OBA’s electoral reform comments are ‘just politics’
Minister Diallo Rabain reaffirms willingness to collaborate with OBA on Government’s voting reform after the OBA’s bill was dropped
Both of the main political parties have lauded the necessity of bringing about absentee voting – but they both appear to want to it done ‘their’ way.
Arguably, since the PLP is the Government, they get to ‘pull rank’.
This is one way of looking at the back-and-forth that has taken place over the last few months.
The Opposition OBA tabled their absentee voting bill in late September 2025, with MP Dwayne Robinson inviting Government to submit amendments.
Government maintained that the bill was “not workable” – a claim that the OBA rejected.
Diallo Rabain, Minister for the Cabinet Office & Digital Innovation, invited the OBA to talk about their bill and the overall matter of absentee voting, while expecting them to withdraw the bill. MP Robinson has said that the OBA were open to talks, but not at the cost of withdrawing the bill.
In December, the OBA’s absentee voting bill was pulled from the order paper before it could be debated. The reason given is that it would have required finances to be directed towards its implementation, and the Opposition cannot drive such decisions.
MP Robinson called it “political mischief” that the PLP’s was unwilling to collaborate on their bill in the two months since it was tabled.
Government hosted a number of Town Hall discussions on electoral reform in November through January – the final one having taken place last week.
OBA MP Robinson said the Town Halls offered “very little concrete information” on the plan for electoral reform, and “operated more like a brainstorming session with very vague answers”.
Following the final Town Hall session, Minister Rabain said the discussions had brought up some issues they had not considered, and cited the need for a careful approach to absentee voting due to racism in past elections.
Ultimately, he reiterates a willingness to collaborate with the OBA on the PLP Government’s reforms, but says MP Robinson’s comments are “just politics”.
WATCH the interview above…
BAE workers in northern England plan strike over pay, union says
The union, Unite, said it was taking the action after what it said were “bad faith negotiations over pay and conditions”
International News via Reuters:
Workers at British defence group BAE Systems in northwest England plan to take part in strikes from February 2 until at least February 20 in a dispute over pay and conditions, a union representing them said on Monday.
The union, Unite, said it was taking the action after what it said were “bad faith negotiations over pay and conditions”.
It said the company had imposed a pay deal of 3.6% in 2025 “against their will”, arguing that it was below the rate of inflation and amounted to a real terms pay cut. More than 1,200 of its members planned to participate in the walkouts, it said.
A BAE spokesperson said the company’s latest offer included enhancements to pay and pensions, describing it as “market-leading pay and reward”, while ensuring it also balanced its need to be competitive and affordable for customers.
“We remain committed to a partnership approach with all our trade union groups. Our production lines remain operational and we expect them to remain so during this period,” the spokesperson added.
BAE, which employs around 50,000 people across 50 sites in the UK, said it expected about 200 of its staff to participate in the strike action, while 1,000 more could potentially take industrial action short of a strike without a full stoppage of work, its spokesperson said.
Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, writing by Muvija M; editing by Michael Holden
Oil falls 5% on US-Iran de-escalation, easing supply worries
Brent crude futures were down $3.25, or 4.7%, at $66.07 per barrel by 11:21 a.m. ET (1621 GMT)
International News via Reuters:
Oil prices fell 5% on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was “seriously talking” with Washington, signalling de-escalation of tensions with the OPEC member, while a stronger dollar and milder weather forecasts also pressured prices.
Brent crude futures were down $3.25, or 4.7%, at $66.07 per barrel by 11:21 a.m. ET (1621 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $3.27, or 5%, to $61.94 per barrel.
On Saturday Trump told reporters Iran was “seriously talking”, hours after Tehran’s top security official Ali Larijani said arrangements for negotiations were underway.
Trump had repeatedly threatened Iran with intervention if it did not agree to a nuclear deal or continued killing protesters. The threats underpinned oil prices throughout January, said Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at Phillip Nova.
Oil prices were also under pressure due to strength in the dollar after Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. A stronger dollar makes commodities such as oil and gold more expensive for foreign investors, weighing on demand.
Meanwhile, forecasts of milder weather in the U.S. were another bearish development for oil prices as diesel futures pulled back sharply, Ritterbusch and Associates said. U.S. futures prices for diesel, used in heating and power generation, were down nearly 7% on Monday.
Together with tensions in the Middle East, a polar vortex in the U.S. had helped U.S. WTI futures rise 14% and Brent gain 16% in January, PVM analysts said in a note. With those issues fading in relevance, the focus is returning to a widely anticipated buildup of global oil inventories this year, they said.
At a meeting on Sunday, OPEC+ agreed to keep its oil output unchanged for March. In November, the grouping had frozen further planned increases for January through March 2026 because of seasonally weaker consumption.
Reporting by Shariq Khan and Enes Tunagur in London; Additional reporting by Katya Golubkova in Tokyo and Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Jan Harvey, Louise Heavens and David Gregorio
Bermuda riders dominate CEA Regional Jumping Challenge at Vesey Street
Bermuda’s elite equestrian talent delivered a masterclass in precision and composure on Saturday, securing a formidable team result at the Caribbean Equestrian Association (CEA) Regional Jumping Challenge. Competing at the National Equestrian Centre on Vesey Street, the home side produced a collective effort that underscores the island’s rising status in the regional jumping ranks.
The CEA Regional Jumping Challenge is a unique competitive format that sees Bermuda go head-to-head with riders from across the Caribbean, including Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Cayman Islands, as well as representatives from Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Haiti, and Martinique.
Bermuda’s three-member squad finished the high-stakes encounter with a combined total of just four faults, establishing a high benchmark for the chasing Caribbean nations.
Leading the charge in Class A (0.75m) was McKenna Redcliffe aboard the seasoned Tuck Everlasting. Redcliffe navigated the technical course with poise, delivering a clinical clear round in a rapid time of 59.09 seconds to secure a perfect start for the team.
The momentum continued in Class B (0.85m), where Sophie Greenway and Chevy CG Z faced a challenging set of related distances. Despite picking up four penalty fault points, Greenway’s aggressive pace of 63.80 seconds ensured her contribution remained vital to the overall team score.
The day’s most dominant individual performance came from Logan Flood in Class C (0.95m). Riding the talented Dorus du Domain Z, Flood produced a blistering clear round, stopping the clock at 58.24 seconds—the fastest clear time of the Bermuda trio—to anchor the squad’s impressive performance.
Following the conclusion of the international challenge, the Bermuda Equestrian Federation (BEF) hosted a comprehensive Support Show, providing a platform for the island’s junior and amateur ranks to gain valuable competitive experience at the national stadium.
The focus for Bermuda’s jumping community now shifts to the FEI Jumping World Challenge, with Competition 1 scheduled to return to the National Equestrian Centre on Saturday, February 7th.
Motorcyclist in critical condition after Devonshire crash
52-year-old man remains in intensive care; police appeal for witnesses
Image credit: Bermuda Police Service
An investigation regarding the circumstances of a reported single vehicle motorcycle collision that resulted in the rider being hospitalised in critical condition is ongoing.
The injured motorcyclist, understood to be a 52-year-old Devonshire man, was apparently found lying on the roadway with serious head injuries, by members of the public who stopped to render assistance, near the roundabout at the junction of Barker’s Hill, Palmetto Road and North Shore Road, Devonshire around 3:35am Saturday, 31st January 2026.
He was rushed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance and at last check, remains in the Intensive Care Unit.
Any witnesses to this collision are now encouraged to contact Constable Dragan Pavkovic by calling 211, or e-mailing dragan.pavkovic@bps.bm, as soon as possible.
Portugal counts multi‑billion‑euro damage after Storm Kristin tears off roofs
The storm swept across the region early on Wednesday, with wind gusts topping 200 kph (124 mph) and heavy rain uprooting trees and ripping off roofs
International News via Reuters:
Last week’s Storm Kristin left hundreds of homes in central Portugal without roofs, tens of thousands without power and residents lining up for emergency building materials, as authorities warned damage could run into billions of euros.
The storm swept across the region early on Wednesday, with wind gusts topping 200 kph (124 mph) and heavy rain uprooting trees and ripping off roofs. It killed at least six people and cut power to hundreds of thousands of households.
“The roof blew off, all the windowpanes are broken, everything is chaos and misery,” said Paula Franco as she queued in Leiria for donated tiles to repair her home.
Portugal’s government on Sunday approved a 2.5 billion-euro ($2.95 billion) package of loans and incentives to help people and businesses rebuild after the storm.
The government could apply for grants from the European Solidarity Fund and unused EU recovery funds to finance reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho said on Monday at a joint news conference with EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen.
Leiria, one of Portugal’s main industrial hubs known for its plastics and metalworking industries, was among the hardest-hit areas.
Hundreds of houses, several roads, schools, factories and railway lines have been affected. At the Monte Real air base near Leiria, the storm damaged several aircraft, including F16 fighter jets.
Nearly 170,000 households were still without electricity on Monday, Graca Carvalho said.
Damage in the region could total between 1.5 billion euros and 2 billion euros, Henrique Carvalho, president of the Leiria Business Association, told broadcaster NOW.
The government on Sunday extended a state of calamity in 69 municipalities until February 8, with more heavy rain and flooding expected.
Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Miguel Pereira; editing by Charlie Devereux and Ros Russell
UK’s Mandelson faces scrutiny over Epstein ties and leaked briefing
Late on Sunday, Mandelson left the Labour Party to prevent “further embarrassment”, after he was fired from his envoy role last year after revelations about his connections to the late convicted sex offender
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s former U.S. ambassador, Peter Mandelson, received money from Jeffrey Epstein and leaked a confidential government briefing to him, newly released files appeared to show, triggering calls on Monday for the police to investigate.
Late on Sunday, Mandelson left the Labour Party to prevent “further embarrassment”, after he was fired from his envoy role last year after revelations about his connections to the late convicted sex offender.
He said he had no recollection of any payments after the files appeared to show he had received donations of $25,000 from Epstein. The Financial Times said he received $75,000 in total.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Mandelson should be removed from parliament’s upper chamber.
MANDELSON COULD FACE FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS
Among the latest batch of documents released by the U.S. Justice Department, an email suggested Mandelson had shared a confidential government briefing with the financier.
The memo from an adviser to then-prime minister Gordon Brown, which was copied to Mandelson and others, discussed economic policy, including a recommendation that they should consider the sale of non-strategic assets to bring down debt.
Mandelson forwarded the email to Epstein saying “interesting note that’s gone to the PM”, with Epstein replying: “What saleable assets?”
Opposition politicians called on the police to investigate whether Mandelson, a minister in Labour’s 1997-2010 governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, had breached confidentiality rules.
Britain’s Metropolitan Police did not respond to a Reuters request asking whether they were considering opening an investigation.
Mandelson said in a letter to the Labour Party that he was sorry to be linked once again to the “understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein”.
But he said he believed that allegations about financial payments to him by Epstein were false and he would investigate.
Starmer’s spokesperson said on Monday Mandelson should not be a member of the House of Lords, parliament’s upper chamber that revises legislation, but added that the prime minister did not have the power to remove him.
“He (Starmer) is calling on those in the Lords to work with the government to modernise disciplinary procedures in the House to allow for the easier removal of Lords who have brought the House into disrepute,” the spokesperson said, adding that Starmer had instructed the cabinet secretary to review all available information regarding Mandelson’s contacts with Epstein.
REMOVING MANDELSON WOULD REQUIRE LEGISLATION
Mandelson could choose to retire from the House of Lords but ousting him would require the government to pass legislation. He is currently on a leave of absence.
A spokesperson for the Labour Party said on Monday it was right that he had quit the party and added that disciplinary action had already been underway prior to the resignation.
During the late 1990s, Mandelson, who was photographed in his underwear in the new Epstein files, played a central role in Labour’s electoral success as Blair became prime minister.
Mandelson, also a former European Union trade commissioner, came under scrutiny last year when U.S. lawmakers released documents including a letter in which he called Epstein “my best pal”, leading to his dismissal as Britain’s ambassador.
Mandelson had a turbulent earlier career in domestic politics. In 1998, he quit as trade minister over a loan he received from a fellow minister to buy a house following questions over conflict of interest.
A second stint in the cabinet also ended in resignation in 2001 over his alleged involvement in a passport scandal involving an Indian billionaire. He was later cleared of acting improperly.
Separately, Starmer said on Saturday that Britain’s former Prince Andrew should testify before a U.S. congressional committee following new revelations about his links to Epstein.
Writing by William Schomberg and Sarah Young, additional reporting by Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti; editing by Chris Reese, Mark Heinrich and Ros Russell
Collision in Smith’s leaves one seriously injured
Crash involving a motorcycle and water truck reported near Verdmont Road; motorists urged to avoid the area
There has been a road traffic collision involving a motorcycle and a water truck near the junction of Verdmont Road and St. Mark’s Road, Smith’s.
Police said details are limited at this time, however, the motorcycle rider is said to have sustained serious injuries.
Motorists are encouraged to avoid the area of the collision and use alternative routes to get to their destinations.
Williamson and Dunkerley shine as BASA Winter Series returns
The Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association (BASA) ignited its short-course calendar on Saturday with the first Winter SC Meet of 2026 at the BASA Pool. In a high-caliber morning of racing, elite senior talent and rising age-group stars combined to deliver a series of dominant performances that have set a high benchmark for the remainder of the season.
The headline act of the day came in the Men 15 and Over 100m Freestyle, where Sam Williamson demonstrated his class with a clinical 52.96-second victory. Williamson held off a spirited challenge from Logan Jones, who touched the wall in 54.95, while Jamie MacFarlane rounded out the podium with a time of 58.57.
In the senior women’s ranks, Emilia Dunkerley continued her impressive form to claim the 100m Freestyle title. Dunkerley stopped the clock at 1:06.84, narrowly edging out Lila Connolly, who finished in 1:07.63. Freya Lau secured the third spot with a resilient 1:11.80.
The age-group divisions featured equally compelling battles, none more so than the Girls 13-14 100m Freestyle. Elena Bortoli emerged victorious in 1:11.32, holding a steady lead over Lilian Collette and Evelyn Brogden, who recorded times of 1:13.08 and 1:15.37 respectively.
Distance specialist Noah Fulton took control of the longest event of the morning, winning the Men 15 and Over 400m Freestyle in 4:40.32. Fulton maintained a consistent tempo to finish well clear of Gianluca Bortoli, who claimed second place with a time of 4:56.54.
The backstroke events saw Axel Wernbo double up on success in the 15 and Over 100m discipline. Wernbo first clocked a rapid 1:05.02 and later returned to record a 1:08.40 in a subsequent heat, consistently keeping Joseph Lau at bay across both sessions. Lau proved to be Wernbo’s most persistent rival of the day, finishing with a solid 1:09.12.
Maycock maintains lead as bowling trials reach fever pitch
David Maycock continues to set the pace in the race for a place in Team Bermuda, maintaining his lead after four grueling rounds of the 2026 National Championship and Selection Trials. In a high-stakes marathon of technical skill and endurance, Maycock has emerged as the man to beat, sitting at the summit of the seventeen-man field with a total of 4,783 pins.
The stakes could not be higher for the island’s elite bowlers, with qualification for the CAC Games in Santo Domingo and the IBF World Cup in Munich on the line. Maycock’s consistency has been the hallmark of his campaign so far. Despite navigating challenging professional oil patterns, he has showcased remarkable composure, headlined by a high game of 245. Even a low game of 144 was not enough to knock the leader off his stride as he looks to cement his national team status.
However, the chasing pack remains within striking distance. LeVinc Samuels sits in second place with a total pinfall of 4,693, keeping the pressure firmly on the leader. Samuels produced the highlight of the trials so far, firing a blistering 266—the highest single game recorded by the entire field. Like many in the field, he has had to weather the punishing lane conditions, which saw him record a low of 141 earlier in the week.
Veteran national squad member Lamar Richardson occupies the final podium spot with 4,646 pins. Richardson has relied on his vast experience to stay in the hunt, matching Maycock’s high game of 245 while successfully navigating a low of 146.
The marathon competition is set to reach its climax on February 8th, when the final national champion will be crowned. Beyond the medals, the top finishers will form the backbone of the Bermuda squad for an intensive international summer campaign.
