Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan sparked a fresh controversy by saying that independent India's first terrorist was a 'Hindu' and he was Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse. The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder made the statement while speaking at an election rally for his party candidate in Aravakurichi assembly constituency, which is scheduled to witness bypoll on May 19.
Less than two weeks before pivotal elections for the European Parliament, a constellation of websites and social media accounts linked to Russia or far-right groups is spreading disinformation, encouraging discord and amplifying distrust in the centrist parties that have governed for decades. European Union investigators, academics and advocacy groups say the new disinformation efforts share many of the same digital fingerprints or tactics used in previous Russian attacks, including the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
Some of the most insightful reporting into Britain's Brexit contortions is found in the non-UK press. A German news magazine reported that Jacob Rees-Mogg was a serious candidate to become the next British prime minister. They then described him as "das lebendes Fossil," the living fossil. The New York Times ran a large section on the person they called "Failing Grayling," the most extraordinary survivor of this British government, Transport secretary Chris Grayling.
The U.S. is conducting military surveillance flights over Russia Thursday and Friday as part of the Open Skies Treaty, the first such flights since November 2017. "The United States is currently conducting anTreaty observation flight over Russia," said Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Jamie Davis. The flights are occurring Thursday and will continue through Friday, departing Russia on Saturday, Feb. 23. The U.S. is flying an unarmed observation plane, the OC-135B, equipped with cameras. This is one of the aircraft certified under the Open Skies Treaty specifically for these types of flights.