Getting drunk without the hangover or health risks – scientist seeks investment for ‘alcohol substitute’ drug. Keeping Up with the Karimovs. Last Jew in Afghanistan faces ruin as kebabs fail to sell

The Independent - Getting drunk without the hangover or health risks – scientist seeks investment for ‘alcohol substitute’ drug - Former Government drugs advisor Professor David Nutt says his team are on the brink of a ‘serious revolution in health’ – but he needs help getting round the powerful drinks industry

Foreign Policy - Keeping Up with the Karimovs - Karimova has recently been the center of the show, with numerous allegations thrown at her. Abroad, she had already lost her ambassadorial role in Geneva a few months ago, and she's been the subject of fraud and corruption allegations in France, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Reuters - Last Jew in Afghanistan faces ruin as kebabs fail to sell - "Let me take off my cap, otherwise people will think something bad about me," Simintov said cheerfully as he descended grime-caked stairs to the ground-floor cafe.

The National Interest - Russia Flexes Its Nuclear Muscles - Two decades after the Cold War removed the Damocles' sword of mutually-assured destruction in a sea of nuclear fire from over our heads, and, in the words of George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger and Sam Nunn, "made the doctrine of mutual Soviet-American deterrence obsolete", the Russian decision to update, modernize and upgrade its nuclear forces is seen as a worrisome harbinger of a new era of strategic competition between Moscow and Washington.

The Washington Post - Why South Korea’s media are furious with Vladimir Putin - Russian President Vladimir Putin behaved erratically during his visit to Seoul on Wednesday, arriving 30 minutes late for a summit with President Park Geun-hye and making several last-minute changes to his itinerary.