Netanyahu Delays Bid to Overhaul Israel’s Judiciary as Protests Rage

By Patrick Kingsley, Isabel Kershner & Eric Nagourney | The New York Times (free)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he was delaying his government’s campaign to exert greater control over the judiciary, backing off in the face of furious public protest that has plunged Israel into one of the deepest crises of its history.

More from WPR: Israel’s Protests Are a Battle Over the Meaning of a Jewish State

Fire in Mexico Kills at Least 39 in Migration Center Near U.S. Border

By Mike Ives | The New York Times

At least 39 people were killed Monday night and 29 others seriously injured when a fire broke out at a government-run migration facility in northern Mexico, near the border with the United States, the authorities said.

More from WPR: U.S. Border Policy Must Adapt to the Region’s New Migration Patterns

Hungary Approves Finland’s NATO Membership in Westward Pivot

By Marton Dunai & Richard Milne | Financial Times

Hungary ratified Finland’s NATO membership Monday in the latest sign of Prime Minister Viktor Orban slowly turning away from Russia as the economic benefits of their relationship fade.

Biden Acts to Restrict U.S. Government Use of Spyware

By Mark Mazzetti | The New York Times

President Biden on Monday signed an executive order restricting American government use of a class of powerful surveillance tools that have been abused by both autocracies and democracies around the world to spy on political dissidents, journalists and human rights activists.

More from WPR: Regulating the Global Spyware Market Won’t Be Easy

U.S. and Japan Strike Trade Deal on Critical Minerals for Electric Car Batteries

By Aime Williams & Kana Inagaki | Financial Times

The U.S. and Japan will sign a trade agreement covering critical minerals needed for electric car batteries Tuesday, as Washington pushes to reduce its supply chain dependency on China.

Inside the U.S. Pressure Campaign Over Israel’s Judicial Overhaul

By David E. Sanger | The New York Times

In the 48 hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reluctantly delayed his effort to overhaul the Israeli judiciary, his government was bombarded by warnings from the Biden administration that he was imperiling Israel’s reputation as the true democracy at the heart of the Middle East.

More from WPR: The U.S.-Israel Relationship Is Special, but Not Indestructible