Iran and US hit tankers in biggest wave of attacks on shipping since war began

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By Enas Alashray, Idrees Ali and Jana Choukeir Reuters Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest wave of attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war. The attacks sent the price of ‌oil surging, with benchmark Brent crude futures breaching $100 a barrel for the first time since July. At least one seafarer aboard a tanker was reported killed and another listed as missing. The ‌incidents follow a month of relative calm, during which the U.S. has sought to pressure Iran through economic means. Iran said it had fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. military base in Jordan. Jordan said it intercepted 18 missiles, with the remaining two ​falling harmlessly in unpopulated areas. A U.S. official said all American troops were accounted for. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would sharply escalate its response to any further attacks, and said I...
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Chicago firefighter dies weeks after being injured in fire at home near O’Hare

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Firefighters salute the ambulance delivering Lt. Kevin Ward’s body to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday.

Firefighters salute the ambulance delivering Lt. Kevin Ward’s body to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

A Chicago firefighter has died more than two weeks after he and two others were injured while battling a fire in a home near O’Hare International Airport.

Lt. Kevin Ward, 59, died at Loyola Medical Center, where he was taken from the fire in the 8300 block of West Balmoral Avenue on Aug. 11, according to the Chicago Fire Department. Two other firefighters suffered less serious injuries, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

“He was surrounded by family as he made his transition,” the department said in a tweet.

Under a massive America flag draped over the street by two fire trucks, dozens of firefighters and police officers lined up along the street outside the Cook County medical examiner’s office on the Near West Side for the procession carrying Ward’s body from Loyola.

Interim Supt. Fred Waller and Deputy Chief Larry Snelling, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pick for the next superintendent, stood solemnly in line on the corner of Harrison and Leavitt streets. Ward’s body arrived at the medical examiner’s shortly after 12:40 p.m. in an ambulance followed by Truck 9, which he worked on on the city’s Far Northwest Side.

Ward joined the department in 1996.

In a statement, Mayor Johnson expressed his sympathies.

“On behalf of the City of Chicago, I offer my sincerest condolences on the passing of Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant Kevin Ward. I pray for the peace of his family, friends and loved ones during this most difficult time. Let us keep Truck #9 and all our dedicated first responders in our hearts as we honor Lt. Ward’s life and memory.”



from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/U6gZDHw

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