Yesterday the Foreign Secretary William Hague talked about the role of British consular services, and plans for the future in a speech at the Foreign Office. You can view the speech here -
In the speech, the Foreign Secretary mentions the great support that the travel industry gives the Foreign Office; as partners of the Know Before You Go campaign we wanted to pass on this thanks as we could not have such a successful campaign without you!
NOLA Red Cross Disaster Relief by Elaine Vigneault/flickr
The American Red Cross was organized by Clara Barton, who volunteered as a nurse during the Civil War and helped search for missing Union Army soldiers. She knew firsthand what it was like to provide assistance during a disaster. The American Red Cross still mobilizes when help is needed in any part of the country and also helps the needy, supports members of the military and their families, and provides international relief, among other things.
Emergency Training
The American Red Cross provides training in CPR, first aid, disaster response, and emergency preparedness. Individuals, groups, and professional rescuers can take classes in any of these areas, as well as in babysitting, nurse assistant training, and family care giving. Anyone with a desire to help others can train to respond to disasters. Medical professionals can help tend to trauma patients or deliver babies. Other volunteers can help with a blood drive or deliver messages to Red Cross personnel.Click here to read more »
Watch this video from Foreign & Commonwealth Office. It provides a shocking insight into consular incidents across the globe over a real 24 hour period.
The video, hosted on You Tube, plots the location of 1000s of incidents involving British nationals on 27 June 2011. The incidents vary enormously from routine enquiries into visas, birth registrations, marriage documentation, and the issuing of emergency travel documents, to the notification of arrests, prison visits, assisting British nationals involved in bus crashes and serious accidents and liaising with families following fatalities. There were also cases involving forced marriage, child abduction, rape and murder.
The number of Britons arrested overseas has fallen by over 10%1, according to the new Foreign and Commonwealth Office British Behaviour Abroad report. Drug arrests have decreased by almost 20% over the past year.
Despite this positive trend, Foreign Office staff still handled 5,700 arrest cases last year with Spain and USA showing the highest figures. Drug arrests continue to be a significant problem for some countries, particularly parts of South America and the Caribbean where a high proportion of total arrests are drug related. Click here to read more »
In the past, Croatia was a favourite holiday destination of royalty on the Adriatic Sea, with Italy only a few hundred kilometres away. Until about 20 years ago, most people didn’t really know where Croatia was. It was a lost place in Cold War Europe, part of “the eastern bloc”, and that was roughly the extent of Western knowledge for nearly four generations. Now, Croatia has become a true tourist destination again. All you need to see this extraordinary place is a good instinct for the unique travel experience, some good travel insurance and an appreciation for one of Europe’s lost worlds. Click here to read more »
There are too many reasons why you should buy travel insurance even when you are going on a short holiday inside Australia. Even cheap travel insurance bought from direct providers online should be very comprehensive. There are just too many reasons why you always want to be covered. In this article, we look at some of the major reasons why you just have to have travel insurance. Click here to read more »
“I’m leaving on a jet plane
I don’t know when I’ll be back again . . .”
John Denver has a way with words.
I’ve been checking out the literature online and there appear to be a whole lot of reasons for moving to Colorado from wherever. The most common reason for making a move occurs among the folk who want to kick the city habit. I can get that – really. Click here to read more »
