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RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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The climate crisis and gender-based violence
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Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
5th March 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ukraine/EU: article by 5 European Foreign Ministers
The Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany have published an important article in the International Herald Tribune about Ukraine. In the article, the authors note that they see themselves as Ukraine’s allies and are convinced that closer political and economic ties, as well as people-to-people contacts, between the […]
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5th March 2012 Geneva, Switzerland
Panels, Protocols and Ponchos
It’s been a busy week. With our Ministers in town for the Council’s High level Segment, we’ve all been suffering from higher than average stress levels. Many Ministers chose to use their statements to focus on the appalling violations in Syria, which the Council addressed in an urgent debate on Tuesday. Council members spoke out […]
5th March 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
Introduction – Susan Hyland
I have been Political Counsellor at the British High Commission in Islamabad since December 2011. This is my first posting to South Asia. Before coming to Pakistan, I was Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, and before that I served in Moscow, Paris, New York and […]
2nd March 2012 Washington DC, USA
Digital by Default: The New Gov.UK
One of the great things about communications in the age of the Internet is how quickly you can get a message out. Whether it’s an email, or a blog post, or a well placed tweet, we can get information where it needs to be—anywhere in the world—in the blink of an eye. But the downside […]
2nd March 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
New ways for teenagers to save energy
Click on the front door and you can enter the house. Indoors, links lead to practical tips for how people can save energy and, in doing so, save money. Welcome to the digital eco-house, a project backed by the British Embassy in Kyiv, the singer Alyosha, financially supported by SCM Capital Management and TNK-BP, and […]
2nd March 2012 Warsaw, Poland
Visit Britain in 2012 – You’re really welcome!
Wow! I recently had the opportunity to take part in a huge press briefing in Warsaw to launch Visit Britain 2012 in Poland. As a Brit who has spent no more than 100 days in the UK in the last 10 years I have to say I was mega impressed and filled with an immense […]
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1st March 2012 Washington DC, USA
Economic diplomacy from St James’ to San Juan
Last week I took a very belated Christmas holiday to Puerto Rico. It was very lovely…even if it has meant that one particular friend and colleague has sung West Side Story’s “America” (which compares the perceived pros and cons of living in NYC to San Juan) every time we’ve bumped into each other since my return. But […]
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1st March 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
St David’s Day
St David, or Dewi, is the patron saint of Wales. The arrival of his feast day – 1 March – always gives a sense, at least in the United Kingdom, that Spring is now definitely on the way. But it is also a useful reminder to non-Welsh of the importance of Wales to the United […]
1st March 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
"Those little things…."
Observant drivers and pedestrians on Comoros Street outside the British Embassy (possibly a contradiction in terms) today will notice the Welsh flag fluttering in the breeze from our flagpole – the famous red dragon on a green and white background. And anyone who comes into contact with me will see that I am wearing a […]
29th February 2012 Washington DC, USA
The Innovation Generation
After just six weeks in this fascinating job, I can hardly believe how much I am learning. South Carolina and Florida in my first 10 days to get a flavour of the Republican presidential candidates race, some time in Washington finding my feet and rediscovering old friends, then three days in New York followed by, […]