The Rundown - August 9

RFE/RL In The Media
# "The Atlantic" cites Golnaz Esfandiari's reporting on how Iran censors western entertainment
# EurasiaNet cites RFE/RL reporting on the literary prowess of Nursultan Nazarbayev

International Press Review

Russia
# Miriam Elder wraps closing arguments in the Pussy Riot trial
# "Spiegel" on church and state in Russia
# Platon Lebedev's prison sentence was reduced
# Julia Ioffe profiles Maria Baronova

Iran
# "Taking the Lead on Syria" - Ali Akbar Salehi, "The Washington Post"
# Turkey has warned Iran against casting blame for violence in Syria
# Standard Charter is fighting back against allegations it laundered more than $250 billion for Iranian clients
# Ayatollah Khamenei criticized the vandalism of the British Embassy in Tehran

Afghanistan
# Jackson Diehl on political (non)debate over the war in Afghanistan 
# A new report says Pakistan is expanding its nuclear arsenal
# The political humor of Aman Mojadidi

Of Interest
# "Global Voices" reports on controversy over Kazakhstan's Olympic team
# Sarah Kendzior on Gulnara Karimova's quest for fame
# The UN is making a push to take control of the Internet
# It's time Google started ranking debt on international markets, right?

U.S. Politics/Foreign Policy
# "The Obama Doctrine's First Term" - Joe Nye, "Project Synidcate"
# The AP reports on the Obama Administration's drone targeting procedures
# "Bloomberg" on the Koch brothers' empire