The deadly assault on a marketplace in Urumqi makes brief headlines, while the ongoing repression and humiliation of the Uighurs that fuels such attacks is little noted.
With the open encouragement of Putin, separatists in eastern Ukraine are reviving the concept of "Novorossiya" (New Russia)—a dangerous precedent for revanchist claims.
As Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk warns of "World War III," Moscow and Kiev mass troops on their shared border, and the US sends more forces to the Baltics.
Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel signed a "joint vision" statement with Mongolia calling for expanded military cooperation—clearly aimed at further encirclement of China.
Leaflets distributed in the east Ukrainian city of Donetsk, now under occupation by pro-Russian separatists, order Jews to register with the authorities. Real or provocation?
Above Russian protests, NATO is beefing up its Baltic Air Policing program with more fighter jets—at the request of regional leaders, who cite Russian provocation.
As the US deploys warships to the Black Sea for NATO exercises, Ukraine approved a NATO force to be stationed in the country. Russian troops meanwhile mass on Ukraine's borders.
Russia is boosting military aid to the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, just as the US has finally broken off diplomatic relations with Damascus—signalling a deepening proxy war.
The UN General Assembly approved a resolution declaring the Crimean referendum to secede from Ukraine invalid, and calling on UN member states not to recognize it.
The Crimean parliament formally declared the region independent and asked to join the Russian Federation following a popular vote to secede from Ukraine.
Crimean Tatars held protests in the peninsula, calling for a boycott of the referendum on union with Russia and demanding that Russian troops return to barracks.
NATO maneuvers in the Black Sea—just across from Crimea—come as Ukrainian lawmakers threaten to seek nuclear weapons if the West does not act against Russia.
