Netanyahu Responds to Pressure to Drop Judicial Reforms

Protests in Israel escalated after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for speaking out against judicial reforms. The reforms, originally proposed in January, would call any attempt by the country’s Supreme Court to veto legislation that it sees as unconstitutional to a vote in the Knesset, prevent the country’s Supreme Court from judging legislation based on “reasonability,” give the justice minister power to appoint public representatives who aid in appointing Justices, and allow government ministers to select their own legal advisers. On Monday, protestors from Israel’s largest labor union joined with leaders from the tech and healthcare sectors in a nationwide strike against the legislation that threatened to paralyze the economy. Additional pressure came from the Biden administration, who bombarded the coalition government with warnings that Netanyahu was “imperiling Israel’s reputation as the sole democracy in the region,” according to BBC News. Netanyahu eventually announced the delay of the legislation, but said Tuesday that the government would come to a decision “not based on pressures from abroad.”

Footage circulates of fire at Mexico migrant center

Footage has emerged of uniformed officials failing to unlock a group of men during a fire at a migrant center in Ciudad Juárez. The video, which has been widely shared on Twitter and picked up by Mexican newspapers, shows a group of men in what appears to be a locked cell. As the fire erupts in a corner, one of the detainees tries unsuccessfully to open the cell door, and uniformed officials seem to ignore his attempts. It is not possible to tell what the officials are saying or doing offscreen as the fire spreads. The fire comes at a time when Mexico is struggling to accommodate an influx of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., but Trumpera border restrictions continue to force thousands into detainment.

Ukrainian forces strike Russian-held Melitopol

After declines in Russian attacks in Bakhmut, Russia’s longstanding target for its channels into the industrially dense Donetsk region, Ukrainian forces have shelled the Russian occupied city of Melitopol. The attack struck a railway depot and caused widespread power outages in the region. Melitopol, found just south of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, has served as a railway hub for Russian forces. According to Reuters, the attack could undermine forces from Moscow at a moment when Kyiv has indicated that it could soon organize counterattacks in areas where Russian forces have remained stationed but largely unsuccessful in advancing offensive lines. Kyiv’s forces, according to Ukraine’s military General Staff, continue to stand firm and are “repelling numerous enemy attacks”.

Lesotho MP calls for return of South African Land

On Wednesday, Parliament representatives in Lesotho gathered to discuss a motion to seek the return of large swaths of land from the country’s powerful neighbor South Africa. These regions would include the province of Free State, which borders Lesotho, along with four other regions that historically were inhabited by the Basotho people. The motion is based around a 1962 United Nations resolution that acknowledged the right to independence and self-determination for the small kingdom, and would expand Lesotho’s territory from around 30,000 sq km (11,600 sq miles) to around 240,000 sq km (93,000 sq miles). The additional land would allow Lesotho to improve its agricultural sector and economic independence. It’s unclear how the motion, if enacted, would impact relationships between Lesotho and South Africa.