The Bermuda Society of Arts is hosting a unique and thought-provoking exhibition titled Isscoldondeebike, bringing together Bermudian artists to explore personal histories and cultural stories connected to bike culture.
The show, which reflects shared experiences from different perspectives and uses art as a way to bring people together, runs until February 3rd.
We spoke to curators Michael Walsh and Edwin M. E. Smith about the exhibition.
The company acquired roughly 22,305 bitcoin between the period of January 12 and January 19, according to a regulatory filing
International News via Reuters:
Billionaire Michael Saylor’s bitcoin-focused firm Strategy said on Tuesday it bought about $2.13 billion worth of bitcoin over the past eight days, stepping up purchases even as its stock has been pressured by cryptocurrency volatility.
The company acquired roughly 22,305 bitcoin between the period of January 12 and January 19, according to a regulatory filing.
Saylor said in an X post on Tuesday that Strategy holds 709,715 bitcoin as of January 19.
Shares of the company slid about 6.6% as bitcoinfell 2.4%, underscoring the stock’s sensitivity to moves in the cryptocurrency.
Strategy said the purchases of bitcoin were funded with proceeds from its at-the-market offering program.
Earlier this month, Strategy reported an unrealized loss of $17.44 billion on its digital assets in the fourth quarter, reflecting a drop in the value of its bitcoin holdings in the quarter, a paper hit that has weighed on investor sentiment alongside sharp crypto-market swings.
Strategy, which started out as software company MicroStrategy, began buying and holding bitcoin in 2020.
Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid
Universal last month offered to divest Downtown’s royalty services platform Curve to address the European Commission’s competition concerns
International News via Reuters:
Universal Music Group is set to secure EU antitrust approval for its $775 million bid for Downtown Music after regulators signalled acceptance of its offer to sell the latter’s royalty services platform, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Universal last month offered to divest Downtown’s royalty services platform Curve to address the European Commission’s competition concerns.
The EU antitrust watchdog has not demanded further concessions, the people said.
The Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by February 27, and Universal declined to comment.
The acquisition, via Universal unit Virgin Music Group and announced in December 2024, has drawn criticism and pushback from a wide swathe of independent labels, worried about the boost to Universal’s market power and want the deal to be blocked.
Downtown owns a major music publisher and a number of other businesses that help musicians collect royalties.
The Commission last year warned that Universal may have the ability and incentive to gain access to commercially sensitive data that is stored and processed by Downtown following the acquisition.
Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Louise Heavens
Nearly three-quarters of the global population live in countries classified as “water insecure” or “critically water insecure”, and 4 billion people face severe water scarcity at least one month per year
International News via Reuters:
The world is facing irreversible water “bankruptcy”, with billions of people struggling to cope with the consequences of decades of overuse as well as shrinking supplies from lakes, rivers, glaciers and wetlands, U.N. researchers said on Tuesday.
Nearly three-quarters of the global population live in countries classified as “water insecure” or “critically water insecure”, and 4 billion people face severe water scarcity at least one month per year, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health warned in a report.
“Many regions are living beyond their hydrological means, and many critical water systems are already bankrupt,” said Kaveh Madani, lead author and director of the institute.
“By acknowledging the reality of water bankruptcy, we can finally make the hard choices that will protect people, economies and ecosystems,” he said.
The report said water supplies are “already in a post-crisis state of failure” after decades of unsustainable extraction rates that have drawn down water “savings” contained in aquifers, glaciers, soils, wetlands and river ecosystems, with supplies also degraded by pollution.
More than 170 million hectares of irrigated cropland – an area larger than Iran – are under “high” or “very high” water stress, and economic damage from land degradation, groundwater depletion and climate change amounts to more than $300 billion a year worldwide, the report said.
Three billion people and more than half of global food production are concentrated in areas already facing unstable or declining water storage levels, while salinisation has also degraded more than 100 million hectares of cropland, it said.
The researchers wrote that the current approach to solving water problems was no longer fit for purpose, and the priority was not “returning to normal” but a new “global water agenda” designed to minimise damage.
However, Jonathan Paul, geoscience professor at Royal Holloway, University of London, said the report did not address one major factor behind the crisis.
“The elephant in the room, which is mentioned explicitly only once, is the role of massive and uneven population growth in driving so many of the manifestations of water bankruptcy,” he said.
Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Hugh Lawson
Minister channels Martin Luther King Jr. to encourage youngsters to embrace their power
Yesterday (Jan. 19) the Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Alexa Lightbourne, JP, MP, delivered a timely and impassioned address at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day recognition event hosted by Imagine Bermuda.
Minister Lightbourne addressed a large audience which included students from Whitney Institute, Bermuda Institute, Victor Scott and The Berkeley Institute.
She began by expressing gratitude to the event organizers, including Mr. Glenn Fubler, for their steadfast commitment to uplifting Dr. King’s legacy and fostering civic dialogue on justice, equity, and social responsibility.
In her remarks, the Minister connected Dr. King’s global fight for civil rights with Bermuda’s own strong legacy of activism, from Dr. E.F. Gordon to the Theatre Boycott and the Progressive Group.
She paid tribute to the historic presence of Ms. Izola Harvey and Ms. Florenz Maxwell, leaders of the 1959 boycott and members of the Progressive Group, calling them “a living reminder of the power of young Bermudians to change the course of history.”
Reaching the young people where they are, the Minister framed her message around the declaration “Don’t fumble the bag,” Minister Lightbourne called on Bermuda’s youth to actively protect and build upon the progress achieved by earlier generations.
“Your bag is taking the work that he devoted his life to and using it to secure a future for Bermuda,” she said. “You each have the ability to organize, to speak up, to demand better. The bag is your true power.”
The Minister also addressed Bermuda’s current socio-economic realities, including rising rents, the cost of living, and the need for more accessible housing, all key priorities under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“These pressures are real for many families, and they directly shape whether young people can build a life, a career, and a future here at home.”
Minister Lightbourne emphasized that government action alone is not enough. Echoing Dr. King’s belief in grassroots activism, she emphasized the importance of youth leadership, unity, and local organizing.
“You don’t have to be Martin Luther King Jr. to make a difference, but you must join a fight,” the Minister said.
And she encouraged attendees to find common purpose with their peers, to stay engaged, and remember that the inheritance passed down from their ancestors must be protected through action.
“These were ancestors who didn’t wait for someone else to fix Bermuda. They organized. They spoke up. They risked everything. That’s the bag they left you. That is your inheritance. Now here’s my question: What are you doing with it?”
Also in attendance yesterday were the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson, JP, Senate President Joan Dillas Wright, JP, and Sen. Mischa Fubler, JP.
The country remains in shock after the first-ever fatal accident on the country’s extensive high-speed rail network, which occurred on Sunday evening near Adamuz in Cordoba province
International News via Reuters:
Spain’s rail operator Adif ordered trains on the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed line to limit their speed on Tuesday on concerns about the track’s condition, two days after one of Europe’s deadliest train crashes on another line left at least 42 dead.
The country remains in shock after the first-ever fatal accident on the country’s extensive high-speed rail network, which occurred on Sunday evening near Adamuz in Cordoba province, about 360 km (223 miles) south of Madrid. Experts say a faulty rail joint may be key to determining the cause of the derailment that led to the collision between two trains.
Train drivers last year called on Adif to limit speeds due to their unease about deterioration on several of Spain’s high-speed lines, after it opened the network to private competition in 2020 to offer low-cost alternatives to state-run Renfe’s trains.
“We have detected and reported to all operators much more vibration and wear and tear on the infrastructure since the liberalisation and a 60% increase in traffic,” Diego Martin, general secretary of the Semaf drivers’ union, told Reuters.
Adif said it hoped to lift the speed limit on the line once its maintenance team had inspected two stretches totalling nearly 150 km (93 miles) where drivers have reported bumps on the tracks.
At the site of the crash near Adamuz, rescuers used heavy machinery overnight and in the early hours of Tuesday to level the ground and gain access to the worst-hit carriages as they sought to recover the remains of people still missing.
They aimed to use two cranes to lift the front carriages of the train belonging to the state-run Alvia service, which had plunged down a 4-metre (13 ft) embankment after the crash, and the rear carriages of the train operated by private consortium Iryo.
The collision occurred in rolling, olive-growing countryside in the foothills of a mountain range at a site only reachable by a single-track road, making it difficult for rescuers to gain access with heavy machinery.
One more body was found overnight within the wreck of the Iryo train, which had derailed, and another death was confirmed later on Tuesday raising the death toll to 42, authorities said.
BODIES STILL TRAPPED IN WRECKAGE
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said police had received 43 missing-person reports, which broadly matched the provisional death toll, but cautioned that the final number would not be confirmed until rescue teams had lifted the worst-affected carriages to see what was underneath.
Some relatives continued to wait for news of their loved ones as authorities worked on identifying the dead.
Osiris Sevilla described her anxiety as she waited for news about her husband outside an emergency centre in Cordoba but said she hadn’t given up hope that he’d survived.
“He didn’t like trains… Since we got together, this is the first time he took a train,” she said.
Spain’s King Felipe visited the site of the tragedy on Tuesday and spoke to residents, including 16-year-old Julio Rodriguez, who with his mother and a friend was one of the first to reach the scene of the accident.
He described the scene to El Mundo newspaper as “like a massacre… with dismembered bodies, limbs here and there”.
Survivors also spoke of their ordeal.
Lola Beltran told TVE she had changed carriage minutes before the crash, moving from her assigned seat in one of the hardest-hit cars to another carriage to sit with a colleague.
“We had to break the windows with emergency hammers and pry open the doors to get out,” Beltran said, describing scenes of chaos, screams, and torn-out seats.
BROKEN RAIL: CAUSE OR CONSEQUENCE?
A photo circulated by Spanish police showing a broken rail with the marker “1” beside it strongly suggested the fracture occurred at, or very near, the initial point of the derailment, Scottish railway engineer and author Gareth Dennis told Reuters.
He said the track just before the break looked intact, making it the likely trigger for the train leaving the tracks.
Dennis also said the fracture appeared close to a rail weld, where steel beside the weld can be a weak spot. Cold weather can raise tensile stress as rails contract, he said.
“The interesting question is why did the rail break,” Dennis said, rather than why the train derailed.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente urged patience as the investigation proceeds. He said all hypotheses were open but it was “very strange” for the rear of a train that was not exceeding the speed limit to derail on a straight stretch.
The discovery of a broken rail was “one more piece of data” and did not itself prove any single scenario, Puente said, adding that the key question was whether it was the cause or the consequence of the derailment.
($1 = 0.8516 euros)
Reporting by Nina Lopez, Michale Gore, Susana Vera, Leonardo Benassatto, Corina Pons and Emma Pinedo; Writing by David Latona and Charlie Devereux; Editing by Charlie Devereux, Tomasz Janowski and Gareth Jones
West Pembroke Primary among schools receiving resources as community donors back public education
Support Public Schools, Bermuda representatives visited West Pembroke Primary School on this morning as part of island-wide deliveries of new classroom supplies, marking the start of its January distribution to public schools for the 2026 term.
The visit forms part of a broader effort by Support Public Schools, Bermuda (Support Public Schools), which has mobilised its network of supporters to provide more than $47,450 in new school supplies and programmes this term, along with an additional $5,000 in quality second-hand office supplies donated by local companies. Deliveries to classrooms are taking place on January 20 and 21.
Since its founding in 2018, SPS supporters have contributed approximately $675,000 in new supplies, in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of donated equipment, furniture, books, and learning resources for public schools across the island.
Butterfield again led corporate support, contributing $10,000 to help fulfil teachers’ classroom “wish lists.” Other donations this year included $7,150 raised through the Bermuda Bar Association’s Annual Walk, $4,000 from Meritus Trust to support CedarBridge Academy’s Vibe Tribe Club, and $5,000 from Talcott Financial Group to strengthen literacy initiatives at West Pembroke School.
SPS founder Juliana Snelling said the organisation is proud to be entering its eighth year of coordinating twice-yearly deliveries that directly enhance classroom learning, noting that the programme relies on close collaboration between teachers, volunteers, and corporate partners.
Support Public Schools was named the 2024 Meritus Foundation Award winner, recognising its impact in strengthening public education and community wellbeing.
National Security Minister says sustained recruitment and workforce planning have been ongoing
Minister of National Security Responds to Recent Commentary on Customs Operations
The Minister of National Security, the Hon. Michael Weeks, JP, MP, has noted recent commentary in the media regarding the operations of the Customs Department, including an opinion piece published in today’s Royal Gazette by Opposition Leader Robert King, and considers it important to address the matter directly and on the basis of facts rather than political rhetoric.
Minister Weeks said national security is too important to be reduced to selective commentary that does not reflect the full operational picture, adding that when issues are raised publicly, Bermudians deserve clarity, context, and accuracy.
The Minister emphasised that the Government takes the welfare of Customs officers and the operational effectiveness of the Department seriously and remains focused on ensuring Bermuda’s borders are protected through appropriate staffing, training, and modern enforcement tools.
The established operational strength required for the Customs Department to function at full capacity is 228 officers. At present, the Department has 171 officers in post, and recruitment is now underway to increase those numbers.
Sustained recruitment and workforce planning have been ongoing, rather than being addressed only when the issue becomes politically expedient.
Minister Weeks notes that Customs is currently in a seasonally slower operational period, during which trainee officers are undertaking classroom-based training for a maximum period of six weeks.
Currently at the L.F. Wade International Airport, fewer than 300 passengers are arriving on most days of the week, as compared to 1,800 passengers during the busier months in the summer.
During this time, trained officers continue to fully staff operational posts, ensuring continuity of service to the travelling public and commercial importers.
This training cycle is a normal and planned part of workforce development and does not indicate a decline in morale or service delivery. Peak operational demand traditionally begins in mid-April through May, and preparations for that busier period are already well underway.
Regarding sick leave, officers across the service may be absent at various times due to documented medical conditions that, based on medical advice, are not related to workplace fatigue or excessive work schedules. The Ministry is not aware of any organised sick-outs or work stoppages within the Customs Department.
As is widely known, the Island has experienced a recent surge in viral infections, and the Customs Department has not been exempt. As affected staff recovered, operations returned to normal following the Christmas and New Year period.
In terms of recruitment, during 2025, a total of 13 officers were hired by the Customs Department. The majority of these recruits are strategically deployed at the L.F. Wade International Airport during peak operational periods, where passenger volumes and risk profiles are highest.
An additional recruitment exercise is currently underway, with applications closing on Wednesday, 21 January 2026. This forms part of the Ministry’s ongoing workforce planning strategy to address existing staffing shortfalls, anticipated retirements, and increased operational demand during the upcoming tourist season.
The Customs Department anticipates starting another recruitment drive during 2026 to continue our efforts to bolster our ranks and increase our effectiveness.
With respect to the Hamilton Docks, the X-ray scanner is now fully repaired and has been operational since last week. While there have been limited periods over the past decade when the equipment was offline, it is incorrect to suggest that Customs is currently operating without scanning capability at the docks.
As previously outlined, the installation of a new scanning system and the completion of the associated building structure are expected within the next few months, which will further reinforce our border enforcement capability. In the interim, officers continue to conduct inspections using established alternative enforcement procedures.
Minister Weeks said the Opposition Leader’s latest commentary failed to acknowledge these facts. He stated that Mr King has once again chosen to raise concerns about Customs without acknowledging the steps already taken to address them, noting that staffing challenges did not appear overnight and will not be resolved overnight, but that the Government has been actively recruiting officers, investing in training, repairing equipment, and planning ahead for peak operational periods.
The Minister added that portraying Customs officers as unsupported or abandoned is not accurate and does a disservice to the men and women who continue to carry out their duties every day.
He further stressed that border security is not a political football but a serious responsibility that requires sustained action, not selective criticism that ignores progress when it is inconvenient to acknowledge it.
After an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis on January 7, opinion polls showed most Americans disapprove of the conduct of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers
International News via Reuters:
President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is fast becoming a double-edged campaign issue in November’s hotly contested midterm congressional elections because of mounting public unease over aggressive tactics by federal immigration officers.
After an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis on January 7, sparking protests, opinion polls showed most Americans disapprove of the conduct of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, including a Reuters/Ipsos survey that pointed to a Republican split over whether federal immigration agents should try harder to avoid hurting people.
Criticism about ICE’s use of force appears to have diminished the ability of Republican candidates to pivot away from economic pessimism among voters by stressing the party’s traditionally strong standing on crime and security. Democrats could benefit, despite the party’s historic weakness on border security issues, if voters decide Trump has moved beyond what they elected him to do, said Nathan Gonzales, editor of analysis firm Inside Elections.
REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS BOTH VULNERABLE
The polling data has raised Republican concerns that souring public views of ICE operations could cloud Trump’s success at securing the U.S.-Mexico border. Record numbers of migrants flowed into the U.S. under former President Joe Biden, a topic Republicans view as a key campaign asset.
But with some Democratic candidates calling for ICE’s abolition, Democratic groups are concerned that voters worried about immigration and security could turn against them come November.
Republicans control both the Senate and the House of Representatives but face voter frustration over high prices and the economy in an election cycle that often punishes the ruling party as voters cast ballots for all 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats.
“This is kind of a fluid situation that we’re in right now that reminds me a bit of where we were after George Floyd, where public opinion moved pretty dramatically,” said Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report.
The 2020 police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis spurred nationwide anger that brought about reforms in many U.S. states but also proved to be a political liability for both Republicans and Democrats.
Members of the public have expressed outrage over immigration enforcement tactics such as ICE agents wearing masks, zip-tying children and arresting and injuring or killing U.S. citizens. Over the weekend in Minneapolis, a naturalized U.S. citizen said immigration agents with guns drawn broke down his door and dragged him into the snow wearing shorts and Croc shoes. ChongLy Thao, 56, who goes by the name Scott, said he was returned home later without explanation or apology.
The Department of Homeland Security has said ICE officers, whom it oversees, have also faced violence.
DEMOCRATS COULD RETAKE HOUSE: ANALYSTS
Analysts say Democrats are in a strong position to gain control of the House and could cut into the 53-47-seat Republican Senate majority, if not seize the chamber outright. Losing either chamber would hinder Trump’s ability to enact his agenda and also would enable congressional investigations into administration policies and actions.
“Is (ICE) an issue that people care enough to vote on? I don’t know,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters last week.
The Trump administration is poised to ramp up immigration enforcement this year with funds Congress gave ICE to hire thousands of agents, detain more than 100,000 migrants at any given time and expand surveillance to track down possible immigration offenders. The push is expected to include more enforcement against employers, a move that could pressure businesses in sectors known to hire workers who are in the U.S. illegally.
In the coming months, ICE’s aggressive tactics could undermine Republican support among Latino voters and influence toss-up Senate races in Democratic-leaning states such as Maine and Michigan, Walter said.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR CRITICIZES ICE TACTICS
Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the most vulnerable of this year’s Republican incumbents, criticized what she considered “excessive” ICE tactics, including wearing masks and targeting immigrants without criminal records, which she said have been ordered by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“It’s not the ICE officers’ fault,” Collins told Reuters. “Some of the tactics that the secretary has had ICE use in cities are not where the focus should be.”
Some Senate Democrats hope to use government funding legislation to impose new curbs on ICE’s actions. But Collins, who oversees funding issues as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she instead favored oversight hearings with Noem.
In response, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “President Trump and Secretary Noem are delivering on the American people’s mandate to deport illegal aliens.”
McLaughlin’s statement to Reuters cited opinion polls released months before Good’s shooting that showed most Americans favoring deportation of people in the country illegally, though one New York Times survey also said most voters thought Trump had gone too far on immigration enforcement.
The statement asserted that 70% of those arrested by ICE have been charged with or convicted of crimes, a claim that has been disputed by independent researchers, advocacy groups and journalists.
Democrats could find themselves debating whether to reform ICE or abolish the agency altogether, a question some fear could backfire on the party.
“The task ahead is not to eliminate enforcement, but to reclaim it from those who are abusing it for political gain,” the Democratic centrist think tank Third Way warned in a public memo.
Reporting by David Morgan; additional reporting by Ted Hesson;Editing by Rod Nickel
The blue‑chip FTSE 100 closed down 0.72%, after touching its lowest level in over a week
International News via Reuters:
The UK’s FTSE 100 logged its steepest one-day fall in close to two weeks on Tuesday as rising uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs related to Greenland soured investor sentiment.
The blue‑chip FTSE 100 closed down 0.72%, after touching its lowest level in over a week. The domestically focused mid‑cap index fell 0.6%.
Trump threatened to impose an additional 10% tariffs on imports from eight European countries, including Britain, from February 1 unless the U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland, a Danish territory, heightening volatility across global markets.
“Geopolitical tensions have dented sentiment and cooled early-year exuberance, but they haven’t fundamentally altered the global growth or earnings outlook,” said Laura Cooper, senior macro strategist at Nuveen.
Europe is more vulnerable to higher tariffs but defence and infrastructure spending should soften the blow, creating selective opportunities in European banks, Cooper added.
In London, pharmaceutical stocks fell 1.6%. AstraZeneca’s 2.6% drop, after the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said it would delist its American Depositary Shares and debt securities from Nasdaq, made it the biggest drag to the benchmark index.
Life insurers lost the most, down 1.9%.
Conversely, precious metals miners rose 1.8% as gold vaulted past $4,700 an ounce for the first time, while silver hovered near record highs as Trump’s tariff threats sparked a flight to safe‑haven assets. [GOL/]
Miners have been among the biggest drivers of the FTSE 100’s positive start to 2026, driving it to record highs.
This week at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland’s Davos, world leaders, policymakers and corporate executives are scheduled to deliver speeches that could steer market sentiment.
Back home, data showed Britain’s jobs market weakened ahead of the government’s November budget announcement and wage growth slowed, potentially easing the Bank of England’s worries about persistent inflation pressures.
Informa rose 4.5% to top the FTSE 100 after the events organiser launched a £200 million ($269.6 million) share buyback and forecast 6% underlying revenue growth for 2026. The media index led gains, up 2.1%.
Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Mark Heinrich
