China’s Hydro-Hegemony. Russian Exodus Transforms Central Asia. Mongolia’s Economic Boom. Argentina reiterates Falklands claim

The New York Times - China’s Hydro-Hegemony - ASIA is the world’s most water-stressed continent, a situation compounded by China’s hydro-supremacy in the region. Beijing’s recent decision to build a slew of giant new dams on rivers flowing to other countries is thus set to roil riparian relations.

CQ Global Researcher - Russian Exodus Transforms Central Asia - The Kazakh government, which hopes to increase the share of Kazakh speakers from 64 percent to 95 percent by 2020, is requiring all public-sector workers to be fluent in Kazakh, putting Russians at a huge disadvantage. However, some fear that the precipitous decline of Russian speakers could fracture the society along ethnic lines, because in a country with 130 ethnic groups, Russian served as a unifying bond. In late 2011, a spate of terrorist attacks hit Kazakhstan, surprising many, given the country's relative stability. Rather than being ethnically motivated, however, the attacks were thought to have been perpetrated by militant Islamists.

The Telegraph - Argentina reiterates Falklands claim - Argentina will continue to press its claim to the Falkland Islands despite the "illegal" referendum on the territory's sovereignty due next week, the country's ambassador to London said on Monday.

Arab Times - Chad says Belmokhtar killed in Mali - Chad says its troops in northern Mali have killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the one-eyed Islamist leader who masterminded an assault on an Algerian gas plant in January that left 37 foreign hostages dead.

Information Clearing House - Why We Must Resist Netanyahu and the Hawks' Reckless Push for War on Iran - Now, just as diplomacy is yielding results, has never been a better time to ignore the lobbying of Israel's prime minister for war

The Diplomat - Mongolia’s Economic Boom - With one of the world's fastest growing economies, the true test will be how such growth benefits the people. In Mongolia's capital, we may just find out.

The Washington Post - Dozens of Syrian troops killed in Iraq after seeking refuge, raising concerns of war’s spread - Dozens of Syrian soldiers who had crossed into Iraq for refuge were ambushed Monday with bombs, gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades in an attack that killed 48 of them and heightened concerns that the country could be drawn into Syria’s civil war.

RIA Novosti - Russia Rolls Out Last Soviet-Era Tu-154 Airliner - Russia's Aviakor aircraft factory in Samara will deliver the final Tupolev Tu-154 airliner to the Defense Ministry on Tuesday, concluding the longest serial production run for a Soviet-era passenger jet, an Aviakor spokeswoman said.

Russia Today - Russian Church official attacks Stalin but says Soviet history is not all bad - A top Russian Orthodox cleric has praised the Russian people for disrupting Stalin’s plan to change the historical course of Russia, but at the same time called for not all Soviet history to be painted black.

Turkish Press - Turkish PM calls for joint effort with Greece to settle Cyprus issue - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged his Greek counterpart to extend joint efforts to end a dispute over the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus which has been divided between a Turkish north and a Greek south since 1974.