← The Globalist
The Globalist
Ukraine peace talks, Beijing might be about to sit down with Taiwan and aviation news
00:58:27
Loading summary
Transcript144 lines
- [00:04]
A
Craft matters in small ways, like how a coffee is brewed, and in not so small ways, like how your money is cared for. Which is why for 160 years, UBS has elevated banking to a craft, tailoring unique strategies that combine human expertise with the latest technologies, all happening across 24 time zones and 12 key financial hubs. With you at the heart of it all, UBS advice is our craft.
- [00:38]
B
You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on 9th December 2025 on Monocle Radio. The Globalist in association with U.
- [01:09]
Live from London. This is THE Globalist with me, Emma Nelson. A very warm welcome to today's program. Coming up, there are some things which.
- [01:16]
C
We can't manage without Americans, things which.
- [01:19]
D
We can't manage without Europe.
- [01:21]
E
And that's why we need to make some important decisions.
- [01:25]
B
The coalition of the willing gathers tightly around Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelensky has a meeting in London ahead of a trip to Brussels and Rome. We'll assess what this means for any peace plan. Also ahead in the next 60 minutes, could Taiwan and Beijing talk? There are reports that discussions are on the cards between Taiwan's opposition party and China, but there are strings attached and.
- [01:48]
C
So we don't always base it on is it ready for a corinthia, but can it be a destination that can grow into? And I would say Bucharest is probably an example where maybe it wasn't ready.
- [01:57]
B
Well, explore how the luxury hospitality market is eyeing Romania and hear the latest on the battle for the Warner Bros. Discovery brand, plus the papers and aviation news, too. That's all coming up on the Globalist, live from London.
- [02:17]
First, a quick look at some of the other stories we're following today. The United Nations Secretary General has condemned an Israeli raid on the East Jerusalem compound of the UN Palestinian refugee agency. President Trump has announced a $12 billion aid package for American farmers affected by low crop prices and his own trade policies. And a world record attempt has been held in Argentina to bring together the biggest number of golden retriever dogs in one park, 2000 attended. Stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on these stories. But first, we stand with Ukraine. A well worn phrase now, but for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, it is something he and his nation need to hear, especially now. There have talks today, well, yesterday, I should say, in London involving President Zelensky and the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Friedrich Meltz. The subject, the latest Ukraine peace plan drafted during talks between Ukraine and the U.S. officials in Florida last week. Well, to walk us through what happened in the last 24 hours, I'm joined now by Julia Jen, who's Monocle's researcher and writer. Good morning, Julia. Good to have you. Two and a half hours of talks yesterday. Do we know what was said?
- [03:29]
F
No, as we were saying just before we came live onto the show, it's so quiet. There was no press conference. There were no major leaks of any details, which is something unusual. In the past few weeks, we've seen some major leaks of details. But, yes, very quiet, sort of Macron, Mertz, Zelensky, Starmer reiterating, you know, standing with Ukraine, sort of bolstering Ukraine's defenses and so on. We did see one interesting announcement late last night from Starmer Keir Starmer, about the frozen assets. I think that's the one of the really big things that could come out of these talks is Europe unlocking 100 billion worth of frozen assets for Ukraine. So these are frozen Russian assets that currently are sitting in European banks that Europe has the ability but is sort of maneuvering around sensitivities, you know, in the financial world. Belgium is very kind of cautious about all of this. And actually we have Zelensky heading to Brussels today for meetings. So perhaps we might see an interesting announcement coming out of that today.
- [04:30]
B
What would the assets be used for?
- [04:33]
F
Absolutely. So all sorts of things. I think Ukraine is really pushing for that to be used, too. There is a big black hole coming up in Ukraine's finances in February. And if there isn't sort of emergency funding that is used to kind of patch that up, that would be really quite catastrophic for Ukraine for the war effort, but also procuring weapons. We have NATO now buying weapons from the U.S. some weapons that can only be made in the U.S. so we have, for example, Patriot air defense missiles. These are used to intercept, intercept ballistic missile attacks. Some of these can only be made in the US So we have them buying that from Trump and his team at full price, as Trump boasted last night. So, you know, things like that and potentially reconstruction efforts. That's something that's really being pushed by the European side. But the Ukrainians are very keen to focus on the here and now and get to the reconstruction when that happens.
- [05:26]
B
What Zelenskyy has to do at the moment is this absolutely extraordinary dance of supplication. Having experienced what we're nearly four years into this now, and he was the master of Poundland, of going around the world and showing his face and showing Ukraine's face and saying, this is what we need. He's needed every ounce of that experience now to engage in this incredibly difficult balancing act between obviously keeping the Europeans on side, but working with the Americans too. Yeah.
- [05:56]
F
And we know that there's incredible pressure from the US now. We know that in Axios reports overnight as well. We know that the Trump team are really pressing on Zelenskyy to make sure that there is territorial sort of handover to Russia. So Putin has his eye on the Donbas region. He has made it clear, according to media reports to Trump in the last few days that he will not accept any sort of peace deal. And we know how fixated Trump is on that kind of peace deal and on crowning himself sort of as the king of peace. We know that there is extraordinary pressure on Zelenskyy to give that up.
- [06:32]
G
Now.
- [06:32]
F
We know that overnight, again, Zelenskyy has reiterated as he the past few years, that there cannot be any giving up of territory to Russia because that goes against Ukraine's constitution. And he's very keen on really reiterating that fact about the constitution. And I guess, what does Ukraine need going forward? There's a lot of talk about, you know, and we have actually candidates really putting themselves forward for Ukraine's presidential elections. And there's a conversation, I think, happening right now inside Ukraine. What kind of leader does Ukraine have need going forward? Has Ukraine been able to win over all the friends that it can really overseas in terms of diplomacy, having that panache that you were talking about that Zelenskyy has? And now going forward, you know, Ukrainians are really thinking, actually it's about consolidating what's going on inside the country, unity inside the country, which maybe Zelenskyy doesn't really have the hand to do anymore. And that's the sort of future that's being carved out there.
- [07:24]
B
That is a problem, isn't it? Because if he loses the room at home, not especially because of the corruption scandal which has engulfed his closest aides, that could mean that whatever deal he strikes abroad could be rejected outright by the people who he leads.
- [07:41]
F
Absolutely. Parliament. Parliament right now is sort of in chaos in some ways because Zelenskyy has lost that majority that he had. You know, back when he was elected, before 2022, he had that outright majority he governed. And, you know, when the full scale invasion started, he had that majority to really rely on to push things through, through parliament and really get those things agreed. Now, because of this corruption scandal and the loss of that Key aid that we've talked about so much on this show, the loss, aid to the corruption scandal has really fractured things in Parliament. We've got individuals coming forward who would never before, you know, dare to poke their head above the parapet. We've got them coming out and outlining their own vision. And we had extraordinary scenes yesterday when Zelenskyy touched down in London and he was greeted by the ambassador to the uk, the general, who, you know, is really being pushed forward as a political opponent. But aside from all of that, Ukrainians rally around Zelenskyy, we saw that February Oval Office in those moments of intense negotiation, intense pressure, and we are seeing that again, if Zelenskyy doesn't give up on that territorial question that Russia and Trump are really pushing, then I think he will enjoy the support of Ukrainians.
- [08:57]
B
And this is something that he said publicly last night, that Ukraine does not have the moral or the legal right to give up any land to Russia. Looking at those around him and where he turns for support and for attention, obviously we have the almost the traditional players, Merz, Macron, Starmer, their usefulness is evident. But the fact is he gave a really odd statement in his online conference. He said, there are some things we can't manage without Americans, things which we can't manage without Europe, and that's why we need to make some important decisions. What do we think Zelenskyy meant by that?
- [09:36]
F
I think playing into, you know, the European view, which is that we can't survive without America, There is a huge shift happen behind closed doors in European politics. We had just over a week ago that incredible leaked call between the major European leaders in which Macron said, there is a real danger for Zelenskyy. We sort of can't basically leave him in the room alone with Trump and his team, with Kushner, with Wyckoff, the lead Trump negotiators. Because there is a real possibility that the US Will betray Ukraine on the most important issues. So security guarantees territorial integrity. So, and then, of course, on Friday, as we talked about on the show yesterday here on Friday, we had the release of that incredible document which revives the U.S. national Security Review, which revives the U.S. monroe document doctrine.
- [10:26]
B
Sorry.
- [10:26]
F
So that's the idea that Europe sort of manages on its own, and the US really isn't there as a kind of policeman basically to keep order, but is sort of, as another player, sort of unequal and, you know, allowing the US to focus inside itself, inside its domestic politics sort of things out there. So we have this Incredible shift happening. But this is such a monumental shift. I mean, if we look at just this country here where we are in the UK, the UK's, you know, nuclear weapons hugely rely on the Americans. We basically have to get a yes from Washington in order to be able to use our own, you know, nuclear deterrent and so many other, you know, our planes, our missile defense systems and so on, so forth. So Europeans are very careful now. And we have had analysts saying over the weekend, it's great that this National Security Review has come out from the us because it allows Europe to recalibrate in a way that the Oval Office spat in February also was allowing Europe to recalibrate. And so there's this fine dance happening between Ukraine, Europe that allows them to recalibrate and reduce reliance on the us.
- [11:32]
B
That does lead us to the agile question, can Europe recalibrate sufficiently at volume and its speed?
- [11:39]
F
Well, if we can't, then.
- [11:41]
B
Well, in the meantime, we have to look at what's happening in Ukraine at the moment. In the middle of all this. It is, dare I say it from the outside, far too easy to forget that Ukrainians are still subject to some of the most intense Russian bombardment.
- [11:54]
F
Yes, absolutely. And we had, you know, in the last 24 hours, we had a huge strike on, for example, a railway station. That's really one thing that Russia's very much targeting, is that connectivity within Ukraine. So you've got the postal office being targeted, depots, post depots, and we have rail, railway depots being targeted, passenger trains and so forth. So the idea that, you know, Ukrainians being able to sort of move around within the country, let's remember that since 2022, we haven't had a civilian flight within Ukraine. So that idea that you could jump on a plane here in London and end up in Kyiv in three hours, that doesn't exist. You know, it's a very arduous journey. This matters for diplomats, this matters for business leaders who are going to travel to Ukraine to strike deals to make sure that diplomacy is working. And actually, a really interesting part of, you know, what Russia was demanding in first peace plan that we saw outlined by Kushner and Wyckoff back when all of this was leaked at first, was no diplomatic planes inside Ukraine. And isn't that striking, this idea that they want to shut down that easy flow of movement that we really enjoy here in Europe? We see that in the drone incursions. We see that in European airports suffering shutdowns. That's really something that Russia is interested in targeting here. Or at least allegedly.
- [13:09]
G
Julia.
- [13:09]
B
Jen, Monocle's researcher and writer, thank you so much for joining me in the studio. You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio.
- [13:22]
Now, could Beijing be about to hold talks not with the Taiwanese government but with its opposition? There are reports that the KMT party could be about to hold discussions with the Chinese authorities. Beijing attaching conditions, however. Well, I'm joined now from Taipei by William Yang, who's a senior Northeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group. Good afternoon to you, William.
- [13:45]
H
Thank you for having me.
- [13:46]
B
So what are these conditions?
- [13:50]
H
So the condition is there are three conditions that are reportedly being listed out by Beijing. Number one is for the KMT to refuse to approve the $40 billion special defense budget that that Taiwan President Lai Ching Te last last month as that is a very key part of his administration's efforts to enhance Taiwan's defense capabilities and at the behest and also growing pressure coming from Washington. And the other two are basically urging the KMT to not also approve national security related budget or bills that have also been proposed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party repeatedly since last year. Because China also views these bills as driving a very, you know, increasing Taiwan's capability to defend against itself of what Taipei called as an infiltration or influence campaign initiated by China. So basically these conditions are trying to, you know, compromise and weaken the government's attempt to try to enhance Taiwan's ability to, you know, reduce China's influence on Taiwan overall. But obviously I think these are demands that have been reportedly denied by Jian Liwen and the KMT party. As you know, actually the conditions that have been tabled by Beijing and the conditions that the KMT would actually consider.
- [15:35]
B
How unusual is it for an opposition party to even enter into discussions about discussions with conditions like that, banning arms purchases, increasing the amount of Chinese influence or rather not diminishing the amount of Chinese influence. This is the opposition party in Taiwan, isn't it?
- [15:56]
H
Right. Exactly. I think if there were indeed any sort of conditions being tabled by Beijing and if the KMT would even actually consider cooperating to, you know, according to these demands to any extent, it would actually be a very damaging move for them as a political party in Taiwan, especially an opposition party that may be hoping to actually regain and power in the 2028 presidential election given both, I think the trend of the public opinion vis a vis the, you know, cross strait relations, but also China's growing pressure on Taiwan. You know, the general public in Taiwan are, you know, growing increasingly concerned about China's pressure on Taiwan. And so if the KMT ever actually considers doing anything remotely in collaboration or cooperation with the Chinese to undermine the current administration's agenda, it would actually be something that would seriously undermine their chances of winning any election in Taiwan in the near future.
- [17:20]
B
So one wonders why the opposition party, the kmt, actually want to even engage in conversation with China. China.
- [17:28]
H
So they have long been proposing this line because they view it as the best course of.
- [17:38]
Response to the unresolved situation and tension across the Taiwan Strait. They felt like a conversation with the Chinese is much more effective than adopting a defense, defensive position and also approach to handle relationships between China and Taiwan. And they also believe that China is much closer right next door to Taiwan, considering not engaging in any sort of dialogue. In their view, it's just unrealistic. And this view has been renewed and resurfaced by the new chairwoman who was elected in late October to lead the party. And so that is, I think, one of the reason why we are now seeing her trying to push pretty hard for a potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- [18:40]
B
As it stands at the moment, what is the relationship between the DPP and communications with China? We see the communication of a very clear military kind being sent out. But in terms of lines talking face to face, where are we with that?
- [19:01]
H
There has not been any official level communication between the DPP government and Beijing since 2016. And it's been in that same way for the last nine years. And since the current president, Lai Ching Te took office last year, the communication has even dwindled further that almost no even backdoor channel existed between Taipei and Beijing because China does not want to honor any, you know, way to actually maintain communication with his government due to skepticism of his intention and also his more assertive language and position vis a vis the situation and relationship between Beijing and Taipei. So, you know, I think in a lot of the ways that really creates, you know, the only existed communication channel between any party or any institution entity in Taiwan and China is between the KMT and Beijing. And that I think makes both the KMT become domestically more complicated in terms of their positioning, but also make it more easily for China to consider using any sort of pressure tactics to try to potentially influence the KMT to come to the negotiating table or compromising its own position on key domestic issues if they're seriously considering engaging in leadership level dialogue with the Chinese government.
- [20:51]
B
William Yang, Senior Northeast Asia Analyst for the International Crisis Group in Taipei, thank you so much for joining us on the Globalist. Still to come on today's program, it.
- [21:00]
D
Was his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, completed in 1997, that made Gary a household name. Few architects can boast careers as varied, far reaching and original.
- [21:10]
B
That's Monocle's design editor, Nick Monis on the life and legacy of the architect Frank Gehry. Stay with us.
- [21:19]
A
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.
- [21:57]
B
7:21 here in London. Let's have a look at the newspapers. Joining me in the studio, Zoe Grunewald, who's a Westminster editor at the lead. Good morning, Zoe. How is the lead? What are you following at the moment?
- [22:07]
G
Oh, just everything that's going on in Westminster, which tends to be mostly watching Reform UK and Nigel Farage actually. And there's always a lot to watch.
- [22:16]
B
Goodness me, what a wonderful thing you have. Well, we wish you the very best of luck. Let's have a look at the papers. An article in the Guardian talking about the the shift to the far right and making a noise. France and UK failing to tackle anti migrant activists. There is an awful lot of noise in the British papers, at least about the small boats crossing over from France to the United Kingdom. Huge amount of spotlight on that. Yet this shines a spotlight on the British going to France to try to the migrants from getting in the boats in the first place.
- [22:50]
G
Yes. And in some ways when I read this piece I thought, I'm actually surprised we haven't been hearing about this already because as you say, the small boats crisis has been such a huge issue here in the uk. So this is a particular warning that has been set off from French and British NGOs about this dangerous new trend of British anti migrant activists traveling to northern France to stop try and stop small boat crossings. So nine French humanitarian groups say that both the UK and the French authorities are failing to stop groups traveling over there. The group at the center of this is a group called Raise the Colors, which you might remember from when there was a sort of trend of people hanging St George's flags across cities in the UK. Now it's launched this thing it's calling Operation Overlord, which is sending members to French beaches to harass migrants and search for dinghies and try and destroy them The NGO say the response from the government has been inadequate. They say that activists are able to enter France freely, recruit supporters online and livestream patrols. And there's barely any meaningful intervention.
- [23:52]
B
I mean, the French have a big enough headache as it is on the boats, on the, on the beaches. And this has been reported by an organization called Utopia 56, which is a French organization, isn't it, based in Calais? And, and they are looking to, to, to try and sort of monitor what is happening here. But, but what's been the French response to this given the fact that, you know, know, like I said, they're busy enough.
- [24:16]
G
Yeah, well, I think that's exactly right. And we know that the UK and Keir Starmer and the Foreign Secretary have all been trying to shore up relations with Europe, particularly France, because of course that is where the, the Channel border is to try and get the French to patrol the, the, that crossing better and to try and share more data, biometric data, about smuggling gangs. There has been some success. We saw those images of the French police stabbing dinghies on the French coast before they could make it over to the uk but of course we still getting crossings almost every single day and we're still seeing small boat arrivals ongoing. So. But as you say, you know, how much of this can be an issue that is solely the French police to deal with and how much of this is a global issue that requires countries to look at their refugee quotas, look at their migrant quotas, share information about smuggling gangs and try and deal with the global migration crisis altogether. Because as we know, push factors are much, much stronger than pull factors in many of these cases.
- [25:15]
B
Let's have a look at an article. I think, I think it's off the BBC news website which is about the, this spotlight that's being shone on Australia as it tries to ban social media for the under 16s. And you must absolutely sort of pity anybody who's having to be a decision maker in all this because the whole world is watching, isn't it?
- [25:34]
G
Absolutely. So for anyone who's not aware, from 10th December, anyone under 16 will be banned from holding accounts on major platforms. And tech companies are legally required to take reasonable steps to keep under 16s out so that, you know, biometric surveillance and age verification and such alike. Australia say Australia government says that tech firms have had 15 to 20 years of time to self regulate and they failed. There have been multiple complaints from whistleblowers, lawsuits, and this is stuff we're seeing across the world. You know, in the US there are multiple lawsuits accusing platforms of addictive design. So they've, they've pushed back and they're just going to ban it under 16s. Of course, there has been some industry pushback. Meta, TikTok, Snapchat are all lobbying fiercely. They're saying the ban will make kids unsafer, it will pinch on their rights. But as you say, this is a global template. There are lots of countries watching this closely who are exasperated with platforms refusing to take responsibility for young people's mental health and young people's safety online. And so the platforms will be complying, but only just. And what we're going to see is a very extended battle, I think, between tech companies and the Australian government. And states across the world will be wondering which side they will eventually fall into.
- [26:43]
B
Okay, finally, an article in on the again on the BBC website, which is women are being paid to do the housework, pretty much.
- [26:51]
G
So India's basically running what is quite an interesting social policy experiment. So.
- [26:57]
Millions of women, I think it's 118 million women across 12 states will receive unconditional cash transfers. These are monthly payments of about 12 to 24 pounds simply.
- [27:07]
B
So you get 12 pounds for a month?
- [27:09]
G
Yes. Monthly payments. Well, between 12 and 24. It depends on the state. But this is basically for adult women who shoulder the burden of unpaid domestic and care work. It goes straight to these women's bank accounts. It doesn't go to the family unit, it goes to the women expected to spend on essentials. The cash is regular and reliable. And women are reporting it does give them a better sense of control and independence. Obviously, as you say, it's a small amount. Women still say actually what we want is better access to paid works and.
- [27:35]
B
Better rights, but quite like a career.
- [27:37]
G
Yes, but the evidence we're seeing actually is it is boosting financial autonomy, it's reducing household conflict and improving women's bargaining power in small but meaningful ways, as well as making them more likely to vote, of course. Course.
- [27:48]
B
Obviously. Zoe Grunewell, Westminster Editor at the lead. Thank you so much for joining me in the studio. You're listening to the Globalist.
- [28:02]
And here's a look at some of the stories we're looking at today. The United Nations Secretary General has condemned an Israeli raid on the East Jerusalem compound of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency unwa. Antonio Guterres warned that the compound was the premises of the United nations and was immune from any intervention interference. At least 30 people have been injured after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit northeastern Japan. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes. Thousands of homes have been left without power and the public has been warned to remain on high alert for at least a week. President Trump has announced a $12 billion aid package for American farmers. They are affected by low crop prices and his own trade policies. And a world record attempt has been held to bring together the biggest number of golden retriever dogs in one. The Guinness world record said 2,000 of the breed were gathered in a park in Argentina. And those are the headlines on Monocle Radio.
- [29:11]
Now. One of the great architects from the last century, Frank Gehry, died this weekend. He was 96. And here's Monocle's design editor, Nick Moniz, looking back at his last life and his legacy.
- [29:23]
D
Born In Toronto in 1929, Frank Gehry moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, the city where he established his namesake architecture practice in 1962. The architect, who passed away last week following a respiratory illness, was famed for his sculptural curvilinear designs that appear to defy conventional geometry. In 1989, he was awarded architecture's highest honour, the Pritzker Prize, for a body of work that was visually and materially unexpected and respected for its ability to transform entire cities, uplift the spirits of citizens, prompt regeneration projects and entice visitors from near and far. However, it was his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, completed in 1997, that made Gary a household name. Few architects can boast careers as varied, far reaching and original.
- [30:11]
B
Monocle's design editor Nick Moniese there. And you can read Nick's extended piece on Frank Gehry by heading over to monocle.com minute. This is the Globalist.
- [30:26]
8:30Am in Zurich, 7:30am here in London, 23:30 in Los Angeles. And they'll be having late nights over there because two days ago, the takeover by Netflix of Warner Brothers Discovery appeared to be a done deal. Things have become a little grittier. However, Donald Trump said Netflix has a big market share and the firm's combined size could be a problem now. Now, Paramount Sky Dance has waded in with an enormous hostile bid. Joining me in the studio, Karen Krasanovich, film critic and regular Monocle radio voice. Good morning, Karen.
- [30:59]
E
Good morning.
- [30:59]
B
So 24 hours ago, we were in exactly the same space and we were talking about how the Netflix Warner Brothers Discovery deal was just that, a deal, and now everything's gone upside down. Tell me where it's got juicy.
- [31:15]
E
Well, it was a signed deal, actually. I mean, I'm working on a film at the minute and everybody in the Office is just talking about, oh, this is terrible. This is Netflix buying one of my. How could this happen? And then seeing that, you know, Donald Trump saying, you know, wait, wait a minute, just wait. And now have this massive cash bid from Paramount Skydance to the shareholders is a real wake up call and somehow not surprising.
- [31:45]
B
Talk us through the bid, the fresh hostile bid.
- [31:47]
E
All right, all right. Well, first of all, you may wonder, I've got to say this because people aren't. How has Warner Brothers ended up in this situation? It's because even though they've had lots of hits, they're also carrying a lot of debt, stock is weak, and the streaming service that they have has not really been kept up to date. So it's carrying a lot of historical burdens financially. So that's why it's vulnerable. I was just wondering about that. So what's happened is that Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Brothers, but not the whole of Warner Brothers, only the films, TVs, and then the HBO Max, which is their streaming, and then leaving. And that gives them franchises like Harry Potter, D.C. and Game of Thrones, et cetera. But.
- [32:29]
They'Re not buying the TV channels, so that's why the price was lower. Now Paramount's come in, I think it's 108 billion. 108 billion. Yeah, I knew it was billion. A trillion.
- [32:42]
For the entirety. I mean, that's absolutely everything. So it will have two legacy studios, if you like, Paramount and Warner Brothers, plus lots and lots of TV and streaming. Now, the concern is that it's bringing together cbs, which is a major US Broadcast network, and cnn, big sports channels. That one company. And the concern is this is what everybody's saying, what happened to Monopoly? Raising concerns that one company could control too much of what Americans watch on regular tv, cable and other places. News. And you say to yourself, well, does anybody still watch those things? Yes, a lot of people still do.
- [33:21]
B
They do still. And what is on offer is absolutely what's crucial here. And that asks the question, what is the best option for Warner Brothers?
- [33:29]
E
Well, if we're talking bottom line, then I guess the cash offer from Fairmont is best for people that just want to make more money. Now, if they're concerned about the trajectory of this deal, then neither of them are really good, to be honest. But Netflix, I think, is in what way?
- [33:47]
B
Insofar as it will diminish Warner Brothers standing or it. Because we talked yesterday about it being a legacy brand. And the fact is that Netflix has an awful lot of power when it comes to home Entertainment, but that is not exactly what Warner Brothers stands for.
- [34:02]
E
Theatrical. I mean Warner Brothers is, I mean it's got many things under that umbrella, but it is the theatrical, cinematic experience, which Netflix, despite the fact that it has a lot of films and it does own a few movie theaters themselves, they're not fans of the cinematic experience. And that is what the entire ecosystem is based on. Based on is exhibition. So you've got people owning theaters are worried, you've got people who love cinema are worried, you're worried about, about the entire way that movies are considered and how they're judged and how they make money initially.
- [34:35]
B
Where do they raise the 108 billion cash from? That's.
- [34:41]
I don't know how, how quickly it takes you to raise money, but 108 billion as a hostile bid within 24 hours. See, seems fairly quick.
- [34:51]
E
Yeah, I think they were kind of prepared for it. There's some Saudi money in there, there's some, I think there might be some Qatari money as well and some other.
- [35:00]
Funds as well. I mean it is a lot and it is cash, but it just goes to show you what kind of power is behind this. And also I think the important thing here is that despite the fact that Paramount owns South park and Trump is not exactly happy with Paramount completely, they have just paid him 16 million to settle a lawsuit previously. And also I believe his son in law is on the board.
- [35:28]
B
Yes, Jared Kushner is involved.
- [35:29]
E
Yes.
- [35:30]
B
So we've now introduced Trump into the mix here, which is, we have to not least because there are connections between Paramount and Donald Trump, not just least the lawsuit that you've just spoken about, but when we actually look at the, at the infrastructure at Paramount.
- [35:49]
The owner of Paramount is a Trump donor.
- [35:52]
E
Yes, yes, very much so. Actually the real concern, the concern about the Netflix buyout, which is a signed deal, apparently it's signed, it has to go through regulatory process. But anyway, the concern with that was the decimation or the further annihilation of the cinematic experience, which is important to moviegoers and other people who make movies. But the worry about the Paramount Warner Brothers deal is not only, as I said previously, that CNN and CBS would be in the same camp. Trump has attacked both of those and critics are worried that he's going to push for conditions on how these outlets are run in exchange for the deal going through.
- [36:34]
B
And indeed I think the LA Times has reported that actually this isn't the first time that Paramount had a, had a, tried to take a bite of Warner Brothers. Isn't it, because I think it had a, it was going, it was on the cards to being the winning bidder. I think it was a $30 per shared bid and that there were problems with the Paramount offer and the critics were saying it's low ball offers and hubris. Tell us about hubris.
- [37:02]
E
Hubris. Who doesn't like a bargain? I don't know about you, but I Hagel, I mean, I can understand them lowballing an offer because they want to see how desperate Warner Brothers is and it makes perfect sense. But now it's a highball deal and the hubris of it is that, look, we've got Trump behind us, you can't stop us. It's almost as if they're saying, you know, we are the steamroller in this and fair, you know, fair dealings aren't really going to surface. And this is, this is the real fear because Warner Brothers has always seen as the big, beautiful industry, you know, wealthy, shiny, quality studio. I mean, not always, but for the most part, if you, if you were working for Warners, you, you felt that you couldn't really do any better. And now it looks as if that brand is going to be nibbled away in one way or the other.
- [37:51]
B
Karen Krasanovich, thank you so much for joining me in the studio. You're listening to the Globalist with me, Emma Nelson.
- [38:30]
It's 1638 in Hakodate and 738 here in London and at least 30 people have been injured after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit northeastern Japan. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes. Thousands of homes have been left without power and the public has been warned to remain on high alert for at least a week. Well, to tell us more, I'm joined by Ben Davis, his Monocle contributing editor, who was in Hakodati when the shaking was especially strong. A very good afternoon to you, Ben. May I ask if you're safe and sound?
- [39:01]
I
Hello, Emma. The sun has just gone down here in Hakodate and yes, the city feels a lot quieter than it was this time yesterday, but we certainly had a big jolt just before midnight.
- [39:14]
B
Talk us through what happened.
- [39:16]
I
Well, I think, as has been the way this month, the Christmas lights are in full swing. There's a lot of tourists walking around town. And then just after everyone went back to the hotels, we had had the big jolt, which certainly was a bit unexpected, obviously for everyone. And in the hotel I was staying in, which was a small two story place, we certainly felt a big kind of swaying back and forth. So within no Time the hotel staff had had us evacuated, and I think a group of around a dozen of us were walked to the local evacuation area, where we joined a lot of other tourists from the area. And yes, that's where we waited for the warnings to subside for a few hours. So it was a very, a very kind of tense period for a lot of people, I think, who were in Hakodare, who were work or business.
- [40:13]
B
Talk us through the geography of this, the location of the epicenter and what kind of place Hakodate is and how far these waves were spreading to the rest of Japan.
- [40:26]
I
Yes, well, I think the epicenter of Aomori, which is on the main part of the main island of Japan, which is, I guess, approximately southeast of where we are in Hakodate. Hakodate is a port town. It's right at the southern tip of Hokkaido, which is the main kind of northern island of Japan. So I think the tsunami warnings are. And there was a very small surge, I believe, in the magnitude of maybe 20 centimeters that came through just after midnight in Hakodate. But you do certainly, you don't feel too far away from things when the earthquakes do strike. So people are very quick to evacuate, to take their packs or their essentials with them and move to higher ground. So I feel like it's certainly been very well drilled into the local way of life that when these things happen, people know what to do.
- [41:23]
B
Indeed, it's that sense of being well drilled and that very famous sense of preparedness that we recognize in Japan when it comes to events like this. It's twofold, isn't it? It's firstly, do you know what to do when there's an earthquake and subsequent tsunami warning. But secondly, how prepared was the infrastructure for all this?
- [41:43]
I
Yes, well, it was very interesting because in a small hotel like ours, I think I counted maybe there are about five languages being spoken, so English, Japanese. I think there was some, some. Some Thai, some Chinese and maybe some people from Central Europe as well. But you realize what a, what a challenge it is at the moment with the tourism boom, that communicating in these times is something that's very crucial for a lot of hotel staff. But with a combination, I think, of multilingualists and, And a bu. Translation apps, they managed to get the messages, the key messages, to move, to take shelter, to wait very clearly and concisely, which I was particularly impressed with. And once we got into the evacuation area, the blankets, the hot tea was prepared very quickly, so we didn't feel too uncomfortable. But, yeah, in a situation like that being prepared really does make a difference, I think.
- [42:38]
B
And indeed, the way that Japan is built, I mean, we had the Shinkansen, the train suspended for a couple of hours, but it, it came back up again. And when you are in a two star, sorry, two story hotel in Japan, is there a sense that when the earthquake strikes that the buildings are now of such a high caliber that they just move?
- [43:02]
I
Yes, well, I think the movement comes naturally when you're, when you're in a new building or an old one. But yes, people can have very different experiences even in the same neighborhood. Neighborhood. A colleague of mine was up on the 10th floor in his hotel and he certainly felt a very significant sway back and forth. Whereas perhaps myself being a lot closer to the ground in a, in a kind of a heritage building, it was much more of a kind of a jolter, a real kind of.
- [43:32]
Abrupt kind of shaking back and forth. So yes, I don't think anyone's immune from feeling the movements, but perhaps, perhaps depending on the architecture and the build that you're in, the experience is very different.
- [43:44]
B
Ben Davis, Monocle's contributing editor, who was in Hakodate when the earthquake took place, thank you so much for joining us on the Globalist. You're listening to Monocle Radio.
- [43:57]
A
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.
- [44:35]
B
We head to the south of France now, where the international luxury travel market ILTM was held last week in Cannes. Well, Monocle Radio had a delegation on site and we were meeting some of the leading movers and shakers in the industry. Earlier, Laura Kramer caught up with Simon Kasson, the CEO of Corinthia Hotels. And she began by asking about the group's new hotel in her hometown and Romanian capital of Bucharest.
- [44:59]
C
So Carinthia has historically been an owner of hotels and we've developed and renovated and brought back to life many historic buildings. But with my arrival, sort of mark the herald of us moving into being more of a management company. So Asset Lights are looking for partners. So there's this amazing guy called Nikolai Demetriou who runs a group called Nero and he had this vision to, to bring the grand hotel to boulevard. And you know where it is, it looks like a chocolate box. And we've just did the Christmas Decorations. It looks absolutely stunning. And this hotels were there. And that Bella park era where every great city, you know, you visited by train and it had to have one grand hotel. So grand hotel in Boulevard From, I think 1867 was one of those. And you know, Mr. Dimitri decided to trust us as Corinthia to ultimately operate it, but also our sister company QP to manage the development process. So it's been an absolute pleasure. One little tidbit for you. When you go inside, you'll see these very baroque original oil painting murals inside. They're done by a guy called Simon Carson, who is from England and north of England. So everyone said, Simon, did you do the paintings as well? And I met the artist. We don't know each other. We must somehow be related. But two Simon Kassens are involved in a Carinthia Bucharest.
- [46:17]
E
Well, let's move on from Bucharest then and on to 2026. When, when you decide that a new location is ready for a Carinthia, what are those values that you think, okay, this is ready for our brand right now. This is where we're going to expand into.
- [46:30]
C
So we don't always base it on is it ready for a Carinthia, but can it be a destination that can grow into. And I would say Bucharest is probably an example, or maybe it wasn't ready for an international luxury hotel brand. But we knew we can see when you have a city, you know, in a country that has civilization, has educate people, has interest in city as well as beautiful countryside and sea, we believe in the future of that. So sometimes it can be ahead of ready. I mean, we look for a few things. Firstly, a partner who's of the caliber the NANI can develop, execute, but support the hotel through its early years. We look for a building of architectural merit. Most often in Europe, that's one with historical architectural merit. But you know, in Dubai, it's 202 story skyscraper that has a different type of architectural merit that's not historical, but is, you know, very modern and futuristic. So we look for that and then we look for certain parameters of size, scale, you know, food and beverage to build in, you know, wellness, some meeting facilities, you know, that type of thing. So there's a very methodical process we go through and part of our strategic development plan, you know, we're very clear about where we want to be in the world and then proactive and about how we get ourselves there.
- [47:43]
B
I like that because there's a sense.
- [47:45]
E
Of, well, we kind of like to.
- [47:46]
B
Be the first and also we want to help people explore and discover somewhere new.
- [47:50]
C
So when I was last in, in Bucharest, we were there because we were sort of co sponsoring the Serengini polo cup, which, you know, polo is the sport of kings. You know, I love it as a Brit. And there was an American couple staying in the hotel, very well fed couple from, from Florida. And they were going on sort of offbeat destination around Europe. They've done Positano, Amalfi, Rome, Florence. They want to go to undiscovered Europe. And I met them the first night that they stayed at the Corinthian Progress. Oh my good. We've had a fabulous time. But thank God, now we're at a beautiful hotel as well because we've stayed in some, you know, questionable places. They ended up staying nights long, longer than they intended to. We brought them out to the polo as well and they said thanks for grand brain, thanks for giving us a reason to come back to Bucharest and thank you for being a reason for other people to come for the first time.
- [48:40]
E
And do you think that the sector.
- [48:42]
B
Has fully recovered post Covid now?
- [48:44]
F
Because there's, there's a lot of very.
- [48:46]
B
Exciting things, but I think one thing.
- [48:48]
G
That we keep hearing about is of course, wellness, longevity.
- [48:51]
B
This is a very exciting thing and seems it really started focusing post Covid. How do you think it's doing right now? First of all, the health of the.
- [49:00]
E
Industry, but also how this will keep evolving.
- [49:04]
C
I think we're fully recovered from COVID because, you know, Covid, you know, is traumatic and you know, painfully difficult. It was for every one. And for hospitality companies, certainly there was a very strong rebound post Covid, you know, where people traveled more, they travel more expensive because it was this pent up desire. So I think we're covered from COVID But you know, what hangs over from it is the trauma that it put on the workforce. You know, people who are not necessarily did work in hospitality and maybe after being laid off or furloughed, you know, decided not to. So I think we have more recovery to do as employers to encourage people to be coming into the business, you know, on the sort of wellness side and you know, I like to call it wellegevity, right. Than longevity. You don't want to live long if you're not well. Right. You want to live well and long. So. Well, Jevity, I don't think I made that up but you know, it's, it's a good phrase and for me hotels play certainly a role in it because people travel and that's Part of your life. And for me to be well, you need great quality of sleep. And that's fundamentally what we do. If you're not sleeping well, it's very hard to be well. And good sleep is the quality of the mattress, the ability to block black out the room, the air quality in the room, the sense of safety that, you know, you're in a, in a safe space. On top of that, if you can add in, you know, sleep stories, available pillow sprays that are scented with camera, altogether sleep. So the quality of sleep, number one, what you put in your mouth is the second biggest route to are you going to be well enough? So making sure that we have healthy options. You can eat whatever you want in a luxury hotel, but we also need to make sure that we're giving you options if you're on keto at that time or if you're vegan or if you're gluten free or lactose free. Third thing is move. So sleep how you sleep, what you put in your mouth and then move, whatever movement means to you. Could be swimming, can be running, can be parties. It can be that I want to work out in my room and have a yoga mat to facilitate me doing that. But, you know, support people with the opportunities to move through gyms and then I guess the fourth aspect of wellness. So we did sleep, we did what you put in your mouth, we move and then it's mental wellness. So you listen. We're not psychologists or doctors, but we can make life easier because travel can be stressful by being kind, by being welcoming, by being there in moments of need, when someone loses their passport or their luggage hasn't turned up, by getting the basics right every day because, you know, people are busy and so if their shirt doesn't turn at present of a time or roommates to say that there's no hot water in the shower that causes people stress. So let's not be a causer of stress in what we do.
- [51:36]
B
And that was Simon Kasson, CEO of Carinthia Hotels, speaking to Monocle's Laura Kramer at the international luxury travel market in Cannes last week. You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio.
- [51:52]
We finish today's program with a look at the aviation world. To bring us all the news, I'm joined now from Johannesburg by Gabriel Lee, Monocle's transport correspondent. Hello, Gabriel. How are things where you are?
- [52:04]
G
Hello.
- [52:04]
D
All good here? Everything going fine in the transport world in Johannesburg, at least.
- [52:08]
B
I was about to say, what's taken you there? Because every time we speak to you. You've been on a plane that's taken you somewhere for a reason. So tell us about Johannesburg and its purpose today.
- [52:18]
D
That's right. Well, I came down here for about a week to do flights around with Airlink, the airline down here, but especially for a flight with them to St. Helena. I rode with the pilots. That island is about three hours west of the Namibian coast, has a very special airport there, famous for tricky landings with wind shear and turbulence and a very special place as well. So it was quite an experience this weekend.
- [52:40]
B
Talk us through the landing.
- [52:42]
D
Well, it's a Runway that, if you see it, you see just how challenging it must be. It's built on top of about a thousand feet up on top of a cliff, basically surrounded by large mountains on kind of the desert side of the island. So it looks very stark, like this rock in the middle of the ocean. And you have to come in where a lot of, a lot of winds going in various directions. So they basically expect wind shear, which is sudden changes in the direction of the wind. Right. Which can be dangerous for an aircraft. So they have to be really on top of this. It's all. They fly with two captains, you have to be specially trained and it's a weekly service they run that. They then go out to Ascension island, back to St. Helena and then to Joburg. So it's very. Yeah, it takes a lot of focus and preparation to do and indeed, and.
- [53:20]
B
Prepare, probably quite a lot of focus and preparation by the, by the passengers as well. What's it like to do. What's it like from the passengers point of view?
- [53:27]
D
I think it can vary. You know, you can get days where it's calm and no big deal, and other days it's very turbulent. So if you're a nervous flyer, it's definitely going to be a tricky one for you. The good news is they have it very well locked down. They've done that. They have a lot of experience, airlink with this, with this, with this operation. And they have a special Met Office representative actually down there, there who's making very careful predictions about what's going to be happening with the wind. And they're getting weather reports as they're coming in periodically to sort of check that it has. Hasn't changed significantly and they may decide not to go if it's too bad. So. So those flyers can rest easy, although it will be a little bit alarming on the landing sometimes.
- [54:02]
B
Great stuff. Thank you very much indeed. For that. We'll have a little bit of A clunky transition. Now, shall we, with turning from real to metaphorical turbulence. What's gone wrong with Indigo?
- [54:13]
D
Right, so Indigo has had this meltdown. If people don't know it's a large Indian airline, they actually have two thirds of the domestic market share at the moment. And after the regulators in India introduced new pilot fatigue rules, basically mandating longer rest periods, less flying at night, that kind of thing, it seems that Indigo failed to prepare for this in any real way. And that's something that would require long term planning to make room for. And it's resulted in the cancellation of thousands, thousands of flights, many people left stranded. Apparently the response to, you know, on the customer facing side on the ground has been very poor. A lot of frustration and it sort of exposed potentially, you know, sort of how things aren't working so well at the airline. Although it has seemed to be one that has very good safety and good sort of operational excellence so far, it's causing people to question this. Now.
- [55:01]
B
The idea of not of pilot fatigue is not a new thing. So what is it that actually made it made Indigo incapable or unable to actually mitigate for something which is something that's always factored in.
- [55:15]
D
Well, we don't know all the details about how this went down and how it resulted in such a catastrophic meltdown, but basically the regulators strengthened rules around fatigue. So it would mean that all of a sudden there was a date, although they did give advance notice of this, there was a date on which the airline would have to roster crews with this in mind, where they would have to have longer rest periods basically. And that if you don't plan well for that, that can really throw off your entire operation both on the IT side, you know, the sort of complex planning you have to do to roster crews on flights. And also you may need more pilots. And that's a long term thing that you have to do with, with plenty of planning. You can't just add pilots overnight usually.
- [55:51]
B
Okay, let's move on to Qatar, which has just got rid of its CEO of two years to many people's surprise.
- [55:57]
D
Yes, this is a fascinating situation because the new, the, the CEO, outgoing, now outgoing CEO came in two, been generally really well regarded, has been seen as sort of fixing some aspects of Qatar Airways culture that was not the best for, for especially for crews and really well liked in the industry and within the airline. And all of a sudden he's out and there's, there's someone new coming in. And I've been trying to find out, you know, from sort of people I know in the industry what happened here. And it's very tied down. Nobody, nobody seems to know so far. So we're really wondering, you know, what, what, what, what, what caused this shift?
- [56:31]
B
Do we know? And so what happens next? Who is going to fill the seat?
- [56:36]
D
So we have someone new called Hamad Ali Al Qatar who's taking the seat. We don't know too much about him except that he comes from management at the airport and the hope is that, you know, he will continue the sort of positive progress that's been happening, but we really don't know.
- [56:51]
B
You're having to talk over at Annoy. Where are you?
- [56:54]
D
I'm right in the departure lounge about to board a flight.
- [56:57]
B
Excellent. Glad to hear it. Finally. Are you going for. Well, are you boarding first class Qantas?
- [57:04]
D
I wish I were boarding first class Qantas. I'm doing something not quite as good, but Cathay Pacific business class.
- [57:09]
B
Lovely. But Qantas has upgraded its first class and has brought an A380 back out.
- [57:16]
D
That's right. And the significance of bringing this A380 back out is that it's the last one that they had in storage for many years. They've now done a massive over overhaul on took 100,000 man hours and now it's back. And it also marks the completion of this sort of a 380 fleet renewal where we have revamped cabins and also upgraded soft products. So we've got new champagnes, new menus from a famous chef and other nice offerings like this. And Qantas first was already quite nice. It's nice to See also More A380s coming back from storage. You see this happening at various airlines where they're looking for capacity and a 380s that they thought they had maybe parked forever are actually being brought back. And this is the last one to do it with with Qantas, Gabriel Lee.
- [57:55]
B
Monocles transport correspondent, just about to get on a plane. We wish you very safe travels. Thank you for joining us on the Globalist. And that's all the time we have for today's program. The warmest of thanks to all my guests and to the producers Anita Riota, Carlotta Rebello and Monica Lillis. Our researcher was Joanna Moser and our studio manager, Elliot Greenfield. After the headlines. 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. Thank you very much for listening.
- [58:44]
H
Sa.
- [59:09]
A
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.