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Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus at Istanbul on Dec. 11, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Yoruk Isik)

Russia’s leverage on grain to decline, senior U.S. official says

Attacks on ships may hurt pricing

New York | Reuters — Russia’s leverage over Ukraine’s export of grain via the Black Sea will likely erode in weeks to come as more ships are able to leave Ukrainian ports and rising costs could prompt Moscow to reconsider its abandonment of the grain deal, a senior U.S. State Department official said. James O’Brien,


Commercial vessels  –including vessels which are part of the Black Sea grain deal — wait to pass the Bosphorus strait off the shores of Yenikapi during a misty morning in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 31, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas)

U.S. says working to identify alternative paths for Ukraine grain

Danube grain facilities attacked overnight

Washington | Reuters — The United States on Wednesday condemned Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure and said it was working with partners to identify alternative options to ensure Ukrainian grain exports. “The United States … calls for Russia to immediately return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel

Cargo ships are docked in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa on Nov. 4, 2016. (File photo: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)

As Ukraine grain deal emerges, U.S. aims to ease concerns over Russia sanctions

Washington | Reuters –– The United States on Thursday sought to facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports by reassuring banks, shipping and insurance companies that such transactions would not breach Washington’s sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Enabling those Russian exports is a key part of attempts by the United Nations and Turkish

A Ukrainian couple embrace tearfully on the streets of Lviv, in western Ukraine, as they prepare to leave for the relative safety of nearby Poland Feb. 24, 2022.

How the U.S. could tighten sanctions on Russia

Global powers, led by the U.S., are taking decisive economic action against aggressor

Reuters – The United States on February 24 imposed sanctions on Russia in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, targeting major banks and members of the elite coupled with new export control measures. Washington warned that more action could follow and that all options are on the table. Here are some ways in which the


Bulgaria has reported more than 30 outbreaks of swine fever.

EU fights ‘urgent challenge’ of African swine fever spread

Of the 10 nations affected, Bulgaria and Romania are hardest hit

Reuters – The European Union faces an urgent challenge in tackling an outbreak of African swine fever which threatens Bulgaria’s pig-breeding industry, a commission spokeswoman said August 8. Ten EU nations are currently affected by African swine fever, with particularly bad outbreaks in Bulgaria and its neighbour Romania. Slovakia was affected by the disease in