Print media might be faced with some serious challenges but it’s time to stop calling its relevance into question – that goes for newspapers too. In many markets the humble daily has never looked so good, in others there’s a bit of work to be done. If it was our money and we were going to launch the Monocle Daily, we’d be taking our cues from our favourite Italian broadsheet.

It is a tiny Muslim nation in one of the world’s most politically hostile regions. But Djibouti is also in the perfect position to keep tabs on Islamist militants. That’s why the US army is here and, thanks to a hearts- and-minds programme, welcome to stay.

Renowned as a New Zealand playground, the Bay of Plenty is enjoying a commercial makeover thanks to its thriving port, excellent transport links and booming population of entrepreneurs. Monocle visits a region going global.

In July the world woke up to how rich Japan’s Fast Retailing Co had become when it tried to buy Barneys. Now the group is set on making its Uniqlo brand a powerful – and very Japanese – global brand.

Danish design hardly needs encouragement but Rud Christiansen’s The Royal Cafe places the country’s High Modernism in its proper regal and culinary context. Pull up a bespoke Ant chair for global food, iconic branding and fun.

Slowear successfully disregards ‘fashion’ in favour of quality, provenance and longevity, housing four of our favourite Italian clothing companies under one umbrella brand.

Liechtenstein’s population is under 35,000 people, yet it is the registered home of 70,000 companies and 15 boutique banks. There is just one anachronism in this modern thriving state: a ruling prince who has little time for the niceties of democracy. Oddly, his subjects seem equally bemused by its appeal.

How to speak modern Spanish, and the British colony in the Balkans.

Borrowed tiaras and Lebanese couture: we decipher the dress code of Queen Rania, plus why Africa wants to teach the French president a lesson.

Michelin judges Tokyo a gourmet's delight, Taiwan's weapons programme, and the beautification of Seoul.

Australia's dramatic water shortage, and New Zealand gears up for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The rise of the left in Bogotá, Obama stirs up controversy over Cuba, and rebuilding a Chilean icon.

The changing face of the office lunch in Mumbai, a foodie's haven in Turin, and Hermès takes to the skies.

On 14 November the first Eurostar train should pull out from the new €1.15bn St Pancras International station headed for Paris. The station has come a long way since the 19th century when it was opened to receive ale deliveries. Since the Midland Railway Company built St Pancras in 1868 it has survived Second World War bombs and the threat of the wrecking ball. Its new look has been overseen by London & Continental Railways.

The books, records and cultural highlights you need this month.

American Apparel takes stock, Tom Ford gets personal, and Oteri's heels for the beach.

Mexico's chocolate museum, Vitsoe's Australian encounter, and a Q&A with Scott Fellows of BassamFellows.

On 6 November it will be six months since Nicolas Sarkozy was elected French President. We asked one of France’s most celebrated commentators to rate his performance both at home and abroad.

While the West prevaricates over ethical issues about stem cell research, Chinese companies are powering ahead in a bid to find treatments for numerous life-threatening conditions. But are loosely regulated companies such as Beike to be trusted?

In the third part of our circumpolar tour, we visit Murmansk. Following the break-up of the USSR, the city and its strategic naval base went into decline. But the promise of Arctic riches is reviving the city once again.

September’s footwear fair in Milan drew a record 46,300 visitors. Yet while Italy exported 250 million pairs of shoes in 2006, output has fallen 30 per cent in the past five years in the face of competition from Asia’s producers.

Denmark is a pioneer in wind energy: some days the entire country is powered by it. Now LM Glasfiber, Danish maker of vast turbine blades, is helping convert the rest of the world.

No. 8 in our monthly series of life improvements sees us clearing out the mirrored Schneider two-door and restocking it with some new favourites and old bathroom essentials.

The conservative values of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung have always been echoed in its design. But the expectations of the modern reader – and falling sales – prompted a complete redesign. *Monocle* gains exclusive access to the relaunch.

In the Netherlands’ crowded and sophisticated newspaper market, a new launch might seem foolhardy, but this Dutch daily has found an untapped market with its wit, analysis and opinion. And all for a euro. Is this the role model for the European press?

There are an estimated 11,000 newspapers in the world and last year their combined circulations rose 2.3 per cent. But in Europe and the US it’s a different story: readers are fleeing to the web and losing the news habit. Here we ask the experts what the future holds and look at three innovative and thriving titles.

Pow! Take that! A comic store in Rome.

Title's good deeds, Sydney.

Hung Huang is the head of CIMG, perhaps China’s most sophisticated media brand. In just seven years she has spearheaded new TV, print and web media. Now she wants to forge a uniquely modern Chinese culture, in a country where the censors still hold sway.

Jon Kessler is a veteran New York-based mixed-media artist, teacher and musician. He has exhibited his mechanical marvels at MoMA, lectured at Columbia University, played with his band at the Highline Ballroom and dressed windows for Hermès in Tokyo.

The Eklund family has made the world’s most desirable vinyl flooring for over half a century. But now their seasonal collections are winning praise from the worlds of fashion, architecture and design. *Monocle* meets Sweden’s floored geniuses.

Alongside the vast Tokyo International Gift Show – 2,400 exhibitors and counting – has grown a smaller, carefully edited craft and design show called For Stockists. But this bijou event is now the hot ticket, thanks to its charismatic founder.

In central Milan it makes more sense to renovate than trade up. Over four-fifths of the country’s residents live in private homes, and a 100 sq m property in Milan costs on average €380,000. Although one as covetable as Calvi Brambilla’s would set you back a little more.

Beautiful bookmarks, must-have MP3 players and everything else you should covet over the next month.

It would take a very special shop to impress Lisbon’s pescatarian public, but Conserveira de Lisboa – now into its 77th year – and its jawdropping array of Portuguese tinned fish has fed Lisboans, Michelin judges and tourists alike. A peckish *Monocle* joins the shoal.

Montréal’s distinctive cultural mix, fine architecture and liberal sensibility has made it Canada’s most desirable city (though Vancouverites may say otherwise). Its Saint-Henri neighbourhood is becoming especially attractive for home hunters.

Rafael Micha is the founder of Grupo Habita, Mexico’s first design hotel group. Launched in 2000 with Hotel Habita in Mexico City, the company is set to open three more hotels in 2008. Micha chose Grupo Habita’s Condesa DF hotel for his last meal.

The future of Berlin’s Tempelhof airport is up in the air. Due for closure next year, campaigners are mounting one final bid to rescue this hugely symbolic airport that played starring roles in the Second World War and the Berlin Airlift. Its salvation could be the rising number of executive jets with nowhere to land – and a city that needs to do more to attract their corporate owners.

Room for improvement: So many hotels bombard us with unnecessary extras when what we really require from them is to do the simple things well. Isn’t it time they ditched the gimmickry and concentrated on the basics of good hospitality?