BermudAir faces competition from U.S. carriers such as JetBlue, American and United on New York flights, but some of the new routes do not have significant competition
International News via Reuters:
BermudAir is ordering 10 Airbus A220 airplanes as it plans new routes to Bermuda, Anguilla, Belize, and Turks and Caicos, the startup airline said Wednesday.
“The performance characteristics of the A220 enable us to open up more markets and to expand our footprint,” BermudAir CEO and founder Adam Scott said in an interview, adding the airline plans to more than double its current 11 routes by the end of the year.
The order for A220-300 was signed at the Farnborough airshow. The carrier serving Bermuda has been in operation since 2023. BermudAir said it plans to add up to 20 A220 aircraft by 2030 and eventually replace its Embraer 190 fleet.
BermudAir faces competition from U.S. carriers such as JetBlue, American and United on New York flights, but some of the new routes do not have significant competition.
Scott said the carrier is focused on improving the experience of customers.
“We’re winning those customers because we actually just do something that is that’s very different,” Scott said.
The new routes include six to Turks and Caicos, with service from Newark, Boston, Baltimore-Washington, Raleigh-Durham, Fort Lauderdale and St Petersburg/Tampa, and five new routes to Belize. The airline is also expanding seasonal service to Anguilla.
The airline plans to add wifi, which its current planes do not have.
Starting an airline is not easy, he added. “You’ve got to be very determined. You got to be committed to it,” Scott said. “It’s steady wins the race.”
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Joe Bavier and Andrew Heavens
Bermuda Police Service statement: Police are currently on the scene of a single vehicle road traffic collision involving a truck in Southampton, near the junction with Granaway Heights.
The two occupants of the vehicle have been transported to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for treatment. The extent of their injuries is unknown at this time.
Traffic is being diverted around the scene using the eastbound lane while emergency personnel clear the area.
Motorists are advised to exercise caution when approaching the area.
Home Affairs Minister Alexa Lightbourne announced the pause after the latest version of the IRP went live on the Regulatory Authority’s website on July 3rd
Government’s temporary suspension of its Integrated Resource Plan has triggered questions from Belco and the Opposition.
Home Affairs Minister Alexa Lightbourne announced the pause after the latest version of the IRP went live on the Regulatory Authority’s website on July 3rd. Now, BELCO questions the move.
In a statement, the Regulatory Authority confirmed that the Integrated Resource Plan, submitted by BELCO, was approved by the Board of Commissioners on the 25th of June 2026.
The RA is aware of the statements made by the Minister of Home Affairs about the IRP. A spokesperson said,”As the matter is the subject of ongoing engagement it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
As part of the implementation of the already approved IRP, the RA will undertake a programme of public and stakeholder engagement in the coming weeks to support understanding of Bermuda’s long-term electricity planning framework.
BermudAir has announced plans to become the newest operator of the Airbus A220, with affiliated company Odyssey placing a firm order for 10 A220-300 aircraft.
The agreement, announced at the Farnborough International Airshow, marks the group’s first direct aircraft order with Airbus. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The new aircraft will support BermudAir’s expansion across Bermuda, the Caribbean, Central and North America by enabling new non-stop routes, increasing capacity on existing services and serving airports with infrastructure limitations.
The airline said the 135-seat, three-class A220-300 aligns with its premium travel experience, offering larger overhead bins, wider seats and improved passenger comfort.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer Adam Scott said the aircraft’s range, efficiency and performance would help BermudAir connect more communities while maintaining the airline’s focus on premium service.
Airbus said the agreement highlights the A220’s ability to support regional connectivity in island markets while reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions by approximately 25 per cent per seat compared with previous-generation aircraft.
BermudAir said it plans to grow its A220 fleet to as many as 20 aircraft by 2030 as it continues expanding its route network.
In France, where two firefighters died on Tuesday as their truck was engulfed in flames in the southwest region of Gironde, authorities urged people to avoid using barbecues in areas hit by heatwaves
International News via Reuters:
Firefighters battled huge blazes in Spain and France on Wednesday, with the risk of more wildfires very high across much of Spain even as a major one raging in its central Guadalajara province receded, allowing some residents to return home.
In France, where two firefighters died on Tuesday as their truck was engulfed in flames in the southwest region of Gironde, authorities urged people to avoid using barbecues in areas hit by heatwaves, stressing that nine out of 10 wildfires start, accidentally or not, as a result of human activity.
Meanwhile, in the Western Balkans, the danger has shifted from heatwaves to hailstorms, with several people injured in North Macedonia and eastern Kosovo.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent and scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the intensity of heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, while also creating conditions for sudden, destructive storms.
The continent has endured three stifling, virtually back-to-back heatwaves so far this year. Intense heat has also been blamed for thousands of excess deaths in the May to June period.
The Reuters Climate Monitor, an interactive tool providing real-time data, showed the average high temperature across Western Europe is forecast to be 26.6 C, which is three degrees above the normal high for July 22 in the period from 1961 to 1990.
SPANISH WILDFIRE
Spain’s worst wildfire so far this year has burned an estimated 32,000 hectares in the Guadalajara region. It started to stabilise on Tuesday after forcing evacuations in 34 municipalities and confinement orders in 14 others.
Castilla-La Mancha’s INFOCAM fire service said residents of five villages had been authorised to return, although other restrictions remained in place. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was due to visit the affected area later on Wednesday.
Spain’s weather agency AEMET said the danger of wildfires remained “very high or extreme” across most of mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands and was expected to increase further in the coming days.
It urged people to “exercise extreme caution” as the ongoing heatwave combined with dry thunderstorms and Saharan dust.
AEMET spokesperson Ruben del Campo said the heatwave was expected to peak on Wednesday, with temperatures reaching 39-42 degrees Celsius across swathes of the country.
While temperatures will ease slightly in some areas on Thursday, a dry westerly wind is forecast to drive a fresh surge of heat in Mediterranean regions, where highs of 42-44 C could be recorded in parts of the Ebro and Guadalquivir valleys, inland Valencia, Murcia and eastern Andalusia.
A marked cooldown is expected from Friday, with temperatures dropping sharply on Saturday to near or even below average levels in parts of central and western Spain.
However, the respite may be brief. Temperatures are forecast to rise again from Sunday, and intense heat could return across much of Spain early next week.
FRANCE FIRES
In France, less severe temperatures and lighter winds aided efforts to fight a wildfire that has burned 2,500 hectares in the southeastern Var area, damaged dozens of homes and forced 400 people to flee their homes, local authorities said.
At 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), helicopters resumed dropping water on the Var wildfire, which is still active.
“The situation has been very difficult. Some 1,100 firefighters fought all night,” Commander William Vogl, a spokesperson for the Var firefighters, said on RMC radio. The fire was not yet contained but winds should be “more favourable” on Wednesday, he said.
Prefect Simon Babre said barbecues were banned, and he also asked municipalities to cancel any plans for traditional summer fireworks.
Another fire was raging in the Hautes-Alpes, in the south-east, officials said.
HEAT AND STORMS
In Greece, the capital Athens and other eastern and mainland areas were sizzling for a third day, with temperatures forecast to top 41 degrees Celsius. Authorities have banned outdoor work at peak midday sun and advised employers to allow remote work for vulnerable workers.
In Skopje, capital of North Macedonia, 11 people were admitted to hospital, three of them with serious injuries, after a storm on Tuesday night felled trees, damaged roofs and caused power outages across the Balkan country, local media reported.
Roads were blocked and some towns left without electricity and water.
In Kosovo, the Hydrometeorological Institute said more storms were expected on Wednesday and warned of possible lightning strikes, damage to the electricity network, power outages, flooding and property damage.
Local media showed roofs being blown away, torrential rain and residents covering their cars with blankets on Tuesday to protect them from hail.
Reporting by Manon Cruz in Cotignac, France, Guillermo Martinez in Condemios de Abajo, Spain; Emma Pinedo in Madrid, Dominique Vidalon in Paris, Fatos Bytyci in Tirana, Angeliki Koutantou in Athens, Daria Sito-Sucic in Sarajevo; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Gareth Jones
Bloomsbury said a U.S. court identified 14,087 of its titles covered by the settlement, with proposed compensation of about $3,000 per title, split equally between the author and publisher
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s Bloomsbury Publishing confirmed on Wednesday it was among the beneficiaries of a landmark $1.5 billion settlement that resolves claims artificial intelligence company Anthropic used copyrighted books to train its AI models without purchasing the content.
Here are some more details:
• Bloomsbury said a U.S. court identified 14,087 of its titles covered by the settlement, with proposed compensation of about $3,000 per title, split equally between the author and publisher.
• The settlement stems from a class-action lawsuit, approved by a federal judge on Monday, which was brought by authors who alleged Anthropic used their books without permission to train its Claude AI chatbot.
• The settlement is the largest known copyright payout in U.S. history.
• The British company said settlement proceeds would be spread over several payments estimated to begin in the second half of the financial year.
One year after Neal’s departure after more than six years as CEO, a drawn-out investigation found that the relationship had been “sufficiently close during their employment … that it could be viewed as creating a perceived conflict of interest”
International News via Reuters:
Former Lloyd’s of London CEO John Neal’s undisclosed relationship with an ex-corporate affairs director breached the commercial insurance market’s compliance policy and procedures, Lloyd’s said on Wednesday.
One year after Neal’s departure after more than six years as CEO, a drawn-out investigation found that the relationship had been “sufficiently close during their employment … that it could be viewed as creating a perceived conflict of interest”.
But there was no conclusive evidence that Neal and Rebekah Clement were involved in a romantic relationship while at the corporation – and no evidence of process failures linked to a promotion of Clement, the Council of Lloyd’s said in a statement.
Nevertheless, Neal’s conduct fell significantly below the standards expected of senior leaders and was detrimental to the interests of the corporation and Lloyd’s market, it said, while Clement should have “modified her behaviour” and disclosed the perceived conflict of interest.
The council is responsible for the management and supervision of the insurance market.
Neal did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent over LinkedIn.
Clement’s lawyers, Irwin Mitchell, said she was “hugely disappointed” at the findings and was considering legal action.
“For over a year there have been repeated leaks and press briefings about Rebekah, without warning or regard for the damage done to her career, reputation and health,” said Shah Qureshi, an employment lawyer at Irwin Mitchell.
“While Rebekah is pleased that this protracted investigation has come to a close, she has put Lloyd’s and its senior officers on notice that she is considering legal proceedings.”
Senior Lloyd’s individuals had raised concerns directly with Neal regarding the nature of his relationship, but the investigation, which was supported by external lawyers, found no evidence of a material change in his conduct, the council said.
He also failed to ensure whistleblower reports made in November 2023 were properly handled, it added. Lloyd’s said it could not share the nature of the allegations.
“The council considers that Mr Neal’s conduct therefore constitutes a breach of the Lloyd’s compliance policy and his employment contract,” it said in a statement.
Lloyd’s remuneration committee has written to Neal to tell him his conduct would have warranted the cancellation of a proportion of unvested remuneration, had he retained any, the council said. But Neal forfeited unvested compensation when he resigned last year.
Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Louise Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise
Average UK monthly private rents increased by 3.3% in the year to June, matching the pace in the 12 months to May, the ONS said
International News via Reuters:
British house prices rose by 2.7% in the year to May, after rising by an upwardly revised 3.9% in the year to April, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.
Average UK monthly private rents increased by 3.3% in the year to June, matching the pace in the 12 months to May, the ONS said.
Burnham wants to move quickly to show people he can improve their lives, after becoming Britain’s seventh prime minister in 10 years in an unprecedented bout of political instability while living standards flatlined
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, said on Wednesday he would cut the price of single bus tickets by up to a third as part of early measures to try to ease cost-of-living pressures.
Burnham wants to move quickly to show people he can improve their lives, after becoming Britain’s seventh prime minister in 10 years in an unprecedented bout of political instability while living standards flatlined.
On Monday, he said his government would remove a tax from domestic electricity bills from October 1 to save around £45 a year, and the move to cap bus fares at £2 from a previous £3 will come into force in January.
EARLY SHOW OF GOVERNMENT’S INTENT
While the sums may be small, the announcements on the first two days of Burnham’s tenure are designed to show his intent to give people what he calls more “breathing space” in life.
But the government faces financial constraints in making bigger moves, leading to speculation that Burnham might increase either taxes or borrowing at a fiscal event later in the year.
Asked if he was planning to increase taxes, Burnham said, “we’ll take decisions on tax at the budget,” adding his initial moves were about reprioritising where possible to focus on issues like the cost of living.
“I’ve made a number of moves that will deal with some of these challenges, although I appreciate there’s a lot more to do,” he told reporters.
Burnham, a 56-year-old former Greater Manchester mayor, said that among the tax issues he was looking at was the tax-free personal allowance, which has been frozen since 2021 and has dragged more people into paying tax as earnings increase.
Any change could cost billions and markets are closely watching how Burnham, who has vowed to stick to fiscal discipline, would fund any support.
“We’ll have to look at it at the budget alongside everything else,” Burnham said, adding there was “no commitment (and) no unfunded promise,” at this stage to increase the allowance.
The government said the bus price cap would cost more than £500 million, with £100 million coming from the existing transport budget and £400 million from the Energy Security and Net Zero Department, by switching grants for international climate projects to loans.
The fare cap will apply outside London, which has a separate regulated fare system.
Reporting by Kate Holton, Muvija M and Alistair Smout, editing by Andrei Khalip and Andrew Heavens
Consumer prices rose by 2.6% in annual terms in June — the weakest increase since March 2025 and down from 2.8% in May
International News via Reuters:
British inflation cooled by more than expected last month as a brief de-escalation in the Iran war reduced fuel prices, but the slowdown is likely to offer only temporary relief to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham as he seeks to ease living costs.
Consumer prices rose by 2.6% in annual terms in June — the weakest increase since March 2025 and down from 2.8% in May.
Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected a smaller drop to 2.7%. However, the conflict in the Gulf has reignited this month, pushing up energy costs, and analysts said the June inflation reading was likely to prove a low point for the year.
Motor fuel prices fell in month-on-month terms for the first time since the war’s late February start. Manufacturers’ input costs fell by 2.0% from May, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.
Britain’s headline inflation rate — which has been the highest in the Group of Seven for much of the past few years — was lower in June than in the United States and the euro zone where it stood at 3.5% and 2.8% respectively.
LIVING COSTS TOP PRIORITY FOR NEW GOVERNMENT
The Bank of England, which has a 2% inflation target, has said inflation is likely to rise to 3% in the third quarter.
Prices for food — which the BoE sees as key for shaping the public’s inflation expectations — were 1.6% higher last month compared with a year earlier, down from a 2.1% rise in May.
Since Burnham took over as prime minister on Monday, his government has announced a cut in tax on energy bills and a lower cap for bus fares.
Matt Swannell, chief economic adviser to the ITEM Club, a forecasting organisation, said a recent increase in wholesale energy prices would more than offset the domestic power bill tax cut, and inflation could climb towards 3.5% by the end of 2026.
John Healey, Britain’s new finance minister, welcomed Wednesday’s data but said the government needed to do more to help households.
Suren Thiru, chief economist at ICAEW, said the expected climb in inflation in the coming months would squeeze Healey’s fiscal headroom, raise borrowing costs and increase financial market volatility.
UNDERLYING PRICE PRESSURES REMAIN
Inflation for services, closely watched by the BoE as a guide to underlying price pressures, slowed to 3.6% in June from 3.7% in May but was slightly stronger than economists’ forecasts of 3.5%.
Core inflation, which strips out food, energy, alcohol and tobacco prices, held at 2.6%.
Investors expect the BoE to keep its benchmark interest rate at 3.75% next week as it continues to assess the impact of the Middle East conflict.
“Today’s data strengthens the case for the Bank of England’s cautious approach, with underlying inflationary pressures remaining relatively muted in an environment of weak domestic demand,” said Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG.
Some BoE policymakers who voted to increase borrowing costs in June are worried about the risks of inflation persistently overshooting the 2% target.
Financial markets were pricing in one or possibly two quarter-point interest rate increases by the end of 2026, little changed from Tuesday.
Reporting by Suban Abdulla; Editing by William Schomberg, Andrew Heavens, Peter Graff
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.9% to 10,684.33 points by 1010 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.1%
International News via Reuters:
London’s FTSE 100 edged up on Wednesday, supported by gains in precious metal miners and energy shares, while investors monitored escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.9% to 10,684.33 points by 1010 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.1%.
• The precious metal mining stocks jumped 2.8% to lead sectoral gains, with technical buying and safe-haven demand ahead of next week’s U.S. Federal Reserve meeting pushing gold prices to a two-week high. [GOL/]
• Energy gained 1.4% after oil prices rose to near six-week highs on mounting concerns that escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities and threats by Yemen’s the Iran-backed Houthi militia will disrupt key supply routes. [O/R]
• British inflation cooled more than expected last month as a U.S.-Iran de-escalation reduced fuel prices, but the relief is likely temporary for new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who seeks to ease living costs.
• “The economy feels sick and with stock prices high it won’t take much to tip the balance… We have to hope that the new Chancellor has come in with a plan. He has some breathing space, but to keep investors from cashing out and leaving the Chancellor with even less room to manoeuvre, this will need to be credible and implemented fast,” said Nick Saunders, CEO of online investment platform Webull UK.
• Among stocks, Segro jumps 4.6% to the top of the FTSE 100 after Prologis’ submits final takeover proposal for the Britain’s warehouse landlord.
• J D Wetherspoon fell 7.5% after the British pub chain warned that annual earnings would likely miss expectations due to weaker sales and rising costs.
Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das
Sterling was trading flat at $1.3373, after depreciating for the last four sessions
International News via Reuters:
The pound held steady against the dollar on Wednesday as a softer-than-anticipated inflation reading did little to alter market expectations for interest rate hikes later this year, while oil prices jumped as geopolitical uncertainty persisted.
Sterling was trading flat at $1.3373, after depreciating for the last four sessions. It weakened 0.2% against the euro, but remained on pace for around a 1% rise for the month.
British inflation cooled by more than expected last month as a brief de-escalation in the Iran war reduced fuel prices, but the slowdown is likely to offer only temporary relief to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham as he seeks to ease living costs.
“It has broadly met market expectations. Yes, inflation is tracking a little lower than what the Bank of England was projecting but most people had expected that and there’s very little to be priced into sterling in response to today’s data,” said Nick Rees, head of macro research at Monex Europe.
Interest rate expectations were largely unchanged. Money markets show investors believe the central bank will likely keep its lending rate steady when it meets next week. Traders are fully pricing in one quarter-point rate hike by December and a roughly 56% chance of a second such increase..
John Healey, Britain’s new finance minister, welcomed Wednesday’s data, but said the government needed to do more to help households. Burnham’s government earlier this week had announced a cut in tax on energy bills and a lower cap for bus fares.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices jumped more than 4% to near six-week highs on mounting concerns about disruptions to key Middle Eastern supply routes because of escalating hostilities between the U.S. and Iran and threats to shipping by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.
The pound is one of the better-performing G10 currencies so far this year, despite the UK’s status as a net energy importer. Sterling has lost 0.8% in value against the dollar so far in 2026, but is some way ahead of laggard currencies like the Japanese yen, which has lost 4%, or the Swedish crown, which is down 5%.
“GBP risk premium is moving higher and, in an environment where the geopolitical backdrop remains fragile, we think GBP/USD is vulnerable to a move towards $1.32,” BofA Global Research analysts said in a note.
Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Amanda Cooper and Mrigank Dhaniwala
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