Regarding " Does it mean now that the laws have to be changed or upgraded?" Did you read what the existing law says?

Section 10, not 1.

I'd be remiss if I didn't include this from the above Act:

10. (1) Any person who — (a) has unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under fourteen years of age, whether with or without the consent of the person with whom he had unlawful sexual intercourse; or (b) attempts to have unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under fourteen years of age, whether with or without the consent of the person with whom he had unlawful sexual intercourse, is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for life.

Is this truly one of our nation's leaders saying this? Since when is it acceptable to defend -- especially publicly -- sex between and adult and a minor?

According to Section 11 under the heading "Indictable Sexual Offences" of The Bahamas's Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act, 1991:

11. (1) Any person who — (a) has unlawful sexual intercourse with any person being of or above fourteen years of age and under sixteen years of age, whether with or without the consent of the person with whom he had unlawful sexual intercourse; or (b) attempts to have unlawful sexual intercourse with any person being of or above fourteen years of age and under sixteen years of age, whether with or without the consent of the person with whom he attempted to have unlawful sexual intercourse, is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for life.

My understanding of this: In The Bahamas statutory rape law is broken when an adult (18+ years of age) has sexual intercourse with any person older than 14 and younger than 16 with or without consent.

Hmm. Perhaps you should confer with Bahamas Petroleum Company because, while their tests confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons in The Bahamas, the company concluded in 2021 that they are not commercially viable. This is in line with the findings of other exploratory ventures beginning in the 1940s.

See https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/co…
and https://www.offshore-energy.biz/bpc-fin…

More fake news designed to boost Russia's petroleum and natural gas sales??

1pnewman. Don't waste your time. With a name like ColumbusPillow, probably believes Columbus discovered The Bahamas despite Columbus himself documenting his encounter with people already living in these islands.

Sounds wonderful.

So... Where is this new curriculum? Is it available online for public consumption, especially for parents and older students so we can see, for example:
(1) curriculum aims, goals, and objectives,
(2) Content (subject matter),
(3) how learning will be delivered -- the learning experiences of students (and teachers),
(4) how the effectiveness of the new curriculum will be evaluated so it does indeed usher in at "a new generation of brilliance in this nation," and
(5) how it's relevant to student needs and how well it will prepare our youth, for example, to help build the "Four Pillars for the Future" as outlined in Vision 2040: State of the Nation Report?

Show and tell what the MOE gat, so we are confident that we are not experiencing another smoke and mirrors effort to obscure the very real challenges being faced by our nation's system of public education.

Deny science. Deny consequences. Deny responsibility. Exploit logical fallacies and rely on fake experts. What do you end up with? Illogical conspiracy theories and ostrich-like behavior.

FYI: The quantities of petroleum that might exist in Bahamian territorial waters are miniscule compared to other KNOWN reserves, including those recently being exploited off Guyana. It's comparable to The Bahamas' population: ~0.005% of the global total.

While the following quote was in reference to World War 2, Churchill's words apply to the threat posed by climate change to humankind and the planet's ecological health generally:

"Owing to past neglect, in the face of the plainest warnings, we have now entered upon a period of danger … The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences … We cannot avoid this period; we are in it now." Winston Churchill, Churchill Speaks: 1897-1963.

The Bahamas needs a homegrown Churchill (in terms of his ability to provide guidance and inspiration and rally support), our own Mia Mottley. No one of the equivalent stature appears to exist in either the PLP's or the FNM's leadership ranks.

We also need a "climate czar" to help us clearly understand the risks confronting our country, especially as they apply to today's children and future generations, and to help guide us through effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. Not a political appointee. Not a bureaucrat. A homegrown expert who understands both the challenges posed by climate change and our people. A person who values both scientific evidence and the experiences of "ordinary" citizens in terms of understanding how the country is already being impacted by rising and warming seas, changing weather patterns, changing bird migration, etc... Dr. Adelle Thomas???

An ongoing challenge for our country is the sale of "prime" real estate to non-Bahamians -- to the highest bidder -- especially the finite amount of waterfront (particularly beachfront). Increasingly, access to the sea for those who do own boats is being cut off, even in areas once assumed to be public access because they were used for generations by Bahamians. I am fortunate in that I do not have a problem accessing the water, and probably never will. However, one day, our descendants will wonder why more was not done by their foreparents to preserve easy access access to "the sea" for ALL Bahamians. They will wonder why -- as with many amenities, I imagine -- only the privileged/monied enjoy rights that, for many generations, were considered natural or God-given.

The fortunate communities are those built on commonage land. However, increasingly waterfront is being privatized as that land is divided into individual parcels -- a different kind of privilege.

While many will argue that the world is not fair, it is within the power of current generations and decision-makers to ensure that access to The Bahamas' most treasured resources are preserved. This should apply to other threatened resources, such as conch, scalefish, and crawfish. Resources that, because of their price and the difficulty of accessing them, are well beyond the means of many citizens. Resources that should not be exported, especially because a ready market exists for them, in both Bahamians and visitors.

We must seriously consider implementing a public trust doctrine, whereby the government owns and maintains resources such as beaches and preserves them for public use in perpetuity for the benefit of everyone. Our legal and parliamentary system is based on British law, so this should not be a principle alien to our lawmakers, especially the lawyers among them. Our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc will thank us for our foresight, rather than curse us for the more narrow-minded pursuit of profit.