a sixth tourist dies from suspected methanol poisoning in laos. president zelensky says the world must respond after russia used a new type of hypersonic missile on ukraine. meanwhile, russia supplies north korea with oil as payment for weapons and troops pyongyang's sent moscow to fuel its war in ukraine. energy bills for a typical household in most of the uk are set to rise by £21 a year injanuary. are people born wicked? and wicked fans are warned the film is going to be "popular" — the highly anticipated movie hitting cinemas in a few days.

breaking news, police say a loud bang has been reported near the us embassy in london and it was a controlled explosion carried out by officers. they said that inquiries are still ongoing and that cordons will remain in place for the time being. this news coming on in the last few moments that there has been a controlled explosion near the us embassy in london. that is in central london. it was carried out by police officers and inquiries are ongoing as to the cause of that and cordons will remain in place. more on that as we get it. an australian teenager has become the sixth person to have died in a suspected mass poisoning in laos. holly bowles, who was 19, had been in hospital in bangkok. she died a day after her friend bianca jones passed away. the australian prime minister sent a message of support to holly's family. anthony albanese "this should

have been a trip filled with joy and wonderful memories 7 it is beyond sad that it is not to be." a british woman, two danes and an american are also among it's believed the tourists drank tainted alcohol while on a night out in vang vieng. a number of people remain in hospital afterfalling ill in the popular backpacking town. let's speak to our news correspondent nick marsh, who's in singapore. what have holly's family had to say? they released a statement shortly after her death was confirmed. they said holly was now at peace and that they found solace in knowing she brought so much joy to so many. she died in hospital in bangkok in neighbouring thailand. she was flown there and doctors

fought to save her life. unfortunately, they didn't manage to do so. she passed awayjust manage to do so. she passed away just a manage to do so. she passed awayjust a day manage to do so. she passed away just a day after her manage to do so. she passed awayjust a day after her best friend bianca jones, also 19, died from the suspected methanol poisoning. unfortunately, methanol poisoning. u nfortu nately, we methanol poisoning. unfortunately, we are now talking about six young people who have lost their lives after going on holiday. fix, who have lost their lives after going on holiday.— going on holiday. a lot of these victims _ going on holiday. a lot of these victims are - going on holiday. a lot of these victims are very . going on holiday. a lot of- these victims are very young. it must be causing concern in the area, which is popular with backpackers. what do we know about what happened? so backpackers. what do we know about what happened?- about what happened? so far, the laos authorities, - about what happened? so far, the laos authorities, to - about what happened? so far, the laos authorities, to be - the laos authorities, to be frank, have not been forthcoming with the details. we don't even know how many people are still in hospital receiving treatment. we do know that the owner of a hospital called nana backpackers hospital, a vietnamese man, —— the nana backpackers hostel

owner was detained by police. these two women were staying at the hostel and the hostel was giving up three vodka shots, up to 100, we understand. the owner maintained that these were from a reputable provider. clearly, is probably part of the police investigation. so far, we are trying to establish who was on this night out and crucially, where these tourists drank this tainted alcohol, who gaveit drank this tainted alcohol, who gave it to them and above all, who provided this alcohol in the first place to the bars, hostels, whatever it may be where these tourists were drinking and were hospitalised and in some cases died? it drinking and were hospitalised and in some cases died? it must be a concern _ and in some cases died? it must be a concern to _ and in some cases died? it must be a concern to the _ and in some cases died? it must be a concern to the tourist - be a concern to the tourist industry, because it is big business in the area. it industry, because it is big business in the area.- business in the area. it is really big _ business in the area. it is really big business. - business in the area. it is really big business. laos| business in the area. it is. really big business. laos is one of the poorest countries in southeast asia. it relies

heavily on tourism, a lot of young backpackers from western countries predominantly, who go to places like the capital, vientiane and vang vieng, which is known for its parties, the ready availability of recreational drugs, lots of drinking. and this, frankly, is not going to be good for the reputation of laos. methanol poisoning in general is a problem, particularly in the less developed countries in southeast asia. it affects locals as well as tourists. the reason is that methanol is much cheaper than ethanol. you can put it in alcohol. there is no discernible difference and it can make drinks seem stronger. it is the bootleggers who are doing this in the making knock—off booze. we don't know exactly what happened in this case, details are still emerging. but it is hard to believe that bars would be knowingly buying poisonous alcohol, because we have seen

what terrible damage it has done. the problem is the regulation, the lax enforcement of standards when it comes to the safety of these drinks. nick marsh in singapore, thank you. with me is our health reporter, michelle roberts. what is methanol? it is an industrial _ what is methanol? it is an industrial chemical, - what is methanol? it is an - industrial chemical, something you might find in antifreeze or that you might clean a wind chill with. it is not meant for human consumption because it is toxic and a small amount can be damaging. it can taste and smell like alcohol, so you might not know you have consumed it. initially, you might feel a bit intoxicated, possibly sick, but it is further down the line as the body starts to break down the methanol and it produces a couple of things, for big acid and formaldehyde. these are what then causes the damage. it can damage your nerves and organs. you can end up with sight loss, coma and sadly death. i5 sight loss, coma and sadly death. , . , death. is there anything the medics can _ death. is there anything the medics can do _ death. is there anything the medics can do once - death. is there anything the medics can do once you - death. is there anything the | medics can do once you have consumed methanol?-

medics can do once you have consumed methanol? there are medications _ consumed methanol? there are medications they _ consumed methanol? there are medications they can _ consumed methanol? there are medications they can give. - consumed methanol? there are medications they can give. it. medications they can give. it is all about treating quickly. you can also give alcohol, which may sound strange, but because your liver is breaking down the methanol, if you give alcohol instead, that outcompete the methanol and stops that pathway where you get these by—products that are damaging to the nerves. haw get these by-products that are damaging to the nerves. how do ou know damaging to the nerves. how do you know if _ damaging to the nerves. how do you know if you _ damaging to the nerves. how do you know if you have _ damaging to the nerves. how do you know if you have drunk- you know if you have drunk something that is tainted? there is a lot of worry about this. it is the home—brewed bootleg alcohol that tacitly might contain methanol. either people do it to make drinks strong and cheap, or they might do it unintentionally if there are impurities in the way you are impurities in the way you are making the ethanol. so it is the distilling process as well. but if you stick to reputable sources, obviously canned drinks with lower

percentages. it is the spirits you are looking at, really. find you are looking at, really. and i assume. _ you are looking at, really. and i assume. as _ you are looking at, really. and i assume, as we _ you are looking at, really. and i assume, as we have - you are looking at, really. and i assume, as we have from nick, that it i assume, as we have from nick, thatitis i assume, as we have from nick, that it is more of an issue in asian countries rather than here in the uk? figs asian countries rather than here in the uk?— asian countries rather than here in the uk? as we heard from nick. — here in the uk? as we heard from nick, it— here in the uk? as we heard from nick, it happens - here in the uk? as we heard from nick, it happens a - here in the uk? as we heard from nick, it happens a lot l from nick, it happens a lot when you are getting cheaper alcohol out there. it doesn't mean you can come across it anywhere else. mean you can come across it anywhere else-— anywhere else. michelle roberts. _ anywhere else. michelle roberts, our— anywhere else. michelle roberts, our health - anywhere else. michelle - roberts, our health reporter. to the war in ukraine. president zelensky has said the world must respond to the use of a new type of hypersonic missile by russia. mr zelensky accused president putin of "a clear and severe escalation" in the war after the weapon was used in the eastern city of dnipro on thursday. he said it was yet more proof that russia has no interest in peace. in the last hour, china has urged "restraint" after the missile strike. president putin — in an address to the nation — made a direct warning to britain and other countries supplying ukraine with long range missiles, to fire at targets on russian soil. he said moscow had the right to use its weapons against

the military installations of those countries. kyiv is believed to have already used uk storm shadow missiles to strike targets in russia, after the us gave permission for its long range missiles to be used. our russia editor, steve rosenberg has the latest on our top story from moscow. this is a russian leader who embraces escalation as a means of achieving his goals, in this case the goal of control over ukraine or peace on russia's terms. we have seen over the last three years, time and time again how president putin has escalated the full—scale invasion of ukraine nearly three years ago. his claim that former russian occupied regions in ukraine are now part of russia, deploying north korean troops to russia's kursk region, and yesterday the firing

of this new hypersonic intercontinental ballistic missile targeting dnipro in ukraine, and then in his tv address to the nation, this direct threat, really, to britain and america and other countries who supply ukraine with longer range missiles and then use those missiles against russian soil. so all of that shows that he is determined to escalate this. and i think what he was setting out in his big tv address to the nation last night was another red line to the west, basically daring the west to cross that. now, there are people who will say, "we've seen this before, we've heard this before. vladimir putin has laid out red lines before, those red lines have been crossed by the west without any consequences. the west provided ukraine with tanks, there were no consequences. the west provided ukraine with f—16fighterjets, there were no consequences.

some people call russia the boy who cried wolf. but the problem is here that this is the boy with nuclear weapons that cried wolf. and the fact that russia has nuclear weapons and a nuclear arsenal and has been engaged in nuclear sabre rattling, the fact that this week vladimir putin lowered the nuclear threshold, the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, all of this is designed to put big pressure on western leaders to make them think and to make them believe that he is serious about his threats. and western diplomats and officials will be trying to work out and gauge and assess whether the threats and warnings coming out of moscow are serious. while steve was speaking, we have had some reaction from the kremlin. they are saying the main message from president putin is that russia will react

to what they call reckless actions from western countries which take part in strikes on russia was that he said, we have no doubt that the biden administration have red president putin's statement and understood it. the contours of further retaliatory actions were outlined by mr putin. the topic of de—escalation, they say, remains relevant, and mr putin remains open to dialogue and de—escalation, saying that the outgoing us administration is moving along the path of escalation. those are comments that have come in from the kremlin. our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has been looking at the world leaders' reaction to putin's speech. i think this is an interesting moment. the message from vladimir putin was clearly meant as a warning to ukraine and ukraine's western allies that russia is prepared to continue to escalate and respond to steps ta ken by ukraine and its allies.

mr putin was portraying the use of this oreshnik experimental ballistic hypersonic missile by russia against ukraine as a response to the use of american and british—made missiles by ukraine to target russia. he was saying that that was his response and he said if there's a further escalation, russia decisively to that. the idea is that we are now at a plateau again. unless there's another step that mr putin decides is escalatory, this is where we are. the use of the missile was meant to send a message. it would usually carry a nuclear warhead. on this occasion, it was a regular warhead. but the messaging was clear. the west was supposed to be scared into scaling back its support for ukraine, which is why volodymyr zelensky of ukraine came out with his

own strong statement. he said vladimir putin was spitting in the faces of those who want peace. mr zelensky addressed his own western supporters and said, don't be afraid, he is testing you, you need to stand firm. it's interesting that the initial american reaction has been to play things down and say that these russian missiles are not a game—changer. we heard from officials in america saying russia doesn't have many of them and ukraine has withstood much whilst he is trying to ratched up the rhetoric. russia and china have been calling for restraint by all parties. meanwhile, on the ground, there is still a lot of fighting going on. there is. the fact that russian forces are making slow but steady

advances in the east is central to this. everyone is looking to what will happen in the white house injanuary, when donald trump returns, and what he will do. he famously said he would end this war in 2a hours. nobody knows what that means or how he would do it, but the suggestion feels like ukraine is going to come under pressure to move to negotiations, and it wants those negotiations to be from a position of strength. on the battlefield, it is clearly russia that feels in a stronger position. ukraine is trying to shift that balance by using these western made missiles to push back against russian advances. putin is using these moments before the changes in the white house to push this

to his advantage. it is a complicated and difficult moment in a brutal war of more than 1000 days. every day, there are missile strikes across ukraine that are killing civilians. another two people were killed in northern ukraine today, so we shouldn't forget the context in which this is happening, russia's war of aggression on ukraine, which is now more than 1,000 days old. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

the united nations climate talks taking place in azerbaijan are scheduled to end today. almost 200 countries at cop29 in baku, azerbaijan, are trying to agree the next steps on a deal to tackle global warming. but deep divisions remain. developing nations say rich countries must pay more. rich nations say any cash must be met with commitments to cut emissions. let's speak to our climate editorjustin rowlatt, who's in baku. any sign of a deal or are you in for a late night? well, we were told we were

going to get a new text. the organisers hope that would be the basis of any agreement. we were supposed to get a midday, local time. were supposed to get a midday, localtime. it were supposed to get a midday, local time. it is now after two o'clock and we still haven't seen those texts. we are not seeing any progress here. we are standing outside the main hall, the main meeting room where the countries gather at the end of this. walking up and down this huge area, we see the heads of some of the negotiating groups. me and colleagues have been rushing out to talk to them and try and glean information. they are obviously keeping their cards close to their chest. 0ne obviously keeping their cards close to their chest. one of the key streams, the mitigation stream about how to tackle climate change, indicated that he was happy with how progress was going. that has been a problem because, as you say, the key thing is finance, but ultimately, these talks are about reducing carbon dioxide. that mitigation means the effort to move away and stop

using fossil fuels and move to alternative clean sources of energy. saudi arabia and the arab group have been understood to have been blocking progress. yesterday, they said they wouldn't accept text with any language that attacks fossil fuels. the indication is that there might be a resolution and if there is, it might unlock the negotiators in the finance area. negotiators in the developing countries might get more clear on how much money they are going to get, which might be enough to satisfy them. this is all speculation, we don't know this is happening, but it gives you a flavour of the kind of talks happening around me. in terms of when it ends, the deadline is 6pm, in four hours from now. it is looking pretty unlikely that we are going to get a deal by then. could that we are going to get a deal