Category Archives: Laos

Man deported to Laos despite US court order blocking his removal, attorneys say

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District judge told Ice to keep Alabama man in US while he showed what judge called ‘substantial claim’ to citizenship

Immigration officials have deported a father living in Alabama to Laos despite a federal court order blocking his removal from the US on the grounds he has a claim to citizenship, the man’s attorneys said on Tuesday.

US district judge Shelly Dick last week ordered US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to keep Chanthila “Shawn” Souvannarath, 44, in the United States while he presented what the judge called his “substantial claim of US citizenship”, court records show. He was born in a refugee camp in Thailand but was granted lawful permanent residence in the US before his first birthday, according to court filings.

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Typhoon Bualoi death toll rises to at least 30 across Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines

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Vietnamese authorities say typhoon was the most devastating storm to hit the country this year

The death toll from Typhoon Bualoi in south-east Asia has risen to more than 30 as heavy rains continued to lash the region.

In Vietnam, authorities said 19 people had been killed and 21 were missing, making it the most devastating storm to hit the country this year. Heavy rain on Tuesday raised the risk of more flooding and landslides in northern regions.

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South Sudan says eight deportees from the US are under government care

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Deportees include two people from Myanmar, two from Cuba, and one each from Vietnam, Laos and Mexico

War-torn South Sudan has said it is holding a group of eight men controversially deported from the United States.

Only one of them is from South Sudan. The rest comprise two people from Myanmar, two from Cuba, and one each from Vietnam, Laos and Mexico.

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UN calls on Trump to exempt poorest countries from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

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Unctad says many countries targeted with high tariff rates are unlikely to be a threat to US

The UN’s trade and development arm, Unctad, is calling on Donald Trump to exempt the world’s poorest and smallest countries from “reciprocal” tariffs, or risk “serious economic harm”.

In a report published on Monday, Unctad identifies 28 nations the US president singled out for a higher tariff rate than the 10% baseline – despite each accounting for less than 0.1% of the US trade deficit.

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Alcohol safety ads to target young Australian travellers amid push for answers over methanol deaths

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Penny Wong says families of Laos poisoning victims Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles ‘foremost in mind’ as Smarttraveller campaign announced

The Australian government will launch a new alcohol safety campaign targeting young travellers as the families of Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, who died after drinking alcohol tainted with methanol while on holiday in Laos, continue to push for answers.

The friends, both 19, died in November last year while on holiday in Laos, in a suspected mass methanol poisoning that resulted in the deaths of six foreign tourists.

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Be careful with drinks while travelling, says mother of British lawyer who died in Laos

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Simone White, 28, was one of six tourists to die in a suspected methanol poisoning at Vang Vieng hostel

The mother of a British lawyer who died after being served a drink that was allegedly spiked with methanol has said if it can happen to her daughter it can happen to anyone.

Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, was one of six tourists killed in the popular backpacking town of Vang Vieng after an alleged mass poisoning. She was taken in for surgery just as her mother, Sue, 61, arrived at the hospital. It later became clear that Simone’s brain function was gone, and she died on Thursday 21 November.

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Laos bans sale and consumption of vodka and whisky brand following suspected mass methanol poisoning

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Ban comes after two Australian teenagers, two Danish citizens, an American and a Briton became ill, and later died, after drinking in Vang Vieng

Lao authorities have banned the sale and consumption of a brand of whisky and vodka after the death of six tourists from a suspected mass methanol poisoning this month.

According to Smartraveller, the Australian government’s travel advice website, the drinks Tiger vodka and Tiger whisky have been prohibited by the Laos government due to “concerns about these products being a health risk”.

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Eight Laos hostel staff held over suspected methanol poisoning deaths

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Manager and seven staff at Nana backpackers hostel detained after death of six tourists

Police in Laos have detained the manager of a backpacker hostel in Vang Vieng as well as seven of its staff after the deaths of six tourists in a suspected mass methanol poisoning.

Two Danish citizens, an American, a Briton and two Australians died after becoming ill after a night out in the small riverside town. A third Australian, a dual national, also fell ill, and is understood to be in a stable condition.

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Third Australian fell ill after suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos

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Exclusive: Dual national understood to be in stable condition after tragedy which has claimed six lives

A third Australian also fell ill after a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos that has claimed six lives, Guardian Australia has confirmed.

Melburnians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, died in hospital in Thailand after the tragedy, which also claimed the lives of people from Denmark, the UK and the US.

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Australian police offer to help Laos investigation into suspected methanol deaths as Melbourne teenagers mourned

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Prime minister pays tribute to Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles while families vow to turn tragedy into ‘mission for change’

Australian federal police have offered to help the Laos investigation into multiple deaths linked to a suspected mass methanol poisoning event.

Melburnians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, were among six foreign tourists to die.

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Parents of teenagers who died in suspected Laos methanol poisoning hope deaths ‘not in vain’

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Bianca Jones’s father urged Laos government to investigate deaths to the ‘fullest’ and ensure it could not happen again

Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones’s devastated families have pleaded with Laos authorities to get to the bottom of a mass methanol poisoning tragedy.

The Australians, both 19, are among six foreign tourists who have died from a suspected methanol poisoning event in Laos.

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Laos government ‘profoundly saddened’ by deaths of tourists in Vang Vieng

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Six foreign visitors died earlier this month after suspected methanol poisoning during night out in backpacker hotspot

The Lao government has said it is “profoundly saddened” by the deaths of foreign tourists in Vang Vieng and has promised justice, as tributes were paid to victims of a suspected mass methanol poisoning which has claimed six lives.

Two Danish citizens, two Australians, an American, and a Briton died after becoming ill following a night out in the small riverside town, a popular destination for backpackers.

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Teammates tie ribbons as community mourns Melbourne teens after suspected methanol poisoning

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Players heard news of Holly Bowles’ death as they gathered to remember her friend Bianca Jones, Beaumaris Football Club says

Tributes have continued to flow for two Melbourne teenagers who died while holidaying in southeast Asia, after the death toll from a suspected methanol poisoning in Laos rose to six.

Holly Bowles, 19, died on Friday in a Bangkok hospital, one day after her best friend, Bianca Jones, also 19, died in another Thai hospital.

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Tributes paid to ‘kind and loving’ British tourist who died in Laos

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Simone White was one of six people to die in suspected methanol poisoning incident in Vang Vieng

Tributes have been paid to the “beautiful, kind and loving” British tourist Simone White, one of six people to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.

The six died after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol in Vang Vieng, a town popular with backpackers. These include the Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, an American man and two Danish women aged 19 and 20.

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Second Melbourne teen, Holly Bowles, dies after a suspected methanol poisoning in Laos

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The 19-year-old’s death comes as Vang Vieng’s tourism police says manager and owner of Nana backpacker hostel taken in for questioning

A second Australian teenager, Holly Bowles, has died after suspected methanol poisoning in Laos, it has been confirmed.

The 19-year-old’s death comes just one day after her friend Bianca Jones also died in a Thai hospital. The pair had been travelling through Laos together and fell ill a week ago.

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British lawyer among six to die in suspected methanol poisoning in Laos

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As well as Simone White, two Danes, an American and two Australians have died after incident in town popular with backpackers

A British lawyer is among six people to have died in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was “supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities”.

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Melbourne teen Bianca Jones dies in hospital after methanol poisoning in Laos

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A New Zealand citizen is also ill, while a US citizen has died following a suspected mass poisoning event in the town of Vang Vieng

Melbourne teen Bianca Jones has died from methanol poisoning in a Thai hospital, a week after the Melbourne teen and her best friend fell ill while travelling in neighbouring Laos.

Anthony Albanese confirmed the 19-year-old’s death on Thursday, after her parents travelled to Thailand to be with her.

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‘Every parent’s nightmare’: family of Melbourne teen fighting for life after feared methanol poisoning hopes for answers

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Parents ‘want to ensure no other family’ feels same anguish as Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles remain in Thai hospitals

The family of one of two teenagers fighting for life in hospital after a suspected methanol poisoning incident in Laos hope authorities work out exactly what happened “as soon as possible”.

Melbourne friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both aged 19, had been staying at a hostel in Vang Vieng, north of the Laos capital Vientiane, when they fell critically ill last week.

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Melbourne best friends on ‘dream getaway’ before feared methanol poisoning in Laos left them fighting for life

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Teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles in hospitals in neighbouring Thailand after incident last week

Two Australian teenagers are fighting for their lives in Thailand after a suspected methanol poisoning in neighbouring Laos, with the family of one them saying they were struggling to comprehend what had happened.

Friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles from Melbourne had been staying at a hostel in Vang Vieng, north of the Laos capital, Vientiane, when they fell critically ill last week, 3AW reported.

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Rights groups call on Laos to release lawyer held after fleeing China

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Sixty-eight organisations sign letter amid fears Lu Siwei could be deported at request of Chinese authorities

Sixty-eight human rights groups have signed an open letter calling on the Laos government to release Lu Siwei, a Chinese former human rights lawyer detained by Laotian police near Vientiane last week.

Lu was seized by police on Friday as he attempted to board a train from Laos to Thailand, where he planned to catch a flight to the US to join his wife and daughter. Nearly one week later, he appears to still be held in Laotian immigration detention, despite reportedly being told that he would be deported to China.

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