RFE/RL in the Media
# Buzzfeed credits Golnaz Esfanidiari and RFE/RL for story on Iranian artist's video
# Gay Star News cites Andrei Shary and Claire Bigg piece on deacon claiming to out "gay lobby" in Orthodox church
Middle East
# "Winning the Peace by Failing in Geneva" - Jeremy Shapiro and Samuel Charap, "Foreign Affairs"
# "The Preacher Who Could Topple Erdogan" - Maximilian Popp, Der Spiegel
Iraq
# Violence in Iraq raises concerns about oil
# "Iran's Fingerprints in Fallujah" - David Ignatius, "Washington Post"
# "What's Really Going on in Iraq's Anbar Province?" - Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor
Iran
# Nuclear talks hit snag with disagreement on centrifuge research
# Khamenei says nuclear talks show the "enmity of America against Iran, Iranians, Islam and Muslims"
# Israeli military's Iran watchers
# How far will Iran's hardliners go?
# Fifty-eight senators now said to support Iran sanctions
# Iran's thriving rap culture
Afghanistan/Pakistan
# In classified cable, U.S. envoy says Karzai unlikely to sign deal on time
# Afghanistan to free all but 16 of disputed prisoners, despite U.S. objections
# Authorities say girl allegedly sent on suicide mission by brother may be returned to her family
# Pakistan ex-President Zardari in court on graft charges
# Teenager who died falling on suicide bomber hailed as a hero
# Writ of state needs to be restored in tribal areas, says Zarif advisor
Russia
# Bodies of six men, shot, with bombs beside them, found 170 miles east of Sochi
# Major Moscow airports ban all liquid in hand luggage in run-up to Sochi games
# Infographic: Securing Sochi
Eastern Europe
# Ukraine and Russia finalize gas deal
# "Can Ukraine and India Go Beyond Slogans?" - Anne Applebaum, "Washington Post"
Central Asia
# A hookah smoking "epidemic" in Kazakhstan?
# Luxury cruise ship to host Kazakhstan tourists during Sochi games
Balkans
# Thousands sign petition for monument to be built for Sarajevo shoe-shiner
# Liquid cocaine trafficked between Peru and Serbia hidden in sesames and dried fruit
Of Interest
# How people in Muslim countries prefer women dress in public
# The Twitter firehose