Greene said policymakers typically would look through measures that only led to a one-off fall in inflation rather than caused year-on-year falls in prices
International News via Reuters:
British government measures to lower households’ energy bills by 150 pounds ($199) a year may help lower the public’s inflation expectations but the policy implication is unclear, Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene said on Thursday.
Greene said policymakers typically would look through measures that only led to a one-off fall in inflation rather than caused year-on-year falls in prices.
But elevated household inflation expectations meant it would be helpful for the BoE if the measure did shift households’ expectations for future inflation lower, she said at a London conference hosted by Irish financial services company Goodbody.
Greene voted against the BoE’s last quarter-point rate cut in August and earlier this month she said she did not think current interest rates of 4% were “meaningfully restrictive” and that she remained concerned about future wage growth.
On Wednesday, finance minister Rachel Reeves set out 26 billion pounds ($34 billion) of tax rises in her annual budget.
Government forecasters estimate her measures will lower inflation by 0.4 percentage points in the next financial year but add 0.1 percentage points to price growth in the two years after.
Financial markets price in a more than 90% chance of a quarter-point BoE rate cut on December 18 after the Monetary Policy Committee’s next meeting and then one or two further rate cuts in 2026, according to LSEG data on Thursday.
($1 = 0.7555 pounds)
Reporting by David Milliken, Editing by Sam Tabahriti
The civil aviation authority late on Wednesday revoked permits for Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines and Gol
International News via Reuters:
Venezuela revoked operating rights for six major international airlines that had suspended flights to the country following a warning from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
The civil aviation authority late on Wednesday revoked permits for Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines and Gol, which further reduces connectivity with the South American nation and fulfills revocation threats made earlier this week.
Colombia, Brazil and Spain, whose airlines are affected by the decision, are among the countries with the largest Venezuelan populations.
ESCALATING VENEZUELA-US TENSIONS
Caracas, in a statement, said the carriers had “joined actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States” by “unilaterally” halting commercial flights.
Last week, the U.S. aviation regulator warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around” the country.
Caracas said the FAA has no jurisdiction over its airspace.
The U.S. military has been deploying forces to the Caribbean for months amid worsening relations with Venezuela, to combat what it has portrayed as President Nicolas Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.
Maduro has denied the accusations and says U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to oust him.
In a statement on Monday, the International Air Transport Association said Venezuelan authorities had given international airlines a 48-hour deadline to resume flights, or risk losing their rights to fly to the country.
THE AIRLINES RESPOND
Several international airlines had canceled flights to Venezuela in recent days, ignoring Caracas’s deadline.
Iberia said it wished to restart flights to Venezuela as soon as full safety conditions were met.
Avianca announced its intention to reschedule canceled flights to Caracas for December 5 in a Wednesday statement. The company declined to comment on the restrictions imposed by Venezuela.
Portuguese Foreign Affairs Minister Paulo Rangel called Venezuela’s decision to revoke the airlines’ operating rights “totally disproportionate.” He said the European nation – headquarters of carrier TAP – had tried through its embassy in Caracas to persuade Venezuelan authorities to reinstate operating rights.
Air Europa and Plus Ultra had suspended flights but did not have their permits revoked.
International airline Copa and its Wingo unit continue to operate in Venezuela, as do domestic airlines flying to Colombia, Panama and Curacao.
Reporting by Jesus Calero; additional reporting by Corina Pons, Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Kylie Madry; Editing by Kevin Buckland, Clarence Fernandez and Bill Berkrot
Jamaica’s Mount Pleasant FA secured a narrow 1-0 first-leg advantage over Universidad O&M FC in the 2025 Concacaf Caribbean Cup Final, a match played in the Dominican Republic that featured Bermudian FIFA list Assistant Referee, Clinton Hayward, among the officials.
The decisive goal came early at Estadio Cibao FC. Kimoni Bailey put Mount Pleasant into the lead in the 8th minute, capitalizing on a corner kick delivered by Gadail Irving.
Mount Pleasant’s goalkeeper, Tafari Chambers, secured a clean sheet, while the Dominican Republic club’s goalkeeper, Iraitz Gelbentzu, made several key saves, including denying Lamar Walker in the 37th minute, ensuring the margin remained slim.
Bermuda’s FIFA list Assistant Referee Clinton Hayward was on duty for the match, continuing his regular presence at high-level Concacaf fixtures.
Mount Pleasant FA will now look to defend their slim lead in the Second Leg, scheduled for next Tuesday at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.
Bermuda’s Beach Volleyball National Team is set for its final international appearance of the season, with the Bermuda Volleyball Association (BVA) selecting Benjamin Barnett and Brandon Sousa to compete at the 16th stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Managua, Nicaragua, from November 28th to 30th, 2025.
While both athletes bring valuable NORCECA experience, this tournament marks the first opportunity for Barnett and Sousa to compete together this year. Barnett earned a silver medal at the ECVA Men’s Championships earlier this year, while Sousa is a seasoned competitor on both the ECVA and NORCECA circuits.
Head Coach Mark Hamilton expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “I’m excited to see the team working towards a strong finish and closing out a successful season.”
The Bermudian pair has trained with the Men’s National Team since February. They will face high-level opponents from across the region, including teams from Canada, Cuba, the United States, and Mexico.
Barnett shared his excitement about the reunion: “It’s my first tournament with Brandon in two years, and I’m really looking forward to applying what we’ve learned in that time.” Sousa added, “We are focused on ending the season on a high note and continuing to raise the profile of Bermuda Volleyball.”
The Managua stop is the penultimate tournament on the 2025 NORCECA calendar.
Day four of the Caribbean Area Squash Association’s (CASA) Senior Championships in Guyana saw the Men’s and Veterans’ teams start their team campaigns with dominant victories, while the Women’s team faced expected challenges due to limited squad numbers.
The Bermuda Men’s Team started emphatically, securing a 12-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago. Taylor Carrick, Noah Browne, Anaya Smith, and D’vario Thompson all secured straight-sets victories.
The Bermuda Men’s Veterans also began with a spectacular 9-0 clean sweep against the Cayman Islands, with Stephen Smith, Hadleigh Farrer, and Peter Drury all winning 3-0. However, the Veterans faced a setback in their second fixture, going down 9-3 to Barbados, despite Farrer pulling back points with a hard-fought 3-2 victory.
The Bermuda Women’s team, fielding only three players, faced a major hurdle. In their opener against hosts Guyana, Bermuda went down 20-1, with Melina Turk earning the team’s solitary point by taking a set. The team then suffered a heavy 15-0 defeat against Barbados. The women will continue to battle despite the challenge posed by their limited squad size.
The Bermuda Football Association’s Competitions Committee has announced the removal of Hamilton Parish Workmen’s Club (HPWC) from further participation in the BFA 2025/26 First Division season.
In accordance with section 7 of the General Rules for Divisional Competitions — Failure to Play and Abandonment — a team that defaults three matches within a season will be prohibited from participating in any additional competitions related to that division for the remainder of the season.
Additionally, Section 4, subsection E, of the General Rules for Divisional Competitions specifies that if a membership organization does not complete at least 75 percent of its fixtures for the season, all points earned by or recorded against that club must be expunged from the league table. Consequently, the standings will be revised to reflect the expulsion of Hamilton Parish Workmen’s Club (HPWC).
Section 5 of the General Rules for Divisional Competitions states that membership organizations may not withdraw any teams from the League after the publication of current fixtures. Any organization violating this rule is subject to a fine and other actions as determined by the Executive Council.
For the remainder of the season, any team scheduled to compete against HPWC in the First Division will be granted a BYE during that respective match week.
The Competitions Committee extends its sincere apologies to the remaining seven teams in the First Division and looks forward to welcoming a renewed and strengthened HPWC team in the future.
OBA says the government’s land tax exemptions mask the underlying problem of probate delays
Statement by Douglas De Couto, Shadow Minster of Finance:
Recently, the Government announced that land tax exemptions for surviving spouses of a deceased senior citizen (65+) may be continued for up to two years while probate is completed. The One Bermuda Alliance recognizes that lengthy probate delays are causing financial hardship and unnecessary distress on many Bermudian families, and we welcome this policy change.
However there are several caveats the public should be aware of.
First, the land tax exemption can only be continued if the spouse is also 65 years or older. This policy will not help, for example, when a senior citizen passes away without a spouse, leaving their estate with children who are not also seniors. Examples like this were highlighted by questions in Parliament from my fellow OBA MPs on Friday.
Second, while the land tax exemption for seniors can apply to any property which is their primary residence, it only applies on the amount of ARV up to $45,500 ($1,941 of land tax). Land tax must be paid for all the ARV above that.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, this policy change is a band-aid on the underlying problem: unreasonably lengthy probate delays that impact all Bermudian families.
Unfortunately, Government has not seemed to make any progress on actually reforming probate delays. For example, are the courts supplied with enough staff and proper resources to handle probate applications? Is the Land Valuation Office set up to handle the volume, given that they often assess property valuations in probate applications?
Like most other announcements from the Government, this is yet another piece of window dressing that pretends to offer meaningful change Bermudians. Meanwhile, the real problems remain unaddressed while Government pats itself on the back.
Immigration – both legal and illegal – has dominated political debate in Britain for over a decade
International News via Reuters:
Long-term net migration to Britain fell by more than two-thirds in the year to June, official data showed on Thursday, extending a downward trend fuelled by tougher government policies to curb arrivals.
Immigration – both legal and illegal – has dominated political debate in Britain for over a decade, with successive governments imposing stricter visa rules and higher salary thresholds, and the current government promising more.
The Office for National Statistics said net migration had fallen to 204,000 from 649,000 in the 12 months to the end of June due to fewer non-EU nationals arriving for work and study and a continued, gradual rise in emigration levels.
Immigration by non-EU nationals for work fell 61%, while study-related immigration dropped 25%, the ONS said.
The falls come after a ban on most international students bringing dependants, which took effect in January last year, while salary thresholds for skilled worker visas rose in April. Both were enacted by the previous Conservative government.
The current Labour government has been tightening policies to counter Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, which campaigns on an anti-migration platform and holds a double-digit lead in opinion polls.
A policy effectively ending immigration by care workers, the single biggest driver of work migration in recent years, and an even higher salary threshold of 41,700 pounds for skilled worker visas took effect in July.
“We are going further because the pace and scale of migration has placed immense pressure on local communities,” interior minister Shabana Mahmood said following the release of the ONS data.
This month the government announced further sweeping reforms, including making refugee status temporary, speeding up deportation of those arriving illegally, and doubling the qualifying period for some workers to obtain settled status to ten years.
Revised ONS data last week showed that net immigration peaked earlier and at a higher level than previously thought – 944,000 in the 12 months to March 2023 – and fell to 345,000 in 2024.
Despite recent drops, polls show voters still view immigration as the country’s main issue, in part due to highly visible arrivals on small boats from France to seek asylum.
“Those who most want lower immigration are the least aware of the falling numbers,” the British Future think tank said.
($1 = 0.7563 pounds)
Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Andrew MacAskill and Conor Humphries
Thailand’s government said 55 people died during severe floods from a week of heavy rain that has devastated nine southern provinces
International News via Reuters:
Flood rescue teams in Thailand readied drones to deliver aid and helicopters dropped supplies to people marooned on rooftops on Thursday, as the death toll from its worst floods in years rose and the number killed by a cyclone in Indonesia climbed to 61.
Thailand’s government said 55 people died during severe floods from a week of heavy rain that has devastated nine southern provinces, while on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, rescue teams battled to reach communities cut off by landslides and floods that wreaked chaos in three provinces.
Thailand has pushed relief efforts into high gear after the military brought in an aircraft carrier, 20 helicopters and convoys of trucks to deliver food, medicine and dinghies, and issued a public appeal for boats and jet skis to reach people stranded for days by waters up to 2 metres (7 feet) high.
Floodwaters had receded on Thursday in Thailand’s worst-hit city of Hat Yai and authorities were optimistic that access could increase and allow basic services to be restored.
“Efforts to assist the public are continuing, but the flooding situation will be a long fight,” Thai government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said.
Nearly 3 million people have been affected by floods in southern Thailand, with thousands of people huddling in evacuation centres, while in neighbouring Malaysia, similar flooding in seven states killed two people and forced more than 34,000 into shelters.
TROPICAL CYCLONE DEVASTATES INDONESIAN ISLAND
On Sumatra, an Indonesian island of 60 million people, a tropical cyclone unleashed deadly floods and landslides, with at least 100 people missing and power outages and damaged infrastructure hampering rescue efforts.
Kompas TV showed images of earth sliding down a hillside to pile up in front of homes, while gushing waters higher than 1 metre (3.5 feet) swept along debris and the branches of trees.
People were carried out of their homes through fast-flowing water and helped onto orange rubber boats in the teeming rain, video from the search and rescue agency showed.
Verified images from West Sumatra showed rescue teams carrying bodies through deep mud and cars displaced and on top of each other after being carried away by a tide of floodwater.
Meteorologists say current extremes of weather in Southeast Asia could stem from the interaction of two active systems, Typhoon Koto in the Philippines and the unusual formation of Cyclone Senyar in the Malacca Strait.
Global warming can bring more frequent extreme events as higher sea surface temperatures supercharge tropical storms.
The most recent floods follow a series of deadly typhoons and heavy monsoon rains that have lashed the Philippines and Vietnam and swelled floods elsewhere.
ARMY REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE
Thailand’s army engineering corps with specialist vehicles and 2,000 members of the civil defence corps arrived on Thursday in Hat Yai, the fifth-largest city, where helicopters were delivering food to hospitals and victims still stuck on rooftops.
In Hat Yai, thousands have been stranded by the heaviest rainfall in 15 years, with 335 mm (13 inches) recorded on Friday, the city’s highest in a single day for 300 years.
Aerial footage under grey skies over Hat Yai showed miles of roads engulfed by brown water, with heavy-duty trucks crawling along wide thoroughfares past abandoned cars and lorries, as groups of people waded slowly through knee-deep water.
“I’m walking back to my grandmother because she hadn’t had food for two or three days. I heard she finally received some food, but I’m still worried,” said Natawat Chermmontri, 18, moments before diving into the water to swim across a road.
TROPICAL STORM WARNING
Waters were receding in Malaysia, where authorities issued new warnings on Thursday of a tropical storm until the weekend that could bring strong winds, rough seas and heavy, continuous rain affecting seven states.
Container lorries were used to bring some Malaysians back over the border from Thailand, the foreign minister said, as smaller vehicles were unable to traverse the floodwaters. Authorities said about 500 nationals were still stranded in Hat Yai, a city popular with Malaysian tourists.
At an evacuation centre in the state of Perlis, Gon Qasim said rising waters trapped her in her home in the middle of a paddy field.
“The water was like the ocean,” the 73-year-old said.
In Thailand, police said they were assisting 1,000 stranded foreigners, moving them to shelters at a university.
At an indoor basketball arena that was turned into an evacuation centre, a tearful Kritchawat Sothiananthakul, 70, described the inexorable rise of waters in his Hat Yai home, as he waited with his dog to be rescued.
“We had to climb down from the roof, get into the boat,” he said. “I needed to carry it and then get onto a truck… We had to leave everything because everything was submerged.”
Reporting by Thomas Suen in Hat Yai, Thailand, Mandy Leong and Hasnoor Hussein in Kuala Perlis, Malaysia and Stanley Widianto in Jakarta; additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng in Bangkok, Danial Azhar and Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur; writing by Martin Petty; editing by Mark Heinrich and Alex Richardson
Community support and volunteers needed to meet rising demand
Residents were encouraged today to support the vital work of the Salvation Army as the organisation officially launched its Christmas Kettle Campaign on the steps of City Hall.
Tinee Furbert, Minister of Youth, Social Development, and Seniors, said the well-loved tradition not only signals the start of the Christmas season, but also reminds us of the generosity and community spirit that defines us as Bermudians.
The organisation stresses that without volunteers and community support, it cannot meet the growing demand for its services.
Contributions, no matter how small, will help the Salvation Army “fill the gap” for those who are struggling, explained Captain Dennis Maybury, the Bermuda Regional Public Relations Officer.
Authorities have not determined the cause of the blaze, but images from the scene showed the fire spreading rapidly across green netting covering the scaffolding
International News via Reuters:
Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in three decades has highlighted its risky use of flammable bamboo scaffolding and mesh for building work in a tradition dating back centuries to mainland China.
Authorities have not determined the cause of the blaze, but images from the scene showed the fire spreading rapidly across green netting covering the scaffolding erected around the housing complex.
Some of the bamboo lattices crashed to the ground in flames.
For decades in the skyscraper-strewn former British colony, bamboo has been the material of choice for scaffolding – cheap, abundant and flexible – bound together with nylon cords.
The craft originated on mainland China where bamboo, viewed as symbolising grace and moral fortitude, has since ancient times been a cornerstone of architecture, even reputedly used for scaffolding and tools in the building of the Great Wall.
METAL SCAFFOLDING BECOMING MORE PROMINENT
Now, though, it has largely been phased out in Mainland China for sturdier metal scaffolding and clamps. But Hong Kong, despite its modernity, still has around 2,500 registered bamboo scaffolding masters, according to official figures.
The number of metal scaffolders is around triple that.
Small teams of scaffolders scrambling up vertiginous gleaming facades to sheathe a building in a matter of weeks is a familiar sight in the global financial hub.
The bamboo lattices are also often used alongside green construction mesh to prevent debris from injuring passers-by, as was the case in the tower blocks at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district.
SCAFFOLDING CHECKS PROMISED
The fire that began Wednesday afternoon killed at least 55 people with nearly 300 missing. Hong Kong police said on Thursday that “the building’s exterior walls had protective nets, membranes, waterproof tarpaulins, and plastic sheets suspected of not meeting fire safety standards.”
The city’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said it had launched an investigation, while Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee said a task force had been set up to investigate the cause of the blaze.
He said the government would check whether scaffolding mesh materials meet fire retardant standards and other safety standards on other projects.
Police arrested two directors of the contractor responsible for the renovation of the building and a consultant on manslaughter charges after finding materials were used in construction that did not meet safety standards.
The company, Prestige Construction & Engineering, did not answer repeated requests for comment.
In March, the government said 50% of new public works contracts would be required to use metal scaffolding going forward.
But the emphasis appeared to be more on worker safety rather than fire risks. There were 22 deaths involving bamboo scaffolders between 2019 and 2024, according to official figures.
Lee told reporters on Thursday that Hong Kong’s government was considering mandating the use of metal scaffolding in the future and had met with industry to discuss a phase-out of bamboo.
In October, a massive bamboo scaffolding caught fire at the Chinachem Tower in the Central business district. Fire consumed construction netting and bamboo poles, leaving windows burnt out and external walls badly seared.
The Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims in Hong Kong said in a Facebook post that there had been at least two other fires involving bamboo scaffolding this year.
Protective nets, screens and tarpaulins or plastic sheeting installed on the face of scaffolding “should have appropriate fire retardant properties in compliance with a recognised standard,” says the Hong Kong Labour Department’s Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety.
WHISTLE-BLOWER POINTS TO RISKS IN OTHER HOUSING BLOCKS
Jason Poon, a whistle-blower who has previously exposed shoddy construction work in Hong Kong, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that fire hazard risks existed in scaffolding at many housing complexes.
He said he had reached out to various government departments last year concerning the lack of fire retardant in scaffolding nets at another complex, but he was ignored.
Hong Kong’s fire and building safety regulators did not respond to a request to comment.
“Of course, in terms of material, metal scaffolding is less flammable. That’s a fact,” said Chau Sze Kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union.
But he said the fire risk for bamboo scaffolding could be limited if a construction management team takes the right steps.
“Fires on scaffolding usually happen because construction debris accumulates on it – things like paper, towels, clothing, or other flammable materials,” he told Reuters. “Poor management leads to these incidents.”
Reporting by James Pomfret and Clare Jim in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Aaron McNicholas in London; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Sharon Singleton
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