Gibraltar Today

It’s the second of two days of closing statements at The McGrail Inquiry. The former police commissioner’s lawyer Adam Wagner said the Chief Minister “pulled out every stop to protect JL and his mobile phone from the RGP warrant”. Mr Wagner told the Inquiry those “institutional guardrails” that “failed to protect” the former police commissioner have to be strengthened.The Police Authority lawyer finished his closing yesterday afternoon. James Neish KC said "the GPA consists of public spirited citizens of Gibraltar who give up of their time generously and do not receive remuneration". Our reporter Ros Astengo has been following all of the closing statements and gave us more details. And, Sister Patricia McLaughlin is an Irish Loreto missionary sister. She runs the 'Fe y Alegria' school in a shanty town on the outskirts of the Peruvian capital, Lima. You may remember Sister Patricia from her teaching career in Gibraltar. She taught at Westside School and at the Loreto Convent, where she was head teacher for eight years. We invited her to the studio to talk about her missionary work.

The parties involved in the McGrail Inquiry have begun giving their closing submissions. The Police’s lawyer Nick Cruz was the first to speak, followed by Paul Richardson's lawyer, Patrick Gibbs KC, and the Police Authority's lawyer, James Neish KC. Our reporter Jonathan Sacramento was at the Inquiry and helped us break down the main points on each of the submissions so far. And, the Dance World Cup Finals kick off in Prague on 27th June. It's a 9 day event, featuring over 9,500 dancers from over 54 countries, including Gibraltar! Dancers from Stylos Dance Studios and Yalta Dance Studio qualified at the Gibraltar Live Qualifier. Yalta Pons and Darion Figueredo joined us in the studio alongside three of the dancers taking part in the competition: Amy Wink, Yelena Recagno and Sophia Celecia.

AI or Artificial Intelligence seems to be everywhere at the moment, but many are divided on what it actually does. Is it here to help us or to take our jobs? Someone who knows about this subject is CEO and founder of Rdentify, Daniel Brookes, who spoke to us in the studio alongside his colleague Daisy White. The Chief Minister met with the Mayor of La Linea Juan Franco have given a joint statement to the media. Our reporter Kevin Ruiz brought us the details: he was at the press conference earlier today. Robin Sheppard-Capurro filled us in on the latest in local sports from the weekend.And, the Gibraltar Rugby 7's is back, and it's set to be bigger and better than ever before! Gibraltar is set to host over 500 international athletes and 1000 fans as the Gibraltar 7s rugby tournament returns. The event will comprise of several categories including the Open, Women's, Vets, and of course the Elite which will see more teams than ever do battle for a bigger prize than ever! Tom Reed and Stuart Porro told us more.

More than 60 people from Ceuta have protested outside New Mole House Police Station. They were demanding justice for two men killed by an RGP vessel which collided with their RHIB during a chase in Spanish waters in March 2020. Our reporter Iain Triay Clarence was there.It’s a big day tomorrow for Gibraltar Athletics, as the European Small States Championships comes to the Rock for its 70th anniversary edition. Over 200 athletes from 17 countries will compete in both track and field. The president of the Gibraltar Athletics Association Frank Carreras was in the studio two competing athletes Reece Byrne and Sean Peñalver.The Federation of Small Businesses is collaborating with Women in Enterprise on a number of events, relating to issues from parental leave to workplace pensions. Michaela Rees from the GFSB and Mary-Jane Feeke of Women In Enterprise told us more.The Summer Sports & Leisure Programme is back, and marks its 25th anniversary this year. We spoke to Michelle Turner, Liam Payas and Sean Collado about what’s in the pipeline for this summer, as well as to reflect on how the programme has evolved over the last 25 years.

This Saturday the Rock will see Gibraltar Pride Festival in Casemates, which promises to be a vibrant celebration of love, diversity, and equality. Radio Gibraltar will be covering the festival live at Casemates from 11am. We looked ahead to the march with the LGBTQ+ Committee’s Reagan Martinez Gaivizo. Nile Rodgers and Chic filled Europa Sports Complex last night, with the crowds enjoying almost 1 hour 40 minutes of hit after hit after hit.... from an incredible catalogue of music that spans over 50 years. As media partner, Radio Gibraltar was there, including our Morning presenter Lucinda Snape. The Musicians Association of Gibraltar set up an instrument loan scheme some time back. If you can't get hold of an instrument but are keen to learn how to play, MAG can source one for you. Ernest Slade, along with his daughter Della, told us more about how the scheme works. And, today is the northern hemisphere's longest day of the year in what is known as the Summer Solstice - here in Gibraltar the sun will set at 9:42pm. But what's the science behind it? Why is today the longest day of the year? We spoke to William Recagno of the Gibraltar Astronomical Society.

Action for Housing is calling for the backlog on housing for rental to be resolved 'once and for all.' The group claims the urgent needs of the elderly, those with serious medical conditions, and the most vulnerable in our society are not being met. Kevin Ruiz is following the story, and spoke to Henry Pinna from Action for Housing.The EV Foundation has announced the renewal of the Barzilai Foundation Undergraduate Studies Bursary for the next academic year. The bursaries are for students who have successfully completed studies at Bayside School, Westside School or Gibraltar College within the past two years, have applied for entry into an undergraduate program outside of Gibraltar, and who can demonstrate a financial need in addition to the ‘Mandatory’ Award offered by the Government of Gibraltar. Nicole Jones, the face of the EV Foundation, told us more.Leigh Dobinson is preparing to take on an Ironman 70.3 challenge in the Netherlands later this month, raising funds for Cancer Relief and the EV Foundation. We spoke to him about what motivated him to take on the challenge.And, we look ahead to the Nile Rodgers concert happening tonight at the Europa Sports Arena.

McGrail Inquiry Senior Investigating Officer John McVea has been given the top job at the Gibraltar Defence Police, GBC understands. Sources say three candidates from the UK were interviewed by the Commander British Forces for the role of Chief of Police. Mr McVea was said to have been the preferred candidate to take over from Rob Allen who has recently retired. Our reporter Ros Astengo brought us the details. Bathing season is here, and the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) Gibraltar are marking Drowning Prevention Week, highlighting the importance of water safety. This is something we may take for granted in Gibraltar, as we're on the beach for three months of the year (at least), and our culture revolves to a certain extent around the sea, boats and swimming. We spoke to Michael Sene from the RLSS and Alain Gadd from the Department of the Environment.This weekend saw the funeral for Alzheimer’s and dementia campaigner Daphne Alcantara who recently died aged 65. Daphne formed the Gibraltar Alzheimers and Dementia Society and spent many years advocating on behalf of people living with dementia and those caring for them. She always celebrated the hope of scientific progress towards treatment. Now there are two Gibraltar-based funds that are investing in academic research and clinical studies in areas of high need such as Alzheimer's. Stefanie Kearney told us more. And, we discussed the latest from the weekend’s sports on the Rock with Robin Sheppard-Capurro, including an exciting victory for the Gibraltar Women’s cricket, who have won the Central Europe Cricket Cup in Prague! To top it off Sally Barton extended her record as the oldest international female cricketer, at the age of 67. We caught up with Sally, as well as with Helen Mumford, in the studio. 

Father’s Day will celebrate the positive impact fathers can have on their children's emotional and psychological well-being.We talk to Station Officer of the Fire Safety Department, Liam Byrne and GBC News editor, Jonathan Sacramento.-In Irish Town, Art Space is holding its first art fair featuring local artists.Ana de la Puente, Phoebe Noble, Gill Welland and Aaron Soleci are here..And Jose Mari Ruiz brings us the latest local sport.

The Moneyval team from the Council of Europe has raised Gibraltar's status from 'Partially Compliant' to 'Largely Compliant'. Our News Editor Christine Vasquez has more.-You may recall we spoke to Stephen Cumming this week about D-Day and Pride.Today there's a follow up letter in the Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper, by Alice Egan.Alice says: When we celebrate our history, fight for our rights, and remember those who came before us, everyone benefits.-And, staff at the Gibraltar College talk to us about a new garden space next to the College building. We speak to Sarah Roberts and Vanessa Saccone.-And Spanish police have arrested two in Algeciras following an investigation into a Jihadist cell - with links to Daesh, the terrorist group sometimes referred to as Islamic State.We look at that story in more detail.