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21st January 2021

By Joe Gammie, PA Nearly nine million people in Great Britain had to borrow more money because of the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, published on Thursday, showed that 17% of adults reported borrowing money in December 2020 compared to 11% at the end of June. It also...

20th January 2021

By Sam Russell A 480-million-year-old fossil found in Morocco is a “missing link” between modern-day starfish and their ancestors, a scientist has said. The fossil, discovered in the Anti-Atlas mountain range, captures the early evolutionary steps of the animal at a time in Earth’s history when life suddenly expanded, a period known as the Ordovician...

20th January 2021

By Sarah Marshall An avid traveller, constantly curious to learn about new cultures, TV presenter Simon Reeve has been to more than 100 countries, filming all over the world for the past 15 years. But being grounded by the pandemic has paused his plans, giving him an opportunity to take stock, reflect upon the wonderful...

20th January 2021

In the year since the city of Wuhan, China, went into the world’s first coronavirus lockdown, we have all had to live under some form of pandemic-related restriction. Some countries have opted for strict national lockdowns, like the one currently in place in the UK, while other countries such as Taiwan have opted for border...

20th January 2021

By Jane Kirby, PA Health Editor Vaccines are not doing enough “heavy lifting” at the moment and case rates need to drop further before the Government can think of easing restrictions, the UK’s chief scientific adviser has said. Sir Patrick Vallance said the country still had a long way to go in battling coronavirus but...

20th January 2021

By Catherine Wylie, PA Footballer Marcus Rashford is launching a book club so that all children can experience the escapism of reading. The Manchester United star is teaming up with Macmillan Children’s Books (MCB) to promote reading and literacy among children from all socio-economic backgrounds. Rashford said he wishes he had the chance to read...

19th January 2021

The framework agreement for Gibraltar’s future relations with the EU is the “fruit of compromise” and “imperfect” but could lead to a long-lasting treaty that is “safe and beneficial” for all parties, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told the House of Lords on Tuesday. Addressing the Lords EU Select Committee during a 90-minute virtual session, Mr...

19th January 2021

The Gibraltar Government has confirmed the Covid-19 related deaths of two more local residents, bringing the death toll to 47. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo lamented the deaths but added Elderly Residential Services had also seen some recoveries. He added the vaccines are a glimmer of hope for all Gibraltarians. “[On Monday] I described this worst...

19th January 2021

Researchers Darren Fa, Rocio Espada and Nicky Martinez have contributed to the Distant Seas project that focuses on the diversity of marine life across British Overseas Territories including Gibraltar. The project’s book and DVD pack will be distributed to every school in Gibraltar. Each of these packs is in a box known as a ‘Hanson...

19th January 2021

By Jane Kirby, PA Health Editor An estimated one in eight people in England had had Covid-19 by December last year, up from one in 14 in October, new figures show. Antibody data on infection in private households suggests that one in 10 in Wales had also been infected by December, alongside one in 13...

17th January 2021

By Carmen Anderson Brexit; a term that’s batted about in news programmes, a joke to some of my generation and for a while no more than a passing allusion to a future problem. It’s found splashed across social media and you’re either for it or against it or, for many young people my age, you...

15th January 2021

Football. What can I say? The beautiful game with the biggest fan base in the world. Gibraltar is no different. My father Manolo Mascarenhas began his journalistic career as a sports reporter and created the pseudonym of Cyril Perkins in the Gibraltar Post but had already cut his teeth in El Anunciador, the short- lived...

15th January 2021

Smallpox killed countless millions – 300 million people in the 20th century alone – before it was finally declared eradicated on May 8 1980. It was a momentous day, marking what the current director general of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called the greatest “public health triumph in world history”. Smallpox, as...

15th January 2021

By Michelle Devane, PA The head of the EU medicines regulator has said that she is “hopeful” that the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine will be given European approval at the end of the month. But Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), warned it was “challenging” and “things can go wrong”. The makers...

15th January 2021

By Trevor Marshallsea and Mike Bedigan, PA A snow and ice warning has been issued for much of Scotland and parts of England for the weekend as the cold weather threatens travel. Efforts to press on with the vaccine rollout and treatment continued despite the bad weather, with Leeds University delaying the opening of its...

14th January 2021

As restrictions tighten and Covid-19 continues to spread, many local students have decided to stay in Gibraltar but hope to return to their UK universities later this term. Many travelled home for the Christmas break, but in the days that followed cases soared, flights were cancelled and both Gibraltar and the UK moved into lockdowns....

14th January 2021

Gibraltar and the UK will not be ceding any control of the Rock’s borders in reaching an agreement with Spain and the EU to enable Gibraltar’s inclusion within the Schengen area, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has told the Chronicle. While the New Year’s Eve framework agreement envisages Spain taking responsibility for who can access the...

13th January 2021

By Hannah Stephenson This year’s new authors are covering a cornucopia of subjects ranging from chilling crime (snapped up in lucrative auctions) to love stories set to be adapted for screen. Here are just some of the new names that should bring joy during lockdown and beyond. But keep an eye on publishing dates, which...

13th January 2021

By Sarah Marshall While stuck at home, we’ve all had time to dream up epic escapades and construct lists of the activities we’d love to do. Fed up with sitting around, most travellers are itching for action and the opportunity to tackle challenges to boost both confidence and mood. Fortunately, not every once-in-a-lifetime activity requires...

13th January 2021

By Jane Kirby and Gavin Cordon, PA Lockdown restrictions in England will remain in place for as “long as they are necessary”, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said, as he suggested there are no current plans to tighten existing rules. Mr Hancock urged people not to “take the mickey” out of the restrictions, but said...

13th January 2021

Following easyJet’s recent offer of help to the UK Government, easyJet cabin crew are being recruited and fast tracked to support the NHS as part of the vital nationwide effort to distribute the Coronavirus vaccine. The airline has stated in a press release. The airline wrote to the UK Prime Minister in November to offer...

13th January 2021

Gibraltarian artist Anna Gannon has been selected as a ‘wild card artist’ in this year’s Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year which kicks off tonight at 9pm. The programme, which is judged by Kathleen Soriano, Tai Shan Schierenberg and Kate Bryan, is in search for the UKs best landscape painter. Mrs Gannon, who currently...

12th January 2021

The Gibraltar Health Authority is prepping a ‘mini-Nightingale’ ward and has stopped all but critical surgeries as it grapples with an influx of Covid cases needing care. Across Elderly Residential Services there are 114 positive cases, with a further 31 cases in the Covid-19 Ward and 13 patients in the Critical Care Unit at St...

12th January 2021

By Tom Horton The BBC has unveiled a series of programmes to celebrate musicals. While theatres remain closed to the public due to coronavirus restrictions the programmes will broadcast hit songs and performances from the world of musical theatre. BBC Radio 2 will host three days of programming about musicals, while further shows will be...

11th January 2021

By Jane Kirby, PA Health Editor The UK has not yet hit the peak of the current wave of Covid-19 infection, with the next few weeks being “the worst” of the pandemic for the NHS, England’s chief medical officer has warned. Professor Chris Whitty said the vaccine rollout offered hope that lockdown restrictions could be...

10th January 2021

Gibraltar recorded four Covid-related deaths on Sunday, tempering euphoria a day earlier following the arrival of the first shipment of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines from the UK. The vaccine offers hope of a way out of the public health crisis that has upturned community life since last March. The vaccination program started early on Sunday and will...

9th January 2021

The “beginning to the end of the Covid-19 nightmare” will commence at 8am Sunday morning following the arrival of approximately 7,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on a military aircraft on Saturday evening. The highly anticipated arrival was followed by many across the Rock on flight-tracking software, and by officials and dignitaries who were present...

8th January 2021

by Maria Jesus Corrales The Junta de Andalucía announced yesterday that restrictions on all non-essential activities would be imposed and that measures restricting movement would be made stricter as from Monday in response to the accelerated rates of Covid-19 infection in La Linea. These measures include maintaining the perimetral closure of the municipality’s borders, the...

8th January 2021

The latest BEAT 5.0 measures were announced on Friday, aimed at providing financial support and “certainty in cashflow terms” particularly for businesses that were required to close at the end of December. Restaurants and bars were initially required to close in order to curb the spread of Covid-19 before the Christmas season, but all non-essential...

8th January 2021

Due to the pandemic, the Passing Out ceremony of police recruits was unlike that of any similar event in recent years. Recruit police officers from the RGP and GDP marked the end of their of their 18-week training course at New Mole House Police Station on Friday in quite a different way to the traditional...