ISIS

With the Trump administration rapidly shifting its foreign policy stance in recent weeks as the Goldman-led group inside the White House steamrolls all opposition, in the process dashing hopes of a detente between DC and Moscow which now appear set to continue the "cold war" diplomatic ways set under Obama and Hillary Clinton, another foreign leader who is losing faith that Trump will bring any notable change is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who in an interview with Chinese TV station Phoenix said U.S.

Via Darius Shahtahmasebi of TheAntiMedia.org,

Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the politician who previously accused the U.S. of arming ISIS, is still calling on the U.S. government to stop its disastrous regime change policies in the Middle East.

European MEPs are seeking to prosecute Eurosceptic French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen after she criticised ISIS on Twitter.  An EU parliamentary committee has voted to strip Le Pen of her diplomatic immunity in an attempt to throw her to the wolves and end her political career. Le Pen, leader of an anti-European party and favourite to win the French presidency, is under investigation for posting images that show Islamic State militants beheading American journalist James Foley in 2015.

The Kremlin has announced that the Syrian military, backed by the Russian airstrikes, has completed its operation to liberate the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS. A British-based war monitor said that the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militia advanced inside Palmyra on Thursday as ISIS withdrew completely. The Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed about the good news from Syria from Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. Fortifications on the outskirts of the city are being erected to prevent any counter-offensive by the terrorist group.

Russian and Syrian jets nearly hit U.S. forces in northern Syria on Tuesday when they attacked positions held by Syrian Democratic Forces, a US ally in the ongoing effort to expel the Islamic State from Syria, the top U.S. commander in Iraq and Syria said Wednesday.