General News

MoJFamilies bereaved by murder & manslaughter are to benefit from free legal advice and extra practical support via a new dedicated victims’ helpline, launched by the Ministry of Justice. The free telephone helpline is to be staffed by legal advisers who will provide legal advice to victims on everything from guardianship issues & settling an estate, to accessing benefits.
 
The launch of the helpline follows the government’s recent announcement of a new National Victims’ Service – which is initially being rolled out to families of murder and manslaughter victims, offering one-to-one tailored support to help them cope with the trauma of losing a loved one to crime.
 
The new over-the-phone legal advice initiative strengthens & complements the existing range of practical and emotional support offered to families and friends of murder & manslaughter victims offered by Support After Murder and Manslaughter (SAMM) National, a government-sponsored charity.
Press release ~ Victims and witnesses ~ Support After Murder and Manslaughter
 
FSA: The Food Standards Agency has reported that Waitrose is recalling some semi-skimmed milk from its essential range, because it might contain small amounts of cleaning solution. Notices have been put in stores, explaining to customers why the products have been recalled.  If you have bought the affected milk you are advised not to consume it, but return it to Waitrose for a full refund. No other date codes or Waitrose products are affected.
Press release ~ Food Standards Agency ~ Waitrose Customer Services Department - Tel: 0800 3134522
 
WAG: Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones was in Conwy on Saturday 24 October to show her support for Gwledd Conwy Feast, an annual food & drink festival that takes place in locations across the town.  The festival, which began as a fairly small affair, has grown significantly over recent years and is now widely regarded as one of North Wales’ most prominent food & drink events.
Press release ~ Wales the True Taste ~ Gwledd Conwy Feast
 
BIS: Space experts & politicians from across Europe gathered in London last week to discuss how space technology can help solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. The 10th annual European Inter-parliamentary Space Conference (EISC) examined the benefits & future potential of space technology – from managing climate change to boosting the economy.
 
Delegates discussed how space can be used to bring tangible benefits to everyone in Europe and help tackle major challenges facing the world.  The event aimed to act as a forum for European co-operation on space policy and to foster a continued dialogue between national parliaments.
Press release ~ Annual European Inter-parliamentary Space Conference (EISC) ~ BNSC
 
SE: The Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, has visited Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre to mark the completion of new £2m elite training & rehabilitation facilities. The investment by Sport England ensures home-grown athletes training for 2012 with the English Institute of Sport (EIS) will have the best possible facilities as they bid for Olympic and Paralympic gold.
 
The new facilities include:
* A strength & conditioning gym with state-of-the-art weight machines & equipment, indoor rowing & canoeing machines and video analysis equipment in the EIS High Performance Gym
* A training & agility area, including 30-metre indoor track.
 
Bisham Abbey is also an international high performance centre for tennis and Sport England & the LTA have jointly funded four new ‘French Court’ artificial clay courts at the centre. Growing the number of clay courts in Britain will help performance tennis players develop their clay court game, crucial for success on the international circuit.
Press release ~ Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre ~ English Institute of Sport (EIS) ~ AEGON ~ WIN Tennis
 
FSA: The Food Standards Agency has issued an updated Allergy Alert, because a second Hershey’s Chocolate Reeses Cookies product might contain peanuts that are not mentioned on the label.  Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Dipped Reeses Cookies bought on (or after) 2 August 2009 from Selfridges stores have been withdrawn because the product is a possible health risk. Anyone who has an allergy to peanuts is advised to not eat this product.
 
The original alert, about Hershey’s Chocolate Reeses Cookies (56g) bought on or after 2 August 2009 from www.ocado.com being withdrawn, was issued on 22 October and can be found at the link below.
Press release ~ Empire Food Brokers Ltd withdraws a further Hershey’s Chocolate Reeses Cookies product due to a labelling error ~ Empire Food Brokers Ltd withdraws Hershey’s Chocolate Reeses Cookies due to a labelling error ~ Allergy UK ~ Anaphylaxis Campaign ~ Empire Food Brokers LtdOcadoSelfridges & Co ~ FSA: Food allergy and intolerance
 
FSANutrition Point has recalled certain batches of Trufree Choc Dippers because the chocolate hazelnut dip might contain peanuts that are not mentioned on the label.  The Agency has issued an Allergy Alert. If you are allergic to peanuts you are advised not to eat this product.
Press release ~ Nutrition Point recalls certain batches of Trufree Choc Dippers due to possible peanut contamination ~ Trufree
 
NA: From the Gunpowder Plot to 1959, from personal bankruptcies to international treaties: November's range of FREE talks from The National Archives takes a refreshingly different view of history. 'I'm All Right Jack! Britain in 1959' analyses the Boulting Brothers film, in which a blundering innocent causes a nationwide strike.  Did the film reflect social realities in 1959?  NA examine related material in the public records of the late 1950s - some of the findings may surprise you.
 
'Kindertransport: Britain's rescue plan' looks at accounts of children evacuated from Nazi Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia.  The talk will give an insight into how Britain dealt with the refugee children and the difficulties they themselves faced.
Press release ~ NA free talks ~ Podcasts ~ Events page
 
ScotGov: A wealth of information about Scotland's past is now freely available through an online resource developed for the use of pupils, teachers and the wider public. Scotland's History Online covers a range of subjects, from prehistoric through to 21st Century Scotland.  More than 200 topics include links to over 1,000 other online sources and a wide range of interactive supporting materials.
Press release ~ Scotland's History Online ~ Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) ~ Heritage Education Forum ~ Scottish Association of History Teachers (SATH)
 
WAG: A £2.5m new Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) National Centre of Excellence, which provides training & back-up facilities, has been officially opened at the Vale Resort near Cardiff.  From now on all international rugby players selected to represent Wales at any level will train at the same base with the best available pitches, training facilities, medical equipment, coaches and back-room personnel on hand to help them strive for excellence.
 
The facility is also home to the newly-formed WRU National Academy, which will select high-calibre players, coaches & match officials from the men’s & women’s game for specialist and personal training at the highest level.
Press release ~ WRU National Academy ~ WAG - Sport and Active Recreation
 
DFID: The Department for International Development (DFID) and Australian Agency for International Development have launched a new £18.3m Research and Advocacy Fund (RAF) aimed at improving the lives of all mothers & children across Pakistan – the first fund of its kind in the country. Every year, 15,000 women in Pakistan die from complications related to pregnancy & childbirth.  Over 60% of births are not attended by skilled professionals.
 
The new RAF initiative will provide grants to organisations & individuals working on research projects that will help ensure improved access to and quality of maternal & newborn health services in Pakistan.  Funding will also be made available for research & advocacy projects that will inform health policy reforms in the country.
Press release ~ Research and Advocacy Fund (RAF) ~ DFID: PakistanDFID: maternal health ~ Training the next generation of midwives in Pakistan ~ Australian Agency for International Development
 
ScotGov: 8 teams & individuals have been honoured as health heroes at an awards ceremony for their life-saving work caring for the UK's armed forces and veterans. 
 
Winners at the second annual Military & Civilian Health Partnership Awards include a:
* Buckinghamshire team who dealt with a pneumonia outbreak on a military base in Afghanistan
* Glasgow team treating troops blinded by injuries on operations
* nurse who ran the emergency ward in Camp Bastion field hospital
*Birmingham NHS consultant - also a Colonel in the Territorial Army - who has organised life-saving platelet donations from soldiers to injured colleagues in the field in Afghanistan.
Press release ~ Military Civilian Health Awards
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