JOHANNESBURG (AP) — When South African infectious disease specialist Lucille Blumberg checked her email on the morning of May 1, while the country was celebrating the Labor Day holiday, an urgent message caught her attention.

A U.K.-based colleague had written about a passenger from a cruise ship sailing thousands of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean who had been evacuated and admitted to a Johannesburg hospital with suspected pneumonia. Others aboard the vessel were also sick.

The colleague, who monitors diseases in remote British overseas territories in the South Atlantic Ocean, asked Blumberg to follow up on the passenger, who had been evacuated from the ship in one of the territories, Ascension Island.

Blumberg and other experts at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases were suddenly thrown into the race to identify the cause of an outbreak aboard the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius.

“Even though it was a public holiday, we moved, we moved really fast,” Blumberg told The Associated Press. “It was busy. There were many conversations. There were online discussions, and there was laboratory testing happening at the time.”

Within 24 hours, they had determined that the man’s illness was caused by hantavirus, a rare rodent-borne virus.

A process of elimination to identify the disease

The elderly British man had arrived at a private hospital in Johannesburg days earlier and was seriously ill, but health workers weren’t sure of the underlying cause.

By the time he was evacuated from the ship, two elderly Dutch passengers who had been on board the MV Hondius cruise liner had already died, but there had been little alarm. Ascension Island health authorities had reported a cluster of illnesses on the ship that appeared to be pneumonia to the World Health Organization.

At first, Blumberg and her colleagues thought it might be Legionella, a bacterium that causes a serious form of pneumonia, Legionnaires’ disease. Or maybe bird flu.

“I called my infectious disease colleagues, and we had a caucus, and we discussed the usual ones,” Blumberg said. “Legionella is well described in outbreaks in hotels and on cruise ships, and influenza certainly is. These people had visited islands where avian influenza is well documented.”

Tests on all those were negative. The experts also ran an extensive panel of tests for other respiratory diseases. Also, all negative.

The team then began looking more closely at where the ship came from — Argentina — and the fact that passengers on board were avid bird watchers and had reportedly been to parts of South America where there were birds, but also rodents.

Collaboration with experts in South America and the US

That pushed the South African disease experts toward another theory: the rare, rodent-borne hantavirus infection, which is found in parts of South America.

“It’s a well-described, not common, but it’s a well-described virus in Chile and Argentina,” Blumberg said. She added that their work was aided by collaboration with hantavirus experts from South America and the United States, facilitated by the WHO, the U.N. health agency.

“You can get onto a Zoom (call) online and ask your questions and get advice. This is not something every day. So that was quite extraordinary,” Blumberg said.

By then, it was Saturday morning. Blumberg called the head of the only laboratory in South Africa that can test for hantavirus.

“I said, we want to do hanta, and she said, ‘yeah, I’m coming.’”

The tests, carried out on the sick man’s blood samples, came back positive for hantavirus that afternoon. The team did a second set of tests to be sure, Blumberg said.

Finally, there was a ‘wow moment’

Those positive tests, which also identified the Andes strain of hantavirus, allowed the WHO to inform the cruise ship what it was dealing with and announce an outbreak on board. While hantavirus is not easily spread from person to person, the WHO says the Andes virus can be transmitted between people.

The test results also led Blumberg to rush to collect blood samples from a Dutch woman — one of the first two cruise passengers to die — who had disembarked from the ship with her husband’s body on the island of St. Helena and flown to South Africa, where she died.

A posthumous hantavirus test on her was also positive.

“It was a bit of a wow moment,” Blumberg said. “And at least once you know what you’re dealing with, it’s much easier to respond.”

The British man who was the first confirmed case of hantavirus infection from the cruise ship is improving in hospital, South Africa’s health ministry has said. Meanwhile, the ship has arrived at the Dutch port of Rotterdam, where it was disinfected, and the remaining crew members disembarked.

“I’ve been doing outbreaks for 25 years. That’s what we do. We do them every day,” she said. “I think the important thing was to respond immediately to a question that clearly was urgent and then to take it from there.”

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AP coverage of the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak: https://apnews.com/hub/hantavirus

Zoe Ball has spoken out after Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe have been named as the new Strictly hosts.

The BBC has officially announced the new presenting team for Strictly Come Dancing, with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and Johannes Radebe taking over after long-serving hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman stepped aside.

BBC Radio presenter Zoe Ball, who was amongst those considered for the role, has now said she’s relieved not to have secured the position, reports the Express.

She told The Sun: “I screen tested with Josh and he is hilarious. He is going to be so good. Emma is just gorgeous, and I love Johannes, so they are going to ace it. And I don’t have to have a facelift, so I’m quite happy.”

Speaking at The Podcast Show 2026 alongside her Dig It podcast co-presenter Jo Whiley, she continued: “For Jo and I, it’s hell. We both hate being in vision, that’s why we really loved doing radio.

“Then they started filming that. They film everything. And as we get older, we’re like, ‘dim the lights!’ We’d happily never be filmed again.”

Fellow radio broadcaster Sara Cox, who also auditioned unsuccessfully, revealed on her Tuesday BBC Radio 2 Teatime programme: “I tried out for Strictly.

And I will say I tried out for it two days after I got offered my number one, all-time, dream job of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

“So I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll go along and try for Strictly as well, why not, and what next? News at Ten?’ So I went along, and it was the most gorgeous experience. I got into a car that was taking me to a secret destination.”

“It was all hush-hush, and it was basically a bit like, you know, when you can go and play the Crystal Maze interactive game? It was like that. I was like, ‘Great, I’m going to be a Strictly presenter for an hour!’ The whole thing was really great fun.”

This Morning presenter Rylan Clark has also commented on Strictly, posting on social media: “Just wanted to say, as it was reported I was in ‘The Race’ for Strictly.

“The biggest congrats to my Emma and equal congrats to Johannes and Josh. You’re all going to have the best time. Made up for you’s.

“This wasn’t my time, sadly, but I am extremely grateful to even have been considered. I’m taking the news really well (see ) but genuinely looking forward to the new series with you three x (sic).”

Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One later this year, with the exact date still to be announced.

National Football League Division One: Donegal 1-22 Kerry 1-18

Donegal waited six months to get another crack at Kerry and they were full value for a four-point win over the All-Ireland champions in Ballyshannon on Sunday.

A crowd of youngsters surrounded the Kerry bus on its arrival to Fr Tierney Park. They were hoping to spot Gaelic football’s MVP. They were to be disappointed. David Clifford wasn’t on the bus due to a bout of flu.

Scorer of 0-9 in last summer’s All-Ireland SFC final between the counties, it was one less headache for Jim McGuinness.

Paudie Clifford, Donegal’s tormentor-in-chief in Croke Park, was also absent with Sean O’Shea almost single-handedly keeping Kerry in touch with four two-point frees.

Dáire Ó Baoill’s goal before half-time and back-to-back two-pointers from Michael Langan put Donegal in command, but those O’Shea frees and a late goal from substitute Donagh O’Sullivan left four points between the sides – a margin of defeat that flattered the visitors.

The Ballyshannon venue was bursting at the seams by the time David Coldrick threw the ball in – all 9,000 tickets for this rematch were sold out 24 hours beforehand.

There was plenty of needle in the early stages – Conor O’Donnell and Tadhg Morley were wrestling moments after the off.

The sides traded scores for much of the first quarter with Young Footballer of the year Finnbarr Roarty scoring a brace of points playing in a more advanced role than in 2025.

Shane O’Donnell won a ton of possession for the home side with the raiding Peadar Mogan adding a classy point while Conor O’Donnell was on target with 0-3 in the first half.

After Donegal goalkeeper Gavin Mulreany had scored a 45 after Shane Murphy’s restart went wrong, the Ulster champions finally made their midfield dominance count with a goal before half-time.

Shea Malone won the break and, with options off both shoulders, he passed to Shane O’Donnell when Dáire Ó Baoill was unmarked inside. The St Eunan’s ace spotted Ó Baoill and delivered a perfect pass with the Gweedore clubman able to round Murphy and slot the ball into the Kerry net.

Mogan’s second from play on the cusp of half-time left Donegal 1-8 to 0-7 ahead at the break.

Michael Langan added a brace of cracking two-pointers on the restart with Hugh McFadden also scoring a two with Kerry increasingly reliant on O’Shea’s dead-ball prowess to keep them in touch.

A huge roar greeted Michael Murphy’s introduction midway through the half with Oisin Gallen also marking his introduction with a point.

Having trailed by nine points, Kerry finished on top with O’Shea moving to 0-11 with Armin Heinrich also chipping in with a good score.

The scrappiest of goals for Kerry gave them a brief, late lifeline with O’Sullivan finding the net after Donegal failed to clear their lines.

The Kingdom tried in vain to engineer another goal to snatch a draw, but it was Murphy who had the final say with a point in the final minute to ensure the Ulster champions were victorious.

Two points on the first Sunday of February won’t atone for that loss in the fourth Sunday of July and Jack O’Connor knows his hand will only get stronger as the season progresses.

Donegal: G Mulreany 0-1 (0-1 45); C McColgan; B McCole, P Mogan 0-2; K Gallagher, C McGonagle, F Roarty 0-3; H McFadden 0-2 (1tp), M Langan 0-4 (2tps); D Ó Baoill 1-2, S O’Donnell, C Moore 0-1; C O’Donnell 0-3 (0-1f), J McGee, S Malone 0-1.

Subs: R McHugh for Gallagher (49), Michael Murphy 0-2 (0-1f) for Malone (44), T Carr for Ó Baoill (62), O Gallen 0-1 for S O’Donnell (62), K Muldoon for C O’Donnell (68).

Kerry: S Murphy; E Looney, J Foley, D Casey; A Heinrich 0-1, M Breen, T Morley; S O’Brien, C Trant; J O’Connor, S O’Shea 0-11 (4tpfs, 0-1 45, 0-1m), M Burns; K Spillane, T Kennedy, T Brosnan 0-6 (2tps, 0-1f).

Subs: L Smith for O’Brien (19), C Keating for Breen (HT), D Lyne for Spillaine (42), D O’Sullivan 1-0 for Burns (52), R Murphy for Trant (55).

Referee: D Coldrick (Meath)

Currently, the two air during the broadcasters ‘power hour’ from 8pm to 9pm across weeknights.

But, with the upcoming World Cup, it will mean that Emmerdale and Coronation Street’s normal schedule could change to make way for football coverage.

However, ITV has yet to fully announce its coverage plans for the World Cup or how they could impact other shows.

Emmerdale and Coronation Street face a schedule change

The World Cup kicks off on June 11 and will take place across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

ITV and BBC will be sharing coverage of the sporting event, with matches kicking off from 6pm to 5am in UK time.

England’s first match will start at 9pm in the UK against Croatia on June 17.

Scotland’s opening game against Haiti will take place on June 14, at 2am UK time.

As the matches are on later than normal, it’s likely to force typical TV scheduling to take a break for the tournament, including Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

Tom Hardy ‘axed from MobLand’ after ‘clashes with producers’

However, soap fans will have to wait a while longer to find out how much their favourite shows are affected, as ITV has yet to confirm its full World Cup schedule.

Corrie legend returning to ITV show after 23 years

An actor is returning to Coronation Street 23 years after first appearing in the show as a child.

Jake Parry, who originally played Simon Barlow on the ITV soap in 2003 alongside his twin brother Oscar, will make his comeback in a new role 23 years later.

He revealed the news in a TikTok post, sharing a brief clip from the show and writing: “Coronation Street trailer.

 “Catch me as DAMO next week.”

Although Mr Parry’s return marks a return to the famous Weatherfield set, he has been clear that he will be playing a new character.

Are you looking to see his return? Let us know in the comments

The crash reportedly involved two lorries

An overturned lorry on the A14 has caused delays for drivers on Saturday, May 23. The A14 westbound between Junction 24 and Junction 23 have been blocked following a crash reportedly involving two lorries.

Drivers have been warned by National Highways to expect delays of 30 minutes. Cambridgeshire Police are on the scene and have been contacted for further information.

Traffic monitoring site Inrix said: “A14 Westbound blocked, queueing traffic due to overturned lorry from J24 A1307 (Cambridge Services / Boxworth) to J23 (Godmanchester).”

A spokesperson for National Highways said: “The A14 westbound in Cambridgeshire between J24 and J23 is blocked due to a collision.”

They added: “There are delays of 30 minutes and four miles of congestion on approach.”

Gavin Robinson said John Swinney’s comments caused “genuine hurt among victims and survivors”.

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The First Minister of Scotland should issue a “clear and unambiguous apology” over comments urging people to “move on” from the Troubles, the leader of the DUP has said.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said John Swinney’s comments caused “genuine hurt among victims and survivors”.

Mr Swinney was speaking to The Herald newspaper after his party’s election victory and was asked about potential dealings with Sinn Fein as a result of the three devolved administrations of the UK having pro-independence parties in leading roles.

READ MORE: DUP presses Chancellor for ‘better financial settlement’ for Northern IrelandREAD MORE: Ogra Shinn Fein social media video targeting DUP MLA removed

The leader of the SNP recognised his dealings with Sinn Fein, whose vice president Michelle O’Neill is First Minister of Northern Ireland, had caused some “media consternation”, but he added: “I really do think people have got to move on.”

He said he had “no intention” of apologising for the comments, telling the Press Association earlier this week that: “The issues that are involved in the peace process have involved people moving on, people have had to move on, that’s exactly what they’ve done, and I’m simply reflecting what’s happened.”

However, the leader of the DUP has questioned whether he would consider the same “deeply hurtful” language appropriate for the Lockerbie bombing, the attack at Glasgow Airport or Dunblane shootings.

In reference to Scottish soldiers killed by the IRA, Mr Robinson said no political arrangement or coalition with those “who have never honestly confronted the IRA’s brutal campaign can ever erase the truth about what has done”.

He urged Mr Swinney to “reflect seriously on the offence” his comments caused and “apologise publicly to those victims and survivors who feel insulted”.

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In a letter to the Scottish First Minister, Mr Robinson said: “Whilst I appreciate your subsequent efforts to clarify those remarks, the language used has caused genuine hurt among victims and survivors, many of whom continue to live daily with the consequences of terrorism and violence. “

He added: “The passage of time does not diminish the need for sensitivity, nor does it erase the legitimate pursuit of truth, justice and accountability.”

Mr Robinson told Mr Swinney that victims of terrorism are “not an inconvenience to be brushed aside because their pain sits awkwardly alongside today’s political arrangements”.

He added: “They deserve honesty, respect and the assurance that those who lead will never minimise what they endured.”

He told the First Minister that leadership requires “the courage to say difficult things plainly” rather than to “manage relationships at the expense of those who suffered most”.

Mr Robinson said: “No victim should ever be told – directly or indirectly – to simply get over the murder of their loved ones.

“I urge you to reflect seriously on the offence your comments have caused and to apologise publicly to those victims and survivors who feel insulted and abandoned by your remarks.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

ACERRA, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday greeted one by one families who lost loved ones to illegal toxic dumping in an area near Naples, as many paused to share photographs and other mementos of children and young people who have died or are battling cancer — illnesses tied to a multi-billion criminal racket run by the mafia.

Leo’s visit to the so-called Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, came on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ big ecological encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be), and indicates Leo’s commitment to carry on his predecessor’s environmental agenda.

“I have come first of all to gather the tears of those who have lost loved ones, killed by environmental pollution caused by unscrupulous people and organizations who for too long were able to act with impunity,” Leo said in remarks to family members and local clergy inside Acerra’s cathedral.

The pontiff recalled that the area now dubbed the Land of Fires was once called “Campania felix,” Latin for blessed or fruitful countryside, “capable for enchanting for its fertility, its produce and its culture, like a hymn to life.

“And yet — here is death, of the land and of men,’’ the pope said.

The European Court of Human Rights last year validated a generation of residents’ complaints that mafia dumping, burial and burning of toxic waste led to an increased rate of cancer and other ailments in the area of 90 municipalities around Caserta and Naples, encompassing a population of 2.9 million people.

The court found Italian authorities had known since 1988 about the toxic pollution, blamed on the Camorra crime syndicate that controls waste disposal, but failed to take necessary steps to protect the residents. The binding ruling gave Italy two years to set up a database about the toxic waste and verified health risks associated with living there.

Bishop says the dumping continues

Bishop Antonio Di Donna in opening remarks estimated 150 young people had died in the city of some 58,000 over the past three decades — emphasizing that the number didn’t take into account adults and victims in other municipalities.

He urged the pope to admonish those who continue to pollute, noting that the dumping of tons of toxic waste was reported a day earlier near Castera. Di Donna said that Italian officials had identified dozens more human-caused contamination sites throughout the country, including the Venetian port of Marghera, and the leaching of PFAS forever chemicals into groundwater near Vicenza.

“We say to those brothers of ours ensnared in evil and seized by a mirage of fabulous earnings: Convert, change your ways, because what you are doing is not only a crime, it is a sin that cries out to God for vengeance,’’ the bishop said.

The pope later greeted the mayors of the 90 communities impacted by the toxic dumping, and greeted thousands of people waving yellow flags and chanting “Papa Leone” along the route of his popemobile and in a central piazza.

Families of young victims appeal to the pope

The victims include Maria Venturato, who died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 25. Her father, Angelo, said he hopes to speak with the pope to explain their reality, “not for me … for the next generation.”

“I’d like to give these young people a future, so I’m asking for the pope’s help with this. That is, I’m making a strong appeal to him to go to those in power and say, ‘Look, let’s heal this land of fires,’” he said on the eve of the pope’s visit.

Inside the cathedral, Filomena Carolla presented the pope with a book containing memories from the life of her daughter, Tina De Angelis, who died of cancer at the age of 24.

“I’m just angry at the people who poisoned the soil, because what did our children have to do with it? What did they have to do with it, so young,” Carolla told The Associated Press on Friday.

Francis’ plans to visit the area in 2020 were canceled due to the pandemic.

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at another Russian oil terminal overnight, local officials in Russia’s Krasnodar region said Saturday, in what appeared to be the latest attack on Moscow’s vital oil industry.

Authorities in the city of Novorossiysk said falling drone debris sparked a fire at an oil terminal, injuring two people, without naming the facility.

Russia’s Astra news outlet said Ukrainian drones struck the Sheskharis oil terminal and depot, the terminus for Russian state-controlled pipeline company Transneft’s main oil pipelines in the region. Images posted by Astra appeared to show smoke rising above the oil terminal, but they could not be verified. Ukraine did not immediately comment on the attack.

Ukraine has expanded its mid- and long-range strike capabilities, deploying drone and missile technology that it has developed domestically to battle Russia’s 4-year-old invasion. Attacks on Russian oil assets that play a key part in funding the invasion have become almost daily occurrences.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a Ukrainian drone strike overnight into Friday on a college dormitory building in Starobilsk, a city in Ukraine’s Russia-occupied Luhansk region, rose to 11, Moscow-installed officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday denounced the attack on the dormitory as a “crime” and ordered the military to submit its proposals for retaliation. He said there were no military or law enforcement facilities near the college.

At a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on the strike, held at the request of Russia, Ukrainian Ambassador Melnyk Andrii denied his Russian counterpart’s accusations of war crimes, calling them a “pure propaganda show” and asserting that the May 22 operations “exclusively targeted the Russian war machine.”

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A single dose of psilocybin eased symptoms of depression within days, with benefits lasting for more than three months compared to placebo, our new study has found.

The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open involved 35 people with recurring depression. We randomly assigned participants to either receive psilocybin or a placebo. The placebo (vitamin B3) mimicked some physical effects of the psychedelic, such as temporary skin flushing.

Both groups also received psychological support before, during and after dosing.

Although several studies have explored psilocybin for depression, many have focused on people whose symptoms had not responded to other treatments (so-called “treatment-resistant depression”). We wanted to test whether the drug could also help people with more common forms of depression.

At just eight days, those who received psilocybin showed noticeable improvements in mood. And by the end of the six-week follow-up period, more than half of participants in the psilocybin group no longer met the criteria for depression. In the placebo group, only one person showed the same level of improvement.

The treatment was generally well tolerated, although two participants experienced anxiety that lasted for several weeks.

We followed participants for a full year to understand how long the benefits might last. The benefits in the psilocybin group lasted for just over three months on self-rated outcomes. After that, the gap between the two groups began to narrow as the placebo group also improved. This is not unusual. Depression often comes in waves, and symptoms can ease over time without treatment.

Just over a third of participants in both groups started antidepressant medication in the follow-up period, on average about four months after the start of the trial.

The problem of blinding

One major challenge was “blinding” – preventing participants from knowing whether they had received psilocybin or a placebo. Despite using identical capsules and an active placebo, almost all participants correctly guessed which treatment they had received, largely because psilocybin produces a distinctive and unmistakable altered state.

That matters because expectations can shape outcomes. For participants who received psilocybin, the strong effects on the dosing day may have amplified hopes that the treatment would help. For those who received a placebo and felt no such effects, expectations may instead have turned into disappointment. Neither response is neutral when people later report their mood and symptoms.

People generally feel somewhat better simply from taking part in a trial, even if they are in the placebo group. They receive attention, support and regular follow-up. But previous research suggests that people given a placebo in psilocybin studies often improve less than people given a placebo in traditional antidepressant trials. We saw a similar pattern.

If placebo groups in psilocybin trials do not improve in the usual way, the gap between psilocybin and placebo can become larger, making the drug’s effect look bigger than it really is.

Taken together, our findings add to evidence that psilocybin may offer a fast-acting and relatively long-lasting treatment for depression, including for people with more common forms of the condition, not only those with treatment-resistant depression. These are qualities that could make a real difference for patients.

At the same time, they underline a central challenge for the field: how to disentangle the drug’s biological effects from the powerful role of expectation and experience. Answering that question will be crucial for understanding where psilocybin fits into future mental health care.