NATIONAL NOTES

July 1998 Table of Contents - Current Issue of The Abaco Journal - Abaco Bahamas' Home Page

NATIONAL NOTES

Cubans Repatriated. In accordance with a 1996 agreement between the governments of Cuba and The Bahamas, 65 Cuban detainees in Nassau were repatriated on 18th May, some of whom were national baseball players. Further repatriation exercises occurred later in the month. According to the Miami Herald of 23rd May, the Cuban American National Foundation called for a boycott of tourism to The Bahamas. One Cuban American association cancelled a fishing tournament due to be held in Bimini during the month of July.

Rats! The services of a pied piper seem necessary on Bay Street, Nassau's oldest thoroughfare. After a massive clean up of the Straw Market by the government, rats emigrated to nearby buildings. A Wendy's restaurant on Bay Stree has had to close down because of the infestation.

Spelling Bee. Jo-Anne Maxwell from Jamaica won the 71st Annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee but The Bahamas' representative, Dominique Higgins of Jordan/Prince William Baptist High also made the final rounds. Dominique was sponsored by the Nassau Guardian.

Bahamian Wedding for Cindy. Supermodel Cindy Crawford married long-time friend Rande Gerber at an Ocean Club, Paradise Island, ceremony on 29th May according to a Nassau Tribune report.

Cocaine Haul. Three Americans and two Canadians were arrested following the seizure in Fort Lauderdale of two tons of cocaine hidden aboard a rented luxury yacht that had just returned from a weekend cruise to Bimini.

Sports. Bahamian Freeman Barr of Pleasant Bay, Andros, defeated Lee Fortune of the US in Punta Gorda, Florida, to win the North American Boxing Organisation middleweight title. Bahamian tennis star Mark Knowles and his partner Daniel Nestor of Canada reached the finals of the Men's Doubles at the French Open, losing 6-3,3-6,6-3 to the Dutch pair of Eltingh and Haarhuis. Debbie Ferguson, representing the University of Georgia, won the Women's100m in a time of 10.94 secs at the NCAA Finals held in Buffalo NY, then doubled up by winning the 200m in 22.66. Last year, Abaco's Sevatheda Fynes completed the same NCAA Championships double.

Strike on Paradise Island. Hundreds of hotel workers at Nassau and Paradise Island hotels went on strike 3rd June to express dissatisfaction with a new industrial agreement. The hotels affected were the Radisson Grand Resort, Atlantis Paradise Island, Radisson Cable Beach Resort and the Nassau Marriott. The workers returned to work -appropriately -on Labour Day, 5th June.

Prime Minister addresses United Nations. Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham addressed a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York on narcotic drugs. "The Bahamas," he said, "is totally committed to the eradication of this scourge."

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