The death marks the first road traffic fatality for 2026
Around 5:20 p.m. on Thursday, January 22, 2025, police and other emergency personnel were dispatched to a reported single vehicle road traffic collision involving a motorcycle, at the junction of Loyal Hill and North Shore Road, Devonshire.
Reports are the motorcycle rider, a 52-year-old male, was traveling east along North Shore Road, when he apparently lost control of the vehicle and collided with a wall on the opposite side of the road.
Upon arrival, officers found the motorcyclist unresponsive, with apparent head injuries, lying on the roadway and members of the public, including an off duty police officer, attempting life saving measures.
Emergency Medical Services continued these efforts once they arrived and while they transported the injured male via ambulance to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, for treatment of his injuries.
Sadly, he was pronounced dead a short time later.
An investigation into this incident has commenced and anyone with information, or, who may have witnessed the collision, is asked to contact Police Sergeant, Milton Hill of the Roads Policing Unit, on, 515-2481 or, via email, at mjhill@bps.bm.
The next recruit camp will run February 8-20, when the tourism sector is typically quieter on the island
Hospitality industry staff are encouraged to consider part-time service with the Royal Bermuda Regiment as the battalion’s next recruit camp will run when the tourism sector is typically quieter on the island.
Hotel and restaurant personnel can enhance their skills as a member of the RBR, with enlistment open to anyone aged 18 to 52 and legally resident in Bermuda, upon completion of fitness and background assessments. The next cohort of new soldiers will take up foundational training from February 8 to 20 and all eligible residents are invited to explore the benefits of RBR service.
Corporal Joliza Vanderpool, the Regimental Careers Management Officer Assistant, said: “We aim to gain the interest of the hospitality industry specifically at a time when their operations may be slowing down – it’s their winter season and we are picking up for our next recruit camp.
“When we start slowing down for our summer break, they’re getting busier for their peak season, so the industries complement each other in that way.
“Some work permit holders don’t know that they can join the Regiment on a part-time basis. They must have a conversation with their primary employer to indicate an interest in joining and to keep the employer aware. If all can find agreement and the workers pass the health, fitness and background checks, they are welcome to join.
“We have a diverse workforce community in the RBR, members of which are also employed in the hospitality service industry, from commissioned officers to private soldiers. Included among our troops are people who, in their primary jobs, are focused on creating positive guest experiences in front-of-house areas to others with roles behind the scenes or in management – several of these jobs are also found in the Regiment.”
Qualities such as effective communication skills, discipline, integrity and selfless commitment are shared by hospitality industry workers and members of the RBR, indicating a natural alignment of the two industries.
The range of roles within the battalion is vast, and includes administrative personnel, cooks, motor transport and maintenance staff, strategists, medics, mariners, musicians, communications operators, public relations co-ordinators, clerks and Regimental Police.
Cpl Vanderpool added: “The Regiment is for everyone, from people who have basic skills to those already operating at an advanced level. Our job is to challenge you and support your transition to becoming a better you, to push you to be the person that you can be.
“There are opportunities to travel overseas and to support your education journey. Our learning credits scheme provides funding for continuing education.
“We have something for everyone. There are so many different departments that you can grow in or transition to and learn more about. While you’re in the uniform you’re paid for your work; although our recruits volunteer for service, they are still paid for their service.”
Foundational training during recruit camp covers elements of foot drill, infantry training, fieldcraft and weapons handling, though the benefits of enlistment extend much further than soldiering skills. Members speak to improved confidence, better timekeeping, accountability and a keener sense of responsibility. Recruits will join a respectful, sociable network of dedicated men and women prepared and willing to serve.
For the upcoming camp, the final two assessment days – when medical and fitness checks will take place, as well as brief interviews – are scheduled for 10am on Saturday, January 24 and 6.30pm on Wednesday, January 28, both at Warwick Camp.
For information on joining the Royal Bermuda Regiment, visit rbr.bm, call 238-1045 or contact the Recruiting Team at rbr.recruiting@gov.bm.
The city is on edge after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, 37, a U.S. citizen and mother of three on January 7
International News via Reuters:
The U.N. human rights chief urged the Trump administration on Friday to ensure that its migration policies respect individual rights and international law, citing concerns over arbitrary and unlawful arrests and detentions.
“Individuals are being surveilled and detained, sometimes violently including at hospitals, churches, mosques, courthouses, markets, schools, and even within their own homes, often solely on mere suspicion of being undocumented migrants,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in a statement.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has seen some 3,000 heavily armed masked federal officers deployed to the city of Minneapolis, rounding up suspects they say are dangerous criminal immigration violators, while sometimes ensnaring law-abiding U.S. citizens and immigrants.
The city is on edge after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, 37, a U.S. citizen and mother of three on January 7. Vice President JD Vance delivered a broad defense on Thursday, saying that “far-left agitators” and uncooperative local officials were to blame for chaos on the streets.
U.S. immigration enforcement operations have used what appears to be unnecessary or disproportionate force, Turk said. Such measures should only be used as a last resort if an individual posed an immediate threat to life, he added.
Turk said the U.S. must comply with international law and that migration enforcement must respect due process, voicing concern that, in some cases, people arrested or detained had not been granted timely access to legal advice.
He called for an independent investigation into the rising number of deaths in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. He cited 30 deaths reported in 2025 and six recorded so far this year.
Turk condemned what he called the routine denigration of migrants and refugees in the United States that portrays them as criminals or a burden on society, saying it increased their “exposure to xenophobic hostility and abuse”.
Reporting by Olivia Le PoidevinEditing by Gareth Jones
Geopolitical uncertainty has increased sharply this month, partly on threats by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would take over Greenland and impose punitive tariffs on nations not going along with his plan
International News via Reuters:
The European Central Bank must be cautious in adjusting policy preemptively to mitigate uncertainty, Austrian central bank chief Martin Kocher told German media outlet Platow in an interview published on Friday.
Geopolitical uncertainty has increased sharply this month, partly on threats by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would take over Greenland and impose punitive tariffs on nations not going along with his plan.
But Kocher said he would be cautious in acting before risks actually materialised, especially if inflation risk were not clearly skewed in one particular direction.
“I would be cautious,” Kocher said. “Some risks can be addressed in advance, but many cannot, because otherwise one commits to a course of action too early and communication becomes difficult.”
He added risks had “shifted slightly to the positive” in the past six months, with slightly stronger growth expectations for the eurozone and stable financial markets.
“Now we have new developments again, but I would not reinterpret the initial situation within a week,” Kocher said.
Markets currently expect no action from the ECB and see steady rates throughout 2026.
Reporting by Balazs KoranyiEditing by Francesco Canepa
Sunday’s deadly collision in Adamuz, Cordoba province, killed 45 in one of Europe’s worst train accidents
International News via Reuters:
A fracture in the rail appeared to have occurred before a high-speed train derailed in southern Spain last Sunday, rail accident investigating body CIAF said in a preliminary report published on Friday.
Sunday’s deadly collision in Adamuz, Cordoba province, killed 45 in one of Europe’s worst train accidents. A first train belonging to private consortium Iryo derailed and smashed into another oncoming high-speed train from state-owned rail company Renfe.
“Based on the information available at this time, it can be hypothesised that the rail fracture occurred prior to the passage of the Iryo train involved in the accident and, therefore, prior to the derailment,” read the CIAF report, posted on the body’s website.
Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Pietro Lombardi
The preliminary S&P Global UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for January hit its highest level since April 2024, jumping to 53.9 from 51.4 in December
International News via Reuters:
British firms have reported the fastest upturn since before Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government took office but also a rise in inflation pressures, according to a survey that prompted investors to cut bets on Bank of England interest rate cuts.
The preliminary S&P Global UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for January hit its highest level since April 2024, jumping to 53.9 from 51.4 in December, suggesting companies were casting off the uncertainty that hung over them before finance minister Rachel Reeves’ budget on November 26.
Sterling strengthened against the dollar and British government bond prices fell.
The reading was above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists and followed better-than-expected retail sales numbers for December – which showed the first rise in sales volumes since September – and an improvement in consumer morale.
RATE CUT BETS REDUCED
Other recent data releases have suggested a pickup after Reeves’ budget announcement which raised taxes but delayed the introduction of most of them.
However, there have also been more signs of cooling in the labour market and inflation remains high.
Investors last week thought two interest rate cuts from the Bank of England this year looked highly likely but that turned into a 50-50 chance following the PMI.
“The January PMI data suggest the UK economy has started the year on much firmer footing, with activity picking up strongly across the private sector,” said Jake Finney, senior economist at accountants PwC.
“Greater post-budget clarity appears to be helping unlock private sector investment, particularly in services.”
Data company S&P Global said the survey pointed to a quarterly rate of economic growth of around 0.4%.
The services sector led the upswing while manufacturers enjoyed their best month since August 2024 with order books expanding at the fastest pace in almost four years.
However, employment in the services sector contracted at a faster rate in January and output price inflation picked up to a nine-month high, the PMI showed.
“High staffing costs were meanwhile again widely reported as a key cause of higher selling prices, hinting at an intensification of price pressures at a level above the Bank of England target,” said S&P Global chief business economist Chris Williamson.
The PMI for the services sector rose to 54.3 from 51.4, the highest reading since April 2024. Optimism hit its highest level since September 2024, the month before Reeves announced sweeping tax increases for employers.
The manufacturing PMI rose a full point to 51.6, its highest reading since August 2024.
The navy said two patrol ships, supported by a Wildcat helicopter, were dispatched to intercept the Russian warship Boikiy and accompanying oil tanker MT General Skobelev as they headed north
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s Royal Navy shadowed Russian vessels sailing through the English Channel in a two-day operation coordinated with NATO allies, the navy said on Friday, as the military alliance steps up monitoring of Russian shipping.
The navy said two patrol ships, supported by a Wildcat helicopter, were dispatched to intercept the Russian warship Boikiy and accompanying oil tanker MT General Skobelev as they headed north, before handing the monitoring over to a NATO ally.
The operation comes a day after Britain said it provided support to a French operation to board a sanctioned Russian oil tanker as it passed through the Straits of Gibraltar, in a bid to choke off the funds that fuel Russian’s invasion of Ukraine.
Britain’s navy routinely conducts shadowing missions to monitor any potential threats to national security, including to critical infrastructure such as undersea cables or pipelines.
The common currency bloc started the year on a weaker note but sentiment has improved since Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump backed down on additional tariffs he had threatened to impose
International News via Reuters:
Euro zone business activity growth held steady this month as a weaker expansion in the dominant services industry offset milder factory contraction, according to a survey, while price pressures picked up.
The common currency bloc started the year on a weaker note but sentiment has improved since Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump backed down on additional tariffs he had threatened to impose on eight European countries as leverage to seize Greenland.
The HCOB Flash Eurozone Composite PMI, compiled by S&P Global, held at 51.5 this month but fell short of a Reuters poll forecast for 51.8. It remained above the 50.0 level that separates growth from contraction for a 13th straight month.
“Overall, these are decent data, supporting the view of a relatively resilient euro zone economy in the face of multiple shocks and ongoing policy uncertainty,” said Claus Vistesen, chief euro zone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “That said, the bar to meet official and consensus forecasts is now higher.”
PRICE PRESSURES BACK ON RADAR
New orders rose at the weakest rate since September and new export business contracted at the quickest pace in four months, suggesting demand remained weak across the board. Firms shed jobs for the first time since September.
The services PMI slowed to a four-month low of 51.9 from 52.4 in December, lower than the Reuters poll prediction of 52.6.
Manufacturing activity contracted again but at a slower pace.
An index measuring output, which feeds into the composite PMI, barely returned to expansion territory but new orders contracted for a third straight month.
PMIs showed mixed activity across the bloc. In Germany, business activity grew at its fastest pace in three months in January but employment fell at the quickest rate since November 2009.
However, activity in France unexpectedly contracted in January, after two months of meagre growth.
In Britain, a separate PMI showed businesses reported the fastest growth since April 2024. But inflation and joblessness increased, too.
Overall price pressures intensified with input costs rising at the fastest rate since February and output charges increasing at the quickest pace in nearly two years, reinforcing expectations the European Central Bank will keep rates steady.
“Even though inflation has remained remarkably benign in recent months despite all the economic turmoil, the PMI does indicate increasing price pressures again,” said Bert Colijn at ING. “That being said, the moves are not nearly enough to sway the ECB from its expectations to hold rates for the foreseeable future.”
Still, optimism about future activity rose to its highest since May 2024.
Reporting by Indradip Ghosh; Editing by Toby Chopra
The run-off is set for February 8 and will pit moderate centre-left Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro against the leader of far-right, populist Chega, Andre Ventura for the largely ceremonial post
International News via Reuters:
Portugal is unlikely to face political upheaval following the upcoming presidential run-off, allowing the centre-right minority government to maintain budget surpluses and cut public debt, Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento told Reuters.
The run-off is set for February 8 and will pit moderate centre-left Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro against the leader of far-right, populist Chega, Andre Ventura for the largely ceremonial post.
Political analysts say that even though Ventura is widely expected to lose, his strong showing in the first round could stiffen resistance to Prime Minister Luis Montenegro’s rule in a fragmented parliament, where Chega is the main opposition.
“Investors look at Portugal as a stable country. I speak to a lot of investors and I’ve never heard any concerns,” Miranda Sarmento said in an interview late on Thursday in Davos.
He said that, despite the administration’s minority status, it has been able to govern, “passing bills in parliament, sometimes with one party and other times with another,” referring to Chega and the Socialist Party.
GREATER RESPONSIBILITY
Miranda Sarmento said that since the government was re‑elected in May, after the Socialists joined Chega in rejecting a confidence motion, the opposition had not imposed spending hikes or tax cuts that would squeeze fiscal space, unlike in 2024.
“I think the opposition learnt the lesson in the May election… and I believe parliament will continue to have fiscal responsibility, no one in Portugal wants a return to deficits,” he said.
The 2026 budget was passed in November when the Socialists abstained, citing the need for stability, though Chega voted against.
Portugal was subject to harsh austerity measures in 2011-2014 under the terms of an international bailout, after the public deficit exceeded 11% in 2010.
Miranda Sarmento was confident Portugal would post a 0.1% of GDP budget surplus this year, even as tax breaks were expanded and wages and pensions increased, although it would fall short of the slightly over 0.3% expected surplus for 2025.
The government has vowed to cut the public debt ratio, which peaked at more than 134% during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, to 87.8% of GDP this year, from 90% expected in 2025.
He said the government, in talks with unions and employers, will make “every effort” to conclude a labour reform it sees as vital to boosting productivity, and growth. The ultimate goal was to lift economic growth to around 3% in 2029, well above the 2.3% forecast for this year and 2.0% in 2025.
Reporting by Mark John; writing by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Alex Richardson
The yen was last a fraction stronger on the day at 158.05 per dollar
International News via Reuters:
The yen suddenly strengthened on Friday, raising market speculation that authorities had conducted a rate check, often a precursor to intervention, while the dollar was set for its steepest weekly decline since June as geopolitical tensions unsettled investors.
The yen was last a fraction stronger on the day at 158.05 per dollar.
It had weakened to as soft as 159.2 per dollar, close to 18-month lows, during a press conference by Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda after the BOJ held rates steady, but then suddenly strengthened to 157.3 per dollar.
Traders are alert to the prospect of intervention from Tokyo to stem the Japanese currency’s slide, though the loose market consensus was authorities had not intervened directly but had run rate checks with banks.
“I don’t think it was intervention because it doesn’t match the pattern that we’ve seen when they have gone for it. Typically you get a very big move down in dollar-yen,” said Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics.
He also pointed to the possibility of a so-called ‘rate check’.
A rate check – asking what price it would get if it were to sell yen – is something Japanese authorities can use to signal their readiness to enter the market.
Japan’s finance minister declined to comment.
The yen has been under relentless pressure since Sanae Takaichi took over as Japan’s prime minister in October, dropping more than 4% on fiscal concerns and hovering near levels that have spurred verbal warnings and intervention fears.
A bond market rout this week underscored investor nerves about Japan’s fiscal position as Takaichi called a snap election for February and promised tax cuts, sending Japanese government bond yields to record highs. They have recovered somewhat since then but investors remain skittish.
DOLLAR SELLING MOMENTUM
More broadly, the shifting geopolitical landscape has weighed on sentiment this week as Trump said he had secured U.S. access to Greenland in a deal with NATO that came as he backed off tariff threats against Europe and ruled out taking the autonomous territory of Denmark by force.
The dollar has borne the brunt of investor angst in the currency markets as U.S. assets were pummelled at the start of the week amid the intensifying geopolitical tensions, which revived talk of the ‘Sell America’ trade that emerged in the aftermath of Trump’s sweeping Liberation Day levies last April.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six units, was last at 98.31, flat on the day. However it was still headed for an around 1% weekly decline, its steepest since June.
The euro was last around 0.1% lower at $1.1740, but set for a 1.4% weekly gain while sterling was last at $1.35. Data released Friday showed that UK retail sales rose unexpectedly in December but had little effect on the pound.
Thierry Wizman, global FX & rates strategist at Macquarie Group, said while a Greenland deal solves the immediate problem of tariffs and invasion, it doesn’t solve the core issue of the seeming alienation of allies from one another.
“And that’s not a good place to be if you want to preserve the USD’s reserve-currency status.”
Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore and Sophie Kiderlin in London; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Jacqueline Wong and Toby Chopra
Crash involving a motorcycle caused serious disruption
A serious single-vehicle motorcycle crash caused major disruption earlier today near the junction of Loyal Hill and North Shore Road in Pembroke. The roadway was temporarily closed while police processed the scene, with traffic diverted through Devonshire and Smith’s. Motorists were advised to avoid the area and use alternate routes. Police have since confirmed the scene has been cleared and North Shore Road has fully reopened to traffic.
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