this is bbc news. the headlines: ukraine claims the eastern city of dnipro has been targeted by a russian intercontinental ballistic missile — the first time such a weapon has been used in the 1,000 days of the war. gautam adani — one of the world's richest men — is indicted in the us over an alleged multimillion—dollar bribery scheme. what's going on here? we just what's going on here? we “ust burn it forfi what's going on here? we “ust burn it for copper. i we head to ghana to look into the rise of e—waste trafficking, and the devastating environmental impacts of this illegal business. and this banana, duct—taped to a wall, fetches $6 million at a new york auction. hello, i'm annita mcveigh.

an australian teenager has become the fourth tourist to have died in a suspected mass poisoning incident in laos. the 19—year—old's family confirmed her death to the media on thursday. an american man and two danish women also died last week in laos and two more are reportedly on life support in hospital. news reports and testimonies from fellow tourists suggest they may have consumed drinks laced with methanol, a deadly substance often found in bootleg alcohol. for more on this, we can speak now to libby hogan, an australian journalist with abc's asia pacific newsroom who has an extensive knowledge of laos and the south—east asia region. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. tell us more about the victims. what update do you have on those who sadly lost their lives and those who are in hospital? it their lives and those who are in “spite!”— in hospital? it has been an incredibly _ in hospital? it has been an incredibly sad _ in hospital? it has been an incredibly sad day -

in hospital? it has been an incredibly sad day here - in hospital? it has been an incredibly sad day here in l incredibly sad day here in australia, as we got the news that bianca jones had died in hospital on the border of laos and thailand. she was on the trip of a lifetime, backpacking with her best mate, another 19—year—old woman who is also still fighting for her life in a different hospital in bangkok. what we know is that, last week, most women, as you mentioned, did have a drink that was laced with methanol. we still don't know exactly the details, as they are coming forward in the investigation, but on tuesday night they consumed drinks at the hostel before they went out. how we found out about this news was quite emotional today in australia, we had the prime minister actually stopped parliament, taking questions, in order to tell the foreign affairs minister that unfortunately affairs minister that u nfortu nately by affairs minister that unfortunately by anchorjones unfortunately by anchor jones had unfortunately by anchorjones

had died. there has been a lot of international pressure. although the hostel owner has said that police have investigated the hostel bar and found that there was nothing in the drinks, there is still a lot of questions about this mass poisoning incident. two confirmed deaths, two young women from denmark, an american man, taking it up to m in a critical condition in this incident.— critical condition in this incident. . , incident. have there been similar incidents - incident. have there been similar incidents like - incident. have there been similar incidents like this| incident. have there been l similar incidents like this in the past?— the past? it's interesting, because _ the past? it's interesting, because in _ the past? it's interesting, because in neighbouring l because in neighbouring thailand, we saw in august that there were two people who died from methanol poisoning as well, siblings were arrested that had made their own brew. we don't know if this is just another incident as well, or the other details that are

going to come forward, until the police finish investigating. it is an event that could happen to anyone and that could happen to anyone and thatis that could happen to anyone and that is why this story has touched so many in australia. it is a trip that is a right of passage, many australians do it. i was there ten years ago, you have mountains, caves, it is a holiday destination that attracts those who want adventure and partying. it is also devastating, because although there are a lot of health warnings, although there are those warnings, it is odourless and colourless, it might be used to water down alcohol. it is incredibly sad, and the families are touched by

the outpouring of love. we are still waiting to hear what will happen with the details and the further investigation.— further investigation. thank ou for further investigation. thank you for that _ further investigation. thank you for that update, - further investigation. thank you for that update, libby. | let's return to our top story — a us official has told cbs news the missile fired overnight that hit dnipro in ukraine was a ballistic missile but not an intercontinental ballistic missile. ukraine's airforce had said the eastern city of dnipro was targeted by a russian intercontinental ballistic missile, which would have been the first time such a weapon had been used in the war. we are hearing a second source saying that this was not an intercontinental ballistic missile. but we have had a report of president zelensky saying that this was a missile with all of the characteristics

of an intercontinental ballistic missile. it can potentially carry nuclear warheads. all this comes after ukraine used us long—range missiles, as well as reports of british—supplied missiles to strike targets inside russia — something moscow had warned it would consider an escalation. with me is our reporter, 0lga malchevska, who's been speaking to ukrainians on the ground. what have people been doing in the face of these attacks, in terms of trying to find shelter or places of safety? it is or places of safety? it is widely discussed - or places of safety? it is widely discussed in - or places of safety? it 3 widely discussed in ukrainian society. it was anticipated yesterday, a lot of ukrainian media were saying that there was a possibility that russia would fire that kind of missile. people were discussing it on social media and the

official media as well, of what you could do to protect yourself. there is not what you can do, so people were resigning themselves to that fact. that is what they have to live with. but what is interesting, how the news has appeared today. we saw it first in ukrainian media, from official ukrainian defence sources that it was an intercontinental ballistic missile. there was no confirmation from the official voice. as you mentioned, president zelensky said a while ago that that missile has all the characteristics of an intercontinental ballistic missile, with its speed and altitude. he also said that they are trying to find out what kind of weapon it was. but also if we look at the russian

media, it is quite interesting to see how they have been reporting about it. on my way to the studio, i saw a comment from the russian president's spokesperson who said that the kremlin cannot comment on this statement, because, according to him, these questions should be referred to the military. he didn't say no, he didn't say yes. he referred it to the military. earlier, isaw yes. he referred it to the military. earlier, i saw how the russian media were reporting about it and i listened also to the briefing of the spokesperson of the ministry of foreign affairs, who did not comment on the question either. but during the briefing, she received a call from somebody and had to pause, and then she immediately changed the topic and started to speak about something else. i think we can show our

audience a map and you can talk more about these specific areas that have been attacked. according to what we have been hearing, the area which was allegedly attacked in ukraine, or definitely it was attacked, but we are not yet sure, it is not confirmed what kind of weapon was used, it was in dnipro. russian media say there was an aim to target some very important infrastructure in dnipro. but what we have seen from the pictures is civilian infrastructure damage there. according to the ukrainian defence sources, they've managed to intercept that missile. what we have been hearing as well about the area from which the missile was allegedly fired is that it was allegedly fired is that it was a region in russia, and it was

fired towards throw, an important strategic and infrastructure hub. what are ou infrastructure hub. what are you finding _ infrastructure hub. what are you finding out _ infrastructure hub. what are you finding out about - infrastructure hub. what are you finding out about what l you finding out about what people are saying about president trump? president biden has agreed to the use of long—range missiles in recent days. what are their feelings about the new president coming in and what that might mean? people in ukraine are quite divided in their opinions about this. some are quite pessimistic about mr trump and his possible decisions. 0thers remind him that he used to be a president of the united states before and they didn't see any more horrible escalation, if it is possible to describe it as such. they hope that the united states will continue to be one

of their strongest allies and that they will continue to support ukraine. but also there is a lot of conversation about how they can protect themselves.- how they can protect themselves. ., ~ , ., , themselves. thank you very much. one of the world's richest men, indian billionaire gautam adani, has been charged with fraud in the us. adani has been accused of orchestrating a $250 million bribery scheme and concealing it to raise money in the us. shares in adani group companies have fallen sharply. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

e—waste has become the world's most frequently seized waste item by customs officials, according to new findings from the world customs 0rganisation. the un says 62 million tonnes of e—waste was generated in 2022, making it the world's fastest—growing waste stream.

the illegal trafficking of e—waste from developed countries to the global south has become a lucrative business for organised crime. and as navin singh khadka reports from ghana's capital, accra, e—waste is a source of very harmful plastic pollution. tvs, car parts and electronic cables. they all go on the fire. burning e—waste in the open like this is illegal in ghana. this site was shut down by the government in 2021, but it's back again. abdullah is one of those who earn their living here. what's going on here, what is this? we're just burning for copper. he is extracting precious metals like copper and even gold from e—waste. how many like this in a day, hundreds? a day? more like 200 pieces. burning plastic and rubber cables is easy, as they catch fire quickly.

once he has the copper from this car part, abdullah will sell it to a company that sends these metals back to china, or europe. e—waste plastic can contain toxic chemicals. when burnt, they are released into the air, causing respiratory diseases and cancer. habiba works at the dump every day. one of her daughters tells me habiba spends almost half her money on medicines to deal with conditions resulting from working there. sometimes, you go to the work site and you'll be like, "mummy, you have to rest", because you can see that she is really stressed out. she will tell you that if she rests, she does not get anything to spend. so because of that, she has to work. a new report has shown that of all types of waste seizures, e—waste is the most frequently seized item by customs authorities around the world. chasing down the criminal gangs is a constant game of cat and mouse.

certain waste streams, we're seeing more illegality taking place. for example, in some of the containers that the team are opening today, there's what would be classed as flaked or shredded plastic, and what we often find is that blended within that waste, there's electricals. the illegal waste business, including e—waste, is worth $24 billion a year. criminal groups, through the use of cryptocurrencies, launder their profits, and law enforcement needs to do more to become more tech—savvy and to confront organised crime and to hit them in the wallet. e—waste around the world is predicted to increase by more than 30% in the next six years. there are fears that its trafficking will spiralfurther, and waste from the global rich will continue to affect some of the world's most vulnerable people.

our global environment correspondent, navin singh khadka, joins us now in the studio. we were chatting earlier and you were telling me about the scale of the generation of this type of waste, you said it was going to be going up by another 30% in the next six years, but 82% since 2010. how challenging is it to try to follow the trail that you have been talking about in your report? and how do they deal with the organised criminal gangs that are trafficking dense waste for profit? are trafficking dense waste for rofit? ~ ., ., , are trafficking dense waste for rofit? ~ . ., , ., are trafficking dense waste for rofit? ~ . .,, ., _ profit? what i was told by investigators _ profit? what i was told by investigators is _ profit? what i was told by investigators is they - profit? what i was told by investigators is they use | investigators is they use crypto currencies, but it is also about traffickers this, and if they are allowed at the recipient point, they turned the beacon of. they try to see where else they can go. if not,

they dump it in the ocean. that kind of challenge. also there is miss declaration, declaring it as personal goods, that they are reusable, all good, but then they are not. that is the thing. that's why they see something might be done by the amended b can talk about. let’s amended b can talk about. let's talk about _ amended b can talk about. let's talk about what _ amended b can talk about. let's talk about what is _ amended b can talk about. let's talk about what is in _ amended b can talk about. let's talk about what is in this - talk about what is in this e—waste and the danger it imposes on the environment. the main imposes on the environment. tue: main component imposes on the environment. tte: main component is imposes on the environment. tt2 main component is a mixture of chemicals, plastic and different elements. what experts tell me is it is difficult to separate them. that is why recycling is difficult and if they do it, it is very expensive. there is very little infrastructure, evenin very little infrastructure, even in rich countries. there are harmful plastics that cannot be treated and if you burn them, the toxic fumes

cause respiratory diseases, cancer and things like that. there is a big increase in this type of waste from electric cars, i understand?- type of waste from electric cars, i understand? yes, and also other— cars, i understand? yes, and also other cars. _ cars, i understand? yes, and also other cars. another - cars, i understand? yes, and i also other cars. another report by the world customs organisation showed that there is a 700% increase in 2023 compared to 2022, these vehicles are a major source of electronic waste. 0ur cars are almost gadgets. you saw all those things coming out and either they are burned or dumped after they extract the valuable metals like copper or gold. valuable metals like copper or old. ~ . , ., gold. we have been reporting on co- 29, gold. we have been reporting on cop 29. with _ gold. we have been reporting on cop 29, with poorer— gold. we have been reporting on cop 29, with poorer countries . cop 29, with poorer countries having to deal with the impact of climate change, caused having to deal with the impact of climate change, caus