17th July 2025
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
15th July 2025
International Day of Women in Diplomacy: UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls visit to Geneva
1st May 2025
The UN Commission on the Status of Women: My first visit as UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls
4th June 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Great Britons supporting the disabled in Romania
Two events on successive days last week demonstrated again to me the important role which Great Britons working with Romanian counterparts in the civil society sector are playing in supporting groups and communities in need of help, in these cases young people coping with disabilities. On Friday I made my second visit to Galati, on […]
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4th June 2015 Toronto, Canada
Canadian science news: 25-31 May 2015
Trouble reading this story or moving through pages? Check it out on Storify here: https://storify.com/SINCanada/canadian-science-news-25-31-may-2015 [View the story ” Canadian science news: 25-31 May 2015″ on Storify]
4th June 2015 Toronto, Canada
Canadian science news: 18-24 May 2015
Trouble reading this story or moving through pages? Check it out on Storify here: https://storify.com/SINCanada/canadian-science-news-18-24-may-2015 [View the story ” Canadian science news: 18-24 May 2015″ on Storify]
4th June 2015 Havana, Cuba
‘El Cubano de la Uni’
This is the third in a series of blogs by Cubans who received Chevening scholarships and have studied or are studying in the UK. This week, Carlos Rangel Irola writes about his experiences, studying an MSc in Finance and Banking at the University of Essex in Colchester. Thanks to Carlos for this great blog! Don’t expect this story to […]
4th June 2015 Geneva, Switzerland
Mobilising the United Nations to Save Modern Medicine
With our televisions screens filled by images of seemingly endless civil wars, spiralling sectarian horror, and rising humanitarian misery, many have concluded that the international system is failing, even broken. Yet on 25 May an event took place that tells a different story. One that gives hope to all those who believe that the United […]
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4th June 2015 New Delhi, India
Tale of an enticing beehive – UK in Milan
The UK is one of 145 nations participating in the World Exposition 2015 which is taking place in Milan from 1 May till 31 October. The UK Pavilion takes the shape of a bee-hive and represents the crucial role played by pollination in providing the food that we eat. Visitors to the hive experience the […]
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3rd June 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A story of a British-built Russian icebreaker, who took part in the Arctic convoys
Guest post by Keith Allan, Consul General in St. Petersburg The Russian ice-breaker, the Krasin, was built in Newcastle in 1916-17 and went on to play an important role in the Arctic Convoys of World War II. In this blog, Consul General Keith Allan talks about his recent visit to Newcastle University where a model […]
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3rd June 2015 Athens, Greece
From Mystras to Kardamyli: A hike in honour of Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor
“On the map, the southern part of the Peloponnese looks like a misshapen tooth fresh torn from its gum with three peninsulas jutting southward in jagged and carious roots. The central prong is formed by the Taygetus mountains…” This morning, thanks to the Benaki Museum, I was standing in the study of the great man […]
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3rd June 2015 Gaborone, Botswana
The Kasane Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade
I’ve always thought it better to write about an event, especially a successful one, a few weeks after it rather than risk getting caught up in the euphoria of the moment. So it is with considered reflection that I write about the success that was the Kasane Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) which […]
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3rd June 2015 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Rugby
On Saturday I was lucky enough to attend a rugby match between Uzbekistan and India at the stadium in Dostlik, just outside Tashkent. The Uzbek team won convincingly, finishing with a magnificent try in the last few minutes of the match, when one of the Uzbek players forced his way through the Indian defenders and […]