Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

30th November 2016 Holy See

Fiona Kilpatrick

Fiona Kilpatrick

Global Saint Andrew

How did a simple Galilean fisherman come to be the patron saint of Scotland? The Gospel of John tells us that Andrew heard John the Baptist refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God.  “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him “We have found the Messiah” (that is […]

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30th November 2016 Vienna, Austria

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by Leigh Turner

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

What connects St Andrew’s Day and a cricket-ball death?

30 November is St Andrew’s Day, named after the Patron Saint of Scotland. St Andrew offers continuity across cultures: he was crucified at Patras, in modern-day Greece, and his body was taken to Constantinople before being transferred to Amalfi in Italy in the 13th Century. Language Teaching Assistant Dan explains St Andrew’s Day The official […]

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29th November 2016 Vienna, Austria

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by Leigh Turner

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

Beauty and Remembrance in Carinthia

The grass is perfect.  Rows of tombstones stand in rows.  Two Austrian musicians play “The Last Post”. I was honoured recently to attend Remembrance Day commemorations at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Klagenfurt, in Austria.  The cemetery contains 589 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.  Most died on Austrian territory as prisoners of […]

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29th November 2016 London, UK

Julia Amour

Julia Amour

Director, Festivals Edinburgh

Edinburgh: 70 years of innovation across our festivals

“In 1947 in Edinburgh a unique idea was born. The Edinburgh Festivals, led by the Edinburgh International Festival, began as an initiative for humanity, at a time when inhumanity had done its worst through the extended global conflict of WWII. A beacon of enlightenment and creativity was lit with the birth of the world’s leading festival […]

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29th November 2016

Paul Brummell, British Ambassador to Romania

by Paul Brummell

Head of Soft Power and External Affairs Department, Communication Directorate

Remembering Sybille

Ghidigeni is a village, easily overlooked, in southern Moldova, just off the main road between Tecuci and Barlad. Just next door to the town hall a locked metal gate stands in front of the Chrissoveloni Palace, built in the late 19th century in a French neoclassical style, but having endured a particularly tough history. I […]

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29th November 2016 Beijing, China

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by Lin Yu

Beijing Science and Innovation Network

Witnessing the development of Chinese Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV)

Connected and autonomous vehicles (or CAV for short) will bring huge changes to the way we travel, the way we transport goods, and to the quality and safety of travel. It is an area that China is making rapid progress in, as I saw when I attended the launch of the I-VISTA Intelligent Vehicle Integrated […]

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28th November 2016 London, UK

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by Baroness Anelay

Foreign Office Minister for Human Rights

Tackling the stigma of sexual violence

25 November marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. As the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, I have seen first-hand the impact of sexual violence against women and girls in countries like Bosnia, Burma, Colombia, DRC, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. I have seen the […]

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28th November 2016 Beijing

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by Helena Ou

Senior Science Policy Adviser for FCO Science and Innovation Network in China

UK and China Join Hands in Agri-Tech Innovation

MOU Signing, witnessed by Michelle McIlveen, Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister and Holly White, Science Counsellor in British Embassy China   Agriculture has dominated China’s economy for as long as its history can tell. Although its share of GDP dropped to 9% recently, Agri-Tech has become more crucial for the country to feed its 1.4 billion people […]

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25th November 2016 London, UK

Jonathan Dunn

Jonathan Dunn

British Consul General, Rio de Janeiro

Brazil oil and gas: UK well placed to gain in the market

Oil & Gas has been one of the pillars for Brazilian economic growth over the last decade. The continued discovery and development of reservoirs has been providing opportunities for specialist suppliers around the world – including British companies. Petrobras, one of the world´s biggest energy companies, still plans to invest $98.4bn between and 2019 – […]

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