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Cruise Ship Hit by Hantavirus Outbreak Arrives in Tenerife

FILE PHOTO: Cruise ship MV Hondius docks off Cape Verde port, as passengers were not allowed off the ship, while health authorities investigated suspected cases of hantavirus aboard the vessel, in Praia Port, Cape Verde, May 4, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cruise ship MV Hondius docks off Cape Verde port, as passengers were not allowed off the ship, while health authorities investigated suspected cases of hantavirus aboard the vessel, in Praia Port, Cape Verde, May 4, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Cruise Ship Hit by Hantavirus Outbreak Arrives in Tenerife

FILE PHOTO: Cruise ship MV Hondius docks off Cape Verde port, as passengers were not allowed off the ship, while health authorities investigated suspected cases of hantavirus aboard the vessel, in Praia Port, Cape Verde, May 4, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cruise ship MV Hondius docks off Cape Verde port, as passengers were not allowed off the ship, while health authorities investigated suspected cases of hantavirus aboard the vessel, in Praia Port, Cape Verde, May 4, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

The cruise ship hit ‌by a deadly hantavirus outbreak arrived early on Sunday near the Port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Reuters footage showed, where it will anchor for the evacuation of the passengers and some of the crew.

The passengers, none of whom has displayed signs of infection, will be tested by Spanish health authorities to ensure they remain asymptomatic and then transported to land in small boats, according to Spanish officials.

Sealed-off buses will then take the passengers to the Spanish island's main airport about ‌10 minutes away, ‌where they will board planes heading to ‌their ⁠respective countries.

All passengers ⁠on the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius are considered high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure, Europe's public health agency said late on Saturday as part of its rapid scientific advice.

The evacuation is expected to begin between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. (0630-0700 GMT), according to Spanish authorities.

Spanish nationals are set to ⁠disembark first with other nationalities to follow in ‌groups, government officials said on Saturday. ‌Thirty crew members will remain on board and sail to the ‌Netherlands where the ship will be disinfected.

The ship left ‌for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the World Health Organization and European Union asked the country to manage the evacuation of passengers after the hantavirus outbreak was ‌detected.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on Saturday evening in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, ⁠alongside Spain's interior ⁠and health ministers and its minister for territorial policy, to coordinate the arrival of the ship.

The WHO said on Friday that eight people had fallen ill, including three who died - a Dutch couple and a German national. Six of these people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another two suspected cases, the WHO has said.

Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person. The WHO has said the risk to the wider global population is low, but the risk to passengers and crew on the ship is moderate.

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World

UK PM Starmer, Weakened by Local Elections, Is Challenged by Former Minister

09 May 2026, United Kingdom, London: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with former prime Minister Gordon Brown on the steps of 10 Downing Street. Photo: International Pool/PA Wire/dpa
09 May 2026, United Kingdom, London: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with former prime Minister Gordon Brown on the steps of 10 Downing Street. Photo: International Pool/PA Wire/dpa
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UK PM Starmer, Weakened by Local Elections, Is Challenged by Former Minister

09 May 2026, United Kingdom, London: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with former prime Minister Gordon Brown on the steps of 10 Downing Street. Photo: International Pool/PA Wire/dpa
09 May 2026, United Kingdom, London: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with former prime Minister Gordon Brown on the steps of 10 Downing Street. Photo: International Pool/PA Wire/dpa

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, reeling from a crushing local election defeat, faced a new setback to his leadership on Saturday when a former minister said she would challenge him for the top job if no-one else stepped forward. Starmer's Labor Party recorded the worst losses of a governing party in municipal polls since 1995, prompting a growing number of his own lawmakers to call on him to quit.

To try to shore up his position in the party earlier on Saturday, he named two influential Labor grandees as advisers, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman. But just hours later, Labor lawmaker Catherine West, a former minister, told ‌BBC Radio that ‌she wanted the cabinet to work out a plan to replace Starmer ‌by ⁠Monday, or she ⁠would challenge him for the position herself.

"If...there are no leadership hopefuls who come forward tomorrow, then Monday morning I will put my name forward to stand for the Leader of the Labor Party," she said.

LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE WOULD NOT BE STRAIGHTFORWARD

As the extent of the defeat emerged, more than 20 lawmakers publicly and privately called on Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure. Asked whether he would stand down he told British media that was not the right thing to do.

"I'm not going to walk away ⁠from this," he said earlier on Saturday.

A number of Cabinet ministers said on ‌Friday that they continued to support Starmer, who just under ‌two years ago led Labor to a landslide national election victory, and an immediate challenge from the potential leadership ‌rivals does not look straightforward.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham does not have the seat in parliament he ‌needs to mount a challenge, and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has yet to fully resolve the tax issues that prompted her resignation from office last year. Wes Streeting, currently health minister, is, like Starmer, tainted by the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain's ambassador to the United States. Streeting was close to Mandelson who was sacked ‌over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Any candidate wishing to make a challenge would need to secure the public support of ⁠20% of Labor members ⁠of parliament. With Labor currently holding 403 seats, that equates to 81 backers. West said she had 10 names behind her so far but her preferred option was that another candidate put themselves forward.

"I think there are several people who would like to do it who have been planning for months," she said.

CALLING IN THE OLD GUARD AS PRESSURE MOUNTS

Aiming to reset his leadership and win back party support, Starmer's office announced Brown, 75, and Harman, also 75, would join his team.

"They're vital to how we strengthen our country and take it forward and provide the opportunities that give people that hope for a better future," he said when asked whether figures from the past could help with his plan for the future to improve people's lives.

Brown will seek to drive new defense and security investment and hone relations with the European Union, to try to boost economic performance and win back votes, while Harman will focus on tackling misogyny and violence against women and girls, creating economic opportunities.

World

Two Singaporeans Confirmed Dead in Indonesia Volcano Eruption, Bodies Found

A rescuer looks on Mount Dukono Volcano during its eruption in North Halmahera, Indonesia, 09 May 2026. (EPA)
A rescuer looks on Mount Dukono Volcano during its eruption in North Halmahera, Indonesia, 09 May 2026. (EPA)
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Two Singaporeans Confirmed Dead in Indonesia Volcano Eruption, Bodies Found

A rescuer looks on Mount Dukono Volcano during its eruption in North Halmahera, Indonesia, 09 May 2026. (EPA)
A rescuer looks on Mount Dukono Volcano during its eruption in North Halmahera, Indonesia, 09 May 2026. (EPA)

Two Singaporean nationals missing for days were confirmed dead on Sunday from the eruption of Mount Dukono on Indonesia's Halmahera island, the local rescue agency said.

Rescuers found the bodies around the crater rim, and evacuation was under way, agency head Iwan Ramdani told Reuters.

"Evacuation of the bodies is still hampered by eruptions that continue to occur and bad weather," ‌Iwan said, ‌adding rain was falling in the area.

Some ‌150 ⁠personnel with two ⁠thermal drones have been deployed since Sunday morning, Iwan said, with the focus of the search around 100-150 meters (350-500 feet) of the crater rim.

Mount Dukono in North Maluku province bordering the Pacific Ocean began erupting on Friday, spewing ash as ⁠high as 10 km (6 miles). It has ‌continued to erupt at ‌a lower scale.

The area around the crater was still ‌blanketed in volcanic ash, Iwan said, adding that ‌the search area is about 1.25 km (0.8 mile) from the last known location of the victims.

Rescuers had found backpacks suspected to belong to the two Singaporeans, ‌and the authorities on Saturday confirmed that one Indonesian hiker, who had gone missing, ⁠was ⁠dead.

Seventeen people, including seven Singaporeans and 10 Indonesians, survived the incident.

The seven surviving Singaporeans will fly home on Sunday, Singapore's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It was unclear when the bodies of the two who died will be returned.

Indonesia's volcanology agency reported at least four eruptions as of Sunday, with one sending ash 1.3 km high. The agency is maintaining the third-highest alert level for Mount Dukono and bans any activities within 4 km (2.5 miles) of the crater.

World

Report: Iran Supreme Leader Healing from Serious Injuries

A woman walks next to a banner with a picture of Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, May 8, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A woman walks next to a banner with a picture of Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, May 8, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Report: Iran Supreme Leader Healing from Serious Injuries

A woman walks next to a banner with a picture of Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, May 8, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A woman walks next to a banner with a picture of Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, May 8, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

US intelligence assesses that Iran’s new supreme leader is playing a critical role in shaping war strategy alongside senior Iranian officials, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence, reported CNN on Saturday.

The reports found that “precise authority within a now-fractured regime remains unclear, but that Mojtaba Khamenei is likely helping direct how Iran is managing negotiations with the US to end the war.”

Khamenei has not been seen in public since he sustained serious injuries during an attack that killed his father and several of the country’s top military leaders at the beginning of the war, leading to speculation about his health and role in the Iranian leadership structure.

The Trump administration continues to pursue a diplomatic end to the conflict as a ceasefire stretches past a month with US intelligence assessing that Iran continues to dig out from the US bombing campaign that left significant Iranian military capabilities intact and the ability to survive months more of an American blockade, according to sources.

Khamenei was announced as Iran’s new supreme leader replacing his father days after the strike that injured him, but to date the US intelligence community has not been able to visually confirm his whereabouts, the sources said.

“Part of the uncertainty stems from Khamenei not using any electronics to communicate, instead only interacting with those who can visit him in-person or by sending messages via a courier,” one of the sources added.

“Khamenei remains isolated as he continues to receive medical treatment for his injuries, including bad burns on one side of his body impacting his face, arm, torso, leg,” the sources added, according to CNN.

Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol in the office of Iran’s supreme leader, on Friday said Khamenei is healing from his injuries and “is now in complete health.” Hosseini said Khamenei’s foot and lower back were slightly injured and that “a small piece of shrapnel had hit him behind the ear,” but that the wounds are healing.

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, told Iranian state media earlier this week that he had held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Khamenei, marking the first reported in-person meeting between a top Iranian official and the country’s new supreme leader.

What US officials do know about Khamenei’s status is based on information picked up from those who are communicating with him, the sources familiar told CNN. “There is, however, some question among intelligence analysts as to whether some in Iran’s power structure might be claiming access to Khamenei to coopt his authority to push their own agendas.”

The war has degraded Iran’s military capabilities, but not destroyed them, according to US intelligence reports. CNN previously reported that US intelligence assessed that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers had survived US strikes. A recent report increased that figure to two thirds partially due to the ongoing ceasefire providing Iran with time to dig out launchers that might have been buried in previous strikes, according to sources familiar with the intelligence.

A separate CIA report found that Iran can likely last up to four more months of the ongoing American blockade without complete destabilization of its economy, the sources said.

While US intelligence assessments indicate that Khamenei is involved in helping develop Iran’s negotiating strategy for a diplomatic end to the war, one source familiar with the latest information told CNN there is evidence he is fairly removed from the decision-making process and only sporadically accessible.

As a result, senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officials are essentially running the day-to-day operations along with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the source added. “There is no indication he is actually giving orders on any ongoing basis but nothing proving he is not,” a second source familiar with the US intelligence assessments said, referring to Khamenei.