Hey, you're busy! We know rferl.org isn't the only website you read. And that it's just possible you may have missed some of our most compelling journalism this week. To make sure you're up-to-date, here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL's team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.

'Irreparable Harm': Hotel Project In Spectacular Western Kazakhstan Stirs Controversy

Kazakhstan’s Bozzhira Canyon offers magnificent scenery to the relative few who able to visit it in a remote area in the western part of the country. But a new proposal to build a luxury hotel in the canyon to accommodate tourists has some Kazakhs saying such a project would ruin the very beauty people come to Bozzhira to see. By Bruce Pannier

Behind The Numbers: Three Tragic Russian COVID Cases

A COVID patient in Kemerovo was discharged from the hospital in a coma. This case and others point to a health-care system strained to the limits, and a political system sometimes dominated by denial. By Alla Mozhdzhenskaya, Anton Barsukov, and Robert Coalson

Soil To Sand: The Desertification Of Russia's Nogai Steppe

Soil To Sand: The Desertification Of Russia's Nogai Steppe

Desertification and overgrazing are threatening the Nogai steppe in the Russian Republic of Daghestan. The way of life for the ethnic Nogai people is at risk as shifting sand dunes swallow up pastures, farmland, and even homes. By Harutyun Mansuryan and Current Time's Unknown Russia

When The World Looked Away: The Destruction Of Julfa Cemetery

Haunting photos capture the Armenian cemetery that was destroyed fifteen years ago as the world remained largely silent. By Amos Chapple

Interview: Thomas De Waal On What's Next For Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian-Azerbaijani Relations

Prominent Nagorno-Karabakh expert Thomas de Waal spoke to RFE/RL about the future of the breakaway region after Azerbaijan retook most of its occupied territory from Armenian forces. RFE/RL's Armenian Service

For Victims Of Sexual Violence In Ukraine's Donbas, Justice Seems Distant

One in four people held prisoner by Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas has been a victim of rape or other sexual violence, according to a recent report by a Ukrainian human rights group. And the real number may be higher, as some victims are afraid to speak out. By Tetiana Iarmoshchuk and Tony Wesolowsky

Claims Of 'Intimidation,' 'Disrespect,' As Ukraine And Hungary Clash Over Ethnic Minority

Claims Of 'Intimidation,' 'Disrespect,' As Ukraine And Hungary Clash Over Ethnic Minority

Ethnic Hungarian councilors sing the Hungarian national anthem, and the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) raids the offices of ethnic Hungarian charities, causing tension between Kyiv and Budapest. By Ray Furlong and Current Time

Berkutchi: The Competitive Eagle Hunters Of Kazakhstan

Kazakhs have a long history of using birds of prey to hunt foxes, wolves, and other animals and that tradition continues to this day. A tournament of eagle hunters, known as "berkutchi," took place on December 5 in the Almaty region. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, competitive hunters from other countries, such as Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, were not able to participate. By Pyotr Trotsenko

The Ural, Europe's Third-Longest River, Is Drying Up

The Ural, Europe's Third-Longest River, Is Drying Up

Last year, the Ural River experienced a record shallowing and its levels have been dropping steadily for the past 15 years. People living along the river and its tributaries talk about the drought's impact on agriculture and livestock. By Ray Furlong and RFE/RL's Kazakh Service

'My Hands Don't Shake,' Says World's Oldest Surgeon At 93

'My Hands Don't Shake,' Says World's Oldest Surgeon At 93

Kyrgyz surgeon Mambet Mamakeev is listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest-known working surgeon. After 67 years in the operating theater, the 93-year-old is still putting patients under the knife. By Ray Furlong and Current Time