Mar182017

News story: UK troops arrive in Estonia for major NATO deployment

MOD
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Soldiers from the 5th Battalion The Rifles Battlegroup (5 RIFLES), including members of an Armoured Engineer Squadron, Military Police Detachment, Artillery Group and Port Task Group, arrived at Amari airbase last night.

They were welcomed by Estonia’s Defence Minister Margus Tsahkna, having flown from RAF Brize Norton by Voyager aircraft.

The 120 soldiers are fundamental to setting up a UK headquarters in the country before the rest of the UK deployment arrives next month, increasing the total number of troops in Estonia to around 800.

Soldiers from the 5th Battalion The Rifles Battlegroup arrive at Amari airbase, Estonia.
Soldiers from the 5th Battalion The Rifles Battlegroup arrive at Amari airbase, Estonia.

The UK is taking a leading role in NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence, alongside several other contributing nations. The deployments are designed to assure NATO allies of the mutual commitment to collective European security.

Working alongside the UK forces this year will be French personnel, and from next year, Danish partners. All are there at the request of the Estonian Government. The Battlegroup will provide a proportionate, defensive, and combat capable force to defend our NATO ally and deter any form of hostile activity against the Alliance.

An AS90 and a Challenger 2 tank being loaded onto cargo ship in the port of Emden, Germany, before deployment to Estonia.
An AS90 and a Challenger 2 tank being loaded onto cargo ship in the port of Emden, Germany, before deployment to Estonia.

The UK-led Estonia Battlegroup is one of four NATO multinational deployments to the eastern part of the Alliance. Other nations are deploying to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, the last of which will include 150 UK personnel, on a persistent, rotational basis.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

In the face of an increasingly assertive Russia, NATO is stepping up its commitment to collective defence. British troops will play a leading role in Estonia and support our US allies in Poland, as part of wider efforts to defend NATO.

Our rising defence budget means we can support those deployments in the long-term and strengthen our commitment to European security.

Commanding Officer of 5 Rifles Lieutenant Colonel Mark Wilson added:

The UK and Estonia have a long and proud history of serving together, including in Afghanistan, so it is an honour to lead 5 RIFLES on this deployment as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence. My soldiers are looking forward to again be working, training and exercising alongside their Estonian counterparts.

This week, around 300 UK vehicles have also departed to Estonia, including Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, Challenger 2 tanks and AS90 self-propelled artillery pieces. These vehicles, loaded onto a Roll-On-Roll-Off ferry, are currently on their way and set to arrive towards the middle of next week. French armoured vehicles, including tanks, are also due to arrive in Estonia via train after being loaded yesterday.

Personnel from the 5th Battalion The Rifles depart from RAF Brize Norton for Estonia.
Personnel from the 5th Battalion The Rifles depart from RAF Brize Norton for Estonia.

Mar182017

Dundee City Transmission Cable Replacement Project – an update

Fraser Macpherson
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From Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks – regarding the high voltage cable replacement project – area from Lochee Road to Logie Avenue :

“As you’ll be aware the Dundee City Transmission Cable Replacement project commenced on 6 March 2017 and is progressing according to programme.  
Below is an update in relation to the works and roads affected by these as at w/c 20 March : 
  • Lochee Road, Joint Bay 1/2 – Road remains open to traffic who are able to pass with care
  • Lochee Road, Joint Bay 2/3 – Traffic management system sees the sequencing of traffic lights staggered to accommodate single direction traffic as at 13/03
  • Fleucher Street, Joint Bay 3/4 – Fleuchar Street will close w/c 20 March.  A diversion is in place and will take approximately 1 minute by car.  Local access for residents, pedestrians, cyclists etc will be maintained during this closure. 

I’d also like to give you a bit of notice regarding abnormal load deliveries to our lay down site at Brown Street.  There will be cable drum deliveries to this site between 29 – 31 March where parking at Brown Street between Douglas Street and Miln Street will be temporarily suspended during short periods of time.  


Traffic will be managed by Contraflow who will remain on the ground during these periods.  I am currently awaiting confirmation of the vehicles’ route from the Dock and also timings, when I am in receipt of this information I will be certain to pass it on to you.”

I will keep residents updated as I hear further from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.

Mar182017

UN forum helps China tackle ageing problems

East Asia
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UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Zhongshan College based in China’s Nanjing City hold a Regional Expert Forum on Integrated Care for Older on March 17, 2017, with an aim to enhance the access of older persons to services in China, including health and long-term care services. [Xu Lin/China.org.cn]

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in cooperation with Zhongshan College based in Nanjing City, launched a forum on Friday aiming to help older people gain better access to health and long-term care services in China.

The three-day Regional Expert Forum on Integrated Care for Older People is organized within the framework of a project entitled “strengthening national capacity for promoting and protecting the rights of elders.” It particularly focuses on the provision and financing of long-term care.

Dr. Nagesh Kumar, director of ESCAP’s Social Development Division, said population ageing was bow a major problem facing the whole world, and one of the key challenges in achieving the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

The number of older persons in the region is expected to almost triple from 514 million in 2015 to more than 1.31 billion by 2050. By then, one in four people will be over 60 years of age, out of which number those over 80 year will constitute about one-fifth.

This demographic phenomenon will have a profound impact on the wellbeing of all generations. Older persons are among the groups most likely to be left behind if no adequate policies are adopted. Increasing numbers of elderly will require long-term care, and it is increasingly difficult for their needs to be met by family care alone.

Therefore, Kumar said, population ageing requires innovative policies, especially to address the increasing demand for healthcare services. Using Information and Communication Technologies is one possible approach to increase healthcare access .

One good thing was that the expanding care sector can become a growth sector and a sector driving employment opportunities. “If we train people adequately to provide care for older persons, we can achieve two goals: we increase the quality of care that older persons receive and we increase the potential for them to find decent jobs in the care sector.”

At the forum, Zhongshan College was appointed as the INIA (International Institute on Ageing) Zhongshan Satellite Center by the United Nations. Chen Yi, Chairman of Board of Zhongshan College, told China.org.cn that the college is working on the project of Human Resource Development Center for Elderly, featuring a student internship base, a rehabilitation hospital, a nursing home, a training center and a research center of ageing development. The college has provided training in elderly care for more than 15,000 persons so far.

China now has less than 300,000 paramedics, and only 40,000 have qualification certificates, said Professor Jiang Fuxin, president of Zhongshan College. Based on the international standard, China needs a total of 10 million paramedics.

To fill in the gap, the college is offering eight majors of elderly service and management, community-based rehabilitation, community management and service, rehabilitation treatment technology and nursing, etc. A major of rehabilitative engineering technology will be introduced within this year.

Officials, experts, scholars and entrepreneurs from 21 Asia-Pacific countries and regions attended the forum.