Day: March 29, 2023

Bulgarian farmers blocked roads in the northeastern part of the country, bordering Romania, to protest the duty-free import of grain from Ukraine, local media reported on Wednesday. Blocking roads to border checkpoints and a port in the border town of Silistra, the farmers demanded that an EU regulation exempting Ukrainian grain from import duties not be extended to Bulgaria, according to the state-run BTA news agency. Otherwise, the market prices for cereal and oilseed crops will fall short of production costs, let alone turn a profit, the farmers argue, underlining that many warehouses and silos in the country were full of unsold wheat. "Every year we produce about 2 million tonnes of sunflowers, of which between 5% and 10% has been sold so far this year. About 4 million tonnes of wheat are sitting in warehouses," said Chair Iliya Prodanov,vice president of the National Grain Producer Association.

Source: Anadolu Agency

South Korea has decided to temporarily exempt people from 22 nations from mandatory online travel permits and transit visa requirements as part of efforts to boost tourism, local media reported on Wednesday. The decision, part of government efforts to bring 10 million foreign tourists this year to boost the economy, was made during a meeting presided by President Yoon Suk Yeol, according to Yonhap News Agency. In 2019, the country recorded a high number of 17.5 million tourists, generating over $20.7 billion. However, the number declined to 0.96 million in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions. To boost economic activities and attract tourists, Seoul will exempt people from 22 nations including the US, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Canada, and the UK to enter the country without getting a permit through the online travel permit system by the end of next year if they visit the country for sightseeing and attending events, according to the report. The East Asian nation also plans to resume transit visa exemptions for passengers from 34 nations, including European countries, to stay for up to 30 days. "We must strive to revive the economy by boosting domestic consumption," the agency quoted Yoon as saying during the meeting where officials discussed the current economic issues and promotion of tourism.

Source: Anadolu Agency

US President Joe Biden kicked off the second Summit for Democracy on Wednesday with a pledge of $690 million to bolster democracy programs worldwide. Biden, who is co-hosting the summit with the leaders of Costa Rica, Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia, said democracies "are getting stronger, not weaker. Autocracies of the world are getting weaker, not stronger." "That's a direct result of all of us, all of us coming together with confidence in ourselves and conviction in our cause. Governments from around the globe, representatives of civil society and business, democratic activists and trade unionists, people who refuse to stand silent at attempts to erode their rights," he said. "All of us are making the choice to be leaders of our world and what our world needs to make democracy stronger, to keep the torch of liberty burning for ourselves and generations to come. We have to keep going, and we will," he added. Biden's pledge will be directed toward his Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, which will include what the White House said is a "groundbreaking new suite of policy initiatives intended to advance technology that works for, and not against, democratic societies." In all, the White House is seeking $9.5 billion from Congress to advance democracy worldwide. "We're all safer when that occurs," said the president. A total of 120 nations have been invited to the virtual summit, including eight that are participating for the first time. A National Security Council official said the gathering includes "an incredibly broad swath of countries invited to participate in this process," including "deeply consolidated democracies all the way through governments that have some democratic institutions and some non-democratic institutions." "But in all cases, what we're looking for is positive will to move in the right direction and we really want to use the summit itself and the process to put wind in the sails of actors who are interested in positive steps in this regard," the official said on condition of anonymity. Following Biden's remarks, the US is slated to host a leader-level plenary session with speakers including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum and Moldovan President Maia Sandu, among others. South Korea is slated to host the third Summit for Democracy in 2024.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The US has opposed calls by some EU member states to lower the price cap on Russian crude oil in order to minimize Moscow’s revenues, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

According to the outlet, Poland and the Baltic states have been pressing for a review of the price ceiling, something that was scheduled for March. The EU agreed to review the limit every two months from mid-January, with the aim of keeping the threshold at least 5% below the average market price.

“The US doesn’t want to do it. Estonia, Poland and Lithuania are pushing too far, especially given the reluctance from the US. This is not going to happen,” an EU diplomat told the outlet ahead of a European ambassadors’ meeting on Wednesday, discussing sanctions and oil price caps.

According to media reports, Poland and Lithuania have proposed lowering the price limit from $60 to $51.45 per barrel. However, changing the figure would require unanimity among G7 and EU nations.

Analysts say the move would be unfavorable for the US because the mechanism also affects prices for American energy producers.

US replaces Russia as EU’s top oil supplier – Eurostat

Western sanctions on Russian seaborne crude took effect last December. The restrictions ban tankers that fly the flag of any EU member state from carrying crude originating in Russia, unless it is sold to the buyer at or under an agreed price of $60 per barrel.

A similar embargo, accompanied by price caps, was imposed on Russian refined oil products in February. In response, Moscow banned sales of its crude and petrochemicals to nations supporting the scheme.

Russia also announced plans to voluntarily reduce oil output in March by 500,000 barrels per day, as it halts sales to buyers that comply with the Western-imposed price ceiling.

A number of economists have warned that Western sanctions on Russian crude will further tighten global supplies.

Source: Russia Today

Anadolu Deputy Director General and Editor-in-Chief Yusuf Ozhan highlighted the dilemma journalism is facing globally in the shape of fake news. The reader, listener and viewer have become also news producers -- a phenomenon which has led to some problems, he said at a panel on media ethics organized by Trkiye's Communications Directorate in the capital Ankara. Fake news is posing a threat to journalism globally, he said, adding: 'Of course, news has to reflect the truth and has its own discipline.' He said Anadolu established the Fact-Checking Line in 2022, fighting fake news in an institutional way. Anadolu board member Ismail Caglar underlined that journalists should be separated from content producers or people who report in some way due to their job, institution and connections. Drawing attention to the importance of media ethics, Caglar stated that the main responsibility for its implementation falls on journalists. "People can produce content, but if they do not have that code, that ethics, that morality, they are not journalists, they are content producers," he said. Caglar said some people, without any training, publish news contrary to media ethics in extraordinary situations, in war zones. "The picture we see today is that the profession has started to lose its prestige and to erode," he added.

Source: Anadolu Agency