Israel Economy Is Secondary Concern as Netanyahu Focuses on War

Galit Altstein
Mon, 26 Aug 2024,

(Bloomberg) -- With domestic and international attention focused on Israel’s war in Gaza and escalating tensions with Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration has stalled discussions on next year’s budget — set to be the most challenging and crucial in decades.

Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich insist there will be a fiscal framework in place for 2025 but haven’t explained delays in its formulation, leaving markets and investors guessing on how it will be put together at a time that the conflict is causing the budget deficit and debt issuance to soar. Budgeting is usually well underway by this time of year.

Top central bank and finance ministry technocrats have joined credit-rating agencies and business leaders in warning that a hiatus will cloud Israel’s economic prospects and elevate the already-high risk premium on its assets.

Tensions over the budgetary process were evident in a letter Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron wrote to Netanyahu this month. He urged the prime minister to follow up on a meeting they held weeks ago to discuss ways to steady the nation’s finances — including trimming spending and raising taxes.

Yaron, who under Israeli law is the government’s top economic adviser, argues that permanent budgetary adjustments totaling some 30 billion shekels ($8 billion) are needed next year to sustain increased defense and other war-related expenditure. They are also necessary, he said, to steady Israel’s debt-to-gross domestic product ratio — which the central bank sees at 67.5% this year, up from around 59% in 2022.

“Maintaining the budget framework for 2024 and promoting the orderly process of structuring the budget for 2025 are critical,” the governor wrote.

GDP grew just 2% last year, almost half the rate the finance ministry expected prior to the outbreak of the war, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. sees an expansion of just 1.4% this year after cutting its forecast twice over the past two weeks.

Disquiet over Israel’s economy, the government’s handling of its finances and the risk of intensified fighting is becoming evident in the financial markets. Yields on the government’s 10-year shekel bonds have risen almost 90 basis points this year.

Fitch Ratings cut Israel’s rating by one notch to A, the third-highest level, on Aug. 13. That followed a similar move by Moody’s Investors Service in February.

“The conflict in Gaza could last well into 2025 and there are risks of it broadening to other fronts,” Fitch said.

Fighting erupted after Hamas militants swarmed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 240 hostage. Israel responded with an air and ground assault that have reduced large tracts of the Gaza Strip to rubble. More than 40,000 people have been killed, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza.

Israel and Hezbollah have also been engaged in tit-for-tat strikes since the war began. Those escalated on Sunday, when 100 Israeli warplanes swooped over southern Lebanon, taking out thousands of Hezbollah missile launchers in what it termed a pre-preemptive strike, and the group responded by firing more than 200 projectiles across the border. Hamas and Hezbollah are both backed by Iran and are designated as terrorist organizations by the US.

Israel has spent 88 billion shekels on the war so far — almost 5% of GDP — and has raised more than 190 billion shekels through July to help fund the military and plug the fiscal deficit. If sustained, this year’s borrowing will break the record set during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

The deficit rose to 8.1% of GDP in the 12 months through July. The finance ministry and central bank expect it be around 6.6% for this year as a whole, but that’s presuming the conflict with Hezbollah doesn’t worsen.

“Fiscal policy is the elephant in the room” as far as markets are concerned, Yaron said last month. “If you wait for the last minute, you make bad decisions.”

Budget proposals are typically drafted early in the Israeli summer, brought to the cabinet for approval by August and passed by parliament by year-end. Under Israeli law, the process can be extended until as late as the end of March. The government automatically collapses if it isn’t concluded.

Netanyahu and Smotrich met last week to discuss the budget, but they’ve yet to agree on a basic framework and finance ministry officials say almost no substantive discussions have taken place so far.

An official at the prime minister’s office, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said spending and financing plans can be comfortably approved even if they are placed before the cabinet as late as October — a time line technocrats say isn’t feasible.


The politics surrounding the budget are fraught, with some money directed toward entities headed by ultra-religious and nationalist politicians who form part of Netanyahu’s coalition and are key to him retaining power. Those discretionary budgets alone totaled 6 billion shekels this year, including funding for Jewish settlements in the West Bank and religious causes that have stirred controversy.

“The government stalls because the unveiling of a budget involves public scrutiny, and if controversial expenses aren’t cut it will be slammed domestically and may precipitate another downgrade in Israel’s credit rating,” Avigdor Lieberman, an opposition leader who preceded Smotrich as finance minister, said in an interview. “It’s likely that the government will choose to increase the deficit and its external debt.”

The stalling is vintage Netanyahu and he is likely to dismiss any criticism as politically motivated, according to Mazal Mualem, a political analyst who recently published a biography on the Israeli leader.

“For the prime minister, procrastination is a management strategy,” she said.

--With assistance from Srinivasan Sivabalan and Julius Domoney.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

 

Gaza war economic consequences for Israel

TEHRAN, Aug. 27 (MNA) – With growing concern, Zionist economists are warning officials in Tel Aviv that if the Gaza war does not end by 2025, the regime's economic situation will worsen.

According to the US media, the current state of the Israeli regime is the result of the high costs that this regime has incurred during the ongoing war in Gaza.

Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu tried to allay the fears of Zionist experts by saying that the economic damage is short-term and temporary, but contrary to his claims, the war in Gaza has harmed thousands of small businesses and international trust in Israel's economy.

Yacov Sheinin, an Israeli economist, said the total cost of the war could amount to $120 billion, or 20% of the country’s gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic activity.

The Israeli regime's Finance Ministry this month said the country’s deficit over the last 12 months has risen to over 8% of GDP, far exceeding the 6.6% deficit-to-GDP ratio the ministry projected for 2024. In 2023, Israel’s budget deficit was roughly 4% of its GDP.

The Israeli ports also saw a 16% percent drop in shipping in the first half of the year, compared with the same period in 2023.

Israeli business information company CofaceBDI reports that some 46,000 businesses have closed since the start of the war — 75% of them small businesses.

Iceland’s Second Chance initiative – A model for national rehabilitation

Following Paul Cowley’s interview on ITV’s This Morning, Iceland Foods’ Second Chance Initiative is gaining attention for its impactful approach to ex-offender rehabilitation. Under the leadership…

COMMENTARY

26 August, 2024 | by Natalie Fresen

Following Paul Cowley’s interview on ITV’s This Morning, Iceland Foods’ Second Chance Initiative is gaining attention for its impactful approach to ex-offender rehabilitation.

Under the leadership of Paul Cowley, a man with a deep understanding of the transformative power of employment, the company’s Second Chance scheme is not just a corporate initiative but a beacon of hope for those looking to rebuild their lives after prison.

Paul Cowley, who now serves as Iceland’s first Director of Rehabilitation, has been instrumental in driving this initiative. Since its inception in September 2022, Cowley has visited 98 prisons and extended job offers to 680 inmates upon their release. His efforts come at a time when six out of ten prisoners in England and Wales reoffend within a year of release, often due to the lack of employment opportunities. Cowley’s philosophy is simple yet powerful: “If you can offer someone gainful employment, it reduces reoffending by 50 per cent.”

The Second Chance scheme is built on the premise that hope is a critical factor in the rehabilitation process.

For many inmates, the future looks bleak, and the absence of opportunities post-release often leads them back to crime. However, as Cowley noted during his appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain earlier this morning, the impact of receiving a letter while still in prison, promising a guaranteed job upon release, can be life-changing. “It changes their whole future,” he remarked, underlining the psychological and practical benefits of such a promise.

Iceland’s initiative has caught the attention of not just the public but also government officials. The grocery retailer has petitioned James Timpson, the newly appointed Minister of State for Prisons and Rehabilitation, to consider adopting Iceland’s model as a national blueprint. The potential for such a scheme to be rolled out across the country is significant, with the Ministry of Justice itself acknowledging that meaningful employment can halve the rates of reoffending.

The success of the Second Chance scheme is evident in the stories of those it has helped. One such individual, a former inmate named Stuart, shared his journey on Good Morning Britain. Stuart, who had been imprisoned for armed robbery, spoke candidly about how the lack of job opportunities led him to reoffend. However, the letter from Iceland offering him a job before his release was a turning point. “This opportunity has changed it for me. My mindset has changed. I absolutely love the company I work with,” he said, highlighting the profound impact of employment on mental health and self-respect.

Cowley’s commitment to rehabilitation extends beyond his role at Iceland. In 2005, he founded the charity Caring for Ex-Offenders, which has helped over 2,000 men and women reintegrate into society. His dedication to this cause was recognised with an MBE in 2016. Now, through the Second Chance scheme, he is expanding this vision on a larger scale, with Iceland employing 330 ex-prisoners across its 900 stores. The retention rate and reduced sick days among these employees are a testament to the effectiveness of the programme.

The success of Iceland’s initiative is not isolated. Other companies in the food and drink sector, such as Cook and Greggs, have also implemented similar schemes with impressive results. Cook’s Raw Talent scheme and Greggs’ Fresh Start programme have both shown that hiring ex-offenders is not only a moral imperative but also a sound business strategy.

As Iceland continues to champion the cause of rehabilitation, it is clear that these individuals deserve the second chance they are being given. Cowley’s words resonate deeply: “More needs to be done to ensure they are given the opportunity to succeed.” With the government now being urged to back such initiatives, the hope is that the Second Chance scheme will become a national model, paving the way for a more inclusive and just society.

LITHIUM SUPER HOT FIRE

Fire damages multiple EVs at Rivian's Illinois plant

© Rivian

Electronics Production | August 26, 2024

A fire broke out at the Illinois manufacturing facility of electric manufacturer Rivian on Saturday night, causing damage to an unspecified number of trucks.

A company spokes person told Reuters that no injuries had been reported and the cause of the fire is being investigated.

The assembly plant in Normal, Illinois – about 209 km south of Chicago – was unaffected by the fire, which was contained to a parking lot on the north side of the factory, according to the local fire department.

Rivian has not publicly stated how many vehicles have been damaged.

The electric vehicle company has been expanding its Normal plant to prepare for the production of its smaller R2 SUVs, expected to launch in 2026 and considered crucial to its success.

Earlier this year, the company temporarily shut down the plant for three weeks to undertake a major retooling aimed at streamlining manufacturing and reducing costs.

 Reuters reports.

US national parks are receiving record-high gift of $100M


Photo, shows a view seen on the way to Glacier Point trail in the Yosemite National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Tammy Webber, File)

BY PATRICK WHITTLE
August 25, 2024

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The official nonprofit organization of the National Park Service is set to receive the largest grant in its history, a $100 million gift the fundraising group described as transformative for the country’s national parks.

The National Park Foundation, which Congress created in the 1960s to support national parks, will receive the donation from Indianapolis-based foundation Lilly Endowment Inc. The park foundation described the gift on Monday as the largest grant in history benefiting U.S. national parks.

The money will be used to address the needs of the country’s more than 400 national park sites, said Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation.

The foundation hopes to announce the first round of grants stemming from the donation later this year, Shafroth said.

Exactly how the money will be utilized remains to be seen, but one of the foundation’s priorities is restoring coral reefs at Biscayne National Park in Florida, Shafroth said, while another priority is the restoration of trout species in western national parks.
ADVERTISEMENT


In addition to funding initiatives that protect fragile ecosystems and species, Shafroth said the money will also be used to create opportunities for young people to visit national parks.


RELATED COVERAGE


Did Taylor Swift create a new era for food bank donations?


With their massive resources, corporations could be champions of racial equity but often waver


VP nominee JD Vance to dissolve last vestige of mothballed charity, give its $11K to Appalachia

“This grant will allow us to supercharge our efforts to ensure our national parks are for everyone, for generations to come,” he said.





The system’s hundreds of units include national parks, memorials, monuments, historic sites and other locations. It includes iconic national parks such as Yellowstone National Park in Montana and Yosemite National Park in California, as well as beloved sites such as the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It also includes preserved areas that are less accessible to many people, such as Buck Island Reef National Monument in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The National Park Foundation is in the midst of its “Campaign for National Parks,” a $1 billion fundraising effort to support parks. Lilly Endowment made the gift to support that effort, said N. Clay Robbins, chair and CEO of Lilly.
ADVERTISEMENT


“We believe the National Park Foundation’s campaign will enhance the programming in and promote the future vibrancy of our country’s marvelous system of parks, monuments and historic sites,” Robbins said.
___

The Lilly Endowment provides funding for Associated Press coverage of democracy, philanthropy, and religion.

All 39 crew members rescued when Malaysian ship floods, partially sinks

KD Pendekar was partially submerged 2 nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Penyusop cape in Johar state

Anadolu staff |25.08.2024 -



ANKARA

All 39 crew members of a Malaysian navy ship that partially submerged after a leak and flooding have been rescued, local media reported on Sunday.

The Royal Malaysian Navy's KD Pendekar was partially submerged two nautical miles southeast of the Tanjung Penyusop cape in the southern Johor state, local English daily Malay Mail reported, citing the navy.

The leak, according to the navy, is believed to be from the vessel hitting an underwater object.

“The leak, which was first detected in the ship's engine room, spread rapidly and uncontrollably. All crew members were successfully rescued after efforts to control the leak and stabilize the ships were unsuccessful," the navy said.

A special investigation board is being set up to find the source of the incident, it added.

The Pendekar was commissioned in 1979.

Malaysian naval attack ship sinks after hitting unknown object

August 26, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian authorities were working Monday to salvage a 45-year-old fast attack naval ship that sank after it struck an unknown underwater object.

The navy said in a statement that a leak was first detected in the engine room of the KD Pendekar on Sunday, which quickly flooded the vessel. The crew failed to fix the hole and the 260-ton ship sank underwater hours later off the coast of southern Johor state, it said. All 39 crew members were evacuated safely, with no injuries.

“The leak is believed to be caused by the ship hitting an underwater object,” it said, adding that salvage operations were underway. An investigation has been launched into the cause of the incident, it said.

Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin on Monday ordered an inspection of navy vessels over 40 years old, which make up at least a third of the country’s fleet. The Pendekar, built by Karlskrona Varvet Shipyard in Sweden, was commissioned into the Malaysian fleet in 1979.

“We do not deny that (some of) our ships are old but that is not likely to be one of the causes ... and the important thing is that thankfully no lives were lost,” Khaled was quoted as saying by the Malay-language Harian Metro newspaper.

Khaled said a fleet modernization is ongoing, involving the construction of littoral combat ships with the first due to be commissioned in 2026. The ministry is also negotiating to purchase littoral missions ships from Turkiye, he said.

TAYLOR SWIFT INC.

Did Taylor Swift create a new era for food bank donations?


FILE - Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour on Friday, June 21, 2024 in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

BY STEPHANIE BEASLEY OF THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY
 August 25, 2024

Ahead of Taylor Swift’s July 14, 2023, concert in Denver, Aditi Desai, chief marketing officer at the Food Bank of the Rockies, got an unusual call. The billionaire pop star wanted to donate tens of thousands of meals to the nonprofit — a philanthropic effort she had repeated, much like her favorite songs, as she traverses the country on her 52-city Eras Tour.

“I was shocked and then thrilled by the news,” Desai said. “When (Swift’s representatives) shared the news, they were so kind, letting us know that Taylor wanted to express her gratitude for the work we do in our community every day.”

Since last March, Swift has donated the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of meals to help feed the growing number of Americans grappling with rising food and housing costs. She chooses to give without celebrity fanfare, and the gifts have been welcomed. But food bank operators say they have provided only temporary relief, as food insecurity has been spiking and federal government COVID-19 aid has ended.

“We got so much support during COVID,” said Jessica Sund, director of development and communications at Channel One Regional Food Bank of Minnesota, which received funding from Swift. “That really helped us not have a horrible situation. But the numbers we’re seeing are so much higher now because of inflation and cost of living, and all of that support is gone.”

Swift’s support has been meaningful, food bank operators say, especially in drawing attention to their crucial service for low- and mid-income people. But food banks, collectively, require billions of dollars in funding per year, said Kyle Waide, CEO of Atlanta Community Food Bank, who is chair of the National Council for Feeding America and whose Georgia food bank is a Swift grantee.

The annual funding shortfall between what is needed in food assistance and what is provided by the federal government is roughly $33 billion, according to Feeding America, a network of food banks, pantries, and local meal programs.

“At a macro level, food banks are certainly facing lots of pressure right now, mainly because of just the extraordinary level of demand that’s out in the community,” Waide said.

Typically, according to Feeding America, food banks rely on individual and corporate donations, contributions from local farmers and retailers, and federal aid programs to sustain operations.

75,000 Meals

The self-described “tortured poet,” who has an estimated net worth of more than $1 billion, has a history of supporting emergency relief causes. Swift’s charitable fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee was set up to respond to flooding that struck the region in 2010. She gave $1 million to the community foundation’s Tennessee Emergency Response Fund last year.

Food banks fortunate enough to receive a slice of her wealth have praised the pop star for highlighting their efforts to reduce hunger amid inflation, rising food and energy costs, and increased demand for their services. At least 49 million Americans rely on food from food banks and other charities. Young people, who make up a large portion of Swift’s audience, are increasingly affected by food insecurity. More than half of those ages 18 to 34 said rising food costs were chief among their biggest financial worries.

Swift’s public relations team declined to comment about her food bank donations. Grantees said they were asked not to disclose the amount of the gifts. However, Desai said the contribution allowed the food bank to purchase enough food for 75,000 meals. Typically, the food bank can provide about three meals for every $1 donated, she said.

Channel One Regional Food Bank of Minnesota was able to purchase 30,000 meals with its donation, according to Jessica Sund, the organization’s director of development and communications. Food banks can purchase anywhere from two to 10 meals per dollar donated, she said.

“It really does range dramatically from food bank to food bank,” Sund said.

At Channel One, it usually costs about $8 million a year to keep shelves stocked with enough food to support roughly 300,000 visits from people in 14 counties.

Keeping It Real(istic)

Swift’s gifts seem to amount to a tiny percentage of the revenue earned from the tour and her personal wealth. Nevertheless, many of her food bank grantees consider the exposure that she gives them priceless.

Her donation provided the kind of media attention that Food Bank of the Rockies could never afford, Desai said. “We saw rapid increases in ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ on the social media post announcing the gift, with exponentially more engagement than we typically receive,” Desai said.

Some food banks said they saw a bump in small donations in response to the press coverage. It was short-lived, and most continue to be challenged by high demand for their services as more Americans struggle to make ends meet.

Channel One is seeing an increase in individuals and families reaching out for the first time as they realize they can no longer afford to buy food on their own, Sund said. Currently, the organization receives 10,000 visits to its on-site food shelf in Rochester, Minnesota, which is roughly a 50 percent increase from last year, she said.

Sund and other food bank leaders point to inflation and the lack of affordable housing as contributing to increased demand. The end of government pandemic relief funding has exacerbated these issues, they said. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the federal government expanded the Child Tax Credit program for low-income families. Lawmakers allowed the policy to expire at the end of 2021. Similarly, temporary benefit increases for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program expired in March 2023.

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley also received a gift from Swift during the U.S. leg of her tour. The organization had heard that Swift was donating to food banks and reached out to her press team about a month ahead of her performances in Santa Clara last July, said Shobana Gubbi, chief philanthropy officer at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.

“A day before the concert, they just called us,” she said.

Gubbi declined to provide further details about the donation, saying only that the organization was grateful for the gift and for Swift “shining a light” on food insecurity. However, the situation on the ground has not greatly improved. The Silicon Valley region has been deeply affected by layoffs within the tech sector that have resulted in less giving, even from those who are still employed, Gubbi said. People are fearful about job security and are giving less; and when those donations decline, it also means less money from corporate matches, Gubbi added.

In response, Second Harvest is tightening its budget and keeping staff small, she said. The rations of food have also been downsized; rather than providing gallons of milk, the bank is now handing out half gallons and giving meats, eggs, and dairy on alternating weeks, she said. Some weeks people receive meats, and on others they may only get dairy and eggs, Gubbi explained. The organization is currently serving 500,000 people a month, roughly the same as during the peak of the pandemic.

“At the moment we are having a lot of challenges in terms of getting support from the community,” she said.
_________

Stephanie Beasley is a senior writer at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where you can read the full article. This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as part of a partnership to cover philanthropy and nonprofits supported by the Lilly Endowment. The Chronicle is solely responsible for the content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Foreign workers 'indispensable' for eastern Germany — study

A new study has found that foreign workers create billions in revenue for eastern German states. The data was published just days before the anti-immigrant AfD looks set for big wins in state elections there.

Though eastern Germany isn't known to welcome foreigners it is nevertheless very dependent on them for economic survival

According to a new study by the German Economic Institute (IW), foreign workers have become an indispensable part of the economies of eastern German states, generating billions of euros in revenue.

"In 2023, some 403,000 people with foreign passports worked in Germany's five eastern states, about 173,000 more than five years prior," the IW concluded, "They alone were responsible for creating €24.6 billion ($27.6 billion) — that equals roughly 5.8% of eastern German gross value creation."
Immigrants 'aiding' eastern German economy

The study's authors claim, "Foreign workers are indispensable for eastern states: between 2018 and 2023 the number of working Germans in the region dropped by 116,000."

In light of upcoming state elections and the continuous rise in the popularity of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), the study's authors write: "The AfD tirelessly attacks immigrants while enjoying favorable poll numbers — at the same time, many immigrants live in fear. The irony is that it is immigrants who are aiding the eastern German economy."

The IW says if fewer immigrants had come to the region during the past five years it would have faced an economic downturn rather than expansion.

The study points to Saxony as the state that has profited most from foreign labor (accounting for €7.9 billion of revenue created), followed by Brandenburg (€6.8 billion) and Thuringia (€3.9 billion).
Where do most immigrant workers in eastern Germany come from?

Most of the immigrants working in the east come from Poland and the Czech Republic say the study's authors, followed by Romania and Ukraine. The study documented that most worked in housing and road construction as well as temporary services.

"Foreign workers help eastern Germany's economy," said co-author Wido Geis-Thöne. "That makes it all the more important for the region to remain open to the rest of the world — that is the only way eastern Germany's economy can remain successful."

js/wd (AFP, Reuters)

Turkey: DW seeks constitutional court appeal for reporter

DW will seek to appeal the conviction of reporter Bülent Mumay for spreading "personal data," which he contends was journalistic work, at Turkey's constitutional court. DW's director general called the case "baseless."

The case against Bülent Mumay dates back to material he posted in 2020

Image: privat


DW plans to appealthe 2023 conviction of reporter Bülent Mumay for publishing supposedly secret information belonging to an Istanbul construction company owner at Turkey's highest court, after a lower court upheld his 20-month suspended jail sentence last week.

"To be honest, I did not expect the appeal to be decided in my favor. It would be a surprise if the judiciary, politicized by the palace regime, would rule in favor of a journalist, especially at a time when freedom of the press has disappeared," Mumay said. "The lawsuits and sentences against me and other journalists have two goals. Both to neutralize us and to intimidate and silence other journalists."

Bülent Mumay, the coordinator of the Istanbul office of DW's Turkish language service, only has one remaining legal recourse, which is to appeal at the constitutional court.

DW Director General Peter Limbourg said Deutsche Welle would stand behind him and provide full legal support.

"Bülent Mumay is a fearless, experienced, and critical journalist whom the Turkish authorities appear intent on silencing," Limbourg said. "The charges against him are clearly baseless and serve only as a pretext to intimidate him and other journalists in Turkey." 

Mumay's work on the expansion of Istanbul's metro system prompted the case

Image: DHA

What is the case about?

The case pertains to information Mumay shared on social media in 2020 related to alleged money laundering schemes involving construction moguls and officials from the previous Istanbul local government, which was led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP, or "Justice and Development Party" in English.

The material allegedly showed that some of the contractors given tasks were government-affiliated.

The data concerned the expansion of Istanbul's metro system, which is also underpinned by international investment and loans.

The legal case began following a complaint by the owner of the company involved, the Met-Gun Insaat construction firm, who alleged that it constituted the illegal dissemination of "personal data." Mumay meanwhile contends he was doing his job as a journalist.

Turkish authorities also took steps to block public access to the information online.

Support from NGOs including PEN, Reporters Without Borders, IPI

DW and Mumay's other employer in Germany, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper, protested the original verdict in 2023, with support from Reporters Without Borders and the German branch of the writers' NGO known as PEN (Poets, Essayists, Novelists).

The International Press Institute (IPI) also issued a critical statement following Mumay's latest failed appeal on August 20.

"This verdict represents a severe assault on press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey, further eroding the foundations of democratic discourse in the country," the IPI said. "We urgently call on Turkish authorities to end their harassment of critical journalists. Mumay's case is emblematic of the systematic repression of independent journalism in Turkey."

Mumay was also arrested and later released in 2016 in the days following the coup attempt in Turkey, for which Erdogan's government blames US-based former Erdogan ally Fethullah Gülen. Mumay, already well known as a reporter critical of the AKP, had been working at newspapers with ties to Gülen and his Hitzmet movement.

Mumay refers to the government under President Erdogan as the 'palace regime,' in reference to the opulent presidential palace built in recent years

Image: Omer Urer/Anadolu/picture alliance

Mumay has continued his journalistic activity during the current process, often taking positions that are critical of or disagree with Turkey's government. He for instance is much more critical of Hamas in the context of the conflict in Gaza than President Erdogan, who tends to be among the most strident critics of Israel among world leaders and certainly among NATO member states.

"The government wants a press that supports it and aligns with it in all its actions, not just in foreign policy," Mumay said. "But what they want is not journalism, it is public relations. The palace regime is trying to silence or align itself with anyone who is not 100% loyal to it through these kinds of cases. To be honest, there are very few journalists left in this country who oppose this."

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Turkey was still among the top 10 jailers of journalists worldwide in 2023, albeit with considerably fewer behind bars, at 13, than in the previous year, when the NGO put the figure at 40.

Mumay believes the government has become more repressive during Preisdent Erdogan's long tenure and hopes to contribute to resisting this.

"Any social change comes at a price," he said. "Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for 22 years, started to lose support in society as he increased his powers. As he himself is aware, he has increased his pressure on both the press and the opposition. But anyone who reads history well knows that it is impossible to stop change. It can only delay it a little."

Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines plans strike

The four-day strike is scheduled to start on Tuesday, trade unions representing pilots and cabin crew said. Founded in 2021, the airline operates 27 aircraft from Munich and Frankfurt to a range of holiday destinations.

Pilots and cabin crew at the Lufthansa Group's holiday subsidiary Discover Airlines are set to go on strike, trade unions announced on Sunday.

The four-day strike at the airline, which was founded in 2021, will get underway on Tuesday, August 27, union officials said in Frankfurt.

With all departures from Germany affected, the strike is set to cause severe disruptions to many people's travel plans in the latter part of the summer holiday season.

Holiday plans are set to be severely disrupted by the four-day strikeImage: Helmut Fricke/dpa/picture alliance

Discover Airlines staff recently voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike after a conflict between unions representing airline workers.
Unions at loggerheads

The decision to strike is due to a conflict following negotiations with the Verdi union, which has sealed the first collective agreements for pilots and flight attendants of Discover.

But two other unions, Cockpit, which represents pilots, and UFO, which represents cabin crew, work closely together to bypass existing pay agreements struck between Lufthansa and Verdi, which they see as a competitor.

Cockpit and UFO argue that Verdi lacks sufficient membership within the airline's operations and was established as a bargaining partner by Lufthansa.

On Discover Airlines' website, there is a message for those who have already booked, or about to book, a flight.

"Trade unions Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) and Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation (UFO) have called for a strike at Discover Airlines between August 27, 2024, and August 30, 2024. Please check your current flight status regularly and enter your contact details," the message reads.

Lufthansa's financial losses

Operating out of Frankfurt and Munich, Discover operates a fleet of 27 aircraft and its staff totals almost 2,000.

“Impacts on Discover Airlines flights will unfortunately be unavoidable in this context. We sincerely regret this circumstance,” said UFO boss Joachim Vazquez Bürger. “We never take this path lightly, but as a last conceivable step, without exception.”

At the end of April, Germany's flagship airline Lufthansa released its financial data for the first quarter of the year, which showed increased losses that it attributed in large part to strikes.

Discover Airlines pilots and flight attendants vote for four-day strike

By Pilar Wolfsteller

26 August 2024

Pilots and flight attendants at Lufthansa Group carrier Discover Airlines have voted to go on a four-day strike later this week to pressure the carrier to negotiate new contracts.

“From August 27th at 00:01 o’clock until August 30th at 23:59 o’clock all flights from Germany will be on strike,” pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) said on 25 August. “The aim of the industrial action is to conclude a collective remuneration agreement and a general collective agreement for the cockpit personnel stationed in Germany at EW Discover GmbH.”


Source: Lufthansa

Pilots and cabin crew vote for a four-day strike to begin later this week

Last week, 90% of VC union members participated in a vote to conduct a strike. Of those 81% voted in favour.

At the flight attendant union Unabhangiger Flugbegleiter Organisation (UFO), almost 92% voted for the strike.

“We didn’t expect this and we would have preferred nothing more than to avoid it,” UFO says.

The two unions have also said that they will coordinate their actions.

The move comes two weeks after Discover’s management agreed on new collective labour agreements for cockpit and cabin crew with trade union Verdi that were slated to run through the end of 2027.

But VC and UFO say that contract is insufficient.

“The Verdi [contract] leaves many points unregulated to the advantage of the employer,” says VC’s head of public relations Frank Blanken. “At the same time, the design of the differentiation clauses appears to be questionable and on shaky legal ground. It shows the employer’s helpless naivete if they believe that pilots can be duped so easily.”

Discover Airlines was previously known as Eurowings Discover, before Lufthansa Group rebranded the leisure unit last September. Eurowings Discover began operating flights for Lufthansa under its own AOC in the summer of 2021, initially focusing on leisure routes of Frankfurt. It currently has about 2,000 employees and operates 27 Airbus aircraft on short, medium, and long-haul routes to popular tourist destinations.

The airline plans to expand to 33 aircraft by the end of 2027.

In a note on its website, the carrier says it is “working to minimise the impact” of the strikes and advises travellers to regularly check on flight status.

Harris campaign has raised $540 million as donations surged after Democratic convention

SEPERATE FROM OTHER DNC FUNDRAISING

Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign said Sunday that it has raised a total of $540 million since Harris launched her presidential bid following the withdrawal of President Joe Biden a month ago.


Issued on: 25/08/2024

US vice president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 22, 2024. © Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP

Kamala Harris’s US presidential campaign said Sunday that it has raised more than half a billion dollars in just over a month, “a record for any campaign in history.”

The eyewatering amount of $540 million, raised since Harris launched her campaign after President Joe Biden dropped out of the White House race on July 21 and endorsed her, comes as she and Republican rival Donald Trump embark on the final 10-week sprint to election day on November 5.

Trump, whose campaign was thrown when Biden stepped aside, reported having $327 million cash on hand at the start of August.

Just before Harris took to the stage at the DNC on Thursday to accept her party’s nomination, “we officially crossed the $500 million mark,” campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a memo.

“Immediately after her speech, we saw our best fundraising hour since launch day,” she continued.

“In just over a month since we launched our campaign, Team Harris-Walz raised $540 million - a record for any campaign in history.”

The sum reflects funds raised across the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees, the statement said.

One-third of those donations were from first-time contributors, O’Malley Dillon said.

Harris’s campaign appears to have energized large and small donors alike—a turnaround from the uncertain period after a disastrous Biden debate performance in June, when major donors reportedly halted fundraising.

It also appears to have mobilized what O’Malley Dillon called “a virtual army of volunteers,” with the convention seeing grassroots workers signing up in droves.

“Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s battleground infrastructure remains incredibly sparse,” she said.

Harris and Trump are neck and neck in the polls less than three weeks before their September 10 debate in Philadelphia.

Harris, 59, a former senator from California and prosecutor, left the Democratic convention in Chicago with momentum, having outraised Trump and erased the polling leads he enjoyed before she replaced Biden on the Democratic ticket.

(AFP)