A cohort of healthcare practitioners, medical specialists, and global public health partners from across the Caribbean convened at Baha Mar this week for a three-day targeted workshop focused on advancing regional cancer care frameworks and addressing longstanding gaps in the upkeep of critical diagnostic radiation medical equipment. Titled “Strengthening Operations and Maintenance of Diagnostic Radiation Medicine Equipment in the Caribbean”, the event marks the first official activity under the Accelerating Scientific Collaboration and Excellence in Nuclear Technology (ASCENT) initiative, a joint bilateral partnership between the United States and United Kingdom designed to scale the peaceful, safe, and secure deployment of nuclear science applications for public good.
Delivering opening remarks, U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Kimberly Furnish emphasized that the Caribbean had long lacked a dedicated, cross-border forum centered on cancer care and nuclear medicine infrastructure, noting that the region’s shared geographic ties, shared ocean ecosystems, and shared collective future make coordinated action a moral and practical imperative. Furnish added a personal, human touch to the proceedings by sharing that her own mother had just completed treatment for lymphoma and celebrated her recovery the week prior, ringing the official end-of-treatment bell at her care facility. “Every single piece of diagnostic equipment we will deliberate over this week exists to serve a patient waiting for a clear, timely answer about their health,” she told attendees. Furnish stressed that while purchasing new diagnostic tools is a relatively straightforward first step for health systems, building sustainable, long-term maintenance systems to keep that equipment operational for years is the far greater, underaddressed challenge that the workshop was designed to solve.
The three-day event agenda includes structured knowledge-sharing sessions with subject matter experts from across the Caribbean, as well as representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), focused on aligning regional practices with global safety guidelines and rigorous quality standards. Attendees will also participate in on-site visits to the Cancer Centre Bahamas and Princess Margaret Hospital to assess existing diagnostic infrastructure firsthand, and collaborate to draft actionable sustainable financing proposals that will be presented to international financial institutions and private sector partners to unlock funding for expanded diagnostic services across small island nations. Furnish also announced a key new U.S. contribution to Bahamian cancer care: Washington has provided targeted funding to the IAEA to procure two new mammography machines that will be donated directly to public health facilities in The Bahamas. She noted that leading U.S. diagnostic imaging and radiation technology firms are participating in the workshop not to pursue immediate sales, but to build long-term collaborative partnerships that will help regional health teams keep their existing equipment running consistently and reliably for years.
Acting Prime Minister of The Bahamas Chester Cooper echoed calls for deepened cross-regional collaboration to reduce stark disparities in healthcare access that disproportionately impact small island nations across the Caribbean. He framed cancer as a universally personal crisis that touches nearly every household in the region, noting that almost every Bahamian has a family member, neighbor, or close friend who has faced a cancer diagnosis. “A single cancer diagnosis can upend the financial and social stability of an entire household in the space of 24 hours,” Cooper stated. “Our entire public health response must be centered on the patient, rooted in clear, accessible information, timely diagnostic testing, compassionate treatment, and continuous wrap-around support for patients throughout their entire care journey.” He added that all solutions drafted during the workshop must be tailored to the unique operational constraints of small island developing states, with explicit planning for post-delivery equipment upskilling, workforce retention for specialized technical roles, and adaptive service delivery models that can evolve to meet shifting public health needs over time.
Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Michael Darville framed the workshop as a historic opportunity to unify regional resources to turn the tide against cancer, with a specific focus on expanding early detection capacity, and establishing standardized safe handling and disposal protocols for radioactive materials used in diagnostic medical equipment. Local medical oncologist Dr. Tracy Roberts-Halkitis flagged breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers as the three highest-burden cancer types driving mortality in The Bahamas, and pushed for expanded public education campaigns to counter widespread misinformation about cancer risk: she clarified that while hereditary genetic mutations do contribute to some breast cancer cases in the country, the vast majority of diagnoses are sporadic, non-inherited cases that occur in women with no prior family history of the disease. She emphasized that regional screening programs must be expanded beyond breast cancer to include routine, accessible testing for prostate, colorectal, and cervical cancers as well. Cancer Centre Bahamas President and CEO Dr. Conville Brown closed out the opening session by arguing that prevention and early intervention remain the most cost-effective, high-impact public health strategies to reduce regional cancer mortality, and called for far more sustained public outreach to encourage all Bahamians to schedule regular preventative health check-ups even when they are not experiencing obvious symptoms.
标签： Bahamas
巴哈马
-
Regional healthcare leaders unite to enhance cancer care and diagnostic equipment at Baha Mar workshop
-
Exuma police officer remains on duty amid ongoing investigation into viral bar fight
By Denise Maycock, Tribune Freeport Reporter
Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) Commissioner Shanta Knowles confirmed in an exclusive press briefing yesterday that a uniformed officer attached to the Exuma Division, whose involvement in a widely shared physical altercation at a local Exuma bar last month spread rapidly across social media platforms, has not been placed on administrative leave, as formal probes into the full context of the incident remain ongoing.
The viral clip, which has amassed tens of thousands of views across local community Facebook groups and messaging apps, captures a plainclothes individual later confirmed to be the serving police officer engaged in a physical scuffle with a male civilian, with both parties grappling at each other’s shirts before the officer delivers multiple strikes to the other man, as surrounding bystanders rush in to separate the pair. Initial public reactions to the unedited, partial footage prompted widespread calls for the officer to be immediately suspended pending a full review of his conduct.
Commissioner Knowles clarified that the decision to keep the officer on active duty follows standard RBPF protocol, as the dedicated Complaints and Corruption Unit has not yet finalized its evidence-gathering process or submitted a formal case file to senior leadership for disciplinary review. She noted that preliminary witness statements provided to investigators indicate the officer was acting at the request of a local member of the public to intervene in an escalating disturbance at the venue, though the full sequence of events leading up to the physical confrontation is still being cross-verified.
“At this stage, no administrative leave order has been issued, because our Complaints and Corruption Unit team is still methodically working through every detail of this case,” Commissioner Knowles stated when pressed for further updates on the probe. “Too often, members of the public only see the final seconds of a tense, high-stakes situation captured on a random phone recording, and rush to pass judgment on an officer who may have stepped in to de-escalate a volatile scenario at a citizen’s request. That is exactly what preliminary accounts tell us happened here, but we owe it to everyone involved — the officer, the civilian parties, and the broader Exuma community — to conduct a full, fair investigation before drawing any conclusions.”
Two civilians connected to the bar altercation have already been taken into official custody and formally charged in relation to the incident, the commissioner confirmed. The RBPF reaffirmed its longstanding public commitment to upholding the highest standards of professional conduct, accountability, and ethical practice across all ranks, noting that any individual — whether serving officer or civilian — found to have violated force policies or broken national law will face appropriate, consistent disciplinary or legal action.
This ongoing Exuma investigation marks the second high-profile public probe into a police officer filmed in a physical altercation in recent months. Back in August, Commissioner Knowles announced that a different officer, accused of slapping a civilian attendee during a July Bahamas National Basketball Team match, was facing formal proceedings before the Police Tribunal — an internal disciplinary body operating with similar judicial procedures to a local magistrate’s court, whose full final rulings will be released publicly once the case concludes.
-
Most affected Arawak Cay vendors have yet to rebuild stalls after fire
Nearly 12 months after a devastating blaze tore through Nassau’s iconic Arawak Cay Fish Fry, destroying six food stalls and inflicting severe structural damage on two additional units, the majority of impacted local vendors have yet to resume full reconstruction, as municipal officials finalize updated, more rigorous construction safety protocols designed to eliminate the risk of a similar catastrophic incident. Tribune Media staff reporter Earyel Bowleg joined members of the local press on an official guided tour of the fire-ravaged site yesterday, where affected food stall operators shared real-time updates on their ongoing recovery efforts ahead of the one-year anniversary of the November 16, 2025, fire. Lillian Laramore-Smith, president of the Arawak Cay Conch, Fish, Vegetable and Food Vendors Association, emphasized that affected operators have not abandoned their ambitions to return to the popular tourist and community dining hub, with collective plans to reopen upgraded, more resilient operations that outperform their pre-fire predecessors. She noted that vendors are awaiting an imminent formal government announcement that will deliver targeted support for fire survivors and all other operators at the beloved Fish Fry destination. “This fire, as devastating as it was, has unlocked so many collaborative opportunities for us. We are now seated at formal negotiation tables to secure targeted investments that will overhaul the entire site to ensure this kind of tragedy never repeats,” Laramore-Smith told reporters. She also revealed that the association is actively designing a group insurance scheme for all vendors, a solution crafted to address the major gap that left most operators without individual coverage at the time of the blaze. Only two of the eight vendors impacted by the 2025 fire have managed to rebuild their operations completely without any government financial support: Eddie Dormeus, owner of Brother Eddie’s Kitchen, and fellow operator Rodney Russell. Dormeus shared that he poured more than $100,000 of his own personal savings into rebuilding his business, navigating a grueling, makeshift restart process in the immediate aftermath of the fire. He recalled launching temporary operations on nothing more than a pair of wooden pallets while heavy construction equipment cleared smoldering debris from his plot, before shifting his entire kitchen into two repurposed vans to keep serving his loyal customer base while he broke ground on a small, permanent new building at the back of his property. “I knew I had to start somewhere, no matter how humble the setup, so I did whatever it took to keep my business running,” Dormeus explained. He noted that bureaucratic holdups around property documentation slowed down his full reconstruction timeline, and described the emotional weight of losing his entire decades-old business in the fire as an experience he would not wish even on his worst enemy. “When you are in that kind of crisis, the chaos and grief are completely indescribable. I lost every single thing I owned in that fire, so I had to build my entire operation back completely from the ground up,” he said. Despite the overwhelming financial losses, Dormeus said he prioritized retaining his longstanding customer community over rushing to rebuild a new physical structure, a strategic choice he credits as the sole reason his business survived the crisis. “My customer base was the one thing I never lost. I refused to fixate on replacing the building first, because the people who supported me for years are the real backbone of this business. That’s why I started on pallets, then moved to the vans, and now I have this new permanent space,” he added. Laramore-Smith praised Dormeus’ resilient, low-budget temporary setup, noting that his open-air dining model echoed the original, community-focused spirit of the early Arawak Cay Fish Fry, where visitors enjoyed fresh seafood meals outdoors. Association second vice-president Kevin Russell emphasized that the fire exposed longstanding gaps in the site’s aging infrastructure, fire safety protocols, and public investment, all of which local stakeholders are now working to resolve. He explained that the original Fish Fry was designed as a compact local fish market, with stalls built directly adjacent to one another with no fire separation, a layout that allowed the 2025 blaze to spread at catastrophic speed. New official rebuilding rules will now enforce strict minimum spacing requirements between individual stalls, eliminating the close-proximity layout that accelerated the 2025 disaster. Russell also noted that the local fire department has worked closely with vendors to roll out upgraded safety mandates, including requirements for all operators to install modern, high-capacity fire extinguishers, with all of these new safety rules set to become formal conditions for annual operating license renewals for all Arawak Cay vendors. The 25-member vendors association is currently in talks to welcome new local operator Ron Butterfield, who took over Big Boys Cafe after his brother passed away nearly two years ago. Butterfield, who currently runs a location on Robinson Road, is renovating a new Arawak Cay outlet to meet all the new upcoming safety standards, and has already partnered with Carnival Cruise Line to launch a popular visitor-focused boat tour experience tied to the Fish Fry destination. He expressed hope that local government will accelerate its ongoing support for vendors, who are already pouring significant personal capital into upgrading their operations to meet modern standards. “Arawak Cay needs to keep pace with global modernization, because tourists and local visitors expect our public dining hub to evolve with the times. We do not want any visitor to walk away saying the site needs upgrades. We want to lead the way, and we are counting on the government to walk alongside us as we make these major investments to build a safer, better Arawak Cay for everyone,” Butterfield said.
-
Frustrated residents complain about the repeated West Bay Street sand build-up
Residents, commuters, and local business operators across western New Providence are voicing mounting frustration over persistent, recurring sand buildup along the high-traffic West Bay Street corridor, which has created widespread traffic disruptions and growing road safety risks for all road users. The wave of public outcry emerged after on-site field surveys conducted by The Tribune last week captured extensive stretches of compacted sand lining the roadway near Gambier Village, with some piled sand mounds reaching as high as four feet along the roadside.
Affected commuters shared accounts that the sand deposits have lingered on the asphalt for weeks even after multiple partial cleanup attempts, rather than being fully removed. 60-year-old local driver Leon noted that formal sand removal operations only launched two to three days prior to the Tribune’s interview, despite the deposits being visible and creating hazards for far longer. Local small business owner Ricky emphasized that the issue has grown progressively worse amid recent bouts of severe weather, recalling that past hurricane events deposited far larger volumes of sand and even heavy rocks directly onto the paved road. He explained that the current ad-hoc cleanup approach, which relies on tractors to push loose sand to road shoulders, leaves a thin layer of compacted sand on the driving surface that vehicles grind into uneven, bumpy patches that can damage tires, wheel alignments, and undercarriages of passenger cars, while also forcing widespread speed reductions that snarl local traffic.
55-year-old restaurant operator Giorgio, a 20-year resident of The Bahamas, noted that while his large personal vehicle can easily traverse the sand-covered stretches, drivers of smaller compact cars are forced to creep across the uneven patches to avoid costly vehicle damage, creating further bottlenecks. He argued that the core root of the recurring problem is the roadway’s extremely close proximity to the shoreline, rather than broader climate trends, and warned that temporary cleanup operations will never deliver permanent relief. “When you build a road that close to the ocean, the sea will always remind you who is in charge,” he said, noting that sand will inevitably wash back onto the driving surface no matter how many times crews clear the pavement.
Killarney Member of Parliament Michela Barnett-Ellis confirmed that her constituency outreach team formally reached out to the Ministry of Works last week to request full removal of sand, rock, and coastal debris dumped across West Bay Street following recent king tide events. She noted that ministry crews dispatched to the site only completed partial clearance work near the Delaporte neighborhood before stopping operations, and that their approach of pushing sand to road shoulders is inherently ineffective as loose coastal sand will simply blow or wash back onto the driving lanes during the next high tide event. Barnett-Ellis framed the worsening hazard as a direct consequence of climate change driving higher, more frequent high tides, and warned that the risk extends far beyond minor traffic delays: unmitigated coastal erosion and wave action could eventually render the entire West Bay Street corridor completely impassable. She has formally called for targeted, long-term coastal defense infrastructure investments, including the potential construction of segmented seawalls along high-risk stretches of the shoreline adjacent to the road, to stabilize the coast and prevent future sand and debris incursions.
Works Minister Clay Sweeting addressed the growing public concerns during a press briefing on Tuesday, confirming that the ministry’s specialized technical assessment team is currently conducting full on-site evaluations to identify viable, sustainable engineering solutions that can stop recurring sand from washing onto the West Bay Street roadway permanently. Sweeting noted that the administration will review the technical team’s full findings before rolling out targeted mitigation measures to resolve the long-running hazard. -
Grand Bahama man shot while helping a friend in critical condition in hospital
A 2024 late-night violent incident has left a Grand Bahama resident fighting for his life in intensive care, after he sustained multiple gunshot wounds while coming to the aid of an acquaintance on Tuesday evening. Local law enforcement first received emergency dispatch notifications of a shooting incident on Frobisher Drive at approximately 10:15 p.m., moments after the attack unfolded on the residential thoroughfare. Initial on-scene witness statements shared with detectives confirm that the victim was engaged in assisting a friend with an unspecified personal task when an unmarked dark-painted sedan pulled up to the curb adjacent to the pair. A masked individual clad head-to-toe in dark tactical apparel stepped out of the vehicle, discharged multiple rounds directly at the victim, and immediately sped away from the location before any bystanders could intervene or identify the suspect’s distinguishing features. Investigating homicide division officers were later granted access to the victim at the island’s main medical facility, where they were able to conduct a brief recorded interview to collect preliminary witness accounts despite his unstable, critical medical status. No suspects have been taken into custody as of press time, and the Royal Bahamas Police Force has confirmed that all lines of inquiry, including potential motive tracing and CCTV footage retrieval from nearby properties, remain active and ongoing, with authorities urging any members of the public who witnessed the incident to come forward with anonymous tips to aid the case.
-
US Embassay sees increase in local enforcement of jet ski regulations
U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Kimberly Furnish confirmed yesterday that local Bahamian authorities have ramped up regulatory enforcement across the domestic jet ski industry, following years of sustained bilateral concerns over the safety risks posed by unregulated operators to American travelers. During a press briefing with local journalists, Furnish noted that the U.S. Embassy has been heartened by recent coordinated actions targeting unlicensed, non-compliant rogue jet ski rental providers, stating she was thoroughly satisfied with the incremental milestones achieved to date. Furnish emphasized that a cross-agency collaborative framework, led by Bahamian port authorities alongside local police units and national defense force personnel, is now being paired with upgraded technological tools, all designed to drastically reduce preventable incidents that harm U.S. nationals. For months, the administration of Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis has faced mounting public and diplomatic pressure from the U.S. Embassy over long-documented gaps in oversight of jet ski operations concentrated in high-traffic tourist zones of New Providence and Paradise Island. Back in June, the U.S. Embassy issued a revised public security advisory for all American residents and visitors in the Bahamas, flagging persistent, severe hazards associated with unvetted jet ski rentals that have resulted in a string of documented injuries, fatal accidents, and reported sexual assault cases, compounded by historically inconsistent official monitoring of designated rental zones. In direct response to that advisory, Bahamian regulators rolled out a suite of targeted policy interventions, including a landmark proposal to equip all participating tourist jet ski riders with body-worn cameras as a proactive safety and accountability measure, alongside a structured schedule of fixed on-the-spot fines for illegal and reckless operating behavior in Bahamian territorial waters. Furnish reiterated her optimism that the body camera initiative would deliver tangible safety benefits, but underscored that consistent, rigorous on-the-ground enforcement remains the single most critical factor to drive long-term sector improvement. She added that the embassy’s core priority remains the physical well-being and security of U.S. citizens visiting the island nation, and expressed formal gratitude to Bahamian officials for their ongoing collaborative work to address the long-simmering safety gaps. To tackle these systemic failures in the watercraft regulatory ecosystem, the Bahamian government formally launched a dedicated national jet ski task force in March 2024, though the inter-agency group has faced persistent public scrutiny over its perceived slow pace of implementation and unclear operational output in its early months. Earlier this year, U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas Herschel Walker made a direct public appeal to local governing bodies to fast-track the previously announced suite of safety reforms without additional delays, shortly after local law enforcement reported yet another jet ski-linked sexual assault incident targeting a tourist. Task force member Robert Sands, who also serves as Senior Vice President of major resort operator Baha Mar, later confirmed to Tribune Business that the group has secured initial gains in lifting overall industry compliance levels, but openly acknowledged that more steady, timely progress is required to meet public and diplomatic expectations. Sands noted that sustained oversight of the widely dispersed jet ski sector presents unique operational challenges, and will require long-term commitments of dedicated manpower, patrol resources, and cross-stakeholder coordination from all relevant government agencies.
-
Royal Bahamas Police Force welcomes 36 new officers
A new cohort of 36 freshly trained law enforcement personnel formally joined the ranks of the Royal Bahamas Police Force on Wednesday, marking the milestone at a formal passing-out and graduation ceremony hosted at the Police Training College in Grand Bahama. Addressing the graduating C-Squad 2026 cohort, Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles delivered a firm, values-centered address that set clear non-negotiable expectations for their upcoming tenure in public service.
Knowles emphasized from the outset that the official badge each new officer would carry grants them legal authority, but never places them above the very laws they are sworn to uphold. “Your badge confers statutory power, but it is your personal character that will define whether that power earns genuine public respect,” she told the assembled graduates. She outlined six core attributes – unwavering integrity, moral courage, institutional loyalty, strict personal discipline, mutual respect for all community members, and impartial fairness – as non-negotiable foundational requirements for every policing professional, not optional personal virtues.
She instructed the new officers to balance confidence and decisive action with measured judgment and restraint, ensuring every member of the public is treated with inherent dignity, even during high-stakes, tense interactions. “You will regularly encounter members of the public who are angry, dismissive, uncooperative, and even openly hostile. Never let someone else’s unregulated behavior erode your professional standards: you are the trained, accountable professional in that room, and the public expects you to act accordingly,” Knowles stated. She further laid out a clear code of conduct: be firm without resorting to oppression, show compassion without compromising legal obligations, act fairly without showing favoritism, and stand up for what is ethically right even when that choice is unpopular. She issued a stark warning against conflating the legal power to enforce laws with any perceived permission to mistreat the communities the force exists to protect.
Knowles explicitly stated there is zero tolerance within the Royal Bahamas Police Force for dishonesty, corruption, unnecessary excessive force, or any behavior that erodes the public’s hard-earned trust in the institution. “I will unreservedly back officers who act lawfully, professionally, and in good faith – but I will pursue full accountability for any personnel who deliberately disregard this force’s core standards,” she confirmed.
The commissioner also extended her guidance to cover off-duty conduct, specifically warning recruits to exercise extreme caution over their personal social media use and personal associations, noting that even a single careless choice, dishonest act, or lapse in judgment can destroy a personal reputation built over years, and damage broader public confidence in the entire force. She challenged the new officers, particularly those who will be deployed to serve remote Family Island communities, to prioritize becoming approachable, reliable, and trusted fixtures in the neighborhoods they patrol. She urged them never to let their official uniform overwrite the positive personal values they brought to the force, but to let their service turn them into better community members who help build a stronger, safer Bahamas for all.
The ceremony also recognized top-performing recruits for their exceptional dedication throughout the six-month training program: Recruit Constable 1117 Courtney Russell took home the Commandant’s Award for earning the highest grade point average across all coursework, while Recruit Constable 1087 Anwar Coakley was awarded the prestigious Baton of Honour, named the cohort’s overall top performer for consistent excellence in both academic study and every hands-on practical training discipline.
Knowles noted her full satisfaction with the high standard of training demonstrated by the graduating class, and expressed full confidence in their ability to serve Grand Bahama communities effectively. She also shared a key upcoming update for the force: two additional recruit squads will hold their graduation ceremony in New Providence that Friday, including a historic all-female cohort that reflects growing interest among Bahamian women in law enforcement careers. She clarified that every female recruit had met the exact same rigorous academic, physical fitness, and practical training standards as their male peers, with no special accommodations or preferential treatment offered at any stage of the recruitment or training process.
Senator Wayne Munroe, serving as Minister of Legal Affairs, delivered official remarks on behalf of National Security Minister Myles Laroda, who was unable to attend the event. Munroe reminded the graduates that public safety is entirely dependent on consistent professionalism, sound critical judgment, and the active trust of the communities they serve. He warned that careless errors in criminal investigations, evidence handling, or use of force protocols could have devastating, lifelong consequences for ordinary people, and permanently erode public faith in the national justice system. He emphasized that effective policing extends far beyond making arrests: the core mission of every officer is to carry out their duties with meticulous care to ensure true, impartial justice is delivered for all members of the public.
-
Plane wreckage found on seabed
A combined dive team including 20-year-old Clayron Smith, the son of missing 53-year-old veteran pilot Clayton Patterson Smith, pulled fragments of the vanished aviator’s aircraft and official flight documentation from the seabed roughly 26 miles off the coast of New Providence on Wednesday, marking a major new development in the multi-day search operation that has gripped local Bahamian communities. The seasoned pilot, a father of three who also served as a trusted community volunteer for local maritime and aerial missing person searches, a boat captain and tour guide, vanished mid-flight Sunday while traveling from Exuma to New Providence on a short trip to pick up a passenger and a tractor replacement part. He had notified his family he expected to return the same evening, but lost contact with air traffic control shortly after issuing a distress call roughly 30 nautical miles south of New Providence at 3 p.m. that day, with no confirmed sightings of the single-occupant Piper PA-32 (Bahamas registration C6-PAT) in the days that followed. For three consecutive days, Clayron, other family members and six civilian volunteer supporters have scoured the surrounding waters via three small vessels, with divers tethered to the boats to navigate low-visibility underwater conditions. During Wednesday’s recovery mission, Clayron personally located the aircraft’s wing flap and tail section, though the main fuselage has not yet been traced. Speaking to local outlet The Tribune moments after surfacing from his dive, the 20-year-old acknowledged the grim reality of the discovery, saying “It ain’t looking too good,” but emphasized the family was still clinging to slim hope of finding his father alive. He noted the veteran pilot had spent decades rescuing others lost at sea, and had repeatedly tracked Clayron down during his childhood boating adventures, motivating him to push through every hour of the search. Official agencies including the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), the national Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) and the U.S. Coast Guard have collaborated on the large-scale operation since the initial distress alert. The RBDF deployed two patrol vessels, HMBS Kamalamee and HMBS Madeira, each staffed with 13 crew members including specialized divers and underwater drone operators, alongside aerial patrol craft and surface drone teams to cover a 14-nautical-mile stretch between New Providence and Highbourne Cay, centered on the plane’s last recorded coordinates. Senior Lieutenant Patrick Lightfoot confirmed persistent poor weather and severely limited underwater visibility have repeatedly complicated search efforts, though crews pushed operations through until nightfall on Wednesday to maximize progress. The AAIA released an official preliminary statement verifying that all recovered aircraft components and documentation recovered to date are definitively linked to the missing C6-PAT, adding that full search efforts remain active to locate the pilot and the missing main fuselage. Lieutenant Lightfoot noted officials have not yet formally reclassified the mission from a search and rescue operation to a recovery effort, and no fixed end date has been set for the operation, with all teams committed to scaling up resources as conditions allow. Acting Prime Minister and Exuma MP Chester Cooper told local reporters he has remained in regular contact with the Smith family, noting Clayton Smith was a highly respected member of the Exuma local government council, and that all council members and community members are holding out for the most positive possible outcome. The missing pilot’s wife Lauralynn Smith shared earlier this week that her husband departed Exuma in ideal clear weather, and his decades of flight experience meant he always rigorously assessed atmospheric conditions before every journey, leaving family and community members puzzled over what may have triggered the emergency distress call. She added that while radar data has offered no clear clarity on the sequence of events that led to the disappearance, she continues to pray for his safe return.
-
Competition to nurture next generation of chefs
Held yesterday at Anatol Rodgers High School, the 34th annual New Providence District Final of the Bahamas Young Chef Culinary Competition drew a cohort of passionate teen culinary talents vying for one of three coveted berths in the national championship scheduled to take place later this month. Among the standout participants was 15-year-old homeschooled learner TeNyah Thompson, who infused her entries with distinct, locally rooted Bahamian identity: her savory main dish paired fragrant Junkanoo rice with tender conch and bright, zesty mango salsa, while her indulgent dessert consisted of flaky guava puffs drizzled with warm spiced cinnamon sauce. Thompson shared that she had dedicated extensive hours to refining her recipes ahead of the contest, and expressed genuine satisfaction with how her final plates turned out during the district round.
The field also included 17-year-old Lyndre Gaitor, a student from CV Bethel High School who was the only male competitor in the senior high division. Gaitor noted that the entire contest journey was engaging and eye-opening, and he voiced his hope that his participation would motivate more young men across the island to explore culinary arts and join future iterations of the competition. He acknowledged that preparing for the event demanded significant time and effort, as he regularly stayed back after his scheduled classes to brainstorm dish concepts, test full meal preparations, and source high-quality local ingredients. When asked about the sources of his consistent discipline throughout the months of preparation, Gaitor named his mother and his dedicated culinary teacher as his primary pillars of inspiration.
One of the contest’s official judges, renowned local Chef Jamal Small, remarked that it was deeply uplifting to witness such robust enthusiasm for the culinary profession among the younger generation, at a time when the Bahamian hospitality and food service sector is actively seeking a larger pool of skilled, creative professional chefs. “This event never fails to deliver a wonderful experience,” Small commented. “We get to watch these young competitors master new culinary techniques, step outside their comfort zones, and evolve as creators every year, so it is always a true joy to be here and witness that growth firsthand.” Small explained that the panel of judges evaluated every contestant closely on their technical precision, as well as their ability to integrate modern, industry-aligned culinary best practices into their original, culturally informed dishes. He also emphasized the long-term value of giving young people structured exposure to the latest global advancements in the culinary space, while guiding them to nurture and lean into their unique personal strengths and creative voices.
This district-level culinary contest is an official component of the Bahamian Ministry of Education’s flagship Revolution in Education initiative, a broader policy framework designed to equip young Bahamians with hands-on, market-relevant practical skills and tangible career opportunities that lay the foundation for stable, sustainable long-term livelihoods. The event also featured a dedicated junior high school division, where top three placements were already awarded: Vernon Jennings from HO Nash Junior High claimed first place, Christ-Landie Antinord of TA Thompson Junior High took second, and Francina Hanna representing DW Davis Junior High rounded out the top three in third position. -
28th CHOGM gets underway in Antigua and Barbuda
From November 1 to 4, 2026, the historic capital of St. John’s in Antigua and Barbuda is playing host to the 28th iteration of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), a landmark biennial gathering that brings together leaders from 56 member nations to align on shared collective priorities. Centered around the official theme “Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth”, this year’s summit is being chaired by Antigua and Barbuda’s sitting Prime Minister, the Hon. Gaston Browne, who has framed the event as a critical milestone to close long-standing development gaps across the Commonwealth, particularly for small island developing states that have long been marginalized in global economic and climate frameworks. Leading the official Bahamian delegation to the high-stakes summit is the country’s Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis, who has already engaged in a series of bilateral and multilateral engagements on the sidelines of the main proceedings. Early in the event schedule, Prime Minister Davis made a featured appearance at the Commonwealth Youth Forum, where he connected with young emerging leaders from across the Commonwealth to center youth voices in the summit’s final policy outcomes, before holding a formal bilateral meeting with CHOGM chair Prime Minister Browne to discuss shared regional priorities ranging from maritime security to coordinated disaster response protocols. Parallel to the main heads of government deliberations, the high-profile Commonwealth Business Forum is running a full schedule of industry and policy panels focused on actionable economic growth strategies. Senator the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, representing The Bahamas at the business forum, led a dedicated panel session focused on the critical topic of “Future-Proofing Commonwealth Economies”. During the discussion, panelists mapped out concrete pathways for member states to scale targeted investments in three high-impact priority areas: climate resilience infrastructure to reduce catastrophic storm risk for vulnerable island nations, sustainable public infrastructure that aligns with global net-zero targets, and inclusive digital transformation policies that expand broadband access and digital literacy for underserved communities. The panel’s final report, which will be presented to heads of government later in the summit, outlines how coordinated cross-Commonwealth investment in these three sectors can unlock trillions of dollars in untapped economic potential, create millions of new formal jobs, and reduce systemic vulnerability to global economic shocks for smaller member states. In a key diplomatic announcement that emerged from the Bahamian delegation’s engagements at CHOGM, the Hon. Madam Justice Cheryl Bazard, KC, a distinguished sitting jurist from The Bahamas, has been formally put forward as an official candidate for the Secretary General post of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS). If elected, Justice Bazard will bring decades of specialized legal expertise in international maritime law, climate justice, and sovereign rights for small island nations to the role, steering the commission’s ongoing work to hold major high-emitting nations accountable for climate-related loss and damage suffered by vulnerable island states.