2026-05-15 12:00:11
The world of contemporary art is like Prospero’s enchanted island, “full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.” But when news happens, it’s babel or bedlam or both. On the enchanted archipelago of Venice, I was always a step — actually whole days — behind events as they unfolded at the prestigious 2026 Biennale for the arts. It was harrying.
2026-05-15 12:00:09
When a prime minister has their back against the wall and runs out of positive arguments for their survival, they have one last recourse: Project Fear and the threat that the price of getting rid of them will be so stratospherically high that no one but a wrecker would consider it.
2026-05-15 11:00:13
The watch world is losing its collective mind over the Royal Pop, a collaboration between Swatch Group AG, best known for its brightly colored plastic timepieces, and Audemars Piguet, one of the world’s most successful upmarket horologists. After a week of fevered speculation, the two companies revealed they’re joining forces on a $400 pocket watch that blends Swatch’s “Pop” line from the 1980s with Audemars’ iconic Royal Oak wristwatch.
2026-05-15 05:00:44
Not on the agenda in Beijing: nuclear weapons, extensive discussion of Taiwan, or women at the negotiating table.
2026-05-15 04:00:08
Have a look at a list of the worst-performing currencies since the start of the US and Israeli war with Iran, and a striking but unsurprising pattern emerges: They’re almost all energy importers.
2026-05-15 03:01:11
As Keir Starmer’s leadership teeters after last week’s disastrous local election results, his allies have taken to quoting a predecessor as British prime minister, the wily Harold Wilson. Facing similar calls to quit amid cabinet plotting, Wilson took to the stage at a 1969 May Day rally and declared: “I know what’s going on, I’m going on.”
