2024-09-06 11:57

MADRID, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Spain's Guardia Civil police found a young man's body on Friday in a mountainous area of Mallorca where they were searching for a British hiker whose partner's body was discovered earlier this week after a storm hit the island. Emergency services have since Wednesday been searching in the area near the Torrent de Pareis canyon, in the Tramuntana mountains, for the two Britons who went missing after flash floods. One of them, a woman, was found dead on Wednesday. "The Guardia Civil has found the body of a young man which, pending judicial identification, would correspond to the young man who disappeared last Tuesday while doing the Torrent de Pareis walk," the police statement said. Authorities had earlier said another 10 hikers had been rescued from the canyon after being surprised by Tuesday's storm and they reported two people being swept away. Torrent de Pareis is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the most scenic day walks in Mallorca, starting at the heart of the Tramuntana range and opening up on a sandy beach. The hiking difficulty level is rated at medium/high and flash floods usually occur between autumn and spring. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/second-body-found-mallorca-canyon-where-british-hiker-died-2024-09-06/

2024-09-06 11:50

BOGOTA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Colombia's government on Friday reached a deal with truckers to suspend a protest over a rise in diesel prices after road blockades threatened to cause food and fuel shortages in the biggest cities. The deal came after the government backed down from its plan to increase the price of diesel by 1,904 pesos (45 cents) per gallon starting this month, instead agreeing to a rise of just 800 pesos in two equal increments during the rest of the year. "After several days of dialogue, the government has signed a commitment with the transport bases to lift the strike," the transport ministry said in a post on X. Protests began on Monday this week. Previously, diesel prices had been held at an average 9,065 pesos ($2.16) per gallon for almost five years, amid government subsidies that Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla said cost some 12 trillion pesos ($2.87 billion) per year. Such high costs mean the price of diesel needs to be brought more in line with international prices, to free up resources for spending on social initiatives, according to the government. The government and the truckers also reached agreements on another 14 points, the transport ministry said, which include suspending additional diesel price rises until "structural transformations" are made in the sector. Citing the protests and a separate spate of attacks on two of its pipelines, Colombia's majority state-owned energy company Ecopetrol on Thursday said it had shut off one of its fields producing 45,000 barrels per day and would also halt operations at others. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombian-government-reaches-deal-with-truckers-suspend-road-blockades-2024-09-06/

2024-09-06 11:49

CERNOBBIO, Italy, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Friday he was optimistic of a breakthrough in talks between Moscow and Kyiv to keep Russian gas flowing through Ukraine to several European countries. The European Union and Ukraine have asked Azerbaijan to facilitate discussions with Russia about a gas transit deal that is set to expire at the end of this year. Aliyev said he had a "certain optimism" on the latest discussions between Russia and Ukraine, adding: "We think that there is a ground for breakthrough but probably it will be premature for me to go into much detail". The Azerbaijani president, who on Thursday met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome in his third visit to the country since 2020, was addressing the TEHA Forum in Cernobbio, Italy, which every September gathers businessmen and policymakers to discuss the geopolitical and economic outlook. While the EU has cut most of its Russian gas imports, some central European countries, including Austria, still depend on gas from Russia via a pipeline that crosses Ukraine. "We just want to support those countries and also Ukraine because if the transit stops Ukraine's gas distribution system will be absolutely paralysed," Aliyev said. Azerbaijan plays a major role in the EU's energy security, Aliyev said, adding that seven of the 10 countries which rely on the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline network for their gas supplies are members of the bloc. "Probably that is why the European Commission calls Azerbaijan a pan-European gas supplier and also a reliable partner," he said. Built to diversify the EU's energy supplies by bringing natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe, the Southern Gas Corridor network runs across 3,500 km from Azerbaijan to Italy. "With extensions and inter-connectors the pipeline covers a broad European and Eurasian geography with a strong potential to grow: because today we're in ... negotiations with at least three European countries with respect to gas supply," he said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/azerbaijani-president-confident-ukraine-gas-route-talks-2024-09-06/

2024-09-06 10:50

TSX ends down 0.9% at 22,781.43 Posts 2.4% weekly decline Canada's unemployment rate rises to 6.6% Energy falls 1.5%; oil settles 2.1% lower Sept 6 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell to a more than three-week low on Friday, weighed by declines in technology and commodity-linked shares, as U.S. and Canadian jobs data added to investor concerns about a slowdown in the economy. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 206.85 points, or 0.9%, at 22,781.43, its fourth straight day of declines and its lowest closing level since Aug. 13. For the week, the index lost 2.4%, its first weekly decline in five weeks. Major U.S. indexes posted even steeper declines on Friday. "Investors are pricing in the reality of slower economic growth," said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management. "You look at what's going on across the cyclical sectors, whether it's energy, materials, industrials, consumer discretionary, they're all down." U.S. employment increased less than expected in August and Canada's unemployment rate rose to 6.6%, its highest level in more than seven years after excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. "The (Canadian) economy isn't growing fast enough to absorb the new labor entrants, and that's a concern," Petursson said. The energy sector fell 1.5% as the price of oil extended its recent declines, settling 2.1% lower at $67.67 a barrel. Gold and copper prices also fell, weighing on metal mining shares. The materials sector, which includes miners and fertilizer companies, ended 2% lower. Technology fell 1.7%, with shares of Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) , opens new tab tumbling 10.2% to a seven-month low. Enghouse Systems Ltd (ENGH.TO) , opens new tab was a bright spot. Shares of the application software company climbed 5.6% on better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Japanese retail giant Seven & I Holdings (3382.T) , opens new tab said it had turned down Alimentation Couche-Tard's (ATD.TO) , opens new tab $38.5 billion cash bid, rejecting an offer that would be the largest-ever foreign buyout of a Japanese company. Shares of Couche-Tard ended 1.9% higher. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/tsx-futures-fall-ahead-us-jobs-data-2024-09-06/

2024-09-06 10:42

MOSCOW, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Russia has introduced a state of emergency for the farm sector in the Tomsk region of Siberia because of weather damage to crops, the regional governor said on Friday. Vladimir Mazur said damp, cold weather had caused waterlogging, and crops had been destroyed on almost 3,000 hectares. He said announcing a state of emergency would enable farmers to claim for compensation. Russia declared similar emergencies in a number of other regions earlier this year after damage from May frosts. Mazur ordered local officials to clarify the extent of damage and "do everything possible to complete the harvesting campaign". "When good weather sets in, harvesting should continue around the clock," he said. Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said on Aug. 20 that Russia may harvest less wheat than forecast - the first cautious official acknowledgment of the weather damage earlier in the year. Lut said the ministry maintained the official forecast of 132 million metric tons for the total grain harvest, including 86 million tons of wheat, but the wheat forecast could be lowered as the harvesting campaign draws to a close. Agricultural consultancy Sovecon said on Aug. 30 it had cut its forecast for Russia's 2024 wheat crop to 82.5 million metric tons from 83.3 million. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/russia-declares-farm-emergency-tomsk-region-because-crop-damage-2024-09-06/

2024-09-06 10:42

NAIROBI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Kenya suffered its second major blackout in a week on Friday, but electricity was restored in some parts after a few hours, national distributor Kenya Power (KPLC.NR) , opens new tab said. The company did not give reasons for the outage, which affected regions around East Africa's biggest economy and followed another hours-long blackout last Friday. Several hours after confirming the outage, Kenya Power said power had been restored to affected parts of the North Rift, Central Rift, Western, Nairobi and Mount Kenya areas. "We would like to apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused by the outage and seek their patience as we work towards restoration of normal service in the remaining areas," it said in a statement. Kenya has suffered a series of blackouts in the last year, including one that plunged Nairobi's main airport into darkness. Authorities have not explained the causes. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kenya-suffers-second-major-blackout-week-some-power-back-2024-09-06/