World News

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean killed three people, including an elderly married couple, and sickened at least three others, the World Health Organization and South Africa’s Department of Health said Sunday.

In a statement to The Associated Press, WHO said an investigation was underway but that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One of the patients was in intensive care in a South African hospital, the U.N. health agency said, and it was working with authorities to evacuate two others with symptoms from the ship.

The Dutch company that operates the cruise said the ship was now sitting off the coast of Cape Verde, an island nation off Africa’s west coast, and local authorities were assisting but had not allowed anyone to disembark. It said the two sick people onboard requiring urgent medical care were crew members.

Hantaviruses, which are found throughout the world, are a family of viruses spread mainly by contact with the urine or feces of infected rodents like rats and mice. They gained attention after the late actor Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from hantavirus infection in New Mexico last year.

Hackman died around a week later at their home from heart disease.

Hantaviruses cause two serious syndromes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe disease that effects the lungs, and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, a severe disease that affects the kidneys.

While rare, WHO said hantavirus infections can be spread between people. There is no specific treatment or cure, but early medical attention can increase the chance of survival.

“WHO is aware of and supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean,” the organization said. “Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing, and epidemiological investigations. Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing.”

South Africa’s Department of Health said the ship, the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, had left Argentina around three weeks ago for a cruise that included visits to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and other stops. It was due to ultimately head to Spain’s Canary Islands on the other side of the Atlantic.

The first victim was a 70-year-old man who died on the ship and whose body was removed in the British territory of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, the South African health department said in a statement. The man’s wife collapsed at an airport in South Africa trying to take a flight to her home country of the Netherlands, the department said. She died at a nearby hospital.

The department identified the patient in intensive care in a hospital in Johannesburg as a British national. It said that person fell ill near Ascension Island, another remote island in the Atlantic, after the ship left Saint Helena and was transferred from there to South Africa.

Around 150 tourists were onboard at the time of the outbreak, South Africa’s health department said. Several online tour operators said the Hondius, which is described as a specialist polar cruise ship, usually travels with around 70 crew members.

Oceanwide Expeditions, the company that runs the cruise, said the third victim’s body was still onboard the ship in Cape Verde and its priority was to ensure the two crew members who were ill received medical care.

“Local health authorities have visited the vessel to assess the condition of the two symptomatic individuals,” the company said. “They are yet to make a decision regarding the transfer of these individuals into medical care in Cape Verde.”

WHO said it was working with national authorities and the ship’s operators to conduct a “full public health risk assessment” and provide support for those still onboard.

South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, meanwhile, was conducting contact tracing in the Johannesburg region to identify if other people were exposed to the infected passengers in South Africa.

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VIENNA, May 3 (Reuters) – Five children aged between 10 and 14 were injured in northern Austria on Saturday evening when a “war relic” that was under their campfire exploded, police said on Sunday.

The children were part of a group visiting from another part of the same state of Upper Austria. The accident occurred in an area of the village of St Oswald bei Freistadt, where organised youth groups often camp, a spokesperson for the state police said.

After the explosion, police inspected an adjacent fire pit and found another object containing explosives that they also described as a “war relic”, and a bomb disposal unit was called to deal with it, police said in a statement.

“Investigations are currently underway to determine how war relics came to be under the campfire area,” the statement added.

The severity of the children’s injuries was not immediately clear, the police said, adding that they had been taken to a children’s hospital in the nearby city of Linz.

While World War Two-era bombs are still uncovered in Austria, particularly in the course of excavations for building work, accidents such at Saturday’s are rare.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

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May 3 (Reuters) – U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Sunday that the government has evidence that a federal agent was shot during an alleged attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last weekend.

“We now can establish that a pellet that came from the buckshot from the defendant’s Mossberg pump-action shotgun was intertwined with the fiber of the vest of the Secret Service officer,” Pirro said during an appearance on CNN.

(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; editing by Scott Malone)

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ASHKELON, Israel, May 3 (Reuters) – An Israeli court has extended by two days the detention of two activists arrested aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near Greece, their lawyer said on Sunday.

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities late on Wednesday and brought to Israel, while more than 100 other pro-Palestinian activists aboard the boats were taken to the Greek island of Crete.

A court spokesperson confirmed that their remand had been extended until May 5. 

The governments of Spain and Brazil issued a joint statement on Friday calling their detention illegal.

The activists were part of a second Global Sumud flotilla, launched in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance. The ships had set sail from Barcelona on April 12.

Israeli authorities requested a four-day extension of their arrest on suspicion of offences that include assisting the enemy during wartime, contact with a foreign agent, membership in and providing services to a terrorist organisation, and the transfer of property for a terrorist organisation, said rights group Adalah, which is assisting in the activists’ defence.

Hadeel Abu Salih, the men’s attorney, said that the two deny the allegations. Their arrest was unlawful due to a lack of jurisdiction, she told Reuters at the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court after the hearing, adding that the mission was meant to provide aid to civilians in Gaza, not to any militant group.

Abu Salih said that Abu Keshek and Avila were subjected to violence en route to Israel and kept handcuffed and blindfolded until Thursday morning.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel’s foreign ministry had on Thursday called the flotilla organisers “professional provocateurs”.

“Israel will not allow the breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza,” it said.

(Reporting by Rami Amichay; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Joe Bavier)

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s latest proposal to the United States calls for issues between the countries to be resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire, according to Iran’s state-linked media.

President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was reviewing a new Iranian proposal but expressed doubt it would lead to a deal, adding on social media that “they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years” since the Islamic Revolution there.

Iran’s 14-point proposal, a rebuttal to a U.S. nine-point plan, also calls for the U.S. lifting sanctions on Iran, ending the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdrawing forces from the region and ceasing all hostilities, including Israel’s operations in Lebanon, according to the semiofficial Nour News and Tasnim agencies, which have close ties to Iran’s security organizations.

There was no mention, however, of Iran’s nuclear program and its enriched uranium, long the central issue in tensions with the U.S. and one that Tehran would rather address later.

Iran sent its reply via Pakistan, which hosted face-to-face talks last month between Iran and the United States.

Pakistan’s prime minister, foreign minister and army chief continue to push negotiations and encourage the U.S. and Iran to speak directly, according to two officials in Pakistan who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The fragile three-week ceasefire appears to be holding, though Trump on Saturday told journalists that further strikes remained a possibility.

Also on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who oversaw previous rounds of talks between the U.S. and Iran before the war.

Trump has offered a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, where about a fifth of the world’s trade in oil and natural gas typically passes, along with fertilizer badly needed by farmers around the world. Iran’s grip on the strait, imposed during the war, has shaken global markets.

Iran’s deputy parliament speaker on Sunday said Tehran “will not back down from our position on the Strait of Hormuz, and it will not return to its prewar conditions.” Ali Nikzad, who has no decision-making power in parliament, spoke while visiting port facilities on strategic Larak Island, near the narrowest part of the strait.

“The Strait of Hormuz belongs to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Nikzad said, and reiterated Iran’s position that any ship not associated with the U.S. or Israel will be able to pass after paying a toll.

The U.S. has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran in any form, including digital assets, to pass safely.

Iran effectively closed the strait by attacking and threatening ships after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28. Tehran has offered some ships safe passage via routes closer to its shore, charging fees at times.

The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports since April 13 is depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.

On Sunday, the second day of Iran’s working week, the rial weakened further against the U.S. dollar.

In Tehran’s Ferdowsi Street, the capital’s main currency exchange hub, the dollar was trading at 1,840,000 rials. Analysts say there is a strong possibility the currency will slip further in the coming days.

The rial was trading at 1.3 million to the dollar in December, a record low at the time, and triggered widespread protests over the worsening economy. Markets in Tehran remain unstable, with prices of some goods rising daily.

According to reports in Iranian media, several factories have not renewed contracts for workers after the Iranian new year in March, and significant numbers have lost their jobs.

Yousef Pezeshkian, the son and adviser of President Masoud Pezeshkian, wrote on Telegram that both the United States and Iran see themselves as the winner of the war and are unwilling to back down.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Saturday urged Iran to immediately transfer imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi for medical treatment in Tehran after her health sharply deteriorated.

The committee said it was in touch with Mohammadi’s family and lawyer, and that the 2023 laureate’s life remains at risk without treatment by her medical team in Tehran.

Mohammadi fainted twice in prison on Friday in the northwestern city of Zanjan, her foundation said, and was admitted to a local hospital. Her lawyers have said she is believed to have suffered a heart attack in late March.

Mohammadi, a rights lawyer, was arrested in December during a visit to the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad and sentenced to seven more years in prison.

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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

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May 3 (Reuters) – The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday that a drone had targeted its external radiation control laboratory.

There were no reported injuries and it was not yet known if the strike damaged the lab, which is located outside the nuclear power plant’s perimeter, according to the IAEA.

An IAEA team at the site has requested access to the lab, Director General Rafael Grossi said, reiterating that any attacks near nuclear sites can pose nuclear safety risks.

(Reporting by Angela Christy in BengaluruEditing by Peter Graff)

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Family Urges Immediate Release of Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi After ‘Catastrophic’ Health Decline  

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been transferred from prison in Iran to a hospital following what her family’s foundation described as a “catastrophic deterioration in her health condition,” after months in custody without access to specialized medical care.  

The foundation, which is run by her family, said the transfer came “after 140 days of arbitrary detention and the persistent denial of specialized healthcare.”  

Mohammadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while imprisoned in Evin Prison in Tehran, has faced ongoing health concerns in recent months. In February, the foundation said she had begun a hunger strike, and in March it reported that her condition was “critical” and that she had suffered what was suspected to be a heart attack.  

According to the foundation, Mohammadi did not receive medical treatment during this period.  

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee and Mohammadi’s family have called on Iranian authorities to release her so she can receive treatment from her own medical team, warning that “her life remains in danger.”  

Her brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, told the BBC on Saturday that her current medical condition is complicated by both acute and preexisting issues: “Her current problems include low blood pressure and a heart attack, but her previous conditions, such as pulmonary embolism (…) and having undergone stenting and angiography, make any treatment by the doctors in Zanjan effectively impossible.”  

Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times over her lifetime and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes, according to her foundation.  

In 2021, she began serving a 13-year sentence on charges of committing “propaganda activity against the state” and “collusion against state security,” which she denied.  

Her case has drawn continued attention from international organizations and her family, who are urging her release amid concerns about her condition. 

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White House Seeks May 11 Netanyahu and Aoun Meeting; Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets  

US President Donald Trump is seeking to host a May 11 meeting at the White House between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, according to a report by the Lebanese network Al-Mayadeen citing a diplomatic source.  

The US Embassy in Lebanon issued a statement supporting the proposed meeting, saying, “A direct meeting between President Aoun and Prime Minister Netanyahu, facilitated by President Trump, would give Lebanon the chance to secure concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction support, and the complete restoration of Lebanese state authority over every inch of its territory—guaranteed by the United States.”  

Aoun has previously indicated he would not meet directly with Netanyahu, while at other times suggesting such a meeting could take place later in negotiations rather than at the outset.  

On Saturday in Beirut, Lebanon Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal met with US General Joseph Clearfield, who heads the ceasefire monitoring mechanism, at an Air Force base. The talks focused on the security situation in Lebanon, regional developments, and ways “to maximize the effectiveness of the existing mechanism and improve its operations,” including strengthening the role of the Lebanese army.  

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported a wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Saturday, saying about 70 buildings used by the group were destroyed along with roughly 50 additional infrastructure sites. The military said the targets included command centers, a weapons storage facility, and other structures associated with Hezbollah.  

The IDF also said Hezbollah fired several rockets toward Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, with the projectiles landing in open areas.  

Brig. Gen. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, issued an evacuation warning for areas in southern Lebanon, calling on residents to leave.   

Separately, a drone infiltration alert was triggered at Kibbutz Yiftah in the Upper Galilee, with the IDF saying the details remain under investigation. 

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MOSCOW, May 2 – Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday that its troops had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s Sumy region, but Ukraine’s military denied the village had changed hands.

A ministry report on Telegram said motorized units, aided by drones, “drove Ukrainian nationalists out of the village. Enemy reserves were destroyed in advance by our artillery.”

It posted video of what it described as aerial strikes in the area in northern Ukraine, near the border with Russia.

The Kursk group of the Ukrainian military, writing on Facebook, dismissed the Russian report as a “complete lie…Our units control the area, there is no enemy advance, nor has there been any assault actions in that area over the past few days.”

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield report from either side.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Ethan Smith)

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SEOUL, May 3 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met delegates to the ruling party’s youth league congress in Pyongyang, state media KCNA said on Sunday, as the government again cast young people as central to both domestic mobilisation and its military role in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The Eleventh Congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, a once-in-five-years political gathering aimed at mobilising citizens aged roughly 14 to 30, concluded last week with mass rallies, torchlight parades and a gala in the capital.

Kim on Saturday told delegates that youth was the “vanguard” in advancing state goals, calling the league a key force for carrying out party decisions. He urged tighter organisation and ideological discipline and posed for a group photograph with participants, KCNA said.

In a letter published on Friday, the ruling Workers’ Party explicitly linked youth loyalty to Pyongyang’s involvement in the Ukraine war, telling the congress that young soldiers sent on overseas operations had “become bombs and flames” in defending the country’s honour.

North Korea sent an estimated 14,000 troops to fight alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials, who say more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers were killed.

Kim last month unveiled a new memorial in Pyongyang to honour soldiers killed during those deployments.

The emphasis on youth control comes amid intensified repression of foreign cultural influence, with exposure to South Korean music, films and slang treated as serious political offences, as Kim casts youth policy as a pillar of social stability.

He has also increasingly appeared in public with his young daughter, believed to be named Ju Ae, at major state events.

(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim)

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