Living in Tracy Chapman’s House Fresh out of college, we were a bunch of misfits in a chaotic, run-down communal home, desperately trying to figure out who we were meant to be.

Jill Lepore writes about her post-college years spent in a communal house that lingered with the presence of a past roommate: the singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me/28D0fg

Inside the EU's private assessment on Trump's massive aid cuts | Euractiv The US cuts will leave funding gaps for fragile countries in the areas of rule of law, human rights, security and migration. But with the EU also cutting aid, it now needs 'a strong narrative' abroad, officials say

Not your usual leak! @vchadw.bsky.social has obtained the frank internal assessment made in Brussels on how to proceed after the US slashed its foreign aid budget to shreds.

Top line: thorny chance to regain lost momentum in Afghanistan

www.euractiv.com/news/inside-...

🤩 Meet our new Journalist Fellows joining us this term:

🇦🇺 Vince Chadwick
🇺🇸 Dante Dallago
🇧🇬 Boryana Dzhambazova
🇳🇬 Patrick Egwu
🇫🇮 Salla-Rosa Gröhn
🇮🇳 Banjot Kaur
🇬🇧 William Kremer
🇲🇽 Adriana Navarro Ramírez
🇭🇷 Barbara Strbac
🇵🇸 Shatha Yaish

reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/10-jour...

Great to see the European Parliament using my reporting to call for “full transparency and accountability” over suspected fraud at the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States. tinyurl.com/yc58fz88

UNFPA chief to step down months before term ends UNFPA chief to step down months before term ends

The United Nations' chief sexual and reproductive rights agency launches transition amid budget uncertainty over its fate.

Devex Invested: Europe takes note but no action amid USAID collapse Europe takes note of regret amid USAID collapse, but says it cannot fill the funding gap. Plus, DFC’s reauthorization progress begins, and how philanthropy can fill U.S. aid gaps.

Devex Invested: Europe takes note but no action amid USAID collapse www.devex.com/news/devex-i...

Renaming the EU, Dismantling the Commission: For What Polish and Hungarian Illiberals Seek U.S. Backing - VSquare.org The Trump administration's most influential think tank, The Heritage Foundation, is receiving proposals from illiberal forces in Poland and Hungary on how to shape the future of the European Union. Th...

🤯🇪🇺 The Heritage Foundation, the Trump admin’s agenda-setting think tank, is receiving proposals from illiberal forces in Poland & Hungary on reshaping the EU. Obtained by @vsquare.bsky.social, these include dismantling the EU Commission, the ECJ & renaming the bloc the European Community of Nations.

😑After a pandemic, the proportion of Europeans that think new technologies in vaccines and combatting infectious diseases will have a positive impact in the next 20 years has *declined* in every EU Member State, except for Denmark where it has remained unchanged. tinyurl.com/y96pb7s8

Scoop: ‘Suspected fraud’ at EU-backed African, Caribbean, Pacific org One credit card was used to make purchases on Apple’s iTunes store, according to an internal report.

www.devex.com/news/scoop-s... Under the heading, “Suspected fraud,” the document states: “We noted 30,082.73 Euros were claimed to be used for fraudulent activities on one of the card (5476-85**-****-0980) in 2023 which mainly related to purchase of apple itunes.”

Belgium just cut its foreign aid by 25%. Does anybody care? The role of development minister will disappear under the new government — but Enabel's boss says that could be a good thing.

European aid budget changes:

🔽🇧🇪 Belgium just cut its foreign aid by 25% www.devex.com/news/belgium... - @vchadw.bsky.social

🔼🇬🇧Contrary to many fears, the UK increased its aid budget, as the amount is tied to gross national income levels
www.devex.com/news/shock-r... - @robmerrick.bsky.social

How Australians want their aid spent. Hint: Not via localization Australians are wary of cash transfers, favoring technical assistance instead.

Australian voters prize aid effectiveness above all, yet research shows that the most effective and sustainable assistance is locally led (something Australians also say they don’t want).

www.devex.com/news/how-aus...

And the waivers for things like humanitarian assistance?

"Nobody really wants to take a risk at the agency level because they will lose their jobs if they don't show loyalty to President Trump."

Exclusive: Up to 3,000 DC aid workers laid off by next week, CEO says DT Global's CEO told staff members many other firms could furlough or retrench the vast majority of their staff.

On #USAidFreeze, DT Global CEO tells staff:

"We anticipate the impact in the Washington, D.C., area to be 2,000 to 3,000 development professionals … losing their jobs this weekend and next week."

www.devex.com/news/exclusi...

Backstory: www.devex.com/news/reveale...

Only in Brussels.

1. Hugely cut funding to fragile states.

2. Call for new strategy to address terrible fact that fragile states are so underfunded.

Clear as mud.

Yet billions of euros and millions of lives potentially impacted by this...

A '90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy...'

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

European Commission foreign aid dept. offering €3m over three years for consultants to develop a network of European experts to analyse China's "policies, progress and strategic investments on digital technologies" and advise EU how to respond.

ec.europa.eu/info/funding...

And a rare, fruitful Access to Information request, showing how hard the EU's humanitarian aid department tried to resist their development colleagues' approach to implementing last year's cuts to the EU development budget.

www.devex.com/news/reveale...

Scoop: EU wants development staff in regional hubs, not delegations Development experts could be pulled out of some countries entirely in the search for budget efficiencies and strategic focus.

More details on the plan to get EU development staff into 18 regional hubs -- and potentially out of some countries entirely.

www.devex.com/news/scoop-e...

.@ecdpm.org thanks for recent paper on MFF, however the €300 billion under Global Gateway was promised by 2027 (so that's NDICI 1.0's job isn't it?)

ecdpm.org/application/...

Did I get this right?

Muslim player Usman Khawaja didn't feature in Aust cricket team photo after series win as other players drank beer from sponsor Tinnies, on day dedicated to cancer charity (2 days after US Surgeon General said alcohol is major cancer risk & argued for stricter guidelines).

Staff accuse IRC management of Gaza bias and censorship As Israel’s destruction of Gaza has escalated, the months-long rift between aid staff and leaders has widened.

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2024/11...

Trying to make sense of the last five years. And signs of things to come … www.devex.com/news/exit-ur...

In August maybe. But Saint Gilles & Chatelain night markets Monday & Wednesday. Ancienne Belgique, Botanique, Archiduc for music. Walking tour of Molenbeek. Great coffee. Art Nouveau! Saint Catherine (Gaston ice cream, Nordzee). Walk into any bar & ask for ‘a beer’, especially Le coq (at any hour)

Where's the real sky
I'm not here to know
But your kiss it reminds me
Not to forget

I don't belong here
Maybe never will
The shatter rewinds me
The slow disconnect

— The Real Sky, Jeff Cole