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BBC News with Roisin Hastie.
The U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has accused the Iranian government of carrying out what he called "economic terrorism" by largely closing the Strait of Hormuz to ships. On Monday, the U.S. began what it says is a blockade stopping ships from using Iranian ports. That followed the failure of U.S.-Iranian peace talks in Pakistan. Speaking to Fox News, Mr. Vance said the move was designed to put pressure on Tehran. "They basically threatened any ship that's moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Well, as the president of the United States showed, two can play at that game. And if the Iranians are gonna try to engage in economic terrorism, we're gonna abide by a simple principle that no Iranian ships are getting out either. We know that's a big deal to them. We know that applies to additional economic leverage." The head of the International Energy Agency has warned there could be a further increase in energy prices this month caused by the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Speaking in Washington DC, Fatih Birol said the current global prices of oil and gas did not reflect the severity of the problem. He said tankers in the Middle East had not been loaded with oil in April and that many energy facilities had been severely damaged. He's called it "the worst energy security crisis in history." In the United States, the Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell has said he'll step down from the House of Representatives. He's been under pressure to do so amid accusations of sexual misconduct. Peter Bowes reports from Los Angeles. In a statement, Eric Swalwell apologized and said he must take responsibility for what he called "mistakes in judgement" that he made in his past. He said he planned to fight the serious false allegations made against him and he would resign from Congress rather than be distracted from his duties while defending himself. The Democrat has been accused of misconduct by several women ranging from sexual harassment to rape. Mr. Swalwell had been one of the leading contenders to become the next governor of California. When the allegations emerged last week, his political allies were quick to say he should drop out of the race. Faced with a growing backlash, Donald Trump has deleted from his social media platform an AI-generated image depicting him as a Jesus-like figure. As well as prompting outrage from religious leaders, it sparked a fierce response from both sides of the U.S. political spectrum, including from some of the president's most ardent supporters. Mr. Trump has claimed he thought the image depicted him as a doctor. "I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support. Only the fake news could come up with that one. So I just heard about it and I said, 'How did they come up with that?' It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better and I do make people better. I make people a lot better." World news from the BBC. A BBC investigation in the Punjab province of Pakistan has revealed dangerous practices in a government-run hospital that experts warn risk spreading viruses such as HIV. After a reported HIV outbreak among children at the Taunsa hospital last year, officials promised a crackdown. The government also intervened and brought in tighter standards. But secrets [under coming] under cover filming inside the children's ward has subsequently shown used syringes being inserted into medicine vials which are then used to treat other children. The Punjab government said there was no firm evidence linking the source of the city's HIV outbreak to the hospital. Authorities in the United States have charged a man with attempted murder after he allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at the San Francisco home of open AI boss Sam Altman. Twenty-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama from Texas also faces charges that include possession of an unregistered firearm and attempted destruction of property using explosives. Provisional results from the Benin's Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni has won a landslide victory in the presidential election with 94 percent of the vote. Mr. Wadagni has been the favorite to win after the main opposition party failed to secure its own candidate. And the wife of Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been charged with corruption. More from Danny Eberhardt. Begoña Gómez faces four charges - embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds. It's alleged she used her position as Prime Minister Sánchez's wife to get a senior academic post, despite not having a university degree. It's also alleged she used public resources and personal connections to advance her private interests. Ms. Gómez denies wrongdoing. Her husband says the right-wing group that launched the original complaint is trying to smear her to undermine... |