Global Pulse

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大洋洲

  • French evacuee from hantavirus-hit ship has ‘symptoms’: French PM

    French evacuee from hantavirus-hit ship has ‘symptoms’: French PM

    A major public health response has been activated in France after one of five French citizens repatriated from the hantavirus-outbreak cruise ship MV Hondius has developed symptoms consistent with the rare virus, according to French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. The five passengers were flown back to France on Sunday, following a deadly outbreak that has already claimed three lives on the vessel anchored off Spain’s Tenerife Island.

    In an official post on social platform X, Lecornu confirmed that one individual began showing signs of the illness mid-flight during repatriation. “These five passengers have immediately been placed in strict isolation until further notice,” the prime minister wrote, adding that all five are already receiving targeted medical care and will undergo comprehensive diagnostic testing and full health screenings to confirm their status. Lecornu also announced plans to sign an official executive decree later the same day to formalize enforceable public health isolation protocols designed to limit any potential community spread and protect the general French public.

    AFP journalists on the ground confirmed that the evacuation flight carrying the five French passengers touched down at Paris’ Le Bourget Airport, located north of the capital, shortly before 4:30 pm local time (1430 GMT). Minutes after landing, the group was transferred to a fleet of five dedicated ambulances and transported under heavy police escort to Paris’ Bichat Hospital, a leading facility for infectious disease care, an AFP photographer documented.

    The evacuation of all passengers from the MV Hondius began early Sunday, after an outbreak that has killed three people – a Dutch married couple and a German woman – and sickened multiple others with the rare virus, which is most commonly carried by rodent populations. Repatriation flights have been coordinated to move passengers to their home countries or to specialized medical facilities in the Netherlands for urgent screening, with additional flights carrying passengers bound for the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Turkey, the United States and other nations continuing through Sunday.

    Prior to departure from Tenerife, one French passenger, Roland Seitre, told reporters that the planned 72-hour pre-release quarantine did not concern the group. “We haven’t had any cases on board since the end of April and nobody is sick,” Seitre said. The original protocol called for a 72-hour in-facility quarantine for full medical evaluation, followed by an additional 45 days of at-home supervised monitoring. However, Lecornu’s confirmation of a symptomatic passenger indicates French public health officials are set to implement stricter, more expansive containment measures than initially planned.

    That shift aligns with earlier guidance released Sunday in a joint statement from France’s foreign and health ministries, which explicitly outlined that any repatriated individual developing symptoms would immediately be reclassified as a “suspect case” and moved to a specialized medical facility for full evaluation and treatment. Later Sunday afternoon, Lecornu convened an emergency high-level meeting with top cabinet ministers and senior public health leaders at his office to coordinate the response to the repatriated group. Attendees included Health Minister Stephanie Rist, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, with Lecornu noting that the health minister would release a full public update on the situation later that evening.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified all former passengers of the MV Hondius as “high-risk” contacts, requiring a full 42 days of continuous medical monitoring – a timeline that matches the virus’ maximum six-week incubation period. Of particular global concern is the confirmation that the strain detected in positive cases on the ship is the Andes virus, the only known hantavirus variant capable of person-to-person transmission. Despite the elevated risk, WHO officials have moved quickly to downplay comparisons to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that the current outbreak poses far lower overall public health risk at a global scale.

  • Prizmic follows up on Djokovic exploit by reaching Italian Open last 16

    Prizmic follows up on Djokovic exploit by reaching Italian Open last 16

    Rome’s iconic Foro Italico clay courts have served up another thrilling chapter at the 2025 Italian Open, 1000-level Masters tournament, as 20-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic continued his Cinderella run Sunday. Fresh off his career-defining upset of global tennis legend Novak Djokovic in the previous round, Prizmic notched another impressive victory, defeating 31st-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-1, 7-5 to book his spot in the tournament’s final 16.

    Prizmic’s dominance from the opening game left Humbert struggling to find his rhythm. The young Croatian blazed to a 5-0 lead in the first set, closing it out in just 28 minutes, with his signature combination of brute power and pinpoint clay-court accuracy. Even with a mid-set playful trick shot between his legs that cost him a single point, Prizmic never looked threatened. Humbert mounted a tighter fight in the second set, but a third break of serve in the 11th game handed Prizmic the momentum he needed to seal the win on his second match point.

    Speaking to reporters after his victory on Court Pietrangeli, Prizmic kept his expectations grounded while outlining his long-term goals. “I just want to play my game and to be myself on the court and we will see,” he said. “Maybe for me the goal is to be top 30 at the end of the year but I just want to stay healthy and play as much as I can.”

    The run marks Prizmic’s best ever performance at an ATP Masters 1000 event, and the ranking points will lift him 11 spots to world No. 68 when the new rankings are released next Monday, just ahead of the start of the French Open. Up next, Prizmic will face 13th seed Karen Khachanov for a spot in the quarterfinals.

    In other men’s draw action, second seed Alexander Zverev, bidding for his third Italian Open title, cruised to a straightforward 6-1, 6-4 win over Belgian youngster Alexander Blockx, even as rain threatened to disrupt play on the centre court. The German, who won the Rome title in 2017 and 2024 and fell to Jannik Sinner in last week’s Madrid Open final, barely broke a sweat against Blockx, who he had already defeated in the Madrid semifinals. Zverev will next face the winner of the match between Tommy Paul and Italy’s home hope Luciano Darderi in the fourth round. Heading into the next match, Zverev acknowledged Prizmic’s breakout run but said he would remain focused on his own game. “There’s a lot of young guys who are playing great tennis. He’s definitely one of them,” Zverev said. “But I’m going to go match by match, I think that’s the most important thing, not to look too far ahead and focus on the things that you can control.” Zverev and Prizmic are drawn in the same half of the bracket, setting up a potential later meeting between the two.

    Italian crowd favorite Lorenzo Musetti also advanced to the final 16 after a grueling 7-6(7), 6-4 win over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo. Musetti, who will face clay specialist Casper Ruud next, broke down in tears after the match, telling reporters he had been struggling physically throughout the contest but did not elaborate on his specific ailment. The match featured a combined 81 unforced errors from both players, highlighting the physical toll of clay court competition.

    In the women’s draw, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka put on a dominant display to breeze past Russian player Diana Schnaider 6-1, 6-2 in just 54 minutes, putting her one win away from a highly anticipated showdown with three-time Rome champion Iga Swiatek in the last 16. The result equals Osaka’s best performance of a rocky 2025 season, which has seen her knocked out at the third-round stage of both Indian Wells and Madrid by Aryna Sabalenka. With Sabalenka already out of the tournament following a shocking early upset on Saturday, the 15th-seeded Osaka has emerged as a legitimate contender for the Rome title.

    Osaka said she is eager for a potential clash with Swiatek, who is set to face Italian wild card Elisabetta Cocciaretto on centre court in front of a partisan home crowd. “For me those matches are the most fun. I’m excited at the thought,” Osaka said. Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, has struggled for form on clay in recent months: she retired from her third-round match in Madrid last month due to a viral illness, suffered an early third-round exit in Rome as defending champion last year, and needed nearly three hours to get past Caty McNally in her opening match this year. She has not won a clay court title since claiming her fourth French Open crown in 2024.

  • Barcelona need a point against Real Madrid to win La Liga

    Barcelona need a point against Real Madrid to win La Liga

    One of the most anticipated fixtures in global football, El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, takes on unprecedented stakes this Sunday in Catalonia, as Barcelona stands just one point away from securing back-to-back La Liga crowns, while Real Madrid heads into the match fractured by a shocking in-house conflict that has rocked the club this week.

    Led by head coach Hansi Flick, Barcelona holds a commanding 11-point advantage over its century-long rival at the top of the table. A single draw against Real Madrid will be enough to lock in the club’s second consecutive league title, but the Catalan side is chasing far more than just a routine championship. If Barcelona claims victory in Sunday’s Clasico and wins its three remaining league matches after that, it will match La Liga’s all-time record of 100 points in a single season. What’s more, a win over Real Madrid followed by a victory against Real Betis next weekend would make Barcelona the first side in history to complete a perfect home season across La Liga’s current 38-game format. The Clasico also presents a historic milestone for the club: a title clinched in this fixture would mark the first time any side has won La Liga during an El Clasico clash since Real Madrid claimed its first ever league crown in such a matchup back in 1932.

    For Real Madrid, however, the build-up to the match has been overshadowed by an extraordinary public breakdown in team unity. The club is already set to end the current season without a single major trophy, a drought that has only occurred four other times this century. Tensions boiled over this week after a physical training-ground argument between French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and Uruguayan playmaker Federico Valverde ended with Valverde suffering a head injury that required hospital treatment, ruling him out of the clash for at least two weeks. Valverde’s attempts to downplay the incident, claiming he “accidentally” collided with a table during the discussion and only sustained a minor cut, failed to ease the backlash.

    Real Madrid’s hierarchy responded quickly, issuing a 500,000 euro ($590,000) fine to both players. The club confirmed the pair have since apologized to one another, their teammates, club staff, and the club’s global fanbase. Interim head coach Alvaro Arbeloa defended the players in the lead-up to Sunday’s game, noting that the pair have taken accountability for their actions. “For me, that’s enough. What I’m not going to do is burn them at the stake in public, because they don’t deserve that,” Arbeloa said, adding that Tchouameni will still be included in Real Madrid’s matchday squad for the Clasico despite the confrontation.

    Flick, when asked about the Real Madrid incident ahead of kickoff, acknowledged that such conflicts can occur at clubs across the world, but admitted the incident was unusual. “It happens around the world, so it’s not only a thing at Real… was I surprised? Maybe a little bit,” Flick told reporters. “But in the end, I don’t care about that, because it’s not my club, it’s not my team. So I don’t have to think about that.” The Barcelona coach was quick to highlight the contrast with his own side, emphasizing the unified cohesion within the Catalan camp. “The most important thing, and what I really appreciate a lot in this club, is that we are all going the same way,” the German manager explained. “When something happens, we are talking in the same way.”

    Both sides will be missing key attacking talent for the high-stakes clash. Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe remains sidelined with a hamstring injury; despite returning to group training on Friday, the French forward was not included in the club’s official matchday squad announced Sunday. Barcelona’s teenage phenom Lamine Yamal will also watch from the stands, as a hamstring injury of his own is expected to keep him out of action until this winter’s World Cup.

    The match comes amid a difficult personal time for Flick, after the 61-year-old’s father passed away in the lead-up to the fixture. Barcelona released an official statement offering its full support to the coach and his family, saying “We share his pain and stand with him during this very difficult time for him and his family.”

    For Barcelona, the moment is ripe to cap another dominant domestic season with a historic title clinched against their biggest foe. “We want to win the title, the second in a row,” Flick said. “It’s amazing, not normal, here in Spain. So this is what we want to do, nothing else, nothing more.”

  • War in the Middle East: latest developments

    War in the Middle East: latest developments

    Almost an hour ago, Agence France-Presse published a roundup of the most recent developments in the ongoing Middle East war, bringing new updates on diplomatic efforts, escalating attacks, and rising regional tensions.

    According to Iran’s official state news outlet IRNA, the Islamic Republic has officially transmitted its response to the latest U.S. proposal aimed at brokering a ceasefire and launching formal peace talks. The response was delivered through diplomatic mediators based in Pakistan, though the content of Iran’s reply has not been released to the public.

    Parallel to diplomatic moves, a wave of drone strikes has targeted maritime and military sites across the Persian Gulf. One drone struck a commercial freighter traveling from Abu Dhabi to Qatar, sparking a small blaze on board the vessel. Qatar’s defense ministry confirmed that no crew members were injured in the attack, and the fire was brought under control quickly. Separately, Kuwait’s military announced it successfully intercepted and repelled a dawn drone attack targeting its territory.

    Qatar’s leadership has publicly pushed back against Iran’s potential use of the strategic Strait of Hormuz as leverage in the conflict. In a phone call with Iranian top diplomat Abbas Araghchi, Qatar’s prime minister emphasized that weaponizing the critical waterway – through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass daily – would only exacerbate the ongoing regional crisis, the Qatari foreign ministry confirmed.

    Violence has also continued along the Israel-Lebanon border, even amid declared ceasefire efforts. Lebanon’s health ministry reported that two paramedics with the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee were killed in Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, with five additional people injured in the strikes.

    New details have also emerged about a previously reported attack on a South Korean cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on May 4. South Korean officials now confirm the vessel was damaged by strikes from “two unidentified aircraft.” Authorities are currently analyzing engine debris and fragments recovered from the ship to identify the party responsible for the attack. Iran has repeatedly denied any role in the strike, though former U.S. President Donald Trump asserted at the time that Iran was behind the attack.

    Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have further escalated following recent U.S. strikes on two Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman. A day after those attacks, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a direct threat to American and allied interests in the region. “Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centres in the region and enemy ships,” the IRGC stated, per Iranian state media.

    On the diplomatic front, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a formal meeting with Qatar’s leadership this week. The U.S. State Department said the pair focused discussions on bolstering security across the Middle East, amid the rapidly shifting situation in the region.

  • Drones target Gulf vessels as Tehran warns US

    Drones target Gulf vessels as Tehran warns US

    Fresh drone attacks targeting commercial vessels and Gulf Cooperation Council nations have sent tensions soaring across the Persian Gulf this week, as Iran formally announced an end to its policy of military restraint against United States interests in the region.

    The string of incidents began unfolding last week, when South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed that an unidentified aerial attack damaged a South Korean-flagged cargo vessel, the HMM Namu, in the Strait of Hormuz on May 4. Two projectiles struck the ship’s stern ballast tank at roughly one-minute intervals, sparking a fire that was extinguished before the vessel proceeded safely to the Port of Dubai with no reported casualties.

    On Sunday, a new wave of attacks hit closer to major Gulf infrastructure. Qatar’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that a cargo freighter traveling from Abu Dhabi to Qatari waters was struck by a drone northeast of the port of Mesaieed. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which monitors commercial shipping in the region, confirmed the bulk carrier suffered a small fire that was quickly put out, with no injuries or environmental damage reported. Iranian state-affiliated Fars News Agency later claimed the vessel was owned by and sailing under the flag of the United States, though this has not been independently verified.

    Hours after the Qatari attack, the United Arab Emirates formally accused Iran of launching two armed drones toward its territory. UAE air defense systems successfully intercepted and destroyed both unmanned vehicles before they could reach their targets, the country’s defense ministry announced in a social media post. Neighboring Kuwait also reported detecting and neutralizing multiple hostile drones that entered its airspace at dawn Sunday.

    The coordinated attacks come amid a sharp breakdown in the fragile month-long ceasefire that has largely de-escalated cross-border hostilities between Iran and the US-led coalition in the Gulf. In public warnings issued over social media and state media, Iranian officials have made clear that their previous policy of restraint in response to US and allied actions is over. Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, wrote Sunday that “Any attack on our vessels will trigger a strong and decisive Iranian response against American ships and bases.”

    The warning followed a recent confrontation in the Gulf of Oman Friday, where a US fighter jet intercepted and disabled two Iran-flagged commercial tankers. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reiterated the new threat in a statement following the incident, noting that any future attack on Iranian commercial shipping would result in retaliatory strikes against US military outposts and naval assets in the Middle East.

    Over the weekend, Iran’s military leadership met with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to receive updated operational guidance for confronting perceived enemy aggression in the region, according to Iranian state television.

    Tensions have been building for months over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s global oil exports pass, alongside massive volumes of liquefied natural gas and agricultural fertilizer. Iran has sought to leverage control over the strait to gain economic and diplomatic leverage against the US and its regional allies, recently establishing a formal system to collect tolls from commercial shipping passing through the waterway. US officials have repeatedly rejected Iran’s claims of authority over the international waterway, calling any attempt to regulate or tax transit unacceptable. The US Navy has also maintained a regional blockade of Iranian ports, regularly intercepting, disabling, or diverting commercial vessels traveling to and from Iranian territory.

    The latest escalation comes as diplomatic efforts to broker a permanent ceasefire and peace talks between Washington and Tehran remain at a stalemate. The US has awaited Iran’s formal response to a new proposal to extend the existing truce and open formal negotiations, with former President Donald Trump noting last week that he expected a response via Pakistani mediators by Friday. No official response has been made public to date.

    Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed US military aggression for undermining diplomatic progress, telling state news agency ISNA that “The recent escalation of tensions by American forces in the Persian Gulf and their numerous actions in violating the ceasefire have added to suspicions about the motivation and seriousness of the American side in the path of diplomacy.”

    US diplomatic leaders have been intensifying consultations with regional intermediaries in recent days. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Saturday with Qatari leadership in Doha; Qatar has long hosted a major US Air Force base in the region, and has served as a key go-between for Washington and Tehran. Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held a separate meeting a day earlier with US Vice President JD Vance to discuss peace brokering efforts.

    Iran has previously targeted sites in Qatar during past rounds of hostilities, citing the emirate’s hosting of US military infrastructure as justification.

  • Evacuation of hantavirus-hit ship begins in Canary Islands

    Evacuation of hantavirus-hit ship begins in Canary Islands

    A large-scale, coordinated repatriation operation got underway Sunday to evacuate passengers and crew from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, which has been tied to a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has triggered international health concerns. The vessel docked at the Port of Granadilla on the Spanish island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, after weeks of transiting the Atlantic Ocean amid the public health emergency.

    Three passengers on board have already died from complications of the virus: a Dutch couple and a German national. Multiple other people have also fallen ill with the rare pathogen, which most commonly spreads through rodent populations, but the strain identified on the ship — the Andes virus — is the only variant capable of human-to-human transmission, a detail that amplified global alarm. With no licensed vaccines or specific targeted treatments currently available for hantavirus, and the outbreak originating after the ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina — a country where the virus is endemic — in early April, health agencies have been working around the clock to contain the spread.

    Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia confirmed that all remaining passengers and crew, numbering close to 150, will be evacuated via chartered repatriation flights by the end of Monday. The final flight is scheduled to carry the last group of evacuees to Australia, after which the empty vessel will set sail for the Netherlands.

    On-site reporting from Agence France-Presse shows that evacuees, clad in full blue medical protective suits, boarded smaller transfer boats from the anchored cruise ship to reach the Tenerife quay, before being transported via sealed buses to Tenerife South Airport for their outbound flights. Regional authorities originally resisted allowing the vessel to dock, only granting permission for it to anchor offshore initially, and strict protocols have been put in place to eliminate any contact between evacuees and the local Tenerife population. White medical screening tents have been erected along the port, and sections of the small industrial port have been cordoned off by police officers, many of whom are also wearing personal protective equipment.

    Garcia confirmed that all passengers are currently asymptomatic and passed a final comprehensive medical screening before disembarkation was cleared. The evacuation follows a pre-planned order: the 14 Spanish nationals on board were the first to leave, followed by a charter flight for Dutch citizens that will also carry passengers from Germany, Belgium, Greece and additional crew members. Separate chartered flights for passengers from Canada, Turkey, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States were scheduled to depart throughout Sunday.

    World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is on site in Tenerife alongside Spanish health officials to oversee the high-stakes containment and evacuation operation. Regional officials have imposed a hard deadline of Monday for the operation to wrap up, as forecasted adverse weather conditions will force the vessel to leave the anchorage area after that point.

    Earlier last week, the WHO confirmed that six of the eight previously suspected hantavirus cases on board have tested positive, and there are no remaining suspected cases among people still on the vessel. The MV Hondius arrived off Tenerife’s coast early Sunday after departing Cape Verde, where three infected passengers were already evacuated to Europe for medical treatment earlier this week. The ship had embarked on its Atlantic crossing from Ushuaia on April 1, and WHO investigators believe the initial infection occurred before the cruise officially began, with secondary spread occurring between people on board the cramped vessel. That conclusion has been disputed by Argentine provincial health official Juan Petrina, who argues that based on the virus’s multi-week incubation period and other epidemiological factors, there is an “almost zero chance” that the initial index case — a Dutch passenger linked to the outbreak — contracted the virus in Ushuaia.

    Despite the international concern, global and Spanish health officials have repeatedly stressed that the overall risk to global public health remains low, pushing back against comparisons that draw parallels between this outbreak and the global Covid-19 pandemic. Health authorities across multiple countries are currently monitoring any passengers who disembarked the MV Hondius at previous stops, as well as all close contacts of those confirmed cases to prevent any secondary spread off the vessel.

  • Anxiety, anticipation as World Cup one-month countdown begins

    Anxiety, anticipation as World Cup one-month countdown begins

    As the clock ticks down to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the one-month countdown to the historic first three-nation co-hosted tournament kicked off Monday, with a swirl of anticipation tangled in mounting anxiety over soaring ticket costs, political friction and international conflict that have cast a long shadow over football’s biggest global spectacle.

    The 23rd edition of the World Cup is unprecedented in scale: 48 national teams will compete across 104 matches over nearly six weeks, with the United States hosting 78 fixtures, Canada hosting 10, and Mexico hosting 16. The tournament will open on June 11 at Mexico City’s legendary Estadio Azteca, with the final scheduled for July 19 at New Jersey’s 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium. Organizers project billions of dollars in revenue for FIFA, but months of turbulent pre-tournament preparation have left a sour taste for many fans and observers even before the opening kickoff.

    The most vocal outrage has centered on FIFA’s new, drastically inflated pricing structure, which fan advocates have labeled an unethical betrayal of ordinary supporters. The most expensive face-value ticket for the 2026 final sits at a staggering $32,970 — a stark jump from the $1,600 top price for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) has called the pricing “extortionate”, arguing it has put the tournament out of reach for working-class fans across the globe.

    FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended the pricing model, arguing that market rates for the U.S. — where the majority of matches take place — justify the high costs, pointing to the country’s well-developed high-cost entertainment sector. Though FIFA claims over 500 million ticket requests have been submitted (a figure 10 times the combined total for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments), many match seats — including that of the U.S. men’s national team’s opening fixture against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles — still remain listed for sale on secondary ticketing platforms. Even former and current U.S. President Donald Trump, a close ally to Infantino, has expressed surprise at the cost, telling the New York Post that even he would not pay $1,000 to attend the U.S. opener.

    Beyond ticket affordability, critics have raised alarms over the tense political climate in the United States following Trump’s re-election to the White House. What was originally marketed as a “Unity Bid” designed to showcase cross-border cooperation between the three North American co-hosts has been upended by Trump’s aggressive policies: he has publicly discussed absorbing Canada into the U.S. as the 51st state and launched new trade wars against both Canada and Mexico. Human rights organizations have warned that the tournament will be marred by exclusion and fear, pointing to Trump’s administration’s crackdowns on immigration, protest and press freedom. Amnesty International has gone further, warning the World Cup risks becoming a “stage for repression”.

    International conflict has added another layer of uncertainty. The February 2026 U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran have roiled global markets and raised questions about Iran’s participation in the tournament — a historic first: it is the first time a World Cup host nation has been in active direct military conflict with a participating team before the tournament kicks off. Trump initially suggested Iran withdraw from the tournament for their own safety, but after FIFA insisted Iran would compete as planned (with all three of their group stage matches hosted in the U.S., after a request to move their fixtures to Mexico was rejected), Trump walked back his comment, saying he was “OK” with Iran’s participation, as he looks to gain political advantage from the tournament ahead of this year’s U.S. midterm elections.

    Infantino has repeatedly dismissed growing criticism, framing negative headlines as overblown “negative press” and claiming “it’s very difficult to find something negative around this World Cup”. But his bullish optimism has failed to ease concerns across the global football community. FIFA and tournament organizers are pinning their hopes on on-field action overriding pre-tournament controversy once matches begin, banking on the World Cup’s traditional ability to draw global audiences with dramatic moments and elite football.

    This expanded edition of the tournament will bring no shortage of storylines: defending champions Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, enter as one of the favorites, alongside 2024 European champions Spain, 2018 champions France, and England, which is still chasing its first major men’s tournament title since 1966. For long underrepresented football nations, the expanded 48-team field also marks a historic milestone: Curacao, the smallest nation by population to ever qualify for a World Cup, and Cape Verde will both make their tournament debuts.

  • Hantavirus-hit cruise ship arrives in Spain’s Canary Islands

    Hantavirus-hit cruise ship arrives in Spain’s Canary Islands

    A cruise ship grappling with a fatal hantavirus outbreak that has claimed three lives reached waters off Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday, kicking off a tightly controlled evacuation operation for most of the nearly 150 people on board after weeks of sailing across the Atlantic.

    The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, operated by expedition cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions, was escorted into the port of Granadilla de Abona by a Spanish Civil Guard patrol vessel, AFP correspondents on site confirmed, with vessel tracking data from VesselFinder independently verifying its arrival.

    Three passengers — a married Dutch couple and a German national — have already died from the rare viral infection, which is most commonly spread through rodent populations. Alarmingly, tests have confirmed the presence of Andes virus, the only strain of hantavirus capable of human-to-human transmission, among confirmed cases, prompting coordinated international public health monitoring.

    Speaking ahead of the ship’s arrival, World Health Organization (WHO) Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Maria Van Kerkhove classified every person on board the vessel as a “high-risk contact” for exposure. However, she and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus — who traveled to Spain to oversee the evacuation response — repeatedly emphasized that the overall risk to the general public and residents of the Canary Islands remains very low.

    In a public letter to the people of Tenerife, Tedros sought to quash comparisons to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, writing, “This is not another Covid.” He added that he was confident Spanish authorities, who have been preparing for the operation for days, would carry it out successfully, noting “Spain is ready and prepared.”

    On the ground Sunday morning, AFP reporters observed white medical screening tents erected along the quay, with local police securing a restricted perimeter around the evacuation zone. Despite the high-profile public health response, daily life across Tenerife remained largely uninterrupted: residents swam at nearby beaches, shoppers visited local markets, and patrons gathered at outdoor cafe terraces. Local lottery vendor David Parada noted that while there was quiet underlying worry, most residents did not appear overly alarmed by the ship’s arrival.

    Regional authorities opted against allowing the vessel to dock permanently, a precautionary measure that means the MV Hondius will remain anchored offshore while the evacuation is carried out Sunday and Monday. Weather conditions only permit the operation during this narrow window, public health officials confirmed. Evacuation began around 7:00 GMT Sunday, with all passengers and a small core crew set to disembark before the ship sails onward to the Netherlands. Once they leave the vessel, evacuees will be transported directly to chartered aircraft organized by nationality for repatriation.

    As of Friday, the WHO had confirmed six cases of hantavirus out of eight initial suspected cases on board, with no new suspected cases remaining. The ship had previously sailed from Cape Verde, where three infected passengers were evacuated earlier this month. The voyage began back on April 1, when the MV Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina for an Atlantic crossing to Cape Verde. Local Argentine health officials have concluded that the first infected passenger had an “almost zero chance” of contracting the virus in Ushuaia, based on the pathogen’s incubation period and other available data.

    Health agencies across the globe have launched contact tracing operations for passengers who left the ship at earlier stops, as well as anyone who has had close contact with known infected people. A KLM flight attendant who had brief exposure to one infected passenger and developed mild symptoms tested negative for the virus, the WHO confirmed Friday. That infected passenger, the wife of the first fatality in the outbreak, was removed from a Johannesburg-to-Amsterdam flight before takeoff on April 25 and died the next day in a South African hospital.

    In Spain, a woman who was on that same flight and developed symptoms has been placed in isolation in a hospital in the eastern part of the country while awaiting test results. Two Singaporean passengers who were on the MV Hondius tested negative but remain in quarantine as a precaution, Singaporean health authorities announced Friday. British health officials also reported a suspected case on Tristan da Cunha, a remote Atlantic island settlement home to roughly 220 residents.

  • ‘Not working for young people’: Chalmers flags huge tax changes

    ‘Not working for young people’: Chalmers flags huge tax changes

    Ahead of the highly anticipated federal budget release this Tuesday, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has given the clearest hint yet that major, game-changing tax policy shifts will be front and center of the new fiscal plan, framing the adjustments as difficult but necessary to fix deep structural inequities in the nation’s housing and tax systems. In an exclusive interview on Sky News’ public affairs program *Sunday Agenda*, Chalmers stopped short of locking in concrete changes to controversial property investment tax concessions, namely negative gearing and the capital gains tax (CGT) discount, but confirmed the upcoming budget will center on targeted reform rather than broad-based revenue grabs. “When it comes to the tax package in the budget, it will have some difficult but necessary reforms,” Chalmers told host. “It is overwhelmingly not about collecting heaps more revenue over the budget period, it is about more reforms.”

    Chalmers, whose center-left Labor government won power 12 months prior, called the current arrangement unfair, noting it fails to adequately recognize the contributions of ordinary working Australians when compared to individuals who generate most of their income through investment holdings. For weeks, budget leaks have outlined two core proposed reforms to property investment taxation that are expected to be confirmed in Tuesday’s announcement. The first, for negative gearing — a tax break that allows property investors to deduct expenses including mortgage interest and repair costs from their overall taxable income when annual expenses exceed rental income — will only apply to new investment purchases of newly constructed properties. Crucially, the proposed changes are grandfathered: the more than 1 million existing Australian landlords who currently use negative gearing will retain their existing tax breaks, eliminating any immediate disruption for current holders. The policy design is intended to drive new construction and ease the nation’s chronic housing supply shortage, the core root of the country’s ongoing affordability crisis.

    The second major shift would alter the CGT discount, changing rules that have been in place since the Howard government in 1999. Under current policy, investors holding assets for at least 12 months qualify for an automatic 50% discount on any capital gains. The proposed change would return the system to inflation indexing, which matches the taxable portion of gains to rising prices, rather than offering a flat half-discount across all asset classes. Unlike the negative gearing adjustments, this change would apply to all current and future investors.

    Addressing growing public speculation that the government could also roll out a new earned income offset worth between $200 and $300 per taxpayer as cost-of-living relief, Chalmers pushed back against expectations of large, short-term cash handouts, framing the budget as a fiscally restrained document designed to avoid adding to existing inflationary pressures. “People shouldn’t expect in a very tight and responsible budget defined by spending restraint… big near term cash splashes in the budget because we take this inflation challenge seriously,” he said. The Treasurer noted the government has already delivered multiple forms of tax relief, including a cut to fuel taxes and an instant asset tax deduction for businesses, with already scheduled stage three income tax cuts set to take effect on July 1 next year.

    Rejecting criticism that the reforms amount to a punitive attack on existing investors, Chalmers emphasized the policy’s core goal is expanding access to homeownership for young and aspirational Australians, not punishing past investment decisions. “We’re not trying to punish anybody who has made decisions about how they’ve used the tax system or the housing market in the past,” he said. “It’s about trying to expand opportunities in the housing market for more people. Our motivation in considering some of these changes is recognising that helping people get a toehold in the housing market is a really important way of helping people get a toehold in the economy more broadly.” The Treasurer added that while boosting housing supply has been the government’s first priority, the status quo on housing and taxation is broken, unfair, and demands a policy response from a responsible government. Tuesday’s budget, he said, will mark the start of a more ambitious year of reform, following the first year in office focused on delivering on prior election commitments.

    Opposition figures have sharply condemned the proposed reforms, framing them as a naked tax grab that will fail to boost housing supply and hurt working Australians across all age groups. Liberal Senator Jane Hume questioned the government’s reversal on prior commitments to avoid negative gearing changes and challenged the government’s claims the reforms will increase housing construction. Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson went further, dismissing the leaked budget plan as disjointed and ideologically driven. “So far their budget seems to be in complete disarray,” Wilson said. He criticized the plan for protecting existing older investors while closing off opportunities for young people seeking to enter the market, adding that the CGT changes will penalize young Australians saving for a home deposit through share market investments. Wilson argued that the changes will not result in more home construction, will drive up rents in major capital cities, and amounts to redistribution that does nothing to drive broader economic growth. “We need a tax system that is orientated towards encouraging wealth creation, jobs and growth for the next generation of Australians, while Labor’s plan is to feed resentment and redistribution,” he said.

    The budget announcement, scheduled for Tuesday night, will bring the years-long debate over Australia’s property tax system to a head, with stakeholders across the housing, finance and construction industries waiting for full details of the proposed reforms.

  • Mortgage holders hit with third rate rise but the real pain is delayed

    Mortgage holders hit with third rate rise but the real pain is delayed

    Australia’s central bank has extended its streak of monetary policy tightening, delivering a third straight 25-basis-point increase to the official cash rate that has lifted the benchmark to 4.35%. But a leading finance industry analyst is sounding the alarm: the full weight of these successive hikes has yet to hit struggling household budgets, with the most severe mortgage pain still on the horizon.

    Following its two-day policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced the latest rate increase last Tuesday, with eight of the nine-member governing board supporting the hike and one member pushing to hold rates steady at 4.1%. The move follows matching 25-basis-point hikes in February and March, bringing the cumulative increase this cycle to 75 basis points. This puts rates back exactly where they stood in January 2025, before the RBA delivered three rate cuts through that year. The RBA justified the move by pointing to persistent inflation, which remains at 4.6% – far above the central bank’s 2-3% target range. Officials signaled future hikes remain on the table, noting they will closely monitor incoming economic data and shifting global economic conditions.

    RBA Governor Michele Bullock acknowledged that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, specifically the disruption to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz – which carries roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil consumption – have already strained household budgets through higher fuel costs. Still, she argued that allowing inflation to remain entrenched would create far worse outcomes. “Australians are poorer because of this shock to oil prices. We are poorer and there is no way out of that, but the trade off is much worse,” Bullock said. “Now I understand this is a really difficult time for households who are already facing higher fuel prices and other cost of living pressures, but we must get on top of inflation now so that it doesn’t get away from us.”

    Sally Tindall, director of data insights at finance comparison platform Canstar, explained why the full impact of the three hikes has not yet reached mortgage holders. While banks calculate accrued interest on a daily basis, they do not immediately demand higher repayments from customers. Instead, lenders send formal notifications of changed repayment amounts and give borrowers a grace period to adjust their budgets before the new higher payments take effect. Among Australia’s largest lenders, Tindall noted Commonwealth Bank gives customers a minimum of 20 days from notification to the first higher payment, while the other three major banks require at least 30 days. In practice, this staggered implementation means it takes two to three months for all rate hikes to flow through to borrower repayments. As a result, many households are still only paying the higher rate from the first February hike, and have yet to absorb the increases from March and the latest May move. Tindall added that while the delayed timeline can confuse borrowers, it ultimately works in consumers’ favor by giving them breathing room to adjust their finances.

    To date, more than 40 Australian lenders have confirmed they will pass the full 25-basis-point May hike on to mortgage holders, a group that includes Australia’s four largest banks: Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ. All four big banks will implement the higher rates from May 15. It is expected that smaller lenders, many of which do not make public announcements about rate changes, will follow suit. Major bank leaders have acknowledged the added pressure on households and highlighted support available for struggling borrowers, alongside increased rates for savers that can offset some cost-of-living pressures. “We recognise many customers are already managing higher living costs, and further rate increases could add to that pressure,” said Angus Sullivan, group executive of retail banking at Commonwealth Bank. “Our focus is on supporting customers to stay on top of their finances, with practical tools, clear guidance and access to help when it is needed.”

    Westpac chief executive of consumer Carolyn McCann echoed that commitment, noting that ongoing Middle East tensions have amplified global economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures. “Right now our focus is on helping customers through the current economic environment. We encourage customers who are feeling stretched to reach out early. We have a range of support options available and our teams are ready to help,” she said. “We’ve also increased deposit rates which will provide some relief for savers who are navigating higher living costs.”

    Canstar’s analysis puts the tangible cost of the latest hike in perspective: for a borrower holding a $600,000 mortgage with 25 years remaining on their loan, the May increase will add roughly $91 to monthly repayments. When combined with the two prior hikes, the cumulative increase pushes average monthly repayments up by $272 from pre-hike levels. If rates hold steady for the next 12 months, that adds up to an extra $3,265 in annual mortgage costs compared to a scenario with no 2026 hikes.

    Even though rates have only returned to 2025 levels, Tindall warned that today’s economic landscape means the burden is far heavier for households. Cost-of-living pressures have intensified dramatically over the past 16 months: grocery prices have climbed, national electricity rebates have expired, and global oil market disruptions have sent fuel prices soaring. “The pressure is actually higher this time around,” Tindall said. “For some households it will be a mountain that is too high to climb and they won’t have the funds for it.”

    Tindall noted that Australian households are currently split along sharply different financial lines: some borrowers have built equity buffers and are ahead on their mortgage repayments, while others are already teetering under the weight of soaring living costs. For borrowers struggling to meet new repayment requirements, she advised reaching out to their lender directly or contacting the free, independent national debt hotline to access support.