Monocle

3 days ago | monocle.com | Fiona Wilson

It's a sunny April morning in the Japanese capital and the halls of Tokyo Big Sight, the city's waterfront convention centre, are ringing with a cacophony of barks and yelps. This is Interpets Asia Pacific, Japan's top pet-products trade show, and the 2025 edition is bigger than ever.

4 days ago | monocle.com | Inzamam Rashid

Visitors to the Burj Khalifa are usually content with a latte at Atmosphere on the 122nd floor and a view of Dubai from the observation deck. But last week I took a different lift - or rather three - for a peek inside what is billed as the world's highest penthouse, which is now on sale. The sprawling Sky Palace is perched on the 107th and 108th floors of the world's tallest building, some 700 metres above the ground.

4 days ago | monocle.com | Emilie Wade

Design June 3, 2025 4 Min Read This week the Serpentine Pavilion opens in London's Hyde Park. The annual project sees a temporary structure built in the park each summer, functioning as a vital laboratory for experimentation for the commissioned architect. In 2025, this is Dhaka-based Marina Tabassum. The Bangladeshi architect's pavilion, called "A Capsule in Time", is a striking assembly of four sculptural wooden forms with translucent façades that allow in a quiet, contemplative light.

5 days ago | monocle.com | Mateusz Mazzini

Karol Nawrocki's victory in Poland's presidential election on Sunday has shaken Europe. A historian by training with no previous political experience, he narrowly won the second round of the election with 50.9 per cent of the vote. The win signals trouble for the country and its European partners.

5 days ago | monocle.com | Andrew Mueller

We report from the Black Sea port city of Odesa, where life goes on, despite the threat of Russian attacks. In a sane world, it would be difficult to move on Odesa's cobbled streets for young men on stag nights, city-breakers trying to avoid them and influencers photographing themselves in front of beautiful buildings resembling wedding cakes ( writes Andrew Mueller). In our world, however, no budget airlines are touching down at Odesa International - or have done so for more than three years.