MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Hot News from Gibraltar.

Headlines:

HMS Cumberland visits the Rock; Spain-Gibraltar discuss border issues; Gibraltar team to compete in Cadiz league.

HMS Cumberland visits the Rock

HMS Cumberland arrived in Gibraltar last Friday. The vessel is a Type 22 frigate with the pennant number F85 and was built on the Clyde by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd and was commissioned in her base port of Devonport in June 1989. Although based in the South West of the UK, she is affiliated to the County of Cumbria, once known as Cumberland and was awarded the freedom of the County in 1998. HMS Cumberland, nicknamed the Mighty Sausage, is making a routine stop in Gibraltar after a 6 month deployment to the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf.

Spain-Gibraltar discuss border issues.

Jose Maria Pons, the director for Europe responsible for Gibraltar at the Spanish Foreign Office will be visiting the Campo area this Wednesday, according to the Spanish press. The visit comes just a fortnight before Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary, meets with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos in Madrid for bilateral talks expected to include the reopening of discussions on Gibraltar. Mr. Pons met informally with Gibraltar's Chief Minister Peter Caruana last month to discuss Madrid's support for cross-border co-operation with the Campo region uncoupled from the pursuit of the sovereignty issue. On Wednesday Juan Montedeoca, Mancomunidad president will be holding a meeting of the organisation's Gibraltar Commission made up of the mayors and political spokespersons of the region. Mr. Pons Gibraltar desk chief Santiago Chamorro was in the Campo a fortnight ago preparing for this week's visit. It is believed that one of the first areas to be examined will be the co-ordination of emergency services and port and other authorities on both sides of the border to agree procedures for dealing with incidents and emergencies as well as environmental protection.

Gibraltar team to compete in Cadiz league

A Gibraltarian basketball team will be competing in the senior Cadiz provincial league with the "authorisation and open arms" of the Spanish basketball federation, local basketball supremo John Gonçalves confirmed to the Gibraltar Chronicle. Mr Gonçalves who is also a member of the international board of FIBA, said that Gibraltar's participation had been possible since both sides had approached the issue from a purely sporting angle without any political connotations. "This is the culmination of dreams going back many years. The development of basketball could best be served by taking part in a competition of a higher standard than can be provided here." Mr Goncalves reiterated the non-political nature of the arrangement. "Politics and sport do not mix and if we mix it ourselves there is nothing to be gained from it," he declared. The local side will be competing with the name Fosters GABBA and inscribed in the league under the auspices of the basketball federation of Spain. They will be coming in at the lowest entry point and try to obtain promotion to the regional Andalusia league which would be equivalent to Spain's 6th division. But this will be no easy task. Mr Gonçalves acknowledged the strength and competitiveness of the sport in Spain "second only to football," and although by a "quirk of fate" Spain was 7th at the Olympics, ended with the best win /lose record of all the competitors with only one defeat. Mr Gonçalves recalled that there are many examples of what are described as "city-states" under FIBA categorization, playing in the leagues of the bigger nations such as Monaco in the French league, San Marino in Italy and Andorra in the Spanish league. He said FIBA encouraged large nations to support the development of sport in these smaller territories without political connotations.