Funeral takes place today for former City Councillor Lawrence ‘Larry’ Scott
Honouring ‘Larry’: City Hall today. Photo supplied
All flags on Hamilton city properties will be flown at half-mast today, from sunrise to sunset, in honour of former Councillor Lawrence ‘Larry’ Scott. A statement was issued from City Hall: “This observance coincides with the day of his funeral and serves as a tribute to his service and contributions to the City of Hamilton.” Mr Scott died last month at the age of 78. He was a lawyer and former Senator, and the brother of the former Attorney General Michael Scott.
Australians in Iran were advised to leave if it was safe to, or shelter in place
FILE PHOTO: An interceptor missile leaves a smoke trail as missile are launched from Iran towards Israel, as seen from Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
Australia has evacuated a small number of citizens from Israel, and New Zealand embassy staff have left Iran, but the two governments warned that closed airspace limited how they can assist thousands of citizens requesting help to leave the conflict zone.
Around 1,500 Australians in Iran have registered for assistance, with another 1,200 Australians in Israel seeking to leave, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday.
The Australian government evacuated a small group from Israel through a land border crossing on Wednesday, and would look for more opportunities over the next day, Wong told reporters.
“There are real limits, hard limits, on what the government can do. The airspace remains closed,” she said.
Australians in Iran were advised to leave if it was safe to, or shelter in place.
“We’ve been hoping to get the capacity for aircraft to get in and out, but at this stage airports and the airspace are still closed. In Israel we have additional options, whereas in Iran it is very difficult,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in a radio interview.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand was doing all it could to help its citizens in the face of “very serious practical constraints”, and was providing advice on overland border exits.
New Zealand has temporarily closed its Tehran embassy and evacuated two staff and their family by land to Azerbaijan, he said.
“An opportunity arose overnight to get our embassy staff out of Iran, as part of a convoy alongside government officials from other countries,” he said.
New Zealand’s consular partners are considering evacuation flights when air space reopens and the government is working closely with Australia, he added.
Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Lucy Craymer in Wellington; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan
North Korea has for years pursued a nuclear programme but has yet to see success
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a meeting of the country’s ruling party, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released on December 29, 2024 by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
South Korea’s nominee for spy agency director said on Thursday he believed the United States would strike North Korea with nuclear weapons if Pyongyang launched a nuclear attack against South Korea.
Lee Jong-seok made the comment during a nomination hearing in answer to a question if he believed Washington would strike the North and put Americans at risk from a country even if Pyongyang has deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“Yes, that is my belief,” Lee said, after saying the hypothetical scenario of South Korea coming under the North’s nuclear attack is directly related to the security alliance between the two countries.
North Korea has for years pursued a nuclear programme and is believed to have stockpiled fissile materials to build atomic weapons although it has not tested a missile mounted with such a weapon.
Lee is nominated to lead South Korea’s National Intelligence Service under new liberal President Lee Jae Myung who took office on June 4.
Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Christian Schmollinger
Traders are betting the BoE will follow suit in keeping rates steady on Thursday
British pound coins are seen in this illustration taken, November 9, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
Sterling slipped versus a stronger dollar on Thursday ahead of the Bank of England’s policy decision, with no change to rates the widely expected outcome, while investor sentiment remained fragile given the flaring conflict in the Middle East.
At 0618 GMT the pound was 0.24% lower at $1.339 and unchanged against the euro, which held at 85.515 pence..
The dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve held rates steady as expected on Wednesday, and amid a surge in safe haven demand as a conflict in the Middle East continues and President Donald Trump weighs U.S. involvement.
Traders are betting the BoE will follow suit in keeping rates steady on Thursday, even as the UK’s economic growth is faltering and inflation cooled slightly in May.
The chance of no change stands at 96% with a tiny chance of a 25 basis point rate cut. Attention will be on the voting, after last month’s surprise three-way split among policymakers.
A Reuters poll last week of 60 economists found that all of them expect the BoE to keep rates at 4.25% in June and almost all forecast a quarter-point rate cut in August.
A jump in the price of oil during the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict presents another problem for the central bank to grapple with, as it could keep inflation higher.
The pound has slipped more than 1% since last Thursday, but it remains 7% higher against the greenback in 2025, helped by a rush away from U.S. assets spurred by heightened trade uncertainty in light of Trump’s tariffs.
Also helping out is the fact that the UK is the only country to have struck a trade deal with the United States. Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer finalised the deal at the G7 summit this week.
Reporting by Lucy Raitano; Editing by Amanda Cooper and Jamie Freed
Regulators said Google’s illegal practices dated back to 2011
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is shown on a building in San Diego, California, U.S., October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
Alphabet’s Google faced a potential setback on Thursday as an adviser to Europe’s highest court sided with EU antitrust regulators in the company’s fight against a record 4.34 billion euro ($4.98 billion) fine levied seven years ago.
The European Commission in its 2018 decision said Google had used its Android mobile operating system to block rivals. A lower tribunal endorsed the EU finding in 2022 but trimmed the fine to 4.1 billion euros, prompting Google to appeal to Europe’s top court.
Advocate-General at the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Juliane Kokott, in her non-binding opinion, advised the court to dismiss Google’s appeal and confirm the reduced fine set by the lower tribunal.
“The legal arguments put forward by Google are ineffective,” she said.
Kokott dismissed Google’s argument that regulators should compare Google with a rival in assessing the situation.
“It is not realistic, in the present case, to compare the situation of Google with that of a hypothetical as-efficient competitor. Google held a dominant position in several markets of the Android-ecosystem and thus benefited from network effects that enabled it to ensure that users used Google Search,” she said.
Judges, who usually follow four out of five such non-binding opinions, will rule in the coming months.
“Android has created more choice for everyone and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world,” a Google spokesperson said on Thursday.
“We are disappointed with the Opinion which, if it were followed by the Court, would discourage investment in open platforms and harm Android users, partners and app developers.”
Regulators said Google’s illegal practices dated back to 2011, as it required manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and its Chrome browser together with its Google Play app store on their Android devices. It paid them to pre-install only Google Search and blocked them from using rival Android systems.
Google’s Android system, which it lets device makers use for free, runs about 73% of the world’s smartphones, according to Statcounter.
The world’s most popular internet search engine has racked up a total of 8.25 billion euros in fines linked to three investigations stretching back more than a decade, while other probes are ongoing.
The case is C-738/22 P Google and Alphabet v Commission.
($1 = 0.8726 euros)
Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Bernadette Baum
Some analysts said investors were looking to cover their short-dollar positions
An employee holds U.S. dollar bank notes at a money changer in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 9, 2025. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
The dollar held mostly steady on Thursday as the threat of a broader Middle East conflict loomed over markets, while a flurry of central bank decisions including a surprise cut from Norway kept traders busy.
Rapidly rising geopolitical tensions have boosted the dollar, which has reclaimed its safe-haven status in recent days.
Iran and Israel carried out further air attacks on Thursday, with the conflict entering its seventh day. Concerns over potential U.S. involvement have also grown, as President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel’s bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites.
The Federal Reserve left rates steady on Wednesday, and now traders are counting down to a Bank of England (BoE) meeting due later in the day, with bets on no change to the base rate.
The Swiss franc, meanwhile, was stronger against the dollar following an expected rate cut from the Swiss National Bank.
But the surprise came from the Norges Bank, which delivered a 25 bps rate cut, while markets had expected the Norwegian central bank to hold rates.
The dollar and the euro both surged against the Norwegian crown, and were last up 0.7% and 0.6% < EURNOK=D3>. The crown is still one of the top-performing major currencies against the dollar this year, with a gain of around 11%.
Meanwhile, the euro was 0.1% weaker at $1.147. The yen last fetched 145.28 per dollar. The Swiss franc strengthened after the SNB avoided delivering a larger half-point cut. By 0930 GMT, the dollar was 0.4% down against the Swiss franc fetching 0.8157 francs, while the euro fell 0.3% to 0.9369.
The dollar index, which measures the currency against six others, was flat at 98.9 and was set for about a 0.8% gain for the week, its strongest weekly performance since late February.
Some analysts said investors were looking to cover their short-dollar positions.
“The dollar seems ripe for a short-covering rally – especially if the U.S. wades into the Middle East conflict,” said Matt Simpson, a senior analyst at City Index.
Geopolitical concerns appear to have overshadowed the FOMC outcome, according to Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC. “Risk aversion dominates sentiments, and that puts pressure on risk-sensitive FX.”
U.S. markets are closed on Thursday for the federal Juneteenth holiday, which could mean liquidity is lower.
FED STANDS PAT
In a widely expected move, the Fed held rates steady, with policymakers signalling they still expect to cut rates by half a percentage point this year, although not all of them agreed on a need for rate cuts.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said goods price inflation will pick up over the course of the summer as Trump’s tariffs start to impact consumers.
“Ultimately, the cost of the tariff has to be paid, and some of it will fall on the end consumer,” Powell told a press conference on Wednesday. “We know that because that’s what businesses say. That’s what the data say from the past.”
The comments from Powell underscore the challenge facing policymakers as they navigate uncertainties from tariffs and geopolitical risks, leaving markets anxious about the path of U.S. interest rates.
Still, traders are pricing in at least two rate cuts this year though analysts are unsure of the starting point.
“The market is anticipating two 25 bp rate cuts this year, most probably September and December, but, we think the September FOMC will come too soon for the Fed to be comfortable cutting rates,” ING economists said in a note.
The Australian dollar fell 0.6% at $0.647, while the New Zealand dollar slipped 0.8% to $0.647.
Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in SingaporeEditing by Jacqueline Wong, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Frances Kerry
Developed economies suffered a sharp drop in investment, with a 58% decrease in Europe
The skyline with the banking district is seen during sunset in Frankfurt, Germany, February 27, 2024. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
International news via Reuters:
Global foreign direct investment fell for the second consecutive year in 2024, with fears this year could be even worse as trade tensions rock investor confidence, the United Nations agency for trade and development said in a report published on Thursday.
Foreign Direct Investment transactions, which do not include several European conduit economies, declined by 11%, indicating a significant reduction in actual productive investment activity, according to UNCTAD.
Geopolitical tensions and trade fragmentation contributed to lower investment last year as they created uncertainty, which UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan described as a “poison” for investor confidence.
“We are even more worried about the picture in 2025…We already feel that investment is halted…Tariffs are affecting growth,” Grynspan told Reuters, with short-term risk management being prioritised over long-term investment.
UNCTAD said its outlook for international investment in 2025 was negative due to trade tensions. Early data for the first quarter of 2025 shows record low deal and project activity.
When several European conduit economies – which act as intermediary hubs where investments temporarily pass through before reaching their final destinations – are included, the data showed that FDI increased by 4% to $1.5 trillion.
However, UNCTAD noted that this figure masks the reality that much of this investment is merely passing through these jurisdictions and was not productive.
“We see a very worrying tendency…Investment that has a real impact on jobs and infrastructure is going down,” she said.
Developed economies suffered a sharp drop in investment, with a 58% decrease in Europe. North America, however, observed a 23% increase in FDI, led by the U.S., while countries in Southeast Asia reached the second-highest level of FDI on record with a 10% rise, representing $225 billion.
Though capital inflows in developing countries were broadly stable, UNCTAD observed that capital was not being injected into crucial job-creating sectors such as infrastructure, energy and technology.
Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, editing by Ed Osmond
Israel has struck a number of Iranian nuclear targets since launching its attacks last week
Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
International news via Reuters:
Israel said on Friday it had struck Iran’s only functioning nuclear power plant on the Gulf coast, potentially a major escalation in its air war against Iran.
Israel has struck a number of Iranian nuclear targets since launching its attacks last week. But a strike on the Bushehr plant, which is located near Iran’s Arab Gulf neighbours and employs technicians from Russia, would be widely be seen as a big step.
An Israeli military spokesperson said on Thursday the military had struck nuclear sites in Bushehr, Isfahan, and Natanz, and continued to target additional facilities.
Bushehr is Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant. It uses Russian fuel that Russia then takes back when it is spent to reduce proliferation risk.
Iranian missiles hit an Israeli hospital overnight, as President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the U.S. would join Israel in airstrikes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to press on with Israel’s biggest ever attack on Iran until his arch enemy’s nuclear programme is destroyed, said Tehran’s “tyrants” would pay the “full price”.
His Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the “Ayatollah regime”.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lincoln Feast and Michael Georgy; Editing by Saad Sayeed and Peter Graff)
Budapest’s liberal mayor Gergely Karacsony tried to circumvent the anti-LGBTQ law
FILE PHOTO: Two people kiss as protesters block the Liberty Bridge during a demonstration after Hungarian parliament passed a law that will ban LGBTQ+ communities from holding their annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
Hungarian police said on Thursday that they were banning the Budapest Pride march of the LGBTQ+ community planned for June 28, despite the city’s mayor saying it was a municipal event that requires no permits from authorities.
Hungary’s parliament, in which Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s right-wing Fidesz Party has a big majority, passed legislation in March that created a legal basis for police to ban LGBTQ marches, citing the protection of children. It also lets police use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend.
Budapest’s liberal mayor Gergely Karacsony tried to circumvent the law when he announced on Monday that since the Budapest Pride march will be a municipal event “no permits from authorities are needed”.
Budapest metropolitan police, however, said the law applied to the event organised by the mayor and banned it.
The police ban has “no relevance” as authorities were not officially notified of the plans for the event, Karacsony said on Facebook.
“The Metropolitan Municipality will host the Budapest Pride Freedom Celebration on June 28, the day of Hungarian freedom, as a municipal event. Period,” the mayor wrote. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the protest.
Orban faces a challenging election in 2026 where a new surging opposition party poses a threat to his rule.
His government has a Christian conservative agenda and its intensifying campaign against the LGBTQ community has aimed to please Fidesz’s core voters, mostly in the countryside.
Orban said in February that organisers should not even bother organising Pride in Budapest this year.
Reporting by Anita Komuves;Editing by Alison Williams and Ed Osmond
Bermuda’s athletes shine both locally and overseas
In cricket, Team Bermuda cruised to their second win in a row at the ICC Tee20 World Cup Qualifiers in Canada and Bermuda’s men’s national basketball team return to the island following a successful tour in the Dominican Republic.
Bermuda Netball Summer League Delivers More High-Scoring Action
Bernard’s Park was buzzing with activity last night as the Bermuda Netball Association’s Summer League season continued, delivering another series of captivating matches across both the Women’s and Co-ed Divisions.
The evening saw a mix of decisive victories and competitive encounters. In the Women’s Division opener, St. George’s Cricket Club defeated K-Net Assets 27-20. Hailey Smith was named Best Attacker, and Nicole Smith the MVP for St. George’s.
Next up, Lady Stars delivered a commanding performance, routing Law & Disorder 53-7, with Kaylee Lema named MVP. The final Women’s Division match saw the Phoenix Flames defeat PHC 12-8, where Uni Simmons was the MVP for the Flames.
In the Co-ed Division, Storm Chasers delivered a strong performance, defeating BHB 35-18, with Antoine Williams as their Best Attacker. Finally, the Gold Diggers defeated the Bean Counting Netballerz 18-7, with Rakeem Deshields named Best Attacker.
Another action-packed night at Bernard’s Park highlighted the competitive and dynamic nature of the Bermuda Netball Association’s Summer League season.
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