Firstpost Editor's Picks: Karnataka govt collapses, Donald Trump's damage to Kashmir issue, Aziz Ansari's Right Now; today's must-read stories

Karnataka political drama ends as HD Kumaraswamy loses trust vote; Congress-JD(S) govt falls after 14-month tenure Kumaraswamy appeared very emotional and may have blamed the BJP for whatever has happened since 1 July when two Congress MLAs first revolted, but the fact remains that right after assuming office he knew that his government was full of internal contradictions and his time would be up in about a year time. He had said that his government would survive till the parliamentary elections were over. The cloak, the dagger and the loudspeaker: Indiscreet Donald Trump has done greater damage to Kashmir issue Like it or not, the United States has been a key actor in shaping the course of the India-Pakistan conflict in Kashmir ever since the late 1990s. Hard-nosed realist that he is, Modi is profoundly unlikely not to have asked Trump for help on Kashmir or Pakistan. Bar the slim prospect that someone with direct knowledge speaks out, of course, there’s no knowing exactly what Modi told Trump. Things aren’t helped by the fact that Trump is a pathological fantasist. Sonbhadra massacre: Deaths of Ramchandra, Durgavati and others expose an inept system that favours oppressors In January 2019, two letters were written to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP state president Mahendranath Pandey informing them about the land dispute in Murtiya, Sonbhadra. The letters stated that the land has been under illegal occupation since 1955, under the pretext of being named in favour of Adarsh Cooperative Society Ltd, a society formed by IAS officer Prabhat Kumar Mishra. Nodir Kul Nai: A short film on Assam's Char Chaporis documents their songs on identity, statelessness Delving deeper into the lives and artistic culture of Char Chaporis is Nodir Kul Nai, a short film directed by Parasher Baruah. It was part of this year’s edition of the ArtEast festival, which is a “fringe art festival presenting emerging and leading local and international artists in all genres of the performing and visual arts.” With the current year’s theme, festival organisers have chosen to take a closer look at the source, history, exploration and imagination of the Brahmaputra. With Netflix's Right Now, Aziz Ansari enjoys the get-out-of-jail free card he demands from society The title Right Now does not need much thought. Considering what he’s been through, it would not be surprising if Ansari simply wanted to live in the ’now’, not making lofty promises for the future or revert to his past self. He does not waste time to address the elephant in the room. About a minute into his stand-up act, the comedian opens with racial humour about a fan confusing him with Hasan Minhaj from Patriot Act.