Other than Brazil, no nation produces more coffee than Vietnam. Introduced by French colonists in the 19th century, the country’s coffee crop is now a $3 billion business and accounts for nearly 15 percent of the global market, making Vietnam the java giant of Southeast Asia. Quality, however, has only recently begun to catch up…
A few years ago, my youngest sister, Heather, had a monthlong stretch of migraines. She usually managed to get through her day as a teacher, but at night, she would retreat to a dark room so the light wouldn’t worsen her headache. To distract her from the anxiety and pain, I offered to read aloud…
Miuccia Prada, currently American Vogue’s pioneering septuagenarian cover girl, was standing backstage after the Prada show, bedecked in emeralds and jade and looking slightly terrified as Emma Watson and hordes of well-wishers and journalists swarmed around her like locusts. Such is life when you transcend the role of designer and become more like a divining…
The ominous messages began arriving in Elissa’s inbox early last year. “You sell pics of your underage daughter to pedophiles,” read one. “You’re such a naughty sick mom, you’re just as sick as us pedophiles,” read another. “I will make your life hell for you and your daughter.” Elissa has been running her daughter’s Instagram…
Instagram does not allow children under 13 to have accounts, but parents are allowed to run them — and many do so for daughters who aspire to be social media influencers. What often starts as a parent’s effort to jump-start a child’s modeling career, or win favors from clothing brands, can quickly descend into a…
Much to my dentist’s dismay, I love sweets. A meal simply doesn’t feel complete without something sugary at the end, and many a 3 p.m. slump has been avoided with a well-timed cookie. A few weeks ago, a waiter called my group her favorite table after we ordered the entire dessert menu. But I understand…
An escalation of the war in Gaza could lead to the deaths of 85,000 Palestinians from injuries and disease over the next six months, in the worst of three situations that prominent epidemiologists have modeled in an effort to understand the potential future death toll of the conflict. These fatalities would be in addition to…
Roger Guillemin, a neuroscientist who was a co-discoverer of the unexpected hormones with which the brain controls many bodily functions, died on Wednesday at a senior living facility in San Diego. He was 100. His death was confirmed by his daughter Chantal. Dr. Guillemin’s career was marked by two spectacular competitions that ruffled the staid…
Images showing people of color in German military uniforms from World War II that were created with Google’s Gemini chatbot have amplified concerns that artificial intelligence could add to the internet’s already vast pools of misinformation as the technology struggles with issues around race. Now Google has temporarily suspended the A.I. chatbot’s ability to generate…
The Chinese hacking tools made public in recent days illustrate how much Beijing has expanded the reach of its computer infiltration campaigns through the use of a network of contractors, as well as the vulnerabilities of its emerging system. The new revelations underscore the degree to which China has ignored, or evaded, American efforts for…
