2023-11-25 18:12

MRAMOR, Kosovo, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Workers at a bear sanctuary in Pristina are working hard to look after a lion that wants to play in the snow and bears who were removed from their natural habitat when they were cubs and also enjoy the snowy conditions because they do not hibernate any more. As the winter's first snowfall blanketed Pristina Bear Sanctuary in the Kosovan capital, visitors enjoyed the sight of a lion playing before quickly taking shelter indoors where a heater was installed to fend off temperatures which fell below freezing. “We know that this is not their perfect environment to survive but we have created a nice place for the winter and we have installed a heater that helps him a lot because big cats need much warmer temperatures," Albana Hoti, head of animal and facilities management at the sanctuary, told Reuters. The lion, named Gjon, was rescued last year from a local restaurant where it was kept to amuse clients. It is expected to be transported to South Africa once legal hurdles are overcome. The sanctuary, home to 20 brown bears, is managed by Four Paws International, a non-profit dedicated to animal welfare. The bears have a similar story to Gjon's, in that they were caged in local restaurants - having been removed from local forests - before being rescued. “Four or five of our bears do not go on a full hibernation because they never experienced their wild life and this is all what they can do, they hibernate a little bit and then again they go out." Hoti said 16 of the sanctuary's other bears do go into full hibernation. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/lion-several-bears-go-wild-snow-kosovo-2023-11-25/

2023-11-25 18:09

Nov 25 (Reuters) - Mastercard (MA.N) Spendingpulse said on Saturday that U.S. retail sales on Black Friday rose 2.5% year-over-year excluding automotive sales, not adjusted for inflation. In September, Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, said it anticipated U.S. retail sales, excluding automotive, to grow 3.7% during the holiday season, running from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24. Black Friday refers to the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, when retail sales are traditionally strong. E-commerce sales on Friday increased by 8.5% year-over-year as consumers shopped for deals online, while in-store sales increased by 1.1%, MasterCard Spendingpulse said. U.S. shoppers spent $9.8 billion online during Black Friday this year, according to data from Adobe Analytics, which was in line with expectations of the data and insights arm of software firm Adobe (ADBE.O). https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/us-black-friday-sales-rise-25-mastercard-spendingpulse-2023-11-25/

2023-11-25 15:10

MOGADISHU, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The number of people killed by floods from heavy rains in Somalia has climbed to 96, state news agency SONNA said on Saturday. "Somalia's flood death toll climbs to 96," SONNA said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding the figure had been confirmed by Mahamuud Moallim, the head of the country's disaster management agency. Like the rest of east and Horn of Africa, Somalia has been battered by relentless heavy rains that begun in October, caused by the El Nino and Indian Ocean Dipole weather phenomena. Both are climate patterns that impact ocean surface temperatures and cause above-average rainfall. The flooding has been described as the worst in decades and has displaced about 700,000 people, according to the United Nations. The intense rains have unleashed widespread flooding across the country, triggering displacement and exacerbating an already existing humanitarian crisis caused by years of insurgency. In neighbouring Kenya the floods have so far killed 76 people, according to the Kenyan Red Cross, and also unleashed widespread displacement, destruction of roads and bridges and left many residents without shelter, drinking and food supplies, according to the charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/death-toll-flooding-somalia-climbs-nearly-100-2023-11-25/

2023-11-25 13:53

MOSCOW, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Moscow and Ankara are set to reach agreement on the creation of a natural gas hub in Turkey in the nearest future, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday. He said Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Turkey's Botas were cooperating closely and had been discussing the project road map. "I am sure that agreements on the practical implementation of this project will be reached in the near future," Novak said in an interview with the TV channel Rossiya 24. Russia last year proposed setting up a gas hub in Turkey to replace lost sales to Europe, playing into Ankara's long-held desire to function as an exchange for energy-starved countries. Discussions did not advance much, as Turkey suffered devastating earthquakes in February and focused on elections in May. Disagreements over who should be in charge of the hub also delayed negotiations, two sources familiar with the project told Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-expects-reach-agreement-gas-hub-project-with-turkey-soon-deputy-pm-2023-11-25/

2023-11-25 13:52

CAIRO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gulf Air said its data was breached on Friday but its operations and vital systems were not affected, Bahrain's news agency BNA reported on Saturday. The agency quoted the company as saying that "as a result of this illegal breach some information from the company's email system and customers' database could be compromised" and it added emergency plans were deployed to contain the breach. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/gulf-air-exposed-data-breach-vital-operations-not-affected-2023-11-25/

2023-11-25 12:00

SILKYARA, India, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Rescuing 41 workers trapped in a highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas for two weeks will take much longer than previously hoped as rescuers are switching to manual drilling following damage to machinery, officials said on Saturday. The heavy drill brought in to break through nearly 60 meters of debris was damaged on Friday and was being pulled out entirely, government officials said, adding the last 10-15 metres would have to be broken with hand-held power tools. 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. A heavy drill machine, called an auger, which got damaged after hitting an obstacle on Friday, broke while being pulled out of the 47-meter pipe inserted to bring out the trapped workers. Pushkar Singh Dhami, chief minister of Uttarakhand state said on Saturday the damaged drilling machine would be taken out by Sunday morning, allowing manual drilling to start. Syed Ata Hasnain, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority which is overseeing rescue efforts, said the operation was becoming "more complex" and the process would become slower, compared to when the auger was used to drill. "We have to strengthen our brothers stuck inside. We need to monitor their psychological state, because this operation can go on for a very long time," he said, without giving a timeline. On Saturday morning the trapped workers, all migrants, were "very worried", said Sunita Hembrom, whose brother-in-law Birendra Kishku, 39, is in the tunnel. "My brother in law told me that he has hasn't eaten any food since yesterday. We are very worried," she said. Authorities have not said what caused the tunnel collapse, but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods. The tunnel did not have an emergency exit and was built through a geological fault, a member of a panel of experts investigating the disaster said on Friday on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media. The rescue plan involves pushing a pipe wide enough to pull the trapped men out on wheeled stretchers. Rescue workers rehearsed the evacuation by going into the pipe and being pulled out on stretchers, a video clip provided by the authorities showed. A second plan to drill vertically from atop the hill is also being pursued and the drilling machines are being assembled, the statement said. The men have been getting cooked food since a larger lifeline pipe was pushed through earlier this week and the statement said they were sent 200 rotis or Indian round flat bread, lentils and vegetable curry. More than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, have been at the site, talking to the men and monitoring their health. They have been advised to do light yoga exercises, walk around in the 2-km space they have been confined to, and to keep speaking to each other. Rohit Gondwal, a psychiatrist, said they were also considering sending in playing cards and board games. The collapsed tunnel is on the Char Dham pilgrimage route, one of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. It aims to link four key Hindu pilgrimage sites with 890 km (550 miles) of two-lane road, at a cost of $1.5 billion. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/manual-drilling-likely-last-stretch-rescue-41-trapped-workers-indian-tunnel-2023-11-25/