Affairs
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Rubber soled tiger
Brazil has natural assets – a sunny disposition, a carnival attitude – that are peculiarly unquantifiable. As Monocle discovered, the next 10 years might just be the country's best decade yet.
Curaçao
With the Netherlands Antilles about to disappear from the map, residents of Curaçao are learning to assert their identity as both Venezuela and the US jostle for influence on the Dutch island outpost.
Africa/Middle East
Why leopard skins and white trainers are de rigueur for South African president Jacob Zuma, and the first stirrings of a spa revolution in Saudi Arabia.
Europe
A NATO shipping deal looks set to provide some welcome good news in Latvia, how a think tank is shaking up German politics, and France's pioneering stance on transsexuality.
Asia
How the citizens of Phnom Penh can expect to stay dry next monsoon, plus India's plans to put people in space and Indonesia's ambitions to become a green-transport pioneer.
Oceania
New Zealanders believe there's gold in them there mudflats, Australia has too much wine, Fiji's diplomatic relations with Wellington get resolved on the rugby pitch.
New road ahead
Following its 2008 economic collapse, Iceland’s talented community is returning to old values. Led by a new prime minister, it’s turning nostalgia into new opportunities, creativity and business ventures.
Voice of a nation
In multi-lingual Switzerland, TV presenter Rainer Maria Salzgeber’s football coverage is a rare unifying experience. He says the sport can help the nation become more tolerant of different cultures.
Americas
We look at the vehicles of choice of Chile's president, Sebastián Piñera, and ask whether President Obama's reluctance to schmooze may actually be good news for the US.
Bedroom renegade
Shobhaa De’s novels and socialite lifestyle enthrall and infuriate India. Critics call her books trashy, but supporters say she has done much to get a conservative nation talking about sex and feminism.
