Just nowPaul NjieandJoseph WinterKIM LUDBROOK/EPA/ShutterstockThe 'March and March' demonstration in Johannesburg in April called for all illegal foreign immigrants to leave the countryNigeria is planning to repatriate its nationals in South Africa willing to return home voluntarily, amid growing fears that recent attacks on foreigners there could escalate.
The MV Hondius cruise ship is anchored at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Monday, May 4, 2026.
Arilson Almeida/AP
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A cruise ship with nearly 150 people aboard was waiting for help off the coast of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday after three passengers died and at least three other people were left seriously ill in a suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus, according to the World Health Organization and the ship's operator.
The MV Hondius, a Dutch ship on a weekslong polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica and several isolated islands in the South Atlantic, had requested help from local health authorities after making its way to the island of Cape Verde, off the West Africa coast. But no one has been allowed to disembark, Netherlands-based operator Oceanwide Expeditions said.
Cape Verde's Health Ministry said Monday that for now, it will not allow the ship to dock because of public health concerns and that it would stay in open waters close to shore.
Hantavirus is a rodent-borne illness spread by contact with rodents or their urine, saliva or droppings. WHO says that while it is rare, hantavirus may spread between people.
It was unclear how an outbreak could have started, and WHO said it was investigating while working to coordinate the evacuation of two sick crew members. Another sick person — a British man evacuated to South Africa on April 27 — tested positive for the virus, authorities said. He is in critical condition and isolated in intensive care, health officials said.
The body of one of the passengers who died — a German — remains on the ship, according to an Oceanwide Expeditions statement. A 70-year-old Dutch man died onboard April 11, and his 69-year-old wife died later in South Africa after leaving the ship, officials said. Her blood later tested positive for the virus, making two confirmed cases, South Africa's health minister said.
Among the 87 remaining passengers, 17 are Americans, 19 are from the U.K. and 13 from Spain, according to Oceanwide Expeditions. Sixty-one crew members also are onboard.
Cruise operator says 2 ill crew members urgently need care
Two sick crew members — one British, one Dutch — have respiratory symptoms and need urgent medical care, Oceanwide said in its statement.
Cape Verde has sent a medical team of two doctors, a nurse and a laboratory specialist to the ship over three trips, said Dr. Ann Lindstrand, a WHO official in Cape Verde.
She told The Associated Press in an interview that they were planning for medical evacuations, in which passengers would be taken from the ship via ambulance to an airport.
"It's been very tricky for Cape Verdean authorities," Lindstrand said. "What they have to deal with is a public health event. And of course, they have been thinking about the protection of the population here."
Oceanwide said it would consider moving to one of the Spanish islands — Tenerife or the port of Las Palmas — if it can't evacuate passengers in Cape Verde.
WHO said it was working with local authorities and Oceanwide on a "full public health risk assessment."
"Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing, and epidemiological investigations," WHO said. "Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew."
Lindstrand told AP there was a possible new case on the ship, in a person showing mild fever symptoms, but health workers were still assessing.
A view of the m/v Hondius Cruise ship anchored at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Monday, May 4, 2026.
Arilson Almeida/AP
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The cruise started in Argentina
The ship left Ushuaia in southern Argentina on April 1, according to Argentine provincial authorities. Health officials there said they confirmed no passengers had hantavirus symptoms when the Hondius departed.
But because symptoms can appear up to eight weeks after exposure, "the passengers
New alliances shakes up Nigerian political landscape20 minutes agoMansur Abubakar,KanoandChris Ewokor,BBC Africa, AbujaAFP via Getty ImagesTwo of Nigeria's most prominent opposition figures have announced they have switched parties in a dramatic political realignment ahead of next year's presidential election.Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, who finished third and fourth respectively in the 2023 presidential race, have both joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), raising the prospect of a joint ticket to challenge President Bola Tinubu.They were previously in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), along with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who came second in the last election.While this could be seen as a fragmentation of the opposition, supporters of Obi and Kwankwaso say it will give their alliance greater focus.Both men are former governors and command significant grassroots followings.Obi is hugely popular among young voters across the south, while Kwankwaso wields considerable influence in the north.The move comes just nine months after Obi, Kwankwaso and Abubakar joined the ADC but that alliance quickly became mired in legal battles over party leadership - something Obi blamed on the government."The same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC," Obi said on Sunday.He was the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 election.Allies of President Tinubu have denied that they have been trying to sabotage opposition parties.Obi, 64, and Kwankwaso, 69, were formally received at the NDC's national headquarters in Abuja by the party's national leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, on Sunday.Speaking afterwards, both men called for national unity, greater opportunities for young people, and an end to the infighting that has plagued Nigeria's opposition.However, their decision risks upsetting allies within the coalition built around the ADC, which had been positioning itself as the main vehicle for opposition unity.Some figures within the bloc have privately expressed a sense of betrayal, raising fresh doubts about whether Nigeria's fragmented opposition can sustain a coordinated challenge against President Tinubu, 74.In a statement, the Nigerian presidency played down the significance of the defections, suggesting they reflected "the normal fluidity of democratic politics" rather than any fundamental shift.A presidential spokesperson said the government remained focused on governance."Political alliances will come and go," the spokesperson said. "But our priority is delivering economic reforms, improving security and ensuring stability for all Nigerians."Political analyst Bala Yusuf told the BBC the move could reshape Nigeria's electoral landscape."If the NDC fields Obi as its presidential candidate and Kwankwaso as vice-president, they will definitely give the ruling APC a run for their money at the polls," he said.They have not yet said who the presidential candidate will be - an issue that has broken up several previous Nigerian political alliances.It remains to be seen how Abubakar will respond, given that he was a key figure who went to great lengths to bring opposition heavyweights into the ADC.Meanwhile, the party's leadership crisis continues to play out in the courts.The Supreme Court last week ordered that the dispute over who runs the party be sent back to the Federal High Court for another hearing – a decision that further reduces the time available for the ADC to get its house in order before the election campaign begins in earnest.Elections are scheduled for early January next year - they will be the country’s eighth since the end of military rule in 1999.More about Nigeria from the BBC:Getty Images/BBCBBC Africa podcasts
Just nowPaul NjieandJoseph WinterKIM LUDBROOK/EPA/ShutterstockThe 'March and March' demonstration in Johannesburg in April called for all illegal foreign immigrants to leave the countryNigeria is planning to repatriate its nationals in South Africa willing to return home voluntarily, amid growing fears that recent attacks on foreigners there could escalate.Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu said 130 applicants had already registered for the exercise, adding that the number was expected to rise.She expressed President Bola Tinubu's concern about the attacks in the southern African nation, and condemned the violence against foreign nationals and demonstrations characterised by "xenophobic rhetoric, hate speeches and incendiary anti-migrant statements".Nigeria has summoned South Africa's acting High Commissioner over the issue.Nigeria will formally convey its "profound concern" at a meeting later on Monday over the incidents in South Africa, saying they could affect existing relations between the countries, according to a foreign ministry statement.The meeting will focus on recent marches held by anti-immigrant groups and "documented instances of mistreatment of Nigerian citizens and attacks on their businesses", it said.On Sunday, Nigeria's foreign minister said: "Nigerian lives and businesses in South Africa must not continue to be put at risk, and we remain committed to working to explore with South Africa ways to put an end to this."She cited the killing of two Nigerians in separate incidents involving local security personnel, insisting that her government was demanding justice.She said the Nigerian president's priority was for the safety of citizens and "consequently, arrangements are currently under way to collate details of Nigerians in South Africa for voluntary repatriation flights for those seeking assistance to return home".Four Ethiopian nationals have also been killed in recent weeks, local media reported, while there have been attacks on citizens of other African countries.As Africa's most industrialised country, people from elsewhere in the continent have long travelled to South Africa to seek work.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the attacks but also cautioned foreigners to respect local laws.He used his Freedom Day address last week - marking the country's first democratic elections in 1994 - to remind South Africans of the support other African nations had given in the struggle against the racist system of apartheid.But some South Africans accuse foreigners of being in the county illegally, taking jobs from locals and having links to crime, especially drugs trafficking.Anti-immigrant groups have been stopping people outside hospitals and schools demanding to see their identity papers.At the time, one Nigerian man told BBC Pidgin: "It is not okay because we are blacks, we are brothers... everybody comes here just to survive."A security guard, who was unable to go to work because of the protest, told the BBC: "It's not what we expected as fellow Africans.""It's just making us scared - imagine if we're scared in our own African continent - what if we go to Europe?" he asked.Anti-immigrant sentiment rose earlier this year after reports that the head of the Nigerian community in the port city of KuGompo (formerly East London) had been installed in a traditional role that can be translated as "king". Some South Africans in the local area saw this as an attempt to grab political power.South Africa is home to about 2.4 million migrants, just less than 4% of the population, according to official figures. However, many more are thought to be in the country unofficially.Most come from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which have a history of providing migrant labour to their wealthy neighbour. A smaller number come from Nigeria.Additional reporting by Khanyisile Ngcobo in JohannesburgYou may also be interested in:Getty Images/BBCBBC Africa podcasts
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