Wednesday, November 11, 2026
type here...
Home Blog Page 490

Ryanair signs multi-billion dollar CFM deal to secure engine parts

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
Ryanair signs multi-billion dollar CFM deal to secure engine parts

The plants will probably be based in continental Europe and the first will open in 2028, using Ryanair’s financial strength to purchase spare parts early at a time of industry-wide shortages

International News via Reuters:

Budget airline giant Ryanair and jet engine maker CFM International have signed an agreement to support the planned opening of two Ryanair engine‑maintenance shops with a guaranteed flow of spare parts, the companies said on Tuesday.

The plants will probably be based in continental Europe and the first will open in 2028, using Ryanair’s financial strength to purchase spare parts early at a time of industry-wide shortages, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told a news conference.

Wearing a French rugby shirt days after Les Bleus defeated Ireland at the Stade de France, the Irish airline boss joked about prices charged for parts by engine makers but acknowledged the industry needed to improve returns after years of losses.

“Beware the French bearing gifts; this is going to cost me,” the Irish airline boss said as he signed the 15-year deal.

Under the agreement Ryanair will purchase all its engine parts from CFM, without resorting to independent third-party shops, O’Leary said.

The value of the deal was not given but the companies said it involved “multi-billion” dollars.

Reporting by Tim Hepher, Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Louise Heavens

South Korea revives plan to add medical students; doctors criticise bid

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
South Korea revives plan to add medical students; doctors criticise bid

A healthcare crisis was unleashed from February 2024 to late 2025 after walkouts by thousands of trainee doctors to protest similar, but larger increases during the tenure of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol

International News via Reuters:

South Korea plans to boost medical student numbers by 16% in 2027 and further in subsequent years, the health ministry said on Tuesday, a step criticised by a doctors’ association after similar plans triggered nationwide protests in 2024.

A healthcare crisis was unleashed from February 2024 to late 2025 after walkouts by thousands of trainee doctors to protest similar, but larger increases during the tenure of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The current plan is to increase the quota of medical students to 3,548 in 2027, up 490 from 2024, in an effort to strengthen regional, essential and public healthcare facilities, the ministry said in a briefing.

It will continue phased increases until a total of 3,871 students is reached in 2030, the ministry added.

“The plan … was derived after discussions,” said Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong. “The government will communicate with medical staff and the public with a humble attitude.”

Jeong, appointed by current President Lee Jae Myung who came to power in June last year, was referring to the prior difficulties that stemmed from disagreement over the increases.

The Korean Medical Association, which represents medical practitioners, criticised the move in earlier remarks as “irresponsible”, and based on “poor estimates and distorted data”.

It was unclear whether doctors will agitate again against the new measure.

Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

Euro zone inflation to take hit from tariffs but rate cuts could offset, ECB economists find

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
Euro zone inflation to take hit from tariffs but rate cuts could offset, ECB economists find

The U.S. imposed tariffs on most trading partners last year and ECB officials have been studying their likely impact, often coming to opposing conclusions since trade barriers affect the economy on multiple levels

International News via Reuters:

U.S. tariffs are weighing on euro zone growth and inflation but the most affected sectors are also sensitive to interest rates, so cutting borrowing costs could offset the downward price pressures, a European Central Bank blog post said on Tuesday.

The U.S. imposed tariffs on most trading partners last year and ECB officials have been studying their likely impact, often coming to opposing conclusions since trade barriers affect the economy on multiple levels. 

But a study done by ECB economists concluded that the drop in demand due to tariffs outweighs any inflation-boosting supply effects, creating a drag for prices.

“At its lowest point, about one and a half years after a tariff-related trade surprise that cuts euro zone exports to the United States by 1%, the consumer price level is around 0.1% lower,” the blog post, which does not necessarily represent the ECB’s views, argued.

Trade data has been volatile over the past year as firms frontloaded purchases to avoid tariffs, which stand at 15% as a baseline for EU goods entering the U.S., then ran down stocks.

However, in the latest three months for which data is available, euro zone exports to the U.S. are down about 6.5% from the same period a year earlier. 

These findings are significant since euro zone inflation fell to 1.7% in January, below the ECB’s 2% target, and some policymakers fear that inflation could fall further.

The good news for the ECB is that sectors hit hardest by the tariff shock also respond most strongly to interest rate changes, the blog argued. These sectors include machinery, autos and chemicals.

Output may drop sharply because of tariffs but expands strongly in response to lower borrowing costs, they argued. 

“We find that this pattern holds for about 60% of the sectors we study – representing roughly 50% of total average euro zone industrial output and of total goods exports to the United States,” the economists said. 

Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Sharon Singleton

Senior officers complete strategic management course

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
Senior officers complete strategic management course

The course, hosted by the Bermuda Police Service and delivered by the Southern Police Institute, University of Louisville, aims to strengthen strategic leadership and decision-making

The Bermuda Police Service issued the following media release:

Senior officers from the Bermuda Police Service, Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, Royal Montserrat Police Service, Royal Bermuda Regiment, Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service, and the Department of Corrections have successfully completed a Strategic Management Course Friday, 6th February 2026.

Organised by the Bermuda Police Service and delivered by the Southern Police Institute, University of Louisville, the course supports our commitment to becoming a centre of excellence in policing, focused on strengthening strategic leadership, decision-making, and preparedness for modern leadership challenges.

Congratulations to all participants on this achievement.

UK regulator sues crypto exchange HTX over illegal promotions

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
UK regulator sues crypto exchange HTX over illegal promotions

The FCA said HTX had repeatedly issued illegal crypto promotions to British consumers despite prior warnings, including ads posted on its website and social media platforms

International News via Reuters:

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday it had begun legal proceedings against global crypto exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi, for illegally promoting cryptoasset services to British consumers.

The FCA said HTX had repeatedly issued illegal crypto promotions to British consumers despite prior warnings, including ads posted on its website and social media platforms.

Reporting by Muvija M, writing by Sam Tabahriti, editing by William James

Europe needs European defence union, EU defence commissioner says

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
Europe needs European defence union, EU defence commissioner says

He added that replacing U.S. strategic enablers, such as space intelligence data and air-to-air refuelling, with European capabilities should be a key priority for the bloc

International News via Reuters:

Europe needs a European defence union in order to take responsibility for its own defence, EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said on Tuesday.

“European responsibility for defence demands an institutional framework for our cooperation. A European defence union,” Kubilius said in a speech in European Parliament.

He added that replacing U.S. strategic enablers, such as space intelligence data and air-to-air refuelling, with European capabilities should be a key priority for the bloc.

Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by Bart Meijer

WhatsApp wins court backing to challenge $268 million Irish privacy fine

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
WhatsApp wins court backing to challenge $268 million Irish privacy fine

Ireland’s DPC is the lead privacy regulator for most of the U.S. tech giants due to their EU head offices being located in Ireland

International News via Reuters:

Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp on Tuesday won backing from Europe’s top court for its challenge to a fine that was increased to 225 million euros ($268 million) by the EU privacy watchdog, a ruling that could pave the way for similar action by other companies. 

Ireland’s DPC is the lead privacy regulator for most of the U.S. tech giants due to their EU head offices being located in Ireland. It fined WhatsApp following complaints about its use of personal data in the country, later increasing the penalty it imposed after the European Data Protection Board intervened in 2021.

The DPC has only collected 17.5 million euros of the more than 4 billion euros it has fined large tech companies for GDPR breaches since 2020 due to all but two of its completed investigations being subjected to lengthy legal challenges, many to similar EDPB interventions. 

Meta had lost its initial appeal against the higher penalty after judges at a lower tribunal said it had no legal standing to sue the authority as the EDPB’s decision was directed to the Irish watchdog and not to the company.

AN ACT OPEN TO CHALLENGE

The Court of Justice of the European Union on Tuesday disagreed, saying that WhatsApp’s action is admissible and telling the lower tribunal to examine the case on its merits.

“The EDPB’s decision is indeed an act open to challenge before the Courts of the European Union,” the Luxembourg-based institution said.

“That decision was of direct concern to WhatsApp, since it brought about a distinct change in the legal position of that undertaking, without leaving any discretion to its addressees,” judges said.

A WhatsApp spokesperson welcomed the judgment. 

“(It) upholds our argument that those businesses and people should be able to challenge decisions the EDPB makes against them, so that it can be held fully accountable by the EU courts.” 

Clarity from the courts on how WhatsApp’s 2021 penalty was calculated would allow a number of the other appeals to progress. 

The case is C-97/23P WhatsApp Ireland v EDPB.

($1 = 0.8403 euros)

Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Philip Blenkinsop, Kirsten Donovan

Apple and Google agree app store changes to appease UK regulator

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
Apple and Google agree app store changes to appease UK regulator

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) designated the two tech giants as having “strategic market status” in smartphones in October, giving it the power to demand specific changes to boost competition

International News via Reuters:

Apple and Google have agreed to make their mobile app stores fairer and more transparent for thousands of developers, Britain’s antitrust regulator said on Tuesday, hailing it as important first steps in its tougher regime.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) designated the two tech giants as having “strategic market status” in smartphones in October, giving it the power to demand specific changes to boost competition.

Nearly all smartphones in Britain run either Apple iOS or Google’s Android operating systems, and their app stores and browsers have exclusive or dominant positions on their platforms.

Under the new commitments, the companies will review apps in a fair, objective and transparent way, the CMA said.

Developers will also be able to request access to more of Apple’s features in iOS to create competing products, for example related to digital wallets or live translation.

The regulator has previously said this dominance enables the two companies to exert considerable influence over content, services and technological developments.

Apple said it faced “fierce competition in every market where we operate, and we work tirelessly to create the best products, services and user experience”.

“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers,” it said.

Google said that while it believed its existing developer practices were fair, objective, and transparent, it welcomed the opportunity to resolve the CMA’s concerns collaboratively.

Reporting by Paul Sandle and Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Kate Holton

Sterling drops, politics and BoE easing path in focus

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
Sterling drops, politics and BoE easing path in focus

Two-year UK government bond yields were roughly unchanged after falling by almost 11 basis points since Thursday

International News via Reuters:

Sterling dropped against the dollar and the euro on Tuesday as a broad selloff of the U.S. currency faded, while concerns about British politics and the path of Bank of England monetary policy continued to weigh.

Two-year UK government bond yields were roughly unchanged after falling by almost 11 basis points since Thursday, when the Bank of England kept interest rates on hold, but only after an unexpectedly narrow 5-4 vote.

The central bank also said borrowing costs were likely to fall if an expected drop soon in inflation was sustained.

STARMER NOT QUITTING 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused on Monday to heed calls to quit, after a second aide resigned from a team in crisis over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington. 

Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, seen as a potential challenger, threw her support behind Starmer on Monday.

Lee Hardman, a senior currency analyst at MUFG, noted that Labour sources indicated significant resistance within the party to launching a leadership challenge ahead of May’s local elections.

“A development that should help to reduce the risk of a sharper pound selloff in the near-term,” he argued.

The euro <EURGBP=> was last up 0.26% against the pound at 87.19 pence. It hit 86.96 on Monday, its highest since January 21.

“Nevertheless, it remains questionable whether Starmer will still be prime minister by the end of the year, despite winning the 2024 election with a strong result and setting out to ensure stability,” said Michael Pfister, forex analyst at Commerzbank, before mentioning signs of recovery in the British economy and easing inflation.

“The pound is currently suffering from uncertainty, and this is likely to continue until the matter is resolved sustainably,” he said.

Against the dollar, sterling fell 0.2% at $1.3669.

The greenback was little changed against European currencies before key U.S. economic data due on Wednesday. 

“However, the risk of a leftist turn in the government, particularly under an Angela Rayner-led Labour Party, presents downside risks to the pound and British assets generally,” said Enrique Diaz-Alvarez, chief economist at global financial services firm Ebury.

Reporting by Stefano Rebaudo; editing by Alex Richardson

Junior golfers to play alongside world’s best

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
Junior golfers to play alongside world’s best

The fourth annual Butterfield Bermuda Junior Championship starts this week

Southampton, Bermuda (February 9, 2026) — Bermuda’s PGA TOUR event will continue its partnership with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) to host the fourth annual Butterfield Bermuda Junior Championship. Butterfield joins the event as a presenting sponsor advocating education in golf for talented junior golfers. The three-day tournament will be hosted at Port Royal Golf Course, home to the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, with a field comprised of 77 of the world’s top junior golfers. 

The American Junior Golf Association was founded in 1978 as a non-profit organization aiming to bring opportunity to talented and enthusiastic juniors hoping to make it as future professional sportsmen and women. The AJGA holds upwards of 130 events annually with varying field sizes, with over 7,000 juniors participating in monthly competitions providing a limitless opportunity for the aspiring next generation of professional PGA TOUR golfers.

We are thrilled to be back in Bermuda for our fourth Butterfield Bermuda Junior Championship,” says Director of Business Development at the AJGA, Patrick Cansfield. “The golfers and families love Bermuda, and this event continues to provide many opportunities for junior golfers around the world that are trying to earn college golf scholarships. We are excited to work once again with the Bermuda Tourism Authority, Butterfield and the Butterfield Bermuda Championship team.”

The junior championship aims to grow the game of golf in Bermuda through its passionate, skillful youth players. A celebration of upcoming talent and ability is being showcased to spread interest and access to golf on the island for years to come.

The tournament will be hosted at Port Royal Golf Course, home to the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, February 12-15. The full and final field will feature four Bermudian juniors, Darina Betschart, Oliver Betschart, John Bart, and Arman Newton.

Media and spectators are encouraged to watch and support the next generation of professional golfers as they compete in Bermudas PGA TOUR accredited golf course testing conditions. Visitors do not require a ticket to attend the event. Admission is free. Follow the championship social media accounts for news and updates.  

‘The pressures on young people are real’

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
‘The pressures on young people are real’

Minister of Health explains the importance of Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week

Overseas file image

As Bermuda marks Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, 9- 15 February, Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, JP, MP, is calling on the community to continue prioritising the wellbeing of young people and to work together to reduce stigma, strengthen early support, and create environments where they feel safe to seek help.

Minister Wilson stated, “Youth Mental Health Awareness Week is an important reminder that the emotional and psychological wellbeing of our young people must remain at the forefront of our national agenda. The pressures facing today’s youth, academic expectations, social dynamics, family stress, and the influence of the digital world, are real, and they require our collective attention. We cannot dismiss these challenges as a phase or something young people should simply ‘get over’. When a young person is struggling, what they need most is to be seen, listened to, and supported early.”

Minister Wilson emphasised that youth mental health is not the responsibility of one agency alone. It requires collaboration across sectors, families, and community partners grounded in compassion and a shared commitment to the wellbeing of Bermuda’s young people.

“Too many young people hesitate to reach out because they fear being judged,” Minister Wilson added. “Stigma continues to be one of the greatest barriers to care. We must all work together to create safe, supportive spaces where our children and adolescents feel heard, valued, and understood. That starts with how we respond when a young person opens up: with patience, with respect, and with compassion.

“We all have a role to play. A kind conversation, a check-in, making time to listen, and knowing when to encourage professional support can make a real difference. By working together, we can build a Bermuda where every young person has the support they need to thrive. Our children deserve nothing less.”

The Ministry encourages families and community members to participate in Youth Mental Health Awareness Week activities and to access available resources throughout the year.

Bermuda Tonight – 09 February 2026

Bermuda Broadcasting Newsdesk
-
0
Bermuda Tonight – 09 February 2026
1...489490491...1,139Page 490 of 1,139

© Bermuda Broadcasting Company Limited 2026 All rights reserved.
Careers →

Stream live

Popular news

SportsPoliticsJobs & EconomyCrimeHealthcareBusiness & Finance

Editor Picks