Bermuda took center stage last night, opening the 2026 edition of the Caribbean Pickleball Championships in vibrant style at the W.E.R. Joell Tennis Stadium. Julie Matthews Borchardt reports.
Jobs fair opens career paths in hospitality
A job fair aimed at connecting job seekers with opportunities in Bermuda’s hospitality industry was held today at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. The event, hosted in collaboration with the Bermuda Hospitality Alliance, brought together employers and prospective candidates looking to enter or grow within the industry. We spoke with Malika Cartwright, Director of Workforce Development, and Stephen Todd, Chief Executive Officer of the Bermuda Hospitality Alliance, who shared that although the event was held today, individuals can still apply for available opportunities by reaching out directly. Kendal Trott reports.
Historical school test results to be examined
Bermuda Broadcasting has been asking Government for more context to recently released public school test results. Now, it looks as if it is coming…
Following the publishing of public school exam and test results for the last academic year, Government has announced that results for the decade prior are going to be analysed.
For a month-and-a-half, Bermuda Broadcasting has been asking the Government to add more context to the previously-released figures by releasing historical test results.
Cambridge Checkpoint and IGCSE results from 2012–2025 are going to be analysed by the vendor, Cambridge International Education.
Last month, Government released a press release highlighting the results for the 2024-2025 academic year. The figures showed most IGCSE students had failed to achieve a grade from A-C.
Bermuda Broadcasting already had the results, released via the Ministry of Education website. In early February we started requesting that historical figures be released, as the 2024-2025 results existed “in a vacuum”, and it would be beneficial to have a long-term picture.
Up until today, Government had not confirmed whether or not they would provide the results.
Last week, Opposition Leader Ben Smith agreed that Government should provide those figures.
Today, the Ministry of Education stated that an analysis of results going back to 2012 would be undertaken. Cambridge International Education will conduct the analysis, as their reporting structures and methodologies changed throughout the period under review, and “this ensures that all information is presented accurately and within its full technical context.”
A Ministry spokesperson said, “completing this analysis will ensure that data released to the public is grounded in the appropriate context.”
“The analysis will assist the Ministry in evaluating the impact of instructional practices and in identifying patterns in students’ achievement levels over time.”
Once complete, the analysis will be posted on moed.bm.
Government of Bermuda Press Release:
The Ministry of Education is undertaking an analysis of the Cambridge Checkpoint and IGCSE results from 2012–2025. This initiative aims to provide a deeper understanding of student performance trends against the approved curriculum.
As Cambridge reporting structures and methodologies changed throughout the period under review, the analysis will be conducted by the vendor, Cambridge International Education. This ensures that all information is presented accurately and within its full technical context.
Ministry of Education spokesperson noted, “In keeping with the Minister of Education’s priority of improving student outcomes, completing this analysis will ensure that data released to the public is grounded in the appropriate context.
“The analysis will assist the Ministry in evaluating the impact of instructional practices and in identifying patterns in students’ achievement levels over time.”
“Once the review is complete (projected for early next month), the findings will be shared with stakeholders to ensure everyone remains well-informed and engaged in the continuous improvement process. The Ministry will post the analysis on moed.bm.”
UK looks to provide more support to Gulf allies amid Iranian attacks
Britain’s fighter jets and other forces have been helping shoot down Iranian drones, and one of its warships is heading to the eastern Mediterranean
International News via Reuters:
Britain said it was working to provide more support for its partners in the Gulf who are under attack from Iran, as it announced plans to buy extra missiles to protect the region.
Britain’s fighter jets and other forces have been helping shoot down Iranian drones, and one of its warships is heading to the eastern Mediterranean, although the government has been criticised for not being able to send it sooner.
The British RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus was hit by an Iranian-made drone on March 1, but HMS Dragon did not depart until March 10, leading to scrutiny of Britain’s military readiness.
Britain, which also has a military presence in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere, said it would order further Lightweight Multirole Missiles from Thales UK in Belfast to supply its forces as well as partners in the region, and said it would also provide them with training in the UK.
“Lightweight Multirole Missiles have already proven highly capable for air defence in the Middle East,” a statement from the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.
Ambassadors and defence attachés from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Iraq and Jordan attended a meeting with Britain’s Minister for Defence Readiness Luke Pollard, the statement said.
They discussed how to provide new defence equipment and technology at pace with representatives from suppliers, such as BAE Systems, MBDA and Leonardo UK to counter Iranian attacks.
Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by William James
Turkish crowds protest in support of jailed Erdogan rival one year after arrest
Supporters waving red party banners and Turkish flags gathered at city hall for the rally by Imamoglu’s party, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)
International News via Reuters:
Thousands of Turks gathered in central Istanbul on Wednesday in support of jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu at an opposition rally, one year after President Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival was arrested on corruption charges.
Supporters waving red party banners and Turkish flags gathered at city hall for the rally by Imamoglu’s party, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which has been the target of an unprecedented judicial crackdown since late 2024.
“Rights, law, justice,” the crowd chanted as Imamoglu’s wife spoke at the rally.
The crackdown on the party is overshadowing Turkish politics ahead of elections expected by many to be held late next year. Imamoglu, the CHP’s presidential candidate, is now on trial in a corruption case that could extinguish his ambition of succeeding Erdogan as president.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel told Reuters he believed Erdogan wanted the CHP to withdraw Imamoglu’s candidacy, but that it would not, saying that 15 million people had expressed their support for him as a candidate.
“Erdogan is using the courts to get rid of his rival. There is a price to pay for this,” Ozel said in an interview last week, forecasting that the CHP would defeat Erdogan at the ballot box.
Erdogan and the government deny political interference and says courts operate independently. They have not commented on the arrest anniversary.
Prosecutors accuse Imamoglu, 55, of leading a criminal organisation through tender-rigging and bribery, charges he denies. His pre-trial imprisonment has drawn sustained protests from opposition supporters and criticism from rights groups, who say the case exemplifies the erosion of judicial independence in NATO member Turkey.
Opinion polls show Imamoglu performing strongly against Erdogan in any presidential race, while polling also suggests a tight race between the secularist CHP and Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AKP in parliamentary elections set to be held at the same time.
Ozel said he expects pressure on the opposition to intensify ahead of elections, which he believes President Erdogan will seek in late 2027.
If elected, the CHP says it would restore rule-of-law governance, revive stalled EU accession talks, and pursue a more social-democratic economic model. Ozel framed the elections, scheduled for 2028, as a choice between democracy and autocracy.
“The next general elections are a referendum on whether democrats or autocrats will rule,” he said. “If we win, a very strong democracy will be built.”
Reporting by Daren ButlerEditing by Alexandra Hudson
Iceland could become EU member in 2028, minister says
The Icelandic government has proposed holding a referendum on August 29 on resuming EU membership negotiations, a process Reykjavik froze in 2013 when a more Eurosceptic government took power
International News via Reuters:
Iceland’s Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir told Reuters on Wednesday she is optimistic her country could join the European Union as early as 2028, adding she expects fisheries and agriculture to be the toughest points of negotiation.
The Icelandic government has proposed holding a referendum on August 29 on resuming EU membership negotiations, a process Reykjavik froze in 2013 when a more Eurosceptic government took power.
“We have seen that it’s beneficial to have a voice at the table,” Gunnarsdottir said in an interview in Brussels.
If Icelandic voters opt to restart talks, the minister said she expects fisheries to be the most difficult discussion. Iceland has disagreed with the EU in the past over fishing quotas that impact one of the main drivers of its economy.
The minister said any new talks should focus on the most difficult issues such as fisheries, agriculture and the labour market, right in the beginning.
“If we do that, then I’m pretty optimistic then we will be, before the end of the year 2028, a member of the European Union,” she added.
The Nordic country, home to almost 400,000 people, is a founding member of NATO and already part of the European single market and Schengen open-border travel zone.
A rise in the cost of living and Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine have renewed Iceland’s interest in joining the bloc, polls have shown.
Repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to annex Greenland, located between Iceland and the United States, have also put a spotlight on possible EU membership.
“Iceland is there in the middle, a kind of link between those two continents,” she said.
If voters back the resumption of talks, full membership would require a second referendum.
“Should you choose to pursue EU membership, Iceland would certainly be a frontrunner in this process,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
Reporting by Lili BayerEditing by Alexandra Hudson
‘Not our war’: Europe says no to Trump
When President Donald Trump asked countries to join a global effort against Iran and deploy ships to prise open the Strait of Hormuz he was rebuffed by some of America’s closest allies
International News via Reuters:
For a self-described Transatlanticist like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the language has been unusually blunt.
When President Donald Trump asked countries to join a global effort against Iran and deploy ships to prise open the Strait of Hormuz, whose near closure has held the global economy in a vice, he was rebuffed by some of America’s closest allies.
Merz told German lawmakers on Wednesday he agreed Iran must not be allowed to pose a threat to its neighbours but expressed doubts about the rationale behind the U.S.-Israeli war.
“To this day, there is no convincing plan for how this operation could succeed. Washington has not consulted us and did not say European assistance was necessary,” he told lawmakers.
“We would have advised against pursuing this course of action as it has been pursued. Therefore, we have declared that as long as the war continues, we will not participate in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, for example, by military means.”
European leaders have rejected direct involvement in U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran, wary of getting sucked into an unpredictable conflict whose aims they do not fully understand and is unpopular with their own citizens.
In doing so, they are calculating that the benefits of staying on the sidelines outweigh the multiple risks to Transatlantic ties that are already under severe strain over anything from the war in Ukraine to tariff disputes.
Merz’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was just as direct as his boss on Monday: “This is not our war, we have not started it.” Echoing Germany’s stance, French President Emmanuel Macron also said “We are not party to the conflict”.
EUROPEANS AGAINST IRAN WAR
Europeans have long been wary that angering Trump could mean he cuts them loose on Ukraine or tries to force Kyiv to accept a deal that favours Moscow. Even the very existence of the NATO alliance has come into question, with countries rattled by Trump’s designs on taking Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark at the start of the year.
While giving no indication that he plans to punish NATO allies, Trump said they had made a “very foolish mistake” in failing to join the U.S. in its military operations in Iran.
Trump reserved particular scorn for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who he said was “no Winston Churchill”, Britain’s leader during World War Two.
But Starmer and others have public opinion on their side. A poll by YouGov suggested Britons opposed the attacks by 49% to 28%.
That has forced Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party and the opposition Conservatives to temper their initial support for the U.S. and Israeli strikes and even to offer some support.
“I’m Keir Starmer’s biggest critic, but the war of words coming from the White House is childish,” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said.
“I don’t like to see our Prime Minister be berated by foreign leaders,” Robert Jenrick from Reform UK said.
In Spain, Prime Minister Sanchez was quick to denounce the attacks on Iran as reckless and illegal and brushed off threats from Trump to cut trade with Spain if it did not allow jointly operated bases to be used for the war.
“We are certainly not going to be anybody’s vassals, we won’t tolerate any threats and we’ll defend our values,” Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jose Montero said earlier in March.
The government’s stance is widely shared by Spaniards, with 68% declaring in a poll by Spanish company 40db that they were opposed to the war.
A survey by ARD DeutschlandTrend showed 58% of Germans oppose the war while 25% support it. Criticism has even come from the far-right Alternative for Germany, a party that has courted the Trump administration.
“Donald Trump started out as a peace president – he will end up as a war president,” its co-leader Tino Chrupalla said.
EUROPEANS STRIVE TO MANAGE TRUMP’S UNPREDICTABILITY
European governments say they do not want to enter a war on which they were given no say and where they cannot see the endgame.
A European official, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivities involved, said American war aims were not defined or clear, and were probably different from Israel’s war aims, notably on regime change.
In another sign of the strains, Merz and others have criticised Trump for loosening oil sanctions on Russia in an attempt to cool soaring global prices, suggesting the U.S. had blindsided its allies.
European powers have responded to the war in Iran but on their own terms.
Starmer has said Britain was working with allies on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil is transported.
France has sought to put together a coalition to secure the strait once the security situation stabilises – and without a U.S. role.
Paris has been consulting European, Asian, including India, and Gulf Arab states over the past week over a plan that would eventually see warships escort tankers and commercial ships.
Such a plan would involve political and technical talks, including with the maritime industry, insurers and others, said Macron: “This work will require discussions and de-escalation with Iran.”
In the end, European leaders have sought to project unity above all and learnt to manage what they see as Trump’s erratic leadership.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters in an interview this week the bloc was “now more calm, because we are … expecting unpredictable things to happen all the time and take it as it is, put some ice in our hats, and be calm and stay focused.”
Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Andreas Rinke, Alexander Ratz, John Irish, Michel Rose, Victoria Waldersee, Angelo Amante, Andrew Gray, Elizabeth Piper, Olena Harmash, Barbara Erling; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Jon Boyle
‘Democracy matters’ – OBA on today’s key Senate vote
Statement from Opposition Senate Leader Victoria Cunningham
This afternoon in the Senate, we defeated a Bill that would have abolished municipal elections in Bermuda and replaced them with ministerial appointments.
With the support of the Independent Senators, the Senate stood up for a simple principle that local democracy matters.
For more than a century, the people and businesses of Hamilton and St. George’s have chosen their own representatives. This Bill would have ended that by removing the public’s right to vote and replacing accountability to the people with accountability to a Minister.
This wasn’t a minor administrative change. It was a fundamental shift in how local government works in Bermuda. The Bill would have allowed the Minister to appoint the Mayor, appoint four Councillors, appoint the Selection Committee, and ultimately influence the entire composition of the Corporation. That is centralisation, not reform.
Around the world, cities are gaining more autonomy, not less. Strong communities are built on local knowledge, local accountability, and local decision‑making. Bermuda should not move in the opposite direction.
Today’s vote sends a clear message: Democracy is not an inconvenience, and the right to choose who governs your city should not be taken away.
Senate votes down ‘City takeover’ bill
The Senate has voted down the controversial Municipalities Reform Act 2026. The motion was defeated 6-5
The controversial Municipalities Reform Act 2026 will have to wait at least another year before coming into effect, after the Senate narrowly voted the motion down on Wednesday.
All 6 Opposition and independent senators voted against the Act.
PLP senators Kim Wilkerson, Crystal Caesar, Lindsay Simmons, Mischa Fubler and Lauren Bell all voted in favour.
Senate President and independent Joan Dillas-Wright voted nay, along with fellow independent senators John Wight and Tawana Tannock.
OBA senators Victoria Cunningham, Tarik Smith and David Rogers also opposed the motion.
The Act will return to the House of Assembly in a year, at which point it can be passed without going to the Senate.
Tsunami exercise to test Bermuda’s emergency readiness
The Ministry of National Security, through its Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Team, will conduct Exercise Caribe Wave 26 on Thursday, 19 March 2026, commencing at 11:00 a.m. local time.
This exercise, which forms part of the Maritime Seismic Tabletop Exercise 2026, is a simulated tsunami response exercise and is not related to an actual tsunami event.
The annual training is intended to assess Bermuda’s current hazard notification pathways, advisory decision-making processes and inter-agency coordination mechanisms. It will also help identify any procedural, structural or legislative gaps that may affect the development of a cohesive National Disaster Response Framework.
According to the exercise agenda, the Bermuda Weather Service, as Bermuda’s Tsunami Warning Focal Point, will begin the exercise following the release of the initial message.
The Bermuda Weather Service will email its notification group contacts, issue simulatedtest tsunami watches under the exercise parameters, and continue to send subsequent messages as required.
As part of the exercise, the Bermuda Weather Service will also update messaging on its website. Any tsunami-related notices or messages published there on Thursday, 19 March 2026, will be for exercise purposes only and should not cause public alarm.
Participating agencies will also be contacted by email to enact their tsunami contingency plans. The training scenario is based on a significant volcanic event at Kick-’em-Jenny Volcano in Grenada, reported at around 1500 UTC on Thursday, 19 March 2026.
Under the exercise timeline, test messages will be issued throughout the day, beginning with the start of the exercise at 11:00 a.m. and concluding with a final tsunami information statement at 3:30 p.m., when the tsunami threat is deemed to have passed.
Pickleballers converge on Bermuda for regional tournament
Follow Bermuda Broadcasting for live coverage of the Caribbean Pickleball Championships
The curtain was raised last night on the Caribbean Pickleball Championships, taking place at the W.E.R. Joell Tennis Stadium. Players from across the region are here for a week of high-level competition and development in one of the world’s fastest-growing sports.
Bermuda Broadcasting last night launched its coverage with a live interview conducted by Nick Jones with Sports Minister Owen Darrell, who highlighted the significance of Bermuda hosting a regional sporting event of this scale.
The station’s coverage also featured an introductory video with insights from key figures in the sport, including George Thomas and Leonardo Stango, both of whom spoke to the growth and potential of pickleball across the Caribbean and beyond.
The championships will see athletes from multiple Caribbean countries compete across junior, adult, and senior divisions, showcasing a wide spectrum of talent and experience.
More than just a tournament, the Caribbean Pickleball Championships has been designed as a platform to grow the sport regionally – fostering collaboration among national federations, raising competitive standards, and creating new opportunities for players and communities.
The week’s action features two interconnected tournaments: Rally on the Rock, offering open competition for players of all levels, and the Caribbean Championship Cup, a team-based format aimed at preparing Caribbean nations for future World Cup-style play.
Organisers say the dual-format structure balances accessibility with elite competition, positioning Bermuda at the centre of pickleball’s continued expansion in the region.
Stay tuned as Bermuda Broadcasting will deliver exclusive live coverage of the Caribbean Pickleball Championships.
