Boat fire at Fairylands
The blaze might have been caused by lightning strike
Boat seen on fire near Fairylands, Pembroke. Photo: Supplied
Reports coming into our newsroom about a boat fire at Fairylands, apparently sparked by a lightning strike within the past hour.
We will update if and when we receive any more information.
UK police can disclose suspects’ ethnicity to curb misinformation
Last year, Britain was rocked by days of rioting after the murder of three young girls in Southport after misinformation spread online that the teenage suspect was an Islamist migrant
International News via Reuters:
British police have been told they can release details of a suspect’s ethnicity and nationality in high-profile and sensitive cases to prevent false information being spread on social media.
Last year, Britain was rocked by days of rioting after the murder of three young girls in Southport after misinformation spread online that the teenage suspect was an Islamist migrant.
The issue has remained highly contentious since, with the populist Reform UK party, which is leading in opinion polls, last week accusing police of covering up the immigration status of suspects involved in the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in central England.
That incident had led to anti-immigration protests after the Reform leader of the local council said the suspects were asylum seekers, while police said they could not give out such information because of existing guidance which limited details that could be shared to ensure people received a fair trial.
Under new guidelines from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing, police forces will now be encouraged to disclose details “to reduce the risk to public safety” and where misinformation was being spread.
“We have to make sure our processes are fit for purpose in an age of social media speculation and where information can travel incredibly quickly across a wide range of channels,” said Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya.
“Disinformation and incorrect narratives can take hold in a vacuum. It is good police work for us to fill this vacuum with the facts about issues of wider public interest.”
A Home Office (interior ministry) spokesperson said they supported the change and would authorise the release of any relevant immigration information in future cases where it was appropriate.
Reporting by Michael HoldenEditing by Alexandra Hudson
Standard Chartered lifts year-end ether forecast to $7,500
The brokerage also raised its 2028 year-end ether forecast to $25,000 from $7,500
International News via Reuters:
Standard Chartered raised its year-end target for ether to $7,500 from $4,000 on Wednesday, citing improvement in industry engagement in recent months and emergence of Ethereum treasury companies.
The brokerage also raised its 2028 year-end ether forecast to $25,000 from $7,500
World’s no.2 crytocurrency was last trading at $4,679.47, a level last seen in November 2021.
Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair
Typhoon Podul blows through southern Taiwan leaving one person missing
Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, generally along its mountainous east coast facing the Pacific
International News via Reuters:
Typhoon Podul blew through southern Taiwan on Wednesday packing winds of up to 191 kph (118 mph) and leaving one person missing, as a large swathe of the island shut down and hundreds of flights were cancelled.
Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, generally along its mountainous east coast facing the Pacific.
Podul slammed into the southeastern city of Taitung around 1 p.m. (0500 GMT), passed through the southern tip of the island and then into the Taiwan Strait some three hours later, Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said.
It is expected to next make landfall on China’s southern coast late on Wednesday or early Thursday, affecting Fujian and Guangdong provinces, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
In Taiwan, one person was reported missing and 33 others injured, the government said.
Nine cities and counties announced the suspension of work and school for Wednesday, including the southern metropolises of Kaohsiung and Tainan.
In the capital Taipei, home to Taiwan’s financial markets, there were blustery winds but no impact.
Authorities also evacuated those whose homes were damaged by a July typhoon that brought record winds and damaged the electricity grid in a rare direct hit to Taiwan’s west coast.
The government said more than 5,500 people had been evacuated ahead of the typhoon’s arrival.
All domestic flights were cancelled on Wednesday – 252 in total – while 155 international flights were also called off, the transport ministry said.
Taiwan’s two main international carriers China Airlines and EVA Air said their cancellations were focused on routes out of Kaohsiung, with some flights from the island’s main international airport at Taoyuan stopped as well.
As much as 600 mm (24 inches) of rain was forecast in southern mountainous areas over the coming few days, the Central Weather Administration said.
More than a year’s rainfall fell in a single week this month in some southern areas, unleashing widespread landslides and flooding, with four deaths.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Michael Perry, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Joe Bavier
Dollar slips to a two week low as investors eye Fed cut
The dollar index dipped to 97.76, its lowest since July 28, extending its 0.5% fall on Tuesday
International News via Reuters:
The dollar fell to a two-week low on Wednesday after a tame reading on U.S. inflation bolstered expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month, with President Donald Trump’s attempts to extend his grip over U.S. institutions also undermining the currency.
The dollar index, measuring the currency against a basket of peers, dipped to 97.76, its lowest since July 28, extending its 0.5% fall on Tuesday.
U.S. consumer prices increased marginally in July, data showed on Tuesday, in line with forecasts and as the pass-through from Trump’s sweeping tariffs to goods prices has so far been limited.
Investors eyeing imminent Fed cuts cheered the data and moved to price in a 98% chance the central bank would ease rates next month, according to LSEG data.
“U.S. CPI release turned out to be a dollar-negative event,” said Francesco Pesole, strategist at ING. “The September Fed cut remains firmly priced in.”
He added that core inflation accelerating is far from ideal, but not alarming enough to overshadow the deterioration in the jobs market.
Also eroding investor confidence in the dollar were Trump’s fresh attempts to undermine Fed independence, after White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that the U.S. president was considering a lawsuit against Fed Chair Jerome Powell in relation to his management of renovations at the central bank’s Washington headquarters.
Trump has been at loggerheads with Powell and has repeatedly lambasted the Fed chair for not easing rates sooner.
The president also hit out at Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, saying the bank had been wrong to predict U.S. tariffs would hurt the economy. Trump questioned whether Solomon should lead the Wall Street institution.
Elsewhere, the dollar’s weakness supported the euro <EUR=EBS> and sterling. The single currency was last up 0.3% to $1.1709, briefly hitting its highest since July 28. Similarly, the British currency rose 0.4% to $1.3562, its highest since July 24.
Britain’s jobs market weakened again though wage growth stayed strong, according to data on Tuesday, underscoring why the Bank of England is so cautious about cutting interest rates.
The Australian dollar was up 0.35% to $0.6552, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.5% to $0.5986.
The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday cut interest rates as expected, and signalled further policy easing might be needed to meet its inflation and employment goals as the economy lost some momentum.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin halted its rally towards a fresh record and last traded 0.34% lower at $119,809, while ether scaled a nearly four-year high of $4,679.
“Ethereum’s quiet breakout is being fuelled by real-world adoption and capital confidence,” said Gracie Lin, Singapore CEO of crypto exchange OKX.
“On our platform, ETH has now overtaken BTC as the most traded asset over the past month.”
Reporting by Joice Alves and Rae Wee; Editing by Kate Mayberry
Wildfires scorch Greece for a second day, thousands evacuated
Fires have burned houses, farms and factories and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists since Tuesday
International News via Reuters:
Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Greece on Wednesday, including blazes threatening villages and towns near the western city of Patras and on two tourist islands.
Fires have burned houses, farms and factories and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists since Tuesday.
Dozens of people have been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation since Tuesday, public broadcaster ERT reported. Some 13 firefighters have been treated for burns and other injuries, fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a televised briefing on Wednesday.
Nearly 5,000 firefighters assisted by 33 aircraft were deployed from dawn to contain the flames stoked by winds and hot, dry conditions near Patras, on the tourist islands of Chios and Zakynthos and in at least three inland spots.
“Today, it will be another very difficult day, as the wildfire risk for most of the country’s regions will be very high,” Vathrakogiannis said. Temperatures were forecast to reach 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 Fahrenheit) in some places.
Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic near Patras on Wednesday.
“What it looks like? It looks like doomsday. We came from Athens with our volunteer association Kleisthenis, we can’t do anything more. May God help us and help people here,” said volunteer firefighter Giorgos Karavanis, who was working on the fire near Patras.
Authorities ordered residents of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras to evacuate on Tuesday and issued new alerts on Wednesday, advising residents of two nearby villages to leave their homes.
On the island of Chios, the coast guard used boats to take people to safety on Tuesday as flames reached the shores.
Spain, Portugal, Turkey and the Balkans have also battled wildfires in recent days as a heatwave pushed temperatures over 40 C (104 F) across parts of Europe. In Albania and Montenegro, wildfires have destroyed houses and possessions since last week.
Reporting by Louiza Vradi in Patras and Angeliki Koutantou in AthensAdditional reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic in BelgradeEditing by Frances Kerry
Oil falls as IEA raises supply forecast, investors await US-Russia meeting
Trump and Putin are due to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending Russia’s war in Ukraine
International News via Reuters:
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after the IEA noted supply overtaking demand this year, while investors awaited Friday’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Brent crude futures fell 45 cents, or 0.7%, to $65.67 a barrel at 0831 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down 53 cents, or 0.8% at $62.64.
Both contracts settled lower on Tuesday.
Trump and Putin are due to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has shaken oil markets since February 2022.
“Oil prices drifted lower on expectations that Friday’s summit would not result in additional sanctions on Russia, ensuring the country’s oil continues to flow predominantly to the south and east,” said PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga in a note.
The International Energy Agency on Wednesday raised its forecast for oil supply growth this year following OPEC+’s decision but lowered its demand forecast due to lacklustre demand across the major economies.
Long-term support, however, came from OPEC’s updated monthly report on global supply and demand, Varga said, which raised its global oil demand forecast for next year and trimmed its estimate for growth in supply from the United States and other producers outside the wider OPEC+ group, pointing to a tighter market.
Investors also awaited further cues after an industry report showed U.S. crude stockpiles climbed last week.
Crude inventories in the United States, the world’s biggest oil consumer, rose by 1.52 million barrels last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories dropped while distillate inventories gained slightly. [API/S]
Analysts polled by Reuters expect today’s Energy Information Administration report to show crude inventories fell by about 300,000 barrels last week. [EIA/S]
The EIA on Tuesday in its Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecast Brent prices to average less than $60 per barrel in the fourth quarter, which would be the first quarter with average prices that low since 2020, stating that growth in the global oil supply would surpass growth in demand for petroleum products.
Reporting by Seher Dareen in London and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Stephen Coates
Mercedes in talks to sell leasing subsidiary to BNP, reports Bloomberg
The sale is not yet certain as there are other interested parties
International News via Reuters:
Mercedes-Benz is in advanced talks with France’s BNP Paribas about the sale of the German carmaker’s leasing subsidiary Athlon, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
The sale is not yet certain as there are other interested parties, Bloomberg reported, citing several people familiar with the matter.
The subsidiary is valued at about 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion), it cited one of the sources as saying.
Mercedes, at the time Daimler AG, bought Athlon – one of the leading leasing providers in Europe, with a presence in 20 countries – from Dutch bank Rabobank in 2016 for $1.1 billion.
A Mercedes spokesperson said the company is continuously reviewing strategic options for its business, including Athlon.
BNP, which is already active in the vehicle leasing business through subsidiary Arval, was not immediately available for comment.
($1 = 0.8529 euros)
Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Thomas Seythal
European shares near two-week highs on Fed rate cut hopes
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5%, as of 0904 GMT, trading at its highest since July 31
International News via Reuters:
European shares hit a near two-week high on Wednesday, with technology and defence stocks recovering from recent losses, after tame U.S. inflation data cemented expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve next month.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5%, as of 0904 GMT, trading at its highest since July 31.
Wall Street indexes closed at record highs on Tuesday after data showed a mild inflation bump in July, offering relief to investors worried about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs lifting price pressures.
Traders are currently pricing in a 96% chance of a Fed rate cut in September, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
There is a bit of growing expectation of a rate cut, maybe even a 50-basis-point cut, although that seems unlikely, said Gene Salerno, chief investment officer for UK Wealth Management at UBP.
“Those factors are giving some enthusiasm, but the market might be a bit overexuberant about what they can read into from that.”
Closer home, data showed German inflation eased to 1.8% in July, confirming preliminary data, a sign of easing price pressures in Europe’s biggest economy.
Leaders from Europe and Ukraine are set to speak to Trump later in the day ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump will host Putin at talks in Alaska on Friday that the U.S. president has said will serve as a “feel-out” meeting in his efforts to end the Russo-Ukraine war.
Defense stocks rose 1.4%, recovering from recent losses amid expectations of an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Rheinmetall and Renk added 2.9% and 5.4%, respectively.
Renk reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue with the German tank gearbox maker benefitting from increased European defence spending.
The technology sector climbed 1.4% after falling to a three-month low in the previous session.
Nearly half of the STOXX 600 companies have reported second-quarter results so far, and 54% of them have beat earnings estimates, in-line with the beat rate in a typical quarter, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data.
Glanbia shares jumped to the top of the STOXX 600 index, adding 12.6% after the nutrition supplement maker posted first-half results and said the tariff hit was ‘manageable.’
UK insurer Beazley dropped 9.6% after it trimmed its annual premium growth forecast.
Evolution fell 10.6% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after a Bloomberg report based on a court filing showed the online gambling company’s casino games made their way illegally to banned markets.
Reporting by Twesha Dikshit and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Rashmi Aich
Domestic incidents on the rise, police warn
Specialist units and partner agencies mobilised to tackle trend
Police are reporting an upward trend in domestic incidents – a concern they say has far-reaching impacts on families and the wider community.
In a recent interview with Bermuda Broadcasting, Chief Inspector Andrew Smalling says the service is stepping up efforts, working closely with partner agencies to target the issue.
WATCH his full remarks on the matter above.
Second shooting victim succumbs to injuries
2 men are confirmed dead and 1 remains in hospital following today’s broad daylight shooting on Court Street
Full statement from police:
Around 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, police and emergency medical personnel responded to reports of multiple people injured in a shooting near the junction of Court Street and Dundonald Street, Pembroke.
On arrival, officers and EMTs found an unresponsive male lying on the sidewalk, with members of the public providing assistance. Life-saving measures were immediately commenced, and the victim was transported to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Police subsequently confirmed that two other males injured in the incident had arrived at KEMH by private vehicle. One of these victims died while receiving treatment. The third male remains in hospital with a gunshot wound to his lower extremities.
The suspects are described as two males on a dark-coloured motorcycle with a covered licence plate. The rider wore a black helmet with a balaclava, a long-sleeved blue top, grey trousers, and tan coloured boots. The pillion passenger who is believed to be the shooter, wore a black full-face helmet and with a multi-coloured top.
The pair are believed to have travelled from Ewing Street, south, along Court Street, before turning right, onto Dundonald Street and fleeing the area.
An investigation into this brazen attack is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact Acting Detective Inspector Anneka Donawa, on 717-2250 or, at adonawa@bps.bm<mailto:adonawa@bps.bm>, call 295-0011, or submit information via the community reporting portal at [https://portal.police.bm<https://portal.police.bm/>]https://portal.police.bm<https://portal.police.bm/>.
You may also speak with a police officer you know or call the independent and confidential Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-8477.
The Bermuda Police Service is aware of a video as well as an image of one of the victims at the scene, circulating on social media. If you receive such material, do not share it, instead, please delete it from your devices.
