The city remains Ukraine’s only provincial capital to be taken by Russian forces—can Ukraine overcome its shortages of manpower and firepower to retake the province?
Mexico’s official missing-persons list has topped 100,000; our correspondent describes the skyrocketing total and piecemeal efforts to slow its rise. And research suggests that people choose their friends at least in part by smell.
Most of the world’s açaí comes from the Amazon rainforest. People risk their lives to harvest the fruit, climbing palm trees that can grow taller than 50 feet. And while açaí has become one of the trendiest superfoods in recent decades, small farmers aren’t seeing a lot of the profits. The açaí industry has also taken heat over reports of child labor. We went to Brazil to find out how the world’s açaí gets from the Amazon to smoothie shops around the world.
The açaí palm, Euterpe oleracea, is a species of palm tree cultivated for its fruit, hearts of palm, leaves, and trunk wood. Global demand for the fruit has expanded rapidly in the 21st century, and the tree is cultivated for that purpose primarily
Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, joins us from Merano, Stephen Dalziel and Latika Bourke are in the studio in London to review the week’s biggest stories and we get an update from Monocle’s Guy De Launey in Lovran, Croatia.
A handmade Japanese iron kettle can cost over $300. For centuries, artisans have made kettles by pouring molten iron into molds and hammering them out once they’ve cooled. These kettles often have beautiful designs but they’re only used for boiling water. You can buy a mass produced stovetop kettle for $20, so what makes these kettles unique? And why are they so expensive?
On 29 June, Frieze announced the details of the first edition of its art fair in Seoul, South Korea. So for this last episode of the current season, we’re exploring the art scene and market in the Korean capital.
Ben Luke talks to the art historian and curator Jiyoon Lee about contemporary art in Seoul and beyond, and the origins of the current art scene in 1990s globalisation. The Art Newspaper’s associate editor, Kabir Jhala, speaks to two gallerists—Joorhee Kwon, deputy director at the Kukje Gallery and Emma Son, senior director at Lehmann Maupin, about the growing market and collector base, and the effect Frieze may have on the existing scene.
And this episode’s Work of the Week is Dahye Jeong’s A Time of Sincerity, a basket made with horsehair that this week won the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize. Kabir talks to the creative director at the fashion brand Loewe, Jonathan Anderson, about Jeong’s piece.
Frieze Seoul, COEX, Seoul, 2-5 September.
The Space Between: The Modern in Korean Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 11 September-19 February 2023.
The 2022 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, Seoul Museum of Craft Art, until 31 July.
Our latest guide to income investing explores opportunities in categories ranging from junk bonds to TIPS and REITs.
UP AND DOWN WALL STREET
Randall W. Forsyth
THE TRADER
Teresa Rivas
THE TRADER
Nicholas Jasinski
STREETWISE
Jack Hough
Monocle’s Georgina Godwin and the political journalist Terry Stiastny explore the day’s weighty papers and we hear from Denmark’s foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod.
How is China marking the 25th anniversary of Beijing ruling Hong Kong? Plus: the dissolution of parliament and calls for more elections in Israel, and a record heatwave in Japan.
The Florentine July/August 2022
My forearms are sticking to the desk as I type this month’s letter. It’s an irksome feeling that’s offset by last night’s joy of dancing wildly at a wedding and an afternoon dip in a kind friend’s swimming pool. Summer in Florence is an intoxicating mix of sweat, fun and gelato. While many of us escape to our countries of origin for as long as we can, there’s something undeniably alluring about these sun-streaked months in Tuscany. Just think back to movies such as Stealing Beauty and Under the Tuscan Sun before fast forwarding to recent Netflix films Toscana and Love & Gelato. Stereotypes aside—and there are far too many to mention in these productions (Netflix, we’re here if you fancy delving deeper into our city and region!)—summer in Florence never stops working its inexplicable magic. Yes, the wall of heat and buzz of mosquitoes may be draining during the day, but the night brings boundless pleasures, from movie nights by the Uffizi to exhibitions at just-reopened Forte di Belvedere, refreshing beers beside the Arno and brilliantly oddball cultural moments such as a wheat threshing festival in the hills (find out more about that gem on page 16).
Boomers Daily 