#DEVELOPING: Hantavirus is nothing like COVID-19, says doctor. Live outbreak updates here.

The World Health Organization (#WHO) is taking measures to mitigate the spread of hantavirus after eight cases, three of which resulted in death, were reported following an outbreak on a cruise ship.

So far, five of eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus, according to the WHO. The organization is investigating the spread of the virus and developing plans for the remaining passengers to disembark from the ship, the MV Hondius.

While the situation is serious, WHO officials stressed during a Thursday news conference that the public health risk remains low.


‘It’s a completely different #virus’

Epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos says that, while Canadians might see parallels between the hantavirus outbreak and the onset of the #COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to keep in mind that they are not the same virus.

“The likelihood that this is going to turn into a major public health emergency … is obviously very, very low.”

Quebecer not in close proximity: minister

Quebec Health Minister Sonia Bélanger confirmed Thursday that a Quebecer was on the same flight as a passenger afflicted with hantavirus.

“According to our information, it doesn’t seem like they were in close proximity, and the risk of transmission is very low,” she said. “We remain on the alert.”

Bélanger added that the Quebecer in question is in isolation and not exhibiting any symptoms.

The minister stated that the risk to the general population remains “very low” and that “human to human” transmission is “extremely rare.”

The #Ukrainian army has carried out a strike on residential quarters in the Russian city of Bryansk, leaving 13 civilians injured, regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

"Ukrainian #Nazis have attacked the city of Bryansk. They targeted residential buildings and civilians during nighttime. Unfortunately, 13 people, including a child, were injured in the Bezhitsky District," he wrote on Russia’s national messenger Max.

"Two residential buildings, over 20 apartments, and 40 cars were damaged," the governor added.

#Iran’s Port and Maritime Organization is ready to provide assistance to commercial vessels in the Strait of #Hormuz, according to an official address to ship captains, released by the #IRNA news agency.

The document says that Iran’s ports are ready to provide "services and technical support, as well as medical assistance."

North Korea’s UN envoy said his country was not bound by the Non-Proliferation Treaty on nuclear weapons and external pressure would not change its status as a nuclear-armed state, official media reported Thursday.

Pyongyang threatened to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1993 and formally did so in 2003. It has since conducted six nuclear tests, subjecting it to multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and is believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads.

“At the 11th NPT Review Conference currently under way at UN headquarters, the United States and certain countries following its lead are groundlessly calling into question the current status and exercise of sovereign rights” of North Korea, Pyongyang’s top UN envoy Kim Song said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

“The status of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a nuclear-armed state will not change based on external rhetorical claims or unilateral desires,” he added.

“To make it clear once again, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will not be bound by the Non-Proliferation Treaty under any circumstances whatsoever.”

He continued that the country’s status as a nuclear-armed state has been “enshrined in the constitution, transparently declaring the principles of nuclear weapons use”.

North Korea has consistently insisted that it will not give up its nuclear arsenal, describing its path as “irreversible” and vowing to strengthen its capabilities.

#Pyongyang has sent ground troops and artillery shells to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and observers say Pyongyang is receiving military technology assistance from Moscow in return.

The nine nuclear-armed states -- Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea -- possessed 12,241 nuclear warheads in January 2025, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported.

The U.S. and #Russia hold nearly 90 percent of nuclear weapons globally and have carried out major programs to modernize them in recent years, according to SIPRI.

#Russia amplifying Alberta separatism debate to stoke division: study. The study found a surge in foreign-linked content amplifying Alberta separatism, including messages about independence, Canada’s decline and even the province joining the United States. Much of it is designed to blend into domestic conversations and spread through social media.

Brian McQuinn, a co-author of the report and co-director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Data and Conflict at the University of Regina, said the tactics are subtle and often go unnoticed.

“The reason people don’t see it, is it’s very covert. Eighty-three per cent of the disinformation that is passed around, at least on the Russian side, is done by average Canadians,” he said. McQuinn also noted that messages are crafted to align with existing beliefs, so people share them without fully scrutinizing the content.

Poulin scores in third overtime as Victoire beat Frost 1-0 to tie PWHL series

Canadian Trump critic sues to stop U.S. government from accessing personal Google data

#BREAKING: Honda halts plan to build $15B EV plant in Canada: report. “American tariffs and changes to U.S. domestic policies are creating real pressures for automakers, prompting some to delay or scale back investments in electric vehicle and battery projects,” the office of the minister said in a response.

The plant, which Honda had expected to invest a total of $15 billion into, was slated to begin operating as early as 2028.

“Canada will continue to support and protect existing automotive facilities by mitigating tariff pressures and sustaining the production of fuel-efficient vehicles, while positioning the sector for long-term growth, resilience and global competitiveness,” Joly’s office added in its response.

In a statement to CTV News, Honda Canada said the company has “nothing to report at this time.”

In May 2025, Honda announced it would delay the project for two years, with Honda chief executive Toshihiro Mibe saying the company would examine where the EV market is before deciding whether to move forward with the project.

“What happens after two years and the starting time of the project, we have to observe what is happening and ultimately make the decision,” he said, based on translated remarks.

#Macron croons classic Aznavour ballad at state dinner in Armenia for the #French leader. Macron was joined by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on drums and celebrated jazz musician Vahagn Hayrapetyan on piano on Monday night in Yerevan. In addition to “La Bohème,” which was recorded by Armenian-French musician Charles Aznavour in 1965, Macron also sang “Les Feuilles Mortes” by Yves Montand.

The event at Armenia’s presidential residence on Monday night was held in Macron’s honour. The French leader was in town for a state visit that coincided with a gathering of the European Political Community and a historic European Union summit.

Pashinyan, who took office in 2018, more regularly flexes his musical prowess as part of his musical group Varchaband. It held its debut concert in Yerevan at the end of January.

The Armenian leader is also well known for posting videos of himself listening to music on Instagram, with his musical taste seemingly spanning from Taylor Swift to Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky.

Male coyote swam over 3 km to Alcatraz Island, twice as far as biologists had expected.

At the time, biologists guessed the coyote swam from San Francisco, which is a little over 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) from the fortress. But it turns out the male coyote actually made an even longer swim from nearby Angel Island, 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) away.

“Our working assumption was that the coyote made the swim from San Francisco because it is a significantly shorter distance. We couldn’t help being impressed by his accomplishment in making it to Alcatraz,” National Park Service wildlife ecologist Bill Merkle said in a Monday news release titled “Alcatraz Coyote Wasn’t a City Boy After All.”

“Coyotes are known to be resilient and adaptable, and he certainly demonstrated those qualities,” he said.

Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of nonprofit Project Coyote, said the coyote likely departed its home base in search of a mate or new territory to defend. She said coyotes, like wolves, do swim, although it’s incredibly rare for humans to spot one doing so.

“We have never, ever heard such a story of a coyote making such a long journey in a pretty challenging ocean current,” she said.

Video from early January shows the coyote paddling in the chilly San Francisco Bay and then struggling to get onto the rocky island. It was followed by a Jan. 24 visitor sighting and photograph.

Biologists found fresh coyote tracks and scat, which they sent to the University of California, Davis, for DNA analysis. Officials were stunned to learn the swimmer was part of the coyote population on Angel Island.

The park service was prepared to capture and relocate the coyote because of Alcatraz’s role as a seabird nesting habitat. But he has never again been spotted or caught on recording devices and there is no evidence the coyote is still on the island.

Alcatraz Island became a federal prison in the 1930s, designed to house the worst criminals, but it closed in the 1960s because its remoteness made it too costly to operate.

Still, 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes from Alcatraz. Nearly all were caught or didn’t survive the cold, swift current. In 1973, the island reopened as a park.

Angel Island is a state park that once served as a processing and detention center where Chinese and other unwanted immigrants were kept for a couple of days to months, even as long as two years.

It wasn’t easy for coyotes to colonize Angel Island, but they persevered, Fox of Project Coyote said. She asks that visitors to the island and other open spaces be mindful not to disturb coyote families and their dens given that it is currently pup season.

Janie Har, The Associated Press