Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

24th September 2011

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Habeas Corpus

Many important 20th anniversaries have been marked in Central and Eastern Europe recently. But so far no one has recalled that it is 20 years since the British Embassy in Budapest staged Alan Bennett’s “Habeas Corpus” to an ecstatic local audience. At that time there was a dearth of Englsh language theatre in Hungary. The […]

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23rd September 2011

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Friends in Need

Our Foreign Secretary has just written to thank Foreign Minister Martonyi for the outstanding help provided by the Hungarian Embassy in Tripoli over the past few tumultuous weeks. During this time, the Embassy has provided vital help and support to nationals from the UK and other EU countries – travel documents, practical advice and liaison […]

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23rd September 2011 Toronto, Canada

Canada-UK joint declaration: "A stronger partnership for the 21st century"

Yesterday saw the signing of a joint declaration by the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Canada. As part of a wider North American trip, David Cameron made a brief visit to Ottawa yesterday and signed the Canada-UK joint declaration entitled A stronger partnership for the 21st century. Of particular interest to the Science […]

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23rd September 2011

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Lviv literature

A guest blog by Martin Dowle, Director, British Council The west Ukrainian city of Lviv is an intriguing location for a literature festival.  Breath-taking views of spires and domes, offset with hidden courtyards, make this city on the cusp between East and West a crossroads for cultural exchange. Some 300 events are packed into four […]

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22nd September 2011

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Conservation in Practice

I was in the Pauline-Carmelite Monastery at Sopronfalva this morning. Lovingly and beautifully restored through the vision of Gabor Kovacs (KOGART), it is now a hotel, conference facility and meditation centre. It’s an excellent example of how a cultural heritage conservation project can be integrated into a local community. But today the monastery was the […]

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22nd September 2011

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Development and Faith

I have just returned from a short visit to London, where I took the opportunity to meet Chris Bain, the Director of CAFOD, the principal Catholic charity in England and Wales (its main partners in the United Kingdom are SCIAF in Scotland, and Trocaire in Northern Ireland – which also operates in the Republic of […]

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21st September 2011

Robin Twyman

by Robin Twyman

Consul for Business and Government Affairs

I will remember Massachusetts

“To be honest, the first things that come to mind when I think of Massachusetts are Sam Adams ale, the Kennedys, the Red Sox, the original Tea Party….and the Bee Gees (“feel I’m going back to Massachusetts”, sung at notes too painful for me to reach).  But having spent two days this week in Boston, […]

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21st September 2011 Windhoek, Namibia

Marianne Young

by Marianne Young

High Commissioner, Windhoek

Managing the liquid of life in a desert land: British assistance to Namibia

Namibian guides like to pose the following question to first time visitors here: what do you do if you fall into a river in Namibia? Answer: stand up and dust yourself down. But sadly water, or more normally the lack of it, is not always a laughing matter here. Namibia is the most arid country […]

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20th September 2011

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Tymoshenko in Yalta

The tiger is gigantic, looming against a glowing golden background.  Behind it, cubs frolic.  Near the work, Tiger Club by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, Ukrainian and foreign politicians including President Victor Yanukovych, Israeli President Shimon Peres and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair engage at the 8th annual Yalta European Strategy Forum (YES) “Ukraine and […]

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