Interesting to note that Rugby will be added to the Olympic slate in 2016, when the games will be hosted in Rio. Not only have expat women been playing Rugby in Asia, but one has even played on some of the men’s teams there!

Alana Padilla, 30, is a Filipino expat who has lived in Hangzhou, China for three years:

She was instrumental in making the Hangzhou Harlequins Men’s 15s side a competitive team, after it was originally founded by Brit Simon Whitton in 2006. She plays in the men’s 15s matches. She also plays for Shanghai’s women’s sevens team, Shanghai Sharks. She said she was “honoured” to play in the first ever Philippines national women’s team. She added: “I am very proud that we shut out the four teams we faced on Sunday.”

It will be very exciting to see Rugby added in the Olympics in 2016. Now, is American Football next!?

A British Expat will be the next Prime Minister of Australia, regardless of the outcome of the election:

Welsh-born Labour premier Julia Gillard, 48, will come head to head with 52-year-old Liberal leader Tony Abbott, who was born in London, when the election, expected to be called tomorrow is held in late August.

The article goes on to note that this will not be the first time that a British expat has held the position. However, it has been quite some time since the last expatriate won the post:

Since the office of Prime Minister was created in Australia in 1901 only four others were born in the United Kingdom – George Reid (1904) and Andrew Fisher (1908) were born in Scotland, Joseph Cook (1913) in England and William Hughes (1915) in Wales.

Is this a sign of the times? Will the globally mobile be more likely to win high office going forward? While Australia’s political attachment to the U.K. is of note here, it’s interesting that it has been so long since it last occurred, and here we have expats on the ticket for both the Labour and Liberal parties.

Of course, much to the chagrin of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger, this couldn’t happen in the U.S. Foreign-born citizens are disqualified for the office of U.S. President by Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution.

Expats in Japan are trying to help close Futenma, the U.S. military base on Okinawa.

While expats did not want to speak officially about the controversy there, they have privately voiced their opinions. Here is what the author hears from the expat community:

Privately, everyone seems to have a view: I heard opinions ranging from calls for all bases to close, to criticism of the Okinawans for building a city around a military installation. Citing the “sensitivity” of the issue, several people declined to talk to me.

The actions of some of these expats demonstrates one of the differences between expats and tourists… individual expats can have an impact on what happens in there destination countries. After claiming the political career of a prime minister, it will be interesting to see how this situation is resolved. Also, interesting how the economic and employment impact isn’t getting as much play in the media as other aspects of the story.

Americans living abroad can expect to feel the scrutiny of the IRS more than they have in the past. As this article from PRweb via Yahoo News points out, the deadline for expats is June 15th.

This quote provides the reasoning for this additional focus on expats:

“There is a hole of about USD 400 billion in the current US budget,””said David McKeegan, founder of Greenback Tax Services. “The Obama administration thinks that offshore tax abuse costs the US Treasury as much as USD 100 billion each year, and the President has authorized an additional USD 128 million for the 2010 IRS budget. Part of this money will be spent on 800 new IRS agents to try to track down who is filing and paying their taxes from abroad and who is not.”

And, separately, this CNN.com article volcano in Iceland threatens the European economy, which is obviously already under strain. Expats in Europe should be paying attention to how this might affect them.

Being caught amid political upheaval has to rank among the greatest fears of expatriates. The uncertainty involved in being in a foreign country and the long history of violence associated with political turmoil is simply not a comforting mix.

This article from Sun.co.uk about British expats caught in Bankok political violence captures some of the terror that can be involved with such an ordeal:

Brit holidaymaker Sarah Colvin got caught in the cross-fire.

“People started running and screaming,” the 19-year-old said. We were being shot at. It shook us up a lot. We needed Valium to sleep. A lot of people we’ve spoken to are getting out of here.”

This reality is no fun, and other nations, such as Kyrgyzstan, have also been in the news lately due to violence in the streets due to political unrest. This highlights the need to do all research and get as much training and advice as possible before moving overseas. It was not that long ago that this taking place in Bankok would have been unthinkable.

It’s March 17th, and that means it’s St. Patrick’s Day! Irish expats and those of Irish descent the world over are celebrating one of the merriest holidays in the world:

The traditional feast day of Ireland patron’s saint has become one of the world’s most recognised national holidays and Irish ministers are jetting around the globe to promote trade, tourism and investment.

President Mary McAleese was to review the main parade in Dublin involving 3,000 performers and marching bands from India, the US, Bulgaria, Austria, France, Spain and Britain.

There will be parades in more than 100 other Irish cities and towns. Irish emigrants also use the holiday as an excuse to party in Australia and New Zealand and in countries in Asia, Europe and north and south America.

Irish pubs in cities around the globe will heave to traditional Gaelic craic, or fun.

If you are wondering about the history of St. Patrick’s Day, visit it’s description on Wikipedia to read about it?

The earthquake in Chile this weekend was one of several major geological disasters in 2010. Clearly the year will be remembered as one in which there was unimaginable loss of life and enormous financial and infrastructure devastation as a result.

Here are a few articles to consider in relation to the earthquake this weekend in Chile and what has happened since the start of the year:

Following the earthquake, Canadian expats in Chile have yet to contact their loved ones, who are anxiously waiting to hear from them. From Yahoo Canada via Edmonton Sun.

Many might wonder why the earthquake in Haiti was so much more devastating than the one in Chile, even though it was not as powerful an earthquake (according to the Richter Scale). This article from CNN.com explains why.

The earthquakes in Chile and Haiti were the only major ones this year, right? Wrong. This article on SFGate.com describes an alarming trend for earthquakes in 2010.

A Bit of History: As a World War II history buff, I was interested to see this book review of Lynn Olson’s Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour. This 496 page book is about Key Americans in London during the blitz that helped push America toward “entry into the war.” Anyone interested in the Kennedy family’s political history should familiarize themselves with this part of their story. (As a side note, JFK’s travels in Europe in the run up to WW II are also fascinating and worth researching. Michael O’Brien’s John F. Kennedy: A Biography is a great place to start.) Olson’s book is important to highlight as a tribute to the importance of those that are actually on the ground at critical times in history. Then again, nobody knows that more than expats themselves!

On the Forums: An interesting discussion on our Global Forum about Pickpockets and Thieves. This is a topic always worth revisiting, even if just to remind us to take appropriate precautions while abroad.

Given the breadth of the losses suffered by Haitians, it’s difficult to blog about the American losses there. However, ExpatExchange is a service for expats, so we do feel some responsibility to pass along a window to the experience that Americans in Haiti have experienced. This article on NYTImes.com offers just such a glimpse to their experiences since the ordeal began.

Here is an update from Foxnews.com about the relief efforts that are making their way to Haiti.

For those able, please consider a donation to the Redcross, which is providing relief efforts to Haiti.

The tragedy of the Haitian earthquake has grabbed our attention more than anything else in quite some time. One of the thoughts I had with regard to the Haitian expats in the U.S. is the response of American expats in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City. A constant refrain we heard in that time period was how Americans abroad felt helpless being away from their home country at such a time. With that in mind, here is a video from pbs.com about Haitian expats in the U.S. supporting each other following this tragedy.