The Rundown -- January 9

RFE/RL in the Media

# UPI cites RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service for reporting on alleged extremist detained in Kyrgyzstan

# RFE/RL Russian Service reporter Andrei Babitsky quoted in "Toronto Star" article about Doku Umarov

# Interfax cites RFE/RL on Ukrainians qualifying for Mars trip

# Golnaz Esfandiari in "The Atlantic" on 50 Iranians who are asked one question

Afghanistan/Pakistan

# Czech Republic honors army dog with buffalo bone and leather collar

# "The Trouble With the Afghanistan Blame Game" - Spencer Ackerman, "Guardian"

# Saudi Arabia and Pakistan pledge cooperation

Iran

# Iran MP says nuclear weapon necessary to "put Israel in its place"

# Remembering the visit of "Iran's Hemingway" to Israel in the 1960s

# New details on how U.S. and Iran opened direct talks

# In "Foreign Affairs," it's time to attack and not time to attack Iran

# "What Iran Wants in 2014" - Hassan Rohani, Project Syndicate

Iraq

# Iraq "haunts Obama"

# Former U.S. soldiers who fought in Fallujah call recent events "disheartening"

Russia

# Russia's growing influence in the Middle East

# On Kaliningrad-Gdansk shopping trips

# Russia vetoes UN resolution on Syria air raids in Aleppo

Ukraine

# Klitschko says Ukraine must "change or be destroyed"

# U.S. Senate pass resolution urging Ukraine authorities to refrain from using force

# Ukraine's Orthodox Church leader denounces Kirill

Central Asia

# Protestants in Kazakhstan fined for "extremist literature"

# "Wanted By Four Countries, Ex-Banker Faces Extradition" - AP

# Turkmenistan dictator plays synthesizer to ring in new year

Of Interest

# Explaining "New York Times" redesign

# The Onion on redundancies in the news business