RFE/RL in the Media
# ViceNews cites Golnaz Esfandiari's reporting on the public outcry over police abuse
# RFE/RL's "Under the Black Flag" blog cited in International Business Times and Breitbart
# Tom Balmforth cited in Vox for piece on the occult in Russia
# Read Joanna Paraszczuk in the "Atlantic" on the frequently asked questions of IS jihadists
Ukraine
# Ukrainian troops used Soviet-era incendiary devices against Iloviask in August
# G20 shapes up as test for Russia and West on Ukraine
# Some experts say a new Ukraine offensive is unlikely
# The Meskhetian Turks of eastern Ukraine think about fleeing to Turkey
Russia
# Vehicles used to transport bodies crossing border from Russia
# Russia stockpiling gold
# "Putin Sends His 'Leopard' to the Battlefield of Eastern Ukraine" - Michael Weiss, Foreign Policy
# "Russia Is Building Shopping Malls Where Stalin Held Show Trials" - Peter Pomerantsev, "New Republic"
# "Putin's New Nostalgia" - Timothy Snyder, "New York Review of Books"
Eastern Europe
# Belarusian official says Ukraine crisis may push country to the West
Iraq/Syria
# IS and Nusra Front reportedly agree to work together
# Top ranking U.S. general says he would consider recommending ground troops in Iraq
# No blacklist yet for IS banks
# A sniper trained in Syria awaits IS
Iran
# Senators vow to "act decisively" against weak Iran nuclear deal
# "How Iran Jails Journalists and Human Rights Lawyers" - Haleh Esfandiari, "Wall Street Journal"
# A guide to Iran's nuclear program
Afghanistan/Pakistan
# "Afghan President Has Both Foe, Friend in Pakistan" - Lynne O'Donnell, AP
# Russia "scuttles" Chinese proposal for peace and reconciliation committee in Afghanistan
# Pakistan court issues arrest warrants for Khan and Qadri
# Saudi Arabia beheads seventh Pakistani on drug charges in one month
Central Asia
# McDonald's expanding into Kazakhstan
Of Interest