The Lady Warriors at the top of the table on Wednesday after dramatic come from behind win
The Lady Gombey Warriors battled back from a one nil deficit to power their way to the top of the table, with a convincing 5 one victory over St Vincent and the Grenadines in round one of the World Cup Qualifiers in Puerto Rico.
After trailing one nil at the half, from the 60th minute, it was a whole different ball game. A free kick from Evans Welch put Bermuda on the board opening up the scoring flood gates for the Lady Warriors in the process. 2 minutes later Bermuda took the lead thanks to a blast from Milan Gibbons-Thomas – a lead extended by Avani Patton in the 77th minute with a left-footed shot inside the area.
8 minutes later it was 4 one for Team Bermuda when Gibbons-Thomas struck again in the 85th. And a goal from Keyandae Lightbourne in the 89th made it 5 one, sealing Bermuda’s second consecutive victory in style.
One-of-a-kind medal shines the spotlight on some of the island’s most iconic landmarks.
Participants in this year’s Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge may have more trouble keeping their eye off the prize than on it. Designed by Bermuda’s own Domico Watson the event’s one-of-a-kind medal shines the spotlight on some of the island’s most iconic landmarks. And the good news? You don’t have to finish on the podium, to get one
“The PLP wants to preserve Bermudian opportunities”
Following the rollout of Michael Fahy as the OBA’s candidate for C20: Pembroke South West, the PLP has released a statement outlining the difference between the PLP and the OBA on immigration reform – and it ultimately comes down to status, and the right to vote.
Statement from a PLP Spokesperson below:
The OBA would have you believe there is no difference between the PLP and the OBA regarding immigration reform, but nothing could be further from the truth. The difference between the PLP and the OBA is clear— the PLP supports residential rights for long-term residents, while the OBA supports the granting of Bermudian status to long-term residents, as laid out in Michael Fahy’s “Pathways to Status” initiative, which brought the country to a standstill in 2016. The PLP believes in bipartisan immigration reform to support our economy, an approach the OBA rejected. With bipartisan support, the PLP implemented PRCs for long-term residents. However, unlike the OBA, we do not support Bermudian status for long-term residents, which grants unlimited property ownership rights and the right to vote. Michael Fahy and the OBA want to fundamentally change what it means to be Bermudian. That is what he & the OBA tried to force on Bermudians in 2016, and if given the chance, they would do it again. The PLP wants to preserve Bermudian opportunities and grow our economy in a way that benefits Bermudians. We all want a larger economy, yet we also want an economy that works for Bermudans and the people who call it home. However, the OBA’s approach is wrong for Bermuda. Take the Cayman Islands — they implemented Michael Fahy & the OBA’s style of immigration reform, and now, born Caymanians are a minority in their own country. Voters must ask themselves, is that the future you want for Bermuda?
The official Nomination Day process was held at Mount St. Agnes Academy School on Friday
Nomination Day outside Mount Saint Agnes Academy gymnasium, Hamilton Photo: Bermuda Broadcasting
A record-making total of 110 candidates were registered today during Nomination Day to vie for seats across all 36 constituencies in the upcoming General Election.
The Parliamentary Registry Office confirmed the list of candidates and their affiliations in a news release published Friday evening.
By comparison during past election cycles, there were a total of 88 candidates registered for the 2020 general election, 77 in 2017, 87 in 2012 and 75 in 2007, according to the parliamentary website.
The break down of each candidate by party affiliation include:
• 36 Progressive Labour Party (PLP)
• 36 One Bermuda Alliance (OBA)
• 27 Independent Candidates (INP)
• 10 Free Democratic Movement (FDM)
• 1 Emperial Group (EMP)
The General Election is scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
For all other election-related information, the public is encouraged to visit elections.gov.bm.
Ms. Joanne Ball-Burgess calling for unity and respect
Ms. Joanne Ball-Burgess is the Progressive Labour Party’s candidate in Constituency 25 Warwick North East, running against the opposition One Bermuda Alliance’s Dr. Douglas De Couto and independent candidate Justin Mathias.
Earlier today it was reported that Dr. De Couto’s campaign banner, prominently displayed on a Middle Road wall in Warwick, was torn down and destroyed. The OBA’s Deputy Leader, Ben Smith, condemned the act. This afternoon, Ms. Ball-Burgess addressing the matter via press release:
“We firmly oppose the recent act of vandalism against the opposition candidate’s banner in C25. Such actions do not reflect the values we all cherish as a community and have no place in our democracy.”
“As we move through this election period, we encourage all the people of Bermuda to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue. Our commitment remains to a fair, peaceful, and open democratic process—one where every voice is heard, and every candidate can campaign freely. Let’s continue to uphold the spirit of unity, respect, and shared progress that makes Bermuda special.”
Aims to enhance transport efficiency and transport safety
The Bermuda Land Management Corporation (BLMC) are rolling out their Authorized Transportation Access Pass in the Port of Dockyard. They say that the program will enhance transportation efficiency and visitor safety at Dockyard’s cruise ship pier. This initiative ensures an organized and secure experience for thousands of cruise passengers arriving in Dockyard.
Licensed minibus and taxi drivers must now obtain an Authorized Access Pass to enter the General Transportation Area (GTA). Approved drivers will receive an access pass, valid for one year, allowing them to pick up passengers on the cruise ship pier. A separate Tour pass will be issued to drivers certified through an approved tourism program, enabling them to offer guided tours.
A BLMC spokesperson says that the program is designed to enhance safety by ensuring only verified drivers operate within the pier, providing professional and secure services. It is also said to improve organization “by reducing congestion and limiting access to authorized vehicles, while supporting local transportation providers by prioritizing licensed drivers and promoting quality services.”
Applications for the program are now open. Drivers must provide a valid Public Service Vehicle license, proof of Driver’s License, and tourism certification if applicable. Approved applicants will receive their pass and operational guidelines. “This program sets a new standard for safety and organization, ensuring visitors enjoy a seamless start to their Bermuda experience,” said Tabia Butterfield, Facilities Manager & Port Security Manager. For details on the Authorized Access Pass Program and how to apply, contact BLMC at portauthority@blmc.bm or visit https://dockyard.bm/access-pass/.
Authorities have not yet pinpointed a reason for the collision
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Federal authorities restricted helicopter flights near the U.S. capital’s Reagan Washington National Airport indefinitely on Friday, two days after a midair collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter killed 67 people.
The Federal Aviation Administration took the action to reduce the risk of another collision as crews worked to pull the wreckage of America’s deadliest air disaster in two decades from the Potomac River.
An FAA official told Reuters the agency was barring most helicopters from parts of two routes near the airport and only allowing police and medical helicopters in the area between the airport and nearby bridges, pending a complete evaluation. It was not clear how long those restrictions would last.
The crash has cast a harsh spotlight on questions about air safety and a shortage of tower controllers at the heavily congested airport that serves the U.S. capital.
Airspace is crowded around the Washington area, home to three commercial airports, multiple military bases and some senior government officials who are ferried around by helicopter. Over a three-year period ending in 2019, there were 88,000 helicopter flights within 30 miles (48 km) of Reagan National Airport, including about 33,000 military and 18,000 law enforcement flights, the Government Accountability Office said in a 2021 report.
The American Airlines plane was trying to land at Reagan National Airport when it collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday evening. Fresh from recovering the plane’s so-called black boxes, divers aim to salvage both aircraft and find additional components on Friday, Washington’s fire department said.
Authorities have not pinpointed a reason for the collision.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it aims to recover the helicopter’s black box, which captures flight data and voices in the cockpit, on Friday.
The FAA is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets. The agency said in 2023 that it had 10,700 certified controllers, about the same as a year earlier.
One controller rather than two was handling local plane and helicopter traffic on Wednesday at the airport, a situation deemed “not normal” but considered adequate for lower volumes of traffic, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy vowed to reform the FAA. “I am in the process of developing an initial plan to fix the @FAANews. I hope to put it out very shortly,” Duffy said on X on Thursday.
Search and rescue teams work in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, as seen from Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
NTSB STUDYING VOICE RECORDER
The National Transportation Safety Board is studying the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the CRJ700 airplane, which carried 60 passengers and four crew members, all of whom perished in the crash. The three members of the helicopter crew also died.
The military said the maximum altitude for the route the helicopter was taking is 200 feet (61 meters) but it may have been flying higher. The collision occurred at an altitude of around 300 feet, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. The NTSB expects to recover the data recorder from the helicopter later on Friday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday ordered a 48-hour pause in flying for the Virginia-based Army unit involved, and said that could be extended. “We should have that pause until we get to the bottom of this,” he told Fox News.
President Donald Trump weighed in on Friday, saying that the helicopter involved in the crash was flying too high.
“The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, questioned the safety of military and commercial flights separated by as little as 350 feet (107 m) vertically and horizontally. She also urged the government to reconsider allowing so many helicopter flights next to such a busy airport.
Radio communications showed that air traffic controllers alerted the helicopter about the approaching jet and ordered it to change course.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the pilot of the American Eagle Flight 5342 had about six years of flying experience. The Bombardier jet was operated by PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary.
U.S. Coast Guard, along with other search and rescue teams, operate near debris at the crash site in the Potomac River in a location given as Washington, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, U.S. January 30, 2025. Taylor Bacon/U.S. Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS
Seven U.S. pilots told Reuters that the landing at Reagan airport is unique due to congested space along with an inability to communicate directly with military aircraft, which operate on different radio frequencies. The airport also has shorter runways.
Hegseth said the helicopter was flown by a “fairly experienced crew” of three soldiers who were wearing night-vision goggles on an annual training flight. Officials said they were grounding other flights from the Army unit involved in the crash and would reevaluate training exercises in the region.
The crash victims included people from Russia, China, Germany and the Philippines, as well as young figure skaters and people from Kansas, the state from which the passenger flight took off.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and Costas Pitas; Additional reporting by Bianca Flowers; Editing by Scott Malone, Gerry Doyle, Mark Porter and Nia Williams)
Rider faces charges after riding through Nomination Day crowd
Photo: BPS
A man was arrested today amid the activities around Nomination Day. Police issued the following statement: “Around 11am Friday, 31st January 2025, police officers were monitoring traffic in the area of the Mount St. Agnes School Hall, which was the assigned location for Nomination of Candidates for the upcoming General Election, when their attention was drawn to a male riding an auxiliary cycle in a dangerous manner through a crowd of people processing from Court Street and accompanied by a Gombey Troupe. “Officers who were on scene to control traffic around the procession quickly caught up with and detained the male rider. “It was later reported to police that as the vehicle was being ridden through the crowd, the vehicle made contact with an 11-year-old Gombey performer. It is not believed that the young male dancer was injured during the incident. “Assistant Commissioner of Police Martin Weekes said that the subject, who is currently in police custody, is expected to appear before the courts facing a number of charges in relation to their driving.”
It’s the biggest choice for voters in any of Bermuda’s General Elections
The Progressive Labour Party, the incumbent government, and the official Opposition, the One Bermuda Alliance, will have a candidate on the ballot in all 36 constituencies.
This brings the total number of confirmed candidates in the 2025 electoral race to just shy of 100—the widest choice ever for voters.
The island’s third political party, the Free Democratic Movement, told Bermuda Broadcasting yesterday that it still had candidates to roll out. Therefore, it is likely that by the close of Nomination Day, there will be more than 100 confirmed candidates running in the February 18 General Election.
Bermuda Broadcasting’s Gary Foster Skelton sought to gauge what that figure represents to both the Premier and the Opposition Leader.
PLP Party Leader and Premier David Burt stated: “I think that it’s an indictment on the One Bermuda Alliance for not being an effective Opposition, but I also think it’s a representation that we have a strong and vibrant democracy. And as you’ve seen with the Progressive Labour Party, we have a solid record of delivering during the tough times that we’ve had.”
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Jarion Richardson said the large candidate pool shows that Bermuda is ready to move past the current Government.
He said: “How can anyone be happy with the status quo when we have so many seniors who are suffering, hungry? This status quo in Bermuda today is unacceptable to any right-thinking person. So what we’re going to do is—we’ve offered a plan, we’re ready to go, and we’re going to fix these problems. 33% food insecurity—that’s got to stop. There are so many things wrong, and we are ready to fix them. We’ve got a team.”
Watch our live coverage of the first 40 minutes below…
Charles Crisson, 59, was recovered from the sea near Morgan’s Point on Saturday morning
Charles Crisson Photo: LinkedIn
The identity of the man found dead at the weekend has been named by police as 59-year-old Charles Crisson. His lifeless body was found in the water off Caroline Bay Marina, Morgan’s Point in Sands parish shortly before 10.30am on Saturday. Police said an investigation regarding the circumstances of his death continues. Mr. Crisson was the senior managing director of Crisson Construction Limited, according to LinkedIn. The police are renewing an appeal for anyone with relevant information – particularly Caroline Bay Marina area residents, as well as those living on boats at Morgan’s Point – to share what they know with police by calling 211.
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