Machete-wielding thugs who try and injure Police can look forward to two minutes of excruciating pain from the middle of next month. That's when officers will start using the incapacitating spray "Captor" on the streets of Bermuda.

Music legend John Lennon could get a permanent memorial on the Island. Plans were revealed for a display of Double Fantasy" freesias in the Botanical Gardens, where the former Beatle found inspiration for the title of his final album.

Dejon Simmons received a hero's welcome as he arrived at Bermuda International Airport. The 17 year old's life was transformed after a horrific traffic accident in July, 2004. Initially he was not expected to live, but Mr. Simmons endured a number of excruciating operations at Boston's Shriners Hospital, a paediatric hospital for severe burn victims.

Ten-year-old Gary Hollis was hailed a hero after saving his grandparents from a St David's house blaze. The schoolboy's bravery was honoured at the annual Bermuda Bravery Awards.

A couple forced a plane to land at Bermuda International Airport after reportedly attacking cabin crew who tried to stop them having sex. Their attempt to join the mile-high club could land them with a $34,000 bill ? the cost of diverting the plane.

In a special week-long in-depth drugs feature, reported how Bermuda spends more than $3,000 per person each year on illegal drugs. In a separate development, new National Drug Control Minister Wayne Perinchief announced he would be reviewing laws on marijuana.

There was more heartbreak on the roads as Bermuda recorded its 13th fatality of 2005. Ricardo Evangelista, 34, died after his motorbike hit a utility pole near Dockyard.

Long-serving Police officer George Jackson was confirmed as new Commissioner, although his emotional appointment was preceded by weeks of bickering after outgoing chief Jonathan Smith launched a blistering attack on "unaccountable" officers.

Sniping in the Police Service showed no signs of abating, despite Mr. Jackson's call for an end, as the decision to appoint a new narcotics supremo from the UK was blasted by a senior cop.

The heavily-delayed new Hamilton bus terminal will be named after well-known bus driver and personality, Hubert Winfield (Sparky) Lightbourne, his niece and biographer revealed.

Retailers were up in arms as a Christian book boat floated into Hamilton docks. The Chamber of Commerce said it would hit trade during the busy festive season.

Good news for European jet-setters: Bermuda is going to get a weekly charter flight from Germany.

The state of the ageing Hamilton Police Station was condemned by Housing Minister David Burch, who pledged improvements would be made. He also said ground would be broken on the new city station in the first half of 2006.

The long-awaited PACE Police reform legislation is debated by politicians in both the House of Assembly and the Senate. It will radically change arrest and detection procedures, allow stop and searches and outline the exact amount of time suspects can be held in custody before being charged. Police chiefs said they were ready for the new laws, despite concerns being raised about the amount of training required and the impact on already stretched resources.

Commuters faced long delays when a dispute between the Bermuda Industrial Union and the Ministry of Labour brought bus and ferry services grinding to a halt for one morning.

Good Samaritan Collingwood (Cooley) Robinson gave schoolchildren a "pizza" the action: he agreed to feed more than 3,000 primary school youngsters with a pizza lunch, amid worries many students did not eat before classes.

International business must build tall to combat urban sprawl, said the Bank of Bermuda after revising its plans again for a seven-storey bank at the former Trimingham's department store.

As many as 350 people will be spending Christmas Day without a roof over their heads, a shock Salvation Army study reveals.

The Cooper twins murder trial will go ahead in the New Year, a court decides, ending the possibility legal delays.