Football: A Motorcade on Front Street and a visit to the Cabinet Office for North Village Community Club
Premier Division champions, North Village capped off a stellar season with a 2–nil victory over Devonshire Cougars at the Flora Duffy Stadium on Sunday to claim the FA Cup title and with it a rare domestic double.
Yesterday, Premier David Burt and acting Sports Minister Jache Adams welcomed members of North Village to the Cabinet Office, to offer their congratulations on the club’s achievements in keeping with the annual tradition.
Premier Burt said, “Winning both the league and the FA Cup is a great accomplishment and a source of pride for the club. Congratulations to the North Village Community Club on an outstanding season.
We may be one of the smaller contingents to take part in the Carifta Games this year.
But that has not stopped Team Bermuda from leaving its mark on this year’s edition of the regional youth sports meet.
After joining fellow athletes in Friday’s festive opening ceremony, Team Bermuda got down to business on Saturday, securing its first medal of the games. Middle-distance runner Cameron Adkins earned silver in the Under-17 Boys 1500m dash, slashing nine seconds off his personal best to finish in 4 minutes, 12.86 seconds. jJust over three seconds behind Trinbagonian Christopher Sammy, who took gold.
Adkins nearly added a second medal on Sunday, delivering another strong performance in the 3,000 meters. He was narrowly edged out at the finish line, finishing in fourth place in the race.
Team Bermuda also making waves in the swimming competition over the weekend. Just about an hour after Cameron Adkins secured silver on the track, Team Bermuda would add the first of several medals in the pool to their tally, thanks to standout performances from swimmer Thomas Cechini.
After taking bronze in 1500m freestyle on Saturday, 17 year old Cechini backed it up with a second bronze medal on Sunday night in the 200 metres freestyle.
Meantime, in track and field action on the final day of competition, under 17 javelin thrower, Tatiana Sousa, took silver when she threw a personal best of 42 meters 24 on her very first throw.
The Warwick Academy student’s silver medal bringing Team Bermuda’s overall tally to 4 medals – 2 in track and field and 2 in swimming – with one day remaining in the Carifta Aquatics Championships.
Several Team Bermuda swimmers qualifying for Tuesday night’s finals. But it was Thomas Cechini who would once again swim his way onto the podium. The 17 year old, competing in his final Carifta Championships, came within one one hundredth of a second of taking silver in the boys 15-17 400m.
Cechini’s bronze medal in the event – his third overall for Carifta 2025 – would bring Team Bermuda’s medal count to 5 – three bronze in swimming and two silver in track and field.
Bermuda’s Catholic Bishop says the late Pope appointed Cardinals from across the global church
As Bermuda’s Catholic community mourns the loss of Pope Francis, Wes Spiewak, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, says it is like losing a patriarch.
“It’s like losing a father in a certain sense”, says Bishop Wes, “because this is the role of the Pope – to be the father of all the Catholic people around the world.”
(WATCH highlights from our interview with Bishop Wes Spiewak above, or scroll down for the extended interview)
Pope Francis, who passed away early on Monday, was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1936.
Ordained priest in 1969, and created Cardinal in 2001, his Papacy began on 13th March 2013.
Bishop Wes says he is thankful to God that “God has given us this Pope. I was hoping for pope coming from South America.”
“The longer I live, the more I am convinced that our church, our Roman Catholic church, has become too bound to the Western civilization, the European civilization, instead of being the Catholic Church. Catholic means universal.”
Bishop Wes believes a different perspective coming from a different cultural background can only help the church.
He also says that Pope Francis appointed Cardinals from around the global Catholic church, including Mongolia, Myanmar and Bangladesh, whereas historically many Cardinals were appointed from Italy and Europe.
“He made an incredibly colorful picture of the College of the Cardinals today”, says Bishop Wes.
“So those who will come to Rome to elect the new pope, they will reflect the reality of the Catholic Church, not just of the Western church.”
Regiment troops assisting the police in Trinidad & Tobago
Lessons covered escalation, de-escalation and barricade drills, formations and manoeuvres. Photos supplied
Royal Bermuda Regiment press release: Members of a public order unit in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service [TTPS] are updating their methods of crowd control thanks to training from the Royal Bermuda Regiment [RBR]. Four RBR soldiers travelled to the Caribbean country to deliver a comprehensive package of instruction that will not only modernise techniques but will also leave officers equipped to teach the drills within their own organisation. The public order course is aligned with Tradewinds 2025, a US Southern Command-sponsored exercise that will begin in Trinidad and Tobago later this month. Five women and 21 men from the TTPS are receiving the training.
Warrant Officer Class 2 Tim Furr, the RBR’s chief instructor for the programme, explains: “They are familiar with public order drills, just not the drills that we’re teaching. Some of it is similar but one of the biggest differences is that they’re used to using six-foot shields whereas we use four-foot shields.” He says: “This group is very keen, very energetic, you can tell they have worked together before, which has made our job so much easier. They’re taking on everything we’re teaching them and have been putting it into play very well.” The RBR training team has also included Colour Sergeant Runekco Edwards, Colour Sergeant Jason Smith and Sergeant Swayne Pully-Raynor.
Instruction comprised classroom-based theory with the intensity and demands of practical exercises – when the students hone their skills while kitted out with robust personal protective equipment. Lessons covered escalation, de-escalation and barricade drills, formations and manoeuvres, the use of less-than-lethal weapons, and dealing with petrol bombs. The two-week package is the latest public order course to be delivered by the Royal Bermuda Regiment to officers of police, prison and defence services overseas, with previous locations including Belize, Barbados and Guyana. By training multinational groups as part of Tradewinds meetings or under the Caribbean’s Regional Security System banner, consistency of standards can be achieved across the organisations’ partner nations.
Sergeant Adelina Hospedales, a lead public order instructor with the TTPS who is serving as liaison during the course, says students have been excited by the programme, which started on April 7 and concluded on Friday, April 18. She explains: “It has broadened our scope in terms of the options – new techniques – that are now available to us. Of course, there are techniques that we will maintain but there are others that have been taught that are more realistic. We see that we can now better manage our human resources when we deploy our officers.” The TTPS public order unit is tasked when major events take place and is the only body in Trinidad and Tobago mandated to manage large crowds and protests. Sgt Hospedales adds: “One of the ideas behind Tradewinds is to train officers of the member nations to operate in unison, so that we can provide sufficient support if required. For instance, if we had to go to Barbados for whatever reason to offer support and our public order team had to be deployed, the techniques would be standard in relation to what they practise over there. “That is a huge benefit from this training.” She says: “On behalf of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, we truly appreciate this opportunity for our officers to be trained in new techniques of crowd control. We look forward to future collaborations.” For information on joining the Royal Bermuda Regiment, visit rbr.bm, call 238-1045 or contact the Recruiting Team at rbr.recruiting@gov.bm.
Assistant Commissioner of the Bermuda Police Service urges people not to carry weapons for protection
Police officer conduct checks during the Easter holiday weekend. Photo: Bermuda Police Service/Instagram
Fourteen traffic collisions and twenty-three arrests made over the Easter Holiday weekend, according to the Bermuda Police Service.
Martin Weekes, the Assistant Commissioner of Police urging a word of warning after several of the arrests were made in connection to carrying machetes and sharp objects as weapons.
A total of 23 arrests were made over the longer Easter Holiday weekend for outstanding warrants, impaired driving, possession of bladed articles, controlled drugs and other offenses.
In the wake of a recent increase in knife related crimes, a spokesperson for the Police said a number of stop and search checks were put in place on the motorways as a preventative measure.
Five people were arrested for carrying bladed items including a machete, an axe and an 8inch knife.
Martin Weekes, Assistant Commissioner of Police, stated, “The Bermuda Police Service cannot stress enough, the dangers associated with the carrying of bladed articles.
“In many instances when found with these items, individuals say they are carrying them for protection purposes.
“However, evidence shows that carrying bladed articles such as machetes or knives, actually increases the chances of you being injured.
“Our officers will continue to lawfully stop persons under section 315-F of the criminal code in an effort to prevent persons using these items as weapons whether for protection or for purposes of inflicting harm on others.”
On Good Friday, a man was hospitalised for injuries after a disturbance was reported at Elbow Beach Hotel site around 3.30pm. Another man was taken into police custody and an investigation is now underway.
Elsewhere, there were fourteen reported road traffic collisions with six resulting injury – the worst of those injuries was a person suffering a broken leg.
In the early hours of Good Friday, just before midnight, police reported a serious car collision near the Brighton Hill and South Shore Road junction in Devonshire. The driver may have been traveling east when they lost control while taking a right hand turn striking a nearby curb. The car ended up on its side in a farm plot however, its unclear if anyone was injured after no one showed up at the hospital, following checks by police officers.
Two people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs as roadside sobriety checkpoints were active throughout the weekend. Police said one reading recorded was over twice the legal blood-alcohol limit at 136 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood.
The spokesperson said several people arrested were due to appear in Magistrates’ court this morning to face charges and others are expected to appear in due course.
Warwick Academy student Tatiana Sousa throws a PB in U17 javelin in Trinidad
16 year old Warwick Academy student Tatiana Sousa threw a personal best of 42.24 meters in the U17 girls javelin event this morning to claim Bermuda’s second silver medal of the 2025 Carifta Games in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Philippines will test its own modern missiles in live-fire exercises with U.S. counterparts
U.S. Balikatan Exercise Director Lieutenant General James Glynn answers questions from the media beside his counterpart Philippine Exercise Director Major General Francisco Lorenzo during the opening ceremony of the annual Philippines-U.S. joint military exercises or Balikatan, at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
International news via Reuters:
More than 14,000 Filipino and American soldiers kicked off annual military exercises on Monday for a “full battle test” between the two defence treaty allies in the face of regional security concerns, including tensions in the South China Sea.
The annual “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises will run for three weeks until May 9, showcasing an array of U.S. weapons that include the NMESIS anti-ship missile system and HIMARS rocket launchers.
The Philippines will test its own modern missiles in live-fire exercises with American counterparts, according to a summary shared with media.
Lieutenant General James Glynn, the exercise director for the U.S. side, described this year’s drills as “full battle tests” where capabilities of both forces will be measured in multiple scenarios. Exercises include defending against missile threats, preventing invasions at sea, and sinking a decommissioned Philippine navy vessel in a maritime strike test.
“The full battle tests is intended to take into consideration all of the regional security challenges that we face today, beginning in the South China Sea,” Glynn told a media briefing.
About 9,000 U.S. soldiers and 5,000 Filipino troops are participating this year, officials said. Small contingents from Australia, Japan, Britain, France and Canada are also participating and 16 other countries have signed up as observers.
Philippine Balikatan Exercise Director Major General Francisco Lorenzo, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Romeo Brawner Jr, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Marykay Carlson, U.S. Balikatan Exercise Director Lieutenant General James Glynn, and AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Education, Training and Doctrine Major General Llewillyn S Banaag pose for a picture during the opening ceremony of the annual Philippines-U.S. joint military exercises or Balikatan, at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
The exercises come as regional tensions simmer in Asia over China’s activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan, which neighbours the Philippines. Major General Francisco Lorenzo, the exercises director for the Philippines, said the drills were not directed at any country, but could act as deterrent against conflict.
“The Balikatan exercise may probably help deter the conflict in Taiwan. But for our concern, it is only for deterrence of any possible coercion or invasion to our country,” Lorenzo said.
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Romeo Brawner Jr delivers a message during the opening ceremony of the annual Philippines-U.S. joint military exercises or Balikatan, at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Monday said Beijing firmly opposes any country using Taiwan as an excuse to strengthen regional military deployment and “provoke tension and confrontation”.
“The parties concerned are advised not to provoke on the Taiwan issue, and those who play with fire will burn themselves,” Guo said at a regular briefing.
Tensions between China and the Philippines have escalated the past two years over run-ins between their coast guards in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims sovereignty over almost in its entirety.
Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Martin Petty
The EU methane law could give U.S. LNG an advantage over Russia and Algeria
FILE PHOTO: Model of LNG tanker is seen in front of the U.S. flag in this illustration taken May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
The European Union is looking at ways to make it easier for U.S. gas exports to comply with its methane emissions rules, as the bloc attempts to avert a trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The European Commission is working on its offer for trade negotiations with the United States, to attempt to avoid Trump’s planned tariffs – with both sides signalling that energy could form part of a broader trade deal.
Trump has said several times the EU should buy more American oil and gas to lower its trade surplus with the United States. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU could increase U.S. LNG purchases, as the bloc seeks to quit Russian gas by 2027.
As part of the energy options being explored to aid trade talks with the U.S., the Commission is looking at using flexibilities in how it applies EU methane rules, which could benefit U.S. LNG exporters, the sources said.
The aim would be to avoid weakening the overall law, while introducing technical rules that could enable U.S. exporters to be deemed to be following “equivalent” methane rules to those of the EU, and therefore automatically comply with the EU law, they said.
The sources did not provide details on how that could be accomplished.
The move could be complicated by Trump’s plan to scrap existing U.S. regulations requiring gas producers to report their methane emissions, making it harder for the EU to justify letting U.S. companies automatically comply.
FILE PHOTO: An LNG tanker is guided by tug boats at the Cheniere Sabine Pass LNG export unit in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, U.S., April 14, 2022. REUTERS/Marcy de Luna/File Photo
A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on whether it was exploring possible flexibilities in the methane law that could benefit U.S. LNG exporters.
“The Commission has an ongoing dialogue with industry on all relevant matters related to our legislation,” the spokesperson said.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and the second-biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide emissions.
Starting this year, the EU requires importers of oil and gas to Europe to monitor and report the methane emissions associated with those imports.
The EU methane law could give U.S. LNG an advantage over gas from suppliers with a higher methane emissions intensity, such as Russia and Algeria.
But U.S. exporters warn they will struggle to technically comply with the law, because the fragmented nature of the country’s gas industry means they cannot track methane emissions along their value chains, since one LNG shipment may contain co-mingled sources of fuel from numerous gas fields.
From 2027, the EU law will make compliance with methane rules equivalent to those of the EU a requirement for foreign suppliers to sign new contracts with European buyers.
The European Commission held an online meeting last month with U.S. LNG companies to discuss their concerns about the law.
The U.S. is already the EU’s biggest supplier of LNG, having ramped up deliveries as Europe raced to replace Russian gas following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. supplied 45% of the EU’s LNG imports last year, which worked out at 16.5% of total EU gas and LNG imports.
Reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels, Valerie Volcovici in Washington D.C.; editing by Richard Valdmanis and Ros Russell
A committee to appoint a future chair has been established
FILE PHOTO: World Economic Forum (WEF) Founder and Chairman Klaus Schwab gives his welcoming remarks at the 55th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/ File Photo
International news via Reuters:
Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum which gathers the world’s business and political elite in the Swiss mountain village of Davos every year, has resigned as chair of its board of trustees, the WEF said on Monday.
The Geneva-based institution had announced earlier this month that Schwab, 87, would be stepping down, without indicating a timeframe.
“Following my recent announcement, and as I enter my 88th year, I have decided to step down from the position of Chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect,” Schwab said in a statement released by the WEF.
The WEF board said in the statement that it had accepted Schwab’s resignation at an extraordinary meeting held on April 20, and that Vice Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe would become the interim chairman.
A committee to appoint a future chair has been established.
Schwab established the WEF in 1971 with the aim of creating a forum for policymakers and top corporate executives to tackle major global issues.
Widely regarded as a cheerleader for globalisation, the WEF’s annual Davos gathering has in recent years drawn disapproval from critics as elitist and removed from ordinary people.
Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Rachna Uppal
News comes amidst United States-led tariff and trade war that targets China
FILE PHOTO: U.S. and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration taken March 20, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
International news via Reuters:
China has imposed sanctions on some U.S. congress members, government officials as well as heads of non-governmental organisations for “egregious behaviour on Hong Kong-related issues”, its foreign ministry said on Monday.
The sanctions come in response to the U.S. sanctioning six Chinese and Hong Kong officials last month, which Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China “strongly condemns”.
“Any wrong action taken by the U.S. side on the Hong Kong-related issue will be met with resolute and reciprocal counteraction by the Chinese side,” Guo said.
Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Liz Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing
Living undocumented in Canada has been rare in part because it is difficult to access services
Devi Acharya, who came to Canada as a temporary foreign worker in 2022, pose for a photo with her husband Yogisha Acharya and son Navdev, in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on April 17, 2025. Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
Migrants living in Canada are facing longer waits to renew paperwork that would allow them to keep working legally, as growing backlogs and changing rules stymie efforts to maintain legal status, according to interviews and data obtained by Reuters.
Losing status means people who have paid taxes cannot work or access medical care and other services in a country that has long prided itself for its universal health care.
Canada is trying to reduce the number of migrants in the country as they have been blamed for straining services – a sharp change after years of growth – and is relying on people to leave voluntarily to meet its targets.
Canada’s immigration department said people can work while their application is processed but did not respond by the deadline to a question about people who lose status because of long waits.
According to the immigration department’s website, people can keep working as long as they get a labour market impact assessment needed to maintain their status within 60 days of applying to renew their work permit.
Reuters spoke with four families who lost work permits because they have been waiting for much longer than that. It is not known how many people are in this position.
The labour market impact assessment processing time for temporary workers hoping to become permanent residents in Canada has been increasing since at least fall 2022, and almost tripled from 58 business days in September 2023 to 165 business days in March 2025, according to data from Canada’s employment department obtained by Reuters.
The department said the lengthier waits are due in part to an influx of applications but would not provide the number of applications pending by month. Lawyers and experts say changing rules, as well as more applicants, may be contributing to the growing backlog.
The number of people applying for work permits within the country has grown compared to last year – as has the share of those applications that Canada is refusing, data from Canada’s immigration department shows.
FILE PHOTO: A group of people walk along a road, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
An email seen by Reuters from Service Canada, which processes these applications, said that as of April 1, 2025, the department was still processing labour market impact assessment applications submitted a year earlier.
“We are seeing a backlog now of more than a year. … It’s the first time we are seeing such a delay,” said immigration consultant Kanwar Sierah.
People are losing their immigration status, Sierah said, and some are working under the table for exploitative employers or falling victim to “unscrupulous actors” who give them bad advice, for example by urging them to apply for asylum when they may not have a strong case.
Reuters spoke with migrants who have returned to their country of origin and to people living legally in Canada with no ability to support themselves.
Living undocumented in Canada has been rare in part because it is so difficult to access services without status. Estimates have put Canada’s undocumented population in the hundreds of thousands in a country of some 40 million.
Canada’s Liberal government pledged to give undocumented people status but then backtracked and said it would provide it on a small scale for people working in certain sectors.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who leads polls ahead of an April 28 election, promises to cap immigration for now.
A DREAM ‘SHATTERING’
Devi Acharya was too scared to go to a hospital when she started to miscarry in early March – she could not afford another medical bill.
“If I got medical attention on time, maybe we could have saved the baby.”
Acharya does not have health coverage for the same reason she cannot work: Her work permit expired while she waited for a labour market impact assessment, so if she seeks medical care, she could be handed a hefty bill.
Canada’s temporary foreign worker program requires most employers wanting to hire non-citizens in Canada temporarily to file for a labour market impact assessment that says the position cannot be filled by a local resident.
A spokesperson for the employment department said demand for its temporary foreign worker program varies, that it received a high volume of applications prior to last fall and that it expects processing times to improve over the next six months.
Acharya came to Canada from India with her husband and son in October 2022, working in housekeeping at Prince Rupert’s Highliner Hotel in British Columbia.
She liked the work. She and her husband bought a house.
They applied for new labour market impact assessments in September, her immigration consultant told Reuters. They have received no response. Their work permits expired. They are in Canada legally but cannot work. Navdev, now five years old, cannot go to school.
“Two years before we were dreaming of making Canada home,” she said, “and now it’s shattering.”
Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Aurora Ellis
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