Around 150 people from 23 countries are stranded on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, after a deadly outbreak of hantavirus. The World Health Organization has confirmed eight cases of the virus onboard the MV Hondius, including three people who have died.

The BBC’s health reporter Jim Reed tells us what we know about this strain of hantavirus, how it may have been transmitted to passengers on the ship, and whether – six years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – the world is better at dealing with viral outbreaks.

The WHO has confirmed that, while most hantavirus infections occur through contact with rodents or their waste, the strain detected on the ship can be transmitted between humans. The ship has been anchored off the coast of Cape Verde. On Wednesday, three passengers were evacuated for treatment.

Spain has given permission for the ship to now travel to the Canary Islands, where the remaining passengers and crew will be examined, though the president of the Canary Islands says he will not allow the ship to dock there.

New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

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00:00 Introduction
02:10 What is hantavirus?
03:17 How were passengers infected?
05:44 Are cruise ships a viral breeding ground?
07:11 How are passengers coping?
08:20 Reminiscent of Covid?
10:24 Has Covid prepared us for outbreaks?

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In 1990, two men walking through the Scottish Highlands captured a photograph that would quietly become one of the UK’s most talked about (and least explained) UFO cases.

The image showed a silent, diamond‑shaped object suspended in the sky. No one knows the identity of the two men who took the picture. The photo was sent to a national newspaper… and then, nothing.

No article. No public follow‑up.

For decades, the sighting existed only as a rumour – it was mentioned in UFO circles, whispered about online, referenced in documentaries – but with no image released, the case faded into near‑myth.

30 years later a forgotten copy of the photograph resurfaced in the personal files of a retired official bringing the Calvine incident sharply back into focus and raising even more questions than before.

This is the story of the Calvine UFO.

In this video…

00:00 – The Scottish UFO photo that won’t disappear
00:32 – What is the Calvine UFO photo?
02:16 – Why was it never published?
03:39 – The photo resurfaces
04:13 – The Falkirk Triangle: Scotland’s UFO hotspot
08:20 – The unanswered questions
08:59 – The most likely explanation

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There are nearly 100 documented cases so far of children fathered by British soldiers near an army base in Kenya since the 1950s who have grown up without knowing their dads, sometimes facing poverty or being ostracised by their community.

Now, some are finally finding answers with the help of a UK lawyer bringing evidence from commercial DNA databases into family court proceedings for the first time. BBC World of Secrets and Africa Eye follow Yvonne, who grew up thinking her father was dead.

🎥 Watch the full documentary, ‘Abandoned: Searching for Soldier Dad’ here: https://youtu.be/6AVzvzRmZCg

🎧 Listen to the new investigative podcast, World of Secrets: Searching for Soldier Dad , here: https://www.bbc.com/audio/brand/w13xtvs0

📽️ Watch more investigative journalism from our award-winning #BBCEye investigations team at this documentary playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4fa8LK1lptsvoA_spfJhzda

🎞️ You may also be interested in watching these Africa Eye documentaries:

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For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#Kenya #Documentary #Paternity #InvestigativeJournalism #BBCAfrica #BBCAfricaEye #Investigation #BBCNews

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BBC correspondent David Wallace Lockhart travels to Greenock, the town centre with the highest density of shops registered to sell vapes per head of population in Scotland.

New figures from the University of Edinburgh, shared exclusively with BBC News, highlight the growth of outlets selling vapes in Scotland.

With no licensing regime, a retailer simply has to register on a Scottish government online portal and then they can stock these products.

In 2020, there were 5,573 shops selling vapes in Scotland. By 2024, that was up to 7,069 – an increase of 28%.

This growth of 1,500 outlets has not been even across the country. It’s concentrated in the most deprived communities.

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#Vape #Vaping #Scotland #BBCNews

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Ukraine is considered a global hub for surrogate pregnancy. Four years after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, people from all over the world still pay thousands of dollars for Ukrainian women to have babies for them.

But Ukraine’s parliament is now considering a bill that would introduce stricter oversight of the surrogacy industry and effectively ban access to foreigners, who make up 95% of the intended parents.

The BBC’s global health reporter Sofia Bettiza has been speaking to surrogate mothers, and the families who hire them, about the ethical questions surrounding surrogacy, how the industry currently works, and the impact the proposed law could have.

She also tells us what happens when children born to a surrogate are left behind by their intended parents.

New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

And you can find more of our Youtube episodes here: https://bbc.in/GlobalNewsPodcast

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

00:00 Intro
01:43 Why Ukraine wants to restrict surrogacy
02:40 One surrogate mother’s story
04:20 How much do surrogates make?
07:08 Waiting for a baby in a war zone
08:15 Children left behind
10:28 What would a crackdown mean for surrogates?

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