MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FIBS Hot News

Headlines: Oil report; 170th anniversary of the British “usurpation”; Scottish explorer William Bruce a forgotten polar hero.

Oil

The Financial Times reports about how Edward Heaths Government kept secret a study suggesting there might be oil off the Falkland Islands.

Internal Whitehall documents show that the Government deliberately blocked enquiries from oil companies in 1972 a year after a geological study suggested that there was a possibility of exploitable oil reserves off the Islands.

At the time the Foreign office was keen on defusing Argentine claims of sovereignty and so the decision was taken to keep things quiet.

The article tells that three years later the UK proposed joint Anglo-Argentine development of the resources following studies by Canadian and British companies, confirming that there were likely to be large reserves.

Anniversary

Argentina has once again reaffirmed its sovereignty claim over the Islands.

This has happened today on the day that one hundred and seventy years ago the British ship Clio landed in the Islands to arrest men that were involved in the murder of Don Juan Esteban Mestivier who had been appointed governor by Buenos Aires.

But once in the Islands he was murdered by the commander and men of the ship he had sailed to the Falklands with.

The Argentines get very excited about this day as they think of these people as residents and not undesirables that had been thrown out of their own country for various crimes.

Britain on the other hand has always maintained that they were the first to settle here in the Islands. With the first settlement Port Egmont being established on West Falkland in 1765.

But the Annual claim by Argentina makes no difference to the British Governments position on Sovereignty.

Polar

A forgotten polar hero is being commemorated one hundred years after his first Antarctic venture.

Scottish explorer William Bruce could be awarded the highest honour for polar explorers.

His well-managed journey to Antarctica lasted a year and a half with no losses of life. And saw him map out many uncharted parts of coastline along Antarctica as well as discovering many new species.

The Daily Record reports that a series of events are being held to mark the anniversary, with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society renewing their efforts to have him honoured with the medal.

Bruce became interested in Oceanography while serving as a ship's surgeon on a Dundee whaling fleet, which sailed to the Falklands in 1892.