The Monocle Minute

Silencing the media is a step that no democracy should take lightly, for a couple of reasons. Most obviously, democracies should not be in the business of it. More importantly, it rarely works, at least not sufficiently to warrant the damage occasioned to your democratic credentials.

Israel appears determined to embark upon this folly. The Knesset has passed a law enabling the government to temporarily ban foreign networks deemed hazardous to national security. The obvious principal target is Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera.

It is scarcely a revelation that Israel does not appreciate Al Jazeera’s coverage. In 2021, Israel bombed the building that housed Al Jazeera’s bureau in Gaza. Al Jazeera employees are among the dozens of Palestinian journalists who have been killed during the current conflict.

There is, sometimes, a case for a nation punting a network off its airwaves. The EU and UK have blocked Russian propaganda outlet RT, which is probably fair enough. Al Jazeera is a legitimate news agency, which assuredly has institutional biases (don’t we all?); RT is a mouthpiece for a hostile regime besieging one European country – and menacing the entire continent.

But any such ban is only symbolic. A European determined to watch RT still can: a recent investigation by Radio Free Europe demonstrated that with the necessary VPN, one could do so from inside the European Commission. In Israel, those who will cheer the silencing of Al Jazeera loudest were least likely to have been tuning in anyway.

Israel is fond of asserting – and justifying – itself as the Middle East’s only democracy. There is more to being a democracy, however, than holding elections, even at Israel’s giddy frequency. Granted, conflict rarely makes a country more liberal – but the reputation developed during a war can last long into any peace.

Andrew Mueller is a contributing editor at Monocle and presenter of ‘The Foreign Desk’ on Monocle Radio. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

Inditex, the parent company of brands such as Zara, Bershka and Pull&Bear, will reopen 20 of its shops in Ukraine today. The company has also resumed online sales for Ukrainian consumers. McDonalds, H&M, Pandora and Yves Rocher are among other retailers to have reopened shops in Ukraine that has been forced to close following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

The move comes at a time of positive economic growth for the country. “According to the latest official data, Ukraine’s retail turnover grew by 15 per cent in 2023, compared to a 21 per cent decline in 2022,” Hlib Vyshlinsky, executive director at Kyiv-based think-tank Centre for Economic Strategy, tells The Monocle Minute. “Ikea is the only major retailer that is yet to reopen. Further growth is expected this year, provided that the promised financial and military help arrives from G7 nations,” adds Vyshlinsky. “In contrast, there is growing anger towards companies that are still trading in Russia, which face the risk of having their assets confiscated.”

South Korea has unveiled the KTX-Cheongnyong, a new class of bullet train that boasts a maximum speed of 320km per hour. The high-speed train will enable passengers to travel from Seoul to Busan in 2 hours and 10 minutes, and from Yongsan to Gwangju in 1 hour and 30 minutes. The KTX-Cheongnyong (“Blue Dragon”) will enter service in May.

The project’s construction, which first began in 2007, used entirely domestic technology to allow for advanced acceleration and deceleration capabilities, specifically adapted for short distances between stops and many curves in the line. The new model will also increase seating capacity by 136 passengers. After unveiling the KTX-Cheongnyong, South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, announced that the country plans to expand the high-speed rail network nationwide in a bid to make the entire nation reachable within two hours.

This week, we get a taste of Polish cuisine. We sit down with Ren Behan to discuss her new book, ‘The Sweet Polish Kitchen’. Also in the programme, Julia Lasica heads to the renowned Ognisko in London’s South Kensington to find out more about the historic restaurant. Plus: Mateusz Mazzini is in Warsaw to visit local wine bar Brać and learn about the emerging Polish wine industry.