Hantavirus scare on cruise ship

Twenty British nationals evacuated from the virus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius have begun quarantine at a specialist isolation facility in Britain after being flown off Teneriffe amid fears of a ship-linked hantavirus outbreak.According to a BBC report, the passengers arrived at Manchester Airport on Sunday on a chartered Titan Airways flight before being transferred to Arrow Park Hospital in Merseyside.Health officials said all those evacuated are currently “healthy and symptom-free”, but they will remain under observation for 72 hours before undergoing 42 days of self-isolation at home.

WHO has confirmed deaths linked to the outbreak

The pandemic has already killed three people on a Dutch cruise ship. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed hantavirus infection in six people, including two British citizens, who are currently undergoing treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa.The Andes strain of hantavirus – one of the few types capable of spreading from person to person – was identified among some passengers on the plane, officials said.The MV Hondias was carrying about 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries when it departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1.

Evacuated passengers were tested before boarding the plane

The 20 Britons brought back to the UK were tested for hantavirus before boarding the evacuation flight from Tenerife South Airport. Along with him, a German national living in the UK and a Japanese traveler were also shifted to Arrowe Park Hospital.Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA), said officials may revise the isolation timeline in the coming days based on scientific assessments.“We will be supporting them very closely, not only with the trial, but obviously with the enormous emotional upheaval this is causing,” he said.Health officials have also started contact tracing of persons who may have come in contact with the evacuated passengers.

Emotional support, dedicated isolation flats arranged

Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust, said travelers will stay in self-contained accommodation units equipped with phones and essential supplies.Holmes said, “What we’ve learned from past experience is that they will be completely shattered. They’re probably quite traumatized by the whole experience.”An expert medical team will remain on site during the entire quarantine period. Any passengers who develop symptoms will be transferred to the Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit at Royal Liverpool University Hospital.Officials clarified that the hospital is functioning normally and there is no threat to other patients, visitors or staff.

Cases emerge among other nationalities

The outbreak has also affected travelers from many other countries.French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said a French traveler began showing symptoms while returning from Tenerife to Paris.Meanwhile, US health officials said that among the 17 Americans being evacuated, one person developed mild symptoms, while another tested positive in a mild PCR test for the Andes strain.There are also two suspected cases linked to the ship, including a British man who is currently isolated on the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha. The UK military has deployed six paratroopers and two medics to assist local health workers there.

The ship will undergo disinfection in Rotterdam

While most of the passengers disembarked the ship on Sunday to return home, about 30 crew members, a Dutch nurse and the body of a deceased passenger remain on board.WHO said the ship will now sail to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where it will undergo full disinfection procedures.

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Monday released a detailed report on the alleged sexual harassment case at TCS Nashik, flagging major violations of the POSH Act and describing the workplace as “deeply toxic”.The report said young and vulnerable employees, particularly Gen Z women, were often subjected to sexual and religious harassment by the accused, while the organization allegedly failed to provide an effective redress and protection mechanism.“The workplace environment has become extremely disturbing and toxic due to widespread sexual harassment and abuse of authority at the workplace. The accused persons had gained effective control over TCS, Nashik. They used to target young and vulnerable girls and harass them sexually, emotionally and mentally. “The complainants were actually subjected to sexual harassment and attempted molestation at the hands of the accused persons,” the report said.The main accused was taken into police custody last week. He is being produced in Nashik Road Court.The report described the accused targeting the victims’ religion as well as “mythology, beliefs, traditions and practices and humiliating the girls by telling them that Islam is a far better religion than Hinduism.”“The accused intimidated the female employees by denigrating Hindu mythology, beliefs, traditions and practices and tried to convince the girls that Islam was a far superior religion to Hinduism. The accused engaged in belittling and belittling the faith in Hinduism and created a coercive environment by repeatedly making anti-religious comments to the female employees,” the report said.“Many victims noted that younger employees (Generation Z) were particularly susceptible to being influenced by such anti-religious discourse. Security failures It was observed that CCTVs were installed although they were non-functional.”The report found that the POSH mechanism in the Nashik unit was largely ineffective and non-functional, with serious lapses in compliance and implementation, making it even more difficult for victims to file complaints.It added that no member of POSH had ever visited or inspected the Nashik office to assess compliance. The workplace lacked basic mandatory requirements under the Act, including display boards, posters, or notices informing employees about POSH provisions, details of IC members, or penalties for non-compliance under Section 19.“The Committee was shocked at the insensitivity displayed by the members of the POSH Committee/IC Committee of TCS. They had completely failed to comply with the mandate of Section 19(c) of the POSH Act. There was no expression of sympathy or empathy for the women employees at TCS Nashik. It is clear that this inaction on the part of the organization was not only a lack of compliance but also a lack of governance,” the report said.The report has been submitted to Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis.

The Philippine House voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte for the second time (Image credit: AP)

An overwhelming majority of the Philippine House of Representatives voted Monday to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on charges of graft, corruption, bribery, misuse of state funds and alleged assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., throwing her declared 2028 presidential run into doubt.The House, dominated by Marcos’s allies, voted 255-26 with nine abstentions to send the impeachment complaints to the Senate, which will convene as a tribunal for his trial. Under a guilty verdict, Duterte would be removed from office and barred from holding elected office for life.The vice president, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, has generally denied any wrongdoing without addressing the criminal allegations in detail.

Duterte’s ally elected Senate president minutes before voting

In a significant development, minutes before the House votes, the Senate elected Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, a longtime ally of Vice President Duterte, as its new president. Cayetano, who served as foreign secretary under former President Rodrigo Duterte, replaced Vicente Sotto III after a 13-9 vote with two abstentions.Changes in Senate leadership could play a significant role in the outcome of the impeachment trial. Cayetano denied any connection between his election and the House vote.“If you’re saying the change in leadership was caused by impeachment, I don’t blame you. It wasn’t,” he said shortly after the Senate vote.

what happens next

One of the most serious allegations in the complaint involves more than $110 million in private bank transactions flagged by the anti-money laundering agency.House member Terry Ridon, one of the lead complainants, said in a statement, “The scale of these transactions cannot be reasonably explained by the legitimate income, declared assets, or businesses and professional activities attributed to the couple.”The articles of impeachment also accuse Duterte of making alleged assassination threats against Marcos, his wife Liza Araneta and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.Under the Philippine Constitution, impeachment leads to a trial in the Senate, where a two-thirds majority vote is required to convict and remove him from office. A guilty verdict would disqualify him from holding any government office.The previous impeachment motion against Duterte was passed by the House in 2025 with 215 votes, but was later struck down by the Supreme Court due to constitutional technicalities.Duterte and Marcos ran as a ticket in the 2022 elections, but their political alliance later fell apart, leading to acrimony. Duterte has already declared his intention to run for president in 2028.On May 7, Duterte said that whatever the outcome of the impeachment would be “written by God.”“Based on our earlier discussion with former President Duterte, everything that happens in a person’s life is written by God. So, if I am impeached, that is written by God. If I am not impeached, see you tomorrow,” he told supporters after meeting his father in The Hague.

New Delhi: The AIADMKDravid was once the undisputed pole of politics Tamil NaduThere are clear signs of tension after the disappointing performance in the 2026 assembly elections. Just days after the party was reduced to 47 seats in the 234-member assembly, internal divisions have come out into the open, exposing disagreements over leadership, strategy and even whether the party should support the ruling Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) led by Chief Minister C Joseph. Victory.The emerging cracks became visible on the very first day of the new assembly. In a departure from the long-established AIADMK convention, the party’s newly elected MLAs arrived at the Assembly in two separate groups for the swearing-in ceremony on Monday.One faction, including former ministers KP Munusamy and Thalavai N Sundaram, was with AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS). News agency PTI reported that another camp led by former minister SP Velumani arrived separately along with former minister Dr C Vijayabaskar. Senior leader C Ve Shanmugam, who has emerged as the focal point of dissent within the party, also did not reach out to the EPS camp.Normally, AIADMK MLAs enter the Assembly together as a display of unity and organizational discipline – this tradition was developed during the era of MG Ramachandran and later J Jayalalitha. Therefore, the recent scenes were interpreted by many in Tamil Nadu political circles as more than symbolic, indicating that the AIADMK was struggling to maintain internal cohesion after a severe electoral setback.In the April 23 elections, AIADMK contested 167 seats, but managed to win only 47 seats, slipping further from its dominant position in state politics. AIADMK’s vote share also declined from 33.5% in 2021 to 21.21% in the 2026 elections.The result not only deprived the party of power, but also caused it to lose major opposition status in the assembly – with many within the organization reviling the EPS leadership for this.In the days following the election, several closed-door meetings were held within the party. According to AIADMK sources, those meetings revealed deep disagreements over the future course of the party.A section strongly opposed any move to support Vijay’s TVK government, arguing that supporting a rival regional power would further weaken the AIADMK’s independent identity. However, another faction favored supporting TVK from outside, believing that cooperation with Vijay could help the party maintain political relevance and prevent a further decline in its support base.The division has also intensified demands for a change of leadership.Some MLAs reportedly demanded EPS to step down as party chief, arguing that the AIADMK had faced repeated electoral setbacks under Jayalalithaa’s leadership since her death. Several senior leaders, including Velumani and Shanmugam, did not attend meetings called by the EPS after the results, leading to speculation that an organized rebellion was underway.Former AIADMK leader KC Palanisamy openly claimed that there has been a “clear split” in the party and urged EPS to “voluntarily step down” in order to re-unite the organization before the next election cycle.The discontent appears to stem not only from the latest defeat, but also from a larger existential concern within the AIADMK. Since Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016, the party has been struggling to project a unique commanding figure capable of holding together its powerful regional satraps and caste-based support factions. EPS emerged as the dominant leader after a long internal battle between O Panneerselvam and the Sasikala faction, but critics within the party say he has failed to revive the AIADMK electorally.The rise of Vijay’s TVK has deepened that crisis. For decades, Tamil Nadu politics revolved around the DMK-AIADMK binary. The emergence of TVK as the ruling party has disrupted that structure, leaving AIADMK leaders divided over whether confrontation or accommodation offers a better path to survival.According to party insiders, Shanmugam and Velumani had mooted the idea of ​​supporting TVK immediately after the election decision. EPS reportedly initially rejected the proposal, leading to resentment among senior leaders who believed that the AIADMK needed to quickly adapt to the changed political landscape.Sources said some sections of the rebel camp also sought communication channels with TVK leaders. An AIADMK leader claimed that Shanmugam approached TVK general secretary N Anand to express his willingness among some MLAs to support the Vijay government.However, TVK’s response reportedly made the matter more complicated. According to AIADMK sources, Vijay was unwilling to accept only outside support from AIADMK MLAs while maintaining his party identity. Instead, he is said to have insisted that any MLA wishing to support TVK should resign and seek re-election under TVK’s ‘whistle’ symbol.That proposal appears to have worried many AIADMK MLAs. While some are reportedly ready for strategic cooperation with the TVK, some are willing to resign and risk by-elections out of fear of backlash from their constituencies and uncertainty over their political future.Even as rumors of rebellion gained momentum, AIADMK leaders publicly attempted damage control.Party MLA Esakki Subaya dismissed reports of a crisis and insisted that the AIADMK would remain united and intact. “Everything is going well within the party. No one can break the party,” he told reporters outside the assembly.He denied claims of widespread discontent and labeled reports of the split as “false news”, while also dismissing questions about a possible leadership change.Nevertheless, political observers believe that such public claims are common in Tamil Nadu politics at moments of internal churning. He argues that the more obvious development lies in the leaders’ apparent isolation, parallel meetings and coordinated absence from EPS-led events.Political analyst Satyalay Ramakrishnan told news agency PTI that the situation remains volatile and can still be resolved if senior leaders prioritize unity. “I think the party is united till now because all the AIADMK MLAs were sitting together in the assembly,” he said. “Senior leaders of AIADMK should ensure that there is no division in the party.”Still, the challenge before AIADMK is big. Beyond immediate leadership questions, the party faces a deeper ideological and structural dilemma: how to redefine itself in the post-Jayalalitha era, where a new political force has captured the public imagination.The coming weeks may prove decisive for EPS. If he manages to retain the loyalty of most MLAs, he may avoid this latest bout of discontent. But if more MLAs move towards the Velumani-Shanmugam camp, there could be another internal rift in the AIADMK since Jayalalitha’s death.

Krunal Pandya (Photo Credit: IPL)

New Delhi: Krunal Pandya summarizes his grueling battle against Mumbai Indians With an emotional Instagram story after leading Royal Challengers Bangalore to a thrilling last-ball win in IPL 2026.“Some scars are proof that it was worth fighting for,” Krunal wrote along with a picture showing a large wound sustained during his match-winning innings in Raipur on Sunday night.The all-rounder battled severe cramps and physical pain during his sensational innings of 73 off 46 balls, an innings that saved RCB from deep trouble during the chase of 167. At one point, the defending champions were in trouble at 39/3, before Krunal stitched crucial partnerships with Jacob Bethel and Jitesh Sharma to revive the innings.

Despite struggling to move freely towards the end of his innings, Krunal continued to face the bowlers and hit five sixes and four fours on a difficult surface.‘I like difficult situations’After the match, Krunal admitted that he performs well under pressure and enjoys taking responsibility in difficult moments.“I obviously like tough situations and I always prepare and look forward to them,” Krunal said in the post-match presentation.“I obviously wanted to finish the game but I couldn’t do that. The shot Bhuvi played was the shot of the match.”The RCB star also revealed how much cramp he suffered during the chase.“It started in the shins, went to the glutes and went up to my back. So I was getting a lot of cramps. I don’t usually bat that long,” he said.

Krunal Pandya’s Instagram story

Emotional reunion with Mumbai IndiansKrunal, who spent six seasons with MI along with brother hardik pandyaAlso spoke emotionally about facing his former franchise and praised the MI batting coach Kieron Pollard.“Polly is my elder brother. I had the best six years at MI. Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers were the engine room,” he said.Former South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher later described Krunal as a “street fighter”, adding that the all-rounder refused to go down despite barely being able to stand.In the end, RCB achieved a dramatic win by two wickets thanks to a six hit in the end. Bhuvneshwar KumarA result that took them to the top of the IPL standings, while knocking MI out of the playoff race.