LAOS – An Australian teenager has become the sixth foreign tourist to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos, as a growing list of countries warned of the potentially fatal consequences of drinking tainted alcohol in the Southeast Asian country.

A British woman, another Australian teenager, an American and two Danes have also died in recent days following a spate of suspected poisonings in the popular backpacker destination of Vang Vieng, according to authorities. Holly Bowles, 19, had been on life support in critical condition for several days in neighboring Thailand after being evacuated from Laos following a night out, according to CNN affiliate Seven News. Her friend, Bianca Jones, also 19, died on Thursday.

“It is with broken hearts and we are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace,” Bowles’ family said in a statement late on Friday, Seven News reported. “We find comfort and solace in knowing that Holly bought so much joy and happiness to so many people.” The family said, “Holly was living her best life traveling through South East Asia meeting new friends and enjoying incredible experiences.” Britain’s Foreign Office told CNN on Thursday that a British woman had died in Laos. She was later named as lawyer Simone White, 28. Her law firm, Squire Patton Boggs, paid tribute to White on Friday, saying she had a “bright future ahead of her.”

According to Britain’s PA Media news agency, White’s parents said in a statement that they were “devastated by the loss of our beautiful, kind and loving daughter.” They added that their “hearts go out” to the other families “affected by this terrible tragedy.” The US State Department confirmed to CNN on Thursday that an American citizen had died in Vang Vieng. It did not give a reason for the person’s death but said the US was “closely monitoring the situation and providing consular assistance.” And Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously said two Danish nationals had died in Laos but gave no further details. (CNN)

GEORGIA – The man accused of killing 22-year-old college student Laken Riley in February while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus was convicted of murder this week and sentenced to life in prison. Laken’s sister, Lauren Phillips, now a University of Georgia student herself, walks the grounds of her dream school in fear.

“I cannot walk around my own college campus because I am terrified of people like Jose Ibarra,” she said tearfully in court this week, as her sister’s killer looked on. Riley went for a run in broad daylight. She texted her mother to let her know what she was doing. She used her cell phone to share her location with trusted friends. And she used her phone’s SOS feature to call for help when she was being attacked.

Many women who use these tools to keep themselves safe would say Riley did everything right. And there’s a growing arsenal of products aimed at enhancing safety and protecting peace of mind. Apps like Find My Friends, or the runner’s app Strava, allow people to share their locations with friends. Some ride share apps offer users the option to share their route with a third party. Personal safety alarms that can fit in a pocket or on a keychain are advertised with sleek designs and eye-catching colors. Shoe insoles and backpacks are being sold with GPS trackers attached. Phones, watches and other devices can make emergency calls with the push of a button.

But, as tragic cases like Riley’s continue to emerge, many are taking a closer look at the role technology can play in keeping people safe, along with the vulnerabilities it can create. (CNN)

SICILY – The discovery of a severed horse head, and a cow quartered with its bloodied dead calf on top, have rattled a Sicilian town, with authorities treating the incident as a mafia threat. The dead animals were discovered on the property of a building contractor in the town of Altofonte, near Palermo, police told CNN.

The gruesome scene was reminiscent of the 1972 film “The Godfather” where a character wakes up to find a decapitated head of a horse in his bed. The contractor, who is not being named to protect him during the ongoing investigation, told police that he had not received any threats prior to the discovery of the dead livestock, who were kept on an adjacent property.

The construction and garbage industries remain the two most prominent mafia-linked business sectors in Sicily, according to a recent report from the Anti-Mafia Directorate. The contractor often carried out construction work for the local municipality, which has worked hard to deny mafia-related firms from winning bids, but he had told police he had not been approached by any group demanding money or favors. A police spokesperson told CNN the incident is being treated as a mafia intimidation tactic.

The horrific incident may be related to the recent release of 20 mafia members from local prisons, whose sentences expired, and who may be on a vengeance, according to the Anti-Mafia Directorate’s chief Maurizio de Lucia. “We can’t let our guard down, the fight against the mafia just got more difficult with these men free,” he said in September. The mayor of Altofonte, Angela De Lucia, said she was “petrified” when she heard the news. “I can’t comprehend such barbarity,” she told local media outlets. “This act seems to take us back to the middle ages.” (CNN)

PHILIPPINES – Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said on Saturday she would have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assassinated if she herself were killed, prompting Marcos’ office to vow “immediate proper action.”

In a dramatic sign of a widening rift between the two most powerful political families in the Southeast Asian nation, Duterte told in  an early morning press conference that she had spoken to an assassin and instructed him to kill Marcos, his wife and the speaker of the Philippine House if she were to be killed. “I have talked to a person. I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM (Marcos), (first lady) Liza Araneta, and (Speaker) Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” Duterte said in the profanity-laden briefing. “I said, do not stop until you kill them and then he said yes.”

She was responding to an online commenter urging her to stay safe, saying she was in enemy territory as she was at the lower chamber of Congress overnight with her chief of staff. Duterte did not cite any alleged threat against herself. The Presidential Communications Office responded with a statement saying: “Acting on the Vice President’s clear and unequivocal statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill the President if an alleged plot against her succeeds, the Executive Secretary has referred this active threat to the Presidential Security Command for immediate proper action.

“Any threat to the life of the President must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms,” it said. Duterte’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the presidential office’s statement. “This country is going to hell because we are led by a person who doesn’t know how to be a president and who is a liar,” she said in the briefing.

Duterte, the daughter of Marcos’ predecessor, resigned from the cabinet in June while remaining vice president, signaling the collapse of a formidable political alliance that helped her and Marcos’ son and namesake of the late authoritarian leader, secure their 2022 electoral victories by wide margins. Speaker Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos, has slashed the vice presidential office’s budget by nearly two-thirds. Duterte’s outburst is the latest in a series of startling signs of the feud at the top of Philippine politics. In October, she accused Marcos of incompetence and said she had imagined cutting the president’s head off. (CNN)