News

Jean Prouvé (1901-84) was not only an extraordinary engineer, architect and industrial designer but an extraordinary man. As a member of the French Resistance during the second world war, he operated under the codename Locksmith and, according to his daughter Catherine (the youngest of his five children), organised five escape routes from his apartment in Nancy,
0 Comments
When legendary designer Philippe Starck met Spanish investment banker Pedro Gómez de Baeza 30 years ago in Madrid they bonded through their quickfire, raucous sense of humour. The occasion was the opening of Starck’s transformation of a dilapidated old theatre into Teatriz, a restaurant with dramatic decor and an experimental menu. “Madrid had seen nothing
0 Comments
Welsh designer Bethan Gray did something she hadn’t done for some time during the enforced hiatus of 2020: she started to paint. Choosing Chinese calligraphy brushes, she began to create freeform lines in ultramarine ink on a canvas laid on the floor of her studio. It was a spontaneous act, but what emerged was progress
0 Comments
The Biden administration will restart oil and gas leasing on federal lands as it comes under increasing pressure to bring down high petrol prices, backing away from a freeze that had riled industry executives. Around 144,000 acres of public lands will be put up for sale next week, the interior department said on Friday, marking
0 Comments
Two photos taken during the Ukraine crisis seem to sum up the relative positions of Russia and the western alliance. The first is of Vladimir Putin at his now famous long table — his physical distance from visiting leaders symbolising Russia’s isolation. The second image is of Joe Biden in the middle of a group
0 Comments
BUY: Tesco (TSCO) It’s all about price points at the UK’s largest grocer as inflation reduces real household budgets, writes Mark Robinson. The market gave the thumbs down to Tesco’s full-year figures. The initial markdown of the shares seems curious given a 35.8 per cent increase in adjusted operating profit for its core retail segment,
0 Comments
Another global energy crisis has produced a series of political pledges to use energy more wisely. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought calls to embargo the oil and gas exports that support the country’s economy, and laid bare the folly of maintaining fossil-fuelled energy systems that are no longer fit for purpose. This time, world
0 Comments
Two months before its armies invaded Ukraine, Russia published a set of security demands that aimed at a drastic revision of Europe’s post-cold war order. Above all, the Kremlin wanted far-reaching restrictions on Nato’s presence in central and eastern Europe, a region where 14 countries joined the US-led alliance between 1999 and 2020. Two months
0 Comments