News: Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic passenger spacecraft broke the sound barrier during its first rocket-powered flight in California yesterday. More about Virgin Galactic passenger spacecraft completes first rocket-powered flight
News: two European companies have launched rival Android-powered smartwatches at the Baselworld watch fair in Switzerland, bringing voice calls as well as email, video, camera and apps to devices worn on the wrist. More about Android smartwatches mean you can "leave your phone at home"
News: next month's International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York will be the first major design fair to place 3D printing and digital fabrication at the core of its programme, with a four-day series of workshops introducing the hardware and software that could change the face of design, manufacturing and distribution (+ interview). More about 3D printing and digital design lead ICFF 2013 programme
News: crafts will no longer be considered part of the creative industries under proposals published by the UK government this week. More about UK to drop crafts from list of creative industries
News: online design retailer Fab.com has announced it will design its own range of furniture and homeware to be sold alongside its existing inventory. More about Fab.com to design its own range of products
News: Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas have won a competition to transform the central railway area of Bari, a city in southern Italy, with a proposal to build a three-kilometre-long elevated park over the track. More about Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas to redesign central railway area of Bari, Italy
News: Herzog & de Meuron has been chosen to design the new National Library of Israel in Jerusalem after the initial competition winner was dismissed over a copyright dispute. More about Herzog & de Meuron wins second competition for National Library of Israel
News: Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre in Reykjavik, Iceland, by Henning Larsen Architects and artist Olafur Eliasson has won this year's European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, the Mies van der Rohe Award. More about Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik wins Mies van der Rohe Award 2013
A bill to extend copyright protection on industrial design from 25 years to the length of the author's life plus 70 years has today become law in the UK. More about UK design copyright bill comes into force
News: architects Broadway Malyan have been chosen to masterplan a new 196-hectare residential and commercial district south of Kuala Lumpur. More about Broadway Malyan to masterplan new district for Kuala Lumpur
News: researchers at the University of St Andrews in Scotland have rearranged the letters on a split-screen keyboard to almost double users' typing speed on a tablet. More about New keyboard layout promises to increase tablet typing speed
News: UK government ministers are to scrap the draft design and technology syllabus for secondary schools amid claims by industry figures including inventor James Dyson (pictured) that the curriculum had been "diluted" with skills such as cooking and gardening. More about "Dumbed down" design and technology curriculum scrapped by UK ministers
News: American furniture brand Herman Miller has agreed to acquire New York-based textile manufacturer Maharam in a deal worth about £101 million. More about Herman Miller acquires Maharam for £101 million
News: Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects has designed a headquarters for software giant Microsoft as part of plans for a new university and business district north of Copenhagen, Denmark. More about Henning Larsen Architects plans Microsoft headquarters outside Copenhagen
News: the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named its top ten sustainable projects of the year, including a university building made from timber, concrete and Corten steel in Minnesota (above) and a series of prefabricated houses in Tennessee. More about AIA names top ten green projects of 2013
News: campaigners are calling on the UK government to protect and expand minimum housing standards for space and natural light after an RIBA report revealed the average one-bed new build is only the size of a London Underground carriage. More about RIBA calls for space and light standards in UK new build housing
News: Norman Foster is the only architect to appear on this year's list of Britain's 2000 wealthiest people, published by The Sunday Times. More about Norman Foster only architect on Britain's rich list
News: Zaha Hadid was named businesswoman of the year at the Veuve Clicquot awards in London last night. More about Zaha Hadid crowned Veuve Clicquot businesswoman of the year
News: London firm Grimshaw has submitted plans for a 90-storey skyscraper in a suburb of Sydney, Australia. More about Grimshaw submits plans for Australian skyscraper
News: American architect Rick Mather, whose projects included the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK, and the masterplan for London's Southbank, has died aged 75. More about Rick Mather 1937-2013