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Great Britain on Monday sent warships to the Mediterranean and weighed legal action against Spain in a territorial dispute over the Gibraltar peninsula, as Madrid threatened to join with Argentina in a U.N. effort to strip Britain of the last remnants of its empire. In London, Ministry of Defense officials told the BBC that the Royal Navy deployments are part of a long-planned military exercise and not connected to the three-centuries old dispute over the Gibraltar enclave. The feud between the European allies has erupted anew in recent weeks amid Spanish protests over an effort to create an artificial reef...

The dispute over the Falkland Islands may get a boost at the UN, thanks to Spain’s designs on Gibraltar. According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais and reported in the Telegraph, Spain’s foreign minister has traveled to Argentina to discuss the possibility of both countries supporting each other’s territorial ambitions at the expense of the UK — and self-determination: Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo will use a trip to Buenos Aires next month to raise the possibility of forging a joint diplomatic offensive with the South American country over the disputed territories, sources told Spain’s El Pais newspaper.Spain’s foreign...

Sea level study reveals Atlantis candidate 19:00 19 September 01 Jon Copley It sounds a familiar enough yarn - a lone researcher claiming to have pinpointed the lost land of Atlantis famously described by Plato. But this time there is no mention of "supercivilisations", UFOs or magic crystals. Instead, he has turned the clock back on ancient rises in sea level to reveal an island that matches Plato's story. Plato's works Timaeus and Critias contain the first written descriptions of Atlantis and its watery fate, drawn from stories collected in Egypt. "These texts are the origin of a lot ...

The tiny British-held territory of Gibraltar complained to London on Wednesday that four Spanish air force jets entered its territory without permission, the latest in a string of disputes over alleged Spanish incursions into its territory.

Given the good relations Gibraltar has now established with the EU in our own right, our government needs to use those to ward off a new attack by Spain. The Ministro de Hacienda y Administraciones Publicas, Cristobal Montoro, says that Spain has signed an accord with other European countries to form a working group to force the EU to eradicate what Spain calls “paraisos fiscales”. Montoro has Gibraltar firmly in his sights, and confirmed Spanish media reports that the Agencia Tributaria had formed a working group to stamp out tax evasion; specifically, the millions of euros Madrid insists are implanted...

Spain was accused of an “act of war” today after its naval ships repeatedly entered the territorial waters of Gibraltar. Bob Stewart, Tory MP for Beckenham, said the British Government needed to “respond robustly to this aggravation” after Commons Leader Andrew Lansley said two Spanish naval vessels entered the waters of Gibraltar on Monday. He said they were given radio warnings before leaving, but Mr. Stewart, a former colonel, said the incursion was illegal and the Government needed to “do something about it”. …

Plato's account of how the fabled city of Atlantis sank below the surface of the ocean has scientific grounding, according to a seafloor survey of an island west of the Straits of Gibraltar. Dr Marc-André Gutscher of the University of Western Brittany in France performed a detailed mapping of the seafloor on Spartel Island, already proposed as a candidate for the origin of the Atlantis legend in 2001 by French geologist Professor Jacques Collina-Girard. Lying 60 metres beneath the surface in the Gulf of Cadiz, the island is right "in front of the Pillars of Hercules", or the Straits of...

Rota base: Spain readies to participate in US ‘anti-missile shield’ Spain is negotiating the inclusion and participation of its navy F-100 frigates in the US anti ballistic-missile defence system commonly known as the ‘anti-missile shield,’ that is designed to protect Allied and NATO territory. The agreement between Madrid and Washington envisages use of the Rota military base as home port for the deployment of the shield by four US Arleigh Burke class destroyers between 2013- 2015. Defence analysts have stated that Spain would be playing a key role in the naval component of the defence shield, and repositioning its foreign...

    Summer 2000 (8.2) Scandinavian Ancestry Tracing Roots to Azerbaijan by Thor Heyerdahl Above: Thor Heyerdahl with Peruvian children who still construct traditional boats made of reeds, the principle material that enabled early migrations on trans-oceanic voyages. Courtesy: Thor Heyerdahl. Archeologist and historian Thor Heyerdahl, 85, has visited Azerbaijan on several occasions during the past two decades. Each time, he garners more evidence to prove his tantalizing theory - that Scandinavian ancestry can be traced to the region now known as Azerbaijan. Heyerdahl first began forming this hypothesis after visiting Gobustan, an ancient cave dwelling found 30 miles ...

Britain was embroiled in a diplomatic row today after the Royal Navy was accused of using a Spanish flag as a machine-gun target. Giles Paxman, the UK's new ambassador in Madrid, was forced to apologise after sailors fired at a red-and-yellow flag affixed to a buoy while patrolling off Gibraltar.

The Ice Age has been a longstanding problem for uniformitarian thinking, with many unsolved mysteries. No mere tweaking of today's climate conditions would cause such a catastrophe. A creationist model based on the revealed events of Scripture, however, offers a possible answer...

Chief Minister Peter Caruana's growing determination to stifle any criticism of himself and his regime took a new and ominous twist on Wednesday when he used Parliamentary procedure to avoid answering a series of potentially embarrassing questions set down by Opposition Leader Joe Bossano and fellow GSLP MP Fabian Picardo. It took Gibraltar one step further down the shoddy path away from democracy and confirmed the Chief Minister's own steady descent to autocracy. Caruana's ploy -- described as "leaving a lot to be desired" in terms of Parliamentary courtesy and behaviour -- came only a few days before the Privy...

Stalin's last army: hordes of gigantic crabs on their way to invade Europe - By Julius Strauss in Kirkenes, Northern Norway Millions of giant Pacific crabs, whose ancestors were brought to Europe by Joseph Stalin in the 1930s, are marching south along Norway's coast, devouring everything in their path.The monster crabs, which can weigh up to 25lb and have a claw-span of more than three feet, are proving so resilient that scientists fear they could end up as far south as Gibraltar. Energised by a mysterious population explosion a decade ago, whole armies of the crustaceans - known as the...

Local law enforcement sources were sceptical, yet cautious yesterday about a report alleging a Russian mafia plot to kidnap Sir Mark Thatcher, the son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Sir Mark is currently on the Rock amid speculation that authorities in Equatorial Guinea will issue an international warrant for his arrest in connection with a failed coup in 2004. In a further twist to an already bizarre tale, a specialist US newsletter claimed the British secret intelligence agency MI6 had warned Sir Mark that a powerful Russian criminal organisation had offered to kidnap him and take him...

The Spanish Civil Guard has intercepted a boat operated by a US company amid a row over treasure from a shipwreck. The guard had been ordered by a Spanish judge to seize the vessel as soon as it left the British colony of Gibraltar. Gibraltar officials and Odyssey Marine Exploration, which owns the ship, said Spain had boarded the ship illegally as it was in international waters. In May, Odyssey said it had found $500m (£253m) in coins from a 17th Century wreck somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Madrid suspects the sunken galleon may either have been Spanish or have...

MADRID, Spain - Spain wants ships to slow down and watch out for whales while passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the world's busiest maritime routes. The recommendation drew praise Saturday from environmentalists who sought the measure for years to prevent collisions with whales. Fast ferries, especially, can be a threat to endangered sperm whales, which come to the strait from the Mediterranean to feed between February and July. The whales "do not know what is going on around them," said Katharina Heyer, president of the Foundation for Information and Research on Marine Mammals, an environmental group based...

Secret plan to bury soldiers alive inside Rock of Gibraltar The Gibraltar chamber had the innocuous name of the "Stay Behind" Cave. But this was no game. This was a top-secret wartime mission, code-named Operation Tracer, in which six men volunteered to be buried alive in the cave if the Rock were captured by the Germans, so they could continue to monitor enemy movements. More than 60 years after the end of the Second World War, a retired doctor from Preston has been named as the chamber's last survivor, as researchers struggle to unlock its remaining secrets. "I had...

Gibraltar Bay from the Space Station: From the top: As an aside, the other "Pillar of Hercules" is Monte Hacho, in Ceuta, a "Spanish enclave in North Africa". Monte Hacho is not as imposing as Gibraltar. It's the hill overlooking the harbor in the picture below. However, the alternate Pillar is Jebel Musa (in Morocco, not the Sinai Peninsula!). I like this one. The picture is Jebel Musa viewed from Gibraltar. I think the key difference is that Monte Hacho is owned by Spain and Jebel Musa isn't.

Ministers from Britain, Spain and Gibraltar have signed a series of agreements aimed at improving living conditions for the people of Gibraltar. The accords include easier border crossings and better transport and telecommunications links between Spain and Gibraltar. But they do not cover the thorny issue of the Rock's sovereignty. Britain has held Gibraltar since 1704. Spain ceded sovereignty in 1713 but has repeated claims to the territory. In 2002, the people of Gibraltar overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that Britain share sovereignty over the territory with Spain. The signing by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, UK Minister for Europe...

The sonar scans of manmade structures one mile below water off the southeast coast of Cyprus were presented here Thursday by Robert Sarmast, head of the Cyprus/Atlantis Expedition project for the first time. Announcing the results of last year’s expedition to find one of humankind’s greatest mysteries, the legendary Atlantis, Sarmast presented three dimension underwater side-scan sonar pictures of structures 1.5 km below sea level, 80 km off the southeast coast of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. He said it was no coincidence that his team discovered a 3km long straight wall intersected at right angles by another wall, adding...

There occurred violent earthquakes and floods. And in a single day and night of misfortune... the island of Atlantis disappeared in the depths of the sea." This account, written by Plato more than 2,300 years ago, set scientists on the trail of the lost city of Atlantis. Did it ever exist? And if so, where was it located, and when did it disappear? In a recent paper in Geology, Marc-Andre Gutscher of the European Institute for Marine Studies in Plouzané gives details of one candidate for the lost city: the submerged island of Spartel, west of the Straits of Gibraltar....

Legend has it that as long as the Barbary apes roam the rock of Gibraltar, the territory will remain safely under British rule. The British have embraced this particular piece of folklore for centuries; not even Churchill, in the throes of World War II, dared to disregard it. In 1944, with British morale battered by the war and the Rock's monkey population dwindling, he took no chances. He ordered a shipment of Barbary macaques from Morocco.... Little did Churchill envision how big the monkey population would grow, nor the shenanigans that would come along with it. There are now nearly...

The Strait of Gibraltar has been the scene of numerous skirmishes between the British and Spanish navies, and now the two nations are sparring again - this time over the wreck of an English warship packed to the gunwales with treasure. HMS Sussex has lain undisturbed on the seabed for more than 300 years, but since researchers discovered the ship was carrying billions of pounds of English gold and silver, it has become the focus of a bitter dispute as the Spanish authorities try to frustrate the attempts of a private company to locate it and start salvage work on...

Gibraltar clash over £2bn treasure Ben Sills in Madrid Monday March 28, 2005 The Guardian (UK) The Strait of Gibraltar has been the scene of numerous skirmishes between the British and Spanish navies, and now the two nations are sparring again - this time over the wreck of an English warship packed to the gunwales with treasure. HMS Sussex has lain undisturbed on the seabed for more than 300 years, but since researchers discovered the ship was carrying billions of pounds of English gold and silver, it has become the focus of a bitter dispute as the Spanish authorities try...

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Atlantis, the legendary island nation over whose existence controversy has raged for thousands of years, was actually Ireland, according to a new theory by a Swedish scientist. Atlantis, the Greek philosopher Plato wrote in 360 BC, was an island in the Atlantic Ocean where an advanced civilization developed some 11,500 years ago until it was hit by a cataclysmic natural disaster and sank beneath the waves. Geographer Ulf Erlingsson, whose book explaining his theory will be published next month, says the measurements, geography, and landscape of Atlantis as described by Plato match Ireland almost exactly. "I am...

Rock puts on birthday show of defiance Giles Tremlett in Gibraltar Thursday August 5, 2004 The Guardian Gibraltar marked its 300th birthday yesterday with cannon fire, parading soldiers, union flags, angry words for Spain, and demands for a new deal to end what its inhabitants see as its status as Europe's last colony. A human chain of thousands of white-and-red clad Gibraltarians yesterday morning joined hands around the 1,400ft Rock that towers above their homes in a display of what a local official called "our possession of Gibraltar". Cannon fusillades marked the beginning and end of the hand-holding, with locals...

London, England, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Much to the annoyance of the Spanish government Wednesday, the bands played on the British colony of Gibraltar, the fireworks were clearly seen across the border in Spain, and 15,000 Gibraltarians linked hands around the Rock defiantly declaring that Gib was theirs -- and British, not Spanish. Thus Gibraltar marked the 300th anniversary of its capture from Spain, an event that still so rankles the Spanish that the government ordered flags at the Gibraltar border to be lowered to half staff and its foreign minister to declare the arrival there of British Defense Secretary...

Spain lashes out as Gibraltar celebrates anniversary Giles Tremlett in Madrid Wednesday August 4, 2004 The Guardian Spain yesterday accused the British government of lacking "self-control" and "sensitivity" as Gibraltar, with the help of the Royal Navy and the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, prepared to celebrate today's 300th anniversary of the expulsion of its Spanish population. As Gibraltarians held a street party last night, Spain's Socialist foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, said Mr Hoon's visit was merely the latest in a series of British blunders over the Rock. "It is very strange that, in the European Union of the 21st...

The Spanish world seems to have a talent for diplomatic grievance, prolonged beyond the point where even well-wishers lose patience. Argentina's obsession with possession of the Falklands is a case in point. Motherland Spain's refusal to accept Britain's rights over Gibraltar is another. The Spanish have recently been at it again, protesting about celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the British capture of the Rock, at the Princess Royal's visit and at a British frigate firing an 18-gun salute. Diplomatically, there is no doubt about Britain's right to Gibraltar. It was captured in a fair fight in 1704 during the...

Gibraltar accuses US of caving in to Spanish pressureBy Isambard Wilkinson in Gibraltar(Filed: 03/08/2004) Gibraltar's government yesterday accused the United States of a craven retreat before Spanish pressure after Washington cancelled a naval visit to celebrate the British colony's tercentenary celebrations. The USS McFaul was due to call at Gibraltar to take part alongside the frigate Grafton in the 300th anniversary tomorrow of the Rock's capture by an Anglo-Dutch fleet on Aug 4, 1704. The high level celebrations, for which Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, and the First Sea Lord arrived in Gibraltar yesterday, have caused a diplomatic row between...

Search for "Lost" Atlantis Centers on Strait of Gibraltar The Record, Bergen County, New Jersey January 4, 2002 It was Plato, around 360 B.C., who first described an ancient, exotic island kingdom catastrophically buried beneath the sea when its once-virtuous people angered the gods with their pronounced tilt toward sin and corruption. Since then, creative souls ranging from Jules Verne to Kirk Morris, Maria Montez, Fay Spain, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Michael J. Fox, and Walt Disney have sought to explain and exploit the terrible fate that befell Atlantis. Vases from Atlantis? Archaeologists made an important find in the 1960s, lending support ...

AN unusually strong earthquake struck the Strait of Gibraltar in between Spain and Morocco early this morning, but no damage was immediately reported. The 6.5-magnitude quake was centred 160km north-east of Fes in Morocco in the Mediterranean Sea. It occurred about 800m underground at 2:27am local time (1227 AEDT). The last large earthquake to hit the area measured 6.0 and struck in 1994. US Geological Survey spokesman Butch Kinerney said the earthquake's strength and depth could lead to damage along the coasts. He said the quake would likely be felt up to 320km away in Algeria.

  Earthquake  STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR Magnitude 6.5   Magnitude 6.5 - STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR2004 February 24 02:27:46 UTCPreliminary Earthquake ReportU.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information CenterWorld Data Center for Seismology, Denver A strong earthquake occurred at 02:27:46 (UTC) on Tuesday, February 24, 2004. The magnitude 6.5 event has been located in STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR. The hypocentral depth was poorly constrained. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.) Magnitude 6.5 Date-Time Tuesday, February 24, 2004 at 02:27:46 (UTC)= Coordinated Universal Time Tuesday, February 24, 2004 at 2:27:46 AM = local time at epicenter Location 35.235°N, 3.963°W Depth 2 km (~1...

Spanish outraged over royal visit to Gibraltar By Isambard Wilkinson in Madrid (Filed: 17/12/2003) Britain enraged Spain yesterday by announcing that the Princess Royal will travel to Gibraltar next year to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the colony's conquest. The announcement that the Princess will visit the Rock added to Madrid's anger after the failure earlier this year to strike a deal on Anglo-Spanish co-sovereignty over Gibraltar. "Although this is of symbolic rather than political importance it is clearly not going to be something that helps to resolve the dispute," said a Spanish government spokesman. "In fact it is far...

The Atlantis between Spain and Morocco Revealing discoveries  Expedition: "The Ibero-Marroqui Atlantis '"   By Maria Fdez-Valmayor  A Scientific Expedition has started off at the end of this summer for the area of the Straits of Gibraltar in search of possible ruins of the well-known civilization like Atlantis by Plato. According to the project? Atlantis Ibero-Moroccan, between the coasts of southwest of the Iberian Peninsula and the northwest of Africa evidences of cities or submerged coastal villages of the Age of the Bronze would have to be, that could belong to the Island or Peninsula of Atlantis. The expedition...

Friday June 20, 12:21 PM Blair anger as Spain asks US for help over Gibraltar LONDON (AFP) - Spain has asked US President George W. Bush to intervene in the anglo-Spanish row over the British colony of Gibraltar, The Daily Telegraph newspaper in London said quoting government sources in Madrid. Downing Street said Thursday that Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair had recently discussed Gibraltar in a telephone conversation, but refused to provide further details, the right-wing Daily Telegraph said. Spanish officials, however, told the newspaper that Blair was furious at Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, his main...

Blair furious as Spain asks US to help in Gibraltar row By Isambard Wilkinson in Madrid and Anton La Guardia (Filed: 20/06/2003) Spain has enlisted President George W Bush to urge Tony Blair to reach agreement on joint sovereignty over Gibraltar, government sources in Madrid said yesterday. Downing Street confirmed last night that Mr Bush and Mr Blair had recently discussed Gibraltar in a telephone conversation, but refused to provide any details. Spanish officials said, however, that Mr Blair was furious at Jose Maria Aznar, his main ally within Europe who supported the war in Iraq, for trying to harness...

Britain abandons Gibraltar talks By Isambard Wilkinson in Madrid and Nicole Martin (Filed: 09/06/2003) Britain has abandoned negotiations with Spain on sharing the sovereignty of Gibraltar. A Government minister told Spanish newspapers yesterday that the prospect of a deal was "simply zero". Denis MacShane, the Foreign Office minister responsible for Europe, admitted failure after nearly two years of talks and acknowledged that London could not impose a deal against the almost unanimous opposition of Gibraltar's population.The news is a resounding victory for Peter Caruana, Gibraltar's chief minister, who led a campaign of opposition to any dilution of British sovereignty. Two...

Mr Blair has secretly agreed to share sovereignty of Gibraltar with Spain in return for Madrid's support for the war in Iraq According to the Sunday Express, the deal was stitched up at the summit meeting in the Azores attended by the British and Spanish leaders and President Bush before hostilities began.

 NO No NO!! 98% Say NO  A resounding victory for the no vote has just been announced tonight with 98% voting no against the principle on Joint Sovereignty.The overwhelming majority vote has seen massive reaction in Gibraltar with chanting and cheering throughout the whole of Gibraltar.Some protesters have also headed to the Governor's residence to demonstrate their disapproval.GIBRALTAR HAS GIVEN BRITAIN A RESOUNDING NO TO JOINT SOVEREIGNTY. (Full reactions and photos in a while.)

Navy switches IRA patrol boats to guard Gibraltar By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent (Filed: 03/11/2002) The Royal Navy has moved two anti-terrorist vessels to Gibraltar to counter the threat of suicide attacks from al-Qa'eda. The fast patrol boats Grey Wolf and Grey Fox were previously used in Northern Ireland to combat the IRA, but were moved to Gibraltar after intelligence indicated that there is a direct threat to British ships in the area. The intelligence reports, which were gathered in the wake of earlier suicide attacks on ships in the Gulf, state that a direct threat exists against all British...

BKA hunts terrorism command   Bundeskriminalamt and Federal Border Police search with high pressure for an islamistischen terrorism team which has trickled evidently to Europe. It should be notices in the preparations. A corresponding warning has been informed of the German security authorities recently by US secret services, FOCUS reports with reference to German investigator's circles. With the suspicious men(husbands) it should be about four 30 to 35 years old Algerians and Libyans who are probably as an asylum-seeker eingereist. BKA and FBG are known the names of the suspicious. Besides, there are precise descriptions.   The presumed terrorism...

"Real difficulties" in Gibraltar talks 15 May, 2002 16:48 BST By Dominic Evans LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and Spain have said that "real difficulties" were blocking negotiations to resolve their 300-year-old dispute over sovereignty of Gibraltar. But foreign ministers Jack Straw and Josep Pique said after talks in London on Wednesday they remained committed to reaching agreement by mid-year on the future of the colony, a tiny outcrop on Spain's southern coast at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. "We have made good progress since July 2001 and remain committed to reaching agreement by the summer," Straw and Pique said...

Tuesday, 30 April, 2002, 10:37 GMT 11:37 UK The Spanish prime minister has declared Spain will never cede its claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar, only days before he is due to meet UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to discuss its future. Jose Maria Aznar told The Guardian newspaper on Tuesday: "Spain will always aspire to having complete sovereignty over Gibraltar." His remarks will be seen as inflammatory ahead of Mr Straw's visit, which is aimed at brokering a deal between the two governments by July. Mr Straw is hoping to persuade the people of Gibraltar to agree to a proposal...