RFE/RL in the Media
# “Daily News” cites RFE/RL on Lukashenka declaration of Belarusian sausage free from toilet-paper
# International Business Times cites RFE/RL reporting on fight with IS
# The “Diplomat” cites RFE/RL Turkmen Service reporting on Turkmenistan building border fence with Afghanistan
# Central Asia Online cites RFE/RL Turkmen Service on foreign fighters serving in Afghanistan
# Robert Coalson cited in RIA Novosti piece about Poroshenko
Russia
# Russia’s propaganda chief compares Obama to Baghdadi (reason 5: “messianism”)
# Gorbachev says there was never a NATO non-expansion pledge
# Despite crackdown McDonald’s bun-producer ramps up Russia production
# Sweden searching for suspected Russian submarine
Ukraine
# “Slovyansk: A City With PTSD” – Amie Ferris-Rotman, “Atlantic”
# German intelligence concludes MH17 shot down by separatists with Ukrainian BUK
# Meet Oleh Lyashko: Ukraine’s “pitchfork populist”
# The “Euromaidan heroes” running for parliament
# “Conflict Uncovers a Ukrainian Identity Crisis Over Deep Russian Roots” – Neil MacFarquhar, “New York Times”
Iraq/Syria
# U.S. airdrops arms and ammo to Kobani Kurds
# “My Childhood Friend, The ISIS Jihadist” – Jakob Sheikh, Mashable
# Kobani a “defining moment of nationhood” for Syrian and Turkish Kurds
# The non-Western journalists who have fallen victim to IS
# “A Train Ride Through Time: From Iraq’s Checkered Past Into an Uncertain Future” – Tim Arango, “New York Times”
Iran
# Obama may try to avoid Congress on potential Iran deal
# Acid attacks on women in Iran spread terror
# Iran vows to aid Lebanese military
# “Chasing a Bad Deal With Iran” – Jennifer Rubin, “Washington Post”
Afghanistan/Pakistan
# An artist in Afghanistan: ‘To tell the story, you’ve got to take risks’
# Three “horrific inaccuracies” in Homeland’s version of Islamabad
# Haqqani members detained in the Persian Gulf, not inside Afghanistan
# Video of Pakistani religious leader slurring words goes viral
Central Asia
# Why dropping the stan from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan may be a bad idea
# Russia’s growing military presence in Tajikistan
Balkans
# A Kosovo mom gets her son back from IS
Of Interest
# News site traffic coming from Facebook and Google — Twitter far behind
# Threats to Americans
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