RFE/RL in the Media
# "Washington Blade" cites RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service coverage of anti-gay legislation
# Wall Street Cheat Sheet cites RFE/RL's infographic on foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria
Russia
# IS grooms Chechen fighters against Putin
# "Russia Has Burned $55 Billion To Prop Up The Ruble ... And It's Still Losing" - Business Insider
# Russia to import crocodile meat from the Philippines
# "Allowed a Space in Russia for Criticism, Artists Have Fun With It" - Sally McGrane, "New York Times"
# "Russia's International Media Poisons Minds" - Christopher Walker, "Moscow Times"
Ukraine
# Duma legislation prompts Russian men to opine on tattoos on the backs of women
# Not just Darth Vader participating in Ukraine's election
# A passenger found at MH17 crash site was wearing an oxygen mask
# Putin could meet Poroshenko next week
Afghanistan/Pakistan
# A profile of Afghanistan's new first lady
# India and Pakistan trade warnings over heavy Kashmir fighting
# In dry Pakistan, 21 die from toxic liquor in 24 hours
# The scorpion hunters of Pakistan
Iraq/Syria
# "New York Times" accuses Erdogan of "cynical political calculations" in refusing to help Kurds in Kobani
# A friend writes about American hostage Abdul-Rahman Kassig; his mother tweets at IS and gets angry response
# How IS is recruiting Western teen girls
# IS uses only half of a Quran verse to justify beheadings
# IS may overrun all of Anbar
# VIDEO: The cost of fighting IS
Iran
# Iran targets Turkey gold trader over oil billions
# Iran conducting "mass arrests at home" over IS threat
# Tehran bolstering Assad with drone shipments
Central Asia
# "Tajikistan Cracks Down on Internet … Again" - Casey Michel, The Diplomat
# On why Central Asian jihadists are fighting in Syria but not Afghanistan
Of Interest
# Fareed Zakaria: "Let's Be Honest, Islam has a Problem Right Now"
# Peter Beinhart: "Bill Maher's Dangerous Critique of Islam"