The Monocle Minute

Hundreds of security and aerospace firms have descended upon South Korea this week for the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition, or Adex. But the region’s thorny geopolitical issues are quietly playing out beyond the sea of static displays and shock-and-awe aerial demos. Case in point: South Korea’s defence minister Han Min-Koo disagreed with his Japanese counterpart – and fellow Adex attendee – Gen Nakatani about Tokyo’s increasingly muscular foreign policy. Washington is putting pressure on the two nations to improve relations after a fractured history and it looks like it’s starting to make a difference: on Sunday, Seoul sent its destroyer Daejoyoung for a fleet review hosted by the Japanese navy, close to the Yokosuka US naval base near Tokyo.

Will the wave of popular optimism that brought Canada’s Justin Trudeau to office ripple into Canada’s business circles too? The Toronto Stock Exchange dipped briefly on news of the election result on Tuesday morning, Trudeau’s pledge to run a budget deficit for his first three years in office the likely cause for concern. Trudeau should stick to his principles and act quickly to invest the CA$60bn (€40bn) pledged for infrastructure during the campaign as such projects take time. While that investment takes root, Trudeau will hope that the manufacturing sector (which posted positive results in June and July) gets stronger as demand for Canadian-made goods grows.

The Gulf’s major airports have the sheen of efficiency befitting intercontinental hubs – except when it comes to immigration. The all-too-familiar scene of a packed immigration hall, usually replete with languid queues and brusque officials, intrudes on the seamless transit-lounge experience that the Gulf States have tirelessly tried to create. Leaving can also prove challenging but problems with coming and going may become a thing of the past – in Dubai, at least – with contactless departures tipped to start in 2016 and on-board immigration on Emirates flights to follow. However, this could be a missed trick: first impressions and hearty cheerios are equally important. Both can still be made efficient with a dose of good planning.

Few husband-and-wife teams have been as productive as Charles and Ray Eames, who together created a catalogue of modernist staples, from plywood chairs to the iconic Hang-It-All. Eames devotees gathered at the Barbican in London this week for the launch of a new exhibition, The World of Charles and Ray Eames, which documents their life and legacy. The show kicked off with a talk by Eames Demetrios, Charles and Ray’s grandson, who has set out to spearhead the rediscovery of the family’s design heritage by new generations. If the sales sheets from the likes of Vitra are anything to go by, Charles and Ray need no introduction. If anything, Demetrios’s real challenge is the plethora of imitations that continue to muddy the market.

Entrepreneur Efe Cakarel of film-streaming service Mubi explains why too much choice is a bad thing.

In the forest of Evjemoen, Norway’s officer-training school puts troops through an extreme test of endurance. It’s a physical and mental challenge – but more of the latter in these days of modern warfare.