In this episode, we cover a range of topics related to sports in Bermuda, including tributes to fallen sports legends, the achievements of runner Sean Trott, the growth of archery, and the preparations for the upcoming CAC Games. The discussion highlights the importance of training, nutrition, and support systems for athletes, as well as the logistical challenges faced by team managers like John Beard.
Daley swims into the history books
Bermuda’s Elijah Daley has delivered a performance for the ages, shattering one of the most significant barriers in the island’s swimming history.
Representing the University of Toronto, the freshman sensation took to the blocks for the Men’s 200 SC Meter Individual Medley on Day Two of the 2026 Ontario University Championships. Having already dismantled Stephen Fahy’s 25-year-old record last season, Daley arrived at the Varsity Pool with his sights set firmly on the uncharted territory of the sub-two minute mark.
After a composed preliminary swim of 2:01.04, the stage was set for a historic showdown in the evening’s A Final. In a race of exceptional quality, Daley became the first Bermudian ever to break the two-minute barrier in the event, touching the wall in a blistering 1:59.80 to claim the silver medal.
The result marks Daley’s second national record in as many days, following his record-breaking performance in the 100m breaststroke. As the championships head into their final day, the young Varsity Blue has firmly cemented his status as the premier versatile talent in the region.
Motion to Adjourn St Kitts & Nevis
In this weeks episode, we explore the deep historical and cultural connections between Bermuda and St. Kitts and Nevis, focusing on tourism, citizenship, and upcoming events. Our special guests from St. Kitts & Nevis discuss the positive trends in tourism, the importance of sustainable practices, and the challenges faced in staffing and training within the industry. They also highlight the significance of the St. Kitts Music Festival and the ongoing efforts to engage Bermudians in tourism and citizenship opportunities.
Human rights are under assault globally, says UN Secretary General
Human rights are under assault worldwide, the United Nations chief warned on Monday, citing widespread abuses of international law and devastating civilian suffering in conflicts in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine
International News via Reuters:
Human rights are under assault worldwide, the United Nations chief warned on Monday, citing widespread abuses of international law and devastating civilian suffering in conflicts in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine.
“The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force,” said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, speaking at the opening of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“Around the world, human rights are being pushed back deliberately, strategically, and sometimes proudly,” Guterres said.
The U.N. human rights chief has said his office is in “survival mode” due to funding cuts that have come alongside pressure on U.N. experts and U.S. disengagement.
‘NEEDS EXPLODING’
The U.S., the U.N.’s top donor, has paid just $160 million of the more than $4 billion it owes to the global body, a U.N. spokesperson said last week.
“Humanitarian needs are exploding while funding collapses,” Guterres said.
The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Turk, told the Council that the world faces the most intense competition for power and resources since World War Two, amid widespread rights violations.
He joined Guterres in urging an end to abuses in conflicts in Sudan, Gaza, Myanmar and Ukraine.
One diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that despite backing from some member states to strengthen and support the human rights system, funding remained a challenge.
The U.N. says funding shortages have prevented two investigations launched in 2025 – an inquiry into potential war crimes in Democratic Republic of Congo and a investigation into abuses in Afghanistan – from becoming operational.
APPEAL OVER PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Guterres also said blatant violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories threatened the viability of a Palestinian state.
“The two-State solution is being stripped away in broad daylight. The international community cannot allow it to happen,” he said.
This month Israel’s cabinet approved the latest measures to tighten Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, a move Palestinians called a “de-facto annexation”.
Most nations have long backed the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the best way to resolve the generations-old conflict and see the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, as the largest part of that future state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.
Reporting by Olivia Le PoidevinEditing by Ludwig Burger, Aidan Lewis
EU lobby group calls for tighter emission rules for corporate cars
The European Commission proposed in December that EU states introduce new zero- and low-emission quotas for corporate cars and vans from 2030
International News via Reuters:
The European Union should make companies include more environmentally friendly vehicles in their corporate fleets, and exclude low-emission vehicles and plug-in hybrids from quotas, environmental group Transport & Environment said on Monday.
The European Commission proposed in December that EU states introduce new zero- and low-emission quotas for corporate cars and vans from 2030, after long negotiations with the industry resulted in a plan to backtrack on its effective ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035.
T&E asked in a position paper that the targets aim for zero-emission vehicles – which include fully electric and hydrogen-powered models – to make up a 69% share of corporate fleets by 2030, up from 45% in current estimates, and that they exclude low-emission vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
The group says real-world emissions of plug-in hybrids, which can be powered with electricity or fuel, are higher than values from regulatory tests show, especially as company car drivers receive fuel cards and have no incentive to charge their battery instead of using their combustion engine.
It estimated that corporate sales of plug-in hybrids would more than double in four years with the current proposal.
TIGHTER RULES COULD HELP EU HIT TARGETS, GROUP SAYS
The EU could achieve more than half of the EV sales it targets by 2030 and support carmakers if it tightened its rules on cars bought by large companies, T&E said.
The paper added the EU should stick with a plan to abolish subsidies for petrol and diesel company cars, which it says amount to more than 42 billion euros ($49.5 billion) annually, and limit tax benefits to EVs made in Europe to help domestic carmakers.
“It’s in the European car industry’s interests that they get this done right,” T&E Clean Fleets Manager Sofie Grande y Rodriguez said in a statement.
The Commission’s current proposal would lead to 1.2 million extra sales of EU-made electric cars in 2030, but would mostly leverage already existing market trends and fall short of current trajectories in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden, T&E said.
Its more ambitious targets for corporate fleets, which account for about 60% of new cars and 90% of new vans sold in the bloc, would increase that number to 1.9 million, it said.
($1 = 0.8480 euros)
Reporting by Alessandro Parodi; Editing by Jan Harvey
US ambassador urges Portugal to buy F-35s, join top-tier air forces
Ambassador John Arrigo told CNN Portugal late on Sunday that he aimed to draw on his business experience to help Portugal ramp up defence spending to NATO’s target of 5% of gross domestic product by 2035
International News via Reuters:
The U.S. ambassador to Portugal has urged Lisbon to replace its ageing F-16 fighter jets with Lockheed Martin’s F-35, saying the stealth jet would ensure interoperability with Europe’s top-tier air forces.
Ambassador John Arrigo told CNN Portugal late on Sunday that he aimed to draw on his business experience to help Portugal ramp up defence spending to NATO’s target of 5% of gross domestic product by 2035 from the current 2%.
“F-35 is the best fighter – it’s a fifth-generation stealth fighter, it’ll get them (the Portuguese Air Force) into the Champions League when it comes to the EU,” Arrigo said.
Portuguese Defence Minister Nuno Melo said in November that the selection process for the replacement fighters had not yet started.
Arrigo said more than 900 of the F-35s were in service or on order across Europe and that for “interoperability, the F-35 is definitely the way to go,” noting also that 25% of the plane was made with European parts.
On relations with China, the ambassador said the Trump administration was not pushing Portugal to choose between Washington and Beijing or decouple from China, The U.S. was promoting “de-risking”, he said, ensuring cybersecurity and investment screening.
Chinese companies expanded in Portugal following the 2011-14 bailout, when lower asset prices attracted foreign investors.
Portugal secured a 78 billion euro bailout in May 2011 from the EU, IMF and ECB after soaring borrowing costs during the eurozone debt crisis cut it off from markets, but had to agree to harsh austerity that sparked a deep recession.
China Three Gorges holds 21.4% of utility EDP, China State Grid owns 25% of grid operator REN, and Hong Kong‑listed Fosun controls 20% of bank Millennium BCP and 85% of insurer Fidelidade.
Arrigo said the U.S. sees itself as Portugal’s “best partner but wants to keep any adversary… at arm’s length.”
Portugal joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in December 2018. Arrigo said Lisbon’s partnership with the U.S. would “flourish” if Lisbon exited, as Italy did in 2023.
Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Kate Mayberry
Former ‘Chief Mouser’ Palmerston remembered
Well-known rescue cat served in UK and Bermuda
Images shared by Government House, Bermuda
Many social media users at home and abroad have mourned a distinguished feline for his service to the island.
Palmerston, the former Chief Mouser to the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and “Diplocat” extraordinaire, passed away peacefully on 12 February.
The news was shared in a Facebook post by Government House and later reported by international media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, The New York Times and The Guardian.
“The role as feline relations consultant (semi-retired) to the Governor of Bermuda lured Palmerston across the Atlantic, where he gave audiences to visitors between well-deserved naps,” the post said.
“Welcomed to this beautiful island by Bermudians, “Palmy” was a much-loved member of his family. He was a wonderful companion, with a gentle nature, and will be sorely missed.”
The rescue cat from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home retired from service in Whitehall in 2020, before his post in Bermuda drew him out of retirement.
The tuxedo cat joined the diplomatic service in 2016 and was named after the British statesman and 19th-century Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, Viscount Palmerston.
Greenland prime minister says ‘no thanks’ to Trump’s hospital ship
Trump said on Saturday on social media he was working with Louisiana Governor and special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, to send a hospital boat to Greenland
International News via Reuters:
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Sunday “no thanks” to U.S. President Donald Trump’s idea of sending a hospital ship to Greenland, a territory that Trump has repeatedly said he wishes to take over.
Trump said on Saturday on social media he was working with Louisiana Governor and special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, to send a hospital boat to Greenland.
“President Trump’s idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted. But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. It is a deliberate choice,” Nielsen said in a post on Facebook.
Nielsen said Greenland remained open to dialogue and cooperation, also with the U.S.
“But talk to us instead of just making more or less random outbursts on social media,” he said.
Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. late last month launched diplomatic talks to resolve the crisis between the parties, following months of tension within the NATO defence alliance over Trump’s threats against the Arctic territory.
Trump’s post on the ship came hours after Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command said it had evacuated a crew member who required urgent medical treatment from a U.S. submarine in Greenlandic waters, seven nautical miles outside of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. It was unclear if the post had any connection to the evacuation.
Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Louise Rasmussen
ECB’s Lagarde receives 140,000 euros from BIS despite payment ban for ECB staff, FT reports
Some ECB employees, using internal message boards, have complained about the apparent double standard in the treatment of the president’s remuneration from the BIS, according to the report
International News via Reuters:
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde receives about 140,000 euros ($165,466) a year as a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) board member despite an ECB ban on third-party payments to staff, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Some ECB employees, using internal message boards, have complained about the apparent double standard in the treatment of the president’s remuneration from the BIS, according to the report.
The BIS does not disclose payments individually but in a written statement on Friday to German member of the European Parliament Fabio De Masi and his colleague, Lagarde disclosed for the first time that she received 130,457 Swiss francs, or about 140,000 euros, from the BIS in 2025, according to the report.
ECB staff “cannot accept remuneration for activities they perform exercising their ECB task,” the European bank told FT.
The BIS did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for a comment while ECB declined to comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Lagarde’s position at the helm of ECB has been under uncertainty after the Financial Times reported last week that she plans to step down before next spring’s French presidential election. However, Reuters reported that she told colleagues she remains focused on her job and she would tell them first if she was about to step down, citing sources.
($1 = 0.8461 euros)
Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Stephen Coates
Greens and Reform UK circle Labour stronghold in Manchester by-election
Voters in the Gorton and Denton constituency, named after two towns in east Manchester, in northwest England, are due to elect a new member of parliament in a one-off by-election on Thursday
International News via Reuters:
Support for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is evaporating in one of its Manchester strongholds, where the Green Party or right-wing Reform UK could rupture decades of political tradition in an election later this month.
Voters in the Gorton and Denton constituency, named after two towns in east Manchester, in northwest England, are due to elect a new member of parliament in a one-off by-election on Thursday.
Now merged into a single seat, both have returned Labour politicians to Westminster for generations – Gorton for almost 100 years, and Denton since World War Two.
Labour won the seat easily in Starmer’s landslide election victory in July 2024, polling just over 50% of the vote, but the current MP Andrew Gwynne said last month he would step down.
The contest to replace him is shaping up to be brutal for the government.
STARMER’S RECORD IN FOCUS
Labour is losing ground in two directions: to the Greens among younger, diverse voters in Manchester’s inner suburbs to the west of the constituency, and to Reform among older, white working-class communities in Denton, to the east.
The seat includes some of the most deprived areas in Manchester, which vies with Birmingham, in central England, as Britain’s second city.
“I’ve always been a staunch Labour voter,” retired firefighter Dave Ward, 59, said in Denton. “But now I’m giving Reform a chance. Labour have let us down. They’ve made promises after promises. U-turn after U-turn.”
The area’s three-way split crystallises everything that has gone wrong for Starmer: policy U-turns, plummeting popularity, and now widespread disgust over allegations that Peter Mandelson, his handpicked U.S. ambassador, had previously leaked government information to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson denies wrongdoing.
An opinion poll published by market research firm Omnisis on Friday put the Greens narrowly ahead of Reform, with Labour close behind, matching indications from bookmakers.
Investors are watching too – British government bonds have wobbled this year during moments of uncertainty about Starmer’s political future. Many bond investors worry a change of Labour leader would shift policies to the left and raise borrowing.
GREENS TARGET LABOUR VOTERS
Some left-leaning voters who hoped Labour would deliver more radical change after 14 years of Conservative rule have instead turned to the Green Party under new leader Zack Polanski.
In Levenshulme, an area with a large Muslim population, Green Party posters festoon many houses.
“I’ll be voting Green this time around,” said Josie, a 37-year-old teacher who declined to give her last name.
“I’m a former Labour member, but… I don’t think they can win round here anymore,” she added, citing her disagreement with Starmer’s stance on the war in Gaza and Mandelson.
Labour may have sealed its fate by blocking popular Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from standing.
Officials said it avoided triggering an expensive mayoral election, but critics saw it as an attempt to keep a potential rival out of parliament.
Sue Ashton, a 75-year-old lifelong Labour voter in Gorton, said Starmer had thrown Labour “under the bus” by blocking Burnham from being the party’s candidate.
“I’ve got to keep Reform out. It’s the only reason I’m voting Labour this time. I would have gone Green, but… it’s too much of a risk,” Ashton said.
There was a party atmosphere as Green candidate Hannah Spencer launched her party’s Gorton headquarters to around 90 cheering canvassers.
“I think people now are just ready for change,” the local councillor and plumber told Reuters. “It is between us and Reform.”
Spencer, 34, said the Green message could resonate with working-class voters in Denton, adding “we’re not all one group that thinks and acts the same way.”
REFORM SEES ‘OVERWHELMING SUPPORT’
Nationally, the Labour government’s main challenge is coming from Reform UK, the right-wing populist party led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, which holds only a handful of seats in parliament but has been leading in opinion polls.
At Reform’s campaign headquarters in a warehouse in Denton, activists pored over computer screens, overlooked by illuminated billboards of Farage and candidate Matt Goodwin.
“It will probably go to the wire but we’ve got overwhelming support in large parts of the seat,” Goodwin, a 44-year-old academic turned media commentator, told Reuters.
Goodwin, who argues that mass migration undermines Britain’s cultural identity, was asked how his message would land in the more diverse western wards. The election had “nothing to do with race, ethnicity and religion,” he said.
“If you contribute, if you play by the rules, if you’re part of the hard-working majority, then you should be voting Reform,” Goodwin said.
ELECTION COULD SPELL ‘DISASTER’ FOR STARMER
Green and Labour candidates criticised Reform’s politics as divisive, but disagreed on who was best placed to stop it.
“This is a choice between Labour and Reform,” Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia told Reuters after chatting to pensioners over cups of tea at a community centre.
“The Greens say a lot but they deliver very, very little.”
Rob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester, said a Labour loss would be a “disaster” for Starmer, who recently survived a leadership crisis that may reignite after local elections in May.
“Not typical mid-term blues,” Ford said, “but signs of an existential crisis.”
Additional reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Alex Richardson
Dollar softens after court strikes down Trump’s tariffs, stoking policy worries
The euro was up 0.2% against the dollar, to $1.1808, while sterling rose 0.3% to $1.3519
International News via Reuters:
The dollar slipped on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Donald Trump’s tariffs stirred fresh policy uncertainty, further fuelled by worries about a conflict with Iran.
The euro was up 0.2% against the dollar, to $1.1808, while sterling rose 0.3% to $1.3519. The greenback also weakened 0.2% against the Japanese yen to 154.745 yen.
“These initial moves appear to be knee-jerk reactions to headlines rather than true signals of fundamental change in the global economic landscape,” said Invesco’s chief global market strategist Brian Levitt.
“The markets’ initial reaction to the ruling may ultimately be short-lived, given that multiple avenues can be pursued to keep tariffs in place.”
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing sweeping tariffs, prompting him to lash out at the court and announce a blanket 15% levy on imports.
He also insisted that higher-tariff deals with trade partners should stay.
The uncertainty could complicate an already unsettled backdrop for forex markets, at a time when traders are dealing with shifting interest rate expectations and geopolitical jitters.
Trump’s replacement levies will run for 150 days and it is not clear if the U.S. owes importers refunds on duties already paid. The Supreme Court did not rule on that issue.
Analysts expect years of litigation and another bout of activity-crimping confusion while Trump seeks other means to replace the global tariffs more permanently.
The European Commission demanded on Sunday that the U.S. stick to a deal reached last year with the EU, which includes zero tariffs on some products such as aircraft and spare parts.
U.S. trading partners in Asia were weighing the fresh uncertainties, as were investors who have already been wrong-footed by markets’ responses to Trump’s trade levies – which have incidentally failed to close the U.S. trade deficit.
INVESTORS EYEING MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS
The risk of a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran has added another layer of ambiguity to financial markets.
While the longtime adversaries are scheduled to hold a third round of talks on Thursday on their nuclear dispute, Trump has ordered a huge buildup of forces in the Middle East.
“Escalating tensions in the Middle East have revived questions about geopolitical hedges and the FX impacts of a commodity price shock,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote.
Iran is among the world’s top oil producers, and any strikes on it are likely to ripple across the crude markets. A potential conflict might also disrupt shipping routes as Tehran has previously threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of global oil flows.
Goldman analysts said the Swiss franc was their preferred inflation hedge. The franc was up 0.3% at 0.7736 francs per dollar.
Reporting by Niket Nishant in London and Tom Westbrook and Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kate Mayberry
Oil edges lower on US tariff uncertainty and US-Iran talks
Brent crude futures were down 45 cents, or 0.6%, at $71.31 a barrel by 1027 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 42 cents, or also 0.6%, to $66.06
International News via Reuters:
Oil prices moved slightly lower on Monday as the U.S. and Iran prepared for a third round of nuclear talks, easing fears of potential conflict, while President Donald Trump’s latest tariff measures created uncertainty for global growth and fuel demand.
Brent crude futures were down 45 cents, or 0.6%, at $71.31 a barrel by 1027 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 42 cents, or also 0.6%, to $66.06.
Growing concern over potential military conflict between the U.S. and Iran pushed Brent and WTI prices up more than 5% last week, with Brent still close to six-month highs.
“With the next, and possibly last, round of the Iranian nuclear talks not until Thursday, focus is on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down import tariffs and the subsequent reaction from the government,” said PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said it would halt collections of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on Tuesday. However, Trump said on Saturday that he would raise a temporary tariff from 10% to 15% on U.S. imports from all countries, the maximum allowed under the law, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff programme.
“The tariff news over the weekend has resulted in some risk-aversion flows this morning, which can be viewed in the price of gold and U.S. equity futures, and this is weighing on the crude oil price,” said IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore.
Iran has indicated it is prepared to make concessions on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium, a senior Iranian official told Reuters ahead of Thursday’s third round of nuclear talks between the two nations.
“This morning’s weakness is a defensive move, and needless to say, with the uncertainty surrounding a U.S. military intervention in Iran, the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war and now the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, oil price direction is not (clear), but volatility is guaranteed,” PVM’s Varga said.
While prices on paper had moved higher, softer prompt spreads and weaker physical differentials pointed to pricing being based on geopolitical concerns rather than an actual lack of oil in the market, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note.
The bank now expects Brent at $62.50 a barrel in the second quarter of this year, down from a previous projection of $57.50.
Reporting by Seher Dareen in London, Mohi Narayan in New Delhi and Florence Tan in SingaporeEditing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and David Goodman
