Protests in Israel ahead of key vote
Israeli lawmakers are expected to hold a binding vote today on part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary. It comes after a weekend of protests and unrest, and the issue has become a proxy for a broader emotional and existential battle over the nature of the Israeli state.
Last night, pro-government demonstrators rallied in Tel Aviv as opposed to the judicial overhaul in Jerusalem. A day earlier, miles of demonstrators opposing the Reformation had marched feverishly into Jerusalem. Some of the tens of thousands of people who took part marched for days, and some camped outside parliament.
Early yesterday morning, Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital for an emergency procedure to implant a heart pacemaker. Netanyahu released a video statement saying he would be in parliament today.
Still, talks continued to reach an 11th-hour compromise on a bill aimed at limiting the ways the Supreme Court can overturn government decisions. Netanyahu held an emergency meeting with President Isaac Herzog in a last-minute attempt to broker a compromise, according to Herzog’s office. “An agreement must be reached,” Herzog said in a statement.
Feelings are running high: Over the weekend, an opposition lawmaker began to cry during a speech in parliament, a former Israeli air force chief collapsed during a televised panel discussion and a prominent doctor broke down in a prime-time interview.
In depth: The crisis now centers on the legal concept of “reasonableness”.
Army: A group representing military reservists has announced that about 10,000 Israelis will stop attending reserve duty if the judiciary passes the law, raising fears about Israel’s military readiness.
The military issued an extraordinary public letter calling on reservists to report for duty and warning that “dangerous rifts” in the ranks could present an existential crisis for Israel.
Cambodia’s early elections
Hun Sen’s party, Cambodia’s prime minister for nearly four decades, yesterday declared victory in parliamentary elections that paved the way for his son’s dynastic rule.
The official results are not confirmed till today, but the result is almost certain. The only credible opposition party, the Candlelight Party, was disqualified in May by the National Election Commission, which answers to Hun Sen. His party has suppressed opposition through violence, imprisonment, coups, forced exile and manipulation of the courts.
Hun Sen, 70, has announced that he will hand over the seat to his eldest son, General Hun Manet, 45, at some point after the vote. But Hun Sen said he would remain a force behind the throne: “Although I am no longer prime minister, I will still control politics as the head of the ruling party,” Hun Sen said in June.
At a party meeting last year, he drove home the point of dynasty: “I will be the prime minister’s father after 2023 and the prime minister’s grandfather in the 2030s.” This period will be a dangerous one as Hun Sen loosens his grip on power.
Background: Ahead of the last election five years ago, the main opposition party was forced to disband by politicized courts.
Ukraine is stopping the counteroffensive
My colleagues spent a month reporting on the fight for Ukraine’s advance. They found that the fighting had largely stalled and that Ukraine was facing obstacles — exhausted soldiers, unreliable ammunition — against a determined foe.
Despite Ukraine’s transformations, the country has made little progress in its ability to directly coordinate between forces. As casualties mount, soldiers in the trenches are often older and less trained. Ammunition is scarce and communications are uncertain. Many countries have supplied Ukraine with ammunition, but accuracy varies wildly between different shells.
Mentionable: “We are trading our people for their people, and they have more people and equipment,” the Ukrainian commander said.
Can Japan make coal cleaner?
Most advanced economies have committed to phasing out coal over the next seven years. But only Japan insists that coal can do less harm to the planet.
Now a Japanese company says it can burn more cleanly by mixing carbon dioxide with non-emitting ammonia when it burns coal. The idea was conceived and heavily funded by Japan’s government, which hopes to export the technology to its neighbors in Asia.
But critics say the use of ammonia would extend Japan’s dependence on fossil fuels — and potentially increase carbon emissions. Burning ammonia can also produce nitrogen oxides, which are toxic to humans and another emission that must be managed.
Context: Japan turned to coal plants to compensate for shutting down its nuclear plants after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. The move knocked out 30 percent of the nation’s power supply overnight.
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Correction: On Friday, the photo caption incorrectly identified a New Zealand soccer player. The player is Jacqui Hand, not Hannah Wilkinson.
