While outgoing chief Audrey Azoulay has worked to diversify funding sources, the U.N. culture and education agency still receives about 8% of its budget from Washington
International News via Reuters:
UNESCO will choose its next chief on Monday to lead the organisation after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from it for a second time.
While outgoing chief Audrey Azoulay has worked to diversify funding sources, the U.N. culture and education agency still receives about 8% of its budget from Washington. Once the withdrawal takes effect at the end of 2026, that funding will be cut.
The White House described UNESCO as supporting “woke, divisive cultural and social causes” when Trump decided to pull the U.S. out in July, repeating a move he took in his first term that was reversed by Joe Biden.
The agency, founded after World War Two to promote peace through international cooperation in education, science, and culture, is best known for designating and protecting archaeological and heritage sites, from the Galapagos Islands to the tombs of Timbuktu.
Former Egyptian tourism and antiquities minister Khaled El-Enany, 54, is up against Édouard Firmin Matoko, 69, of Republic of Congo, who has spent much of his career working for the agency.
El-Enany is the favourite to win the secret ballot for a four-year term, having launched his campaign early in April 2023, and he has since built strong regional backing and international alliances.
“How come a country like Egypt, with its long history, with layers of Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Coptic, Arab, Islamic civilisation, has not led this important organisation? This is not acceptable at all,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in Paris last week.
UNESCO’s board, which represents 58 of the agency’s 194 member states, will vote on Monday before its general assembly in November formalises the appointment.
Azoulay, from France, has completed the maximum two four-year terms.
Reporting by John Irish;Editing by Alison Williams
New French prime minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned on Monday, barely 14 hours after appointing his cabinet.
International News via Reuters:
European stocks, bonds and the euro fell on Monday, dragged down by tumbling French assets after the surprise collapse of the government, while political stories in Japan and the U.S. lifted Japanese equities and gold.
New French prime minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned on Monday, barely 14 hours after appointing his cabinet.
At 0850 GMT, the pan-European benchmark STOXX 600 was down 0.4%, while France’s CAC 40 sunk 2%.
Shares in French banks were hard hit, with BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole falling between 4.7-6%.
“The bigger concern for the market is really what comes next, because if Macron decides to appoint another prime minister that’s going to be the sixth PM in two years,” said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.
Any newcomer would face the same challenging parliamentary arithmetic and problems when trying to pass the budget, said Brown.
POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN FRANCE
French political instability has ramped up since Emmanuel Macron’s re-election in 2022, with no party or grouping holding a parliamentary majority.
The euro slipped 0.7% to $1.1667, and sterling was off 0.35% to $1.3423.
At 0856 GMT, however, U.S. S&P 500 futures still pointed to gains of about 0.3%, with the cash index having risen to a record high on Friday.
In Japan, stocks surged more than 5% to an all-time high while the yen skidded on Monday after fiscal and monetary dove Sanae Takaichi was elected as leader of the ruling party, putting her on course to become the nation’s first female prime minister.
Meanwhile, gold climbed to a record peak close to $4,000, while leading cryptocurrency bitcoin rallied to a lifetime high on Sunday, with investors increasingly turning to alternative assets as a store of value as the U.S. government shutdown frayed nerves.
Japan’s Nikkei soared above 48,000 for the first time ever after Takaichi beat the more moderate Shinjiro Koizumi in the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership vote on Saturday, stoking expectations for fiscal stimulus.
The yen slumped as much as 2% to beyond 150 per U.S. dollar for the first time since August 1, and slid as much as 1.8% to an all-time low versus the euro at 176.25.
Worries about Japan’s finances sent the yield on 30-year government bonds to an all-time high.
SHORT-DATED JAPANESE GOVERNMENT BOND YIELDS SLIDE
At the same time, short-dated Japanese government bond yields slid to a two-week low as traders pared bets on when the Bank of Japan will resume raising interest rates.
Market-implied odds of a BOJ hike by year-end fell to 41% from 68% on Friday.
A year ago, Takaichi criticised the BOJ’s decision to raise rates as “stupid”, although her recent rhetoric has been more restrained, saying only that central bank policy should be aligned with the government.
“We believe concerns among some investors that the next administration might pursue extreme fiscal expansion or exert political pressure on the BOJ are overblown,” Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities economists wrote in a research report, noting that Takaichi’s stance appears closely aligned with BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda’s cautious approach to policy normalisation.
Most other major share markets around the region were closed for holidays, including mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan.
Gold last changed hands around $3,942 after advancing as much as 1.5% earlier to a record just above $3,944.
Bitcoin traded around $123,988 following its jump to $125,653.32 on Sunday.
Oil prices rose after OPEC+ announced on Sunday it would increase production by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) from November, the same modest monthly increase as in October, amid persistent concerns over a looming supply glut.
In the run-up to the meeting, sources said Russia was advocating an output increase of 137,000 bpd to avoid pressuring prices, but Saudi Arabia would have preferred double, triple or even quadruple that figure to regain market share more quickly.
Brent crude futures gained 1.6% to $65.54 a barrel.
Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sam Holmes and Ed Osmond
The Interior Ministry said the floods inundated parts of northern, central and northeastern Thailand
International News via Reuters:
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Monday ordered urgent relief efforts after flooding triggered by days of heavy rain and storms hit 16 provinces over the past week, killing 12 people and affecting more than 100,000 households.
The Interior Ministry said the floods inundated parts of northern, central and northeastern Thailand, with Uttaradit province in the upper northern region, where five people were killed, among the worst hit.
“The water rose so rapidly and we moved to the roof but it was collapsing and we had to leave,” a resident, who gave only his first name, Sakchai, told state-broadcaster ThaiPBS.
“We’re staying at a temple now,” he said.
Anutin said officials were working to deliver aid and assess the damage done. They were also preparing for more rain as the monsoon season kicks in.
“Thailand is facing floods, storms and landslides across many provinces, causing extensive damage to property and loss of life,” he said at a task force meeting.
Last year, 22 people were killed by flash floods and mudslides caused by monsoon rains across Thailand.
Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat, Editing by David Stanway
Matmo, which caused flooding in the Philippines last week, made landfall on the east coast of Xuwen in Guangdong province around 2:50 p.m (0650 GMT)
International News via Reuters:
Typhoon Matmo hit southern China on Sunday, the state broadcaster said, after flights and many events had been cancelled in the island province of Hainan, causing disruption in a peak holiday season.
Matmo, which caused flooding in the Philippines last week, made landfall on the east coast of Xuwen in Guangdong province around 2:50 p.m. (0650 GMT).
It was generating winds of 151 kph (94 mph) as it approached China’s coastline, the national meteorological centre said.
The typhoon was arriving in the middle of the eight-day holiday that started with National Day on Wednesday, during which people are expected to make around 2.36 billion trips, according to estimates reported by state media.
Flights and ferries in the holiday hub of Hainan had already been cancelled from Saturday evening in anticipation of Matmo’s strong winds and heavy rains.
Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by William Mallard
The new powers will allow senior police officers to consider the cumulative impact of previous protests on a local community, the interior ministry said
International News via Reuters:
British police will get powers to restrict repeat protests held in the same place, the government said on Sunday, a day after the latest pro-Palestinian demonstration went ahead despite requests to cancel it in the wake of a deadly attack at a synagogue.
The new powers will allow senior police officers to consider the cumulative impact of previous protests on a local community, the interior ministry said.
“The right to protest is a fundamental freedom in our country. However, this freedom must be balanced with the freedom of their neighbours to live their lives without fear,” Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said.
“Large, repeated protests can leave sections of our country, particularly religious communities, feeling unsafe, intimidated and scared to leave their homes,” Mahmood said, noting the fears within the Jewish community.
On Saturday, police arrested almost 500 people in central London during a protest in support of Palestine Action, a group that was banned in July after members broke into an air base and damaged military planes.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer had urged organisers to call off the demonstration following the killing of two people at a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday on Yom Kippur, the holiest day for Jews.
Police shot dead the assailant, a British man of Syrian descent who officials said may have been inspired by extremist Islamist ideology.
The group behind Saturday’s protest said the plans for more powers to limit demonstrations represented “a dangerous, authoritarian escalation” in a crackdown on free speech.
“We are announcing a major escalation … and we urge all of our supporters to sign up to show we will not stand by as our fundamental rights are stripped away,” a spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the government’s announcement but said more action was needed to protect the Jewish community.
Mahmood is also due to review the police’s existing powers to ensure they are sufficient and consistently applied, including powers to ban protests outright, the interior ministry said in a statement.
Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Jamie Freed and Tomasz Janowski
The group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and some smaller producers has increased its oil output targets by more than 2.7 million bpd this year
International News via Reuters:
OPEC+ will raise oil output from November by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd), it said on Sunday, opting for the same fairly modest monthly increase as in October amid persistent worries over a looming supply glut.
The group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and some smaller producers has increased its oil output targets by more than 2.7 million bpd this year, equating to about 2.5% of global demand.
The shift in policy after years of cuts is designed to regain market share from rivals such as U.S. shale producers.
SUPPLY GLUT SEEN IN FOURTH QUARTER
Brent prices fell below $65 per barrel on Friday, as most analysts predict a supply glut in the fourth quarter and in 2026 due to slower demand and rising U.S. supply.
Prices are trading below this year’s peaks of $82 per barrel but above $60 per barrel seen in May.
In the run-up to the meeting, Russia and Saudi Arabia, the two biggest producers in the OPEC+ group, had different views, sources have said.
Russia was advocating for a modest output increase, the same as in October, to avoid pressuring oil prices and because it would struggle to raise output owing to sanctions over its war in Ukraine, two sources said this week.
Saudi Arabia would have preferred double, triple or even quadruple that figure – 274,000 bpd, 411,000 bpd or 548,000 bpd respectively – because it has spare capacity and wants to regain market share more quickly, sources said ahead of the meeting.
OPEC views the global economic outlook as steady and market fundamentals as healthy because of low oil inventories, it said in a statement on Sunday.
WALKING A TIGHTROPE
Scott Shelton at TP ICAP Group said oil prices may rise on Monday by up to $1 per barrel as the November production increase turned out to be modest.
Jorge Leon at Rystad Energy said: “OPEC+ stepped carefully after witnessing how nervous the market had become … The group is walking a tightrope between maintaining stability and clawing back market share in a surplus environmen.”
OPEC+ output cuts had peaked in March, amounting to 5.85 million bpd in total. The cuts were made up of three elements: voluntary cuts of 2.2 million bpd, 1.65 million bpd by eight members and a further 2 million bpd by the whole group.
The eight producers plan to fully unwind one element of those cuts – 2.2 million bpd – by the end of September. For October, they started removing the second layer of 1.65 million bpd with the increase of 137,000 bpd.
The eight producers will meet again on Nov. 2.
Reporting by Alex Lawler, Ahmad Ghaddar, Olesya Astakhova, Seher Dareen and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Alex Lawler; Editing by David Goodman and David Holmes
Hundreds of local villagers and rescue teams have been deployed to help remove snow blocking access to the area, which sits at an altitude above 4,900 metres (16,000 feet)
International News via Reuters:
Rescue efforts were underway on Sunday to clear access to campsites on Tibet’s eastern slope of Mount Everest, where nearly 1,000 people have been trapped by a blizzard that has blocked roads, according to Chinese state media reports.
Hundreds of local villagers and rescue teams have been deployed to help remove snow blocking access to the area, which sits at an altitude above 4,900 metres (16,000 feet), according to a report in Jimu News.
Some tourists on the mountain have already been brought down, it added.
The snowfall began on Friday evening and continued throughout Saturday, according to notices on the official WeChat accounts of the local Tingri County Tourism Company, which said ticket sales and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from late Saturday.
Just across the border in Nepal, heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, washed away bridges and killed at least 47 people since Friday, police said.
Thirty-five people died in separate landslides in the eastern Ilam district bordering India. Nine people were reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters and three others were killed in lightning strikes elsewhere in the country.
Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Louise Heavens
Since 2018, Bermuda has positioned itself as a global leader in FinTech, InsurTech, and digital finance through the “Bermuda Triangle” model, which involves close collaboration with the Government, regulators, and industry. This partnership has enabled the development of pioneering frameworks in insurance-linked assets, derivatives exchanges, and yield-bearing stablecoins, fostering innovation and international growth.
Minister of Economy and Labour Jason Hayward stated, “As a forward-looking jurisdiction, Bermuda does more than react to global trends and shifts – it is actively shaping them. Whether integrating AI into financial services, embracing decentralised systems, or championing programmable money, we are forging ahead in ways that reinforce our economy and empower the Bermudian population.”
Key initiatives include:
Updated regulations for digital assets, payments, and InsurTech.
New frameworks in digital identity, decentralised finance, AI, and climate finance.
Strengthened digital infrastructure, upskilling programmes, and technology pilots.
Bermuda is not just reacting to global trends — it is shaping them. The Government invites businesses and innovators to explore Bermuda’s thriving ecosystem, where opportunity, growth, and innovation converge.
OBA: We must rebuild the village and break down the stigma of counselling, therapy, grief counseling, and attaining mental health care
Statement from MP Dwayne Robinson, JP, MP
When I was growing up, I was a handful. My mother gave me her everything but I was a young, rambunctious boy who was determined to do whatever I felt was best for me at the time. Now, as a parent myself, I understand why my mother never gave up.
She was committed to my future—the best that I deserved. But she couldn’t do it alone. In fact, my village wouldn’t allow her to.
It took supportive teachers and family members to turn me around. I do not know where I would be without my cousins who took me in, my aunties who acted as second mothers, my stern grandparents, my Godparents, and a mother who never gave up on me.
During my upbringing I had a lot of neighbours who looked out for the children in the area. If I didn’t have my village, my life could have looked completely different as I had many negative influences pulling me in the opposite direction of what my mother wanted for me.
Many of our young people feel a deep sense of loneliness, even when surrounded by friends and loved ones.
Some do not feel confident expressing their interests or truly feel like they belong somewhere. One of my best transformative experiences was participating in the Raleigh Bermuda programme.
It shifted my entire mindset and gave me a sense of belonging. I spent three months in India and through that experience, I learned to value myself, and to make genuine connections with people. For some of our young people, opportunities like this can make all the difference when it comes down to taking the right decisions at that fork in the road.
We cannot underestimate how the right extracurricular activity, community club, or charity can positively impact a young person. Especially with the backing of an engaged parent.
I would be remiss if I did not stress how some teachers made all the difference for me. Seeing that my lashing out was a cry for help and not reckless aggression, they and my mother worked together to chart a path which involved counseling and specific programmes, including the Family Learning Center. That made all the difference for me.
The responsibility of maintaining our education system falls primarily on the government, but as parents, we can also do our part through PTAs to support our educators and be our children’s biggest advocates.
We must not stand in the way of our children’s consequences or reprimands but instead reinforce behavioural boundaries and not leave the discipline solely to the teacher.
This is not a lecture because I know the responsibility of raising a child is not an easy feat, as I learn to navigate while raising my son, and the lessons he teaches me.
Often these lessons require many sacrifices, especially in this current economic climate. I sympathize with parents who are struggling to make ends meet, who are pouring from an empty cup.
As I reflect and share with you, this is an appeal to you. We cannot continue as we are, with so many of our people being lost. I have shared a bit of my personal story, to say that if we put the time, a young person’s path can be altered.
We must rebuild the village and break down the stigma of counselling, therapy, grief counseling, and attaining mental health care.
Prevention is much better than searching for a cure.
Boxer Dash Simmons has maintained his perfect professional record, securing a dramatic Technical Knockout (TKO) victory over Mexican opponent Francisco Rios in the third round of their light heavyweight bout.
Simmons controlled the fight from the outset, dominating with his powerful jab. The decisive moment came midway through the third round when Simmons landed a devastating left hand that sent Rios crashing to the canvas.
Although Rios beat the count, Simmons immediately pressed his advantage, landing a barrage of unanswered, heavy shots that forced the referee to step in and stop the contest, awarding the Bermudian the TKO win.
In related news, fellow Bermudian Adrian Roach was declared the winner of his scheduled fight after his Mexican opponent, Victor Emmanuel López, failed to enter the ring.
The double success marks another significant outing for Bermuda’s boxing talent, with Simmons keeping his flawless professional record intact.
Hamilton recognized by Information Commissioner’s Office
The City of Hamilton is proud to announce that it has been recognized by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for its leadership in proactive transparency at an awards breakfast held last week at The Cloud. The event marked the 10th anniversary of Bermuda’s Public Access to Information (PATI) legislation and the International Day for Universal Access to Information.
The City was commended for setting a strong example of open governance, with the Information Commission highlighting the City’s longstanding practice of proactively publishing Board and Committee agendas, meeting minutes, audited financial statements and budgets, many of which date back more than 16 years. This proactive approach ensures that key information is placed into the public domain before it is even requested.
Mayor Charles Gosling said transparency has been at the heart of the City’s mission since the beginning of his tenure:
“Back in 2009, one of the first things I introduced after being elected Mayor was opening up our Council and Committee meetings to the public. We didn’t just want people to watch; we wanted them to participate. That’s why we also created opportunities for members of the public to make presentations to Council or the appropriate Committee.
“Transparency is one of our core values as an organization, and we are proud of the example we set. Today, we don’t just publish our minutes and agendas, we also share our annual reports, City ordinances, strategic plans, audited financials, Tenders and RFPs and all of our press releases. In fact, we began publishing an annual report last year precisely to strengthen accountability and make it easier for the public to access information about how the City is run.
“I want to thank the Information Commissioner’s Office for recognizing our efforts. This acknowledgement affirms the standard we have set and will continue to uphold – a standard of openness, accountability, and service to our community.”
Representing the City at the ceremony were Mayor Charles Gosling, CEO and City Secretary Dwayne Caines, and the City’s PATI Officer and Recording Secretary, Jasmine DeBraga who was honoured for her service and dedication to advancing public access to information in Bermuda (pictured above).
With 2 world medals and Olympic aspirations, Bermudian Ajani Robinson is becoming a force in the world of competitive jump rope. Julie Matthews-Borchardt has the story of a jump rope phenom on the rise.
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