Politics

ISIS militants are using drone warfare more widely in Iraq and Syria as the group comes under increasing military pressure from all sides. The Iraqi army in western Anbar has shot down its second ISIS unmanned aerial vehicle during the past 24 hours, according to a senior commander.  Abna24 reports: The commander of Anbar Operations Command, General Ismail al-Mahalawi, said in a press statement that the Iraqi soldiers shot down an ISIL UAV by medium and light weapons over al-Ameriyat, 23 km South of Fallujah.

Sweden’s minister for housing and IT has announced he is stepping down following a week of controversies including the emergence of footage where he compared the treatment of Palestinians by Israel to that of the Jews by the Nazis. Mehmet Güner Kaplan recently come under fire for his alleged ties to Islamic organisations and Turkish ultranationalists. The pressure increased over the weekend when Swedish media published seven-year-old footage of him comparing Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians to the Nazis persecution of the Jews.

The New Yorker‘s James Surowiecki writes this week about how Big Business has been a massively effective force for gay rights. He writes that progressives are used to seeing Big Business as the bad guy, but the pro-LGBT activist role corporations have taken on complicates matters. More:

Starting with Hammurabi, rulers have frequently appreciated that their subjects would be more acquiescent to being governed if they had at least a minimal appreciation that they were being treated fairly. That understanding has led to the development of law codes along the lines of the Roman Republic’s laws of the Twelve Tables, which were inscribed in bronze and posted prominently in the Forum so everyone would know what the rules were.

Donald Trump has brought out the largest crowds in the history of primaries. He has won the most victories, the most delegates, the most votes. He is poised to sweep three of the five largest states in the nation—New York, Pennsylvania, and California. If he does, and the nomination is taken from him, the Republican Party will be seen by the American people as a glorified Chinese tong.