An agreement between Britain and the EU over the future of Gibraltar is "getting closer", according to a joint statement following talks.

Rules governing Gibraltar's border with Spain are understood to have been a "major sticking point", said The Independent. Foreign Secretary David Cameron yesterday addressed concerns about the impact on UK sovereignty amid proposals for EU border guards to be posted at Gibraltar's airport.

What is the status of Gibraltar since Brexit?
Since the UK opted to leave the EU in 2016, Gibraltar – which voted 96% to remain – has been "in a state of nervous limbo", said The New European.

A temporary "pre-deal" arrangement was introduced in 2020 that effectively allowed freedom of movement at the Spain-Gibraltar border to avoid disruption, while letting Gibraltar remain a British territory.

This is vital for Gibraltar's economy, said the Financial Times. The Rock is "as wealthy as it is cramped": a "freakishly overdeveloped tiny place not even 3 square miles in size" that relies on more than 15,000 cross-border commuters from Spain to "double the size of its workforce every day". Without the workers, the economy "would grind to a halt".

Why has progress been so slow?
In principle, Spain and Gibraltar agree on a need for smooth cross-border relations, said the FT. But "bigger matters are at play".

Successive conservative Spanish governments have attempted to take at least partial control of the Rock, with right-wingers using Gibraltar as a "whack-a-mole for energising a nationalist audience", said US socialist magazine Jacobin.

What is the border plan?
Talks have been ongoing for nearly two years to establish a common travel area between Gibraltar and the EU's Schengen zone, which would remove the need for most controls at the border.

But EU immigration checks at the airport would be "utterly unacceptable", said The Telegraph in an editorial, "partly because the airport is a joint civil-military facility that doubles as a RAF station". This is "not just a matter of sovereignty, but also of control of a strategically significant British defence asset".

The fear, said The Independent, is that this "will see EU Frontex border guards decide who can enter the British overseas territory – and will give them the power to turn away British citizens".

Cameron has said a deal must not cross the UK's red lines, which include the British military base continuing to run as it does now, and "every inch of Gibraltar" remaining sovereign UK territory.

The first instalment of the long-awaited third season of Netflix's regency romance "Bridgerton" has arrived – and it "does not disappoint", said Sarah Hunter Simanson on HuffPost.  

In fact, "it may even exceed fans' already high expectations". The latest series once again explores a "friends-to-lovers" relationship, this time between the eligible Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and the retiring Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). But with some critics accusing the show of becoming formulaic, can it continue to captivate viewers?

'Worth the wait' 
The period drama "lassoed the zeitgeist upon its 2020 debut" and has never looked back, said Rachel Aroesti in The Guardian. This "immaculately constructed dreamland" has become a "pinnacle of comfort TV", and the latest season will have viewers equally gripped.

That is partly to do with the "stellar" performances, said Aramide Tinubu on Variety, with Coughlan and Newton offering a "beautiful rapport" as friends, but ratcheting up to a "sparkling tension" as their romance blossoms. This season, the couple are "firmly in the spotlight" where they belong, rather than relegated to "the fringes of the narrative".

"I would usually admonish Netflix" for ending the first set of episodes "with an intoxicating cliffhanger", said Emily Baker on the i news site. But "in the case of Bridgerton, it's somewhat poetic". It has been "worth the wait".

'Tediously familiar' 
Although the latest "Bridgerton" season will attract millions of viewers, "the formula of this Regency romp is wearing decidedly thin", said Vicky Jessop in the London Evening Standard.

While "have-a-go Heathcliff" Colin has undeniable chemistry with Penelope, this season offers "little in the way of plot novelty", returning to "transparent" plot lines to push the story forward. 

"The writers seem to have given up," said Anita Singh in The Telegraph. The show "feels tediously familiar", from costume to instrumental pop covers. "Bridgerton" is "no longer in the early days of its courtship" with viewers, said Angie Han in The Hollywood Reporter, and "unfortunately, it's starting to show". The series remains "plenty sweet, but not quite as delectable".

The fjords of Norway – all 1,000 of them – are majestic. The long, narrow sea inlets are surrounded by dramatically steep cliffs, often best viewed from the water while gliding by on a ferry or kayak. Fjords can be found in all corners of the country, but some of the most stunning examples are in the western part of the nation, known as Fjord Norway.

Geirangerfjord
All you have to do is see a photo of Geirangerfjord (pictured above) to understand why this is among the most visited spots in Norway. A Unesco World Heritage Site, the natural wonder "inspires with its deep, blue water ringed by sky-grazing snow-capped peaks, gushing waterfalls and green vegetation", said Travel + Leisure. For spectacular views, take a ferry ride past the Seven Sisters and Suitor waterfalls and drive up the windy road to Mt. Dalsnibba.

Hardangerfjord
Often referred to as the Kingdom of Waterfalls, Hardangerfjord is home to Norway's crown jewel, the mighty Voringsfossen. This is the country's most famous waterfall, and after witnessing its power, be sure to also visit Steinsdalsfossen, where you can walk on a pathway behind the water, and Latefossen, a twin waterfall that plunges towards an old stone bridge.

Lysefjord
Lysefjord is a playground for mountain hikers. Opportunities abound, from the strenuous climb up to Kjerag, the highest peak in Lysefjord, to the popular trek to Preikestolen (The Pulpit Rock). From here, you can gaze down at the Lysefjord below, a view made even more special when hiking in for sunrise. If that is not enough to get your heart pumping, take a ferry to the village of Florli and ascend the world's longest wooden stairway – a 4,444-step journey up a mountain.

Ostracising Israel at the UN should be a priority
Moncef Khane for Al-Jazeera
Palestine's "full-fledged UN membership remains hostage to the US veto in the Security Council", writes former UN official Moncef Khane, yet "it has become a red herring, diverting attention and action from a far more important and consequential question: Israel's status at the UN". Ostracising and stripping Israel of its rights and privileges "is more likely to put added pressure on the Tel Aviv regime to change course" on Gaza, and to "further the prospect of peace".

It'd be better with Boris? This myth won't fly
Hugo Rifkind in The Times
Conservatives including Nadhim Zahawi, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries are repeating what threatens to be the "defining myth of the Tory right, for the next generation", says Hugo Rifkind. But to accept their argument that the party was wrong to oust Boris Johnson is "not only to forget about everything from his wallpaper to Jennifer Arcuri to partygate", but also to believe that had he remained PM, "there would have been no more whopping great scandals to follow them".

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a domestic abuser and his apology holds no water
Anonymous for Indy Voices
"Call me cynical", says an anonymous writer, but Sean "Diddy" Combs's apologies for domestic violence are hard to take "seriously" when "they've been triggered by video evidence that's gone viral". No doubt the rapper "has shed tears – but I think he's sorry for himself" and is "crying over the damage he's done to his career" and "fabulous wealth". So "f***" him and "anyone who needs to watch a woman being abused before they believe her".