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Climate crisis activists halt traffic at major German airports

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 Climate crisis activists disrupted air traffic at Germany’s major airports on Thursday morning by gluing themselves to the tarmac. Activists from the Last Generation group gained access to the tarmacs of Berlin, Cologne-Bonn, Nuremberg and Stuttgart airports, forcing authorities to temporarily suspend flight operations for several hours for safety reasons. The group shared photos and videos of the action on X, showing several activists in orange safety vests sitting on the tarmac with banners saying “Oil kills” and “Sign the treaty.” The protests were part of the global “Oil kills” campaign. “Together with allied protest movements, including in the US and Canada, the Last Generation is calling for the signing of a fossil fuel phase-out treaty,” the group said in a statement. “The German government should commit to international negotiations with the aim of signing an intergovernmental treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” the statement said.

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Biden approves more than $20B in new military arms sales to Israel

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The Biden administration approved the sale of more than $20 billion in new military assistance for Israel on Tuesday amid its ongoing war on the devastated Gaza Strip. The sales, which consist of multiple packages, include jet fighters, air-to-air missiles, tank ammunition, tactical vehicles and mortar cartridges. All of the packages have been signed off on by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Specifically, they include up to 50 F-15IA, and as many as 25 F-15I fighter jets, as well as associated equipment, 30 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and 32,739 120mm tank cartridges, M1147 High Explosive Multi-Purpose with Tracer (HEMP-T) cartridges and or 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank (MPAT) with Tracer cartridges. About 50,000 M933A1 120mm High Explosive (HE) mortar cartridges with M783 fuses are also included, as are modified M1148A1P2 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles and related equipment. The jets comprise the bulk of the cost, constituting $18.82 billion of the $20.34 billion package. The announcement sets off a congressional notification period, though it is unlikely lawmakers will block the packages.

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Cruise ship carrying over 3,000 people catches fire in South Korea

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A cruise ship carrying more than 3,000 people caught fire in South Korea on Wednesday. The Mediterranea, which had anchored at the southern port of Jeju in the Korea Strait, was reported to be ablaze after flames were spotted emerging from the vessel, according to Seoul-based Yonhap News. The South Korean Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the fire, which has injured three crew members. The ship had 2,430 passengers and 736 crew members on board. It had departed from Tianjin, China, and was heading to Fukuoka, Japan. However, its forward journey may be delayed until the investigation is completed.

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2024 Paris Olympics marked by controversies

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 The 2024 Paris Olympics, which began on July 26 with around 10,500 athletes representing 205 delegations, ended Sunday but will be remembered for several controversial decisions and developments. They include a ban on Russian athletes competing under their flag not being applied to Israel, a ban on headscarves for French Olympic athletes, the expulsion of homeless people from the capital, the opening ceremony, which was criticized as being blasphemous, and swimmers having to compete in a polluted Seine River. – Controversial opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26 at the Seine River has been criticized by religious authorities and the international community for offending Christianity. The performance of a “drag queen” (a man wearing women’s clothes and make-up) at the ceremony, which was a “first” in that it was held outside the stadium, was met with negative reactions on the grounds that it depicted Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” about Jesus Christ and disrespected religious beliefs. The Catholic Church in France, several Christian unions including the Middle East Council of Churches and the Vatican strongly criticized the opening. Following the international outcry, Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the event, said in a statement that the controversial reenactment scene did not depict Jesus Christ but Dionysus, the god of wine in Greek mythology, and “a pagan festival.” – Homeless pushed out of Paris due to Olympics In preparation for the Olympics, France evicted homeless people and irregular migrants, including children, from their homes in and around the capital. They were bused to cities such as Strasbourg and Orleans. According to a report by an umbrella organization of associations helping irregular migrants, 12,545 people were affected by the evictions from April 2023 to May 2024. – Hijab ban at Olympics French authorities barred women athletes competing for the host country from wearing the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, during the Games. In September, then-French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said French athletes would be prohibited from wearing the hijab during the Olympics. French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla, who was a competitor in the 4×400 meters relay, was banned from taking part in the opening ceremony on Friday with her hijab on. But following a backlash from some athletes and social media users, Oudea-Castera said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that “the issue is solved,” and Sylla was allowed to participate by wearing a cap to cover her hair. – Calls to ban Israeli athletes Many argued that Israeli athletes should be banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from participating in the 2024 Olympics because of their country’s ongoing offensive against Gaza, similar to the procedure applied to Russian athletes over the Ukraine war. More than 80 associations organized a protest against Israel’s participation. – Pollution of Seine Since 2015, the French government has reportedly spent around €1.4 billion ($1.53 billion) to clean up the Seine River, in which people have been banned from swimming since 1923 due to pollution and dangers from ship traffic. The announcement that the swimming and triathlon races at the Olympics would be held in the Seine had raised concerns about health and hygiene conditions. The Belgian team withdrew from the triathlon mixed team finals after Belgian athlete Claire Michel contracted E. Coli bacteria after her individual races in the Seine. Similarly, Portuguese triathlete Vasco Vilaca suffered symptoms consistent with a gastrointestinal infection after the race, while German swimmer Leonie Beck announced that she was ill after her race. In addition, swimming training in the Seine was canceled five times due to pollution.

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Russia declare evacuation of border districts in Belgorod, Kursk regions

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Russian officials on Monday announced that evacuations are being implemented in border districts in the country’s Belgorod and Kursk regions. “In order to protect the life and health of our population, we are starting to move people who live in Krasnoyaruzhsky district to safer places,” Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. Expressing that Ukrainian military activity was reported on the border of the district, Gladkov said he is certain that Russian troops will do everything to “cope with the threat.” The Krasnoyaruzhsky district lies east of Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region and south of Russia’s Kursk region. Gladkov further said the coordination of the evacuation is underway on the ground, and transport has been sent to the area. “I am sure that everything will be done in an organized manner, the main thing is that it will be done calmly, without panic, under the guidance of responsible persons,” Gladkov went on to say. Elsewhere, Kursk Governor Alexey Smirnov said on Telegram that the operational headquarters formed in the region decided to evacuate residents of the region’s Belovsky district. Smirnov further said he instructed Russia’s Transport Ministry in the region to prepare additional transport to evacuate residents from the district. A day earlier, Smirnov claimed that a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group tried to cross into Belovsky, but that Russian forces “stabilized the situation.” Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee announced on Aug. 10 that it introduced a counter-terrorism operation regime in the border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk amid Ukrainian incursions. Last Tuesday, Russia said that Ukrainian troops, including tanks and armored combat vehicles, attacked its military positions near two border settlements in the Kursk region. Since then, Moscow has reported that it has been repelling incursions into the border region by Ukrainian forces, in addition to countering air strikes launched at Kursk and surrounding regions, including Belgorod. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 7 accused Kyiv of “large-scale provocation” and “indiscriminate shooting.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later commented on the allegations, saying: “Russia brought the war to our land and should feel what it has done.”

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Hamas calls for urgent meeting of Arab League

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 The Palestinian resistance group Hamas called Sunday on the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to hold an urgent meeting on Israel’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip. It emphasized the need to “make effective decisions that lead to halting the aggression and ongoing genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip and to cut any political, commercial or normalization relations with the Zionist occupation.” Hamas also called for “the implementation of the decisions made at the joint Arab and Islamic summit which took place in Riyadh on Nov. 11 last year to break the siege and deliver aid and relief to our besieged people in the Gaza Strip.” In addition, it called on the UN Security Council to “hold an emergency session and make a decision that obliges the occupation (Israel) to stop the aggression and genocide and to cease its blatant violations of laws and treaties, which have become an effective recipe for destabilizing regional and international security and peace.” Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. The Israeli onslaught has since killed nearly 39,800 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,000 others, according to local health authorities. More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine. Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

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Global markets recovered after historically high selling pressure

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After concerns that economic activity in the US may slow down more sharply than expected led to deepening selling pressure in global markets on Monday, risk appetite increased in the markets on Tuesday. The effects of concerns that the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates in the near future could raise concerns about the course of the economy, causing panic in the markets, were also felt intensely. The emergency rate cut decision could be interpreted as the Fed losing control over the markets, analysts pointed out, adding that the bank should clarify the steps it will take in the short term. On the other hand, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the service sector in the US provided some relief in July, while the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) service sector (PMI) increased by 2.6 points on a monthly basis to 51.4 in July, in parallel with market expectations. “It doesn’t make sense to maintain a restrictive policy stance if the economy is weakening,” said Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, a closely followed Fed officials, in an interview on Tuesday. “The employment numbers came in weaker than expected, but it doesn’t look like a recession yet,” he added Goolsbee refrained from commenting on whether the Fed would go to an emergency meeting and cut interest rates, saying that this is a very big table, so everything is always on the table, such as rate hikes and rate cuts.  With these developments, forecasts for the Fed to cut interest rates by 50 basis points in September have also strengthened. In the Eurozone, the composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which was 50.9 in June, fell to 50.2 in July, the lowest level in the last five months. The service sector PMI in the Eurozone, which was 52.8 in June, fell to 51.9 in July, the lowest level in the last four months. In Germany, service sector PMI, which was 53.1 in June, fell to 52.5 in July, the lowest level in the last four months. In the region, the Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 0.5% on a monthly basis in June, while it decreased by 3.2% annually. While cryptocurrency markets also recovered, Bitcoin increased by 2.1% to $55,506. Reflecting the decline in technology stocks yesterday.  Nvidia’s shares, one of the companies that attracted attention in the artificial intelligence rally, fell 6.36%. Apple’s shares also dropped 4.82%, while Berkshire Hathaway, where US investor Warren Buffett is the Chief Executive, halved its shares in the company. Microsoft’s shares declined 3.27%, Meta’s shares fell 2.54%, Alphabet’s shares fell 4.61% and Amazon’s shares fell 4.1%, while Tesla’s shares fell 4.23%. While banking stocks also decreased with recession fears, Citigroup’s shares fell 3.42%, Wells Fargo’s shares fell 2.14%, JPMorgan Chase’s shares fell 2.13% and Morgan Stanley’s shares fell 3.94%. US markets saw a slight downbeat on Monday, with the Nasdaq index fell 3.38%, the S&P 500 dropped 3%, and the Dow Jones decreased by 2.60%. The US 2-year bond yield closed at 3.97% while Brent crude oil prices have stood at $76,9 per barrel. The US 10-year bond yield closed at 3.84%, and gold prices down by 0.3% to $2,403 an ounce. As for the VIX volatility Index, also known as the fear index, fell to 38.57. European stock markets continued to follow a mixed trend. The FTSE 100 index in the UK dropped 2.04%, France’s CAC 40 index 1.42%, Germany’s DAX 40 index decreased 1.82% and, Italy’s MIB 30 index 2.27% on Monday.  In Türkiye, the BIST 100 index in Borsa Istanbul closed at 9,893.41 points, down 5.54% from the previous close. The USD/TRY exchange rate traded at 33.3502 at the opening of the interbank market on Monday. On the other hand, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 3.23% and the Domestic Producer Price Index (D-PPI) by 1.94% on a monthly basis in July. Annual inflation realized as 61.78% in consumer prices and 41.37% in domestic producer prices. In Asian markets, which experienced a historic decline on Monday due to rising recession concerns, some of the losses experienced with the upward trend were compensated on Tuesday. The investments made in high-yielding assets with Japanese yen borrowing on Monday triggered the selling pressure in the regional markets with the BoJ’s interest rate hike and the rapid appreciation of the Japanese yen, analysts said. Thus, both the yen, which strengthened with the hawkishness of the BoJ, and the concern that the increasing recession concern in the world could negatively affect the performance of exporting Japanese companies played an important role in deepening the selling pressure in Japanese stock markets. On the other hand, Japan’s Finance Ministry, Financial Services Agency and BoJ officials are expected to meet today to discuss the state of the markets. In addition, the Reserve Bank of Australia left the policy rate unchanged at 4.35 percent. Near the close, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 8.9%, South Korea’s Kospi index 4%, while the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng composite index fell 0.1% and China’s Shanghai index decreased 0.3%.

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UN: Nuclear weapons represent ‘real and present danger

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Monday of the clear and present danger of nuclear weapons. “Nuclear weapons, and the threat of their use, are not confined to history books. They have once again appeared in the daily rhetoric of international relations,” Guterres said in a message to mark the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the US. “They represent a real and present danger that remains with us today,” he added. The Aug. 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima during World War II left an estimated 140,000 people dead by the end of the year, while an atomic bomb dropped on the city of Nagasaki three days later killed an estimated 74,000 people. “The lessons of Hiroshima, which once guided our collective efforts towards disarmament and peace, have been pushed aside,” Guterres said. While “some are recklessly rattling the nuclear saber once more,” he stressed that the UN endeavors to keep alive the lessons of 1945. He called on the world to stand together to condemn “this unacceptable behavior” and find new solutions to bring disarmament to life. “We will never forget the lessons of 6 August 1945. No more Hiroshimas. No more Nagasakis,” he added.

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Haniyeh’s funeral ceremony begins in Tehran

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 The funeral ceremony for Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Palestinian Hamas group’s political bureau, began early Thursday in the Iranian capital of Tehran, with a large number of people and officials participating, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, local media reported. The Iranian Mehr News Agency released a short video of the funeral ceremony, which featured Hamas top figures. According to the official IRNA news agency, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will lead the funeral prayers. On Wednesday morning, Hamas and Iran announced the assassination of Haniyeh in an Israeli airstrike targeting his residence in Tehran, a day after he attended the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Though Israel has remained silent about Haniyeh’s death, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted at Tel Aviv’s involvement in his assassination. Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas. At least 39,445 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities. Nearly 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine. Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

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Oil up amid growing geopolitical conflicts in Middle East

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 Oil prices increased on Thursday amid growing tension in the Middle East following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Palestinian Hamas group’s political bureau, and positive demand outlook in the US, supported by inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). International benchmark Brent crude traded at $81.44 per barrel at 10.13 a.m. local time (0713 GMT), a rise of 0.74% from the closing price of $80.84 per barrel in the previous trading session. The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $78.33 per barrel at the same time, a 0.53% increase from the previous session that closed at $77.91 per barrel. Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his Tehran apartment the day after attending Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration, according to announcements made by Iran and Hamas on Wednesday morning. Though Israel has remained silent about Haniyeh’s death, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted at Tel Aviv’s involvement in his assassination. Escalating geopolitical tensions in the regoin, home to a vast majority of global oil reserves, despite cease-fire negotiations, supported upward price movements by increasing supply risk in the markets. Meanwhile, data indicating a drop in crude stocks in the US, the world’s largest oil-consuming country, lent support to crude oil prices by suggesting that oil demand was increasing. According to data released by the EIA late Wednesday, US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 3.4 million barrels to 433 million barrels during the week ending July 26. The drop in inventory was well above the market prediction of a 1.6 million barrels fall. However, the rise of the US dollar against other currencies limited further price rises. Strong dollar ramped up prices for non-US currency holders and discouraged investors. The US dollar index rose by 0.09% to 104.18 at 9.58 a.m. local time (0658 GMT), compared to the previous trading session.

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