April 25th is “World Penguin Day”, undoubtedly the world’s most popular bird – think of Happy Feet, March of the Penguins, Pingu just to name a few uses in popular culture. These charismatic flightless birds are funny to watch on land but are graceful and rapid in water. They occur only in the seas of the Southern hemisphere; there are seventeen species of penguin ranging from the Galapagos to Antarctica.
Heineken brewery has been caught red handed with one of its beers' label referring to the disputed South Atlantic islands as Falklands and in brackets saying they belong to the United Kingdom, despite the fact the Dutch company is using Patagonian yeast.
The Falklands population is crucial for any solution to the Argentine claim over the Islands given their overwhelming support from British public opinion (and political system), and its full integration with the 53-nation Commonwealth, according to Argentine ex diplomat Jorge Lidio Viñuela, considered an expert and militant on the issue of South Atlantic insular claims.
The Defense Secretary has announced up to £80m will be invested in a new computer system to boost the RAF's speed and accuracy. Known as Project Guardian, the Air Command and Control System will support early detection and rapid response to potential hostile or suspect aircraft.
Government House was a welcoming venue on Tuesday night for the presentation of the Falkland Islands Tourist Board’s annual awards. In addition to the hopeful contenders from across the industry there were most of the 28 newly qualified tour guides waiting to receive certificates.
Rockhopper Exploration and operator Premier Oil have submitted a revised draft field development plan for the Sea Lion Phase 1 project to the Falkland Islands government. According to Rockhopper, a final submission should follow in the lead-up to sanction of the project, in the offshore North Falkland basin.
Under the heading of 'Betrayal' Fury as UK's bid for application to fish near the Falklands is Snubbed', Cyril Dixon from the Express reports that the head of South Georgia Fisheries company, Rupert Street will be going to the High Court in London to seek a judicial review on the decision which denied his company fishing licenses in South Georgia Islands.
The Daily Mail has reported that the Royal Navy is to keep old offshore patrol vessels it was due to decommission to ensure it has enough vessels to police Britain's borders after Brexit. This allegedly means the Falkland Islands patrol HMS Clyde, which was to be replaced by HMS Forth from the new batch of patrol vessels and which is scheduled to become active operational next September, will remain in service in the South Atlantic.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was accused of betraying by handing lucrative licenses in the South Atlantic to foreign firms. The row erupted after it emerged that £75million worth of licenses in the South Atlantic have been handed to firms from Norway, Chile and New Zealand, according to reports in the UK media.
Visitor arrivals to the Falkland Islands were up 3.1% compared to the previous tourist season, confirmed Executive Director of the Tourist Board Stephanie Middleton to Penguin News. The Falklands' season ended on April 7 with total visitor arrivals for the season at 57,496. Ms Middleton outlined how, as with last season, it was the expedition vessels that mainly contributed to the hike in numbers.