Uzbekistan
The VICE Morning Bulletin
This morning, Hillary Clinton wins the California primary, the FDA warns that people are overdosing on anti-diarrhea drugs, Edward Snowden claims the NSA is still withholding evidence about him, and more.
This Ukrainian Cookbook Is Part Family History, Part Dumpling Heaven
“Cookbooks don’t have to be about recipes from a chef,” says Olia Hercules, author of Mamushka: Recipes from Ukraine & Beyond. “I like recipes because of the stories they might tell about a culture and all these things our grandmothers used to make.”
In Photos: Inside the Al Nusra Academy Training the Next Generation of Jihadis
VICE News filmmaker Medyan Dairieh gained exclusive access to the al Qaeda affiliate this year, spending time with the current leadership and the young generation being groomed to replace them.
Uzbeks Reportedly Forced to Glue Cotton Back Onto Bushes to Please Prime Minister
Pleasing visiting dignitaries is one thing, but undoing weeks of back-breaking work after a harvest that is regularly criticized for using forced labor is something else entirely.
Uzbekistan Is Forcing 'Volunteers' to Toil in Its Cotton Fields
Documents show that the world's fifth-largest cotton exporter is forcing students to sign contracts "volunteering" to work during the harvest season or face expulsion.
US and EU Accused of Turning a Blind Eye to 'Rampant Torture' in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is a key ally to the US and the EU in Central Asia. A new report by Amnesty International claims that this is why the West is not acting on torture carried out by the country's ruling regime.
Islamic State Accepts Boko Haram's Pledge of Allegiance and Claims their Caliphate Has Spread to Africa
The Nigerian militant group is the latest of at least 31 groups who have reportedly pledged support to the Islamic State since August. And their pledge has apparently been warmly received.
Reporters Without Borders Unblocks Censored News Sites
The press freedom advocacy group created duplicates of the banned sites, which have been suppressed by the governments of 11 countries.
Three Brooklyn Men Arrested, Accused of Planning to Join Islamic State
FBI agents arrested three foreign nationals on Wednesday, one of whom was about to board a plane to Turkey with aims of joining the Islamic State in Syria.
Your Kale Chips and Expensive Juice Have Nothing on West African Food
A new report examining the diets of nearly 200 nations over the past 20 years has found that the West African diet far outpaces the US and Europe in terms of its nutritional value.
Skateboarding Makes Afghan Girls Feel Free
How the Skateistan school uses skateboarding as a tool for empowerment in a country worn down by 30 years of conflict and dislocation.
Best Of 2014: Going to the Ends of the Earth
This year, we traveled around the world, getting high on gonads in the Arctic Circle, eating lamb in inner Mongolia, fishing on an exploding lake in the DR Congo, and even hanging out with Fidel Castro's former chef in Havana.