The Rundown -- October 24

RFE/RL

# BBC cites RFE/RL Kazakh service reporting on video of apparent "family jihad" in Syria

# Global Post cites Heather Maher's reporting on Obama's meetings with Sharif

# "National Interest" says RFE/RL and VOA gave dissidents a voice during Velvet Revolution

Middle East

# "Egyptians Abandoning Hope and Now, Reluctantly, Homeland" - Kareem Fahim, "New York Times"

# Destruction of Syrian chemical weapons going according to plan, for now

# Erdogan losing influence

Iraq

# "Iraq Tips Toward the Abyss" - Bret Stephens, "Wall Street Journal"

Afghanistan/Pakistan

# "Fighting for Women's Rights in Afghanistan" - Louise Arbour, Foreign Policy

# NATO officials warn of violent winter in Afghanistan

# Sharif says he urged Obama to end drone strikes; but strikes acknowledged by secret agreements

# "In Pakistan, Who Controls the Narrative on Drones?" - Taha Siddiqui, Christian Science Monitor

Iran

# Iran's newest drone is a little flimsy

# Five Asiatic cheetahs spotted in Iran

# American chain knock-offs in Iran

# "Not Even a Gram?" - David Patrikarakos, "London Review of Books"

# An Iranian political cartoon

Russia

# Russia reduces piracy charges against Greenpeace activists to hooliganism

# FBI investigating Russian cultural exchange program as spy recruitment tool

# Russia's disappearing movie theaters

# "Is Alexey Navalny Russia's Mandela -- or the Kremlin's Opposition Candidate?" - Hanna Kozlowska, Foreign Policy

Caucasus

# "Confident, Happy, And Supremely Rich, Georgia’s Prime Minister Prepares To Step Down" - Max Seddoni, Buzzfeed

# "Russian 'Borderisation': Barricades Erected in Georgia, Say EU Monitors" - Shaun Walker, "The Guardian"

Eastern Europe

# Belarus Free Theatre takes on Belarus gay scene

# Ukraine abandons plans to join NATO

# Moldovan Little League in North Carolina

# "Russia Putting a Strong Arm on Neighbors" - David Herszenhorn, "New York Times"

# "Belarus and Russia’s Strategic Projection into Eastern Europe" - Tony Rinna, "New Eastern Europe"

Of Interest

# 28-year AP veteran and his editors fired for reporting error

# U.S. fires senior official after years of Twitter leaks

# "Glenn Greenwald and the Future of Leaks" - David Cay Johnston, Newsweek