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Busting the gender myths – women and organised crime
10th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
First the red lines then the red carpet
The UK’s Minister for Europe David Lidington has used the speech in the Netherlands to restate the argument for enlarging the EU. The UK has always supported the EU’s enlargement because we know this is in our national interest. It creates a bigger single market for our goods and services. It promotes competition and innovation. […]
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10th March 2011 London, UK
Partnerships for competitiveness and growth
http://youtu.be/DkRMwxLsowM I am visiting Denmark today; yesterday I was in the Netherlands. I’ve met with members of the Governments of both countries as well as business leaders and Parliamentarians. The UK has important bilateral political, economic and trade relationships with both the Netherlands and Denmark, and in my visits I’m keen to explore how we […]
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10th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Attending a "Jaha"
One of the most stimulating aspects of working abroad is experiencing different cultures and traditions. Different religions, histories and languages produce different ways of handling both daily challenges and major events. There can be few greater events in a person’s life than marriage. So I was delighted to be invited to take part in a […]
10th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Using Experts to Fight Corruption
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was set up in the United Kingdom in 2006 as a national law enforcement agency. It has a terrific logo and website and acts as a repository for expertise on combating serious crime in the UK. So it’s a privilege to have two top counter-corruption experts from SOCA in […]
9th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Guest blog: The challenges of making Bolivia a less patriarchal society
To commemorate the centenary on 8 March of International Womens Day, I am delighted to welcome to our site a guest blogger, Katia Uriona Gamarra* Bolivia is living a political process in which women from different organizations and movements have arisen as political actors, placing in the public debate agendas related to raising complaints and […]
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9th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Including our friends
The UK is strongly committed to the European Union’s enlargement process. And so on 9 March the UK’s Minister for Europe David Lidington will give a keynote speech on EU Enlargement in the Hague. We are not only convinced about the value of enlargement but have played a leading role in driving it through. We […]
8th March 2011 New York, USA
Video: Pushing the Elephant – International Women’s Day 2011
Guest video blog by Rose Mapendo and Elizabeth Mandel. Rose Mapendo is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She was arrested during the violence in the late 1990s and imprisoned with her seven children, while her husband was murdered. Rose moved to the United States after fleeing the DRC and co-founded Mapendo New Horizons, […]
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8th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Largest ever overseas investment in India – by a British company
In February I took part in five workshops, from Edinburgh to Newmarket, and Leeds to London. These workshops were arranged and supported variously by UKTI, the Asia Task Force, RBS and The Economist Intelligence Unit about India. From the number of businesspeople who attended at each venue, probably over 500 in all, I was left […]
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8th March 2011 Geneva, Switzerland
Combating Discrimination Against Women
Guest blog by Jacqui Hunt, Equality Now This session of the Human Rights Council sees the appointment of a new mechanism to promote women’s rights – a working group to focus on discrimination against women in law and practice. A significant milestone in respect of women’s rights of which the Human Rights Council should be […]
7th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
My Welsh Great-Grandfather
1 March is St David’s Day, named after the patron saint of Wales who died in 589. I’m part-Welsh: my great-grandfather John Derfel (photo below) came from the the town of Llanderfel in north Wales and was the son of the Welsh poet and political writer Robert Jones Derfel (for the Welsh-language Wikipedia entry, click here). […]