Crew members on hantavirus cruise ship to be evacuated | First Thing
Several sick crew members are to be medically evacuated from vessel, as Canary Islands government objects to docking plans. Plus: the Mexico City nightclub that charges Americans 90% more
Crew members on hantavirus cruise ship to be evacuated | First Thing
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Good morning.
Several crew members on the MV Hondius are being prepared for medical evacuation to the Netherlands, as the cruise ship continues to be marooned off the coast of Cape Verde following a suspected hantavirus outbreak that is believed to have killed at least three passengers.
What is hantavirus? It is a rare disease that is usually spread from infected rodents typically through urine, droppings and saliva.
What is the plan for the ship? It planned to sail to Spain’s Canary Islands, where the Spanish health ministry would work alongside the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and World Health Organization to examine and treat the crew and passengers before repatriating them to their respective countries.
On Wednesday, the Canary Islands government said it opposed the plan and was requesting a meeting with the Spanish prime minister over it.
Trump puts ‘Project Freedom’ on hold just one day after its launch
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said on Tuesday that though the Iran conflict was not resolved, the initial major US military operation against Iran had concluded. Soon after, Donald Trump said he was pausing “Project Freedom”, the US plan to guide vessels out of the strait of Hormuz.
The pause, which came just one day after its launch, would be for “a short period” to give space for US efforts to finalize a settlement with Iran to end the war, Trump said.
What did Project Freedom achieve? The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said the US had successfully secured a path through the waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through. So far, however, only two merchant ships are known to have passed through, with hundreds more – carrying up to 23,000 crew members – bottled up in the Persian Gulf.
What is the US end game? Rubio said that for peace to be achieved, Iran must agree to Trump’s demands on its nuclear program and to open the strait.
This is a developing story. Follow the live blog here.
Trump-backed Republicans win big in Indiana midterm primaries
A majority of the Indiana Republican legislators who had stood up to Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure them into redrawing the congressional districts lost their primaries on Tuesday to candidates that had Trump’s backing.
What were the results of some other primaries around the country? In Ohio, the Democratic senator Sherrod Brown and Republican senator Jon Husted won their party’s nominations, setting the stage for what is expected to be a high-profile and expensive Senate race in November’s midterm elections.
In other news …
Seven of the leading contenders in California’s tumultuous race for governor faced off on stage on Tuesday as voters began casting ballots in the state’s nonpartisan primary.
The US military struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific on Tuesday, killing three people, the latest such attack that rights groups label as “extrajudicial killings” and Washington describes as targeting “narco-terrorists”.
A former US navy intelligence analyst, who was jailed for 30 years for spying for Israel, said he is running on a platform of ethnic cleansing in Gaza as he stands for election to the Knesset this year.
New Mexico proposes a $3.7bn fine for Meta and an overhaul of its child safety protocol in the second phase of the landmark case that found the company liable for child safety failures and imposed a $375m fine.
Two million airline seats have been cut from this month’s schedules due to soaring jet fuel prices propelled by Trump’s attack on Iran.
Stat of the day: It would cost an estimated $4.6tn to bring US public transit to ‘world class’ status
A recent study highlights exactly how far the sprawling, car-dominated US has fallen behind cities around the world when it comes to public transportation. According to the study, it would take $4.6tn and 7,500 miles of new dedicated infrastructure built over the next 20 years in order for major American cities to bring their public transit systems up to par.
Wellness Wednesday: A medical pedicure saved my feet
After a deep-freeze winter in New York, Jinnie Lee’s feet needed serious care. A pedicure didn’t seem enough to treat two split heels or the thick callus pads that had formed under her big toes. Then Lee discovered the medi-pedi – a medical pedicure that goes beyond nail polish and includes treatment from a licensed podiatrist.
Don’t miss this: How to survive the information crisis
Katharine Viner, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian, writes about the importance of independent journalism in an age when technology is pulling us apart. “Journalism is not a ‘content business’….No, it is a part of our shared civic infrastructure, human infrastructure, societal infrastructure. It’s the connective tissue that helps fight isolation and sustains democracy,” Viner writes.
… or this: An oral history of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!
Spectacular, spectacular! Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! turns 25 this year. In celebration of the anniversary, some of the cast and crew spoke to the Guardian about their favorite moments from working on the film. “It felt a bit like drama school,” said Jacek Koman, who played the Unconscious Argentinean, a performer suffering from narcolepsy. “We felt really supported and inspired. You could always pop in to watch someone else’s dance training or singing.”
Climate check: Eco-feminism in a world on fire
In her new book, Feminism for a World on Fire, Natasha Walter argues that it is women who will suffer most from the floods, fires and resource scarcity to come from the climate crisis. “All the threats that women face seem to be amplified by climate change,” Walter said in an interview with the Guardian.
Last Thing: Mexico nightclub’s $300 cover charge for US citizens captures popular mood
A Mexico City nightclub said it is charging Americans a nearly $300 cover charge while citizens from any other country pay just $20 for access, and Mexicans and other Latin Americans pay only $14.
The announcement from the nightclub Japan in the Roma Norte neighborhood has been liked more than 26,000 times and received more than 200 comments, mostly supporting the policy as part of a broader revolt in the capital against what many see as a US takeover.
“It’s not that ‘we charge gringos more’, it’s that we offer discounts to people that need it,” the club said. “The cover charge is $5,000 [pesos]. Citizens of the USA don’t get a discount.”
The club’s owner, Federico Crespo, said the tiered pricing was a response to the “gentrification and touristification” of the city, but also a reflection of deteriorating Mexico-US relations under Donald Trump.
“This is a response to a year of insults directed at us – as a country – by the United States,” he said. “It’s very much a response to the many attacks against Mexico from Trump.”
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