Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

16th February 2015 Sana’a, Yemen

Jane Marriott, British Ambassador to Yemen

by Jane Marriott

British Ambassador to Yemen

Yemen: the ball is in the Houthis’ court

Jane Marriott, British Ambassador to Yemen

On 11 February, the UK took the decision on security grounds to temporarily suspend operations at the British Embassy in Sana’a and withdraw diplomatic staff. I would like to explain why. The UK wants to see success in Yemen. We have our national counter-terrorism objectives against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. But we have […]

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13th February 2015 Toronto, Canada

DementiaHack 2014: Video recap

DementiaHack, the world’s first dementia-themed hackathon, took place in September 2014 in partnership with HackerNest. If you don’t have four hours to watch the raw video from the event then here are two- and ten-minute recaps: Look out for a guest post from hackathon winners CareUmbrella in the next few weeks. We also hope to […]

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13th February 2015 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

UNITY AND IMPUNITY, TEN YEARS ON

Spring 2005 was when I decided that I would one day work in Lebanon. I was based in our Paris embassy when Rafik Hariri and 21 others were murdered. I remember reading the powerful reports sent by the then ambassador, James Watt, and sharing frantic updates with Lebanese and French friends. The Valentine’s Day massacre ripped […]

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13th February 2015 Kingston, Jamaica

by Charmaine Wright

Head, UK Trade & Investment Jamaica

Working in Jamaica while studying in the UK? Yes , you can!

Ever so often your private life and your public life collide – thankfully this time it’s for the better! In July, I will attend my graduation at the University of Leicester, where I will be given my certificate acknowledging that I have completed a Masters of Business Administration programme. It is the culmination of almost […]

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13th February 2015

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

Speaking your language, and yours’, and yours’………. Do you want to speak mine?

As Brits we often get away with just speaking English. So I never thought I would have to speak more than 20 languages in order to be understood. Especially not when all those languages occur in just one country. In the next few weeks I will be participating in events in Panajachel  which will bring […]

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13th February 2015

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

Hablando tu idioma y el tuyo y el tuyo…. quieres hablar el mio?

Como británicos a menudo conseguimos llegar a lo que queremos solamente hablando Inglés. Así que nunca pensé que tendría que hablar más de 20 idiomas para poder ser entendida. Especialmente cuando todos esos idiomas se hablan solamente en un país. En los siguientes días estaré participando en eventos en Panajachel, lo que unirá a líderes […]

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13th February 2015 Brasilia, Brazil

Celebrating diversity

Confetti, serpentine, dance, costumes, parades, floats, giant puppets and joy… in a simple approach, perhaps this can sum up the Brazilian Carnival. The festival that aimed to thank the gods for soil fertility and production in ancient Greece came to the Brazilian lands under European influence around 1723, being welcomed with open arms by the […]

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13th February 2015 London, UK

Guest Blog from Baroness Anelay: "Freedom to Believe"

This week, we’ve hosted two events at Wilton Park, and in Geneva, on freedom of religion or belief. To mark them, I’m inviting you to join me in our social media campaign #freedomtobelieve. Here’s why: Last month I visited a training centre for Imams and Mourchidats (female spiritual guides) in Morocco. What I witnessed there […]

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13th February 2015

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

World Radio Day

Today is World Radio Day! We mark World Radio Day to raise awareness about the importance of radio in shaping the lives of millions throughout the world, from providing people with everyday news to being a way of spreading information quickly to save lives during natural (or human-induced) disasters. Radio still remains the most dominant […]

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12th February 2015

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

STRIKING A “FINE BALANCE” BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

As well as a magnet for North  American tourists seeking warmth from the winter, Turks and Caicos was an attraction for experts from all the other Caribbean Overseas Territories last week, together with representatives from as far away as Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.  The occasion was a meeting of environment specialists to consider how […]

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