Officials say three people have lost their lives following a Hantavirus outbreak

Three people on a cruise ship have died after a suspected outbreak of Hantavirus caused by rodent droppings.

The victims were passengers of the MV Hondius which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Reports state that another person, who is a British national, is currently in intensive care. The disease is known as Hantavirus, and typically comes about following contact with urine or faeces from infected rodents.

In some cases, the virus can spread between people and lead to a dangerous respiratory illness.

Foster Mohale, a spokesperson for South Africa’s health ministry, told the BBC that at least two people had died. The vessel is operated by Dutch tour company Oceanwide Expeditions.

South African authorities report the first person to show symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger who died on board. His body has since been transferred to the island of Saint Helena.

His 69-year-old wife also became ill during the voyage and was evacuated to South Africa, where she later died in a Johannesburg hospital. A 69-year-old British man was also evacuated to Johannesburg and is currently receiving treatment in intensive care.

The WHO said it is assisting with coordination between member states and the ship’s operator, including the medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, a full public health risk assessment, and support for those still on board.

Their full statement reads: “WHO is aware of and supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases.

“Of the six affected individuals, three have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa.

“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.

“Hantavirus infections are typically linked to environmental exposure (exposure to infected rodents’ urine or faeces). While rare, hantavirus may spread between people, and can lead to severe respiratory illness and requires careful patient monitoring, support and response.

“WHO is facilitating coordination between member states and the ship’s operators for medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, as well as full public health risk assessment and support to the remaining passengers on board.

“WHO is grateful for the rapid actions and coordination amongst all involved.”

Hantavirus is most commonly contracted through contact with the urine or faeces of infected rodents

Three passengers have died aboard a cruise ship after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus, thought to have been triggered by rodent droppings.

Health officials have confirmed one case of the rare virus and are investigating five more, while a British traveller is reported to be in intensive care. The infections were detected on the MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, according to the World Health Organisation.

Hantavirus is most commonly contracted through contact with the urine or faeces of infected rodents, though it can, in exceptional circumstances, spread between people and cause severe respiratory illness., the Mirror reports.

Foster Mohale, a spokesperson for South Africa’s health ministry, confirmed at least two people had died onboard the vessel, which the Dutch tour company Oceanwide Expeditions operates.

The ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on March 20, according to the company’s published itinerary, due to arrive in Cape Verde on Monday (May 4).

A 69-year-old British man was evacuated to Johannesburg during the trip as passengers showed signs of the virus, and is currently receiving treatment in intensive care.

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South African authorities confirmed the first person to show symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger who died on board. His body has since been transferred to the island of Saint Helena.

The man’s 69-year-old wife also became ill during the journey and was evacuated to South Africa, where she later died in a Johannesburg hospital.

The ship measures 107.6m (353ft) in length and can carry up to 170 passengers across 80 cabins, according to Oceanwide Expeditions

The WHO said it is assisting with coordination between member states and the ship’s operator, including the medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, a full public health risk assessment, and support for those still on board.

Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) has been confirmed as the murder victim in Coronation Street.

After a week of dramatic episodes, Friday’s instalment saw us learn that Theo, who abused Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) for months, has now lost his life.

As the aftermath kicks off next week, detectives Lisa Connor-Swain (Vicky Myers) and Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) begin their rounds of questioning.

Of course, a number of people are in the frame for Theo’s death. There’s Todd himself, George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley), and also Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby).

Don’t forget about Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard), who went up against Theo after telling Summer that he could prove he murdered Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank).

With gossip spreading in Weatherfield, you’re probably reading this wondering when exactly we will find out who killed Theo, and how long the investigation is going to go on for.

Fortunately, producer of the show Kate Brooks has the answer.

‘It’s later in the summer. We reveal to the audience who it is during late June, July. There’s lots of people you definitely think it could be. It’s a massive story, there’s so many different twists, and there’s so many different offshoots to the story as well’, she revealed.

‘You think you’re watching one thing, and then it diverts into a completely new kind of story territory. It’ll definitely keep people guessing.’

Detailing what lies ahead for Todd, who is now recovering from the abuse in the middle of this whodunnit story, Kate said: ‘It’s Todd rebuilding his life – this is a guy who’s been subjected to the most horrific abuse, who is traumatised, who was grieving.

‘And it’s how he kind of tried to rebuild his life while still kind of struggling to comprehend the fact that this man’s been murdered by potentially somebody he knows or maybe even him.

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She added: ‘It’s an interesting mix of ‘whodunnit’ thriller story, but also about Todd’s family and friends, George, Christina, Summer, Sarah, all rallying around Todd to make sure that he’s okay, to try and build them and repeat them back together.

‘What he’s been through at the hands of Theo has been such an ordeal for him, and to get that love and to get that trust in people again, it was very important to show that with Todd.’

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With a killer loose on Coronation Street and villains dropping like flies, anyone could go at any time. But which classic Weatherfield legend is about to bid ‘ta-ra’ to the street forever?

Murder week has exploded onto the Cobbles, and five of Corrie’s biggest baddies were in with a chance of finding themselves in need of Shuttleworth’s Independent Funeral Service. The rogues gallery cluded violent abuser Theo Silverton (James Cartwright), bunny-boiling baddie Jodie Ramsey (Olivia Frances-Brown), world’s worst son Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard), predatory child groomer  Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon) and killer landlady Maggie Driscoll.

While nobody is shedding too many tears over one of these wrong’uns getting bumped off, actress Pauline McLynn, who plays Maggie Driscoll, recently teased that there may be a second death.

If that’s the case, there’s one Corrie stalwart that it’s really going to hurt us to say goodbye to.

Cassie Plummer, played by Brookside’s own, the legendary Claire Sweeney.

The character’s exit was announced earlier this year, after Claire was cast as cast as Miss Hannigan in the UK tour of musical Annie.

This is sure to have send massive shockwaves through the Street, especially for Cassie’s son Tyrone Dobbs’ (Alan Halsall), her mother Evelyn Plummer (Maureen Lipman), and of course, her boyfriend, Weatherfield legend Steve McDonald Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson).

Cassie’s undergone a real transformation since her arrival on Coronation Street, where she was determined to connect with her son and overcome her drug addiction.

With a little help from her family, Cassie cleaned up her act and turned her life around – well, aside from that little innocent when she very nearly killed Ken Barlow (William Roache) by lacing his drinks with drugs so she wouldn’t lose her job as his carer.

Recently, Cassie’s relationship with long-term boyfriend Steve McDonald was tested when she was gearing up to pop the question… only for the proposal to be put on ice thanks to the death of Steve’s father, Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson).

This led to a worrying bit of foreshadowing on the day of Jim’s funeral, when Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) sarcastically wonderedCassie who would turn up to Cassie’s funeral, to which quipped that it would be ‘packed to the rafters’. Fans were left wondering if this line was a chilling portent of Cassie’s demise…

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That could very well be on the cards. But let’s keep our fingers crossed that Cassie will walk off the Cobbles with her life intact! What we do know is that Cassie’s exit will have a lot to do with Tyrone…

If there’s one person on Corrie that means more to Cassie than Steve, it’s her boy.

It’s a relationship that didn’t get off to the best start – namely because Cassie abandoned Tyrone at a police station at birth due to her drug addiction, a fact that his grandmother Evelyn covered up for years.

Nevertheless, Tyrone trusted Evelyn and embraced her into his home, despite warnings from Evelyn, his wife Fiz (Jennie McAlpine) and others.

Despite her relapses and manipulative behaviour, Cassie managed to stay in her son’s life and be the other he always wanted through ups and downs… like the time he discovered her mum’s relationship with Steve by walking in on them together. Oops!

But the cat will be well and truly among the pigeons in upcoming episodes of Coronation Street, when a face from Cassie’s past tests her relationship with Tyrone and Steve.

After a recent chat with Coronation Street producer Kate Brooks, we can confirm that Cassie’s exit will involve Tyrone’s dad, who comes to Weatherfield in search of a better relationship with his boy.

‘As you know, Cassie’s leaving us, and so it will contribute to her exit, which is going to be massive and quite explosive.’ Kate teased. ‘It’ll be full of all the twists and turns that you can come to expect from an exit. He comes into the world of Fiz and Tyrone. Tyrone’s in the mindset of, ‘I’m in my 40s, I’ve survived this long without a dad. The dad is very keen to connect with Tyrone.’ 

‘It’s not long before the dad makes eyes at one of the residents, and maybe a bit of a relationship starts there. It’s very domesticated. It really shines a spotlight on Fiz and Tyrone as a couple and that dynamic as a family.’

Kate also revealed that the return of Daddy Dobbs will not go down well with Cassie.

‘Cassie is, needless to say, not happy that this guy has turned back up.’

Does Tyrone’s dad steal Cassie’s heart away from Steve? Or is something far more sinister about to happen?

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Two women have died while attempting to cross the English Channel in a dinghy.

Some 82 people left on a boat from Neufchatel-Hardelot in the Pas-de-Calais at 1.30am today.

The boat drifted out to sea after encountering a technical issue, French authorities confirmed.

The women from Sudan, who French charity Utopia 56 reported were a 16-year-old girl and a 20-year-old adult, were found dead on the boat.

Another three migrants are in a state of ‘absolute emergency’ after suffering from burns from fuel and sea water.

A total of 14 are in ‘relative emergency’, including five who have been taken to hospital.

French coastal patrol forces returned the migrants to Boulogne-sur-Mer by 4am.

Christophe Marx, the secretary-general of Pas-de-Calais, said an investigation had been opened into the incident.

A statement from French police said: ‘All state services were mobilised to respond to this incident, with the involvement of the national gendarmerie, border police, aerial resources — including drones — the departmental fire and rescue service, as well as volunteers from Civil Protection, and resources co-ordinated by CROSS Gris-Nez under the authority of the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea.

‘Smuggling networks, driven by criminal motives and a total disregard for human life, continue to endanger vulnerable people by organising crossings in makeshift boats.

‘The state maintains a firm response to these actions and, in co-ordination with the judicial authorities, continues its efforts to combat these networks.’

It comes amid a sharp downward trend in the number of small boat crossings.

Home Office figures show a total of 6,796 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, including 325 on Saturday.

This is 41 per cent down on the figure by this time last year, when 11,516 had made the journey, and 8,278 in 2024.

Four people were rescued by French coastguards on two separate boats before they entered British waters on Saturday.

The first dinghy was spotted in Merlimont beach, while the second was reported in Onival beach.

The Refugee Council said the latest crossings underlined the need for safe and legal routes for migrants to come to the UK.

Executive director Imran Hussain said: ‘We know that it is desperation that drives refugees fleeing devastating war and brutal regimes into small boats, which is why the lack of safe and legal routes to the UK is a problem that needs fixing.

‘The Government has said Sudan is the greatest humanitarian crisis facing the world, but a Sudanese refugee has no safe route to the UK, even if it is to join up with their family.’

Earlier this month two men and two women drowned while trying to make the dangerous crossing.

Another two migrants were also killed while crossing on April 1.

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Mr Polanski told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “I think you can both recognise the bravery of officers who run towards incidents that most of us, including myself, would certainly want to run away from, and find the appropriate forum to say that no one, especially the police, should be above scrutiny.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will start today’s Miami Grand Prix pole. Antonelli only finished sixth in the Sprint earlier on Saturday but delivered a time good enough for pole with his first effort in Q3. Antonelli’s lead at the top of the drivers’ standings was cut to seven points to his teammate George Russell after the Sprint but has the chance to extend his lead today.

“It has been an amazing day to be on pole again,” Antonelli said. “It was a difficult start with the Sprint when it did not go our way but super happy with the recovery. I got a bit excited with the last lap in Q3 but the first lap was good enough and I am really happy with that.”

Antonelli will be joined on the front row by Max Verstappen, who was the only driver to properly improve with his second and final run in Q3.

“It is an incredible turnaround for us,” said Verstappen. “I really did not feel in control of the car up until this weekend. I did not know what would happen with it. The team have brought a really good performance upgrade to the car, made it more driveable for me and it really clicked as soon as I jumped in the car here it felt great, or a lot better. For us, to be on the front row, is a bit of a surprise but we take it. It is a massive boost for the whole team and we are heading in the right direction.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start third, with McLaren’s Lando Norris joining him on the second row in fourth. Norris won the Sprint earlier on Saturday as part of a McLaren one-two but qualifying was trickier for the team, with Oscar Piastri set to start today’s race in seventh.

“There were little things,” said Norris. “It was a bit windier, the direction was different, temperatures. But same for everyone, right? I think both cars clearly struggled a bit more than yesterday and we need to understand why. At the same time, it’s not like I felt we did a bad job. But other people did a bad job yesterday and today they did the job they should have done.

“Mercedes are just as quick as us. When you look at the GPS from Ferrari and Red Bull, there are many places they are quicker than us. So we just did a very good job yesterday and in the Sprint to win. But qualifying was a little reality check. But it is more where we deserved to be and where we should be honestly.”

The race has been brought forward by three hours due to the threat of thunderstorms. It was set to get under way at 9pm BST (4pm local time) but the FIA and F1 have announced a new start time of 6pm BST.

The UK was forecast a mostly dry and sunny Early May Bank Holiday, despite lingering threats of a washed-out rainy Monday, according to the latest British weather maps

The UK will be glistening in glorious sunshine for Bank Holiday Monday, as thousands of Brits dash for the beach to make the most of the 18C heat.

Britain was forecast a mostly dry Early May Bank Holiday, despite lingering threats of a washed-out Monday. Most of the country will see sunshine throughout the day, with some minor showers across the far south, a weather expert revealed.

The counties surrounding London would see the warmest temperatures throughout the day, peaking at about 18C; including Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, and Greater London itself. Elsewhere, the south coast was forecast highs of 16C, and the north could see up to 15C, the latest weather maps revealed.

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British Weather Services’ senior meteorologist, Jim Dale, told the Mirror: “It’ll be mostly dry with light showers for far southern counties of both England and Wales (South of the M4 corridor), as well as the far north of Scotland.

“Distinctly cool in the far north, with average seasonal temperatures eleswhere, peaking at about 18C in the London area. Fair weather for most areas, but it won’t be a standout in any respects.”

It was expected to be a foggy morning for most of Southern England on Bank Holiday Monday, before a band of light drizzle beds in along the south coast for most of the day. As the sun starts to go down in the evening, some thunderstorms might develop between Exeter and Brighton, according to weather maps.

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Any showers should be very light throughout the day, despite the widespread nature of them in the south. The Met Office said any scattered showers would be lighter than most other bands of rain over the long weekend.

Met Office deputy chief forecaster Mark Sidaway said: “Bank holiday Monday will remain changeable, with lingering cloud and scattered showers across southern and central areas. But these should be lighter and fewer than over the weekend.”

Toward the north and north-east of England, it would feel a tad cooler, the Met Office added. But, the winds will be relatively light, meaning it wouldn’t feel quite as chilly.

The Met Office said: “Farther north and northeast it will feel fresher and cooler, with a few scattered showers, some possibly wintry over higher ground in the far north east. Winds will be mostly light to moderate, though stronger at times in the far northeast, and while temperatures will be close to average for many, it will feel noticeably chillier in northern and north-eastern areas.”

Ryanair has announced it will shut its seven-aircraft operating base at Berlin Brandenburg Airport from October 24, 2026

Ryanair is poised to slash flights from several UK airports following confirmation it will shut down a major base in Germany.

The airline has announced it will close its seven-aircraft operating base at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) from October 24, 2026. As part of the shake-up, Ryanair revealed it will slash its flight capacity to and from the German capital by 50% during its winter timetable, reports the Express.

This means routes between Berlin and UK cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh are likely to face disruption. Ryanair presently operates direct flights from those airports to Berlin multiple times weekly, with journeys lasting approximately two hours.

While the airline hasn’t specified which particular UK routes will face the axe, it confirmed its Berlin passenger numbers will plummet from 4.5 million to 2.2 million in 2027.

The carrier added that over two million Ryanair seats annually will vanish as a consequence of the closure. Ryanair stated it will maintain services to Berlin, but using aircraft stationed outside Germany.

All seven Berlin-based aircraft will be relocated to cheaper airports across other EU nations, including Sweden, Slovakia, Albania and Italy. The airline pinned the blame on soaring airport charges and aviation taxes in Germany for the move.

Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson said: “We regret to announce this planned closure of our seven aircraft Berlin base from 24 Oct 2026, but we have no alternative following the Airport’s latest 10% fee increase to its already high airport fees.

“This comes on top of the 50% increase in Berlin’s airport fees since 2019. Despite Berlin Airport losing 30% of its pre-Covid traffic thanks to its excessive airport charges, and Germany’s stupid aviation tax regime, they have now decided to increase charges by a further 10%, which will result in the loss of more than 2m Ryanair seats p.a. and seven based aircraft.

“Ryanair will still serve Berlin but on a/c based outside Germany and our Berlin traffic will fall by 50% from 4.5m to 2.2m pax in 2027.”

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He added: “German aviation is broken. The Govt. admits that it is uncompetitive, yet there is no strategy to cut aviation taxes or high airport fees – despite Ryanair warning that Germany would lose traffic, connectivity, jobs and trade.”

Mr Wilson also warned that additional reductions in Germany were “now inevitable” without significant cost reform.

He went on to say: “Efficient operations and competitive airport fees are the foundation which enable Ryanair to deliver long-term traffic growth and increased connectivity for airports and regions.

“This is impossible at Berlin following the German Govt’s failure to abolish its harmful aviation tax and Berlin Airport’s decision to again increase its already high airport fees.”

Ryanair confirmed that pilots and cabin crew based in Berlin have been informed of the planned base closure. Consultations with staff are set to commence in the near future, with those affected being given the opportunity to apply for alternative positions elsewhere across the airline’s European network.

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