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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Iceland volcano erupts, spewing lava fountains

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A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on Thursday, the meteorological office said, spraying red-hot lava and smoke in its sixth outbreak since December.

The total length of the fissure was about 3.9 km (2.42 miles) and had extended by 1.5 km in about 40 minutes, the Icelandic Met Office, which is tasked with monitoring volcanoes, said in a statement.

Livestreams from the volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula showed glowing hot lava shooting up from the ground, their bright-yellow and orange colours set in sharp contrast against the dark night sky.

“The impact is limited to a localized area near the eruption site. It does not present a threat to life and the area nearby was evacuated,” Iceland’s ministry for foreign affairs said on social media X.

The lava was not flowing towards the nearby Grindavik fishing town, whose nearly 4,000 residents have been mostly evacuated since November, the Met office said.

The eruption took place on the Sundhnukar crater row east of mountain Sylingafell, partly overlapping the other recent outbreaks on the Reykjanes peninsula, in a volcanic system which has no central crater but erupts by opening giant cracks in the ground.

Studies had shown magma accumulating underground, prompting warnings of new volcanic activity in the area located just south of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik.

The most recent eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, home to some 30,000 people or nearly 8% of the country’s total population, ended on June 22 after spewing fountains of molten rock for 24 days.

The eruptions show the challenge faced by the island nation of nearly 400,000 people as scientists warn that the Reykjanes peninsula could face repeated outbreaks for decades or even centuries.

Since 2021, there have been nine eruptions on the peninsula, following the reactivation of geological systems that had been dormant for 800 years.

In response, authorities have constructed man-made barriers to redirect lava flows away from critical infrastructure, including the Svartsengi power plant, the Blue Lagoon outdoor spa and the town of Grindavik.

Flights were unaffected, Reykjavik’s Keflavik Airport said on its web page, but the nearby Blue Lagoon luxury geothermal spa and hotel said it had shut down and evacuated its guests.

Volcanic outbreaks in the Reykjanes peninsula are so-called fissure eruptions, which do not usually disrupt air traffic as they do not cause large explosions or significant dispersal of ash into the stratosphere.

Iceland, which is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Kentucky, boasts more than 30 active volcanoes, making the north European island a prime destination for volcano tourism – a niche segment that attracts thrill seekers.

Source: Reuters and Agencies



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/280jynd

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