19th December 2011
Everyone knows that one of the benefits of Ukraine’s potential integration with the EU is that the EU will help Ukraine to adapt the quality of its administration to EU standards. In other words, the EU will help Ukraine to become a more EU-type country. But how does that work in practice? One of the […]
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15th December 2011 Toronto, Canada
This is a (slightly late) report on SIN Canada’s involvement with the 15th International Conference on the Development and Function of Reproductive Organs (DFRO), held at the University of Edinburgh in September 2011. We supported the participation of Dr. Paul Dyce (University of Western Ontario) as part of our broader work in promoting UK-Canada links […]
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15th December 2011 USA
For those of us actively working toward successful international negotiations on climate change, the most recent meeting in Durban, South Africa seems like cause for optimism this holiday season. The UN climate talks wrapped up last weekend with over 120 countries (including major economies such as the United States) forming a coalition behind the EU’s […]
15th December 2011 Beirut, Lebanon
I have now been in Beirut over three months. The Lebanese tell me that the more you learn about this extraordinary country, the less you understand. So I fear that my first impressions could become more confused over the next three years. The contrasts of Lebanon are a well worn cliché, but still hit the […]
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14th December 2011
Remember the Rubik’s Cube, the toy that every British schoolboy had to have in the early 80s, alongside a copy of The Beano? I thought it had gone the way of the Dodo, until I saw it on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning. The gist of James Hookway’s article is […]
14th December 2011
Several people have asked me this week what the outcome of last week’s meeting of EU Heads of State and Government, the European Council, means. I can’t do better than point you towards this excellent blog by my colleague Scott Wightman, British Ambassador in Seoul. The key point is that the UK’s interests in the […]
14th December 2011 Islamabad, Pakistan
Young Pakistanis never fail to inspire me. I have the privilege of a couple of weeks ago of helping to select one graduate to go on a scholarship to one of Britain’s leading Universities. How interesting and how tough it was! Nearly two hundred application forms had to be sifted, giving a wonderful glimpse into […]
7th December 2011
It’s often said that bureaucrats and businessmen do not mix. But the opposite is true when I hold a reception at the residence to mark the national rollout of “Youth Business Ukraine”. I’m often accused of being too optimistic about Ukraine. Others accuse me of being too pessimistic. But it’s difficult not to be optimistic […]
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6th December 2011
The Cleveland Indians, the Cleveland Browns, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Buckeyes. That’s just a few of the things associated with Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, home of my in-laws. But manufacturing has also traditionally been a part of Cleveland and Ohio’s landscape too. I was in Cleveland on 31 October and 1 November […]
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5th December 2011 Washington DC, USA
We spend a lot of time here at the Embassy talking about the interconnectedness of the UK and US. Our defence relationship, both historic and present; our mutually essential trade links; and the cultural roots that underpin this special relationship – this is the bread and butter of what the Comms team here does. And […]