British Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt met with Ambassadors from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states Thursday at the Foreign Office to discuss methods of developing ties between the two sides...
As Burt set out, the forthcoming "GCC Days in Europe Expo" (cultural event), which will take place in London on the 18-22 October, will be an excellent opportunity to exchange more ideas and build the relationship even further.

The British Embassy recently announced the three month American tour of the Tricycle Theatre Company’s production of “The Great Game: Afghanistan” that began September 15 in Washington, DC.... The British government clearly thinks it worthwhile to attempt to influence American public opinion...

In a refreshing break with the daily dose of gloomy headlines about the current state of British-Iranian relations, there was, at last, something to cheer about last week as the “soft” power of art and culture trumped hard-nosed diplomacy.

Pope Benedict XVI began a controversial visit to Britain on Thursday by acknowledging the Catholic Church had not acted decisively or quickly enough against priests who molested children. He said the church's top priority now was to help abuse victims heal.

For nations to understand the effects that climate change will have on their locality, it is essential to gather local data into an internationally coordinated database, the meeting, organised by the UK's Meteorological Office, agreed.

British Muslim activists plan to burn the U.S. flag outside the U.S. embassy on September 11 to voice anger at plan by a U.S. Christian pastor to burn copies of the Koran the same day, a hardline Islamist said on Thursday.

The BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, has said that the government should spend more rather than less on the World Service after it emerged that it is facing huge budget cuts. He told MPs today the corporation is engaged in "robust" discussions with the government about a reduction in the service's £272m Foreign Office grant.

A British composer says he is "deeply disappointed and dismayed" by the British Council's decision to cancel a performance of his ballet in China because it was dedicated to the people of Tibet. Pete Wyer's The Far Shore was created for the Shanghai Expo and was to be premiered next week as the highlight of the event's "UK National Day".