Affairs Report: Ministry of sun

A fast-expanding embassy network and a clever use of its culture mean Brazil

Europe Briefing: Hot idea

In a Second World War bomb shelter in Helsinki, a cunning new system has been devised to turn people's growing reliance on computers into a way to heat their houses.

Europe Briefing: Canal plus

France is getting into barges.

Europe Briefing: Into the light?

How can a country save billions at the flick of a switch?

: Election watch

Information on the upcoming Dutch elections.

Europe Briefing: Tighter net

Anybody with an email account will have wearily deleted endless suspiciously enticing business or romantic propositions from addresses suffixed .ru.

Asia Briefing: Korea moves

South Korean president Lee Myung-bak.

Asia Briefing: Family affair

Democracies don't do personality cults as a rule but no-one's told Sri Lanka's omnipotent president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Asia Briefing: Election watch

Information on upcoming elections in the Philippines.

Americas Briefing: Da Silva fox

As long as Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva refused to wear a suit, he seemed incapable of ever capturing Brazil's presidency.

Americas Briefing: View from Washington

As the US census takers rush to complete their Herculean task, they are getting some help from the world of advertising.

Americas Briefing: Election watch

Colombia's presidential elections.

Americas Briefing: Cash to splash

Canada's new bank notes.

Americas Briefing: It's a steal

Birth certificates are being stolen in Puerto Rico.

Americas Briefing: Party poopers

Tight budgets are pushing US cities to halt their parades.

Q&A: Saleem H Ali

Q&A with Saleem H Ali

Africa/Middle East Briefing: Raising the bar

The aspirations of the stereotypical Jewish mother for high achieving professional children seem to have been fulfilled.

Africa/Middle East Briefing: Eager weavers

Twenty years after playing a leading role in the fight against apartheid, the powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions is in a new battle, against China.

Africa/Middle East Briefing: Election watch

Information on upcoming elections in the Central African Republic.

Oceania Briefing: Beer, barbecue and bowls

The sport hitherto associated with OAPs is experiencing a youthful renaissance in Australia.

Oceania Briefing: Deadly explosion

Unexploded ordnance in the Solomon Islands.

Oceania Briefing: Kiwi clash

New Zealand's state television network is at loggerheads with the Samoan government.

Oceania Briefing: U-turn on turns

The New Zealand government is removing a road rule that causes havoc at intersections.

Oceania Briefing: Bandit bashers

an ambitious plan is in the pipeline for joint coastguard operations by Japan, the US and Australia to protect the remote islands of the western Pacific Ocean.

Defence Briefing: Money talks

Their 2010 budgets may be very different in size but Asian superpowers – and prickly neighbours – India and China have both unveiled ambitious wish lists.

Defence Briefing: Sky pharaohs

Egypt is planning to become the first African country in recent times to build its own fighter aircraft.

Defence Briefing: Green at sea

The US Navy goes green.

Defence Briefing: Dial M for missile

Israel is enhancing its air-raid warnings.

Affairs Report: Isolated case

Having fought with most of its neighbours, Eritrea has few friends.

National icon: World Champion

The talk-show host Bernard Pivot is a peculiarly French hero.

Business Report: Sunny outlook

The Mojave desert receives more sunlight than anywhere else in the US, so plans for it to become a solar-power 'Saudi Arabia' seem spot on.

Business Briefing: A killer investment

Will the flourishing global market for halal food be an economic saviour for small Muslim countries such as the Sultanate of Brunei?

Business Briefing: Got it licked

Italians spend more than €5bn annually on ice cream. The treat disappears fast but all those spoons people eat it with don't.

Business Briefing: Shooting around

Bamboo may not be the first material that comes to mind for high performance bikes. However, California's Craig Calfee hopes to change that.

: Bus queue push

Passenger traffic around Zürich is expected to double by 2030 and Swiss Rail is buying new double-decker trains to cope.

Why it works: Up the tubes

Email looked to have made obsolete the process of transporting data by pneumatic tubes, but logistics firm Swisslog saw a potential growth market: healthcare.

Business Report: Hail the sky taxi

There’s now a more reliable and affordable way to get between Russia’s far-flung regional capitals – a zippy Swiss-made air taxi.

Museum Pieces: Global

Museum culture has altered radically in recent years.

Museum Pieces: Museum 01

One leg of the multi-billion-dollar Middle East museum race has been conquered.

Museum Pieces: Essay 01

On collections.

Museum Pieces: Thomas Demand

Artist, Berlin.

Museum Pieces: Essay 02

On curating.

Museum Pieces: Francis Outred

International director and European head of post-war and contemporary art Christie's, London.

Museum Pieces: Museum 02

New Museum, New York.

Museum Pieces: Shezad Dawood

Artist, London.

Museum Pieces: Charlotte Cotton

Creative director for London galleries.

Museum Pieces: Anita Zabludowicz

Collector and founder, 176/Zabludowicz Collection, London.

Museum Pieces: Museum 03

issue 33: Where in the world?

Monocle's perfect museum in pieces.

Culture Report: Ready for kick-off - South Africa

Monocle visits Durban and Johannesburg to see how 18,000-plus writers, pundits and photographers will be accommodated.

Culture Report: Fiell excited - London

Since resigning as design editors in chief at Taschen, husband and wife Peter and Charlotte Fiell have been plotting their own publishing empire.

Culture comment: The revamp diaries

A new look for an old newspaper brings some cheer to the Balkans.

Culture Briefing: Say hello - Fukuoka

One of Tokyo's best-loved music stores has launched in Fukuoka.

Culture Briefing: Has anyone seen my package?

Record labels are making it so tough to listen to their promos, it's a wonder anything gets reviewed.

Culture Briefing: Books

Monocle Books.

Culture Briefing: Film

Monocle films.

Culture Briefing: Music

Monocle music.

Q&A: Colin Sheaf

Bonhams, one of the world's oldest art auction houses, has opened its doors in Japan.

Design Briefing: Tech top 10

Our jargon-free guide to smart new home entertainment systems and media to make your life easier.

Design Report: Time Lords

Every spring, the world’s watchmakers and horology enthusiasts descend on Basel for the industry’s key fair, where the latest innovations in timekeeping are unveiled.

Design Briefing: Cut to the chase

“It seemed logical to start with the first thing we put on and work from there,” says 29-year-old Kiwi Scrap Wall on his new boxer short brand Confidentials.

Design Briefing: Blue shoes

Having met while studying at London’s Cordwainer’s College, Austrian Simone Springer and Japanese Yuji Mizobuchi launched the Rosa Mosa handmade shoe label in 2001.

Design Briefing: Yuki charms

Sometimes overshadowed by his cult footwear brand Yuketen, Yuki Matsuda’s Monitaly clothing label has been around since 1997.

Design Briefing: One-man bags

After leaving his eponymous label, Henry Beguelin launched his fine leather company Henry Cuir in 1998.

Design Briefing: Torch bearers

It’s hard to believe that Humberto Leon and Carol Lim only started Opening Ceremony in 2002.

Design Briefing: Beams counters

Located in the Former Foreign Settlement in Kobe, a building that dates back to 1868, retailer Beams has opened its third Beams House store.

Design Briefing: His name is Luca

Founded in 1995 with a collection of accessories, 44-year-old Luca Roda’s Lake Garda-based brand is now fully-fledged.

Design Briefing: Going for bespoke

The brand only launched last year, but 39-year-old Jason Denham’s flagship Amsterdam denim store feels surprisingly old.

Design Briefing: Jesse Warren

Set to open its second outpost in East Hampton this month, Tenet is a seasonal pop-up shop bringing brands such as APC, Gitman Bros, Woolrich and Apolis Activism to traditional American holiday spots.

Design Briefing: Ticket to Tangier

Tangier, a crossroad of cultures and long a draw for artists and writers in search of a dose of naughtiness, is the setting for our North African sojourn in linen and cotton jackets and hard-working loafers.

Design Briefing: Elegant solution

Curate your wardrobe with simple spring masterpieces. We pick the showstoppers at the 21_21 Design Sight museum in Tokyo Midtown.

Design Briefing: Bobby Dekeyser

Bobby Dekeyser, the founder of furniture maker Dedon, has turned hotelier and teamed up with Daniel Borer, owner of Switzerland’s Hotel Giardino, for his new venture, Dedon Places.

Design Briefing: Bank slate

Danish firm 3xn’s head office for Middelfart Savings Bank is a new landmark on the island of Funen.

Design Briefing: Teak that

To complement the building design of the Swiss Pavilion at this year’s Shanghai Expo, Basel-based Inch Furniture has designed a new furniture range with pavilion architects Buchner Bründler.

Briefing Architecture: Color play

Architects AFKS made the best of a limited budget when designing this municipal daycare centre in Espoo.

Design Briefing: Stroke of genius

Third-generation family business Redecker has been making brushes since 1935.

Design Report: Fonts of knowledge

Deadlines mean nothing to Japanese font-maker Morisawa. The firm will take up to four years and spend €800,000 to get a typeface right.

issue 33: Residence 02

A modern version of a Georgian townhouse, built using the finest natural materials, this five-floor family home was designed to meet the very specific needs of its academic owner.

Design Briefing: DEsign dealership

The duo behind London dealer Van der Meersch & Weston put their success down to only buying furniture they love themselves, as well as their willingness to go against established trends.

Design Briefing: Glassware

The evocatively named Glass Kingdom, or Glasriket, is made up of 14 glassworks, all within a few miles of each other in the forested Småland province in southern Sweden.

Design Briefing: Rattan

If you own a piece of rattan furniture, chances are it came from Cirebon on the Indonesian island of Java.

Design Briefing: knife-making

Tucked away in northeast Italy between the Adriatic and the Dolomites, the sleepy town of Maniago has been a centre of knife-making since 1453, when local blacksmiths started turning out sharp objects for butchers and farmers.

Design Briefing: Lacqueware

Say the word “Wajima” and lacquerware will instantly spring to mind in Japan.

Design Briefing: Textiles

Eastern Switzerland’s St Gallen and Appenzell cantons were once at the heart of Switzerland’s textile production.

Design Briefing: Wood-working

Suffolk’s thriving wood-working industry dates back to Tudor boatbuilding in the 16th century and the county is securing its next generation of joiners and carpenters through specialist college courses and apprenticeships.

Design Briefing: Top 25 products

From recent designs to upcoming creations – as well as a some tricky-to-locate classics – here’s Monocle’s pick of the best furniture and accessories for fitting out a new flat, summer escape and comfy office.

Design Briefing: Bureaux

Two crisp, clean offices manage to meet the exacting aesthetic principles of their creators, while also being warm, inspiring spaces for their occupants.

Design Report: Residence 01

Native and recycled materials have been used to create an intelligent urban home that opens and closes itself to the often fiercely hot local climate in the blink of an eye