RFE/RL in the Media
# Read Fred Petrossian in Slate on why Iran's elite get to use Facebook, but ordinary citizens are arrested for using it
# "Russia Beyond the Headlines" cites Robert Coalson's piece on Russian media reaction to MH17 crash
# Separatists release bodies; black boxes given to Malaysian representatives in "bizarre" 1AM press conference
# Analysis shows jet wreckage bears sign of impact by supersonic missile
# "“It Wasn’t Us!” Russian Generals Scour The Internet For MH17 Theories" - Max Seddon, Buzzfeed
# "The Russian Public Has a Totally Different Understanding of What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 17" - Julia Ioffe, "New Republic"
Ukraine
# Intense fighting in Donetsk
# Donetsk water supply reportedly could run out in five days
# CNN video: Donetsk residents flee chaos
Russia
# Russian billionaires in "horror" as Putin risks isolation
# "Why Putin Is Willing to Take Big Risks in Ukraine" - Gerald Seib, "Wall Street Journal"
# France says it's prepared to cancel sale of second Mistral to Russia; but is it prepared for backlash from port town?
# Russia firing at Ukraine from within its borders?
Eastern Europe
# Why Belarus smokes and smuggles cigarettes
# Iranian children win Belarus painting competition
# Moldova says Russian fruit ban is punishment
Iran
# Iran pushing limits on nuclear deal warns former Obama adviser
# Is Iran about to lash out at its dissidents?
# "Fuzzy Math From Iran Hawks" - Ali Gharib, "The Nation"
Iraq
# More western fighters joining militants in Iraq and Syria
# More western fighters joining militants in Iraq and Syria
# Militants seize Iraq monastery
# "Iraq: The minorities of Nineveh Plain" - Mina al-Lami, BBC
# Saddam's former deputy now working with ISIL
Afghanistan/Pakistan
# Afghanistan sending $500,000 in aid to Gaza
# China to play a "huge" commercial role in Afghanistan after U.S. withdrawal
# Pakistan army may be fighting militants in the wrong place
# "The Camel Ambulance of Achro Thar" - Tehmina Qureshi, Roads and Kingdoms
Central Asia
# Kazakhstan and EU negotiate new partnership and cooperation agreement
Caucasus
# Armenia's "neo-pagans"
Balkans
# Tuzla likely to become WizzAir operational base
Of Interest
# How John Kerry's Israel-Palestine peace plan died