MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar: Breaking News.

Headlines:
Straw and Moratinos to discuss Gibraltar; Twenty MPs invited to National Day;
Divers find lost battleship HMS Victoria.

Straw and Moratinos to discuss Gibraltar

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will be travelling to Madrid in October after appearances before the United Nations General Assembly to discuss Gibraltar and other bilateral issues with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos. The announcement was made Friday night on the margins of a European Union Foreign Ministers meeting near Maastricht. Mr. Moratinos however confirmed that these would not be in the framework of the Brussels process talks, but a "desire to re-establish contacts with the British authorities." Mr. Moratinos has anticipated he seeks to normalize relations with the United Kingdom in spite of Spain's upset at the way Britain has been involved in Gibraltar Tercentenary events and as well as the visit by nuclear submarine HMS Tireless. In the wake of the recent meeting in the Campo between Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana and Jose Pons, Secretary of State for Europe at the Spanish Foreign Ministry, Mr. Moratinos said that he did not wish that Gibraltarians be "made to pay" for Britain's lack of sensitivity in the issue but instead wants to encourage "co-operation and dialogue between Gibraltarians and the citizens of the Campo." However latest news from the Madrid press indicate that Spain wants to set up a process revisiting of negotiations on shared sovereignty.

Twenty MPs invited to National Day

Twenty Members of Parliament, among which Lord Hoyle and Lord Bethell will be in Gibraltar for National Day Friday September 10. Both Lords will be receiving the Honorary Freedom of the City of Gibraltar on Thursday evening at John Mackintosh Square starting at 8pm. The Freedom will be conferred on both men by Gibraltar's soon to be new Mayor Clive Beltran, Minister for Heritage, Culture, and Sport. This year the Gibraltar Government has invited over Twenty members of Parliament - a mixture of cross party representation - and their spouses to participate in this year's festivities. Also joining the delegation will be the Chairman of the British Gibraltar Group in Parliament Lindsay Hoyle.

Divers find lost battleship HMS Victoria

Divers have located the former flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet, HMS Victoria, lost in 1893 out of Tripoli, Libya, while attempting an ill-conceived anchoring maneuver. 358 men - half the entire crew - including Vice Admiral Tyron, were lost. Lebanese-Austrian diver Christian Francis had researched the wreck and had been conducting a search since 1994. Information from local fishermen about an unusual obstruction rich in fish helped lead Francis to the wreck's position. He first dived the wreck along with British diver Mark Ellyatt on 22 August, and the pair was quickly able to identify the wreck from the props, fittings and dimensions. The wreck is located in just over 100m, but has her bows driven deep into the seabed and sticks up perpendicular to the seabed, with the propellers at 25m. It is estimated that a quarter of the ship's 103m length is embedded into the seabed. The unusual position of the wreck appears to have been caused by the presence of two 110 ton guns, both mounted onto a single forward turret, which helped drag HMS Victoria swiftly underwater bow-first after a collision with HMS Camperdown. The Admiralty had allowed the positioning of the two guns - which could not fire astern - on the basis that "no British battleship would be called upon to fire astern." The two battleships famously collided on 22 June 1893 after Vice Admiral Tyrol ordered that both perform a 180 degree turn towards each other, when there was insufficient space to make the turn. Two officers onboard Victoria voiced concern about the maneuver but were over-ruled. When second-in-command Rear-Admiral Markham, aboard HMS Camperdown, hesitated to execute the turn, a terse signal was sent asking him what he was waiting for. Tyrol was well known for his love of precise turns and close naval formations, and the exercise appears to have been carried out to provide an impressive spectacle for onlookers. As the ships turned towards each other, the bow of the Camperdown tore a large hole in Victoria's side and water flooded in, causing a serious list to starboard. As the crew attempted to make ready a repair, the bows of Victoria dipped below the waves, her stern, with propellers still running, was lifted clear of the water and she sank rapidly. It took just 13 minutes from the moment of collision for the ship to sink, resulting in 358 of the 715 men aboard to be taken down with her.