As the 90th birthday of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II approaches, the British Overseas Territories of Ascension, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, and South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands have launched a collection of crown coins to mark this milestone occasion.
Career diplomat Maria Teresa Kralikas has been nominated head of the Malvinas Islands Under Secretary in the Argentine Foreign Ministry. Ms Kralikas is a lawyer and until now was one of the ministry's Under Secretariats.
Falkland Islands celebrated the 150 years of a farm in West Falkland at a ceremony held in Port Howard, honoring owners Christopher and Myles Lee that were presented with a plaque celebrating the century and a half of the farm being operational, at an historic Legislative Assembly held in the community hall last week.
A UK member of Parliament has come out strongly in support of the British Overseas Territories praising their economic success and the right of their peoples to govern and decide their own future. MP Andrew Rosindell, Chairman of the BOT and Crown Dependencies all party Parliamentary groups described suggestions from some senior figures in Westminster calling for 'direct rule' over BOT's as unnecessary and unjust, based on a complete misunderstanding of the situation.
British Overseas Territories said they hoped that the Labour Party and other parties in the UK Parliament will remain consistent in their support for the self-governance and self-determination of the people of the BOTs and their continued growth and development.
Gibraltar and Falkland Islands flatly deny any “colonial situations” as was referred to by the foreign ministers of Spain and Argentina, and regret profoundly that two large countries with democratic credentials “seek to gang up to bully two very small territories and in the process completely ignore the right of their people to choose what they want to be”.
Argentina and Spain have decided to re-launch bilateral mechanisms that have been “asleep” for too long, promoting political and trade relations, said Argentine foreign minister Susana Malcorra who on Monday met with her visiting Spanish peer, Jose Manuel García/Margallo.
Argentina’s Army Chief Diego Luis Suner said on Saturday that the “Malvinas cause” continues to be a “national, standing and inalienable objective” of the Argentine people. The statement was made on the 34th anniversary of the South Atlantic conflict that was triggered by the Argentine military invasion of the Falklands in 1982.
”There's not going to be a single day in the four years of (President Mauricio Macri) government in which we will not continue to fight for our rights in the South Atlantic”, said Argentine Interior minister Rogelio Frigerio during the April 2 commemoration of Malvinas war veteran and Fallen Day in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense (MoD) has rubbished claims that the Falkland Islands have been left without protection, due to the absence of a British warship (frigate or destroyer) permanently based in the south Atlantic. The MoD defended itself following reports that the Falkland Islands were without the protection of a British frigate or destroyer for the first time since the conflict in 1982.