Asia Briefing: Japan votes

A general election on 30 August brings a change of leadership.

Asia Briefing: Rich pickings

Japan opened the door in July to wealthy Chinese tourists.

Africa/Middle East Briefing: Contraband aid

Children are heading back to school in the Gaza strip this autumn even though the windows are still shattered and the furniture broken in most of their classrooms.

Africa/Middle East Briefing: Blind ambition

To most analysts, Yemen, with its struggling economy and rising Al-Qaeda presence, has become so lawless it has now joined the ranks of failed states.

Africa/Middle East Briefing: Fan base

South Africa is planning to use the Kruger National Park to provide overflow accommodation for football fans at next year's World Cup.

Asia Briefing: Number crunch

The Indian government has set itself the mission of issuing each of its 1.2 billion citizens with a unique ID number that catalogues personal details and biometric data.

Defence Briefing: Mine boggling

In a country with one of the highest numbers of landmine victims in the world...

Defence Briefing: Fitness first

A staggering 10 to 15 per cent of the Danish infanteers deployed with the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan are suffering lasting disability caused by the huge equipment and stores loads that they are expected to shoulder.

Oceania Briefing: Wheel deal

Efforts so far (such as using fetching outfits, see picture) have failed to get Australians on their bikes.

Asia Briefing: All choked up

Hong Kong may look like a slick modern city but it is far from clean and green.

Business Briefing: Lock and key

Since he was elected last November, ending nine years of Labour rule under Helen Clark, New Zealand's prime minister John Key has been quick to portray his party as thrifty and socially aware, as reflected in his relatively modest transport.

Affairs Report: Oblast Resort

It's an isolated chip off the old Russian bloc that's surrounded by wealthier EU nations.

Europe Briefing: Worth the waste

This summer, one small Swedish town was celebrating.

National icon: Bigger than Bjork

Presidents take his calls and children in 128 countries hang on his every word.

Opener: No need to shout - Global

Don't underestimate the impact of soft power in diplomacy, is the message that provides the theme for this issue of Monocle.

Q&A: First Lady

Bahraini Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo has broken the diplomatic mould by being a young Jewish woman representing an Arab country abroad.

Europe Briefing: Eastern Europe

Countries that thought their worst days were in the past have called new leaders to rescue them from the economic crisis.

Americas Briefing: Playing the field

In Quebec, the percentage of young single farmers has doubled in less than 40 years.

Africa/Middle East Briefing: Horny for it

Somaliland is set to hold its much-delayed presidential election on 27 September this year.

Americas Briefing: Dream machines

Overnight America's cities have been blessed with some of the finest transport systems in the world - and without a single cent of Obama's stimulus package.

Style Leaders: Alpaca man

Americas Briefing: Tanks for nothing

There's no question of an armed conflict between Chile and Peru and yet these two countries are locked in an arms race and forking out hundreds of millions on military hardware that opponents say could be better spent on education and health care.

Defence Briefing: Tanked up

The US and UK have embarked on programmes to develop new families of mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles.

Business Briefing: Guns are blazing

Business is booming if you’re in the handgun industry.

Business Briefing: Logged on at last

East Africa is finally connected to the global broadband network, following the successful launch of an undersea fibre-optic cable linking the region with Europe and Asia. But what will it mean?

Business Briefing: Soft-power landing

When Iniciatives Empresarials Aeronàutique bought 80.1 per cent of Spanair from SAS back in January the wheels were up on a shrewd multi-layered business venture.

Business Briefing: Flights of fancy

The battle brewing between Barcelona and Madrid will make for interesting viewing for ambitious mayors and eager airlines.

Business Briefing: Grape potential

Lebanese wine is no longer a novelty for connoisseurs but Syrian wine definitely is.

Business Report: Globe Bikes

What would the US be without the hamburger?

Business Report: Harris tweed

Harris Tweed is woven in a beautiful setting by workers in their own homes.

Business Report: Desert dream

Once a provincial backwater, the Jordanian port town of Aqaba is in the midst of a vast regeneration programme that will reposition it as the 'gateway to the Levant'.

Culture Report: Art attack - China, Kenya, UK, USA

Culture Report: Goethe Institut, Nairobi

With little government backing for the arts, international organisations such as Germany's Goethe Institut are crucial in Kenya.

Culture Report: NY400, New York

The Netherlands's link with New York is brought into focus as the city celebrates 400 years since settlers arrived. It's time to go Dutch.

Culture Report: Confucius Institute, China

Founded five years ago, China's Confucius Institute now has 339 branches, taking Chinese culture to hungry Sinophile students.

Culture Briefing: Switched on - USA

When Al Jazeera English debuted in 2006, local US cable and satellite TV companies declined to carry the network, frightened by the reputation of its parent network, the Arabic-language Al Jazeera, as the mouthpiece for terrorists.

Culture Briefing: Media spotlight

Whispers are sometimes more interesting than the louder sounds around, so I, for one, pay attention to whispers on the right lips.

Culture Briefing: Unrolling rolling news - Global

Eager to take on Europe's nightly prime-time terrestrial bulletins, CNN International is corralling its resources to launch a new stand-out half-hour news programme providing a definitive picture of the news day.

Culture Briefing: Peace. Huh! What is it good for?

In strictly cultural terms soft power is just feel-good fun - where would all this cultural diplomacy be without hating good old hard power? The arts need a bogeyman to stay in business. Long live hard power!

Culture Report: Shelf satisfying - London

Faced with the recession and competition from retail giants and online sellers, small bookshops have been disappearing fast from our high streets. But there's one London gem that's a textbook example of how to buck the trend.

Culture Report: Simon de Pury

This month Phillips de Pury adds four new thematic sales to their annual calendar, beginning with Now: Art of the 21st Century on 26 September in London.

Culture Report: Simon de Pury

This month Phillips de Pury adds four new thematic sales to their annual calendar, beginning with Now: Art of the 21st Century on 26 September in London.

Culture Report: Art

Faced with the recession and competition from retail giants and online sellers, small bookshops have been disappearing fast from our high streets. But there's one London gem that's a textbook example of how to buck the trend.

Culture Report: Books

Faced with the recession and competition from retail giants and online sellers, small bookshops have been disappearing fast from our high streets. But there's one London gem that's a textbook example of how to buck the trend.

Design Report: Møller light

You know a building has become a landmark when everybody knows it by name.

Design Report: Patti patter - Florence

Although buyers' budgets were cinched in and high-end fashion was kept in mothballs, the mood at this summer's menswear show Pitti Uomo remained optimistic. This was reflected in the light, bright collections.

Design Report: Back in your box - Norway

How do you make voting simpler, appealing and important? It's a challenge Norway has tried to solve. The solution is a vote winner.

Design Briefing: Sibling rival - Japan

ts(s) is the utility gear brand set up by Japanese designer Takuji Suzuki, the younger brother of Engineered Garments maestro, Daiki.

Design Report: Inner growth - Nagoya

Makoto Tanijiri's work is brimming with fresh ideas. At just 35 years old, he is one of Japan's most promising visionary architects. This inspired home, built in the sprawling suburbs of Nagoya, shows why.

Design Briefing: Boot manoeuvre - Italy/Japan

Set up by Mauro Sani in Tuscany in 1964, bootmaker Buttero is branded as Made in Italy but the main part of its business is done in Japan.

Design Briefing: All American girl - USA

Picking up on the "boyfriend's clothes" look, BD Baggies' women's collection is inspired by the classic button-down plaid American shirt.

Design Briefing: Apartment store - Germany

Situated discreetly on the first floor of an apartment on Berlin's Schröderstrasse, Firmament stocks a tight selection of US, European and Japanese brands, such as Acronym, Wtaps, Stone Island Shadow and Sophnet.

Design Briefing: Luca Ghelardi Tarducci

Established this year, Ecojewel is a jewellery brand owned by Osano Srl, which makes everything from recycled materials, from bracelets to the boxes they're packaged in.

Design Briefing: Old socks, new tricks - Germany

Acquired in 2008 by the German hosiery brand Falke Group, British knitwear label Burlington has gone through a quiet transformation in the past 17 months.

Design Briefing: Case in point - USA

For its first collaboration in its 112-year history, Filson, the iconic American purveyor of outdoor gear, has teamed up with sustainable menswear line Apolis Activism.

Design Briefing: Have an office affair - Italy

It's not going to help you work harder, but this leather portfolio from Valextra will certainly make any day in the office look a little better.

Design Briefing: Weather man - UK

ex-Men's Bigi designer Tokihito Yoshida to create a special collection of eight wax and water- proof jackets.

Design Briefing: Social works - Austria

This social housing block in Vienna's Simmering district, makes a bold statement thanks to a crisp white façade made from cement fibre panels.

Design Briefing: Go native - Australia

New Melbourne design house Native combines traditional craftsmanship with lean lines for a contemporary Antipodean look.

Design Briefing: Cutlery draw

Japanese designer Sori Yanagi, age 94, has produced a cult kitchenware and cutlery collection that's a hit thanks to its painstaking craftsmanship.

Design Briefing: Drink in the view - Portugal

Built for Portuguese vintner Niepoort, Austrian architect Andreas Burghardt sunk most of the 4,600 sq m Quinta de Nápoles winery into a Douro Valley hillside.

Design Briefing: Villa thriller - Spain

The traditional Spanish villa gets an update from San Sebastian-based firm asensio_mah, set up by husband and wife team Leyre Asensio Villoria and David Mah.

Design Briefing: Drink it in - Made in: Sweden

Founded in 1871, Sweden's Pukeberg is located in the famous Kingdom of Glass district in the province of Småland.