IRISH holidaymakers heading to a European sunshine spot this summer have been warned over new cases of a deadly “mosquito” virus.

Health chiefs in France have reported 583 imported cases of chikungunya – a mosquito-borne disease that causes acute fever and joint pain, and there’s no cure, but it can be fatal.

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The tiger mosquito arrived in southern Europe in the first decade of this century[/caption]

Getty

It can cause fever and severe joint pain, as well as muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash[/caption]

Not known, clear with picture desk

There are 583 cases reported in France as of June 18, 2025[/caption]

According to recent data published by Santé Publique France, international travellers are returning to mainland France infected with various mosquito-transmitted diseases.

As of June 18, 2025, France reported 583 cases of chikungunya over the past six weeks.

And another two unrelated indigenous local cases of chikungunya have also been identified in 2025.

Chikungunya is a viral infection caused by the chikungunya virus.

The virus is transmitted from human to human by the bites of infected female mosquitoes.

It can cause fever and severe joint pain, as well as muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash.

Serious complications are not common, but in older people it can contribute to the cause of death.

The name of the disease means “to become contorted” in the African Kimakonde language, as it causes severe muscle and joint pain.

Most patients recover after a few days but in some cases, the joint pain may persist for weeks, months or even longer.

The tiger mosquito, also known as Aedes albopictus, arrived in southern Europe in the first decade of this century.

These are tropical and subtropical mosquitoes found in the warmer parts of the world, especially Asia, the United States and the Mediterranean Basin. 

Known for the black and white stripes along its body and legs, it can transmit several tropical diseases, including chikungunya, dengue and zika.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Health experts say the bug has thrived on the continent in part because of climate change.

Warmer weather conditions have shortened the time it takes to develop, while winters are no longer cold enough to kill off the pests.

Health chiefs in France also identified 395 imported cases of dengue fever, and 2 imported cases of Zika.

Dengue fever can also cause severe muscle pain and joint pain in those infected.

About one in 10 of those infected will develop severe dengue, which can result in shock, internal bleeding, and even death.

They said that the Aedes albopictus mosquito has been established in southern France since 2004 and has been gradually spreading since then.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said that chikungunya is a notifiable disease in Ireland.

CHIKUNGUYA TREATMENT

They added that the treatment for chikungunya involves pain relief and anti-fever medication.

There is currently no vaccine against the Chikungunya virus.

And travellers to affected areas are advised to prevent mosquito bites.

HPSC said: “People who have visited an area affected by chikungunya, and who develop a high fever along with unexplained joint pain in the 12 days after their return are advised to seek medical attention.

“Travellers to affected areas are advised to prevent mosquito bites.

“Pregnant women, immunosuppressed people and people suffering from a severe chronic illness should consult their physicians prior to the travel in order to assess their risk and get recommendations on personal preventive measures.”

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There is currently no vaccine against the chikungunya virus[/caption]

HEATHER WATSON has risen to fame through showing her impressive tennis skills.

The star has returned to the Wimbledon courts for 2025 – and there is one particular face she’ll want to make proud.

John Walton/PA Wire

Who is Heather Watson?

Heather Watson is a British tennis player who was born on May 19, 1992.

She was born in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands.

Heather, who has a brother called Adam and two sisters, called Stephanie and Julie, began playing tennis when she was just seven years old.

She attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.

Heather has gone on to win nine titles throughout the course of her career, including the mixed-doubles title at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships with partner Henri Kontinen.

She is ranked the women’s British number six, according to the Lawn Tennis Association, the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain.

Watson has also represented Team GB at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

Heather was one of a number of athletes who welcomed Wimbledon’s 2023 move to allow female players to wear coloured shorts.

The annual tournament relaxed its strict all-white dress code due to concerns raised by stars about playing while on their period. 

“When Wimbledon announced about the undershorts I was so happy because it makes such a difference,” she told Sky News.

“I speak openly about my period, I don’t think it’s a taboo subject and I would love for people to talk about it more.

“Last year I went on the pill to stop myself bleeding because I knew I had to wear white undershorts and I didn’t want any embarrassment.

“We’re running around sweating, doing the splits on court. This year I knew my period was going to be during Wimbledon again so I’m very happy I won’t have to do the same thing as last year.”

Is Heather Watson married?

Heather is not married but is in a relationship with Shaun Rooney.

The pair are thought to have got together in 2023 and the tennis player often posts the footballer on her social media.

She was last in a relationship with Yeovil Town and Morecambe football player Courtney Duffus.

The pair met in 2019 but split in 2022.

Before that, Heather was in a relationship with fellow tennis player Lloyd Glasspool.

They dated from 2016 to 2018.

What is Heather Watson’s net worth?

Heather has a net worth estimated to be about $5 million.

Around $3.9 million of that amount is thought to have come her prize earnings.

Heather reportedly owns a house near the All England Club where Wimbledon is held.

HUMAN REMAINS that washed up on a popular Scottish beach have been linked to the body of a man missing from Northern Ireland.

The body part was found on Prestwick Beach in Ayrshire last month on June 10.

A person on the beach uncovered the leg under seaweed while out walking on the beach.

They alerted authorities after discovering the leg bone still wearing a sock and shoe.

And police since confirmed the find was linked to the discovery of a body in the Donaghadee Road area of Millisle in Down back in May.

In a statement they said: “Around 10.45am on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, we received a report that human remains had been discovered on Prestwick Beach in Ayrshire.

“The remains have now been identified as those of a missing person from outside of Scotland.

“The relevant police service has been informed.”

Police in Northern Ireland have confirmed the death or the body part find are not being treated as suspicious.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “The Police Service of Northern Ireland can confirm that the body found in the Donaghadee Road area of Millisle on Wednesday, May 21, has been identified.

“The remains were determined to be male, and police are engaging with the family of the deceased.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious.”

The walker who made the grim find recalled the horrifying moment to The Scottish Sun.

They explained: “I was walking along the beach early on Tuesday morning when I came across a leg bone.

“It was buried under some seaweed. It was just a bone with the sock and shoe still on it.”

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IT’S almost 20 years since electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead on a packed London Tube carriage in a tragic case of mistaken identity.

The capital was on high alert as four suicide bombers were on the run after a failed attack on the transport system the day before, which saw police and MI5 launch the biggest manhunt of modern times.

PA:Press Association

Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by armed police officers at Stockwell Tube Station in a case of mistaken identity on July 22, 2005[/caption]

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Police followed Jean Charles through the London Underground station, fearing he was a suicide bomber[/caption]

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Two officers – codenamed C2 and C12 – killed Jean Charles with seven bullets to the head[/caption]

Times Newspapers Ltd

Now C2, who fired five shots, speaks for the first time and expresses his sincere regret over the killing[/caption]

A terrible error led to armed police officers following Brazilian Jean Charles, 27, onto the London Underground at Stockwell, south London on the morning of July 22, 2005. 

Two of them – codenamed C2 and C12 – killed him with seven bullets to the head.

Now C2, who fired five shots, has spoken out for the first time to apologise to his family – admitting he wishes he could turn back the clock.

He tells a Netflix documentary which drops today: “I would say to Jean Charles’ family I’m sorry, that I and another officer were put in a position where we killed your son.

“I would do anything to roll back time, to have a different set of circumstances where that didn’t happen. That should not have happened.”

In the four-part series – Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 bombers – C2 appears with his face hidden under a baseball cap and a hoodie.

He says: “I have never spoken about this publicly. This will probably be the only time that I will talk about it, rather than take it to my grave.”

A third firearms officer, Charlie 5, witnessed the killing, and two decades later the events of that fateful morning are burnt into his subconscious.

Just two weeks after four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters and wounded more 700 others on July 7, four terrorists planned to carry out copy-cat bombings on three tube trains and a bus.

But the 21/7 bombers failed to detonate their devices because the hydrogen peroxide mixture they had used as explosive was too weak.

Instead the would-be bombers dumped their backpacks and fled. 

A gym membership card left in one of the backpacks led cops to one suspect, Hussein Osman.

Anti-terrorist police and specialist firearms officers quickly had the block of flats in Scotia Road, Tulse Hill under surveillance. Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, also lived there.

‘Critical shot’

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On the morning of July 22, Jean Charles de Menezes was followed by code-named officers from his home to Stockwell Station, which had been the suicide bombers’ point of entry to the Tube network the previous day[/caption]

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Officers followed Jean Charles down the escalators onto the platform[/caption]

Handout

Police marksman C5, who by then had been on the firearms squad for nearly 10 years, recalls: “We were told, ‘Today you may be called upon to use unusual tactics.’

“I think someone said, ‘What do you mean, like critical shot?’

“And he said, ‘All I’ll say is don’t question anything you’re told because you will not have the full picture.’

“They gave us already-loaded fresh magazines with hollow-point ammunition.

“We were told that some of the devices could be small, like a suicide vest. It could be a belt with a bomb in it. It could be a coffee jar size that could go in a pocket.

“When we left there, we were under no illusion how dangerous these bombers were.

I have never spoken about this publicly. This will probably be the only time that I will talk about it, rather than take it to my grave

C2

“We were told they were highly motivated, determined and deadly. We were also told we would only be used if one of the subjects was identified as one of the bombers.”

He adds: “For whatever reason, there had been some sort of cock up in the OP [Operational Support] van.

“Normally they would have had a good opportunity to take a photograph and could have said there and then if it was or wasn’t him.”

The other problem was that instructions had to come from a control room at Scotland Yard, instead of the unit’s own commanders at SO19 – which led to long delays.

‘Edgy’

On the morning of July 22, Jean Charles de Menezes was followed from his home as he boarded a bus to Brixton, where he got off, and then got back on again because the Underground station was closed.

To police surveillance teams he appeared to be acting suspiciously.

He then got off at Stockwell Station, which had been the suicide bombers’ point of entry to the Tube network the previous day.

C5 tells The Sun: “It was looking more and more likely this was the subject. Over the radio he was described as edgy.

“In my head I kept thinking, it’s escalating. At some point I felt we would have to intervene.

“Then, of course, we got those immortal words, ‘He must not be allowed to get on that Tube under any circumstances’.

In my head I kept thinking, it’s escalating. At some point I felt we would have to intervene. Then, of course, we got those immortal words, ‘He must not be allowed to get on that Tube under any circumstances’

C5

“We were deployed. As far as we were concerned, it was a positive ID.

“I remember going down the Tube, down the escalators, thinking, we’re going to be too late, and the train’s going to go in the tunnel, and I’m going to see a big flash, a big explosion.”

C2 remembers: “He’s a minute, maybe two minutes ahead of me. So I had to run.

“I’m thinking I cannot believe that we have allowed this situation to develop.

“We’ve allowed someone we believe is a suicide bomber into the tube network. To have a device on him. To initiate that device.

“My only way in was to leap over the barrier. I remember chasing down the escalator. I pulled my weapon and I put it behind my back.

Charlie 5 says: “It was a nightmare scenario because we all knew we’d lose radio comms.

“C2 and C12 were in front of me. We were not shouting ‘Armed police’.”

Charlie 5 admits: “I’ve been involved in quite a few shooting incidents but nothing like this.

“It was one of those days where you had to step into the arena, deal with what was in front of you and do what needed to be done.”

‘Numb’

PA:Press Association

Jean Charles’ final movements were shown in court[/caption]

The underground carriage was still standing at the platform. C5 entered through the single door at the end.

He says: “At the inquest there was only about 17 people shown in the carriage at the time but it was absolutely jam-packed.

“It had been sitting on the platform for probably four or five minutes, and people just kept getting on.

“I remember having to push my way through people moving through the carriage trying to identify the suspect, looking, where is he?

“As I got to the doors my two colleagues were there, so I knew I was in the right carriage. I was aware of someone standing up to the left.”

Shots rang out. C2 says: “A surveillance officer already in the carriage indicated who the subject was.

“I was convinced we were about to die. I fired and so did my colleague Charlie 12, and I kept firing until I was absolutely certain there was no further threat.

“I could not believe what had just happened. To be frank I was numb with shock because of the horror of what had occurred.

“There was a relief that we were still standing and we had stopped an attack.”

I was convinced we were about to die. I fired and so did my colleague Charlie 12, and I kept firing until I was absolutely certain there was no further threat

C2

C5 adds: “When the gunshot rang out my first thought was, we were going to blow up. This is it, there’s an explosion, we’re going to die.

“Then, a fraction of a second later, I thought, we’re still here. It was a strange feeling. I felt kind of euphoric. It was weird, this adrenaline feeling of like, we have survived.

“But there was no celebration or anything. We knew we had taken a life. It’s a horrible thing.

“I felt for both the officers, C2 and C12, what they had to do.

“In that time, everybody was running off the Tube in mass panic, they were running and leaving their phones.

“We felt we were going on war footing from the bombings. We were under attack. And, you know, I think everyone else did as well.

“People had a heightened sense of what was going on around them. Could there be another bombing and could they be victims of it?”

‘Something was not right’

C2 was taken away from the scene in an unmarked police car, while C5 volunteered to stay to help an explosives officer in plain clothes check the body for bombs.

Charlie 5 remembers: “There were no devices. We laid him on the ground so I could check for vital signs.

“He found a wallet and it had ID in it. The name on the ID was Jean Charles de Menezes.

“It wasn’t the name of the subject, so along with the fact that he didn’t have a device on him things just didn’t seem to add up for me at that time.

“I didn’t want to say this to anybody because I didn’t want to start rumours, but in the back of my mind I started to feel something was not right.”

C2 says: “By the time I’d got home I was aware there was speculation regarding the identity of the person I had killed. I didn’t get any sleep, and I still had massive tinnitus, a very, very loud ringing in my ears.

“Next day I caught the Tube back to work and I was called into the chief superintendent’s office. He told me that the man I shot was completely innocent. 

“I can’t describe how I felt, it was the worst feeling ever. I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is.

I can’t describe how I felt, it was the worst feeling ever. I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is

C2

“I am responsible, and I accept responsibility. As a firearms officer ultimately the decision to use force is yours.

“But why were we in that position? Those people in command put me in that position, they also have to answer.”

The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge either C12 or C2 with any offence and they returned to duty. 

C5, who retired from the police in 2013, says: “Twenty years on I think about this frequently. It’s always in the news somewhere. It is burnt into my subconscious.

“I don’t think I have PTSD over it. I was a seasoned firearms officer. My training experience part-prepared me for mentally dealing with things.

“It has taken a lot of processing over the years. I think people forget, we’re family men and we’re trying to protect the public, not harm them.”

The Metropolitan Police made changes in the wake of the tragic shooting at Stockwell.

C5 says: “There’s a lot more fail-safe put in place in identifying suspects and communications have improved.

“Could it happen again? “There’s always a human element of errors so yes, it’s possible, but hopefully not with all the fail-safe they have now.”

Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 bombers is on Netflix from July 1.

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Matozinhos Otone Da Silva and Maria Otone de Menezes, the parents of Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes, at the scene of the shooting in Stockwell Tube station[/caption]

EPA

An emotional Patricia da Silva Armani, cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes, at a press conference around the time of the inquest into his death[/caption]

Reuters

Jean Charles’s cousin Alessandro Pereira delivers a letter and a photograph to 10 Downing Street[/caption]

Times Newspapers Ltd

A memorial to Jean Charles de Menezes which was set up outside Stockwell Tube station in the wake of the shooting[/caption]

We are now just days away from the 129th edition of the Hollywoodbets Durban July to be held on Saturday, 5 July.

England lose George Timmins to suspension ahead of their crunch U20 World Cup clash with high-flying South Africa on Friday.

On Tuesday morning, Kaizer Chiefs announced a new left-back. The 25-year-old is believed to have cost R4.2 million.

A historic pay boost is on the horizon for Bangkok’s workers, as the government acknowledges a major wage hike that will benefit hundreds of thousands. The Cabinet has officially confirmed a significant increase in Bangkok’s minimum wage, with the daily rate set to rise to 400 baht starting July 1. The wage increase, which will …

The story Bangkok minimum wage hits 400 baht: Boost for 700,000 workers as seen on Thaiger News.

A helicopter landing in Udon Thani has sent lottery fever into overdrive, with residents betting on a number they believe will lead them to fortune. Excitement is mounting in Udon Thani as lottery enthusiasts eagerly await today’s draw, all eyes on the tail number of a helicopter that has taken the town by storm. The …

The story Helicopter tail number sparks lottery frenzy in Udon Thani as seen on Thaiger News.

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has released the official fuel price adjustments for July 2025.