The latest on Bermudian athletes both locally and overseas
In sailing, it came down to the final 2 races, but it in the end Canada’s Ted Murphy was crowned champion of the Bermuda International Invitational Race Week Regatta. The Canadian edging out Bermuda’s Bill McNiven who took second place.
…but we’ll still have to wait until after 2026 census for accurate population numbers
A census every 5 years, augmented by more accurate emigration statistics – that’s what Minister Jason Hayward wants to keep track of our population numbers.
However, current stats have come into question from the Opposition and local business leaders, and the economic impact of our aging and shrinking population is widely acknowledged.
With the next census in 2026, our next accurate figure may not come until a year later. is that too long to wait?
Changes to the number of people living in Bermuda have not been accurately monitored.
The Premier has acknowledged this, and Labor and Economy Minister Jason Hayward says the future will be different.
He says, “we’re not going to go through another decade of not having a firm grasp on who is actually leaving Bermuda on an annual basis.”
However, the OBA has criticised the PLP’s response to an apparent population decline since the 2016 census. In the Budget Reply, Shadow Finance Minister Dr. Douglas De Couto said, “we in the Opposition have seen no realistic, credible, or effective strategy from the Government that will address the shrinking population with the urgency and impact required.”
The Chamber of Commerce economics division recently estimated a 10% population drop since 2016 – or at least 7-thousand fewer people in Bermuda.
Minister Jason Hayward questioned that number, as the workforce has not diminished by such a degree, and there is a housing shortage.
All the same, our current population data is in question. Premier David Burt last week conceded that present projections may not be dependable.
Speaking at the Budget Breakfast, he said, “right now we only in the population estimates put out measure births and deaths. We know that is not an accurate measure of population”.
The Premier added that the new border management system, monitoring arrivals and departures, will help provide more reliable ongoing population estimates once the 2026 census provides a new baseline.
Minister Jason Hayward also wants that baseline set more regularly. He says, “another thing that would help us is to have a census every five years rather than ten years… in terms of having more timely and relevant information, which allows us to make better policy decisions.”
Nevertheless, based on the past, we could have more than a two-and-a-half-year wait for a new population baseline. Preliminary figures from the 2016 census were not released until January 2018.
Gary Foster Skelton questioned Minister Hayward on this point…
GFS: “Is this population issue being taken seriously enough? If we had shrunk by 10% or even 5%, it would have a notable impact on the cost of living – the price of groceries, health care premiums… is it worth considering bringing the census forward?”
Hayward: “Government has taken the population and the movement and our population very seriously – embarking on a study to determine why people are leaving, and working towards policy solutions that will entice people to come back to Bermuda. I put out a complete policy paper as it pertains to how we plan to retain our local workforce.”
GFS: “One of the reasons why I ask, ‘do you need to consider bringing forward the census’… if you take a census, and it shows that the population hasn’t changed substantially, you have your response there to those who say otherwise. But if you do not take such an action, and then when we finally get the numbers and we see there has been a substantial exodus, then couldn’t it end up being part of the legacy of the PLP government that people were making these warnings about the population issue, and you did not respond?”
Hayward: “It would be inaccurate to say that we haven’t responded. We have changed our immigration policy. We have introduced PRCs and allow for persons to remain after being there for 20 years. That didn’t exist prior to a policy change of this government… We’ve put out policy papers that have informed the public that if we don’t address this issue we’re going to have severe economic challenges… we have framed it under the context of our aging population… we’re working towards increasing the amount of workers because we know that we’re going to need this workforce to power our economy and support our aging population.”
In a subsequent report, Minister Jason Hayward provides some insight into the feedback they have received from Bermudians who have left the island or are considering leaving.
He says those issues must be addressed as part of any plan to retain and regain the local population.
In tonight’s news (starting at 7pm)…
The team will raise funds for PALS cancer treatment charity in honour of their friend and teammate
Emma Claire Norman, a beloved member of Bermuda’s running and triathlon community, recently passed away at the age of 33 after a battle with cancer. She was part of the Weekenders running group.
In her memory, 26 Bermudians will run on Friday, May 23rd in the annual Bermuda Half -Marathon Derby to raise funds for PALS’ continued work in the community.
Family members and friends spoke with Nick Jones on Inside Sports.
The judging panel includes curators from The Met and the Art Gallery of Ontario
The Bermuda National Gallery issued the following media release.
The Bermuda National Gallery is pleased to announce that the jurors for the upcoming 2026 Bermuda Biennial are Akili Tommasino, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Dr Julie Crooks, Curator of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).
An open call to Bermudian artists and those resident on the island, the Biennial has been at the core of the contemporary art scene in Bermuda since its inception in 1994. Recognized by the International Biennial Association, and with works selected by a rotating cast of overseas jurors, the BNG’s flagship exhibition provides local artists with a national platform and the opportunity to have their work seen by some of the foremost art professionals in the world.
Jennifer L. Phillips, Executive Director of the Bermuda National Gallery, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Akili Tommasino and Dr Julie Crooks as jurors for the 2026 Bermuda Biennial, sponsored by the Green family. BNG’s flagship exhibition stands apart as a critical opportunity for Bermudian and Bermuda-based artists to have their work reviewed by esteemed international art professionals. We continue elevating the Biennial in its newest iteration, with the participation of curators from The Met and the Art Gallery of Ontario.”
Akili Tommasino joined The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2021, where he most recently organized Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876-Now (November 17, 2024–February 17, 2025). Previously, Tommasino held curatorial positions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and at the Museum of Modern Art. In 2020, along with his wife, Dr. Amanda Herrera Tommasino, he launched Pana Projects, an arts and education initiative in the Caribbean. A former Fulbright Fellow at the Centre Pompidou, Tommasino is a PhD candidate at Harvard University, where he earned his MA and BA.
“I am thrilled and honored to serve as a Juror for the 2026 Bermuda Biennial along with my friend and outstanding curatorial colleague Dr Julie Crooks, and to connect with the community of artists in Bermuda, a place that has always been special to me as the home of a large contingent of my extended family,” said Tommasino. “I am deeply grateful to the Bermuda National Gallery’s Executive Director Jennifer Phillips and Director of Exhibitions Eve Godet Thomas for their tremendous invitation.”
Dr Julie Crooks has been a curator at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) since 2017. Her recent curatorial projects at the AGO include Free. Black. North (2017); Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires (2018); and Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s – Now (2023). She holds a PhD from the Department of History of Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK. In 2020, Dr Crooks initiated the new Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora department at the AGO, with the goal of addressing historic gaps and erasures related to the representation of Africa and its diasporas through programming, acquisitions, and exhibitions.
She said, “I am deeply honored to be invited, along with my esteemed colleague Akili Tommasino, to serve as a juror for the 2026 Bermuda Biennial! I look forward to collaborating with the vibrant and multi-faceted community of artists in Bermuda.”
The 2026 Bermuda Biennial will be the first iteration to be sponsored by the Green family, who have taken on title sponsorship of the exhibition, building on a long history of collaboration between the family and the Bermuda National Gallery.
Submissions to the 2026 Bermuda Biennial will open in September and close in January 2026. The exhibition will be on display at the Bermuda National Gallery from June 2026 to December 2026. More information can be found at https://bng.bm/2026-bermuda-biennial.
Residents near Darrell’s Wharf urged to check security footage
A male suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of Honee Smith, police revealed today.
The arrest comes just one day after the Bermuda Police Service (BPS) said it was treating her sudden death as “suspicious.”
Ms. Smith was found unconscious last Thursday morning on a rocky embankment just off the trails near the Warwick playground on South Road. She later succumbed to her injuries while receiving treatment at the hospital.
A spokesperson for the BPS said the suspect remains in police custody at this time.
They added: “The investigating team is appealing for anyone familiar with Ms. Smith and who can assist in tracing her movements from Monday, May 5 until around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday May 8, 2025, to contact Detective Inspector Leroy Mathurin on 717-2040 or, via e-mail at, lmathurin@bps.bm”
“We would particularly like to speak with persons who live near the Darrell’s Wharf ferry terminal, and have CCTV cameras. Your devices may have captured images which we believe could prove helpful with this ongoing investigation.
“If you would prefer to provide the information anonymously, please call the independent and confidential Crime Stoppers number, 800-8477.”
Tiffany Slaton, a U.S. resident with ties to Bermuda, has now been missing for more than two weeks in California
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said it has scaled back its active search for missing camper Tiffany Slaton, after five days and nights of intensive efforts to locate her or her belongings.
Although originally from Georgia, Ms Slaton is also Bermudian, and has represented Bermuda in archery at several international competitions, including the NatWest Island Games, where she won a silver medal in 2017.
The 27-year-old was last known to be solo camping in the Shaver Lake and Huntington Lake area of California following a workaway programme. Her trip was described by her parents as a “bucket list” adventure before starting medical school.
Ms Slaton had maintained regular contact with her family throughout her travels. However, when they failed to hear from her after April 20, they filed a missing person report with law enforcement.
Speaking to Bermuda Broadcasting last week, her parents, Bobby and Frederina Slaton, described the ordeal as a nightmare, saying, “It’s like time has completely stopped for us.”
The Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team has covered nearly 600 square miles in their efforts – from Mono Hot Springs to Wishon Reservoir, Pine Flat Lake to Auberry, and all areas in between – but have found no trace of Ms Slaton or her belongings.
The last confirmed sighting of her was on April 24, when witnesses reported seeing her near the old Cressman’s General Store.
In a recent media release, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office stated: “Detectives are now asking the public to notify them of any video they may have captured on or around April 24. This includes surveillance cameras, dash cameras, etc. There is a possibility Slaton travelled along Auberry Road and past Pine Ridge School in order to access Highway 168.”
She is believed to have been traveling with a green and gray tent, a blue and black Lectric brand electric bicycle, and a small red trailer – none of which have been located.
“Although the SAR operation has been scaled back, the Sheriff’s Office is not stopping its search for Slaton,” a spokesperson said. “As more leads come in, we continue to investigate.”
Anyone with information or possible sightings is urged to contact the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 600-3111, referencing case number 25-4458.
Meanwhile, Ms Slaton’s family has launched a GoFundMe page to support their stay in California during the ongoing search.
The page reads: “We are in need of financial help for any and all expenses while we are in California. If you have the means to help, we would appreciate, any small or large help. Once Tiffany is found, all excess in funds will be given to her for medical help.”
As of this morning, donations have surpassed $16,000.
Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism & Transport, Culture & Sport apologised to parents for the mishap
Frustrated parents attempting to register their child for summer camp have received an apology from Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism & Transport, Culture & Sport.
Due to an error, the Camp Connect registration website crashed within minutes of going live Monday morning at 9.30am prompting a slew of complaints from members of the public.
Minister Darrell explained that a clerical error affected the number of listed available spaces for students.
He said, “A clerical error resulted to a few camp titles being listed incorrectly and though we caught the issue and corrected it quickly, we know it added unnecessary complications.
“Additionally, some camps filled within minutes, which we understand left many feeling disappointed.
“Despite offering thousands of camp spaces, the demand continues to exceed the capacity provided. Our team is now carefully reviewing applications and removing duplicate entries to make sure all spaces are correctly allocated.”
He said all registrations are due to be finalised this week.
K. Charyse Bean, Director of the Department of Sport and Recreation explained how the summer day camp program has expanded to be more accessible to students over the years.
The department said limited spaces are still available for families to register for: Camp Bermudez, Camp Chameleon, Mini Cupmatch Camp and Teen Camp.
Runs in support of the Ministry of Health’s Mental Health Anti-Stigma Month
Mount Saint Agnes Academy’s Mental Health Week putting emotional and psychological wellbeing in the spotlight—it’s a 7 day campaign that underscores the Ministry of Health’s Mental Health Anti-Stigma Month.
M.S.A. and the Bermuda Government joining forces next Monday May 19th to host a public Youth Mental Health Panel. Speaking to M-S-A school counsellor Bellina Hunjan, she says that mental healthcare has taken massive strides over the last 10 years.
Xi also announced visa-free travel would be rolled out to five countries
International news via Reuters:
President Xi Jinping vowed on Tuesday to boost China’s footprint in Latin America and the Caribbean with a new $9 billion credit line and fresh infrastructure investment, although Brazil warned the region not to become overly reliant on foreign funding.
The world’s second-largest economy will disburse 66 billion yuan ($9.18 billion) in credit to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States’ (CELAC) members, Xi told delegates from around 30 nations gathered in Beijing for the three-yearly China-CELAC Forum Ministerial Meeting.
“China and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are important members of the Global South. Independence is our glorious tradition, development and revitalisation our natural right, and fairness and justice our common pursuit,” Xi said.
Xi promised leaders including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro that China would also import more from Latin America and encourage its firms to boost investment.
Beijing has stepped up efforts in recent years to displace the United States as the region’s primary development partner, although Xi’s global “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative (BRI) has encountered challenges in some countries.
China also sees courting the region as a way to squeeze self-ruled Taiwan. Seven of the 12 countries that have official diplomatic ties with the island, which Beijing considers one of its provinces, hail from Latin America or the Caribbean.
Haiti and Saint Lucia, which both recognise Taiwan, sent representatives to Beijing for the CELAC summit. Panama’s ambassador to China was also in attendance, although the Central American country has announced it does not intend to renew its BRI membership, which is set to expire in two to three years.
The fresh credit line, denominated in yuan, will be welcomed in many regional capitals, analysts say, although the funding is not immediately useful to countries struggling to service dollar-denominated debt.
“They are doing a lot more yuan-based deals like this, particularly for credit swap agreements that make it easier for the borrowing country to transact in RMB rather than USD,” said Eric Orlander, co-founder of the China-Global South Development Project.
“I think there is a case to be made that it is a win for Latin America in the sense that getting access to capital is now not as easy as it used to be.”
The funding is just under half the amount Beijing offered during the inaugural China-CELAC Forum in 2015, although, as its $19 trillion economy has slowed, so has its willingness to lend.
Xi also announced visa-free travel would be rolled out to five countries, without specifying which ones.
After the opening ceremony, delegates adopted a joint action plan covering cooperation through to 2027, a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.
US-CHINA COMPETITION
The Forum comes as many Latin American and Caribbean states seek to negotiate better trade terms with the United States, following President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
Xi reiterated China’s opposition to the levies, while the Brazilian President urged the region not to become overly reliant on the world’s top economies.
“It’s important to understand, (the fate of Latin America) doesn’t depend on anyone else. It does not depend on President Xi Jinping, it does not depend on the United States, it does not depend on the European Union, it depends solely and simply on whether we want to be great or continue to be small,” Lula said.
But Brazil, for one, has been aligning more closely with China, sensing an opportunity to sell more agricultural goods to the world’s top food importer as it winds down purchases from the U.S.
Xi and Lula held talks later on Tuesday and signed a series of cooperation documents covering agriculture, nuclear energy and broader technical cooperation, Brazilian state TV reported.
Of the $240 billion worth of goods China bought from the CELAC countries last year, just under half came from Brazil, the region’s largest economy.
Two-way trade between China and the CELAC bloc was $515 billion in 2024, according to Chinese customs data, up from $450 billion in 2023 and just $12 billion in 2000.
($1 = 7.1925 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Eduardo Baptista, Joe Cash, Liz Lee and Qiaoyi Li; Writing by Joe Cash; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kate Mayberry
Germany’s domestic intelligence service put the broader movement under observation in 2016
International news via Reuters:
Police arrested four members of a radical group seeking to replace the modern German state, the interior minister and prosecutors said on Tuesday, in the latest operation against a far-right movement flagged as a potential threat to democracy.
The raids against the Koenigreich Deutschland, or ‘Kingdom of Germany’, came after the interior ministry banned the group, which prosecutors said had established shadow institutions for a new state in line with a far-right ideology known as the ‘Reichsbuerger’ movement.
One of the four people arrested was the ‘Kingdom’s’ self-declared sovereign, the prosecutors said.
Germany’s domestic intelligence service put the broader Reichsbuerger movement under observation in 2016 after one of its members shot dead a policeman during a raid at his home.
Scrutiny of the movement, which covers a number of conspiratorial theories questioning the legitimacy of the modern German state, intensified in December 2022 when authorities thwarted advanced plans for an armed coup.
Its adherents believe that German democracy is an illegitimate facade and that they are citizens of a monarchy which, they maintain, endured after Germany’s defeat in World War One, despite its formal abolition.
The aim of the decade-old ‘Kingdom of Germany’ faction, which says it has about 6,000 supporters, is to secede from Germany and establish a counter-state with its own police force and jurisdiction, said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
“We are not talking about a group of harmless nostalgics but about criminal structures and a criminal network,” Dobrindt told reporters, adding their criminal economic network was long a focus for German authorities. No weapons were seized, he said.
Police acted on four arrest warrants for suspects identified as Mathias B., Peter F., Benjamin M. and Martin S., omitting their surnames in line with German privacy laws.
Prosecutors said the four men were suspected ringleaders of the group that had set up “pseudo-state-like structures and institutions”, including a bank and insurance system, an authority printing “fictional documents” and its own currency.
Peter F. was the group’s “supreme sovereign”, with oversight and decision-making powers over the group’s key areas, prosecutors said.
Additional reporting by Madeline Chambers, Writing by Friederike Heine and Rachel More; Editing by Andrew Heavens, William Maclean
A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to regular wage growth of 5.7%
International news via Reuters:
Britain’s jobs market cooled again last month, according to data that showed the impact of a tax hike on employers and Donald Trump’s trade tariffs but is likely to give some reassurance to the Bank of England that inflation pressures are waning.
Provisional tax office figures published on Tuesday showed the number of employees fell by almost 33,000 in April after a 47,000 drop in March.
Vacancies dipped further below their pre-COVID pandemic level, sliding by 42,000 – the biggest decline in more than a year – in the three months to April to 761,000.
Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 5.6% from January to March compared with the same period last year, the slowest increase since the three months to November last year, the Office for National Statistics said.
A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to regular wage growth of 5.7%.
Sterling and bets in financial markets on the pace of BoE rate cuts over the remainder of this year were little changed after the data was published.
“While the labour market continues to slow, and there is some evidence of the impact of the increase in national insurance … there is nothing to suggest it immediately fell off a cliff in response to the shock,” Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at fund management firm Aberdeen, said.
“Combined with the better trade news recently, there is nothing here to make the Bank of England regret its decision to say the easing cycle will continue to be only ‘gradual’,” Bartholomew said.
PAY PRESSURES EASING BUT STILL STRONG
The BoE is monitoring the inflation pressures in Britain’s labour market closely as it considers whether to speed up its pace of interest rate cuts to shield the economy from the fallout from Trump’s policies.
Last week, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee split three ways on its May interest rate decision with five members backing a quarter-point cut, two favouring a bigger half-point reduction and two voting to keep rates on hold.
On Monday, interest rate-setters Clare Lombardelli and Megan Greene pointed to inflation risks in the labour market where pay growth remains too high for the BoE’s 2% target. A third MPC member, Alan Taylor, said the “quite perilous” trade situation was one reason for his vote for a half-point cut.
The ONS said private-sector pay excluding bonuses – a gauge of domestic inflation pressure tracked by the BoE – rose by 5.6%, weaker than a 5.9% increase in the three months to February.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at global jobsite Indeed, said the BoE was likely to remain on guard about the risks posed by still high wage growth in Britain.
“A more material and sustained cooling of wage pressures would open the door to faster interest rate cuts, but the MPC’s split vote in May underlines the continued caution over persistent inflation pressures,” Kennedy said.
The ONS said Britain’s unemployment rate, which is based on a survey that is being overhauled and is no longer considered an accurate gauge of the jobs market, rose to 4.5% from 4.4%, in line with the Reuters poll and the highest since mid-2021.
The ONS said it had seen an improvement in response rates to its Labour Force Survey but cautioned there was still some volatility in the quality of detailed estimates.
The agency is aiming to transition its labour market statistics to a new approach in November next year, but it has warned the change could be delayed to 2027.
Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Sarah Young, Andrew Heavens and Hugh Lawson
