Bermuda’s hopes of landing an International One Design (IOD) World Championship crown have been dealt a devastating blow after a disastrous Day Five for Olympian Peter Bromby in Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Bromby, a three-time former world champion who had been firmly in the hunt for the podium, saw his title ambitions evaporate following a nightmare couple of races off the coast of Marblehead Neck.
The veteran skipper plummeted from fourth to seventh place overall, now sitting on 46 Net Points. His undoing came in the opening race of the day, where severe complications forced his crew to retire from the contest. The damage proved catastrophic, with Bromby subsequently forced to sit out the day’s second race altogether, registering a costly Did Not Start (DNS).
While it was a day to forget for Bromby, fellow countryman Kelsey Durham displayed admirable resilience to hold his ground in a fiercely competitive middle tier of the 12-team international fleet.
Durham maintained his grip on eighth place overall, taking his total to 51 Net Points after a pair of consistent, hard-fought performances. He navigated the blustery conditions to cross the line in sixth place during the day’s opening race, before backing it up with a solid seventh-place finish in the second flight. With the regatta drawing to its final stages, Durham remains well placed to finish strong.
Bermuda’s boccia contingent endured a challenging start to their campaigns on the opening day of individual pool play at the Birmingham World Boccia Challenger in Alabama.
The prestigious tournament offers critical ranking points on the long road to the LA28 Paralympic Games, but the opening round-robin fixtures proved unyielding for the local side against elite opposition.
In the BC1 Female division, Bermuda’s top-ranked competitor Yushae DeSilva-Andrade was left frustrated by a clinical performance from Brazil’s Andreza de Oliveira, who secured a commanding 5-0 victory. There was similar disappointment in the men’s brackets as the experienced Omar Hayward struggled to find his rhythm, falling 7-1 to the United States’ Cornelius Oatis.
Meanwhile, the tournament provided a massive personal milestone for Zeik Blakeney, who made his international debut in the BC2 Male division after passing his classification evaluation. Blakeney was handed a baptism of fire, going down 15-0 to El Salvador’s seasoned competitor Mario Sayes. Despite the heavy scoreline, the overseas exposure marks a crucial learning curve for the debutant.
Bermuda’s tough run at the Billie Jean King Cup Americas Group III tournament continued in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, as a clinical Costa Rica side wrapped up a commanding 3-0 victory.
Following an agonizing 2-1 defeat to Jamaica, the Bermudian squad found themselves entirely outmatched by a ruthless Central American outfit that dominated across both the singles and doubles rubbers.
Costa Rica clicked into gear immediately in the opening singles clash. Allison Blanco set the tone for the tie, overcoming Bermuda’s player-captain Shelby Madeiros 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour. Any hopes of a Bermudian fightback were then swiftly dashed when Lucia Gallegos power-played her way to a devastating 43-minute, 6-0, 6-1 victory over Nadhira Durham.
With the tie already mathematically settled, Costa Rica refused to take their foot off the gas. Madeiros teamed up with Alexcie Burrows for the doubles rubber, but the duo had no answers for Blanco and Ariana Rahmanparast, falling 6-1, 6-0 in 47 minutes to complete the clean sweep.
The European Parliament earlier this week approved a migration overhaul to speed up deportations and allow offshore detention centres, a move critics say is harsh and weakens asylum safeguards
International News via Reuters:
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that his country does not support the creation of so-called “return hubs” for migrants in third countries, questioning their efficacy, though adding that he respected countries that want to set up such hubs.
“We are in favour of a more effective return policy, but … I have never seen a return centre in a third country that actually works,” Macron said, speaking in Brussels as a two-day EU summit concluded.
The European Parliament earlier this week approved a migration overhaul to speed up deportations and allow offshore detention centres, a move critics say is harsh and weakens asylum safeguards.
Macron questioned whether the hubs align with European values.
“I’m not sure that’s what our Europe is about. I’m not sure that these are the fundamental principles on which our Europe was built, and I don’t believe it’s effective either,” he said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, speaking at a press briefing on Friday after the EU summit, said Spain was also against such hubs but was in the minority on the issue in Europe.
He said the return hubs are “simply going to waste economic resources, and Europe doesn’t have many of those”.
Reporting by Inti Landauro and Charlotte Van Campenhout, additional reporting by Andrey Khalip; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Hugh Lawson
The EU budget is how the 27-member bloc finances all of its policies – from supporting farmers and developing new technology to student exchange programmes and equalising standards of living across member states
International News via Reuters:
European Union leaders on Friday asked Ireland, which takes over the rotating EU presidency in July, to propose by October new sources of money for the EU budget for 2028 to 2034 to defuse tensions between its net contributors and beneficiaries.
The EU budget is how the 27-member bloc finances all of its policies – from supporting farmers and developing new technology to student exchange programmes and equalising standards of living across member states.
According to the initial European Commission proposal, the 2028-2034 budget should be €2 trillion ($2.3 trillion). The Cypriot EU presidency last week proposed a cut of 2%, which was not enough for some and too much for others.
BITTER FIGHT FOR UNANIMOUS DEAL
Richer EU countries pay more into the budget than they get out of it, while poorer ones receive more than they pay. Every seven years, the two groups fight bitterly to reach a unanimous deal needed for the budget to pass.
To help reduce national contributions of the net payers while keeping the spending ambitions of the net beneficiaries, EU leaders will seek new sources of revenue that would not come directly from national coffers, called new own EU resources.
“Leaders agreed to task our Irish friends to accelerate work on new own resources. We need those additional revenues to reach a deal in December,” the chairman of the summit, Antonio Costa, told a news conference after the leaders’ talks.
“We need a robust and stable system of new own resources,” the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, also present, said.
“By our next meeting we should have a shared understanding of how we want to finance the next MFF,” she said referring to the Multiannual Financial Framework – the EU budget.
Among the proposed new financing options, rejected by some countries and supported by others, is a share of the cash that EU governments get from selling CO2 emissions permits to companies and a share of the tax on goods imported into the EU that were made in countries where climate policies are weaker than in the EU.
Other options include a tax on non-collected e-waste, a share of the tobacco excise duty and an annual lump-sum contribution from large firms operating and selling in the EU.
Further proposals include a levy on extreme wealth, on digital services, online gambling and crypto asset capital gains. Ireland will now have to see which of these options, or a mix of them, has a chance to get unanimous support from all 27 EU countries by the next EU summit scheduled for October.
ELECTIONS PILE ON PRESSURE
Legally, EU governments need to agree on the budget by the end of 2027.
But because of elections in France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Greece, Estonia, Finland and Slovakia next year, a deal should be struck by the end of this year, so as not to become hostage to election campaigning.
Adding to the difficulty of reaching a compromise by December is a tug of war between countries which want to use the EU budget more to support their agriculture sector and to raise the standards of living in their poorer regions, and those who see new challenges such as defence and economic and technological competitiveness against the U.S. and China as more important.
($1 = 0.8727 euros)
Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Helen Popper and Louise Heavens
Facing a broad decline in education test scores, the government in 2024 banned smartphones from schools and has given teachers back more powers to enforce discipline in the classroom
International News via Reuters:
Norway is imposing a near ban on the use of generative AI tools by elementary school pupils while also restricting their use in the education of older children to prevent a negative impact on learning, the country’s prime minister said on Friday.
Facing a broad decline in education test scores, the government in 2024 banned smartphones from schools and has given teachers back more powers to enforce discipline in the classroom.
Using AI increases the risk that young children skip important steps in their education, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a press conference on Friday.
“The most important thing in school is that our children learn to read, write and do mathematics,” Stoere said, adding that the new standards will be imposed from the new school year beginning in late August.
Pupils from first through seventh grade, aged 6 to 13, should as a general rule not be using AI, while those in lower secondary school, aged 14 to 16, can cautiously adopt tools under teachers’ supervision, the government said.
In upper secondary education, from ages 17 to 19, students should learn to use AI appropriately so that they are prepared for further education and work, it added.
Norway began adopting computers in classrooms in the 1990s and tablets after the introduction of the iPad from 2010 onwards, reducing the reliance on books and handwriting.
But in a related statement on Friday the government also said it will propose legislation to fund the use of more books in classrooms, reversing the trend towards computer tablets.
The Norwegian government in April also announced plans to ban children from using social media until they turn 16, following a trend pioneered by Australia and some other nations to reduce young people’s use of electronic devices.
Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
Congo, playing in their first World Cup for 52 years, frustrated Portugal in a 1-1 draw that left the European side with just one shot on target despite completing 740 passes, prompting a barrage of criticism
International News via Reuters:
The Portugal squad are shutting out criticism of the team and captain Cristiano Ronaldo following an underwhelming draw in their World Cup opener against Democratic Republic of Congo, defender Ruben Dias said on Friday.
Congo, playing in their first World Cup for 52 years, frustrated Portugal in a 1-1 draw that left the European side with just one shot on target despite completing 740 passes, prompting a barrage of criticism.
Ronaldo, in particular, found himself in the firing line as the 41-year-old’s goal drought at major tournaments extended to 10 games stretching back to the 2022 World Cup, despite being the all-time top scorer.
“The criticism is not significant for us, it’s noise and part of the competition … It’s all noise,” Dias told reporters at Portugal’s training camp.
“It always happens if you have a match that doesn’t go well. We’re closing ourselves off from unnecessary criticism.”
The Portugal captain was dealt a sharp critique by former France striker Thierry Henry, who suggested Ronaldo was playing for personal glory rather than team success.
“One thing that’s important: the team needs to score, not you need to score,” Henry said in his analysis on Fox, adding that Ronaldo was getting in the way of team-mates in a better position to score.
RONALDO ‘USED TO MEDIA PRESSURE’
But Dias refused to single out Ronaldo, who is competing in his sixth World Cup.
“Cristiano, of course, is used to dealing with the media pressure we usually face in the club, the national team, world tournaments, European competitions,” Dias said.
“In this sort of competition, it will never be perfect … This is a competition you can win only if you play well game after game,” he added.
READY FOR UZBEKISTAN CLASH
Dias, who was benched for the opener while recovering from injury, declared himself ready to play for Tuesday’s second group match against Uzbekistan.
Having faced Congo’s defensive back five, Portugal could encounter a similar strategy from Uzbekistan, and Dias said it was a tactic he had seen repeatedly while playing for Manchester City.
“I come from playing most of my club matches against teams that use a back five, so I have a very clear idea about it,” Dias said.
“Respecting positional discipline becomes decisive in matches like these.
“I believe we have players with enough quality that, by respecting our positions and making the right decisions, we can make the difference.”
Reporting by Rohith Nair in Miami;Editing by Helen Popper
The public is advised that on Tuesday June 23, a Special Joint Session of the Legislature will be convened by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Bermuda Branch in tribute to the Hon. Sir John W.D. Swan, KBE, JP.
The session will take place at 2.00 p.m. in the House of Assembly Chamber, Veritas Place, and bring together current and former Members of Parliament and Senators in recognition of Sir John’s distinguished service to Bermuda.
Members of Sir John Swan’s family will be present in the House.
This special sitting provides an opportunity for parliamentary colleagues, past and present, to pay tribute to Sir John’s legacy and contributions to Bermuda.
Please note that this Joint Session is not open to the public, however, members of the public are encouraged to follow the proceedings live via:
Six-week assessment to examine patient flow and capacity pressures
Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) has confirmed that Acumentice, a UK-based healthcare consultancy, has been contracted to conduct the independent operational review of the Emergency Department (ED) at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.
The engagement follows the Ministry of Health’s directive for an independent assessment to support immediate and sustained improvements within the Emergency Department. The review will take approximately six weeks to complete, with the external team expected to arrive in Bermuda in the coming weeks to begin on-site work.
Acumentice will examine patient flow, capacity pressures, operational processes, and opportunities to strengthen emergency care services. The review is intended to provide evidence-based recommendations that support frontline staff, improve patient experiences, and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency care delivery.
As an independent statutory authority established under the BHB Act, BHB operates under its own governance framework, policies, and procurement procedures. While BHB is publicly funded and committed to transparency and accountability, it is separate from the Government of Bermuda and conducts procurements in accordance with its own Financial Instructions, General Orders, and Board-approved governance requirements.
To facilitate the time-sensitive review, BHB exercised its emergency procurement authority under an Exceptional Resolution adopted by the Board on 22 April 2026 authorizing the Chairman and the Executive Committee (ExCo) of the Board to oversee and conduct the procurement process. While the procurement process was expedited, it was conducted under a documented emergency procurement framework that incorporated defined evaluation criteria, governance safeguards, and oversight measures designed to adhere as closely as possible to the principles of transparency, fairness, accountability, integrity, competition, and value for money.
The procurement was conducted using a Competitive Negotiations approach, a recognized procurement method used by public authorities in Bermuda and consistent with established procurement practices. The process permits competitive negotiations where an urgent requirement makes open tendering impractical, provided the urgency was neither foreseeable nor caused by delay on the part of the procuring authority. To ensure fairness, transparency, and effective competition, BHB conducted a structured process involving at least seven vendors. All participants received the same documentation, requirements, evaluation criteria, and responses to vendor questions. The process included blind scoring for shortlisting, interviews, reference checks, and contractual negotiations.
With respect to public disclosure, BHB remains committed to transparency and compliance with Bermuda’s Public Access to Information (PATI) legislation. Information regarding the contract awarded to Acumentice will be disclosed in accordance with BHB’s normal disclosure practices and statutory obligations, including publication of contract information through the mechanisms routinely utilized by BHB and reflected on the organization’s website.
The independent review comes as BHB continues to make progress in addressing longstanding pressures within the Emergency Department. Since the implementation of the Bed Capacity Management Plan, measurable improvements have been achieved across the hospital system. Median boarding times in the Emergency Department have decreased from approximately 50 hours earlier in 2026 to approximately 20 hours in May 2026, representing a reduction of about 60 percent.
Emergency Department overcrowding has also eased, supported by enhanced discharge processes and the introduction of a new discharge lounge. Most patients who are not admitted continue to be treated and discharged within a median of less than four hours, while admitted patients are experiencing significantly shorter waits as patient flow initiatives take effect.
A Bermuda Hospitals Board spokesperson said: “This independent review reflects our commitment to ensuring that the Emergency Department is equipped to meet current and future demands. The recommendations provided by Acumentice will help inform the next phase of improvements and support our goal of delivering a more responsive and sustainable healthcare system for all residents.”
The spokesperson continued: “Our staff have worked diligently to improve patient flow and address capacity challenges across the hospital, and we are encouraged by the progress that has already been achieved. This review provides an opportunity to benefit from external expertise and benchmark our operations against international best practices. We look forward to working with the Acumentice team and using their findings to identify practical measures that can further enhance efficiency, strengthen patient flow, and support the delivery of high-quality care.
Further updates will be provided once the review team arrives on the island and the assessment is formally underway. Once the review is complete, BHB will share the findings with the public. The Bermuda Hospitals Board remains committed to transparency and will provide an update on the findings at the conclusion of the review.
A migratory sea bird known as a brown skua found in Western Australia’s Cape Le Grand National Park tested positive for avian influenza, and further testing is being conducted to confirm the strain
International News via Reuters:
Australia has detected its first suspected mainland case of H5N1 bird flu in a remote part of the country’s southwest, authorities said on Friday.
A migratory sea bird known as a brown skua found in Western Australia’s Cape Le Grand National Park tested positive for avian influenza, and further testing is being conducted to confirm the strain, said state Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis.
“We are taking the suspected case of H5 bird flu seriously,” Jarvis said. “If this is confirmed H5 bird incursion, there will be a rapid and coordinated national response.”
The virulent strain of H5 bird flu has spread through wild bird and mammal populations since 2021, killing millions, infecting poultry and dairy farms and even some farmworkers.
Australia is the only continent without a confirmed mainland case of the deadly strain. H5 was confirmed on Heard Island, a sub-Antarctic Australian territory in late 2025.
The country has been preparing for the arrival of H5N1 bird flu by tightening biosecurity at farms, testing shore birds for disease, vaccinating vulnerable species and war-gaming response plans.
“While, if confirmed, this would obviously be a very concerning development, Australia has spent the past few years preparing for this likelihood,” Environment Minister Murray Watt said in a statement.
Results confirming whether the now-deceased brown skua had contracted H5 bird flu is expected on Saturday, Jarvis said.
She added that another sick bird, a giant petrol, was also found in the same area and is being tested for influenza.
Wayne Boardman, a wildlife veterinarian and associate professor at Adelaide University, said the virus could devastate Australia’s native wildlife.
“This strain of bird flu has caused huge die-offs of birds and sea mammals,” he said.
“My concerns are that if the H5N1 avian flu virus is confirmed, it will pose a huge risk to some of our more endangered shorebirds, some of our coastal raptors, and our precious, unique, endemic and endangered Australian sea lions, whose population is precarious.”
Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Susan Fenton and Kate Mayberry
Khan, 56, denies the allegations madeb against him
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s Bar Standards Board said on Friday it had imposed an interim suspension of Karim Khan, who had been the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor before he was suspended by the court on June 8 over sexual misconduct accusations.
“Under the BSB’s Enforcement Regulations, the interim suspension must now be considered by an Interim Suspension Panel at a hearing within the next four weeks,” the board said, adding that the suspension was effective immediately.
Khan, 56, denies the allegations madeb against him.
Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Makini Brice
Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor nicknamed “King of the North”, won the contest in Makerfield in northwest England with 54.8% of the vote, beating the candidate for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, on 34.5%
International News via Reuters:
Labour mayor Andy Burnham cleared a path on Friday to ousting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, potentially ushering in a new bout of political instability, by decisively winning a parliamentary seat in northern England.
Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor nicknamed “King of the North”, won the contest in Makerfield in northwest England with 54.8% of the vote, beating the candidate for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, on 34.5%.
The scale of Burnham’s victory in what could be the most consequential by-election in more than six decades puts him in a strong position to challenge Starmer, struggling with some of the worst popularity ratings of any British leader.
Burnham indicated he wanted to counter the rise of polarising, populist politics, saying his victory was a chance to turn “away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States”.
Attention now turns to the timing of his move, and whether he can convince the prime minister to relinquish power without a potentially disruptive leadership contest.
BURNHAM HAILS VICTORY AS A ‘TURNING POINT’
In his victory speech, Burnham said the result could be a “turning point”.
“We must hear it, we must act upon it, and we must get it right,” he said. “There will be no second chance.”
Starmer, who has said he will fight on, quickly congratulated Burnham, saying on X: “Voters chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate.”
Burnham, a 56-year-old career politician who has backed the nationalisation of key public services and criticised what he called four decades of failed neo-liberal economics, has said he would stand in any contest to replace Starmer.
Polls indicate he would win a leadership contest decided by party members, although some Labour lawmakers hope that process can be avoided.
That would mean Britain installing its seventh prime minister in just over a decade, the highest turnover in nearly two centuries – a reflection of voter anger at successive failures to improve living standards and public services and tackle illegal immigration.
LABOUR DIVISIONS DEEPEN AS PRESSURE GROWS ON STARMER
Two years after a landslide national election victory, Starmer, 63, is one of the least popular British premiers since polling records began. Scandals, policy U-turns and accusations of indecision have derailed delivery of the change he once promised.
About a quarter of his lawmakers have urged him to quit since Labour suffered heavy losses in local elections last month. Senior colleagues, including the defence and health ministers, have resigned over his leadership.
Starmer insisted this week he would stand in any leadership contest and warned his party about the dangers of a potentially divisive leadership campaign.
But several Labour lawmakers said the scale of Burnham’s win would force Starmer to consider stepping aside.
Culture minister Lisa Nandy, a prominent Burnham ally, told reporters she expected both men to speak soon. She ruled out quitting the cabinet but said she could not speak for others.
BURNHAM RETURNS TO LONDON WITH MOMENTUM
Burnham will return to London, the heart of government, with the credentials of someone who can defeat the insurgent Reform party, said one Labour lawmaker.
Many Labour members of parliament fear losing their seats in the next election, due in 2029, to Farage’s party, which leads opinion polls.
Another of Starmer’s rivals, former health minister Wes Streeting, said this week he would force a contest soon unless the prime minister announced when he would stand down. He said Burnham’s victory was proof that Labour needed to change.
Party rules require 20% of the parliamentary party, or 81 lawmakers, to announce they are backing a single candidate to trigger a leadership challenge.
During a month-long campaign, Burnham has acted like a prime minister-in-waiting, often explaining policies for a potential future government. But he has been forced to reassure nervous investors by insisting he would stick to strict fiscal rules.
Last year, he had said Britain was “in hock” to the bond markets, which were promptly rattled by the implication that he would increase government borrowing. He has since said those comments were misrepresented.
Reporting by Andy Bruce, Andrew MacAskill and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Kevin Liffey
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