Struggling nations and cities need to hitch up their skirts, quicken their step and just get on with it. Our editor-in-chief follows up the debates stirred up in this issue.

It’s a vital military outpost, dogged by organised crime. However, with huge Chinese, Korean and Japanese markets on its shores, Vladivostok could become Russia’s Far Eastern giant.

New York City’s enviable culture and wealth have failed to spread to its northern hinterlands. For ailing cities like Buffalo, it’s do or die time.

Ireland has had a disastrous recession. But the erstwhile Celtic Tiger is licking its wounds and there are signs that the lessons of the past 10 years have been learnt by businesses willing to seize the opportunity for a rebirth.

Across the world there are people who are literally being John Malkovich. Or Homer Simpson or Paris Hilton. And in their home nations the voices of dubbing artists are more famous than those of their Hollywood counterparts.

Imagine trying to sell products to people who don’t watch TV and cannot use the internet. That’s the challenge for students studying at the Haredi Advertising Academy, which trains them in how to make advertisements aimed at their Orthodox brothers.

Sauerbruch Hutton was one of the first architecture firms to promote the value of sustainable building. Now it’s in demand across Europe, expanding into furniture and pushing developers to think bigger.

Flensted’s handmade mobiles have hung in well-designed homes around the world for more than 50 years. The family- run company is also one of Denmark’s most successful cottage industries and business is flying high.

The various strands of the fashion industry spent the past year pulling themselves together after a tough 2009. Monocle speaks to the brands that are now planning to spread their wings in 2011.

A concept store featuring fashion, interiors and art has been set up by five entrepreneurs to challenge the might of the multiples with their unique take on the retail experience.

The British Queen's motorcade, a European space ship, the first direct flights between Russia and Brazil and the Turkish prime minister's branding potential

South America's revamped union, efforts to get Ronald Reagan recognised, and the new goldrush in Peru.

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.

China's version of Google Earth, Turkmenistan plans to hold the Olympics, and good news for Taiwan travelers.

The king of Tonga is our dapper Style Leader, Australia is a wise old goat, and New Zealand strips its prisoners of the right to vote and smoke.

News from the military world, including the new "smart" bullets and ingenious bomb detection technology.

The new spae shuttles prepare for lift-off, an iconic motorbike film gets back on the road, and Cornwall lays claims to the title of Britain's "green coats."

Our favourite new music releases, films and books. And culture editor Robert Bound's column on tear-jerking Hollywood films.

Books, technology and a magazine on Chinese contemporary art. And an interview with the founder of Love Art.

Books, technology and a magazine on Chinese contemporary art. And an interview with the founder of Love Art.

London's Oliver Spencer opens in Toronto, plus we have coats to protect you from spring showers and womenswear with a soft focus.

Monocle's round-up of the news, products and projects making waves this month.

The former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency has refused to sink quietly into retirement and is battling to bring democracy to his home country of Egypt.

As Colombia looks to expand business ties with Asia, the country's principal port town of Buenaventura has huge economic potential. But its Pacific waterways are also a major transit for drug smugglers, bringing a new set of woes.

It was almost 60 years ago that Ron Barassi first started playing as a top Aussie Rules football player. But he is still recognised and celebrated everywhere in his homeland, not just as a great sportsman, but also as the archetypal Australian.

With bleak job prospects facing its population, the Philippines has turned the search for work into an export success story by encouraging its most valuable resource -its people - to train abroad.

Forget earnings reports: a new generation of stockpilers assemble their portfolios based on lessons from psychological research. Can behavioural finance make sense in a crazy market.

Author of four hit books, Vendela Vida, is alo the co-editor of US culture magazine 'The Believer'. Part of a celebrated literary couple (her husband is Dave Eggers) she tells Monocle how she works and what inspires her.

China makes cheap products to order. Could it ever make well-designed ones too? Monocle looks at the companies who think it can and are leading the way.

On the north side of Bodrum in the village of Türkbükü lies the Maçakizi hotel, nestled in the hills. Family run, it was founded in 1977 as a place of inspiration for artists and intellectuals. It’s also the perfect spot to get that first bit of spring sun in our cruise and swimwear.

Monocle selects the perfect frames to keep you fully in the picture.­

A round-up of practical and pretty things, including a dog bowl that doesn’t go walkies and a baby soap that is a national institution.

Where can you enjoy such off-piste activities as deep-sea fishing and viewing the Northern Lights? The Lyngen Alps, home of Lyngen Lodge, provide a spectacular setting to a unique skiing experience.

Claus Krohn, the 77-year-old founder of Krohn Air in Norway, is far from retiring from the skies.

Iris Hantverk makes brushes that are as good-looking as they are hard-working, using methods that date back to the late 1800s.

Hidden in the heart of the city, Rome’s most multicultural neighbourhood is attracting creatives to its vibrant and intrigue-laden streets.

After his usual four morning coffees, Fratelli Fresh’s Barry McDonald, long-serving supplier to Sydney’s finest restaurants and owner of three ground-breaking food stores/delis/bars/Italian tratts, whisks us around Potts Point, a food-obsessed, inner city neighbourhood of Sydney.

Influential art collectors Don and Mera Rubell have always dared to sample untested artists – and they have the same fearless attitude to food. But there’s only one dish they could possibly put on the menu for their final repast, and they would cook it themselves at their famous home.

it was the former shah’s haven of hedonism and now the island of kish is being rediscovered as a place where the islamic republic can let its hair down (well, almost).A relatively liberal atmosphere, growing investment, high property prices and a drive to attract overseas businesses and tourists are the ingredients that could open up a little corner of Iran to the world.

We’ve been getting very excited about our new offices over the past few months, but the wait is finally coming to an end. And 2011 is already shaping up to be an exciting year, with new projects, radio studios and a recruitment drive, writes Tyler Brûlé.