RFE/RL in the Media
# Joanna Paraszczuk quoted in Bloomberg on threat to Russia of returning fighters
Iran
# Fears that Khamenei hasn't empowered negotiators to make necessary concessions
# Bloomberg: Talks should continue if deal isn't reached today
# The "weirder" negotiations going on in Lausanne
# Could U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Yemen have made Americans less averse to strikes in Iran?
# Saudi Arabia lashing out against Iran
# Iran Says U.S. Drone Kills 2 Advisers in Iraq
Middle East
# Smokers rebel against IS cigarette ban
# Air strike hits Yemen refugee camp
# Saleh still pulling strings in Yemen
# "The Huthi Enigma" - Robert Worth, New York Review of Books
Ukraine
# Soros offers $1 billion in investments in Ukraine if West helps with private investment
# Ukraine protestants complain of intolerance in the east
# "30-Somethings Remake Ukraine" - Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg
Russia
# Assad says Russia has signed arms deals with Russia since 2011, contradicting Moscow's claims
# The mysterious Moscow "hit list" shadowing Russian politics
# Some investors bullish on Russia
# "Greece Looks to Russia as Deal With Europe Stumbles" - Liz Alderman, New York Times
# Mark Galeotti on how Putin could start to crumble in 2016
Afghanistan/Pakistan
# Clashes with Taliban halt supply of power in south Afghanistan
# Ghani "walks tightrope" over U.S., Pakistan ties
# Pakistan to join Saudi coalition against Yemen rebels says official; others deny
Central Asia
# Karimov "wins" more than 90 percent of vote
# Karimov "wins" more than 90 percent of vote
# "Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore as a Model for Kazakhstan" - Casey Michel, Diplomat
Of Interest
# BBC updates social media guidance
# Instapaper adds speed-reading option