Reporting the Big World

Ascherson may not have known it, but he was establishing the pattern of his career, and indeed his life: an engagement with the world driven by conscience and curiosity, and a relentless desire to get it all down on paper, in one form or another. Ascherson has too often thrived as a straight reporter to…

Read More

Lavrov: Russia to close branches of Germany’s Goethe-Institut

The Russian government will close Goethe-Institut branches, Germany’s international cultural institutes, across the country, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday. Lavrov said the move was in response to Germany’s planned closure of the Russian House in Berlin, according to the Interfax news agency. The German government announced the closure after an explosive-laden drone was…

Read More

The Unique Horrors of A.I. Food Slop

What do we hope to communicate when we film and photograph food? In his 1957 collection, “Mythologies,” Roland Barthes argued that food photography was often an exercise in whitewashing: the highly stylized pictures featured in glossy magazines, which he called “ornamental cookery,” precluded a person “from touching on the real problems concerning food,” such as…

Read More

Hungary warns of Russian threat after Leipzig airport drone attack

Hungary’s government has said a failed attack involving an explosives-laden drone at Germany’s Leipzig airport shows that Russia poses a threat to European security. “Hungary is deeply concerned by the growing number and intensity of Russian hybrid activities on European soil,” Foreign Minister Anita Orbán wrote on X late Tuesday. Recent incidents in Germany demonstrated…

Read More

‘Heartbreaking:’ Mercy Chefs describes destruction and resiliency in Nepal

KATHMANDU, Nepal (WAVY) – Floodwaters across Nepal and China have left nearly 4,500 people missing and more than 1,000 confirmed dead, according to the Associated Press.  How to help after Nepal and Tibet’s catastrophic floods  Disaster relief organizations have deployed and are delivering aid to heavily impacted communities. Workers with Portsmouth-based Mercy Chefs are currently…

Read More