Langkawi Island will be a new test-bed for Malaysia’s green ambitions as its government strives to create the region’s first low-carbon island. Prime minister Najib Razak says Langkawi, a tropical tourist bolthole in the…
Once a roaring trade hub, Nepal is now among Asia’s poorest nations. But with huge hydroelectric potential and a prime spot between the world’s two fastest-growing economies, the Himalayan nation could soon regain some of…
As prices skyrocket and pipelines mysteriously explode, the folly of Europe’s over-dependence on fossil fuels, especially those imported from Russia, is being revealed and punished. With autumn turning to winter, Monocle…
On a whirlwind tour taking in the likes of the Netherlands, Italy and Ethiopia, Monocle meets the new wave of diplomats making valuable connections in one of China’s fastest-growing cities.
It builds one new coal power plant every week, and is the largest emitter of carbon emissions in the world. But as world leaders gather for Copenhagen’s climate change conference, China is also the nation that could save…
The Tajik-Afghan border is one of the most dangerous in the world because of its central role in the heroin trade and potential as a smuggling route for WMDs. Can it ever be tamed? Well, the US, Iran, the EU and China are…
Furniture-makers are waking up to the fact that there’s more to sustainability than product longevity. We visit the Lombardy base of B&B Italia to hear how the brand is pioneering eco-friendly materials and methods.
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…
The world’s third biggest oil producer is also blessed with vast reserves of gas, fresh water and fish. Norway is Europe’s Saudi Arabia: a country so wealthy that despite having a population of just 4.5 million, it is a…
Chile, the Barents Sea, Haifa, a soon-to-be gentrified Berlin neighbourhood and a happening street in Istanbul. Monocle explains why these are the places to watch for business opportunities in 2011. Plus, what’s in store…