Police release CCTV footage of person of interest
Jason Mello was fatally shot on August 19, 2016 when he was gunned down on Bandroom Lane in Pembroke
Police have released CCTV footage depicting a person of interest in connection to the 2016 murder of Jason Mello.
The footage captured ten years ago shows a male figure wearing a full faced helmet and blacked out visor walking near an overgrown area of trees.
The BPS is appealing to the public for any information on the identity of the person in the video clip.
Mr. Mello was fatally shot on the 19th of August 2016 on Bandroom Lane in Pembroke. According to Crimestoppers, the gunman is believed to have entered Bandroom Lane, wearing a full face visor helmet and heavy dark coloured winter clothing that would have been unusual on a hot August evening.
The gunman is believed to parked the cycle higher up on Bandroom Lane, and walked down to where he shot Mr. Mello several times then returned to his parked motorcycle and rode back out through the St. Monica’s Road area.
A police spokesperson said, Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Inspector Randy Barker of the Serious Crime Unit on 717-2176 or 247-1739.
The anonymous Crimestoppers number is 800-8477.
Nigel Farage failed to declare 17 payments on time, UK inquiry finds
The payments totalled about 380,000 pounds ($511,000), most of them made in 2025, with several from Britain’s right-leaning broadcaster GB News, according to a report published on Wednesday
International News via Reuters:
Nigel Farage, head of Britain’s populist Reform UK party, inadvertently committed 17 breaches of rules on declaring financial interests including payments from Google and Elon Musk’s X Corp, a parliamentary official said.
The payments totalled about 380,000 pounds ($511,000), most of them made in 2025, with several from Britain’s right-leaning broadcaster GB News, according to a report published on Wednesday.
Parliament’s Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg concluded the failures were unintentional and caused by staffing and other administrative issues. He said the breaches related to Farage’s failure to declare the payments within 28 days.
Farage said he took full responsibility for the lapses and the late declarations fell short of what was expected from public figures.
“This was an administrative error on behalf of me and my team, for which I can only reiterate our sincere apologies,” he wrote in a letter to Greenberg dated November 12.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which lags Reform UK in opinion polls, said the government would tighten rules on lawmakers’ second jobs to “make sure the public get the attention they expect and deserve from their elected representatives.”
Farage said his circumstances differed from other lawmakers, citing his “very complicated and complex set of interests”, including his work as a TV presenter and businessman.
($1 = 0.7439 pounds)
Reporting by Muvija MEditing by William Schomberg
Continental reports sales, profitability around lower end of guidance
The group said sales are expected to come in at around 19.7 billion euros ($23.1 billion) for 2025, compared with its guidance range of 19.5-21 billion euros
International News via Reuters:
German car parts supplier Continental on Wednesday reported preliminary full-year sales and profit margin around the lower end of its guidance range.
The group said sales are expected to come in at around 19.7 billion euros ($23.1 billion) for 2025, compared with its guidance range of 19.5-21 billion euros.
The group’s margin of adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) over sales in 2025 is expected at 10.2%, meeting its guidance range of between 10% to 11%, the company said in a statement.
However, the margin in the rubber and plastics division ContiTech would be around 4.9%, falling short of its outlook of 6%-7%, the company said, explaining the reasons with, among others, the lack of market recovery, transformation expenses and currency effects.
“Nevertheless, this does not affect our plans to sell ContiTech this year,” CFO Roland Welzbacher said in a statement, referring the lower-than-expected results in the division.
“Strong interest from potential buyers confirms ContiTech’s value and potential,” Welzbacher added.
The divestiture offers additional cash return opportunities, J.P.Morgan said in a note.
The group said in December that it was planning to sell the rubber and plastics division in the second half of 2026.
Additionally, the company specified that the closing period of the sale of its Original Equipment Solutions (OESL) business is anticipated in the first quarter of 2026.
Continental shares slid 1.4% at 1118 GMT.
($1 = 0.8543 euros)
Reporting by Amir Orusov and Rachel More, additional reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova, editing by Linda Pasquini and Ludwig Burger
UK’s Morrisons blames higher costs for flat annual earnings
The earnings outcome was attributed to a 200 million pound increase in costs as a result of the UK government’s 2024 budget, the impact of a cyber incident in the first quarter and higher than expected inflation
International News via Reuters:
British supermarket group Morrisons on Wednesday reported flat core earnings for its 2024/25 year, blaming higher costs, but said trading improved over the key Christmas period.
The UK’s fifth-largest grocer, owned by U.S. private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, said underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), its preferred earnings measure, were static at 835 million pounds ($1.1 billion) in its year to October 26 despite revenue rising 3.2% to 15.8 billion pounds.
The earnings outcome was attributed to a 200 million pound increase in costs as a result of the UK government’s 2024 budget, the impact of a cyber incident in the first quarter and higher than expected inflation.
While like-for-like sales growth in its fourth quarter to October 26 dipped to 2.4%, from 3.0% in the third quarter, it rose to 3.4% in the six weeks to January 4, helped by a 17.4% jump in sales of Morrisons’ ‘The Best’ premium own label range.
“We had a good Christmas in 2025, providing a solid foundation for the first quarter,” said CEO Rami Baitiéh.
Baitiéh, CEO since 2023, is attempting to modernise Morrisons, which differs from its main rivals in that it also has its own production operations, making half of the fresh food it sells.
However, industry data, published earlier this month, showed Morrisons continuing to underperform traditional peers Tesco and Sainsbury’s as well as discounters Aldi and Lidl.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s have also published robust Christmas trading updates.
At the statutory level, Morrisons remained loss-making, reporting a pretax loss of 381 million pounds versus a loss of 348 million pounds in 2023/24, reflecting depreciation and amortisation charges and interest costs of 281 million pounds.
Morrisons ended the 2024/25 year with debt of 3.17 billion pounds, down 46% from its 2022 peak.
($1 = 0.7443 pounds)
Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle, Kirsten Donovan
Oil prices dip on supply build expectations, Greenland tension
Brent futures were down 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $64.80 a barrel at 1125 GMT
International News via Reuters:
Oil prices dipped on Wednesday as investors assessed expectations of a build in U.S. crude inventories, a temporary shutdown at two large fields in Kazakhstan and fresh geopolitical tension tied to U.S. tariff threats in its bid to gain control of Greenland.
Brent futures were down 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $64.80 a barrel at 1125 GMT. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract was down 11 cents, also 0.2%, at $60.25 a barrel.
Both contracts closed about 1.5% higher in the previous session after OPEC+ producer Kazakhstan halted output at the Tengiz and Korolev oilfields on Sunday due to power distribution issues. Strong Chinese economic data was also positive.
Oil production at the two Kazakh fields could be halted for another seven to 10 days, three industry sources told Reuters.
The oil output halt at Tengiz, one of the world’s largest oilfields, and Korolev is temporary, and downward pressure from an expected rise in U.S. crude inventories along with geopolitical tension will persist, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said on Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was “no going back” on his goal to control Greenland. Last week he vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the U.S. is allowed to buy the Arctic island.
The increased geopolitical tensions, which add pressure to the oil markets as tariffs could slow economic growth, were adding to risk-off sentiment, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
U.S. crude oil and gasoline stockpiles were expected to have risen last week, while distillate inventories likely fell, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
Six analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that crude inventories rose by about 1.7 million barrels in the week to January 16.
The American Petroleum Institute weekly inventory data is due at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on Wednesday, and figures from the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, are due at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) on Thursday, both a day later due to a U.S. federal holiday on Monday.
While such inventory growth would be negative for oil prices, Gregory Brew, senior analyst with the Eurasia Group consultancy, said the potential for U.S.-Iran tensions to re-escalate would be supportive.
Trump threatened to strike Iran over its violent crackdown on anti-government protests earlier this month.
Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in London, Katya Golubkova in Tokyo and Emily Chow in Singapore. Editing by Mark Potter, Kirsten Donovan
Citadel CEO Griffin says US has ‘frayed’ relationship with European allies
Griffin’s comments come after President Donald Trump vowed over the weekend to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States was allowed to buy Greenland
International News via Reuters:
Ken Griffin, the CEO of Citadel, said on Wednesday that the United States had “frayed its relationship” with its European allies in a way that the billionaire said he did not “understand or appreciate”.
Griffin’s comments, made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, come after President Donald Trump vowed over the weekend to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States was allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a row over the future of Denmark’s vast Arctic island.
Griffin, a Republican supporter who has said he voted for Trump in the 2024 election, also said that the U.S. had seen higher inflation due to Trump’s tariffs.
“We have disrupted long-standing trading relationships because of the tariffs,” he said.
Griffin also reiterated his concerns about the Trump administration’s criticism of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Trump has repeatedly demanded large interest rate cuts, accusing the Fed of being too slow to lower borrowing costs and threatening to indict its chair, Jerome Powell, over comments he made.
“The easy money policies that Trump is trying to encourage the Fed to pursue increase the risk of inflation, and I think puts both him and his party in a more precarious position,” Griffin added.
Griffin has previously spoken of the need to maintain the Fed’s independence.
Reporting by Shivani Tanna and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Writing by Shubham Kalia; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Gareth Jones
Spanish train drivers call for strike after deadly derailments
A commuter train derailed on Tuesday after a retaining wall collapsed onto the track during heavy rains near Barcelona, killing the driver and seriously injuring four passengers
International News via Reuters:
Spain’s biggest train drivers’ union on Wednesday called for a nationwide strike to demand assurances for the profession’s safety after one of Europe’s biggest train crashes left at least 42 dead and a second derailment killed a driver.
A commuter train derailed on Tuesday after a retaining wall collapsed onto the track during heavy rains near Barcelona, killing the driver and seriously injuring four passengers. A third derailment of a train on Barcelona’s regional network, which left no injuries, was caused by a rock falling on the line during the same storm, rail network operator Adif said.
“We are going to demand criminal liability from those responsible for ensuring safety in the railway infrastructure,” the train drivers union SEMAF said in a statement.
Those accidents occurred just two days after the derailment of a high-speed train on Sunday near Adamuz in Cordoba province, about 360 km (223 miles) south of Madrid, which caused a collision with another train that killed 42, including the driver of the oncoming train.
SEMAF had warned Adif in a letter last August of severe wear and tear to the railway track where the two trains collided, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters, saying potholes, bumps, and imbalances in overhead power lines were causing frequent breakdowns and damaging the trains on several of the network’s high-speed lines.
PRISING APART THE CARRIAGE
Rescuers at the site of the Adamuz crash were prising apart the second carriage of the train belonging to state operator Renfe, which contained its cafeteria, to see if any more bodies could be found, the Andalusian regional government said in a statement.
Overnight they had used cranes to remove one of the final carriages of the derailed train run by private consortium Iryo from the scene.
Adif said on Wednesday it had introduced a further speed limit on the Madrid-Barcelona line after a driver had reported poor conditions on the track in a 78-kilometre stretch.
On Tuesday, it had ordered drivers to limit their speed because of concerns about the state of the track. Its maintenance team had worked overnight to inspect the line and found four points that needed to be repaired, Adif said in a statement.
The accidents are causing chaos for commuters and travellers, who were scrambling for alternatives. Regional trains across Catalonia were suspended on Wednesday to allow for track inspections after the recent storms.
Renfe posted a photo of its President Alvaro Fernandez Heredia using a replacement bus service as he travelled back to Madrid from Adamuz.
Reporting by Corina Pons and Emma Pinedo; writing by Charlie Devereux; editing by Andrei Khalip and Sharon Singleton
Drop in UK industrial orders eases but price expectations soar, CBI says
The CBI’s monthly order book balance rose to -30 in January from -32 in December
International News via Reuters:
British industrial orders fell again in January but by the smallest amount since September, while expectations for prices shot to an almost three-year high, the Confederation of British Industry said on Wednesday.
The CBI’s monthly order book balance rose to -30 in January from -32 in December. The index level remains well below its long-run average of -14.
The survey’s gauge of expected prices shot up to +29, the highest reading since February 2023 when Britain was still reeling from an energy price shock sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ben Jones, senior lead economist at the CBI, said conditions for manufacturers remained “extremely tough”.
“At the same time, cost pressures – from rising wages, high energy prices and taxes – are squeezing margins and weighing on competitiveness, pushing firms to plan price rises even as demand remains subdued,” Jones said.
A quarterly question in the survey showed manufacturers became a little more optimistic in the three months to January, with the business situation gauge rising to its highest since July 2024.
Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Suban Abdulla
UK’s FTSE 100 holds steady as upbeat earnings offset global trade tensions
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was flat at 22,997.66 points by 1045 GMT, coming off a three-day losing streak
International News via Reuters:
London’s FTSE 100 held steady on Wednesday as weaknesses in banks and industrials amid renewed trade tensions linked to Greenland overshadowed some upbeat earnings.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was flat at 22,997.66 points by 1045 GMT, coming off a three-day losing streak.
Market sentiment deteriorated this week after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to introduce escalating tariffs on eight European nations from February 1 unless the United States is allowed to buy Greenland.
Trump arrives in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, where he is likely to escalate his push for acquiring the island despite European protests.
Banks were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100, down 0.9%, while industrial support services and aerospace and defence lost 2.1% and 1.4%, respectively.
Credit data and analytics company Experian maintained its full-year forecast and reported an 8% growth in its third-quarter organic revenue, though its shares dropped 5.2%.
Helping limit losses, London-listed shares Rio Tinto jumped 5% after the Anglo-Australian miner beat expectations for quarterly iron ore and copper production.
Industrial metal miners and precious metal miners continued to rise as prices of gold, silver and copper gained, with investors also gravitating toward the metals as safe‑haven assets.
Burberry climbed 5% after the luxury brand beat expectations for sales growth in the key holiday quarter.
The FTSE 250 midcap index meanwhile added 0.1% with Premier Foods up 6.6% after the Mr Kipling owner forecast annual profit at the upper end of market expectations.
JD Wetherspoon slumped 6.7% after the pub chain warned that fiscal 2026 profit could fall.
Meanwhile, data showed British inflation rose by more than expected in December, though investors held steady on their bets on the Bank of England cutting interest rates later this year.
“We continue to expect headline inflation to drop significantly in 2026, and remain of the view that the BoE will cut three times in March, June, and September,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.
Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore8
Public data to be made available online
Public data made permanently accessible, tamper-resistant, and verifiable for future generations
Davos, Switzerland – Earlier today (Jan. 20), Filecoin Foundation (FF) and the Government of Bermuda announced an initiative to upload publicly available Bermuda government data to the Filecoin network, led by the Ministry for the Cabinet Office and Digital Innovation.
By enhancing the resilience, transparency, and verifiability of critical public information, this collaboration places Bermuda at the forefront of digital public infrastructure and demonstrates how decentralized storage can safeguard public records for generations.
The initiative to upload government data to Filecoin is being carried out in collaboration with Internet Archive as part of the Democracy’s Library project, a free, open, and online collection of government documents, research, and publications from around the world.
Filecoin Foundation and Internet Archive have previously partnered to safeguard a broad range of public datasets through Democracy’s Library.
To date, more than one petabyte, equivalent to millions of photos or hundreds of thousands of HD movies, of government materials has been stored on Filecoin, including:
- End of Term Web Archive: Preserving U.S. government websites during U.S. administration transitions.
- The Aruba Collection (Coleccion Aruba): Comprising over 100,000 items from Aruba’s memory institutions, including the National Library and National Archives.
This work reflects a shift toward making public data permanently accessible, tamper-resistant, and verifiable for future generations.
The Premier and Minister of Finance, the David Burt, JP, MP, said, “Bermuda has long been committed to responsible innovation and forward-thinking governance. Partnering with Filecoin Foundation and Internet Archive strengthens the resilience of our public records and ensures that Bermuda’s citizens, and people around the world, can verify the integrity of our data. This initiative supports our broader vision for transparent public services built on trustworthy information.”
The initial datasets from the Government of Bermuda include “Employment/Labour publications” that document key trends in the Bermuda labour market, with additional datasets planned for future phases. These records represent critical components of Bermuda’s public archive and provide a foundation for future digital governance initiatives.
Marta Belcher, President and Chair of Filecoin Foundation, “Today’s internet is centralized. The vast majority of data is stored by just three companies, which create single points of failure.
“On a decentralized version of the web, data remains accessible even if some devices fail, so that the availability of information isn’t dependent on any one server or company. This creates a more robust platform for humanity’s most important information. We’re thrilled to work with the Government of Bermuda to demonstrate how verifiable data can form the foundation for the next generation of digital public services.”
Filecoin, the world’s largest decentralized storage network, distributes data across a global network of independent providers rather than relying on a single, centralized provider. Recent disruptions, including the recent Cloudflare outage that impacted services across numerous state and local government agencies, underscore the risks of centralized infrastructure.
Filecoin’s decentralized architecture offers governments, public institutions, and citizens a more resilient approach to safeguarding critical information, delivering several key benefits:
- Resilience: Data is replicated across multiple storage providers, eliminating single points of failure and protecting against outages, cyberattacks, and more.
- Verifiability: Files receive cryptographic content identifiers (CIDs) that change if the data is altered, making tampering immediately detectable.
- Transparency: Files can be retrieved and independently verified, confirming data integrity.
- Long-term preservation: Trusted by leading organizations including Internet Archive, Starling Lab, and others, Filecoin ensures public data remains accessible, verifiable, and resilient over the long term.
Since 2018, Bermuda has set a globally recognized example for digital asset regulation through the implementation of the Digital Asset Business Act (DABA) and the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s (BMA’s) principles-based regulatory approach. Together, DABA and Bermuda’s clearly defined regulatory standards have positioned the jurisdiction as a trusted hub for responsible digital asset innovation, attracting leading firms.
‘Empowering young Bermudians with rewarding careers’
BELCO welcomes cohort of apprentices
Hamilton, Bermuda (January 20, 2026) – Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited (BELCO) today welcomed seven new apprentices to its 2026 Apprenticeship Programme.
The apprentices officially inducted into BELCO’s 2026 cohort include: Seke Spence, Quinaceo Hunt, Christopher Brites, Zion Thompson, Nigel Tucker-Talbot, Xa-naje Degraff-Cyrus and Kian Thompson.
BELCO President Wayne Caines said: “On behalf of our entire team at BELCO, we’re proud to welcome our seven new apprentices. BELCO’s Apprenticeship Programme has been empowering young Bermudians with rewarding careers at our company for decades.
“We strongly believe in investing in our future and providing hands-on training with apprentices earning while they learn. I look forward to them being part of a highly skilled team that helps transform the energy landscape of Bermuda.”
The four-year programme offers successful applicants the opportunity to earn while they learn, combining technical training with academic study in preparation for a rewarding career. Through work-based learning, apprentices gain hands-on experience that helps them launch their careers within Bermuda’s evolving energy industry.
As part of their comprehensive training, the 2026 cohort will attend the Southeast Lineman Training Center (SLTC) in Dade County, Georgia, this year, where they will receive specialised instruction in line work and electrical systems alongside apprentices from utilities across North America.
Upon completion of the programme, successful candidates will be evaluated for progression to graded positions and transitioned to permanent roles across the company. Apprentices fill various roles within the company including Electrical Fitters, Mechanical Fitters, Line Workers and Electrical Jointers.
Since its inception over 30 years ago, the programme has developed many of the company’s skilled workforce. Past apprentices who graduated from the programme now form a significant part of BELCO’s full-time team.
About BELCO
Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited (BELCO) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Group Limited. Liberty Group Limited is a Bermuda-based provider of energy and energy-related services, owned by Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., also parent company of Liberty Power and Liberty Utilities (Liberty). BELCO was established in 1904 as Bermuda’s sole supplier of electricity and currently operates generating plant and transmission and distribution systems to service 36,000 metered connections. For further information about BELCO visit www.belco.bm
