Flak jackets and final goodbyes: Lebanon’s first responders under fire

Recent attacks killed two Lebanese Red Cross volunteers: Youssef Assaf, who died during a rescue operation on 9 March, and Hassan Badawi, killed in a drone strike on 12 April. According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), there have been 169 confirmed attacks on healthcare workers and facilities in Lebanon, resulting in 116 deaths. […]

Continue Reading

Security Council reform ‘is absolutely essential’: Guterres

António Guterres was addressing a press conference on the final day of an official visit to Japan, which is marking 70 years of cooperation with the UN, and he highlighted the importance of partnership in a world “rocked by conflicts, climate chaos and inequality.”  He noted how rising inflation and the deepening cost-of-living crisis are being made worse by the current unrest in […]

Continue Reading

We call on all parties to conflict to protect civilians: UK statement at the UN Security Council

First, it is critical that we press all parties to conflict to not only uphold their legal obligations, but to do all they can to protect civilians and minimise harm.  We are deeply concerned at the Secretary-General’s reporting of 37,000 civilian deaths in conflicts in 2025, with Gaza and Sudan suffering the highest toll.   The scale of reported attacks on medical personnel and […]

Continue Reading

Baroness Chapman’s speech on domestic capital markets at the Global Partnerships Conference: 20 May 2026

A warm welcome to this session on domestic capital markets. I should begin with a few thank yous – to colleagues across government, to our development and private-sector partners, and to everyone who has helped bring this session together. And a particular thank you to our panellists – including His Excellency Taiwo Oyedele Minister of […]

Continue Reading

How do we help intellectually gifted kids flourish? The answer isn’t just giving them more work

When we talk about intellectually gifted children, the debate tends to focus on one of two questions: how we detect this characteristic, and why it doesn’t always translate into higher marks at school. While these are important questions, they overlook another equally important one: what can schools do once they know a student has to […]

Continue Reading

Office of Public Affairs | New Jersey Man Indicted for Making Interstate Threats

The Justice Department announced today that a New Jersey man was charged with making interstate threats to a Jewish organization located in New York, NY. Cameron Patterson, 34, of Newark, New Jersey, was indicted on May 18 for transmitting interstate threats to injure the person of another. According to court records, Patterson sent three emails […]

Continue Reading

Baroness Chapman’s speech on transforming scientific discovery at the Global Partnerships Conference: 20 May 2026

It’s great to be here to talk about such a fascinating and transformational issue. Today you’ll hear from people who understand this better than I do.  It’s clear there are opportunities.  But I worry about the digital divide and whether AI will be utilised for the benefit of everyone. The decisions we make now will […]

Continue Reading

Why was an Egyptian mummy stuffed with a fragment of Homer’s Iliad?

Archaeologists have found something unexpected inside a 1,600-year-old Roman-era Egyptian mummy: a fragment of Homer’s Iliad. It wasn’t placed beside the body, but inside the mummy’s abdomen. But the real surprise isn’t just where the fragment was found. It’s how it got there. To understand, we must go back – to the Iliad itself, and […]

Continue Reading

Baroness Chapman’s speech at a roundtable session at the Global Partnerships Conference: 19 May 2026

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us today. It’s great to see such a fantastic group of partners and experts, representing governments, science, philanthropy, and frontline delivery. This is what the Global Partnerships Conference is all about – building new coalitions to tackle the biggest challenges we face. Humanitarian action will always be […]

Continue Reading

Look up considerations for trade licences under the Russia sanctions

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is responsible for licensing activity prohibited under the UK’s Russia trade sanctions. DBT has three licensing teams responsible for administering licences on behalf of the Secretary of State. The team you need to apply to is dependent on the activity you want to carry out. You can use […]

Continue Reading