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
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
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 […]
31st July 2013 USA
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 […]
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
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
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
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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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30th July 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Honduras: Judicial and Community leaders working together for crime prevention
To kick off this week, we have another guest blogger. This time it’s Sara Del Cid, our Security and Justice Officer who has written about her recent visit to Honduras. Over to you Sara. One of the Embassy’s priorities in Honduras is to support the security and justice sectors. LA couple of weeks ago we […]
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30th July 2013 Washington DC, USA
Nostalgic for 2012: The Olympic Legacy
Nostalgia is defined as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period of place with happy personal associations.” With this weekend marking one year on, was I feeling nostalgic about the London 2012 games, which I experienced from more than 3,000 miles away? I most definitely was. While I couldn’t […]