Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk caused uproar after backing Germany’s far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor in protest.

Germany is to vote in an early election on Feb. 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy.

Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag — a sister publication of POLITICO owned by the Axel Springer Group — published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month he supported the far-right party Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated commentary.

The Tesla Motors CEO also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country’s condition.

The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party.

“The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!”

The party’s fierce anti-immigration stance and revelations about other German far-right movements’ plans to deport millions of immigrants and their descendants if they come to power in Germany led to weekslong protests in the country last winter.

Azerbaijan’s president: Russia shot down jet

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticized Moscow for trying to “hush up” the issue for days.

“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he told Azerbaijani state television.

Aliyev said that the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.

“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said.

The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.

Storm, tornadoes’ toll in south rises to 4

Officials assessed the damage on Sunday after a strong storm system moved across the southern U.S. over the weekend, spawning tornadoes and killing at least four people.

There were at least 45 reports of tornado damage across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. Crews will do damage surveys to confirm tornadoes.

In the Houston area, National Weather Service storm survey crews confirmed that at least five tornadoes hit north and south of the city on Saturday.

Officials seek to arrest S. Korean ex-president

South Korean law enforcement officials on Monday requested a court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol as they investigate whether his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the power grab that lasted only a few hours, confirmed it requested the warrant from the Seoul Western District Court. They plan to question Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion.

The warrant request came after Yoon dodged several requests by the joint investigation team and public prosecutors to appear for questioning and also blocked searches of his offices.

While Yoon has the presidential privilege of immunity from criminal prosecution, such protections don’t extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.

Imprisoned Kurdish leader ready for peace

Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of Turkey’s banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has said that he is willing to contribute to peace between Turks and Kurds, in a statement issued by the pro-Kurdish DEM party Sunday.

“I possess the necessary competence and determination to contribute positively to the new paradigm supported by Mr. Bahçeli and Mr. Erdogan,” the statement read, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP.

Ocalan has been serving a life term in prison on the Imrali island off Istanbul since 1999, after being convicted of treason.

Russian charged with extremism found dead

A Russian man arrested for allegedly running a travel agency for gay customers was found dead in custody in Moscow, rights group OVD-Info reported Sunday, amid a crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia.

According to OVD-Info, which tracks political arrests, Andrei Kotov — director of the “Men Travel” agency — faced charges of “organizing extremist activity and participating in it.”

OVD-Info said an investigator told Kotov’s lawyer that her client had died by suicide early Sunday while in pretrial detention and was found dead in his cell.

Prior to Kotov’s death, independent media outlet Mediazona reported earlier this month that Kotov had rejected the charges and said in court that law enforcement officers beat him and administered electric shocks during the arrest, even though he didn’t resist.

Just over a year ago, Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlawed any LGBTQ+ activism in a ruling that designated “the international LGBT movement” as extremist.

Three attempting to cross Channel die

At least three migrants died early Sunday while attempting to cross the English Channel to Britain from northern France, authorities said.

The deaths were confirmed after an early morning rescue operation involving French emergency services and the navy’s “Dauphin” helicopter.

Around 50 people were stranded in the water and on the beach near Sangatte around 6 a.m., according to the regional prefecture. Rescuers assisted 45 individuals, including four who were transported to hospitals.

Three unconscious people were pulled from the water but could not be revived, despite efforts by medical teams.

Hospital: Netanyahu had successful surgery

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent successful surgery Sunday to have his prostate removed, hospital officials said, a procedure that came as he manages multiple crises including the war in Gaza and his trial for alleged corruption.

Netanyahu, who has had a series of health issues in recent years, has gone to great lengths to bolster a public image of himself as a healthy, energetic leader.

Netanyahu, 75, is among older world leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden, 82, President-elect Donald Trump, 78, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 79, and Pope Francis, 88, who have come under scrutiny for their age and health issues.

— From news services