Testifying, up close and often at the risk of one’s life, is the essence of a dispatch, and in 2023, our correspondents have filed 80 from 37 countries, capturing the human experience from almost every angle: the good, the bad and heartbreaking. .
In a year marked by conflict, dozens of dispatches came directly from war zones: from a rare trip inside Gaza, where we saw a city completely disfigured; from a ravaged Israeli kibbutz, where more than 60 people were murdered on October 7; and the West Bank, where “there is no such thing as sleeping at night.”
And we received many moving reports from Ukraine, where stoic faces began to crack under the emotional weight of war. The effects of this war are being felt around the world, from Bali, where Russian and Ukrainian expatriates are trying to get along, to cities in Poland and the Czech Republic devastated by the fighting.
In six dispatches from Afghanistan, we explored the consequences of another war, recently ended; we also rushed to the remote site of a devastating earthquake that added to the misery of an already battered country.
Not long ago, the Kabul neighborhood known as the Green Zone vibrated to the sounds of a multibillion-dollar war effort in Afghanistan. Armored vehicles rolled through the streets, while the dull sound of American helicopters echoed in the sky.
But these days, there’s a different kind of buzz in the neighborhood: The Taliban are moving in and taking it over.
— By Christina Goldbaum
Italy has fallen under the spell of “Mare Fuori,” a television melodrama about inmates of a juvenile detention center who spend their time kissing, even if they don’t stab each other from time to time.
The show’s costume designer, Rossella Aprea, said that since there were no uniforms in a real Italian juvenile prison, she could use her imagination. “A lot of really tight black crop tops,” she said. “Skin, skin, skin.”
— By Jason Horowitz; photographs by Gianni Cipriano
Baseball caps with the New York Yankees logo are everywhere in Brazil. But many Brazilians have no idea what this logo represents.
“Is this American football?” asked Carlos Henrique, 20, who was selling the caps on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro. But the answer didn’t matter as much as the popularity of the cap, his best-seller. “I just know it gets attention,” he said. “And it’s good for everyone.”
— By Jack Nicas; photographs by Dado Galdieri
Subway rides in Seoul are free for those over 65, so some retirees spend their days taking the train to the end of the line.
“You read and you fall asleep,” said Jeon Jong-duek, 85, a retired mathematics teacher. “There’s not a corner of Seoul I don’t go to.”
— By Victoria Kim; photographs by Chang W. Lee
Swimming in Paris is a cultural experience in its own right, offering intimate views into the French psyche, on near-naked display in swimming lanes, locker rooms and (mostly mixed) showers.
Take the Piscine des Admiraux, built in 1930. It’s a long, thin pool, with walls covered in white subway tiles. Look up and you see a skylight above two rings of balconies lined with green individual locker room doors. You hang your things on anchor-shaped hooks, and when you’re done swimming, a cabin boy comes to open the door for you.
It’s like going back in time.
— By Catherine Porter; photographs by Dmitry Kostyukov
Toddlers screamed, the sea roared, and a portable speaker played a love song. Perched on a giant inflatable hot dog, a child paddled in the shallows. It could have been any beach on a summer weekend, if you closed your eyes enough to block out the light of the moon. But it was midnight in Dubai.
“Dubai at night is very beautiful,” said Mamadoto Momo, a Senegalese lifeguard who works on the beach from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
— By Vivian Néréim; photographs by Andrea DiCenzo
What you need to understand about a sniper mission is that from the minute it starts to the minute it ends, everything you do is to kill another human being.
But almost no one says that. So it was a bit surprising that a soldier decided to explain his moral calculations when killing Russian troops: he said the silent part out loud.
— By Thomas Gibbons-Neff; photographs by David Guttenfelder
In Himalayan Buddhism, the religious roles of nuns have long been limited by rules and customs. But one cult is changing that, mixing meditation with martial arts and environmental activism.
“Kung Fu helps us break gender barriers and develop our inner confidence,” said Jigme Rabsal Lhamo, a Buddhist nun. “It also allows us to take care of others in a crisis. »
— By Sameer Yasir; photographs and video by Saumya Khandelwal
The sheep surged down the hillside, emerging through the low-lying mist where the green earth touched the gray sky, running toward the fields below.
They were ready for their big moment: Shetland Wool Week had finally arrived.
— By Megan Specia; photographs by Andrew Testa
While the government’s crackdown on neon signs stems from safety and environmental concerns, the campaign evokes the decline of Hong Kong itself: the sad allegory of the decline of an electric city, the literal extinguishing of its brash brilliance .
“Neon is a kind of emblem of the city, an embodiment of Hong Kong’s stories,” said Cardin Chan, who leads a group dedicated to conserving the condemned signs. “But it’s not just neon that’s undergoing a transformation. It’s the whole city, isn’t it?
— By Hannah Beech; photographs by Anthony Kwan
In the Austrian state of Carinthia, where the law favors light-colored local bees, honey producers deemed “too dark” risk being eradicated.
“It’s racial bigotry,” said Sandro Huter, a beekeeper who was asked to replace his dark queens with light gray queens.
— By Denise Hruby; photographs by Ciril Jazbec
South Africans are savoring a second consecutive World Cup victory, producing a racial unity that even Hollywood couldn’t invent and an escape from the country’s turmoil.
“It’s not just about rugby,” said François Pienaar, captain of the team that won South Africa’s first Rugby World Cup in 1995. “It’s about a nation. It’s a question of hope. It’s about building a future for everyone in our country.
— By John Eligon; photographs by João Silva
A bleak, snowy terrain near the Black Sea is the final resting place of a growing number of soldiers from Wagner’s mercenary forces, a testament to the enormous losses Russia suffered during its invasion.
“Lord, have mercy,” chanted a priest as he blessed the bodies of fallen Russian soldiers with incense, his cassock shaken by an icy wind.
— By Valérie Hopkins; photographs by Nanna Heitmann
