Ouagadougou is spruced up by an army of low-cost cleaners, Congo's governor gets to work on a failing region, plus Abu Dhabi's new transport system.

A postcard from Mauritania, which has just had its fifth coup since the 1970s; the rise of Lebanon's Green Party and boar-hunting, Algerian style.

South Africa's ambition to host a mega-telescope, the new calendar for Senegal, and the Ugandan president's desperate measures to win the election.

Germany's man in Belgrade, the new Greek embassy, and Japanese PM's diplomatic style.

Chinese firms, from copper mining giants to small private businesses, have been flocking to Africa, investing €4.3bn last year. But a quieter phenomenon is the steady stream of African businessmen moving into China, 10,000…

Monocle has drawn up a shortlist of 20 people – from politics, business, music and design – who we want to hear more of in 2009. By overcoming the odds, finding gaps in the market and thinking creatively, they’ve already…

Conceived of only 21 years ago, already most nations want a “soft power” strategy – a way of winning the world over without resorting to military-industrial might. Monocle has indexed the top 30 soft power nations, which…