Politics

The Supreme Court will hear arguments over the contentious practice of partisan gerrymandering - the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to entrench one party in power - today. After failing to deliver a definitive ruling on the legality of the practice last year, justices will get another chance in cases challenging North Carolina’s Republican-drawn statewide U.S. House of Representatives map and a single Democratic-drawn House district in Maryland.

U.S. lawmakers seeking Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report face a long road ahead, and are likely to encounter a legal battle that will turn on President Donald Trump’s right to keep communications with his advisers private. At the heart of the issue is the evidence surrounding an obstruction of justice case against Trump. Attorney General William Barr’s four page summary concluded there was insufficient evidence, but Mueller’s full report was inconclusive on the issue. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat, said he will “try to negotiate” to obtain the full report, but that the committee would issue subpoenas and litigate if needed.

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris has released a plan that would use federal money to raise teachers’ salaries, in a nod to several constituencies whose help she will need to win next year’s Democratic presidential nomination – teachers unions, women and black voters. The proposal would invest $315 billion over 10 years to give the average teacher a $13,500 raise.

In a move aimed at dividing Democrats, Republican U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has set a vote for on the “Green New Deal” resolution, slated for 4 p.m. today. Democratic Senator Edward Markey, who unveiled the plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by moving off fossil fuels with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has called the vote a “sham.” Many Democrats plan to vote “present” at the procedural vote on the resolution, instead of up or down, to show unity among the party.

World

About 1.85 million people have now been affected by Cyclone Idai in Mozambique alone, says the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA. Idai flattened homes and provoked widespread flooding when it made landfall on March 14th. It then ripped through Zimbabwe and Malawi. At least 686 people have been killed across the three countries, a figure that could rise as relief workers prepare for what they say are inevitable outbreaks of diseases including malaria and cholera.

As British lawmakers prepare to seize control of Brexit for a day tomorrow, they are calling on Prime Minister Theresa May to heed whatever alternative strategy they settle on. The government insists that the deal May agreed with the European Union after more than two years of negotiation remains the only way forward for taking Britain out of the bloc - a deal that has been voted down twice in parliament.

Myanmar’s Supreme Court have heard the appeal of two Reuters journalists imprisoned for breaking a colonial-era official secrets law. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have spent more than 15 months in detention since they were arrested while investigating a massacre of Rohingya Muslim civilians involving Myanmar soldiers. Their case has raised questions about Myanmar’s progress towards democracy. You can follow updates on their case here.

Donald Trump signed a proclamation yesterday officially granting U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory - a dramatic shift from decades of U.S. policy. The move was an election boost for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and it prompted a sharp negative response from Syria and four Gulf Arab states. But why does a hilly plateau overlooking Lebanon and bordering Jordan have political significance in the Middle East? Read our quick guide to region here.

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