The Rundown -- December 16

# Reporters Without Borders launches petition to free Khadija Ismayilova

# BBG Governor Matthew Armstrong on RFE/RL's role in countering Russia's "war on information"

# Russian ruble falls to new low; Central Bank raises interest rate to 17 percent;

# Why the ruble fell as oil rose (Bitcoin has had a worse year, at least)

# Russia depleting currency reserves rather quickly

# Krugman: "Comparisons between Putin’s Russia and the USSR, look a bit silly now, don’t they"

# The fraudulent "hawkish" think tank that may be a Russian set-up

# Lavrov calls for autonomy for Donbas within eastern Ukraine

# UN Report: Human rights abuses in eastern Ukraine are rampant

# "Ukraine's Real Crisis: A Demographics and Health Time Bomb" - Judy Twigg Wayne Merry, National Interest

# "Ukraine Underplays Role of Far Right" - David Stern, BBC

# "Moldova: EU Integration at All Costs" - Vladimir Soloviev, Institute of Modern Russia

# China may join operations against IS; while 300 Chinese reportedly fighting on IS side

# Iraq's new PM challenged with forming common front against IS

# Sunni tribes who fight against IS face heavy toll

# Arrests of journalists in Turkey a new "witch hunt"; Erdogan tells EU to mind its own business

# Paris and Washington sparing behind the scenes on Iran nuclear deal

# Is Iran already cheating?

# Iranian support seen as crucial for Yemen's Houthis

# Iran nuclear talks resume in Geneva

# An army for Afghanistan

# Crocodiles suffer from Taliban attacks on Sufi shrines

# 87-year-old American woman and her "passion for conserving Afghanistan's heritage"

# Khan leads Lahore protests

# RT on Kazakhstan's "sleepy hollow"

# Kazakhstan FM asks for spot on UNSC

# "Yes, Uzbekistan Is Putin’s Friend" - Paolo Sorbello, "Diplomat"

# Li to visit Serbia

# Video: Tito's "blue train" open for visitors

# Only five white rhinos left and one is in the Czech Republic

# Pageviews are nothing without a product