2728. 🇮🇴 BIOT - Now A ‘Dead Country’.

End of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

🇮🇴 Postal service of the British Indian Ocean Territory -

22 May 2025 - The fate of the Chagos Islands including Diego Garcia, location of a large, strategically important United States Airforce base, was finally settled on this date when the British prime minister signed an agreement to hand over the territory which had been a British possession since the Napoleonic Wars to Mauritius, an ally of China, along with a sum of money in the range of £9 billion to £18 billion. This agreement was generally against the wishes of the former inhabitants or their descendants (known as the.Chagossians) who had been given no formal say in the fate of the islands. Hence, British Indian Ocean Territory ceased to be a philatelic entity and became what stamp collectors have long termed, “a dead country”. The last stamps of the BIOT were issued in 2021 and featured Angelfish. See also Blogs 2580, 2312, 2260 and 2695 (April 1 edition).

BIOT’s final stamp, 2021.

New issues -

🇱🇹 Stamperija (or affiliate) -

🇸🇱 Products inscribed Sierra Leone -

Stated ‘date of issue’, 15 January 2025 - Further to the reports in Blogs 2720 and 2721, additional numerous and expensive products have appeared with the name of Sierra Leone printed on them on the following subjects:- ‘Biodiversity of Africa treasures of the wild’, ‘Amazing species’, ‘Animal camouflage art’ and ‘Birds of Sierra Leone’. To give an idea of what some of these products look like, some ‘first day covers’ are depicted below. These products are not otherwise dealt with in any detail and as ever, caveat emptor.

2727. 🇨🇾 Cyprus Joint Issue With Cambodia.

 

New issues -

🇨🇾 Cyprus Post -

19 May 2025 - A tweet by the Universal Postal Union on X has announced that Cambodia Post and Cyprus Post have launched a joint issue to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. At the launch the illustration of a stamp was shown but whether this is the design of a real stamp or when it was, or is to be, issued and all other details are not yet known. No such issue currently appears as part of the 2025 Cyprus Post new issue programme or on its internet site.

🇬🇮  Royal Gibraltar Post Office -

20 May 2025 - Gibraltar schools, second issue - 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 4 stamps. Designed by Stephen Perera and Karl Ullger and lithographed by Cartor. Rating:- **.

2726.🇧🇼 🇵🇬 Botswana New Issue Features Local Arts And Crafts; PNG Ferns.

 

New issues -

🇧🇼 Botswana Post -

27 February 2025 - Local arts and crafts - 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Designed by Shathani Basupi from artwork by Omphile Sefako and lithographed by Brebner Print. Rating:- *****.

🇵🇬 PNG Post (postal service of Papua New Guinea) -

?August 2023 or more recently - Ferns in Papua New Guinea - 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheets,  one containing a single stamp and the other 4 different stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- **.

2725.🇮🇳 India New Issue Features Observatory.

 

New issues -

🇮🇳 India Post -

16 May 2025 - 125th anniversary of Kodaikanal Solar Observatory - 1 stamp. Designed by Sh Brahm Prakash and printed by Security Printing Press Hyderabad. Rating:- ***.

🇭🇰 Hong Kong Post -

26 June 2025 - Intangible cultural heritage, paper crafting technique - 4 stamps, 2 miniature sheets both containing a single stamp and a ‘minipane’ (sheetlet of 8 stamps - 2 of each value). Designed by Lee Ying-chi and lithographed. Rating:- ***.

🇱🇹 Stamperija -

🇬🇾 Products inscribed Guyana -

2025 - Succession of Pope Leo XIV - 1 sheetlet  containing 12 ‘stamps’ (4 x 3 different designs). This product is offered for sale on the Stamperija internet site but anyone considering spending their money on it should bear in mind that this is an item produced privately by Stamperija on a sheetlet with Guyana personalisable stamps and is unlikely to be recognised by the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) as one of its official products as has happened previously with similar items emanating from Stamperija. Stamperija is not the official philatelic agent for GPOC.As always, with anything emerging from Stamperija, caveat emptor.

2724. 🇲🇾 🇱🇰 Malaysia Commemorates160th Anniversary Of ITU; Sri Lanka Vesak Festival.

 

New Issues -

🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia -

17 May 2025 - 160th anniversary of the International Telecommunications Union - 2 stamps issued asa se-tenant pair and 1 miniature sheet containing 2 different circular stamps Lithographed. Rating:- ***.

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post -

 10 May 2025 - Vesak 2569 (religious festival),Pothgul Raja Maha Vijaraya paintings. 3 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 3 stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- *****.

10 May 2025 - State Vesak Festival - 1 stamps issued. Lithographed. Rating:- *****.

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post -

14 June 2025 - 1st anniversary of the Royal visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla to Guernsey - 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Further details awaited.

16 July 2025 - 1st anniversary of royal patronage of the Guernsey golden goat, described as “a special definitive issue” - 1 miniature sheet containing 2 different £5 stamps. Further details awaited. Rating:- *.

2723. 🇬🇧 Royal Mail Commemorates 75 Years Of Narnia.

 

New issues -

🇬🇧 Royal Mail =

22 May 2025 - The Chronicles Of Narnia, 75th anniversary of the publication of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis - 8 stamps (2 se-tenant strips each of 4 different stamps), 1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps and 1 ‘Collectors sheet’ containing 10 self-adhesive stamps with attached labels depicting more illustrations by Pauline Baynes. Designed by Supple Studio using illustrations by Keith Robinson (stamps) or by Pauline Baynes (miniature sheet) and lithographed Cartor by and perforated 14.5 x 14 (stamps) or 14.5 (miniature shee).

Rating:-*****. A lovely issue, beautifully illustrated, commemorating a children’s book full of adventure written at a time when it was fun to be a child and when lots of children - even some girls (!) - loved to collect postage stamps. Lost innocence. See Blog 2716.

Cost of set - £13.60, miniature sheet £6.80 and ‘collectors sheet’ £18.20 - no chance of a schoolboy being able to afford that lot, I fear. Lost innocence indeed.