A few years ago, Sebastian Barry—whose collected literary works, drawn from family history and lore, offer “a loser’s history of 20th-century Ireland”—announced that the final novel in his series would tackle the relationship between his parents. “The declaration seemed to set the table for a feast of disclosure,” writes Giles Harvey, who spoke with Barry for more than a year as the novel took shape. But the feast never arrived. The “career-spanning profile” Harvey once suggested to Barry becomes a study of abuse, memory, and revelation—one Barry’s forte, and now, perhaps, his greatest struggle.

Barry and I corresponded for the next year and a half, during which the novel appeared to be on course. Then, in July of last year, he sent me a surprising email. Something had happened in the time since his father died, Barry explained. “Where there was once a great need to proclaim aloud,” he wrote — neglecting to specify just what it was he’d felt the need to proclaim — Barry now found himself in a different state of mind. “A matter I thought so urgent and in need of saying” had come to seem better served by a “strange new beneficent silence.”

The U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted a vessel carrying fuel to Cuba after an international enforcement operation found large quantities of fuel concealed inside the ship’s ballast tanks. The Coast Guard...

It was common practice during the Cold War to exaggerate the threat from the Soviet Union. Nowadays, Russia has assumed that role. Although the circumstances have changed, some of the political methods employed to create a sense of insecurity are still remarkably similar. Europe is not formally engaging in preparations for war since it desires […]

In July, India tested two new interceptors meant to destroy missiles at ranges up to 5,000 kilometers, the latest step toward one of the few layered missile shields in the world. New Delhi calls the program defensive. But a neighboring rival rarely sees a shield that way. India’s expanding defenses could embolden its leaders in […]

The post India’s missile shield invites a false sense of security appeared first on Asia Times.

Greece’s National Meteorological Service EMY updated its weather warning and upgraded it to Category 5 – RED ALERT. The weather warning regards mainly the island of Crete and the Dodecanese island group and is valid from Friday to Sunday, October 2-4, 2026. According to the weather warning, heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and gale-force winds up to […]

The post Greece Weather Warning: RED ALERT for Crete and Dodecanese (MAPs) appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

Digger is like a mango. It’s an acidic film, but also a bit sweet; outwardly it seems one thing but inside it contains surprises, and it needs time to ripen. Like a mango, its flavor can’t be explained. In fact, it’s better not to even try, says its director, Alejandro González Iñárritu: “The only way to know what a mango tastes like is to put it in your mouth. And you have to put this film in your eyes to understand it, because if I explain it to you, you won’t get it.”

Seguir leyendo

© Mario Guzmán (EFE)

Wars, sanctions and shrinking civic space shape the opening of the General Assembly’s Third Committee The United Nations General Assembly’s principal human-rights committee opened its annual debate with warnings that war, racism, inequality and restrictions on civil society are weakening protections worldwide. Yet the discussion also exposed a deeper political divide: governments agree that the […]