Hantavirus on the Hondius: what we know

Portugal's last circus elephant, Julie, is to become one of the first residents of a retirement home for the pachyderms that could become a major draw as European nations clampdown on performing animals.

Julie, who joined the Victor Hugo Cardinali circus in 1988, will follow Kariba, who has been based at a Belgian zoo, in moving to the British-run Pangea Trust sanctuary in Alentejo, southern Portugal, in June.   

Julie, who is aged about 40 and came originally from southern Africa, had not been part of the circus show since 2024, when Portugal joined a host of countries who have banned performing animals.

According to Pangea managing director Kate Moore, there are more than 600 elephants in circuses and zoos across Europe. And many may need a new home but the 400 hectare (1,000 acre) sanctuary can take a maximum of 30.

"Many circuses and some zoos in Europe are reaching the point -– through changing legislation, the loss of a companion, or simply a decision to move on –- where keeping elephants is no longer possible or appropriate," said Moore.

"We can only take a small number of the 600 elephants but elephants like Julie and Kariba would be priority because elephants are really social animals and it's not good for them to be kept on their own," she told AFP.

"They need companionship and we want to bring them together."

Circus director Victor Hugo Cardinali said he would be closely involved in Julie's move.

"This has not been an easy decision, as she has been a member of our family for decades, but we believe it is the right decision for Julie. Working with Pangea on her transition to her new home was a critical factor in our deliberations," Cardinali said.

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Husky-voiced Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler was "recuperating" Thursday after emergency intestinal surgery in Portugal, a post on her official Instagram page said.

The 74-year-old star, best known for her 1983 mega-hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart", was operated on at a hospital in Faro in southern Portugal, the post said.

Tyler shot to fame in the 1970s with hits including "Lost in France" and "It's a Hearthache". "Total Eclipse of the Heart" later topped the charts in both Britain and the United States.

"We are very sorry to announce that Bonnie has been admitted to hospital in Faro, Portugal, where she has a home, for emergency intestinal surgery," the Instagram post on Wednesday said.

"The surgery went well and she is now recuperating," it added.

The Grammy-nominated Tyler, who was born Gaynor Hopkins, is due to tour Europe later this year to mark 50 years since the release of "Lost in France" which was her breakthrough hit in 1976.

Other hits include "Holding Out For A Hero" in 1984 which featured on the soundtrack to the huge US box office success "Footloose".

In 2013, Tyler represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, with the song "Believe In Me", finishing in 19th place.

She was recognised in 2022 by the late Queen Elizabeth II who before her death awarded her an honour for her five-decades-long music career.

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The MV Hondius cruise ship, hit by a rare hantavirus outbreak believed to have killed three people, is sailing from Cape Verde towards the Spanish island of Tenerife where isolating passengers and crew will be finally be evacuated.

Here is what we know so far about the situation on the Hondius, which has sparked international alarm since news of the outbreak emerged last weekend.

- Who is on board? -

There are 149 people on the MV Hondius, the ship's Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions told AFP on Thursday.

There are 23 nationalities on board. There are more than 80 passengers, with the largest groups from Britain, the United States and Spain.  Most of the crew are from the Philippines.

Following Wednesday's evacuation of three suspected cases, the ship operator said Thursday "no symptomatic individuals are present on board".

- Cases -

There are three confirmed cases of hantavirus, according to health authorities -- a Dutch woman who died in hospital in Johannesburg, a British man being treated in Johannesburg, and a Swiss national in hospital in Zurich, who left the cruise in Saint Helena.

There are also five suspected cases of the virus: two people who have died and three evacuated from the ship.

- Three deaths -

A Dutch couple who had travelled around South America before boarding the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 were the first fatalities.

The husband, 70, showed symptoms on April 6 and died on April 11. His body was taken off the ship during its April 22-24 call at Saint Helena, an island in the south Atlantic.

His 69-year-old wife, who was feeling unwell, also left the ship at Saint Helena. Her health deteriorated during an April 25 flight to Johannesburg and she died in hospital a day later, with hantavirus confirmed on May 4.

A German passenger who developed a fever on April 28, which became pneumonia, died on May 2. Her body remains on the ship.

- Evacuees -

A British passenger became ill on April 24 with signs of fever and pneumonia and was evacuated from the Atlantic island of Ascension to South Africa, where he is in intensive care. Hantavirus was confirmed on May 2.

Two crew members, one British and one Dutch, also showed symptoms. They were evacuated from Cape Verde's capital Praia on Wednesday along with a passenger with no symptoms but with links to the German woman who died.

A medical plane carrying two evacuees landed at Amsterdam late Wednesday, while another air ambulance believed to be carrying the third evacuee landed there early Thursday.

- The virus -

The rare disease is usually spread from infected rodents, typically through urine, droppings and saliva.

Laboratory testing in South Africa and Switzerland confirmed the two patients being treated in those countries had the Andes strain of hantavirus -- the only one known to pass between humans.

There are no vaccines or specific treatments for hantavirus.

However, officials including the head of the World Health Organization said the overall public health risk from the current outbreak was low, as very close contact is needed for it to spread.

- Contact tracing -

The WHO has said that contact tracing is under way for people on the April 25 commercial flight taken by the Dutch woman from Saint Helena to Johannesburg before she died.

Dutch airline KLM indicated Wednesday that the Dutch woman who died had also been "briefly" on its flight from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25, but was removed before take-off.

A flight attendant on that flight is currently being tested for hantavirus after showing mild symptoms and being admitted to hospital in Amsterdam, the Dutch health ministry said Thursday.

Two Singapore residents who had been aboard the Hondius have been isolated and are being tested for hantavirus, Singapore officials said Thursday. 

Former passengers in Britain and the United States are also reportedly under observation.

A small number of people on Saint Helena, who had close, prolonged contact with unwell passengers, have been asked to isolate for 45 days.

Argentina's health ministry said Wednesday it was sending experts to Ushuaia to capture and test rodents for the virus "in areas linked to the route" the Dutch couple took.

- The journey -

The cruise began on April 1, with 114 guests boarding at Ushuaia, Oceanwide Expeditions said.

After South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha and other Atlantic islands, the vessel called at Saint Helena, where 30 guests disembarked on April 24. 

The Hondius then stopped at Ascension Island on April 27, before anchoring off Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, from Sunday until it set sail for the Canaries late Wednesday.

- What is happening on board? -

The WHO said passengers were being asked to isolate in their cabins while disinfection and other measures are being taken.

A former passenger told AFP that life carried on as usual aboard the ship after the captain announced the first passenger's death.

"We again kept eating all together... and we didn't wear any masks," said Turkish national Ruhi Cenet, who left the cruise in Saint Helena.

- What's next? -

Spain's health ministry has said the ship is expected in Tenerife on Sunday, with evacuation of passengers set to start on May 11.

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The United States was waiting on Thursday for Iran to respond to its latest proposed deal to end the war in the Middle East and to reopen the key shipping lane out of the Gulf.

Asian stocks soared and oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump said once again that an agreement could be near after positive talks, and Iran said it would pass on its latest position to mediator Pakistan.

Any agreement to prolong the ceasefire between the United States and Iran could also lower tensions in Lebanon, where an already fragile truce with Israel was under renewed strain after a strike on southern Beirut killed a Hezbollah commander.

The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has seen Iran respond with attacks across the Middle East and impose a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Gulf oil and gas industries and a strategic trade route.

Trump had this week briefly launched a naval operation to escort commercial vessels and force open the strait, only to stand it down within hours, citing progress on negotiations with Iran, which have been mediated by Pakistan and supported by Washington's Gulf Arab allies.

In Iran, however, many were wary of increased repression as the war drags on. 

"The economic situation got worse, and this government has become even more brutal," 49-year-old Ali told AFP journalists in Paris from the Iranian city of Tonekabon, using only his first name for fear of retribution. 

- 'Under review' -

"We've had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it's very possible that we'll make a deal," Trump told reporters on Wednesday, adding his now habitual threat to return to bombing if Tehran refuses to back down to US demands.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the US proposal remained "under review" and Tehran would communicate its position to mediator Pakistan "after finalising its views". 

According to a report from US network NBC News, Trump's U-turn came after Saudi Arabia -- whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly talked directly to Trump -- refused to allow US forces to use its airspace and bases for the Hormuz operation.

US news outlet Axios, citing two officials, reported that both Tehran and Washington were close to agreement on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme. 

Trump has claimed that Iran's leadership is divided, in the wake of the deaths of many senior figures in US and Israeli strikes.

But President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday he had met with the country's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March. 

"What struck me most during this meeting was the vision and the humble and sincere approach of the supreme leader of the Islamic revolution," Pezeshkian said, in a video broadcast by state television.

Khamenei, reportedly wounded in strikes on the first day of the Middle East war that claimed the life of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, has released only written statements since his appointment.

- Oil prices fall -

Oil prices fell again, tumbling by two percent Thursday -- having fallen around 10 percent over the previous two days -- and Tokyo's Nikkei index led another strong rally across Asia stocks, fuelled by revived optimism that the talks will bear fruit.

Energy prices are still much higher than before the conflict, but international standard Brent and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate are both now below the symbolic $100 level.

Markets have been particularly concerned about the Strait of Hormuz, which in peacetime carries a fifth of the world's oil and LNG trade as well as a good chunk of its fertiliser.

On the Lebanese front, Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs Wednesday in the first such attack in nearly a month, killing a senior Hezbollah commander from its elite Radwan force. 

In a video released by his office, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "I say to our enemies in the clearest possible terms: no terrorist is immune. Anyone who threatens the State of Israel will die because of his actions."

The Israeli military said in a statement Thursday that an "explosive drone impact" had wounded four of its soldiers -- one severely -- in southern Lebanon the previous day.

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No military hardware, internet shutdowns, Ukrainian drone threats and simmering discontent: President Vladimir Putin will host Moscow's Victory Day parade Saturday amid signs some Russians are tiring of more than 50 months of war.

The parade -- marking the World War II defeat of the Nazis and held as Putin's Ukraine offensive has dragged on for longer than the Soviet Union's fight against Germany -- has become a central symbol of his 26-year rule. 

Since launching the offensive on Ukraine in 2022, Putin has channelled Soviet victory to galvanise support for a campaign that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.

But as Russia rolls out unpopular restrictions and a decisive military victory appears more and more out of reach, the scaled-back celebrations come amid increased nervousness in Moscow.

Tanks and missiles will not roll through Red Square for the first time in almost two decades -- a decision taken as Ukraine launches drone attacks as far away as the Urals.

Kristina Sitnikova, a 26-year-old visiting Moscow from the Russian Far East, said she would not be in the square for the parade as she was scared of "being at the wrong place at the wrong time".

Moscow, which pounded Ukraine with deadly strikes this week, warned foreign diplomats in Kyiv it would hit the Ukrainian capital if Kyiv targeted the commemorations. 

- 'Hard to see it as care for me' -

Russia has introduced massive wartime censorship, keeps its real military losses -- believed to be in the hundreds of thousands -- secret, and has jailed or forced war critics into exile. 

But the widespread internet outages, a slowing economy and rising prices have seen discontent trickle into the public domain in recent weeks. 

Major floods in Dagestan, protests from farmers against an animal cull in Siberia and authorities blocking attempts to organise protests against the internet outages have also led to localised pockets of frustration.

An appeal to Putin by a Russian blogger who lives in Europe, Victoria Bonya, raising a string of concerns -- without criticising the war and offering support for Putin personally -- gripped Russian political discourse last month, racking up millions of views.

Putin's personal approval rating -- hovering around 70 percent according to state pollsters -- has dipped to its lowest since the start of the war.

On the streets of Moscow, the internet outages split opinion.

"We used to somehow live without the internet, didn't we?," 44-year-old Alexander Zubkov, told AFP. 

But student Anna Chizhikova, 21, was frustrated she could not access her banking app, pay for lunch or talk to friends. 

"It's hard to see it as care for me," she said. 

- 'Where are we headed to?' -

"The feeling that something is going not right has been ongoing for a few months," Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya told AFP.

"There is a question in the air: where are we headed to and how?" 

While Moscow is, for now, tolerating some criticism, at the heart of the anxiety is the topic that is strictly taboo: the war.

In 2022, Russia cast its offensive as a days-long campaign that would see them capture Kyiv, install a friendly puppet regime and have little-to-no serious consequences for Russians at home.

Four years and hundreds of thousands of casualties later, Moscow's troops have been unable to capture even the areas of eastern Ukraine that Putin claims to have annexed and the domestic consequences are mounting. 

Negotiations on the conflict have led to nowhere.

Stanovaya, the analyst, said Putin is under pressure from hardliners, who accuse him of not being tough enough in Ukraine, and from the business community, frustrated he has not struck a deal yet. 

"There is a desire for more certain action: either you end the war and negotiate, or we hit Kyiv as hard as we can and show them," she said. 

But on the streets of Moscow days before the parade, many remained defiant. 

"I feel calm for our country, it is powerful," Olga Nikolenko, a speech therapist who travelled from the southern city of Stavropol to watch her son march in the parade, said. 

"Victory will be ours," she added. 

"Nothing will end any time soon, that's for sure," Arkady Solyanov, an ecologist in his 30s, said.

"We will have to still be patient."

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Russia said Thursday that it was "incomprehensible" its ally Armenia hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a European summit earlier this week, and cautioned the country against deeper European integration.

Ties between Armenia and its former imperial ruler Moscow have frayed in recent years.

The former Soviet republic froze its membership in the Russian-led CSTO military alliance in 2024 over Russia's failure to defend it against Azerbaijan, and has expressed an interest in joining the European Union, angering the Kremlin.

"Russian society, with deep indignation and bewilderment, not only saw, but above all remembered, the fact that Armenia, which we are accustomed to considering a friendly, fraternal country, had served as a platform. For whom? For a terrorist," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a weekly briefing.

Since launching its full-scale military offensive in February 2022, Russian officials have regularly hurled insults at Zelensky and routinely call Kyiv a "terrorist state" -- outbursts rejected and dismissed in Kyiv as baseless wartime propaganda. 

"No one in Armenia's current leadership snubbed Zelensky. So whose side are you on, historically?" she asked.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told reporters Thursday: "Back in 2022-2023 I already stated that, on the issue of Ukraine, we are not an ally of Russia."

Zakharova also criticised a joint declaration that Armenia and the European Union adopted at their summit on Tuesday.

The document recognises Yerevan's aspiration to join the bloc, as well as deepens cooperation between the two sides in economic and security matters.

"Such a course on the part of the Armenian authorities will sooner or later lead to Yerevan's irreversible involvement in Brussels' anti-Russian line, with all the ensuing political and economic consequences for Armenia," Zakharova said.

The nation of three million people bordering Iran and Turkey passed a law last year formally declaring its intention to apply for EU membership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Pashinyan in April that Yerevan could not be a member of both the European Union and the Russian-led customs bloc.

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France's far-right leaders have met the ambassadors of Germany and Israel in recent months as their party, once deemed antisemitic, seeks to court foreign envoys in the run-up to next year's presidential elections. 

Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party is eyeing its best chance yet at taking power, with President Emmanuel Macron stepping down after hitting the two-term limit.

Le Pen hopes to run for president for a fourth time in 2027, after twice making it to the runoffs against Macron in the last two votes.

But if an appeals court in July bars the 57-year-old from public office over an alleged fake jobs scam in European Parliament, her lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 30, is expected to run in her place.

France is home to western Europe's largest Jewish population, at around half a million people.

Le Pen has long sought to make the party she inherited from her father Jean-Marie more palatable, including by distancing it from the antisemitic legacy of a man convicted for Holocaust denial. 

As polls suggest she or Bardella could well lead in the first round of the election, the strategy seems to have paid off.

Bardella, who is RN party leader after taking over from Le Pen, in February met the German ambassador, his party and a participant said.

The embassy did not confirm the meeting.

But a diplomatic source told AFP it was "the responsibility of a foreign mission to maintain contacts with all the political forces in the host country concerned".

Germany has long been among Israel's staunchest allies, something Berlin has grounded in the country's responsibility for the Holocaust.

"Yes, they met in February," a member of Bardella's team said, seeking to present it as a routine meeting.

He "meets many ambassadors as part of his duties as head of the RN party and as leader of a group in the European Parliament," the person said.

Bardella is head of the Patriots for Europe group, the EU legislature's third-largest bloc that was co-founded in 2024 by former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban.

- 'Areas of convergence' -

The participant said the discussion between Bardella and the German ambassador made it possible to identify "areas of convergence" on several issues in France and neighbouring Germany.

They focused in particular on "budgetary discipline" in both leading EU member states.

The episode follows Le Pen last month meeting the Israeli ambassador for the first time.

The embassy confirmed the meeting, with a diplomatic source adding that the ambassador "received all political parties" except from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI).

LFI has criticised Israel over the war in Gaza, and its leader Jean-Luc Melenchon -- also a candidate next year -- has been accused of making antisemitic comments.

Before the meeting with the Israeli envoy, Le Pen had the previous day been seen meeting the Lebanese ambassador, who thanked her for her solidarity as his country sought a lasting ceasefire with neighbouring Israel.

Both Le Pen and Bardella also met the US ambassador late last year.

US ambassador Charles Kushner in December on X posted a picture of himself with them, saying he appreciated the chance to learn from them "about the RN's economic and social agenda and their views on what lies ahead for France".

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Another sick passenger from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship landed in Europe on Thursday, as the vessel headed to a Spanish island and health officials scrambled to map the outbreak of the potentially deadly human-to-human strain.

The fate of the MV Hondius has sparked international alarm after three people travelling on the ship died, though health officials have played down fears of a wider global outbreak from the virus, which is less contagious than Covid.

People thought to have contracted the virus are being treated or isolating in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and South Africa.

An air steward from the Dutch KLM carrier is being tested for the virus after possibly having come in contact with an infected person on a flight, it said.

Hantavirus is a rare respiratory disease that is usually spread from infected rodents and can cause respiratory and cardiac distress as well as haemorrhagic fevers. There are no vaccines and no known cure, meaning that treatment consists solely of attempting to relieve the symptoms.

The version detected aboard the stricken Hondius ship was a rare strain known as the Andes virus, which can be transmitted between humans.

It is thought that a passenger had contracted the virus -- which has a one- to six-week incubation period -- before boarding the ship in Argentina and eventually infected others abord the vessel as it sailed across the Atlantic.

On Thursday, a plane carrying a sick passenger landed in Amsterdam, a day after three evacuees were whisked away from the ship, the vessel's operator, Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement.

"No symptomatic individuals are present on board" the ship at the moment, as it sails toward Spain's Tenerife Island, it said in a statement.

Two people who returned to the UK from the ship have been advised to self-isolate, the UK Health Security Agency said, adding they were asymptomatic and insisting the risk to the public was "very low".

- Global risk 'low' -

The World Health Organization has played down fears of a wider global outbreak from the virus, with chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus telling AFP on Wednesday that "the risk to the rest of the world is low."

Tedros was due to hold a press conference later on Thursday.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) echoed the sentiment, saying: "At this time, the risk to the American public is extremely low."

Meanwhile officials in Argentina said they planned to test rodents in the coastal city of Ushuaia, from where the ship had set sail on April 1.

- First case -

A Dutch man who had boarded in Ushuaia along with his wife died aboard the ship on April 11, without raising alarm.

The ship's captain announced the death to passengers as "due to natural causes," said Ruhi Cenet, a 35-year-old Turkish travel vlogger who was aboard the ship.

The man's body was taken off the ship on April 24 in Saint Helena, an island in the south Atlantic where 29 other passengers disembarked, the ship's operator said. 

"These guests have all been contacted by Oceanwide Expeditions. We are working to establish details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked on various stops of Hondius since March 20," it said.

Alarm was raised when the deceased man's wife -- who left the ship to accompany his body to South Africa -- died there 15 days later after also falling ill, with hantavirus confirmed as the cause on May 4.

The couple had visited Chile, Uruguay and Argentina before the cruise, Argentine officials said.

The Dutch woman had flown on a commercial plane from the island of Saint Helena to Johannesburg while she was showing symptoms.

Officials were trying to trace people on that flight, which South African-based carrier Airlink said was carrying 82 passengers and six crew.

Dutch airline KLM said on Thursday that one of its air stewards was undergoing testing for the hantavirus after showing mild symptoms.

The previous day the airline said that one of the people who died from the virus had been "briefly" on its flight from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25, but was removed before take-off.

There remain discrepancies with the reported number of people aboard the ship. 

When the ship anchored off Cape Verde there were 149 people onboard, including 88 passengers, according to the operator. But when the cruise set off from Argentina on April 1 there were 114 guests with dozens of crew, the operator said Thursday.

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A group of women linked to Islamic State jihadists arrived in Australia on Thursday, returning home years after allegedly sneaking into Syria to join the group's self-declared caliphate.

The women and their children -- all Australian citizens -- landed on Thursday evening after securing passage from Syrian refugee camps where they have languished since the Islamic State group's demise.

Three women and eight children were reportedly aboard a Qatar Airways flight that arrived at Melbourne Airport from Doha.

Another plane landed in Sydney. Australian media said a woman and her son from the Syrian camp were aboard.

There was a noticeable police presence at both airports ahead of the arrivals, according to AFP journalists in Melbourne and Sydney.

Police have said some of the returning women will be charged with "terrorism offences" such as travelling to a banned area and even "engaging in slave trading".

"For operational reasons, I won't go into who may be arrested but obviously we're working very closely with Commonwealth authorities," New South Wales state police commissioner Mal Lanyon said on Thursday before their arrival. 

Hundreds of women from Western nations were lured to the Middle East as the Islamic State group gained prominence in the early 2010s, in many cases following husbands who had signed up as jihadist fighters.

Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and others are still grappling with how to treat citizens stranded after the group collapsed.

- 'Horrific choice' -

Widely known as the "ISIS brides", the case has stirred strong feelings in Australia.

Australia's Human Rights Commission urged the government in March to help repatriate 34 women and children stuck in Syria's notorious Roj refugee camp.

But others have accused the women of turning their back on Australia and believe they should be left to face the consequences.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has accused the four returning Australian women of making "a horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation".  

They are not the first Australian citizens to return from Syria's refugee camps.

Small groups of women and children flew back to Australia in 2019, 2022 and 2025. 

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Southeast Asia's AirAsia signed a $19 billion deal to buy 150 Canadian-made Airbus A220-300 jets, the two companies said, with the low-cost carrier adding Thursday that it could double the order to meet future demand.

The deal, announced at the plane-maker's facility in Mirabel, Canada, represents the biggest order in that country's history, with AirAsia co-founder Tony Fernandes calling it "the perfect tool for our next phase of growth".

"This order reflects our long-term discipline and the scale of our ambitions," he said in a statement.

Southeast Asia's largest low-cost carrier said the agreement had "the strategic flexibility to upsize the commitment to 300 of the A220 Aircraft Family to meet future demand".

Airbus Commercial Aircraft CEO Lars Wagner said the A220 planes will "open up new routes across Asia that were not feasible before".

The deal comes as the aviation industry grapples with soaring jet fuel prices driven by the US-Israeli war with Iran that has raised the spectre of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights.

Air Asia announced last month it was cutting more flights and even some connections without providing an overall figure.

The Malaysia-based no-frills airline said it was also raising fares by up to 40 percent and about 10 percent of its overall flights had been cut so far at the time.

- 'Never waste a crisis' -

Wagner said it was hoped once the new fleet is delivered in 2028, larger AirAsia aircrafts will be freed up to focus on long-haul routes to North America, Australia and Europe.

Fernandes, meanwhile, told the Financial Times in an article published on Thursday that the jet fuel shock triggered by the war is a bigger crisis for global aviation than the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I thought I'd seen it all with Covid . . .  but having seen jet fuel go up almost three times -- this is much worse," Fernandes told the newspaper.

In a LinkedIn post, Fernandes said the decision to move on the Airbus deal now is because "we never waste a crisis. AirAsia grew by making bold decisions at the right moment, not the easiest moment".

The airline industry has been particularly susceptible to the supply shortages resulting from the closure of the key Middle East waterway since the start of March because many of the sector's costs are tied to jet fuel.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Fernandes remained defiant on hedging fuel costs, saying he thinks they'll eventually calm down. 

"Obviously people who hedge now are in the money, but over a longer period, hedging never really works," Fernandes said, though the decision has led to the company's shares tumbling 35 percent according to the publication.

In the same interview Fernandes announced he is also preparing to launch a new airline in coming months.

AFP has contacted AirAsia for comment.

Shukor Yusof, founder of Singapore-based aviation advisory Endau Analytics, said the move is "very bullish on the marketplace".

"(Fernandes is) betting that this aircraft is going to be useful for AirAsia for when 2030 and onwards arrive," Shukor said.

With the latest order, AirAsia becomes the "global launch customer" for the A220's new 160-seat configuration, Wagner said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was also at the ceremony, said "the 150 aircraft will be built by Canadian workers on Canadian factory floors".

The Mirabel headquarters and manufacturing facilities employs approximately 4,000 people, while another facility in Mobile, Alabama, is home to the second A220 manufacturing facility.

Canada is the only country outside of Europe to host a major Airbus programme, with the building of the A220 family.

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