transgender people is not very optimistic. There’s a lack of protection for this group.”

She hoped her win in the legal challenge could help the community in their challenges.

Kim Jong-un says past negotiations with US confirmed hostility

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington’s “unchangeable” hostility toward Pyongyang and described his nuclear buildup as the only way to counter external threats, state media said Friday.

Mr Kim spoke on Thursday at a defence exhibition where North Korea displayed some of its most powerful weapons systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the US mainland, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said. While meeting with army officers last week, he had pledged a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program.

Mr Kim has yet to comment directly on Donald Trump‘s reelection as US president. During his first term, Mr Trump held three highly orchestrated summits with the North Korean leader in 2018 and 2019, before the diplomacy collapsed over disagreements in exchanging the release of US-led economic sanctions and the North’s steps to wind down its nuclear program.

During the speech at the exhibition, Mr Kim touched on the failed summits without naming Mr Trump.

“We have already gone as far as possible with the United States with negotiations, and what we ended up confirming was not a superpower’s will for coexistence, but a thorough position based on force and an unchangeable invasive and hostile policy,” toward North Korea, Mr Kim said.

He accused the United States of raising military pressure on North Korea by strengthening its military cooperation with regional allies and increasing the deployment of “strategic strike means,” apparently a reference to major US assets like long-range bombers, submarines and aircraft carriers. He called for accelerated efforts to advance the capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, saying the country’s only guarantee of security to build up the “strongest defense power that can overwhelm the enemy.”

Mr Kim’s expanding nuclear weapons and missile program includes various weapons targeting South Korea and Japan and longer range missiles that have demonstrated the range to reach the US mainland. Analysts say Mr Kim’s nuclear push is aimed at eventually pressuring Washington into accepting the North as a nuclear power and to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

In recent months, the priority of Mr Kim’s foreign policy has been Russia, as he tries to strengthen his international footing, embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and aligning with president Vladimir Putin’s broader conflicts with the West.

Washington and its allies have accused North Korea of providing Russia with thousands of troops and huge amounts of military equipment, including artillery systems and missiles, to help sustain its fighting in Ukraine. Mr Kim in return could possibly receive badly needed economic aid and possible Russian technology transfers that would possibly enhance the threat posed by his nuclear-armed military, according to outside officials and experts.

Even with Mr Trump returning to the White House, a quicky resumption of diplomacy with Pyongyang could be unlikely, according to some experts. North Korea’s deepening alliance with Russia and the weakening sanctions enforcement against Pyongyang are presenting further challenges in the diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff with Kim, who also would have a greater perception of his bargaining powers following a rapid expansion of his arsenal in recent years.

I survived Nagasaki – Putin has no idea of the horrors of nuclear war

A survivor of the atomic bomb attack on the Japanese city of Nagasaki during the Second World War has warned Vladimir Putin that he has no idea of the destruction and pain such weapons cause as the Russian president threatens the West with the prospect of nuclear war.

Terumi Tanaka, one of a diminishing number of survivors of the US attacks on Japan in August 1945, said the use of nuclear weapons would spell “the end of the human race” and that leaders like Mr Putin “don’t realise the extent of the damage that can be done”.

Mr Tanaka’s warning, made during a sit-down interview with The Independent in campaign group Nihon Hidankyo’s small but bustling Tokyo office, came at a time of escalating nuclear sabre-rattling from the Russian leadership.

This week, Mr Putin issued a decree loosening Russia’s nuclear arms protocols, saying the country could use them even if attacked with conventional weapons if the aggressor were to be backed by a nuclear-armed nation.

The decree serves as a clear warning, after US president Joe Biden gave Ukraine the green light to use American long-range missiles against targets inside Russia, that Moscow reserves the right to respond to such a strike with nukes. Both US and UK long-range missiles have subsequently been used by Ukrainian forces.

Mr Tanaka, 92, said civilisation as we know it faces an “imminent danger” and a nuclear war appears to be “not far away”.

“I’m very scared about it,” he added.

Asked what message he would want to give to the Russian leader, he said: “I would first ask him to tell me what he knows about what kind of impact a nuclear weapon has on a human being. I’d ask him to tell me.

“I’d ask him the question – so, with just one bomb you can kill hundreds of thousands of people. And are you saying it’s OK to do that?”

Mr Tanaka is the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo – The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organisations – whose decades of advocacy work against nuclear weapons has finally been recognised by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. He will travel to Oslo next month to address the committee and receive the peace prize.

He was just 13 when the 10,000lb atomic bomb “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, landing around 3.2km from his family home. Part of Nihon Hidankyo’s work is to record witness testimony from survivors of the two nuclear strikes on Japan, and he says his memory of what happened that day will forever be “imprinted on my brain”.

“I was lying down reading a book and then suddenly there was just light everywhere. Everything was completely white around me, and I heard this huge sound. It was like nothing I had ever experienced in my life but of course, I could sense that something very dangerous was happening.

“I ran downstairs and crouched down and covered my ears like we were trained to do. At that moment, the force from the explosion came. I don’t remember hearing it because apparently, I passed out. I don’t remember anything after that.”

Mr Tanaka survived, he said, because two sliding glass doors fell on top of him and yet remained intact. “It’s really strange, the glass was not broken. In other houses, there was no glass left. Afterwards, we realised it was a complete miracle that this glass door did not shatter and that it fell on me and protected me. That’s the only reason I’m still here today.”

Like most of the survivors represented by Nihon Hidankyo, known as hibakusha, Mr Tanaka lost many loved ones on the day of the bombing. He says he went to ground zero and walked around the city for days looking for five of his relatives.

“Three days later, you could still see hundreds of bodies everywhere, and the injured were just crouching in the shadows not receiving any care or attention at all. This is not a situation the human race should be living in. This is not what humans should be doing to each other.”

In its statement announcing the decision to award Nihon Hidankyo the peace prize, the Nobel Committee recognised the group’s “efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again”.

Mr Tanaka said the group had believed it might win the award in previous years, particularly on major anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, but that it was completely taken by surprise this year.

“The only reason I can think of for why they decided to give the prize to [us] this year is the international situation regarding nuclear weapons,” he says, citing not just the threats from Russia but also North Korea, Iran and the conflict in the Middle East.

He said winning was “bittersweet” considering what it says about the dangerous situation the world is in. “I was truly moved when I read what the Nobel Committee [said], that they really know what we have been doing … how we’ve been contributing to establishing a taboo against using nuclear weapons, and that they are expecting us to continue.”

India condemns Canadian report claiming Modi was aware of murder plot

India has rubbished a Canadian media report accusing Indian prime minister Narendra Modi of being aware of an alleged plot to murder a Sikh separatist leader on Canada’s soil, terming it “ludicrous”.

A report by Canada’s The Globe and Mail on Wednesday said the Hindu leader was aware of the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent separatist leader, in British Columbia and other violent plots, citing Canadian security agencies.

The remarks were shared with the leading newspaper by a senior national security official who was investigating intelligence on New Delhi’s alleged foreign-interference operations in Canada.

India’s home affairs minister Amit Shah, intelligence chief Ajit Doval, and foreign affairs minister S Jaishanker were also tied to the assassination operation plotted abroad, the official claimed, according to the report.

Reacting sharply to the report in New Delhi, Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said such “ludicrous statements” should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.

“We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve,” he said. “Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties,” Mr Jaiswal said on Wednesday.

This is not the first time senior Indian officials have been explicitly named by Canada in assassination plot to take out separatist leaders of Khalistan movement who are seeking a separate nation for Sikhs in India.

Last month, Canada said Mr Shah, who is the right-hand man of Mr Modi, was behind plots to target Sikh separatists in Canada, taking the bilateral tensions, on the already strained ties between Ottawa and New Delhi, further.

The allegation followed Canada’s expulsion of six Indian diplomats it has linked to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil, with India immediately reciprocating in equal measure.

India has previously denied Canadian allegations and has responded by expelling Canadian six diplomats.

Shortly after, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said India made “a horrific mistake” by thinking it could interfere as aggressively as it allegedly did in Canada’s sovereignty.

The diplomatic row, which has steadily boiled over in the past one year, can impact India’s ambitions as it tries to project itself as a rising world power and also backpedal Indo-Canada relations severely.

“India-Canada bilateral relations, which have been on a downslide since last year, will take a further hit, which will take a long time to repair,” said Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

Mr Modi and Mr Trudeau were seen in Rio, Brazil, this week when the two leaders came together in the same frame for a G20 Summit family photo. But the two were not seen exchanging words.

Rights groups slam US move to send antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine

Human rights groups have slammed Joe Biden’s decision to send antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine, calling it a “reckless move” endangering innocent civilian lives.

The US president greenlighted providing antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine on Wednesday, two months before he is set to exit the White House.

Senior US officials backed the delivery to stall Russian progress on the Ukrainian battlefield where Russia’s troops are moving in smaller ground units along the frontline.

“They have asked for these, and so I think it’s a good idea,” defence secretary Lloyd Austin said.

Amnesty International described it as “a reckless decision and a deeply disappointing setback for a president who once agreed that landmines put more civilians at increased risk of harm”. “It is devastating, and frankly shocking, that president Biden made such a consequential and dangerous decision just before his public service legacy is sealed for the history books,” Ben Linden, advocacy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty USA, said.

The antipersonnel mines that the US is sending reportedly have a limited capacity and can be offset over time. The “nonpersistent mines”, as they are called, are electrically fused and powered by batteries. They won’t detonate once the battery runs out, and can become inert in anywhere from four hours to two weeks.

But Amnesty said that even nonpersistent mines are a threat to civilians. “Antipersonnel landmines are inherently indiscriminate weapons that maim and kill civilians long after conflicts end and should not have a place in the arsenal of any country,” Mr Linden said.

Mr Biden’s decision has even drawn condemnation from Ukraine’s allies in Europe. Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide called it “very problematic” because Kyiv is a signatory to an international convention opposing the use of landmines.

The use of antipersonnel landmines, as ground ammunition, has been rejected by at least 164 countries, including all Nato members and Ukraine, under the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. The agreement prohibits these countries from using, stockpiling, producing, and transferring antipersonnel mines.

The mines, placed underground, are known to explode indiscriminately upon coming in contact with any motion, making it difficult for rescue workers and emergency service personnel to carry out relief work.

The Mine Ban Treaty states that it is “determined to put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by antipersonnel mines that kill or maim hundreds of people every week, mostly innocent and defenceless civilians and especially children”.

The US has not used antipersonnel landmines since 1991, except for the use of a single munition in 2002. It has not exported them since 1992 and not produced them since 1997.

“President Biden’s decision to transfer antipersonnel landmines risks civilian lives and sets back international efforts to eradicate these indiscriminate weapons,” said Mary Wareham, deputy crisis, conflict and arms director at Human Rights Watch.

“The US should reverse this reprehensible decision, which only increases the risk of civilian suffering in the short and long term.”

Woman accused of murdering 14 friends with cyanide sentenced to death

A woman in Thailand has been sentenced to death for the murder of her friend by poisoning her with cyanide.

Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, 36, faces accusations of murdering 14 friends with cyanide, with this case marking the first conviction in the series.

Authorities discovered traces of the poison in 32-year-old Siriporn Khanwong’s body in April last year, and further investigation revealed similar deaths dating back to 2015.

A court in Bangkok convicted Sararat on Wednesday.

“The court’s decision is just,” Siriporn’s mother, Tongpin Kiatchanasiri said after the verdict. “I want to tell my daughter that I miss her deeply and justice has been done for her today.”

Sararat, a gambling addict, reportedly targeted friends she owed money to. In one instance, she extorted up to 300,000 baht (nearly £6,800) before murdering her victims and stealing their jewellery and mobile phones.

Deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn said: “She asked people she knows for money because she has a lot of credit card debt … and if they asked her for their money back, she started killing them.”

Police allege she tricked 15 people, one of whom survived, into consuming poisoned “herb capsules”. Sararat is set to face 13 additional murder trials and has been charged with nearly 80 offences overall.

Sararat’s ex-husband Vitoon Rangsiwuthaporn, a former police lieutenant-colonel, was given 16 months in prison and her lawyer two years for complicity in Siriporn’s killing and for assisting her in evading prosecution.

Despite being divorced, the couple continued living together, according to the BBC.

Police suspect Vitoon was complicit in Sararat’s alleged murder of her ex-boyfriend, Suthisak Poonkwan. Authorities claim that after the killing, Vitoon assisted Sararat by picking her up in her car and helping her extort money from Suthisak’s friends.

The court ordered Sararat to pay Siriporn’s family compensation of 2 million baht (£45,446).