General News

FSADoves Farm Foods has withdrawn some of its Organic Plain Chocolate Drops, because the product contains milk, which is not an intended ingredient.  This makes the product a possible health risk for anyone who is allergic to or intolerant of milk.  The Food Standards Agency has issued an Allergy Alert advising anyone with an allergy to or intolerance of milk not to eat the product.
Press release & links
 
FSAAsda has recalled certain packs of its Japanese Style Spicy Rice Cracker Mix, Spicy Wasabi Mix and Japanese Style Baked Rice Cracker Mix, because they possibly contain small pieces of glass.  The Food Standards Agency has issued a Product Recall Information Notice.
Press release & links
 
JRF: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has called for urgent & fundamental reform of the housing market after the failure of policy-makers to learn the lessons from previous boom & bust cycles, which have led to the UK having one of the most persistently volatile housing markets in the world.
 
Convened by JRF in 2009 and consisting of interdisciplinary experts, the JRF Housing Market Taskforce has undertaken a system-wide review of the UK's housing market.  Its report recommends a series of policy options that together would help create a more stable housing market, to protect existing home owners and enable more new households to get onto the property ladder.
Press release & links
 
MoD: Preparations are in full swing to host a 3-day celebration of the UK's Armed Forces in Edinburgh this summer, which takes on the mantle of the national centrepiece for 2011's Armed Forces Day celebrations (24 - 26 June 2011), with a parade, musical entertainment, exhibitions, aerial displays and a Royal Navy ship open to visitors.
Press release & links
 
MoD: The conclusion of the Royal Navy mission to train Iraqi sailors in the coming days will mark the official end of British Armed Forces operations in Iraq. The UK-Iraq Training and Maritime Support Agreement came to an end on Sunday 22 May 2011, which means the conclusion of Operation TELIC - the name for UK operations in Iraq that began with the invasion & subsequent removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
 
Royal Navy personnel have worked alongside US forces to train & mentor Iraqi sailors and marines at their main naval base in Umm Qasr. A total of 1,800 Iraqi personnel have been trained on 50 different courses, including maritime, small arms, oil platform defence and maintenance. A 'train the trainer' focus has also given the Iraqi Navy the ability to develop an independent and self-sustaining force for the future.
Press release & links
 
MoD: 2 Roll Over Drills Egress Trainers (RODETs), armoured hulls kitted out just like a real vehicle that can be completely rotated, are teaching troops in Camp Bastion how to survive if their vehicle hits an IED.  The 2 RODET units, which can simulate a vehicle rolling & coming to rest upside down or on its side, are in use at Camp Bastion, and every soldier likely to go 'outside the wire' experiences the delights of ‘going for a spin’.
 
There are techniques to be learnt, such as getting out of a 4-point safety harness when hanging from what is now the roof without falling across the vehicle, and extracting a wounded or unconscious casualty. Every move is watched by the operator using a series of night-vision cameras mounted inside the simulator.
Press release & Links
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