wake-up call

Earlier this year he warned that “there could be war in Sweden”, although that was seen as a wake-up call because he felt that moves towards rebuilding that “total defence” were progressing too slowly.

“The news of a deeply serious human case of bird flu is a massive wake-up call that should immediately mobilize efforts to prevent another human pandemic,” said Farm Forward Executive Director Andrew deCoriolis.

He added that he hoped it would serve as a "wake-up call" about food production.

Her wake-up call came when her son was recently stopped and searched by the police as he was chatting to his friends on the street.

That ground war in 2006 was a wake-up call for Israel.