“Kazakh MPs ask President Nazarbayev to extend his rule in early polls”, “How the Islamic State became a branding behemoth”, “Canada hits Moscow with more sanctions over Ukraine”,

reuters.com. “Kazakh MPs ask President Nazarbayev to extend his rule in early polls” - Kazakhstan's parliament asked President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Wednesday to set the date for an early election which is likely to extend his rule over the oil producing nation into a fourth decade. The lower house of parliament, dominated by Nazarbayev's ruling Nur Otan party, swiftly passed a 104-0 vote to back a proposal for him to seek re-election this year. The 74-year-old authoritarian leader has ruled Kazakhstan since 1989.

yahoonews.com. “How the Islamic State became a branding behemoth” - With Vines, tweets and listicles, IS spreads its hateful message. Can the West find a way to fight back? When Robin Williams died last August, people around the world rushed online to mourn the loss of the actor. “Oh dear God. The wonderful Robin Williams has gone,” Bette Midler tweeted. “No words,” added a somber Billy Crystal. “Shame. I liked Jumanji,” tweeted one England-based Twitter user. “Good movie. Loved it as a kid,” replied an account with the handle @Mujahid4life. “Mujahid,” for those unfamiliar, roughly translates to “jihadist warrior.” And this particular handle belonged to a 19-year-old British-born guy by the name of Abdullah, who happened to be both a supporter of the Islamic State and a big Robin Williams fan.

“Canada hits Moscow with more sanctions over Ukraine” - Canada announced Tuesday new sanctions against Moscow and its sympathizers, including the state oil giant Rosneft, as pro-Russian separatists defied a ceasefire and stormed a flashpoint town in eastern Ukraine.