The Rundown -- April 3

# NASA cuts ties with Russia, with exception of space station

# Divisions among Russian emgires on Ukraine

# "Why Russians Long for the Soviet Union" - Victor Davidoff, "Moscow Times"

# "Putin's Nightingales" - David Remnick, "New Yorker"

# "In Crimea, Russia Showcases a Rebooted Army" -C.J. Chivers and David Herszenhorn

# The Russian pilots of the Congo

# What happened in Ukraine: A daily update

# Ukraine to get its own social network

# Ukraine far-right leader "shot himself"

# Firtash charged with racketeering in the U.S.

# David Frum asks why the weak response from the West over Russian calls for federalism

# Belarus withdraws Interpol request for Suleiman Kerimov

# Gagauzia labor migrants ask Russia for simpler citizenship procedures

# Bomb kills six outside ministry compound in Afghanistan

# "Afghanistan and the Bottom Line" - Jamie Tarabay, Al Jazeera

# The things an Afghan election observer carries

# Retail politics in Afghanistan

# "The Secret Lives of Afghanistan’s Female Poets" - Lance Richardson, Slate

# Pakistan police apologize for German tourist's two week detention

# Iran and Russia working on $20 billion oil-for-food deal

# State Department notifies Iran of "serious concerns" about UN choice

# Israeli opposition leader throws support behind Iran talks

# Mother of Iranian passenger on Flight 370 "suffers in silence"

# China promises Tajikistan hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid

# Kim Kardashian makes plea for Kessab

# Iran’s gas courtship of Armenia

# Erdogan to make first post-vote trip to Azerbaijan

# "Azerbaijan considers hostels unworthy of country’s image"

# Explaining Bitcoin

# What the NYT new news app is trying to do