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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 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 16th March 2026 on Monocle Radio. The Globalist in association with up. Hello, this is the Globalist broadcasting to you live from Midori House in London. I'm Georgina Godwin. On the show ahead, the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran escalates as Trump threatens NATO. We'll cross to Dubai to look at the latest developments. Then. Socialist candidate Emmanuel Gregoire celebrates his win in the first round of the French municipal elections on Sunday. We'll be in Paris to analyze early results and ask what they might mean for the presidential vote. We'll see how the papers are digesting various world events. And then we'll join our analyst in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss the Vietnamese legislative illness elections. We'll bring you an interview recorded at Mipin, the annual international property event in Cannes with the CEO of Europe and Africa at TK Elevator. And a roundup of climate news from Edmonton. And finally,
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and the Oscar goes to Jessie Buckley.
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Karen Krasanovich had a late night, but she'll be here to tell us all about the Oscars. That's ahead here on the Globalist live from London. First, a look at what else is happening in the news. Myanmar's military has convened a new parliament for the first time since the coup five years ago in a move critics say tightens the general's grip on power rather than restoring democracy. Donald Trump says the United States could soon reach a deal with Cuba or take further action as both sides quietly reopen talks amid the island's deep economic crisis. And Kazakhstan voters have approved a new constitution in a referendum that critics say could allow President Qasem Yomat Tokayev to extend his hold on power beyond the end of his current term. Do stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on those stories. Now it's day 17 of the conflict in the Middle East. Over the weekend, there have been fresh strikes on Iran's vital Khag island, the hub that handles the vast majority of the country's oil exports. Tehran has responded with miss and drone attacks across the region, including on Dubai Airport and by threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where several commercial vessels have already been struck and tanker traffic is falling sharply. Washington is now urging allies to help secure the strait. As fears grow, the conflict could widen across the Gulf. Well, I'm joined now by Monocle's Gulf correspondent, Inzamin Rashid. He is in Dubai. Insi, if you could start with this strike on Dubai Airport. Tell us more about
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morning, Georgina. Yeah. Dubai Airport was attacked early hours of this morning yet again, for the fourth time since this conflict started. There was a fuel tanker on the fuel field at the airport which was struck by an Iranian drone. And it looks as if that this wasn't one of those cases where the drone had been intercepted and then debris had fallen down. This looks as if the drone in its full force had hit this oil tanker, the fuel tanker. On the fuel field at the airport, there's been huge amounts of fire, smoke, suspension of flights. As a result, many flights redirected to Dubai South Airport. And Iran said that this was actually in retaliation to claims that an airport inside Iran was bombed by the US using the UAE as a launch pad. Now, there's no such evidence of that yet, and there's no confirmation of that claim, but Iran will see this attack as a success this morning because they've created not only physical damage once again to the world's busiest airports, but they've also created disruption, Georgina, and panic as well. That since has been followed by more missiles and drones coming into the UAE from Iran towards Abu Dhabi, where one person has died this morning. And then the US Embassy in Baghdad and the Balad Air Base was attacked overnight by drones, causing injuries there. Saudi Arabia intercepting another barrage of drones in the country's east overnight, around 60 of them, and so too in the Qatari capital, Doha. So, Georgina, Iran's military aggression towards the Gulf very much continues as it has been going on for all 17 days of this conflict, ever since the US and Israel carried out those joint strikes 17 days ago. But this particularly towards the UAE, which has fielded most of the Iranian aggression. More than 2,000 missiles and drones coming into the UAE, it's been disproportionately targeted. And Iran's claim is that the UAE has given permission to the US to fire missiles from its bases.
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A
So Trump has been threatening more strikes on Iran's Khag Island. He's also been asking allies to send warships to secure the strait. Firstly, how tense is the situation and how disrupted is the shipping?
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C
Look, the situation is incredibly tense and I think it Gets more tense day by day, because not only is that the pressure of oil markets and prices hiking and the world feeling the economic impact of what's going on at the Strait of Hormuz, but because also Trump comes out with threats that we can target Khaji island once again. Within five minutes, he suggested that the oil facility there, he decided not to target it, but he very much could go back and do that. Let's talk a bit about the straight up Hormuz, because there are still around 1,000 ships sat waiting, Georgina, 200 of them, 200 fuel tankers that can't pass through the Strait of Hormuz because they fear of being attacked. Because we've seen the Iranian military target vessels in those now very perilous and dangerous waters, usually 200 million barrels a day of oil pass through that strait. And that simply isn't what's happening. And then also nearby, you've got oil facilities as well, like in Fujairah that was targeted just the other day near to the strait. Huge fires there, two massive oil tankers targeted. And that's strategically important, Georgina, because whilst the strait has been shut, that area has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting for oil getting out of the UAE because it bypasses the threats in the water. But on Trump's demands, you know, he's, he's asked seven countries to help open up the Strait of Hormuz and he's increasing his rhetoric over allies, kind of helping America to reopen this waterway. He said on Truth Social a few days ago that he hoped allies would, would help. But then on Air Force One overnight, his language was a lot tougher. He said, I really am demanding these countries to come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory. He said it's the place from which they get their energy and they should help protect it. He called the mission a very small endeavor because Iran's missile and drone capability had been decimated on that point as well. Because specifically about NATO, he warned NATO that if there's no response or if it's a negative response from his call to help, he says, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO. He's also told the Financial Times overnight that China should play a role as nearly all of its oil normally goes through the Strait of Hormuz. But whilst we're waiting a response from China, I think it's very unlikely that they're going to send any warships or intervene for a number of reasons. The first is that President Xi Jinping does not have a history of capitulating to Trump's threats. We saw that with the tariff dispute last year. The second is that since the beginning of this war, China has been a major critic of the US And Israel's actions over the last couple of weeks. And lastly, when it comes to Chinese shipments transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, Chinese ships are still being allowed to pass because around 80 to 90% of Iran's oil is exported to China. And so that really reduces the motivation for China to send any warships to the Strait. Australia and Japan have also come out and said that they won't do the same either. So look, the impact is being felt globally because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But it feels like countries are happy to go with the oil reserves that they've currently got. Also the IAEA, that body of 32 countries with their 400 million barrels of oil is finally being released as well. But it is very much still a tense and a perilous situation in that very narrow stretch of water. Georgina.
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And listen, we're also seeing intensified strikes on Lebanon by Israel. Can you tell us more about that?
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C
Yeah, look, I mean we know that Lebanon has been a target in conflicts of recent time and so too is now being dragged into, into this issue purely because of Hezbollah and their involvement there as well. I think Lebanon is a very difficult situation and I think Israel will want to do all it can to put pressure into Lebanon overnight. The Israeli military has said that troops have begun kind of limited and targeted ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. And Most of the IDFs operations against that Iranian backed group have been missile strikes so far with very little ground operations close to the Lebanese border over the last two weeks. And so I think the IDF now will change tact. They will try and get soldiers on foot and in tanks, in armored vehicles to get on the ground in Lebanon. And the Israeli attacks have have killed more than 850 people in Lebanon since the 2nd of March. And so I think for this country which has been battered and bruised for so many years now, again this issue between the US, Israel and Iran is deeply impacting them and will continue to do so indeed.
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Thank you very much indeed. That's Insman, Rashid Monocle's Gulf correspondent. And this is the Globalist. It's 11 minutes past 8 in Paris. 7:11 here in London. France went to the polls yesterday in the first round of its municipal elections. With early results beginning to emerge overnight. The race in Paris is drawing particular attention. After 25 years of socialist Rule. At City Hall, Conservatives were hoping to take the capital while a fragmented left tries to hold on beyond Paris. The results are also being read as an early test of the alliances and political fault lines that could shape France's next presidential race. Well, I'm joined now by Anne Elisabeth Moutel, who is a French journalist and columnist for the Daily Telegraph in Paris. Anne Elizabeth, we know from the results so far, of course, that socialists did very well in Paris.
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Yes, considering that Emmanuel de Gouale, the Socialist candidate who was the first deputy to Mayor Anne Hidalgo, came almost 10 points before the right wing candidate, Rashid Adati, a former minister of both Nicolas Sarkozy and Emmanuel Macron. He can say that he's been doing very well, but the landscape is a bit difficult because in France, if you, we have a slightly different system and if you have polled at least 10% of the vote, you can stay on for the second round of the election. And we have an interesting situation in which five people have come above 10%, some of them barely by a whisker, but it doesn't matter. So you've got one main left wing candidate who says what we've been doing in Paris for 12 years, we want to do again and we want to keep doing it. So it's Eulers and lots of social housing and a 10 billion euro debt. I'm being negative, but I'm a Parisian. And the whole sort of, the sort of change of French traffic habits to favor bicycles, which is probably a much better thing. And on the other side you've got Rashid Adati, the main candidate, who is not as happy as she could be. But what you've also got is on the right side you've got a splinter candidate who pulled 13%, who is a centrist and did not withdraw and is saying that he will not withdraw and he might, you know, pressure might be bound to bear on him. And you've got a sort of tear away an interesting candidate who is the Sarak Nafor, who is the partner in everything, life and politics of Eric Zemour, the hard right candidate, and who as a complete unknown waged a really interesting campaign for six weeks and got to just a little above 10% out of, out of nowhere. She's the great surprise on the left, the France on Bode, the hard left candidate, is also saying that if she doesn't get an alliance, which has been sort of something that has become taboo recently on the left, she will spoil things for Emmanuel Gregoire. So it's an open race and it's complicated and things will happen this week.
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A
And now you mentioned, of course, this, this two rounds and the fact that there are a lot of smaller candidates. What kind deals usually happen between the two rounds with various people vowing to support or stand down?
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D
Well, the situation now has really changed. I mean, usually they folded and they chose one candidate every now and then. You had what we call un triangulaire, a triangular election where a spoiler candidate stayed in the middle and then, you know, let the cards fall where they may. However, this time what we see is after nine years of President Macron in power saying, I'm going to, to beat the extremes and I'm going to bring everybody to the center. What we're seeing is the opposite. We're seeing a rise both on the hard left and on the hard right because the National Rally doesn't do so well in large cities, but it does extremely well in the countryside. And so we've got a landscape that in many ways looks a bit like Britain's landscape or indeed America's landscape, with extremist marches on both sides in the metropolises. And we've got. But more on the left and we've got a countryside and those regions that are no longer countryside, but are outside of the catchment areas of the big metropolises. And that's an entirely different game. So everything is very open.
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A
So what do the results so far tell us about the road to the next presidential election?
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D
It's really interesting. The one thing that we know is that there will be a moderate center right candidate or centrist candidate who's Emmanuel Macron's first prime minister a long time ago called Edouard Philippe. He is the mayor of Louvre. He stood as the mayor of Louvre this morning, which is very good news for him because he had said that he was not. If he was not re elected in Lou Havre, he would not run for president. He possibly knew things that we don't know, but most polls have been wrong. So there was an element of self confidence which has paid off. But it doesn't mean that he's going to be, he certainly isn't going to be the only candidate. And it doesn't mean that it's going to be so easy for him because even though it's a really different kind of election from, from the, from the presidential election, it still means that the, the battle for the soul of both the right and the left is going to be on for, you know, the year to come. So it's not telling us who's going to win next time, but it definitely is telling us who's going to slug it out in the meantime.
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A
And do you think that the left will rally behind one candidate and that he or she will get the support?
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D
I think it's very difficult because if Melenchon had been weaker, Jean Luc Melanchon is a kind of Corbyn figure and he's got all the aspects of that, including the anti Semitic and that really is, you know, it's not just anti Israel, whatever, purely antisemitic, jokes all the time and attacks all the time, including using things from the playbook of Jean Marie Le Pen, the father of Marine Le Pen, who was anti Semitic. So it's very strange. You've got this very weird horseshoe of sort of race baiting. And so we don't know. I mean, we don't really know. And so Melanchon is, is unpalatable for some of the voters, but not all of them. And he's made an alliance with whatever sort of identitarian Muslim groups. Exactly like it happens with people like Zara Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn. And on the other side you've got Jordan Bardella, who very likely will be the one running because Marine Le Pen will still be under the effects of a court order that she be ineligible, ruling that she be ineligible for five years. And Bardella is very plastic. He's trying desperately to be sort of, you know, as uncontroversial as possible, but he's not, he hasn't got the charisma to carry this through and to say, I have seen the light and I'm coming from the hard right into just, you know, the conservative field. So it's very weird locally you've got people who were elected because essentially it's local elections and people know their candidates nationwide. It's going to be very weird.
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And Elizabeth mute, thank you very much indeed. Now still to come on the program,
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our work like the veins in the human body. If the veins do not move the oxygen and the nutrition efficiently, then the human body does not function. And the same for elevators and escalators. That's so I see it.
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We'll take you to MIPIM in Cannes, the world's largest property event. This is the globalist craft is a matter of perspective, a unique outlook, an obsessive attention to detail. With UBS's Chief Investment Office, Houseview, 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. Twenty past seven here in London at Midori House. I'm Georgina Godwin, this is the Globalist. And joining me in the studio to have a look through today's newspapers is the Monocle writer Julia Jenkins. Good morning to you, Julia.
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F
Good morning.
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We're going to start off in your country, in fact, Ukraine. Zelensky says that Ukraine wants money and technology in return for Middle east drone help. This is a story reported by Reuters today.
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F
Yes, so this was Zelensky speaking to reporters about the opportunities that kind of are arising for Ukraine from the situation that is unfolding in the Middle East. So two days ago on March 13, when Macron and Zelenskyy were speaking to reporters together in Paris, Zelenskyy said that more than 10 countries have approached Ukraine for help with shooting down these small, low cost drones that Iran is sort of sending into Gulf countries and to hit US Air bases as well, and to Israel as well. And this is this, you know, very low cost, but basically the world's air defenses can't really quite cope with it and you have to expend a lot of money and a lot of effort in order to be able to shoot them down. And we know that for examp, for example, Gulf countries have used more than 800 Patriots, that was by the beginning of March, 800 Patriot missiles, air defense missiles. That's more than Ukraine has used in the entire war or has even been given access to. And so this is a very costly sort of problem for these countries. And so they're approaching Ukraine in order to be able to get their hands on low, low cost air defense, basically. And we saw that even over the weekend the Israeli leader Netanyahu approach Zelenskyy for a meeting. We might see this in the next week or so. But this is really a pivotal moment for Ukraine's defense industry, but I think for the brand of the country more widely. And all eyes are on Zelenskyy now. How does Zelenskyy use this opportunity to sort of safeguard Ukraine's future, to create sort of a wealth fund, I think really for Ukraine's future defenses, but also to project that brand image, you know, Ukraine being able to offer a way for other countries to defend themselves without giving away that patented information, that absolutely vital information that makes, you know, Ukraine's expertise needed. And we've seen expert groups dispatched from Ukraine to various Gulf countries to assess how these drone technologies might be put into place.
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And so he's really hoping that this is going to turn around his fortunes, which he needs, of course, because of the lifting of the sanctions on Russia, which is giving Russia more money for its war coffers.
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Absolutely. And we've seen Washington also bat away Trump explicitly say he doesn't need Ukraine's help, despite of course, we know that a US Base in Jordan is currently collaborating with the Ukrainians on this low cost air defense. And of course, sanctions are having a massive impact on Russia's finances, really lifting up their ability to finance their war. And Ukraine is hoping to strike about $30 billion deal with Washington on these air defenses and Trump sort of delaying that. So I think Zelenskyy has a lot to win if he can manage the situation correctly.
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A
Quick look at the Straits Times from Singapore. Can integration into society balance rising immigration? Tell us more.
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F
Well, I thought this was a really interesting story because Singapore is quite a closed society, really. We see a lot of expats moving there and we see this idea that, you know, you can settle there, you can send your children there, you can work there maybe for five to six, seven years. But then after that it becomes very difficult to actually gain permanent residency. And that's the first step towards citizenship. And citizenship is notoriously difficult, sort of for expats moving into Singapore to gain. But because of demographic issues, because their fertility rate is currently at a record low, the Straits Times writes of 0.87 in 2025, they are looking to actually embrace that sense of immigration that they've always been quite wary of, allow sort of, you know, newcomers in and to gain residency, permanent residency, and then make that step towards citizenship. And in the Straits Times, they detail how those numbers have changed and jumped and how they anticipate more newcomers will be given that step towards permanent residency and then citizenship. But it's interesting from the Singaporean perspective, and they have such a, you know, distinct sense of national identity which has really been crafted in the last few decades since the creation of their island state. What does it mean to be a Singaporean? Does it mean to be following government programs or does it mean to be working within the community or sort of visiting their museums, learning about their culture rather than sort of just existing in a kind of temporary state that, you know, that expats might just enjoy the quality of life rather than really getting stuck into local life?
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And what it certainly does mean, as the Straits Times points out, possibly in a slightly racist manner, is keeping your voice down when you're in a hawker centre. Extraordinary. Right, let's talk about airline, because Lisbon and Paris have been confirmed as the first long haul destinations for Brazil's low cost airline.
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F
Yes. So this is Brazil's low cost airline and. Absolutely. So they are expecting a delivery of widebody Airbus aircraft in the next year, 2026-2027. And this will allow them to expand their geography, geographical reach. So they're currently flying to Florida, into the U.S. but here travelers will be able to go to Paris and to Lisbon. And actually it was, you know, reading this, there's been such an uptick, really, in people flying to Brazil itself. So we can see it going the other way. Brazil emerged, I think, at the end of 2025 as one of the most popular tourist destinations. Europeans going to Brazil to enjoy the country's, you know, incredible sort of natural surroundings and food and culture and vibrancy. And so we're going to be seeing, hopefully, because of this announcement, more crossing over the sea between Brazil and Europe.
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A
Finally, I want to go to Iceland. Now, this is a story from the New York Times about Iceland's chief lava cooler. Now, to be fair, he does sound pretty cool, but this reads like a hagiography. The writer here, Emilia Nirenberg, is totally fangirling this man who she describes as, you know, six foot five and this kind of perfect specimen type. Tell us more about the piece. Absolutely.
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F
He comes across as a hero. And I think it's a really interesting piece of narrative. Very slow news, sort of, even though of course it's quite a desperate subject. So this is Helgi Hjorliefsson. I think that's how you pronounce the name. The article helps us to do that. And he was tasked in 2020 when there were these explosions in Iceland and this lava flowing, basically, how do we fix this problem? How do we stop this lava from engulfing, you know, a whole city in Iceland? And the solution was, and again, the narrative is so great. It talks about how fire is fast, but lava is slow. The solution is to fight it with water, to cool it down and to basically keep it in place. And there are some really striking photographs in the article where you can see the lava is really bubbling away, literally meters away from people's homes. But they were able to construct these barriers first from Earth to sort of protect the lava from being able to flow over, you know, just flow straight across land and to slow it down. But then also buying lots of hose pipes and very big ones at that, in order to be able to keep it in place, slow it down and really cool it down. So it stays.
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Yeah, and as the writer points out, what a hero. He manages to do all this and get home to have supper around the table with his wife and three daughters. Well done him. Julia Jenn, thank you very much indeed. This is the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Now here's what else we're keeping an eye on today. Myanmar's military dominated party has convened a new parliament for the first time since the coup five years ago. Critics say the legislature will remain firmly under army control after an election widely dismissed by Western governments as a sham. Donald Trump says the United States could soon reach a deal with Cuba or take other action as contacts between Washington and Havana resume. The talks come as the island faces one of its worst economic crises in decades with fuel shortages and rolling power cuts. And Kazakhstan voters have backed a new constitution in a referendum that reshapes parliament and restores the post of vice president. Analysts say the changes could enlarge, allow President Qasem Joma Takaev to extend his political influence or reshape the succession before his term ends. This is THE Globalist. Stay tuned. It's 1429 in Ho Chi Minh City, 829 in Zurich. Vietnam held a general election for its national assembly year yesterday. Around 73 million voters took part, but about 93% of the candidates were members of the Communist Party. And the vast majority of seats in parliament are held by party affiliated lawmakers. So what does this election mean at a time when the country's economy is growing rapidly? I'm joined now by Michael Tataski, who's a journalist based in Ho Chi Minh and author of the Vietnam Weekly Newsletter. Michael, good to have you back with us. How important is this election?
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G
It's a good question. I mean, it's certainly portrayed here in Vietnam by domestic media as extremely important. I mean, it is the primary kind of the only, at least on a national level chance for Vietnamese to have their say, more or less. So it was a big, it is a big deal. It was a big deal. There was a lot of effort kind of at the local level to, by officials to get people to know that the election was happening and to get out and vote, vote. But ultimately, I mean, as we can sort of discuss, it's the impact of it is, is limited.
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A
Yeah. Because I mean, most of the candidates are from the Communist Party. So does that mean the results already decided?
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G
Not necessarily. I mean, there are, there are candidates, you know, competing against each, against each other. But there is, you know, only one party in the country. I mean, there are a few independent, quote, unquote, Candidates allowed to run. I mean, the votes haven't been, the results won't be announced until this coming weekend. So the results in terms of the actual people aren't exactly foretold, but the fact that they are will basically all be from the CPV is. Yes, that's the guarantee.
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A
How influential is the Assembly?
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G
Not terribly influential. I mean, again, it is an important body. It is one of the pillars of the government government and there is, there can be some debate in, in the assembly when it convenes. It has two regular sessions each year and then or emergency sessions from time to time if there's a particularly important issue or personnel matter at hand. But generally laws come from the government or a ministry, what have you, to the national assembly and they, they get approved. I mean, there may be a few dissenting votes, but by the time the law gets to that point, the expectation is that it will, will be passed.
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A
How has Vietnam's fast economic growth shaped public attitudes towards politics?
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G
I mean, generally there's, and I don't mean to sound this to sound dismissive or condescending, there's a bit of a sense of apathy. You know, the economy is doing very well. Of course there are challenges, as with any, any country. But you know, generally I think people, if they have a job and their kind of economic situation is improving year to year, they're kind of content with that, which I think many people around the world would be. So not necessarily a ton of focus on internal politics or those sorts of things.
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A
And Michael, I wonder how you would describe the current state of Vietnam's politics and economy.
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G
I mean, politically it's stable, of course, you know, a single party state, the Communist Party is, it's strong and they're, there's no reason to see anything about that changing. And economically it's very dynamic. 8% growth last year, the government's targeting 10% this year. That will be difficult, especially with the more recent context of the war in Iran and the knock on effects of oil prices and things like that. But it's certainly an exciting place where people have a lot of optimism. Of course, again, concerns as any country has, but overall I think people are very optimistic about, about Vietnam's future.
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A
And so when you look at Iran from where you are in Vietnam, what is the feeling there and how is it affecting the day to day of people there?
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G
Yeah, I mean the most directed impact day to day was the kind of a rise in gas prices last week or the week before that stabilized a little bit. But there was one day Where I think the price went up 10%, which is significant. That really hits kind of working class people, you know, ride hailing drivers who, who are depend on their motorbike or car for their livelihood. The government has tapped into a kind of stabilization fund to subsidize some of those increases. But there's a lot of kind of knock on effects depending on the type of fuel. I mean, I think there's already warnings that they might have to start cutting flights next month if the war is still going then because Thailand and China have banned jet fuel exports, which Vietnam partially relies on. So it's still, obviously this is still very much in flux, but generally the kind of prices and supply of various types of fuels and gases is the biggest impact here.
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A
Michael, thank you very much indeed. That's Michael Tatarski. You're with Monocle Radio. Mipim. The annual international property event held in Cannes wrapped up last week. The Monocle team was there as usual, speaking to a range of investors, designers and innovators. One of those was Bora Gulen, the CEO of Europe and Africa at TK Elevator. Monocle's editor in chief sat down with Bora at Monocle's pop up studio and began by asking him what the focal point was for TK Elevator.
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E
The world is becoming more and more urban and probably around 70% of the world's population will be living in cities by 2050. In Europe, that will take place much earlier than that. So which means that the cities are becoming denser, taller and more integrated. And we, as the elevated people, we provide vertical and horizontal transportation in the buildings in the cities. And we, our functioning is very important to make sure that the people are moving in an efficient way, in a productive way, in an energy efficient way. I compare our work like the veins in the human body. If the veins do not move the oxygen and the nutrition efficiently, then the human body does not function. And the same for elevators and escalators. That's how I see it.
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H
First of all, for the experience of somebody, you come into essentially a cabin and you're going to move up and down in a, in a vertical way in a building. To the outsider, they probably don't realize some of the opportunities and challenges there. So first of all, the numbers of people you're going to move when buildings get ever taller, the time it's going to take to move, what, what kinds of things are you asking your engineers for? Is it speed? Is it actually not having just one elevator to take you to where you want to go? Is it using that cabin in more interesting ways. So that maybe it's a world where you're immersed in a brand. For example, when you come into, into the space, what kinds of things are you asking of your engineers?
- [37:15]
E
Very good question, Andrew. Actually, we get involved ideally in the early planning phases of the building. We sit down with the architect and the developer and if available, the user. We look at the, the usage of the building at every floor, at every function. And then we do a very detailed vertical and horizontal traffic analysis, traffic study to see how we can move the people efficiently and productively and safely in different periods of the day. And that is determined by the number of elevators, their location, their sizes, their speed, their door width, door speed, a lot of factors that we put in a very good, strong simulation that gives us a good traffic study. That is the technical part. And of course, we sit down with the architect and user and the developer for the aesthetical parts as well, because it has to be an integrated part of the building. So that is what we do in the new building phase. And then comes the. The life of the building. We provide a periodical search service to the elevators to make sure that they are safe, efficient, productive, and efficient in energy usage as well. That's very important. So the theme today is the elevators are becoming more and more digitally connected, which means that you can monitor the lifetime performance of the building on time, online performance, and more and more. What will happen in the future is different elements of the building from H Vac to building access to building security, etc. Building automation and elevators are going to be integrated to provide again, more efficient Usage, more data, etc.
- [38:56]
H
Just tell me on that efficiency question. So for the users who are listening to this interview, I guess for them, they care about a really stupid thing, is that when you press the button, the lift comes. Is there a kind of a maximum amount of time that people can wait before they're saying this doesn't work, this lift service? Is it, you know, are people happy to wait a minute? Is it 30 seconds? Is it. Because your industry is of course, one of engineering, but it's also oddly one of psychology as well, because it's about the mental space. If you're a CEO of a company and you're going to the top floor to your office, and you wait every morning for two minutes, then you're like, okay, we need to do something about, I want to reprogram. So is that changing the program programming across the day? How do you think about that psychology of the experiences?
- [39:39]
E
Very good questions, Andrew. Actually, I Studied as part of my university studies, waiting psychology as well. So there are several elements. One is the waiting time in the lobby. So when you hit the button, as you said, how many seconds do you wait? That depends on the type of the building, whether it's residential hospitality or office space or healthcare, etc. And the expectation of the client, etc. But it changes from 20 seconds to 60 seconds, for instance, on average. And the second criteria is, what is the total travel time when you go into the elevator? How long does it take on average for you to go to your floor? And then the third very important part is handling capacity. What percent of the building population you can carry in five minutes? Just to give you an example, an office building, the good waiting time is 20 to 30 seconds and the handling capacity is in 12.5%. You need to carry the building's population in five minutes.
- [40:37]
H
Okay, so I come to see you and I'm building an amazing tower. We've brought you in at the early stages and I get the estimate from you of what it's going to cost. And I may be a bit of a cheapskate builder, and I'm, oh my God, that's quite a lot. What if I only. What if I cut two of these elevators from the program? Is there a point? Sometimes when you're in conversations with people, you're like, okay, let me just tell you, the level of frustration you will have if you don't go the extra mile is worrying and really deliver for people. Are you having to guide sometimes developers through that process to make sure that there aren't these moments of frustration?
- [41:14]
E
Today, the investors are very intelligent, they have good advisors, and they take the advice. Because the elevator is maximum 5% of the total cost of the building without including the real estate piece, the land piece. So it's not a substantial amount, but it can significantly change the value of the asset. And today, therefore, many investors like you are mentioning now take our advice into account. I have seen in the past some buildings that were, were poorly elevated, and I have seen that their asset value was 20 to 25% lower than what it should be. So people sometimes learn with hard lessons, and that doesn't happen anymore. But I've been in the industry since 30 years and I can say that in the past, there were a couple of buildings that I walked away from because they were probably not going to be sufficiently elevated.
- [42:08]
H
And potentially with building buildings you've had nothing to do with. Whereas you travel the world, which I'm sure you do, do you occasionally arrive in a building and think, oh my God, they missed a trick here. They didn't really deliver on what's needed. You must be able to spot when things are going wrong as soon as you enter a building.
- [42:23]
E
Yes, it's an occupational hazard. But also we should know that today's transit, especially with COVID and many other changes, buildings are transforming because you build a building for multiple decades to perform and during that lifetime, the original idea or the original use of the building changes. So we both live in London, for instance. You see many buildings in Canary Wharf and elsewhere are changing its purpose from let's say office space to multi use to hospitality, etc. So that is where we also come in play. We come again with the investor and look at the building, how we can re elevated the building to its current purpose. And that's what we call a modernization exercise.
- [43:05]
A
Bora Gulen CEO Europe and Africa at TK Elevator this is the globalist on Monocle. Radio, 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. Now let's have a roundup of cloud. And to do so, I'm joined by Sheena Rossiter, Monocle contributing editor in Edmonton. Hello to you, Sheena.
- [43:59]
B
Good morning.
- [44:01]
A
Now, there is a different phrase that we're hearing. It's called carbon capability. What is that?
- [44:09]
B
Yeah, so it's the concept of a person's carbon footprint. We've known this for a while. This has long been controversial in the climate movement and it was popularized through an ad campaign used by the British oil giant BP back in 2004. But the decades since, we've been shifting the responsibility to individuals. And recent research done by Sam Hampton, the senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Environmental Climate Change Institute, recently co authored a paper that specifically looks at this. So it's not just looking at things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint, so to speak. Things with relationships, jobs and other things like that, but also looking into personal accounting and accountability to help fight climate change. So a little bit different from carbon footprint, so to speak.
- [45:07]
A
And so what did this research find?
- [45:10]
B
Yes, so people's impact on the environment, we all know this, that it can be positive or it can be negative. Some of this stuff is outside of your control. For example, if you live in A home that you're renting from a landlord, and that landlord chooses not to upgrade the efficiency of the building by using solar panels or fixing the windows, things like that, you can try to negotiate with your landlord, but that's kind of outside of your control. If you live in the countryside, for example, and the public transport is not good, you still have to rely on your car. So what this study looks at, it looks at structure versus agency. What can people actually control? What is in, within your agency that you can actually control? So that's where the term carbon capability, rather than carbon footprint comes from. It's looking more holistically at the role of what individuals can do within the context of climate change that makes them more carbon capable, so to speak. And this is different from the carbon footprint. So by looking at four areas, such as energy, food, transportation, and what things people buy, these are. Before, it didn't really look at things like whether or not you vote and vote on, or raising awareness around volunteering around climate change. So this holistically looks at larger things that you can do as opposed to what carbon footprint was looking at, which was just sort of four areas. Carbon capability incorporates other elements of your life, of what you do holistically to help change, make changes in the climate.
- [46:52]
A
Well, there's one group of people who are very aware of the effects of climate change, and the those are the Paralympians. That game has just wrapped up in Milano, Cortina, and people are saying that the Games need to be moved because warm weather is coming earlier and earlier. Tell us more about this.
- [47:10]
B
Yeah. So since 1992, the Winter Paralympics have always been held in March. They typically start two weeks after the Winter Olympics conclude in February. So that's meant some pretty stark spring weather in the past. So, for example, in Beijing a few years ago, temperatures peaked at around 26 degrees Celsius four years ago. So some temperatures in Milano, Cortina have not been felt that drastically as they were in Beijing. But still, it. It's definitely a huge difference between February and March. And in the final day of competition, they were trying to really groom peace to get to help athletes get down the mountain, so to speak. So, for example, in the Giant slalom, in the sitting Giant slalom that was happening, 18 of the 37 athletes failed to get to the bottom of the course because it was just simply too slushy. So these are really big obstacles for these athletes in the Paralympics, and I
- [48:18]
A
imagine it's a pretty huge obstacle to completely move the timing of the Games.
- [48:24]
B
Yeah, exactly. According to the chief brand and communications officer for the International Paralympic Committee, Craig Spence, he said, quote, changing the winter sports calendar is easier said than done, end quote. I'm sure what you can imagine that there's a lot of coordination that would simply have to happen. It would be between the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee. But those are just two bodies right there. You'd have to coordinate with all the winter sports federations. But more importantly, what really runs the Olympics are the media rights holders. That would have to change all the broadcast windows windows because this is a major sporting event and people are really coming for these climactic moments. So regardless of what the change would be for the future, in fact, back in 2023, the IOC actually came out and said that only 10 countries will be able to host snow sports by 2040 because of the impacts of climate change. So there's bigger concerns here than simply just moving the Paralympics up by a month. But still, artificial snow has become really the norm in these Winter Olympics. In fact, in Milano, Cortina in 2026, here, 1.8 million cubic meters of artificial snow have been used across both the Olympics and the Paralympics. And that's. That's an estimated to lowering an estimation of what they were supposed to originally use, which was 2.4 million. That was thanks to having heavy snowfall during the Olympics there. So there's other challenges that the Winter Olympics face, but it definitely is something that Paralympians are wanting to have is that kind of peak winter weather in February.
- [50:14]
A
Yeah. And Sheena, just before you go, here in London, it's very, very cold, but it has been sunny the last few days. What's it like for you there in Edmonton?
- [50:23]
B
Oh, it's been absolutely freezing. It's been minus 15 for mid March. So we haven't been really having this. The same kind of weather that par Olympians have been having. It's been quite cold over here, so I think we would qualify as one of those 10 countries that will still be able to host Snow Sports by 2040. Just.
- [50:45]
A
Just a hunch, Sheena, thank you very much indeed. That's Monocle's Sheena Rossiter in Edmonton, Canada. You, you are listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio. The 98th Academy Awards took place last night in Los Angeles. Well, I'm joined now by Karen Krasanovich, film critic and regular Monocle Radio contributor for her Oscars report. Karen, I'm guessing it was a very late night for you.
- [51:13]
I
It was a very late night. How did do I sound like? It's been a late night. It's been a very late night. Should have left my makeup. So I apologize for the way I'm looking this morning.
- [51:20]
A
Were you at a fabulous party?
- [51:22]
I
Yes, yes, I was. I was. I got to bed about 3:30 and my alarm went off at 6:30. But that's nothing for you, I'm sure. But it was. It was a great night and it was worth staying up for.
- [51:35]
A
So let's start with Jessie Buckley because she was really hotly tipped to win for Hamnet, as indeed she did. Wow.
- [51:42]
I
Yeah. If there ever was a shoe in for the Oscars. I mean, Jessie Buckley has won virtually every single award she's been up for this season. And the reason for that is, even if you find Hamnet a little melodramatic and a little cloying, a little too full on, that's exactly why she won, because it's an amazing performance. It's got a great range from falling in love to giving birth and spoiler alert to tragedy. And she was gracious in her acceptance and I think it was a wonderful. It was a wonderful career, sort of for her. Showed off everything that she's done, but this has really kept it.
- [52:17]
A
Yeah. I must say. I saw her in the Bride.
- [52:21]
I
Oh, did you?
- [52:23]
A
And I thought her performance. I hated the movie, but I thought her performance was extraordinary.
- [52:27]
I
It's one of these examples and the Oscars are a lot about this where it doesn't really matter so much about the movie, but the movie is made by a single performance. So there's another one like that too. And that will be Weapons Amy Madigan, who won the best supporting actress. And that's a horror movie. Now, horror movie doesn't usually get an Oscar nomination, but her performance was so surprising. This is her second Oscar, actually. Her performance was so surprising and just in the middle of this movie. Who the heck is this character? And even if you don't like horror, I don't go and see it just for this incredibly surprising, surprising, sort of unctuous and horrible performance. It's terrible.
- [53:13]
A
Okay, Best actor.
- [53:15]
I
Best actor. Now this was an issue. And of course there were jokes all throughout the ceremony. And for the last week of Timothee Chalamet being in the front, being the front runner for Mighty supreme, which is a technically a brilliant performance, nobody can doubt that he can act, but he was making number one. He wasn't humble in his speeches and interviews, but also he commented that nobody goes to see ballet and Oscar and that these are dying arts, which didn't sit well with the people voting and Michael B. Jordan got. Performance got. He won. He beat him. Which was wonderful because okay, it's a terrific performance. But he also played two characters, two brothers and it's landmark, it marked was one of the I think four awards that this 16 nominated sinners won. So it was great that he won and I think Timothy will live to come back another day.
- [54:17]
A
Yeah. And perhaps start living to sing Ness and Dormer.
- [54:20]
I
That would be nice. Yes, yes, that would be good. And do a little dance.
- [54:25]
A
Tell us now about sort of scale because I know that there was one film in particular that just won a whole load.
- [54:33]
I
Oh gosh. Well, one battle after another didn't get as many. Didn't get as many nominations as Cinder. Cinders is a record holder for 16, but I was following close behind. One Battle has came out earlier in 2025 but has been a landmark film for Paul Thomas Anderson who makes long films. He makes beautiful, but they're long films and they're not everybody's taste. But this film was just packed with quirky characters and also an amazing chase scene at the end which is if you see it, you will just think why I haven't seen anything like this since Bullitt or French Connection. It's incredibly well shot. And that won Best Picture, which is of course for the producers. And also he won Best Director which is extraordinary. And also Sean Penn. Now here was the thing. Was Sean Penn going to win Best Supporting Actor when it was such a very, very packed. Well, I mean all the categories are packed but I was hoping Delroy Lindo for Sinners he was going to win but Sean Penn came through and the, the rumor was that he was not going to win because he only wins when he shows up or he only shows up when he wins. And he wasn't there last night. So we were all wrong footed.
- [55:56]
A
Absolutely. It looked like a very, very glamorous evening. And we'll talk about the frocks in just a moment. But there was a new award and this was Best Casting.
- [56:06]
I
Best Casting. It's. It's time. I mean we've been talking about all of these categories that need to be added like casting or stunts or things like that. And casting is something that's, that's really vital. If you watch a film you think who else could play this role? And these are the deciders. These are people that see new talent or see existing talent and, and put them forward for, for roles and particularly ensemble roles. Because there's very rarely will you have a film that just says one actor in It. So that's been really quite extraordinary. And I'm just, I'm just running down my list and I believe the winner is. You'll have to excuse me, I've been up for a long time. I believe the winner there was.
- [56:48]
A
Oh, gosh, it's coming. We'll circle back to that as they tell us about the glamour and the frocks and what people were wearing.
- [56:55]
I
It was amazing. Well, everybody, everybody looked great and all of the top. The top designers were pretty much featured. And I think there was a sense of going back to glamour, actually, a sense of not being so quirky, but really, I don't know, in a way taking it back to old style Hollywood. And I think that was reflected by the host. Conan o' Brien had at least six changes and he's wearing a tuxedo, but he wore a blue one and then he wore a blue and black one and then it was. It was really quite extraordinary, I have to say. I did sort of discuss and yak it up with fellow partygoers. So I wasn't really watching the red carpet. So you can shame me now.
- [57:39]
A
Oh, no. For not paying attention. But what I will tell you is that that casting award was won by Cassandra Kulakundlis, who was the director for One Battle After Another. Good. Another award for that.
- [57:52]
I
It was very, very tough between sinners in one battle. And I remember that was a bit of a surprise.
- [57:56]
A
And any other big surprises, strangely, okay,
- [58:00]
I
there was a tie between two live action shorts. Now this is apparently the seventh tie that have been at the Oscars and that was usually live action short. You think, well, but then you think, oh, was this just a mistake? But it wasn't. So obviously the votes have come in fairly equally. I have to say for the Oscars, it wasn't much of a surprising evening. There weren't really any big upsets outside of Timothy, but we kind of could smell that that was coming. It was pretty much the way the bookies and I always go by the bookies because they're professionals were going to call it. And I just have to say that if you've watched any of the films that were nominated or any of the winners, you're going to be very, very well placed for entertainment. That was a high quality year. And I also think that all the crafts were wonderful as well.
- [58:54]
A
Karen, thank you very much indeed. That's Karen Krasanovich there. And that's all we have time for on today's show. Thanks to our producers, Anita Riota, Chris Chermack, Hassan Anderson and Ryuma Takahashi, our researcher, Anneliese Maynard, and our studio manager, Mariella Bevan. After the headlines, there's more music, music on the way. And the briefing is live at midday in London. The Globalists will return at the same time tomorrow. I'm Georgina Godwin. Thank you for listening. With ubs, you have a truly 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.