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
20th June 2014 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
A Summit like no other
Last week saw an extraordinary international conference in London. British Foreign Secretary William Hague and UN Special Envoy Angelina Jolie co-hosted the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. This brought together 128 country delegations and over 80 ministers. Minister of Foreign Affairs II Pehin Lim led the Brunei delegation. There were around 1,700 […]
19th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Reflections of a Catholic participant on the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in conflict
I have commented in recent weeks on the 10-13 June London Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. This week, I give the floor to Pádraic MacOireachtaigh, Jesuit Refugee Service Regional Advocacy and Communications Officer in the Great Lakes based in Burundi, who participated in the Summit, and who contributes his own supportive but critical […]
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19th June 2014 Washington DC, USA
The next step forward
When Google unveiled its latest prototype of a self-driving car in May, it marked a new stage in the relationship between humans and autonomous vehicles in a very public way. But it is just one visible piece of the technical progress in areas such as autonomous systems, advanced manufacturing, and in the thinking on how […]
19th June 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria
Two Days Before Sofia Pride
by British Embassy Sofia A couple of days before Sofia Pride 2014, we share a couple of photos of the first UK civil partnership ceremony that was conducted at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Sofia in 2007. The special permission for the ceremony was given from the UK under the strict understanding that the partnership would […]
18th June 2014 Jerusalem, Israel
A life free from fear
Visiting Hebron for the first time reminded me of my childhood in the Scottish city of Glasgow. The narrow alleyways hung with washing; kids in the street playing football; conversations across garden walls. A city in which family is everything and privacy is a rare commodity. But the similarities end when you enter ‘H1’. This […]
18th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
GOV.UK more than OK
Britain is one of the most advanced digital economies in the world. The British Government’s Chief Technology Officer, Liam Maxwell, was in Canberra this week to brief Australian ministers and officials on some of the latest developments in the UK. He described how all of the many different departmental websites had moved successfully onto a […]
17th June 2014 Toronto, Canada
Canadian science news: 9-15 June 2014
Trouble reading this story or moving through pages? Check it out on Storify here: https://storify.com/SINCanada/canadian-science-news-9-15-june-2014 [View the story ” Canadian science news: 9-15 June 2014″ on Storify]
17th June 2014 Paris, France
Joint training for young Franco-British Diplomats
I think one of the most important parts of my job as ambassador is to make sure that the links between Britain and France are continuing into the next generation.
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17th June 2014 New Delhi, India
3D printing – the future of manufacturing?
Additive Manufacturing (also known as direct-digital-manufacture, generative manufacture or 3D Printing) is one of the most exciting emergent technologies available to global industry today, allowing companies to manufacture ever more complex and optimized products and components at very low unit volumes. 3D Printing has taken the media by storm, causing a mixture of knowing nods, […]
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17th June 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria
The First British Ambassador to Bulgaria
by Christine Day Christine Day is the daughter of the first British Ambassador to Bulgaria Sir William Harpham (1964-1966), who presented his credentials as an Ambassador in a cold January day in 1964. Christine’s story is a recollection of this day. Christine Day was a special guest at the Queen’s Birthday Party 2014 that took place […]
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