MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Governor Away on Official Business.

His Excellency the Governor, Mr Donald Lamont left the Islands this weekend to attend official business in the United Kingdom. He will participate in the annual Governors meeting in London, which will take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week.

Councillor Cheek Reports on GPC

Councillor Jan Cheek has reported that all councillors except Lewis Clifton and Richard Cockwell were present at Wednesday's meeting of General Purposes Committee. They looked at the grazing of part of Hill Cove's mountains, having received information that the area had been unstocked for many years. It was agreed that it should remain so. GPC was also updated by councillor members of the Transport Advisory Committee on the situation regarding the survey and costing of ramps at Port Howard and New Haven and await firm proposals soon. The committee also received an update on the actions being taken to ensure the Falklands can be treated separately from Britain as a foot and mouth disease-free country, which councillor Cheek said is increasingly urgent as the abattoir nears completion. A proposed design was also looked at for revamping the front of the FIG Office in London to make it a more attractive showcase for the Islands. Finally the Governor was unable to give the meeting any new information on the "dingy incident."

St Lucia supports sovereignty negotiations

The Caribbean island, St Lucia, that currently chairs the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization has supported the resumption of negotiations between Argentina and Britain regarding the Falkland Islands' sovereignty. According to the South American Newsagency Mercopress, Mr Kenneth Anthony visited Argentina last week, and signed several bilateral agreements including a document pledging the renewal of negotiations, with President Fernando De La Rúa. The document aims ?to find as quickly as possible, a peaceful, fair and enduring solution to the sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands'. President De La Rúa has recently expressed his satisfaction with the ?positive contributions to the UN Special Decolonization Committee', shown by the island of St Lucia. Mr Anthony underlined that ?St Lucia is a nation which has just emerged from the grip of colonialism so we understand why this is such an important issue'. The Argentine president indicated that ?talks were informative and covered all aspects of the sovereignty dispute', following a private meeting with Mr Anthony in the