GIBRALTAR – A historic post-Brexit deal comes into action next week, when residents of Gibraltar will be able to stroll across into Spain and surrounding Europe without any checks or restrictions.
Long queues for the double police checkpoints where travellers have had to present passports to officials from both Spain and the British overseas territory will be gone when the land border disappears forever next Wednesday.
British citizens living on “the Rock” will be able to travel anywhere in the Schengen area without being subject to the post-Brexit rule that restricts Britons to staying only 90 days in every 180 in the European Union.
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WORLD NEWS
US launches second round of strikes on Iran – what to know
The US launched a second round of strikes overnight as peace talks continued to stall (U.S. Central Command)
Donald Trump warned the Middle East conflict could “get much worse”, after US forces said they hit about 90 targets across Iran.
What you need to know
Caption: Smoke rises from explosions at an unknown location, following what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said were strikes on Iranian military targets, in this screen grab from a video released on July 8, 2026. U.S. Central Command/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. VIDEO MASKED AT SOURCE. VERIFICATION: – Location and date could not be verified – No earlier version of the video found posted online before Wednesday (July 8)
Photographer: U.S. Central Command
Provider: via REUTERS
Source: Handout
US strikes
The US launched a second night of strikes in retaliation for Iran targeting tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian boats hit
Iranian targets hit by the US on Wednesday night include more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard small boats.
Caption: Smoke and flames rise after an explosion in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, Iran, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released on July 8, 2026. Social Media/ via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. NEWS USE ONLY. VERIFICATION: – Buildings, trees, road layout and business signage that matched the archive and satellite imagery of the road near the Haqani port – Date not verified but NASA FIRMS detected heat at Haqani Port around midnight of July 8, local time. – Iranian Media reported an explosion near the fishing pier and corroborating visuals showed the fire in the area – No old results were found posted online before July 8.
Photographer: SOCIAL MEDIA
Provider: SOCIAL MEDIA via REUTERS
Source: UGC
Iran’s security forces watch over crowds at a funeral procession held for IRGC navy chief Alireza Tangsiri, who was killed in USA/Israeli air strikes in March (Photo: Majid Saeedi/Getty)
Iran strikes back
Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar all sounded sirens on early Thursday amid retaliatory Iranian fire.
What Trump says
This is retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships. If it happens again, it will get much worse
Speaking on Air Force One on his flight from the Nato summit in Turkey, Trump said Iran wanted “to make a deal so badly”, but warned the situation “could get much worse”.
President Donald Trump waves as he switches planes at US Air Force Base, RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk. (Picture: Alex Brandon/AP)
He added: “I don’t know that they’re going to honour the deal. That’s the problem.”
Iran’s response
The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Caption: Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf speaks in parliament about Iran’s response to possible U.S. attacks, in Tehran, Iran January 11, 2026, (Irinn/REUTERS)
What happens next?
- Sir Keir Starmer has called for a return to the ceasefire. The PM warned UK household bills would likely be hit unless the situation improved.
- Nato’s general secretary Mark Rutte backed Trump’s strikes, arguing Iran has violated the ceasefire deal.
- The initial ceasefire was due to last for 60 days, pending a final deal on Iran’s nuclear plans.
OPINION
3 min read
world – analysis
How Trump’s uncomplicated war became very complicated
US President Donald Trump didn’t have to start the war with Iran, says Nick Bryant. (Picture: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
It was all supposed to be so uncomplicated. Assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader. Decapitate the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Encourage the Iranian people to rise up in rebellion.
news
Why everyone is suddenly talking about testosterone – even in the White House
Caption: 1407 Trump’s America: The rise of testosterone among young American men
Hispanic man weightlifting in gymnasium – stock photo
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Being “low T” has become an insult for everything deemed unmasculine, but young men “T-maxxing” risk reduced growth and infertility.
What is testosterone?
Everybody produces testosterone, but in men, healthy levels contribute to libido, muscle mass and sperm count.
(Photo: Getty).
Muscular Young Man Training At Gym – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
The body’s ability to produce the hormone typically peaks between adolescence and early adulthood and naturally declines after 30.
What is ‘testosterone-maxxing’?
“Testosterone-maxxing,” or “T-maxxing”, is a social media trend that encourages men and boys to artificially boost their testosterone levels.
So entwined has the conflation between testosterone and the appearance of ideal masculinity become that young men are turning to illicitly purchasing supplements online.
Newsletter (£)
5 min read
LIFESTYLE
5 min read
Who is endorsing testosterone?
Braden Peters, aka ‘Clavicular’, and models walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week. Peters, 20, claims to have used synthetic testosterone since his early teens, which health experts warn has serious health implications (Photo: Francois Durand/Getty)
Clavicular
The controversial influencer told his young fans he has been using synthetic testosterone since 14 to help him “feel how a man should”.
Robert F Kennedy Jr
The US Health Secretary described Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) as an “anti-ageing protocol”.
Robert F Kennedy, the US Health Secretary, is among the high-profile Americans who have touted the benefits of testosterone (Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Caption: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 13: Joe Rogan enters the Octagon in the BMF championship fight during the UFC 300 event at T-Mobile Arena on April 13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Photographer: Chris Unger
Provider: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Source: Zuffa LLC
Joe Rogan
Podcaster Joe Rogan has also spoken publicly about the benefits of using TRT.
The dangers of taking testosterone
- 1Taking testosterone at a young age causes your bones to seal, stunting your growth.
- 2It can shut down your sperm production, causing infertility.
- 3It also increases the risk of developing other health issues like blood clots, worsened sleep apnea and prostate enlargement.
Expert opinion: Dr Jeff Foster, director of men’s health at Voy
As soon as you get a healthy person, you start giving them TRT; it’s not TRT anymore.
Dr Jeff Foster likens the use of testosterone when it’s not medically necessary to doping – taking steroids. “Testosterone has kind of been abused to become an adjective to describe everything that’s masculine,” he added.
Caption: Testosterone hormone therapy. Hormone replacement therapy HRT. Masculinizing hormone treatment. Pills with male symbol and Medical hormone. Getty
politics
What to know as police investigate Jenrick donation
The Reform UK Treasury spokesman says the ‘allegations are entirely false’ and part of the Establishment’s efforts to ‘stop Reform from delivering the change this country needs’
Scotland Yard has opened an investigation into a political donation of £37,500 made to Robert Jenrick’s campaign to become Conservative leader in 2024, The i Paper can reveal.
What you need to know
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK Treasury spokesperson gives a speech at Plaisterer’s Hall (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Police probe
The Metropolitan Police is investigating claims the donation originated from a foreign donor.
Donation rules
It is illegal to accept political donations from foreign sources under UK electoral law.
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BBC handout photo of Reform UK’s treasury spokesperson, Robert Jenrick appearing on the BBC1 current affairs programme, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Picture date: Sunday May 24, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA Wire
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Photographer: Jeff Overs/BBC
Provider: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA Wire
Source: PA
Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage (left) and Reform’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
Jenrick denial
Jenrick, who defected from to Reform UK in January, has repeatedly denied breaching electoral laws.
The allegations
- The allegations relate to a £100,000 donation Jenrick received from British entrepreneur Phillip Ullmann, via a company called Spott Fitness, during his 2024 campaign.
- However, it has been claimed that £37,500 of the amount came from a US business associate of Ullmann, Gary Klopfenstein, subsequently been convicted of fraud.
Big Read
6 min read
What Jenrick says
It is no surprise that an establishment determined to stop Reform … would resort to making these demonstrably untrue claims
Jenrick told The i Paper he has had “no contact with the Met Police whatsoever”.
Caption: Former Conservative cabinet minister and current Reform UK member, Robert Jenrick, speaks during a press conference in central London on February 17, 2026, as he is named the party’s shadow chancellor. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: CARLOS JASSO
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
A spokesperson said Jenrick has never had any contact with Klopfenstein, nor was he aware of any connection between him and Ullmann’s donation.
Former Conservative Party shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has been on the media rounds this morning (Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images)
READ THE EXCLUSIVE STORY
Police launch investigation into Jenrick donation
The Scotland Yard probe will increase pressure on Nigel Farage’s party, which is facing increased scrutiny over its finances.
BENEFITS
The four things we found out from the PIP review
Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MARCH 26, 2025: Disabled people protest outside Downing Street against cuts to welfare benefits as the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is set to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, United Kingdom on March 26, 2025. (Photo credit should read Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Photographer: Wiktor Szymanowicz
Provider: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publis
Source: Future Publishing
Copyright: ? 2025 Wiktor Szymanowicz
The current system of disability benefits is “no longer fit for purpose”, a Government review has found. Sir Stephen Timms’s interim report has promised “bold” reform of personal independence payments (PIP).
What you need to know
PIP helps disabled people with daily living and mobility costs (Photo: Mike Kemp/Getty)
The PIP system
PIP, which can be worth up to around £800 a month, helps disabled people pay for the extra costs of daily living.
PIP faces reform
The Timms review was launched when Labour ditched PIP cuts after a backbench rebellion last year.
Protesters hold placards in support of Personal Independence Payment (Photo: Getty Images)
Stephen Timms, U.K. lawmaker, arrives at the service of prayer and remembrance to commemorate U.K. lawmaker Jo Cox at Westminster Abbey in London, U.K., on Monday, June 20, 2016. Cox was killed as she attended a meeting with constituents in the town of Birstall, northern England, in the first murder of a U.K. lawmaker in a quarter of a century. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
‘Not working’
The final Timms report is not due until autumn, but the interim report states: “PIP is not working.”
Four things we learned
- 1PIP faces a complete overhaul. Changes will be “bold in nature”, promised and “radical in our thinking”, the report stated.
- 2The points-based assessment system could be axed. Sir Stephen Timms said although the review could come up with something “completely different”.
- 3PIP could be cut back for those with ADHD, autism and anxiety, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has suggested.
- 4PIP could be linked to work for the first time. PIP can be “a barrier to work and an active community life”, said Timms’s review team.
The figures behind PIP
PIP claims among young people
£6.5bn
Benefits spending on young people
This is the total spending figure on PIP alone by 2031/32.
64%
The combined share of anxiety or depression, autism and ADHD reported as the primary condition.
This figure was 49% among 16-24-year-olds in 2020.
A previous attempt to cut personal independence payments saw a Government U-turn after protests (Photo: Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty)
READ THE FULL STORY
PIP points system faces the axe
Disability minister Stephen Timms tells The i Paper the current, points-based assessment system could be replaced entirely, as a landmark review finds it “broken”.
HEATWAVE
The much cheaper alternatives to aircon
Caption: Tired exhausted young woman sitting on floor in front of electric fan, cooling down refreshing during heatwave. Summer heat, Air Conditioner Problems
Photographer: MementoJpeg
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Fans use up to 50 times less electricity than built-in air conditioning, say experts who advise that they remain a good option for those trying keeping cool in the heat.
The benefits of fan usage
(Photo: Petra Richli/Getty).
Price is right
The cheapest way to keep cool is to buy a fan. These can cost as little as around £20.
Low energy use
They only cost between 15p and 31p to run over a 24-hour period – less than daily aircon costs of between £4.84 and £6.00.
If your room temperature has not crossed 35°C, experts are clear that fans are a very cost-effective way to keep cool (Photo: Maria Korneeva/Getty)
Use a fan to stay cool (Photo: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty/Moment RF)
Low CO2 emissions
Their low energy use also means they produce minimal CO2 emissions, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
Fans vs aircon
Fans don’t lower the room temperature. But they help keep your body temperature down by creating air movement that helps sweat to evaporate.
The effect of a fan is intensified if you wet your skin, which mimics the powerful cooling effect of sweat evaporation, without the dehydration of using our own sweat.
Air con units mounted on apartment blocks can be considered an eye sore by some (Photo: David Taljat/Getty)
Suffering from summer heat at home, exhausted young woman sitting near electric fan enjoying fresh air, cooling down during heatwave – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
‘Humid heat is harder heat,’ one expert says (Photo: Getty)
READ THE FULL STORY
Why it’s worth looking at aircon alternatives
Given that most of us live in homes not fit for heatwaves, it’s worth exploring the best options for keeping cool and what different devices cost.
Caption: Da Ali G Show
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ENTERTAINMENT
Sacha Baron Cohen completes filming for new Ali G movie
The comedian has finished a new film based on the streetwise, shellsuit-wearing character which made him famous.
What you need to know
Caption: ALI G INDAHOUSE – Ali G unwittingly becomes a pawn in the Chancellor’s plot to overthrow the Prime Minister of Great Britain. However, Ali is embraced by the nation as a voice of the youth, making the PM and his government more popular than ever. BSkyB SEAC
Film still
Copyright: ? 2002 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
- Ali G, a wannabe gangster rapper from west Staines, first appeared as a character on The 11 O’Clock Show.
- A new movie has reportedly completed production, filming in Oxfordshire and the US.
- It is the first film with the character since Ali G Indahouse in 2002.
FILM
4 min read
Ali G’s famous victims
Some of the famous people interviewed by Ali G include David Beckham, Donald Trump, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and intellectual Noam Chomsky.
Ali G spends “a good deal of time in the circus that is America” for the new film, according to The InSneider. But Baron Cohen’s reps have not yet confirmed the project.
Donald Trump sat down for a chat with an in-character Sacha Baron Cohen. And he was not amused (Photo: Channel 4)
OPINION
2 min read
What to expect as second phase of Southport Inquiry begins
The inquiry into the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July 2024 has started its second phase. It will examine how to deal with individuals who pose a risk of extreme violence.
Caption: Chair Sir Adrian Fulford sitting inside the hearing room at Liverpool Town Hall, Liverpool, ahead of publication of the findings of the inquiry into the knife attack by Axel Rudakubana who murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29, 2024. Picture date: Sunday April 12, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Photographer: Peter Byrne
Provider: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Source: PA
What you need to know
- Young people “must be diverted” from the impluses that motivated Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, said public inquiry chairman Sir Adrian Fulford.
- The inquiry began with a minute’s silence for the victims: Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
- The second phase will look at the role of the internet and social media in influencing “violence-fixated individuals” where ideology is not the primary driver.
NEWS
2 min read
What the inquiry chair says
All too often, they will be acting entirely alone, having spent endless hours in solitude, relentlessly, online.
Sir Adrian Fulford said there was a “growing challenge from violence-fixated individuals, who all too often are not acting out of an adherence to a particular ideology”.
Sir Adrian Fulford will chair the inquiry (Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
What happens next
Sir Adrian’s 763-page report for the inquiry’s first phase set out 67 recommendations. The attack “could and should have been prevented” if public bodies had taken steps to stop murderer Rudakubana, he said.
The Government has accepted the recommendations for public bodies. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “We will do whatever is needed to protect the public.”
NEWS
3 min read
CRIME
2 min read
Since news of the deal last year, there has already been a surge of interest among Britons who want to move to sunny Gibraltar and benefit from its low taxes, Mediterranean sunshine and restriction-free travel.
The Gibraltar Government has temporarily paused new applications since last October. Paul Duck, managing director of Chestertons, the territory’s biggest estate agent, told The i Paper that “hundreds” of people had expressed an interest in buying or renting properties there. The average property purchase in 2024-25 was £587,000, according to the Gibraltar Office of Fair Trading.
Many more are now expected to move to Gibraltar and take advantage of its unique combination of British and European culture. “Don’t forget that Gibraltar is not part of England; we are a mixture of Mediterranean-British,” said Brian Reyes, editor of The Gibraltar Chronicle. “I am sure we will carry on eating fish and chips and continue with all the traditions of the Rock which make it what it is.”
The border between Spain and Gibraltar. Work began last month to remove the historic border fence, which will be taken down for good on 15 July following the agreement with the EU (Photo: Francisco J Olmo/Getty)
The Rock’s population is a diverse mix of Gibraltarians, British émigrés, Maltese, Genovese and Moroccans. Among the 40,000 residents, many religions are represented, with Christians living here alongside Jewish and Muslim people. The marina is full of superyachts, reflecting its status as a destination where high-rollers from around the world like to work and play.
Owen Smith, chairperson of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses, says the Rock might now see the arrival of Spanish fashion brand Zara and other European companies. “Gibraltar has been insulated from many of the challenges which high streets in the UK face. It has many locally owned businesses and fewer franchise posts. It is one of the challenges to try to retain that uniqueness,” he said. “I do think there is a chance we may lose some of our British retail experience.”
Until now, Gibraltar has appeared more British than Britain, with its British bobbies, red postboxes and London black cabs – albeit with the backdrop of Spanish sunshine.
Mike Nicholls, CEO of Chesterton’s estate agents, believes Gibraltar will experience more of a European influence. “I sense we will feel a little bit more European. We will have the benefits of Europe, a low-tax economy and British traditions,” he said. “On the other hand, we have enjoyed a low crime [society]. Now the people we don’t want, the unsavoury ones, may find it easier to come in.”
The marina at Gibraltar, the tiny British overseas territory located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula (Photo: Burak Akbulut/Getty)
Perhaps conscious of that potential risk, authorities in Gibraltar have erected new high-security fencing at the border with CCTV cameras. They have also ordered a new fleet of London black cabs and red postboxes – perhaps to safeguard its Britishness, or to please the tourists.
The dissolution of the land frontier will be the biggest change to a British Overseas Territory since Britain handed back governance of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and will end hundreds of years of border disputes between Gibraltar and Spain.
The European Union and Britain reached an agreement on the status of Gibraltar last year, ending the years of political limbo that had hung over the Rock since the Brexit vote in 2016. “This will in effect undo the damage that Brexit did to Gibraltar and that we have been able to keep at bay with these negotiations,” Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar Chief Minister, told The i Paper in an earlier interview.
The deal will ensure the 15,000 Spanish workers who make the daily commute into the Rock to work and keep the place going will face no hold-ups.
Smith warns that some local businesses are concerned about new taxes as Gibraltar moves closer to Europe. They currently pay an import duty of between 0 and 12 per cent, but under the agreement between the UK and Brussels, they must pay a standard 15 per cent transaction tax, which can be passed on to the customer. But he says tourist-focused companies will not be affected.
Legend has it that if Gibraltar’s famous Barbary macaque monkeys ever leave the Rock, then it will cease to be a British territory (Photo: Florian Gaertner/Getty)
Roland Walker – whose father opened Roy’s Fish and Chips when he moved from Kent to the Rock in 1989 – believes the deal will be good for business. “I think the agreement will bring more tourists, which will be a good thing. At the moment, our customers are mainly Brits and Americans, not Spaniards, but that may change when the border disappears,” he said.
At present, the only flights into Gibraltar come from the UK, but Visit Gibraltar, the tourist office for the Rock, said that a number of European airlines had expressed interest in launching services to the British overseas territory.
After 15 July, anyone flying into the airport or arriving or stopping off at the port will have the novel experience of having their passport checked by Gibraltarian and Spanish police.
Legend has it that if Gibraltar’s famous Barbary macaque monkeys ever leave the Rock, then it will cease to be British. However, British sovereignty was never on the table during four years of torturously slow diplomatic talks to iron out a deal.
On the other side of the border in Spain, Juan Franco, mayor of La Linea de la Concepción, has already seen a radical change since the deal was announced last year.
La Linea has long been one of Spain’s poorest towns with an unemployment rate of 29 per cent, and has been plagued by drug smuggling from Morocco. But Franco says wealthy Gibraltarians and Britons are now buying up properties in select parts of town and gentrifying areas he likened to Sotogrande – an exclusive area south of Marbella on Spain’s south coast.
New businesses are investing in the town, with restaurants opening and people visiting from Gibraltar to go shopping, see a concert or visit its cafes.
But the mayor said there was a downside. “It is pushing up prices beyond what local people can afford. It is creating a divide,” he said.