TrueBrief

  In September 2024, a 64-year-old woman became the first human to experience her last moments in a futuristic killing device known as the Sarco pod. Amid a verdant forest in Switzerland’s Schaffhausen region, she climbed inside the 3D-printed capsule, pressed a button, and took a deep breath before nitrogen flooded the vessel. The woman lost consciousness and died within a few minutes. But the controversial Sarco pod’s first death would be its last - at least for now. Swiss police arrived, seized the pod, and arrested the only person present during the death, the late Dr Florian Willet, co-president of the assisted suicide organisation the Last Resort. They also arrested his lawyers and a photographer who documented the woman’s arrival. After police ruled out intentional homicide, all were released, but Philip Nitschke - the Sarco's Australian-born inventor and a pro-euthanasia activist - was startled. He was surprised by what he perceived as the police’s overzealousness - as well...

  Among the many practices developed in the Cold War and brought together under the so-called   Moscow   Rules is to blend in and go with the flow as much as possible.  But scientists in spy agencies across the world seem to have taken that to heart over the years.  Though many have toyed with the idea of using animals in intelligence gathering, the first time they are believed to have been used was after German pharmacist Julius Neubronner developed the pigeon photograph method in 1907.  This involved strapping lightweight cameras with timers to homing pigeons, which were sent out to take photographs from the skies.  Battlefield tests of the technology during the  First World War  were promising, though it doesn't appear the idea took purchase during the  Second World War . But the idea of using creatures in espionage, coupled with major technological advancements made throughout the 20th century, sparked an animals arms race among...

  Once a sunny Thai paradise island, Koh Tao quickly became a nightmarish hub of murder and rape after   two Brit backpackers were bludgeoned   to death almost a decade ago. Over the past 10 years, Koh Tao has taken a more sinister reputation among some foreigners, with  at least 11 Western tourists having died or disappeared  there under mysterious circumstances since 2014. Following the spate of horrific incidents, the tropical holiday hotspot was given the nicknames 'Death Island' or 'Murder Island'. Local authorities have consistently explained the deaths as unfortunate accidents or suicides, however, many cases appear suspicious to family members of the deceased and missing, and are often left insufficiently investigated. It has long had a reputation as a haven for organised  crime  and corruption, where a 'corrupt' police force prioritises protecting local interests. But beneath the palm tree paradise lies a grubby underbelly where fears over the...

  Latin America has for decades been synonymous with the drug trade thanks to ruthless cartels and criminal gangs whose power and brutality cannot by tamed by the government or the armed forces. Some countries like Ecuador had managed to remain relatively peaceful for decades,  despite bordering the notorious cocaine hotspots of Colombia and Peru. But the coastal nation has seen murder rates soar in recent years as drug lords and criminal masterminds dug their hooks into fresh territory and exploited its ports for maximum profit.  rate was 29 per 100,000 people with Colombia trailing close behind at 26.8. Ecuador sat at a comparatively minuscule 7.7. Three years on, Ecuador's murder rate had shot up to a horrifying 44.5 per 100,000 people - far  outstripping both Mexico and Colombia  to become the murder capital of Latin America. Gangland shootouts now commonly rock the streets - particularly in the bustling port of Guayaquil and Esmeraldas, where the crime rate...

  A mysterious Russian satellite soaring at the outer limits of orbit around the Earth has triggered fears that Moscow is developing a space-based platform to launch missiles - perhaps even nuclear weapons - to destroy untold numbers of vital satellites.  Today US officials told the  New York Times  that they believe the satellite is testing components for a Russian space weapon and US Space Command is monitoring it daily for signs of a threat.  The 'Cosmos 2553' satellite was blasted through the atmosphere atop a Soyuz-2 rocket from  Russia 's Plesetsk Cosmodrome in February 2022 days before Vladimir Putin ordered troops across the border into Ukraine. It promptly positioned itself at the very edge of low-Earth orbit (LEO) some 2000 kilometres (1240 miles) up - an area  saturated with radiation from the Van Allen belts that can scramble and degrade satellite components.  Defunct or decommissioned satellites are sent far out into this region of sp...

  Mobile death vans, firing squads, lethal injections: These are all methods used by   China   to carry out more state-sanctioned executions than all other nations combined. While the communist state does not release its official figures, rights groups believe many thousands of people are executed each year - more than the likes of  Iran ,  Saudi Arabia  and the US, even when tallied together. Criminal law in the country is as severe as it is obfuscated, with many crimes punishable by death under  Beijing 's draconian legislation. Death sentences are frequently handed down for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to murder, but also white collar crimes such as corruption. According to a report published in 2021, China's Penal Code of 1997 - which is still in force today - has 46 crimes punishable by death, including 24 violent crimes and 22 non-violent crimes. While the number of such crimes has slowly reduced (in 1979 it was 74, according to the...