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We're proud to support the craft of journalism. UBS brings you the latest news from around the world with the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Be part of an international network that brings together leading insights, research and technology across 24 time zones and 12 key financial hubs. With you at the centre of it all, UBS advice is our craft. You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on 29 September 2025 on Monocle Radio. The Globalist in association with U Hello, this is the Globalist broadcasting to you live from Midori House in London. I'm Georgina Godwin.
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On the show ahead, the United States has betrayed diplomacy, but it is the.
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E3 which have buried it.
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The Iranian Foreign Minister reacting to the snapback of Arabia Saudi sanctions on his country. We'll have more details on events affecting the Middle east at the United Nations General assembly in New York. The pro EU party of President Maya Sandu has won re election in Moldova in a high stakes poll marked by Russian meddling. The US is considering selling fighter jets to Turkey again. We'll find out why then.
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I'm Desiree Bandly and I'll be bringing you up to speed on Switzerland's weekend of votes. From a narrow win for a digital ID to new rules on noisy leaf blowers.
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We'll have a browse through the front pages, a roundup of fashion and retail news and we'll hear about the opening of the world's tallest bridge. And finally, why being an astronaut might mean you have a glamorous life, but not a very long one. That's all ahead here on the Globalist. Live from London. First, a look at what else is happening in the news. Russia pounded Ukraine with nearly 600 drones and missiles in a major overnight strike that killed at least four people and forced Poland to scramble jets and close its airspace. North Korea's foreign minister met China's top diplomat in Beijing yesterday, underscoring Kim Jong Un's push to cement support from China and Russia. And New York Mayor Eric Adams abandoned his re election campaign, clearing the way for Zoran Mamdani and Andre Kun Momo to battle for City hall. Do stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on those stories. On Friday at the UN General Assembly, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone, vowing to finish the job in Gaza and rejecting recognition of Palestinian statehood, prompting dozens of diplomats to walk out. On Saturday, UN sanctions on Iran's nuclear program snapped back into place. And today Netanyahu heads to Washington for a Meeting with Donald Trump. So what do these developments mean for Middle east security and diplomacy? Well, I'm joined now by Sanam Vakil, who's director of the Middle east and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, and by Julie Norman, Associate professor of Politics and International Relations at UCL & Co Author of an upcoming book, the Dream and the Nightmare. Welcome to you both. Julie, Netanyahu's speech was uncompromising. What were his main points and what did you make of his tone?
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Well, good morning. You know, Netanyahu is known for making these very visual, very kind of provocative speeches at the United nations and he didn't hold back on Friday. And what he was doing most, I would say is speaking largely to his domestic audience and really trying to double down on this commitment to finishing the war and even more so really slamming the countries that have taken decided to recognize a Palestinian state over this last week, calling them as buckling to pressure, giving in to anti Semitism, to a biased media and blaming different parties. And I would say his speech was also partly targeted towards Trump, towards the US too. He's going into this meeting with Trump on Monday and I think wanted to get some points very visibly on the record before going into that meeting.
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And what about the walkout of, I think it was over 70 diplomats? I mean, do symbolic gestures like that make a difference? Does that just feed into Netanyahu's hardened stance?
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Well, I do think this was a pretty notable display from diplomats in the United Nations. Many people, I think, saw the visuals afterwards of this largely empty chamber of him kind of giving this speech too, though he did have many supporters kind of up in the stanza above. But I do think these kinds of visuals matter. They matter right now for Israel as Israel is increasingly seeing itself perceived as a almost pariah state internationally. They have the genocide charges against them and this kind of visual really does hammer that home for many. Even if, even if Netanyahu is taking this very defiant stance.
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And Sanam, regarding the sanctions being reimposed on Iran, what do those cover and how significant are they in practice? Will they make a difference?
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Good morning. Well, the Iran sanctions have returned as of Saturday, the so called snapback sanctions and they return a number of UN Security Council resolutions on Iran that block the sales of oil military transfers. But for them to really be effective, and this will require the international community to abide by these sanctions, for these sanctions to be really effective, there needs to be a monitoring oversight body, excuse me, that would make sure compliance to those sanctions is moved forward. And it is unclear if that's going to take place, because countries like China and Russia voted against the return of snapback sanctions and tried to support Iran in this endeavor, but will likely skirt the sanctions itself to help Iran survive economically in this very difficult moment.
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And how did Tehran react? We heard a little bit from the foreign minister at the top of the show. And how might this affect the balance of power within the region?
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Well, Iran has certainly been severely set back over the past year and a half with strikes against its Axis of Resistance militia network. And then of course, the war over the summer, which targeted Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile facilities. If not striking at the heart of the political establishment itself, Iran immediately after that war took a very defensive position and refused to engage with the international community. And then in a last ditch effort, which is very typical for the Islamic Republic, they tried to stop snapback by, by arriving at an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, trying to delay and meet the terms and conditions that the European countries had placed on Iran to delay the snapback mechanism. But it was really effectively, to quote Emmanuel Macron, the French president, too little, too late. And the US Administration actually was supportive of the snapback mechanism going forward. And so here we are. Iran will live to fight another day. But it's unclear where diplomacy lies and what options are on the table at this point.
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Julie, you mentioned that today Netanyahu is heading to Washington to meet Donald Trump. I wonder what each wants out of the encounter and how much room there is to maneuver.
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Sure. So there's a new 21 point plan on the table for ending the war in Gaza and for envisioning what's long been called the day after scenario. So this is something that really, for the first time in a while, Trump personally is involved in. And I think many people see that as being a bit different this time around. Trump is very loudly endorsing this plan. It's one that he shared and discussed with Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the UNGA last week and got overall positive support there. And so this meeting today of really trying to sell this plan to Netanyahu is very crucial for what happens next in Gaza. And it does seem to be where the Trump administration is at now. Netanyahu has not made any kinds of commitments one way or another to this plan. It has some things certainly that he wants, release of the hostages, disarming of Hamas, but many things that Israel has been resistant to, including withdrawing from Gaza and also starting to see speak about again, a day after scenario that involves local actors as well as even nodding towards a pathway to a Palestinian state. So a lot of points in this, 21 points. Some that I think will be palatable, others not. And we're expecting think about a three hour meeting and a press conference. So there will be more to come on that I think today.
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And Sanam, given the devastation of Gaza, also this renewed isolation of Iran and the sharp divisions at the UN what are the red lines that you're watching this week?
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Well, I think the outcome or the press conference between Netanyahu and Trump will be an important one to watch. I think the aim of the 21 point plan that Julie referenced is certainly about ending the war, releasing hostages and preventing displacement and annexation of the West Bank. But there is no, let's say buyer yet in Israel for this plan. So it will be very important to see if there is more alignment between Washington and Netanyahu. And beyond that, of course, the statements, I will also be watching the statements from Iran this week and how they are going to be digesting the imposition of snapback and seeing if there's more fiery rhetoric, rhetoric because, you know, in terms of Iran's options, they also face renewed threat of another round with the Israelis and they'll be looking to try to stave off further attacks.
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Sanam, thank you. That's Sanam Vakil of Chatham House. And thank you also to Julie Norman of UCL. This is the Globalist. It's 911 in Chisinau and 711 here in London. Moldova has voted in a pivotal parliamentary election largely seen as a choice between the EU and Russia. President Maya Sandu's ruling pro EU Party of Action and Solidarity won just under 50% of the vote, enough for 54 of the 101 seats and a narrow majority. The campaign was marred by allegations of Russian interference, banned parties and dozens of arrests linked to alleged plots to incite unrest. And still unresolved is the future of Transnistria, the breakaway region hosting Russian troops on Moldovan soil. Well, I'm joined now by Alison Mutler who's a Bucharest based journalist and manager of the universal.net news site. Alison, thanks for coming on the show. I wonder how significant it is that the party of action and solidarity, this is the probe EU party has held onto power with a majority, however slim.
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It's very significant outcome for Moldova, for Romania and for the EU and for the wider west because Russia was trying very hard to get a foothold in Moldova, the country which is a former Soviet state, a very small Soviet state which lies between NATO and EU member Romania and Ukraine, where war is going on, is very strategic for Moscow. And had they won the elections, they would have been closer to Romania, a NATO, an EU member, and it would have been easier for them to launch attacks into Ukraine from Moldova. So all eyes were on Moldova, not domestically, but also from the EU and outside. So it was unsure whether maiusandu would win and if she did, what kind of victory she could obtain. And the fact that she's obtained a majority, albeit a slim one, is very reassuring for Moldovans who want to follow the EU path and eventually get their country into the European Union.
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Can you tell us a bit about voting patterns and turnout and also the diaspora electorate, because they played a large part?
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Yes. Moldova, which is one of Europe's poorest countries, has a lot of people, millions working abroad who do vote in elections. I think some of them would actually like to come back and they would like their country to develop, which their country is. I've just been looking at the national average salary, the net salary, because that's what people take home, and it's now €585amonth. Now, back in the early 2000s, I think that was about a hundred dollars. So economic conditions have definitely improved. But I do know that the country relies on remittances. That's money sent in from Moldovans who work abroad. And I know a lot of the NGOs, non governmental organization rely on grants. So I'm not sure how well the economy itself is doing, but it's definitely developing. And people who voted with Maya Sandu are helping that sort of linking itself to the EU train and carrying out reforms which are necessary will help the country develop. So I think that's why Maya Sandu's party did better than, let's just say people feared. They were more worried that the patriotic block, the pro Russian groups who sought to disrupt this election both by disinformation and these aren't just allegations. These are serious reports from the government, from, you know, serious news organizations that have done investigative reports. So Russia has been using disinformation as a weapon in Moldova, as it has also in Romania. But the Moldovans are more aware of disinformation than say, the Romanians are and other, other Europeans are. So that, that that does help. And the Russians, the pro Russian, also tapped into dissatisfaction about the economy. Look, we should be making more money. We have inflation at 7%, which is all true. So I think their platform was to create dissatisfaction and say that if we join the European Union, we will no longer be a sovereign country.
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And how have the opposition groups responded to the outcome of the election? I mean, do you think there may be some kind of instability in the days ahead?
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My view is, and this is having watched the Romanian presidential elections in May, which we, a pro European candidate, won quite significantly, as in this case, there will be protests by the pro Russian camp. Igor Dodon, who leads that, who's the co founder of the, of the Patriotic Bloc and a former president. And is Russia friendly? He's already announced protests, but the question is, are they just there just to sort of tick a box? Yes, we've protested. Will there be a lot of people on the streets? My personal view is I think he's just sort of doing it to go through the motions. I don't think there's going to be unrest because the result was so clear. But I also think he feels that he has to do these protests not to lose face. I think the rhetoric will continue that they stole the elections and that kind of thing. And Maya Sando is a puppet of the eu, but that's something to be expected. And I think Moldova, as undeveloped as is in some ways compared to other EU countries, is very developed in understanding disinformation, particularly Russian disinformation, which is to its advantage.
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How might Russia seek to use Transnistria in response to a pro EU parliament?
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That's a very interesting question because Transnistria was kind of under the days of the Soviet Union empire, sort of stuck onto the back of Moldova, and it has very few actual Moldovas in it. And they also have peacekeepers Russian troops there. By the same token, there are people in Transnistria, which is a very underdeveloped area and it's an area that's relied on Russian energy. But the EU has been working to change that. Some of them definitely would like to see more development in their country and realize whether they like the EU or not, or whether they've been listening to sort of scared stories about the eu, they do realize that their country will develop if they develop, if they move closer to the eu. So definitely there is a pocket of, you know, they are, a lot of them are Russian, they have Russian citizenships, but they also think of their own personal life, not just of ideological ideas. But Russia had the patriotic, the pro Russia camp done better, then they could have perhaps staged more troops there. They could have used it into a launching base. It's very close to Odessa, which is an area which is being fought over. So that would have destabilized Moldova and therefore the eastern flank of NATO. So the fact that Maya Sandoz party has done so well definitely lessens that possibility. Plus, as I said before, Moldova is keenly aware of disinformation tactics and, and they're very good at protecting their cyberspace because as the electoral, electoral authorities said, the, they have been under attack from cyber, they've been under cyber attack in the, in recent days. But Moldovans are used to it. They're quite hardy in that point from that point of view.
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Alison, thank you very much indeed. That's Alison Mutla. Now still to come on the program.
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5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
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We'll hear how orbiting Earth fast forwards the body clock. This is the globalist. Each of us has a craft, a calling that inspires us. Whether it's how a coffee is brewed, a chair is built or how money is looked after, there's a love for the work, a care that compels you forward. For us at ubs, it's about designing a unique outcome for you because whatever your craft may be, ours is built around helping you succeed. UBS banking is our craft. Just coming up to twenty past seven here in London. And let's continue now with today's newspapers. Joining me is Yasmin Abdel Majeed. She is Sudanese Australian broadcaster and author. Good morning to you, Yasmin.
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Morning, Georgina.
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Now, both you and I are immigrants and it hasn't been easy for either of us, but it's a whole lot worse for many, many people in the world as we're seeing this rise of anti migration sentiment. And now it seems that it's happening in Japan too. Tell us about this story in the Guardian.
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That's right, Georgina. And it was interesting to read about this because Japan isn't a country I have often thought about with respect to migration. You know, it generally has a sort of low overall migration. Only about 3% of the population, just under 3% of the population is quote unquote foreign. But there's this piece in the Guardian talking about Kurdish migrants facing hostility as Japan is wrestling with demographic, this demographic crisis. And they interview someone who they've named Ali, who talked about his child experiencing verbal abuse in a playground. And also actually an older man striking his younger child who's in primary school and sort of saying, go back to your country. And again, this is kind of rhetoric. We might hear stories like this perhaps in the uk, perhaps in Western Europe, even in the United States. But to hear about this in Japan, I think, and not only just around Kurdish immigrants who have, you know, his family, Ali's family in the story has been around for. Has been in Japan for over a decade. But also we're starting to see that sentiment creep up again around, you know, other types of East Asian immigrants, you know, Koreans and so on. There's actually I was reflecting on a film that I recently saw called Happy End, which is sort of doing the, the film circuit at the moment. And one of the characters is Korean, whose family has been there for generations, who's been in Japan for generations but still is sort of stopped by the authorities and you know, asked for his special ID and so on. And so we're starting to see this sort of, this rise in anti immigration sentiment that's probably been bubbling in like reemerging over the last decade or so, starting to spread all over the world.
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And of course, one of the reasons why this is important in Japan is that this month there is an election of a new president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the ldp. And whoever wins that is almost certain to become Japan's next Prime minister. And the LDP has taken a tougher line on immigration. They've promised in fact, zero illegal immigration as well as capping new arrivals. So I mean, this is politically very consequential.
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Exactly. And I mean, it's a challenge for a place like Japan because as we noted at the top, you know, Japan doesn't have a huge, you know, a rising sort of birth rate. It's it this sort of, this concept of like zero illegal immigration as well as trying to be able, like most of the, most of the immigrants that are coming in at the moment are filling a need, you know, they are working in the economy and so on. So how countries and how prime ministers, you know, if for example, the LDP does win, how they'll actually be able to balance the sort of the needs of the economy and the needs of the society functioning while also sort of holding this line will be interesting. But again, this is a challenge that we're I think seeing across, across the world at the moment.
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Now the Financial Times has coined a new word. It is job pocalypse. Tell us what that means and what it's talking about.
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Yeah, something that just rolls off the tongue there. Another, another sort of another challenging time, I think. So it looks like companies around the world and this is specifically kind of looking at in the UK and the US not hiring graduates. And I again, I was reflecting on the fact that I was at a recent event and a whole bunch of young people sor. Talking about how difficult it was to Get a job. And I found myself being that millennial sort of saying, well, you know, you maybe just need to work a little harder or whatever. But actually the statistics show that it's more and more difficult for graduates because most companies, I mean, there was a 35% drop in hiring by employers, which is, which is a significant drop. And the overall jobs market is cooling. And so for the majority of companies, they're not looking at necessarily hiring entry level. This sort of, maybe if they are hiring the house, hiring mid level and further up. And there is this question, is this the sort of quote unquote impact of AI and so on? It looks like, you know, and this, this FT report kind of spoke to a number of CEOs and so on. It looks like, yes, companies are curious about the impact of AI, but it's not necessarily the case that they are certain they won't need graduates anymore, they won't need entry level workers. But there's this moment of experimentation and so there's this pause as companies are trying to, to figure out will we need young people who can kind of do these sort of entry level jobs. The impact of course though, is you need people to have entry level jobs in order for them to be able to have middle level jobs and to kind of progress. And how on earth are young people meant to sort of learn skills? What I thought was interesting is the FT said that some companies and some parents even were sort of thinking about going back to the old model where families would pay like the very, very old model where families would pay a master to apprentice their child, you know, in order to go into some particular industry and asking will it be the case that at some point in the future a family will need to pay a fee for a company to take on their child or to take on the graduate in order for them to sort of become part of that industry, which, you know, goes back to that question of inequality and so on. But it's, it's definitely interesting times to be a. And challenging times to be a young person.
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I mean, I wonder if that model doesn't exist already in that the better connected parents do already do that, that no money may change hands, but there is certainly social capital in leveraging your contacts to give your child a child.
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Oh, 100%. I mean, if you kind of think about all of the stories of, you know, there was a, there was a story that came out a couple of years ago now of, you know, wealthy parents who had almost bribed their way into universities for, you know, the Ivy leagues And so on. And even though, you know, in the United Kingdom, for example, people, as you say, aren't necessarily. There isn't a financial transaction, there is a sense of, well, you know, the friend that I went to university with, now they might be in this senior position in the company, Will you take my kid on? Can you do me this favor? Blah, blah, blah. You know, we might not be able to call it straight out nepotism, but it is certainly that social capital which just again, makes it more and more difficult if you are not part of a set. And I mean, the challenge again, and linking back to that conversation we have about immigration earlier, is that when we're starting to see one of the things that we understand, understand that immigration and the fear around immigration increases when there is rising inequality in a society. Right. Because you. Because people sort of are feeling unstable, uncertain, and they're kind of often looking for a reason. And if you've got leaders who are willing to exploit that, pointing the finger at immigrants is an easy quote unquote way to do that. And so if we're seeing this sort of rise in rhetoric around anti immigration, it makes sense. You can sort of see the logic between that and also the challenges in the job sector for young people and for people across the industries.
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Of course, our next story sort of goes back to immigration too, because it's about climate. And we are going to see more and more people fleeing their birth countries as conditions get more and more difficult in drier or indeed wetter areas of the world. But one company is moving to try and change that, and that's Mercedes. And they are using aluminium made with renewable power and from recycling to make their cars.
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Yeah. And I wanted to share a story that was sort of a little bit lighter or perhaps positive because, you know, you often hear of the challenges car companies have with, you know, the sort of legacy car companies have with meeting kind of current demands. But Mercedes has come the EVs environment footprint, like, significantly, with 40, kind of 40% with low carbon aluminium. And aluminium is a particularly, you know, tricky metal to process. And so it was quite impressive that they are able to do this. And this is quite a significant cut. And so they've got this new line of electric vehicles and the trains are sort of part of a wider effort to decarbonize operations sort of more more broadly. And it's an example of how some of these sort of premium consumer products are actually willing perhaps to pay extra for raw materials in return for that sort of environmentally friendly position. And so again, when we're kind of thinking about the sort of the position that it might be the case that having an environmentally friendly or a sustainable vehicle is part of what makes something a luxury product in the future. And I think that's what Mercedes is trying to position. Yes, it might be expensive because we're trying to do it in a way that is renewable and the energy might be more expensive or the product, the sort of raw material itself might be more expensive to process. However, that kind of becomes part and parcel of the luxury product. In the same way that an artisanal or handmade product might be a little bit more expensive, that becomes part of the offering.
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Now, Yasmeen, I hope that you're going to tell me that this next story which you have chosen has an important geopolitical angle or at least a good, feel good factor, because otherwise I'm afraid I'm going to judge you as just being a rather sad golf fan.
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So I don't actually know anything about golf whatsoever. I'm sure I've introduced, I've picked this story. You are correct. I was the one who chose it. And I thought to myself, monocle listeners probably know quite a lot more about this than I do. But Europe held off, you know, and the headline at Reuters was Europe Holds a Furious US Charge to Win the Ryder Cup. And, and so I've not been a golf follower, but I was really curious as I was looking across the papers this morning. The Ryder cup was everywhere. And the fact that the way that it was reported was almost like it was, you know, a football final. It was, you know, it was a tight, thrilling finale on Sunday. This, that and the other. And it's the golf's biggest team prize. But I had never thought of golf as a sort of, as something that had either a team or a nail biting. A nail biting victory possible. But there we go. So it seems that Europe was kind of doing quite well. Everyone assumed that the Europeans were going to win and then, you know, and Trump was on hand as well and it was all kind of kicking off. But then, you know, the US Came up almost being able to, you know, almost take in the prize. But then right at the end, Europe hit them at the post. I mean, Europe's Luke Donald, who's the captain, said it, it's the, it was the most stressful 12 hours of my life. Life, which once again, I didn't realize that. You know, maybe it is my ignorance that, but I, but I was, I, I enjoyed reading about golf as if it was, you know, an international sort of like football finale or something similar. And, but also, you know, it wasn't all just sort of fun and games on the, on the green, as it were. There was, it was interesting because there were also some sort of hostilities or reports of U S fans being quite hostile to the Europeans. You know, there were, from my understanding, sort of racially charged epithets and things sort of called. So it wasn't all kind of straightforward. And there were reports of even the MC talking about the abuse that he received during the cup. So interesting times.
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Yeah, we just can't even be civil to each other on the golf course. A good walk ruined, as somebody said. I can't remember who. Yasmin, thank you very much indeed. That's our Gulf correspondent, Yasmin Abdel Magid. She is a Sudanese, Australian broadcaster and author. This is the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Now here's what else we're keeping an eye on today. Russia launched one of its most sustained air assaults of the war on Sunday, firing nearly 600 drones and dozens of missiles at Kyiv and other regions, killing at least four and injuring scores. Poland briefly closed airspace and scrambled jets as Ukraine reported shooting down most of the incoming weapons. North Korea's foreign minister met China's top diplomat in Beijing on Sunday, the second visit in a month as Kim Jong Un seeks stronger backing from Beijing and Moscow. Pyongyang carried a message from Kim affirming that ties with China remain unchanging, while China pledged closer coordination in global and regional affairs. And embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams ended his re election bid yesterday, bowing out just weeks before Election Day amid a federal bribery indictment and downward spiralling approval ratings. His exit leaves the race to succeed him effectively between Democratic frontrunner Zoran Mamdani and former Governor Andrew Cuomo. This is THE Globalist. Stay tuned now for a look behind the headlines. Here's Monocle's contributing editor Andrew Muller on why the U.S. might start selling fighter jets to Turkey again.
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Last week's meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. president Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. was not without its awkward moments, notably when Trump breezily joshed that his guest knows about rigged elections better than anybody. Nevertheless, Erdogan may get what he came for. Trump also very strongly hinted that the US might agree, after all, to sell Turkey the F35 fighter jets for which Turkey signed up back in 2007, only to be kicked off the waiting list in 2019. During Trump's first term. After buying Russian S400 surface to air missiles. An eccentric purchase, many felt for a member of NATO. The deal on offer to Turkey appears to be that they'll get the F35s when they stop buying Russian oil. It may not be quite that simple. An act of US Congress specifically prohibits Turkey from acquiring F35s while they still operate S400s. But if it can be done, it looks like one of trouble. Trump's brighter notions. Russia gets less revenue. NATO's second largest Air Force gets better kit. And Europe, currently wringing its hands over Russian drone incursions is perhaps reminded of a salutary example. Just less than 10 years ago, a Russian Sukhoi Su24 bomber operating over Syria drifted into Turkish airspace for 17 seconds. A Turkish F16, which had been tracking its path, shot it down. For Monocle Radio, I'm Andrew Muller.
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Thanks, Andrew. 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's 8:35 in Zurich, 7:35 here in London. Swiss voters have had their say in a string of referenda this weekend. Nationally, a slim majority backed a State issued electronic ID, the second attempt after a private sector version was rejected in 2021. The vote was tighter than expected, with opponents warning of surveillance risks on a proposed tax on second homes. Opinion split between French and German speaking regions. Local ballots added to the mix. Zurich banned most leaf blowers, Turgau lifted a dancing ban on religious holidays and Basel voted to underline its ties to the European Union. Well, I'm joined now by Monocle Radio's Desiree Bandly in our Zurich studio, Desi. Lovely to have you back on the airwaves. Why did the government's EID proposal only just pass this time?
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Good morning, Georgina. It was actually much closer than anticipated because, as you said, we voted about a similar proposal in 2021, which was mostly turned down because there it said that private companies will be responsible setting up this electronic id. This time the state said, we're going to propose and we're going to take care of all of that. It has nothing to do with the private sector. And even though they also integrated the public much more before the vote, it came down to only 50. 50% and 50.4%. There we go. Of the country who was for this, which in the end makes only about 21,000 votes.
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But it's going to go ahead nevertheless.
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It's going to go ahead nevertheless. But obviously, if you think about that, the only party against it was the right Wing party and then you had some groups like you said, like civil liberty and data protection groups. So for them, even though it will go along, it's a success.
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Now Desi, tell me about how much language and the divide between different language speakers influenced the vote on property tax on second homes.
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D
It did, amazingly. So if you look at the map of Switzerland where you can see red is against and blue is for this tax, you can see that the only red ones is the Romandi. So the French speaking part of Switzerland, which shows that there is a clear divide there, even though obviously because they're a minority also cantons, it means, means usually this called rigrabben. So the R divide, if it's only the French speaking countries, cantons, they won't succeed in the end. But still it's just, it's a little. It shows that it depends a lot on where you are because this tax basically. So the main point of this tax is that in Switzerland if you have a house or a flat and you own it and you live in it, you pay a tax on a rental income which you don't really have. So it's a hypothetical tax. And in the French speaking cantons there's just less people owning houses and flats, meaning for them it's more of a disadvantage than advantage. Whereas when you go to cantons in the German speaking part and also cantons in the mountains, they're mostly for abandoning this tax.
- [39:13]
A
And why do local votes on things like leaf blowers and dancing bands matter in Switzerland?
- [39:20]
D
I think this is most. This is just what for us politics is to make it very simple. So it goes from the very big, as you said, we have an electronic ID which will concern all the millions of people living in Switzerland. And then we go down to the very small bit, as in, do we in the city of Zurich want to ban leaf blowers? Which is a very tiny thing. But then if you go into a microcosmos, it does actually create quite a lot of fossils. So this was a vote that we also talked about here before that made quite a few headlines because it's very specific. So basically what you can do now. So we. It was discussed in the city of Zurich only and interestingly, every single district is for this ban. So even around here, sadly we now not going to be allowed to have a leaf blower. And it means we can only use leaf blowers from October to November and only electrical ones.
- [40:15]
A
Desi, why? Sadly they're horrible things, they make the most terrible noise and they're bad for the environment.
- [40:20]
D
Well, they are, but then obviously use.
- [40:23]
A
A broom or a rake.
- [40:25]
D
No, but you know what? The city will do studies, because they mentioned, and I think rightly so, they said this will cost us a lot more because, I mean, we talk about here in front of D90, we have a very. It's a small piece of land to us, I think will survive. But if you have major states, it does limit you. And I think it's not only the limitation of only using electrical ones, which. All right, I get. But then it's this very specific time, so you can only start in October and whatever falls down in September and whatever falls down in the new year. So January, February, you have to leave on the ground or do it manually.
- [41:04]
A
Jesse, what do these ballots tell us about the national mood?
- [41:09]
D
I think, first of all, I've read this quite a few. It tells us we're quite in a good place. If this is what we have to vote about and if this is what concerns us, and it really did concern us, we're in a good place. But then it's also interesting because it does create a lot of friction, but it also shows that it works. So for us, the democracy works. And even though I say this now, we had like, like less than 50% of the public voted on all these things, but this is considered high for us, which is also another sign of people are content where they are, so they don't really feel the need to do, go and vote. And if they do, they usually accept the outcome. However, it is desi.
- [41:51]
A
Lovely to speak to you. That's Desiree Bandley in Zurich and you're listening to the Globalist. Yesterday, the world's tallest bridge, nine times as high as San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, opened to traffic over the Huajing Grand Canyon in China's Guizhou Province. Built in just three years at a cost of $280 million, it cuts the journey time across the gorge from two hours to just a few minutes. Well, to tell us more, I'm joined now by Tim Abrams, who's contributing editor to the Architectural. Tim, lovely to speak to you again. This bridge spans 1,420 metres. What are the engineering breakthroughs here?
- [42:45]
C
Well, one of the amazing things about this bridge, the Huangjang Canyon bridge, is not only is it the tallest bridge in the world, it now becomes of the 100 tallest bridges in the whole world, 50 of them are now in the Guizhou province in which it stands. It is the first amongst its equals. There's an incredible period of bridge building across this remote Southwestern area of China in which this is perhaps the acme the construction of it. If one tries to imagine it it's as if they've built the George Washington Bridge across one of the narrowest parts of the Grand Canyon. It's a bridge which is a hybrid bridge. It's a suspension bridge. So picture the golden. The flowing cables of the glowing the Golden Gate Bridge but also it's got a steel truss substructure to it. So picture say the Champlain Bridge which is in Montreal or the fourth rail bridge. So it's because of the extreme conditions, the extreme height and the mountainous area is the extreme temperature differentials that you get there. It's belt and braces. If that gives a slightly ugly image of what it is, it's actually been done beautifully. The steel truss is a very slender, elegant thing whilst the towers from which the suspension cables hang are that are incredibly tall. The tallest of any suspension bridge in the world. So it's this incredible piece of engineering across what is also I mean to give nature its credit, an incredibly beautiful landscape.
- [44:32]
A
Tim, I wonder how safe it is and if there are risks that the pace of building is outstripped by long term planning.
- [44:43]
C
The this is you're talking some of the most expert bridge building. The issue is that's very interesting is that you've got an engineering group and a bureaucracy who are absolutely brilliant at bridge building and the risks probably aren't technological. That's a very safe bridge that we're looking at despite the. Despite the area that we're talking about. We've got got the idea of absolute expertise here. But the problem is that the economic issues behind it, the problem with what we're seeing is that the Chinese have looked at an economic problem, the remoteness of this region and decided that what the best way to improve the economics of it is to connect it as much as possible. You've got now Guizhou now has 9,000 km worth of expressway roads. Now Guizhou is about twice the size of Scotland but it's got three times the amount of a roads or better. It's been covered with infrastructure and that has to be funded by something and that funding comes from local government. So China has developed this system of local government financial vehicles which are effectively the bank set up solely for the purpose of lending to infrastructure projects. And so what you have now is a system where the debt of China's public debt which has been disseminated to local government is even bigger imagine this than Britain's. So you have a situation where a Bureaucracy is trying to solve a problem by, by building, by building loads of things and not necessarily through a coordinated strategy involving, involving other, other things.
- [46:29]
A
Tim, thank you very much indeed. That was Tim Abrams, contributing editor to the Architectural Record. And this is the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Well, it's time now for a roundup of news from the world of fashion and retail. And I'm joined by Rebecca Tay, a retail expert and brand consultant. Rebecca, do you have an aura?
- [46:57]
G
Right, I don't, Georgina.
- [47:00]
A
Well, me neither, but it seems like almost everybody else has because it's doing incredibly well. It's doubled its valuation in the last year. Tell us more.
- [47:08]
D
Exactly.
- [47:09]
G
It's quite astonishing. But you're right, I think a lot of my friends now have one as well. So they have just announced that they are about to become an 11 billion dollar company. So they're about to complete a round of funding and they're basically going to be raising about $900 million in a new series of financing. And yes, as you said, they've sold basically double the number of rings. They've sold 3 million rings over the past year alone.
- [47:33]
A
That's extraordinary. I want to move you on to a story that I'm not sure I really understand. Why is it the. Why is Harry Styles shorts making headlines?
- [47:44]
G
It's quite interesting because he actually ran in the Berlin marathon last weekend. So not the one, not, not yesterday, but the weekend before that. And he's become a bit of a runner and people have been kind of watching his performance and he broke the three hour mark, which is, you know, for amateur runners, not professionals. It's considered a very, very strong performance. And I think it's just interesting because he's been wearing Tracksmith, which is a brand that doesn't spend a lot of money on marketing, hasn't actually courted him at all. They have apparently tried to reach out to him on Instagram, so the CEO has tried to message him, but he's just been wearing the shorts like a regular customer going to the shop, you know, shopping, like a normal person. But I think what was interesting in Berlin is that he ran the whole race under a pseudonym. So I think his name was Stead Sarandos. And he wore a disguise, obviously because he didn't want to be recognized, but he was wearing the same shorts again.
- [48:38]
A
What did the disguise look like? How do you disguise yourself when you're running?
- [48:43]
G
Well, you have a name, I suppose, like Stead, although you would think that he would choose a more nondescript name like John or James. Or Paul or something like that. But he was also wearing a mustache. So kind of one of those, it looked like one of those stick on mustaches, but it must have been stuck on very well because, you know, to last for three hours. He also wore a headband, he wore sunglasses for a large part of the race. But I think most people would say, you know, a lot of people know him for his hair, but I guess the headband kept his hair back. But also his tattoos, which are very recognizable as well. So those obviously gave him away.
- [49:17]
A
Right, right. Finally, let's have a look at shoes. Christian Louboutin shoes.
- [49:24]
G
Yes, Louboutin has been quite in the, in the news quite a lot recently actually. So they had a little bit of a win. So they actually just were determined in a frame French court to be able to uphold their trademark. So the court in France basically find a counterfeit seller, about €200,000. So not a small amount. But the actually interesting thing is that they were only selling 12 pairs of shoes. So they were, they were caught.
- [49:47]
B
Sorry.
- [49:48]
G
With 12 pairs of shoes and 600 bags. So not a huge amount of shoes. Obviously that's, you know, those could go to one potential customer alone. But it's quite a, it's quite a landmark case again because, because it's basically saying that the red sole is defendable for the French brand.
- [50:05]
A
I have to ask you, did you ever as a teenager paint the soles of your shoes with red nail varnish?
- [50:10]
G
No. You know what? I did always read about this in magazines, but I never actually did it. I think probably I felt like it was a bit too far or maybe I tried it or it would take too much nail varnish or something like that. No, I never actually did.
- [50:23]
A
And the brand is also in the news because of a new. A new person at the top of the men's category.
- [50:29]
G
Yes, exactly. So this is quite interesting. It was quite controversial. So Jaden Smith, who most people know as the. He is an actor and a musician and he's kind of a multidisciplinary creative. But I would say most people know him as the son of Will Smith the actor and Jada Pinkett. But he was basically announced as the first men creative director. So, you know, a quite a big role for somebody who has not really been involved in fashion. He's attended fashion shows here and there and he's, you know, he's been seen on the front row and people have kind of taken note of what he's wearing, but definitely not worked in the fashion industry. And he's going to be producing or he's going to be responsible for creating four collections a year, the first of which will come out in January. So quite a lot of controversy, quite a lot of criticism around this being obviously peak Nepo baby, as they say. And a lot of attention, I think, will be paid to what he comes out with when he presents that first collection.
- [51:30]
A
Well, good luck to Jaden Smith. Rebecca Tay, thank you very much indeed. Rebecca is a retail expert and a brand consultant. And you're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio. I can eq, 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. Ubiquitous banking is our craft. Last week we reported that Artemis 2, the first crewed missile around the moon in more than 50 years, is set for 2026. But living in space takes a heavy toll on the human body. A new study confirms signs of accelerated aging in astronauts and and time in microgravity leads to bone loss, muscle wastage, eyesight problems and radiation risks, too. Well, joining me now in the studio is Tira Schubart, who's a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and an ambassador for the Science Museum. Tira, it's always lovely to have you here in the studio with me. Thank you for coming in. Tell us more about what this new study says about these risks of being in space.
- [53:01]
H
Well, this study that was published last week, it's something that was run by the University of California, and it took place over 17 missions on the International Space Station. Now, each mission is six to 12 months. And it's worth remembering the International Space Station has been orbiting in low Earth orbit above our planet since the year 1998. So that means that humans have been up there for a quarter of a century, more than a quarter of a century, and they've looked at what the effects of space flight are on chromosomes, and the answer is that it increases aging and speeding up. Aging on your chromosomes has other effects. So unlike science fiction movies where somebody goes into deep space and comes back back much younger, or they haven't aged and their family has. Actually, the reverse is rather true.
- [54:05]
A
This is not the first time that risks to health due to space travel have been examined. I wonder if you could remind us of the NASA Twins study and what stood out most to you from that research?
- [54:16]
H
Yes, well, Mark and Scott Kelly were both our twins and they were both astronauts. And so when they each spent time separately on the International Space Station and on other launches, and Mark Kelly volunteered to go into space for 12 months and his brother agreed to be monitored back on Earth, this is something they did voluntarily.
- [54:43]
A
Identical twins.
- [54:44]
H
Identical twins. And what happened was what happens in spaceflight, there's sort of four major problems. Their bone density starts diminishing at up to 1% a month. And that's despite the fact that you're doing two hours of exercise on the International Space Station. They have those using pulleys. They try to create ways of lifting weights. And then bone density diminishes, muscles atrophy, and then the fluids that stay in the lower half of our body on this planet float around and cause pressure in your head, which means it damages your eyesight. So one twin was on the space station, the other twin was up in space, and he had a terrible time when he came back. And there was various effects then.
- [55:37]
A
So, I mean, how serious is this for these various conditions for long term health?
- [55:42]
H
Well, if bone density, even with exercise, diminishes 1% a month and a mission to Mars, a return mission to Mars takes 30 months, well, 30 times one. That's about one third of your bone density that may vanish over a voyage to Mars. So you may not be in very good shape when you get back.
- [56:02]
A
Now, you have interviewed many astronauts. What's the biggest shock then experience when they return to Earth? What have they told you about that?
- [56:10]
H
Well, I was very lucky to meet Samantha Cristoforetti, who's somebody I particularly admire. She was the first Italian woman in space and in fact did a six month mission on the International Space Station and then 10 years later went back as commander. And she also had the distinction of getting the first coffee machine up there in space. Being Italian, she was, was rather passionate about her coffee. And despite being in incredibly good shape when she went up there and working hard when she came back, she said that even lifting a cappuccino or an espresso cup felt like lifting weights. And she also described the sensation of just coming back and being able to lie on a mattress instead of being strapped down or floating, sleeping in zero, and how the pressure felt so intense on her skin of just having the weight of being flat on a mattress.
- [57:10]
A
What stories have you heard about the difficulties of readjusting once you get back?
- [57:15]
H
Well, readjusting, first of all, some astronauts find themselves, instead of handing something to a person, pushing it through space as you would in zero gravity, and which doesn't really work, especially if it's something heavy. And also the understanding that they had to be very careful about things like jogging. A number of the American astronauts would come back and they wanted to get back into their jogging routine, but feeling much heavier and also having a lot of swelling and skin rashes. This is what the Kelly. This is what the Kelly astronaut twins were monitoring. And it was very, very difficult adjusting back to gravity. But what's interesting is that we were designed for this planet and that when you're living in zero gravity, you lose all those habits and then you have to relearn them as well as the heaviness of the pressure.
- [58:17]
A
And finally, Tira, what do astronauts say about the glamour, the of. Of space versus the reality?
- [58:24]
H
Well, the glamour of space is something we know. They talk about looking down on the planet Earth. And I think there's many of us that would love to share that experience and all the fantastic tech. But the reality of it is that when they're up there, they're doing work 12 hours a day. They're doing every minute of. Literally every minute of their day is scheduled. And then you have the problem of having to deal with the space toilet.
- [58:55]
A
Do you know? I think we'll leave it there. Tira, thank you very much indeed. That's Tira Schubert, fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and an ambassador for the Science Museum. And that's all for today's show. Thanks to our producers, Laura Kramer, Tom Webb and Chris Chermack, our researcher, Daniella Brausmith, and our studio manager, Mariella Bevan. After the headlines, there's more music on the way and the briefing is live at midday. In London, the Globalist will return at the same time tomorrow. I'm Georgina Godwin. Thank you for listening.