2023-11-26 17:57

SILKYARA, India, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Indian rescuers began drilling vertically on Sunday from the top of a mountain under which 41 workers became trapped two weeks ago while working on a highway tunnel in the Himalayas, government officials said. The men, construction workers from some of India's poorest states, have been stuck in the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel being built in Uttarakhand state since it caved in early on Nov. 12. Authorities have said they are safe, with access to light, oxygen, food, water and medicines. But rescuing them will take much longer than previously hoped as rescuers have switched to manual drilling following damage to the drilling machine, officials said on Saturday. Rescuers had hoped to finish the drilling late on Thursday but had to suspend operation after the platform on which the machine was placed was damaged. Work resumed on Friday evening only to be suspended soon afterwards as the machine ran into a new obstacle, officials said, without elaborating. Vertical drilling started on Sunday and it will take about 100 hours, the officials said. Initially, the rescue plan involved pushing a pipe wide enough to pull the trapped men out on wheeled stretchers. The men have been getting cooked food via a lifeline pipe that was pushed through to ensure steady supplies of essential goods. More than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, are at the site, talking to the men and monitoring their health. The fact that the tunnel is closed by the debris is keeping the men warm. They have been told to do light yoga exercises, walk around in the two km of tunnel space they have been confined to, and keep talking to each other. Deepak Patil, one of the officers in charge of the rescue mission, told Reuters authorities had sent in two mobile phones and memory cards with Hindi films and electronic games. Priyanka Chaturvedi, a spokeswoman for one of India's opposition parties, on Sunday asked for an investigation into the accident and asked the government to ensure the safety of the men. A member of a panel of experts investigating the disaster said on Friday the tunnel does not have an emergency exit and was built through a geological fault. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-rescuers-two-weeks-after-tunnel-collapse-try-new-tack-reach-41-workers-2023-11-26/

2023-11-26 16:25

WASHINGTON/RIYADH, Nov 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy warship responded to a distress call from a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Aden that had been seized by armed individuals and the vessel is now safe, U.S. officials said on Sunday. The tanker, which had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid, was identified as the Central Park by the vessel's company. The officials did not identify the attackers. In a statement, the U.S. military said the USS Mason, with help from allied ships, demanded that the commercial ship be released by the attackers. Five armed individuals tried to escape on a fast boat but were chased by the U.S. warship and they eventually surrendered. The statement added that two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi controlled parts of Yemen towards the general direction of the Mason and Central Park, but they landed about 10 nautical miles away from them and there was no damage or injuries. The incident is the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since a brutal war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas broke out on Oct. 7. It followed a seizure of an Israeli-linked cargo ship by Yemen Houthis, allies of Iran, in the southern Red Sea last week. The group, which also fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Israel, vowed to target more Israeli vessels. Central Park, a small chemical tanker (19,998 metric tons), is managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a London-headquartered international ship management company owned by Israel's Ofer family. The Liberian-flagged vessel was built in 2015 and is owned by Clumvez Shipping Inc, LSEG data showed. Zodiac Maritime said in a statement that Central Park, which is carrying a full cargo of phosphoric acid, was involved in a suspected piracy incident while crossing international waters, approximately 54 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia. Phosphoric acid is mostly used for fertilisers. "Our priority is the safety of our 22 crew onboard. The Turkish captained vessel has a multinational crew consisting of a crew of Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals," the statement added. There was no immediate comment from Houthi officials. Britain's Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said on Sunday it was aware of a possible attack in southwest Aden and called on other vessels to exercise caution. The U.S. has blamed Iran for unclaimed attacks on several vessels in the region in the past few years. Tehran has denied involvement. A container ship managed by an Israeli-controlled company was hit by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, causing minor damage to the vessel but no injuries, a U.S. defence official said on Saturday. Hamas fighters rampaged into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people. Since then, Israel has rained bombs on Gaza, killing about 14,000 people, roughly 40% of them children, Palestinian health authorities say. Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals arrived in Israel early on Sunday after a second release of hostages held by Hamas following an initial delay caused by a dispute about aid delivery into Gaza. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/armed-individuals-seize-israeli-managed-oil-tanker-gulf-aden-us-official-2023-11-26/

2023-11-26 10:14

ATHENS, Nov 26 (Reuters) - One person has died and 12 people were missing on Sunday after a cargo ship carrying salt with 14 crew on board sank off the island of Lesbos, the Greek coast guard said. The Comoros-flagged "Raptor" had departed from El Dekheila port in Egypt and was bound for Istanbul when it reported a mechanical failure and issued a distress call early on Sunday, the coast guard added. "One body recovered from the area," a coast guard official told Reuters adding that one person was rescued by helicopter and was taken to the island's hospital. Eight of the crew were Egyptians and the rest were Syrian and Indian nationals. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/cargo-ship-sinks-off-greek-island-13-crew-members-missing-2023-11-26/

2023-11-25 21:30

TORONTO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The premier of Alberta, Canada's main oil-producing province, on Saturday said her government intends to move an act on Monday to shield provincial power companies from proposed federal clean electricity regulations. Speaking at a morning radio program on Saturday, Premier Danielle Smith, who says the plans of the federal government to cut greenhouse gas emissions will wreck the energy industry, said she was driven to act by frustration with the federal government. Alberta has long been at odds with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government over energy policy. Last month, in a victory for Alberta, Canada's Supreme Court dealt a blow to Trudeau's government by ruling that federal law assessing how major projects such as coal mines and oil sands plants impact the environment is largely unconstitutional. "We have been trying to work collaboratively with them on aligning their targets with our targets," Smith said on Saturday said on the radio program "Your Province. Your Premier." "We will not put our operators at risk of going to jail if they do not achieve the targets that have been set, which we believe are unachievable," Smith said. "We have to have a reliable grid. We have to have an affordable grid, and we're going to make sure that we defend our constitutional jurisdiction to do that." The office of Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault was not immediately available for comment. The resolution will be brought forward for debate and approval in the legislature on Monday, Smith said. The Trudeau government's clean electricity regulations are designed to create a net-zero emissions power grid by 2035 by putting limits on when and how emitting power sources, such as Alberta's natural gas-burning plants, can be used starting in 2035. The Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act would give the province a legislative framework to defend its jurisdiction in areas such as natural resources, gun control, and health and education. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/alberta-invoke-controversial-law-resist-canadas-energy-policy-2023-11-25/

2023-11-25 20:00

KYIV, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Ukraine needs more air defences to protect its grain export routes as well as regions bordering Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, as he addressed an international summit on food security in Kyiv. "There is a deficit of air defence - that is no secret," Zelenskiy told the Grain from Ukraine summit, which was attended by senior officials from European countries, including Swiss President Alain Berset and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte. Zelenskiy was speaking after Russia attacked Ukraine with 75 drones overnight, the biggest drone assault of the war. The joint press conference of the three leaders was cut short by another air raid siren. Zelenskiy said Ukraine would be supplied by its foreign partners with vessels to accompany convoys of cargo ships from Ukraine's ports to guarantee their security. "I have agreements with several countries about powerful accompaniment of convoys by Ukrainians, but using (foreign) equipment," he said. Separately, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged support in a letter to Zelenskiy that she shared on social media platform X, saying the Commission would make available 50 million euros for "quick repairs and upgrades of infrastructure in Ukraine's ports." The Ukrainian president said Kyiv hoped to solve its air defence shortage through new supplies from partners and increasing its own production capacity, something on which he said there had been progress. "As of today, I can't say details what we are making and where, but there is progress," he said. Ukraine, a major exporter of grain, has been exporting grain via unilateral corridors through the Black sea, after Russia withdrew in July from a UN-brokered deal to allow grain ships through its blockade. Ukraine's current Black sea grain export corridors all start from ports in Ukraine's southern region of Odesa. "There are certain air defence systems... we are asking for them," Zelenskiy said. "We've already got an answer when those systems will start to guard that region. Because there, both the corridor and the people are important." Asked about the protests by Polish and Slovak truckers which have blocked much of Ukraine's road-based cargo supply in recent days, Zelenskiy blamed the problem on the internal politics of those countries. "I believe that there are difficulties on the border first and foremost because of certain political steps by our neighbours," he told a press conference after the summit. Zelenskiy said he was confident the issue would be solved if Ukraine's neighbours were given "a bit of time" to deal with the dispute. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-needs-more-air-defences-protect-grain-exports-zelenskiy-2023-11-25/

2023-11-25 18:31

ACAPULCO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - One month since Hurricane Otis devastated Acapulco, fears for the local economy stalk the Mexican beach resort with businesses saying efforts to repair the damage have been too slow to save a vital part of the tourist season: December. Otis, the strongest hurricane to ever hit Mexico's Pacific coast, hammered Acapulco in the early hours of Oct. 25, killing at least 50 people, causing billions of dollars in damage, and sparking widespread looting. Residents still searching for loved ones say the official death toll is likely significantly higher. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has rejected unconfirmed media reports suggesting fatalities may have gone well past 300. Lopez Obrador has launched a $3.4 billion recovery plan and pledged to get Acapulco back on its feet quickly, but local businesses say time is fast running out for this year. "Acapulco lives off just three seasons: December, which is the biggest for us, Easter, and a bit of summer. December is the most hotly anticipated and we're not going to be up and running," said Jesus Zamora, head of infrastructure for a local tourism body. "By the December season we won't even have 50% of hotels running, so even if we wanted to have more tourists, we couldn't host them," he added. Business groups have estimated the damage at around $16 billion in Acapulco, which is the biggest city in Guerrero, one of Mexico's poorest states. The hurricane battered Acapulco's airport, and international flights are not due to resume until next year. Some business leaders fear the city will not recover until 2025. "People who work on social events, beach weddings and conventions have been unemployed since that day," said Roberto Buenfil, who works for a company organizing events. "Everything there was for these last months of the year is no longer happening." Security forces are still struggling to clean up the rubbish engulfing some areas. Some 221,000 tons of trash have been collected so far. Trash has been collected faster from central areas with hotels than in outlying neighborhoods like Renacimiento and Emiliano Zapata where the smell of rotting garbage has grown as it piles up, local residents say. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/slow-acapulco-recovery-after-hurricane-fans-fears-over-livelihoods-2023-11-25/