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Police urge public to provide ‘missing link’ in murder case

Jahkobi Smith was fatally stabbed eight years ago at the West End Sailboat Club in Sandys

Jahkobi Smith            Image supplied by BPS

Police press release:
The Bermuda Police Service is once again appealing for information regarding the tragic murder of Jahkobi Smith, who was fatally stabbed on the evening of Saturday 29th July 2017, now eight years ago.
At approximately 7:15pm, Mr. Smith was involved in an altercation at the West End Sailboat Club in Sandys, where a wake was being held for the late Jahcari Francis. Police officers and emergency medical personnel responded quickly and rendered aid at the scene. However, despite their efforts, Mr. Smith was later pronounced dead at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.
On this solemn anniversary, the Bermuda Police Service is renewing its call for witnesses to come forward. Any information no matter how minor it may seem could prove vital in helping to solve this case and bring long-overdue closure to Jahkobi Smith’s family.
We are especially interested in speaking with:

  • Anyone who was at the West End Sailboat Club on the evening of the incident
  • Individuals in the surrounding area around the time of the altercation
  • Anyone with knowledge of Mr. Smith’s movements prior to the incident

If you have any information, please contact:

  • Detective Inspector Dean Martin at 717-2074
  • Serious Crime Unit at 247-1739
  • A police officer you trust
  • Or call the confidential Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-8477
  • Tips can also be submitted online at www.crimestoppers.bm

Detective Inspector Martin stated: “Someone out there knows who is responsible for Mr. Smith’s death. We urge you to do the right thing. You can remain anonymous through Crime Stoppers. Even the smallest piece of information could be the missing link we need.
“The Bermuda Police Service has made significant strides in solving serious crimes with the help of the public. Your assistance can make the difference in ensuring justice is served.
“If you know anything about the murder of Jahkobi Smith, we implore you to come forward. Let’s work together to bring peace and justice to those left behind.
“The Bermuda Police Service has made significant strides in solving serious crimes with the help of the public. Your assistance can make the difference in ensuring justice is served.
“If you know anything about the murder of Jahkobi Smith, we implore you to come forward. Let’s work together to bring closure and justice to those left behind.” 

College culinary arts programme earns prestigious accreditation

Five-year ACF recognition affirms programme’s global standards and boosts graduates’ career prospects

Press release:

Bermuda College is proud to announce that its Culinary Arts programme has received official reaccreditation from the American Culinary Federation.

The rigorous process confirms that the College’s culinary arts curriculum meets the highest standards of excellence set by the ACF, the premier professional organisation for chefs in North America.

The reaccreditation is valid for five years and positions Bermuda College among an elite group of institutions with globally recognised culinary credentials.

Dr. Teneika Eve, a senior lecturer at the College and Chair of the Faculty Association within the Division of Business, Hospitality, and Technical Education, said the designation reflected the hard work of faculty, staff, and students.

“This is a big achievement for Bermuda College and our community. It validates the quality of education we provide and opens doors for our graduates to pursue international opportunities,” she said.

The evaluation process included an in-depth review of the curriculum, teaching methods, faculty qualifications, student outcomes, and industry partnerships.

Inspectors also praised the College’s commitment to hands-on training and its alignment with industry expectations.

Bermuda College President Dr. David Sam said: “This reaccreditation reflects the strength of our programmes and our commitment to producing graduates who are ready to compete and succeed at a global level.

“It is also a testament to the leadership and vision of our Culinary Arts faculty.”

The reaccreditation will benefit both current students and alumni, as they are now eligible for ACF certification — a professional advantage when applying for employment or further training overseas.

“This is not just about a badge of honour,” added Dr. Eve. “It’s about expanding access, elevating standards, and empowering Bermudians to take their place among the world’s finest culinary professionals.”

The College was last accredited by the ACF in 2019, and reaccreditation takes place every five to six years.

The ACF is the largest professional chefs’ organisation in North America, comprising more than 14,000 members.

It is the leader in offering educational resources, training, apprenticeships, competitions, and programmatic accreditation designed to enhance professional growth for all current and future chefs and pastry chefs. It also operates the most comprehensive culinary certification programme in the world.

Back-to-school drive sees urgent need

Gina Spence Program reports over 80% of registered children have endured major loss; $60,000 still needed to meet fundraising goal

Image supplied

Press release:

The Gina Spence Program’s annual Each One Reach One Back-to-School Campaign in partnership with Gibbons Company has reached its halfway point, and the numbers tell a sobering story: over 80% of the 300 children registered so far come from households that have experienced a major loss including incarceration, terminal illness, job loss, death, divorce, or unemployment.

These are not just statistics. Behind each application is a child walking into a new school year carrying burdens no child should have to bear.

One mother shared in her application that her son lost his father to violence earlier this year, while also watching his grandmother battle cancer. Another family is struggling after the breadwinner was laid off, leaving them unable to afford even the most basic school essentials.

The Each One Reach One campaign exists for children like these providing First Day Starter Kits valued at $150 each, including uniforms, socks, undergarments, and a backpack, so every child can start the school year with confidence and dignity.

The Need:

• Fundraising Goal: $80,000 by Friday, August 22, 2025

  • Funds Raised So Far: Just over $20,000
  • Registration Deadline for Families in Need: Friday, August 15, 2025
  • Deadline for Gently Used Uniform Donations at Gibbons Children’s Department: Wednesday, August 20, 2025 (donors receive a $10 Gibbons coupon for every $50 spent)

This year, the campaign launched three weeks earlier than usual, raising $10,000 in its first week in July. But with hundreds more children expected to register and walk in on Distribution Day historically over 500 the need remains urgent.

Founder’s Statement

“We’ve seen firsthand how a new uniform can change a child’s entire outlook,” said Dr. Gina Spence, Founder and Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist. “When a child walks into school on the first day wearing a fresh, clean uniform, they hold their head higher. They feel like they belong. For so many of the children we serve, this is the first step toward hope after loss. But we can’t do it alone. Bermuda, we need you. Whether it’s sponsoring a child, volunteering your time, or donating a gently used uniform, every act of kindness makes a difference. This is how we show our children they matter.”

How to Help:

  • Donate $150 to sponsor one child’s First Day Starter Kit
  • Volunteer your time for Distribution Day on Saturday, August 23, 2025
  • Drop off gently used uniforms at the Gibbons Children’s Department

To donate or sign up as a volunteer, visit www.gspcharity.com or call 296-0016.

Senior dies after Front Street altercation

Suspect in custody, police appeal for witnesses

Image: Bermuda Police Service

The Bermuda Police Service issued the following media release.

Around 7:15 on Thursday, August 7, 2025, Police attended a report of an altercation involving two males, outside of  the Pickled Onion restaurant on Front Street, in the City of Hamilton.

On arrival, officers observed the 71-year-old victim had sustained a serious head injury and was lying on the ground.

He was attended to at the scene by Emergency Medical Services personnel and subsequently transported by ambulance to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he was warded for further treatment.

Sadly, he has succumbed to his injuries.

A suspect has been arrested in relation to this matter.

An investigation is now underway and anyone who may have witnessed this incident or, has any information on the circumstances involved, is asked to contact Detective Sergeant, Odessa Philip, on 717-2193 or via email at, aphilip@bps.bm.

You may also call the main police number 295-0011 or provide the information by using the community reporting portal at https://portal.police.bm

Alternatively, we encourage you to share the information with a police officer you’re familiar with or by calling the independent and confidential Crime Stoppers number, 800-8477.

New genealogy service empowers Bermudians to reclaim lineage dating back over 400 years

Dr. Weldon: “MyLineage is more than a family tree — it’s a living archive.”

CariGenetics proudly announces the launch of MyLineage, a genealogy consultation service that empowers Bermudians to trace their ancestry as far back as the 1600s, through a powerful database of over 140,000 Bermudians.

Launched at the “Bermudian Heartbeats’ Law to Legacy Unravelling the Narrative” series on August 7, the debut of MyLineage gave attendees the opportunity to speak directly with the team, ask questions, and sign up for the service on the spot.

In a strategic partnership with Dane Simmons Sr., one of Bermuda’s leading genealogist, MyLineage offers clients unprecedented access to deep family history and identity restoration, rooted in both genetic data and a comprehensive Bermudian family database built over two decades.

What Makes This Service Unique:
● Draws from a robust, privately curated Bermudian database of 140,000 individuals, 45,000 marriages and over 18,800 photos
● Trace back up to 8 generations — connects clients to family lines previously lost to migration, slavery, or adoption
● Private and culturally sensitive

Service Features:
● Exclusive launch offer — enjoy a 2-hour private genealogy consultation for the price of 1, now just $299
● Optional follow-up sessions
● Clients receive personalised reports
● None public family-matching with no data-sharing

Of note, persons who want to use the service do not need to provide any sensitive personal information.

“Tracing your family line back up to eight generations can be a life-changing moment,” said Dr Carika Weldon, Founder and Director of Research at CariGenetics. “For so many Bermudians, including those of African, Azorean, European, or Native American descent, the stories of who we are have been fragmented. MyLineage is about putting those pieces back together.”

“For over 20 years, I’ve been piecing together the story of Bermuda — one name, one family, one generation at a time. What we’ve found is powerful: every Bermudian is connected, regardless of background. Through this partnership with CariGenetics, we now have the platform to share these connections, allowing any Bermudian to tap into their rich historical record. It’s a pathway for Bermudians to discover where they truly come from and how we’ve always been woven together. MyLineage is more than a family tree — it’s a living archive.”

For further details about the MyLineage service or to schedule a consultation, visit www.carigenetics.com/mylineage.
Interview inquiries can be directed to jodi@carigenetics.com.

Wikipedia operator loses court challenge to regulations under UK Online Safety Act

The Wikimedia Foundation took legal action at London’s High Court over regulations made under the law

International News via Reuters:

The operator of Wikipedia on Monday lost a legal challenge to parts of Britain’s Online Safety Act, which sets tough new requirements for online platforms but has been criticised for potentially curtailing free speech.

The Wikimedia Foundation took legal action at London’s High Court over regulations made under the law, which it said could impose the most stringent duties on Wikipedia.

The foundation said if it was subject to so-called Category 1 duties – which would require Wikipedia’s users and contributors’ identities to be verified – it would need to drastically reduce the number of users who can access the site.

Judge Jeremy Johnson dismissed its case on Monday, but said the Wikimedia Foundation could bring a further challenge if regulator Ofcom “(impermissibly) concludes that Wikipedia is a Category 1 service”.

The Online Safety Act was criticised earlier this month by social media site X, which said significant changes were needed to the law.

Free-speech campaigners and content creators have complained its rules had been implemented too broadly, resulting in the censorship of legal content.

The British government says the law is designed to protect children and remove illegal content and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has said those who wanted to overturn it were “on the side of predators”.

Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by William James

Oil steady as markets focus on US-Russia talks

Brent crude futures were up 5 cents to $66.64 a barrel at 1003 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 1 cent to $63.87

International News via Reuters:

Oil prices were steady on Monday, after falling more than 4% last week, as investors looked ahead to talks between the U.S. and Russia later this week on the war in Ukraine.

Brent crude futures were up 5 cents to $66.64 a barrel at 1003 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 1 cent to $63.87.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

The talks follow increased U.S. pressure on Russia, raising the prospect that penalties on Moscow could be tightened if a peace deal is not reached.

Trump set a deadline of last Friday for Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, to agree to peace or have its oil buyers face secondary sanctions. At the same time, Washington is pressing India to reduce purchases of Russian oil.

Prices fell in recent days as market participants reduced supply disruption estimates, likely because the U.S. only imposed an extra tariff on India rather than all buyers of Russian oil, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

UBS has lowered its year-end Brent crude forecast to $62 a barrel from $68, citing higher supply from South America and resilient output from sanctioned countries.

The bank added that Indian demand had fallen short of its expectations of late, and that it expected OPEC+ to pause its production hikes unless larger unexpected supply disruptions emerge.

An Exxon Mobil-led consortium began crude production four months earlier than expected at a fourth floating production, storage and offloading vessel in Guyana, Exxon said on Friday.

Consultancy Energy Aspects estimated Indian refiners have already purchased WTI totalling 5 million barrels for August loadings.

Reporting by Mohi Narayan in New Delhi and Colleen Howe in Beijing. Editing by Jamie Freed, Kirsten Donovan and Mark Potter

Scientists find possible artefacts of oldest known Wallacean hominids in Indonesia

The findings could transform theories of early human migrations

International News via Reuters:

Scientists have found a series of stone tools on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island they say may be evidence of humans living 1.5 million years ago on islands between Asia and Australia, the earliest known humans in the Wallacea region.

Archaeologists from Australia and Indonesia found the small, chipped tools, used to cut little animals and carve rocks, under the soil in the region of Soppeng in South Sulawesi. Radioactive tracing of these tools and the teeth of animals found around the site were dated at up to 1.48 million years ago.

The findings could transform theories of early human migrations, according to an article the archaeologists published in the journal Nature in August.

The earliest Wallacean humans, pre-historic persons known as Homo Erectus, were thought to have only settled in Indonesia’s Flores island and Philippines’ Luzon island around 1.02 million years ago, as they were thought to be incapable of distant sea travel, proving the significance of the Sulawesi findings in theories of migration.

“These were artefacts made by ancient humans who lived on the earth long before the evolution of our species, Homo Sapiens,” said Adam Brumm, lead archaeologist from Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.

“We think Homo Erectus somehow got from the Asian mainland across a significant ocean gap to this island, Sulawesi, at least 1 million years ago,” Brumm said.

Wallacea is a region in Eastern Indonesia including several islands such as Sulawesi, Lombok, Flores, Timor, Sumbawa that lie between Borneo and Java and Australia and New Guinea. The region is named for the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace who studied the fauna and flora of the area.

Reporting by Abdul Rahman Muchtar in Soppeng; Writing by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Christian Schmollinger

Dollar steady before US inflation report, US-China tariff deadline

The dollar remains on the back foot as investors recently adjusted their expectations for interest rate cuts from the Fed

FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this photo illustration taken February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/Illustration/File Photo

International News via Reuters:

The U.S. dollar was little changed on Monday before Tuesday’s deadline for Washington and Beijing to strike a tariff deal and a key U.S. inflation report that could help determine whether the Federal Reserve lowers borrowing costs next month.

The dollar index was down less than 0.1% to 98.164 after last week’s 0.4% fall. Against the yen, the U.S. currency traded at 147.39, down 0.2%. Japanese markets were closed on Monday for the Mountain Day holiday.

The euro was up less than 0.1% at $1.1652, while sterling was flat at $1.3462.

The dollar remains on the back foot as investors recently adjusted their expectations for interest rate cuts from the Fed after soft U.S. jobs and manufacturing figures.

Fed officials have sounded increasingly uneasy about the labour market, signalling their openness to a rate cut as soon as September.

Cooling inflation could cement bets for a cut next month but if signs emerge that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are fuelling price rises it might keep the Fed on hold for now.

“It’s important to note ahead of tomorrow’s data that the bar for a hawkish surprise is higher,” said Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING.

Pesole added that a 0.3% monthly rise in core CPI would give the Fed room to lower interest rates, given the deterioration in the labour market.

Economists polled by Reuters expect core CPI to have risen 0.3% in July, pushing the annual rate higher to 3%.

Money market traders are pricing in around a 90% chance of a rate cut next month, while 58 basis points of easing are priced in by year-end, implying two quarter-point cuts and around a one-in-three chance of a third.

Personnel moves at the Fed have also weighed on the dollar recently as Trump prepares to install rate-setters that support his dovish views on monetary policy, including a new chair for when Jerome Powell’s term ends in May.

Trade talks were also in focus as Trump’s August 12 deadline for a deal between the U.S. and China neared, particularly on chip policy. “The market has fully priced in the idea that we’re going to get an extension,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd in Melbourne, adding that another 90-day truce was most likely. With the U.S. and China seeking to close a deal averting triple-digit goods tariffs, a U.S. official told Reuters that chip makers Nvidia and AMD had agreed to allocate 15% of China sales revenues to the U.S. government, aiming to secure export licences for semiconductors. “I don’t know if that’s going to be a good thing or a bad thing, but if it puts closure on the matter, it’s not a bad outcome,” Weston said.

“If this is Trump saying 15% and we’ll call it a day, that may not be too bad.”

The offshore yuan fluctuated between gains and losses, trading at 7.1854 to the dollar, after weekend data showed China’s producer prices fell more than expected in July, while consumer prices were unchanged. The Australian dollar fetched $0.6520, trading flat ahead of a rate decision by the central bank on Tuesday, in which it is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points to 3.60%, after second-quarter inflation came in weaker than expected and the jobless rate hit a 3-1/2-year high.

Cryptocurrencies jumped, with bitcoin rising as high as $122,308, not far from its July 14 record of $123,153.22, after Trump’s executive order on Thursday freed up cryptocurrency holdings in U.S. retirement accounts.

Ether rose as high as $4,346, its highest since December 2021.

Reporting by Samuel Indyk and Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Mark Potter

European shares steady at start of pivotal week

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.01% as of 0920 GMT

International News via Reuters:

European shares were broadly flat on Monday, as investors refrained from making big bets ahead of a key U.S. inflation data, tariff negotiations and talks between the U.S. and Russia on the war in Ukraine.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.01% as of 0920 GMT, retreating from opening gains of as much as 0.4% and hovering near its strongest level since July 31.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy won diplomatic backing from Europe and the NATO alliance ahead of the Russia-U.S. summit this week in Alaska on Friday, where Kyiv fears Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump may try to dictate terms for ending the 3-1/2-year war.

Trump said a potential deal would involve “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both (sides).”

Hopes of a peace deal weighed on German defence companies. Shares of Rheinmetall dropped 4.7%, while those in Renk and Hensoldt were down 3.3% and 1.3%, respectively.

Further weighing on European stocks was a 28% plunge in Orsted after the Danish wind farm developer unveiled a 60-billion-crown ($9.4 billion) rights issue, citing adverse developments in the U.S. offshore wind market.

Despite concerns about Trump’s tariffs, a strong U.S. earnings season, driven by optimism about AI, and expectations of interest rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve have pushed U.S. stocks to record highs. Europe’s STOXX 600 remains about 3% away from its March record high.

“We’re in a slightly odd and probably unstable equilibrium at the moment where everything feels a little bit (like) Goldilocks,” said Legal & General global equity strategist Robert Griffiths, pointing to the limited impact of tariffs on inflation and companies’ margins so far.

“But that probably isn’t an equilibrium. Answering the question, who’s paying the tariffs, is going to be critical for determining how good or bad that second-half proves for markets.”

Meanwhile, the August 12 deadline for a deal between the U.S. and China looms. Analysts said investors were expecting an extension of the deadline, with both sides seeking to close a deal that would avoid imposing triple-digit tariffs on each other’s goods.

Among other stocks, Northern Data dropped 11.2% after U.S. video platform and cloud services provider Rumble said it was considering an offer of about $1.17 billion for the German AI cloud group.

Novartis climbed 2.3% after the Swiss pharmaceutical company said its Sjogren’s disease treatment, Ianalumab, met the primary endpoint in a late-stage trial.

Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Harikrishnan Nair

Britain’s M&S restores click and collect services 15 weeks after systems hacked

Shares in M&S were up 2%, paring 2025 losses to 10%

International News via Reuters:

British retailer Marks & Spencer has resumed taking click and collect orders for clothing after a nearly four-month hiatus following a cyber hack and data theft that impacted its earnings during the period, sending its shares higher.

The 141-year-old M&S stopped taking orders through its website and app for clothing and home deliveries and collection from stores on April 25, three days after disclosing it was managing a “cyber incident.”

It gradually resumed taking online orders for delivery from June 10, but click and collect services, which allow customers to order items online and pick up in stores, had remained suspended.

M&S said on its website on Monday that “Click & Collect is back,” and in an Instagram post, John Lyttle, M&S’ managing director for fashion, home and beauty, said the retailer’s full online delivery offers were restored across fashion, homeware and beauty products, including the returns of online orders to any M&S store.

Shares in M&S were up 2%, paring 2025 losses to 10%.

Investec analyst Kate Calvert said the reinstatement of click and collect “is the key ‘back to normal’ signal from a consumer perspective.”

She does not expect the hack to impact M&S’ long-term valuation or growth prospects.

In May, M&S forecast that the hacking of its systems would cost it about 300 million pounds ($404 million) in lost operating profit in its 2025/26 financial year, though it hoped to halve that impact through insurance and cost controls.

As part of its management of the hack and data theft, M&S took other systems offline. That reduced both clothing and food availability in stores, further denting sales.

Rivals, such as Next in clothing and Sainsbury’s in food, have been beneficiaries.

M&S CEO Stuart Machin had told investors in early July the group would be over the worst of the fallout from the incident by August.

Chairman Archie Norman last month told lawmakers that M&S believed the ransomware attack was carried out by the hacker group DragonForce.

Also in July, UK police arrested four people as part of their investigation into the hack and other attacks on the Co-op and Harrods.

($1 = 0.7424 pounds)

Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Jamie Freed, Saad Sayeed and Bernadette Baum

Mercedes CEO calls for ‘reality check’, slamming EU combustion engine ban

The ban, which supporters say is crucial to Europe’s green ambitions, is up for review in the second half of 2025

International News via Reuters:

The CEO of Mercedes-Benz criticised the European Union’s plan to ban CO2-emitting vehicles from 2035 in a media interview on Monday, joining a chorus of voices calling the target into question as it comes up for review this year.

The ban, which supporters say is crucial to Europe’s green ambitions, is up for review in the second half of 2025, with critics saying it would handicap European carmakers already struggling with weak demand, Chinese competition and disappointing electric vehicle sales.

“We need a reality check. Otherwise we are heading at full speed against a wall,” Mercedes CEO Ola Kaellenius told the Handelsblatt business daily of the 2035 goal, adding that Europe’s car market could “collapse” if it goes ahead.

Kaellenius argued that consumers would simply hurry to buy cars with petrol or diesel engines ahead of the ban.

Currently serving as head of the European auto lobby ACEA, the German auto boss has instead called for tax incentives and cheap power prices at charging stations to encourage the switch to electric cars.

“Of course we have to decarbonise, but it has to be done in a technology-neutral way. We must not lose sight of our economy,” Kaellenius said.

Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Miranda Murray