International

WW2 veteran aged 102 dies on way to D-Day event

Published

2 years ago

June 6, 2024

Charles Flames

471 Views

by Wale Ewedimi

A World War Two US Navy veteran travelling to France for an event marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings has died, a veteran organisation has confirmed.

Robert “Al” Persichitti from Rochester, New York, was airlifted to a hospital in Germany on 30 May after suffering a medical emergency aboard a ship heading to Europe.

He died the following day, aged 102.

Remembered as a “great, humble man,” Mr Persichitti was involved in the allied operation in Japan.

Honor Flight – a veteran organisation Mr Persichitti belonged to – confirmed his death on social media and said he had “served his country bravely without hesitation”.

The non-profit helps transport former US servicemen to the memorials of the respective wars they fought in.

The 102-year-old was selected to attend the event in Normandy by the National World War Two Museum in New Orleans, which paid for and organised the trip, a local affiliate of CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reported.

“I’m really excited to be going”, he told broadcaster WROC-TV a day before he set off.

His cardiologist had encouraged him to travel, he added.

Al DeCarlo, who served alongside Mr Persichitti in Japan, was also on the trip. He told local media in Rochester that his friend did not die alone.

“The doctor was with him… he was at peace and he was comfortable,” he said, according to ABC news agency affiliate, WHAM-TV.

“She put his favourite singer, Frank Sinatra, on her phone and he peacefully left us.”

The pair served in Iwo Jima together, a Japanese island the US captured from the country’s imperial army in 1945.

Mr Persichitti’s friend of 46 years, Pastor William Leone, told WHAM-TV “he had a real zest for living” and would visit children in local schools to talk to about his experiences.

The veteran was also a former teacher. In April, students at a local school helped organise a birthday celebration in his honour.

In 2020, he was named an honouree of New York State Senate’s Veteran Hall of Fame by the then Senator Rich Funke.

His local chapter of Honor Flight in Rochester said they will miss him.

International

Trump says he thinks Putin is helping Iran

“I think he might be helping them a bit, yeah.”“I guess, and he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?”

Published

4 days ago

March 13, 2026

OCHEFA

65 Views

President Donald Trump on Friday said he believed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is helping Iran in its war against the United States and Israel.

According to CNBC, Trump’s comment came in a radio interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, and a week after the president lashed out at Fox News reporter Peter Doocy for asking him at the White House about reports that Russia was aiding Iran.

Kilmeade asked Trump on Friday: “You think Putin is helping them?”

Trump replied, “I think he might be helping them a bit, yeah.”“I guess, and he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?” Trump continued.

“Yeah, we’re helping them also,” Trump said, referring to Ukraine, which has been at war against Russia since being invaded in early 2022.

“So he [Putin] says that, and China would say the same thing, you know,” Trump told Kilmeade.

“It’s like, ‘Hey, they do it, and we do it, in all fairness,’ ” Trump said. “They do it, and we do it.”

International

IEA agrees to release record 400 million barrels of oil to address Iran war supply disruptions

The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market

Published

6 days ago

March 11, 2026

OCHEFA

94 Views

Merchant ship on fire hits by Iran in Strait of Hormuz.

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, the largest such action in the organization’s history.

The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market.

It said that the reserves would be released over a time frame that is appropriate to the circumstances of each of its 32 member countries.

IEA members are primarily advanced economies in Europe, North America and northeast Asia. The organization is tasked with maintaining global energy security.

It was founded in 1974 in response to the oil embargo imposed by Arab producers over U.S. support for Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

(CNBC)

International

Iran tells world to get ready for oil at $200 a barrel as it fires on merchant ships

The war unleashed with joint U.S. and Israeli air strikes nearly two weeks ago has so far killed around 2,000 people, mostly Iranians and Lebanese, as it has spread into ‌Lebanon and thrown global energy markets and transport into chaos.

Published

6 days ago

March 11, 2026

OCHEFA

93 Views

(REUTERS): Iran said the world should be ready for oil at $200 a barrel as its forces hit merchant ships on Wednesday and the International Energy Agency recommended a massive release of strategic reserves to dampen one of the worst oil shocks since the 1970s.

Despite what the Pentagon has described as the most intense airstrikes since the start of the war, Iran also fired at Israel and targets across the Middle East on Wednesday, demonstrating it can still fight back.

On Wednesday, three vessels were reported to have been hit in Gulf waters as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their forces had fired on ships in the Gulf that had disobeyed their orders.

While Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the operation “will continue without any time limit, as long as required, until we achieve all objectives and win the campaign,” Trump suggested the campaign would not last much longer.