The founder of an organization that trained the Syrian “White Helmets” emergency response group has died in Istanbul, his neighbor and a diplomat said on Monday. James Le Mesurier, founder of the Mayday Rescue group, was found dead early on Monday near his home in central Istanbul’s Beyoglu district, the neighbor said. The White Helmets, known officially as Syria Civil Defence, have been credited with saving thousands of people in rebel-held areas during years of bombing by Syrian government and Russian forces in the country’s civil war.