War

Record numbers of protestors have taken to the streets in Iceland demanding snap elections, calling on Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson to resign after the Panama Papers revealed he is among several leading politicians with links to offshore tax havens. The protests coincide with ongoing weekly protests held against the Icelandic government’s handling of the financial crisis in 2008 – which some have referred to Kitchenware Revolution. Icenews.is reports: There had been weekly protests since October 2008 against the Icelandic government’s handling of the financial crisis.

Jackson Diehl tries to blame Trump for waning Georgian interest in NATO membership:

The rhetoric from Trump has given a boost to pro-Russian parties in Georgia’s campaign. Their argument, said [President] Margvelashvili, has been consistent: “You might want NATO. You might want Europe. But it is not going to happen.” Until now, it hasn’t been a persuasive argument. Georgia’s president, and leaders like him across Eurasia, can only hope this U.S. political season does not make it so.

Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch was talking about the war on Yemen last week, and said this:

Submitted by Giulio Melli via The Gatestone Institute,

• Among young European Muslims, support for suicide bombings range from 22% in Germany to 29% in Spain, 35% in Britain and 42% in France, according to a Pew poll. In the UK, one in five Muslims have sympathy for the Caliphate. Today more British Muslims join ISIS than the British army. In the Netherlands, a survey shows that the 80% of Dutch Turks see "nothing wrong" in ISIS.

In an exclusive interview with various Russian news agencies, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced that Syria is on the verge of completely eradicating all terrorists from the country, including ISIS, without assistance or interference from the West.  Speaking to RIA Novosti and Sputnik, Assad criticised supposed US-led coalitions aimed at ‘fighting terrorism’ as failing to play a role in the liberation of Palmyra.