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14th December 2012 Vientiane, Laos
Embassy set-up progressing well
It has been a few weeks since my last blog so time for an update on our progress in re-establishing our Embassy in Vientiane and on what we have been doing more broadly. As for our Embassy set-up, I think it important to highlight that, while we had the formal opening of the Embassy by […]
13th December 2012 Kingston, Jamaica
Personal Role Radios for the Jamaica Defence Force
I attended the UK handover of over 100 sets of Personal Role Radio (PRR) to Jamaica’s Defence Force at a press event involving Jamaica’s Minister of National Security, The British High Commissioner and Jamaica’s Chief of Defence staff. The event took place at the British High Commissioner’s Residence, Trafalgar House. The donation is the culmination […]
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13th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Positively Concluding on Turkey’s EU accession…
A guest blog by Louise Taylor, EU Political Officer at the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey As EU Political Officer, I have been following Turkey’s EU accession process closely since I arrived in Ankara last March. So I am pleased to see that EU Ministers agreed positive conclusions at the General Affairs Council on Enlargement on […]
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13th December 2012 London, UK
Consular Christmas blogs: Christmas – South Indian Style!
Christmas in South India comes in the middle of the Indian festive season. The songs of joy and sparkling decorations could be an extension of Deepavali (Diwali in the North) without the sound and fury; or perhaps it is the harbinger of another mega event – Sankranthi, the harvest festival. In the countryside, you might […]
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13th December 2012 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
A European concert
On Monday evening I attended a concert at the Tashkent Conservatoire by the Conservatoire Students’ Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. It was an excellent concert, with a series of show-pieces to show off the students’ skills. I always enjoy hearing young orchestras and choirs performing at this sort of level. They tend to have a special […]
13th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Don’t Make the Whole World Blind
His Majesty King Abdullah is in London this week. A top priority in his talks with Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague was the Middle East Peace Process. After HM King Abdullah’s trip to Ramallah last week; after the ceasefire in Gaza; and after the vote at the UN General Assembly, this […]
13th December 2012 London, UK
My Chevening experience, so far
Nor Ali is one of the two recipients from Brunei of the 2012/2013 Chevening Scholarship. He is studying for an MA in Inclusive Education and Technology at King’s College London. Looks like it’s my turn this year to share my personal experience as a Chevening scholar! As you read on, you’ll notice it’s going to […]
12th December 2012 Athens, Greece
Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict – Guest Blog #2
Sexual violence in conflict situations is as much a terrifying crime as a brutal one, wherever it takes place; it has direct and indirect effects on human lives, leaving deep, indelible scars on the victims as well as society itself. As part of the Preventing the Sexual Violence Initiative that the Foreign Secretary has launched, we host […]
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12th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
FAILURES, FROGS AND FINDINGS, BRITAIN’S 2012 NOBEL LAUREATE
Today my blog in the Local, “The Diplomatic Dispatch” lives up to its name, as I post the text of the diplomatic telegram I sent back to London yesterday about Britain’s Sir John Gurdon’s Nobel prize win. I presented John with a copy of the text yesterday and he liked it, so I hope it […]
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12th December 2012 Washington DC, USA
From London to Rio
As the American daughter of a Northern Irishwoman working at the British Embassy, I didn’t find it easy to decide whom to cheer for during the London Olympics and Paralympics. But I had no difficulty in cheering on the Games themselves. I started working at the Embassy in July, weeks before the exciting London 2012 […]