News
Indiana GOP Draws Battle Line Against Trump in Redistricting Showdown
Indiana GOP Draws Battle Line Against Trump in Redistricting Showdown
The Indiana political landscape was thrown into fresh turmoil Friday as the Republican-controlled state Senate openly defied President Donald Trump’s nationwide redistricting drive, refusing to reconvene for a special session aimed at carving out additional GOP-friendly congressional seats.
In a move reminiscent of internal party pushback that often shapes Nigerian political caucuses, Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray declared that there were simply “not enough votes” to advance the controversial map-drawing effort—an announcement that immediately set the stage for a full-blown intra-party confrontation.
Bray’s stance represents a significant setback for Trump’s national strategy, which has been aggressively focused on redrawing congressional lines across several states to shore up Republican dominance ahead of next year’s decisive midterm elections.
With Democrats needing only three seats to reclaim the U.S. House of Representatives, the president has viewed redistricting as a pivotal battlefield.
Governor Mike Braun—acting with the backing of Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and key operatives in the president’s political machinery had urgently called for the special session, insisting that Indiana must seize the moment to deliver two additional GOP seats.
But Bray, leader of the Republican supermajority in the state Senate, was unyielding.
“Over the last several months, Senate Republicans have given very serious and thoughtful consideration to the concept of redrawing our state’s congressional maps,” Bray said.
“Today, I’m announcing there are not enough votes to move that idea forward, and the Senate will not reconvene in December.”
The governor wasted no time firing back, urging lawmakers to “do the right thing and show up to vote for fair maps,” insisting that Hoosiers deserve transparency on where their representatives stand on consequential political questions.
Indiana’s refusal adds the state to a growing list of Republican-led governments showing hesitancy toward Trump’s mid-decade map strategy, following similar reluctance in Kansas.
Yet, elsewhere, the president’s campaign has registered notable successes—pushing through redistricting plans in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio, collectively creating the possibility of nine new Republican-leaning seats.
For Trump’s political operation, Indiana had been a prime target.
Republicans already control seven of the state’s nine congressional districts, and strategists were eyeing the Democratic-held 1st District in the northwest and the 7th District in Indianapolis as ripe for flipping.
The current standoff, however, underscores a key dilemma familiar to followers of Nigerian political manoeuvring: national party ambitions often collide with entrenched state-level realities, power blocs, and internal party calculus.
Despite ideological unity, local dynamics can reshape the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Democrats are not standing idle. Just last week, California voters approved a measure to create five new Democratic-leaning districts.
Trump’s Justice Department has since joined a legal challenge seeking to invalidate the map, signalling that the redistricting war is spreading beyond legislative chambers into the courts—mirroring the multifront political contests often seen in Nigeria.
News
Court, Congress Pile Pressure on DHS Over Minnesota Operations
Court, Congress Pile Pressure on DHS Over Minnesota Operations
US House Democrats have threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over her handling of the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, unless President Donald Trump removes her from office.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned that Democrats could proceed “the easy way or the hard way,” describing the actions of Noem’s department as “disgusting.”
The crisis follows the fatal shooting of US citizen Alex Pretti by a federal agent, which has triggered backlash in Minneapolis and led to the planned departure of Border Patrol Chief Gregory Borvino and some agents from the city.
Trump has deployed his “border tsar,” Tom Homan, to take charge of on-the-ground operations, while a Minnesota judge has ordered acting ICE director Todd Lyons to appear in court over alleged violations of court orders.
Trump has distanced himself from claims by senior adviser Stephen Miller that Pretti was a “would-be assassin,” saying he did not believe the victim was acting as one.
Video footage shows Pretti holding a phone while filming agents, not a gun, although police say he was a legal firearm owner.
News
UN Raises Alarm Over ‘Spare No-One’ Rhetoric by South Sudan Army Chief
UN Raises Alarm Over ‘Spare No-One’ Rhetoric by South Sudan Army Chief
The United Nations has expressed concern after South Sudan’s Deputy Army Chief, Gen. Johnson Oluny, was heard urging troops to “spare no-one,” including children and the elderly, ahead of military operations in opposition-held areas of Jonglei State.
In a video posted on Facebook, Oluny, addressing members of his Agwelek militia, called for total destruction during the deployment.
The UN Mission in South Sudan condemned the remarks, describing them as “utterly abhorrent,” and warned that inflammatory rhetoric targeting civilians must stop immediately.
South Sudan’s government, however, said the statement did not amount to an official order, insisting it remains committed to protecting civilians.
Minister of Information Ateny Wek Ateny said civilians were being warned only to avoid being caught in crossfire.
The development comes amid escalating fighting in Jonglei, where forces loyal to suspended Vice-President Riek Machar have seized several areas.
The military has ordered civilians, UN personnel and aid workers to evacuate three counties—Nyirol, Uror and Akobo—ahead of an imminent operation.
The UN says more than 180,000 people have been displaced by the renewed violence.
Meanwhile, tensions remain high as opposition forces threaten to advance towards the capital, Juba, a claim dismissed by the army.
South Sudan has been unstable since a 2018 peace deal ended a five-year civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people, but lingering political rivalry and ethnic tensions continue to threaten fragile peace.
Diplomacy
Rwanda sues UK over scrapped migrant deal payments
Rwanda sues UK over scrapped migrant deal payments
The Rwandan government has initiated arbitration proceedings against the United Kingdom, seeking payments it says are owed under the now-abandoned asylum partnership agreement between both countries.
Rwanda has filed the case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, arguing that the UK failed to honour financial commitments contained in the deal signed under the former Conservative government.
The agreement, designed to relocate some asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda, was scrapped in 2024 by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, with the Home Office saying about £220m in future payments would no longer be made.
UK authorities insist the policy was costly and ineffective, pledging to defend the case to protect taxpayers’ funds.
Rwanda, however, says the arbitration concerns unmet treaty obligations and is seeking a legal determination of both parties’ rights under international law.
The PCA lists the case as pending, with no timetable yet announced for hearings or a ruling.
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