Department of Marine and Ports Services cites mechanical issues, with service halted as of February 23
The Department of Marine and Ports Services advises that mechanical repairs are required on the ferry serving the Pink Route. Ferry service is suspended, effective this afternoon, 23 February, 2026.
Marine & Ports Services apologises to the public for this service interruption and will advise when service will resume.
Premier David Burt joins regional leaders in St. Kitts and Nevis this week
The Premier, the Hon. David Burt, JP, MP, is attending the 50th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), this week, which is scheduled to take place in St. Kitts and Nevis from February 24 – 27.
This milestone gathering will be the first held under the chairmanship of Dr. the Hon. Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis.
During this visit, the Premier Burt will be accompanied by the Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Alexa Lightbourne, JP, MP, as Bermuda continues to deepen its engagement with regional partners.
The 50th Heads of Government Meeting is expected to address several priority areas for the region, including enhanced regional cooperation, security coordination, economic diversification, and the strengthening of intra‑regional trade. Bermuda’s ongoing process toward full CARICOM membership will also be a key topic of discussion.
Premier Burt underscored the importance of Bermuda’s participation at this week’s meeting, saying, “Bermuda’s relationship with CARICOM is rooted in shared values, shared challenges, and shared opportunities. This meeting provides an important platform to advance our interests, strengthen regional partnerships, and contribute meaningfully to the collective progress of the Caribbean community. I look forward to productive discussions under the leadership of Prime Minister Drew as we work together to build a more secure, resilient, and prosperous region.”
Bermuda currently holds Associate Member status within CARICOM and continues to work closely with CARICOM institutions and member states as part of its commitment to deeper regional collaboration.
The Premier and Minister Lightbourne will participate in a full agenda of meetings while in St. Kitts and Nevis, as well conduct a series bilateral engagements with Overseas Territories Leaders during the conference.
Prior to travelling to St. Kitts and Nevis, Premier Burt will also attend NEARCON 2026 in San Francisco, where he was invited to participate as a speaker and lead a session titled: “The ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Approach to Innovation and AI as the Next Regulatory Frontier.”
The session explores how Bermuda’s model of close collaboration between government, regulator, and industry has positioned the island as a leading jurisdiction for digital finance, and how that same approach can be applied to emerging regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence in financial services.
While in San Francisco the Premier will also be meeting with executives from a number of Digital Asset and AI companies.
During this time, Deputy Premier the Hon. Zane DeSilva will be Acting Premier and Junior Minister of Finance, Hon. Wayne Furbert, JP, will be Acting Minister of Finance.
Premier Burt returns on Friday February 27, and will join MPs in the House of Assembly to close out the General Economic Debate.
Visa changes as the government seeks to reduce immigration have further reduced demand from international students and British students have been opting to live at home rather than rent property to cut their costs
International News via Reuters:
The annual income of Britain’s largest student housing provider Unite Group could fall by up to 13% in 2026 as rising UK education costs deter international postgraduate enrolments, it said on Tuesday, sending its shares 8% lower.
Visa changes as the government seeks to reduce immigration have further reduced demand from international students and British students have been opting to live at home rather than rent property to cut their costs.
“We’ve seen the overall cost of education increasing in the UK relative to some competing markets, particularly within Asia, and so that has led to a reduction in the numbers of international postgraduates,” CEO Joe Lister told Reuters.
The 8% share price fall by 0933 GMT put Unite on track for its worst day since October, if losses hold.
EMPIRIC ACQUISITION CONCLUDED IN JANUARY
Unite expects adjusted earnings per share of 41.5-43.0 pence in 2026, down between 9.5% and 12.6% from 2025 levels, reflecting lower income from its Empiric business, which it acquired in January and is focused on postgraduate housing.
In November, it had expected a 7-10% reduction in 2026 adjusted earnings per share.
It reported occupancy of 95.2% for the 2025/26 academic year, down from 97.5% in the previous year.
Universities are seeking to boost recruitment for three-year undergraduate courses to offset the reduced number of international postgraduates, which could help Unite’s revenues.
Analysts, however, anticipated recovery would be hard.
“We believe the weaker operational market will make it tough for the group to bounce back to trend growth from AY27/28, as previously communicated,” Barclays analysts said in a note.
Unite has sold non-core assets to streamline operations. The company on Tuesday announced the sale of a property in London for 186 million pounds ($250.91 million).
($1 = 0.7413 pounds)
Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job and Simone Lobo in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Barbara Lewis
The blue-chip index was down 0.1% at 1140 GMT, while the domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.07%
International News via Reuters:
The UK’s FTSE 100 dipped on Tuesday, echoing a downbeat sentiment across global markets as investors grappled with tariff-related trade uncertainties as well as worries about potential disruption from artificial intelligence.
The blue-chip index was down 0.1% at 1140 GMT, while the domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.07%.
President Donald Trump imposed a new tariff from Tuesday of 10% on all imported goods not covered by exemptions, rather than the 15% he promised earlier, after his levies were struck down by the Supreme Court.
The British government had negotiated a reciprocal tariff rate at 10% after reaching a deal with the U.S. last year.
Global stocks also came under pressure with sectors considered as vulnerable to disruption from AI, such as software and private equity, slumping overnight on Wall Street after a report from Citrini Research laid out the possible risks to the global economy from the fast-evolving technology.
British technology stocks fell 1%, with information group RELX and exchange operator London Stock Exchange Group down 1.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
Computer hardware firm Raspberry Pi, which traders in the past have seen as a beneficiary of low-cost AI projects, jumped 11.7%.
Meanwhile, banks slipped 1.2%, with Lion Finance and Barclays dropping 1.5% each, while Lloyds fell 1.9%.
Standard Chartered dipped 2% even as the bank reported a rise in full-year pretax profit, announced a $1.5 billion share buyback and a full-year dividend that was up 65% from a year earlier.
On the earnings front, Convatec climbed 10% to the top of the benchmark index after the medical equipment maker raised its medium-term organic revenue growth target, citing a strengthening product pipeline.
Croda rose 3.4% after the specialty chemicals maker forecast ambitious profit margins for 2028, as it continues to streamline its operations following last year’s subdued demand in some regions linked to U.S. tariffs.
Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore
The changes, approved by European Union ministers at a meeting in Brussels, weaken the rules for most businesses currently covered
International News via Reuters:
EU countries on Tuesday gave their final approval to scale back rules that require companies to address environmental and human rights risks in their supply chains, after months of pressure from businesses and governments including the U.S and Qatar.
The changes, approved by European Union ministers at a meeting in Brussels, weaken the rules for most businesses currently covered. EU governments and the European Parliament negotiated the amendments last year.
They follow criticism from some industries that EU red tape and strict regulation hindered competitiveness with foreign rivals. But the weaker laws have dismayed environmental campaigners and some investors who said it would become harder to identify genuinely sustainable companies.
Under the changes, the EU will limit its corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD) to only the largest EU corporations – those with more than 5,000 employees and 1.5 billion euro ($1.8 billion) annual turnover.
The same rules will cover foreign companies whose EU turnover exceeds that amount. They could face fines of up to 3% of net global turnover for breaching the rules.
“We are reducing unnecessary and disproportionate burdens on our businesses, with simpler, more targeted and more proportionate rules,” said Marilena Raouna, Cyprus’s deputy EU affairs minister, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting.
The U.S. and Qatar had demanded the EU scale back CSDDD, warning that it risked disrupting their gas supplies to Europe. U.S. oil and gas major ExxonMobil has criticised the changes as not going far enough.
The EU also delayed the deadline to comply with CSDDD to mid-2029 – versus mid-2027 previously for larger companies – and dropped a requirement for companies to adopt climate change transition plans.
The changes also cover the EU’s corporate sustainability reporting directive, which requires companies to disclose their environmental and social impact to make this more transparent to investors and consumers.
The EU agreed that such reporting will cover only companies with more than 1,000 employees and 450 million euro annual net turnover – plus non-EU firms with this turnover inside the bloc – versus companies with more than 250 employees now.
The changes will pass into law in the coming weeks.
($1 = 0.8488 euros)
Reporting by Kate Abnett. Editing by Mark Potter
Ingka is testing whether renting space to other brands can increase visits and monetise its existing square metres as it revamps giant stores for a value-driven shopper
International News via Reuters:
The owner of most IKEA outlets worldwide said on Tuesday sports retailer Decathlon will open a store in one of its British locations as the budget furniture giant rolls out trials of bringing third parties under its roof to attract more shoppers.
Ingka is testing whether renting space to other brands can increase visits and monetise its existing square metres as it revamps giant stores for a value-driven shopper.
“We believe complementary offers can encourage more people to visit our stores and engage with the products in new ways,” Javier Quinones, Ingka Group’s commercial manager, told Reuters.
FORMAT REVAMP
Traditionally known for its giant out-of-town “blue-box” stores, IKEA has over the past decade revamped its store formats, developing smaller inner-city stores and showrooms while investing in digital services to adapt to new shopping habits.
It has also cut prices across a range of products over the past years in an attempt to bring back cash-strapped consumers.
Ingka Group, the main IKEA franchisee with stores in 32 countries, last year reported its lowest annual sales since 2021.
Footfall was up 1.3% globally last year, however, growth which Quinones said IKEA wants to accelerate.
A 1,188 square metre Decathlon store will open during the spring inside IKEA’s 25,000 square metre store in Croydon, south London, IKEA said in a statement.
IKEA will rent out the space, with its own entrance, to privately owned Decathlon, which is known for big-box stores that sell equipment from tents and bicycles to running shoes.
That will be the first time a major international brand is brought into an IKEA blue-box store, though smaller Nordic electronics retailer Kjell & Company opened in two Swedish IKEA stores during the autumn.
‘AFFORDABILITY AND QUALITY’
IKEA said it was also revamping its Klagenfurt location in Austria, where home and garden specialist Thomas Philipps will open a store.
“For this pilot, we have… selected tenants with broad appeal and a strong commitment to affordability and quality,” said Quinones.
He added IKEA was exploring similar opportunities in some additional countries in Europe and North America.
Ingka is investing more than 5 billion euros ($5.90 billion) during the 2024-2026 period to open new locations and improve existing stores.
($1 = 0.8472 euros)
Reporting by Greta Rosen Fondahn; Editing by Jan Harvey
Police said they had responded to an “alleged security incident”, without giving more details on the nature of the incident
International News via Reuters:
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was evacuated from his residence in Canberra late on Tuesday following a security threat, and returned a few hours later after nothing suspicious was found, ABC News reported.
Police said they had responded to an “alleged security incident”, without giving more details on the nature of the incident.
“A thorough search of a protection establishment was undertaken and nothing suspicious was located. There is no current threat to the community or public safety,” an Australian Federal Police spokesperson said in a statement.
Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Andrew Heavens
Unrest did indeed break out in many parts of Mexico as loyalists to El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, set up roadblocks, torched buses and stores, and attacked gas stations in retaliation for his slaying
International News via Reuters:
After Mexican forces killed the country’s most wanted cartel leader on Sunday, false accounts of spectacular violence swept across social media, fueled by what researchers say was a coordinated propaganda campaign by organized crime.
Unrest did indeed break out in many parts of Mexico as loyalists to El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, set up roadblocks, torched buses and stores, and attacked gas stations in retaliation for his slaying.
But online, things looked even worse. Among the false reports: The Guadalajara airport taken over by assassins. A plane on the runway was on fire. Smoke was billowing from a church and multiple buildings in the city of Puerto Vallarta, popular with tourists.
These images, which were reviewed by Reuters, were false but shared tens of thousands of times.
Misinformation routinely proliferates after major news events, particularly since the advent of artificial intelligence.
Experts said that, in the case of El Mencho’s killing, the fake news was being spread at surprising speed not only by unsuspecting users but also in some cases by the cartel itself, in efforts to make its retaliatory wave of violence appear greater and more terrifying than it really was.
“They are trying to show that the Mexican government doesn’t have control over the country,” said Jane Esberg, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who has studied how Mexican criminal groups use social media.
She added that this strategy helped to create a narrative that the cartel had a presence all over the country, but made it hard to establish the scale of the violence and what security forces were facing.
When asked by a reporter about cartel-linked social media accounts pushing fake news, Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said on Monday that authorities had already identified “various accounts” and that they would do a deeper investigation to determine which have “direct relationships with an organized crime group.”
He added there were other accounts “dedicated to spreading lies” but don’t have any established criminal links.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said authorities were working quickly to refute misinformation and that there were “many, many fake news stories” circulating in the wake of the El Mencho killing.
NARCO INFLUENCERS AND SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION
Mexican cartels have long used social media for propaganda efforts, from slandering rivals to publicizing crime groups’ community efforts, such as distributing aid during the coronavirus pandemic.
The false material traditionally used by Mexico’s criminal groups has been lower-tech: recycled cartel videos from previous years, for example, or violent images from far-flung conflicts on other continents, researchers said.
But the emergence of AI-generated content has now enabled cartels to produce more creative fake news propaganda.
Meanwhile, the rise of narco influencers – social media personalities who built large followings and leverage their platforms to glorify and even promote organized crime – has opened up another avenue for propaganda in recent years.
Such misinformation campaigns can be particularly damaging in Mexico, where violence makes it difficult for journalists to access parts of the country to report on the ground and sort out fact from fiction, Esberg said.
But she and other experts also cautioned that it’s often difficult to determine with certainty which accounts or blogs are tied to the cartels and spreading fake news.
Pablo Calderon, an associate professor in politics and international relations at Northeastern University London, said cartels use social media to amplify their image and power and to shape public opinion, including through misinformation.
“Sunday was a good day for Mexican security forces,” he said. “But organized crime has been successful in shifting the narrative, away from the (military raid) to chaos.”
Reporting by Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey and Stefanie Eschenbacher in Mexico City; Editing by Michael Perry
Sterling was trading at $1.3489 against the dollar, close to its lowest for a month
International News via Reuters:
The pound was little changed on Tuesday after eking out modest gains in the last two sessions, as traders awaited testimony from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and monitored potential fallout from new U.S. tariffs.
Sterling was trading at $1.3489 against the dollar, close to its lowest for a month. It was steady against the euro, which traded at 87.34 pence.
Bailey is expected to address parliament’s Treasury committee later in the day, where he may offer more insight into his decision to vote to leave rates unchanged at the BoE’s meeting earlier this month.
The Monetary Policy Committee held policy after a narrowly split vote. Markets show traders think the central bank will cut rates twice this year to take the benchmark rate to 3.25%.
The timing of any cuts remains uncertain, however, according to a poll of economists conducted by Reuters.
“Commentary that he has seen enough to justify a March rate cut could firm up that pricing in money markets and even push the market to speculating on more than 50 basis points in BoE easing this year,” ING’s global head of markets Chris Turner said.
TARIFFS, POLITICAL RISKS KEEP INVESTORS JITTERY
Investors are also contending with uncertainty over U.S. tariffs. An initial 10% tariff came into effect at a minute past midnight on Tuesday, according to a Customs notice.
It is unclear when U.S. President Donald Trump’s promised increase to 15% might take effect.
However, analysts have turned to domestic factors to assess sterling’s appeal in recent weeks.
Last week, data showed that Britain’s jobless rate rose in the fourth quarter of 2025, while inflation in January hit its lowest since March last year, reinforcing bets on rate cuts which typically weigh on a currency.
Also on the radar is an election in Manchester’s Gorton and Denton constituency on Thursday, seen as an important test for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour Party.
Declining poll numbers and anger over allegations that his chosen U.S. ambassador, Peter Mandelson, once leaked government information to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, have given an edge to his rivals. Mandelson has denied wrongdoing.
Reporting by Niket Nishant. Editing by Amanda Cooper and Mark Potter
“As a swan song Budget that was a pretty decent one”, says Chamber of Commerce President Marico Thomas
Business leaders today appeared to largely embrace the country’s new Budget, citing progress on tackling national debt as key to long-term stability.
Premier David Burt addressed a packed Budget Breakfast event, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.
WATCH the report above…
The 32-year-old was arraigned during a brief proceeding that had been twice rescheduled, most recently last month, when his original attorney abruptly quit without explanation and was replaced by a public defender
International News via Reuters:
Nick Reiner, the troubled son of slain Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner, pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder charges stemming from the fatal stabbing of his parents in their home, one of the most shocking celebrity homicide cases in Los Angeles history.
The 32-year-old was arraigned during a brief proceeding that had been twice rescheduled, most recently last month, when his original attorney abruptly quit without explanation and was replaced by a public defender.
Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deadly knife attack on actor-director Rob Reiner, 78, and photographer-producer Michele Reiner, 70. Their bodies were found on December 14 inside their West Los Angeles mansion.
Seated behind a glass partition dressed in brown jail garb, his head shaved and beard closely cropped, Reiner appeared alert but spoke little during the proceeding except to answer “yes” when asked if he agreed to waive his right to a speedy preliminary hearing.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Theresa McGonigle also set the preliminary hearing, where prosecutors present evidence intended to show probable cause for proceeding to trial. It was set to take place within 30 days of April 29.
Nick Reiner, who has acknowledged a years-long struggle with substance abuse, was also ordered to remain jailed without bond, as he has been since his arrest in the hours after his parents were slain.
The killings stirred an outpouring of grief among Hollywood luminaries for Rob Reiner, who first gained fame by co-starring in the 1970s hit television comedy “All in the Family” and later directed such beloved films as “When Harry Met Sally,” “This is Spinal Tap” and “The Princess Bride.”
VICTIMS MINGLED CELEBRITY WITH POLITICS
Reiner went on to become a prominent Democratic Party activist and donor. He and his wife, married for nearly 37 years, had planned to attend an evening gathering with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on the day of the murders.
Nick Reiner was widely reported to have quarreled with his parents while the three were attending a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien the night before the couple were slain.
The circumstances and celebrity surrounding the Reiner case stirred memories of the 1994 stabbing deaths of former football star O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges in a sensational case hyped in the media as the “trial of the century,” but a civil court jury later found him responsible in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the victims’ families.
If Nick Reiner is convicted as charged, he would face life in prison without the possibility of parole, or prosecutors could decide to seek the death penalty. Such a determination has yet to be made, District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters after Monday’s hearing.
Authorities have disclosed few details about the crime and offered no explanation for what may have precipitated the killings. Autopsies found both victims died of “multiple sharp force injuries.”
High-profile defense lawyer Alan Jackson, initially retained to represent Nick Reiner, suddenly withdrew from the case on January 7, forcing the second of two arraignment postponements in three weeks. A lawyer from the public defender’s office, Kimberly Greene, was assigned to take over for Jackson on short notice. She was in court with Reiner on Monday.
Neither of Nick Reiner’s siblings – older brother Jake Reiner, 34, or younger sister Romy, 28, who reportedly was the first to find her father’s body – has been present in court for their brother’s hearings.
Following his initial court appearance in December, the siblings issued a joint statement expressing the “unimaginable pain” they were experiencing following the “horrific and devastating loss of our parents.”
It remained to be seen how Nick Reiner’s history of drug addiction, rehab and periodic homelessness might factor into the murder case. Those struggles inspired the movie “Being Charlie,” which he co-wrote with his father.
The New York Times reported last week that in 2020, Nick Reiner was placed under a court-approved mental health conservatorship that had allowed for involuntary psychiatric treatment, a legal arrangement that ended in 2021.
The Times said both the public defender’s office and the district attorney’s office declined to comment on the matter.
Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Jane Ross in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio
