In most African countries, if you send an email across town it makes a long and circuitous journey to North America or Europe or even Japan before arriving in the inbox of the intended recipient. That costs money in international connection charges and also results in a myriad of latency issues.

In Maputo, the “Garden for Sculptors” behind the Museu Nacional de Arte on Avenida Ho Chi Minh has become a kind of prison yard for Mozambique’s various Ozymandiases, a semi-public dumping ground where colonial monuments now crumble quietly away. A marble European baroness reclines in thick robes, the grasses growing up around her base.

In less than four years, more than 1.6 million individuals and businesses, mostly start-ups, have created a website with an address ending with .co. That is a staggering number for a new top-level domain (the last bit of a web address). Contrast that with .biz, which was introduced in 2000 and by April last year had chalked up just 2.4 million registrations.

The building of the Malaysia-Brunei Darussalam Friendship Bridge symbolises the special closeness that exists between Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The Prime Minister said the bridge would also help further strengthen ties between the two countries in the future. "I wish to put on record how proud Malaysia is on the opening of the Malaysia-Brunei Darussalam Friendship Bridge (Sunday).

The great imperialists of the 19th Century built railroads to solidify their control of vast expanses of land and incorporate their territory into modern industrial economies. And although the construction of railroads may seem archaic today, the government of China has demonstrated their continued relevance in both internal state building and external diplomacy.

Skyscrapers are a lot like cadillacs for countries and designers. They’re nice to look at, but they’re also there to impress the neighbors. The bigger and shinier the building, the more important and capable a nation or developer can claim to be. (“Don’t think we’re a serious investment destination, eh? Have you noticed that tower can be seen from Mars?”).

Although doubts about Brazil’s readiness to host next year’s World Cup have focused on renovations at 12 stadiums, some Brazil trade experts say they are more concerned about travel logistics and whether airports, mass transit systems, hotels and railroads will be up to handling the crush of visitors. “The infrastructure behind the games is what will be complicated for Brazilians and foreign tourists,” said Marcelo Rocha e Silva Zorovich, a Sao Paulo business consultant who is a visiting researcher at the University of Miami.