The B.C. Provincial Health Office is reporting that one of four high-risk individuals who was on the cruise ship M.V. Hondius and self-isolating on Vancouver Island has tested presumptive positive for the Andes hantavirus.

The person was transported to hospital for assessment and care on May 14, according to a statement released by the Public Health Agency of Canada released on Saturday. The person’s spouse also has mild symptoms and was taken to hospital.

“Both will remain in isolation in hospital,” says the statement. Meanwhile, a third person who was isolating has been transferred to hospital for assessment.

On Sunday, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed the case after samples were tested at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. The second person was confirmed negative.

“The overall risk to the general population in Canada from the Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship remains low at this time,” PHAC wrote in a statement. “All confirmed cases to date have been passengers or crew on the MV Hondius cruise ship. Given the severity of this virus, we are taking a precautionary approach to ensure Canadians are protected.”

On Saturday, B.C. Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said that “for most of us (in B.C.) the situation has not changed.

“We’ve had infection control precautions in place from the moment these people arrived in British Columbia and I’m confident there’s no additional risk to anybody else outside of the people who’ve been caring for these individuals.”

Earlier this week, National Post reported on the four Canadians who were aboard the infected cruise ship and arrived in B.C. last Sunday, when they began a minimum 21-day isolation period. At that point, Dr. Henry said the isolation period might be extended as long as the full 42 days, depending on whether people develop symptoms and what’s happening globally.

All four will be followed daily for the full 42 days, in or out of self-isolation, Henry said.

Matthew Miller, a Canada Research Chair in viral pandemics at McMaster University told National Post on Tuesday that the statement put out by British Columbia is “reassuring (in that) they are saying a minimum of 21 days, which I think leaves the door open to extending that as more information becomes available.”

He added that the “data to date suggest the Andes virus requires sustained close contact, and not just close, like adjacent room. Close, physical contact. There have (historically) been relatively few human cases of this virus and even fewer where the evidence has been for human-to-human transmission, rather than rodent-to-human transmission.”

National Post reported on Thursday that PHAC said there were 26 more Canadians on a flight with a confirmed case of hantavirus who were being contacted. But, PHAC considered them “low or minimal risk” because of where they were seated.

PHAC said nine people in Canada were considered to be high-risk and told to self-isolate.

Almost 150 passengers and crew from 23 countries were stranded on the M.V. Hondius for weeks following the outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus. As of mid-week, a total of 11 cases, including three deaths, were reported — eight lab-confirmed for the Andes virus, two probable and one inclusive that’s undergoing more testing.

And while the outbreak associated with the MV Hondius cruise ship is evolving, acknowledged Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Joss Reimer, she contended that the risk to the general population in Canada remains low and “further spread of the virus within Canada is not expected.”

• 26 more people in Canada being contacted after ‘low risk’ exposure to confirmed hantavirus case
• How long should hantavirus cruise ship passengers self-isolate? And why does B.C. recommend less time than WHO?

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A Toronto foundation has helped return a Renoir artwork allegedly looted by the Nazis to the Musée d’Orsay, after a 90-year journey as dramatic as the painting itself.

Le Jugement de Pâris, a circa 1915 sanguine sketch of a classic cultural myth, was loaned to the Parisian museum by Canadian non-profit EJB Steinberg Arts Foundation, which bought the artwork in 2023.

“From what I understand, this painting has a complicated history, but one that is all too common for many great European works of art,” said foundation director Elen Steinberg in an email.

It is part of a new exhibition displaying Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s lost drawings from the turn of the 20th century

The drawing depicts three nude women standing in various positions as a fourth figure kneels to the left of the page. The sketch uses browns, reds and terracotta to form their silhouettes without using harsh lines or intense colours.

The person kneeling to the left represents Paris, son to the King of Troy. The women depict three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, and the ultimate choice Paris must make for their love . As the story goes, Paris chooses Aphrodite by giving her a golden apple, visible in Renoir’s later depictions.

Its onetime owner, Ambroise Vollard, was an ambitious European picture dealer, often investing in young, upcoming artists such as Picasso and Renoir. Vollard began in the arts in 1890, selling pieces out of his seventh-floor apartment.

Le Jugement de Pâris was owned by Vollard until his sudden death in a “suspicious” 1939 car crash. By that point, it is estimated he owned more than 6,000 invaluable pieces that lined the halls of his Paris townhome and gallery.

Following his death, Vollard’s brother Lucien became the executor to his will. Lucien incited his brother’s apprentice, Martin Fabiani, as an expert appraiser for the collection.

Vollard’s collection was to be divided between his family and his partner , Madeleine de Galéa. His brother quickly sold over 600 pieces from the family inheritance to Fabiani. But Lucien Vollard did not have legal authorization to sell this property.

Two weeks prior to Germany’s arrival in France, Fabiani fled to Spain with the collection in his car. He proceeded to Portugal, where he obtained a British origin certificate for Vollard’s property under the context that the art was collected in France before German occupation.

Fabiani managed hundreds of art pieces into four crates valued at roughly $10,000. The crates were loaded onto the American Excalibur cargo ship travelling from Lisbon to New York in 1940.

Two days after the ship left port , the British Ministry of Economic Warfare was warned that Fabiani secured a false certificate and seized the crates to the port of Bermuda.

Bermuda’s attorney general declared the artworks as a “prize of war” and transported them to a better climate for preservation. In November 1940, the Vollard collection travelled to Ottawa to be stored at the National Gallery (the present site of the Canadian Museum of Nature).

Martin Fabiani was accused by the media of Nazi connections. His personal memoirs suggest he travelled back to France in 1940 to aid Jewish artists in maintaining their life and work. However, military records listed him in connection with The Schenker Transport Company, a corporation used to move Nazi-stolen art.

“( Le Jugement de Pâris ) ended up in the hands of the Nazis during the Second World War. After the war it was taken by the French government and exhibited in many museums throughout France,” Steinberg said, including the Musée d’Orsay.

The French government adopted the “Removal of cultural asset from public collections” law in July 2023 declaring that cultural property, like Le Jugement de Pâris , must be returned to its owners “for the purpose of restitution.”

“They weren’t interested in keeping it, however, as they put it into auction,” Steinberg said. “Which is where (the foundation) happened to see it and acquire it privately after the auction.”

Le Jugement de Pâris is back on display at the Musée d’Orsay as part of the lost Renoirs exhibition because “important works like this belong in the public eye,” she said.

“Through its efforts, the foundation not only safeguards works of historical importance but also plays an active role in education, promoting cultural dialogue, scholarship, and community engagement across the arts sector,” Steinberg said.

• Painting stolen by Nazis from Dutch Jewish arts dealer spotted in Argentine real estate ad
• Nazi-looted painting in bizarre custody battle pitting U.S. college against elderly French heiress

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The Metropolitan police of London, U.K. have released bodycam footage showing the moment when two officers arrested a man suspected of stabbing two Jewish men in north-west London neighbourhood, Golders Green.

He was arrested based on suspicion of attempted murder.

What does the bodycam footage show?

The video shows the two officers confronting the man late Wednesday morning as he walked down the middle of a street carrying a knife.

The officers can be heard repeatedly shouting for the suspect to “get down on the ground” and demanding he “drop the knife.”

They brought down the suspect using a taser. After he fell, he held the knife close to his chest. The officers can be seen kicking the man in the head several times during the struggle to subdue him and get the knife away from him.

Then they handcuffed his hands behind his back.

Who are the victims of the alleged knife attack?

The victims were two local men, Shilome Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, the BBC reported. They were treated at the scene and are now in stable condition in hospital, according to police .

What do we know about the suspect?

The suspect is a 45-year-old man, a British national born in Somalia, who remains in custody, police said in a statement released on April 29 .

Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley added that suspect had a history of serious violence and mental health issues.

Police said the suspect was known to a U.K. counter-terrorism program and was the subject of referral to it in 2020. However, police said the referral was “closed in the same year,” the BBC reported.

Is this considered a terrorist attack?

The attack in Golders Green was formally declared a terrorist incident, according to police .

The Counter Terrorism Policing unit is engaged in an ongoing investigation. Officers are searching an address in south east London.

“The suspect also attempted to stab police officers, and was Tasered before being arrested. No officers were injured … As part of this investigation, detectives are also looking into an incident that was reported to police earlier today in south east London. It is believed that the suspect in this incident is the same individual arrested in Golders Green.”

Earlier Wednesday, police said they responded to an incident at a Golder Green address, where the suspect armed with a knife is believed to have had an altercation with the occupant before leaving. The occupant incurred minor injuries.

The focus of the investigation team, police say “remains on securing justice for the victims of this terrible attack.”

The Jewish security group, Shomrim, initially detained the suspect, reports the BBC. It dispatched volunteer responders after receiving a call about a man running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife, attempting to stab Jewish members of the public.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has thanked Shomrim and announced £25 million to improve security for the Jewish community following the incident.

“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has criticized British MP Zarah Sultana, accusing her of hypocrisy after she condemned antisemitism following the attack, reports the Jewish News Syndicate . “ I assume this is a different Zarah Sultana MP to the one who was recently filmed clapping along to loudspeaker chants for intifada,” Rowling posted on X Wednesday.

• ‘Schools need to wake up’: Jewish student sues TMU for $1.3M over alleged ‘poisoned’ learning environment
• Increased federal funding for ‘safeguarding Canada’s Jewish community’ welcomed by CIJA

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An Ottawa man convicted in an ISIS terrorism case is getting out of prison after serving two-thirds of his 17-year sentence, even though the parole board says he continues to hold extremist views and remains a public-safety risk.

The parole board says Ashton Larmond has made some progress through programming available to him in prison, as well as counselling. However, the board also noted in its decision shared with National Post, that the 35-year-old man committed an assault on another inmate in March. He punched another inmate in the face, then kneeled on him and struck him again, breaking his nose, which the board cited as evidence he remains comfortable using violence.

Most offenders, except those serving a life or indeterminate sentence, must be released with supervision after serving two thirds of their sentence, under what’s known as “statutory release.” The parole board can impose special conditions on statutory releases that it considers necessary to manage an offender’s risk in the community. The parole board has placed special conditions on Larmond, which must be followed throughout the rest of his sentence. That includes monitoring his phone use and finances. He must also take part in treatment and live in a community-based residential facility or psychiatric facility approved by the Correctional Service of Canada.

He is noted by the board to be within the category of male offenders likely to reoffend within three years.

According to the parole board decision, Larmond converted to Islam sometime between 2009 and 2011. He adopted “terrorist views” and proceeded to recruit “several people, including (his) twin brother (Carlos) and a police officer to join the terrorist group.”

When he was arrested, police found 267 videos with extremist propaganda on his computer hard drive.

While in prison, he committed several assaults against other inmates and uttered threats against prison staff, says the parole board. He was initially held in a provincial facility, but was transferred to a federal prison due to “radical ideologies.” While in the latter, there was concern that he may have been attempting to radicalize another prisoner, but that appears to have abated. His “accountability” rating improved over time from low to medium.

Police awareness of Larmond goes back to the summer of 2013, when the RCMP intercepted conversations between Larmond and another Ottawa man who had flown overseas and joined ISIS in December 2012. He told the man that he wanted to join him. According to RCMP documents, Larmond’s mother called the Ottawa police in September 2013 saying her son wanted to go kill for terrorists.

Police arrested Larmond on January 9, 2015, in the Ottawa area, while his twin brother Carlos was arrested at Montreal’s airport as he was trying to leave Canada for Syria. Ashton had been considering taking an overland route through Alaska, Russia, and Afghanistan to reach Syria.

They were arrested along with a third suspect following an RCMP undercover counterterrorism operation called Project Slipstream.

Ashton subsequently pleaded guilty to one count related to encouraging others to engage in terrorist violence. His brother Carlos pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to leave Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The parole board noted that Larmond plans to take employment training while working part-time in the food industry or at a hardware store, aiming to eventually become a contractor. He expressed an interest in volunteering and fundraising for organizations that “focus on people of the Muslim faith who are suffering.“

However, the parole board rates his “reintegration potential” as low.

• Jewish leaders warn of Iran-inspired terror threat after synagogue shootings
• Opinion: Breakdown of ISIS detention centres in Syria poses serious threat to Canada

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With the latest warning from Canada’s Integrated Threat Assessment Centre stating that a violent mass attack remains a realistic possibility, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs is urging Ottawa to increase funding for enhanced security in the upcoming Spring Economic Statement . security

“We’ve seen synagogues and businesses in the community targeted with gunfire recently in Toronto. That builds on the arson attacks and shooting attacks that had taken place previously, targeting synagogues and schools across the country,” says Noah Shack, CIJA’s CEO. “We need systemic change to protect the community.”

In an April 15 letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, CIJA estimates that annual security costs within Canadian Jewish communities will reach $100 million.

The letter has been endorsed by more than 80 Jewish federations, community centres, synagogues, camps and schools.

“Rising security demands are forcing cuts and scaling back services, placing a growing strain on the future of Jewish life across the country,” states the letter. It also harkens back to a Liberal party statement made in the federal election campaign that “increased security costs amidst rising antisemitism should not be borne by the Jewish community alone.”

However, CIJA estimates that Canada’s per-capita investment in Jewish community security is one-third of the United Kingdom’s and one-quarter of Australia’s.

Shack raises the tragedy in Bondi Beach, Australia, when a father-son gunmen team killed 15 people, including 11 men, 3 women and a 10-year-old girl.

“Our hope is that we can get vital security measures in place before that happens here in Canada. To be proactive and preventative here,” says Shack.

Meanwhile, he adds that CIJA is very grateful for efforts that have already been undertaken by national security and local law enforcement agencies, “who have been able to prevent a number of these attacks plotted against our community.”

The sought-after funds would be channelled through the Canada Community Security Program , which CIJA says is an “essential program (that) provides life-saving security equipment and measures to safeguard our people. We cannot afford to wait for a mass-casualty attack before taking urgent action to safeguard Canadians.”

There are about 70 Jewish institutions in Montreal, estimates David Cooper, vice president of government relations for CIJA. In Toronto, there is probably double or triple that, he adds.

He says the $100 million estimate covers infrastructure costs, plus the amount community institutions “are paying for security guards, which has become an expensive endeavour for institutions to take on themselves.”

He remembers when he went to synagogue and “the doors were open, and we walked in, and nobody thought twice about security. Now, it’s a completely different reality.”

• ‘Dangerously escalating”: Jewish-owned Toronto restaurant becomes 12th target of antisemitic violence
• ‘Bullets are flying’: Two more Toronto-area synagogues hit by gunfire

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