Monocle goes island-hopping this month and visits Iceland, Curaçao and Guam. Remote they may be, but they’re not to be overlooked, as they stretch their business muscles and raise their strategic voices.

Instead of focusing on the political malaise caused by the collapse of its economy in 2008, Iceland’s close-knit and talented community – led by a new, grounded prime minister – is returning to old values, and reworking them into new opportunities.

One of the few unifying experiences in multi-lingual Switzerland is Rainer Maria Salzgeber’s TV coverage of the national football team’s matches. The presenter says the sport can help the nation become more tolerant of different cultures.

If your airport fails to meet US standards, then don’t expect flight connections to JFK or LAX. That’s what left Liberia facing isolation. The solution? Get the Americans in to train your staff and run your airport. We see the global airport fixers at work.

Every two years, the Singapore Air Show draws air force commanders from around the world keen to check out the latest hardware. But as weaponry technology moves ever faster, what to order

Guam’s population will increase by almost half in 2014 when the US military relocates to this tropical paradise from Japan’s Okinawa. It’s a milestone in the island’s history and a development boom is under way.

New technology and tighter budgets mean TV news is downsizing from expensive satellite broadcasts to low-quality broadband clips. They say it helps make stories feel more immediate, but isn’t it really just an excuse to cut costs?

‘Next American City’ magazine has succeeded in making urban planning a national debate since it was launched in 2003, but its founders’ lofty ambitions mean they will not be satisfied until the ultimate goal has been achieved: changing the world.

Monocle presents a list of our favourite shops, the most attentive services, the best store designs and the most innovative concepts in the retail sector.

The prevailing mood at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair was one of optimism, but companies shunned daring, boundary-pushing concepts in favour of classic, well-crafted works.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Marines are told to get some real muscle, shark-skin technology for subs, China joins the international effort to tackle piracy, and new RPG protection for vehicles.

Finnish firm Valkee unveils a light therapy gadget designed to make people feel a bit brighter, Egypt gets gold fever, and Lebanon plans to grant oil and gas exploration deals to private companies

Roman Polanski's new drama The Ghost, music picks from gospel to "geyser-pop", the new books we've been reading.

In January, Christie’s announced it was posting one of its biggest character auctioneers, London-based François Curiel, to head up the house’s Asian HQ in Hong Kong. With 40 years ofexperience in the company, he will lead Christie’s expansion in the territory, which has turned out to be one of the most promising post-recession art markets.

This month's media briefing.

A clever redesign for a school in Spain, apartments with a view in Switzerland, the rebirth of rattan in Copenhagen and the craft of tea-caddies in Japan.

The Seattle retailer who wants to become the US version of Beams, new classics from Universal Works, and a Q&A with Simon Spurr.

In October the Dutch island of Curaçao will become a new semi-autonomous nation. It’s hoping that its proximity to South America will make it an ideal gateway for European countries doing business in the region. But first it has to decide what currency to use.

Shobhaa De’s sex-filled novels and socialite lifestyle enthrall and infuriate Indians in equal measure. Her critics call her books trashy and newspaper columns inane, but supporters say she has done much to get a conservative nation talking about sex and feminism.

In a sweet market that is all about the tiny details, Royce’ Confect, started in 1983, is now one of Japan’s most beloved chocolatiers. It has charmed its way round Asia and now has its sights on Europe.

Joy King started out as an accountant and ended up as a script writer for an adult film company. She tells Monocle about her love for conjuring up steamy scenes and her efforts to boost the image of her business.

A sleek wooden locomotive toy and a smart Danish bike helmet are among the picks for this month’s shopping guide, but we start with a look at a stunning boutique hotel in the Netherlands.

Our quest to discover the planet’s best beds, cafés and spas goes on. This month we visit a well- curated New York general store, a floating Arctic paradise and a modernist Austrian mountain lodge. We also look at the bright future of Guam-based airline Continental Micronesia.

Continental Micronesia, with an HQ on the idyllic island of Guam, has expanded its routes and is fit for the future.

Mühlbauer in Vienna creates headwear in the age-old way. The business was saved from the brink of collapse by the brother and sister owners and their designs are now sold internationally.

Even though La Candelaria is in Bogotá’s city centre parts of it feel like a remote Andean village. With its colonial mansions, bohemian atmosphere and plans for regeneration afoot, foreign property buyers are investing in the area and snapping up bargains.

Coffee is a way of life for New Zealanders and there are no finer connoisseurs than the guys at Coffee Supreme. The company’s Al Keating gives Monocle a food-and-drink tour of his Ponsonby neighbourhood.

For her last meal, British fashion designer Margaret Howell would choose a venue and menu as simple and quintessentially English as her eponymous clothing brand – a picnic on a windswept beach near her weekend home on the English coast.

In studios around the world, they sit with scalpels, glue and balsa wood – creating everything from mini cities to pint-sized planes and shrunken ships in order to secure big budgets to build the real thing. Monocle meets the model-makers who know that small is indeed beautiful.

While last year’s economic turbulence forced many retailers to up their game, there are too many who seem to have given up even trying. Fortunately, there are still shops out there who know what a huge difference decent service can make, and it’s these that are inspiring Monocle’s retail adventures, writes Tyler Brûlé.