Greece has prepared a plan to support Ukrainian grain exports

Due to problems surrounding the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, Greece is ready to assist the process with an alternative route for its transportation through its ports in Alexandroupolis and Thessaloniki, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Gerapetritis said in Kyiv.  The plan has already been discussed not only with EU partners, but also outside the union, Kathimerini reports. The grain is expected to be transported by rail from Ukraine through Romania and Bulgaria to the ports of Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis. "Greek-owned commercial ships will play a very important role in transporting the grain," the article reads. It is pointed out that due to the problems with the capacity of the railway network in northern Greece, this plan can become an incentive to accelerate the modernization of the Alexandroupolis – Ormenio line, which is in a bad state.

Romanians call for boycott of Austrian companies because of Schengen refusal

28% of Romanians say that the country should boycott Austrian companies because of Austria's refusal to let Romania join Schengen, according to the data of a survey by polling agency Avangarde, quoted by Digi24. About 27% say that Romania should sue Austria in the European Court of Justice. Another 13% of Romanians want their country to use its veto power and block EU decisions until Austria agreed to let the country join Schengen. The survey also shows that according to 33% of Romanians, the problem is border control, while another 31% say that Austria opposes the country's accession to Schengen at the behest of Russia. Just 10% of Romanians think that Romania does not deserve to be part of the Schengen area.

Military strikes in Iraq and Syria after a bombing attack in Turkey

All Kurdish military facilities in Syria and Iraq are now "legitimate military targets," Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan said after a bombing attack in front of the Ministry of the Interior in Ankara that took place on October 1. Two policemen were slightly injured in the explosion. The two perpetrators, one of whom died in the blast and the other was neutralized by law enforcement officers, are part the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and came from Syria, where they received training, Turkish authorities said. The Kurdistan Workers' Party claimed responsibility for the incident. The Ministry of National Defense of Turkey announced that in the days after the attack, dozens of terrorists were neutralized, including in the northern parts of Iraq and Syria. In total, the number of neutralized terrorists this year reached about 1,390 people, as from July 24, 2015 until now, the number is just under 39,000, TRT reported. A total of 58 targets were hit in air operations in Iraq. Our determination to destroy terrorist dens will continue until the bloodthirsty terrorists disappear from this region, Rear Admiral Zeki Akturk, spokesman of Turkey's Defense Ministry said.

News from the Balkans now collected on a single web site

The Association of the Balkan News Agencies - Southeast Europe /ABNA-SE/ publishes on its updated website information from all twelve members of the Association each day. These are the national news agencies of Albania - ATA, of Bosnia and Herzegovina - FENA, of Bulgaria - BTA, of Greece - AMNA, of Italy - ANSA, of Kosovo - KOSOVAPRESS, of Cyprus - CNA, of Romania - AGERPRES, of North Macedonia - MIA, of Turkey - Anadolu Agency, of Croatia - HINA and of Montenegro - MINA.

The idea for creation of the Association was born in 1994 at a meeting of representatives of information agencies from the Balkans, which was held in Sofia. The first General Assembly of ABNA-SE was held in 1995 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The goal of the organization is the development of cooperation between news agencies from the region and maintenance of the climate of friendship and cooperation in the Balkans, BTA recalls.

Compiled by: Miglena Ivanova

English: Al. Markov

Photos: mfa.gr, Digi24, BGNES, BTA