The Minister explained, “Bermuda’s trade with non-residents resulted in a $532 million surplus for the second quarter of 2025, down $34 million from a year ago.
“Transactions related to trade in goods led to a contraction of the deficit on the goods account, decreasing by $16 million to $320 million. Decreased imports were associated mainly with finished equipment.
Minister Hayward added, “Services transactions realised a surplus of $190 million, narrowing by $113 million year-over-year. The decrease in the surplus balance reflected primarily a decrease in the export of services combining with an increase in imports. The surplus on Bermuda’s primary income account increased by $84 million to $723 million due mainly to compensation earned or paid to non-residents, and income from investments and payroll tax paid by non-resident companies to the Government.
The Minister continued, “Bermuda’s trade in financial assets and liabilities with the rest of the world resulted in a net international investment position of $5.1 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2025. This balance increased by $202 million over the first quarter of 2025. Two of the four institutional sectors recorded positive balances on their net international investment positions at the end of the second quarter. Specifically, financial corporations recorded a balance of $7.6 billion, and non-profit institutions recorded a balance of $98 million. In contrast, non-financial corporations recorded a deficit balance of $2.1 billion while the government sector recorded a deficit balance of $413 million.”
The 2025 Q2Balance of Payments & International Investment Position publication is available online at https://www.gov.bm/balance-payments. The public is advised to read the definitions and notes on the last three pages of the publication before reviewing the data.
About 1,000 demonstrators gathered on Thursday morning at a federal building where an immigration court is housed, chanting “shame” and “murder” at armed and masked federal officers
International News via Reuters:
Minneapolis was on edge on Thursday, a day after a U.S. immigration agent fatally shot a 37-year-old mother of three in an incident that drew immediate condemnation from city and state officials who blamed President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement surge for sowing chaos in the city’s streets.
About 1,000 demonstrators gathered on Thursday morning at a federal building where an immigration court is housed, chanting “shame” and “murder” at armed and masked federal officers, some of whom used tear gas and pepper balls on protesters.
Minnesota and Trump administration officials offered starkly different accounts of the shooting, in which an unidentified Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good in a residential neighborhood.
The agent was among 2,000 federal officers that the Trump administration had announced it was deploying to the Minneapolis area in what the Department of Homeland Security described as the “largest DHS operation ever.”
DHS officials, including Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem, defended the shooting as self-defense and accused the woman of trying to ram agents in an act of “domestic terrorism.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, called that assertion “bullshit” and “garbage” based on bystander videos taken of the incident that appeared to contradict the government’s account.
Videos showed two masked officers approaching Good’s car, which was stopped at a perpendicular angle on a Minneapolis street. As one officer ordered Good out of the car and grabbed at her door handle, the car briefly reversed and then began driving forward, turning to the right in an apparent attempt to leave the scene.
A third officer, positioned in front of her car on the left, drew his gun and fired three times while jumping back, with the last shots aimed through the driver’s window after the car’s bumper appeared to have cleared his body.
The video did not appear to show contact and the officer stayed on his feet, though Noem said he was taken to a hospital and released. Trump, a Republican, claimed on social media the woman “ran over the ICE Officer.”
The competing narratives highlighted the political polarization in the U.S., where Trump’s supporters enthusiastically endorse his version of events and opponents contend his assertions are often provably false.
Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who urged the federal government to withdraw its officers, said he had put the state’s National Guard on alert. Minneapolis public schools were closed on Thursday and Friday as a precautionary measure.
With classes canceled, 17-year-old Addie Flewelling attended the Minneapolis protest on Thursday to condemn the shooting and show her opposition to the immigration crackdown, including a raid at her high school earlier this week.
“Students were chased off of their place of education,” she said. “This is not ok. I’m scared to go to school.”
SLAIN WOMAN HAD THREE CHILDREN
The Minneapolis City Council, which identified the dead woman as Good, said she was “out caring for her neighbors this morning and her life was taken today at the hands of the federal government.”
Good had a 15-year-old daughter and two sons aged 12 and 6, according to the Washington Post.
She graduated from Virginia’s Old Dominion University in 2020 with a degree in English, the school’s president, Brian Hemphill, confirmed in a statement.
“This is yet another clear example that fear and violence have sadly become commonplace in our nation,” Hemphill said. “May Renee’s life be a reminder of what unites us: freedom, love, and peace.”
While at ODU, she won an undergraduate poetry prize, according to a 2020 Facebook post by the school’s English department, which described her as hailing from Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“When she is not writing, reading, or talking about writing, she has movie marathons and makes messy art with her daughter and two sons,” the post said.
The Facebook post also said she co-hosted a podcast with her husband, comedian Tim Macklin. He died in 2023 at 36, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, called for an investigation into Good’s death, saying it was “deeply disturbing” and “tragic.”
Good’s mother told the Star Tribune that her daughter was “extremely compassionate,” and not the type of person to confront ICE agents.
“She’s taken care of people all her life,” her mother, Donna Ganger, told the newspaper. “She was loving, forgiving and affectionate.”
FBI, STATE OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE SHOOTING
The Minnesota operation, part of Trump’s nationwide crackdown on migrants, was also mounted in response to a politically charged investigation into fraud allegations against some Minnesota nonprofit groups in the Somali community.
At least 56 people have pleaded guilty since federal prosecutors under the previous Democratic administration of Joe Biden started investigating childcare and other social service programs in the Somali community.
The FBI and Minnesota state officials are both investigating the shooting.
The ICE officer could be immune to state prosecution if he was determined to be acting within the scope of his official federal duties, and any legal case would likely come down to whether he reasonably feared for his life, said Caren Morrison, a law professor at Georgia State College of Law.
She said cases involving vehicles tended to favor officers because a car could be considered a deadly weapon.
Minnesota law allows the use of deadly force by an officer only if an objectively reasonable officer would believe that doing so was necessary to protect the officer or others from immediate death or serious harm. Federal law has a similar standard.
Reporting by Renee Hickman and Maria Alejandra Cardona in Minneapolis; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen, Helen Coster, Tom Hals and Kanishka Singh; Writing by Joseph Ax and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Deepa Babington
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would withdraw from dozens of international and U.N. entities, including the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change
International News via Reuters:
The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw the United States from the foundational U.N. climate treaty, which the U.S. Senate unanimously adopted more than 30 years ago, may be illegal, according to some legal experts who say that Congress would need to approve its exit.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would withdraw from dozens of international and U.N. entities, including the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as the scientific Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that “operate contrary to U.S. national interests” of focusing on oil, gas and mining development.
Trump, a vocal critic of renewable energy who has called climate change a “con job” and a hoax, went beyond his previous action of withdrawing the U.S. – the world’s biggest historical greenhouse gas emitter – from the Paris climate agreement, by removing the country from the underlying UNFCCC.
He also pulled the U.S. out of the key scientific climate change body called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and a host of other U.N. bodies focused on environment, health, arts and women’s rights.
SOME EXPERTS QUESTION PRESIDENT’S POWERS TO WITHDRAW
Some international law experts said the president’s unprecedented move on Wednesday raises major legal questions because case law has not been clear on whether a president can unilaterally withdraw the country from a treaty that has been ratified by a majority of the Senate.
“Because the U.S. entered the UNFCCC with advice and consent of the Senate in 1992, it’s our legal view that it also must be exited using the same process in reciprocation,” Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity told Reuters. “Letting this lawless move stand could shut the U.S. out of climate diplomacy forever.”
The CBD is currently evaluating whether to take the U.S. government to court on this, Su said.
White House officials were not immediately available to respond to Reuters questions on the legality of the move.
Quitting the UNFCCC would take effect a year after notification and would mean the U.S. would withdraw from all global climate negotiations including the central Paris climate agreement.
The U.S. already skipped the annual U.N. international climate summit last year in Belem, Brazil for the first time in three decades and Trump announced the withdrawal from the Paris pact a year ago. It is the only country to exit the UNFCCC.
The UNFCCC requires wealthy industrialized countries to take measures to cut their emissions, adopt policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions, publicly report their emissions, and provide funding to help poorer nations address climate change.
While the rules around ratifying a treaty are clear, the rules around withdrawing from a treaty are not spelled out in the U.S. Constitution, said Curtis Bradley, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
This has meant that some presidents have asserted the authority to withdraw the United States from treaties and international agreements without seeking Congressional approval. For example, Republican President Ronald Reagan withdrew the U.S. from UNESCO in 1983 over his concerns about that agency’s perceived politicization.
Bradley said Congress could enact legislation to prevent a president from unilaterally withdrawing from a treaty. Congress did pass a law in 2023 to stop a future administration from withdrawing from the NATO treaty.
“But that is not likely to happen for the UNFCCC,” he said, given the polarization around climate change policy in Congress.
HOW EASY IS IT TO GET BACK INTO A TREATY?
Legal experts are also split around how difficult it would be to rejoin the UNFCCC.
Some legal groups believe that if a future administration wants to get back in, it would need to go through a new process of getting the two-thirds support in the U.S. Senate required for treaty ratification.
Other experts argue that the U.S. can easily rejoin after 90 days, using the “advise and consent” that the Senate used to ratify the treaty unanimously in 1992 under Republican President George H.W. Bush.
In recent years, achieving a two-thirds majority in the highly polarized U.S. Congress has been near impossible, especially on divisive issues.
The U.S. has entered into more than 90% of international agreements through different mechanisms that rely on executive authority or pre-existing domestic laws.
Sue Biniaz, former deputy special envoy for climate change during the Biden administration, said she is in the camp of legal scholars who believe that rejoining the UNFCCC could be “seamless” because of the unanimous Senate approval it won in 1992.
“There are multiple future pathways for rejoining the key climate agreements,” she said.
Reporting by Valerie VolcoviciEditing by Frances Kerry
Brent futures rose $1.21, or 2%, to $61.17 per barrel at 11:17 a.m. EST (1617 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.02, or 1.8%, to $57.01
International News via Reuters:
Oil prices rose about 2% on Thursday after two days of declines as investors assessed developments in Venezuela and on worries about supplies from Russia, Iraq and Iran.
Brent futures rose $1.21, or 2%, to $61.17 per barrel at 11:17 a.m. EST (1617 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.02, or 1.8%, to $57.01.
The U.S. seized two Venezuela-linked oil tankers in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, one sailing under Russia’s flag, as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to dictate oil flows in the Americas and force Venezuela’s socialist government to become an ally.
After capturing Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro in a Saturday military raid on Caracas, the U.S. is escalating its blockade of vessels that are under sanctions and going to and from the South American country, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries oil producers group.
PRICES REVERT TO PRE-ATTACK LEVELS
“The complex is rebounding with the crude benchmarks back to about levels of last Friday’s close prior to the U.S. removal of Maduro,” analysts at energy advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note.
“The fact that this major development is having little impact on the energy complex is not surprising since the arrival of a meaningful amount of Venezuelan crude into the (U.S.) Gulf coast region could be years away,” Ritterbusch said.
The U.S. could oversee Venezuela and control its oil revenue for years, Trump said in a New York Times interview published on Thursday. The U.S. Senate began voting on Thursday on a resolution that would block Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said there was room to balance roles for both the U.S. and China in Venezuela to allow for commerce, but that Washington would not allow Beijing to have major control over the Latin American country.
In an interview on Fox Business Network, Wright also said he expected to see Chevron quickly grow its activities in Venezuela, with other U.S. oil majors ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil also looking to play a constructive role.
India’s Reliance Industries, operator of the world’s largest refining complex, on Thursday said it will consider buying Venezuelan oil if permitted for sale to non-U.S. buyers.
RUSSIA, IRAQ, IRAN AND YEMEN
A Russia-bound oil tanker suffered a drone attack in the Black Sea that prompted it to request Turkish Coast Guard assistance and divert from its course, according to a notice by Lloyd’s List Intelligence and a separate maritime security source on Thursday.
Maritime data specialist Lloyd’s List Intelligence said the Palau-flagged Elbus vessel “experienced an unmanned marine-vehicle and drone attack” on Wednesday targeting its engine room, and that no injuries were reported among the 25 crew, nor any pollution.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday the text of a bilateral security guarantee between Kyiv and Washington was “essentially ready” to be finalised with Trump.
Russia said on Thursday that any troops sent to Ukraine by Western governments would be “legitimate combat targets”, after Britain and France announced plans to deploy a multinational force there in the event of a ceasefire.
Any agreement that would lift sanctions on Moscow could allow Russia, the second-biggest oil producer in the world behind the U.S., to export more energy.
In Iraq, the cabinet has approved plans to nationalise operations at the West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world’s largest, as the government looks to avert disruptions stemming from U.S. sanctions imposed on Russian stakeholder Lukoil.
State-run Basra Oil Company will take over the oilfield’s operations for 12 months, two officials at the firm told Reuters.
In Iran, President Masoud Pezeshkian warned domestic suppliers against hoarding or overpricing goods, state media reported on Thursday, as Tehran rolls out high-stakes subsidy reforms during nationwide protests against economic hardship.
“Iran has a long history of protests, and there is no sign that the regime is on the verge of collapse. But depending on how the situation evolves, Iranian oil exports—equating to 2% of global supply (two times the level of Venezuela)—could be at risk,” said Pavel Molchanov, investment strategy analyst at Raymond James.
Iraq and Iran are among the biggest oil producers in OPEC behind Saudi Arabia.
In Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition said on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), another big OPEC producer, had spirited a separatist leader out of the country by boat in a dramatic twist to a rift between the Gulf powers, as Saudi-backed forces advanced to the port of Aden after losing ground there.
The escape of Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of a UAE-backed southern separatist group, could exacerbate tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, global oil heavyweights and both close allies of the United States.
Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York and Enes Tunagur in London; Additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by David Goodman, Kirsten Donovan, Rod Nickel
Warner Bros Discovery’s board on Wednesday rejected Paramount’s amended hostile offer that included a $40 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Oracle’s co-founder Larry Ellison
International News via Reuters:
Paramount Skydance on Thursday reiterated that its $108.4 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery was superior to a rival deal from Netflix, saying the value of the cable spinoff central to the streaming giant’s offer was effectively worthless.
Warner Bros Discovery’s board on Wednesday rejected Paramount’s amended hostile offer that included a $40 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Oracle’s co-founder Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, and $54 billion in debt.
The CBS parent and Netflix have been in a heated battle for Warner Bros, its prized film and television studios, and its extensive content library that includes “Harry Potter” and the DC Comics universe.
Paramount’s argument – one it is using to sway investors – is that its all-cash $30-per-share offer for the whole of Warner Bros is superior to Netflix’s $27.75 a share cash-and-stock deal for the studios and streaming assets and will more easily clear regulatory hurdles. The Netflix deal is worth $82.7 billion.
In its response on Thursday, Paramount even went so far as to suggest that the cable properties of CNN and Discovery, which Netflix does not want, are effectively worth less than nothing, based on an equity valuation of the recently floated Versant Media, a Comcast spinoff that includes digital assets and TV channels such as CNBC. That stock has dropped 18% since its market debut on Monday.
That sour performance has given fresh ammunition to Paramount’s campaign to convince Warner Bros shareholders its offer is better. On Thursday, it said it values the Warner Bros cable spinoff at zero – or even less than that, due to its high leverage and lagging performance.
“While Discovery Global equity would have no equity value if the company trades in-line with Versant, there are in fact several compelling reasons why it should trade at a discount to Versant,” Paramount said Thursday.
Paramount said the Netflix offer would reduce the cash paid to shareholders if Warner Bros loads more debt onto the merger. The company argues the cash payout could drop to $20 per share, from the current offer of $23.25, if Warner Bros were to adopt the leverage in line with Versant.
Warner Bros and Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shares of both Warner Bros and Netflix were down nearly 1% each, while those of Paramount ticked up 0.6%.
“It would be surprising if the shareholders were swayed by the argument because they’ve likely already considered the declining value of linear TV assets when they agreed to split the company and sell the growing portion to Netflix,” said Ross Benes, senior analyst at Emarketer.
“But Paramount has a point – fading TV networks aren’t appealing to most investors.”
Paramount’s tender offer will expire on January 21, but the company can extend it.
WARNER BROS UNCONVINCED BY ‘INADEQUATE’ PARAMOUNT BID
Warner Bros has argued that Paramount’s revised December 22 bid “remains inadequate”, citing uncertainty regarding the CNN parent’s ability to finalize the transaction, and the exposure of Warner Bros shareholders to significant risks and costs in the event of deal failure.
The board said Paramount’s offer hinges on “an extraordinary amount of debt financing” that heightens the risk of closing.
Netflix’s deal requires no equity financing and is backed by $59 billion in debt from banks including Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas and HSBC Holdings.
Warner Bros Chairman Samuel Di Piazza has said the company is not currently negotiating with Paramount but is open to a deal if Paramount can “put something on the table that is compelling.”
Some Warner Bros investors, including the 7th-largest shareholder Pentwater Capital, have argued that the board was making a mistake not engaging with Paramount.
REGULATORY SCRUTINY
For either suitor, winning shareholder support is only the first hurdle for a deal that would face tough scrutiny by the antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe.
Bipartisan lawmakers have raised concerns about the potential harm for consumers and creatives and U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to weigh in on the deals.
Paramount’s bid will create a studio bigger than market leader Disney and fuse two major TV operators, which some Democratic senators say will control “almost everything Americans watch on TV”.
It will also hand control of CNN to the conservative-leaning Ellisons, soon after they acquired CBS News and installed Bari Weiss as its editor-in-chief.
The Ellisons have cited ties with the Trump administration as a reason why a deal with Paramount would face an easier regulatory path.
For Netflix, a lightning rod in Hollywood over its streaming-first approach, the deal would cement its dominance with a combined 428 million subscribers. It has promised to honor Warner Bros’ theatrical commitments.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has voiced confidence in winning approval, saying the company’s bid would be better for Hollywood as it would avoid job cuts in an industry already hit by fewer productions and uneven box-office returns.
Reporting by Aditya Soni and Harshita Varghese in Bengaluru and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles, additional reporting by Deborah Sophia and Anhata Rooprai; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila
Daniel Tucker, 37, was sentenced to 4.5 years imprisonment for his role in the death of Filipino guest worker, Lovella Cruz in 2023
A man who admitted to killing a guest worker while driving under the influence of alcohol was jailed for four and a half years today.
The Royal Gazette reports that 37-year-old Daniel Tucker was also disqualified for driving for a period of 8 years.
He was responsible for the death, in 2023, of 48-year-old Lovella Cruz, a guest worker from the Philippines.
During a previous hearing in December, the court had heard that on November 9th 2023, Ms. Cruz was riding her motorcycle east along Somerset Road just before 11pm and while approaching Cricket Lane, Tucker, traveling in the opposite lane in a car, negotiated a turn. That’s when the crash happened.
After the fatal collision, police said Tucker admitted drinking three Planter’s punch alcoholic beverages. A breathalyzer test showed he was more than twice over the legal limit.
He said he was driving his car when the rider, “came out of nowhere.”
A victim impact statement written by one of the victim’s sons said their mother was the breadwinner of the family.
Bernard Angelo Bell Cruz said in the report, “I cannot find the meaning of life.”
Tucker had previously been convicted of an alcohol-related offense in 2018.
Justice Alan Richards handed down the sentence this morning in the Supreme Court and was quoted by The Royal Gazette as stating: “However bleakly the future may look for Mr Tucker, he is, of course, still here.
“Lovella Cruz lost her life that night through no fault of her own. She too was cherished by her family and her loss has caused them immeasurable pain,” end quote.
Police Commissioner praises search effort after young boy found safe and well
Commissioner of Police, Darrin Simons – “It is important to comment and commend the way several members of our Bermuda community, as well as members of the local media, came together to assist police officers in searching for the 8-year-old boy, Wednesday evening (7th January 2026), in Sandys parish.
The spirit of care and cooperation shown embodied Bermuda at its best; where people from diverse backgrounds quickly unite to help, because it is the right thing to do.
To everyone that participated in Wednesday evening’s Somerset area search, including my Bermuda Police Service colleagues; I share a sincere thank you.
Your willingness to actively be a part of the solution demonstrated the power of our community’s resolve to support each other.”
Bermuda has joined regional neighbors in a decisive move to protect the integrity of the Caribbean game, participating in a high-level Anti-Match Manipulation and Integrity Workshop hosted by the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
The session, facilitated by FIFA Senior Integrity Manager Liam Rich, focused on building a “solid foundation” for identifying and responding to risks that threaten the sport’s fairness.
The workshop centered on FIFA’s strategic framework for safeguarding football, structured around four core pillars:
Detection & Investigation: Using data and intelligence to spot irregularities.
Education & Training: Ensuring officials and players know the warning signs.
Prevention: Implementing strict codes of conduct to deter manipulation.
Sanctioning: Enforcing zero-tolerance penalties for those who compromise the game.
Bermuda was represented by Lyndon Raynor and Jibri Smith, who engaged in practical scenarios covering threats both on and off the field. The training aims to empower member associations to recognize recruitment patterns often used by fixers to target players and officials.
“This workshop forms part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen governance capacity,” said CFU General Secretary Camara David. “We are grateful to FIFA for its support in protecting the beautiful game.”
The initiative aligns with the CFU’s 2021–2026 strategic plan, ensuring that as Bermuda’s national teams rise on the international stage, the administration behind them remains world-class and secure.
The Bermuda Football Association has released a high-stakes schedule for this weekend, as the title races in both divisions reach a boiling point. With just one point separating the top three sides in the Premier Division, this weekend’s fixtures could prove definitive.
The action begins with a massive double-header at Bernard Park tonight.
7:00 pm: First Division leaders Somerset Trojans face sixth-placed Wolves. The Trojans currently sit level at the top on 15 points with Robin Hood.
9:00 pm: A Premier Division heavyweight clash sees North Village Rams take on Devonshire Cougars. Both sides are locked on 16 points, making this a pivotal encounter for the fourth-place spot.
The Premier Division takes center stage on Sunday afternoon with league leaders Dandy Town Hornets (22 pts) defending their narrow lead against third-placed Devonshire Colts (21 pts) at White Hill Field.
Simultaneously, second-placed PHC Zebras (21 pts) host X-Road’s Warriors at the PHC Stadium. The Zebras know that any slip-up from the Hornets could see them claim the summit by Sunday evening.
At the other end of the table, Boulevard Blazers continue their fight for survival against St. George’s Colts, as the battle to avoid the drop intensifies. The final match pits the Paget Lions who are holding the seventh spot hosting ninth placed Social Club at the Wellington Oval.
The charity operated by Bermudian Phillip Rego said the children and caregivers were forced to flee the orphanage and school with almost no warning
Feed My Lambs, an organisation that operates an orphanage, school and health clinic for vulnerable children in Haiti is seeking $250,000 to cover emergency expenses due to violent raids in their neighbourhood carried out by dangerous gangs.
Haiti has faced an ongoing humanitarian crisis as armed gangs control a majority of the country while the government, police and volunteers attempt to regain control of the country.
The charity wrote, “We are raising $250,000 to keep them fed, housed, and safe for the next year as Haiti’s crises escalate. 100% of every dollar goes directly to the children and caregivers who have already endured more than anyone ever should.”
Additional expenses to care for the students has topped $20,000 per month according to the organisation.
Just under $14,000 has been raised to date out of $250,000 fundraising goal to cover living expenses for the orphans for one year.
Founder Phillip Rego said on the GoFundMe page, “The children are now scattered across temporary shelters hours away—safe for the moment, but living with hunger, fear, constant uncertainty, and no schooling.”
The school caters to around 700 local children and offers permanent housing to 60 orphans, a medical and dental clinic which has been in operation since 2009.
Bermuda’s aspiring track and field stars took their first steps toward international competition as the Bermuda National Athletics Association (BNAA) hosted the opening Carifta Trial Meet at the Flora Duffy South Field Stadium.
The event marked the beginning of a high-stakes qualifying window for the 2026 Games in Grenada, with several athletes coming within striking distance of the elusive standards required for the regional showpiece.
The standout performance of the day came in the Under-17 Women’s 1500m, where Riana Robinson delivered a gritty display. Robinson crossed the line in 5:08.71, finishing just over two seconds shy of the 5:06.00 qualifying mark, establishing her as the closest female athlete to a standard during the meet.
On the men’s side, Sanchez Smith (U17): Clocked a personal best of 4:26.30 in the 1500m, leaving him roughly six seconds adrift of the 4:20.00 benchmark. Gianluca Bortoli (U20): Showed promising early-season form with a 4:16.79 finish, chasing the 4:10.00 standard.
In the sprints, Surii Russell pulled double duty across the 400m age groups. His time of 52.03 was the fastest quarter-mile of the day, while Kelise Wade dominated the U17 Women’s 400m with a solo effort of 1:01.27.
The 100m straight saw Leydi Raynor claim the U17 Women’s crown in 13.07, while Chanz Martin led the men’s field in 12.21. Meanwhile, in the sandpit, Amaya Davis recorded a leap of 15-09.00 to continue her development in the long jump.
With several meets scheduled before March, Bermuda’s elite youth have the plane to Grenada firmly in their sights.
An aerospace and defense index rose to an all-time high, with European defense shares also hitting a new high
International News via Reuters:
Major stock indexes mostly eased and Treasury yields rose on Thursday ahead of Friday’s key U.S. jobs report, while defense company shares jumped amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for a $1.5 trillion military budget.
An aerospace and defense index rose to an all-time high, with European defense shares also hitting a new high. Oil prices also climbed as investors monitored developments in Venezuela.
Over the weekend, U.S. military forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The White House said on Tuesday that Trump was also discussing options for acquiring Greenland.
Data showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose moderately last week, suggesting that layoffs were relatively low at the end of 2025, though demand for labor remained sluggish.
Traders are pricing in at least two rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, although a divided central bank indicated in December there would be only one cut in 2026. The Fed is expected to keep rates steady at its meeting this month.
Friday’s U.S. employment report for December will be key.
“From an interest rate standpoint, it’s not clear how Fed policy should or will react to that and what it means about the economic outlook more than a couple of months forward,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 171.04 points, or 0.35%, to 49,167.35, the S&P 500 fell 6.83 points, or 0.09%, to 6,914.96 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 168.65 points, or 0.71%, to 23,420.08.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 2.86 points, or 0.28%, to 1,028.62.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.21%.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.08% to 98.81.
The euro flirted with its eighth straight drop against the dollar.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 4.1 basis points to 4.179%, from 4.138% late on Wednesday.
Venezuela’s default-stricken bonds were finally cooling off following their near 40% surge after the weekend’s events fuelled investor hopes for a massively complex debt restructuring.
U.S. crude rose 1.8% to $57.00 a barrel and Brent rose to $61.13 per barrel, up 1.95% on the day. Gold prices were nearly flat.
Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York and Marc Jones in London; Additional reporting by Karen Brettell In New York and Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Toby Chopra and Bernadette Baum
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