25th February 2013
Beirut, Lebanon
Earlier this month I posted some futuristic thoughts on what Lebanon could be in 2020. Much more interesting than the speculation in the post was the response. The almost 300 comments so far give a good sense of current debate in Lebanon: idealism, cynicism, fatalism, frustration. Some seek to apportion blame, many to identify practical […]
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25th February 2013
New Delhi, India
In the words of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, the ‘sky is the limit’ for UK-India partnership and this was evident throughout his visit to India (18-20 Feb 2013). The PM’s delegation included David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, and a host of Vice Chancellors (VCs) from some of the UK’s leading […]
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21st February 2013
Washington DC, USA
Watching the BRIT awards (the British Music industry awards) last night, I realised there was something different about them this year, something different… and yet very familiar. Then it dawned on me, just before the American musician Frank Ocean (who won best International Solo Male) said: ‘And thanks to Damien Hirst for the Polka Dots!’ […]
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21st February 2013
Washington DC, USA
It’s late afternoon and I am standing next to a Congressman on a warm, blustery day, surrounded by thousands of eyes looking inquisitively upon us. Despite our best intentions to understand them, their voices only get louder, squawking with unrestrained excitement. In late January, thousands of gentoo penguins are being introduced to a special visitor […]
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21st February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Visits by the Prime Minister don’t come round too often to most FCO Posts, unless you happen to be in Brussels or Washington. Although I have met some “ex-PMs” in recent postings in Manila and Sydney, it’s more years than I care to remember when I was last involved in a visit by a current […]
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20th February 2013
New Delhi, India
The cold Delhi fog didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits at the Intellectual Property (IP) workshop on 1 February. The lively discussions focussed on the draft model agreements for managing IP in India-UK R&D collaborations. These will form an invaluable framework for businesses and universities to quickly and cheaply agree on how IP arising from an international […]
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15th February 2013
Washington DC, USA
Last year I bemoaned the lack of romance bought by spending Valentine’s Day evening with the otherwise charming British Government’s Chief Scientist, Sir John Beddington. (Of course in reality I secretly enjoyed it. Though that’s not something I admit to Layla.) But this year, Layla and I agreed we would determinedly avoid any event connected […]
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15th February 2013
New Delhi, India
Last week was an exceptional week in taking the UK-India relationship in climate science to an even higher level, from an already strong position. The week was jam-packed with three events, two of which ran in parallel. The first was the joint Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) – UK’s Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) scoping […]
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11th February 2013
Washington DC, USA
Throughout the telecast of last night’s GRAMMY’s show, viewers saw an exciting showcase of British music – the show included big British names performing and taking home top prizes, making the night a reminder of what makes British music GREAT. Beyond great music was a little taste of another one of my favourite topics to […]
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11th February 2013
Houston, USA
When I read that scientists had created a real life “Spidey Silk”, I was curious to say the least. The new material was named that because it is both incredibly strong and equally flexible – just like the webs that Spider-Man shoots from his wrists. It sounds revolutionary in itself, but when you really understand […]
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