Black Sea

New Funding Puts Rewind on Track to Achieve Gigaton-Scale, Natural Carbon Removal Within This Decade

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Rewind’s unique approach to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) maximizes the Black Sea's natural ability to permanently store carbon dioxide.

Key Points: 
  • Rewind’s unique approach to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) maximizes the Black Sea's natural ability to permanently store carbon dioxide.
  • “At Rewind, we sought the most pragmatic carbon removal solution scalable to a gigaton from our location in the Middle East.
  • In addition to its funding, Rewind unveiled its first customer, Supercritical, a London-based carbon removal marketplace that helps businesses achieve net zero.
  • Through future projects, Rewind will prioritize collecting robust scientific data, assuring a carbon capture permanence lasting 1,000 years.

Top 6 Agriculture Equipment Manufacturers Set Strategic Priorities in Response to Global Supply Chain Challenges and Sustainability Trends: Focus on John Deere, CNH, AGCO, CLAAS, SDF, Kubota - ResearchAndMarkets.com

Retrieved on: 
Monday, November 27, 2023

The "Annual Strategy Dossier - 2023 - World's Top 6 Agriculture Equipment Manufacturers - John Deere, CNH, AGCO, CLAAS, SDF, Kubota" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Key Points: 
  • The "Annual Strategy Dossier - 2023 - World's Top 6 Agriculture Equipment Manufacturers - John Deere, CNH, AGCO, CLAAS, SDF, Kubota" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
  • The global agriculture equipment market is currently witnessing robust demand for new equipment despite facing supply disruptions, bottlenecks, and shortages.
  • Favorable farm economics, strong farm incomes, and sustainability goals are driving the replacement demand for new agriculture equipment across markets and regions.
  • The report focuses on the strategies and priorities of the world's top 6 agriculture equipment manufacturers:

Marsh McLennan collaborates with Ukrainian government, banks, and insurers to provide cost-effective insurance for Black Sea grain shipments

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Underwritten by insurers based at Lloyd’s of London, Unity will provide up to US$50 million in hull and separate protection & indemnity (P&I) war risk insurance.

Key Points: 
  • Underwritten by insurers based at Lloyd’s of London, Unity will provide up to US$50 million in hull and separate protection & indemnity (P&I) war risk insurance.
  • Global law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, provided advisory services.
  • John Doyle, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marsh McLennan, commented: “Marsh McLennan is committed to mobilizing our unique expertise to support global food security and stability.
  • The launch of this insurance facility will especially benefit the developing nations that buy much of Ukraine’s grain and also help Ukraine’s future recovery and reconstruction endeavors.

Turkey faces competing pressures from Russia and the West to end its 'middleman strategy' and pick a side on the war in Ukraine

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 26, 2023

Turkey has condemned Russia’s invasion and extended diplomatic and material assistance to Ukraine’s war efforts.

Key Points: 
  • Turkey has condemned Russia’s invasion and extended diplomatic and material assistance to Ukraine’s war efforts.
  • At the same time, the country’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has pointedly opted not to join the Western-led sanctions against Russia or cut ties with Moscow.
  • In September 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Turkish companies and a businessman accused of helping Russia to circumvent U.S. sanctions.
  • But this balancing act is becoming increasingly difficult the longer the war goes on.

The middleman strategy

  • Failure to utilize a balancing strategy in the First World War facilitated the empire’s demise.
  • In contrast, in World War II, a strategy of neutrality helped Turkey to weather the war unscathed.
  • Against mounting Soviet threat during the Cold War, Turkey took refuge under Western security guarantees, joining NATO in 1952.

Splintered support

  • But U.S. support to Kurds in northern Syria, aligned to the militant separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and the 2016 coup attempt against Erdoğan marked the beginning of a more confrontational relationship between Washington and Ankara.
  • Blaming the U.S. and its Persian Gulf allies for complicity in the coup, Erdogan began to court Putin, who openly stood behind him during and after the attempted coup.
  • Ankara’s acquisition of Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missiles led to its removal from the U.S.‘s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and a set of U.S. sanctions on Turkey’s defense industry.
  • However, the Biden administration hesitated to reset relations due to concerns over Erdoğan’s increasingly authoritarian rule.

The balancing act and Ukraine

  • War in Ukraine offered a new boost to Erdoğan’s balancing act.
  • Turkey’s control of two major straits and established ties with Ukraine and other states along the Black Sea provided significant leverage for a multifaceted and neutral approach.
  • Erdoğan seemingly hoped that maintaining trade relations with Russia and arms sales to Ukraine would bolster the struggling Turkish economy and rehabilitate his image in the West.
  • As the Ukraine conflict continued and Erdoğan’s domestic popularity dipped in the lead-up to the May 2023 elections, the sustainability of Turkey’s balancing act seemed uncertain again.
  • They add a new layer of complexity for Erdogan’s balancing act, but also more room for him to maneuver.


Ozgur Ozkan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Ukraine recap: Ukraine and allies maintain optimism despite slow progress on the battlefield

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 28, 2023

This year, Kyiv’s planned counteroffensive was late coming, partly due to the slow delivery of western military aid.

Key Points: 
  • This year, Kyiv’s planned counteroffensive was late coming, partly due to the slow delivery of western military aid.
  • The sort of swift manoeuvring responsible for last year’s successful counterpunches have been nigh on impossible this year.
  • You can also subscribe to our fortnightly recap of expert analysis of the conflict in Ukraine.
  • Ukraine’s allies should manage their expectations, writes Frank Ledwidge, a lecturer in military strategy at the University of Portsmouth and former military intelligence officer.
  • Read more:
    Ukraine war: Putin avoids further mobilisation while Kyiv suffers manpower shortage

Diverse theatres of war

    • A missile strike on September 22 is reported to have killed 34 officers and wounded 105 others.
    • Basil Germond, a maritime expert at the University of Lancaster, believes that this is akin to a second front in the war.
    • Not only do these attacks undermine Russian morale, they have effectively denied it control of the Black Sea.

Conflict fatigue

    • Stefan Wolff, from the University of Birmingham, and Tetyana Malyarenko, from the University of Odesa, have been watching for signs of combat fatigue among Ukraine’s allies, as well as anger from those countries in the global south who feel as if their concerns have been sidelined.
    • Read more:
      Ukraine war: mixed signals among Kyiv's allies hint at growing conflict fatigue

      Another country where support for Kyiv, once rock solid, looks to be crumbling is neighbouring Slovakia, which goes to the polls on Saturday.

    • Read more:
      Ukraine war: Slovakia may be about to elect a government which plans to halt aid to Kyiv

Another war with Russian fingerprints

Seladore Legal LLP: Jailed Russian businessman, Ziyavudin Magomedov files US$14 billion claim in the English High Court against TPG, DP World, Transneft, Rosatom and others, alleging Russian state-led conspiracy

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Simultaneously, he is fighting concerted efforts by prosecutors and business rivals to confiscate his estimated multibillion-dollar business empire.

Key Points: 
  • Simultaneously, he is fighting concerted efforts by prosecutors and business rivals to confiscate his estimated multibillion-dollar business empire.
  • Mr Magomedov co-owned the vital NCSP port in Novorossiysk which handles Russia's oil and grain exports from the Black Sea.
  • The legal claim conservatively estimates the value of the claimants' interest in FESCO at $8.8 billion, and their interest in NCSP at $5.0 billion.
  • The combined claim of $13.8 billion it is the largest ever claim brought in the English High Court outside the collective redress regime.

Protect Pharmaceutical Corp. CEO Provides Shareholder Update

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Protect Pharmaceutical Corp. “OTC:(PRTT)” Protect Pharmaceutical Corp. CEO Ali Yildiz Provides Shareholder Update.

Key Points: 
  • Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Protect Pharmaceutical Corp. “OTC:(PRTT)” Protect Pharmaceutical Corp. CEO Ali Yildiz Provides Shareholder Update.
  • As we enter the 4th quarter we feel the company has entered a very pivotal time in our growth strategy.
  • You can visit our site at www.atlantic-logistics.net As the CEO I believe it is important to provide transparency and accountability to our shareholder base.
  • We will update the website regularly with new information regarding the expansion of the company and the future growth opportunities.

Russian Wheat Exports Remain Biggest Risk to U.S. Wheat Elevators

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, September 19, 2023

According to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange , the major risk to elevators in the year ahead is a sharp rally in wheat prices.

Key Points: 
  • According to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange , the major risk to elevators in the year ahead is a sharp rally in wheat prices.
  • Wheat stocks among major exporters are historically tight, and any disruption to the flow of Russian exports through the Black Sea could trigger a sharp price run-up.
  • The flood of cheap Russian wheat into the global market, combined with a strong U.S. dollar continue to be major headwinds for U.S. wheat exports.
  • Russia’s currency has fallen sharply, down 30% year-to-date, putting Russian exports on sale and pushing down world wheat prices.

Fifteen years after the war in Georgia, the dilemmas of the European Union in the South Caucasus

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Georgia’s then-president, Mikhail Saakachvili, attempted to regain control of these territories, which represent 20% of Georgia’s surface area, but to no avail.

Key Points: 
  • Georgia’s then-president, Mikhail Saakachvili, attempted to regain control of these territories, which represent 20% of Georgia’s surface area, but to no avail.
  • At the instigation of Nicolas Sarkozy, then president of France, the European Union took on the role of mediator.
  • Russia is still exerting pressure to penetrate further into the territory today through what is known as the technique of “frontierisation”.
  • Russia’s objectives in the South Caucasus are similar to those that led to its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

A crossroads of influence

    • Turkish support serves Erdogan’s ambitions in Central Asia: to rebuild historical, cultural, linguistic, economic and political links with Turkic-speaking countries.
    • Azerbaijan, even as it balances the interests of Turkey and Russia, has also been a partner of the European Union since 2022.
    • The fastest route is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) rail link, which then leads to the Turkish ports or the undersea Marmaray train tunnel.

A fragile partnership

    • EU countries are already among Georgia’s main trading partners, accounting for 17.7% of Georgian exports in 2021, followed by China (16.6%), Russia (13.3%), Azerbaijan (12.7%) and Turkey (8.7%).
    • The European Commission’s opinion on Georgia’s application for membership defined twelve priorities that the country must meet in order to obtain candidate status.
    • These include strengthening the independence of the anti-corruption authority, promoting gender equality and working toward the "de-oligarchisation” of the country.
    • The demonstrations in March 2023 against the Russian-inspired “foreign agents” law showed the division of the country and the fragility of the situation.

Microplastics discovered in the body tissues of whales, dolphins and seals – sparking concerns for human health too

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Marine mammals – animals including whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, sea otters, dugongs and manatees – are threatened by an array of human activities.

Key Points: 
  • Marine mammals – animals including whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, sea otters, dugongs and manatees – are threatened by an array of human activities.
  • Species such as the North Atlantic right whale, Rice’s whale and Vaquita porpoise have been pushed to the brink of extinction.
  • However, the recent study found microplastics in various other tissues of a number of different whale, dolphin and seal species.

Contaminated tissues

    • Samples were taken from the animals’ blubber, melon (the fatty structure found in a whale’s forehead), acoustic fat pads (from the jaw), and lung tissue.
    • Analysis of the samples revealed that every single melon, acoustic fat pad and lung tissue sample contained microplastics, as did 64% of blubber samples.

Tiny particles, big impact

    • At Plymouth Marine Laboratory, we have shown that exposure to microplastic particles can affect feeding, growth and reproduction in animals that filter seawater or sediment for food.
    • Evidence of the impact of microplastics on larger animals is, by comparison, limited.
    • In the most severe scenario, the accumulation of these particles could lead to a loss of these tissues’ critical functions.

A concern for human health?

    • It’s generally believed that only very small microplastics (particles less than 100µm) can move from the gut or respiratory system into the bloodstream.
    • But the US study has found the presence of larger microplastic particles in non-digestive tissues, suggesting this assumption might not hold true.
    • Together, these findings could have implications for human health.
    • Research has found microplastic particles in human blood samples and in human placenta.