17th May 2024
Reflections on IDAHOBIT: International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
13th May 2024
Value with Values: UK Commitment to Climate Partnership
25th April 2024
Reflect & Remember: Anzac Day 2024
20th June 2012 London, UK
UK secures improvements to EU fishing policy
Last week the UK secured agreement from EU Fisheries Ministers on much needed reforms to the broken Common Fisheries Policy. Following 24 hours of tense negotiations at the EU Fisheries Council held in Luxemburg, Ministers agreed to end ineffective micro-management by Brussels and to a ban on the discarding of dead fish – an issue […]
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20th June 2012 Ottawa, Canada
Remembering the “forgotten war”
War fever is racing down the river! Actually, war commemoration fever, as the many ceremonies to mark the War of 1812 begin. I had the pleasure of attending two fascinating events in the last week. The first, at Ottawa’s excellent War Museum, is called: 1812: One War, Four Perspectives. Its curator is Dr Peter MacLeod, […]
19th June 2012 Washington DC, USA
Battling Back to Race Across America!
The following is a guest post by SSgt Steve Arnold, who is one of eight British wounded servicemen racing 3,051 miles across America in eight days with the support of Help for Heroes. SSgt Arnold was carrying out search operations in Afghanistan when an IED exploded taking both his legs, and will be completing the […]
19th June 2012 Ottawa, Canada
Startup Canada – Another Startup Nation (#StartUpNations) Launches!
You may have recently heard about a grass roots startup movement, by entrepreneurs and for entrepreneurs, called Startup Canada (@Startup_Canada). Sister organisation to Startup Britain (@StartupBritain), Startup Canada is an effort that’s been gaining momentum for a little over a year (the first mention of them on this blog would have been in relation to […]
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19th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A subtle story of the horrors of war
The table is set for a banquet. Dozens of glasses are lined up, interspersed with samovars and accordions. Around, in the darkness, thousands of faces look on. But no one will ever eat or drink. I’m in the Remembrance Hall at the Museum of the “Great Patriotic War” in Kyiv. The Museum, located under the […]
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18th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Greater than sex?
Playwright Harold Pinter once said that “I tend to think that cricket is the greatest thing that God ever created on earth – certainly greater than sex, though sex isn’t too bad either.” Last Friday we witnessed what we think may have been the first ever instance on our compound (of cricket, that is). As […]
18th June 2012 Yerevan, Armenia
A rich relationship
This is my first blog as Ambassador and I want to share a few of my impressions about Britain and Armenia. We have a great affection for each other. I have been met in Armenia by an immense amount of goodwill simply because I am the British Ambassador. The people who I meet are knowledgeable […]
18th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
South Sudan: the Catholic Church in Action
Recent media comment on the Vatican and the Holy See has been dominated by speculation relating to the ‘Vatileaks’ scandal, or events at the IOR, the so-called ‘Vatican Bank’. This is unfortunate. Whatever the substance behind such stories, and however fascinating, there is a great deal more to the work of the global Catholic Church, […]
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16th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Happiness is….?
I spent this morning in an Ethiopian field at a Foundation Stone laying ceremony for the new Dashen Brewery Debrebirhan Factory, with Communications Minister Bereket Simon, various dignitaries and a large herd of interested cows. The deal to purchase about 50% of Dashen Brewery in Gondor is the largest private equity investment in Ethiopia to […]
16th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
HM The Queen honours Great Britons in Romania
Congratulations to Stan Platt OBE! Stan has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Stan is a long-standing and highly-respected member of the British community in Romania. He and his wife Camelia do fantastic work for visually-impaired people in this country, providing equipment like […]
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