The Commonwealth Games Queens Baton visits all 71 Commonwealth countries and territories on its journey from Buckingham Palace to the host city. In 2018 that is Gold Coast in Australia; one territory is missing from the relay, because it has not been possible to schedule St Helena this year. However several Saints saw and carried the baton in the Falkland Islands, so we have helped a little bit.
Mark Prisk, the UK’s trade envoy to Brazil makes his first visit to Recife this year with the purpose of increasing dialogue between the region and United Kingdom. He will discuss topics such as trade, smart cities and the UK government’s international awards scheme, Chevening in bilaterals with Porto Digital and Fiepe. The Trade Envoy was previously in São Paulo in where he held meetings with government and private sector representatives.
The British Embassy in Buenos Aires has announced that the call for applications for Chevening scholarships will be open until 7 November. The scholarships are awarded to applicants with proven leadership skills and a strong professional and academic background.
The number of visitors to the UK rose to 3.5 million in June, up 7% from the same month last year, according to official figures. The number of visitors from North America shot up by 34%, and visitors overall spent £2.2bn, a rise of 2%, the UK Office of National Statistics, ONS, said.
Steve Bannon is set to return to his previous position at Breitbart News after he was forced to resign from his post Friday as White House chief strategist, the news outlet announced late Friday. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the departure, effective Friday, was “mutually agreed” to by Bannon and Chief of Staff John Kelly. “We are grateful for his service and wish him the best,” Sanders added in a statement.
The Falkland Islands announced that all Health & Social Services sites are to be Smoke Free from 1st February 2018. Following on from the ban on smoking in any Government property, the Health & Social Services Department are going one step further by banning cigars, cigarettes and any vaping devices from all Health & Social Services sites, starting from the 1st February 2018.
Lord Hague has compared Brexit to taking control of a gun, saying it is possible to find a solution without using it to “shoot your foot off”. The former Conservative leader said he believes there is sufficient common ground among the different political parties to negotiate with the EU.
The number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has fallen this year, early UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) figures show. In total, 416,310 people have taken up places, down 2% compared with the same point last year.