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10 takeaways from Mipim 2026: The ideas, projects and robot homes that everyone was talking about
The world’s biggest real-estate gathering returned to Cannes with ambitious ideas for developments from Baghdad to the Black Sea. These were the ideas, people and projects shaping the conversation at Mipim 2026.
Why does Iran target the UAE more than the rest of the Gulf states?
About 58 per cent of Iran’s attacks on its Gulf neighbours have been directed at the UAE. We find out why.
‘Escalation would bring a much wider war to our doorstep,’ says UAE’s minister of state, Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi
Al Kaabi speaks to Monocle about the conflict’s impact on the UAE, the risks to global trade and why the country believes that de-escalation remains the only viable path forward.
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader?
After the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by a US-Israeli strike in late February, his son Mojtaba has been named as the Iranian regime’s new leader. What do we know about this mysterious successor?
‘You can’t be truly sovereign by yourself’: Mark Carney talks geopolitical pragmatism and a confident Canada
Speaking exclusively to Monocle in Tokyo, Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, on the national brand, the importance of connectivity and the new responsibilities facing middle powers in a time of rupture.
With Bahrain and Dubai under fire, Riyadh has emerged as the Gulf’s unlikely refuge
As missiles cross Gulf skies, the Saudi capital finds itself playing an unfamiliar role.
‘Do not forget this humanity in the face of such suffering’: Culture writer Kate Tsurkan on keeping Ukrainian literature alive during war
Editor and translator Kate Tsurkan highlights how Ukrainian authors, both past and present, address themes of human dignity, freedom and the right to choose your future.
How South by Southwest became Austin’s soft-power showpiece
Austin is now globally renowned but it wasn’t always that way. Here’s how the city’s famous South by Southwest festival helped the city to rebrand and revitalise.
The view from the Strait of Hormuz: Ground zero for Iran’s war on global commerce
Monocle’s Gulf correspondent stands in Oman overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, where tankers sit still as the battle swells. The conflict’s economic consequences will affect markets well beyond the Middle East.
View from Lebanon: Beirut’s dire déjà vu as reckoning with Hezbollah beckons
Residents of Beirut were jolted awake in the early hours of Monday morning to the bone-shaking thuds. Lebanon has now become a new front in the war between the US, Israel and Iran.
