The Big Story

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Senior health officials travelled to Exuma yesterday following a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak at a local high school on the island, with 12 active cases having been confirmed. According to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, 22 persons have been placed in quarantine. Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) president Belinda Wilson said that the union will be “keeping...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Opposition is calling on the Davis administration to “move with a sense of urgency” to address the country’s immigration ‘crisis’ and the proliferation of shanty towns. Opposition leader Michael Pintard in a statement said "immediate action" is now needed in the wake of a Supreme Court decision to lift an injunction that barred their demolition. “I note...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — One year after signing an agreement to establish a digital territorial village, The Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs (MOAMRFIA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) moved towards the implementation phase of the project recently. The occasion was marked during a launch event for farmers and other agriculture stakeholders...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A well-known real estate broker and entrepreneur says the road to prosperity for working Bahamians is literally a two to three mile stretch of highway across southwestern New Providence that would open up a host of opportunities. “What I am proposing is a new concrete highway in Nassau running from the eastern end of the LPIA airport...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Police arrested three people in Bimini after they were found in possession of cocaine with a street value of $1 million. According to police, officers from the Alice Town Police Station and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force discovered and confiscated 96 kilos of suspected Cocaine during a search of a vessel at the Cat Cay Marina shortly...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Authorities are investigating a video clip purporting to show two Immigration officers physically assaulting two people at a business establishment in New Providence. In the video, the officers are both wearing face masks and can be seen hitting and slapping two men who they appear to be questioning. The men are eventually escorted outside when a third...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Philip Davis KC said the government will begin the process to remove shanty towns after a Supreme Court judge’s decision to discharge an injunction that previously barred the demolition of structures in Abaco and New Providence. “What it means is it now allows us to employ the process to correct those issues within the shanty...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The country's homicide count continues to climb as police recorded another two killings over the weekend. A 27-year-old man from Pinewood Gardens was shot multiple times while sitting outside a residence shortly before 9pm on Friday. Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings said police were alerted to gunshots being discharged in the Pinewood Gardens area, via its ShotSpotter technology....

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bank of The Bahamas reported a net income of just under $5 million for its 2023 second quarter, with its managing director noting that sustainable growth continues to be the primary focus for the BISX-listed lender. BOB reported a net income of $4.8 million at the end of the second quarter ended on December 31, 2022....

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson has discharged an injunction that previously barred the government from demolishing structures in shanty towns in New Providence and Abaco. The injunction stemmed from a judicial review application brought by shanty town residents in 2018 into whether their removal is unconstitutional. Acknowledging that the issue was a “crucial matter of national importance,”...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis yesterday assured that all business license applications will be processed by March 31st, as he urged business owners to “bear with us.” During a weekly press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday Halkitis acknowledged delays in the processing of business licenses due to the Inland Revenue Department requesting additional...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis yesterday reaffirmed the government’s position that its treatment of Value-Added Tax (VAT) on health insurance will not drive up health care costs, noting that it is not a new tax.  The Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) has warned in recent weeks that medical bills and treatment costs for thousands of Bahamians will increase...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government is in talks with a building contractor which failed to pay its 40 Bahamian employees for several months and subsequently pulled out of Abaco, Press Secretary Clint Watson confirmed yesterday. Watson noted that the Office of the Prime Minister had intervened in the matter involving Endeavour Development International  which had promoted itself as “fast becoming...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A trial date has been set in former Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian’s fraud case against the mega resort’s Chinese contractor. A bench trial is scheduled in this case for August 1 – August 16, 2024. Izmirlian filed a $2.25 billion lawsuit six years ago alleging a “massive fraud” by Chinese state-backed contractor China Construction America (CCA) which...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Ministry of Transport yesterday reported that the MV Legacy ran around near Egg Island off Spanish Wells, Eleuthera  on Wednesday morning.  Seven passengers were reportedly evacuated from the vessel. The M/V Legacy provides mailboat service to Marsh Harbour, Abaco, and reports are that the vessel left  New Providence en route to Abaco and lost generator power....

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of CEOs polled by PwC believe global economic growth will decline over the next 12 months, according to its 26th Annual Global CEO Survey. The number is lower (62 percent) for CEOs in the Caribbean. The survey polled 4,410 CEOs in 105 countries and territories in October and November 2022. The bleak...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Free National Movement (FNM) leader Michael Pintard said last night that starting next week the Opposition through the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will summons permanent secretaries and heads of public corporations to answer questions raised by the Bahamian people, as he accused the Davis administration of not governing in their interest.  Pintard during a special called meeting...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Plans for a $60 million investment in an 80,000 sq ft robotics-enabled facility on Gladstone Road which will be able to grow up to two million pounds of produce annually are set to get underway this year, according to the principals of Eeden Farms.   Lincoln Deal II, co-founder of Eeden Farms told Eyewitness News that the...