Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bermuda has unveiled a vibrant mural in its office space, created by Bermudian artist Carlos Santana. The mural celebrates the organization’s 47 years of service to Bermuda’s youth and its recent recognition as the 2025 Best of Bermuda Award winner for Best Charity/Community Service Organization. Managing Director Patrina O’Connor-Paynter tells us how this initiative came about and the inspiration behind bringing the project to life.
Unveiling the mural, Bermudian artist Carlos Santana talked about why he chose to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bermuda.
He speaks to the sense of community and togetherness that inspired him to create the piece free of charge, as his way of giving back to the organization and the young people it serves.
The Ministry of Public Works and Environment today announced the launch of the GovAlert mobile app, a new tool that allows residents to conveniently and securely report potholes across Bermuda using their smartphones.
The app, available for free download from both the Google Play Store and the App Store, enables residents to play an active role in improving Bermuda’s road network.
To assist the public in using the new service, the Ministry has created a step-by-step instructional video available at www.gov.bm/potholes, where residents can learn how to download, navigate, and submit reports through the app.
The Minister of Public Works and Environment, the Hon. Jache Adams, JP, MP, praised the launch of the new technology as a great step forward: “The launch of the GovAlert app demonstrates how technology can be harnessed to deliver real solutions for the people of Bermuda.
“We are empowering residents to report potholes directly from their phones, and we are strengthening the partnership between the public and the Ministry in maintaining safe and reliable roads.
“This initiative is part of our wider strategy to upgrade Bermuda’s infrastructure. Alongside the Government’s ongoing paving programme and the use of new equipment to resurface roads across the Island, the app will help us respond more quickly and effectively to community concerns.”
The GovAlert app provides users with:
A built-in map of Bermuda to accurately identify the pothole location.
The ability to move the location pin and select “Report a Concern,” choosing “Pothole” as the issue.
Options to describe the concern, attach a photo, and provide contact details before submitting.
The ability to track the status of their report.
A public map that displays, in real time, potholes reported by other users.
Important Safety Reminder
The Ministry reminds the public to safely pull over their vehicle before reporting a pothole. Residents should never attempt to use the app while driving.
It is also important to note that the GovAlert app is for reporting potholes on public roads only and not on private roads.
Minister Adams added: “We have listened to the public, who have been clear about the need for swift action on potholes. This app is a practical response that will allow us to improve service delivery and accountability.
“Together with our ongoing road paving schedule, the GovAlert app represents our commitment to building better roads for all Bermudians.”
Bermuda’s economy continued its steady progress. Building on good momentum and strong growth in 2024, in the first quarter of 2025, Bermuda’s economy expanded by an estimated 1.1 per cent, adjusted for inflation, signifying continued economic expansion. This economic growth resulted from increased household and Government expenditure and investment.
In current prices, GDP increased by 3.3 per cent during the first quarter.
The significance of this continued economic expansion for Bermuda is far-reaching. It is accompanied by higher employment levels, improved household incomes, and stronger consumer confidence. This momentum underscores Bermuda’s resilience, its ability to adapt to shifting global conditions, and its capacity to maintain stability while fostering an environment where both public and private sectors can prosper.
Consumer Spending
Consumer spending in the first quarter increased 1.5 per cent year-over-year to $824.1 million. This increase reflects growth in the total amount of money consumers spent on goods and services during the quarter.
Consumption of services increased by 1.3 per cent year-over-year, reflected in higher expenditure for personal care, catering and air transport services.
Spending on durable goods grew by 1.1 per cent, with notable increases in purchases of new and used cars, sound and picture reception equipment, recording and reproduction, and photographic and cinema equipment. At the same time, spending on non-durable and semi-durable goods rose 2.2 per cent in large part due to expenditures on accompanied personal goods, fuel and power, food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The increase in consumer spending in Bermuda’s first quarter demonstrates a favourable economic environment and positive consumer confidence, with growth in both service consumption and the consumption of goods.
Employment Income
In the first quarter of 2025, employment income rose by 6.3 per cent compared to 2024 levels. Notable increases in employment income were observed across all industries:
● Business Services (17.1%)
● Transport & Communication (12.8%)
● Hotels & Restaurants (9.8%)
● Construction (8.1%)
● Public Administration & Defence (6.0%)
● Banking, Insurance & Real Estate (5.1%)
● International Business (5.1%)
● Wholesale & Retail (0.2%)
This growth in employee remuneration across all sectors reflects positive economic performance indicating a robust labour market.
Government Expenditure
Government consumption increased by 1.5 per cent to $201.4 million during the quarter, reflecting increased expenditure on wages, salaries, and insurance.
Investment
Gross Capital Formation reflected strong growth, increasing 5.2 per cent to $216.1 million. Investment in machinery and equipment saw a positive increase of 7.3 per cent, driven by higher imports of industrial machinery, transportation equipment and agricultural machinery. Construction investment continued its rebound, increasing by 2.9 per cent. Investment in capital assets serves as a strong foundation for increased economic development.
The External Balance of Goods and Services
Bermuda’s Trade Balance abated 0.5 per cent to $779.1 million, as the increase in receipts from the import of goods and services outpaced the growth in receipts for the exports of goods and services.
Exports of goods and services grew by 1.7 per cent during the quarter, with a notable contribution from higher receipts related to business services. Imports of goods and services increased 5.4 per cent as payments rose for transportation and travel services.
Business Registrations
Bermuda’s business ecosystem remains robust, and total local business registration increased year-over-year, bringing the complete business register to 4,082. There were 50 new local businesses registered in Bermuda during the first quarter of 2025.
Conclusion
The Government is committed to fostering the expansion and sustainability of Bermuda’s economy by cultivating a business environment that enables businesses to flourish. To that end, the Government will continue executing the strategic initiatives outlined in Bermuda’s Economic Development Strategy to ensure Bermuda experiences sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development.
Unite, which represents more than 3,000 aircraft fitters and engineers at Airbus, said 90% of members voting in a ballot had chosen industrial action
International News via Reuters:
Thousands of Airbus workers in Britain will go on strike for 10 days starting next month over a demand for better pay, threatening to disrupt production of aircraft wings, trade union Unite said on Wednesday.
Unite, which represents more than 3,000 aircraft fitters and engineers at Airbus, said 90% of members voting in a ballot had chosen industrial action, which will go ahead unless the European planemaker presented an improved pay offer.
Unite said the strikes, planned for September 2-3, 10-11 and other dates yet to be determined, from September 15, could disrupt wing production for Airbus’s commercial and military aircraft programmes and delay deliveries.
However, Airbus said: “We are not currently concerned about the impact on year end deliveries.”
The planemaker also said it had made a “competitive and fair” pay offer in 2025 following previous pay increases totalling more than 20% in the last three years, in addition to a 2,644 pounds ($3,569) bonus payment in April.
“Our priority remains to find a resolution together with the trade union that ensures the long-term competitiveness and success of Airbus in the UK,” Sue Partridge, Airbus UK’s country manager for commercial aircraft, said in an emailed statement.
Unite said it had asked Airbus for a pay offer that reflects rising inflation and cost of living. Data published earlier on Wednesday showed British inflation had reached 3.8% in July – its highest in 18 months.
“Airbus is generating billions in profit; workers deserve a fair deal,” Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, said. “Our members are simply seeking fairness not favours.”
($1 = 0.7409 pounds)
Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Catarina Demony
Loss of ice is increasingly harming wildlife including emperor penguins, who breed on the ice, and krill, which feed below it
International News via Reuters:
Rapid loss of Antarctic sea ice could be a tipping point for the global climate, causing sea level rises, changes to ocean currents and loss of marine life that are impossible to reverse, a scientific study published on Thursday said.
The paper in the journal Nature aimed to describe in previously unseen detail the interlocking effects of global warming on the Antarctic, the frozen continent at the planet’s South Pole.
“Evidence is emerging for rapid, interacting and sometimes self-perpetuating changes in the Antarctic environment,” it said.
The study gathered data from observations, ice cores, and ship logbooks to chart long-term changes in the area of sea ice, putting into context a rapid decline in recent years.
“A regime shift has reduced Antarctic sea-ice extent far below its natural variability of past centuries, and in some respects is more abrupt, non-linear and potentially irreversible than Arctic sea-ice loss,” it said, referring to melting at the North Pole.
Changes are having knock-on effects across the ecosystem that in some cases amplify one another, said Nerilie Abram, the study’s lead author.
A smaller ice sheet reflects less solar radiation, meaning the planet absorbs more warmth, and will probably accelerate a weakening of the Antarctic Overturning Circulation, an ocean-spanning current that distributes heat and nutrients and regulates weather.
Loss of ice is increasingly harming wildlife including emperor penguins, who breed on the ice, and krill, which feed below it.
And warming surface water will further reduce phytoplankton populations that draw down vast quantities of carbon from the atmosphere, the study said.
“Antarctic sea ice may actually be one of those tipping points in the Earth’s system,” said Abram, a former professor at the Australian National University (ANU) and now chief scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division.
Reining in global carbon dioxide emissions would reduce the risk of major changes in the Antarctic but still may not prevent them, the study said.
“Once we start losing Antarctic sea ice, we set in train this self-perpetuating process,” Abram said. “Even if we stabilise the climate, we are committed to still losing Antarctic sea ice over many centuries to come.”
Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Kate Mayberry
As part of a plan to revive U.S. manufacturing, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had said on Tuesday the government wants an equity stake in Intel in exchange for cash grants
International News via Reuters:
Intel is in talks with other large investors to receive an equity infusion at a discounted price, CNBC reported on Wednesday, just days after the chipmaker got a $2 billion capital injection from SoftBank Group.
The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, did not name the potential investors. Intel, whose shares fell 7%, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
As part of a plan to revive U.S. manufacturing, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had said on Tuesday the government wants an equity stake in Intel in exchange for cash grants approved by the administration of former President Joe Biden.
Lutnick was also exploring government stakes in other chipmakers in exchange for CHIPS Act grants, which aims to spur factory-building in the U.S., Reuters later reported.
SoftBank’s investment was at $23 per Intel share, a slight discount to Monday’s closing price of $23.66.
This investment will come through issuance of common stock. Based on Intel’s market capitalization at the close of trading on Monday, it would have represented a stake of just under 2%.
Intel has struggled to compete after years of management blunders left it with virtually no foothold in the booming artificial intelligence chip industry dominated by Nvidia.
Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Shilpi Majumdar
Golfer Daniel Augustus has begun his campaign at the Caddy Club Challenge 2025, a Tier 2 series event held at the Moseley Golf Club in Birmingham.
Augustus, competing in the second tournament of the series, shot a first-round score of 2-over par 72. This series offers players a crucial opportunity to climb the rankings and earn a spot on the HotelPlanner Tour.
During his round, Augustus carded two birdies and 12 pars, but his score was impacted by four bogeys. He will be looking to build on his opening-day performance in the upcoming rounds of the tournament.
The sanctions against eight individuals and entities also target the infrastructure behind A7A5, a rouble-pegged stablecoin launched in Kyrgyzstan
International News via Reuters:
Britain on Wednesday sanctioned financial networks it said were being used by Russia to evade existing Western sanctions, including Kyrgyz crypto networks, as it ramps up pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
The sanctions against eight individuals and entities also target the infrastructure behind A7A5, a rouble-pegged stablecoin launched in Kyrgyzstan which Britain said had moved $9.3 billion in four months.
“If the Kremlin thinks they can hide their desperate attempts to soften the blow of our sanctions by laundering transactions through dodgy crypto networks – they are sorely mistaken,” British sanctions minister Stephen Doughty said.
The measures follow talks in Washington earlier this week between U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the Ukraine conflict.
Britain’s sanctions targeted a Luxembourg-based firm and four Kyrgyz entities including Grinex LLC and Old Vector LLC, linked to the infrastructure behind A7A5.
It also sanctioned three people it said were involved in supporting Russia’s financial infrastructure, including one linked to a Kyrgyz bank used to pay for military goods, another accused of helping evade sanctions and a third cited for providing services to the Russian state-owned Promsvyazbank.
The U.S. also sanctioned Grinex and Old Vector last week, citing their roles in facilitating sanctions evasion and supporting illicit crypto activity.
Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar
Six Bermudian players were in action across the UK, with a mixed bag of results for their respective clubs.
In Sky Bet League One, goalkeeper Nathan Trott and his Cardiff City teammates travelled to take on AFC Wimbledon. The game looked to be heading for a scoreless draw until a late winner in stoppage time. Isaak Davies scored for the Bluebirds, and Trott was on hand to deny an AFC Wimbledon equaliser with a crucial late save to help his team secure all three points.
Elsewhere in League One, Nahki Wells was once again sidelined through injury as his Luton Town side edged Wigan Athletic 1-0 at home.
In the FA Women’s National League Cup Group Stage, Camryn Lines and her Bridgwater United Women FC teammates were in action away at Bristol Rovers WFC. Unfortunately, the match was abandoned in the 17th minute due to floodlight issues, with no goals scored.
In non-league action, Harry Twite and his Loughborough Student FC teammates went down to a 3-0 defeat at home to Carlton Town FC in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division.
Meanwhile, in the National League North, Keziah Martin, Deniche Hill, and their Buxton teammates were beaten 2-1 by Hereford FC at the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium.
Sprinter Caitlyn Bobb delivered a superb performance on Day Nine of the Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay, winning her 400-metre semi-final in a time of 52.83 seconds on a rain-soaked track.
Competing in Heat 2, Bobb’s commanding display saw her cross the line first, with her time proving to be the fastest of all qualifiers across both semi-finals.
Her victory secures a prime position in the upcoming final and sets her up as a strong contender for a medal at the prestigious event.
Tropical storm watch in effect as forecaster track Hurricane Erin, objectors to Southlands redevelopment project hold rally, track and field star Caitlyn Bobb in medal contention at Junior PanAm Games plus more from the sports desk
Bermuda’s Under-14 Girls’ national football team secured a valuable draw in a dramatic finish against Aruba in their third match of the 2025 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Challenge Series. The result keeps Bermuda in second place in Tier I Group B.
Both teams entered the game with three points, tied behind leaders Jamaica. Bermuda started slowly, with Aruba dictating the early pace and creating several chances. However, the Bermudian goalkeeper and defence held firm, and the teams went into the break scoreless.
In the second half, Bermuda dominated play, but the match came to life in the 70th minute when a free-kick for Aruba was saved by Bermuda’s goalkeeper, Kyra Simmons, only for the rebound to be put away by an Aruban player.
With three minutes of stoppage time indicated, Bermuda would find the all-important equaliser in the second minute of added time. A ball from the right found substitute Phoenix Williams, who fired a shot into the roof of the net to level the score and ensure the points were shared.
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