Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

1st August 2013 London, UK

FCO launches new Twitter service offering travel advice and help – GOV.UK

British people travelling or living overseas can now get help from the FCO on Twitter: The new Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) service offers an easy way to stay up to date with the latest advice about travel, and to get help before and during a trip abroad. Questions to @FCOtravel are answered 9am – […]

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1st August 2013

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Celebrating ECPAT

All of our countries face problems relating to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). There have been some shocking cases recently in the UK which have raised awareness of the scale of what we have to deal with – the British Prime Minister has made very clear that addressing CSEC and its underlying causes […]

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1st August 2013 Ottawa, Canada

Challenges facing Universities in a Global Market: Guest blog by Professor Nigel Thrift, Vice-Chancellor of Warwick University

Higher education is increasingly being noticed as a lucrative and growing business sector, especially where attracting international students is concerned. This provides many opportunities for forward looking universities and also many challenges. Professor Nigel Thrift*, Vice-Chancellor of Warwick University, attended a summit in Ottawa, Canada to discuss how universities worldwide are adapting to the swiftly […]

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1st August 2013 British High Commission, Kingston, Jamaica

by Syranno Baines

Digital and Communications Officer

About those Visas …

Britain and Jamaica are long time friends, who partner on very visible technical and operational matters.  But should you ask a random Jamaican about the function of the British High Commission in Kingston;  the response will undoubtedly be something to do with visas. It has not gone unnoticed that since inception in 2003, visas to […]

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31st July 2013 USA

Jonathan Daniel

Jonathan Daniel

Jonathan Daniel is Vice Consul for Policy and Communications at the British Consulate General in Chicago.

A thorny case for Sherlock Holmes

On the first day of August for the last 45 years, the British Consulate General in Chicago has received six red roses from an anonymous sender. The bouquet’s accompanying card always carries the same message – not one of unrequited love, but rather a moving tribute to the six British infantry regiments that helped defeat […]

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31st July 2013 Ottawa, Canada

UK releases International Education Strategy

On Monday, July 29th the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) released its International Education Strategy. This strategy outlines how the UK will work with businesses, schools and universities to develop the economic opportunities of the growing education sector. Strategy highlights include: Welcoming international students: the strategy explains that there is no cap on the […]

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31st July 2013 Harare, Zimbabwe

Catriona Laing

by Catriona Laing

British Ambassador to Zimbabwe

Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Hosts Last Iftar Dinner Before Draw Down

The PRT hosted a traditional ‘Iftar’ dinner recently which was attended by a diverse mix of 50 local Afghan dignitaries, including Provincial Governor Naeem, district governors, government officials, security leaders, mullahs and ulema, as well as international officials and staff from the PRT and our military colleagues (ISAF). The mixture of Afghan, PRT and ISAF […]

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31st July 2013 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

The Support to Match Their Courage

Tomorrow is Army Day in Lebanon. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will parade, and the Lebanese people reflect on the role the military have played in maintaining stability over the past year, and the sacrifices they have made. I’ll join other Ambassadors in admiring the march past as Lebanese political leaders salute the LAF colours, […]

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31st July 2013

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

My first six months at the Holy See

The following is a guest blog by Steve Townsend, Deputy Head of Mission. It is difficult to think that I have already finished the first six months of my four-year posting to the Holy See. The time seems to flown past. Why did I apply for the job? I am interested in “soft power” – […]

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30th July 2013 Ottawa, Canada

Canadian High Performance Computing and Big Data Capabilities

National infrastructure for supercomputing-powered research High performance computing (HPC) has become an indispensable and enabling technology across all research fields. Some fields have a long history with computing such as computer science, astrophysics, weather (climate modeling) and engineering. In Canada, researchers are managing and analyzing immensely large and complex data sets from sources such as […]

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