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3rd August 2021

I breathe the fresh air of the countryside. A new beginning is upon me. The universe is finally on my side. The others trail behind me as we trek further up the mountains, occasionally gazing out at the magnificent view in awe. After some time, we reach the top and stand in silence, admiring nature's...

3rd August 2021

By Ella Pickover, PA Health Correspondent Increased screen time and less time spent outdoors during the pandemic may have led to a rise in short-sightedness among children in Hong Kong, a study suggests. A new study, published in the British Journal Of Ophthalmology, examined incidence of myopia among children in Hong Kong aged six to...

2nd August 2021

One third of Gibraltarians have anxiety, 65% are obese and overweight, and 82% eat less than five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, according to a survey by Public Health Gibraltar that nonetheless found most respondents felt they were in good health. These were among the key findings in a health and lifestyle survey...

30th July 2021

By David Charlesworth, PA Luke Greenbank’s Olympic bronze medal win in the men’s 200 metres backstroke was overshadowed as runner-up Ryan Murphy made cryptic remarks about the race not being clean after Evgeny Rylov’s victory in the event. Murphy made no outright accusation about the Russian Olympic Committee’s Rylov, who backed up his win in...

30th July 2021

Memories of the Theatre Royal live on today, now more and more in the minds of those who may not have witnessed at first-hand any of its performances but were passed on the memories of their parents and grandparents from the many stories they heard as children. Count me in that lot. All my life...

29th July 2021

A five-year National Mental Health Strategy aimed at improving the community’s mental health and well-being was officially launched by the GHA on Thursday. Some elements of the strategy are already in place. Since the mental health hotline, 111, was launched on Monday, for example, 10 calls have been received and dealt with within the community...

29th July 2021

Pole vaulters Kendricks, Chiaraviglio hit by COVID, sending chill through Games Pole vaulters Sam Kendricks of the United States and German Chiaraviglio of Argentina have been ruled out of the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19, rattling competitors. The immediate knock-on effect was that members of the Australian team were forced to isolate in their...

29th July 2021

The highest number of recent Covid-19 cases in Gibraltar has been in the 20s age group, highlighting the need for careful management of social and community events as new strains of the virus offer a reminder of the need for caution on the road to normality, Dr Sohail Bhatti, the Director of Public Health, told...

28th July 2021

Gibraltar seems to have a problem “letting go of cars,” the Minister for Transport, Paul Balban told Parliament, adding that this is something that needs to be tackled eventually. Mr Balban addressed the continued need for parking provision on Gibraltar’s roads despite all new estates offering parking, and said there are “more and more cars...

28th July 2021

Three Colombian men who boarded a ship in Panama to head towards the US for a better life were arrested after being rescued at sea off Gibraltar. The trio were arrested on suspicion of being non-Gibraltarians in Gibraltar without a valid permit after being rescued by Customs officers who found them holding on to the...

28th July 2021

By Ana Sharma Medusa Stone, Spanish-born novelist and activist currently residing in Gibraltar, has recently published her new book David’s Eyes. This book is intended to make people think and open their eyes to the injustices taking place around them. Her journey as a writer, however, began when she was very young. “I started writing...

28th July 2021

By Vicky Shaw, PA Personal Finance Correspondent Do you know how confident the children in your family feel about managing money? New research from HSBC UK has delved into children’s attitudes towards finances. More than 1100 children aged between six and 15 were surveyed in May, to find out more about their savings goals and...

28th July 2021

We were coming to the end of our stay in Venice and a feeling of trepidation, regret and nostalgia had invaded our souls: would we ever return to this unique city? We decided not to indulge in negative thoughts, but try to cram in as much sightseeing and appreciation of the artistic heritage of Venice...

28th July 2021

I have a dilemma this week. Maybe it’s because increasingly nothing seems to make sense anymore. Or it could be that the rules keep changing so fast that it’s difficult to keep up. Every week on this column I try to make sense of the world around us and filter out the noise of social...

28th July 2021

By Patrick Daly, PA Political Correspondent The first batch of excess coronavirus vaccines from Britain will be shipped off to “vulnerable” nations and Commonwealth allies this week, the Foreign Secretary has announced. Leaders of the major industrialised nations at the G7 summit in Cornwall pledged more than one billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine – 870...

27th July 2021

When Violet Schembri joined the RGP in 1964, her starting pay was £8 per week at a time when her male colleagues were being paid £10 a week. “But in those times, £8 a week was considered good wages for a woman in Gibraltar,” said Violet. “And, although the men got £2 more, they did...

27th July 2021

By Lauren Taylor Do you ever find you can’t sleep because the same thought is circulating round and round your head? Do you replay past situations over and over again, plagued by ‘what ifs’ or regrets, or spend a lot of time worrying about an event in the future – even an insignificant or imagined...

27th July 2021

By Michael Drummond, PA South East Correspondent and David Hughes, PA Political Editor Dozens of assorted dinghies used by migrants to make the perilous trip across the English Channel are lying in storage in Dover. Drone pictures show more than 100 small boats piled up in rows in a fenced-off compound – evidence of perhaps...

26th July 2021

By Lisa Salmon As the long (and hopefully hot) summer stretches before us, many parents will be wondering how to keep their young children entertained, and how to get them ready for school again – or for the first time. The best way, say teaching and childcare experts, is to encourage youngsters to do things...

23rd July 2021

The Gibraltar Government has lost budgetary control of the Gibraltar Health Authority, which is now “in crisis”, GSD Shadow Minister for Health Elliott Phillips told Parliament. In a speech during the budget session, Mr Phillips echoed the party’s longstanding concerns about the government’s handling of public finances and said more needed to be done to...

23rd July 2021

Which qualities should a good interviewer possess? “First and foremost,” says Lynn Barber, is “curiosity, real nosiness, about other people’s lives.” In the introduction to a collection of thirty-three of her interviews, each of which first appeared in the Sunday Express or the Independent on Sunday, Barber goes on to pinpoint the interviewer’s second most...

23rd July 2021

If I tell you that our guest this week was one of 10 children. Four boys and six girls were born on a farm in Cork in the Republic of Ireland where every morning he would get up at 7am to go to Mass in what was a strict Catholic upbringing. Would you know who...

22nd July 2021

Local children learnt about Gibraltar’s rich history in a boat tour of the Gorham’s Cave Complex. The tour led by Gibraltar National Museum Senior Guide, Phil Smith formed part of the ‘Walks Through History.’ Mr Smith told the children about the importance of the world heritage site in understanding the history of the Neanderthals. Excavations...

21st July 2021

By Sarah Marshall Every day at noon, cannons fire from the 16th century Saluting Battery overlooking Fort St Angelo and Valletta’s Grand Harbour. Once the heavy thuds subside, Vera Lynn’s sentimental melodies crackle from speakers and fade into plumes of smoke. Steeped in nostalgia and revelling in past pomp and glory, Valletta is the jewel...

21st July 2021

Olympic 'celebration of hope' begins Japan's women's softball team got the Tokyo 2020 Olympics off to a winning start for the hosts on Wednesday, a boost for the pandemic-postponed Games that the World Health Organization sees as "a celebration of hope" even as Covid-19 cases surge. The opening ceremony on Friday will be a scaled-down...

21st July 2021

By Nina Massey, PA Science Correspondent One of the largest collections of rare marine fossils anywhere in the UK has been discovered by a couple using Google Earth. Non-professional palaeontologists discovered the site in Wiltshire during the second lockdown, while researching the geology of the area online. After being contacted by the duo, Dr Tim...

21st July 2021

By Michael Drummond, PA South East Correspondent The number of people who have made the dangerous journey across the English Channel in small boats this year has passed the total for all of 2020 – with more than five months left of 2021. At least 287 migrants succeeded in reaching the UK on Tuesday, bringing...

20th July 2021

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo on Tuesday announced a hike in corporate tax from 10% to 12.5% and an increase in electricity rates as he delivered a “rebuilding” budget aimed at revitalising Gibraltar’s economy and public finances after a “revenue wrecking” pandemic. In a speech to the Gibraltar Parliament lasting nearly four hours, Mr Picardo reviewed...

19th July 2021

By PA Scotland Reporters All of Scotland has dropped to the lowest level of its five-tier system of coronavirus measures – but there is no “wholesale abandoning” of restrictions, Nicola Sturgeon said. Face coverings in shops and public transport will remain mandatory for “some time to come”, while social distancing will reduce to one metre...

16th July 2021

As you have read on these pages before, my musical tastes are wide-ranging, and I stay tuned into what our local bands and singers are doing. There’s a lot going on normally. I have taken many musical journeys through the years and one journey I want to share with you this week is that of...