It’s not surprising that New Zealanders keep a keen eye on the weather.  We live on a few islands a long way from anywhere in the ‘Roaring Forties’, and we spend a lot of time outdoors for both work and pleasure.  We need to know what the elements are likely to throw at us. 
So it’s

That’s a rough translation of the Swedish term ‘ombudsman’, which may be the only Swedish word most of us know.  But the word is very familiar as the name of an important office in many countries around the world.  An ombudsman protects the public against misuse of government powers or functions.
The Philippines has a new

It’s easy to see the big picture about New Zealand’s development assistance to the Philippines: supporting sustainable development, in order to reduce poverty and contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world.
Our larger official development assistance-funded projects fit under that mantle.   We also have the flexibility to support small-scale projects that aren’t part

Letters of credence and recall.   You don’t come across these terms in everyday speech, but they are an integral part of diplomatic jargon.  They were used last week when another page was turned in relations between the Philippines and New Zealand.
The new Philippine ambassador to New Zealand, Virginia Benavidez, arrived in Wellington last month

This is one of those typical Filipino word games, so please bear with me for a moment.  The New Zealand Embassy in Manila is involved in a project called the ‘Search for innovative human rights initiatives’ which has the formal name ‘Karapatan sa malikhaing paraan’, meaning ‘rights in a creative way’.  That abbreviates to kasama,

The greatest sporting event New Zealand has ever hosted is now under way.  Billions of eyes from around the world were focussed on New Zealand last Friday, watching the spectacular opening ceremony in Auckland of the Rugby World Cup 2011 and the first match of the tournament.
There was a real Pacific flavour to the evening. 

Every year an impressive group of people come to town.  I’ve written about them before, and this year I met them again when they were in Manila.  ‘Operation Restore Hope’ is aptly named.  This dedicated New Zealand organisation is changing children’s lives in the Philippines, by giving them the hope of a normal future.
The organisation

One year ago today Canterbury in New Zealand was shaken by a serious earthquake.  As I later commented, the damage to the city of Christchurch and surrounding areas was severe and it was incredible that there were no fatalities.  But the recovery was rapid.
Then, just as those affected communities were working hard to get back

Building business links within ASEAN is an important way to grow the Philippine economy.  That’s according to Philippine finance secretary Cesar Purisima, talking at a recent conference on regional business linkages.  A stronger regional economy will help Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines foot it on the world stage, or as Secretary Purisima put it

New Zealand and the Philippines have wartime connections, which I’ve blogged about before.  But now the two countries are working together to keep the peace, and a gathering in Manila this month was a practical step in that cooperation.
Because of New Zealand’s connections to the Southeast Asia region, it is a member of a new