Today In History: June 12

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – On this day in Bahamian history in 2012, a day after the Glory Time vessel sank in waters off north Abaco, the search for survivors continued. 

Then National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage said ten passengers who remain unaccounted for were feared dead bringing the death toll in the disaster to 21. 

A total of 28 people were said to be on board as the vessel was allegedly headed to the United States on a human smuggling mission. 

Fisherman and diver Jamal Cornish single handedly retrieved all the other 11 bodies the day before – six women, four boys and one girl.

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Then in 2014 after sleeping in Rawson Square from the night before a group of protesters from various organizations demanding government enforce the Freedom of Information Act clashed with police officers.

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Then in 2017 – then Opposition Leader Philip Davis said something was off about government’s decision to drop an appeal on parliamentary privilege involving environmental groups Save The Bays and former cabinet minister Jerome Fitzgerald. 

Supreme Court Justice Indra Charles previously ruled the Marathon MP infringed on the constitutional right to privacy of Save The Bays members when he read and tabled their private emails in parliament and therefore could not be protected by parliamentary privilege. Fitzgerald subsequently filed an appeal to have the ruling overturned. 

However Davis asserting that the Court of Appeal should have been allowed to hear the case.

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In 2018 – as members of the Gaming Operators Association battled government over a proposed sliding scale tax, then Attorney General Carl Bethel asserted that mouths could say anything and that anything could be put on paper. This after attorney Wayne Munroe announced the association had instructed him to proceed with legal action. 

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Then in 2019 Brian Moree QC was officially sworn in as the new chief justice during a ceremony at Government House. 

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2021 saw the inaugural homeporting of Adventure of The Seas in downtown Nassau. A celebration took place in Pompey Square to mark the historic occasion. 

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And finally in 2022 – the geopolitical impact of China in the region was discussed during the RF Economic Summit.