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01 Nov 14. UK issues alert following air strikes on Islamic State. Britons travelling abroad are being warned that they could be targeted by terrorists seeking revenge for UK air strikes against Islamic State (IS) extremists. The Foreign Office (FCO) has updated its travel advice for all destinations across the globe that British nationals faced a “heightened threat” of attack from “groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria”. It urges all Britons living or travelling overseas to be “vigilant” at the current time. The FCO said that it was responding to the “generalised threat” rather than warnings of a specific attack. The move comes after Home Secretary Theresa May announced in August that the UK national terror threat level had been raised from “substantial” to “severe”, meaning an attack is considered ‘highly likely. Last month, Parliament gave the go-ahead for the RAF to carry out air strikes against IS forces in Iraq and the Government has been supplying arms to the Kurdish peshmerga militias fighting the extremists. The updated FCO advice states: “There is considered to be a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria. You should be vigilant at this time.” (Source: FT.com)
27 Oct 14. Sierra Leone: OP GRITROCK. The UK is leading the international response to the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone and has committed £205m to tackle the disease. (Written Answers (WA), 27 Oct 14.)
We have slimmed down our diplomatic staff in Freetown. The Royal Army Medical Corps has established a facility near York to train people who have volunteered to work in Sierra Leone. (Oral Answers (OA), 28 Oct 14.)
886 NHS staff have volunteered to combat Ebola in West Africa (but not all will be accepted). (WA, 28 Oct 14.)
RFA Argus arrived in Sierra Leone on 30 Oct 14, having left Falmouth on 17 Oct 14. Off loading of DfID (Department for International Development) equipment and 32 off-road vehicles started immediately. Three Merlin Mk2 helicopters, two landing craft and three rigid hull inflatable boats are now available for the medical teams. (MoD, 30 Oct 14.)
Letters have been sent to over 20 Army Medical Reservists, calling them up to help run the Kerry Town Treatment Centre for healthcare workers. (MoD, 30 Oct 14.)
Cuba is sending hundreds of medical professionals to UK-run facilities in Sierra Leone. (FCO, 31 Oct 14.)
Comment: The latest figures from the World Health Organisation give a total of 13,703 Ebola cases with 4,922 deaths. (UN, 30 Oct 14.)
DfID is co-funding clinical trials to find a safe vaccine for Ebola. (WA, 30 Oct 14.)
The worst affected country is Liberia with 6,535 Ebola cases of whom 2,413 have died, followed by Sierra Leone with 5,235 cases including 1,500 dead and Guinea with 1,906 cases including 997 dead. (‘The Economist’ 1 Nov 14). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 14/43, 03 Nov 14)
26 Oct 14. Afghanistan: OP HERRICK/OP CATALINA. UK Armed Forces ended combat Operations in Helmand Province, paving the way for the final transfer of security to the Afghan National Security Forces. A ceremony (26 Oct 14) marked the end of Operations for Regional Command (South West); a UK/US Coalition Command with additional contributions from Bosnia, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Jordan & Tonga. (MoD, 26 Oct 14.)
UK Armed Forces left the Bastion-Leatherneck complex, handing over the base to 215 Corps of the Afghan National Army. British and US Marine Corps personnel redeployed to Kandahar. All 137 bases in Helmand
Province have been handed-over. (MoD, 27 Oct 14.)
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