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- [00:04]
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- [00:38]
Emma Nelson
You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on the 20th of October, 2025 on Monocle Radio. The Globalist, in association with UV Live from London. This is THE Globalist with me, Emma Nelson. A very warm welcome to today's program. Coming up, it's going to be handled properly. It's going to be handled toughly but properly. Is the ceasefire still in place? Is the ceasefire in Gaza in place or on the brink? We'll have the latest as both sides accuse the other of violating the terms of the agreement. Also ahead in the next 60 minutes, Australia's Prime Minister heads to Washington. The administration's tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis.
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Oscar Guardiola Rivera
Of our two nations partnership.
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Emma Nelson
This is not the act of a friend. Well, ask where does Australia fit in with Donald Trump's new world order? We'll also hear about a state of emergency in Peru, a look back at the Frieze Masters Art Fair here in London. And look ahead to the countdown to the Winter Olympics, plus the papers. And why has Mongolia's prime minister been removed from office? That's all coming up on THE Globalist live from London. First, a quick look at what else is happening in today's news. Donald Trump has urged Vladimir Zelensky to accept Russia's terms for ending its war. In a volatile White House meeting on Friday, Bolivia's electoral tribunal has announced that the pro business Senator Rodrigo Paz has been elected as president. And prosecutors in France say a group of suspects is being sought after a heist at the Louvre in which eight priceless objects from an area that houses the French crown jewels were stolen. Stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on these stories. But Donald Trump has insisted that the Gaza ceasefire is still in place. And Israel says it has begun renewed enforcement of the ceasefire. But yesterday, Israel carried out a wave of strikes on Gaza. The Hamas run health authority said more than 40 people were killed. Israel had blamed Hamas for killing two of its soldiers. So where does the ceasefire stand? Well, I'm joined now from Dubai by Inzaman Rashid, who's Monocle's Gulf correspondent. A very good morning to you Insi.
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Inzaman Rashid
Morning, Emma.
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Emma Nelson
So just explain to us what happened yesterday. The reports are as that the IDF carried out a wave of strikes which was described as a belt of fire.
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Inzaman Rashid
Yeah. So it's been pretty tense over the last 24 to 48 hours. Gaza has once again edged dangerously close to a return to full scale conflict. What was meant to be a fragile but functioning ceasefire brokered earlier this month is pretty much now hanging by a thread. So yesterday, Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip after claiming Hamas militants had opened fire on Israeli troops near Rafah in the south. The strikes reportedly hit several locations, including a former school sheltering displaced families in Nuserat. Another strike hitting a tent in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, killing at least four. Four people. That's according to Nasser Hospital, who treated some of the patients there. And Palestinian officials say that in total, at least three dozen people were killed, amongst them women and children. Hamas has denied that it fired on Israeli soldiers, calling the Israeli response unjustified and disproportionate. But following the escalation, Emma, Israel temporarily suspended humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza, shut the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which of course has been a vital lifeline for food, for fuel and for medicine and aid. Convoys that had began moving again last week have been halted, and residents have been rushing to buy essentially what little supplies remain in the markets. And after several hours of intense bombardment and mediation efforts from Egypt and Qatar, the ceasefire has now, technically in inverted commas, resumed. But the truce looks increasingly brittle because yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the military action himself. He said to take strong action against any ceasefire violations, but didn't threaten to return to war, which I think is an important note to make. The armed wing of Hamas continued to accuse Israel of multiple ceasefire violations, but said it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement. And I've been speaking to an Israeli source this morning, and they told me that the bottom line is, is that we're done responding. We are now back to where we were this morning or yesterday morning before the Hamas attack. And importantly, what you played out at the beginning of the program as well is Donald Trump's response to all of this. The guy who administrated the and helped broker the ceasefire has been quick to downplay these latest violations. He spoke on Air Force One. He suggested that Hamas leadership itself was not involved in any of the alleged breaches. Instead, he blamed it on some rebels within the Hamas movement. And he's completely downplayed any issues with the ceasefire and is hoping that peace continues in the region.
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Emma Nelson
So what is behind what happened yesterday? Is this a genuine moment when this ceasefire has held for what, a matter of days and is genuinely on the point of collapse? Or is this Israel and Hamas pushing each other's boundaries to see where things lie and to, and to make things just to work out what is going on?
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Inzaman Rashid
Well, look, Emma, I think it's fair to say that the ceasefire was never really built on solid ground. Gaza's infrastructure, its governance and social fabric have been pretty much shattered. And even small violations or competing interpretations of ceasefire lines maybe can reignite fighting. I think Israel says that it will continue to enforce the ceasefire on its own terms if provoked. And Hamas, for its part, argues that Israel's actions amount to collective punishment. And caught between them are essentially ordinary Gazans, Palestinians displaced multiple times over with little access to food, power or clean water. And that humanitarian pause can only really hold if both sides believe that they have more to gain from calm than from confrontation. And right now, neither side seems fully convinced. Right now it seems that there is silence, there is peace. But I think from conversations that I've had from both sides of this war, it feels temporary. I think unless humanitarian aid resumes swiftly and unless both Israel and Hamas commit to political rather than military solutions, the ceasefire could become just another brief pause in what seems to be, particularly over the last two years, an endless cycle of violence.
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Emma Nelson
There is, however, an enormous amount of pressure for this to work. I mean, Donald Trump was very quick to jump in and said the ceasefire is holding. There are mediators traveling to the Middle east right now or have already arrived just to try to make sure that whatever fragile ceasefire is in place remains.
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Inzaman Rashid
Absolutely. If I tell you from a Gulf perspective, it's not a distant crisis. The Rafah crossing, controlled on the Egyptian side, is once again the key point of leverage. Cairo, Doha, other Gulf capitals are the phones and would have been over the last 24 hours to try and stabilize the situation, wary that another breakdown could essentially drag the wider region into renewed turmoil. And you're right. In Washington, the Trump administration will be watching these flare ups extremely closely, having invested diplomatic capital in brokering this truth and with a, you know, also, you know, national interest in this as well. Over in the US I don't think the White House can afford to see any collapse. Officials in Washington and the UN urging restraint on both sides. But the challenge is that enforcement on the ground doesn't match the promises that have been made in the negotiations. And it's hard, essentially, really to monitor this whole area, who's telling the truth, who fired first. And currently it is a war of words, words as much as it is a war on the ground in the region.
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Emma Nelson
And that external pressure that we mentioned there, the United States, how much influence does the US still have? Clearly there was a lot when the ceasefire was brought about, but by all accounts, the Israelis notified Washington in advance of the attacks that they carried out yesterday, but they did not necessarily ask for permission. So what does that say about the relationship between Israel and the U.S. well.
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Inzaman Rashid
I think it's an interesting one because Donald Trump will be relying on Israel and Israel's officials to pick up the phone and to speak to the US Whenever they are going to carry out any attack. And there is no doubt that his team will be trying to ensure that, you know, nothing takes place. I think what will be interesting is that if Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu essentially do go behind Washington's back and carry out an attack with any form of dialogue, with any form of communication, we've seen Donald Trump get pretty angry with Benjamin Netanyahu in the past and I think it will not be good for a U S Israeli relationship if Benjamin Netanyahu carries out any unauthorized attacks. Essentially, I think what Donald Trump wants to be seen as this kind of father where both sides come to and ask for permissions before they carry out and do anything. If that doesn't take place, well, the dad will be very, very angry.
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Emma Nelson
Inzamin Rashid Monocles, golf correspondent, joining us on the line from Dubai. Thank you very much indeed. You're listening to the Globalist. The time is what, 1711 in Canberra, which is where we head now because what, what approach should the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese take for his first one on one meeting with the US President Donald Trump? Mr. Albanese is in Washington with the aim of bolstering what's commonly accepted as a special relationship. The trouble is Donald Trump is rewriting, often in real time, the definition and terms of these relationships. And Mr. Albanese has been known in the past to push back against the Trump way of thinking. Plus, as we head on in February, the President still had gaps when it came to being up to date on major military strategic alliances with Australia.
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Inzaman Rashid
Will you be discussing Orcus with the Prime Minister, sir?
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Maria Laura Gasconi
What does that mean?
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Emma Nelson
So to tell us more, I'm joined now by Karen Middleton, political correspondent in Canberra. Good evening, Karen.
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Karen Middleton
Hello, Emma.
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Emma Nelson
Does Donald Trump know what Aukus is now?
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Karen Middleton
Well, we're told he does, that he was caught off guard. Aukus, of course being the acronym for the Australia UK United States Defence Pact that involves the United States, well, and the UK Supplying nuclear powered but not nuclear armed submarines to Australia. Australia would buy those submarines. But it's a contentious arrangement because it's the first time Australia would have nuclear powered submarines and the US Submarine industry is running behind schedule. So Australia is sending a lot of money to the United States and very much hoping he gets these submarines. There is a review underway by the Pentagon since Donald Trump took office and Australia's very keen to just make sure that that whole arrangement is on track.
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Emma Nelson
And it set the tone that, that throwaway comment in February for a real assessment of the, of the relationship between Australia and Donald Trump or more importantly Prime Minister Albanese and his relationship with, with the US President. Because it's what it's. Is it normal for an Australian leader to take nine months to see the US President?
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Karen Middleton
Well, it's an unusually long time. They've had four phone conversations. They were supposed to have a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June. But as we know, President Trump cut short his time at that summit and canceled a number of meetings that were at the back end of his trip, including the one with Anthony Albanese. Now, the Australian government has played that down and said it couldn't be helped. The President had to return to Washington because of events in the Middle East. But it's noted that, that all of the meetings that were cancelled were, you know, the other meetings were with leaders with whom President Trump was having a bit of a set to at the time. So, you know, it's been noted here in debate that the Prime Minister has not yet had a meeting and it's become a thing. So he really does need to, to meet the president. We know how much store President Trump places in personal relationships. There's a long list, a shopping list indeed, of things that, that Australia would like to talk to the Americans about. So it is quite an important meeting now.
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Emma Nelson
And the trouble that, the trouble related to the fact that this has become a thing is what I mean. One of the headlines I saw yesterday was that this is Anthony and Albanese's diplomatic test of his political life to attract and to hold Donald Trump's attention. There is a fear that Donald Trump has enough on his plate to really focus too much on what Australia wants.
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Karen Middleton
Well, as you said earlier, you know, Donald Trump has not had the same regard for traditional alliances that his predecessor presidents have had. So a lot of old allies can't fall back on those traditions anymore. And have to sort of stake their claim to the arrangement, to the agreement or the alliance, in fact. And underlying all of this sort of anxiety about these meetings is the fact that Anthony Albanese is, as a Prime minister from a left of center party. He was elected in May, comprehensively in fact, so he can put himself forward as a winner, which we know Donald Trump likes. But he, he was a critic of Donald Trump. His opponent, the one that he defeated, was very much favoring the sort of approach that Donald Trump has taken to politics. So if anything, the Albanese government has distanced itself from the kinds of politics that Donald Trump has practised and that is where the potential tensions lie. You know, our government, and certainly the Prime Minister would not want to have a repeat of the kind of experience in the Oval Office that we saw that Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, had earlier in the year, or indeed the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. So he'll be very concerned to, to have to strike up a good rapport in person with the President and not end up ambushed like those other leaders were.
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Emma Nelson
Let's have a look at the areas therefore that the two men can try and do some sort of business. First is defense and secondly is trade and tariffs. Let's talk about defence. You mentioned ORCAS at the beginning, but Donald Trump is, is keen that Australia ups the amount of money it spends on defense. That's right.
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Karen Middleton
And that is a point of tension between the two countries. The government, interestingly, in recent days has taken to using a slightly different metric, quoting the metric that the NATO countries use and saying that under that calculation our spending is actually higher than people have suggested. The government, our spending has been at about 2.3% of GDP. The Americans would like it to be getting up to 3.5%. The Australian government has said in response, look, we'll allocate money in terms of what capabilities we require, not just as an arbitrary percentage, but clearly the American administration is putting pressure on the government to be committing more to defence. And so there have been a series of moves, not least an announcement of more expenditure on a submarine base in Western Australia lately that are designed to underline that Australia is committed to its defence spending to try and appease the concerns that the Trump administration might have about defence. And you know, and as well as that overall spending number, there's the issue about the Orcas pact.
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Emma Nelson
Finally and briefly, the trade and tariffs issue. At the moment, Australia's got a reasonable deal, hasn't has.
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Karen Middleton
It's only got the 10% tariffs, which is the lowest rate across the board on all products, but it has a 50% tariff on steel and aluminium and there is also a hefty tariff on pharmaceuticals which will affect Australian companies and Australian producers. And we have a pharmaceutical subsidy system as part of our health system here that the American government doesn't like. So that's potential problem there. And the government, our government is trying to strike a deal on critical minerals, supplying critical minerals as an alternative to China. That's the real headline that they would like. On the upside from this meeting, Karen.
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Emma Nelson
Middleton, political correspondent in Canberra. Thank you as ever for joining us on the Globalist.
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Emanuela Tarizzo
Still to come, part of our job is also to continue to expand that community. So bringing in galleries from, from both the realms of contemporary art and ancient historical art is something that is very important to me.
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Emma Nelson
As London waves goodbye to the Frieze Art Fair, we examine just what impression it's left on the art world. Stay with us on the Globalist.
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Emma Nelson
Let's have a look at today's newspapers. Joining me in the studio is Julia Jen, his monocle's researcher and writer. Good morning. How's life in the gen world?
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Julia Jen
Pretty good, although it's like bucketing with rain outside. Totally miserable. Lucky you. You're in the studio and you can't see the horrid rain outside.
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Emma Nelson
I have an enormous pair of Wellington dogs. That's all I can say. Let's have a look at the papers. We need to talk about this Financial Times exclusive, which is astonishing given the sort of the visceral blood and guts of a very, very heated meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Julia Jen
Yeah, absolutely. So this came out yesterday and it was basically about Trump urging Zelenskyy to adopt, sorry to accept Putin's terms or be in quotes, destroyed. Now what does that mean, to be destroyed? Some sources are now coming out and saying that potentially Trump didn't actually use that word. Destroyed. That is a very sort of strong term. But for sure this meeting on Friday was a super undiplomatic kind of meeting. I think it was potentially even more explosive than one that we saw before the cameras back in February that everyone sort of uses as a now as a kind of benchmark of how bad it can get in a meeting with Trump. But, yes, so, you know, Ukraine came there with very high expectations. Tomahawks were being kind of bandied around in the media continuously. Will Ukraine get these Tomahawks, what can Ukraine do with these missiles, etc. Ukraine was also coming with maps. So we've seen them arrive in the White House with maps.
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Emma Nelson
He doesn't do maps.
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Julia Jen
He doesn't do maps. So apparently he topped, tossed those maps aside and he said, I'm not interested. I've never been to these places. So he can't quite imagine kind of the luxury that he can build there or whatever, the kind of real estate deals he can get out of it. And so Trump was really pressing on Zelensky to accept what Putin was laying out, which is Ukraine giving up its Donbas region, which Ukraine says that Russia would then use to kind of create this fortress to then relaunch attacks into Ukraine. And Russia said that it would trade back to Ukraine parts of its southern regions, Ukraine's southern regions that it currently has this sort of loose control over. But, you know, of course, to the Ukrainians, this was totally unacceptable.
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Emma Nelson
Where does this leave Ukraine? Yes.
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Julia Jen
So in this position where this was, and they have really been since Trump's inauguration, relying on themselves and the Europeans. So one story that it would be great to talk about was, you know, Ukraine striking on Russian gas and oil facilities. That's Ukraine's big strategy now. That's how Ukraine is putting pressure on Russia. So, for example, we know that over the weekend, Ukraine struck the Orenbag gas processing plant. So that's the largest facility of its kind in the world. And they accept gas and oil, sorry, gas from Kazakhstani gas fields. So that's how we know that they have suspended intake from Kazakhstan, but also from their own kind of fields within Russia. And Russian fossil fuel exports have really plummeted by almost a third since last September. So in one year, by a third. And this is huge news for Russia, really. And we know that its economy is under huge strain. Prices are rocketing across the country. People are really the cost of living crisis. If we think it's bad here in the West, I mean, it's unfathomable over in Russia, we've got general shortages of things on the shelves. So this is really, really putting strain on Russia. And I think that's the kind of card that Zelenskyy really was trying to communicate to Trump, but something Trump was sort of unwilling to listen to.
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Emma Nelson
And it does lead to Steve Zelensky. I find it interesting that this. That something had obviously prompted someone to talk about what happened in that room, because clearly it was something that was significant enough. You never hear details of meetings in such visceral detail. Apparently, Donald Trump was swearing. He said he tossed the maps aside. There was clearly something from, dare I say it, from within the White House that decided that the world needed to hear about this.
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Julia Jen
This. Yeah, absolutely. I think that there's so much up and down with Trump and there's so much false hope that is given, you know, the Tomahawk missiles that Ukraine was lobbying for and that Trump kept sort of dangling in front of Ukraine's nose. I think it's this humiliation for Ukrainians and for Europeans, and potentially there's a desire from someone within the White House and we have to say thank you to them, I guess, for the world to really. To understand the truth of where Trump stands. This kind of fickleness that we can't lose sight of. And this is a real war with real people dying and people. People need a sense of morale and they need a sense of. Kind of a sense of the tiniest bit of control over their lives and understanding what's actually going on above their heads. And I guess this information was being fed through for Ukrainians to have a very sober understanding of what the situation is.
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Emma Nelson
Let's move on to an astonishing story from yesterday. The use of one of those removal cranes to break into the Louvre and to steal absolutely priceless jewellery from the. From, you know, the jewellery collection inside the museum. It was an assault. Astonishing story.
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Julia Jen
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the sort of ingenuity of this. So we know that over the weekend, I mean, it was one of the only things that anyone in Europe could really speak about yesterday. But we know that yesterday in France, in the Louvre, you know, we had these very professional, as the culture, French culture, France's Culture Minister said, very professional sort of operatives and breaking in, yes, as you said, over this kind of. This basket lift that sort of lifted them up into one of the Louvre's galleries, where they stole 19th century sort of priceless artifacts. So we have, you know, emerald and diamond necklaces going missing, you know, sapphire pieces, crowns, tiaras, pearls, etc. So very, very price, totally priceless pieces going missing. And there's this potential, you know, there's lots of work going along there, along the Seine, and there's a potential that the thieves made use of that because we know they were using these sort bolt cutters, these disc cutters to get in through the window and then potentially even their vehicle was part of that sort of renovation work that's going on. So they sort of scouted out the scene, co opted what equipment they could get their hands on and then made off in just seven minutes, which is so, you know, shocking.
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Emma Nelson
It's amazing that the. I don't know if anybody's seen the French drama Lupin, which is about basically the Napoleon's Josephine's necklace being stolen in a great heist and that has an air of glamour to it and there's a big auction and it's all super, you know, super luxurious. The fact is that it just seems so simple. Break a window, smash the glass, steal the jewels.
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Julia Jen
Yeah, absolutely. And get away on scooters. Let's get away on these motorbikes. Yeah, absolutely. And I think the idea that we're using these scooters, these motorbikes, I mean, obviously they've been around for decades now, but they're being used increasingly for, you know, e bikes as well. So just this very quick, nimble getaway and it's really plaguing our sort of cities, especially here in Europe, for thievery of all sorts. But you know, aside from all of that, they need to get those jewels back because they're potentially even now in the process of sort of melting them gold and silver.
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Emma Nelson
One wonders whether there's much left of them now. Unless it was stolen to order. I suspect that they may well now be in bits. Finally, look at a story from Euro News. Beaches are the subject of lots and lots of international campaigns to make them cleaner, more attractive for people. I think the French are trying to ban, or I think they may have banned smoking on beaches and San Sebastian's done the same.
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Julia Jen
Yes, absolutely. So San Sebastian has. They've unveiled new beach rules that will come in to being, you know, in the summer, this coming summer, 2026. And one of the things that it really focuses on is smoking, banning smoking on all beaches. So this would really drastically, according to campaigners, lower the amount of basically cigarette butts that you will find on the beach and in the sea when you're swimming around, which is a really lovely thing. But I guess Europe is sort of losing that sort of sexy allure of smoking etc that you know, is portrayed in films and something that we talk about at Monocle quite a lot, that kind of fun. But I also, you know, if the trade off is that you're not swimming around in a sea full of cigarette butts. I don't know know which one I.
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Emma Nelson
Would choose on the beach. Probably would take the smoking off the beach. Probably take not. I don't know. Julia Jen, Monocle's researcher and writer. Thank you so much. You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Now here's what else we're keeping an eye on today. Donald Trump has urged Volodymyr Zelensky to accept Russia's terms for ending its war in a volatile White House meeting on Friday. That's according to reports in the financial times. The FT claims Mr. Trump warned that Vladimir Putin would destroy Ukraine if it didn't agree. The meeting between the two presidents descended many times into a shouting match. Bolivia's electoral tribunal has announced that the pro business senator Rodrigo Paz has been elected as president. It ends two days of almost continuous rule by the left and prosecutors in France say a group of suspects is being sought after a heist at the Louvre in which priceless artifacts were taken. The thieves used a mechanical lift mounted on a truck and use disc cutters to enter through the window. They're then left on two scooters. They're believed to have stolen eight priceless objects from an area that houses the French crown jewels. This is the Globalist. Stay tuned now for a look behind the headlines. Here's Monocle's Grace Charlton on the annual Pad London fair and why it's what the capital's design community needs, needs.
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Karen Middleton
London rarely gets its flowers as a design destination, which is valid. I blame the organizing boards of the city's various design fairs and festivals, which are scattered randomly throughout the year and are for the most part uninspired and uninspiring. There's London Craft Week and Clerkenwell Design Week, taking place in a disconnected manner each May. Every two years, the London Festival of Architecture in June coincides with the London Design Biennale. And let's not forget London Design Festival, which is mostly a September rehash of April's Salone del Mobile and dotted across 10 districts that stretch from Chelsea to Shoreditch, with not a single cohesive vision between them. What these events do have in common is a dearth of glamour a la Milanese, or even new ideas like those on display in Copenhagen. Bored? Confused? Same. But every October, the pitching of one marquee in Mayfair's Berkeley Square brings some conversation and much needed fantasy to London's design scene. Pad London, the ultra premium fair dedicated to collectible design, gathers an international roster of galleries from cities including Paris, Sao Paulo and New York to display contemporary rarities, 20th century marvels and unexpected reissues. Importantly, the event has a clear vision. It's about craft, covetable design and perhaps most prominently, buying and selling inspiration for those without the bank balance can be found by simply wandering the museum quality booths. Crucially, there's one clear destination and as such it galvanises those that attend who spill out into parties across Mayfair in the evening. The fair's origins date back to 1998 when fourth generation antique dealer Patrick Perran founded the original pad in the French capital in 2007. The concept hopped across the pond and has since developed a well heeled fan base of jet setters who are hoping to kit out their Gstaat chalet with a 1:1 off finial table as seen at Swedish gallery Modernity's booth or a Gio Ponti circular games table. That would make for a great Christmas gift for that one person who has it all. If this is your conundrum, Rose Uniake is the contact When I spoke to gallerists on the opening day of the fair, they euphorically hinted at how profitable their morning had been, pointing to furniture, lighting, artworks and high jewelry with price tags north of £20,000. That's €23,000 being snapped up. It turns out money can buy taste if you know which galleries to turn to. Meandering through the stands, people watching the perfectly if not tastefully surgically enhanced attendees almost eclipsed the joy of spotting a metal bird shaped table by French artist Francois Xavier Lalanne despite much reported somewhat debunked concerns that millionaires are upping sticks from the UK Capitol for two tax free passages. Those shopping their way through Pad London were an international crowd who still own a bolt hole off the Kensington high street. But it comes as no surprise that the concept of PAD stems from Paris, where craft continues to be valued and invested in. This is why we chose the City of Lights as one of our creative communities in Monaco's brand new and delightfully glossy Design Directory. It's an annual one off dedicated entirely to the people and places that contribute to the industry. So if you have inherent or purchased taste, it's worth picking up a copy. Maybe our next edition could include a guide to running a fair.
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Emma Nelson
And that was Monocle's Grace Charlton. For more, sign up to our daily newsletter, the Monocle Minute. Just head to monocleminute.com monocle minute monocle.com minute or go and get yourself a copy of the Design Directory. It is a wonder you're listening to the glacier.
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Julia Jen
The time is what?
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Emma Nelson
7:33 here in London, 1:33am in Lima. And it is a week since Peru's Congress voted to impeach its then president, Dina Bulate. She is the seventh incumbent in the office in six years. Her removal from the job prompted protests, but the degree of violence in the subsequent anti government demonstrations has been remarkable. With at least one person being killed, a state of emergency is expected to be declared. To tell us more, I'm joined by Oscar Guardiola Rivera, who's professor of International Law and International affairs at Birkbeck College. Good morning, Oscar. Good to have you back.
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Oscar Guardiola Rivera
It's always a pleasure to be here, Emma.
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Emma Nelson
So what is the latest on this state of emergency, please?
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Oscar Guardiola Rivera
Well, the state of emergency is expected to be set these months. Peru's police chief, General Oscarola has pointed out that it was a member of the police named as Luis Magallanes who would have fired a bullet that killed the rapper known as Trucco. The funeral of the rapper and protester took place on Saturday and although there are no announcements by the so called Generation Z movement of new mobilizations, they are expected after the state of emergency takes place.
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Emma Nelson
So the degree of violence of these protests, how surprising is.
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Oscar Guardiola Rivera
Is somewhat surprising given the fact that we had not not seen that kind of mobilization in Peru recently. Having said that, it looks remarkably like the kinds of social explosions that we have seen across the Americas in fact since 2019 and then in 2022 and 2023. The reasons are also very similar. In this case the the young population of Peru began to mobilize both for economic and political reasons, economically because the lack of opportunities for young people, questions concerning lack of pensions, lack of jobs, very low income. This is related to the so called measures for the flexibilization of the economy which have been undertaken by several governments in Peru. On the other hand, there is a political component here because the marches have also featured peoples from the left side of the Peruvian political movement which has been sidelined since the ousting of ex President Castillo.
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Emma Nelson
There is a new interim president, former speaker of the legislature. He took over after the departure of President Bulate. Is he able to calm things down?
- [37:19]
Oscar Guardiola Rivera
We will have to wait and see. He has, I mean he has made it very clear that his job is that of a transition government to guarantee stability. Having said that, as I pointed out before, the root causes are still there. The lack of economic opportunities for young people is sharply in contrast with what is perceived by Peruvian population as widespread corruption among politicians. So insofar as those root causes will remain, it is difficult to see stability coming back to Peru.
- [38:01]
Emma Nelson
And it is a destabilizing country when it comes to its neighbors as well. Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.
- [38:07]
Oscar Guardiola Rivera
Absolutely. These kind of instabilities becoming once more the norm. And this also has to do with the, let us say, more generic sense of instability that is beginning to grip the Americas as a whole, having to do with what is happening in the United States as well, and the relations between the United States and Latin America. These things are all connected and that is why analysts expect this kind of instability to end.
- [38:48]
Emma Nelson
While we have you, Oscar, let's talk about instability in various other parts of that part of the world. Colombia, we have President Trump accusing the Colombian president of being an illegal drug dealer. What's gone wrong here?
- [39:03]
Oscar Guardiola Rivera
That was very unexpected. It has to be said absolutely clear that every political leader from every part of the political spectrum in Colombia has rejected these accusations. After all, all regardless of their political differences, it is well known by all sectors in Colombia that President Petro was the one who actually denounced the relationship between drug trafficking and political power in Colombia. That's how he made his political career and why he became a president. And so these accusation has been met with universal surprise and rejection, not only in Colombia, but elsewhere, because in Latin America, it's becoming clear that this is part of a pattern that seeks to sow the seeds of instability. The amassing of military forces in the Caribbean. The reason behind this accusation has to do with the fact that President Petro had to announce the killing of a Colombian fisherman who had nothing to do with drug dealing, possibly inside Colombian national waters rather than in international waters, which in any case is illegal. This kind of extrajudicial killing, 29 of them so far, is illegal. It worries tremendously the entire region because it is seen as related with the Tensad regime change in Venezuela, but also now in Colombia. Nobody will benefit from this kind of volatility, not the United States, not Colombia and the rest of Latin America's neighbors. And of course, the halting of all help and collaboration in the so called war on drugs is also something that does not benefit either the United States or Colombia.
- [41:21]
Emma Nelson
Oscar Guardiola Rivera, professor of International Law and International affairs at Birkbeck College. Thank you so much for joining us on Monocle Radio. You're listening to the globalist. It's 1400. It was 1441, I should say, in Ulaanbaatar and 8:41am In Zurich. Now, Mongolia has lost another prime minister at the end of last week. Gombayev Zandan Shatta was removed from office just four months after taking power in June. The political shakeup comes as a country faces a slowing economy, rising public anger and growing divisions from within the ruling party. Well, I'm joined now by Anand to Matuga, who's journalist based in Ulaanbaatar. Good afternoon, Anand.
- [42:13]
Anand Matuga
Good afternoon. Thank you for having me.
- [42:14]
Emma Nelson
Good to have you with us. So what's going on in Mongolian politics?
- [42:18]
Anand Matuga
So very much an unprecedented event where our prime minister was ousted and also our speaker of parliament also resigned over the allegations that the ousted prime minister had made.
- [42:34]
Emma Nelson
So these accusations that were made, just explain them a little bit more first.
- [42:39]
Anand Matuga
So, so in September, the ruling party had a vote who will be the next chair of their party? And the prime minister, the outgoing prime minister lost the vote and as a result he went out full rage with waging war within his party and accused the speaker of, of being a corrupt politician, stealing, stealing, being a part of the. One of the arbiters of stealing the profits from the coal sales. And yeah, so those were the basis. And the prime minister was ousted on three points. He was ousted on unlawful appointment. He appointed a judicial minister without reconciling the parliament and the press president. And again, he violated the judicial independence by alleging that one of the members of parliament have committed a crime without having any kind of due process. And he was also ousted on the basis that he gave preferential treatments to one of the mining companies in selling coal to.
- [44:00]
Emma Nelson
So there are these accusations of personal and professional impropriety there. Yes, but we also have the Mongolian economy, which is not in a good shape at the moment. Can you tell us what's going wrong there?
- [44:14]
Anand Matuga
It basically boils down to what Donald Trump has done with the tariffs. It has given a bit of a shakeup into our economy also. And also the lower prices of coal whole have impacted our economy. But relatively our GDP has been on a steady growth and even though it seems as though we're doing poorly, it's mainly due to poor allocation of funds from our, from our government.
- [44:44]
Emma Nelson
So there is also, so there's poor allocation of funds from the government, but there is also the fact that the reliance on mining and resources, it does create a lot of. How much of a political risk does this create?
- [44:56]
Karen Middleton
Court?
- [44:58]
Anand Matuga
It it's in recent years it has caused a lot of risk with the 2023 coal theft allegations that, that has brought a new light on, on how the government was basically siphoning money to, to benefit some of their, some of their politicians and not actually putting some of the earnings from that sale from coal to China into the maybe like the state budget.
- [45:25]
Emma Nelson
And the, the relationship, the wider relationship between Mongolia and the likes of China and also Russia in a period of extreme political instability, what does that do for the relationship with the, with the wider world?
- [45:41]
Anand Matuga
I think it slows a lot of progress, I would say, not in terms of maybe like with the west, but in terms of our two allies. No, not two allies, our two neighbors where Russia and China, we have been in talks with them to build a giant gas pipeline through Mongolia. And also it might also hinder the gas imports from Russia, which also that gas fuels the mining projects inside of Mongolia, which and then is export into China. So those are the economic risks at the moment.
- [46:22]
Emma Nelson
Ananta Matoga, thank you very much indeed for joining us on the line from Ulaanbaatar. You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio.
- [46:32]
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- [47:07]
Emma Nelson
746 here in London. Now, yesterday, Frieze London and Frieze Masters wrapped up in Regent's park in the capital. The events are the most important moments arguably in the British high end art market's calendar. And while they arrived at a testing time for the market, the fairs were busy and buzzy. Or Frieze Masters features works from before the year 2000, from all over the world and throughout history. And this year it has a new director, Emanuela Tarizo. Monocle's Sophie Monaghan Combs caught up with Emanuela to find out about some of those special odds objects on display.
- [47:39]
Emanuela Tarizzo
We've come to the Charles E. Stand to look at some ancient Roman glass. It's absolutely stunning, the delicacy, the beauty of it. And you know, you have to consider that this is 2000 years old and it's glass that's been preserved underground for centuries. But you see it today in, in the colors and the ornament as well of it. It feels so fresh and what they've done, which I love that they've invited Shane Connolly to create floral arrangements specifically for Frieze Masters to have here on the stand with these glass vases. And it's beautiful because you see them, you know, as both as objects of Incredible antiquity, but also things that you can collect, have in your home, display flowers in. So it's very much that sense of time compressed and it's so special, but also it's accessible, which I think is brilliant and really, I think embodies much of what many of our galleries want to do at the fair. As you say, this is from the Roman Empire, but we have works here. You know, just from where I'm standing, I can see statues and paintings, and we've got things from all over the world and, you know, all through time. Maybe you could try and give a little bit of a sense of the scope of what's on show at Frieze Masters. Absolutely. So actually, I think it's a good thing we started here with ancient Rome. Obviously we have even older objects because part of our displays are natural history, so we have dinosaurs, for instance. Do make sure you go and see those. But for instance, behind us, Shibunkaku Gallery. Shibunkaku represent Japanese artists from the 20th century. So it's that span not just in terms of period, but also geography. And we have galleries from Australia, galleries that represent Australian artists. We have Carton Rochelle, a gallery from New York who has taken South Asian sculpture from centuries ago. But we also have galleries that represent Indian artists, contemporary artists. We have Andrew Dodilla at Videra Art Gallery. Part of our studio section, which looks at. Asks contemporary artists to tell us how art from the past has inspired their work today. So we're really trying to give a sense of the scope of the fair and of the story of art. And this is the first friezemasters under your direction. What have you kept the same this year? And what have you. You tried to do a little bit differently, I think. Frieze Masters, I mean, I've visited the fair and I've been an exhibitor at the fair in the past. And I think, you know, this pavilion that Annabel Zeldorf has designed for Frieze from the beginning of Frieze Masters is wonderful. And our visitors and galleries are always so happy. It feels like such a special place. And we have returning galleries that, you know, come back year after year, and we're superior, but obviously part of our job is also to continue to expand that community. So bringing in galleries from both the realms of contemporary art and ancient historical art is something that is very important to me and that I'm going to continue to work on.
- [50:51]
Emma Nelson
That was afri's Masters director, Emanuela Tarizzo, in conversation with Monocle's Sophie Monaghan Combs you're listening to Monocle Radio.
- [51:01]
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- [52:00]
Emma Nelson
Now more details have emerged about the opening ceremony of next year's Winter Olympics in Italy. Harmonia, or harmony, is the overarching theme. And I'm joined now from Milan by Maria Laura Gasconi, who's ceremonies director of fondazione Milano Cortina 2026. Good morning, Maria.
- [52:18]
Maria Laura Gasconi
Good morning.
- [52:19]
Emma Nelson
Good to have you with us today on Monocle Radio. Why is Harmonia the theme of the ceremony?
- [52:26]
Maria Laura Gasconi
Well, Harmonia, and we will keep it in Italian because it's a sound that resonances as well the music and the history of music in Italy is a very powerful word for us. It represents the union of man and nature and represents the diversity of all our Olympic territories that will be involved in the Games. But Harmonia also means for us the beauty of Italy. The perfect melt of different languages about art, culture, design, fashion. And it's also a sort of promise to the world because it's a message of peace, is a message of sustainability. So all these messages put together for us really represent what we want, what we aim as a work to live in.
- [53:19]
Emma Nelson
There's no doubt that Italy has an astonishing richness of what it can to offer. So those concepts that you've just spoken about, how do you actually translate it into a ceremony or an event that is going to be very Italian?
- [53:32]
Maria Laura Gasconi
Absolutely. So it's going to be a journey across the timeless beauty that you feel when you join Italy, when you come to Italy. So it's going to be a journey across our culture, our history. So we pay a tribute to our talents, to our genius, but also we represent with the style and elegance, the beauty of our country, all the elements that Always remind everybody when you travel in Italy, when you think of Italy. So it's going to be a really colorful, warm and very emotional journey in Italy.
- [54:15]
Emma Nelson
Tell us a little bit more about the fact that the Games themselves are multi location.
- [54:20]
Maria Laura Gasconi
Yes.
- [54:21]
Emma Nelson
So how do you make it and is the ceremony going to have that same idea that it will take place in different locations?
- [54:29]
Maria Laura Gasconi
Yes, it's going to be. The 2026 Olympic Games are widespread games and the same will be for our opening ceremony. There will be a widespread ceremony. This means that a part of the protocol will be made in different locations and the athletes will be will parade in the sports cluster where they will compete. This is to embrace everybody in the ceremony and let everybody have a once in a lifetime experience. So we will have a parent parade in Milan, but also in Livinho, in Predazzo and in Cortina as well as part of the protocol will be doubled in Milano and Cortina, which are the two host cities at the same time. Our cauldron will be placed both in Milano and Cortina. As you know, the lighting of the cauldron is one of the most emotional moments of the ceremony. And this emotion will be felt in more than one location. So we will somehow kick off the widespread ceremony concept and we will make and we will drive this format for the future organizing committee who will have the same territories, let's say challenge.
- [55:47]
Emma Nelson
Tell us about the team that you've brought together to actually create this ceremony. Who did you choose and why?
- [55:56]
Maria Laura Gasconi
We choose and we were lucky because he's Italian, so he can very well represent our Italian spirit. We choose Balic Wonder Studio. So Marco Balic, who is the chairman of this company, is one of the most expert in the world for Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies. He did it is 16, so he's very well aware of what is the protocol about, what is the, let's say, the emotion you need to deliver in such an important event. So he's also chose in his creative team a very strong number of Italian talents in all the different fields of choreographies, of music, costumes. And so we are very, we have a very strong team and we are sure that we all draw a beautiful and emotional ceremony.
- [56:52]
Emma Nelson
The question is, you've got so much richness to play with. You always wonder what you've got to leave out because you only have one ceremony.
- [57:00]
Maria Laura Gasconi
Yes, well, in reality we will have four ceremonies and we will try to keep firouge in the storytelling along all this ceremony. Every ceremony one will represent the Italian spirit. We want to leave to the world a spirit which pays a tribute to the past, but with a contemporary style, with a contemporary eye. And so this will be played across all our ceremonies. We are also lucky because we have the opportunity to make this storytelling in unique venues, because the opening ceremony will be in the San Sido Stadium, which is a temple of football, but has been as well a temple of great music. While the closing ceremony and the Paralympic Opening Ceremony will have as a venue the Arena Auverona, which is a monument which is well known all over the world. And at the end, the closing of the Paralympic Games will, will be done in Cortina, which is a very, very strong, which has a very strong legacy in sport. So all these will let us have the opportunity to tell about Italy and the Italian spirit.
- [58:17]
Emma Nelson
Maria Laura Gasconi Ceremonies Director of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 thank you so much for joining us on Monocor Radio. And that's all the time we have for today's program. The warmest of thanks to all my guests. And thanks too to the producers Monica Lillis, Hassan Anderson and Ryuma Takahashi. In Tony Tokyo, our researcher was Joanna Mosa and our studio manager was Christy o'. Grady. After the headlines, there's more music on the way. The briefings live at midday here in London. The Globalist is back at the same time tomorrow. Hope you can join me for that if you can. But for now, from me, Emma Nelson, goodbye. Thanks for listening.
- [58:59]
Oscar Guardiola Rivera
Sam.
- [59:32]
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