The Globalist

We unpack Vladimir Putin’s marathon press conference, hear why the long-awaited elections in DRC have been cancelled and talk to Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins. Plus: branding at Christmas.

Steven Erlanger, chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe for ‘The New York Times’, reveals how confidential discussions were hacked. Plus: why Soviet nostalgia is on the rise in Russia, Renzo Piano’s plans for Genoa’s new bridge, the strange gender politics of game shows and how the romantic comedy ‘You’ve Got Mail’ predicted the future of New York’s retail.

How well has the first truce in Yemen for years held? We’re also in Hungary where people have taken to the streets to protest against Prime Minister Viktor Orban and discuss the partnership plans between two major airplane manufacturers – Boeing and Embraer.

As protests continue in France, and Brexit’s future unnerves both sides of the political divide, we take a closer look at the art of protesting. Plus: how gossip tabloids have rattled Australian politics, Japan’s revised defence guidelines and Cole Porter’s piano checks in for a makeover.

What should we know about Donald Trump’s new chief of staff? We also discuss claims that Turkey is plotting an assault against Kurdish troops in Syria, and ask whether detente has stalled on the Korean peninsula. Plus: whatever happened to the hit Christmas single?

Could Canada be dragged into the diplomatic tussle between Washington and Beijing? We also find out how the UK’s political circus is being viewed in Brussels, discuss Spain’s plans to raise its minimum wage and hear from a man who is the envy of graphophiles the world over.

As China retaliates against Canada over the arrest of a senior business person, we ask what this means for relations between the two countries. Plus: we find out how Theresa May’s European counterparts have reacted to her recent trials and tribulations, look at a bold new increase in the minimum wage in Spain and learn about the magic of handwriting.

The Thai junta lifts a ban on political campaigning ahead of next year’s elections; how big of a milestone is this for democracy in the country? Also: a controversial Africa museum reopens in Belgium, highlighting the need for the country to address its colonial past. Plus: a round-up of the day’s top business news.

The next steps for Theresa May in her fight for Brexit, Russia’s vastly growing arms-trade industry and Australian efforts to try and control Google and Facebook.

We get the latest on another weekend of protests in France and check in on negotiations between the EU and Switzerland for a new integration deal. Plus: who will run Jair Bolsonaro’s cabinet?

We get the latest from peace talks about the conflict in Yemen, assess the future of Germany’s CDU as Angela Merkel prepares to step down and review the top stories in issue two of Monocle’s ‘Winter Weekly’. Plus: Poland is set to name 100 national dishes.

With arrest warrants issued for two suspected masterminds of the Jamal Khashoggi murder, we ask how Turkey has used the incident to consolidate its power in the region. Plus: the former UN head of mission to Somalia on why the US is re-establishing a diplomatic presence in the country, how Japan might respond to a state visit from President Trump and a look at the day's papers.

US senators say there is no doubt that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should be held accountable for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Central European University is forced to move from Budapest to Vienna due to government pressure and we get the latest on the nationwide shutdown in Zimbabwe.

The body of the former US president George H W Bush will lie in state this week ahead of a day of national mourning. He served as the country’s 41st president between 1989 and 1993. Monocle’s Andrew Mueller looks back at his life.

Can Nato foreign ministers make progress in the diplomatic stalemate between Ukraine and Russia? Plus: as the UK publishes its legal advice on Brexit, could this pave the way for a constitutional crisis? We also ask why the Israeli police force has recommended charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hear from our reporter in Helsinki covering Slush 2018.