At least six Irish citizens, including Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of President Catherine Connolly, were aboard an aid flotilla detained by Israel, according to organisers. They said the vessels were intercepted about 70 nautical miles off Cyprus. The Global Sumud Flotilla said contact has been lost with the boats that were stopped. The group has shared videos of Dr Connolly and five others that appear to have been recorded before their detention. "I am deeply honoured to be part of this flotilla - the largest one so far."…

A fresh maritime seizure near the United Arab Emirates sharpened tensions around the Strait of Hormuz today, as a British naval monitoring agency said a vessel had been taken and was heading toward Iranian waters while the US and Chinese presidents met in Beijing for talks that included the Iran war. Following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a White House official said both men agreed the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons.…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The families of crew members aboard the hijacked commercial vessel “MT Eureka” say Somali pirates have raised their ransom demand to $10 million, deepening fears for the sailors being held off the Somali coast. Amiira Mohamed, the wife of Egyptian engineer Mohamed Radi, who is among eight Egyptian sailors on the ship, said her husband was briefly allowed to call her by phone. “He told me the situation is very difficult and pleaded for anyone who can help to intervene for their release,” she said.…

French authorities have placed more than 1,700 passengers and crew under confinement on a cruise ship in Bordeaux after an elderly traveler died, officials said, while stressing the incident was not tied to the hantavirus alarm. Dozens of people aboard the Ambition also reported stomach troubles. The vessel, carrying 1,233 passengers — most of them from Ireland and Britain — arrived in the western French port of Bordeaux yesterday with 514 Indian crew members on board. Health officials said the situation bore no link to the…

Wednesday May 13, 2026 Egyptian diplomats moved quickly after pirates seized a commercial cargo vessel with an Egyptian crew off the Somali coast, as Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs and Egyptians Abroad Ambassador Haddad El-Gohary laid out the steps taken to safeguard the sailors and push for their release. Speaking by phone on Al-Hayat TV, El-Gohary rejected claims that the pirates had singled out the Egyptian crew. He said such attacks are typically indiscriminate, with pirates boarding vessels before…

The final two evacuation flights carrying passengers and crew from the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius have landed in the Netherlands, AFP reported. On board the two aircraft were 28 people evacuated from the vessel, the Dutch foreign ministry said, including passengers, crew members and medical personnel. The first flight brought in six former Hondius guests: four Australians, one New Zealander and one British national living in Australia. Those six are expected to remain at a quarantine facility near the airport before…

Live Cruise ship begins evacuating its first passengers after virus outbreak World

A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a luxury expedition cruise in the Atlantic has triggered a global health response, but the World Health Organization says the episode does not signal the start of a new Covid-style emergency. "This is not the start of an epidemic. This is not the start of a pandemic," WHO epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director Maria Van Kerkhove told reporters, insisting: "This is not Covid." The WHO said it expects the outbreak to remain "limited" provided countries enforce public…

A luxury cruise ship at the centre of a fatal hantavirus outbreak is heading for Tenerife, where Spanish authorities say passengers are expected to begin disembarking from 11 May. The vessel, which had been stranded off the coast of Cape Verde since Sunday, has now set course for Spain, according to a Reuters witness. Its departure came after three people were evacuated, including two who were seriously ill. The MV Hondius, carrying nearly 150 people, is due to reach Tenerife within three days, Spain's health minister said.…

A possible case of human-to-human transmission may be unfolding among close contacts aboard the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization has said, as officials work to move the most serious cases off the vessel and bring the situation under control. The agency said the immediate priority was evacuating ⁠two sick people before allowing the ship, ⁠currently ‌stationed in the Atlantic near Cape Verde, to continue ⁠toward the Canary Islands. ⁠It said the risk to the wider public remained…