Beijing welcomes Vladimir Putin a week after rolling out the red carpet for Donald Trump. Who really holds the cards? Plus: as we look ahead to the Fifa World Cup, Andrew Mueller assesses what could go wrong.

<p>Beijing welcomes Vladimir Putin a week after rolling out the red carpet for Donald Trump. Who really holds the cards? Plus: as we look ahead to the Fifa World Cup, Andrew Mueller assesses what could go wrong.</p>

Monocle’s unrivalled coverage of news and current affairs kicks off on weekdays with ‘The Globalist’ at 07.00 GMT/08.00 CET. Anchored from London and Zürich, join our editors for insight and opinion on the big current affairs and business stories of the day and a review of the European front pages. Nominated for Best Daily Podcast in the 2020 British Podcast Awards. 

<p>Monocle’s unrivalled coverage of news and current affairs kicks off on weekdays with ‘The Globalist’ at 07.00 GMT/08.00 CET. Anchored from London and Zürich, join our editors for insight and opinion on the big current affairs and business stories of the day and a review of the European front pages. Nominated for Best Daily Podcast in the 2020 British Podcast Awards. </p>