WORLD ROUNDUPIndia or Bharat? | U.K. Spy Scandal | Energy Key to Strong U.S.-Vietnam Economic Partnership, and more
· Britain Rejects Calls to Label China a ‘Threat’ After Suspicions of Spying
The British government has rejected calls to officially label China a threat to its interests
· Three Big Cases in Israel’s September to Remember
Three petitions before the Israeli Supreme Court are transforming the usually slow month of September into a pivotal one in Israel’s ongoing judicial crisis
· U.K. Spy Scandal Could Shift China Policy
An espionage case involving a parliamentary aide comes at a bad time for the Conservative Party
· Hun Sen’s Successor Must Keep Up His Chess Game
The son of Cambodia’s long-serving prime minister will face challenges to his leadership from powerful political families
· Energy is the Key to a Strong U.S.-Vietnam Economic Partnership
Washington must work three-dimensionally to bridge the gap between Vietnam’s economic development and energy needs
· India or Bharat?
India’s apparent name change has surprised many, but it is only one episode in an ongoing debate about the nation’s fundamental identity
Britain Rejects Calls to Label China a ‘Threat’ After Suspicions of Spying (Henry Ridgwell, VOA News)
The British government has rejected calls to officially label China a threat to its interests. Several lawmakers have called for a tougher line from the government after it was revealed that a researcher in the British parliament was arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing.
British police detained two men in March on suspicion of breaking Britain’s Official Secrets Act. The arrests came to light this week, when the Sunday Times newspaper reported that one of the suspects was a researcher in the British parliament with connections to several prominent members of the ruling Conservative Party, including government ministers.
Three Big Cases in Israel’s September to Remember (Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shany, Lawfare)
Between the beginning of the school year and the high holidays, September is usually a relatively tranquil time in Israeli politics, especially since the Knesset is in summer recess until mid-October.
This year, however, September has a completely different vibe. This month, the Israeli Supreme Court (ISC), sitting as the High Court of Justice (HCJ), will hear petitions in three dramatic cases, which might prove to be a turning point in the highly controversial political program for an overhaul of the Israeli judicial system. These cases may just mark a turning point for Israeli constitutional law as a whole.
The three petitions include an administrative law challenge to the refusal of the minister of justice to convene the Judicial Selection Committee; a constitutional challenge to the amendment to the Basic Law: The Judiciary, which stripped away the court’s power to review the reasonableness of governmental and ministerial decisions; and a constitutional challenge to the amendment to the Basic Law: Government, which hardened considerably the conditions for declaring the prime minister as “incapacitated.”
The high political and legal drama surrounding these cases only intensified after the attorney general of the State of Israel joined the petitioners in all three cases, calling on the HCJ to accept the three petitions, strike down the minister’s decision not to convene the Judicial Selection Committee, and nullify amendments to the basic laws—for the first time in Israel’s history.
