The tool will be offline this Wednesday and Thursday, as well as next week
The Doppler weather radar system will be offline this Wednesday and Thursday, as well as next week, due to scheduled preventative maintenance.
The Bermuda Airport Authority said the work is, “crucial for enhancing the radar system’s resilience and ensuring its functionality for many years to come.”
Next week, the tool will be offline Monday through Friday.
The provisional maintenance schedule is as follows:
08:00 7th May through 18:00 8th May – to conduct interior infrastructure refurbishment activities.
09:00 12th May through 17:00 16th May – to replace system components.
The Bermuda Weather Service will continue to use its other products while the radar system is down, and the public can visit weather.bm for any updates to the schedule.
Bermudian equestrian Ki-Juan Minors has concluded the prestigious Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) Spring Series Five event in Wellington, Florida, in triumphant fashion, being crowned Champion in the fiercely competitive 1.40m Division.
Minors, aboard the talented mare Kylie VJ, demonstrated remarkable consistency and skill throughout the renowned series. Their partnership proved to be a formidable force in the 1.40m classes, culminating in the overall divisional title.
Riding Kylie VJ, owned by Marilla van Beuren and hailing from the esteemed Idle Hour Farm, Minors showcased exceptional horsemanship and a strong connection with his mount. Their consistent performances across the various competitions within the Spring Series Five underlined their quality and ultimately secured the coveted championship. This success in the highly regarded Wellington equestrian circuit marks a significant achievement for Minors and further highlights the talent emerging from Bermuda’s equestrian community.
Bermuda’s premier middle distance runner finishes 10th in competitive field in Wales
Bermudian runner Dage Minors has delivered a notable performance at the prestigious Cardiff 5K, securing a strong 10th place finish in a highly competitive field.
The unique event, held in the charming Whitchurch Village on the outskirts of Cardiff, is renowned as one of the United Kingdom’s leading 5-kilometre races, attracting top athletes from across the region.
Representing Bristol & West Athletic Club, Minors clocked an impressive new personal best time of 14 minutes and 30 seconds over the distance. This achievement marks a significant step forward for the Bermudian athlete and underscores his growing prowess on the road racing scene.
The victory in the Cardiff 5K went to James Heneghan, who crossed the finish line in a swift 14 minutes and 20 seconds, highlighting the calibre of the competition Minors faced. Minors’ strong top-ten finish and personal best time will undoubtedly provide a significant boost as he continues his racing season.
Narraway finishes 70th, gains valuable experience in gruelling Memorial Pascual Momparler race
Bermudian cyclist Nicholas Narraway completed the demanding Memorial Pascual Momparler (Spanish Cup) road race in Spain, finishing in 70th position after a gruelling test of endurance and skill.
Representing Tenerife-BikePoint-LaSede Bycicles, Narraway crossed the finish line in a time of 4 hours, 1 minute, and 56 seconds (4:01:56). The race, part of the prestigious Spanish Cup series, proved to be a challenging affair, with a tightly contested finish at the head of the peloton.
The victory went to Spain’s Samuel Fernandez Heres Samuel, who clocked a winning time of 3 hours, 59 minutes, and 51 seconds (3:59:51). Narraway’s effort saw him finish just over two minutes behind the winner in a highly competitive field of international riders.
Competing in such a demanding event on the European circuit provides valuable experience for Narraway as he continues his road racing season. The challenges of the Spanish Cup race will undoubtedly contribute to his development and preparation for future competitions.
McNiven gives Bermuda spectators have plenty to cheer about
The waters of Bermuda’s Great Sound are alive with the graceful ballet of the International One-Design (IOD) fleet as the Bermuda International Invitational Race Week Regatta continues to deliver captivating sailing action.
Eight elegant IOD boats are locked in a tense battle for supremacy, their sleek lines cutting through the azure waters. After another day of spirited competition, the leaderboard remains finely poised, hinting at a thrilling conclusion to the regatta.
Currently holding the top spot is Hannah Vincent from the USA. Her consistent performance continued today, securing a 4th and a 2nd place finish, adding to her tally and placing her on 12 points overall.
However, the local crowd has plenty to cheer about as Bermuda’s own Bill McNiven has moved into a close second position. Demonstrating impressive consistency on his home turf, McNiven recorded a solid 2nd and 3rd place in today’s races, leaving him just one point adrift of Vincent with a total of 13. The narrow margin suggests a captivating head-to-head battle is brewing as the regatta progresses, with every tactical decision and gust of wind potentially proving decisive in the days to come. The local support will undoubtedly be firmly behind McNiven as he aims to overhaul the American leader.
Kim Wilson, the Health Minister said policyholders will see an increase to the Standard Health Benefit rate
Premier and Finance Minister David Burt has declared the economy is no longer in recovery mode following four consecutive years of growth and a budget surplus.
Premier Burt joined by Health Minister Kim Wilson on Monday at the Cabinet Office outlined their budgetary priorities for fiscal year 2025/26.
A revised consolidated fund surplus of $19 million will allow increased funding to support the health care system, including the implementation of Universal Health Coverage, according to Premier Burt.
The government announced several reductions on customs duty rates impacting several sectors.
This budget includes a reduction in customs duty on all building materials to a flat rate of 10%, on the importation of motor vehicle parts and a reduction on fuel duty by another 20%, which the Premier said will save the average household $300 annually.
Minister Wilson said the health portfolio will receive $245.4 million including $177 million to fund MWI and the hospital, a 22% increase year on year.
She explained it was too early to say how much the standard health premium rate would now cost but touted the additional benefits to come.
Bermuda’s women’s field hockey team faced a tough test in their second match of the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games Qualifying Tournament, falling to a 5-0 defeat against host nation Mexico.
Despite a spirited effort, particularly given reports of illness affecting several players, the Bermudian side found themselves outmatched by a clinical Mexican team.
After a scoreless opening period, the deadlock was broken by Mexico, who then added another before the half-time whistle, leaving Bermuda with a significant challenge.
The second half saw Mexico extend their lead further, demonstrating their attacking prowess.
However, despite the scoreline, the final quarter offered a glimmer of resilience for the Bermuda squad.
They managed to shut down the Mexican attack, preventing any further goals and providing a platform to regroup.
While the result will undoubtedly be a disappointment, this final period of defensive solidity will offer some encouragement as they look to recover from the illness affecting the team and refocus their efforts ahead of their next crucial match in the qualifying tournament.
The experience gained against a strong Mexican side will also be invaluable as they continue their campaign.
Officials urge personal responsibility as young Bermudians lead campaign to promote safer roads
Community stakeholders gathered at City Hall yesterday afternoon to launch Road Safety Week, urging residents to play their part in keeping both our roads and waterways safe.
The importance of the event was underscored by sobering statistics from the hospitals’ Emergency Department.
According to Dr Celeste Maycock, consultant emergency physician at the hospital, last year the ER treated 1,300 patients due to road traffic collisions, 120 of whom had to be admitted because of their injuries.
She also referenced a study conducted last year of 167 drivers and riders involved in crashes. It found that more than half had high alcohol levels in their blood, and nearly 35 percent had drugs in their system.
This year’s campaign is being led by the Junior Road Safety Council and is themed “Youth Road Safety: Protecting Our Future.” It focuses on empowering young islanders to be advocates for their own safety.
Commissioner of Police Darin Simons encouraged young drivers and riders to build safe habits early – like respecting speed limits, avoiding distractions, never driving under the influence, and always wearing protective gear.
He said reckless behaviour is “not just dangerous but often irreversible”.
Road Safety Week continues with scheduled events and school visits – aimed at education, awareness, and saving lives.
A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Khalid Abdelaziz
International news via Reuters:
Explosions and fires rocked Sudan’s main port city and wartime capital Port Sudan on Tuesday, a witness said, part of a days-long drone assault that has torched the country’s biggest fuel depot, damaging the most important gateway for foreign aid.
A massive column of black smoke billowed from the area around the port, a Reuters video showed, and the witness said blasts had been heard from other areas though it was not clear exactly where else had been hit.
Sudan’s electricity company said a substation in the city was also hit, causing a complete power outage, part of a systematic assault on infrastructure.
Port Sudan had enjoyed relative calm since the civil war suddenly erupted in April 2023, becoming the base for the army-aligned government after the Sudanese armed forces lost control of much of the capital Khartoum at the start of the conflict to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have also sought refuge in the city, where U.N. officials, diplomats and agencies have also set up headquarters, making it the main base for aid operations in what the U.N. has called the world’s biggest humanitarian disaster.
Port Sudan’s import and storage depots supply fuel across the country and the destruction of its facilities risks a major crisis, throttling aid deliveries by road and hitting electricity production and cooking gas supplies.
The attacks, which began on Sunday, open a new front in the conflict, targeting the army’s main stronghold in eastern Sudan after it drove the RSF back westwards across much of central Sudan, including Khartoum, in March.
Military sources have blamed the paramilitary RSF for the attacks on Port Sudan since Sunday, though the group has not yet claimed any responsibility for the strikes.
On Sunday drones struck a military base in the area near Sudan’s only functioning international airport, and on Monday they targeted the city’s fuel depots. One of the targets was a major hotel near the residence of Sudan’s military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, witnesses said.
The attacks came after a military source said the army had destroyed an aircraft and weapons depots in the RSF-controlled Nyala airport in Darfur, the main stronghold of the paramilitary group.
CONDEMNATION
The attacks have drawn condemnation from neighbouring Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as expressions of concern from the United Nations.
Sudan’s army-aligned government has accused the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF, accusations that U.N. experts have found credible. The UAE has denied backing the RSF and the International Court of Justice on Monday said it could not rule in a case in which the government accused the UAE of fueling genocide.
The war, triggered by a dispute over a transition to civilian rule, has displaced over 12 million people and pushed half the population into acute hunger, according to the United Nations.
With the army’s success in pushing the RSF out of most of central Sudan, the paramilitary has shifted tactics from ground incursions to drone attacks targeting power stations and other facilities deep in army-controlled territory.
The army has continued air strikes in the Darfur region, the RSF’s stronghold. The two forces continue to fight ground battles for control of al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur state, and elsewhere as the battle lines in the war harden into distinct zones of control.
Writing by Nafisa Eltahir, Yomna Ehab and Angus McDowall; Editing by Aidan Lewis
Beijing’s warning came as the two countries vow to step up counterintelligence efforts
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian attends a press conference in Beijing, China April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
China warned on Tuesday it would take necessary measures to crack down on “infiltration and sabotage activities of foreign anti-China forces”, days after the CIA released videos aimed at enticing Chinese officials to leak secrets to the U.S.
The U.S. intelligence agency last week posted two short Chinese-language videos to its social media accounts depicting fictional scenes in which a senior Chinese official and a more junior government worker with access to classified information become disillusioned with China’s system and approach the CIA.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson called the videos a “damning confession” of the CIA’s efforts in “stealing” other countries’ secrets.
“The U.S. not only maliciously smears and attacks China, but also blatantly deceives and lures Chinese personnel to turn to its side, and even directly targets Chinese government officials,” spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press briefing when asked about the videos.
“This is a serious violation of China’s national interests and a naked political provocation.”
Beijing’s warning came as the two countries vow to step up counterintelligence efforts amid mutual accusations of espionage.
Last month, China’s state security ministry publicised the case of a government employee selling state secrets, secretly recording internal meetings and stealing confidential files, after reaching out to a foreign spy agency via email.
The employee was caught before she could leave the country, the ministry said in a video posted to its social media account. It did not name the foreign intelligence agency.
In October, the CIA launched a drive to recruit new informants in China, Iran and North Korea by posting instructions online on how to securely contact the agency, following what it said was successful efforts to enlist Russians.
Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are known within the U.S. intelligence community as “hard targets” – countries whose governments are difficult to penetrate.
Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Raju Gopalakrishnan
High levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain’s political conversation
FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with staff members during a visit to a defence contractor in Bedfordshire, Britain, May 2, 2025. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
International news via Reuters:
The British government may restrict visa applications from students living in countries that are considered most likely to claim asylum in a move designed to bring down annual net migration, a government official said.
The move comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party was punished in local elections in England last week by voters angry over issues, including illegal immigration.
The government is expected next week to publish a policy document, known as a white paper, which will set out how the government plans to reduce net migration, which reached 728,000 people in the year to June last year.
“Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system,” the Home Office said in a statement.
High levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain’s political conversation and were one of the major drivers for the Brexit referendum in 2016.
Out of the 108,000 people who claimed asylum in Britain last year, 16,000 had student visas, government data shows. The government does not provide a breakdown of the nationalities of those who had student visas, who went on to claim asylum.
But the government said people from Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka were the most likely to claim asylum in Britain after arriving on a work, student, or a visitor visa.
In the aftermath of the party’s poor local election results last week, some Labour members of parliament urged the government to do more to take a more decisive approach on issues such as bringing down net migration.
Jo White, who represents a group of lawmakers in previously Labour heartlands known as the “Red Wall”, said the government should stop “pussyfooting around”.
Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by Sarah Young
Poland says its role as a hub for aid to Ukraine has made it a key target for Russian sabotage
FILE PHOTO: Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski arrives for a meeting with international investors in IA at the Elysee Palace as part of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, France, February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
International news via Reuters:
Poland is facing an unprecedented attempt from Russia to interfere in its presidential election, the digital affairs minister said on Tuesday, as the campaign entered its final stages ahead of the first round of voting on May 18.
Poland says its role as a hub for aid to Ukraine has made it a key target for Russian sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation efforts, and Warsaw has been on high alert for interference, especially after Romania cancelled a presidential election in December due to allegations of Russian meddling.
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that it interferes in foreign elections and criticised the decision to cancel the election in Romania.
“During the current presidential elections in Poland, we are facing an unprecedented attempt to interfere in the electoral process from the Russian side,” Krzysztof Gawkowski told a defence conference.
“This is being done… (by) spreading disinformation in combination with hybrid attacks on Polish critical infrastructure in order to paralyse the normal functioning of the state,” he added.
He said that attacks had targeted water and sewage companies, heat and power plants and state administration bodies. The level of Russian activity in terms of cyberattcks in Poland had more than doubled compared to last year, he said.
“Today in Poland, during every minute of my speech, a dozen or so incidents targeting critical infrastructure were recorded,” he said.
The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Warsaw said in March that there had been a cyberattack on the Polish space agency. In 2024 Poland said the state news agency had likely been hit by a Russian cyberattack.
Warsaw and its allies have also alleged that Moscow is behind acts of arson and sabotage around Europe. Russia dismisses these claims.
Reporting by Karol Badohal, Pawel Florkiewicz, writing by Alan Charlish; Editing by Bernadette Baum
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