THE MINI INTERNATIONAL combines the innovative instincts of a newspaper and the visual appeal of a magazine. THE MINI INTERNATIONAL explores below the surface of today's mobile society to find the most intriguing stories from MINI life, MINI culture and MINI design, and provides a platform for cosmopolitan lifestyles, high culture and street culture, and all the goings-on in the MINI world.

AVAF is a dangerous virus. AVAF is contagious – infectious in its sheer vivacity and colour, its joie de vivre. With their collective Assume Vivid Astro Focus, or AVAF for short, Eli Sudbrack of Rio de Janeiro and his partner Christophe Hamaide-Pierson turn art into an orgiastic spectacle of colour.

Crash, boom, ker-pow – the familiar sound of comics. No wonder Eng. lit. teachers and book reviewers have traditionally dismissed them with disdain. Now, though, they’re listening up, because graphic novels are proving that it is also possible to tell profound and moving stories through pictures and speech bubbles. You won’t find invincible heroes or bizarre beasts inhabiting the pages, but very real human beings with their very real and enthralling stories.

Jake Burton is reverentially described as a “crazy dude”. He’s an inveterate adventurer, go-getter, performance athlete – and a highly successful businessman. He’s the man behind the snowboard brand Burton, the entrepreneur who turned snowboarding into a global movement.

Modern architecture should not just be seen but experienced first-hand, claims the writer Alain de Botton. And because he’s somebody who puts his money where his mouth is, he launched the project Living Architecture to enable five spectacular structures to be built in England which can be rented by anyone for a few days or weeks.

It was the news the motor sport world had been waiting for: MINI is making its comeback to the World Rally Championships. This year the MINI WRC works race car will already be taking part in several events in preparation for a full assault next season. Behind the wheel of the rally MINI will be Kris Meeke of Northern Ireland.