26th February 2026
Different Memories, Shared Futures: Why Inclusive Remembrance Matters for Serbia and the Region
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
22nd December 2025
Continuing to grow the global alliance for women and girls
17th December 2025
MAKING LIFE SAFER, FOR EVERYONE
23rd October 2017 Chevening, UKSkopje, North Macedonia
The 10 Downing Street impressions of a Chevening scholar from Macedonia
The Chevening programme does not only help its scholars complete their dreams – it offers them the possibility to experience the undreamed. More than financial support, this scholarship gave me a prestigious identity along with many privileges and opportunities. One of them was definitely the exclusive chance to visit 10 Downing Street, the residence and […]
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19th October 2017 Vienna, Austria
Journey to the Centre of the Earth – in Styria
The tunnel is steep: I clutch a rope and lower myself towards an aluminium ladder below. Water drips, gathering in pools. Yet when I reach the bottom, a beautifully-carved stone passageway curves around a corner. The tunnels and menhirs of eastern Styria (Steiermark) are remarkable. According to the research body Sub Terra Vorau, around 790 […]
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18th October 2017 Tokyo, Japan
Ultrasonic Robots! UK-Japan joint project helps Fukushima
In March, 2011, following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, there was a major nuclear incident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This left Japan with a significant nuclear decommissioning challenge. There are several challenges to decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi reactor units, one of the most important being locating and understanding the nature […]
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11th October 2017 Geneva, Switzerland
A Milestone in the UK’s WTO Transition
Nearly a year ago British ministers agreed a plan for the UK’s transition in the World Trade Organization as it leaves the EU. The goal was to establish the UK’s position in the WTO by 29 March 2019 in a way that minimized any disruption, by replicating as far as possible the UK’s current trade […]
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11th October 2017 Canberra, Australia
Space cooperation: the next frontier
As part of the UK Science and Innovation Network I get to work on some pretty cool stuff; a colleague once described my job as “nerd in residence”. Working on space research collaboration is definitely a highlight; and when I heard that the world’s largest space conference was coming to Australia, I jumped at the […]
9th October 2017 London, UK
Why we need to do away with the death penalty
It was Monday morning and my boss called me into his office, “I want you to go to Jamaica.” “When” I asked innocently, “tomorrow” he replied passing me a one way ticket. So began my journey into defending the rights of those facing the death penalty. It was 1992 and I was just 24 years […]
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8th October 2017 Tripoli, Libya
Unity of Purpose
Last month the world’s leaders gathered in New York. The agenda included many pressing issues: North Korea, Burma, Modern Slavery. It also included a high-level event on Libya. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the meeting by underlining its historic importance. There was a window of opportunity to resolve the crisis in Libya by […]
6th October 2017 UK, London
One month since Hurricane Irma
Today marks a month since Hurricane Irma struck, bringing devastation to our Overseas Territories of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. On my visit to the Turks and Caicos Islands, I saw first-hand the destruction Hurricane Irma caused, particularly to the capital, Grand Turk; houses reduced to rubble, livelihoods destroyed. The […]
5th October 2017 Toronto, Canada
Transformative Technologies: UK-Ontario Look to the Future
The United Kingdom and the Canadian province of Ontario are both leading global centres of science and innovation and are investing in many of the same transformative sectors. To provide a platform that will help to further the ties between the two jurisdictions, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Transformative Technologies was signed in Toronto […]
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5th October 2017 Kolkata, India
The creativity of the Durga Puja
I can’t think of anything to compare with the festival of Durga Puja. It is not just a religious festival with its own rituals. It is also a celebration of life. It is a time of renewal and forgiving. And probably many more things – it’s not an easy task for an outsider to get […]