It’s been a bad start to the year for Afghanistan. As reports claim it is heading for failed-state status, the Taliban continues to defy US and Nato-led troops. President Karzai is increasingly frustrated with US and Bri…
Creating contemporary art in a fiercely traditional country is hard enough; layering it with political and religious messages is brave, to say the least. But Abdulnasser Gharem, a former military man, isn’t backwards in…
As a former radio journalist, Ahmed Abdisalam Adan has faced death threats and seen colleagues killed. Now, he is deputy prime minister in Somalia’s first functioning government since 1991. He tells Monocle about life in…
While the Milan menswear shows make the press, the real business is done at the Pitti Immagine Uomo menswear show in Florence. Monocle was there to see the designs that won deals and fill its fantasy wardrobe.
The defence industry is intertwined with politics and nationhood, and Ivor Ichikowitz is a man at the heart of all three in Africa. But don’t call him an arms dealer – he only has the best intentions for the continent, he…
Tainted by its association with Nazi Germany’s gold looters, perhaps, but the Swiss franc remains one of the world’s most popular investor currencies. And, rather like a reliable relative, it’s proved remarkably steady…
Monocle’s summer catalogue of culture aims to arm even the most outdoorsy with enough books and records, cinematic suggestions and art events to make you pray for rain. Almost.
Not far from the sun loungers and beach bars of this holiday hotspot, a stretch of no-man’s land is forever 1974. It marks the frontier policed by the UN’s longest-established peacekeeping force, where success is measured…
Bolian president Evo Morales and his penchant for ponchos, Chile and Peru's pointless weapons race and dating for lonely Canadian farmers. Also, in our View from Washington column, we look at one of Barack Obama's many…
With Donald Trump’s comments about ditching Nato and his ambiguous stance towards Russia stoking fears of being abandoned, the airbase at Ämari has become a crucial site for policing the Baltic states from above.
Colombian president Álvaro Uribe’s Me and My Motorcade. Plus, the US prepares to launch its first national tourism organisation, Uruguay gears up for its presidential elections and São Paulo’s drivers get a brief respite…
Since the War in Afghanistan began in 2001, Nato, US and Afghan troops have attempted to restore order in the country. Yet today 10 per cent of the
nation is in Taliban hands, the drug trade is rife and suicide bombers are…
With a pivotal geographic location, a vibrant media culture uniting both Asian and European markets and a flourishing defence sector, Australia is in a prime position to become a new, fresh-faced regional power.