Day: August 18, 2022

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Anadolu Agency’s Morning Briefing – Aug. 18, 2022

Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

• A blast ripped through a mosque in the Afghan capital, with at least 10 casualties reported.

• Rudy Giuliani, the personal lawyer of former President Donald Trump, exited an Atlanta courthouse in the US state of Georgia without commenting on his six-hour session before a grand jury investigating interference in the 2020 presidential election.

• Former Vice President Mike Pence said he would consider testifying before a US House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

• US Rep. Liz Cheney — one of Donald Trump’s fiercest adversaries — lost her Republican primary in the state of Wyoming against Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman.

• LeBron James will extend his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for two years, said NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed bilateral relations and regional issues with the prime minister of Israel in a phone call amid a decision by the two countries to reappoint ambassadors.

• Israel’s prime minister said the renewal of relations with Türkiye is an important asset for regional stability and important economic news for the citizens of Israel.

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in the Ukrainian city of Lviv for a trilateral meeting with the Ukrainian and Turkish presidents to oversee a recently-brokered grain deal.

• A prominent rights group in an open letter to digital platforms expressed concern about “disinformation and threats of violence” ahead of Brazil’s presidential election scheduled in October.

• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance stands ready to prevent an escalation between Kosovo and Serbia because of recent border tensions.

• Iran said it is ready for a prisoner swap with the United States.

• A former minister with the ruling Nea Dimokratia (ND) party said the surveillance scandal has severely harmed democracy in Greece.

• The European Parliament is working with Greek authorities on an investigation into the illegal surveillance of Nikos Androulakis, a Greek EU lawmaker and the leader of the PASOK party, the spokesman for the EU institution’s president told Anadolu Agency.

• Germany is under the threat of drought as summer temperatures and reduced rainfall have seen water levels fall further in the Rhine River, a major transportation route.

• The Syrian regime denied reports about holding American journalist Austin Tice, who went missing a decade ago while covering the country’s civil war.

• Mali accused France of providing information and weapons to terrorists, according to local media.

• A coalition of 15 civil society organizations in Niger has expressed disappointment over the deployment of French troops in their country.

• North Korea test-fired two cruise missiles towards the Yellow Sea, the South Korean military claimed.

• Turkish Airlines has been the “biggest winner” as global aviation and tourism picks up again after the abrupt halt brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a French financial newspaper.

• Türkiye’s Communications Directorate held a panel in Paris to emphasize the need for UN Security Council reform.

• At least 21 Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels surrounded Taiwan, the self-ruled island’s Defense Ministry said.

• A major British water company announced a hosepipe ban for the south of England from next week following prolonged heat waves and a drought.

• Ukraine’s president has warned Ukrainians to be careful against explosions after blasts Tuesday in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

• Billionaire Elon Musk said he has no plans to buy football club Manchester United, hours after sparking an internet frenzy with a tweet.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Fed likely to continue rate hike until inflation cools, minutes say

US Federal Reserve officials assessed that an interest rate hike would be appropriate until inflation = eases significantly, according to minutes released Wednesday from its last meeting.

“With inflation remaining well above the Committee’s objective, participants judged that moving to a restrictive stance of policy was required to meet the Committee’s legislative mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability,” minutes from the July 26-27 meeting showed.

The Fed hiked its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points for a second straight month, the fastest pace of tightening in four decades.

The central bank judged that slowing the pace of the policy rate would likely become appropriate at some point, it said.

“Some participants indicated that, once the policy rate had reached a sufficiently restrictive level, it likely would be appropriate to maintain that level for some time to ensure that inflation was firmly on a path back to 2%,” it noted.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Thousands protest in Argentina’s capital against inflation

Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Argentina’s capital Wednesday in what was labelled a “march against inflation” as a prominent labor union warned it may be the first of many mobilizations.

People attending the march in Buenos Aires called for government action to help protect their salaries and purchasing power, which have been struck hard by inflation and currency devaluation as the national currency, the peso, has plummeted in value.

Members of labor and social movements marched from Buenos Aires’ Obelisk to Congress under the slogan “First is the Homeland” around 2.30 p.m. local time (1730GMT).

The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) workers’ union, which largely represents government employees, warned that it may be the “the first of many mobilizations” if the economic crisis continues to hit the country hard.

“Inflation has reached intolerable levels that pulverize the purchasing power of workers, and much of the responsibility depends on sectors that appropriated profits in times of workers’ losses,” it said in a written statement.

The leadership of the CGT, made up of Héctor Daer, Pablo Moyano and Carlos Acuña, gave a press conference, demanding the government take action.

Daer pushed for solutions and not “for a devaluation process that would impoverish the people and increase the mass of structural poverty.”

Moyano acknowledged that Wednesday’s march may be the first of several mobilizations if Argentines continue to be hard hit when it comes to putting food on the table.

Acuña described the rising costs during the economic crisis as a “race that we workers are losing.” He did leave room for optimism, however, noting if salaries recover their “purchasing power,” it will be for the “wellbeing of the entire country.”

Facundo Moyano, a trade unionist and politician who resigned in August 2021 from the ruling Frente de Todos coalition, described the mobilization as a “warning call” for the government.

“Are we going to spend the year and a half that we have left in government talking about the debt that (former President Mauricio) Macri took? We already know that,” argued Moyano. “Frente de Todos has the capacity to solve problems.”

In July, Argentina reported a monthly inflation rate of 7.4%, the highest figure in two decades.

According to INDEC, Argentina’s national statistics agency, consumer prices have increased 71% over the past year.

Today, around four in 10 Argentines live below the poverty line.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Rhine River’s receding water levels threaten German economy

Germany is under the threat of drought as summer temperatures and reduced rainfall have seen water levels fall further in the Rhine River, a major transportation route.

The depth of the river at some points has reached critical levels (below 40 centimeters) affecting private and industrial traffic on the river.

When the water level recedes, the highway and railway have to be put into operation significantly increasing the transportation costs.

German news agency dpa reported on Tuesday the water level of the Rhine at one of the benchmark measuring points near the Dutch border has reached a historic low of zero centimeters.

Germany’s government is now looking for ways to deepen the Rhine at strategic points, with the country’s Transport Minister Volker Wissing saying on ARD TV earlier on Wednesday that more investment is underway in the rail and road network.

Rivers shipping network

The Rhine, Danube, and Elbe rivers are Germany’s most important waterways.

These rivers connect the country through various channels, forming a shipping network and making a significant contribution to Germany’s industry and trade.

The Rhine starts in Switzerland, passes through the French border to Germany, and empties into the North Sea from the Netherlands.

Some 900 kilometers (559 miles) of the river are suitable for shipping — connecting Germany’s developed industrial regions to the supply chain.

About 300 million tons of goods and products are shipped from the Rhine each year, making up 80% of water transport in Germany.

Ships not sailing at full capacity

Ships can no longer go fully loaded on the river route, with barges being loaded at one-quarter to half capacity, to keep them higher in the water.

This necessitates the use of more ships than usual or the transfer of these loads to trains or trucks.

Also, the low water level in the river slows down the speed and increases the transport costs excessively.

Recently, there have been difficulties in the supply of various raw materials from Rotterdam and Antwerp, Europe’s largest ports, to factories and power plants in industrial centers in Germany.

Shippers have to transfer their cargo to trucks and railroads in narrow areas of the river.

In a time of high inflation, the bottleneck in global supply chains, and the natural gas crisis, the fall in the Rhine presents a new challenge for the German industry.

As energy companies are experiencing difficulties in shipping coal from the river, it is feared production in thermal power plants may decrease.

The German government, on the other hand, has decided that the railways should give priority to energy products, especially coal, due to the problem in river shipments.

According to a study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, if water levels at the Kaub monitoring station — where the river is narrow and shallow — remain below the critical mark of 78 centimeters for a month, the industrial output of Europe’s largest economy would diminish by around 1%.

Economic growth will fall

Some economists predict that a disruption to the transportation on the Rhine may slow Germany’s economic growth by 0.5%.

The Rhine normally sees its lowest level in autumn.

The water level in the river does not rise with just a short rainfall. Prolonged rainfall is required for these levels to rise.

In October 2018, the water level in the river reached a record low, with the depth in the narrow areas of the river reaching 25 centimeters.

*Writing and contributions by Aysu Bicer in Ankara

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Türkiye to host international video game development camp

Türkiye’s tech and innovation hub, the IT Valley, is set to host an international summer camp for video game developers next month.

Located in Kocaeli, a province in northwestern Türkiye, the valley’s Digital Animation and Game Center (Digiage) will host game developers from 21 countries from Sept. 1-11.

More than 1,000 game enthusiasts from all over the world, including Greece, France, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Nigeria, are expected to participate in the International Game Development Summer Camp.

Software developers, designers, screenwriters, publishers, advertisers, and managers in the game ecosystem are expected to attend both in person and online, staying in tents as they design their projects to present to an international jury during the 10-day camp.

“We aim to contribute to value production at the international level in the field of games. Bringing young people from different cultures together is very valuable, as diversity plays an important role in generating original ideas,” said Serdar Ibrahimcioglu, the IT Valley’s general director.

He underlined that with the event, the Digiage would be imbued with an international dimension, adding that they hoped to host more countries in the future.

Digiage was established to support the Turkish video game development ecosystem by attracting skilled professionals to the sector and contributing to the development of game studios with such camps. After an earlier camp was held online in the winter, this summer camp will be held both online and in person.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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European stock markets close Wednesday with loses

European stock markets closed Wednesday with loses, ending a five-day winning streak amid worries over global economic recession.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, fell 4.04 points, or 0.91%, to finish flat at 439.03.

The UK’s FTSE 100 shed 20.3 points, or 0.27%, to finish at 7,515.

Germany’s DAX 30 dove 283.4 points, or 2.04%, to close at 13,626. France’s CAC 40 lost 64.3 points, or 0.97%, to end at 6,528.

Italy’s FTSE MIB slipped 240 points, or 1.04%, to 22,758.

Spain’s IBEX 35 was down 77 points, or 0.91%, to 8,435 at the closing bell.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Ronaldo off with warning after footage of him slapping phone from fan’s hand

Cristiano Ronaldo received a warning from local police after footage showed him slapping the phone out of a fan’s hand earlier this year, authorities said on Wednesday.

According to a statement by the Merseyside Police reported by news outlets, the Portuguese star received the warning after an investigation into footage that emerged of him appearing to strike an Everton fan’s phone out of his hand during United’s 1-0 Premier League loss to the club in April.

Footage that spread on social media showed Ronaldo making his way off the pitch through the tunnel with fans on either side of the railing. It then appeared to show him slapping the hand of the young fan holding a cell phone.

After the incident, Ronaldo posted a public apology on Instagram.

“It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing. Nevertheless, we always have to be respectful, patient and set the example for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game,” the Manchester United forward wrote.

“I would like to apologize for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship.”

Ronaldo, who has a historic career and holds five Ballon d’Or awards, joined Manchester United in August 2021 from Juventus. He has 24 goals and three assists in 40 games in his second era with the Red Devils.

Source: Anadolu Agency