Good morning.
A global coalition has been formed to fight disinformation campaigns by foreign governments, the US special envoy on the issue has said.
James Rubin, the special envoy for non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts at the US state department’s global engagement centre, said the alliance hoped to settle on definitions of disinformation and hostile opinion, in order to guard free speech.
Washington hopes more countries will sign up to a formal framework agreement, which already counts the US, UK and Canada as members. “In principle, every government should be free to convey their views, but they should have to admit who they are,” he said an interview, explaining he wanted to be able to label information operations generated by foreign governments “to which they don’t admit”.
How does the US compare with others on this issue? The US is constitutionally committed to freedom of speech, which raises difficult issues with social media companies that do not arise in the same way in the more interventionist EU, which, for example, has passed the Digital Services Act and in December launched an inquiry into X over illicit content and disinformation. Similarly, the UK’s media regulator, Ofcom, has been given powers over social media content through the Online Safety Act. Rubin stressed it was not for his organisation to tell social media companies how to behave, but said it was legitimate for it to unmask disinformation operations from foreign governments.
Air force serviceman sets himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington DC
A US air force serviceman has died after he set fire to himself outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC, authorities said.
In a video posted online, the man, who has not been named, was shown shouting “Free Palestine” as he burned while identifying himself as an active air force member. He was reportedly on fire for about a minute before law enforcement put out the flames. The incident took place on Sunday afternoon, and fire and emergency services said the man had serious burns.
The man walked up to the embassy and began livestreaming on the platform Twitch, a source told the Associated Press.
Has this happened before? A protester set themself on fire in a separate incident in December outside an Israeli consulate office in Atlanta. The protester and a guard were hospitalized.
What is the death toll in Gaza? Israeli strikes have killed 29,692 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Hungary to finally approve Sweden joining Nato
Hungary’s parliament is finally expected to back Sweden’s Nato membership almost two years after the historically neutral country began its application.
Monday’s vote will come after a meeting on Friday between the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, where they committed to setting aside their differences and said they were “prepared to die for each other”.
The development follows months of diplomatic negotiations. Sweden’s application, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has been resisted by Orbán, a rightwing nationalist with close ties to Russia.
Who else has resisted Sweden’s application? Turkey – but Hungary was the final holdout.
What is the latest from Ukraine? Russia launched 14 attack drones and a battery of missiles at Ukraine on Sunday night and Monday morning, Ukraine’s air force said.
In other news …
Tens of thousands of supporters of Jair Bolsonaro have rallied in São Paulo as he faces a police investigation. Officers investigating an alleged coup attempt raided the former Brazilian president’s holiday home earlier this month and took his passport.
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has denied his party has a problem with Islamophobia after a Tory MP claimed the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, was controlled by Islamists. Sunak said the comments by Lee Anderson, who has since been suspended from the party, were “wrong” rather than prejudiced.
Although centre-left and centre-right parties are leading in the polls, Portugal’s far right is on the rise as general election campaigning begins. Portugal is the latest European country to experience this trend, and with Chega (Enough) expected to win nearly one-fifth of votes, it could become kingmaker.
Lawmakers in Tuvalu have selected Feleti Teo as the country’s new prime minister, weeks after an election that put the Pacific island nation’s ties to Taiwan in the spotlight. There have been questions over whether Tuvalu – one of just 12 nations that still formally recognise Taiwan – could drift toward Beijing, but Taiwan’s ambassador said Teo had assured him their ties were “rock solid”.
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