\n<\/p>\n
In other news from Spain, the regional government of Canary Islands said it is opposed to allowing a luxury cruise ship that has been hit by the outbreak of the deadly hantavirusto dock on the archipelago,<\/strong> its leader, Fernando Clavijo<\/strong>, said.<\/p>\n <\/span>An aerial view of an ambulance boat carrying crew members wearing hazmat suits as they approach the pilot door on the starboard side of the cruise ship MV Hondius.<\/span> Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThis decision is not based on any technical criteria, nor is there sufficient information to reassure the public or guarantee their safety,\u201d Clavijo<\/strong> told radio station COPE, as reported by Reuters.<\/p>\n He added that he had requested an urgent meeting with prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez to discuss the issue. <\/strong>Clavijo leads a local coalition which includes the conservative People\u2019s Party, the main national opposition to Sanchez\u2019s Socialists.<\/p>\n Earlier today, Spanish state broadcaster TVE reported the cruise ship was set to dock at the Canary island of Tenerife,<\/strong> citing sources from the country\u2019s health ministry. The ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters\u2019 requests for comment.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.13 EDT<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n 37m ago<\/p>\n Evacuation of three people from hantavirus-hit cruise – in pictures<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 1h ago<\/p>\n Overall public health risk remains low, WHO chief insists, as three evacuated from virus-hit ship<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 1h ago<\/p>\n Brit among three people evacuated from hantavirus-hit cruise ship, Dutch ministry confirms<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 1h ago<\/p>\n German tourist to be evacuated from ship to D\u00fcsseldorf for treatment, Bild reports<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 2h ago<\/p>\n Three suspected hantavirus cases evacuated from virus-hit cruise ship, WHO confirms<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 2h ago<\/p>\n Two specialist doctors set to join hantavirus-hit ship, operator says<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 2h ago<\/p>\n Hungary’s Magyar to meet with Italy’s Meloni tomorrow<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 2h ago<\/p>\n Transfer of three passengers expected Wednesday morning, ship operator says<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n Three people being evacuated from hantavirus-hit ship, WHO says<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n South Africa confirms Andes strain of hantavirus in two cases linked to cruise ship hit by outbreak<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n Europe needs to spend 5% on defence by 2030 or ‘it may be too late,’ Poland’s defence minister warns<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 4h ago<\/p>\n One person infected with hantavirus treated in Zurich, Swiss government says<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 4h ago<\/p>\n Canary Islands government rejects hantavirus-hit cruise plans to dock there<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 4h ago<\/p>\n Morning opening: Spain’s S\u00e1nchez v Trump<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/span>Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Reuters spoke to someone who is <\/strong>on<\/strong><\/em> the cruise ship,<\/strong> getting an update on how they all feel there in this highly unusual situation.<\/p>\n Kasem Hato<\/strong> told Reuters the ship\u2019s captain was keeping passengers updated and that those on board had been advised to limit close contact<\/strong> with other passengers and use hand sanitizer regularly.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are taking the situation seriously but without any panic,<\/strong> trying to keep social distancing and wearing masks to be safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur days have been close to normal,<\/strong> just waiting for authorities to find a solution, but morale on the ship is high and we\u2019re keeping ourselves busy with reading, watching movies, having hot drinks,<\/strong> and that kind of things.\u201c<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n <\/span>Health personnel evacuating passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, are seen at the Nelson Mandela International airport of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.<\/span> Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/span>Crew members wearing hazmat suites are seen on board of a boat heading towards the port from the cruise ship MV Hondius.<\/span> Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/span>This aerial view shows passengers watching as unseen health personnel assists patients on to a boat from the cruise ship MV Hondius.<\/span> Photograph: AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n The director-general of the World Health Organisaion, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has just offered a bit more detail about the medical evacuation of the three people hit by the virus, as he insisted \u201cthe overall public health risk remains low.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span>Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), briefs the media at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva last week.<\/span> Photograph: Martial Trezzini\/AP<\/p>\n In a post on X, he said the three people were \u201con their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands,\u201d<\/strong> as part of the WHO\u2019s mission with the ship\u2019s operator and national authorities in the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, and Cabo Verde.<\/p>\n \u201cWHO continues to work with the ship\u2019s operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew,<\/strong> working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed,\u201d the WHO\u2019s chief said.<\/p>\n \u201cMonitoring and follow-up for passengers on board and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship\u2019s operators and national health authorities. WHO thanks all those involved. At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.52 EDT<\/p>\n The Dutch foreign ministry has just confirmed the nationalities of the three people evacuated from the ship<\/strong>, as confirmed by WHO, and they Dutch, British, and German citizens, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.24 EDT<\/p>\n We are getting more news about the hantavirus-hit cruise ship, with the German newspaper Bild now reporting that a German woman will be evacuated from the ship and brought to the German city of D\u00fcsseldorf for treatment.<\/strong><\/p>\n She is believed to be one of the three people mentioned by the WHO<\/strong> in their report, and a close relative of one of the people who died from the virus, the paper said.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Oh, that was much faster than expected: the World Health Organization has just confirmed that the three suspected hantavirus cases have been evacuated from the ship<\/strong> and are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.56 EDT<\/p>\n Back to the hantavirus-hit cruise ship, it looks like there is more support planned with two doctors specialised in infectious diseases heading to join the passengers, the ship\u2019s operator said.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cTwo infectious disease physicians, currently en route from the Netherlands, will embark m\/v Hondius and remain with the vessel after its anticipated departure from Cape Verde,\u201d said Oceanwide Expeditions in a statement.<\/p>\n These doctors would only board the ship following the successful transfer of three people, two of whom are suffering from \u201cacute symptoms\u201d, the operator added.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.53 EDT<\/p>\n In other news, Hungary\u2019s incoming prime minister P\u00e9ter Magyar has confirmed he will meet with Italy\u2019s prime minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome tomorrow.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span>Hungary’s incoming prime minister P\u00e9ter Magyar reacts upon arrival for a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, Belgium last week.<\/span> Photograph: John Thys\/Reuters<\/p>\n Magyar is in Italy to attend a screening of a documentary on his Tisza party, \u201cSpring wind\u201d, which went viral before the final of the election campaign last month, at the Riviera international film festival <\/strong>in Sestri Levante.<\/p>\n His meeting with Meloni \u2013 who used to be close with the outgoing Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orb\u00e1n<\/strong> \u2013 comes just days before his formal inauguration on Saturday.<\/p>\n Curiously, Magyar will be in Italy at the same time as some other leaders, including US secretary of state Marco Rubio<\/strong> and Poland\u2019s prime minister, Donald Tusk,<\/strong> who are both also expected to meet with Pope Leo and Giorgia Meloni.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n The planned transfer of three passengers from the luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly Hantavirus is scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning,<\/strong> the ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe planned transfer of three individuals from the vessel to specialized aircraft has not yet taken place.<\/strong> This is scheduled to occur this morning, Cape Verde local time,\u201d the ship operator said in a statement quoted by Reuters.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce aboard the aircraft, these individuals, two of whom present acute symptoms, will be transferred to medical and screening facilities,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n And we are getting some pictures of one of the ambulance boats involved<\/strong> in the operations near the MV Hondius cruise ship.<\/p>\n <\/span>Crew members wearing hazmat suites leave the port on an ambulance boat towards the cruise ship MV Hondius, while stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.<\/span> Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/span>An aerial view of an ambulance boat (L) carrying crew members wearing hazmat suits as they return to port after approaching the pilot door on the starboard side of the cruise ship MV Hondius.<\/span> Photograph: AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n Separately, the World Health Organization is reporting that there is on-going evacuation of three people from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship<\/strong>, via AFP.<\/p>\n Three people \u2013 two crew members and one other person<\/strong> \u2013 thought to be infected with the virus were being taken off the MV Hondius, anchored off Cape Verde, the WHO said.<\/p>\n The ship has been at the centre of an international health scare since Saturday, when the UN\u2019s health agency was informed that three passengers had died and the suspected cause was hantavirus \u2013 a rare disease usually spread from infected rodents typically through urine, droppings and saliva.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.51 EDT<\/p>\n South Africa has identified the Andes strain of hantavirus, which spreads human-to-human, in two people who came off a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of the disease,<\/strong> the health minister\u2019s presentation to parliament showed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The ship, the MV Hondius, was preparing to travel from Cape Verde towards Europe, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n The presentation seen by Reuters said tests done by South Africa\u2019s Natio<\/strong>nal Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) revealed that the Andes strain was the cause of infection in a Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg, and a British man who is still in hospital.<\/strong> Both had become ill on the ship.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the only strain that is known to cause human to human transmission,<\/strong> but such transmission is very rare and as said earlier, only happens due to very close contact,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Poland\u2019s defence minister W\u0142adys\u0142aw Kosiniak-Kamysz urged Nato countries to increase their defence spending as quickly as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking at a Defence24 Days conference in Warsaw, he said:<\/p>\n \u201cEurope\u2026 is capable of developing its economic potential on an unimaginable scale, but it must say directly: this is the priority today. This is our greatest task today. There is no point in waiting until 2035 with five per cent. It must be achieved by 2030, because otherwise it may be too late.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He particularly warned the countries in southern Europe that \u201cthe threat is not only related to the border with the Russian Federation or Belarus \u2013 the threat is everywhere and in cyberspace.\u201d<\/p>\n Kosiniak-Kamysz said Europe needed to take more responsibility for its safety,<\/strong> \u201cnot to replace the US troops, because their role, strategic capabilities and nuclear deterrence is irreplacable, but to keep the US troops [here] and save the transatlantic alliance.\u201d<\/p>\n Curiously, he also hinted at potential increase in US troops based in Poland, from current 10,000.<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless of the decisions made today between the States and the Federal Republic of Germany, the presence of American troops and increasing this presence is our strategic goal.<\/strong> And we are ready for it, to receive further American soldiers. We have been preparing for this for a long time, not just today.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n He said Poland wants to have Europe\u2019s largest army of 500,000 by 2030, including 200,000 professional soldiers.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Swiss government has just confirmed that one person infected with hantavirus<\/strong> \u2013 who was a passenger on the cruise ship \u2013 is currently being treated in Zurich.<\/strong><\/p>\n They added that there is currently no danger to the Swiss population, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n In other news from Spain, the regional government of Canary Islands said it is opposed to allowing a luxury cruise ship that has been hit by the outbreak of the deadly hantavirusto dock on the archipelago,<\/strong> its leader, Fernando Clavijo<\/strong>, said.<\/p>\n <\/span>An aerial view of an ambulance boat carrying crew members wearing hazmat suits as they approach the pilot door on the starboard side of the cruise ship MV Hondius.<\/span> Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThis decision is not based on any technical criteria, nor is there sufficient information to reassure the public or guarantee their safety,\u201d Clavijo<\/strong> told radio station COPE, as reported by Reuters.<\/p>\n He added that he had requested an urgent meeting with prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez to discuss the issue. <\/strong>Clavijo leads a local coalition which includes the conservative People\u2019s Party, the main national opposition to Sanchez\u2019s Socialists.<\/p>\n Earlier today, Spanish state broadcaster TVE reported the cruise ship was set to dock at the Canary island of Tenerife,<\/strong> citing sources from the country\u2019s health ministry. The ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters\u2019 requests for comment.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.13 EDT<\/p>\n Jakub Krupa<\/span><\/p>\n Spain\u2019s prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez has urged the European Commission to trigger its blocking statute against US sanctions on the international criminal court, which would effectively tell European companies to not comply with the measures.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span>Spanish prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez gives a speech at the Lower Chamber of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid, Spain.<\/span> Photograph: JJ Guillen\/EPA<\/p>\n In a post on X, S\u00e1nchez said:<\/p>\n \u201cSpain does not look the other way. Sanctioning those who defend international justice puts the entire human rights system at risk.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In February last year, Donald Trump has signed an executive order that authorises aggressive economic sanctions against the international criminal court (ICC)<\/strong>, accusing the body of \u201cillegitimate and baseless actions\u201d targeting the US and Israel.<\/p>\n As Ashifa Kassam<\/strong> reported in March, to date, 11 of the court\u2019s officials \u2013 including the chief prosecutor and eight judges \u2013 have been placed under sanctions,<\/strong> subjecting them to measures that include bans on travel to the US and fines and prison sentences for American companies who provide them services.<\/p>\n Ever since, campaigners called on the EU to move against the sanctions,<\/strong> but the bloc did not want to put at risk already fragile relations with the US administration.<\/p>\n Now, Spain\u2019s S\u00e1nchez, an outspoken critic of Trump who has already repeatedly drawn his criticism, is the first one to formally request the EU to act.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU cannot remain idle in the face of this persecution.<\/strong> That is why, today, we ask the Commission to activate the Blocking Statute, to protect the independence of the international criminal court and the United Nations, and their actions to end the genocide in Gaza.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The EU\u2019s blocking statute is intended to protect Europe from extraterritorial sanctions imposed by other countries. It was used against the US before, in response to its sanctions on Cuba in 1996, and Trump\u2019s first term sanctions on Iran in 2018.<\/p>\n But S\u00e1nchez\u2019s initiative comes at an already tense moment for EU-US relations, with the bloc<\/strong> trying to defend itself from the latest threat of new US tariffs on cars and other industries, and looming threat of pulling out some US troops from the continent.<\/p>\n Later today, the EU will discuss the implementation of last year\u2019s trade deal with the US, agreed in Scotland,<\/strong> in the latest push to get it in place before Trump comes up with more ideas on how to affect transatlantic trade.<\/p>\n In other news, I will also keep an eye on Friedrich Merz\u2019s first anniversary as the German chancellor,<\/strong> US secretary of state Marco Rubio\u2019s upcoming trip to Italy, <\/strong>and lots of smaller defence developments expected across the continent today.<\/p>\n Lots for us to cover today.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Wednesday, 6 May 2026<\/strong>, it\u2019s Jakub Krupa<\/strong> here, and this is Europe Live<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Good morning.<\/strong><\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Canary Islands government rejects hantavirus-hit cruise plans to dock there In other news from Spain, the regional government of Canary Islands said it is opposed to allowing a luxury cruise ship that has been hit by the outbreak of the deadly hantavirusto dock on the archipelago, its leader, Fernando Clavijo, said. An aerial view of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[18079,2735,21581,896,7821,24439,8711,132,480,7559,1405,714],"class_list":{"0":"post-49141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-canary","9":"tag-cruise","10":"tag-dock","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-evacuated","13":"tag-hantavirus","14":"tag-islands","15":"tag-live","16":"tag-plans","17":"tag-rejects","18":"tag-ship","19":"tag-spain"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/49142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Evacuation of three people from hantavirus-hit cruise – in pictures<\/h2>\n
Overall public health risk remains low, WHO chief insists, as three evacuated from virus-hit ship<\/h2>\n
Brit among three people evacuated from hantavirus-hit cruise ship, Dutch ministry confirms<\/h2>\n
German tourist to be evacuated from ship to D\u00fcsseldorf for treatment, Bild reports<\/h2>\n
Three suspected hantavirus cases evacuated from virus-hit cruise ship, WHO confirms<\/h2>\n
Two specialist doctors set to join hantavirus-hit ship, operator says<\/h2>\n
Hungary’s Magyar to meet with Italy’s Meloni tomorrow<\/h2>\n
Transfer of three passengers expected Wednesday morning, ship operator says<\/h2>\n
Three people being evacuated from hantavirus-hit ship, WHO says<\/h2>\n
South Africa confirms Andes strain of hantavirus in two cases linked to cruise ship hit by outbreak<\/h2>\n
Europe needs to spend 5% on defence by 2030 or ‘it may be too late,’ Poland’s defence minister warns<\/h2>\n
One person infected with hantavirus treated in Zurich, Swiss government says<\/h2>\n
Canary Islands government rejects hantavirus-hit cruise plans to dock there<\/h2>\n
Morning opening: Spain’s S\u00e1nchez v Trump<\/h2>\n