RFE/RL In The Media
# "The Wall Street Journal" cites RFE/RL reporting on bribery charges n Kazakhstan
# "Le Point (Fr.)" cites Golnaz Esfandiari's reporting on Facebook in Iran

International Press Review

Russia
# Sergei Lavrov is set to travel to Damascus
# "Russia's Line in the Sand on Syria" - Dmitry Trenin, "Foreign Affairs"
# "The Ice is Cracking Under Putin" - Gideon Rachman, "Financial Times"
# "Divided Russia" - Raymond Sontag, "American Interest"

Iran
# The U.S. froze transactions by Iran's Central Bank
# Iran's middle class is feeling the effects of sanctions
# "Iran Sill Strike Back" - Abdo & Akbari, "Inside Iran"

Afghanistan/Pakistan
# The U.S. Congree will hold a hearing on Balochistan
# "Truth, lies and Afghanistan" - LT. Col. Daniel Davis, "Armed Forces Journal"
# "An Elusive Enemy" - John R. Schmidt, "National Interest"

Of Interest
# The BBC reports from inside Homs, Syria
# Robin Mills on Europe's continuing energy supply issues
# Jay Ulfelder on GDP and democracy

Technology
# 10 things you should know about Facebook
# "Of 'Tech Titans' and Schumpeter's Vision" - Adam Thierer, "Forbes"

U.S. Politics/Foreign Policy
# "The New York Times" on U.S.-funded aid groups abroad
# Jane Mayer on attack ads in American politics

RFE/RL In The Media
# "The Huffington Post" cites RFE/RL reporting on the FEMEN group in Ukraine
# "EurasiaNet" on what happens after people speak with RFE/RL's Turkmenistan Service

International Press Review

Russia
# "A Strategy for Russia’s Snow Revolution" - Mischa Gabowitsch, "Project Syndicate"
# Simon Shuster on the Mikhail Prokhorov campaign
# "Sort of, but Not Really" - Thomas Friedman, "The New York Times"

Iran
# "Le Monde" profiles Mohsen Fakrizadeh

Afghanistan/Pakistan
# An investigative report says drones have targetted civilians and first responders
# "The Coming Civil War in Afghanistan" - Arif Rafiq, "Foreign Policy"
# "Unanswered Questions on Afghanistan" - Christopher Preble, "National Interest"
# "the New York Times" reports on Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis

Of Interest
# Egypt syays it will put 19 American NGO workers on trial
# "Defeating Dictators" - Alec Russell, "Financial Times"
# "The Cultural Contradictions of Democracy" - Vladislav Inozemtsev, "American Interest"

Technology
# A conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was intercepted by Anonymous
# Should Facebook users get a cut of the company's IPO?
# "The Death of the Cyberflâneur" - Evgeny Morozov, "The New York Times"
# @Twitter is as addictive as #alcohol and #cigarettes

U.S. Politics/Foreign Policy
# "Who Reviews the U.S. Kill List?" - Doyle McManus, "LA Times" 
# The "PBS Newshour" analysis of Shields and Brooks

RFE/RL In The Media
# "France 24" cites Golnaz Esfandiari's reporting on Iran
# "The Atlantic" links to RFE/RL's Armenian Service's video on the Yerevan Putin fan club

International Press Review

Russia
# "The Wall Street Journal" reports on the activism of Grigory Chkhartishvili
# Russia will continue to sell arms to Syria
# Miriam Elder on the punk band Pussy Riot
# It's going to be cold in Moscow this weekend

Iran
# The Iranian regime is trying to re-brand the "Arab Spring"
# The Council on Foreign Relations on managing a potential oil crisis
# U.S. officials raised new warnings about Iran and al Qaeda
# David Ignatius on a potential Israeli strike on Iran

Broadcast Region
# "Foreign Policy" interviews Mikheil Saakashvili
# Will Azerbaijan change its name?
# Some cool Cold War satellite photos
# Thousands are stranded by heavy snow in rural Serbia

Of Interest
# 10 questions on Tumblr's new editorial project
# "Reuters" introduces its Social Pulse web feature
# Just because: "The Guardian" interviews David Lee Roth

U.S. Politics/Foreign Policy
# This is what passes for news in 2012
# Michael Cohen on the politics of the U.S. leaving Afghanistan

RFE/RL In The Media
# "The Wall Street Journal" cites RFE/RL reporting on Kazakhstan
# Radio World on Radio Azadi's 10th anniversary (video here)
# Abbas Atilay has won the Transitions Online photo contest
# Registan cites RFE/RL reporting on shamans on trial in Kyrgyzstan

International Press Review

Russia
# UN diplomats continue to haggle over a resolution on Syria
# "Why Honesty Is the Best Policy for Putin" - Konstantin Sonin, "Moscow Times"

Iran
# Iran continues to crack down on black market currency traders
# Reza Kahili says Iran will not make a deal over its nuclear program
# "Canceling the Mullahs' Credit Card" - Dubowitz & Schanzer, "Foreign Policy"

Afghanistan/Pakistan
# NATO may pull out of Afghanistan a year early
# "Afghanistan: The Best Way to Peace" - Anatol Lieven, "NY Review of Books"
# The Pakistani PM was mailed Anthrax spores
# "The Hard Way Out of Afghanistan" - Luke Mogelson, "The New York Times"

Of Interest
# "The Maliki Dilemma" - Kenneth Pollack, "National Interest"
# Alexander Sodiqov on military cooperation between India and Tajikistan
# What makes killing wrong?

U.S. Politics/Foreign Policy
# Congress is pushing back against White House assessments on Afghanistan
# The U.S. has lifted military sanctions on Uzbekistan

RFE/RL In The Media
# RFE/RL's Courtney Brooks won a reporting award from the UN
# "The Lede (NYT)" quotes Golnaz Esfandiari's report on Iran's arresting Facebook group admins

International Press Review

Russia
# "The Last Battle of the Cold War" - Fouad Ajami, "The Wall Street Journal"
# "Spiegel" interviews Mikhail Prokhorov
# "Russians Want Daylight More Than Democracy" - Alexei Pankin, "Moscow Times"
# Charles Clover on the Russian military

Afghanistan/Pakistan
# A classified report says Pakistan supports the Taliban and will attempt to take over Afghanistan when NATO leaves [BBC report]
# "Dawn" reports on the inquiry into the killing of Saleem Shahzad

Iran
# "How Obama Became Vulnerable on Iran" - Trita Parsi, "Salon"
# "Tehran Bureau" reports on the waning popularity of Iran's Supreme Leader
# Iran is cyber threat #1 according to U.S. spy chiefs

Iraq
# "Crude Awakening" - Ben Van Heuvelen, "Foreign Policy"
# "AFP" reports on the Iraqi protest movement
# "An Iraqi Film Hero in America" - Naomi Wolf, "Project Syndicate"

Of Interest
# Nazarbayev, Inc.
# Is Twitter a media entity?
# It's tough for smokers to get dates

U.S. Politics/Foreign Policy
# Members of Congress were briefed on potential Taliban detainee tranfers
# The U.S. intelligence community says Iran could launch an attack on the U.S.
# Mitt Romney won the Republican primary in Florida

Russia
# "La Nausée Russe" - Andrei Piontkovsky, "Project Syndicate"
# "Russia's Syrian Power Play" - Beinglass & Brode, "The New York Times"
# "Politico" reports on Vladimir Putin's attacks on the U.S.

Iran
# Steve Coll on potential war with Iran
# "Al Qaeda in Iran" - Seth Jones, "Foreign Affairs"

Afghanistan/Pakistan
# Barack Obama acknowledged U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan
# "Terrorists in Love" - Lisa Curtis, "Foreign Policy"

Of Interest
# Andrew Kramer reports from Zhanaozen, Kazakhstan
# "'The Suffering Olympics'" - Roger Cohen, "The New York Times"
# Lucy Kellaway has a plan to help young job-seekers
# The "Financial Times" reports on Facebook's IPO 

U.S. Politics/Foreign Policy
# "The Washington Post" on the suicide bombing that killed CIA agents in Afghanistan
# David Bell on drone warfare
# Richard Fontaine thinks foreign policy matters in U.S. elections

RFE/RL In The Media
# The "Financial Times" mentions RFE/RL in an essay on Russia

International Press Review

Iran
# UN nuclear inspectors have arrived in Iran

Russia
# Victor Davidoff on the "spy rock" controversy

Afghanistan/Pakistan
# A doctor who helped the U.S. find Osama bin Laden has been jailed
# "AFP" reports on negotiations with the Taliban
# France will pull its troops out of Afghanistan a year earlier than planned

Twitter
# Uri Friedman on why Twitter will regret its new censorship rules
# Sarah Kendzior thinks the new policy rewards elite activists

Of Interest
# Going to the gym in Yerevan seems to be quite an adventure
# Turkey may start funding Hamas
# "Brain boosting" is becoming a reality

U.S. Politics/Foreign Policy
# Walter Isaacson is stepping down as BBG chairman
# The State Dept. is operating a small drone fleet in Iraq
# The "PBS Newshour" analysis of Dionne and Brooks
# Why wealth can be a political liability