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Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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Busting the gender myths – women and organised crime
13th February 2012 USA
Space Weather – Science Fiction or a Real Threat?
The following is a guest post by Kate Von Holle, Senior Policy Advisor for Science and Innovation at the British Embassy in Washington. Space weather sounds like something you would hear about in a Michael Bay movie. At least that was my first impression, or maybe something along the lines of a space hurricane. Instead […]
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13th February 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Responsibility of the Press
The backbone of any democracy is an independent, professional and responsible media. Their role is to inform, criticise and stimulate debate. So how can the media be encouraged to step up to this vital role? One initiative launched a few years ago by the UK’s Thomson Foundation – and funded by the British Embassy – is […]
13th February 2012 Bucharest, Romania
The StartEvo Project or “You make your own luck”
Guest blog: I am Iulian Craciun and I am a disabled person. So what? I learned that in order to be successful in life you need to build your own luck. Not to wait from others. I’ve learned that you are the only person that can really make a difference in shaping your destiny. “You […]
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13th February 2012 Warsaw, Poland
A Big Wow! All on board for the British Olympics in Bialystok – Fall in Love with London 2012!
At some ridiculously low temperature I jumped in the car on Saturday and drove to Białystok to participate in The Polish Olympic Sporting Awards. A great evening with some brilliant people from the world of sport in Poland – an excellent starting point for the visit of the British Olympic Travelling Exhibition to Poland, a […]
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13th February 2012 Dublin, Ireland
A Scottish evening with Wojtek the Bear.
One of the UK’s great strengths is its diversity. That includes some great cultural traditions. One of the best of those is Burns night. To celebrate this, we held an event at the Embassy. Very few of our events feature a pipe band and a sword dance, performed by the outstanding pipe band from Częstochowa. […]
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10th February 2012 New York, USA
Empire State of Mind
2012 is a special year for the UK, and we have much to look forward to in the months ahead with the London 2012 Games and the Diamond Jubilee. On a cold January day in New York, while talking to some colleagues about celebrating the countdown to the Olympics, somebody mentioned the “Empire State Building Run […]
10th February 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
EU integration and Ukraine: next steps?
What has to happen in order for Ukraine to start benefiting from the Association Agreement with the EU, and the associated Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), conclusion of negotiations on which were announced at the EU/Ukraine Summit on 19 December? It is important to understand that the Association Agreement and the DCFTA will […]
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10th February 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Credit where credit is due
Romania gets a good report on the battle against corruption in the latest assessment by the Commission. Deservedly so. The last few months have seen important steps forward. Verdicts have been reached in high-level corruption cases. The Civil Code is in force and working. New rules have been put in place for appointing judges to […]
10th February 2012 Nairobi, Kenya
Somalia: Two Weeks to Remember. Two Weeks to go.
It’s been quite a fortnight. At the end of January, I accompanied the UK Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, to the AU Summit in Addis Ababa and then to Somalia. In Dollow – the first time a British Minister has visited southern Somalia in recent years, Mr Mitchell saw for himself the huge difference that UKaid […]
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9th February 2012 USA
The Fast and the Amphibious
Some weeks, Tuesday is just Tuesday. But this week I had a “James Bond” Tuesday. It was with great pleasure that I was able to participate at the unveiling of a revolutionary and truly game changing technology on Tuesday, with the Pentagon as the backdrop. On show was the “Phibian,” the newest high-speed amphibious vehicle […]