The Foreign Desk

In this special episode of ‘The Foreign Desk’, Monocle’s news editor Christopher Cermak speaks with United Nations secretary-general António Guterres about his plans to revive international diplomacy and reform the UN, and why he is feeling “hopeful” about 2021.

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The results from Israel’s fourth election in two years are currently inconclusive. Andrew Mueller explains what prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu might need to do to retain power.

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Ever since Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria in 2014, other groups have copied their tactics. Some 800 students have been taken from Nigerian schools since December, including 30 from a college in Kaduna last week. Who are the kidnappers? Are they criminals or terrorists – or both? And how can they be stopped? Andrew Mueller asks Chika Oduah, Nnamdi Obasi and David Kilcullen.

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After over six years of a split government, Libyans are now looking forward to a new united leadership headed by interim prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh. Andrew Mueller explains whether Dbeibeh’s promises are enough to fix the fractured country.

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Violence in Afghanistan has increased in recent months, notably in the form of targeted attacks on female journalists. In a letter addressed to Afghan president Ashraf Ghani this week, US secretary of state Anthony Blinken outlined proposals aimed at accelerating the peace process to align with the 1 May deadline negotiated by the Trump administration to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan. Will Biden stick to the looming deadline? What would it mean for Afghanistan’s people? Nearly 20 years after the removal of the Taliban, are they on the cusp of reclaiming power? Andrew Mueller is joined by Lyse Doucet, Suzanne Lynch and Belquis Ahmadi.

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Recent fallings out within the British royal family have caused quite the stir around the world. Often, the noise can be dismissed as an obsession with tattletale gossip but the discourse currently emanating from England is a symptom of something more serious. Andrew Mueller, an Australian residing in London, offers an explanation as to why a portion of the English populace are royally vexed.

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As Pope Francis makes the first ever papal visit to Iraq, we look at his unofficial but important role as a diplomat. What does a papal visit look like? Who decides where he goes? How far does the Pope’s soft power reach? And what will Francis’s visit mean for Iraq? Andrew Mueller is joined by Samya Kullab, Joshua McElwee and Neal Ascherson.

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Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been convicted for attempted bribery and potentially faces more legal consequences for other crimes of corruption. While the domestic ramifications are likely to be small, Andrew Mueller explains how it may be significant for countries struggling with corruption.

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Colombia’s president Iván Duque Márquez has announced that the country will grant nearly one million undocumented Venezuelan migrants the right to stay for 10 years, arguably a surprising move by a conservative government. Might other governments take notice of this compassionate and pragmatic pitch? In a world rebuilding itself, could a more enlightened, albeit opportunistic, policy towards migration make sense? Andrew Mueller is joined by Anastasia Moloney, Panu Poutvaara and Tessa Szyszkowitz.

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To enact genocide is to commit the most heinous of crimes deserving the strongest of consequences. But calling it out comes with ramifications. Andrew Mueller explains why most leaders will call it anything but ‘that’.

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