Royal Gazette

The Progressive Labour Party branded attacks over a loan to a United States music promoter a “desperate” election attack.A party spokeswoman said Anthony Blakey, who disappeared after taking a $800,000 loan to start a music studio, had previously been involved with entertainment at the America’s Cup.The spokeswoman said: “If this company was so disreputable, with no connection to Bermuda and no experience in the country, as the OBA wants Bermudians to believe, then why did their America’s C

A new Progressive Labour Party administration would introduce an amended health plan after the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the island’s finances, the Government said.The PLP announced in its platform last week that the programme would be launched in collaboration with the BermudaFirst advisory group and deliver access to “affordable universal healthcare for all”.A government spokeswoman said later: “The revised Bermuda Health Plan mentioned in the governing party’s platform will be different

A new Bermudian company is planned to reinsure $5 billion of annuities issued by American Equity Investment Life Holding Company.Värde Partners, a hedge fund, will establish the new reinsurer.The plan is the product of a strategic partnership between American Equity, Värde and Agam Capital Management, LLC, an insurance solutions provider. American Equity, a New York Stock Exchange-listed company based in West Des Moines, Iowa, and Värde will jointly set up a company to manage the ass

Private investment will drive many of the projects promised in the Progressive Labour Party’s platform for the October 1 General Election, the Premier said last night.David Burt explained that the PLP had put together a collaborative document with input from union partners and other groups and that the island faced “a unique opportunity” amid the coronavirus pandemic.He said: “We do not have a large amount of grandiose promises inside of this platform that are going to cost public money bec

Party platforms are essential documents when voters are deciding who they are going to elect in a General Election. Of course, they are not the only factor in the decision. A party’s previous record and the calibre of candidates are also crucial. And, of course, platforms are also only a guide to a party’s decisions, if elected, during their term of government. Events interfere almost from Day 1 to prevent or change every promise. Indeed, no one could have predicted that the world would be hit by

All Yasmin Cann really remembers is the excruciating pain.If pressed, she can tell how doctors at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital put her in the ICU and plugged her into tubes; how she was then operated on by specialist surgeons at Lahey Hospital & Medical Centre – but that is only because she has heard her mother, Beverley Cann, tell the story repeatedly.The one-two punch of a massive aneurysm rupture and a stroke at age 34 left Yasmin unable to walk, read or do even the most basic o

The Spot restaurant can continue its role as a Hamilton institution, but it needs youthful energy and ideas to carry it forward.Owner Thomas “Ted” Powell has put the Burnaby Street business up for sale. It has been closed since mid-March due to restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.The popular eatery was established in 1945 by Arthur Foote, and has been run by Mr Powell since 1971.”There are not many individuals who have been in the trade for so long,” Mr Powell said.”

Stevie Dickinson and crew Micah Raynor won the Kacy Simons Memorial Regatta with a race to spare on Sunday.The Comet sailors posted three straight victories competing on the windward/leeward racecourse offshore of Mid Atlantic Boat and Sports Club, the regatta hosts, to clinch the four-race series comfortably.Maxwell Curtis Jr and crew Stefan Furbert finished second with Gladwin Lambert and crew Stefan Maybury rounding off the podium in third.Dickinson passed leader Curtis on the fir

More than 90 per cent of people in a poll this year said that the Government had handled the Covid-19 crisis well.A survey by Total Research Associates and Narrative Research found that 92 per cent of the 400 people they talked to between April 22 and 29 were satisfied with the overall response to the pandemic.One third said they were completely satisfied with the response and 60 per cent reported they were “mostly satisfied”.The main reasons were said to be the Government’s strong c

Leaders of the island’s political parties pushed messages of unity and building a better future in a pre-election forum last night.Topics covered included education, the economy, healthcare reform and the environment in panel interviews set up by Community Voices for Democracy with help from Bermuda Youth Connect.The leaders of the Progressive Labour Party, the One Bermuda Alliance and the Free Democratic Movement each had more than 30 minutes to answer questions and talk about their ideas

Dennis Brown has broken his silence over his reasons for taking a “back seat” from coaching duties at Somerset Trojans.The former Somerset and Bermuda captain has revealed he was forced to hand over the reigns of the Premier Division side to his nephew, Danvers Seymour Jr, after being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and other ailments last summer.”In July I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and high blood pressure so immediately I took a back seat in order to stabilise my personal health,”

A murder investigation has been launched after a woman was shot and killed this morning.Detective Superintendent Nicholas Pedro said that the 31-year-old victim died after she was shot “multiple times”.The incident happened in the Sunset Pass area of Pembroke at about 12.20am.Mr Pedro said that officers responded to reports of gunshots in the neighbourhood.He added: “Following an incident at a residence here, it was determined that a 31-year-old female had been shot multiple t

Spectators will be allowed to attend the second annual PGA Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course, organisers have confirmed.It was announced at a press conference at Port Royal today that the PGA Tour and Bermuda Government have jointly granted permission for a limited number of general admission spectators per day for the 36-hole championship to be held at the Southampton layout from October 26 to November 1.The daily allowance, whose number will be determined under the island’s p

The Ministry of Education has announced the recipients of the 2020 Bermuda Government Scholarships and Awards.Each year, the grants go to Bermudian students pursuing higher education – with a new award, the Bermuda College Promise Programme, created last year for students graduating from public schools.To date, 70 students have registered and benefited from this initiative that provides free tuition to a senior with a 3.0 GPA to attend the Bermuda College. Diallo Rabain, the educatio

The Department of Public Transportation (DPT) would like to advise the public that there are currently detours in effect on Harrington Sound Road, between Devil’s Hole Hill (Smith’s parish) and Paynter’s Road (Hamilton parish), for route 3 buses.This is as a safety precaution, due to the road width being narrowed by roadwork along a section of Harrington Sound Road.The detours will continue until the roadwork is complete – with outbound buses travelling over Devil’s Hole Hill

Two-hundred shares of Somers Limited traded on The Royal Gazette/BSX Index. The shares improved $1, or 7.7 per cent, to close at $14.On the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Butterfield Bank were up 75 cents, or 3.43 per cent, at $22.61.The Royal Gazette/BSX Index was up 6.65 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 1,738.55, while the BSX Insurance Index was up 35.67 points, or 2.72 per cent, at 1,345.27.Separately, in a filing with the Bermuda Stock Exchange, One Communications Ltd said that

No new cases of the coronavirus were detected after the Ministry of Health received 1,232 test results today.Bermuda has had 181 cases – aged from 9 to 101 – and five are active, although none is in hospital.Nine people with Covid-19 have died and 167 people have recovered from the coronavirus.Of all the cases on the island, 70 were brought in from overseas, 90 were transmitted locally with a known contact and 21 were transmitted locally with an unknown contact.A health minist

The International Island Games Association has been forced to postpone next summer’s NatWest International Island Games in Guernsey because of Covid-19.The announcement was made Jorgen Pettersson, chair of the IIGA, at the association’s virtual annual meeting at the weekend.The multi-sport event for small islands was due to be held in Guernsey between July 3 and 9, with 3,500 competitors and officials to be involved.”This decision was not made lightly and was based on the responses r

The Royal Gazette, in conjunction with The Washington Post News Service and Bloomberg News will be offering The Washington Post’s livestream programming of the presidential and vice-presidential debates.Tomorrow, President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will meet on stage at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland for the first of the three presidential debates. The broadcast will start at 9pm Bermuda time. The debate itself will sta

American Financial Group Inc has reached a definitive agreement to sell GAI Holding Bermuda and its subsidiaries, which comprise the legal entities that own its Lloyd’s of London insurer, Neon, to RiverStone Holdings Limited.When the transaction is done it will complete AFG’s exit from the Lloyd’s of London insurance market.Neon is a member of Great American Insurance Group, which runs the insurance operations of parent AFG. It opened an office in Bermuda in 2016. Neon was put into run-off

Dave Horan broke Tuff Dogs’ hearts for the second successive season by dramatically hitting a boundary off the final ball to lift The Associates to victory in an Evening Cricket League knockout match.Last season, with his team needing five to prevail, Horan struck a six to win the final at Somerset Cricket Club.On Saturday at Shelly Bay, with three needed off the 96th and final ball of the innings, Horan flicked the same bowler – Terence Corday – off his legs for four to secure a six-wicket

Butterfield Bank’s temporary banking centre at Rosebank will cease operations at the close of business on Friday.Starting from Monday, a dedicated teller will be established in the bank’s Reid Street banking centre to assist senior clients and those with disabilities. The bank said clients are asked to inform the customer service associate of their needs on arrival at the banking centre, and they will be directed accordingly.Butterfield opened the Rosebank banking centre, on Bermudiana Road

A total of seven spots are available for the Royal Bermuda Regiment’s Recruit Camp next month.Major Duncan Simons, the RBR’s career management officer, said there was still time to grab a place to train for “the best second job in Bermuda”.He added that recruit numbers were restricted to 40 because of strict coronavirus safety regulations.Major Simons said: “It’s a golden opportunity to gain experience, serve the country, travel, have fun, learn new skills and build a network all at

The Department of Public Transportation (DPT) can confirm that the Central Bus Terminal kiosk resumed normal operations on Friday, September 25th, after being temporarily closed from 4pm Thursday, September 24th.DPT thanks the public for their patience and understanding.• Press release from the Department of Public Transportation

PartnerRe has appointed Nicholas Hughes to the newly created role of head of retrocession, and made two hires to further expand its retrocession team.Mr Hughes, who joined the company in 2008, was head of global catastrophe, which included responsibility for assumed retrocession and global accounts portfolio.He will be based in Bermuda.Aaron Coates and Guy Hengesbaugh will join the retrocession team as assumed retrocession underwriters, effective November 7 and October 1, respectivel

The One Bermuda Alliance will hold a General Election press conference today.It will take place at the OBA’s headquarters on Reid Street at 11am.The Royal Gazette will provide a live video on this page.

The Progressive Labour Party will hold a General Election press conference today.It will take place at the party’s Alaska Hall headquarters on Court Street, Hamilton, at 11am.The Royal Gazette will provide a live video on this page.

The activist group Community Voices for Democracy has confirmed that a pre-election leaders’ forum will be held tonight start at 8pm.The forum, which pointedly will not have the leaders facing off in debate mode, will see David Burt, the Premier and leader of the Progressive Labour Party, One Bermuda Alliance leader Craig Cannonier, and Marc Bean, the leader of the new Free Democratic Movement, fielding questions in intervals from moderators Qian Dickinson and Rick Richardson.They will also

An international day designed to highlight the public’s right to access government information is to be marked today.Gitanjali Gutierrez, the Information Commissioner, will deliver an International Right to Know Day declaration as part of the Information Commissioner’s Office commemoration.A spokeswoman for the ICO said: “This year, the Information Commissioner’s Office celebrates International Right to Know Day as Bermuda is emerging from a pandemic, facing unprecedented challenges and on

A One Bermuda Alliance politician asked yesterday what security was put up by an American music promoter who received an $800,000 government loan to set up a recording studio in Dockyard.Patricia Gordon-Pamplin claimed the deal, agreed in April 2018, was “dodgy-looking” and raised more questions than answers.The OBA’s finance spokeswoman said: “The $800,000 loan was repayable over three years, which is around $22,000 a month, plus interest, from a so-called entertainment business that does

The One Bermuda Alliance has revealed its “social contract” with the island – and said it was something “all Bermudians can believe in”.A message from Craig Cannonier, the party’s leader, told the public the election platform was “a reflection of your concerns and needs and what is best for Bermuda”.He added: “It represents our solemn promise to you to be better for Bermuda.”Our social contract takes into account our economic realities and social challenges. “It contains polic

Reinsurance companies were hit financially on both sides of their balance sheets because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.And there continues to be “significant uncertainty around the ultimate extent and distribution of Covid-19-related losses across the industry”, according to global professional services firm Aon.Reinsurers faced “extreme market volatility” in the middle of the first half of the year, and collectively also incurred billions of dollars of losses relating to the pande

A restaurant that has been a popular venue in the centre of Hamilton for 50 years has been put on sale.The Spot, on Burnaby Street, was established in 1945 and has been owned by Thomas “Ted” Powell since 1971.The eatery closed in mid-March because of restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, however in July, Mr Powell said he intended to reopen the restaurant. At the time he could not give a target date for the reopening and said there were several issues to deal with because of the sm

Fire crews put out a small brush fire this afternoon.A fire service spokesman said: “The fire service responded with appliances from the Hamilton Station, the Port Royal Station and a total of nine firefighters.”The incident happened in the Hillview area of Warwick at 2.55pm.The spokesman said: “Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus quickly extinguished the fire.”The cause of the fire is under investigation.”

Police have launched an investigation after a substance believed to be drugs was found at a venue in Hamilton over the weekend, it was revealed tonight.A police spokesman said that officers went to an establishment on Front Street to carry out a liquor licence check. He added: “While there, the officers acted on information that illegal drugs were being used on the premises. “Officers subsequently found individuals in possession of a white powdery substance believed to be a controlle

Retail sales volume in May was down 15 per cent year-on-year. The drop largely reflected the impact of Covid-19 safety restrictions that month, which included curfew hours and kerbside pick up sales for some businesses.In value terms, retail sales fell 13.9 per cent to an estimated $86.4 millionWayne Furbert, Minister for the Cabinet Office, said: “After adjusting for the retail sales rate of inflation, measured at 1.3 per cent in May, the overall volume of local retail sales decreased 15 p

Last week, the Mirrors Programme hosted a prize-giving ceremony for students who entered the Annual Art and Digital Competition held in partnership with the Mirrors Alumni & Friends Association and Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art. The theme of the competition was “Home – Exploring different notions of what constitutes a feeling of belonging”. Students from Bermuda’s public and private schools entered 71 pieces of artwork, including nine digital art submissions were displayed at the Ma

Dandy Town 2 Devonshire Cougars 0Dandy Town beat Devonshire Cougars to seal the first three points in the season-opener at Goose Gosling Field last night courtesy of second-half goals by Azendae Furbert and David Blankendal.”It was a good game,” said Kwame Steede, the Town coach and former Cougars player. “It was a time of moments. They had theirs but didn’t capitalise and hen we had ours, we done things with it.”Also, our goalkeeper played well and pulled o

Tyler Butterfield produced a storming run to clinch a place on the podium, finishing second at the Ironman 70.3 Cozumel in Mexico today.Butterfield was highlighted as one of the pre-race favourites along with Matt Hanson and Sam Long but all found themselves well behind Mexican pair Irving Perez Pineda and Joaquin Pereda exiting out of the water.By the 55-kilometre point of the bike ride Long had seized control, with Jackson Laundry and Hanson about two-minutes down. At the end of th

An international day designed to highlight the public’s right to access government information is to be marked tomorrow.Gitanjali Gutierrez, the Information Commissioner, will deliver and International Right to Know Day declaration as part of the Information Commissioner’s Office commemoration.A spokeswoman for the ICO said: “This year, the Information Commissioner’s Office celebrates International Right to Know Day as Bermuda is emerging from a pandemic, facing unprecedented challenges and

A General Election motorcade and drive-in General Election rally was held by the PLP tonight.Hundreds turned out to the field at the old TN Tatem Middle School in Warwick flying PLP flags, beeping their horns and cheering in support of the party.Walter Roban, the Deputy Premier and the party’s candidate in Pembroke East, told the audience: “The people will decide which party and which leaders we want to see through the economic recovery.”I am immensely proud to be a member of the PLP

A 37-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a serious sex assault at knifepoint, police said today.Detective Superintendent Nicholas Pedro added that police had not ruled out more victims.The attack on a 31-year-old woman as she walked to work at about 6.30am last Sunday happened at the junction of Fairylands Road and Pitts Bay Road in Pembroke.The arrested man is from the Pembroke area.Mr Pedro said: “What we have learnt is that the suspect appears to have been loo

The Premier asked the then-Leader of the Opposition for his support on independence for Bermuda, Craig Cannonier has claimed. Mr Cannonier said that David Burt had told him he would back down on his stance against giving Bermudian status to long-term residents because after independence “it did not matter”.He added the exchange came during one of a series of meetings between the two during the Covid-19 lockdown. Mr Cannonier said in a filmed address released last night: “During at le

Signature schools will be introduced in the coming school year, the education minister said today.Diallo Rabain said that the Ministry of Education hoped to bring in two specialised schools by next September after “widespread public consultation”.The move is part of a plan to phase out middle schools and replace them with signature schools, which provide secondary school-aged pupils with specialised education on an academic and vocational level.Mr Rabain said: “I want to remind all t

Fingers crossed, there will finally be a major fishing tournament this weekend. After massive rescheduling and a pair of postponements, the Bacardi Angling Tournament is slated for tomorrow. Hooray!Recognising that the twenty-odd original entrants will have made changes including removing their craft from the water in advance of the storms and, simply, some individual’s availability will also have changed; the organisers have seen fit to open the tournament up to pretty much anyone who want

First Division side Paget dropped a bombshell yesterday when they confirmed to the Bermuda Football Association that their return to the football league would not be happening due to a lack of player commitment. Paget, who dropped out after being relegated two seasons ago, were pencilled in for an immediate return after sitting out last season. However, the BFA confirmed in an e-mail yesterday evening that the club would not be returning after all. “The president of Paget Football

Kristian Singh, the Cleveland County Cricket Club captain, has been reprimanded for breaching the Bermuda Cricket Board’s Code of Conduct.Singh received a warning for a Level 1 offence stemming from his team’s controversial First Division Twenty20 match against Western Stars at White Hill Field on August 23.Cleveland ultimately forfeited the match that was halted after a heated row involving their supporters and one of the club’s own players flared up and threatened to escalate.The B

Police have released two photos in relation to a serious sex assault on a 31-year-old woman and asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspect.The photos, which show the suspect on a motorcycle, were taken by a CCTV camera at the junction of Par-la-Ville Road and Front Street at 6.30am on Sunday.Detective Superintendent Nicholas Pedro said: “We believe someone in the community may recognise the person on this bike, whether they saw them that same morning, or because they know them p

The Government has turned a blind eye to the West End, many residents have claimed.Voters in the four Sandys constituencies appealed to election candidates to look at the crumbing buildings in the area and the lack of community-building work if they won office.Larry Hunt, 71, said that many roads and buildings in Sandys, such as Clyde Best Lane, named after the man who broke records and racial barriers for black footballers in Britain, had suffered from neglect.He added: “For someone

A man enjoying a lunch break on a dock was stunned to find a message in a bottle sent more than four years ago.Robert O’Connor said the letter inside was written in Swiss German and included a Swiss e-mail address, but appeared to have been thrown into the water in St Lucia.Mr O’Connor said: “The date on it says March 29, 2016, so it’s been floating for four years. Underneath that, it says St Lucia.”I never imagined something like this would happen. It was completely unexpected. We w