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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaIranian troops descend from helicopter to seize Israel-linked shipPublished20 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Watch: Moment Iranian troops appear to rappel onto Israeli-linked vessel.By Matt MurphyBBC NewsIran has seized a commercial ship with links to Israel as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday. The MSC Aries was boarded by Iranian special forces about 50 miles (80km) off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a statement from the vessel’s operator MSC said. Footage obtained by Reuters news agency appeared to show troops rappelling onto the vessel from a helicopter. The Portuguese-flagged ship is linked to Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.The incident comes amid heightened expectation of an Iranian attack on Israel after an airstrike destroyed Iran’s consulate in Damascus at the start of April. Israel said on Saturday Iran would bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further.Tracking data last showed the MSC Aries off the coast of the UAE, heading towards the Strait of Hormuz over 18 hours ago. It then appeared to turn off its tracking data, which is common for Israeli-affiliated ships in the region. Analysis: How might Iran seek to hurt Israel?Why are Israel and Hamas fighting in Gaza?Biden vows support for Israel amid Iran attack fearsThe UK’s Maritime Trade Operations agency confirmed the boarding in a statement. It made no mention of Iranian involvement, instead stating that the ship had been seized by “regional authorities” off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE. However, Iranian media has been quick to trumpet the involvement of the country’s special forces in the attack. The country’s state news agency, Irna, said the naval branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) had seized the MSC Aries as it was “linked to Israel”. It added that the ship was in the process of being transported to Iranian waters. In video footage, troops could be seen rappelling onto the vessel from a helicopter hovering overhead. A crew member could be heard shouting: “Don’t come out.” In the video, one commando could also be seen kneeling to provide cover fire as other troops boarded the ship. According to MSC there were 25 crew members onboard at the time of the seizure. White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the crew is comprised of Indian, Filipino, Pakistani, Russian and Estonian nationals.”We call on Iran to release the vessel and its international crew immediately,” Ms Watson said in a statement. “Seizing a civilian vessel without provocation is a blatant violation of international law, and an act of piracy by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. “It must be condemned unequivocally, and we will work with our partners to hold Iran to account for its actions.”Officials in Tehran have yet to comment on the seizure. The ship is managed by MSC, which leases the vessel from Gortal Shipping Inc – a company affiliated with Mr Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime. In response to the attack, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the European Union “to immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards corps as a terrorist organization and to sanction Iran” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying that the cargo ship belongs to an EU member.US warns of impending Iran attackSince 2019 Iranian forces have carried out a series of ship seizures in the region and the attack comes amid mounting tensions between Iran and Israel. Ever since the lethal 1 April attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, which killed a senior IRGC commander, Iran has vowed to strike back at Israel, which it blames for the attack. While Israel has declined to comment on the attack, US officials have repeatedly warned that they expect Iran to attack Israel “sooner than later”. On Friday, President Joe Biden warned Tehran against an attack on Israel.”We are devoted to the defence of Israel. We will support Israel,” Mr Biden said. “We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed.”A spokesperson for Israel’s military said on Saturday that Iran would “bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further”. Meanwhile, Dutch media reported that the KLM airline will no longer fly over Iran due to mounting regional tensions. 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[ad_1] In response to the attack, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the European Union “to immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards corps as a terrorist organization and to…
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityBusinessMarket DataEconomyYour MoneyCompaniesTechnology of BusinessCEO SecretsArtificial IntelligenceVoters feel better about the economy. Will it help Biden?Published30 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsUS election 2024Image caption, Nancy Pontius says she is not worried about the “big picture economy”By Natalie ShermanBusiness reporter, New YorkNancy Pontius is ready to share an unpopular view: she doesn’t think inflation is a major issue, and worries about the economy won’t influence her vote in November’s election.But that’s not because the 36-year-old Democrat hasn’t felt the same financial strain as tens of millions of Americans over the past couple of years.”I definitely felt the gas price increase,” the mum-of-two from Pennsylvania says, “but I also recognised that it was likely to be temporary”. Ms Pontius voted for Joe Biden four years ago and plans to do so again, motivated by issues like abortion. “I’m not worried about the big picture economy,” she says.Such confidence is welcome news for Mr Biden, whose first term has been troubled by a once-in-a-generation 18% leap in prices, which propelled economic dissatisfaction and eroded political support.Even as the American economy’s booming emergence from the pandemic drew envy abroad, opinions at home remained starkly negative. Now there are signs that may be changing, as petrol prices fall back towards $3 a gallon nationally and wages get closer to catching up with price rises.Economic sentiment – what some pollsters describe as the “vibe” that people feel around the economy – has improved in business surveys in recent months. Where Biden v Trump will be won and lostDemocrats like Nancy are now as positive about the economy as they were in 2021, when prices had just started their climb – and more positive than at any point during the Trump presidency, according to the University of Michigan, which has surveyed consumers for decades. Even the views of Republican voters have brightened a bit, their research indicates.The White House hopes the change in mood will last and shore up support for the president as the election approaches in November – especially in crucial swing states like Pennsylvania.But that’s far from guaranteed. The president’s approval ratings are hovering around the lowest levels of his term, hit by concerns over immigration, his age and the war in Gaza.And despite the positive signs, overall economic sentiment has yet to recover from the beating it took during the pandemic, despite solid growth and a historic streak of unemployment below 4%. Among Democrats, the issue is particularly hurting Mr Biden with those under the age of 30, just a quarter of whom rated the economy as excellent or good in a recent Pew survey, compared to 70% over the age of 65.Kim Schwartz, a 28-year-old health technician from Pennsylvania, voted for Mr Biden in 2020 but has been disappointed by his economic policies.”I don’t see any progress in getting more money into the hands of middle class and working class Americans to keep up with [inflation],” she says.”I am going to vote, but whether it will be a write-in or third party or Biden, I don’t know.” Image caption, Kim Schwartz says construction sites are a sign her area is growing “like crazy” – but the future still seems bleakThough her financial position has improved since 2020, when she was struggling to cover her expenses while studying and working part-time, she still scouts multiple grocery stores each week in search of the lowest prices. She has deferred work on her car due to cost concerns; and big financial and life goals, like buying a house, still feel achingly out of reach.”I am surviving,” she says. “It’s enough to maintain but it’s not enough to improve or progress.”It’s a truism of American politics that the state of the economy decides elections. On that basis, Mr Biden should be in safe territory, with growth of 2.5% last year and inflation down sharply from its 2022 high, at 3.1% last month.But the typical weekly wage in the US, adjusted for inflation, at the end of last year remained lower than it was when Mr Biden took office. Why US economy is powering ahead of Europe’s Frustrations like Kim’s turn up repeatedly in political polling, where majorities express serious concern with the price of food, consumer goods and housing and describe the state of the economy as “poor” or “fair”. “It’s like a race and you’re trying to keep up with it,” says John Cooke, a 34-year-old restaurant manager in Pennsylvania.Image caption, John Cooke says a fall in gas prices since last year doesn’t mean much when other costs are still risingThough business at the eateries where he works has been good, he says inflation has cut into profits and he has not had a pay raise. “Car insurance has gone up, health insurance has gone up, my rent has gone up. They are saying the economy is doing great. That’s great to show me all these numbers but how is that helping me?” Republicans, who have an historic advantage among voters on economic issues, have made the economy one of their key lines of attack, hammering Mr Biden on inflation and blaming his “tax-and-spend” agenda for driving up prices. Economists say generous government financial support for households during the pandemic did help to fuel inflation by lifting consumer demand and cushioning household budgets, allowing firms to put up prices without major blowback.But the shock to oil prices from the war in Ukraine and supply shortages tied to the pandemic also played important roles.Democrats have held their own in elections since 2020 – including the 2022 midterms – by blaming wider forces for inflation and focusing on non-economic issues that motivate the base. But independent and infrequent voters, for whom the economy ranks highly, are more likely to vote in presidential contests. “The core issues the Biden coalition cares about are still issues like abortion, like gun safety, like voting rights, like climate change,” says Danielle Deiseroth, executive director at the progressive pollster Data for Progress. “But in an election that’s going to come down to a couple thousand votes in a couple of states, you can’t leave any issue off the table for swing voters.”Strategists say Mr Biden for too long relied on the big national numbers to defend his record – a response that felt emotionally out of touch. “When you just say the economy is great; GDP is great – nobody ever bought a dozen eggs with GDP. Nobody cares,” says pollster Celinda Lake, who worked on Mr Biden’s 2020 campaign. That criticism appears to have landed. In recent weeks, Mr Biden has adopted a markedly more populist tone, attacking companies for price gouging and “shrinkflation” – charging more for less – and sharpening his criticism of “extreme MAGA Republican” economic policies.What the world thinks of US electionDon Cunningham, a long-time Democratic politician in Pennsylvania, says he expects the disconnect between economic sentiment and reality to heal in the months ahead.Mr Cunningham leads the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation – drumming up investment in a former steel-making region that was hit hard in the 1980s as the industry hollowed out, but is enjoying a revival today. “I see challenges [for Biden] there but they are not related to economic issues,” he says. “How people are feeling personally, how candidates make them feel, if there’s an age gap, if younger folks are frustrated because there’s not someone from their generation… those are all real issues that go into how people vote and why people vote.”There are signs a significant number of Americans are dismayed by the likely choice they face in November – with Mr Biden and Mr Trump looking set for a 2020 rematch.Even Nancy’s urgency has cooled. Four years ago, she proudly planted a Biden sign on her lawn, but going into the 2024 race she’s planning to take a lower profile, leery of alienating her neighbours.”We might still put the Biden-Harris sign out,” she says. “But I was willing to be a little louder in 2020… than I am now.”If you’re in the UK, sign up here.And if you’re anywhere else, sign up here.Related TopicsUS economyInflationUS election 2024Joe BidenMore on this storyWhere Biden v Trump will be won and lostPublished31 JanuaryA simple guide to the US 2024 electionPublished24 JanuaryWhat the world thinks of US electionPublished31 JanuaryTop StoriesSpecial forces blocked elite Afghan troops from relocating to UKPublished6 minutes agoIsrael sets deadline for ground offensive in RafahPublished5 hours agoMurder arrest after three young children found dead in BristolPublished7 hours agoFeaturesThe Papers: ‘Schools phone ban’ and Kremlin ‘covering tracks’Who won what at the Bafta Awards – the full listWatch Baftas 2024 best bits… in two minutes. 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![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaIsrael orders evacuation of largest hospital in southern GazaPublished42 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, MO_ELHELO21Image caption, Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Helo posted a video showing civilians leaving Nasser hospitalBy David GrittenBBC NewsPalestinians say Israeli forces have ordered thousands of displaced people to evacuate the largest hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip.Videos showed an announcement via loudspeaker and a crowd leaving the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.Israel’s military said it had opened a secure route for civilians, but did not intend to evacuate patients and medics.Doctors and health officials say a number of people there have been killed by Israeli sniper fire in recent days.The reported deaths came as battles between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters raged in the vicinity of the hospital, which the UN says has been under siege for around a week and is only minimally functional.Intense hostilities have also been reported around the nearby Al-Amal hospital, which the Palestinian Red Crescent said was raided last week after some 8,000 displaced people and patients complied with an order to evacuate. The Israeli military has previously accused Hamas fighters of operating from inside and around the two hospitals – a claim that the armed group and medical officials have denied.Khan Younis has been the focus of Israel’s invasion of the south of Gaza, which began in early December after troops largely took control of Hamas strongholds in the north.The Israeli military launched a large-scale air and ground campaign after Hamas gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October and took 253 other people hostage.Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 28,500 people have been killed in the territory since then, including at least 103 in the past 24 hours.On Wednesday morning, Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Helo posted on Instagram what he said was footage showing a drone hovering over Nasser hospital as a soldier using a loudspeaker says in Arabic: “Go now out of the hospital, go now to the municipality.” About an hour later, he posted another video showing dozens of people walking through a courtyard and then turning towards al-Bahr Street, which connects western Khan Younis with the Mediterranean coast. Later, Gaza’s health ministry put out a brief statement accusing Israeli troops of “forcibly evacuating” thousands of displaced people, medical staff and patients from Nasser hospital. Médecins Sans Frontières reported that displaced people had been ordered to leave and that medical staff and patients had been told that they could remain in the hospital with a limit of one caretaker per patient. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had “opened a secure route to evacuate the civilian population taking shelter in the area of the Nasser hospital toward the humanitarian zone” – a reference to a thin strip of mainly agricultural land along the Mediterranean coast in an area known as al-Mawasi.”The evacuation of the civilian population is being conducted in a controlled and precise manner by IDF troops in order to prevent terrorists exploiting the evacuation,” it added.”We emphasize that the IDF does not intend to evacuate patients and medical staff, the troops involved have been thoroughly instructed in advance to prioritize the safety of civilians, patients, medical workers, and medical facilities during the operation.”The IDF also alleged that Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK and other countries – “cynically embeds itself within hospitals and civilian infrastructure”.Before the evacuation began, a doctor at Nasser hospital said in an audio message that Israeli tanks and snipers had surrounded the facility.Dr Khaled Alserr, a trauma surgeon, also said that he had treated a 16-year-old boy who was shot as he tried to leave the hospital. “[When] he reached the gate of the hospital he was shot by four bullets by an Israeli sniper,” he added.The Gaza health ministry also said Israeli sniper fire killed three people and injured two others at the hospital on Tuesday. Another seven people were reportedly shot dead in the courtyard on Monday.There was no immediate response to the allegations from the IDF, although it insists that its forces do not intentionally target civilians.A doctor at Nasser hospital’s emergency department, Haitham Ahmed, told BBC Arabic on Tuesday night that Israeli tanks had destroyed the northern wall during heavy bombardment and violent clashes in the surrounding area.”Part of the stock of medical supplies… was burned as a result of the morning clashes,” he said. “Since [Monday], with the hospital’s infrastructure being affected, sewage has unfortunately begun to flow into the departments located on the ground floors of the hospital, and there is a fear that it will reach the emergency and radiology departments.”This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, BBC News Arabic followed paramedics in northern Gaza during the first month of the conflict.The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he was alarmed by what was reportedly happening.”Nasser is the backbone of the health system in southern Gaza. It must be protected,” he warned. “Humanitarian access must be allowed.””Hospitals must be safeguarded so that they can serve their life-saving function. They must not be militarized or attacked.”Only 11 of Gaza’s 33 hospitals are currently partially functioning, according to the UN. As well as being overwhelmed by huge numbers of casualties, the hospitals are serving as shelters for thousands among the 1.7 million people who have fled their homes as a result of the fighting. The majority of those displaced are now living in Rafah, south of Khan Younis, where there is mounting concern about the lack of food, water and sanitation.On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to carry out a “powerful” operation in Rafah after civilians were evacuated. He reiterated that Israel would fight on until “total victory”. Meanwhile, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, told the BBC that there was only 24 hours’ worth of food left in the city. He also warned that it be impossible to run any effective humanitarian operations or protect civilians if Israel sent ground forces into Rafah.”I understand why the Israelis want to move in on Rafah. I understand their desire to recover those hostages, those poor people,” he said. “What I want to say to you, before it starts is, if there is an assault you cannot, you must not, you should not, rely on the fantasy of a humanitarian operation being able to save people in the middle of such carnage.”In a separate development, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas – who is based in the occupied West Bank – urged Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza quickly to avoid “another catastrophic event”. Negotiations are underway in Cairo aimed at securing a new temporary ceasefire deal, including the release of more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.Related TopicsIsrael & the PalestiniansIsrael-Gaza warIsraelPalestinian territoriesHamasMore on this storyUN warns of ‘slaughter’ if Israel launches Rafah assaultPublished14 hours agoImages from space show how crowded Rafah isPublished1 day agoIsrael rescues two hostages in Rafah amid deadly strikesPublished2 days agoPalestinians sheltering in Rafah fear Israeli offensivePublished1 day agoTop StoriesUkraine claims sinking of Russian ship off CrimeaPublished3 hours agoIsrael launches ‘extensive’ strikes in LebanonPublished1 hour agoBank boss says 4% inflation won’t spark rate cutsPublished2 hours agoFeaturesMoment Russian ship struck by Ukrainian drones. 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