Headlines May 30,2023 from Democracy Now!

Israel’s military killed a Palestinian security officer during an overnight raid Monday in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Thirty-seven-year-old Ashraf Mohammad Ibrahim died from gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach; eight other Palestinian men were injured by live fire.

Elsewhere, Jewish settlers on Monday moved to reestablish the evacuated West Bank outpost of Homesh. The settlement was dismantled in 2005 by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, but was recently approved for resettlement by Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. The U.S. State Department said it was “deeply troubled” by the reopening of Homesh.

This follows an attack Friday by Israeli settlers on Palestinian farmers in a village near Ramallah which left five Palestinians wounded — one of whom was shot in the head. Palestinian Attaf al-Naasan says Israeli soldiers assisted the settlers in the assault.

Attaf al-Naasan: “We came here to help the people who were planting and harvesting after the settlers attacked them. We came to help them and protect them. The settlers and soldiers attacked us. They burned this car. They didn’t let us put out the fire. They burned it in front of our eyes.”

A court in Libya has sentenced 23 men to death over their roles in the 2015 takeover of the city of Sirte by ISIS fighters. The men were blamed for crimes including the kidnapping and beheading of dozens of Coptic Orthodox Christians. Fourteen others were sentenced to life in prison. ISIS rose to power during Libya’s civil war that followed the 2011 assassination of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi by U.S.-supported rebels.

In Uganda, human rights advocates are condemning President Yoweri Museveni for signing a sweeping anti-LGBTQ measure into law that makes same-sex relationships punishable by life imprisonment — and even the death sentence, in some cases. It’s one of the most draconian anti-LGBTQ laws in the world. This is Ugandan LGBTQ activist DeLovie Kwagala.

DeLovie Kwagala: “There’s no hope. But where are we supposed to go? You don’t want us in your country. You’re not giving us jobs. You’re not giving us education. You’re not giving us medication. You are criminalizing people renting to us. Where do you want us to go? You are arresting us for literally doing nothing, for simply existing, you know? Where are we supposed to go? How did we become refugees in our own countries?”

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro arrived in Brazil Monday, marking his first visit since he was banned by former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. Maduro was welcomed to the national palace in the capital Brasília by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of a meeting of 11 South American presidents today. During a joint news conference, President Lula sharply criticized the United States for failing to recognize Maduro’s legitimacy, and for economic sanctions that have devastated Venezuela’s economy.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “Is it his fault? No, it’s the fault of the United States, which created an extremely exaggerated blockade. I always say that a blockade is worse than war, because in a war it’s usually soldiers who die in battle, but a blockade kills children, women, people who have nothing to do with the ideological dispute in play.”

Here in the United States, mass shootings killed at least 16 people over the Memorial Day weekend and left dozens more injured. In New Mexico, three people were killed in a shootout on Saturday by rival motorcycle gangs in the resort town of Red River. In Florida, nine people were hospitalized with bullet wounds Monday when two groups began a gunfight on the crowded Hollywood Broadwalk. Among those injured was a 1-year-old child. The Gun Violence Archive reports nearly 17,500 people across the U.S. have been killed by firearms so far this year, with 70 separate mass shootings in the month of May.

In Texas, the Republican-led state House has voted overwhelmingly to impeach Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, suspending him from office over accusations that include accepting bribes, obstruction of justice, and abuse of office. The move comes after a House committee launched an investigation into Paxton, describing a years-long pattern of misconduct. The FBI has also been probing Paxton for years over allegations he used his office to help a donor. The Texas Senate will now conduct an impeachment trial, where at least two-thirds of senators must support Paxton’s removal from office.

The impeachment proceedings came as Texas lawmakers wrapped up this year’s legislative session with the approval of a bill that gives Texas’s Republican secretary of state authority over elections in Harris County — home to Houston and a stronghold for Democratic voters. Last week, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called the legislation a “boldfaced power grab.”

Judge Lina Hidalgo: “They’re couching this in the language of reform, but they’re not reform. With a grin on their faces, these legislators are taking power away from the constituents they pledged to represent. … Because, by the way, Harris County is one of the most diverse counties in the state. We’re 44% Hispanic; we’re 20% Black; 7.4% Asian; 25% immigrant. And we are proud of our diversity. That is a Texas this governor and those leaders do not recognize.”

South Carolina Court Puts Temporary Hold on Near-Total Abortion Ban

May 30, 2023

Image Credit: Planned Parenthood South Atlantic SC

 

A judge in South Carolina has suspended the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy until it can be reviewed by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The temporary injunction was granted Friday, one day after Republican Governor Henry McMaster signed the legislation. South Carolina’s abortion ban provides only limited exceptions for rape and incest survivors, or when a patient’s life and health are in danger.