3rd December 2024
RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
19th May 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Business Action on Climate
Today I hosted a press conference at the British Residence to launch Hungary’s home-grown platform of corporate CEOs who are committed to supporting ambition in Hungarian and European climate change policy. This is an exciting new initiative. Establishing such a group was discussed during the official visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales […]
18th May 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Recognising Journalistic Excellence
This year’s Excellence in Journalism Foundation awards ceremony is underway at the British Embassy in Budapest as I write. I felt rather honoured to be asked to act as Patron for these awards and to open tonight’s event. The Foundation honours quality journalism and champions press freedom, which are both issues that concern us – […]
18th May 2011 Bucharest, Romania
The vision for excellence in the Foreign Office
An exhilarating week for me, with plenty of networking during and on the margins of the Leadership Conference and opportunities to interact with other colleagues, locally-employed by the Foreign Office, from all around the world. I was impressed with the support that the Foreign Office received from the Prime Minister who gave recognition to the […]
Read more on The vision for excellence in the Foreign Office | Reply
17th May 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
Today is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Why is it necessary to have such a day? Well, because same-sex relations remain criminalised in more than 70 countries. Discrimination against LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity continues to occur even in countries where laws exist to […]
Read more on International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia | Reply
17th May 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Romania – an asset to the EU and NATO
Foreign Minister Baconschi’s visit to London yesterday marks a new step in Romania’s relations with the United Kingdom. As he said in his press conference with his counterpart William Hague, we are building on the strategic partnership created between both countries in 2003. But the context today is quite different from eight years ago. The […]
12th May 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
UK-Ukraine military co-operation
A couple of people have commented on my recent Oxford speech that they were surprised to see how much military co-operation went on between Ukraine and the UK. Having listed various other areas of joint work (EU, energy, macro-financial assistance) I said: A final key area of cooperation is military. There’s a lot the UK […]
10th May 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
How Ukraine can lead Europe
Of what 47-member body is Ukraine about to assume the Chairmanship, followed by the United Kingdom? The answer is of course the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), whose Chairmanship Ukraine will take on on 11 May. The UK, in turn, takes over the chairmanship from Ukraine in November. CoE Chairmanships are […]
6th May 2011 Toronto, Canada
February and March in Canadian science
This month’s SIN Newsletter (actually a bumper two-month edition), covering science and technology news in Canada, is out! Click here to download the PDF version. If you would like to be added to the mailing list and receive it automatically in your inbox, leave a comment below or send us an e-mail. Some highlights from […]
6th May 2011 Toronto, Canada
April in Canadian science
This month’s SIN Newsletter, covering science and technology news in Canada, is out! Click here to download the PDF version. If you would like to be added to the mailing list and receive it automatically in your inbox, leave a comment below or send us an e-mail. This is John Preece assisting Nicole Arbour on […]
6th May 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Life lessons from Deep Purple
From the moment the lights go down and the familiar heavy metal chords ring out through the vast indoor space, it is clear that Deep Purple have lost none of their ability to rock. We’re in the Kyiv International Exhibition Centre and the ur-British rockers are here for one night only as they cut a […]