List of All Articles with Tag 'f'

MILAN Italy's top insurer Assicurazioni Generali posted on Friday a 29.6% rise in nine-month adjusted net profit as

By Mike Dolan LONDON Even with two geopolitically risky wars raging and a series of critical elections next

BEIJING China's commerce minister expressed concern over U.S. semiconductor export controls and sanctions against China, as well as

By Florence Tan SINGAPORE Oil prices were little changed on Friday but on track for their fourth straight

As countries meet in Nairobi to negotiate a treaty aimed at cutting plastics pollution, one of the tools that's been discussed is plastics credits

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 17, 2023--

India’s lenders and shadow banks tumbled after the central bank announced stricter rules to stem the relentless rise

Since I moved to France two years ago, I’ve learned not to be in a hurry on market day. Everyone wants a chat. This is never more apparent than on the cheese stalls of our village market on Tuesdays and in the nearby town of Pezenas on Saturdays. We discuss what I bought last week, the merits of the new season cheeses, and I sometimes come away with a mini jar of jam or mildly spicy piment d’espelette jelly, a “free” gift for spending a ludicrous amount because if you put something in front of me I haven’t tried before I will not be able to resist. The French love of cheese is legendary. General de Gaulle is supposed once to have said, “How can you govern a nation that has 246 different kinds of cheese?” Skip forward a few decades, and the consternation over Nicolas Sarkozy’s flashy Rolex habit was as nothing to the outrage when it was revealed he planned to nix the cheese course from state lunches. Was a president who neither ate cheese nor drank wine (he believed it slowed you down) really worthy of the highest office in France? So imagine the reaction when it was announced that “meddlesome” Brussels, in a quest to make all food packaging recyclable by 2030, was voting on a ruling that would get rid of the classic and much loved round wooden boxes camembert has been packaged in since the 19th century. The ruling next week would also affect Mont d’Or cheese and the crates oysters are sold in, but let’s focus on camembert for now. There’s only so much smelling salts to go round. Guillaume Poitrinal, chair of the French Heritage Foundation, said on X/Twitter: “The wooden box – low carbon, light, biodegradable, tough, made in France – is better for the planet than plastic from Saudi oil, transformed in China with coal-fired electricity, and which will end up in the ocean.” But while in some quarters the camembert crisis of 2023 has been presented as an opportunity to give Brussels a kicking, it’s inevitably more complicated than that. An article in Le Monde suggests this is a red herring, a battle inflamed by the biggest producers of industrial camembert to protect their corner of the market. French customers bought more than 45,000 tonnes of camembert last year, with only 6,000 tonnes being artisanal camembert meriting the protected designation of origin label. At the moment, all camemberts are sold in the famous wooden boxes, making the artisanal and mass-market cheeses indistinguishable to most. If this legislation passes, only the protected-origin cheese will be allowed to retain the traditional boxes. The rest will be forced into some lesser, biodegradable plastic outfit, visually marking them out as a second-rank product. But shall we, while we’re here, put a word in for second best? In a world where there is as much snobbery about cheese as there is about wine, some wags have commented that the boxes taste better than the mass-produced cheese. Forgive them their snobbery, it’s all they have to make them feel alive. Of course, if you love cheese you won’t want to deprive yourself of a beautiful artisanal camembert, made in the way it has been made for centuries, offering whiffs of hay, mushrooms and the milkmaid’s apron. Who cares if it costs as much as the dinner that preceded it? But few of us could, without blinking, fill up a party cheeseboard with these precious rounds just to watch Fred from over the road hoovering them up unthinkingly between sloshing down cheap red and boring on about low-traffic neighbourhoods and parking. And removing everyday camembert from its wooden box would deprive us all of that cold-weather favourite, indulgent and delicious far in excess of its cost or difficulty. I speak of the glory that is a whole camembert baked in its box, served with small potatoes, cornichons, and perhaps a bit of ham? I know in my career as a food writer, few recipes are more crowd-pleasing than something that goes big on the melted cheese. If I were ever in any doubt, I recently shared a recipe in my weekly recipe newsletter for dauphinoise potatoes with a whole (mass-market) camembert baked in the middle. Essentially, I sent potatoes to do the wooden box’s job. The crowd went wild. Then, the Queen herself, Nigella Lawson, cooked it and shared a picture of it on her Instagram. Within hours, I had hundreds more followers hunting me down for the recipe. So I am very grateful for the little cheese in the wooden box and I hope it will never change. I know I share that feeling with the majority of French people, and if I’ve learned anything at all about my new countrymen and women, ruling or no ruling, I doubt camembert (or Mont d’Or, or oysters) will be sporting new outfits anytime soon. Plus ca change. Debora Robertson’s Lickedspoon online newsletter is published weekly; she also posts on Instagram, @lickedspoon Read More Woman defends her $7,000 cheese board Will an adaptogen a day keep the doctor away this winter? David Beckham spotted with Bollywood stars at Sonam Kapoor’s private party in Mumbai Will an adaptogen a day keep the doctor away this winter? 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Thousands skipped class in nine cities to demand climate action, backed by a "sick note" from climate experts.

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was scathing of Formula 1 after Carlos Sainz’s car was substantially damaged mere minutes into practice in Las Vegas. F1’s newest race started in farcical fashion on Thursday night after first practice was stopped following just eight minutes due to a loose drain cover on the Vegas strip section of the circuit. Sainz’s Ferrari car drove right over the manhole at more than 200mph, causing damage to the floor. The Spaniard stopped his car on the side of the track. The session was red-flagged and Vasseur labelled the incident “unacceptable” in the team principals’ press conference afterwards. “What he [Carlos] said was ‘I hit something on track.’ He didn’t know exactly what it was.,” said Vasseur. “The situation is that we’ve changed the monocoque, the engine, the battery - I think it’s just unacceptable. “We’ve f***ed up the session for Carlos. He won’t be part of FP2 for sure. “We have to change the chassis of the car. I think it’s just unacceptable from F1 today.” More to follow... Read More Las Vegas Grand Prix practice cancelled in farcical start to F1’s newest race F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and times in Sin City F1 clothing craze sweeps retailers ahead of Las Vegas Grand Prix

Formula One bosses were dealt a hugely embarrassing blow after first practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix was cancelled. The running under the lights of the Las Vegas strip was suspended when Carlos Sainz broke down in his Ferrari with just eight minutes on the clock. And then 11 minutes later, at 8:49pm local time, it was announced the session would not be resumed – it emerged Sainz’s failure was caused by a loose manhole cover. Television replays showed Sainz being jolted in his cockpit as the cover struck the underneath of his machine as he approached 200mph on the Las Vegas Boulevard. Esteban Ocon also smashed into the debris – against the backdrop of Caesars Palace, Bellagio and Venetian hotels – causing significant damage to his Alpine. Ferrari described the damage to Sainz’s car as “extensive”, while Alpine said Ocon will require a new chassis. Ferrari team principal Frederic Masseur said: “He (Sainz) said I hit something on track, and he didn’t know what it was. It is just unacceptable for F1.” An FIA spokesperson said: “Following an inspection, a concrete frame around a manhole cover has failed. “We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time. “We will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve and we will update with any resultant changes to the schedule.” Second practice is due to begin at midnight local time (8:00 GMT). But there are significant doubts if there will be any running today at the 3.8-mile temporary street venue. Speaking on Sky Sports, the highly-respected TV pundit and former driver Martin Brundle, said: “That’s it for today from my experience. “Fixing that and checking everything else, letting it dry and making sure it won’t come out again is going to be a big job. “Theoretically, they are going to re-open the Strip (for public use) after the F1 practice sessions. That is a very, very big issue if there are other areas like that around the track.” The problems of loose manhole covers at street venues is not a new one in the sport. Jenson Button struck a dislodged drain in practice in Monaco in 2016, while George Russell also ran over a drain cover in Azerbaijan four years ago. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said on Sky: “It’s a shame that we are not allowed on track. “They are going to have to check all the manhole covers and weld them or do something because you can see the damage that it has done. “It’s a great shame for the fans but safety comes first. We have got to get this right and hopefully it won’t take too long.” The cancellation of opening practice comes 24 hours after triple world champion criticised the staging of the Las Vegas Grand Prix – the first here in four decades and maiden event on the strip – as “99 per cent show, and one per cent sport”. Read More Toto Wolff fuelled by ‘personal anger’ to help Lewis Hamilton win eighth title On this day in 2010: Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest ever F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton ‘counting down days’ to end of season after another poor race Max Verstappen thwarts Lando Norris’ bid for first F1 win with sprint victory On this day in 2015: Susie Wolff ends her bid to get on an F1 starting grid Lando Norris ‘gutted’ to miss out on Brazilian GP pole after McLaren blunder

TOKYO Japan's core consumer inflation likely accelerated again in October, staying above the central bank's 2% price target