A Canadian who sailed on the cruise ship MV Hondius which was hit by a hantavirus outbreak in April has tested positive for the disease, officials in the province of British Columbia say.

The individual, one of four people isolating on Vancouver Island after leaving the ship, had developed mild symptoms.

The province’s senior health officer said the four had not had any contact with the public since arriving in Canada.

The case brings the total number of infections to 11, all among cruise passengers. Three people who travelled on the ship have died, with two confirmed to have had the virus.

British Columbia health officer Bonnie Henry said the person’s test came back as a presumptive positive on Friday, meaning that it still remains to be confirmed by a national microbiology lab.

“Clearly, this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for,” she said, quoted by national broadcaster CBC.

“I want to emphasise that hantavirus is a very different virus than the other respiratory viruses that we’ve been dealing with – like Covid, like influenza, like measles – and it remains one that we do not consider to have pandemic potential,” Dr Henry added.

Of the six Canadians who were on the Dutch ship, two are self-isolating at their home in Ontario.

Two more couples are isolating on Vancouver Island, one from British Columbia and the other from Yukon. The person who tested positive is from Yukon.

None of the other five have tested positive so far.

[BBC]

Taiwan has insisted it is a sovereign, independent nation, after US President Donald Trump cautioned it against formally declaring independence from China.

Trump’s remarks came after a two-day summit in Beijing, after which he said he had “made no commitment either way” about the self-governing island – which China claims as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking by force.

After talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump also said he would soon decide whether to approve an $11bn package of weapons to be sold to Taiwan.

The US administration is bound by law to provide Taiwan with a means of self-defence, but has frequently had to square this alliance with maintaining a diplomatic relationship with China.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has previously stated that Taiwan does not need to declare formal independence because it already sees itself as a sovereign nation.

On Saturday, presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said it was “self-evident” that Taiwan was “a sovereign, independent democratic country”.

She added, however, that Taiwan was committed to maintaining the status quo with China – in which Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.

Many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation, though most are in favour of maintaining their current status.

Washington’s established position is that it does not support Taiwanese independence, with continued ties with Beijing being contingent on its acceptance that there is only one Chinese government.

[BBC]

When it finally settled, a day that ebbed and flowed belonged to Litton Das.  A majestic hundred from Bangladesh’s wicketkeeper-batter lifted his side from the oblivion of 116 for 6 to 278. Khurram Shahzad and Mohamed Abbas had torn through Bangladesh’s top and middle order, but as it happens so frequently, Pakistan failed to deliver the knockout blow, allowing Bangladesh to wriggle out of trouble once more. By the end of the day, the visitors will have been relieved to see off six overs in the evening without damage after the final session handed Bangladesh momentum that was all Pakistan’s in the first two.

Litton was a man on an ambitious mission from the moment he walked out, and saw two more team-mates fall inside ten runs to leave him batting alongside the tail. He immediately began turning down singles, aware he would have to do much of the work himself. He knew what it would take, having previously wrested control of a game after six early wickets in Rawalpindi, where his hundred set up a Bangladesh win.

After gritting his way alongside Taijul, he slowly began to loosen Pakistan’s control over the innings. He began to trust his partners more as the sting went out of the bowling attack, and then, crucially, the intensity and concentration. A bouncer from Shahzad kissed his glove on the way to Mohammad Rizwan, and though there were muffled appeals from the Pakistanis, no one felt confident enough to review after Pakistan burned two. He was on 52 then and went on to add another 74.