tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22118631134490574902010-03-11T17:31:54.960+01:00brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-22221719914225419332010-03-07T19:15:00.002+01:002010-03-07T19:17:37.688+01:00

Every time I cover a session in Parliament, I come away with a bad taste in my mouth. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I know there has to be a more efficient way of conducting public affairs in a place as small as Gibraltar.People here engage with politics at street level. They are keenly aware of the issues affect them and debate them furiously in coffee houses the length of Main Street.

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-51143982980721602232010-01-28T16:27:00.003+01:002010-01-28T16:30:21.009+01:00

Aid teams in Haiti’s devastated capital Port au Prince are relying for mobility on dozens of rugged, all-terrain vehicles shipped from Gibraltar.Toyota Gibraltar Stockholdings [TGS] is one of the world’s leading suppliers of customised project vehicles to the United Nations and non-governmental aid organisations. Whenever there is a disaster anywhere in the world, the phones in the company’s

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-49980581606721894412010-01-07T18:11:00.004+01:002010-01-07T18:17:41.459+01:00

I was on an abandoned ship last week, a Turkish rust bucket berthed in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave tucked into a tiny corner of Morocco's Mediterranean coastline. I first wrote about the crew on this ship three months ago. Ditched by their employer, they were living off charity and struggling to find a way home. Well, no surprises here: they're still there. They are among hudreds of seaferers stuck

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-66444791362165540172009-12-02T17:22:00.008+01:002010-01-07T18:08:57.836+01:00

In the middle of a riot this week, I had a rather peculiar thought. It happened while I was up front where the action was, taking photographs of people get bashed over the head, clobbered by police wielding rubber batons and tough plastic shields. I could hear the sound of gunshots as they fired rubber bullets to try and disperse the crowd. There was yelling and punching and shoving and kicking,

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-48995456391866105432009-10-23T13:17:00.006+02:002009-10-23T13:46:57.807+02:00

I live in a pollution hotspot, or so the green campaigners would have me believe. I can see where they’re coming from. The sea around Gibraltar is bustling with commercial shipping, I have a refinery just two kilometres from where I live and the traffic here is horrendous. So imagine my surprise when I heard a speech by a conservation expert in Cordoba, Spain, last weekend describing this region

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-88857230297109932752009-10-05T18:48:00.011+02:002009-10-05T19:10:59.746+02:00

Police and government officials in Gibraltar have warned that cocaine use is on the increase. Across the border in Spain, however, a different scenario is unfolding.An NGO that works with drug addicts claims the economic crisis has led to a drop in the number of people snorting expensive lines of cocaine. Instead, they are turning to heroin, a drug that had thankfully fallen out of fashion in

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-25731277971804026022009-09-30T10:53:00.010+02:002009-09-30T17:12:38.115+02:00

The plan to bring back the ferry link between Gib and Algeciras deserves success, but as a regular commuter between the two cities, I fear it may not work. At least, not for people like me who have to get from one side of the bay to the other in a quick, reliable and, crucially, cheap manner.In theory at least, I can't think of a better way to start or end my working day than a boat ride across

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-10319541511038177502009-09-29T13:03:00.006+02:002009-09-29T13:24:51.494+02:00

On a rusting Turkish tanker called Rhone off the Spanish north African port of Ceuta, 15 stranded seafarers desperately want to go home. Abandoned by their employer, they are owed three months' salary and have no money to get back to their families. After two weeks they are low on food and water, and have been reduced to begging for help to survive.I got to hear about this ship from my good

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-62627866250402626822009-09-24T13:10:00.005+02:002009-09-24T13:31:20.074+02:00

The guys at the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society never cease to amaze me. On Wednesday morning, I visited the group's Raptor Unit, which looks after injured birds of prey and releases them into the wild (and which I wrote about here). The busiest time for them is during migration. They've done the spring one and the autumn one has just started. Hence the visit.So anyway, there

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-8307112198693558012009-09-24T08:53:00.009+02:002009-09-24T13:06:36.658+02:00

I enjoyed reading this post by Michael Balter on Science magazine's blog. He was writing about a talk he heard at the annual Calpe Conference, an event organised by Clive Finlayson of the Gibraltar Museum that brings together academics and boffins from around the world.Balter, writing on a Darwin-themed blog, was intrigued by a talk given by Alex Menez, a Gibraltar pathologist who describes

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-43320643481151016792009-09-19T20:50:00.011+02:002009-09-20T19:55:12.720+02:00

For the past year, the legal community in Gibraltar has been abuzz with a case that has unfolded behind closed doors in the Supreme Court. The hearings were in private, with press and public alike locked out. Few details leaked. Something about Russians and a row over a huge inheritance. It was obvious the case was big. For weeks at a time, the Supreme Court was crowded with high-flying lawyers

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-83698581531185656872009-09-14T20:32:00.010+02:002009-09-14T21:50:07.531+02:00

I have a confession to make. I am at a complete loss as to this swine flu thing. I just can't get my head round it. For every alarmist statement or photo (...a journo in a mask, for example...not my fault, we were asked to wear them, as was the health minister...), there's another one downplaying it all. In one report, we're tantalisingly close to stubbing this thing out. In another, we should

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-63093441877585282122009-09-12T22:45:00.005+02:002009-09-12T23:36:30.702+02:00

For months I've been receiving bizarre emails from some of my contacts in the mercenary world...sorry, I guess I should call them private military contractors...raving about cruise holidays. Not your average cruise holiday, of course. These ones are off the coast of Somalia.A lot of these private military companies have seen an opportunity to make money offering services to shipowners whose

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-30226592930493164712009-09-07T16:43:00.014+02:002009-09-14T18:16:25.308+02:00

The other day I read a newspaper article that made me recall a conversation I once had with a defence lawyer. It was about a police officer who had arrested someone for the grand-sounding offence of 'possession with intent to supply' cannabis. Drug dealing, in other words. I was checking the details to see if the case was worth following up on. It turned out the officer concerned had been a

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-52679971838201804982009-09-04T13:26:00.008+02:002009-09-14T15:49:14.985+02:00

Here’s a clever little slogan from Carrefour for a new campaign to raise awareness about plastic bags. ‘Bolsa Caca.’ Or in English: ‘Plastic Bags Poo’.They’re everywhere, these green posters. If you check out the website in the small print at the bottom, you’ll get the full story. I’m not going to rehearse the well-known arguments about why plastic bags are bad for the environment. We all know

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-59347336206850927992009-09-03T18:01:00.003+02:002009-09-03T18:18:14.628+02:00

This photo shows two youths smuggling cigarettes from Gibraltar into Spain. They are about to swim through a hole in the border fence, which runs several metres into the sea but is falling apart. The photo was taken a while back but the route is still popular with those engaged in small-time contraband. A couple of days ago, Spanish Guardia Civil officers arrested one man as he stepped onto the

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-14954220803071078542009-09-01T18:10:00.004+02:002009-09-01T18:45:06.830+02:00

There was more talk today of the need for cross-border initiatives, this time in the field of education. Why not have the Trilateral Forum (Gibraltar, Spain and UK) explore setting up a bilingual university? You know, UK and Spanish universities backing a campus in this region, that sort of thing?It all sounds a bit vague and puffy, frankly, but in theory, why not? Go ahead and explore it, at

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-84575113805026593822009-08-29T13:37:00.005+02:002009-08-29T13:46:00.985+02:00

A while back I wrote an article about Japanese trawlers suspected of dodging tuna quotas by transhipping shipments in Gibraltar, where checks at the time were lax. The suspicion was that they were fishing in excess of what they were allowed and blurring the lines on their catch. Tuna laundering, in effect. We never managed to prove it, but after we ran that story the trawlers stopped coming and

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-17457982984684402852009-08-29T00:22:00.006+02:002009-08-29T00:32:49.732+02:00

From the vaults of the National Archives in London, an interesting tale of a 1970s coup against a West African dictator that was foiled thanks to a Special Branch informant in Gibraltar. The events are set out in de-classified documents from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The documents read like a spy thriller and tell the story of a group of mercenaries who planned to sail from Gibraltar

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-8828920679168280202009-08-28T16:11:00.003+02:002009-08-28T16:22:29.254+02:00

I was clearing out some files last night and came across this piece. It's a timeless account about a dead man at sea, which I wrote for the Chronicle a couple of year's back. I still get sad reading it.In the coroner’s courtTHE SAD TALE OF AN ANONYMOUS DEATH• by Brian ReyesThey found him floating face down in the sea 22 miles off Europa Point. He was about 50 years old and well dressed in a blue

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-86971983152101373882009-08-27T17:34:00.006+02:002009-08-27T18:31:00.234+02:00

I got a call from an old contact in the shipping industry last week. He wanted to tip me off to something. He said two US government ships had been sold and were going to be scrapped in a deal that sidestepped the country’s rules on toxic exports.I started looking at this with Rajesh Joshi, a journalist based in New York. We pulled together a story that spans from the US to Bangladesh via London

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-86774587623946246352009-07-31T17:25:00.005+02:002009-07-31T17:51:02.207+02:00

I found an interesting Spanish website with two very unusual articles on the recent visit by Moratinos to Gibraltar. Why were they unusual? Well, check out the title of the first one and you'll get the gist: Gibraltar, britanico para siempre. The article by Pedro Schwenzer Pfau was so refreshing to read, I thought I'd post the link here and cite his conclusion, which speaks for itself:"España

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-28143472407933562682009-07-30T18:03:00.003+02:002009-07-30T18:12:41.815+02:00

Was it or was it not a Great White shark? Here's the video. It's not great but it's the only one I could track down, so be grateful. (Thanks to Burkhard Menn at Beedivers Gibraltar for this...) Some say it was a great white, others a basking shark. Whatever it was, it was just a few metres from the shore and, frankly, close enough to scare the living daylights out of any sane person. If anyone

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-18221423619534968442009-07-28T17:45:00.005+02:002009-07-28T17:58:16.776+02:00

I have mixed feelings about this swine flu thing. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry, worry or take the mickey. It's partly because of the mixed signals we get. Reassurance on the one hand, doomsday scenarios on the other."Comparing flu's with flu's, this is a pretty mild illness," said one doctor I spoke to recently. "Some people may have already had it and thought it was nothing more than a

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211863113449057490.post-2389830071602500842009-07-22T17:59:00.001+02:002009-07-28T18:08:12.449+02:00

I’m not going to write in any detail about yesterday’s visit to Gibraltar by Miguel Angel Moratinos, Spain’s foreign affairs minister. Acres of copy have already been published about this trip in English and Spanish and if you want to read the official statement in detail, you can do it here. (Also worth watching is this astounding attack on Moratinos by Pedro J. Ramirez, editor of El Mundo...)

brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782201601936791415noreply@blogger.com0