← The Globalist
Loading summary
Transcript106 lines
- [00:04]
A
Craft matters in small ways, like how a coffee is brewed, and in not so small ways, like how your money is cared for. Which is why for 160 years, UBS has elevated banking to a craft, tailoring unique strategies that combine human expertise with the latest technologies, all happening across 24 time zones and 12 key financial hubs. With you at the heart of it all, UBS advice is our craft. You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on 6th November 2025 on Monacal Radio. The Globalist in association with U.
- [01:09]
B
Hello.
- [01:10]
A
This is the Globalist broadcasting to you live from Midori House in London. I'm Georgina Godwin. On the show ahead, Morocco declares a public holiday to celebrate UN backing for its Western Sahara plan. We'll unpack the politics, the phosphate and ask who really is celebrating. Then the Summit of the Americas has been postponed. Our Seattle correspondent will examine the reasons.
- [01:34]
C
The White House was unlikely to get its way in a summit declaration on issues like illegal migration and terrorism. And it couldn't keep off of the agenda topics like sustainable development, climate change and gender equality.
- [01:47]
A
We'll look at what this means for Washington's sway in its own backyard. We'll leaf through the day's front pages and hear about fast fashion protests in Paris. Then Norway's mighty sovereign wealth fund weighs in on Elon Musk's eye watering payout and parks its ethics to keep big tech in the portfolio. We'll get the latest news from Japan with our bureau chief in Tokyo.
- [02:10]
D
Plus, there are people that just want to come somewhere where they can experience total darkness and we can definitely offer that with some northern lights if you're lucky.
- [02:20]
A
We'll have a look at Iceland's big tourism pitch at the world travel market. Can the land of fire and ice keep the visitor numbers sizzling? And finally, Switzerland asks UNESCO to treat yodeling as a fifth national language. Brace yourself, there may be a demonstration. That's all ahead here on the Globalist. Live from London. First, a look at what else is happening in the news. The U.S. supreme Court has questioned President Donald Trump's sweeping use of tariffs, a case that could redefine the limits of presidential economic power. Russia says its forces are advancing inside Provost as it seeks full control of the strategic eastern Ukrainian city, though Kyiv insists it's still holding the line. And the US government shutdown will force a 10% reduction in air travel capacity at major domestic airports, as unpaid air traffic controllers report fatigue and staffing shortages do. Stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on those stories. Now, Morocco is marking a big diplomatic win with a new national holiday, Unity Day, after the United Nations Security Council endorsed its autonomy plan for Western Sahara, calling it the most feasible option or solution to the decades long conflict. It's a symbolic moment. Rabat hopes it signals momentum, while the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi independence supporters call it a betrayal of a promised referendum. Well, I'm joined in the studio by Hugh Lovett, who's a senior fellow at the Middle east and North Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Hugh, very much appreciate you coming in this morning. What is Western Sahara? Where is it? Who claims it? Why does it matter?
- [04:09]
E
Good morning. Western Sahara is a territory in Africa on the Atlantic coast. It is home to the Sahrawi people. Now, in technical UN jargon, it's called a non self governing territory. What that means in practice is that it is a territory that has yet to be decolonized. In fact, it is the last colony in Africa. So it was colonized at the end of the 19th century by the Spanish. The Spanish withdrew and the Moroccans moved in. And since then, the Sahrawi people have yet to be able to exercise their right to self determination, to decide how they would like their future to be, how they would like their territory to be governed, whether that's independence, integration into Morocco or something in between.
- [04:57]
A
And huge mineral wealth, I mean, phosphates.
- [05:00]
E
And so why we talk about Western Sahara? Why does it matter besides the right of the Sahrawi people? It matters because of its geostrategic location. It matters because Morocco claims it. And Morocco is a close Western ally. But it matters also because of the territory's resources. As you said, phosphate is very important. It's a huge producer of phosphate. Phosphate is used as a fertilizer in fields. So many, I'm sure British farmers will have used phosphate actually from Western Sahara. But it also has huge and important fishery stocks. So British vessels, other European vessels have fished in Western Sahara waters.
- [05:40]
A
So this is really important for global food supply. All right, so what has the UN said? What is the latest development?
- [05:46]
E
Now, the UN has been involved in the Western Sahara conflict since a ceasefire was achieved between Morocco and the Polisario in 1991. And we've seen, and I won't go into all the detail, but we've seen over the period of 30 years, UN Security Council positions slowly drift away from the need to allow the Sahrawi people to determine their own future by themselves, towards this notion that the future Western Sahara needs to be negotiated between The Polisario, the representative of the Sahari people and Morocco. So we've gone from a purely international law based framework into now a political diplomatic framework. And so last week when there was a UN Security Council resolution, it was a big shift because the members of the UN Security Council, the uk, France, the us, Russia and others said that Western Sahara's future should now be predicated on a plan put forward by Morocco, which is a plan for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. So basically what that is saying is the Sahrawi people have the right to determine their own future so long as that future is under Moroccan sovereignty and governance.
- [06:55]
A
So how do the people who live in Western Sahara feel about this?
- [06:58]
E
Not very happy. Now, of course, I should say polling Sahrawis is very difficult. Half of Western Sahara, the major population area, is under control of Morocco, but many Sahari people live in refugee camps in Algeria under the control of the Polisario. So it's difficult to know exactly. And of course the best way would be to have a referendum. But generally speaking, which they were promised, which they were promised actually way back in the, in the 60s, even when Spain was about to withdraw. But through my own field research, it's clear that the Sahrawi people remain attached, extremely attached to the idea, to the hope of an independent state of their own. And so again, put very frankly, the plan that is being put forward by the UK and others for autonomy is not something that would be supported by the Saharawi people themselves or the Polisario, that is the party negotiating this.
- [07:54]
A
So the UN's backing this. How has international support for Morocco shifted on the issue?
- [08:00]
E
International, I should say Western support for Morocco has always been very strong because of the, again, the geostrategic, geopolitical role that Morocco plays. It's an extremely important ally to the UK and others. But over the past years, what we have seen is this support from Morocco increasingly translate into support for its autonomy plan as the best or even the only option for resolving the Western Sahara conflict. And through that, Morocco hopes to go one step further, which is to secure UK and UK recognition of its sovereignty over Western Sahara. France has already done that, so has the us and it hopes now other countries will follow.
- [08:45]
A
So Washington's talking of closing its UN mission there. I wonder what dangers that poses on the ground. And also this whole agreement is possibly closing off any meaningful diplomacy.
- [09:00]
E
The UN mission is called Minoso, and again, it was created in the 1990s as part of this UN led peace process to do two things. One was to prepare and supervise the holding of a referendum, which is extremely complex because it would require also identifying Sahrawi voters. And that took years to do and actually fulfilled that in the end. And the second role is to do monitoring and supervision of a ceasefire. Act as a buffer zone. Sorry, act as a buffer force between Morocco and the Polisario. Now prospects for a referendum have disappeared. The ceasefire collapsed in 2022, and so the Moroccan Polisario are back at war. But Minoso still acts as this buffer. And so without Minoso, not only is it more difficult to move forward a political process, but the chances of increased violence on the ground will increase, especially in terms of the possibility that Morocco could be tempted to push further what is currently a Polisario controlled area of Western Sahara to the Algerian border. And then at that case, you risk Algeria also intervening more directly. And then you have not just a kind of a more local conflict, you have a regional conflict. And so, just to answer your last question very quickly, there are still chances for diplomacy, but that will not work through a zero sum, unilateral approach in trying to enforce a plan on Sahararis. There is room to negotiate still a compromise deal, but it will require flexibility and pragmatism by the UK and others.
- [10:34]
A
So are the Polisario happy to talk?
- [10:37]
E
The Polisario will talk. Even as they returned to war a few years ago, claiming that the UN led peace process was going nowhere, they remain open to negotiations. Now, again speaking through first hand experience, they have up until very recently attached a number of preconditions for reentering talks in terms of going back to an original agreement with Morocco from 1991, which they prefer, et cetera, et cetera. But what has happened over the last year, last few months, is we have seen a softening in polisorial positions and indications in private and to a certain extent in public that the Polisario movement could be open to negotiating again a compromise deal with Morocco. Something that would lie between outright independence, which is its self declared goal, and integration into Morocco, which is Morocco's goal. So there is, I think, a room for an agreement at the moment. But as with all things that are related to diplomacy, you need to be able to test and then wedge open these spaces.
- [11:42]
A
And meanwhile, of course, this public holiday has been declared. So what is Rabat signifying by celebrating it so publicly in this way?
- [11:51]
E
This is clearly a huge diplomatic victory for Morocco, given the energy over the years that it has spent to make its autonomy plan the only reference point for negotiations, and in doing so, secure international support for its sovereignty. And again, this is happening in advance of Morocco hosting the World Cup. So it wants to be able to resolve this file, as it were, this conflict before then. It is obviously also great for the Moroccan King Muhammad Sikhs to be able to show such an important diplomatic victory. And again, a lot of this is also caught up in broader tensions between Morocco and Algeria to longtime rivals. But what is interesting to notice, even as Morocco declares, I guess, victory in terms of international recognition and support for its claims to Morocco, it itself has little interest in actually implementing its autonomy plan on the ground. So while internationally it calls for autonomy under its sovereignty in Western Sahara, it is not actually implementing that agreement, which it could do because it has control over it. So I think it shows that the autonomy plan for it is much more of a political foil, something that it can use for other goals.
- [13:12]
A
Hugh, thank you very much indeed. That's Hugh Lovett at the European Council of Foreign Relations. And this is the globalist. The Dominican Republic has postponed next month's Summit of the Americas to 2026. Officials point to the damage from Hurricane Melissa. But the decision also comes as the US carries out strikes in the Caribbean, winning support from some governments and sharp criticism from others. The summit is the key annual gathering under the Organization of American States, or oas, meant to bring leaders together and keep d dialogue alive. Its delay raises uncomfortable questions about cooperation across the region. At a moment when tensions are rising, diplomacy is sensitive and the forum, designed to steady the neighbourhood, can't get everyone around the table. Well, Monocle's Seattle correspondent Greg Scruggs was due to attend the summit and has been following preparations closely, speaking with diplomats involved in the discussions. Greg, welcome back to the show. I wonder if you could start by giving us an idea of what the summit is actually meant to achieve.
- [14:22]
C
Of course, Georgina. So the Summit of the Americas was established in 1994. It's held every three to four years. And it's the opportunity for all the heads of state, ideally all of the heads of state in the Americas, to come together and really enhance regional issues. And you know, there's sharp divisions, right? I mean, from the get go, whether or not Cuba could attend a gathering hosted by the United States has divided the group from day one. But for the most part over the, the, the years they've had a nine additions thus far. This would have been the tenth. For the most part, everyone has played ball, but it's gotten tougher over over the years and indeed the, the most recent addition, held in 2022 in Los Angeles, it was Widely viewed as a failure because the Biden administration excluded not just Cuba, but also Nicaragua and Venezuela. And that then triggered other heads of state like Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala also to not attend.
- [15:21]
A
So what are your sources telling you about why it's been canceled?
- [15:26]
C
Right. I spoke to a Latin American diplomat close to pre summit negotiations, and he told me that first of all, the US strikes in the Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela, these alleged drug trafficking boats almost certainly would have monopolized the conversation and really crowded out any other discussion. It's such a hot button issue issue right now going across many fault lines and really raising this issue of essentially the legality and the jurisdiction of the US military to be acting in these international waters. But he also told me that the US does kind of run things at these affairs, but there is also this sort of pretense of it being a table of equals. And so they do need other countries to come and agree to their agenda if they want to push something in particular. And what this diplomat told me was that, you know, the White House was unlikely to get its way in a summit declaration on issues like illegal migration and terrorism. And it couldn't keep off of the agenda topics like sustainable development, climate change and gender equality, which are now essentially verboten in Washington. So the US which had backed the Dominican Republic's Post bid, was cited as an explicit partner in this decision to postpone until next year.
- [16:49]
A
And what are leaders saying publicly about it?
- [16:53]
C
Well, the Dominican Foreign Ministry, you know, they put out this statement, the sort of profound differences that currently hinder productive dialogue in the Americas. It's mostly been met with a muted, I think a bit of a sigh of relief that it could have been a bit of an ugly dust up if it had gone as planned next month.
- [17:13]
A
Greg, what does this say then about relations across the Americas right now?
- [17:18]
C
Well, it is an interesting time. I mean, there are a number of key elections coming up. Chile goes to the polls quite soon. Peru also has a big election in April of next year. And you know, we have seen this swing to the right in some contexts. Argentina, of course, continuing to make waves, you know, with Javier Milei's presidency. And there's a sense that perhaps the White House is, the State Department in Washington is waiting to see how some of these other elections go, that maybe there's a few more allies in the room potentially if they hold out another six, eight months to have another summit of the Americas. But you know, these fractures, I mean, we see it again at the OAS with this kind of trio of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela that are all personae non grata, that once upon a time, even though there were hard line leftist and right leaning governments in Latin America, they were all generally willing to at least come to a kind of a low stakes multilateral forum. But that does seem to have gotten harder to get everybody in the room at the same time playing nice with each other, given those vast political divisions.
- [18:35]
A
I mean. So then what would need to happen before the next summit to rebuild trust and momentum?
- [18:41]
C
Well, I suspect there's going to be a lot of diplomacy taking place on a bilateral basis between the US and its Caribbean neighbors. I mean, there are some countries who aren't necessarily so opposed to these strikes. I mean, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago who was also publicly claiming to fight a drug war, she was recently welcoming the effect on local drug markets, so she claimed from the taking out of these drug traffickers. But you know, you do have left leaning governments like Colombia's, Gustavo Petro, who's. Yeah, I think, you know, Colombia, the US have a long history of working together on drug interdiction efforts and that seems to be not resuming anytime soon, at least as long as he's in office. I suppose if there is a rightward shift in enough, enough Latin American capitals, we could see a Summit of the Americas go off in a way that is suitable to the US and what is essentially in this case kind of its client state in the Dominican Republic. But there is also the possibility that the Summit of the Americas does not reconvene in a timely fashion.
- [19:58]
A
And what does the cancellation this year actually mean for the standing of the OAS of the Organization of American States?
- [20:07]
C
Well, we do have to realize, I mean, it is a setback first of all, for the Summit of the Americas not to go off as planned. I mean, nobody wants to postpone the party. Right. However, we do have to think about the beginning of the year. The oas, headquartered in Washington, arguably a creature of the US government. But you know, there's this very interesting back and forth, this kind of tension where the Latin American and Caribbean nations do try to stake out over time more independence. And I reported from the OAS for Monocle back in April ahead of the assuming of office of their new Secretary General, Albert Ramden. And you know, what I came to appreciate is that the Trump administration initially put on the table in an executive order, February thereabouts, a review of all multilateral memberships. So there was an existential fear that this just could be the end of the Oasis period. I mean, the US Is its biggest funder. And so the fact that Washington is at least interested enough to engage to have a summit perhaps on their terms, but a summit at all, I think does have to be viewed as a positive step that these multilateral institutions have been shaken, but they do remain standing.
- [21:21]
A
And Greg, finally, what's the latest on Hurricane Melissa's impact across Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic?
- [21:28]
C
Well, it was a Category 5 storm, one of the strongest to hit Jamaica. Certainly in modern record keeping. There's estimates that maybe an 1850s era hurricane based on contemporaneous accounts might have been as strong. But you know, the death toll is certainly well into the dozens in the epicenter of the storm, really in the southern coast of Jamaica, the quite historic city of Black river pretty much is no more. And certainly reading the accounts are quite grim. It's going to be a long road to recovery. The UN has brought in food and is activating humanitarian relief efforts ongoing.
- [22:10]
A
Greg, thank you very much indeed. That's Greg Scruggs, Monocle's Seattle correspondent. Still to come on the quite so. Do you speak Yodel? Switzerland wants it to be considered the fifth national language. This is the globalist craft is a matter of perspective, a unique outlook, an obsessive attention to detail. With UBS's Chief Investment Office House View, we're focused on identifying the latest investment opportunities and market risks to help you achieve your financial goals. So you get the big picture broken down into thought provoking insights delivered daily and curated by over 200 globally connected, locally active analysts. UBS banking is our craft. Let's continue now with today's newspapers. And joining me is Ruth Michelson who's a journalist and the Middle east correspondent based in Istanbul. Ruth, good morning to you. Woman gets groped, so what? Why is it making front page news? It happens multiple times a day, right?
- [23:28]
F
Well, when that woman is the Mexican president, Claudia Shangbaum, who was groped in public in between meetings by a man that she has described as a, as being publicly drunk. And then video of the incident went viral. So the Mexican president is responding to this in a public way and saying if this happens to the president, where does that leave all the young women in our country? She gave a speech talking about what she did next, talking about why she pressed charges against the man and she said no man has the right to abuse a woman. Personal space.
- [24:09]
A
Yeah, absolutely. But what about her security detail?
- [24:13]
F
Well, that's a very fair question. Why was this man allowed to get so close to her in the first place? That is Certainly a question being asked in the press in Mexico by Reuters. And so apparently, according to Reuters, Sheinbaum routinely travels with quite minimal security. She makes herself widely available to the public, including wading into crowds of people. But she's also said in the speech that she has no plans to change that. And she says we have to be close to the people. And there's details about how this incident happened while she was making a short walk from Mexico's national palace to the Ministry of Education. So this seems like something that she does pretty regularly and she has no plans to change it. She's also lashed out at one particular Mexican newspaper for publishing pictures of the man who was groping her. And she has called it a revictimization and said that she is waiting for an apology from that newspaper.
- [25:22]
A
Let's move on to New York, where there's been joy at Zoran Mondani being elected as the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the city. We're looking at reactions around the world here. Largely, you're very, very happy.
- [25:41]
F
Yes, this is something that's getting a lot of attention, particularly here in Turkey. There's coverage of this in the state news outlet Anadolu. It was front and center on the the Anadolu website when I looked late last night, still late into the evening. And outlets like T24, which has a profile of Zorhan Mamdan wife Aramaduaji, who is of Syrian descent, born in the US And I think part of the reason that it's getting so much interest, at least here in Turkey, is because there was quite a famous corruption scandal surrounding the current mayor of New York, Eric Adams, and the Turkish national airline, Turkish Airlines, that he was taking free flights. And so there is this big connection between Turkey and what happens in New York. But the joy that we're seeing about Mamdani's election, there's amazing peace in Al Jazeera, for example, talking about reactions in Uganda where Mamdani was born. And you know, basically young people saying that they feel that his success is something in, you know, because they are facing an extremely repressive political climate. They're quoting a 38 year old opposition leader saying that Madani success inspires us.
- [27:05]
A
Let's continue talking about airlines. Actually, this affects most US Domestic airlines. Trump administration want to cut air traffic by 10% because of the government shutdown. Now, speaking as somebody who's got six internal US Flights planned in the next month, I find this extremely worrying.
- [27:23]
F
I hate to tell you this, but I think you have Reason to fear. So, I mean, this appears to be an effort by the Trump administration to essentially raise the pressure on the Democrats as a government shutdown in the U.S. is hitting its 36th day. And according to CNN, the U.S. transportation secretary, Sean Duffy announced this last night our time and gave all of the airlines very, very little notice, just an hour's notice that they were going to do this, this. And basically Sean Duffy has said that this is about air traffic control, safety concerns, that there needs to be a way, basically because the shutdown has forced something like 13,000 air traffic controllers, 50,000 Transport Security Administration agents to work without pay because that is they are essential workers. It's required during the shutdown. This is according to Reuters supporters, that basically they're trying to make the case that this is about safety, that these people need to be able to take a break. But it also seems like they're using this as leverage in the shutdown. And also a lot of these same workers came under scrutiny or were fired earlier in the Trump administration over their rather concocted claims about diversity, equity and inclusion. And then we started to see a rise in air traffic incidents in the U.S. u.S. So I'm afraid none of this is good news for your flights.
- [28:57]
A
No. Finally, very quick look at Angelina Jolie. I mean, as if Ukraine doesn't have enough problems. Angelina goes in without telling anybody, apparently or without any warning. And then one, one of her entourage is suddenly drafted into the Ukrainian military. Very odd story and something Ukraine really doesn't need.
- [29:17]
F
Yes, just what Ukraine needs is more celebrities potentially not helping according to this. So apparently it was a surprise visit to Ukraine. The Ukrainian official speaking to Politico describes this. They said that she entered Ukraine on foot and hadn't told the government about her intention to visit. I think everyone enters on foot, you can't fly in. So I'm not really sure what they're saying. But anyway they while driving near a checkpoint, it seems that Angelina Jolie's driver was unable to provide certain documents to show that he should not be conscripted into the Ukrainian military, was drafted into military service and seized when he couldn't produce the documents, handed over to the local draft board, according to the site Meduza. And apparently there is a video on telegram showing Jolie arriving at the enlistment center. So they say reportedly to help him. I assume they mean to try and jailbreak him out of the enlistment center. It's not really the PR that she or the Ukrainian government wanted from this visit.
- [30:25]
A
I'm quite sure not Ruth, thank you very much indeed. That's Ruth Michelson there, Middle east correspondent speaking to us from Istanbul. You're with the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Now here's what else we're keeping an eye on today. The U.S. supreme Court has cast doubt on President Donald Trump's broad use of emergency powers to impose global tariffs, with several justices questioning whether he's overstepped constitutional limits on taxation and trade. Billions of dollars in tariff revenue and the future scope of presidential authority are at stake in what could become a defining ruling on executive power. Russia claims to be advancing north through Pokhrovsk in eastern Ukraine in its latest push to capture the city, but Ukrainian forces say they are continuing to resist and prevent full encirclement. Moscow views Poversk as a key gateway to taking the rest of the Donbas region, which would mark its most significant territorial gain since Advika's fall. And the US Government shutdown is forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights. And as air traffic controllers work without pay and report mounting fatigue, officials say capacity will be reduced by 10% at 40 major airports to maintain safety, with airlines bracing for widespread disruptions. This is the Globalist. Stay tuned now for a look behind the headlines. Here's the this is Monocle's Simon Bouvier. The protests for the launch of fast fashion brand Shein in Paris.
- [32:09]
G
Chinese fast fashion giant Shein opened its very first permanent retail location yesterday, a shop in shop dedicated to clothes inside the historic Parisian department store Biagevie. The atmosphere outside the department store on Wednesday was tense, but customers did show up, up. I witnessed hundreds standing in line outside to access the Shein shop, sworn by journalists from across the country and around the world. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Rue Rivoli, a small crowd of protesters behind metal barriers hurled insults under the watchful eye of dozens of police officers. French business mogul Frederic Merlin, who acquired Bergev in 2023, engineered the tie up with Sheehan in an attempt to rescue the beleaguered department store. But the deal was instantly decried as a Faustian bargain, lending the Bergeville's venerable image to a company seen here as an architect of brick and mortar retail's demise. French companies started pulling their products. Then came the investigation over sex dolls sold on Shein's website by third parties. Over the weekend, it was revealed that revolting sex toys in the likeness of small children illegal in France were available for purchase on Shein's online retail platform, though they were quickly withdrawn. And the company says it has temporarily banned all third party vendors from selling in France. On its platform, French Prime Minister Sebastien Le Cornu announced it would be banned within days and until, quote, all of its contents are at last proven to be compliant with our laws. It is often said that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Sheehan and Biageve are about to find out whether that is true in France today or if their partnership will go down as one of the most ill advised businesses business moves in recent memory.
- [34:15]
A
That was Monocle Simon Bouvier. And for more you can sign up to our daily newsletter, the Monocle Minute. Head over to monocle.com minute. This is the Globalist. It is 8:30, 734 in Oslo. 734 here in London. Now, Norway's giant sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest, has thrown itself into two fights at once. It's voting against Elon Musk's staggering Tesla pay deal, testing whether even the richest man on the planet can be told no. And at the same time, Oslo's pushed through an urgent proposal in Parliament this week to suspend the fund's own ethics rules so it doesn't have to dump its stakes in Amazon, Microsoft and Google over their work with Israel. Well, this leaves Norway trying to claim the moral high ground whilst also bending its own rules. I'm joined now by Monocle's Oslo correspondent, Lars Bavanger. Lars, lovely to have you back on the show. Let's start with Tesla. What exactly is Norway objecting to? And given that it only owns a slice of the company, does its vote matter? Can it change things?
- [35:29]
H
Well, that's a very interesting question because as you say, the stake they own is fairly small. It's around 2%. But this is the world's largest fund and as such, an influential voice on the global investment market. And when they decide something, other funds sit up and take notice. And we've seen in the past that when they have voted against pay packages like this, for instance, for Apple CEO Tim Cook, the board has taken a different decision and blocked the pay package. So it is listened to and it does swing a big hammer, even though the actual share in Tesla is relatively small.
- [36:25]
A
Let's go to the Israel decision. So it's paused. Norway's paused its ethics rules to avoid selling off Amazon and Microsoft and Alphabet shares. Unpack that for us. Is it unusual?
- [36:39]
H
Yeah, this is unusual. So the ethics fund has been in place for a long time and this is an independent committee of people who are monitoring all the investments that the fund itself is doing. Now, the fund it's important to say is politically independent. It is managed by the Central bank of Norway. The government and parliament has some indicators of what they would like the fund to disinvest from or not invest in, for instance, nuclear weaponry, tobacco, things like this. Now, the Ethics Fund has been maybe responding a little bit to political pressure lately, especially over Israel. And now that the UN has said that the threat three US tech giants, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet, Google's parent company, are very heavily involved in Israel's warfare in Gaza by providing their technology there. The fear now from the Norwegian government has been that the fund might disinvest in these three. Now that would be very serious because three tech giants make up more than 15% of the fund's equity holdings and disvesting from these three could harm the fund's standing and threaten Norway's welfare state because the fund contributes to about a quarter of Norway's annual budget.
- [38:14]
A
And Lars, finally there's also talk of more investment in defence companies, including firms linked to nuclear programs. How realistic is that? And what does this tell us about Norway's ambitions as a hard nosed geopolitical player? I mean, is it standing up for standards or admitting that when politics and profits clash, profits still win?
- [38:36]
H
Well, critics will say that and there have been quite a lot of criticism coming out from politicians, both opposition, but also political parties that are that are lending the lay the governing Labour Party their support in in Parliament. Some have said that this decision by Stoltenberg, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg FORMER NATO Secretary General of course to basically pause. The Ethics Fund is giving a blank check to anyone to do anything and still have the fund as an investor. Now Stoltenberg has said that they must consider to invest in the likes of Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin because because they are. Norway enjoys the nuclear umbrella of the Western defense alliance. So it would be problematic, as he put it, to not invest in these companies that obviously are doing a lot of other things apart from contributing to the making of nuclear weaponry. But yeah, it is a paradox, you could say, and it's going to be a difficult one for the Labour government to push through, I think in Parliament.
- [39:56]
A
Lars, thank you very much indeed. That's Larsh Bewanga, Monocle's Oslo correspondent. And this is Monocle Radio. Well now let's cross to Tokyo where the bureau chief and Senior Asia editor Fiona Wilson is standing by. Hello, Chief Fiona.
- [40:15]
B
Hi Georgina. How are you doing?
- [40:16]
A
I'm good. Now, you've lived in Japan for many years. Do you often feel very obviously foreign? And does that make you feel unwelcome?
- [40:25]
B
That's a very good question at the moment because we foreigners are really in the spotlight. I mean, I've never felt, you know, being foreign was a negative. Sometimes it attracts a bit of attention, but it's always been very friendly attention. But as you alluding to, there are a few issues at the moment, and the new prime minister is making a bit of an issue. She's talking a lot about foreigners at the moment. So, yeah, that's the big subject in the news this week.
- [40:49]
A
So what are the policy discussions related to foreign nationals?
- [40:54]
B
Well, there was this upper house election in July and unexpectedly, some parties, the sort of Japan first kind of parties like Sunseto did really well. And it turned out that Japanese are not happy with. There's been a very sort of sharp increase in the number of foreign workers, the number of foreigners living here. It's about to hit 4 million. And also it's coincided with. With this amazing increase in tourism. So the visibility of foreigners is what's really increased. And there's a sort of resentment. It's not just about people who live here, it's about general behavior of people who are not Japanese. So there's sometimes it can get a bit muddied. But Takaichi has been looking at this policy and she's really trying to keep these conservative voters happy. And she's now in a coalition with the Japan Innovation Party, who are themselves not very foreign friendly. They would like to set a sort of ceiling on the number of foreigners who can live in Japan. Now, she didn't go that far, but she has said she's going to tighten the rules. So people who overstay their visas, people who don't pay their pension and health insurance contributions, people who break the law, they're going to be cracking down much more on those people. So what she's saying is, look, we know we need foreigners, we welcome tourism and we need foreign labor, but we don't want people who are breaking the law.
- [42:09]
A
Let's talk about. About bears. So prevalent that actually official forces have been brought in.
- [42:15]
B
I know. I mean, this story, you sort of think, really Japan bears. But it's become a bit of a crisis this year. You know, obviously Japan has this big population of bears. They're not endangered. And in the north of Japan, they are rather running amok. And the sdf, the Ground Self Defense Forces, in fact, have had to be called into Akita. This is a northern prefecture. Bear attacks are record numbers this year. They're gonna be a record number probably at the end of the year. So the Self Defense Forces have come into Akita, a very rural prefecture, to help with setting traps and you know, bears that are causing trouble trying to catch them. There have been so many sightings and it seems that the bears are, they're foraging, they're looking for food before hibernation and they love apples. These northern prefectures are big on apples. They're tucking into these apple orchards just as they're about to be harvested. And persimmons is the other thing which is, is in season now in Japan, you know, and they're looking for food before the winter. And yeah, it's become a big issue this year. I can speak from personal experience. My son's hiking trip was canceled because of bear anxiety. So it is, it is a genuine fear in Japan at the moment.
- [43:24]
A
You say trapped. Are they trapped and released or do they, you know, go and live on the farm?
- [43:31]
B
Well, I mean, I don't think they're gonna actually catch that many, to be honest. And they're not authorized to kill the bear bears, so they're not using firearms to kill them. They're, I mean, it's a rather touching story. They're relying on bear spray, bear repellent spray. So good luck with that. That's for deterrence and protection apparently. So great faith in the bear spray. You know, people who go hiking, they're all waving bear spray and these little bells that frighten them off. I think bears are not generally looking for trouble. If they're caught unexpectedly or they're with their, their little ones, they, they, they do potentially attack, but when they do. Yeah, there have been several people have been killed this year and you know, I was just reading about a woman who was foraging for mushrooms in Akita and she was found having been attacked by a bear and she had died. So yeah, it's, it's, you know, it's a sort of fascinating side of Japan that maybe people don't know that much about.
- [44:21]
A
Fiona, thank you very much indeed. That's Fiona Wilson there speaking to us from our Tokyo bureau. This is the Globalist on Monocle Radio here. Iq, EQ and AI, three components key to the craft of innovation at ubs. Because to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving age, you need a partner with decades of experience, endless passion for the work and a finger on the pulse of leading technologies. Bridging human expertise with artificial intelligence. All to elevate you. Ubs. Banking is our craft. The world travel market in London is in full swing. The three day event is expected to draw over 46,000 participants and 4,000 exhibitors from 180 countries. One exhibitor is Iceland, represented by Hannah Katrin Fridgesson, the Minister of Industries and Tourism. Iceland is a location which has seen consistent growth in visitor numbers, outpacing both international and European averages. Hannah joined Monocle's Tom Webb at the market to talk more about their presence there.
- [45:44]
D
We divide Iceland into seven regions that are all uniquely Icelandic, but they differ a lot in terms of nature, in terms of the way the local communities live, I mean, what their living conditions are, how remote they are, etc. But what they have in common is that people have come to Iceland historically to experience our unique nature and it still, still there. And even places that no one I would say has yet discovered, at least for foreign visitors. But we have come to experience lately that our guests, they want to, in addition to that, they want to experience something new. They want to kind of connect with the local communities and they want to leave something behind to also. So it's just they are visitors, they are guests, but they want to blend in in a sense. And that is something that we are responding to increasingly. One of the things that we are doing is that we are expanding the season so that we lower the pressure on our peak months that have been the summer months. They are unique with all day round sunlight and you know, things that you can't experience anywhere else again. But the winter period has become increasingly popular and we have expanded on the northern light trips. It's kind of an astro tourism that we are working on now. And people come and just, you know, there are people that just want to come somewhere where they can experience total darkness. And that's something that's unique to someone. And we can definitely offer that with some northern lights if you're lucky.
- [47:43]
E
And it's a huge campaign, your northern lights campaign. You're not the only nation to, to be doing that right now. What does Iceland offer different to other northern lights locations?
- [47:54]
D
That's true. Other nations have done that as well now, the Nordic nations, many of them. What we can do is it's so easy to experience that you don't have to drive for hours to just to be somewhere. You can just basically step outside and it's visible, but you can also drive somewhere and experience not only the northern lights, but also this total darkness, the peace, the quiet, the space that you have and then almost within minutes be somewhere totally different and experience something very different from that. And in Iceland, again, those seven regions that are also uniquely Icelandic but different and yet you can experience them all in a relatively short visit to Iceland. So you. It's like you get a whole continent in one visit.
- [48:44]
E
Now, you've been mentioning the local communities. It's a fairly small population, Iceland. How do you ensure that mass tourism, or lots of tourists coming in, the money trickles down to the right people.
- [48:58]
D
That's definitely a challenge. It puts a lot of pressure on our infrastructure at the same time as it gives life into those local communities and has totally changed the chances that many of those small villages have, you know, young people moving back to the villages because they see opportunities, doing something that they want to do, that is work in tourism and get to know foreign cultures that come visit us and things like that. But it's the responsibility of those who run the country. It's time to make sure that sufficient part of the income from that industry goes into building up the infrastructure, not only in those places where we already are experiencing mass tourism, but also to build up new places to make sure. Because I can tell a visitor, a foreign visitor where to go. That's something they decide themselves, of course, but we can make the choice easier or increase the choices that you have by building up infrastructure around the country. And there, I mean, that's what we are working on now. And again, additional challenge there is that we also need to make sure that we preserve our nature and it doesn't get swamped by tourists without the necessary infrastructure to follow.
- [50:19]
E
And Iceland is a true success story for tourism. It's held up by many nations as the blueprint, the benchmark. How are you going to continue your journey? How will you continue that success story?
- [50:31]
D
I mean, the experience is that people, as I said earlier, people are truly redefining tourism and they're redefining even luxury tourism. It's not only now a great accommodation, I don't know, activities that are the most expensive or something. It's. It's more. Things are getting increasingly expensive. Cost of lives is rising almost everywhere. Maybe that will find some new balance. Maybe a part of it has to do with the geopolitical situation we are living in now. But redefining luxury tourism, redefining what you want to experience, what you want to bring back home, we need to offer that, and as I said, what we are really experiencing, for example, that people, they want to travel somewhere where they can experience something and when, where they feel secure and where there is peace, quietness, where they are welcome, where they can interact with the communities that they are visiting. So we are working on that. We have always Welcomed probably partly because how few we are. We are so happy to get foreign visitors and we are also learning a lot. I grew up in Reykjavik. When I was there, I don't know if there were five restaurants in the city and they're probably closer to 500 now from all around the world. And we know this is partly, if not entirely because of our foreign visitors that has changed the society for the better. And we just want to show our gratitude to our visitors and continue to develop this important industry with them.
- [52:13]
E
Final question for you. You may not want to shed light on your secret destination or your, your.
- [52:18]
H
Place in Iceland that's dear to you.
- [52:20]
E
But if you were to navigate a tourist to somewhere special off the beaten track, where would you send them?
- [52:27]
D
That's a, that's a difficult question because I can honestly say that I have. There are still so many places that I haven't seen. But if I take again one of those regions that I mentioned, the west, further northwest part of Iceland, it's, they're not, that's a region that's not part of the so called ring road. So people visiting Iceland for the first time usually don't go there. But that's a great place to visit that has so much to offer. I would go there.
- [52:57]
E
I can see you went there in your mind for just a moment. It sounds fantastic. Yes. Thank you so much for joining us.
- [53:03]
D
Thank you so much for having me, Hannah.
- [53:05]
A
Katrin Fredriksen, Iceland's Minister of Industries, speaking with Tom Webb at the World Travel Market. You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio. And finally today to the Swiss Alps, or at least to our Zurich studios. Switzerland is campaigning for yodeling to be added to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. Officials say it's so central to national identity that it should be considered the country's fifth language. Up there with German, French, Italian and Romansh. Well, I'm joined now from our Zurich studio by Juliet Linda, journalist, broadcaster and Monocle regular in Switzerland. Juliet, don't laugh at me, but what actually is yodeling? Aha.
- [53:53]
I
Define yodeling. Can we call it like a long distance form of singing really, whereby the yodeler makes sort of repeated rapid changes in his or her pitch that can carry across peaks and valleys across the Alps of Switzerland. And those rapid changes to take place between a chest voice and falsetto. And if that sounds tricky, Georgina, it is because hear this, if you hesitate while flipping or changing register, you'll make a sound that's more of a vocal crack. The secret, I'm told, is to be relaxed and to have a solid airflow so that you don't strain to push that flip and end up with a crack. But anyway, Georgita, historically, what is yodeling? What was it? How did it come about? Well, it was a long distance language for cowherd in the Swiss Alps and you had short yodels that meant sort of time for lunch or I'm nearby and I mean, obviously Georgina, I've been interviewing quite a few cowherds for this show, as you can tell. But then over time, yodels took on sort of a more sentimental value. They became joyful cries expressing love for nature and for home, and they serve as jolly songs for community gatherings.
- [55:02]
A
So, I mean, is it woven into everyday culture? How many active yodel are there really?
- [55:09]
I
Well, to say it's woven into everyday culture would, you'd imagine everyone's just wandering down Dufourstrasse outside the Monocle Cafe, yodeling at each other. No, I mean, let's, let's be serious. The official number is that there are 12,000 yodelers in Switzerland, most of them proud members of Switzerland's nearly 800 yodel clubs or yodel groups might sound like a lot, but let's be honest, that's less than 1% of the Swiss population and they're all German speaking. Swiss, really. So. So it might sound like, and it might be considered a key national tradition, but it's not nationwide at all. I mean, French and Italian speakers in this country are not exactly going to be celebrating manically when they hear that UNESCO has potentially approved the application for this to be considered a heritage, an intangible cultural heritage.
- [56:01]
A
I mean, is it Switzerland's fifth language, would you say? Always this just very clever, as usual, Swiss branding.
- [56:08]
I
I would call Switzerland's fifth language English, to be honest. But is it a language even? I mean, there's no syntax, there's no grammar, there's no vocabulary. It's definitely a form of communication, it's definitely powerful. But to your point on branding, I mean, let's say that this does get approved and by the end of the year we will know whether UNESCO has approved it as an intangible cultural heritage, even if it does go through, and it will, because, by the way, only about a third of applications are rejected and there doesn't seem to be a reason why they should reject yodeling. But I mean, it might give yodeling slightly more international visibility. But Georgina, branding wise, I think most people who know Switzerland and Its stereotypes would already put yodeling up there with chocolate watches, fondue, and probably train station cleanliness and punctuality. So it's not exactly a hidden gem that needs this to bring it to the forefront.
- [57:04]
A
Do you know what I'm going to ask you now, Juliet?
- [57:06]
I
If you're going to ask me to yodel, I am going to answer with a knock, knock joke.
- [57:12]
A
Okay.
- [57:12]
E
Knock, knock.
- [57:13]
A
Who's there?
- [57:14]
I
Little old lady.
- [57:16]
A
Oh, man.
- [57:17]
E
That was a good one, wasn't it?
- [57:19]
A
I'm not letting you get out of it like this. I absolutely refuse. I will have you yodel.
- [57:25]
I
I'll be back on air to do that for you. Another time, same place.
- [57:28]
B
Julia.
- [57:30]
A
No, no, no, no, no, no. I'm quite serious. I have been promised and told the producers that if we were going to do this story, you would yodel for me live on air.
- [57:39]
I
Little old lady who? No, I'm not doing it. Georgina, I love you so much. It was great to be on air with you. We can talk about all the other intended cultural heritage lists around the world. Do you want to hear them? I mean, reggae is up there.
- [57:54]
E
Yoga is up there.
- [57:55]
H
Keep it alone.
- [57:59]
A
See, now I've annoyed all the Swiss people because that's Austrian yodeling, isn't it?
- [58:03]
I
Well, blow me down. You did an amazing job there, Julia.
- [58:08]
A
I can't tell you how disappointed I am in you.
- [58:11]
I
I'm so sorry I can't do it. You did a really good job, though.
- [58:15]
C
Really.
- [58:15]
I
Thank you. That was amazing. Live on Air at 7:57am in London.
- [58:21]
A
Juliet Lindley in Switzerland, who's bottled out, who has not kept her promise. Thank you very much for joining us. And that is all for the Glob today. Thanks to our producers, Vincent McEvinney, Chris Chermack and Hassan Anderson, whom I will never forgive for making me do that. Also to Desiree Bandley in Zurich, who didn't obviously coach Juliet as she said she would, to our researcher, Joanna Moser and our studio manager, Christy o' Grady in London, with assistance from Laura Kramer in Zurich. After the headlines, there's more music on the way. The briefing is live at midday in London, and the globalists will return at the same time tomorrow. I'm Georgina Godwin. Thanks for listening. With ubs, you have a true global partner incorporating new technologies, innovative approaches and unexpected opportunities, leading you to insights that help answer the questions that matter. Delivered with passion, care and unmatched expertise. Because it's about rising with the dawn each day, knowing that we can do even better. That's what banking is to us. Not just work, but a craft. UBS advice is our craft.