Demonstrators urge Government to protect green space for future generations
Residents lined the streets outside Southlands National Park today, voicing their love for the woodlands and their concerns over proposed development plans.
The campaign to protect the greenspace is being led by 25-year-old Bermudian Nekorrah Raynor, who on Thursday presented Government with a petition carrying more than 5,500 signatures.
Campaigners are demanding an immediate halt to plans that include building a café and car park on the southern coastal side of the park and installing a zipline through the northern woodlands. They are also calling for Southlands to be upgraded to a Nature Reserve, a move they describe as both an environmental and moral obligation to future generations.
More than 75 residents gathered outside the park today, carrying placards and banners in support of the cause.
“I feel so appreciative that so many people have come out to support the initiative, the woodlands – to show the Government, to show the administration, and to show the island that this is what we stand for, this is what we love, and that the environment is the most important thing to us all,” Nekorrah said.
Bermuda Broadcasting observed a steady stream of supporters throughout the morning, including local environmentalists and members of the Opposition One Bermuda Alliance.
Placards included messages such as: “Save Our Southlands,” “Keep Bermuda Green,” and “Save Nature for Our Children.”
Collection point will also will temporarily change, from Monday
Press release: Starting on Monday 8 September 2025 the vehicular drop-off and collection point for those attending Emergency Department at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital will be the Acute Care Wing main entrance. Ambulances will be using the usual drop-off area immediately in front of the Emergency Department. This temporary change is to facilitate necessary physical upgrades to the Emergency Department. Clear signage and traffic cones will be in place to guide vehicles and delineate parking zones. Security personnel will be stationed on-site to assist with traffic flow and ensure minimal disruption. Please adhere to their directions. This change will be in place for one week. By Monday 15 September the drop-off points will revert to normal.
Press release: The Ministry of Public Works and Environment advises the motoring public of additional paving works scheduled for Saturday, 6 September 2025, along Middle Road in Smith’s Parish, specifically in the area fronting the Whitney Institute.
This update follows the previously announced paving works in Smith’s Parish under Road Traffic Notice 80.
The planned resurfacing was delayed due to inclement weather issues. With improved conditions now forecast, Ministry crews are mobilised to carry out this section of the project.
Motorists travelling through the area are urged to use caution and follow all signage and directions from traffic control personnel.
Please refer to the attached original Road Traffic Notice for further information.
The Gombey Warriors dominated possession but lost the match
A dominant performance by Jamaica saw them secure a 4-0 victory over Bermuda in their opening CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier at a packed Flora Duffy South Field Stadium. The visitors controlled the match from the start, scoring twice in each half to claim all three points.
Jamaica wasted no time asserting their dominance, with defender Damion Lowe finding the back of the net in the sixth minute to give the “Reggae Boyz” an early advantage. They continued to press, and their efforts were rewarded in the 26th minute when Renaldo Cephas doubled their lead, sending them into the halftime break with a comfortable 2-0 cushion.
The second half was much the same story, as Jamaica maintained possession and continued to threaten. Their third goal came in the 58th minute from a strike from Kasey Palmer. The victory was sealed when substitute Shamar Nicholson added a fourth goal in the closing stages of the match.
The result is a difficult one for Bermuda, who were unable to find a way to break through a solid Jamaican defense. The “Gombey Warriors” will now have to regroup quickly as they prepare for their next qualifying match on the road.
At a packed Flora Duffy South Field Stadium, Jamaica has taken a commanding 2-0 lead over Bermuda at halftime in their opening CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier.
The visitors wasted no time asserting their dominance, with defender Damion Lowe finding the back of the net in the sixth minute to give the “Reggae Boyz” an early advantage. Jamaica continued to press, and their efforts were rewarded in the 26th minute when Renaldo Cephas doubled their lead.
Bermuda has battled hard against their higher-ranked opponents but has been unable to find a way to break through a solid Jamaican defense. The “Gombey Warriors” will need to regroup at the break and find a way to put a goal away early in the second half to put pressure on Jamaica and turn the match around in front of their home crowd.
To a prolonged standing ovation by a crowd at the annual party conference, Farage for the first time offered a vision of how Britain would be under a Reform government
International News via Reuters:
British populist leader Nigel Farage vowed on Friday to start preparing for government, saying the nation’s two main parties were in meltdown and only his Reform UK could ease the anger and despair plaguing the country to “make Britain great again”.
To a prolonged standing ovation by a crowd at the annual party conference, Farage for the first time offered a vision of how Britain would be under a Reform government: He pledged to end the arrival of illegal migrants in boats in two weeks, bring back “stop-and-search” policing and scrap net zero policies.
Despite having only four lawmakers in the 650-strong British parliament, Farage is becoming increasingly confident that his party – which was on the fringes for three years until last year – can beat both Labour and the Conservatives, taking the initiative on every issue from immigration to free speech.
Everything from the large crowds queuing to enter the two-day, sold-out conference in the English city of Birmingham, to the standing ovations and Farage chants, underscored a newfound confidence in the party which, according to current opinion polls, is on course to take power at an election due in 2029.
Farage said British people frequently told him he was “the last chance we’ve got to get this country back on track”, describing the nation as being abandoned by Labour and as being run by unqualified people “not fit for government”.
Predicting that the resignation earlier in the day of Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister would split Labour, he said the next national election might come in 2027 rather than 2029, and that the party must be ready for government at any time.
“All I can do is promise that I will give this everything, I will give this absolutely everything that I’ve got,” he said. “No one cares more about the state of this country than I do. I am determined to do something about it.”
When he spoke later on the stage to encourage supporters to attend an evening party, one young woman shouted “Tax the rich!”, prompting six security guards to carry her out of the conference hall.
Unveiling a new defection to Reform from the Conservatives – former culture minister Nadine Dorries – Farage said he was setting up a department for the preparation of government and appointing ex-Reform chairman Zia Yusuf as head of policy.
‘NEXT STEPS’
He said the move was part of “the next steps” – the banner of the conference – towards government, building on Reform victories at local elections earlier this year and the increasing professionalism of a party once better known for candidates making reported racist or offensive remarks.
Loved or loathed after being instrumental in winning the 2016 Brexit referendum to get Britain out of the European Union, Farage says that by bolstering his team, the party will be a fighting force well before 2029, when the next election is expected.
Farage has led the running against Britain’s traditional two mainstream parties on immigration, unveiling – when Prime Minister Keir Starmer was on holiday – a plan to repeal human rights laws to allow for mass deportations of asylum seekers.
Despite analysts questioning the legality of those plans, they seemingly prodded the government into beefing up its own plans to tackle the high numbers of arrivals.
Farage has also orchestrated a debate about freedom of speech in Britain, criticising arrests of people for making comments on social media deemed to incite violence.
A friend of Donald Trump, Farage went to Washington this week to urge U.S. politicians to persuade Britain to put an end to what he called a North Korea-style clampdown on free speech, before visiting the U.S. leader in his Oval Office.
Starmer criticised Farage for going to Washington to criticise Britain, calling it “unpatriotic”.
Reform UK has yet to command as many political donations as the two main parties, and it was not clear how many business representatives were at the conference, although Farage promised to end what he called an “exodus” of the wealthy from Britain.
Before leaving the stage to blaring music and pyrotechnics, he said the party’s ambitious programme was what Britain needs.
“It needs hope, it needs belief, it needs to smile again, it needs to believe in who we are.” ($1 = 0.7402 pounds)
Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill; editing by Mark Heinrich and Philippa Fletcher
A preliminary report on the accident will take six weeks to complete, according to Portuguese authorities
International News via Reuters:
Three Britons were among the 16 killed in a funicular railway crash in Lisbon, Portuguese police said on Friday, as the mangled wreckage was removed for further analysis to establish the cause of the accident.
Portugal is reeling from a tragedy that Prime Minister Luis Montenegro described as one of the greatest in its recent history and that threatens to dent confidence in the tourism industry, which in Lisbon depends on vintage attractions such as the 140-year-old Gloria railway.
Police updated the list of fatalities that includes five Portuguese citizens, three Britons, two South Koreans, two Canadians, and one from each of France, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States.
They released no names or other details. More than 20 people were injured.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation named the two dead Canadians as recently retired conservationist Andre Bergeron and his wife, Blandine Daux, a dual citizen of Canada and France.
The couple were on their last day of vacation when the disaster occurred, said Bergeron’s brother Eric, who is in Lisbon with the couple’s two daughters.
“I’m devastated … imagine, you lose your two parents in one shot,” he told the CBC.
Police said a German citizen who had been presumed dead was in fact alive in a hospital. Local media had said that a German father had died and a mother was seriously hurt while their three-year-old child suffered minor injuries.
The German foreign ministry said at least three German nationals were in hospital.
A preliminary report on the accident will take six weeks to complete, according to Portuguese authorities. While they do not rule out any possible cause, police sources told the Publico daily there were no signs of foul play.
The crashed car’s twin at the bottom of the steep 265-metre slope was also removed and will be studied by experts.
The two cars, each capable of carrying around 40 people, alternately climb the slope and descend, one helping to pull the other up, as electric motors drive the cable linking them.
That traction cable snapped, apparently at or near the connection to the bottom of the upper car, according to two experts consulted by Reuters who pored over the video footage.
Seemingly unable to check its descent, the carriage entered a sharp bend in the street too fast, ploughing into the cobblestone pavement and crashing into a building.
The municipal transport company Carris has said “all maintenance protocols have been carried out,” including monthly and weekly maintenance and daily inspections, the latest just hours before the incident with no faults detected.
“We cannot assume that the problem was with the cable,” Carris CEO Pedro Bogas said on Thursday.
The line connects Lisbon’s downtown area near the Restauradores Square with the Bairro Alto and transports around 3 million people a year.
Reporting by Andrei Khalip; additional reporting by Andreas Rilke and David Ljunggren; editing by Charlie Devereux, Alexandra Hudson and Barbara Lewis
“Political rhetoric” … A phrase used by BELCO president Wayne Caines recently when he listed obstacles to progress on the issue of power plant emissions.
In part two of his exclusive interview with Mr. Caines, Qian Dickinson asked if there was a disconnect between the work he is doing as President of BELCO and his role as a member of the PLP.
Various PLP ministers have openly criticized BELCO over soot emissions, most recently Labour & Economy Minister and area MP Jason Hayward. Mr. Caines says it’s not about the PLP versus BELCO.
As global warming driven mostly by fossil fuel emissions alters weather patterns, wildfires have become more frequent and extensive around the globe
International News via Reuters:
Wildfires likely to have been made more frequent by climate change made significant contributions to air pollution last year, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Friday.
The World Health Organization says ambient air pollution causes 4.5 million premature deaths a year, and the WMO report for 2024 pointed to pollution hotspots in places that experienced intense fires such as the Amazon basin, Canada, Siberia and central Africa.
As global warming driven mostly by fossil fuel emissions alters weather patterns, wildfires have become more frequent and extensive around the globe, adding to the airborne particles also produced by the burning of coal, oil, gas and wood as well as transport and farming.
“Wildfires are a big contributor to particle pollution and the problem is expected to increase as the climate warms, posing growing risks for infrastructure and ecosystems and human health,” the WMO said in a statement.
Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett added: “Climate change and air quality cannot be addressed in isolation. They must be tackled together in order to protect our planet, our communities, and our economies.”
Though the WMO report covers 2024, the WMO also said record wildfires in southern Europe this year had contributed to pollution across the continent.
However, there were some positive signs, with particle pollution in Eastern China falling thanks to reduction efforts.
Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Kevin Liffey
The duchess will be best remembered for her close association with Wimbledon, where from 1969 she helped to hand out the trophies
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s Duchess of Kent, the wife of a cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth and best known for her long association with the Wimbledon tennis tournament, has died aged 92, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.
Born Katharine Worsley, she joined the royal family when she married Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, in 1961 after meeting him five years earlier when he was stationed at a military barracks in northern England.
Buckingham Palace said she had passed away peacefully on Thursday night at her home in Kensington Palace surrounded by her family.
“The King and Queen and all Members of the royal family join the Duke of Kent, his children and grandchildren in mourning their loss and remembering fondly the duchess’s life-long devotion to all the organisations with which she was associated, her passion for music and her empathy for young people,” it said in a statement.
The duchess will be best remembered for her close association with Wimbledon, where from 1969 she helped to hand out the trophies.
She famously comforted Jana Novotna when she burst into tears after losing the singles’ final in 1993, literally giving her a shoulder to cry on.
“I know you will win it one day, don’t worry,” the duchess told her, and was proved right when Novotna won the title five years later.
However, her relationship with the tournament turned sour in 1999 after she was refused permission to bring the 12-year-old son of a bereaved friend into the royal box.
The duchess also made headlines when she converted to Roman Catholicism in 1994, becoming the first British royal to do so since King Charles II, who turned to the faith on his deathbed in 1685.
In doing so, she went against an early 18th century law forbidding members of the monarchy from becoming Catholic.
The duchess, who had three children and 10 grandchildren, was also passionate about music. As well as supporting musical charities, she taught music for a number of years at a school in Hull, in northeast England.
“She brought compassion, dignity and a human touch to everything she did. Many will remember that moment at the Wimbledon Ladies Final, when she touchingly comforted the runner-up, Jana Novotna,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
“Later, when it was discovered she had been giving her time and working anonymously as a music teacher at a school in Hull, it seemed typical of her unassuming nature.”
Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Alistair Smout, William James and Gareth Jones
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
