The Big Story

Service to soon become available at Cost Right Nassau and Freeport NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Residents on New Providence can now transact digitally via Kanoo’s digital platform at Solomon’s Super Centre, located on Old Trail Road; Solomon’s Yamacraw; and Solomon’s Lucaya on Grand Bahama, thanks to a partnership between AML Foods Limited and Kanoo. According to AML’s vice president of marketing,...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — As Abaco trudges along the road to recovery nearly two years after Hurricane Dorian, several Abaconians expressed anxiety about the upcoming hurricane season, telling Eyewitness News the whisper of another serious storm would prompt them to leave. Dorian, which descended on the island in September 2019, remains fresh in the minds of residents. Catherine McIntosh, a resident...

“This upcoming budget will be pivotal in charting the country's future”NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The opposition said yesterday that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) contraction in 2020 is “alarming and troubling but not surprising", adding that this upcoming budget will be pivotal in charting the country's future. Exumas and Ragged Island MP and Shadow Finance Minister Chester Cooper said in...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — With voter registration continuing to slowly climb, at least six constituencies have more than 6,000 voters registered to date. Up to last week, the current voter register stood at 189,888 voters, of which 131,528 voters were registered on New Providence; 30,348 on Grand Bahama; and 28,012 on the Family Islands. According to data provided by Acting Parliamentary...

Workers union pres: BPL not always at fault for outagesNASSAU, BAHAMAS — Thousands of residents on New Providence were plunged into darkness overnight on Friday after an "operational glitch" at the Clifton Pier Power Plant resulted in an island-wide outage. Power was restored to the first group of customers at 3.15am and by 6.30am power was restored to approximately 95...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The resolution to extend the state of emergency and emergency orders to August 13 was passed in the Senate on Thursday. Opposition senators did not support the resolution, once again arguing that the set of protocols put in place to allow the government to manage the COVID-19 pandemic is undemocratic and is a suspension of civil liberties....

Fusion Superplex, Galleria Cinemas exempt from protocols NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Despite protocols in the COVID emergency order that currently prohibit cinemas from operating, both major cinemas on New Providence have advised they have been exempted and will remain open. According to the Emergency Powers Order (COVID-19 Pandemic)(Management and Recovery)(Amendment) Order, 2021, released by the government on Thursday night, the following...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Environmental groups have expressed serious concerns about Disney’s efforts to “rush through” environmental approval for their proposed $400 million cruise ship port at Lighthouse Point, Eleuthera. Waterkeeper Alliance, Friends of the Earth US and four Bahamian environmental groups — reEarth, Bahamas Reef Environmental Educational Foundation (BREEF), Save the Bays and Waterkeepers Bahamas — said they are dismayed...

Bowe: Dept of Statistics estimates confirm what we already knew “We can't wait five months to get this kind of information”NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas must improve its information-based decision-making if it is to become a “first world” nation, according to a well-known banker, who noted the estimated near 15 percent drop in economic activity in real terms in 2020...

Environmentalist claims pushback among some sectors of society, howeverNASSAU, BAHAMAS — Crystal Cruises has extended its new Luxury Bahamas Escapes cruise in The Bahamas, adding six seven-night voyages to its offering. According to the cruise line, the voyages add to its Crystal Serenity’s recently announced all-Bahamas itineraries, which opened for reservations with record demand, representing the biggest single day of bookings in...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government must establish a national plan for the country’s small and medium-sized business sector, according to a well-known small business consultant. Mark Turnquest, president of the 242 Small Business Association and Resource Centre, told Eyewitness News that with the COVID-19 pandemic having severely impacted the local economy and particularly the tourism sector, many small and medium-sized...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Commissioner of Police (COP) Paul Rolle assured that the Royal Bahamas Police Force's (RBPF) body camera and ShotSpotter programs are active and working, noting that additional improvements are being made. Last August, the RBPF rolled out 200 body-worn cameras and 200 dash cameras in patrol vehicles. During a recent interview on ILTV's Beyond the Headlines with host...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis today announced that Cat Island and North and Central Andros will face a 14-day full lockdown, beginning tomorrow at 8pm, in an effort to mitigate against a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases on those islands.. During a national address, the prime minister said the lockdown was imposed based on the advice of...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said an earlier version of the Medicinal Cannabis Bill, 2021, which was leaked to the media, has been revised to include dispensaries as one of the distributes sites for cannabis — a provision that would see greater Bahamian participation and ownership. The prime minister said he was unaware which version of the...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Nearly two years after Hurricane Dorian descended on Abaco, the opening of the Resilience Square Commerce Center in Marsh Harbour represented another pivotal milestone in the recovery effort and the resumption of Abaconian businesses. The center, coined resilience in honor of the undefeated spirit of the residents of the community, was made possible through a public-private partnership...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) yesterday announced that it has officially changed its name to Challenger Energy Group PLC, a move that coincided with the company raising nearly $10 million through a share offering. According to the company, the name change was legally adopted yesterday as the result of its expanding commercial portfolio, which includes a diversified range...

ABACO, BAHAMAS —The Abaco Chamber of Commerce president said yesterday that while certainty is being sought over the Special Economic Recovery Zone (SERZ) extension, “it is not stopping us in our tracks”. Ken Hutton told Eyewitness News: “With regards to the SERZ extension, we’ve been in the dark. It’s not just me; it’s the homeowners on the cays, Marsh Harbour,...

Some families finally able to receive death certificates for their loved ones after more than a year Coroner thanks those involved in rescue attempts, saying “much more lives would have been lost” without their efforts NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Nearly two years after Hurricane Dorian decimated Abaco and parts of Grand Bahama, a coroner's inquest officially declared dead 22 people who...