Today, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Alexa N. H. Lightbourne, JP, MP addressed BELCO’s recent rate increase announcement.
Minister Lightbourne said, “In May 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a Ministerial Direction to the Regulatory Authority under the Regulatory Authority Act 2011. That Direction required fairer and more transparent cost allocation and asked the Authority to consider, within its retail tariff review, differentiated tariff classes for customers who rely on the grid fully, partially, or minimally.
“One year later, action has finally arrived. The unbundling of rates is welcome. Every household and business deserves to see what it pays to generate electricity and what it pays to deliver it. That clarity is long overdue.
“Transparency must not arrive with a higher bill attached. The Ministry commissioned its own review, conducted by a reputable research body, of the impact of distributed generation on other customers. Its findings indicate that residential customers have carried a disproportionate share of the system’s fixed costs for years.
“It is notable that, with that evidence in hand, BELCO and the Regulatory Authority have again found it prudent to raise costs on consumers. A correction of a long-standing imbalance should return value to the customers who carried it.
“To the concerns raised by solar providers, Government policy is settled and consistent. Bermuda needs a growing renewable sector and a fair deal for the grid-reliant household that cannot install panels. Charges that reflect how each customer actually uses the grid serve that fairness.
“At the same time, solar customers have contended for years with a feed-in tariff held low by a flawed calculation at the outset. The public cannot be made to carry the cost of poor regulation, or of mistakes that yield higher prices on them. Fair charges and fair compensation must move together.”
The Human Rights Commission received 215 public intakes in 2025, a five per cent increase over the previous year, according to its newly released Annual Report.
The report found that sex was the most commonly identified protected ground in complaints, accounting for 19 per cent of cases, followed by disability at 18 per cent and ethnic or national origin at 14 per cent.
Employment-related discrimination remained the most frequently reported issue, making up 31 per cent of identified complaints under the Human Rights Act. Concerns involving goods, facilities and services accounted for 17 per cent, while workplace harassment represented 13 per cent.
The Commission also highlighted its work to advance disability inclusion, including the publication of Disability Inclusion in Bermuda: Findings & Recommendations from a National Consultation. The report outlines key barriers faced by people with disabilities and recommendations to improve accessibility and inclusion across the Island.
During 2025, the Commission expanded its public education efforts through presentations, consultations and community outreach, while working with organisations including Ageing and Disability Services, Bermuda Is Love, Vision Bermuda and OUTBermuda to promote equality and human rights.
The Commission said it remains committed to protecting and promoting human rights through education, advocacy, collaboration and enforcement of the Human Rights Act.
The Bermuda Road Safety Council launched its National Road Safety Plan in April this year and has presented recommendations to the Transport Ministry to enhance legislation around traffic
On-the-spot fines for speeding and drunk driving offenses are being proposed under a raft of changes to Bermuda’s road policies.
The Bermuda Road Safety Council is pledging real change to influence behaviours in its five-year Road Safety Plan, aimed at reducing injury and death on our roads.
The move is aimed at strengthening the resilience of financial firms by reducing the risk of widespread disruption from cyber attacks or technology outages
International News via Reuters:
Britain has designated cloud service providers Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Oracle as critical third-party suppliers to its financial sector, bringing them under direct regulatory oversight.
The move is aimed at strengthening the resilience of financial firms by reducing the risk of widespread disruption from cyber attacks or technology outages.
“As banks, insurers and financial market infrastructures become increasingly reliant on cloud services, disruption at a major supplier could affect multiple firms at the same time, potentially impacting services customers depend on,” the government said in a statement on Friday.
The government designated Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd, Google Cloud EMEA Ltd, Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL, and Oracle Corporation UK Ltd as critical third parties, effective July 13.
The firms will be supervised jointly by the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. They will be required to undergo resilience testing, conduct regular self-assessments and report major incidents.
Britain’s approach contrasts with that of the European Union, which in November designated 19 technology and services firms under a similar framework.
A Google Cloud spokesperson said: “With effective implementation and meaningful industry engagement, this new Critical Third Party framework can enhance the long-term resilience of the UK’s financial ecosystem and increase understanding, transparency, and trust between all parties.”
Reporting by Phoebe Seers and Muvija M. Editing by William James and Mark Potter
The figures underscore the challenges facing health workers as they battle to contain the outbreak in the country’s northeast, which has so far infected 1,792 people and killed 625
International News via Reuters:
Four out of every five new Ebola cases in parts of Democratic Republic of Congo have no known link to existing patients, a senior World Health Organization official said, warning that the true scale of the outbreak could be two to four times larger than official data suggest.
The figures underscore the challenges facing health workers as they battle to contain the outbreak in the country’s northeast, which has so far infected 1,792 people and killed 625, according to government data released on Thursday.
“Eighty percent of the… new patients confirmed are coming outside of known contact lists” in the heart of the outbreak in Bunia, Ituri province, WHO Emergencies Director Chikwe Ihekweazu told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday.
In areas with fewer cases, like North Kivu province, almost all new cases are coming from the contact lists, he added, a sign of some progress.
TESTING POINTS TO INTENSE COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION
WHO estimates based on modelling and test positivity rates suggest the outbreak, which was declared in mid-May, may be between two and four times larger than the number of confirmed cases, he said.
About 90% of all reported cases remain concentrated in Ituri province, particularly in the health zones of Bunia, Rwampara, Mongbwalu and Nyakunde, where transmission remains intense.
But the virus has also spread beyond the epicentre to North Kivu province, South Kivu province and, more recently, Tshopo province.
In Bunia, Ituri’s capital and a city of one million, roughly one in two patients tested for Ebola turns out to be positive, a sign of intense, ongoing community transmission, Ihekweazu said.
Preliminary evidence suggests the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus may cause milder symptoms than other types, reducing risk perceptions among affected communities and leading some families to care for sick relatives at home before seeking treatment.
While that appears to improve survival rates among patients who reach treatment centres, it also means infected people may remain in the community longer and continue transmitting the virus.
“Patients are out there much longer than we would like,” Ihekweazu said. “The longer patients are outside of care, the more likely they are to transmit this illness.”
Community deaths also remain a major concern. An analysis of the first 400 Ebola deaths in the outbreak found that roughly 70% occurred outside treatment centres, he said.
Strengthening surveillance remains the biggest challenge for the response, he said. Authorities this week began training 21,000 community health workers to conduct house-to-house visits, identify suspected cases and encourage people with symptoms to seek care.
Reporting by Clement Bonnerot; Editing by Jennifer Rigby, Robbie Corey-Boulet and Sharon Singleton
Police said they were investigating potential offences under laws governing donations to political parties, which could include concealment of the source of funding or giving false information to the treasurer of a party
International News via Reuters:
British police are investigating at least £500,000 ($671,000) in donations to Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party made by the mother of a close political ally who was convicted of wire fraud, the Times newspaper reported on Friday.
Police said they were investigating potential offences under laws governing donations to political parties, which could include concealment of the source of funding or giving false information to the treasurer of a party.
“An investigation was launched in February 2025 after a referral was made to the Metropolitan Police by the Electoral Commission relating to donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK General Election,” a spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police said.
Two people have been questioned but no arrests have been made, police added, without confirming the names of those involved in the donations being probed.
Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader, told local radio the investigation was part of a “politically motivated smear campaign”.
The party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS IN SPOTLIGHT
Farage has been facing questions for weeks about his party’s funds and his financial affairs, including undisclosed gifts from a cryptocurrency billionaire investor and a long-standing political ally, George Cottrell.
Cottrell went to prison in the U.S. in 2017 after pleading guilty to wire fraud and now works in cryptocurrency.
The Times said the police investigation was looking at payments made by Cottrell’s mother to Reform before the 2024 election.
Cottrell did not immediately respond to a request for comment left with a company where he is listed as a director.
Farage has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying he received the donation from the billionaire crypto investor before announcing his candidacy in the 2024 election, and therefore did not need to declare it.
The Reform leader, who was a vocal Brexit campaigner, abruptly announced earlier this week that he would resign his parliamentary seat and run there again, seeking a vote of confidence from voters to answer criticism about his finances.
A poll by the political consultancy Electoral Calculus this week said Reform had slipped from first to third in voting intentions, behind the governing Labour Party and the opposition Conservatives.
Reporting by Andrew MacAskill;Editing by Helen Popper
The European Commission’s preliminary findings follow a two-year investigation under the European Union’s landmark Digital Services Act
International News via Reuters:
The EU charged Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook on Friday with breaching its tech rules, with regulators targeting features they say are designed to keep users hooked and demanding changes to autoplay and infinite scroll or risk fines.
The European Commission’s preliminary findings follow a two-year investigation under the European Union’s landmark Digital Services Act, which requires large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content.
Social media companies face growing scrutiny around the world over concerns that their platforms are contributing to a mental health crisis among children, prompting some governments to impose or consider bans for underage users.
The Commission, the EU’s tech regulator, said Meta had failed to adequately assess the addictive risks posed by highly personalised recommendations, autoplay and infinite scroll, which continuously feed users new content and encourage prolonged engagement.
It said reels and stories on Facebook and Instagram could contribute to excessive or compulsive use.
The regulator criticised Meta’s measures to mitigate these risks, saying time management tools can be easily dismissed, while parental controls require significant time, effort and technical knowledge to use effectively.
Meta should disable features such as autoplay and infinite scroll by default, introduce effective screen-time breaks and make its recommendation system less focused on driving engagement, the Commission said.
META DISAGREES WITH THE CHARGES
“We disagree with these preliminary findings, which don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens,” Meta spokesperson Ben Walters said.
“Since this investigation began, we rolled out Teen Accounts that automatically protect teens and put parents in control – allowing them to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at just 15 minutes.”
Meta added it would continue to engage constructively with EU regulators.
“Our starting point is that, based on our findings, this design is too addictive and changes need to be made,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told Reuters.
“The next step is either that Meta changes its design or a non compliance decision will follow.”
Meta, which risks a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover, can respond to the charges before the Commission issues a final decision in the coming months.
The company last month failed in its bid to dismiss claims by 29 U.S. state attorneys general’s that Facebook and Instagram are addictive to children.
The EU charges against Meta mirror those brought against TikTok in February, when regulators demanded similar changes to its app.
The Commission is separately investigating so-called rabbit hole effects caused by Facebook and Instagram recommendation systems, where users can be drawn into prolonged viewing by algorithmic recommendations that push them towards similar content. In another case announced in April, it told Meta to do more to prevent children under 13 from accessing its social networks or risk fines.
The Commission is due to receive findings from experts on Monday that could help pave the way for a Europe-wide social media ban for teenagers that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to announce in her September state of the union address.
Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Essi Lehto in Helsinki; Editing by Mark Potter
Von der Leyen said in May that, following a meeting with Hungary’s new prime minister, Peter Magyar, the EU would unlock €16.4 billion ($18.7 billion) of money for Budapest that had been previously withheld over concerns of corruption
International News via Reuters:
Hungary, which is on track to get vital EU funds by showing it is fighting corruption, will join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the president of the European Commission said on Friday.
“This is a welcome step in the fight against fraud and corruption. The people of Hungary will now have a safeguard in place to ensure EU funds work in their interest,” Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
Von der Leyen said in May that, following a meeting with Hungary’s new prime minister, Peter Magyar, the EU would unlock €16.4 billion ($18.7 billion) of money for Budapest that had been previously withheld over concerns of corruption.
($1 = 0.8750 euros)
Reporting by Sudip Kar-GuptaEditing by Gareth Jones
One Spaniard was among the victims and the rest appeared to be foreign nationals who ignored instructions to shelter in place
International News via Reuters:
At least 12 people have died attempting to flee a wildfire in southern Spain, and 23 were missing, officials said on Friday, as firefighters battled to bring one of the country’s deadliest blazes on record under control.
One Spaniard was among the victims and the rest appeared to be foreign nationals who ignored instructions to shelter in place, trying instead to flee by car as flames spread rapidly through a wooded area around the town of Los Gallardos in Almeria province, said Antonio Sanz, head of emergencies in the Andalusia region.
The area is a popular holiday destination and home to many foreigners, especially the French, Britons and Belgians.
Four people, who appeared to be British because the steering wheel of their car was on the right-hand side, died in one vehicle, he said. Seven others were found dead after apparently abandoning their cars and attempting to escape on foot along a route that was not part of the evacuation plan.
“The consequences have been terrible. Everything seems to indicate that, in the case of the dead, the majority – or all of them – are foreign nationals,” Sanz said.
Juan Manuel Moreno, head of Andalusia’s regional government, said 23 people were missing, some probably hikers. Rescue workers found several walking sticks at the scene.
“I think they’ve been caught off-guard in the woods. When there’s a sudden fire … you don’t know how to get out,” Moreno said.
The circumstances resemble those in neighbouring Portugal in June 2017, when a huge wildfire during a heatwave killed more than 60 people, with half of the victims burned to death in their cars.
EARLY START TO SPAIN’S WILDFIRE SEASON
A series of early summer heatwaves has left large parts of Spain parched and vulnerable to any spark, fueling an early start to wildfire season.
So far this year, about 57,000 hectares (140,850 acres) have burned, about half the annual average for the past two decades and making up 40% of all the area burned in the European Union, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
“We usually don’t see these fires until August. They’re starting earlier now because the vegetation dries out sooner,” Roman Garcia, a forest firefighter from Salamanca, said on state broadcaster TVE.
A record heatwave last August provoked the worst wildfire season in three decades, charring 330,000 ha, an area twice the size of London.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez acknowledged at the time that wildfire prevention had been “clearly insufficient” and forestry management inadequate, pledging to do “whatever it takes” to ensure fires on such a scale never happened again.
Sanchez on Friday offered his condolences to the families of the victims and said he felt “enormous sadness and devastation”.
As authorities sought to identify the dead and track down the missing, anxious relatives from around the world posted messages on social media and local forums.
One woman said her daughter, who was driving a red Ford Fiesta and had her dog with her, was missing. Another person from the United States said her brother had been among a group of 10 people who tried to escape through a valley next to a stream.
Pedro Ridao, mayor of the nearby town of Antas, told TVE the fire was believed to have started when a power cable came loose and fell on a patch of dry scrubland on Thursday. However, a spokesperson for utility company Endesa ruled that out after technicians found that the cable carried no voltage.
“It was mainly the wind that was blowing in the afternoon that caused it to spread. As the afternoon wore on, we could see the fire was racing ahead, devouring farmhouses, holiday homes and cars, so we sprang into action,” Ridao said.
The death toll already surpasses that of 2005, when 11 firefighters were killed in a blaze in the central province of Guadalajara that was sparked by a barbecue.
Reporting by Loyola Perez de Villegas Muniz in Los Gallardos, Emma Pinedo, Corina Pons, David Latona in Madrid, Akanksha Khushi in BengaluruWriting by Charlie Devereux Editing by Aislinn Laing, Ros Russell, Andrei Khalip
Brent futures were up 60 cents, or 0.8%, at $76.90 a barrel by 1131 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 46 cents, or 0.6%, to $72.54
International News via Reuters:
Oil prices rose on Friday and were on track for weekly gains as renewed U.S.-Iran fighting disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, stoking concerns over supply disruptions.
Brent futures were up 60 cents, or 0.8%, at $76.90 a barrel by 1131 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 46 cents, or 0.6%, to $72.54.
For the week, Brent was set for a gain of about 7% and WTI was on track for an increase of about 6%.
“Prices have backed off the midweek highs, but there is still a substantial risk premium as Hormuz transits are back to a near-standstill with no clear signs of when normal reopening might resume,” said Vandana Hari at oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states on Thursday after U.S. strikes on Iran’s southern coastal and eastern provinces, further straining a creaking ceasefire.
Separately, Iranian media reported multiple explosions across southern Iran. The area included Bushehr, where one of the country’s nuclear plants is located.
The recent escalation in hostilities between the U.S. and Iran could upend the International Energy Agency’s forecast of a significant oil market surplus next year, it said on Friday.
The developments also have delayed a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about 20% of daily global oil and gas supplies before the start of the war on February 28.
The lack of any new U.S. strikes on Iran overnight is probably weighing on oil prices, though a drop in flows through the Strait of Hormuz is limiting the downside, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
Liquefied natural gas tankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, ship-tracking data showed, but overall daily traffic has slowed.
U.S. President Donald Trump said this week that he did not think the war would restart and that “anything that happens is going to be over very quickly”.
“Despite the U.S. ramping up attacks on military sites in Iran, the market drew some reassurance from the Trump administration’s decision to avoid targeting Iranian energy infrastructure,” said ANZ commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.
Elsewhere, the IEA downgraded its projections on Russian oil production because of Ukrainian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, the agency said on Friday.
Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in London, Mohi Narayan in New Delhi and Nicole Jao in New YorkEditing by David Goodman
Sterling rose to $1.345 on Friday, the highest since June 15, and was last up 0.1%
International News via Reuters:
The pound rose on Friday to an almost one-month high against the dollar and a one-year peak versus the euro as markets mulled central banks’ likely response to the latest rise in energy prices stemming from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Sterling rose to $1.345 on Friday, the highest since June 15, and was last up 0.1%.
Meanwhile the euro fell to 85.18 pence, the lowest against the pound since late June 2025, before paring its losses to trade flat.
Analysts have debated the reasons for the strength in sterling in recent weeks with better-than-expected growth, foreign companies purchasing UK firms, a calming of political instability, and Bank of England policy all cited.
Monex Europe senior FX strategist Barry van der Laan said comments late on Thursday from Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill that interest rates will have to rise were likely supporting the pound on Friday.
“That message reinforced the market’s view that the Bank of England still has less room to look through inflation than the Fed or the ECB,” said Van der Laan.
Yet he added: “With no important UK data today, sterling is likely to be driven by broader dollar moves, oil prices and Middle East headlines.”
The International Monetary Fund this week upgraded its UK growth forecasts, predicting a 1% expansion in 2026. The outlook for Britain, a major energy importer, has been improved by the June U.S.-Iran deal and subsequent slide in oil prices.
The IMF said Britain would be the third-fastest growing economy in the G7 this year behind Canada and the U.S, outstripping the euro zone countries.
However, oil prices have risen around 5% this week as the U.S. and Iran have traded strikes and the U.S. cancelled an Iranian oil trading waiver.
Brent crude was last trading roughly flat at $76 a barrel, although it remained well below April’s high of $126.
Former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham took a big step to becoming the next prime minister on Thursday after he secured the support of the vast majority of Labour members of parliament to replace Keir Starmer.
Some analysts have said the clarity on the next leader and Burnham’s commitment to the fiscal rules has helped the pound slightly, although they caution UK markets could become more turbulent once he starts outlining economic policies.
Reporting by Harry Robertson; edting by Philippa Fletcher
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