Bermuda Hospitals Board is pleased to announce that residents of the long-term care units at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) are benefitting from a generous gift from its Resident Family Council and the Bermuda Public Services Union (BPSU) – four new wheelchairs.
The Council is made up of family members of long-term care residents. They meet regularly to work with KEMH staff, helping ensure the needs of their loved ones are met. Chairperson Charles Leon O’Brien Sr is passionate about enhancing and expanding the services available to residents on the units.
“We asked nurse Maxine Simmons, the clinical director of long-term care services, what was needed and wheelchairs were high on her list,” Mr O’Brien said. “We had the hospital source them, then approached the BPSU for funding.”
BPSU General Secretary Kevin Grant said: “We were pleased to be able to assist the Resident Family Council in this effort.”
BHB Acting CEO and Chief of Nursing Judy Richardson explained the impact of the donation: “Bermuda Hospitals Board thanks the Resident Family Council and the BPSU for this much-needed gift of four wheelchairs. In addition to improving the lives of our residents, the gift represents a $5,000 savings to BHB.”
Ms Simmons added: “We are not only grateful for the gift, which includes a bariatric wheelchair for our obese patients, but also for the assistance our Resident Family Council provides us throughout the year.
“We greatly appreciate the BPSU for funding this opportunity to enhance mobility for our residents.”
The Progressive Labour Party wishes to provide further clarity on the procedural reasons for Central Committee’s decision to postpone the 61st Annual General Conference.
Under the Party Constitution, the Leader and Deputy Leader are elected at Conference by delegates chosen by the Branches. That process requires Party Headquarters to provide verified membership lists to the Branches, which then complete the necessary certification and delegate selection process.
The current court proceedings concern matters directly affecting membership and delegate eligibility. Until those issues are resolved, the Party cannot responsibly finalise the membership and delegate process upon which the remaining Conference timetable depends.
The substantive hearing is scheduled for October 1 and 2. Given that timetable, it is no longer practicable to complete the remaining constitutional and administrative requirements ahead of the Conference originally scheduled for October 28 to 30.
The Party Constitution provides for Central Committee to postpone Conference where circumstances warrant it, subject to the constitutional timeframe for holding the Conference. Postponement of an Annual Conference is also not without precedent. The Party’s 2016 Annual Conference was similarly held later in the year following issues affecting the membership and Conference process.
To be clear, this is a matter of process, not preference.
The leadership election will proceed. The August 31, 2026 membership eligibility cutoff remains unchanged, and the postponement does not reopen or extend the membership period for the purposes of this Conference.
Every member deserves a leadership election conducted on a clear constitutional basis and an outcome whose legitimacy cannot reasonably be called into question. The purpose of the postponement is to protect the integrity of that process and ensure that whoever is elected Leader has a clear mandate to lead the Party forward.
BermudAir today announced the newest addition to its fleet: a leased Embraer E190F freighter aircraft, marking the airline’s expanded air cargo service and the first deployment of an Embraer E-Freighter anywhere in the Americas. The aircraft is leased from Regional One, which has placed five firm orders for the E190F since the launch of the E-Freighter program, two of which have already entered service.
“Cargo is a natural next step for us,” said Adam Scott, Founder & CEO of BermudAir. “We’ve built a reliable, right-sized operation connecting Bermuda and the Caribbean to North America, and the E190F lets us put that same network to work moving express cargo, supporting local businesses, e-commerce and time-sensitive freight across the islands we serve. It’s an exciting expanded line of business for BermudAir, and one that builds directly on the operational strengths we’ve already established.”
BermudAir’s passenger fleet currently comprises Embraer E175 and E190 aircraft serving ten destinations across the Caribbean, the United States and Canada. The E190F will operate as a dedicated freighter alongside that network, giving BermudAir a cargo capability distinct from and complementary to its passenger operations. Subject to regulatory review and approval.
“We are excited to partner with BermudAir as they expand into dedicated cargo operations. We have long believed in the E190F’s ability to fill a unique and underserved segment of the freight market, providing operators with an efficient, right-sized solution for regional cargo networks,” said George Mamangakis, Chief Investment Officer, Regional One. BermudAir has built a strong reputation through its thoughtful growth strategy and commitment to connecting island communities, making the E190F a natural fit for its operation. We look forward to supporting BermudAir’s continued success and exploring additional opportunities to work together in the years ahead.”
Arjan Meijer, President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation, added, “BermudAir’s selection of the E190F marks an important milestone for the E-Freighter program as the aircraft enters service in North America and the Caribbean for the first time. As one of the region’s fastest-growing airlines, BermudAir is expanding beyond passenger operations and unlocking new opportunities in the air cargo market. The addition of another operator underscores the strong value proposition of the E-Freighter, which was designed to address a unique gap in the cargo market with the right combination of payload, volume, range and efficiency.”
The E190F gives BermudAir a standalone cargo capability that runs alongside its passenger network rather than depending on it. Built on the proven E-Jets platform, the E-Freighter is designed for the fast-evolving demands of express air freight, which relies on quick turnarounds and decentralized operations into high-yield markets. Combining its lower and upper decks, the E190F offers more than 100 m³ of cargo volume and up to 13.5 tons of payload enabling cost-efficient transport of express cargo to and from island communities that are often underserved by dedicated freight service.
“I am pleased to know that the Department of Education has established measurable targets for student achievement in English, mathematics and science for the 2026–27 academic year,” says Shadow Education Minister, Ben Smith.
According to Education Minister Diallo Rabain, students will be assessed in September, January and June using Cambridge International Progression Tests, with the Department setting a target of raising student growth by 10 per cent by June 2027.
“This is an important step towards the greater accountability I have consistently called for,” adds Mr Smith.
“However, we now need clarity about exactly what “10 per cent growth” means. Is that a 10 per cent increase in assessment scores, an increase in the number of students reaching the expected standard, or another measure?
“The September assessments will establish the baseline, and that baseline should be published. Without knowing where we started, parents and the public cannot independently determine whether the target has ultimately been achieved.”
Mr Smith questions why there will be a gap in reporting: “I am also concerned that although students will be assessed again in January specifically to measure mid-year growth, the Minister says the first public report will not be made until after the June assessments.
“If January tells the Department whether its interventions are working, parents, teachers and Parliament should also know whether progress is on track. This is not about catching anyone out. It is about establishing a culture in which we set clear educational goals, measure progress honestly and make adjustments when the evidence tells us they are needed.”
Mr Smith concludes: “If we are serious about improving education, we must be equally serious about measuring and publicly reporting the results.”
An 18-year-old Devonshire man remains in hospital with a leg injury following a collision involving a motorcycle and a car on Front Street in the City of Hamilton on Tuesday afternoon.
The collision occurred around 3:50 p.m. on September 15, near the junction with King Street, prompting a response from police, the Bermuda Fire & Rescue Service and ambulance personnel.
According to police, a car was exiting the parking garage of a Front Street building, with the driver intending to travel east, when it collided with a motorcycle travelling west along Front Street.
The motorcycle subsequently struck an unoccupied motorcycle parked on the opposite side of the street.
The rider, a 19-year-old Warwick man, and his 18-year-old pillion passenger were both injured and transported by ambulance to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.
At last check, the 18-year-old remained hospitalised with a leg injury, while the 19-year-old had been treated and discharged.
The driver of the car, a 51-year-old Paget woman, was not injured.
Both vehicles directly involved in the collision sustained damage, as did the parked motorcycle.
Traffic diversions remained in place for approximately two and a half hours while the scene was processed, resulting in delays for motorists travelling through the City of Hamilton during the evening commute.
Police inquiries into the collision continue.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that may assist investigators is asked to contact Constable Silvia Zbinova on 211 or by email at szbinova@bps.bm.
In a new decree to mark the Catholic Church’s last 60 years of efforts at inter-religious dialogue, the pope also reiterated the Church’s condemnations of both antisemitism and Islamophobia
Pope Leo delivers his blessings during the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, September 16, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
International News via Reuters:
Pope Leo said on Wednesday that recent conflicts in the Middle East had tested relations between Jews and Christians, adding that differing views of the ongoing violence had strained dialogue but not broken it.
In a new decree to mark the Catholic Church’s last 60 years of efforts at inter-religious dialogue, the pope also reiterated the Church’s condemnations of both antisemitism and Islamophobia.
“The conflicts that have erupted in the Middle East in recent years have … left their mark on Jewish-Christian dialogue,” said the decree, developed by three top Vatican offices and approved by Leo.
“Many channels of communication have been strained,” it said. “Nevertheless, the pillars of dialogue among believers, built over 60 years of common effort, have remained firm. Upon these foundations, it is both possible and necessary to continue building.”
The decree, issued to mark the anniversary of a 1965 Church document widely credited with improving centuries of acrimony between Jews and Christians, did not mention any specific Middle East conflicts.
Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, has previously criticised the Iran war, drawing the ire of President Donald Trump on social media.
Wednesday’s decree described fighting antisemitism as a “shared struggle” for Jews and Christians. It also said attitudes of Islamophobia “fail to distinguish” between cases of extremist violence and the everyday lives of the world’s Muslims.
Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Alexandra Hudson
The writer, who had lived in Britain since the mid-1980s, was a regular fixture on British television
FILE PHOTO: Playwright and novelist Bonnie Greer speaks during a question and answer session at the Labour Party National Women’s Conference, in Brighton, southern England September 21, 2013. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo
International News via Reuters:
U.S. playwright and author Bonnie Greer has died aged 77, British media reported on Wednesday.
The writer, who had lived in Britain since the mid-1980s, was a regular fixture on British television.
Her husband David Hutchins said she had “made an enduring contribution to British cultural and public life” in a statement reported by the BBC.
Weeks after the torrent of mud, rocks and water was unleashed by a glacial collapse, relatives continue to seek answers from authorities as hopes of finding survivors fade
Members of a search and rescue teams carry the body of a victim from the inside the Chilime Hydropower Project tunnel, following deadly flash floods and mudslides hit parts of Nepal, in this handout obtained by Reuters on September 16, 2026. Nepal Army/Handout via REUTERS
International News via Reuters:
Nepali authorities said on Wednesday that only about 7% of the bodies recovered after the devastating flood have been identified, underscoring the scale of the work involved in helping thousands of families find out the fate of loved ones.
Weeks after the torrent of mud, rocks and water was unleashed by a glacial collapse, relatives continue to seek answers from authorities as hopes of finding survivors fade.
About 5,200 people remain missing, including 636 foreigners, after the disaster swept through mountain communities and hydropower sites, killing at least 1,399 people, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The agency said it collected DNA samples from 1,206 bodies and 1,889 samples from family members of the missing.
Despite that, overall only 105 bodies have been identified and handed to family members, it added.
Authorities have deployed thermal drones and helicopters in the search and brought in specialists to rescue workers trapped in tunnels.
The search for the missing has led to a few remarkable rescues of people trapped in tunnels of Nepal’s hydropower plants.
But the once regular flow of information about the rescue effort has slowed, families of foreign nationals said.
“Narrow airspace, difficult geographical mountainous terrain and scale of debris deposited are the major challenges on locating the missing,” the department said.
It added that it was providing regular updates to embassies and families through direct and indirect channels.
Reporting by Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi; Editing by Alexandra Hudson
The increase in the annual headline rate was in line with forecasts by economists polled by Reuters, who predicted it would be impacted by the resumption of conflict in the Gulf
International News via Reuters:
British inflation accelerated to a five-month high of 3.1% in August, but measures excluding surging energy prices held stable, official figures showed on Wednesday, a day before the Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates on hold.
The increase in the annual headline rate was in line with forecasts by economists polled by Reuters, who predicted it would be impacted by the resumption of conflict in the Gulf.
Further increases are likely in the coming months when domestic energy bills — which track global market prices with a lag — go up.
“Sharp price rises for petrol and diesel pushed inflation up again in August. Higher airfares, particularly for long-haul journeys, also contributed to the increase,” Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics, said.
“Rising crude oil and petrol prices increased both the annual cost of raw materials and the price of goods leaving factories respectively.”
The inflation pickup adds to the headaches of Prime Minister Andy Burnham and finance minister John Healey who have offered voters some support with the cost of living but whose options in a budget plan due on October 28 are limited by the weak state of the public finances.
“The war in the Middle East is impacting on inflation worldwide, not just here at home. In our bills, our weekly shop and at the petrol pumps,” Healey said after the release of the inflation figures.
CORE AND SERVICES INFLATION LIKELY TO REASSURE BOE
Despite the headline rate of annual inflation coming in higher than the central bank expected when it made its most recent forecasts in July, policymakers are likely to pay more attention to the underlying measures of price growth.
The ONS said its measure of core inflation — which excludes volatile items such as food as well as fuel — held at 2.6% for a fourth month in a row in August.
Inflation in Britain’s services sector — something the BoE watches closely as it reflects wage growth and longer-term inflation pressures — was also unchanged at 3.4%.
“With limited evidence of second-round effects so far, we expect the MPC to hold rates tomorrow,” Charlotte O’Leary, associate economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said.
ONS data published on Tuesday showed wage growth remained close to its weakest since 2020.
“However, mounting inflationary pressures, alongside resilient growth data, may eventually grant scope to raise rates without materially damaging the economy,” O’Leary added.
INFLATION COULD PEAK AT 3.9%, GOLDMAN WARNS
Sterling fell slightly after the inflation figures were published.
Investors see a roughly 20% chance of the BoE hiking rates by a quarter point on Thursday. However, there is a 75% chance that two rate hikes will take place before the end of 2026, reflecting concerns about the risk of the jump in energy costs pushing up prices more broadly.
Goldman Sachs said this week it expected Britain’s headline inflation rate to peak at 3.9% in early 2027.
Britain’s economy grew by the most among the Group of Seven nations in the first half of 2026, potentially adding to inflation pressure.
Producer price inflation, which measures manufacturers’ costs and selling prices, looked more worrisome for the BoE in terms of longer-term inflation pressure.
Output prices rose by 3.7% in annual terms in August, above all forecasts after an upwardly revised 3.3% in July, the ONS said. Input prices rose by 6.1% while July’s reading was revised up sharply to 5.8% from 4.9% previously.
Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Sarah Young, graphic by Pasit Kongkunakornkul; Editing by Andrew Heavens
The headline consumer price index rose to 3.1% in August compared with a year ago, its highest level since March, official figures showed just a day before the Bank of England’s policy decision
International News via Reuters:
The British pound was little changed against the euro and the dollar on Wednesday as underlying readings of UK inflation held steady in August, even as headline consumer price inflation accelerated to a five-month high.
The headline consumer price index rose to 3.1% in August compared with a year ago, its highest level since March, official figures showed just a day before the Bank of England’s policy decision.
But core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy prices, held at 2.6% for the fourth month in a row.
“The inflation data continues to show few signs of a broader increase in prices that indicates a risk of inflation persisting after the energy price shock fades,” said Andrew Wishart, senior UK economist at Berenberg.
The pound was little changed against the dollar at $1.3471, but remains close to the one-month low of $1.3464 reached last week.
Against the euro, the pound was flat at 85.66 pence.
EYES ON BOE
Markets are now turning their attention to the BoE’s policy announcement on Thursday, when they are expected to keep interest rates unchanged.
A surge in energy prices since the outbreak of the Iran warat the end of February pushed investors to price in tighter policy from global central banks, including the BoE.
Investors are pricing in around a 20% chance of a quarter-point interest rate hike to 4%, but are fully pricing in a hike at the November meeting and see more in 2027.
Prior to the Iran war, investors had been expecting the BoE to embark on a rate-cutting cycle this year.
“With the labour market on the weak side, inflation not ticking up that much, and underlying inflation where it is, it should keep a rate hike at bay,” said Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen, senior FX analyst at Danske Bank.
“If they end up being more dovish and not hiking, then it should give some room for the pound to weaken.”
Once the ongoing court case over membership rules is resolved, a revised date for the Annual General Conference will be decided upon
Update from PLP Central Committee:
“Good day Branch Chairs, Secretaries, Members and Candidates,
“This notice serves as formal confirmation of the decision of Central Committee regarding the 2026 Annual General Conference.
“The Annual General Conference scheduled for 28-30 October 2026 has been postponed.
“Accordingly, the current Conference timetable is paused. All delegate selection meetings scheduled under that timetable are postponed and should not take place until a revised timetable is issued.
“All other normal Branch business may continue.
“The 31 August 2026 membership eligibility cutoff remains unchanged.
“Once the current Court matter is resolved, proposed new Conference dates and a revised timetable will be submitted to Central Committee for approval. Branches, members and candidates will then be notified promptly of the new arrangements.
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.
