WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration put up $750,000 to charter a private yacht to evacuate a single American citizen from a remote South Pacific island after she had been aboard a cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak, a move that has further strained the State Department’s emergency budget.

The woman, who may have been exposed to the virus while aboard the Dutch MV Hondius cruise liner in April, had gotten off the ship and then flown to San Francisco before traveling to the isolated British territory of Pitcairn Island through Tahiti, according to two U.S. officials and an internal government document obtained by The Associated Press.

The exact amount of the total evacuation payment is still being assessed because the operation is still underway. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a medical case covered by U.S. privacy laws.

The costly effort to pick up the woman has added to the expense of rapid evacuations for diplomats and private U.S. citizens from the Middle East since the start of the Iran war as well as preparations for possible evacuations from Ebola-stricken countries. All have stressed the State Department budget for unforeseen emergencies, known as the “K Fund,” and brought its balance to the lowest level in seven years.

State Department emergency budget strained by multiple evacuations

Another internal document said the State Department is looking at transferring as much as $50 million into that emergency fund from other accounts — $35 million from the budget for embassy security, construction and maintenance and an additional $15 million from an account that pays for broader diplomatic programming. No decision on the transfers has yet been made.

One of the officials said the State Department has another option, to ask Congress to replenish the fund. However, the official said the department is expected to be able to handle payments for both ongoing and “emerging contingency needs.”

The official would not say what the potential shortfall is but insisted that the department is “well positioned” to support diplomats, other U.S. government employees and private Americans who have been forced to leave the Middle East because of the Iran confict, as well as U.S. citizens who may need assistance due to developments such as the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

How the US is evacuating an American exposed to hantavirus from a remote island

The State Department declined to comment on the specifics of the woman’s case on Pitcairn Island but said that “when an American is at risk abroad and unable to access commercial transportation, the Department of State seeks to provide appropriate assistance to get them home to the United States or to another safe location.”

After the woman departed the cruise liner where the hantavirus outbreak occurred, the ship continued to other destinations in the South Atlantic, with some passengers falling ill and at least three dying. The unidentified American woman was stuck on Pitcairn, an island with only about 50 inhabitants, no airport and infrequent maritime options to depart.

Pitcairn is well-known as the island on which Fletcher Christian and other British mutineers from the HMS Bounty took refuge after the 1789 events that toppled Capt. William Bligh, which have entered into the public lexicon with books and films about the “Mutiny on the Bounty.” Their descendants make up most of the island’s current population.

Complicating matters, British authorities had sought urgent American assistance in evacuating the woman from the island, which is their territory, according to the government document about the cost of the evacuation and the second U.S. official.

But initial attempts to send her to Tahiti, a French dependency, about 1,350 miles (2,160 kilometers) — or a 30-hour sea journey — from Pitcairn, were rejected by French Polynesian authorities. They did not want to allow her in because she had not disclosed her exposure when she transited the island on her way to Pitcairn.

The U.S. is transporting the woman, who was not symptomatic, from Pitcairn to Easter Island, another remote location in the Pacific about 1,400 miles (2,253 km) away, which is a territory of Chile and has direct flights to Santiago, so she can return to the United States for any necessary treatment.

All of those factors mean the process of getting her moved from Pitcairn to Easter Island took many weeks to arrange, the officials said.

The government document, which was confirmed as accurate by the two officials, said moving the woman from Pitcairn eventually was arranged via the “Titaina Explorer” trimaran yacht owned by a wealthy Frenchman, who uses it for personal exploration in the South Pacific. Pitcairn has no airport and only limited sea access.

The officials said the woman had no political or celebrity connections and they did not know exactly when she will return to the U.S. Maritime tracking sites show that the Titaina Explorer departed Pitcairn Island on June 5. The voyage to Easter Island can take up to 10 days depending on the speed of the boat and the weather.

In sport, fairness matters. But when it comes to buying tickets to watch the world’s biggest ever sporting event, money matters too.

Attending the men’s Fifa World Cup 2026 will be much more expensive than any previous World Cup. And that’s not what fans were promised.

In fact, when the US, Canada and Mexico set out their original bid to host the tournament, they said a seat at the final would cost a maximum of US$1,550 (£1,174).

But by April 2026, the cheapest standard final ticket had reached US$5,785. The most expensive seats hit US$10,990 and later tripled. Just two days before the start of the tournament there were reports of 180,000 unsold tickets.

Politicians in New York and New Jersey have launched a formal investigation into allegations that Fifa has confused fans and inflated prices. Fans have complained of a lack of clarity, with many waiting hours in online queuing systems with no idea of the amount they’d have to pay when (and if) they were allocated tickets.

Overall, prices went up for 90 out of 104 matches.

The increase in costs may remind some music fans of the 2024 scandal over Oasis concert tickets when customers watched prices more than double from £148 to £355 as they waited in online queues.

“Dynamic pricing”, when prices go up and down depending on levels of demand, will also be familiar to anyone who has been surprised by swift changes in the price of flights before a holiday. The same seat can cost more today than it did yesterday simply because more people want it.

Fifa denies that it is has engaged in dynamic pricing, saying that they use “variable pricing” instead. But from a consumer’s point of view, it amounts to the same result – the price of tickets that they want to buy changes, usually in an upward direction.

In response to the Oasis dynamic pricing episode, UK regulators later forced ticket sellers to commit to showing price ranges before fans join a queue. By using a “variable” system, Fifa positions itself outside that regulatory precedent entirely.

It faces no obligation to disclose prices in advance and no requirement to explain how they change.

A game of monopoly

But dynamic pricing isn’t always a bad thing for consumers. In fact, it can help them to get a better deal. Economists studying airline markets found that dynamic pricing can reduce prices as different airlines compete for passengers.

The trouble is that Fifa operates in a market with zero competition. No rival sells World Cup tickets. No substitute product exists.

The work of Nobel prize-winning economist Jean Tirole demonstrated that when a single firm controls an essential platform and operates at every level of the market, competitive discipline on pricing disappears. The operator stops seeking an efficient price and starts trying to extract the very maximum that the consumer will tolerate.

For football World Cups, Fifa sets the primary price. It runs the only sanctioned resale marketplace. It pockets 30% on every secondary transaction when unwanted tickets are sold on. It makes money on the first sale, and earns a bit more on the second.

No outcome costs Fifa money. No regulators intervene. But not everyone is prepared to pay out.

Adjusting for inflation, World Cup ticket prices have been stable for 30 years. Then Fifa introduced its new model and the entire pricing architecture shifted. This would explain all the unsold tickets.

For example, England’s semi-final and final allocations failed to sell out. Every fan who applied got a seat.

But the cheapest final ticket through the England Supporters Travel Club still cost £3,119. At Euro 2024 in Berlin, fans paid £83 for the equivalent.

After the backlash, Fifa introduced a US$60 “Supporter Entry Tier” for every match, including the final. It amounts to roughly 10% of each national association’s allocation, a few hundred seats in stadiums holding up 80,000. As a pricing intervention, it changes nothing apart from an attempt to absorb criticism.

The day before the World Cub began Fifa president Gianni Infantino defended the level of ticket pricing, claiming that if they were cheaper the majority would have been resold on the black market. He added that the money generated was required to fund football development across the world.

Consumer research explains exactly what went wrong. When people buy a service rarely and can’t understand how the price was set, they don’t just feel frustrated, they feel cheated.

And when they feel cheated, they walk away. Fifa treated fan loyalty as guaranteed demand. Supporters’ reaction proved it isn’t.

Some football supporter groups have now filed a complaint with the European Commission. Uefa has already gone a different direction, capping prices for Euro 2028 with nearly half of all tickets under £60.

Then, at the start of June, Fifa quietly slashed prices across all 104 matches and returned 70% of its block booked hotel rooms due to low demand – a last minute change of tactics probably designed to save face and avoid empty seats. But to many, desperately chasing lost fans after trying to extract more revenue than any World Cup in history already looks like foul play.

Fans have said they are worried about the Boyzone singer after he briefly stepped out on stage for just a few songs during the band’s two farewell shows in London

Boyzone’s Mikey Graham has sold his former long-time family home in Dublin.

The 53-year-old has made plenty of headlines this week after returning to the stage to join the other members of Boyzone at their two farewell shows.

Many fans expressed concern and speculated whether Mikey would participate in the final shows after he had been missing from the band’s reunion and there had been little promotion of his involvement.

When Mikey stepped out on stage to sing a few songs at Emirates Stadium, the crowd erupted in cheer, but many people expressed concern for his health as he sat on a stool during the show and sang just four tunes out of the 25-song long setlist.

Now, property records have revealed that the singer actually put his longtime home on the market in March of this year. Avalon, in Courtlough, Balrothery, Co. Dublin, which was listed as Mikey’s registered address, sold for €885,000, RSVP Live reports.

He lived in the North County Dublin town and built his family home there two decades ago.

It is not the first change he has gone through recently, as last year, the star and his wife divorced after over 20 years together. Mikey first met his ex-wife, Karen, in 1998, while she was a dancer on a Boyzone tour.

They dated for a few years before getting married in 2004. Two years later, they welcomed their first child together, whom they named Sienna Nicole. Mikey also has another daughter, Hannah, from a previous relationship.

Sienna recently defended her dad against online trolls, saying she was incredibly proud of him for returning to the stage.

“No one will ever know the extent that it took my dad to get to this point and get onto this stage and perform to many people in that way, so as his daughter, as I can say is that I am incredibly proud of him and that is the bottom line.”

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Almost two thirds, about 63.7 per cent, of the 13,000 people who responded to City of York Council’s consultation said switching to bins would make recycling easier for them.

But around 38.7 per cent said storage space could be an issue, with others raising concerns about how they would look on the street, capacity and moving them for collections.

A council report on the findings stated the amount of responses showed people felt strongly about the issue but there was no one size fits all solutions to concerns raised.

The consultation comes after the council first unveiled plans for recycling bins in February.

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It would see most York household’s existing recycling boxes replaced with two wheelie bins, one for paper and cardboard and another for glass, tins and plastics.

Each bin would be collected every four weeks on two-week alternating cycles.

The estimated cost of the changes is £2.8 million, including making and delivering the bins, versus savings of around £310,000-a-year.

Council officials said the changes would make collections more efficient, recycling easier for the elderly and disabled, reduce the risk of staff injuries and stop litter blowing off boxes.

The proposals also come as the council looks to save £520,000 from its waste collection services over the next two years.

York’s current recycling boxes could be ditched under council plans (Image: Supplied)

They also come ahead of requirements for soft plastics to be collected from kerbsides by March next year.

But concerns have previously been raised about changes to the frequency of collections and how they could affect people such as those in terraced houses who lack storage space.

The roughly 63.7 per cent of people who said the changes would make recycling easier for them compare to around 23.9 per cent who said they would make it harder.

Those who said they may do or were not sure accounted for about 12.5 per cent of respondents.

About 71.9 per cent of those surveyed said having wheelie bins would make it easier to recycle larger cardboard packaging such as boxes for TVs.

It compares to 18 per cent who said it would make it harder and about 10 per cent who did not know.

The visual impact of bins on the street was said to be a barrier to using wheelie bins by about 16.7 per cent of respondents.

About 8.8 per cent were concerned about capacity for the amount of waste they recycled while about 3.1 per cent said the distance to collection points was an issue.

More than half, about 55.1 per cent, said they saw no barriers to using wheelie bins.

The main challenges people said they faced with the current boxes was litter being left behind on the street following collections, according to almost 65.7 per cent of respondents.

Others included not having enough capacity, boxes breaking too easily, being too heavy, them getting wet due to the weather and a lack of storage space.

About three quarters of those who responded to the survey, about 75.9 per cent, lived in households with between two and four people.

Almost a fifth, about 19.5 per cent, were single households and almost 4.6 per cent lived in homes with five or more people.

The council’s report stated options for households concerned about space could be to offer them 180L or 140L bins, rather than the 240L currently proposed.

They added there was no substantial evidence to suggest that storing waste for longer would pose a fire risk, including due to antisocial behaviour.

Councillors are set to discuss the results of the consultation at the Place Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, June 16.

A teenager who was allegedly part of a crowd who threw a petrol bomb into the open front door of a police Land Rover was arrested after the Coastguard retrieved him from Belfast Lough, a court heard today.

Belfast Magistrates Court also heard claims that as he was being chased by a PSNI inspector who had been set on fire by the petrol bomb, 18-year-old Ryan Fowles discarded a face covering and gloves when he entered the water in Carrick.

Appearing in the dock, Fowles, with an address on the Larne Road in Carrick, was charged with rioting on 9 June this year.

During a contested application for bail, a police officer outlined how a crowd of masked rioters were attacking police in Carrick on Tuesday evening, hurling masonry and paint bombs at a police Land Rover.

A street had been blocked by bins set on fire in the middle of the road and the court heard that when an inspector opened the door to move one out of the way, a rioter stepped forward and threw a lit petrol bomb through the open passenger door. The petrol bomb ignited and the inspector was set on fire and suffered burn injuries but after it was extinguished, he gave chase to one of the alleged rioters.

Fowles ran across the Marine Highway and into the sea, allegedly discarding gloves and a face covering into the water. The court heard he remained in the water until the Coastguard and his dad arrived to retrieve him.

Although initially arrested, Fowles was released to go to hospital for treatment for a broken arm but following a phone call on Wednesday, he voluntarily presented himself to police.

Submitting that Fowles should be refused bail over concerns about further offending and the risk of further public disorder, the officer added that a remand in custody would send a “strong message to deter others from participating” in further disruption.

Defence solicitor Hamill Clawson, from Reid Black Solicitors, argued that despite the statement of the police inspector, Fowles could not be identified on CCTV footage as taking part in the riot. He told the court that interviewing officers accepted that Fowles could not be seen on the footage.

According to the defendant, he had been watching the disruption rather than taking part when “he was struck with a baton and in fear, he ran and got into the sea”.

Submitting that the sole evidence was the alleged observations of the inspector, Mr Hamill highlighted that in addition to mental health difficulties and a diagnosis of autism, Fowles has a completely clear record so with conditions, he could be granted bail.

District Judge Anne Marshall said while Mr Clawson had made every point that he could, “given the ongoing public disorder, I am satisfied that there is risk of further offending, a risk of harm and public disorder”.

Accordingly, she refused bail and Fowles was remanded in custody with the case adjourned to 9 July.

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Available for over a year

Today, the UK Defence Secretary John Healey has resigned.

In his resignation letter to the PM, Healey set out his reasons for leaving, telling the PM the defence investment plan “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”.

The sixth minister to resign for Starmer’s cabinet in a month, and one of its most loyal, the question will now turn to what lies ahead for the PM.

Adam and Chris are joined by Shashank Joshi Defence Editor of the Economist

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say “Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you’re in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Anna Harris and Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The social producer was Joe Wilkinson. The technical producer was . The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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Emma Raducanu and mini resets are as much part of the British tennis landscape as Queen’s and rain delays (Exhibit A: today’s weather in London). But the British No 1 struck a confident figure both during and after her 6-0, 6-3 win over over qualifier Anna Blinkova on Tuesday. Enough to suggest that the green green grass of home may be what her season needed after year of mis-starts, inaction and frustration.

Obviously one match does not make a summer and the real tests are to come, starting with her match against Sorana Cîrstea in west London today. Yet, Raducanu sounded upbeat after the win on Tuesday saying (via writing on a TV camera) that she was happy to be “back home”, hinting at the possibility that this will not be another false dawn.

“Despite not having played a lot of matches, I was really pleased with how I came out and was playing very free,” the world No 42 said. “I think I was just feeding off of the atmosphere, and it felt free, it felt clear, and a lot of clarity. Not necessarily thinking too much, not trying to do too much.

“I love playing on grass. And playing at home, I think it also brings a really good side out of me.”

Raducanu will need all of that “good side” today when she faces Cirstea. The in-form Romanian stands at No 10 in the rankings for this season. And the last time the pair met, in the final of the Transylvania Open in early February, Cîrstea dished out a 6-0, 6-2 thrashing. The mitigating circumstance is that it was around the time when the Briton picked up the virus that has dogged season since.

So today’s match will serve up a useful gauge of where Raducanu’s game is, one that on Tuesday at least, looked to be heading in the right direction.

Stay here for all the action from west London where I imagine people will be doing the opposite of a rain dance (a sun dance?) in a bid to see some action at the famous club. 

Anna Kendrick’s psychological thriller is airing on Film4 tonight, and fans have hailed it a ‘masterpiece’ that is ‘scarier than any horror’

A thriller hailed as a “masterpiece” is set to air on television this evening.

Having originally premiered in 2022, audiences have declared it “scarier than any horror”, making it an ideal late-night watch.

Alice, Darling screens on Film4 tonight, following its world debut at the Toronto International Film Festival four years ago.

Fronted by Anna Kendrick, the thriller sees the Pitch Perfect star portray Alice, a young woman trapped in a psychologically abusive relationship with her boyfriend Simon (played by Charlie Carrick).

Following candid advice from friends during a holiday — which she has disguised as a work trip — Alice resolves to distance herself from both the relationship and her co-dependency with Simon. However, events take a sinister turn, reports the Mirror.

Upon discovering Alice’s deception, Simon tracks her down to a secluded lakeside cabin, arriving unannounced, his menacing and controlling nature lurking beneath an outwardly charming façade.

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The official synopsis reveals: “A young woman trapped in an abusive relationship becomes the unwitting participant in an intervention staged by her two closest friends.”

The cast also includes Kaniehtiio Horn and Wunmi Mosaku as Alice’s friends, Tess and Sophie.

Alice, Darling has been hailed as “very underrated” by fans, with one calling it: “Tremendously well done.” They added: “It will leave you uncomfortable and vulnerable and essentially raw, but the journey, truth and confrontation is more than worth it if you can face and stare and confront the demons within us or around us all.”

Another called it a “mesmerising watch”, while someone else said it was “unquestionably poignant”. One review also read: “The tension and subtlety that Anna plays her role is a masterpiece.”

Another viewer called it “perfect”, as someone else hailed its “underrated brilliance”. Yet another said it was “hard to watch but absolutely worth it,” while someone else called it “scarier than any horror”.

Twilight actress Anna previously revealed how she related to her character in Alice, Darling, after a personal experience with emotional abuse.

She told People Magazine, of recalling the first time she read the screenplay: “I was coming out of a personal experience with emotional abuse and psychological abuse.

“I think my rep sent it to me, because he knew what I’d been dealing with and sent it along. Because he was like, ‘This sort of speaks to everything that you’ve been talking to me about’.”

She went on: “I was in a situation where I loved and trusted this person more than I trusted myself. So when that person is telling you that you have a distorted sense of reality and that you are impossible and that all the stuff that you think is going on is not going on, your life gets really confusing really quickly.

“And I was in a situation where, at the end, I had the unique experience of finding out that everything I thought was going on was in fact going on. So I had this kind of springboard for feeling and recovery that a lot of people don’t get.”

She went on to say that the script was “surprising timing” but she “wasn’t in danger of re-traumatizing myself,” and felt that making the film became “incredible cathartic”.

Alice, Darling airs at 9pm on Film4 on Thursday, June 11.

It is described as being a cornerstone of the community

Bridgend residents have started an online petition against plans to close a Flying Start nursery based in the North Cornelly area.

The plans, which would result in the closure of the Flying Start provision at Afon Y Felin Primary school, were decided by Bridgend County Borough Council at a cabinet meeting held in May.

It has led to opposition from local parents who say the decision “threatens the wellbeing” of countless children and families from the area with the facility considered to be a cornerstone of the community. Stay in the know by making sure you’re receiving our daily newsletter.

Flying Start is a Welsh Government-funded childcare programme targeted at children aged 0from birth to three and their families living in identified postcodes in the Bridgend area.

The online petition currently has more than 200 signatures and asks that the authority reconsider their decision to close down the essential local service.

A section of the petition read: “Unfortunately the Afon Y Felin Flying Start is facing potential closure.

“This decision threatens the wellbeing of countless children and families within our community who depend on this establishment for quality nursery education and support.

“It’s not just a nursery; it is a cornerstone of our community, offering a safe space where children can learn, play, and develop essential life skills.

“The closure would lead to loss of jobs for dedicated staff and disrupt the lives of families who rely on this centre.

“It’s proven that early childhood education is crucial in laying the foundation for future success, both academically and socially.

“Denying our children these formative experiences will set them back in their development.”

A council spokesman said the decision to end the Flying Start provision at the site had been made after they were informed the current provider did not intend to retender their contract.

They added there was enough local provision to cover all of the children at the school and would now be writing to parents and carers.

They said: “Bridgend County Borough Council has stepped in and looked at how Flying Start services based at Afon Y Felin Primary could be provided differently in future in the North Cornelly area after being informed that the current provider does not intend to retender for the contract.

“We can confirm that several other approved Flying Start providers are operating within the community, which means that children who currently use the Afon Y Felin scheme will be able to transition across to one of the alternative providers.

“Bridgend County Borough Council is writing to parents who use the Flying Start service based at Afon Y Felin to explain the situation, reassure them that there is enough local provision to cover all of the children, and to offer support in finding and transitioning over to one of the approved alternative Flying Start providers.

“Our aim is to ensure that no child misses out on Flying Start services in the North Cornelly area and to help make the transition to a new provider as smooth and as positive as possible.”

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