Dispatches

Vietnam, the world’s No. 2 rice exporter, cut production as power prices surged. Even with a temporary cease-fire in Iran, worries linger over the world’s food supply.

By Damien Cave and Linh Pham

Shanghai’s many layers of architecture, culture and politics have made it a difficult fit for the Communist Party’s preferred narrative of Chinese victimhood and Western sins.

By Andrew Higgins and Qilai Shen

The city wants to redevelop a shantytown in Gangnam district, where hundreds are defying eviction, fighting for a right to own a home in an area notorious for the exorbitant cost of housing.

By Choe Sang-Hun and Chang W. Lee

Few islanders still observe Lent, but they cling to a tradition once seen as defying the all-powerful Roman Catholic Church.

By Norimitsu Onishi and Renaud Philippe

For centuries, an Omani exclave has been defined by a peculiar duality: rugged isolation and proximity to one of the world’s most important trade routes.

By Ismaeel Naar

The Newroz holiday comes at a critical time, as Kurds in Turkey push for peace while their brethren in Syria and Iran fear further conflict.

By Ben Hubbard, Safak Timur and Rena Effendi

Montserrat treats the holiday as both a national celebration and a more somber milestone: a commemoration of a failed slave rebellion.

By James Wagner and Luis Antonio Rojas

A wander through some famed watering holes in Ireland’s capital reveals a booming alcohol-free scene and a cultural shift.

By Megan Specia and Paulo Nunes Dos Santos

Once celebrated for its fiery spirits, the town of Maotai has reeled from a bad Chinese economy, changing tastes and a crackdown on boozy official banquets.

By Andrew Higgins and Gilles Sabrié

Many in Ukraine assume that the alerts are automated. A rare look inside an emergency-response center reveals the specialists who do the pressure-packed job.

By Cassandra Vinograd and Oleksandr Chubko