RFE/RL in the Media
# HRW says Merkel should call on Aliyev to release Khadija Ismayilova and others in her meeting with Azerbaijan's president
A coup in Yemen?
# Houthis call for power-sharing deal after storming presidential palace
# The crisis explained in four questions
# Why Yemen constantly appears to be in the middle of a coup
# War on al-Qaeda threatened
Russia
# Russia and Iran sign military cooperation agreement
# Russia sounds alarm as Lake Baikal's water levels drop
# Russian Duma passes first reading of law banning "undesirable foreign organizations"
Ukraine
# New round of peace talks today in Germany; perhaps renewed fighting is just diplomatic maneuvering
# Separatists claim to be building air force by raiding museums
# Some 150 people have been dismissed as prosecutors under lustration laws
Iraq/Syria
# Obama's SOTU proposal for use of force resolution lacks specifics so far
# IS has executed "scores" this month says U.N.
# Could IS actions against Japanese hostages lead to change in Japan's pacifist constitution?
# Why what we call IS matters
Iran
# Iran warns football players not to take selfies with female fans abroad
# Questions mount in Argentine prosecutor's suicide
Afghanistan/Pakistan
# Girls in Afghanistan "skateboarding their way to empowerment"
# HRW says violence and intimidation against journalists in Pakistan is rising
# Pakistan's cross-dressing men
# Pakistan Charlie Hebdo protesters call for "another hallow cost"
Central Asia
# The case for Almaty to host the winter Olympics
Caucasus
# Head of Russian investigative agency says Gyumri suspect will be tried in Armenia (but doesn't specify by whom)
# "Armenia Can't Count on Russia Any More" - Richard Giragosian, Al Jazeera
# Turkey calls for "new beginning" with Armenia
Balkans
# Macedonia passes same-sex marriage ban
Of Interest
# James Kirchick helps smuggle The Interview posters into North Korea