“Real change” was Justin Trudeau’s campaign slogan last year. While these are still early days, the change – in both style and substance – has already been palpable. [...] Justin Trudeau is rebranding Canada as an open, progressive, plural society.

What do you think of when someone says, “Ireland”? Shamrocks, Guinness, Irish whiskey, castle ruins, and a rousing drinking song. Maybe you think of rain, craggy cliffs and crashing waves, and Riverdance. And, of course, there are the requisite leprechauns and pots o’ gold. One thing is for sure: everyone has a firm mental image of Ireland.

She was taken out of primary school at the age of 12 to marry a man in his 40s whom she had never met before. […] Today, that illiterate girl who didn't even know how to boil water and who [...] was finally sent back to her father's house in disgrace, has become one of northern Nigeria's most well-known writers and the first female Hausa-language author to be translated into English.

On one of Russia’s most beautiful springtime holidays, the country’s top female diplomats reveal some interesting secrets of their profession, which was considered the exclusive domain of men.

A Saudi Arabian sociologist aims to counter stereotypes about her country with a coffee table book profiling successful Saudi women [...] "We are facing challenges but we are succeeding," said [Mona AlMunajjed] at the book signing for her work "Saudi Women: A Celebration of Success." The large-format book features her interviews with 40 Saudi women from a variety of fields, alongside their photographs.

The wave of huge spending is China's latest step in its bid to become a global soccer power. With the backing of President Xi Jinping, an avowed soccer fan, and no shortage of investment money, the country has the political will and naked ambition to propel soccer into a starring role on the world stage.

Nigeria is in a state of crisis. The Nigerian brand has never been so bad. Recently Future Brands, a leading international brand evaluation agency, issued a Country Brand index. It ranked 75 countries in the same way they measure consumer or corporate brands - according to strength of global perceptions across association dimensions.

Airbnb has upended the system. When the site launched in 2008, Africa was a minor part. That's changed, and now that more than 44,000 homes in Africa have been listed, the continent has become one of the company's fastest-growing regions.