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?
5th May 2017 Vienna, Austria
Zika mosquitoes and tsetse flies in Austria: how IAEA is fighting disease and malnutrition
Hundreds of anopheles mosquitoes are drinking warm blood. Nearby, thousands of fruit fly larvae are tucking into a tasty compote of fruit, writhing, munching and even, alarmingly, jumping in the air. In another part of the lab tsetse flies – hardest to breed – sit solemnly in mesh containers, from which they too can drink […]
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3rd May 2017 Tokyo, Japan
Cherry blossom diplomacy
Everyone knows that Japan is famous for its cherry blossoms or “Sakura”. The subtle delicacy of the individual blooms, which collectively add up to a soft mass of pink that daubs the country at this time of year, are very special. But non-Japanese may not be quite as familiar with the very important role that […]
2nd May 2017 London, UK
World needs to unite against chemical weapons
Every year the global community pauses on April 29 to remember the victims of chemical warfare. The U.N. promotes international awareness and action against these horrific weapons that strike insidiously and indiscriminately, causing agonizing death and injury to people who have no way to protect themselves. This year will be all the more poignant as […]
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29th April 2017 Istanbul, Turkey
The international community must stand united to condemn the use of chemical weapons
Every year the global community pauses on 29 April to remember victims of chemical warfare. The UN promotes international awareness and action against these horrific weapons that strike insidiously and indiscriminately, causing agonising death and injury to people who have no way to protect themselves. This year will be all the more poignant as the […]
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24th April 2017 Canberra, Australia
Standing side-by-side
A year after the end of the First World War, a beautiful baby girl, Vera Constance Parker, was born in the tiny town of Stapleford in Northern England. But even as her father Walter celebrated her birth, he was already succumbing to the devastating wounds that would eventually kill him. Walter had been mortally wounded […]
23rd April 2017 Holy See
St George’s Day: 23 April
How did St George become the Patron Saint of England? He never visited the country, and his most famous exploit is a myth. Yet, despite that St George has become of the more popular saints, and is patron of Portugal, Malta and Georgia as well as England. Not much definite is known about St George. […]
20th April 2017 Tripoli, Libya
Twiplomacy from Tripoli
Jon Worgan, 2nd Secretary Political, on how @UKinLibya built their 200k+ following and used twitter to cross borders and bridge political divides. Almost half of Libya’s young population use social media. It was a unifying force during Libya’s revolution, but is now more often a driver of division. Getting our digital comms right is hard […]
19th April 2017 London, UK
Ambassador’s speech during the Queen’s birthday party 2017
Your Highness, Minister, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen A warm welcome – from me and my wife Kasia – to this celebration of the 91st birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, which has been opened beautifully by the singing of the Choir of the British School Al Khubairat. Before I go further, with great sadness, […]
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19th April 2017
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Royal Scots Greys and Russia
We have been very fortunate to have had many wonderful events over the past few years commemorating many different periods of shared history between Russia and the UK. The latest event took place in early April when a delegation of retired officers from the Royal Scots Greys visited St Petersburg to present a replica dress uniform […]
13th April 2017 Kolkata, India
Interviews for an education
There are many ways of gaining an education. Apart from the usual places like school, college and university, I’m a fan of travel and seeing new places (which partly explains why I became a diplomat). Meeting people who have very different lives can teach you a lot. And for a lucky few, there is all […]