Gibraltar Today

On today's edition of Gibraltar Today...The Chief Minister has just spoken to GBC about the Principal Auditor’s Report.Fabian Picardo is away from the Rock on holiday, but it’s a conversation that has been dominating and today he has given Ros Astengo an interview - recorded via a video call - for tonight’s Viewpoint. The CM vigorously defends the decisions taken by his Government on how public money has been spent.-We continue our reporting on what Tony Sacramento says in his report - today looking at rates arrears.-We also discuss a positive development for the Financial Intelligence Unit with carl Ramagge.-Cultural Services is now a skills provider for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award-Michelle Turner and Mikey Piri tell us about the GSLA’s sports train

It’s the second Beach Wednesday of the summer! And today Jonathan Scott is at the GASA Bathing Pavilion. On the show today: 1.     Regular GASA-goers Maryam Senouni & Leanne Collado talk about disabled access to the pavilion and share their suggestions for improvements; 2.     Jonathan updates on continued reaction to the Principal Auditor’s report, specifically regarding housing; 3.     The latest Island Games report from Orkney with sports reporters Robin Sheppard-Capurro & Jose-Mari Luiz 4.     Hector Zammit & Antonio Puertas discuss their experiences and views about the GASA bathing pavilion; 5.     Katy Lowe from the Met Office explains the new health alerts, ahead of a hot few days coming up. The Director of Public Health has issued a Heatwave Health Alert with a Level 2 / Yellow Warning.Next week our Beach Wednesday will be at Rosia Bay!

Coming up on today’s show with Jonathan Scott:1.     Principal Auditor's Report – it’s emerged that a public servant and prominent GSLP activist was paid over £250,000 in a taxpayer-funded settlement, after over three years on paid garden leave. The officer is now employed by the Ministry of Justice; Court documents obtained by GBC confirm she is Joelle Baglietto. The Chief Minister says he has received death threats as a result of the Principal Auditor's report, and what he says is its sensationalist and biased nature and language. Fabian Picardo says the report's publication and coverage has led to "libellous accusations, threats of violence, and members of our community feeling publicly vilified." 2.     Queens Hostel – GBC Newsroom’s Iain Triay Clarence updates on the refurbishment progress. 3.     Island Games – The latest update also from the Orkney Islands with Jose Marie Ruiz.Robin Sheppard-Capurro spoke to the youngest member of Team Gibraltar, 13yr old swimmer Katie Maddox who beat her personal best in backstroke. 4.     Davina Barbara from Cultural Services outlines a new initiative: the 'reading passport' is aimed at getting children to embark on a summer of discovering new books.

Coming up on today’s show with Jonathan Scott: Our latest coverage of the Principal Auditor’s report: The Government’s failure to comply with its’ own Purchasing and Procurement Policy and to adhere to procurement regulations has left it open to criticisms of lack of transparency; Unite’s Donovan Correia speaks about the Union’s position on the Government’s public sector pay increase; The Island Games are well underway in Orkney – there’s updates also from Jose Marie Ruiz and Robin Shepard Capurro about the athletes, including the latest medal alerts; Former minister Paul Balban gives his views about the potential impact of a free flowing frontier on our transport infrastructure; Julian Felice has led a group of college drama students to top place, at a One-Act Play Festival in the UK – he tells us all about it.

On todays episode...Minister for Trade and Industry Nigel Feetham joins us in the studio to talk more about the recent Principal Auditor's Report.We talk Women's Rugby with Gibraltar Captain Sophia Lombard after a recent Sevens Tournament.

The outgoing Principal Auditor has just published his report, it covers the period 2018-2019, and it runs to over 500 pages. Tony Sacramento says the Chief Minister prevented him from carrying out an anti-money laundering compliance audit of Gibraltar Savings Bank. We are going to take an initial look at that today.The Leader of the Opposition says it contains stunning revelations, that the Government is reckless with the people’s money. Keith Azopardi says what else may have happened in the last five years that the GSLP Liberal Government is so keen to delay the report from being made public. We spoke to Mr Azopardi in the studio.Kelvin Gomez is Gibraltar's first professional triathlete. No mean feat, he's had to compete against some of the toughest athletes on the triathlon scene to achieve his professional status, such as a finishing second place in the Outlaw Triathlon in the UK! He told us more about his journey.The school summer break is here, with many families looking for activities to keep their kids entertained. The Gibraltar Museum is offering Walks Through History, starting in a few weeks’ time, on Wednesday mornings as part of the Summer Spots and Leisure Programme. Tyson Holmes and Phil Smith shared more details.And, Michelle Brown is Head Orthoptist at the GHA She's also the British and Irish Orthoptic Society's (BIOS) Champions Award winner this year. The award is for services to BIOS within the scope of public work. After congratulating Michelle, we asked her what people should do to keep their eyes healthy, and when should they seek out an orthoptist.

Today was the first episode of our “At The Beach” series for 2025, recorded live from the shores of Western Beach. This year we decided to reverse the order, starting with the beach which rounded up the series last year.It’s been a busy week in Parliament, with yesterday focusing on changes to the Communications Act, namely changes in satellite television and the use of mobile phones in schools. Our News Editor Christine Vasquez explained the impact of these changes. Audrey Hanglin chose to celebrate her birthday today on Western Beach and has been going there for over 30 years – even in the days when the only way to get to the beach was through a hole in the fence!Kevin Salmon enjoys wing foiling at Western – he told us more about this relatively new sport and how it’s the best beach on the Rock for it. He comes out all year round to practice, with good weather conditions for the sport year-round.Naiala has been coming to Western Beach since childhood, and highlighted some of the advantages of this beach including how much sun it gets as well as being disability friendly.And Daphne Alecio invited everyone to come down to Western, especially when there’s a strong levante like today. She did say though that she’s concerned about the safety of the beach when the frontier fence comes down as outlined in the Treaty agreement.

Parliament got on with business today, debating a number of Bills which are expected to go through later today. The Communications Amendment Bill was presented by Sir Joe Bossano and is divided into three parts. The first gives the Regulatory Authority the power to investigate allegations and take action on protected content infringement- electronic communication which infringes copyright. We spoke to Sir Joe Bossano during the break in parliament sessions.HM Customs has launched ASYCUDA Version 4.4. It's a new system that is said to modernise the management of the border. Senior Customs Officer Nigel Lia told us more about the new system, how it differs to the previous one, and what challenges they faced in its implementation."Where have all the volunteers gone?" That was the question posed recently by GibSams trustee David Revagliatte in an opinion piece in the Gibraltar Chronicle. It's kicked off a wider conversation; we invited GibSams Brenda Cuby and Nicola McCaine of Cancer Relief to the studio to share their thoughts.And, the blue-fin tuna season in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) has two periods. The first expired recently, and was the fastest closure ever! Ahead of the second season, we spoke to Sam Marrache of the Tuna Fishing Club and asked if tuna fishing is gaining popularity in Gibraltar, and how regulations are enforced. 

On today's edition of Gibraltar Today...The GHA says there’s a rise in salmonella food poisoning cases in the community. Separately, there has also been a Norovirus outbreak at Elderly Residential Services.The Director of Public Health Dr Helen Carter joins us.Together with a representative of the Environmental Agency.-Short term lets have been growing across Europe. They’re shaking up the market. Legislation is now in effect. We speak to property owner Esteban Bravo.-12 year old, Arya Arun, has published his first comic book. It's called "Potato Man, The Living Potato Superhero - Part I" and is available in local shops and in all Amazon marketplaces across the globe. Arya joins us with his dad Arun.-Eastern Beach is the place to be this Thursday evening, Stay Late Order Pizza.Jonathan Collado of Fresh Entertainment and Cultural Service’s Giovi Viñales join us...-And, the Island Games start on Sunday! Jose Marie joins us with the latest.