What began in the 1950s as a friendly dispute over whose Seagull engine was fastest, has become one of Bermuda’s most enduring boating traditions.
In this week’s Heart of Bermuda segment, Julie Matthews-Borchardt explores the history, humour and heart of the Round the Island Seagull Race — and discovers why this uniquely Bermudian tradition continues to thrive.
European stocks gained more than 1.5% following strong gains in Asia, while Wall Street futures pointed to gains of between 0.4% and 0.5%
International News via Reuters:
Global stocks gained and oil tumbled on Friday as fresh hopes of a peace deal between Iran and the U.S. fanned a rally, while investors awaited the hotly anticipated market debut of Elon Musk’s SpaceX once Wall Street opens.
European stocks gained more than 1.5% following strong gains in Asia, while Wall Street futures pointed to gains of between 0.4% and 0.5%.
Oil futures were down more than 3% after U.S. President Donald Trump said a peace deal could be signed as soon as this weekend, even as Tehran said it had not made a final decision on a pact. [O/R]
A memorandum between the United States and Iran to halt the war could be signed as soon as Sunday, a Western source told Reuters on Friday.
Trump has repeatedly said a deal with Iran to end the war was close since mid-March. This time, the indication that diplomacy was continuing productively was enough for the market to latch on to, Michael Nizard, head of multi-asset at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, said.
“The market remains very sensitive to the peace deal and the numerous and various declarations from Trump,” Nizard added. “Today, I think the (potential for) peace is well under-priced.”
The huge SpaceX IPO also has the potential to set the tone for global markets, given its significant allocation to everyday investors that can make more short-term decisions, Nizard said.
“This is a very important market event… the retail market is very important for gaining momentum.”
The SpaceX IPO raised a record $75 billion, valuing the rocket and spacecraft manufacturer at $1.77 trillion and making Musk the world’s first trillionaire.
INFLATION FEARS
The Middle East peace deal, if confirmed, would be the most significant diplomatic breakthrough yet to end the three-month-old war, which sent global energy prices sharply higher. The European Central Bank had to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly three years on Thursday to nip war-driven inflation in the bud.
Final inflation data from several European countries including France and Spain showed inflation accelerated in May, while official data showed Britain’s economy contracted by 0.1% in April — its first monthly drop since August.
Oil prices slumped on expectations of an impending agreement. Brent crude futures dropped 3.4% at $87.35 per barrel.
Treasuries held onto gains as hopes of a peace deal in the Gulf led markets to trim bets of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve this year.
Two-year Treasury yields were last at 4.062% on Friday, while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were at 4.839%.
The dollar was broadly flat after overnight losses. It rose 0.1% to 160.15 yen, after retreating 0.4% in the prior session. Traders are still on high alert for intervention from Japanese authorities as the yen stays close to the 160 level that many see as a line in the sand.
Precious metals retreated on Friday. Spot gold slipped 0.2% to $4,206 an ounce, following a 3.5% jump overnight.
Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Kevin Buckland and Andrew Heavens
The Wales international was born in Watford and joined the club – where his father Frank Jackett had also played – at the age of 12, spending his entire playing career there and making 428 appearances
International News via Reuters:
Lifelong Watford player Kenny Jackett, a midfielder and defender who played in the club’s only appearance in the FA Cup final to date and later managed the club, has died at the age of 64, the club said on Friday.
The Wales international was born in Watford and joined the club – where his father Frank Jackett had also played – at the age of 12, spending his entire playing career there and making 428 appearances. He was part of the squad that finished second in the First Division in 1982-83, the club’s highest-ever finish, and played in the 1984 FA Cup final that the side lost to Everton.
His managerial career began at Watford as well, and he went on to coach clubs including Swansea City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Portsmouth.
“Kenny holds legend status here following his remarkable achievements as a player, a coach and a manager, and the club has truly lost one of its own,” said Watford chairman and CEO Scott Duxbury.
“On behalf of everyone at Watford FC, I send my sincere condolences to his wife Samantha and sons David and Ryan, the latter of whom is working with us today, building on the legacy his father left.”
Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson
The EU-wide agreement introduces stricter border controls, faster case processing, expanded digital tools to track asylum applications and increased deportations
International News via Reuters:
An overhaul of immigration and asylum policy enters into force across the European Union on Friday, a decade in the making, as EU countries have come under pressure from far-right nationalist parties.
The EU-wide agreement introduces stricter border controls, faster case processing, expanded digital tools to track asylum applications and increased deportations. It was adopted in 2024 with a two-year implementation period.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the pact as “fair and firm”, and said it would deliver “more secure external borders, solidarity between member States and more efficient procedures for asylum and return”.
It is the EU’s primary collective response to demands for change that have grown in the decade since 2015, when more than a million people arrived in Europe to seek asylum, mostly Syrians fleeing civil war and trekking across the continent on foot.
But levels of readiness for the changes vary across the 27 EU member states, which has cast some doubt over how quickly the overhaul will take effect and how effective it will be.
“We have to realize that nearly no member state is ready to 100 percent. And that’s even more disappointing because it’s not that we started at zero,” said Birgit Sippel, a centre‑left German EU lawmaker.
Member states are still struggling to put the complex new rules in place, even as a tough stance on migration is likely to be a key element of election campaigns in France, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain next year.
“The political centre of gravity has already shifted significantly rightward over the past decade,” said Roberto Forin of the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), a research centre collecting data along migration routes.
“Each election cycle risks normalising positions that would have been considered extreme not long ago.”
FALSE DICHOTOMY
Some critics argue the reforms rely too heavily on deterrence and overlook the root causes of migration, including conflict, poverty and political repression.
Forin noted a survey his group conducted last year of more than 4,000 migrants along Mediterranean routes, which found 64% were undeterred by EU and national policies, and fewer than 1% said they had abandoned plans as a result of policy action.
“The debate has been trapped in a false dichotomy … as if the only way to demonstrate control is to restrict and deter,” he said.
The pact introduces a new “solidarity mechanism” requiring EU member states that receive fewer asylum applications either to accept relocations or provide financial contributions or operational support to countries where more arrive.
However, critics say it lacks strong enforcement, relying on political pressure that could fuel tensions between states.
Member states are keen to keep arrivals low despite easing immigration pressures. EU data show irregular arrivals fell 26% last year to their lowest level since 2021, with asylum applications also declining.
“I would expect member states to do everything they can to keep arrivals, and pressure on their asylum systems, low, to reduce the risk that the rules are put to the test too early,” said Alberto Horst Neidhardt, senior policy analyst at European Policy Centre.
European countries are keen on setting up centres outside the bloc where failed asylum seekers can be deported.
The European Commission says it is backing implementation with new funding, and has proposed a €6.34 billion ($6.8 billion) budget for migration, border management and internal security in the next seven-year budget to support the rollouts.
The pact lists safeguards aimed at protecting rights for vulnerable groups.
However, rights groups and analysts warn the new framework limits access to asylum and weakens protections. The expanded use of detention can keep asylum seekers held for several months and may restrict access to services and rights.
“Our fear is that bad law coupled with an unwillingness to enforce standards … leads to a continuation of this race to the bottom,” said Minos Mouzourakis, a lawyer at Greece-based non-profit Refugee Support Aegean.
Reporting by Amina IsmailEditing by Peter Graff
Eurotunnel is owned by Paris-based transport and infrastructure operator Getlink, which also runs car and lorry train services through the tunnel between England and France
International News via Reuters:
The Channel Tunnel owner said on Friday it would challenge the British government using all available routes after its business rates tripled over the last three years, with the upshot that it was no longer willing to invest in the UK.
• Eurotunnel is owned by Paris-based transport and infrastructure operator Getlink, which also runs car and lorry train services through the tunnel between England and France.
• CEO Yann Leriche told the FT it is facing a rise in its rateable value from £40 million a year to £118 million a year.
• The company said in a statement that the near tripling over three years of its business rate, a tax levied on property, had come without any change to its infrastructure and with “no clear justification”.
• “We have no choice but to use every legal option at our disposal to challenge that,” Leriche told BBC Radio.
• “At this level of uncertainty, we are not willing to invest in the UK,” the company added.
• Leriche says that between business rates and corporate taxation, Getlink will now pay 69 pence on every new pound of revenue generated in the UK.
• Several business and employer groups have warned the government that the cost of doing business is reaching a tipping point, and said higher taxes are inflationary.
• “Business is not a cash tap that can be turned on without consequence,” Confederation of British Industry CEO Rain Newton-Smith said earlier in June.
• Britain’s tax office said its valuation methods were long established and reflected the specific facts of each property.
• “If ratepayers think their valuation is wrong, they have the right to challenge it and, if needed, appeal to the independent Valuation Tribunal,” a HMRC (tax office) spokesperson said.
Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 1.1% to 10,414.02 points by 1059 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 1.5%
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s shares edged higher on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said a peace agreement with Iran could be signed soon, while investors also assessed key economic data.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 1.1% to 10,414.02 points by 1059 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 1.5%. Both indexes were on track for weekly gains.
• The deal, if confirmed, could end the three-month-old war, which sent oil prices sharply higher after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global energy supply.
• Most sub-indexes were in the green, except energy, which fell 3.6% after oil prices slipped more than 4% following the news. [O/R]
• Homebuilders led gains; Vistry Group was up 6.6%, and Bellway and Persimmon 4% each.
• The travel and leisure sub-index, which includes oil price-sensitive airlines, also advanced 3.6%. British Airways owner IAG and budget carrier Wizz Air Holdings were among the top gainers.
• On the data front, Britain’s economy contracted 0.1% in April, its first monthly drop since August 2025, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
• ONS data showed the first clear signs of an impact from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran on the country’s economic growth.
• “April’s data hints at what is to come, a summer of sluggishness which could edge into a technical recession as global conflict collides with domestic political uncertainty,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
• Separately, the British public’s expectations for inflation in the long term rose to a record high last month, the Bank of England’s quarterly inflation attitudes survey showed on Friday.
Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed
Congo said on Thursday the disease had spread to three new health zones
International News via Reuters:
There are many “blind spots” in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a World Health Organization expert said on Friday, suggesting the spread of the deadly disease may be much wider than official estimates.
Congo said on Thursday the disease had spread to three new health zones. It reported 676 confirmed cases and 136 deaths in an outbreak that has also spread to neighbouring Uganda.
“There are still many blind spots in some areas that are high risk,” Olivier le Polain, a WHO epidemiologist in Beni, eastern Congo, said.
“Surveillance really needs to be strengthened in those areas.”
Another big challenge is a shortage of beds that medics can use to isolate patients, he said. There were only 250 across the three affected provinces, he added.
The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine.
The disease went undetected for weeks and first responders say they are playing catch-up.
The WHO does not yet have projections for the size of the epidemic, Le Polain said, after the U.S. CDC said it could be on the same level as the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak which caused more than 11,000 deaths.
Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Linda Pasquini and Andrew Heavens
The euro bounced around and was last very slightly higher at $1.158, near its strongest in a week after the European Central Bank’s first interest rate hike in three years on Thursday
International News via Reuters:
The dollar found its footing on Friday after sliding the previous day as traders waited for confirmation that a ceasefire deal in the Middle East could be imminent.
The euro bounced around and was last very slightly higher at $1.158, near its strongest in a week after the European Central Bank’s first interest rate hike in three years on Thursday.
The U.S. dollar was up 0.1% against Japan’s currency at 160 yen, keeping it around a key level at which traders tend to get nervous about intervention from Tokyo.
The British pound fell very slightly to $1.341. Data showing the economy contracted in April appeared to have little impact, with the focus on Iran talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States and Iran could sign a peace deal as soon as this weekend that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Brent crude slid 3.6% to $87 a barrel on Friday.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency said on Friday the memorandum, which contained U.S. commitments to lifting sanctions and its naval blockade, required finalisation by the relevant authorities.
Yet analysts and investors sounded a skeptical note, saying potential breakthroughs have previously failed to materialise.
“There’s a question around the hopes of a deal, and questions around whether it will be met and agreed upon by Iran and the United States,” said Michael Wan, senior currency analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in Singapore.
“It sounds like it’s quite close, but they’re not exactly at the finish line.”
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was flat at 99.68 after slumping to its weakest in a week on Thursday.
Investors have flocked to the safe-haven dollar when tension in the Iran war has flared, and sold it to buy stocks when peace talks have appeared to make progress.
“For today, the market will again be headline-driven. Will Vice President JD Vance be getting on a plane to Europe to sign some kind of agreement?” asked Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING.
“And more importantly, will we receive confirmation from Iran that it is happy with a deal and will also be sending a delegation to Europe this weekend? Expect the dollar to be bounced around.”
Data on Thursday showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in May, ahead of Kevin Warsh’s first rate-setting meeting as chair of the Federal Reserve next week.
Traders expect the Fed to keep rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%but see a more than 50% chance that it raises them by the end of the year, with pricing pulled slightly lower on Thursday by Trump’s comments about a potential deal.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was up 0.1% at $63,430 but down 13% for the month so far.
Reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter in Hong Kong and Harry Robertson in London; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Kevin Buckland
The public’s median expectation for the rate of inflation in the year ahead increased to 4% from 3.2% in February
International News via Reuters:
The British public’s expectations for inflation in the long term rose to a record high last month after the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran sent energy prices soaring, the Bank of England’s quarterly inflation attitudes survey showed on Friday.
The public’s median expectation for the rate of inflation in the year ahead increased to 4% from 3.2% in February.
For inflation in five years’ time, expectations rose to 3.9% in May from 3.7% in February – their highest level since BoE records for this time series began in 2009 and far above the BoE’s target for consumer price inflation of 2.0%.
BoE policymakers monitor the public’s inflation expectations carefully for signs that price pressures are becoming permanently embedded in consumer behaviour.
Reporting by Suban Abdulla, editing by Andy Bruce
![52-year-old man missing [located]](https://bbc.bm/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/image0-1.jpeg "52-year-old man missing [located]")
Police are appealing for assistance from the public to help locate Jamel Fray
Jamel Fray reported missing this evening.
Full Police Statement:
“The Bermuda Police Service is seeking the public’s assistance in locating 52-year-old Jamel Fray, who was last seen in the area of Fort Hill/Alexandra Road, Devonshire, at approximately 6:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
Mr. Fray is described as being approximately 6 feet tall, weighing between 190 and 210 pounds, with a brown complexion, black and gray curly hair, and brown eyes.
There is concern for Mr. Fray’s welfare. Anyone who knows of his whereabouts or has any information that may assist in locating him is urged to contact police on 295-0011 immediately.”
Police Update at 12.32am:
Updated information suggests that Mr. Fray was last seen in the area of Lindo’s, Devonshire, walking toward Middle Road on Brighton Hill at approximately 5:20pm on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
At the time he was last seen, he was wearing long jeans, a black short-sleeved shirt, tan ankle-height shoes, black sunglasses, and carrying a blue backpack. He also has a distinctive walk that may make him appear hunched over.
Police update at 12.40am
The Bermuda Police Service is pleased to report that Mr. Jamel Fray has been located and is safe.
We would like to thank members of the public for their assistance, cooperation, and vigilance in helping to locate him.
Bermudian Olympian Emma Harvey continued her impressive build-up to a landmark summer schedule with a series of resilient performances at the 38e Meeting International de Canet-en-Roussillon in southern France.
Competing in the prestigious Mare Nostrum Swim Tour against a world-class international field, the 24-year-old advanced to two finals during an attritional block of racing.
Harvey laid down her primary marker in the 50m Backstroke. Clocking 28.87 seconds in the morning preliminaries, she returned for the elite ‘A’ Final to slash her time down to a sharp 28.79 seconds, securing a superb fifth-place finish overall.
The versatile sprinter also showcased her tactical range in the butterfly discipline. Harvey opened her account by finishing 10th in the 50m Butterfly in 26.99 seconds, before stopping the clock in a blistering, season-best 1:00.48 in the 100m Butterfly preliminaries.
Returning for the ‘B’ Final, Harvey fought to the wall in 1:00.53 to take fifth in the heat and 13th place overall.
With her technical sharpness building beautifully through back-to-back European stops, Harvey remains firmly on track as she continues her heavy preparation ahead of the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
