Affairs
Why China’s young creatives are fleeing the rat race for Dali’s slower, sunnier life
The mountain city of Dali in the multicultural province of Yunnan in southwest China has always had an independent spirit. Recent arrivals and returnees are bringing in fresh ideas and new businesses.
Latest in Monocle Radio
Latest
What lies beneath sea-loving Italians’ deep suspicion of lakes?
A dip in the water has always been an Italian summer ritual – as long as it’s salty. Here, we take a dive into the country’s curious phobia of inland bodies of water.
Marco Rubio has cannily swerved the world’s most divisive issues – but he can only avoid them for so long
The US secretary of state has been focused on easy wins in Latin America, disappearing at the first sign of political turmoil.
‘Different times’ are a poor excuse for bad behaviour
The kitchens that Anthony Bourdain depicts are often treated as a relic of the 1990s. But the rules of human decency are not as ephemeral – or new – as they sometimes seem.
Divide and conquer: Defeating the AfD needs a fresh strategy
If Germany wants to dodge a powerful, far-right government, it might need to let the AfD dig its own grave.
It takes two to tango but Trump’s ballroom is a turnoff for midterm voters
Few things are more bewitching to the US president than gold-adorned dance halls and military bunkers. But will the people’s response to his latest projects fulfil his craving for everlasting power?
Ten life lessons from finding the fun in fashion to footing a clean bill of health
Ah, Saturday morning. Looks like we made it – and in some style. As you read this, the 2026 edition of the Monocle Quality of Life Conference is in its final stages, wrapping up…
Money doesn’t grow on trees? The nursery cashing in on the world’s need for urban canopies says otherwise
As cities swelter in heatwaves of increasing ferocity and the need for climate-regulating and shadeproviding canopy cover grows clearer, urban planners and landscape architects are turning to tree services and suppliers, to import trees.
‘Crink’ is the latest geopolitical moniker devised by pundits – but is it a useful tool or a diplomatic distraction?
The recently coined acronym identifies the threat that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea pose to the West and warns of their accelerating co-operation.
