Tag Archives: Governmental

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News story: Italy vs Wales rugby match in Rome: consular advice

The Italy and Welsh Rugby teams will meet in Rome for their RBS 6 Nations Rugby Tournament on 5 February 2017 at 3pm.

The Consular Services of the British Embassy Rome have advice for Welsh supporters travelling to see the match.

Travelling rugby fans normally prepare well for their trips, don’t get into fights, don’t overindulge, don’t lose their passports and don’t normally come to our attention. Keep it up!

However, to avoid getting into trouble, here’s a bit of advice:

  • check that your passport is valid for your whole trip to Italy;
  • make sure that you bring your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) – this proves your entitlement to free/reduced cost health care if you need medical attention;
  • the EHIC does not replace comprehensive travel insurance though, so make sure you’re insured. Insurance could cover the entire cost of hospitalisation, and repatriation should that become necessary;
  • keep an eye on your possessions at all times: pickpockets operate in large crowds and on most public transport.

The emergency numbers in Italy are:

  • 112: Carabinieri
  • 113: police
  • 118: emergency ambulance
  • 115: fire brigades

Practical information:

  • the venue for this match will be the Olympic Stadium in Rome. Kick-off time is at 3pm, Italian time. The Stadium opens at 1pm. You should try to arrive early as access to the stadium might take some time and certainly before 2pm;

  • a fan zone at Parco del Foro Italico (next to the Stadium) is open from 10am on Sunday;

  • there is no parking at the Stadium so don’t arrive by car;

  • disabled car parking spaces are located outside the Carraia Nord, in Largo Ferraris IV, where you will be directed to the Tribuna Tevere to access the Stadium;

  • Italian police and stewards will conduct ticket checks and security screening. You might be required to show an original identity document. Any items that could be used as a weapon, like glass or plastic bottles, are not permitted inside the stadium;

  • note also that musical instruments, large umbrellas and items of luggage are not permitted inside the Stadium;

How to get to the Olympic Stadium:

  • take Metro Line A to Flaminio/Piazza del Popolo and walk to the Stadium (4.5 Kms) for about 30 minutes, or you can take tram no. 2 from Flaminio which drops you close to the Stadium. Alternatively take bus 910 from Roma Termini, get off at Piazza Antonio Mancini, then walk through the park, over the Bridge Duca D’Aosta and you’ll see the Stadio Olimpico;

  • combined Metro and bus/tram tickets can be purchased from most tobacconists, bars, or vending machines at metro stations and major bus stops and cost €1.50 each. Please note that bus and tram tickets must be stamped in the small yellow ticket machine found on buses and trams as soon as you start your journey. Failure to do so will result in a fine, if checked by an inspector.

If things go wrong and you need consular assistance, call us on +39 06 4220 0001.

Check out our Italy travel advice before you go.

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HM Government • • •

Typhoons from 6 Squadron take part in Red Flag

6 Squadron Typhoons, from RAF Lossiemouth, are taking part in the world’s largest and most complex air combat exercise at Nellis Air Force Base in the United States.

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Red Flag is a three-week exercise that pits friendly ‘Blue’ forces – including the 6 Squadron Typhoons – against hostile ‘Red Force’ aggressors in live and synthetic training environments, simulating air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, and space and cyber warfare.

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The training mirrors the threats and complex air defences posed by real-life adversaries, helps participating nations better understand each other’s capabilities and ensures that RAF personnel maintain the highest levels of readiness for potential future military operations.

The live element takes place over the US Air Force’s premier military training area in Nevada; over 15,000 square miles of airspace and 2.9 million acres of land – an impossible scale to achieve in Europe.

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The exercise also sees the Typhoons fly alongside US Air Force F-22 Raptors and F-35A Lightnings. This continues the evolving integration of RAF operations with 5th Generation aircraft ahead of the introduction of the F-35B into the RAF’s combat air inventory in 2018.

Wing Commander Billy Cooper, Officer Commanding 6 Squadron, said: “We’ve brought eight Typhoons with us from RAF Lossiemouth to take part in Red Flag alongside the United States Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force.

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“While our day job at Lossiemouth is protecting UK airspace through Quick Reaction Alert, here in Nevada the majority of what we’re doing is air-to-air fighting and some strike missions. This means we’ll be flying two waves of six aircraft every day.

“One of the benefits of this exercise is the threat replication; we can simulate fighting our way into a target area through a high-threat environment, dropping precision munitions on specific targets and then fighting our way back out again. It’s a privilege to deploy here with 6 Squadron and to represent the Royal Air Force, the UK and Scotland in particular.”

© MOD Crown Copyright 2016

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MOD • •

WAAF who stared into Hitler’s eyes dies

Former WAAF Patricia Clark, a Battle of Britain filter room plotter, who became a bestselling novelist, has died aged 95.

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Born Patricia Robins on February 1, 1921, she was the second of three daughter of novelist Denise Robins, known as ‘the Queen of Romance’. After going to school in Switzerland, where she learned French and how to ski, Patricia wanted to learn German and was sent, aged 16, in 1937 to study near Munich. She once found herself in a traffic jam a few feet away from Hitler who was in an open topped car. Nearly 80 years later she vividly remembered ‘meeting Hitler’s cold blue eyes.’

Returning to England she found a job on Women’s Illustrated magazine as a junior editor. As war loomed, she joined the RAF and after basic training was assigned to special duties, in the Filter Centre at 10 (Fighter) Group. Her job as a filterer was important, skilled work. The Filter Centre was a high pressure environment that demanded a great degree of skill and dexterity and close team cooperation.

Patricia proved to be a highly capable operator who was commissioned and made a Filterer. The Filterer’s job was to analyse the huge amount of conflicting information to decide on the most accurate position, vector, height and strength of detected aircraft in a very short time. She was further promoted to Filter Officer, acting as deputy to the Filter Centre Controller and with overall responsibility for all the filtered information which produced the recognised air picture.

Claire Lorrimer - modern-w2

In 1944 Britain was the first nation ever attacked by ballistic missiles and Patricia took part in the pioneering work designed to locate the firing positions of V2 rockets so they could be attacked from the air. Her work was highly classified and she was sworn to secrecy about it for 30 years after the war ended. During breaks for bad weather in this top-secret war work, Patricia started writing romance stories for magazines, using the extra income she made from them as petrol money to get to NAAFI dances.

In1947, she met and married former RAF pilot Donald Clark. They divorced in 1976. Her writing career began in earnest after the war and, like her mother; Patricia became a prolific author of light romantic fiction. In the 1970s she started to write blockbuster historical romances using the pen name Claire Lorrimer. In later years she moved to new genres, including murder mysteries. In March last year, under her pen name, she was presented with an Outstanding Achievement Award by the Romantic Novelists’ Association, after completing her 80th novel.

She is survived by her three children, eight grandchildren and one great grandchild.

© MOD Crown Copyright 2016

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MOD • • •

Personnel on Ice at RAF Championships

THE SERVICE’S stars on ice are doing battle for precious Inter-Service spots in La Plagne, France as the RAF Championships got under way.

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The two-week camp, which culminates in the championships, is not for the faint-hearted, as the track is regarded as one of the toughest on the winter sports circuit, having been used for the 1992 Winter Olympics, with athletes reaching speeds of 90mph, with forces of up to six G testing all involved.

Team manager and reigning Inter-Services champion Flt Lt Gav Arnold said: “The championship race will see SAC Mark McQuitty of 99 Sqn as favourite following his excellent performances on the World Cup Circuit for Team GB.

“I will be challenging him along with GB hopeful Cpl Danny Burke, with the race determining selection for the Inter-Services Championships to be held in Norway in March where we will be defending our title against what is sure to be tough opposition from the Army.”

Cpl Ross Brown bobsleigh coach/ceputy team manager said: “The camp is proving to be a very demanding fortnight, which has pushed all 32 athletes beyond their limits on the second fastest track in Europe, reaching speeds in excess of 75mph whilst pulling up to 4.5g on a mile- ong track from a standing start.

“Bobsleigh athletes have been exposed to dealing with a wide variety of emotions, such as adrenaline, fear, nerves, excitement, physical pressures and much more, all within a controlled environment of this extreme winter ice sport. And this camp is proving no different.”

Anyone interested in next year’s luge novice training camp should contact team manager Flt Lt Gav Arnold on: 30Sqn-pilot27@mod.uk. or for bobsleigh: marksilva021@hotmail.com

© MOD Crown Copyright 2016

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MOD • • •

News story: Innovation to drive affordable energy and clean growth under Industrial Strategy

  • research and innovation lead to new products, services, and more effective ways of doing business with a lower carbon impact
  • to get every part of the UK firing on all cylinders we need to deliver an energy infrastructure system fit for the 21st century
  • investment in innovation will help to commercialise our world-leading ideas and place UK companies at the forefront of developing low carbon growth solutions

The Industrial Strategy green paper highlighted the government’s commitment to minimise business energy costs and support the competitiveness of UK companies as we pursue our climate change targets in the most cost effective way.

Today Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry Nick Hurd attended the Rushlight Awards where he announced funding for a series of energy innovation projects. The funding boost of £28 million will be invested in smart systems, industrial energy reduction and offshore wind demonstrating our commitment to building a low carbon, low cost future. This forms part of the government’s commitment to double support for energy innovation, up to £400 million per year in 2021.

More details of the government’s Energy Innovation Programme and funding are available from the GOV.UK Energy Innovation page.

This financial support follows on the government’s vision to ensure the UK continues to be the global leader in science and research. The Industrial Strategy green paper identifies that we need to do more to commercialise the world-class ideas and discoveries made in Britain, and put the UK and British companies at the forefront of innovation.

Minister for Climate Change and Industry Nick Hurd said:

Innovation in energy will play an important role to shape our low carbon future to rebuild an outdated energy system. That’s why we’ve increased our financial support, helping to create jobs and opportunities for people across the UK.

Our Industrial Strategy green paper seeks views on how we can support these emerging technologies, ensuring we drive growth and develop international partnerships across our world leading research, science and innovation sector.

Under the new investment, up to £9 million will be spent on a competition to reduce the cost of energy storage, including electricity, thermal, and power-to-gas storage and up to £600,000 for feasibility studies for projects that can store energy on a large scale, for use when it’s needed.

Up to £7.6 million will be available for advancing energy demand side response technologies that can help both private and public sector organisations reduce energy use in peak times.

To reduce the cost of energy for industry, the government will invest around £9 million in a competition for ‘industrial energy efficiency accelerator’. The competition would help to find new ways of improving the energy efficiency of UK industry, helping to develop industry-specific options for a low carbon future.

Today’s announcement reaffirms our financial support to the sector after the investment of £2 billion a year by 2020-21 in research and development and £23 billion in high value investment through National Productivity Investment Fund was introduced at the Autumn Statement. The funds will address our key economic challenge of raising business productivity, helping to support business and research collaborations to explore opportunities to transform industries.

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HM Government • • •