The Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors said a committee approved 116 out of 141 applications from families or individuals for funds to help in emergency situations. $134k was paid out
141 applications were received by a committee tasked with providing targeted emergency financing to those facing hardship, since the programme started in March 2025.
This was relayed in the House of Assembly this morning by Tinee Furbert, Minister for Youth, Social Development and Seniors.
116 referrals were accepted – translating to an approval rate of 82.2% of those who applied.
11 cases involved medical emergencies and 7 famillies had emergenies involving their young children.
In total, 25 cases were refused, the Minister said.
She explained that were applications were rejected, the Committee found that the request fell outside the scope of emergency hardship, alternative support was more appropriate or the expense exceeded what the hardship fund could ‘sustainably provide’.
Housing needs accounted for just over 50% of financial distributions or $75,000 to those in need met by the government. As of February, more than $134,000 had been spent from the fund and $13,000 remains.
Minister Furbert said, “The assistance approved by the Committee has been practical, targeted, and time-limited, and has included requests such as emergency grocery and basic needs support, rental deposits and first-month rent to prevent homelessness, short-term rental support where income loss was temporary, funeral assistance in cases of bereavement where no other support was available, utility payments to prevent disconnection and transportation and vehicle-related assistance where directly linked to employment retention.”
The pilot programme is expected to help the ministry inform ongoing policy development and broader housing demands in the community.
Bermudian cyclists Nicholas Narraway and Kaden Hopkins delivered a statement of intent on the opening day of the 2026 Pan American Road Cycling Championships, both securing impressive top-ten finishes in the Men’s Elite Time Trial.
Competing in Montería, Colombia, the Bermudian duo faced a grueling 43.1km course that started and finished in the heart of the host city. Under the watchful eye of Team Manager and Mechanic Dominique Mahyo, the pair demonstrated the tactical discipline and physical endurance that has seen them rise through the regional ranks.
The day belonged to Colombia’s Walter Vargas, who utilized his home-field advantage to claim victory in a blistering time of 48:56. However, the performance of the Bermudian contingent proved they can go toe-to-toe with the continent’s elite. Nicholas Narraway led the charge for the island, crossing the line in 51:33 to secure seventh place overall. Narraway finished just two minutes and 27 seconds behind the gold medalist, showcasing a remarkably consistent pace throughout the technical segments of the course.
Close on his teammate’s heels was Kaden Hopkins, who ensured Bermuda occupied two of the top nine spots in the final standings. Hopkins completed the distance in 51:58, finishing three minutes and two seconds adrift of the winner to claim ninth place. The result provides a significant boost for the team as they transition toward the road race events, confirming that Bermuda remains a formidable force in Pan American cycling.
Three men have been charged in Magistrate’s Court with fighting and attempted robbery.
Appearing during the Plea Court session, Zion Smith Coddrington, Ajahni Bascome-Lema and Jeani Simmons were charged with taking a motorcycle without consent, resulting in a collision causing damage to a motorcar on the 14th of March this year.
They were also charged with taking part in a fight in a public place and assaulting Rob Joyiens with intent to rob him on the same date.
They trio denied all charges and the Senior Magistrate Maxanne Anderson remanded them in custody.
The defendants are due to reappear in court next month.
The Port Royal situation exposes a deeper problem with the PLP Government’s priorities.
At a time when the Minister has allocated a significant portion of the new sports budget increase to public golf courses, Bermudians are now being told they must pay sharply higher fees to use those same facilities. That is a double hit to the taxpayers that are funding the system, and then being priced out of it.
What makes this worse is the complete breakdown in trust. An entire members’ committee has resigned, their proposals were ignored, and there are serious questions about transparency, including the absence of up-to-date audited financial statements. Bermudians are being asked to pay more without being shown the full picture.
Public golf courses should be accessible community assets, not increasingly exclusive spaces. If government believes higher fees are necessary, then it must justify that decision with clear financial evidence, proper consultation, and a plan that protects access for seniors, juniors and everyday Bermudians.
Right now, this looks like a Government that is out of touch investing heavily in one area of a sport, while making it harder for people to actually participate.
Art lovers and food enthusiasts gathered in vibrant style on Saturday, March 14, for an unforgettable evening in support of the Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation. The sold-out fundraiser blended creativity across disciplines and raised $80,000 toward the organization’s ambitious goal of securing a new, permanent home. A special announcement was made on the night: Kaleidoscope received a generous matching grant of up to $100,000.
As you may be aware, Kaleidoscope is in need of a new location starting June 30, 2026. Its Home is Where the Art Is campaign has set a goal of raising $3 million over five years to sustain and grow its impact. To date, $600,000 has been raised, with a goal of reaching $640,000 in the next month, supported by the newly announced matching opportunity.
Kaleidoscope is a space where young people are encouraged to explore, express, and build confidence through creativity. Serving more than 1,000 children each year, the organization plays a vital role in empowering Bermuda’s children, nurturing imagination, fostering self-expression, and creating a sense of belonging through art, nature, & play.
For those unable to attend Saturday’s event, Kaleidoscope wants to share highlights from the evening and extended thanks to the many contributors who brought the event to life, including Piran Strange, Graham Foster, the staff of Kaleidoscope, the team at Bolero, Harry’s at the Waterfront’s own Gordon Emmerson , and Karen Plianthos.
Hosted at Bolero, the event unfolded as a sensory journey inspired by the surrealist Dalí. Guests stepped into a dreamlike world where visual art, theatrical performance, and fine dining intertwined seamlessly. The evening also showcased the culinary talents of Jonny Roberts, Executive Chef at Island Restaurant Group.
From the moment of arrival, guests were immersed in the surreal. Handmade hats and masks transformed attendees into living artworks, while a whimsical theatrical touch saw glasses of champagne seemingly materialize from mirrors. Inside, performance artists drifted through the space dressed as blooming flowers, becoming living sculptures within the scene.
The venue itself had been transformed by Kaleidoscope’s team of teachers into a Dalí-inspired dreamscape. Clouds floated overhead, melting clocks adorned the décor, and mirrors created playful distortions of space and perspective. Along the walls, an impressive collection of artwork contributed to the evening’s fundraising auction.
The surrealist theme extended to the menu, where Chef Roberts and his team presented a four-course dining experience inspired by Dalí’s works. Each dish paid homage to a specific painting, transforming iconic imagery into inventive culinary expressions.
Cocktail lovers were equally delighted, with Gordon Emmerson of Harry’s at the Waterfront, crafting imaginative drinks that complemented the evening’s surrealist theme, including hit cocktails such as the Kimono Rose and a Crispy Martini.
A particularly memorable moment came when auctioneer Karen Plianthos shared the story of her child’s first experience at Kaleidoscope. “Mummy, that place is magic,” she recalled, as she launched the live auction.
Kaleidoscope founder Fiona Rodriguez-Roberts reflected on the organization’s future vision. “The search is ongoing for the right permanent home for Kaleidoscope,” she said. “We’re on the path to creating a space that will give all of Bermuda’s children greater access to creative opportunities.” She added, “ we are grateful for each person who bought a ticket to this event, volunteered their time, and have been working with us to keep Kaleidoscope going, to do this work and meet the needs of our community.
A Call to Action
Kaleidoscope invites the community to be part of this transformative journey. Donations made in the coming month will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000, doubling the impact of every contribution. Supporters are encouraged to help Kaleidoscope reach its next milestone and secure a permanent home for creativity in Bermuda. Reach out to Kaleidoscope for more information at info@kaf.bm
About Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation
Founded in 2006, the Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation has worked with more than 11,000 children through its art enrichment programs. Each year, approximately 1,000 children participate, with more than two-thirds coming from the public school system. With support from the community, foundations, corporations, and individual donors, Kaleidoscope partners with every public preschool in Bermuda and many primary schools offering classes at no cost to students. The organization also provides bursaries for camps and after-school programs, ensuring that all children have access to creative opportunities.
A sign of the times story coming out of Parliament today … some 141 applications were received by a committee tasked with providing targeted emergency financing to those facing hardship, since March of last year.
This was revealed in the House of Assembly this morning by Tinee Furbert, Minister for Youth, Social Development and Seniors.
Some 116 referrals were accepted – translating to an approval rate of 82.2% of those who applied. Eleven cases involved medical emergencies and seven families had emergencies involving their young children.
In total, 25 cases were refused, the minister said.
Housing needs accounted for just over 50% of financial distributions or more than $75,000 to those in need met by the government. As of February, more than $134,000 had been spent from the fund and just over $13,000 remains.
Bermudian sailors Paul Rodrigues Jr. and Jordan Vieira were instrumental this weekend as Eckerd College secured a superb second-place finish at the SAISA Top Six Fleet Race in Charleston.
Following the initial fleet racing stages, the competition shifted to team racing in FJs. The fleet faced challenging conditions, contending with outgoing tides and shifting winds between 5 and 7 knots. The Tritons’ elite lineup featured Jordan Vieira teaming up with Tia Soultanakis, while Paul Rodrigues Jr. partnered with Avery Guck, alongside the pairing of Peter Miller and Peyton Elizabeth Seidle.
Eckerd opened the round-robin portion in clinical form, dispatching Miami, North Carolina State, Jacksonville, and Florida State in quick succession. The Tritons’ only blemish during this stage came against the host school, the College of Charleston, resulting in a strong 5–1 record and a second-place standing heading into the critical top-four round.
In the final championship round, Eckerd maintained their composure to defeat both Jacksonville and Miami. Despite falling once more to a dominant College of Charleston side, the Tritons concluded the high-stakes event with a highly impressive 6–2 overall record to secure the runner-up spot. The result marks another significant milestone for the Bermudian pair as they continue to establish themselves as key figures in the Eckerd College sailing programme.
Bermudian prospect Kalen Brunson and his Queens Park Rangers Development Squad teammates endured a unique and demanding schedule this week as the club fulfilled two separate fixtures on the same day.
The afternoon began with a stern test in the Professional Development League as QPR travelled to the TSG Training Centre to face Sheffield United. Kalen Brunson was named in the starting XI for this league clash, featuring in a side that looked to dictate play against a well-organized Blades outfit. Despite a spirited performance from the R’s, Sheffield United proved to be the more clinical side on the day, securing a 2–0 victory. The result was a frustrating one for Brunson and his teammates, who struggled to break down a resilient United defense despite several promising attacking sequences.
However, the mood within the camp shifted significantly later in the day as the focus turned to cup competition. While one half of the squad dealt with league duties, the remaining members of the Development Squad shifted their attention to the London Senior Cup. Brunson, having completed his shift against the Blades, watched on as his teammates produced a masterclass against AFC Wimbledon.
In a one-sided encounter, QPR dismantled the Dons with a clinical 4–0 win to emphatically secure their place in the competition’s final four. The victory ensures that the club’s silverware ambitions remain firmly intact, with a London Senior Cup semi-final now on the horizon. For Brunson, the day served as a reminder of the relentless nature of academy football, balancing the disappointment of a league setback with the triumph of a major cup progression.
The Catholic Church has largely maintained a celibate priesthood for centuries
International News via Reuters:
A Catholic bishop said he would push the Vatican for permission to ordain married men as priests by 2028, in an unusual statement that may test Pope Leo’s willingness to change Church teaching to address the issue of dwindling clergy numbers.
The Catholic Church has largely maintained a celibate priesthood for centuries. Although the practice could be changed by a pope, it would be a major shift in doctrine that pontiffs have resisted for decades.
Johan Bonny, bishop of Antwerp in Belgium since 2009 and known for taking progressive positions, said in a public letter to his parishioners released on Thursday that he would make “every effort” to ordain married men within two years and would identify men to train as priests.
Bishops in the 1.4-billion-member Church vow obedience to the pope and it is very unusual for them to announce they are considering an action that may contradict Church teaching.
If Bonny went ahead and ordained married priests without the Vatican’s permission, he could be subject to excommunication, a formal expulsion from the Church.
A Vatican spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Bonny’s remarks.
Leo, who took leadership of the Church last year after the death of Pope Francis, has not spoken at length about the possibility of married priests but has spoken positively about celibacy on several occasions.
Francis, who pursued a range of reforms during his 12 years as pope, firmly ruled out the possibility of married priests.
In his letter, Bonny said ordaining married men would be a response to the decline in the number of men willing to maintain celibacy in order to become priests, saying the current replacement rate is “just above zero”.
ISSUE CAN NO LONGER BE AVOIDED, BISHOP SAYS
“The question is no longer whether the Church can ordain married men as priests, but when it will do so, and who will do it,” he said. “Any delay comes across as an excuse.”
Bonny did not say whether he would go ahead and ordain married men if he did not receive papal permission.
The debate over whether Catholic priests should be allowed to marry has rumbled for centuries, but Francis reignited interest in the issue by holding several summits of bishops about possible reforms in the Church.
A 2018 Vatican summit of bishops formally asked Francis to ordain married priests, which he did not do.
Last year the Vatican said the number of men studying for the priesthood had seen an uninterrupted decline since 2012.
Proponents of letting priests marry say it would attract more men to the priesthood. Opponents say celibacy allows a priest to dedicate himself entirely to the Church.
Bonny said his diocese relies on foreign Catholic priests from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, who are often married.
Married men are allowed to become priests in Eastern-rite Catholic Churches, which are a minority and more prevalent in Middle Eastern and Eastern European countries.
The CBI’s monthly order book balance stood at -27 in March, little changed from -28 in February
International News via Reuters:
British factory orders contracted again this month and price pressures have eased for now pending clarity on the duration of the war in the Middle East, according to a Confederation of British Industry survey published on Friday.
The CBI’s monthly order book balance stood at -27 in March, little changed from -28 in February. The index level remains well below its long-run average of -14.
The survey’s measure of expectations for output in the next three months improved to -3 from -12.
The survey’s gauge of expected prices eased to +12 from +26 in February and +29 in January which was its highest reading since February 2023 when Britain was suffering from an energy price shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Cameron Martin, CBI senior economist, said conditions remained challenging for manufacturers and the orders pipeline was weak by historical standards.
“The conflict in the Middle East is pushing up energy costs and risks further disrupting supply chains, adding to the cost pressures already facing manufacturers,” Martin said.
The survey of 279 manufacturers was conducted between February 25 and March 13, covering the period since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran which began on February 28.
Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Andy Bruce
The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat at 583.70 by 1000 GMT, poised to log a 2% weekly decline and its longest losing streak since April
International News via Reuters:
Europe’s STOXX 600 gave up opening gains to trade flat on Friday, and was set for a third consecutive weekly loss, as an expanding Middle East conflict and a surge in oil prices reinforced inflation fears.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat at 583.70 by 1000 GMT, poised to log a 2% weekly decline and its longest losing streak since April. The heavyweight financial sector provided the biggest boost, up 0.5%, while the energy sector declined 1.1% – the biggest drag on the index, as crude prices pulled back. [O/R]
The benchmark was hovering near three-month lows and has lost more than 7% since its late February record high, hit a day before the Iran war started.
Israel launched fresh attacks on Iran a day after President Donald Trump told the country not to repeat its strikes on Iranian natural gas infrastructure.
Europe’s heavy reliance on Middle Eastern oil has left it exposed to rising crude prices as the Straight of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of global oil supplies, remains largely cut off. Attacks on energy infrastructure across the Gulf have pushed oil prices higher and threatened a rise in inflation above the ECB’s 2% target rate.
“A potential conflict lasting and higher interest rates, the big question mark is, what it could affect,” said Gilles Guibout, head of European equity, AXA IM Core at BNP Paribas Asset Management.
“What is not clear for now is about the magnitude of this impact.”
The week was flooded with central bank meetings from Sydney to London to Washington, with all policymakers sounding a similar alarm – how much would the Iran war push up inflation and slow growth.
The European Central Bank kept the policy rate unchanged on Thursday, but policymakers expect to discuss hikes in the coming months.
Traders are currently pricing in two 25 basis-point rate hikes by year-end, according to LSEG data – a far cry from the prior expectations of unchanged rates throughout the year before the start of the conflict.
Travel and leisure, which were among the hardest hit sectors in the recent sell-off, climbed 0.8% on the day.
Among individual stocks, Unilever shares added 1.3% after the consumer goods group confirmed it was in talks with U.S.-based McCormick & Company about selling its foods business.
Infineon shares jumped 3.9% after J.P. Morgan raised the German chips manufacturer’s rating to “overweight” from “neutral”.
On the flip side, Smiths Group dipped 7.1% after the engineering firm missed half-year organic revenue growth estimates.
Reporting by Avinash P and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Devika Syamnath
In the organisation’s final report into the blackout, it looked at its root causes and offered recommendations to reinforce Europe’s power grids and avoid similar incidents in the future using available solutions
International News via Reuters:
The massive power outage that hit the Iberian Peninsula in April last year was the result of multiple factors that ultimately led to a voltage surge and a chain of power-generation loss, a European network of electricity transmission system operators called ENTSO-E said in a report on Friday.
In the organisation’s final report into the blackout, it looked at its root causes and offered recommendations to reinforce Europe’s power grids and avoid similar incidents in the future using available solutions. The report is not meant to assign blame.
Like previous inquiries, the report confirmed preliminary findings by the organisation, pointing to a surge in voltage as the immediate cause of the April 28 outage – the first of its kind and Europe’s most significant blackout in more than two decades, which left large parts of Spain and Portugal without power for up to 16 hours.
ROOT CAUSES
The report mentioned several factors as root causes of the blackout. These included conventional power plants – thermal power plants using coal, gas and nuclear – that did not help control voltage as expected by the grid operator based on existing rules. In addition, some network components to control voltage operated manually, taking more time, and settings to disconnect equipment to protect them from a surge of voltage were not in line with existing requirements.
The report also highlighted that the Spanish grid operates at a wider range of voltage than other European countries, meaning that the margin between allowed voltage limits and those triggering disconnections was very small or non-existent.
Moreover, the management of the power links with France could have made the system behaviour worse, it said.
“The analyses above clearly indicate that the key phenomenon in the incident was the non-effectiveness of voltage control within the Spanish power system,” the report’s summary said.
MISSING DATA AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Experts couldn’t establish the reasons for some initial power-generation losses in Spain because the owners of those power plants said they lacked the required data, the report said.
The report also included some recommendations to avoid similar events in the future. These include improving monitoring of the power system and better coordination and data exchange among players in the power system.
Reporting by Pietro Lombardi; Editing by David Latona and Thomas Derpinghaus
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