Our Monday morning stroll around the world

🌋🇮🇸 Iceland is turning into Hotland. A volcanic eruption in southern Iceland on Saturday – the country’s fourth since December – caused molten lava to flow toward the evacuated town of Grindavik, prompting authorities to also evacuate the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. Initial assessments suggest this weekend’s eruption was the largest of the recent flare-ups on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which collectively represent the first period of volcanic activity in the area since the 13th century.

🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin was re-elected for six more years. The three-day election, which concluded yesterday, saw Putin win 88% of the vote, with record-high 74% voter turnout across the country, per preliminary results. The US and other Western nations say the vote in Russia was neither free nor fair, given that Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him. Thousands of supporters of the late Alexei Navalny, Putin's most prominent opponent who died in a Russian prison last month, gathered at polling sites at noon yesterday to show their dissent against Putin, who’s poised to become the longest-serving Russian leader in over two centuries.

🇳🇪🚫🇺🇸 Niger’s ruling junta canceled all military cooperation with the US. Niger has been ruled by a military council since July 2023, when troops captured the sitting president and declared their top general as the country's new ruler. Prior to Saturday’s announcement from Niger, which took immediate effect, the US military had for years used bases within the country to conduct airborne operations against jihadist groups in Western Africa. Niger’s latest move comes as its ruling junta has more closely aligned with Russia and Iran in recent months.