By Toby Luckhurst
- The Sochi Olympics will only temporarily distract from Russia’s increasing economic problems, writes Kathrin Hille.
- Figure skater Johnny Weir talks about the Russian obsession with skating and their attitudes towards homosexuality.
- Journalists are arriving in Sochi for the start of the Winter Olympics to find their accommodation is still being built.
- A New York Times interactive map series on the spread of violence in the Caucasus.
- Egyptian actress Soheir al-Babli has called for “a man as strong as Hitler” to assert authority over the turbulent country.
- Dr Hisham A Hellyer salutes the journalists in Egypt who are trying to hold power to account in a country that is increasingly hostile to their work.
- Fatima Khan is determined to learn the facts behind the death of her son, Dr Abbas Khan, in a Syrian prison.
- A UN report released on Monday details the abuses children are enduring in the ongoing conflict in Syria.
- Vanity Fair examines the relationship between Wendi Deng, ex-wife of Rupert Murdoch, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.