Bahamas news from NuseReal
UK publication The Banker names Scotiabank Bahamas Bank of the Year 2021 — ewnews — 11 December 2021 (LINK)
The Banker via the annual Bank of the Year awards, assesses banks on their ability to deliver results, improve strategic positioning and enhance service to customers. As with the 2020 awards, this year, banks were also judged on their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.K.'s Daily Mail does the Bahamas: This glamorous sprinkling of Atlantic Ocean islands is more accessible than ever — dailymail — 9 December 2021 (LINK)
UK's Sky News focuses again on climate change, disaster and Bahamas: Abaco — sky — 14 November 2021 (LINK)
COP26: Bahamas PM says climate summit has 'no teeth' and Boris Johnson's language doesn't 'convey seriousness' of global warming crisis — sky — 12 November 2021 (LINK)
Despite contributing just 0.01% to global greenhouse gas emissions, the Bahamas is experiencing a near-term existential threat from climate change
Cabinet to consider colonial monuments after man partially tears down Columbus statue — ewnews — 12 October 2021 (LINK)
Bahamas man attacks Columbus statue in Nassau with sledgehammer on U.S. Columbus Day — Gets Arrested (video) — citizenfreepress — 11 October 2021 (LINK)
Cryptoexchange FTX will begin to move key operations to Bahamas as part of shift out of Hong Kong — theblockcrypto — 25 September 2021 (LINK)
Downhill from 2016: Grand Bahama growth "stunted" after back-to-back hurricanes, notes IDB report — ewnews — 22 September 2021 (LINK)
First Complete Map of World's Shallow Tropical Coral Reefs Published—And It Tracks Bleaching — scubadiving — 22 September 2021 (LINK)
The Secrets of The World's Greatest Freediver — gq — 21 September 2021 (LINK)
Canadian Supreme Court denies Peter Nygard bail request — citynews1130 — 9 September 2021 (LINK)
Deadly Caribbean Coral Disease Linked To Ship Wastewater — huffpost — 26 July 2021 (LINK)
Solar project in Bahamas engineered to withstand 180 mph hurricane winds — solarbuildermag — 17 May 2021 (LINK)
"It includes a 2 MWh battery plant that enables all resort generators to be switched off for the first time in 50 years, resulting in cleaner air and greater savings for up to 100 residents and guests at the resort at any given time. This microgrid will also pay for itself in just five to six years due to diesel powerplant savings alone. About two-thirds of the island's diesel fuel consumption will be eliminated as a result of this project. After the system has paid for itself, the island owners will continue to save more than $700,000 on operating expenses per year in addition to the significant non-financial benefits."
Bahamas ranked first for retail CBDC(central bank digital currency) development — nypost — 19 April 2021 (LINK)
Disgraced CEO Peter Nygard: What Is His Net Worth? — banklesstimes — 16 April 2021
Fyre festival attendees to receive $7,000 each in
settlement — theguardian — 16 April 2021
Matt Gaetz took trip to Bahamas where flight, hotel, and
women were provided by 'ganjapreneur' — dailykos — 8 April
2021
The Largest Privately Held Island in the Bahamas Heads for
Auction — mansionglobal — 4 March 2021
"Demand for private islands and island properties has increased significantly over the course of the pandemic, as ultra-high-net-worth individuals continue to work remotely, and many island nations maintain enviably low infection rates."
A company has started drilling for oil just 150 miles off
Florida's coast, prompting a dire warning from members of Congress — South
Florida sun-sentinel — 22 December 2020
How To Work Remotely In The Bahamas For Up To A Year — forbes — 19 December 2020
Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard, Accused of Being a Serial Rapist,
Arrested in Winnipeg — vice — 15 December 2020
Oil majors shift billions in profits to island tax
havens — reuters — 9 December 2020
Plastic in paradise: Goldman prize winner's fight to protect
Bahamas — theguardian — 30 November 2020
Bahamas PM pledges to expand tax-free zones to "all marginalized areas" — ewnews — 20 November 2020 (LINK)
Intl. organization launches new petition against Bahamas oil exploration — ewnews — 20 November 2020 (LINK)
Chinese port in Bahamas raises disturbing questions — ninelinenews — 9 November 2020
12 November 2020. Fight against Bahamas oil drilling attracts huge international backing. Bahamas EyeWitness News. (LINK)
26 September 2020. 'Instead of nationalism, we need global cooperation'; Caribbean leaders call at U.N. for united front against COVID-19 pandemic. (LINK)
15 September 2020. Alicia Wallace. The Racist Cost of a Pandemic Vacation in The Bahamas. Medium/Momentum. (LINK)
"Tourism is not only too susceptible to global events — especially those affecting North America — but a vehicle of oppression and a microcosm of a society. People in critical positions — housekeeping, security, and food service — are paid low wages, increasing their dependence on tips and, by extension, deference, subservience, and the inability to say no. They work erratic shifts, miss special family occasions, and completely exhaust themselves if they pursue a degree to facilitate a career change."
3 September 2020. COVID-19 unemployment hits 80 percent of low-income Bahamian households. (LINK)
Inter-American Development Bank says the percentage of households reporting income below the minimum wage increased from 16.1 percent in January to 47.6 percent in April.
BBC News. Coral dredging is causing irreversible damage.
Grand Bahama's future Cruise tourism contribution to economies
Vision 2040
Grenada National Export Strategy 2006
Living Oceans Foundation report on student views of mangrove awareness program (July 2019)
Crisis Takes Toll In Jobs At Grand Bahama Shipyard.(LINK).
The Grand Bahama Shipyard has terminated 27 workers, including several long-serving managerial staff, due to a further slump in business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Shipyard lost its largest dry docking facility when it collapsed in summer 2019. Its major shareholders, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, which each hold a 40 percent equity stake, had been planning to invest up to $100m in a replacement dock that was billed as the "largest" such floating facility to be built anywhere in the world over the past decade. However, the cruise industry's COVID-19 enforced shutdown, which has forced Carnival and Royal Caribbean to each raise billions of dollars in additional financing to help them ride out a period in which they are earning zero revenue, is likely to mean fresh investment will be placed on the backburner for a while.
Bahamas COVID-19 Dashboard: 8 confirmed cases in Grand Bahama, 87 cases in the islands, 11 deaths as of 22 May 2020.
Google Trends + records improve tourism prediction by 30% for Bahamas, IMF Study Shows. Bloomberg — 3 February 2020(LINK, freemium)
Flooding on Grand Bahama "literally closed 80 percent of businesses". — 23 January 2020 (LINK)
International agencies put the total cost of the impact and effect of Hurricane Dorian on The Bahamas at $3.4 billion, about a quarter of the country's GDP, comprising 72 per cent in damage, 21 per cent in losses and seven percent in additional costs — with the private sector absorbing about 90 percent of the losses.
What about Freeport? — 23 September 2019. (LINK)
"It was astounding to hear the prime minister in a press conference held yesterday, announce certain key incentives for economic recovery on Grand Bahama that included no mention of the hundreds of businesses and thousands of homes and rental properties in Freeport left damaged, closed and uninhabitable due to unprecedented storm surge inundation caused by Hurricane Dorian." Nassau Guardian.
Haitians fear deportation from Bahamas after storm disaster. 'Haitians are pretty much in hiding in the Bahamas since Hurricane Dorian.' The New Humanitarian. — 16 September 2019. (LINK)
Hurricane Dorian was 'category hell' — 14 September 2019 (LINK)
Secretary-General's remarks at press encounter after his visit to Abaco Island. "I must say was horrified. I've never seen such a level of systematic devastation. Hurric'ane Dorian has been classified as category five. I think it's category hell."
"One of the possible forms of support the UN has been working on and studying and proposing is exactly the possibility to swap part of debt into investments in resilience and reconstruction." Ignore the typo in the UN summary that speaks of depth rather than debt. It shows how little many officials understand of the financial jargon used . For some concrete proposals and an explanation of how debt restructuring could work, see this report from the UN Trade Forum by St Lucia (LINK to PDF)
How Bahamians have covered Dorian. Columbia Journalism Review (LINK)
Dorian has demanded media attention, but it has been a devilishly tricky story to cover. Columbia Journalism Review (LINK)
UN Secretary-General's remarks during joint press encounter with the Prime Minister of the Bahamas. — 13 September 2019(LINK)
UN Secretary-General's remarks at press encounter outside shelter for Hurricane Dorian evacuees. (LINK)
Secretary-General's remarks to the press outside the NEMA Emergency Operations Centre. (LINK)
Blockchain company promises to match aid donations. — 5 September 2019 (LINK)
PO8, a blockchain company headquartered in Marsh Harbor, Abaco - perhaps the worst hit island by Hurricane Dorian - announced it has set up a relief fund pledging that for every dollar worth of crypto donation, PO8 will match it 100%. All donations will be made to the BBHDRF a multi-signature digital wallet managed partly by the Administrator of Freeport Grand Bahama and the Bahamas Rotary Clubs. PO8's blockchain platform aims to democratize access to marine archeological artifacts by establishing their provenance and preventing their sale.
Royal Caribbean CEO: Cruise ships to bring tens of thousands of meals to Grand Bahama. — 5 September 2019: Fox News. (LINK)
Analysis Finds US Corporate Media 'Failing to Connect Climate Crisis to Strongest Atlantic Storm Ever to Hit Land'. —4 September 2019, Common Dreams. (LINK)
Bahamas: As first pictures of devastation emerge, Red Cross issues urgent appeal for funds.— 4 September 2019.
Initial aerial assessments released overnight confirm widespread devastation to the islands. According to national and regional authorities, it is estimated that approximately 76,000 people – the vast majority of residents on the two islands – have been affected. The most vulnerable group may include some of an estimated 4,400 children under 15, as well as approximately 1,600 older people. The IFRC appeal is seeking about 3.2 million Swiss francs (US$ 3.2 million). It focuses primarily on providing short- and mid-term shelter assistance to families, as well as replacing lost and necessary household goods such as lamps, cell phone chargers and tarpaulins. Red Cross volunteers and staff will also distribute hot meals and food rations to people who may have gone without food in days, before shifting their focus to distributing cash grants. This approach gives people the agency to make their own decisions about what they need, and helps inject cash into local economies.
Other interventions include health, psychological support, water, sanitation and hygiene, and activities designed to prevent and respond to violence against vulnerable groups, including sexual and gender-based violence.
IFRC has already released 500,000 Swiss francs from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to ensure an immediate supply of cash for the response teams on the ground.
Dorian's horrific eyewall slammed Grand Bahama Island for 40 hours straight. For 15 of those 40 hours, Dorian was a Category 5 hurricane — the slowest-moving Category 5 storm on record in the North Atlantic Basin. — September 2019 (LINK)
According to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane specialist and researcher at Colorado State University, Dorian was the strongest Atlantic storm on record to venture so far north. It also tied for the dubious title of strongest hurricane wind speed at landfall in the North Atlantic Ocean Basin since records began in the late 1800s. Upon reviewing radar data, it appears that Pelican Point, a small community on the eastern side of the island, experienced a continuous 25 hours and 22 minutes (give or take a few minutes) in the eyewall. Early Monday monring, Pelican Point then saw a lull of about eight hours, during which point it was nestled in Dorian's eye. Freeport, a community of about 27,000, narrowly missed the worst of the winds in the inner eyewall. However, continuous onshore 100 mph winds stubbornly pushed an extreme surge ashore, probably causing significant damage in the popular vacation destination. Washington Post. (LINK)
Son of senior Cabinet Minister fired from shipping company : $1.3 million vanishes from the shipping company on Grand Bahama. — 24 August 2019: Bahamas Press. (LINK)
Minnis government in Crisis! Powercuts, Money Shortage, Union Unrest! — 22 August 2019: Bahamas Press. (LINK)
Over a nine month period during the last fiscal year, the FNM government borrowed money four times and extended the overdraft facility at Royal Bank three times just to meet the public payroll. The government's overdraft is now up to $102 million and Royal Bank has cut the FNM government off — refusing to give them one penny more.
