The Rundown -- December 16

RFE/RL in the Media

# David Satter, "on special assignment" in Kyiv for RFE/RL, reports in "The National Review" on the Euromaidan movement (first post; second post)

# Global Post and UPI cite RFE/RL coverage of John McCain's speech to protesters in Ukraine

# International Business Times cites RFE/RL's Google Hangout on Ukraine

# RFE/RL, along with other international broadcasters, mentioned in Huffington Post piece on BBG's new Relay tool

# Read Dan Wisniewski in "The Atlantic" on Slovakia's beef with Jon Stewart

Ukraine

# Western leaders "will disappoint Ukrainians" - Simon Shuster, "Time"

# "A Ukrainian Uprising Fueled by Outrage (and Salted Pork Fat)" - Andrew Kramer, "New York Times"

# "Tale of Two Nations" - Shaun Walker, "The Guardian"

# "Ukraine Protesters Yearn for a Leader as Tymoshenko's Ghost Gazes Over Camp" - Daryna Krasnolutska, Ott Ummelas and Olga Tanas, Bloomberg

Eastern Europe

# "Far Right in Eastern Europe Makes Gains as Syrians Arrive" - Andrew Higgins, "New York Times"

Russia

# Bill to make foreigners speak Russian at work littered with mistakes

# "Portrait: Lyudmila Putina" - Courtney Weaver, "Financial Times"

# Russia's year of pogroms

Iran

# Iran sends second monkey into space

# "Seven Days in Iran" - Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor

# Zarif says U.S. committed to nuclear talks despite "unsuitable actions"

# "A Disappearing Spy and a Scandal at the C.I.A." - Barry Meier, "New York Times"

# McCain says CIA mislead Congress about Levinson

Iraq

# Christians disappearing from Iraq

Afghanistan/Pakistan

# Afghanistan detains TV commentator after ethnically-charged remarks

# Heroine from Afghanistan hinders HIV prevention in Pakistan

# Relatives of missing family members from Baluchistan begin 1,200 km march from Karachi to Islamabad

# British doctor imprisoned in Pakistan for reading from a Koran

Central Asia

# Turkmenistan holds "multiparty elections" in which all parties support Berdymukhamedov

# 100 percent turnout at Turkmenistan Embassy in Baku

# Will U.S. hand over influence in Central Asia after Afghanistan pullout?

Balkans

# Protests in Sarajevo against new dog euthanasia laws