
Britain’s future in the European Union would rest on a knife-edge if a referendum was held immediately, according to a research poll carried out for The Times: 40% of voters back an UK exit while 37% want to keep ties with Brussels and 23% do not know.

The British government considers ‘highly unlikely’ Argentina will attempt to invade the Falkland Islands, according to Defense Minister Andrew Robathan. But the UK is prepared for any outside contingency that might want to interfere with the March referendum on the Falklands’ future.

The United Kingdom defence chiefs have drawn up new contingency plans designed to prevent hostile action by Argentina towards the Falkland Islands, ahead, during or after the March referendum, according to reports presented by English newspaper The Telegraph.

Gibraltar must remain steadfast in its own position on sovereignty the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has made clear. In a wide-ranging New Year message broadcast last week on GBC Mr Picardo took up the recent remarks made by Spain’s ruling party (Partido Popular) and urged them to return to tripartite dialogue as the (opposition) PSOE in Andalucia is also urging.

Argentine president Cristina Kirchner targeted the UK for “threatening” to come “to militarize and invade our Malvinas Islands” following the announcement that an additional 150 British soldiers are been sent to the Falklands and PM David Cameron recent warnings on support of the Islands.

In a full page advert published exclusively in Friday’s Buenos Aires Herald, in English and Spanish, leading British tabloid The Sun admonishes President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner with a “Hands off!” from the Falkland Islands, in response to the Argentine president’s letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, published on Wednesday in several British dailies.

A day after Argentine President Cristina Fernández sent an open letter to be published as an advert in several UK newspapers calling on PM David Cameron’s government to re-open negotiations over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, the UK responded: “the Islanders remain free to choose their own futures.”

The Falkland Islands are an British Overseas Territory by choice, entirely self-governing except for defence and foreign affairs and have been settled for at least nine generations, well before Argentina even claimed what is today Tierra del Fuego, points out the Falklands’ elected government in a release-reply to the open letter from Argentine President Cristina Fernandez published on Thursday in the British press.

Prime Minister David Cameron must return the Falkland Islands to Argentina, 180 years after the territories were “forcibly stripped” from Buenos Aires, President Cristina Fernandez has claimed in UK newspaper adverts scheduled to be published on Thursday and which has been anticipated.

Despite recession and the poor performance Britain has clawed back the ground it lost to Brazil in the rankings of the world's richest economies - but it is not expected to hold on to the spot for long.