03042026 NEWS

“We

BUT DAVIS CLAIMS VICTORY

• Ruling finds GBPA could still be required to pay Govt

- see Page five

• Arbitration shows ‘no exclusive right’ to run Port area

- see Business

• Freeport residents question if anything will change

- See Business

Civil Aviation investigating Family Island near-misses

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that internal investigations are underway into two near-miss incidents involving American Airlines aircrafts at Family Island airports last month and said appropriate action will be taken

if any violations or safety breaches are identified.

The authority declined to comment on specific findings thus far, sauying premature disclosure could compromise the integrity of the probe or pre-empt its conclusions. Its comments followed The Tribune’s report on the February incidents, which prompted a formal safety warning from the

Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority to the CAAB.

In the first incident, an American Airlines aircraft approaching Exuma on February 12 was forced to take evasive action to avoid a departing plane, according to a report cited by US federal regulators.

PROBE - SEE PAGE THREE

Local Government celebrates 30 years

LOCAL Government yesterday hosted a special flag-raising ceremony at the Manx Corporate Centre to officially kick off Local Government Month and celebrate the historic 30th anniversary of Local Government in The Bahamas. Operating under this year’s theme, “Local Voices, National Progress: Stronger Together!”, the Tuesday morning event brought together a dedicated group of community leaders, government officials, and local government practitioners. Clay Sweeting, Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs, was in attendance to mark the milestone and delivered special remarks during the ceremony. In his address, Minister Sweeting emphasized the critical significance of local governance, reflected on the shared accomplishments achieved over the past three decades, and highlighted the country’s ongoing commitment to community unity and national progress.

Civil Aviation Authority promise corrective action after findings

The sudden manoeuvre injured two flight attendants, who were taken to a local clinic for evaluation. Both were placed on leave.

A second incident occurred on February 24 at North Eleuthera. An American Airlines aircraft was reportedly in position for takeoff when another jet passed overhead while it was still on the runway. Following the incidents, the AAIA issued a Serious Safety Concern advisory, warning that the events could have resulted in catastrophic consequences. The Serious Safety Concern notice, obtained by The Tribune , informed the CAAB that preliminary

information suggests proper communication protocols at the uncontrolled aerodromes may not have been followed.

It said American Airlines reported that neither aircraft self-announced its position on the correct frequency, a requirement under international aviation standards for airports without control towers. In a statement

yesterday, the FNM’s candidate for Exuma, Debra Moxey Rolle, expressed alarm over the incidents and called for a review of airport procedures. She said the latest events underscore the need to strengthen systems and infrastructure, pointing to a recent case in which an emergency medical flight was unable to land in Exuma due to

a runway lighting failure and the patient later died.

“Exuma families depend on safe and reliable air access for travel, commerce, and life saving medical emergencies.,” she said. “When it comes to matters of safety and life, silence is not an option.”

The CAAB, meanwhile, committed to conducting a thorough, objective and evidence based review,

adding that ensuring the safety of travellers remains its top priority.

“Should the investigation identify any areas requiring corrective action or safety enhancements, appropriate measures will be implemented in accordance with the authority’s regulatory mandate and international best practices,” the CAAB said.

Tribunal yet to rule on officers in bribery and ‘stool’ incidents

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

TWO high-profile disciplinary cases involving police officers — the East Street South police station “stool incident” and an alleged bribery attempt involving a tourist — remain unresolved months after the officers were interdicted and arraigned before the police force’s Tribunal.

Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said both matters are still pending before the Tribunal, with hearing dates set but no final determination yet made.

“As it relates to the incident that occurred at the East Street South police station, we have two officers who were arraigned before the Tribunal and were interdicted, so that matter is presently before the Tribunal for trial,” Commissioner Knowles said, adding that no further progress has

been reported. The East Street South incident sparked national outrage in July 2025 after

Govt targets illegal dumping in national clean-up push

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE government is launching a national clean-up push as illegal dumping continues to plague communities.

The National Beautification Committee, formed under the Ministry of the Environment, is leading the effort to crack down on illegal dumping, derelict vehicles and littering.

Environment Minister Zane Lightbourne said manpower and resources have been deployed to clear garbage from numerous communities. However, he noted that some areas are found littered again shortly after being cleaned.

Mr Lightbourne also pointed to an increase in complaints from residents about mosquitoes, rodents and other health concerns linked to illegal dumping.

“We realise that we have to address this in a national campaign to get buy in and the support and partnership of everyday citizens,” he told The Tribune yesterday, referring to illegal dumping.

In February 2024, 600 derelict vehicles were scheduled to be removed from the Englerston community, marking the start

of a project officials hope to expand to other constituencies in New Providence. Housing and Urban Renewal Minister Keith Bell said once the vehicles are removed, the ministry will work with property owners interested in selling their properties to the government. The government plans to construct low-cost homes in those areas. Roadside garages have also drawn complaints from residents.

In March 2025, the late Environment and Natural Resources Minister Vaughn Miller said several major roadside garages on Joe Farrington Road, Soldier

Road and Augusta Street agreed to relocate to the Gladstone Road area. During his mid-year budget contribution in the House of Assembly, he said funding for the relocation initiative is included in the current budget.

Works Minister Clay Sweeting told The Tribune that the government has secured Crown land for the move to regulate businesses operating in residential areas. He said an inter-ministerial committee is working with business owners to develop a structured relocation plan, prioritising the largest operations.

a video circulated widely online showing a distressed, half-naked Caucasian woman defecating on the floor of the station after repeatedly pleading to use a restroom.

Off-camera voices, believed to be police officers, could be heard mocking and taunting her in the footage, which quickly spread across social media and triggered an internal investigation by the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Authorities later confirmed that two officers connected to the incident were placed on interdiction, removing them from active duty while disciplinary proceedings moved forward.

Months later, however, there has been no public update on when the Tribunal will begin hearing the case or when a decision might be reached.

A second controversy involving police officers also remains before the Tribunal.

The matter arose earlier this year after a video posted to TikTok appeared to show an officer attempting to solicit a bribe from a tourist during a roadblock near St Matthew’s Anglican Church off Shirley Street on New Providence.

The tourist, who was visiting from Miami on a cruise, recorded the encounter and claimed the officer suggested the situation could be “worked out” rather than issuing a traffic citation.

Two officers connected to that incident were also arraigned before the Tribunal and placed on interdiction pending disciplinary proceedings.

“The second matter involving a tourist, which

occurred recently with two of our younger officers, those officers have also been arraigned before the Tribunal and placed on interdiction, and now their matter will be heard before the Tribunal,” Commissioner Knowles said. She said she could not say when hearings in either case would begin or when the Tribunal might reach a conclusion.

Commissioner Knowles explained that the Tribunal functions in a manner similar to a court, with officers formally arraigned and given dates to return for the start of proceedings. She said once the Tribunal completes its deliberations, it submits recommendations to the commissioner, who then decides what disciplinary action, if any, will be taken.

‘No budget changes amid oil price spike’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said the government will not adjust its budget in response to rising oil prices linked to escalating tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran, calling it “early days” as officials monitor global developments.

Oil prices spiked immediately after the outbreak of hostilities but later moderated, Mr Halkitis said, noting that increased production from other suppliers could help stabilise markets.

“We have some of the other oil producers saying that they will increase their production to offset any disruption,” he said. “You know that Venezuelan oil is now back on the market.

“Again, when things happen, there's an immediate impact, and then there's a moderation. So what we have to do is not be fearful and I never say be fearful. We just be observant. Watch what is happening.”

The United States and Israel waged war on Iran, with the Middle Eastern country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in coordinated strikes. International media

reported surging oil and gas prices amid continued attacks in the region.

The developments came days after the Davis administration unveiled its midyear budget.

Mr Halkitis said officials hope the hostilities will end quickly, but warned that any prolonged disruption to regional oil supplies could raise costs across the import-dependent Bahamian economy.

Higher oil prices can affect fuel, transportation and shipping costs, increasing the price of imported goods and placing pressure on businesses and consumers.

Pressed on whether the government might revise its fiscal plans, Mr Halkitis said officials are taking a waitand-see approach.

The midyear budget revealed that unpaid government invoices and arrears rose sharply over the past year. Outstanding obligations increased by 97.6 percent, or nearly $120m, to reach $241.898m by the end of 2025.

Mr Halkitis said the midyear deficit is still lower than the level recorded during the same period last year and maintained that the government remains on track to meet its fiscal targets after achieving a

deficit of 0.5 percent of gross domestic product in the previous fiscal year.

“This is a normal feature of the Bahamian economy and Bahamian budget, in that the bulk of our revenue is collected in the second half,” he said. “Things like business licenses, bank fees, road traffic fees, property taxes, they have concentrated in the second year.

So if you look last year, we had the same conversation.

The year before, I think we had the same conversation,

and we are confident that we are on target to meet our targets.”

The minister also pointed to geopolitical developments in the wider region that could affect The Bahamas in other ways.

He said a tightening of the blockade in Cuba could increase the risk of migration by sea as people attempt to leave the island, though he does not expect it to have a significant economic effect on the country.

Bahamians face ‘tremendous’ problems in Cuba fuel crisis

By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIANS living in or travelling to Cuba say daily life on the island has become far more difficult after the United States cut off Venezuelan oil shipments — previously the country’s largest fuel source — triggering widespread blackouts, transport disruptions and rising tensions among residents.

Bahamian ambassador to Cuba, Dr Elliston Rahming, who has been stationed in the country since February 2022, said the fuel shortage has created “tremendous” problems across the island, affecting everything from electricity generation to the transport of food.

He said prolonged power outages have become common.

While Bahamian foreign affairs officers stationed in Cuba are coping, Dr Rahming said daily life has changed sharply without diesel.

“In the past, you can just turn your generator on, and you're fine, but in the absence of diesel, your generator is stuck, so you're in darkness as much as everybody else,” Dr Rahming said.

He said gasoline is being distributed in limited quantities, but diesel — widely used across the country — is currently unavailable.

“The situation is bad, but it's not entirely unbearable,” he said.

Dr Rahming said the shortage has had severe knock-on effects because most vehicles in Cuba run on diesel, including the trucks that move agricultural produce.

“Probably 70 percent of the vehicles in Cuba are diesel operated, so that has had a deleterious impact on transport and real goods, because most of the trucks that carry stuff from the farm to the farmers market or to the food store — almost all of them are diesel operated,” Dr Rahming explained.

“So you can imagine the difficulty in getting produce that's been harvested to their designated location.”

Even with the disruption, he said Cubans have shown remarkable resilience.

“They still find a way to get to work. Schools are still open, but most of the schools are within walking distance where students live, so that's not a big problem,” he said.

Dr Rahming said embassy officials met Bahamian medical students in Cuba about a week ago and found them coping despite the circumstances.

Some expressed concerns about storing perishable food during power outages, but he said none had asked to return home.

“These students are very committed to their educational pursuit, and so far they've not allowed this hiccup to discourage them,” Dr Rahming said. He added that a fuel tanker is expected to arrive within days, which could ease the situation.

Others with direct experience in the country said the crisis is increasingly visible in everyday life.

Diana Saint Fleur, 32, who frequently travels to Cuba, told The Tribune the situation worsened during a recent three-week stay while her father awaited surgery.

She said the procedure was postponed because of the fuel shortage affecting hospital operations.

“When I went the first week, the hospital had postponed my father's surgery. We had to wait another week because they said they had fuel issues within the hospital,” Ms St Fleur said.

“While we were in the hospital, the power kept switching on, switching back off.”

She said some areas experienced up to eight hours without electricity each day, while internet service also became unreliable because of the outages. Transportation has also become far more difficult,

she said.

The cost of using her usual rideshare service rose sharply during the trip, increasing from about 1,000 pesos to nearly 4,000 pesos. A taxi ride that typically cost about $30 rose to around $50.

“Because of the fuel problems, sometimes it's even difficult to get to the airport — you can't find a taxi to get to the airport,” she said.

“My normal drivers that normally carry me around had to cancel with me. They can't get any fuel.” Ms St Fleur said tourist districts such as Vedado appeared to maintain more stable electricity, while residential areas experienced frequent outages.

She said the difference was noticeable enough that she considered staying in a hotel instead of her usual Airbnb, despite the higher cost, because hotels appeared to have more reliable power. Food supply has also been affected, she said, as

fishermen struggle to obtain fuel for their boats.

Beyond the practical difficulties, she said the shortages have changed the atmosphere in the country.

“You can feel the tension in the street with the people, the stress. They are very depressed,” she said. Bahamian entertainer Kirkland “KB” Bodie, who frequently visits Cuba, said he hears similar accounts from people on the ground.

He last travelled to the country in January and said the situation described to him by residents is severe.

“It's rough, from what I've gathered. I speak to my people almost every day,” he said.

“The energy has stopped, so that means the garbage trucks can't move. That means public transportation can't move. You're talking about only emergency things can be on at that point. The airport maybe can be on, the hospital can be. Basically everything is almost at a standstill.”

West End residents divided over MP’s first-year record

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS in West Grand Bahama are divided over whether Member of Parliament Kingsley Smith, after a year in office, has delivered on the promises he made during his by-election campaign. While in West End on Monday, The Tribune spoke with several residents who expressed lingering frustration over unemployment, lack of development, inadequate essential infrastructure, and concerns about cleanliness throughout the community.

During the by-election campaign, Smith pledged to address long-standing concerns, including road repairs, job creation, support for small businesses, and improved access to essential services.

Others, however, believe Mr Smith needs more time to make meaningful progress, noting that significant change cannot happen overnight.

In West End, residents said the community continues to lack major business investment, with no government dock and no gas station to serve the area.

Several homes also remain in need of repairs due to storm-related damage.

Mr Bethel, a longtime resident, said there has been no real improvement in the West End community for many years.

He said he supports the Coalition of Independents and Lincoln Bain.

“I am a 100 percent supporter of the COI. Lincoln Bain is for the Bahamian people; he just wants us to have what is ours,” he said.

“Kingsley Smith, we ain’t see nothing change in West End, and I lived here for years,” he said. “I never seen nothing, not even a government dock.” West End resident Emmanuel Ferguson expressed similar sentiments.

“I have not seen him do nothing in West End, he said. Nothing improve nowhere in Grand Bahama,” he said, adding that there is no hotel and no airport.

“We need hotels and things for families to work, people ain’t have nothing to do,” he said.

Mr Ferguson said he was not really concerned about himself because he has reached retirement age. When asked whether he would vote, he did not appear very interested.

Other residents believe that Mr Smith did not have enough time to effect significant change in the West End area.

“The term was too short for him to do anything,” said Patrick Grant.

“He is only a MP; he is not a minister. Obie was also Minister of Tourism and had plenty power because he was bringing people into help West End.”

Mr Grant said that Mr Smith is trying to do his best, adding that home repairs have now started.

When asked about broader improvements

to West End proper, Mr Grant admits that little has changed over the decades.

“From I know myself West End was ever like this. After Pindling gone, West End gone. He was the only prime minister that would come here, sit on the seawall, and talk to you.”

Mr Grant indicated that West End could have been in better shape than this

“Look at West End. This is supposed to be the capital. They always say it is the capital, but ain’t nobody helping the capital.

It is sad for a capital.

People and tourists come and look at the conch shell pile up and the dirt in the community.”

Mr Grant believes that residents and the government must work together to clean up the community.

Dencil Grant, 84, a disabled resident confined to a wheelchair, said he remains uncertain about the MP’s impact.

He expressed concerns about the accumulation of discarded conch shells in the community, particularly along the seawall.

“West End need plenty, he said.You see all those conch shells along the road there, they was not there. Now, if you see one hurricane come, all of them is going to be inside your house.”

“So, we need to clean up these conch shells,” he said. Mr Grant also noted that his house is in need of

home repairs.

“I still need my home repaired. You know how long I was checking on that and no came. The police came and build one bench and was supposed to come back and fix the doors and walkway, but I ain’t see them yet.”

“My home was damaged during Dorian and all doors were off the hinges, I have to put paper around the windows at night to keep out the draught.”

Revis Russell said:

“Nothing has improved in West End. We have no gas station here in West End.”

He stressed that major investment is needed in West End to create more jobs there. He was not impressed with Smith’s performance, saying he has done nothing.

Elvis Bowleg, 67, did not agree.

“I think that Mr Smith is doing his best,” he said.

He noted that things have slowed significantly, since the closure of the Jack Tar Hotel, which generated lots of economic activity in West End.

“But West End is slow now,” he said, urging residents to remain hopeful.

“If they keep their head up, regardless of how the situation is put your mind on God.”

Floyd Bradley Nixon, of Martin Hill, credited Smith with fulfilling several commitments, including the opening of the new junior high school, and renovating the park in Pineforest, and home repairs.

“He is doing a good job and when roads get damage, they come and fix the roads. I am pleased and satisfied with his representation.”

Mr Nixon, 58, is optimistic that Grand Bahama will bounce back.

“If we get the hotel and airport in operation I think GB will bounce back,” he said.

$357m GBPA claim rejected by tribunal

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE government’s $357m claim against the Grand Bahama Port Authority has collapsed in a landmark arbitration ruling that nonetheless confirmed it has regulatory authority in Freeport and can seek future payments under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement until 2054.

The decision, issued in a Partial Final Award by a three-member international tribunal, resolves the most contentious phase of a yearslong legal battle between the Davis administration and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) over the financial and governing structure of the Freeport Port Area.

While both sides quickly claimed sweeping victory after the ruling, the tribunal’s findings leave a more complicated picture.

Although the body rejected the government’s immediate bid to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in alleged administrative costs, it clarified key elements of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement framework that governs Freeport, including the government’s continuing authority in the Port Area and the existence of a mechanism through which the GBPA may be required to make annual payments to the state for the remainder of the agreement’s life.

That agreement, signed in 1955 and subsequently extended, remains in force until 2054.

The arbitration was heard by a tribunal chaired by Sir Anthony Smellie, the former chief justice of the Cayman

In effect, the tribunal concluded that while a payment structure exists, the amount owed must first be determined through the agreed review process.

Islands, alongside Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, former president of the UK Supreme Court, and Dame Elizabeth Gloster, a former judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.

The government had sought more than $357m for the years 2018 through 2022, arguing that it had incurred substantial expenses providing services in the Port Area — including customs, immigration, environmental oversight, and regulatory administration — that should have been reimbursed by the GBPA.

That claim was based on a PwC report, which the government argued constituted a detailed accounting of the costs it had borne on behalf of Freeport.

The tribunal, however, concluded that the government could not rely on that approach to enforce payment for those years.

Central to its reasoning was the conclusion that the historical mechanism cited by the government for recovering those expenses had been replaced by a different arrangement negotiated between the parties in the 1990s, when tax concessions under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement were extended. That later arrangement

provided for a fixed annual payment from the GBPA to the government for an initial period, followed by a review process intended to determine the appropriate payment level thereafter.

According to the tribunal, that review mechanism — rather than the earlier reimbursement clause — governs the parties' financial relationship going forward.

Because that review process was never implemented to establish new payment levels after the initial period expired, the tribunal found that the government could not simply retroactively calculate and claim expenses for several years based on the PwC report.

In effect, the tribunal concluded that while a payment structure exists, the amount owed must first be determined through the agreed review process.

That finding dismantled the government’s attempt to enforce the $357m claim as presented in the arbitration. However, the tribunal also made clear that the payment mechanism itself remains active.

It said the government retains the right to invoke the review process in order to determine the annual payments the GBPA should

make to defray administrative costs associated with the Port Area.

The tribunal noted that the mechanism can be invoked for future years and indicated that it remains enforceable for the remainder of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which runs until 2054.

Questions surrounding whether payments may also be determined for past years — and how far back such determinations could reach — were left unresolved at this stage of the proceedings. The tribunal declined to rule on that issue because it had not been formally pleaded as part of the government’s claim.

Instead, it said the parties may seek further determinations in the next phase of the arbitration if they wish to address those matters.

The ruling also addressed a wide range of counterclaims brought by the GBPA.

The Port Authority had argued that successive governments interfered with its administration of the Port Area, diverted investment projects away from Freeport and undermined the governance structure established under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

It sought damages that were said to exceed $1bn.

The tribunal rejected the overwhelming majority of those claims.

In particular, it dismissed arguments that the GBPA possesses exclusive authority to administer the Port Area.

The tribunal concluded that the government retains legislative and regulatory authority in Freeport and that its role in areas such as immigration, customs,

PM Davis and GBPA both claim victory

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BOTH the Davis administration and the Grand Bahama Port Authority rushed yesterday to frame the arbitration ruling in their favour, each presenting the decision as a major victory even as the outcome leaves a far more complicated picture.

In a national address last night, Prime Minister Philip Davis portrayed the decision as a historic turning point that confirmed the Port Authority must make payments to the Government and cemented the state’s authority over Freeport.

“Tonight, we can celebrate a historic victory for our country,” Mr Davis said.

He told Bahamians the tribunal had confirmed that the Grand Bahama Port Authority is liable to make payments for the remainder of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which runs until 2054, and said the ruling marked a new chapter for the island.

“For the first time, an independent tribunal has ruled that the Grand Bahama Port Authority is liable and must make payments to the Government and the people of The Bahamas – until the year 2054.”

Mr Davis framed the ruling as part of a broader struggle over sovereignty and the balance of power in Freeport, invoking the legacy of Majority Rule and the long-standing debate over the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

“The Tribunal confirmed that Freeport is part of The Bahamas, under Bahamian law – not a separate island governed by private rule.”

The Prime Minister also emphasised that most of the Port Authority’s counterclaims against the government had failed and said the next phase of the arbitration would determine how much the GBPA must pay.

“The initial ruling was a victory for us, because it established liability for them,” he said. “They have to

pay up.”

He said the government would now pursue determining the amount owed to Bahamian taxpayers, suggesting it could be more or less than the $357m originally claimed.

“It could be more than the $357 million in our initial claim – or it could be less,” he said.

Mr Davis also invoked the legacy of Sir Lynden Pindling, recalling a notable 1969 speech in Grand Bahama in which the country’s first prime minister criticised an arrangement that left the island’s second city under private control.

Earlier yesterday, Attorney General Ryan Pinder hosted a press conference rejecting the Port Authority’s characterisation of the ruling after the GBPA issued its own statement claiming victory.

Mr Pinder argued that the tribunal’s findings confirmed the government’s authority in Freeport and established the Port Authority’s liability to make payments under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. PLP candidates in the upcoming general election also celebrated the decision on social media, describing it as a victory for the Prime Minister and the government’s approach to the dispute with the Port Authority.

The Port Authority, however, issued its own statement yesterday morning portraying the ruling in very different terms. In its statement, the GBPA described the outcome as

a decisive victory after the tribunal dismissed the Government’s claim in full.

“A landmark arbitration victory for the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), its licensees, and the people of Grand Bahama has seen the government’s $357 million so called ‘reimbursement’ claim under Clause 1(5)d of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA) dismissed in full and the GBPA’s position under the HCA clearly reaffirmed,” the GBPA said.

The Port Authority emphasised that the tribunal rejected the government’s argument that the GBPA owed hundreds of millions of dollars under the clause relied on in the claim.

“The Arbitration Tribunal fully rejected the government’s argument that it was owed hundreds of millions of dollars by GBPA under Clause 1(5)d.”

The GBPA also highlighted one of the few issues on which it succeeded in the arbitration: the tribunal’s finding that the government breached its obligations by failing to approve environmental bye-laws proposed by the Port Authority.

“The Government was declared in breach of the HCA for this failure,” it said.

According to the GBPA, the tribunal has directed the parties to make submissions on a possible damages award related to that breach.

The Port Authority said the ruling removed uncertainty that had hung over Freeport during the arbitration proceedings and would help

environmental regulation, development approvals and utility oversight has long operated alongside the Port Authority’s functions.

Evidence presented during the arbitration indicated that this shared arrangement had been accepted and practised by both sides for decades.

The tribunal found that the parties' historical relationship made it inequitable for the GBPA to argue that the government lacked such authority.

The ruling also rejected claims that the government improperly diverted investment opportunities away from Freeport.

The tribunal held that the state retains discretion to pursue development policies across the wider island of Grand Bahama in the public interest.

Several other counterclaims involving land purchases, utilities and regulatory actions were similarly dismissed.

The GBPA succeeded on only one limited issue.

The tribunal ruled that the government breached its obligations by failing to take timely steps to approve and implement environmental bye-laws proposed for the Port Area. Those bylaws had first been submitted by the Port Authority in 2006. The tribunal granted a declaration confirming that the government had not fulfilled its obligations to give reasonable and timely consideration to those measures.

However, the tribunal stopped short of awarding damages for that breach.

It said it was not yet clear whether the GBPA had established recoverable losses and directed the parties to provide further submissions on whether damages should be assessed.

The award is described as “partial” because several matters remain unresolved. Those include whether the GBPA may owe damages relating to the environmental bye-laws issue, whether any payments may be determined for past years under the review mechanism, and which party should bear the costs of the arbitration.

The tribunal has instructed both sides to confer and propose a procedure to address the outstanding issues. The government said yesterday that it intends to pursue a determination of the sums payable by the GBPA under the payment review mechanism for historical periods.

The arbitration had been closely watched around the country, especially in Grand Bahama. Under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, the Port Authority was granted sweeping powers to administer and develop the Freeport Port Area in order to transform the northern island into a major commercial and industrial hub.

Over the decades, however, tensions have periodically surfaced over the balance of authority between the private entity that administers the Port Area and the national government. Those tensions have intensified under the Davis administration.

‘Davis govt wasted public funds and failed to secure result it promised’

restore confidence among investors and businesses.

“This is more than a legal victory. It is a stabilising moment for Freeport.”

It also suggested the government should have avoided bringing the claim in the first place.

“We have advised the government repeatedly since June 2016 that this claim was wrong and would fail. It was not a good use of time or public resources,” the GBPA said.

Despite the sharply different interpretations of the ruling, both sides struck conciliatory notes about the need for cooperation moving forward.

The Port Authority said genuine collaboration between the government and the GBPA would be necessary to advance Grand Bahama’s development and ensure both parties meet their obligations under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

Mr Davis similarly spoke of the possibility of a new relationship with the Port Authority, describing the ruling as an opportunity to move beyond what he called an outdated status quo in Freeport.

ment

accused the Davis Administration of choosing ‘an aggressive legal path, spending public funds, and failing to secure the result it promised.’

He added: “The focus now must be on restoring stability, rebuilding partnerships, and ensuring that any further proceedings are handled transparently and responsibly. This requires a change in leadership and a return to steady, competent governance.

“We will continue to advocate for disciplined leadership, constructive engagement, and longterm prosperity for Grand Bahama and The Bahamas as a whole.”

“That’s the bottom line,” he said. “Historically, disputes of this nature were managed through negotiation and structured engagement. Instead, this administration escalated the matter to arbitration, creating uncertainty that affects both local and international investors at a time when Grand Bahama urgently needs stability and confidence.”

The Tribune Limited

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI

“Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972

Contributing Editor 1972-1991

RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B.

Publisher/Editor 1972-

Published daily Monday to Friday Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207

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Losing bid for $357m hardly a victory

IN April 2024, the government demanded that the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) hand over $357m in 30 days, covering alleged debts owed over the previous five fiscal years. In an arbitration ruling revealed yesterday, the government had its claim dismissed. The government went on to claim the ruling as a victory, including in a national address by the prime minister last night.

To back up its claims of victory, there seemed to be a full court press on social media yesterday – including PLP MPs commenting and liking the video of the prime minister’s address. One would have thought they had better things to do than clicking the heart button.

So how does the government claim victory? Well, let us look at the document itself.

We would heartily encourage readers to read the document – though it does stand at 139 pages long. It is fascinating in many ways, not least for the journey through our history that it reveals.

The key part of the document is in its opening pages – though one should not stop there.

Principally, that details the reasons why this arbitration came to pass. The government demanded the GBPA pay more than a third of a billion dollars within 30 days - it showed that it had presented the account for the amount owed, stated that the GBPA was liable to pay within 30 days, that GBPA had not paid that amount, and therefore that it was entitled to recover that amount through the arbitration process.

The GBPA denied that liability, and that led to the need for the discussions.

Fast forward to the end of the document – though we promise we shall return to what appears in between – and the tribunal ruled that the government’s claim was dismissed. The very reason for the arbitration in the first place was rejected.

The GBPA made several counter-claims in the process, but only one was successful, that the government was in breach of a clause of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA) with regard to effect environmental bye-laws proposed in 2006.

The middle part is where the government is claiming victory, between those two very prominent bookends.

That middle portion largely consists of an examination of various of the other GBPA counter-claims that were rejected, on issues such as licensing, immigration, customs and so on.

In some of those cases, breaches by the government of the HCA were identified, but the claims did not succeed on scrutiny of the wording of the agreement and its various updates over the years. Such a close examination of how the legal authority of GBPA works is useful and valid, but those were not the primary basis of the case – the demand for $357m was the heart of that.

Essentially, the arbitration ruling re-examines and restates the legal reasoning behind various parts of that agreement. Indeed, it brings

much-needed clarity to whether some provisions have been superceded by others, such as in the case for the demand for money, where the arbitrators ruled that a paragraph from a later date effectively replaced a portion of the initial agreement.

The government has indeed been given the nod that it can demand money from the GBPA going forward – but the amount has not been set, and for that, there will have to be more discussions.

Both parties have to report back to the Tribunal by Friday – to say what they have been able to agree, or not agree, over outstanding issues including damages and costs. For matters that need continued discussion, the tribunal is happy to assist in that process – but it is not compulsory, meaning this could yet end up in a public court rather than a private discussion.

The whole document is available to read on the Office of the Prime Minister website – although oddly that comes a day after the prime minister said he could not reveal much because of confidentiality. We guess that confidentiality clause blew out of the window after the GBPA released a statement and the details of the abitrators’ ruling yesterday morning. Make no mistake, this was an expensive case – with high-powered legal teams on both sides. It is very much worth shutting out the noise and reading for yourself what the document says, although our Tribune reporters spell out the situation in stories in today’s edition.

However, the initial starting point of the case was a call to pay up $357m, and that was rejected. Any day when you lose out on more than a third of a billion dollars is a hard one to claim as a victory.

There is a bigger point in all of this, of course. Several, in fact. There is the question of whether our present arrangements are the right way forward for a Grand Bahama that has suffered from decades of stagnation. There is the question of whether a more democratic arrangement should be in place to handle all our affairs. And it can be fairly asked whether dogmatic opposition is helping Grand Bahama when mutual cooperation might achieve greater successes.

What matters is how things are for people in Grand Bahama. What matters is what they want, how much money they have in their pockets, and whether things are getting better or worse. No one, we would imagine, wants to be caught in a tug-of-war where you do not know if you are pulled one way or another which outcome will be better for you.

We are quite sure the noise around this will continue – though the fact that so much still remains to be resolved makes it seem unlikely the story will end before the election bill rings.

The simple truth for now is the government will not be getting this money in the bank in the next 30 days. What happens for the next 30 years is still a long way from being decided.

Deficit economy and the land of the wolves

EDITOR, The Tribune.

A TRUST Deficit Economy is one where confidence in institutions, businesses, and information has broken down enough to change how people behave. Contracts feel risky. Processes feel arbitrary. Promises feel optional. The result is not just frustration; it is a measurable drag on growth. When trust is low, transaction costs rise, investment slows, and the people best positioned to exploit uncertainty tend to win over the people simply trying to do things right.

The Bahamas is showing the hallmarks of exactly this kind of economy.

“The Bahamas can in most respects be officially considered the Land of the Wolves, but the average Bahamian is not a wolf.”

Land of Wolves describes systems characterised by inconsistent enforcement, lax paperwork, and a reliance on access and influence rather than merit.

This phrase ‘Land of the Wolves’ encapsulates more than just cultural frustration; it describes a system in which the rules seem to favor those who exploit others or processes rather than those who aim to do the right thing.

Those who follow the rules are burdened by various challenges, including fees, delays, deception, and inflated prices, and are subject to the numerous small hustles of others that collectively lead to significant setbacks. The wolves do not require others to be weak; they simply need them to be informal, trusting, and unstructured.

When trust in agreements, fair problem resolution, and accountability for bad behavior is absent, the costs increase, not just financially, but also in terms of time and stress. People end up paying more upfront to protect themselves. They employ experts to navigate systems that should be straightforward, and they inflate their budgets to account for potential delays, pay to facilitate, and disputes. This extra expenditure doesn’t contribute anything positive; it merely helps them survive in an environment that shouldn’t require such survival tactics.

A significant part of the problem stems from the knowledge gap between the parties involved. Contractors often know much more about the quality of their work than clients do before a project is completed. Sellers are often aware of property issues that buyers are not. Both landlords and tenants misrepresent facts to one another. In government services and

Eastern Road tree culling

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE mystery of the Eastern Road Tree Culling continues unabated. On February 17th, a social media chat warned of a large branch being down in the east bound lane of Eastern Road, just past Johnson Road. The poster surmised that there would be some impact to the morning traffic because of it. Interestingly, the evening before, around 6pm, a heavy laden 40-foot container truck passed me at the corner of Blair and Eastern Road, heading east and likely caught the branch after Johnson Road. Knocking it into the road. The culling began shortly thereafter and no one has been able to discover, who commissioned it. Initially it was thought to be BPL or Pike inspired, but the trees being culled were all on the East Bound Lane far away from any electrical lines and with hurricane season five months away why would they be spending money to cut down trees that were nowhere near the electrical lines. The Member of Parliament for St Annes has no knowledge of it and we are now into the 7th day of cutting. And the cutting is not as in “pruning”, because the trees are just being hacked, rather than pruned and will likely die because of it. Beautiful hardwood trees, most likely

more than one hundred years old. Could it be the trucking company making sure that no more trees get in their way. The trucking companies of course are off course in any case, as the whole reason for moving the shipping companies to the Arawak Port was to stop these container trucks from driving through our main tourist thoroughfare of Bay Street. When I last checked, one could not get to Eastern Road from Arawak Port without going through Bay Street. Perhaps the police are unaware of that little ditty.

BRUCE G RAINE Nassau, March 1, 2026.

procurement, having the right connections can be more important than being the best option available. When verifying information becomes challenging, dishonesty becomes easier and more appealing. Weak enforcement exacerbates this issue. The true deterrent to unethical behavior is not solely the punishment itself; rather, it is whether consequences are actually levied and how promptly. When disputes linger, outcomes seem arbitrary, and enforcement appears dependent on one’s connections. The dynamics change. Wrongdoing feels low-risk. Even individuals who are generally honest may start cutting corners when they observe that such behavior pays off.

Banking fees follow a similar pattern. Accessing one’s own money can be costly, with account fees, transfer fees, and overdraft fees that disproportionately burden lower-income individuals. Wealthier individuals can often avoid many of these costs through choice and volume, while those living paycheck to paycheck find themselves trapped. When fee structures are confusing and not clearly communicated, it is the least resourced who ultimately pay the highest price. Crime is also an economic issue, not merely a social one. When people feel unsafe, they spend more on protection. Businesses invest in security measures rather than growth. Investors require higher returns to justify the risk. Visitors may reconsider their plans. Even those not personally affected by crime alter their habits and spending due to feelings of insecurity, and that lost economic activity is significant. Immigration and labor pressures introduce additional complexities. When rules are inconsistently applied, both immigrants and locals are driven toward informal arrangements that lack standard protections. This dynamic depresses wages in specific sectors, reduces tax revenue, and complicates accountability. The underlying issue remains the same: clear, consistent, and enforceable rules foster fair markets, while unclear and inconsistent ones open doors for exploitation.

Politics connects all these threads. When people believe that connections matter more than adhering to the rules, they are less likely to invest in ethical

conduct. This erodes trust. As trust diminishes, more individuals resort to informal operations, oversight weakens, and opportunism flourishes, perpetuating the cycle.

All of this is wasteful. Energy that could be invested in building infrastructure, starting businesses, or serving customers is instead diverted into checking and double-checking, finding the right costly intermediaries, or resolving disputes that should never have occurred. In such an environment, the individual who benefits most is not necessarily the hardest worker or the one delivering the best product or service; it is the person best positioned to exploit influence, confusion, or exploitation.

Most Bahamians are not predatory. They want to work, transact, and build within a system where playing fairly does not disadvantage them. The Bahamas’ solution is not to encourage ordinary citizens to become more aggressive or opportunistic. Instead, we should strive to create an environment where honesty and reliability are genuinely rewarded. This includes faster dispute resolution, consistent enforcement, meaningful consumer protections, transparent government procurement, accessible records for verification, and processes that diminish the role of discretion and back-channel knowledge.

Rebuilding Trust is not a soft goal. It is one of the most practical economic interventions available. Countries and markets that lower transaction costs, close information gaps, and make enforcement predictable attract more investment, generate more productive activity, and distribute opportunity more fairly. The Bahamas does not need more wolves. It needs a system where being a wolf is no longer worth it and where the average Bahamian can build something without having to fight for every inch of it. The Bahamas urgently needs strong and transformative leadership to create an economy full of opportunities. This leadership would focus on providing pathways to ownership, empowering citizens to pursue their dreams, and building a more prosperous future for the entire nation. A nation thriving on a foundation of trust and capital mindsets, fostering innovation and collaboration Optimistic.

NOĒSIS — CRITICAL THINKER

Freeport, Grand Bahama February 28, 2026.

Marvin Dames and Mount Moriah

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM a long-time resident in the great constituency of Mount Moriah, a very large and diversified area encompassing large swarths of the traditional Yellow Elder Gardens; Millennium and, of course Stapledon Gardens. The current representative the Hon Markell Bonaby (PLP). He and I do not always get along but I would much prefer to see him reelected so as to continue his work in what I anticipate will be a second consecutive term in the Davis Administration. In fact, I would even agitate for his eventual elevation to cabinet level.

In recent times there had been any number of persons speculating, bogusly at this juncture, about the political viability of the ratified FNM proposed candidate for Mount Moriah. Let me make it abundantly clear. There have been no

allegations of any wrong doing by that gentleman. It has been reported in all media outlets here n The Bahamas, that an individual, who by his own admission, was a ‘business’ partner of Brother Dames. That business partner was, allegedly intercept onboard a vessel that allegedly is owned by at least three individuals. I personally do not believe for a nano second that that ratified FNM candidate has any knowledge of anything that may have gone done onboard that vessel. After all, as a former senior police officer, he is considered ‘an honorable’ individual. Under our law, everyone is presumed to be innocent of any alleged crime unless and until charges are laid; a prosecution is brought on and a trial by a competent court is conducted. There are absolutely no charges here at home of anyone connected

with the now celebrated vessel, presently in the custody of authorities in the USA. In politics, however, perception may or may not go beyond the pale. May I suggest that, without prejudice, that Mr Dames and the FNM, may wish to ‘pause’ his ratification, at this juncture. Again, I reiterate that no allegations have been made against anyone, save and except the ‘business partner’, whose substantive day in a USA court is ‘pending’. The long arms of USA justice system had, been in my opinion, been long used as a ‘tool’, rightly or wrongly, to cause embarrassment to many politicians in this region, rightly or wrongly. No person should be subjected to what maybe term ‘trial by innuendo’ ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, March 1, 2026.

Protection Against Violence Commission expects body to be operational by May

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE chair of the newly appointed Protection Against Violence Commission says she expects the body to be fully established and operational by May, with members set to hold their first meeting today.

Marisa Mason-Smith told The Tribune that significant groundwork is already underway to ensure the commission meets its mandate.

“You have to plan and prepare for when we become official to the public,” she said

yesterday, ”because we know that people have been coming and people have been looking forward to this commission for the past ten years.”

“We definitely want to execute as per the mandate and to the strategic visioning and plan for violence in the country so we are definitely committed to working hard to achieve the objectives and goals of the Act.”

Her comments to this newspaper follow the government’s formal appointment of the commission, activating a key enforcement body under the Protection Against Violence Act, 2023,

nearly three years after the law was gazetted.

The commission does not yet have a permanent office and will operate from the Ministry of Social Services’ building until one is established.

The body, among other things, would serve as the central body coordinating national efforts to combat gender-based violence, monitoring data, managing shelters, and ensuring victims receive support and protection under the law.

Other committee members include Co-Chair Pastor David Burrows, Desiree Clarke, from the National Council for

‘Fleeting glance’ overturns five-year gun conviction

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN had his fiveyear sentence for allegedly having a banned weapon during a police chase on Palm Beach Street in 2023 overturned after he successfully argued that police only had a passing glance at the suspect.

Antwan Adderley had his convictions for possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of ammunition set aside by Justices of Appeal Milton Evans, Indra Charles and Deborah Fraser. With the convictions overturned, the court said he would be released from prison if he had no other matters pending.

Adderley was alleged to have been involved in a high-speed police chase at around 11pm on

$2,500

June 11, 2023. The vehicle being pursued had its lights off, while officers said they had their take-down lights on. The pursuit ended when the suspect crashed into a fence and escaped on foot. The firearm was later recovered.

Adderley was convicted of the offences on February 23, 2024. Assistant Superintendent of Police Alex Pierre, the key witness, testified that he saw the suspect for only three seconds before he escaped. The court classified this as a fleeting glance. The prosecution submitted that the accused was wearing a monitoring device at the time. However, they said the device was shielded and did not show the accused at the scene of the crime.

The Court of Appeal

found that the defence attorney had only just seen this evidence when it was submitted before the magistrate, and was given only two minutes to review it before cross-examination.

The court called the magistrate’s decision “unfortunate”, saying it made that aspect of the evidence unreliable.

Although the prosecution initially said the appeal had little chance of success, they later conceded that the only evidence left before the court was the fleeting glance the officer had of the suspect.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the conviction was unsafe because the three-second viewing was insufficient to sustain a conviction.

Levan Johnson represented the accused, while Shaneka Carey was the prosecutor.

FINE FOR 14-DAY BAIL BREACH

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was fined $2,500 yesterday for breaching his bail conditions for 14 days while awaiting trial for drug importation.

Waldo Elisnor, 25, failed to sign in at his local police station for 14 days between August 25, 2025, and February 23.

Elisnor was on bail for two counts of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply and importation of dangerous drugs.

He pleaded guilty to violating his bail conditions before Magistrate Abigail Farrington.

Elisnor was placed on one year’s probation

and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine. Failure to comply with either condition would result in a six-month prison sentence. Elisnor returns to court

on March 30 for payment of the fine.

Levan Johnson represented the defendant, while Assistant Superintendent of Police K Bould was the prosecutor.

Persons with Disabilities, Dr Roslyn Astwood of the Bahamas Christian Council, Deputy Director of Culture Portia Sands and others.

Yesterday, Mrs MasonSmith praised the group’s broad knowledge, expertise and passion, and expressed confidence that they will make meaningful progress.

Commission members have described the challenge of addressing violence as generational and complex, emphasising the need for education and guidance to break harmful cycles.

Members stressed that

protection strategies must be inclusive, particularly for people with disabilities, and that the Commission’s work should be grounded in moral accountability, compassion, and respect for family and community.

Meanwhile, Social Services Minister Myles LaRoda said the Commission gives institutional force to the Act, converting legislative intent into coordinated action.

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN accused of threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend with a handgun on Baillou Hill Road South was granted bail yesterday. Prosecutors allege that Deangelo Bethel, 36, threatened to kill Naomi Charles and put her in fear with a handgun on February 28.

Bethel pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of a firearm with intent to put another in fear and threats of death before Magistrate Lennox Coleby.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Lincoln McKenzie, the prosecutor, raised no objection to bail.

Bethel was granted $9,000 bail with one or two sureties.

He returns to court for trial on March 24.

“Each of us can speak to the love of a mother, grandmother, or mother figure who shaped our lives,” he said. “When she is harmed, the family is harmed. When the family is harmed, the community weakens. And when communities weaken, national progress is compromised.”

Several committee members are scheduled to travel to New York next week to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session.

Referencing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, he argued that social development cannot advance without elevating women to equal status and strengthening families as the core unit of society.

Woman gets probation for knife attack over parking space dispute

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN who charged at her neighbours with a kitchen knife during a dispute over a parking space in Cooper’s Terrace last week was placed on one year’s probation. Craigneshia “Nesha” Alce, 30, threatened to

harm and assaulted Tiana Ferguson and Aldrinique Ferguson with a silver-bladed kitchen knife on February 28. Alce pleaded guilty to two counts each of assault with a dangerous instrument and threats of harm before Magistrate Lennox Coleby.

Alce was placed on one year’s probation. Breaching the order would result in a six-month prison sentence.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Lincoln McKenzie was the prosecutor.

While the defendant admitted confronting her downstairs neighbours over a parking space, she apologised profusely for her actions.

International Women's Day: time to take a stand

INTERNATIONAL

Women’s Day is on Sunday,March8andthe United Nations has Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.” as its theme. “No nation has closed the legal gaps between men and women, the United Nations stated. “Right now, women have only 64per centof thelegal rights that men hold worldwide. In fundamentalareas oflife,including work, money, safety, family, property, mobility, business, and retirement–thelawsystematically disadvantages women. With this year’s theme,it callsfor action to “dismantle all barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of womenandgirls.” International Women’sDayhasgrown in popularityin TheBahamas. Public and private sector entities alike

delight inordering andwearing purple shirts, decorating with purple bows and balloons, hosting brunches, and finding waysto usethe day and, by extension, women to increase revenue. Few institutions acknowledge the realities women and girls face every day, much lessinvestinactivitiesthatcontribute to theadvancement of women’srights,allofwhichare directly linked with opportunitiesandoutcomes.

The nextgeneral electionis rightaround thecorner,though we don’t yet have a date. There will certainly be politicians making empty statements and social media postsabout International Women s Day, completely void of commitment to use their positionsof power to make the substantive changes necessary to bring gender equality. Any political party or candidate interested in national development,humanwellbeing, economic prosperity,youth, and/or familymust engagewith genderissuesandhaveclearpositionsinsupportofspecificactionsthatarelongpastdue.

Three Areas forGender Action

Marital rape. In2018, the Free National Movement-led administration produced an insultingdraft billto amendthe Sexual Offenses Actto criminalizemarital rapewithmany barriers to reporting and accessing justice andwithout acknowledgingthatitisrape.This bill was rejected. In 2022, the Progressive LiberalParty-led administration produced a draft bill, thenquickly droppedit, nowpretendingthatitneverexisted. It attemptedto distract those attentive to women’s rightsissuesbyopeningconsultationon thegender-basedviolence bill (whichit also quickly abandoned) and instead passed the nonsense “Protection Against Violence bill, which failstoaddresstheparticularvi-

olencethatisperpetratedonthe basisof gender.It’s criticalthat marital rape is criminalized, affirming that allwomen are human beings with human rights which include bodily autonomy which cannot be erasedorreducedbyanymeans includingmarriage.

Nationality rights. The Bahamas is one of only 24 countries inthe worldthat donot allowwomen toconfernationality equally to their children. Whilemore thanonegovernment administration has played at referenda,none havedemonstrated a commitmentto ensuring thatwomen andmen have equal nationality rights and that children are not at risk ofstatelessness. Following thereferendum of 2016,there wastalk ofaddressing the issue, if only temporarily, throughlegislation. The currentadministration stated thatit wouldamend The Bahamas Nationality Act to provideremedy afterthePrivy Council ruled on Winder’s judgment thatchildren bornout of wedlock with Bahamian fathers are citizens of The Bahamasatbirth. Therulingupholding thatjudgment camein May2023.

Thematter hasyetto beappropriatelyaddressedinlegislation.The driveto ensurethat the children of Bahamian peoplehave fulland equalaccess to Bahamian citizenship andallof therelevantentitlementsmustbe greaterthanthe personal ambitions of political actors.

CEDAW compliance. The Bahamas ratified the United Nations Convention on the Eliminationof AllFormsof Discrimination againstWomen (CEDAW)--commonly referred toasthebillofwomen’srights-in 1993.The statevoluntarily recognized the Convention and its principlesas necessary,and committed itselfto theaction required to comeinto full compliancewith it.TheConvention, which opened for signaturesinDecember1979,isclear inits purpose,noting that “discriminationagainstwomenviolates theprinciples ofequality of rightsand respectfor human dignity, is an obstacle to the participation of women, on equaltermswithmen,inthepolitical, social, economic and cultural lifeof theircountries, hampersthegrowthoftheprosperity of societyand the family and makes more difficult the full development ofthe potentialitiesofwomenintheservice of their countries and of humanity.”

The State is required to submit reports onits progress toward compliance every four years, and it receives recommendations from the CEDAW Committee of experts. Recommendations at thetime of its most recentreview (2018)included a comprehensive review of all legislation to address discrimination, enhancing the Department of Genderand Family Affairs tomake itfit forpurpose, establishment ofa national human rights institution in compliance with the Paris Principles, and the criminaliza-

If you're struggling to lose weight, could chilling your carbs help?

ByJ.M.HIRSCH AssociatedPress

ONLINEinfluencers claimthesecret tolowcalorie rice,pasta and potatoesmay be assimple as chilling out. Are they right? Not quite. But a small yet solid bodyof sciencedoes suggestthatchilling thesecarbohydrate-richfoodsafter cookingthemstillcould help people slim down. For severalyears, wellness andnutrition influencers havepromoted aprocess calledretrogradation, urgingpeople to cook,chill, thenreheat carbohydrate-rich foods. Theysay doing so cancut the calories.

Retrogradation isreal, butit isn’tquite that simple.

Two kinds of starch

Most ofthe carbohydratesin thesefoods as wellasmostofthe calories come from starch, of which there are two types: hard-to-digest amylose andeasily digestedamylopectin. Thelatter isprocessedquicklyandspikesbloodsugar.Theformeris processed slowly and moderates blood sugar. Mostrawcarbohydrates (thinkuncookedpotatoes)aremademostly ofthehard-to-digeststarch (alsocalled resistantstarch), butcooking convertsit into the easily digested one.This is why diabetics need to be mindful when eating starchy foods.

Here’s where the influencers get excited. Chilling those cookedfoods triggers “retrogradation,” a processthatconvertseasilydigestedstarchbackintoresistant starch, makingit harder to digesteven if the food is then reheated.

What does that mean for calories and blood sugar? Here’s what we know:

Studiesof howretrogradation influencesdiet mostly havebeen smalland focusedon howconsumption ofresistant starchesinfluences blood sugar, particularly for diabetics.

Multiple studies since 2015 have found that people who ate rice that was cooked and then cooled

had sometimes significantly lower blood glucose levels after eating compared to people who ate freshly cookedrice. Those findingsare generally well-accepted.

Less studied is whetherretrogradation also reduces the calories available from these foods.

Kindof, saysDr.DavidLudwig, anendocrinologistandresearcheratBostonChildren sHospital. It doesn’t appreciablychange thecalorie contentof that food,” heexplained."(But)it maywellaffect your hormones and metabolism in a way that makes controlling calories a lot easier.”

Thoughretrogradation seffectsoncaloriesisneither as direct nor as dramatic as some suggest, it nonetheless haspromise as part ofhealthier eating, Ludwig said.

Reducing blood sugar spikes and cravings

Eatingfoodshighin resistantstarchreducesthe surge inblood sugartypically seenafter consuming cooked carbohydrates,he explained. Andthat s key not only for diabetics. Studies haveshown thatthose sugarspikes activate thebrain s rewardmechanism andtrigger cravings, making overeating atsnacks and later meals more likely.

Also,thoseblood sugarsurgesincreasethe body’s production of insulin,which not only makes us feelhungry, butprompts thebody s metabolism to store more calories as fat, Ludwig said. When thefood retrogrades, itdigests more slowly,”hesaid.“It’sgoingtokeepyourbloodsugar more stable. You’ll have lessinsulin to drive fat storage and likely have an easier time avoiding overeating.”

So is chilling your pasta, rice and potatoes worth it?

If you eat a diet high in refined starches, chilling cantechnicallymitigatesome oftheirnegativeimpacts. But Dr. WalterWillett, professor of epidemiologyand nutritionat HarvardT.H.Chan Schoolof Public Health, says that tobe effective, it would

tionofmaritalrape.

The recommendationsby the CEDAW Committee are clear guidance for Government of The Bahamas toeliminate discrimination andviolence against women andto achieve gender equality. They provide the structure necessary for transformation throughlegal systems, policies, and practices thataffectthe dailylivesof womenandgirls.

Launch ofthe Second United Nations Decade for PeopleofAfricanDescent

The University ofThe Bahamas, in partnership with EqualityBahamas,theBahamas National ReparationsCommittee and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, is hostingalandmarknationaldialoguemarking thelaunch ofthe Second United Nations Decade forPeopleofAfricanDescent.

Attendthelaunchandparticipate inthe conversationon Friday,March6,2026,from1-4 PM atthe PerformingArts Centre in the Keva M. Bethel Building at the Oakes Field Campus.

Thepublic forumonHaitian Restitution and Reparatory JusticeinTheBahamasandtheRegion will feature international and regional leaders, including members ofthe UnitedNations Permanent Forum forPeople of African Descent, alongside Bahamian scholars and human rights advocates. Together, we will explore justice,equity, historical accountability, and the path forwardfor TheBahamas andthewiderCaribbean.

Recommendations

1. AllWeWantisEverything: How to Dismantle Male Supremacy, bySoraya Chemaly. Join Feminist Book

Club, hostedby Equality Bahamas and Poinciana PaperPress, in reading AllWe Want is Everything this month. The publisher said, “All We Want is Everything offers both unflinching analysis and genuinehope, informed by the Bold and revolutionary potential of feminist imagination. From privaterelationships toglobal politics, Chemaly shows how naming and refusing male supremacyis essential toresisting the forcetearingdemocracy apart.Thisfresh,timely, clear-eyed, andnecessary manifestois acall to refusesupremacist identities, relationships, and valuesin orderto buildmorejust,healthy, and sustainableworlds for everyone.” The discussion willtake place atPoincianaPaperPress on Wednesday,March 18 at6pm. Tojoin the club andreceive email updates, goto tiny.cc/fbc2026

2. The Earth Breathes EverySeason This exhibition at Poinciana Paper Press features work by Tracy Assing, CandidaCash, Lisa Codella,Sonia Farmer, ErinGreene, Monique Johnson, Carol Sorhaindo,and Natalie Willis Whylly. It opened on Saturday, February 14 and the work will remain on displayfor thenexttwo weeks, open to the public Thursdays through Saturdaysfrom 11am to3pm. In the latest exhibitionat Poinciana Paper Press, seven artists contend withthetethersandportals found inthe landscape around them, creating connections between eras, islands, and each other.Whether floating between worlds, excavatinga wound, orsitting with the stillness of a breaking headline, each artist standsin thegapofwhat isunsaid to midwife itsexhale. Experimental poems,prints, and bookschanneltheseencounters, collapsingwisdom andwonder into powerful play and embodied insight.” Thisis the last weektoviewtheexhibition.

3. International Women’s Day: EverythingReclaimed Join EqualityBahamas atPoinciana Paper Press, 12 Parkgate Road, topractice letterpress printingon Saturday,March7. What has beenstolen or hidden? Whatdo youneed to reclaim?Join usas weidentify everythingwe musttakeback, inthenameofrightsandjustice forallwomen,everywhere.Letterpress printing, facilitated by Sonia Farmer and supported by Equality Bahamasvolunteers, willrun from3-5pm. Theevent isfreeandopentothepublic.

have to be done consistently, and he questions whether that's practical for most people.

It also isn’t plug-and-play simple. Retrogradationworksbetter withsomegrainvarieties than others. Some food manufacturers favourvarieties ofrice, forexample, thatare naturallylowin resistantstarchbecausethey cook morequickly. Butthis information rarelyisavailabletotheconsumer,soit’shard to know when chilling makes a difference.

Willett also noted that retrogradation only helps with blood-sugar effects.

“Chilling does not restorethe losses of fibre,mineralsandvitaminsthathavebeenremoved in the refining process, he said. Better, he said, would beto keep it simple: Substitute minimallyprocessed wholegrains cooked as one normally would.

What to know before asking an AI chatbot for health advice

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer

WASHINGTON (AP)

With hundreds ofmillions of people turningto chatbotsfor advice, itwas onlya matterof time before tech companies beganofferingprogramsspecificallydesigned to answer health questions.

In January, OpenAIintroduced ChatGPTHealth, anew version ofits chatbotthat the companysayscananalyseusers' medical records, wellness apps and wearable devicedata to answer healthand medicalquestions.Currently,there'sawaiting listfortheprogram.Anthropic,a rival AI company,offers similar features for some users of its Claudechatbot.

Bothcompaniessaytheirprograms, knownas largelanguage models, aren't a substitute for professional care and shouldn't be usedto diagnosemedical conditions. Instead,they saythe chatbots can summarize and explain complicated test results, helpprepare fora doctor'svisit or analyse important health trends buried in medical records andappmetrics.

Here are some things to considerbefore talkingto achatbot aboutyourhealth: Chatbots canoffer more personalized informationthan aGooglesearch Somedoctorsandresearchers whohaveworkedwithChatGPT Health and similar programs see them as animprovement over thestatusquo.

AI platforms arenot perfect they cansometimes hallucinate orprovide badadvice buttheinformationtheyproduce ismorelikelytobepersonalized and specific thanwhat patients might findthrough aGoogle search.

“The alternativeoften is nothing,or thepatientwinging it, said Dr.Robert Wachter, a medical technology expert at University of California, San Francisco.“AndsoIthinkthatif

This imageprovided byOpenAI inFebruary 2026 demonstrates a health chatbot on a phone app.

you usethese toolsresponsibly, I thinkyou canget usefulinformation.”

Oneadvantage ofthelatest chatbotsis thattheyanswer users’ questions with context from theirmedical history,including prescriptions, age and doctor'snotes.

Even if you haven't given AI accesstoyourmedicalinformation,Wachterandothersrecommendgiving thechatbotsas manydetails aspossible toimproveresponses.

If you'rehaving worrisome symptoms,skipAI Wachter andothers stress that there aresituations when peopleshould skipthechatbot and seek immediatemedical attention. Symptoms such as shortness ofbreath, chestpain or asevere headachecould signalamedicalemergency.

Even duringless urgentsituations, patients and doctors should approach AI programs with adegreeofhealthyscepticism,” said Dr.Lloyd Minorof StanfordUniversity.

If you re talkingabout a

Callers to hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI

By CEDAR ATTANASIO AssociatedPress

SEATTLE(AP) Press 2 for Spanish ... accent?

For months,callers tothe Washington stateDepartment of Licensing whohave requested automated servicein Spanish haveinsteadheard an AI voice speakingEnglish inastrong Spanish accent. Theagency has since apologized andsays it fixed the problem.

Washington resident Maya Edwards learnedof theAI-accented voicelast summerafter her Mexican husband tried using the Spanish-language option while seeking information about his driver’slicense. Heisbilingual but saw that the wait time for speaking to a customer servicerepresentative inEnglish was long, so hehit 2 for Spanish.

For Edwards,it was alike a

scene outof “ Parksand Recreation, a mockumentary-style comedy show thatsatires local government.

It washilarious tous inthe moment becauseit wasso absurd, shesaidThursday. Butat thesame time,ithas realaccessibilityissues forpeoplewho call in every day and need to speakin adifferentlanguage other than English. When Edwards called the number again thismonth, she found that theerror persisted. She posteda video of thecall to TikTok, racking uparound 2 million views.

The Washington Department ofLicensingsaid Fridayina statement that it fixed the glitch after determining it was caused by DOL staff. Itnoted that the self-serviceoption includes10 languages and runson a newer, AI-driven technology. DOL apologizesfor the

Photo: OpenAI via AP

majormedicaldecision,oreven

a smaller decisionabout your health,you shouldnever berelyingjuston whatyou re getting outof alarge language model,” said Minor,who isthe dean of Stanford's medical school.

Consider yourprivacy before uploading any health data

Many benefits offered by AI bots stem from users sharing personal medicalinformation. But it’s important to understand that anythingshared withan AI companyisn't protectedbythe federal privacylaw thatnormallygovernssensitivemedical information.

Commonly knownas HIPAA,thelawallowsforfines and even prisontime for doctors,hospitals, insurersorother health services that disclose medical records. Butthelaw doesn t apply to companies that designchatbots. Whensomeoneisuploading their medical chart into a large languagemodel,thatisverydifferent thanhanding itto anew

doctor, said Minor. Consumers need to understand that they’recompletelydifferentprivacystandards.

Both OpenAIand Anthropic say users health information is kept separate fromother types of dataand issubject toadditional privacy protections. The companies do notuse health datato traintheir models.Users must opt in to share their information andcan disconnectat anytime.

Testing showschatbots can stumble

Despite excitement surrounding AI,independent testing of the technology is in its infancy. Earlystudies suggest programs like ChatGPT canace high-levelmedical exams but oftenstumble when interactingwithhumans.

A 1,300-participant study byOxford Universityrecently foundthat peopleusingAI chatbots to research hypotheticalhealth conditionsdidn t make better decisions than peopleusing onlinesearches orpersonaljudgment.

AIchatbots presentedwith medicalscenariosinacomprehensive,writtenformcorrectly identified the underlying condition95%ofthetime.

“Thatwasnottheproblem,” said lead author Adam Mahdi of theOxford InternetInstitute. The place where things fellapartwas duringtheinteraction with the real participants.”

Mahdi and histeam found several communication problems.People oftendidn’t give the chatbots thenecessary information to correctly identify the healthissue. Conversely, theAI systemsoftenrespondedwithacombinationof goodandbadinformation,and usershad troubledistinguishingbetweenthetwo.

The study, conducted in 2024, didnot usethe latest chatbot versions, including newofferings likeChatGPT Health.

error andto itscustomers for any inconvenience, the agency said in a separate statement the previous day. An unfortunate byproduct of expanding services isthat DOLfoundproblems with the self-service option. Itwas notimmediatelyclear if the issueaffected other languages; efforts by The Associated Press to usethe phone servicein someofthe otherlanguages did not prompt addi-

tional accented voices.

As of Thursdaymorning, the call linestill puton thevoice after amessage, inEnglish, acknowledging thatthe some translation services were not functioning properly.

AnAP reporterfollowed prompts forSpanish-language optionsandwas metwitha voice speaking accented English thatusedSpanish onlyfornumbers.

Fintech company Block lays off 4,000 of its 10,000 staff, citing gains from AI

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer

BANGKOK(AP) Shares in thefinancial technology companyBlock soaredmore than20% inpremarket tradingFriday afteritsCEO announced it waslaying off more than 4,000of its 10,000 plusemployees, reconfiguringto capitalizeon itsuse ofartificialintelligence.

“The corethesis issimple. Intelligencetools havechanged whatitmeanstobuildandrunacompany,”JackDorseysaidin alettertoshareholdersinBlock,theparentcompanytoonline paymentplatforms suchasSquare andCashApp. “A significantlysmaller team,usingthe toolswe rebuilding, cando moreanddoitbetter,”hesaid.

Dorsey's comments explicitly naming AI as a key driver behind the movewere also posted on X, orTwitter, a company he co-founded. The assertion that the job cuts will add to Block's profitability and efficiency led investors to jump in and buy, analysts said.

A settlement is reached in a case tied to eBay's bizarre deliveries and harassment campaign

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press

BOSTON(AP) A Massachusettscouple whowere subjected tothreats and bizarre anonymousdeliveries includinglive insects,a funeralwreath anda bloodypig Halloween mask by formereBayInc.employees reached a settlement Wednesday in their lawsuitagainst the company. In their 2021 lawsuit filed in Boston federal court, David and Ina Steinersaid that the company engagedin a conspiracy to intimidate,threaten tokill,torture,terrorize, stalk and silence them” in order to “stifle their reporting on eBay. The Natick residents, who run EcommerceBytes, an online newsletter focused on the e-commerce industry, said theywere subjectedtocyberstalking,death threatsandinperson surveillance by former eBay workers. Thetermsofthe settlementwerenotdisclosed.Boston U.S.DistrictJudgePatti Sarisdismissedthecase Wednesday after the parties settled, though the order allows either sideto reopen it within60 days if theagreement is not finalized.

Burger King is testing AI headsets that will know if employees say 'welcome' or 'thank you'

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer

Burger King is testing AIpowered headsets thatcan recite recipes, alert managers when inventories arelow andeven track howfriendly employeesareto customers.

Restaurant BrandsInternational – the Miami-based company that ownsBurger King, Popeyesandother brands – said Thursday it s currentlytesting the OpenAI-powered headsets in 500 U.S. restaurants. Thesystem collectsdataon restaurant operations and sharesit via “Patty,” a voicethattalkstoemployees throughtheirheadsets. If thedrink machine islow on Diet Coke,Patty will tellthe store’s manager.IfacustomerusesaQRcodetoreportamessybathroom, the manager will be alerted.

Employees can askPatty how to make variousmenu items or tell Pattyto removeitems fromdigital menusif they’verun outof ingredients.

Solar-poweredtruck charginggains groundon

South Africa s freight corridors

By ALLAN OLINGO Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) Africa’s freight corridors, longdominated bydiesel trucksandconstrained byunreliable powergrids, areemerging asa newfrontier in theglobal shifttowardcleanlogistics, withsolar-powered charging hubs designed specifically for heavy-duty electric trucks.

In Africa,Cape Town-basedZero CarbonCharge, or Charge,ispioneeringthis technology.Itfollowsglobal modelssuch asWattEV inCaliforniaand Milence,a jointventure betweenGermany sDaimler Truckand Volvo, whichhave built solar-poweredtruck charging hubs to support high-capacity freight charging.

Anxious travellers scramble as Iran war strands hundreds of thousands across the Middle East

By RIO YAMAT, STEFANIE DAZIO and MATT SEDENSKY Associated Press

FRUSTRATED and anxious travellers searched Tuesday for any way out of the Middle East and beyond as the widening Iran war choked off commercial air traffic through the region for a fourth straight day, stranding hundreds of thousands of people.

What began Saturday with US and Israeli strikes on Iran quickly rippled far beyond the immediate conflict zone. With airspace closed or heavily restricted across much of the Gulf, passengers have been stranded not only in the region but also in cities far from the fighting after their connecting flights were cancelled.

“They say ‘Get out,’ but how do you expect us to get out when airspaces are closed?” said Odies Turner, a 32-year-old chef from Dallas who was stuck in Doha, Qatar. “They just have been cancelling every flight. I want to go home.”

The US told American citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the region right away using any available commercial transportation. The countries include Iran and Israel, as well as Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

But commercial options remained limited.

More than 19,000 of the roughly 51,600 flights

Iran

scheduled into and out of the Middle East between the start of the war and Friday have been cancelled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Governments explore repatriation flights

The US State Department said Tuesday it was “actively securing” military and charter aircraft to fly Americans out of the region. It said it was in contact with nearly 3,000 citizens seeking assistance or information.

“We know that we’re going to be able to help them,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday, while cautioning that “it’s going to take a little time because we don’t control the airspace closures.”

Rubio urged stranded Americans to contact the State Department: “We need to know who you are.”

Earlier in the day, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said the US Embassy

in Jerusalem was “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” He provided information “as a courtesy to those wishing to leave” about an Israeli government shuttle bus to Egypt that Americans could try “as you make your own security plans.”

Israel’s airspace has been closed since Saturday, although some land crossings remain open.

El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, said it was launching a large-scale “recovery operation.” Transportation Minister Miri Regev said Ben-Gurion Airport is preparing to gradually reopen for limited incoming flights starting early Thursday.

Under the plan, one passenger flight per hour will be allowed in the first 24 hours — totalling about 5,000 people — with more possible depending on security conditions. It is unclear whether only Israelis will be permitted on the flights, and

war strains US-UK relationship as Starmer and Trump disagree

LONDON Associated Press

KEIR Starmer has never had a bad word to say in public about Donald Trump.

That is not being reciprocated now as the American president lambasts the British prime minister over his reluctance to join the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said Tuesday at the White House, blasting Britain’s reluctance to let US warplanes use its bases.

The dispute is roiling a relationship that Starmer worked hard to forge, and further straining trans-Atlantic ties frayed by Trump’s “America first” foreign policy and transactional approach to international relations.

“This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe,” Trump told British tabloid The Sun in an interview published Tuesday.

“I mean, France has been great. They’ve all been great,” Trump said. “The UK has been much different from others.”

“It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was,” he said.

Starmer initially blocked American planes from using British bases for the attacks on Iran that started on Saturday. He later agreed to let the United States use bases in England and on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to strike Iran’s ballistic missiles and their storage sites, but not to hit other targets.

Even after the British base at Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by an Iran-made drone over the weekend, Starmer said that the United Kingdom “will not join offensive action.” He said Tuesday that a Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Dragon, and Wildcat helicopters with counter-drone capabilities were being sent to the region as part of “defensive operations.” British forces have also shot down drones in Jordanian and Iraqi airspace, the government said.

no commercial departures leaving Israel have been approved.

Australia said a commercial flight from Dubai to Sydney was scheduled Wednesday to start repatriating 24,000 Australians stranded in the UAE.

“This is a consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Waiting and watching

Across the Middle East, travellers waited in terminals and hotels, or stayed inside because of airstrikes. Some cruise passengers were unable to disembark or reroute because ships could not sail through the Strait of Hormuz.

Matt Carwell, an American staying in Dubai, was speaking with The Associated Press by phone from his hotel balcony when he suddenly stopped midsentence.

“Wow,” the 46-year-old said. “There was just a boom.” A fighter jet roared overhead moments later.

Carwell, who volunteers at a New Hampshire school, has flights booked and keeps waiting for one that doesn’t get cancelled.

“Right now, we’re safe and comfortable,” he said, but not everyone is. “Just feel for them and feel for the people who have either lost their lives or lost someone they’re close to.”

Airspace across Iran, Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria were still shut Tuesday, according

to flight-tracking service Flightradar24. The UAE declared its airspace partially closed, and Jordan suspended flights daily from the mid-afternoon until 6 am local time.

The geography of the war has magnified the disruption to air travel. Gulf airports connect Europe, Africa and Asia, and carriers routinely funnel long-haul passengers through hubs such as Dubai and Doha.

“Within the Middle East, an eight-hour flying distance covers two-thirds of the world population,” said Anita Mendiratta, an aviation and tourism consultant who was stranded in Bangkok. When that corridor is blocked, Mendiratta said, it forces planes far north or south, which “puts huge pressure on the airlines.”

Some of the aviation notices governing the closures allow authorities to reopen or restrict portions of airspace on short notice depending on security conditions, meaning flight schedules can change rapidly as the conflict continues to unfold.

Some begin to leave

Despite the uncertainty, some travellers have managed to catch flights.

Oman Airways advertised flights from Muscat International Airport for passengers able to reach the city from the UAE.

Virgin Atlantic said it planned to resume limited service between London Heathrow and both Dubai and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Oman’s airspace

remained open, while Saudi Arabia kept most of its airspace operating despite partial closures near its border with Iraq and along the Persian Gulf — making Muscat and Riyadh key staging points for repatriation efforts.

Some wealthy travellers are paying large sums for luxury flights to Europe, first traveling overland to Muscat or to Riyadh to reach airports considered safe from Iranian drone and missile attacks. Prices for charter flights have soared since the start of the war.

Emirates and Etihad operated a limited number of repatriation flights Tuesday, even as their regular commercial schedules remained suspended. Both carriers said the departures were focused on moving stranded passengers and operating cargo or repositioning flights with government approval.

“We called our children at 3 am to ask forgiveness because we might die and to tell them we love them,” said Mariana Muicaru, one of hundreds of Romanian pilgrims who had been stranded on a church trip to Israel. She described watching rockets streak across the sky, before eventually reaching Bucharest on Tuesday.

In Germany, passengers arriving in Frankfurt from Dubai on Tuesday were asked by reporters if they were glad to be home.

“Yes, of course,” Wassim Mahlas said. “I’m breathing German air again.”

CHINA TO UNVEIL PRIORITIES FOR COMING FIVE YEARS AT MAJOR ANNUAL POLITICAL MEETING

“President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest,” Starmer added.

The Financial Times called it Starmer’s “Love Actually moment” — a reference to the 2003 movie scene in which a British prime minister played by Hugh Grant stands up to a bullying US president played by Billy Bob Thornton. Friction between the two leaders has been building for months. Trump’s threat to take over Greenland was denounced by Starmer and other European leaders earlier this year. Recently, Trump has condemned Britain’s agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands, home to the Diego Garcia base, to Mauritius, despite his administration earlier backing the deal.

Peter Ricketts, a former head of the UK Foreign Office, told The Observer newspaper that under Trump, “the Americans have effectively given up on any effort to be consistent with international law.” That is a red line for the law-abiding Starmer, a barrister and former chief prosecutor for England and Wales.

The spat is a setback for Starmer’s efforts to woo Trump since the president’s return to office in 2025. The British government rolled out the red carpet to the president for a state visit as

Starmer has offered a rare, though implicit, rebuke of the US president, saying Monday that the UK government doesn’t believe in “regime change from the skies.” “Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis and a viable, thoughtthrough plan,” Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Monday.

the guest of King Charles III, and Starmer consistently has praised Trump’s efforts — so far unsuccessful — to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Iran war has also divided European leaders, who fall along a spectrum from condemnation to support.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that he unreservedly approves of Trump’s decision to attack Iran and kill its supreme leader, and called the war crucial for Europe’s security.

The UK, France and Germany jointly said that they weren’t involved in the strikes, but were prepared to enable “necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned the strikes as “unjustifiable” and “dangerous.”

Polling suggests many Britons are skeptical of the US justification for war. But politicians to the right of Starmer’s Labour Party slammed the prime minister for not joining the offensive. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that her party “stands behind America taking this necessary action against state-sponsored terror.”

Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty denied the US-UK “special relationship” was on the ropes.

“Our relationship with the United States is strong,” he said Tuesday in the House of Commons. “It has endured, it continues to endure, and it will endure into the future on both the economic and the

CHINA’S ceremonial legislature is set to meet Thursday, where it will unveil the country’s policy direction and economic goals for the coming years.

The meeting is held in Beijing, where the National People’s Congress and its advisory body gather. The National People’s Congress will ratify new laws decided by China’s Communist Party leadership. While the near 3,000 member body technically votes, the vote is always almost unanimous.

Also meeting is the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body composed of elite members of Chinese society, from businessmen to athletes. They also include representatives from China’s minority groups, but the body has little power on issues of public policy.

The gathering of these two bodies is called the Two Sessions. The political meetings have changed under President Xi Jinping’s rule, with tighter scripts and less scope for debate.

“A long, long time ago, it was a venue for policy deliberation,” and even controversial things, said Alfred Wu, a professor of public policy at the National University of

Singapore. “Now it’s very much become a showcase, propaganda.”

The National People’s Congress is when the Chinese premier announces the country’s GDP targets and other economic targets for the year.

This year, observers are waiting for details for the 15th five-year plan, of which the government had revealed a draft in October. It is expected to be focused on building tech prowess and self-sufficiency. China issues fiveyear plans to direct its economy, a legacy of its historical approach when it had a planned economy.

The Chinese economy remains sluggish, with high youth unemployment, weak housing prices and sagging domestic consumption. It also faces a trade war with the US, which has leveraged tariffs on all Chinese goods.

Experts have said China will have to strike a tough balance between its goals of boosting its tech manufacturing, such as in robotics, renewable energy and AI, and boosting domestic consumption as many ordinary people are feeling the pinch. Tech supply chains are narrow and the trickle-down effect is less pronounced.

China is likely to drop its headline growth target to a record low, predicted Neil Thomas and Lobsang

Tsering, policy experts at the Asia Society. It will be significant as a step in a “shift from high-speed to high-quality growth,” they wrote.

China’s legislature dismissed 19 members last week, after a highly publicized removal of two of its most senior generals in January.

Now, only one member remains of the powerful Central Military Commission, which controls the military, but policy experts say they do not expect any personnel announcements in the upcoming Two Sessions. Observers like to closely watch attendance for any signs of possible purges, however.

Xi Jinping has removed possibly up to 100 senior officials in the People’s Liberation Army in the past four years, according to new research from the Center for Strategic Studies, with the most prominent being General Zhang Youxia in January.

Yet, there is likely no great rush from the leadership to find a replacement.

“I don’t think they’re particularly worried about this,” said Wu of National University Singapore. For example, he said, Wang Yi became foreign minister again after stepping down from the job initially because of the high-profile removal of Qin Gang, previously his replacement.

A festival that keeps Raising the Bar

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net

EACH spring, Nassau Paradise

Island Wine and Food Festi-

val transforms Atlantis Paradise Island into a playground for food lovers, music fans and cultural tastemakers. What began as a promising addition to the local calendar has quickly matured into one of the region’s most anticipated culinary celebrations, drawing visitors from across the islands and beyond.

The growth has been intentional. According to Avonleh Carter, Director of Special Events and Entertainment at Atlantis Paradise Island, the festival has expanded not only in size but in ambition. This year’s edition, taking place March 11–15, 2026, promises to continue that trajectory.

“Since its inception, the Nassau Paradise Island Wine and Food Festival has grown into one of the region’s most anticipated culinary celebrations,” she said.

The physical footprint tells part of that story. Early editions were more contained; today the activation stretches across striking waterfront spaces.

“Each year, we’ve expanded our footprint and elevated the guest experience, evolving from hosting events on the Royal Deck to now activating the stunning Paradise Harbor,” said Ms Carter in an interview with The Tribune.

The 2026 programme signals another leap forward. New signature events will sit alongside returning favourites, creating a broader and more dynamic schedule. From Paella on the Beach with José Andrés to Catch and Cook with Tom Colicchio,

the offering is designed to feel immersive rather than repetitive.

“The 2026 edition marks our most ambitious festival yet,” Ms Carter expressed.

A defining feature of the festival is the deliberate blending of culinary artistry with live entertainment. The combinations are carefully curated to shape mood and audience experience. Tacos & Tequila will bring together Michael Symon and Aarón Sánchez with DJ Pauly D; the R&B Brunch pairs JJ Johnson’s cuisine with the smooth vocals of Carl Thomas.

“The pairing of culinary stars with major musical acts is absolutely

intentional and central to how we design the festival experience,” said Ms Carter.

For organisers, food and music serve as equal partners in storytelling.

“Food and entertainment are both powerful connectors, and when they come together in the right way, they create an energy and atmosphere that appeals to a wide and diverse audience,” she said.

While global names headline the schedule, the festival’s identity remains distinctly Bahamian.

Signature events such as Taste of Paradise continue to spotlight local chefs, artisans and

“ Food and entertainment are both powerful connectors, and when they come together in the right way, they create an energy and atmosphere that appeals to a wide and diverse audience.”

performers, including beloved entertainer Kirkland Bodie aka "KB".

“It’s essential that the festival remain rooted in Bahamian culture, that is the heart of who we are,” said Ms Carter. She underscores that this is not symbolic inclusion but a guiding principle.

“Spotlighting Bahamian chefs, restaurateurs, artisans, and musicians is not an add-on to the festival; it’s a core commitment. Whether through beloved local performers like KB or through homegrown culinary talent at Taste of Paradise, we aim to honour the flavours, stories, and traditions that make The Bahamas so special.

At Atlantis, we take great pride in supporting our local community and ensuring that our platform elevates Bahamian voices,” said Ms Carter.

By positioning Bahamian talent alongside internationally recognised figures such as Michelin-starred Michael White of Paranza, the event creates a platform for cultural exchange rather than competition.

“This blend of local authenticity and global excellence is what makes the festival distinctive, relevant, and deeply connected to our identity,” said the Special Events Director.

Beyond the weekend’s festivities, the broader objective is clear. Events like Jerk Jam, featuring Sugar Ray and amplified by Bahamian reggae favourites Willest & the Illest, reinforce the island’s dual appeal: global in reach, grounded in culture.

“The Nassau Paradise Island Wine and Food Festival plays a pivotal role in positioning both Atlantis Paradise Island and The Bahamas as a world-class food and lifestyle destination,” said Ms Carter.

As the countdown to March begins, she is certain that together, these experiences not only drive tourism and visitor engagement but also elevate The Bahamas’ global reputation as a vibrant, culturally rich, must-visit destination for food lovers, music fans, and travellers seeking unforgettable lifestyle experiences.

“Each year, we aim to deliver something new, something meaningful, and something distinctly Bahamian, and 2026 is no exception. This festival continues to grow not just in scale, but in heart, creativity, and cultural impact,” said Ms Carter.

Berry Islands show off their talents for National Arts Festival