Latest news with #internationaldevelopment
The Guardian
13-07-2025
- The Guardian
The moment I knew: we hiked into the wilderness on Friday and emerged as a couple on Sunday
At the end of 2019 I was 15 months into a contract working in Fiji. The project was coming to an end and I was ready to head back to the UK when Stef showed up and changed everything. Working in international development, especially in more remote locations, means those in the sector tend to gravitate towards each other. Whenever a new crop of personnel show up, everyone gets together. It was Stef's third night on the island when we all descended on a local curry house in Suva to welcome her and the other volunteers. I arrived straight from work in a rather fetching sulu (Fijian sarong) and sandals. I was seated next to Stef and sparks flew instantly. She was clearly super bright, very funny and matched me in stacking away large quantities of chicken tikka butter masala (it's a thing and it's very good). We made plans to meet the following day and quickly began spending a lot of time together. We discovered we both loved hiking – which is excellent in Fiji – and not long after I met Stef, a group hike was planned. First though, I was off to a remote island for a week. After seven days out of phone range on a far-flung island, I arrived at the designated meeting point by plane, with a bucket of fresh lobster I'd been gifted, only to discover that everyone but Stef had pulled out. Knowing I was uncontactable she'd decided to take a five-hour bus odyssey across the main island, navigating two breakdowns and four transfers just to make sure I wasn't left in the lurch. She even showed up with leftover chicken palau. Being British I'm not always able to pick up on the subtle cues of romance, but being an Australian Stef isn't backwards in coming forward. The effort she'd made to come and meet me, when everyone else had not, was a sign of affection even I could read. Everything about the trek flowed easily and we hardly stopped chatting the whole weekend. While watching the stars together that first night I had the distinct impression this was it. That time together made it clear our connection was much more than just an aid-world fling. We'd hiked into the wilderness on Friday and emerged as a couple on Sunday. By New Year's Eve I'd told her how I felt. As Covid shuttered borders and nixed contracts, a few weeks later we were both sent back to our home countries. We were separated for nearly nine months. Our pandemic experiences were wildly different; Stef was working three jobs in outbreak response in New South Wales, while in the UK my main responsibility became drinking my way through the wine purchased for my sister's Covid-cancelled wedding. We spent hours on the phone, and as borders reopened, it was a no-brainer that we would find a way to be together again. By the end of the year we were reunited in Papua New Guinea and spent the next two and half years in Port Moresby. Last year we got married in the UK and thought we'd try our hand at a 'settled' life in Melbourne, but it wasn't long before our feet were itching. We've recently relocated to the Republic of the Congo where, if everything goes to plan, we'll spend the next couple of years continuing to affirm our love for each other, Test-match cricket and local curries. Do you have a romantic realisation you'd like to share? From quiet domestic scenes to dramatic revelations, Guardian Australia wants to hear about the moment you knew you were in love. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian.
The Guardian
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
A chance for Labour to honour its pledge on international development
Heather Stewart is right (The spirit of the G8 'make poverty history' summit of 2005 seems long gone, 6 July). Twenty years later, we are in a completely different world, facing overlapping crises and a retreat from global responsibility. In just the first half of 2025 alone, USAID has been dismantled, and the UK, France, Germany and Canada have all scaled back their development budgets. Many lower-income countries are still reeling from crises that they did not cause, spending more on debt repayments than on healthcare or education. Although the UK aid budget is not likely to increase any time soon, the government still has a chance to honour its manifesto pledge 'to rebuild Britain's reputation on international development'. It must set a bold agenda by championing debt relief and reforms to the global economic system, including making the international tax system fairer, in order to scale up countries' public financing. The recent Financing for Development summit in Spain was a missed opportunity. With a concerted effort to build public support, the UK government must show that international solidarity is not a thing of the GreenhillCEO, Bond, the UK network for NGOs Regarding Simon Tisdall's article (The UN is our best defence against a third world war. As Trump wields the axe, who will fight to save it? 6 July), the UN is probably weaker than it has ever been, but it is needed as never before, as is internationalism more generally, expressed in dialogue, cooperation and the solidarity of financial aid. That our prime minister has 'slashed its aid budget by £6bn, to pay for nuclear bombs', and plans to build six new arms factories, boasting that the defence industry will become 'an engine for economic growth', shows how unlikely it is that the UK will contribute to the growth of internationalism and strengthening of the UN. War's ever-greater barbarity and destruction at the human level is at the same time a massive assault on nature, causing pollution and carbon emissions on a grand scale. Who will fight to strengthen and reform the UN, build global cooperation and create a future for the world's children? We must, all of us, in an international movement of the willing and the caring, before it really is too FrancisBath Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- The Guardian
The moment I knew: we hiked into the wilderness on Friday and emerged as a couple on Sunday
At the end of 2019 I was 15 months into a contract working in Fiji. The project was coming to an end and I was ready to head back to the UK when Stef showed up and changed everything. Working in international development, especially in more remote locations, means those in the sector tend to gravitate towards each other. Whenever a new crop of personnel show up, everyone gets together. It was Stef's third night on the island when we all descended on a local curry house in Suva to welcome her and the other volunteers. I arrived straight from work in a rather fetching sulu (Fijian sarong) and sandals. I was seated next to Stef and sparks flew instantly. She was clearly super bright, very funny and matched me in stacking away large quantities of chicken tikka butter masala (it's a thing and it's very good). We made plans to meet the following day and quickly began spending a lot of time together. We discovered we both loved hiking – which is excellent in Fiji – and not long after I met Stef, a group hike was planned. First though, I was off to a remote island for a week. After seven days out of phone range on a far-flung island, I arrived at the designated meeting point by plane, with a bucket of fresh lobster I'd been gifted, only to discover that everyone but Stef had pulled out. Knowing I was uncontactable she'd decided to take a five-hour bus odyssey across the main island, navigating two breakdowns and four transfers just to make sure I wasn't left in the lurch. She even showed up with leftover chicken palau. Being British I'm not always able to pick up on the subtle cues of romance, but being an Australian Stef isn't backwards in coming forward. The effort she'd made to come and meet me, when everyone else had not, was a sign of affection even I could read. Everything about the trek flowed easily and we hardly stopped chatting the whole weekend. While watching the stars together that first night I had the distinct impression this was it. That time together made it clear our connection was much more than just an aid-world fling. We'd hiked into the wilderness on Friday and emerged as a couple on Sunday. By New Year's Eve I'd told her how I felt. As Covid shuttered borders and nixed contracts, a few weeks later we were both sent back to our home countries. We were separated for nearly nine months. Our pandemic experiences were wildly different; Stef was working three jobs in outbreak response in New South Wales, while in the UK my main responsibility became drinking my way through the wine purchased for my sister's Covid-cancelled wedding. We spent hours on the phone, and as borders reopened, it was a no-brainer that we would find a way to be together again. By the end of the year we were reunited in Papua New Guinea and spent the next two and half years in Port Moresby. Last year we got married in the UK and thought we'd try our hand at a 'settled' life in Melbourne, but it wasn't long before our feet were itching. We've recently relocated to the Republic of the Congo where, if everything goes to plan, we'll spend the next couple of years continuing to affirm our love for each other, Test-match cricket and local curries. Do you have a romantic realisation you'd like to share? From quiet domestic scenes to dramatic revelations, Guardian Australia wants to hear about the moment you knew you were in love. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian.
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong uniquely placed to help fill global public goods gap left by US
USAID, long one of the foremost tools of US soft power, ended its six decades as an independent agency on July 1 , with no details on how it had been reviewed disclosed. Meanwhile, the China-initiated International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed), made a high-profile debut in Hong Kong in May. Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the inauguration and stressed looking for ways to resolve issues 'so as to lend our thoughts to countries seeking to resolve problems or disagreements with others'. This sentiment stands in opposition to the White House's statement that the US foreign aid industry is misaligned with American interests. The juxtaposition reaffirms the notion that China is filling the gap left by the US. As Beijing takes a more proactive role in international development, amid expectations from the Global South , Hong Kong – China's most cosmopolitan city – has a new path to prominence as a hub for public goods. The US development sector has been steadily dismantled in the past six months , with key institutions decimated and professionals displaced. The sector's foundational beliefs have been assaulted by a trifecta of fallacies. First, the 'America first' mentality neglects soft-power cultivation while pitting overseas and domestic investments against each other. To US President Donald Trump, foreign aid is merely another drain on the federal budget advancing wasteful agendas. Rather than fostering a long-term strategic approach through providing assistance, he prioritises extracting gain from allies and developing nations. If the American influence apparatus is not doomed, it is at least navigating a more myopic track with narrowed horizons.
Mail & Guardian
28-06-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Ireland to make education a focal point at G20 meet in SA
Irish Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Neale Richmond, visiting a school in Liberia, April. (Photo supplied) Ireland, invited by current G20 president South Africa as a guest at a series of meetings culminating in November's summit of heads of state, will make education a key point during its participation, its government officials said this week. The G20, a forum of developing and developed countries whose members account for 85% of the global GDP, primarily aims to foster international economic cooperation and address major global economic issues. South Africa's theme during its 2025 presidency is solidarity, equality and sustainability. Ireland is taking the invitation seriously and plans to attend every ministerial meeting held in the run-up to November, officials, including the Irish Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora Neale Richmond, indicated on the sidelines of the Africa Ireland Trade Horzions conference in Dublin. Richmond also confirmed that Ireland — the most educated nation in the world — will push the importance of education and how it can address major global and economic issues. Ireland holds the highest percentage for higher-level education attainment for people aged between 25 and 34 years old at 55.1%, according to data from By contrast, data from Statistics South Africa in 2024 showed that approximately 40% of learners who start grade one in the country drop out before completing their final year of high school. Richmond said having been a poor nation for much of its history, educating its people had contributed to boosting Ireland's economy. 'I don't want to give too much of a history lesson, but it cannot be understated how poor Ireland was. We were a developing country. There's no dispute about that. We had a massive famine, a civil war; we were a new independent state,' he said. 'Our focus on education started in 1967 when the then Irish minister of education made second-level education free. In 1994, third-level education was made free. We now have officially the most educated population in the world and a workforce of 2.8 million people [out of a population of 5 million].' The country is tweaking and tailoring its education system to make sure that it is fit for purpose, he added. 'Over the last decade, we have increased the amount of projects coming out of very specific qualifications in areas relating to the life sciences sector and the tech sector. We work hand in hand with third-level institutions and businesses that want to invest in Ireland.' The life sciences sector — encompassing pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices — is a major contributor to the Irish economy, generating over €100 billion in exports annually and directly employing over 100 000 people. However, Ireland is facing a housing crisis: 'We need more people working in those areas, not to just construct the houses that we so desperately need, but also the infrastructure, the water, the roads and the healthcare facilities,' he said. Statistics show that Ireland's Richmond reiterated that investing in education was crucial to eradicating poverty. 'When we go to G20, the central plank has to be education' to boost the economy and facilitate development, he said. The journalist's trip to Ireland was sponsored by the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa.
