The Big Story

Second doses for COVID-19 Vaccine to start in two weeks NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Vaccinations for COVID-19 are open to all persons aged 18 and older, effective today. To date, 25,692 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been administered on New Providence, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and Abaco. In a statement, the National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee said the appointment notice...

“I am not going to stand by and let someone destroy my character and livelihood in my country” NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Captain Randy Butler, former CEO of Sky Bahamas, yesterday vowed to “fight to the very end” against “outlandish” claims that he defrauded two companies owned by the airline’s former financier of nearly $30 million. Butler told Eyewitness News he...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS  — Former Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands said there have been several people who have sought medical attention at Princess Margaret Hospital for conch poisoning in recent days, though it was unclear if the cases have been confirmed as Vibrio parahaemolyticus — a bacterium found on conch that affected dozens of people in 2018. “Unfortunately, there is...

Commercial Director Eytan Uliel to replace Potter as CEO Company still seeking to drill another exploratory well after initial failure NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) has undertaken a “reset” inclusive of a name change as well as changes to its board of directors and upper management, some two months after its exploratory well in Bahamian waters failed...

Investigators traveled to Florida on Sunday to continue investigation NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Investigators flew to Florida yesterday to continue their investigation into a plane crash off South Bimini over a week ago that injured an American pilot and killed his son. The aircraft took off from South Bimini International Airport en route to Opa-Locka, Florida, but the plane crashed in...

Archer: Bahamas fortunate to have received vaccines through COVAX Facility NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas is not likely to receive any other vaccine besides AstraZeneca, at least for the time being, according to Chairman of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Committee’s Logistics and Regulatory Sub-Committee Dr Gina Archer. Archer, who also serves as head pharmacist in the Department of Public Health,...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Shaunae Miller-Uibo turned in another strong performance on the track over the weekend as athletes work to get into top form ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Miller-Uibo clocked a world lead of 49.08 seconds in the women's 400-meters (m) at the USATF Grand Prix on Saturday. American Lynna Irby came in a close second in 50.28 seconds....

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — In celebration of Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, members of the House of Rastafari assisted the Agriculture Department of Programme SURE by donating and planting fruit trees. Programme SURE is a Ministry of Education initiative to assist at-risk young men better take advantage of opportunities in education. Copeland “Ras Amen” Smith, who is a tree-planting ambassador...

“The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp decline in tax and resource revenues in 2020” NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas saw the second largest increase in tax-to-GDP ratios between the two years preceding the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recently released Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) analysis. According to the Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021...

Complaints and Corruptions Unit operates "fairly" and "effectively"   NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Recording your interactions with officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) is not against the law, according to Officer in Charge of the Complaints and Corruptions Unit Superintendent Marlon Fulford. While appearing as a guest on the RBPF’s talk show “Cop Talk”, Fulford outlined his unit’s role...

More than a year after Hurricane Dorian, GB’s Rand renovated and recommissioned GRAND BAHAMA, BAHAMAS — The government has allocated $18 million from the Hurricane Dorian Fund for a new climate-resilient hospital and clinic facility for Grand Bahama and the northern Bahamas, announced Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday. Rand Memorial Hospital was recommissioned yesterday, after nearly two years of closure...

Wells says govt aiming to get Bahamas in a position where pandemic restrictions are no longer necessaryNASSAU, BAHAMAS — There has been a major uptick in registration for vaccinations over the past few days, said Minister of Health Renward Wells yesterday. Wells was responding to questions from reporters on the sidelines of the recommissioning of Rand Memorial Hospital on Grand...

Human Rights Bahamas denounces the move ABACO, BAHAMAS — Forty-five incomplete and unoccupied structures in the shantytown known as The Farm on Abaco were demolished yesterday, making good on Minister of Public Works Desmond Bannister’s promise of resolute action in the area to remove those homes. Heavy-duty equipment tore the structures down as some residents of the area watched from...

Wells says govt appreciates nurses and has treated them as best it can NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Bahamas Nurses Union (BNU) President Amancha Williams said while nurses are prepared to step up once again for the Bahamian people as the nation faces a third wave of the coronavirus, Minister of Health Renward Wells’ appeal for nurses to come forward is “insulting”. In...

Fewer registered voters on Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Sal; Ragged Island; Long Island; and MICAL NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Constituencies Commission Chairman and Speaker of the House of Assembly Halson Moultrie said the commission has observed a “strange phenomenon” since reviewing the latest data on the voter’s register: a decrease in registered voters of four sparsely populated Family Islands....

D’Aguilar says risk is “relatively low” and opportunity could be tourism “bright spot” NASSAU, BAHAMAS — MSC Cruises is giving “serious consideration” to homeporting in The Bahamas, according to Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar, who noted that the company was completing its “due diligence” and would likely indicate soon whether it will proceed with such an arrangement. MSC Cruises’ Seaview. (PHOTO:...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — As the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources yesterday sought to clarify for the public what it said were misleading claims made regarding the plight of Potter’s Cay Dock vendors impacted by a recent fire, it pledged financial support to help those displaced vendors rebuild their stalls after the all-clear is given from the Ministry of Works’...

Reigning champ Saxons Superstars say they are “always battle-ready” should Junkanoo be permitted “Time alone will tell what the parades, if any, will look like this year” NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence (JCNP) has not resumed the planning and administrative work for the current 2021/2022 Junkanoo Season due to COVID-19 protocols, according to Chairman Dion Miller....