Visitors to Japan are frequently baffled by the array of controls on offer in the average toilet; most are equipped with a warm-water shower and blow-dry option, as well as buttons for opening and closing the lid, playing…
Since 1990 the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund has worked to translate oil revenues into long-term national prosperity. But what will be its role in a greener future?
Italy is a land of print. One such publication is the punchy periodical ‘Internazionale’ that, since the 1990s, has been selecting what it considers to be the best of international journalism and translating it into Italian…
Deutsche Welle broadcasts TV and radio and in 30 languages worldwide. Established in 1953, today the public broadcaster is more important than ever – as a tool for public diplomacy.
When the ash cleared it was apparent there were far worse places to have been stranded than Hong Kong, with its can-do attitude and impeccable service. The experiences of Monocle staff during the airspace shutdown vindicate…
Is it time to pull down the shutters on the UN? In a highly personal commentary on the strife at the United Nations, a former special assistant to Kofi Annan says the 60-year-old institution is no longer fit to solve the…
Its role in Darfur is seen as a failure. It has almost no role in the Middle East. The UN has a colourful history of international diplomacy, but now, as its officials turn on the secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, the confl…
They may be Lebanon’s national ice-hockey team but they are coached by a bus driver in Montréal, who is encouraging them to take a slapshot at international sports stardom.
Spanish architect Vicente Guallart’s playful new plaza in Taipei, a clever retail development by upcoming Brisbane-based firm Richards & Spence, wooden storage inspired by traditional drum-making techniques from Italian…
Israel has long avoided wading into the international news environment, wary of its own global perception. Until, that is, the recent launch of i24 TV channel.
Find some locals to design a modern art gallery, find lots more locals to frequent it and suddenly find yourself with an international success: welcome to Goma.
If you can’t secure a job as an urban planner by day you can always become an ornamental fish hobbyist by night and engineer a perfect underwater world. At the heart of the €10bn international trade in ornamental fish is…