The Falklands Islands Government have just recently finalized a review process of their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Falklands Conservation, a local environmental NGO. This is an important partnership for the Government and has been in place 2006 on a formal basis.
The Falkland Islands forecast operating budget surplus for the current financial year sits at £33m, Standing Finance Committee (SFC) was told on Wednesday. The surplus, up from the previous forecast of £27m, has been boosted by fishing company corporation tax payments, which have been “significantly higher than budget.”
The Falklands Tourism Association, a newly created organization, will be present at the coming conference of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, IAATO, scheduled to be held from 1-3 May in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.
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.
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.
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.
Britten-Norman has reported that it completed the first in a series of avionics upgrades to a fleet of five BN2B-26 Islanders owned and operated by the Falkland Island Government Aviation Services (FIGAS). The avionics are being upgraded to the Garmin G600 glass cockpit standard including the GTN650/750 GPS/NAV/COMM, GTX335R remote transponder and electronic engine instruments.
The Falkland Islands Communications Regulator, Susannah Nightingale, has announced the launch of a spectrum management project. ‘Radio spectrum’ often abbreviated to ‘spectrum’ is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is used for radio transmissions. Frequencies in this range can be used for many different types of communications such as television, radio, mobile phone and broadband services.
On instructions from the Secretary of State, His Excellency the Governor has formally appointed Mr James Lewis QC as the Honorable the Chief Justice of the Falkland Islands. Mr Lewis was officially sworn in by the Governor at a ceremony held at Government House on Thursday 4 January.
At least fourteen human rights, social, religious and political leaders from Argentina are planning to travel to the Falkland Islands in mid March hoping to meet Islanders with a message of peace and dialogue. The delegation includes Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, 1980 Peace Nobel Prize, Nora Cortiñas, founder of one of the several branches in which the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo are split, and members of the Memory Commission, according to reports from Buenos Aires.