15th July 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is delighted; it has been preparing for months to welcome the 5000 or so high profile international guests (including Heads of States, Ministers and other special representatives of countries) attending the Third Financing for Development Conference (FFD3). And so far, so very good! The UK’s delegation, led by Justine […]
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17th March 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Saint Patrick’s Day on 17 March is the national day both ofNorthern Ireland (part of the UK) and the Republic of Ireland. It is celebrated by Irish communities (and their friends) all around the world. The day also has religious significance for many Christians, as it commemorates the death of the Irish Patron Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461). Every year, the Irish Embassy in Addis organises a Charity Ball to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – one […]
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3rd March 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Next week the Foreign Office will release its annual report on Human Rights and Democracy. It will showcase some of the work the UK has been doing to promote human rights around the world over the course of our current parliament (ie. the last five years), paying special attention to the value we place on […]
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1st March 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Today is 1 March and the Welsh flag, Y Ddraig Goch, was flying outside the British Embassy as we mark St David’s Day. And several of us are wearing dragon or daffodil badges in our lapels or as cufflinks to recognise the patron saint of Wales. The date marks the anniversary of the death of […]
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26th February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The British Embassy in Addis Ababa and the United States Mission to the African Union (AU) will host a “young diplomats’” evening tonight. We held a similar event last year and many thought it an effective way to bring together stakeholders on issues which are important to the AU. The event will be attended by […]
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13th February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Today is World Radio Day! We mark World Radio Day to raise awareness about the importance of radio in shaping the lives of millions throughout the world, from providing people with everyday news to being a way of spreading information quickly to save lives during natural (or human-induced) disasters. Radio still remains the most dominant […]
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25th January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
There aren’t enough Scots in Ethiopia. Strange, because they seem to get everywhere else. Even when we organised a Burns Evening in Addis Ababa last year with the help of Diageo, there weren’t that many Scots there. This 25th January, we will have to mark the 255th Anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth in 1759 virtually, […]
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19th January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
With his grandchildren in his old factory about 20 years ago Geoffrey Wetherell, who passed away at the age of 95 on 23 December, was at the time of his death the longest surviving Briton in Ethiopia – by quite some way. He first came to Ethiopia with the British armed forces in 1941. With […]
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1st January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Half a million South Sudanese refugees who have fled the continuing fighting in #SouthSudan have settled in #Ethiopia, #Kenya and #Uganda. Among them, more than 190,000 refugees have arrived in Ethiopia alone, almost all of them in #Gambella region, since conflict broke out in December 2013. Continuing insecurity and logistical constraints due to heavy rains […]
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29th December 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A few weeks ago, I was asked to try to locate the grave of Eileen Harewood. She was Matron at the Princess Tsahai Hospital in #Addis and had been in Ethiopia for 14 years when she was found murdered in her quarters on 12 September 1961, aged 51. According to the #Glasgow Herald of 17 […]
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