Tourists left the Bahamas with a bad impression of the islands when organised chaos at Lynden Pindling International Airport on Monday caused them to miss their flights.

American passengers shouted in protest as they were told to wait in line to be cleared by United States Customs while passengers on later flights standing at the back of the line were ushered through to a shorter queue.

"This is bull****," an American man exclaimed as he escorted his family into a shorter line.

Another tourist who missed her flight after she had been forced to wait in the longer line as others behind her went ahead said: "It is such a shame, we had such a great vacation and then we have this disaster."

An American woman travelling to Chicago with her daughter arrived at Nassau airport two hours before her American Airlines flight, but missed the plane because of the chaos in the Customs room.

She said: "When I asked the lady managing the line to move us into the shorter line because our flight was at 12 noon she said, 'Ma'am, everyone's flight is at 12 noon', which is ridiculous because the people behind me had a flight at 12:45pm.

"When the shorter line had completely disappeared I asked again, and she said, 'No, you will go when I let you'.

"It was a complete power thing, and there was no one supervising her."

When the mother and daughter reached the gate 15 minutes before their flight, the gate had already closed and they were told 18 seats had been assigned to passengers who had missed previous flights.

A spokeswoman for American Airlines (AA) said the airport was particularly busy during the chaos on Monday, possibly because there were fewer staff working on the Emancipation Day holiday.

She added: "There were more passengers than usual, but if passengers missed their flight they were accommodated on another flight."

However, AA's flexibility did not satisfy all customers.

Although the Chicago resident left Nassau on the next plane, she said other passengers were pushed back by two or three flights.

"It really does leave a bad taste in your mouth," she said.

"If the line had not been so poorly managed, my daughter and I and dozens of other people, would have made their flights on time."

US Customs, the Ministry of Tourism and the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) were unable to comment

To at least eyewitness in Englerston, the early morning car chase that tore through the area Tuesday unfolded like a scene from an action flick, complete with high-impact ending ? a hit and run and a shootout with the police.

Seven police cars chased a gray Mercedes Benz at so-called breakneck speeds from Thompson Boulevard to Lincoln Boulevard around 8:30a.m. Tuesday.

Police say it all began when a car traveling in the wrong direction Tuesday morning in the Thompson Boulevard area refused to surrender to police sirens.

The incident escalated into a high-speed chase that led to an elderly woman being hospitalized and a man being shot by police.

One passenger who witnessed the chase was left shaken.

"It seemed unbelievable, I sat in my car and I was just stunned," the person said.

According to Assistant Superintendent of Police Walter Evans, police pursued the alleged culprit from Thompson Boulevard into Bain Town then onto Lincoln Boulevard where he was eventually captured.

Mr. Evans said police observed a man driving a Mercedes Benz traveling the wrong direction down a one-way street, in the vicinity of Kentucky Fried Chicken on Thompson Boulevard.

When the police caught up with the alleged culprit on Lincoln Boulevard, (he) knocked down an elderly woman who was pushing a grocery trolley on the side of the road.

The woman was said to have been walking with her child when she was knocked and dragged a considerable distance.

According to Mr. Evans, the woman?s condition was listed as unknown when she was taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Mr. Evans confirmed that a shootout between the alleged culprit and the police occurred. The man appears to have shot at police, damaging a police car before police returned fire, shooting the man in the right arm.

This, police said, was not enough to stop the individual.

"The police gave a chase. He ran on foot. (We were) unable to find this individual. He was later found in a house which is nearby and he was taken to the hospital."

Mr. Evans said that upon arrival at the hospital the man was listed in a non-life threatening condition.

The officer confirmed that the man is under arrest and will be charged in a magistrate?s court once released from the hospital.

It is reported that the suspect had a handgun and marijuana in his possession.

The police also confirmed that they retrieved a handgun with live rounds of ammunition.

However, attorney Jeff Farquarson ? who was at the scene ? indicated that the police might have over stepped their boundaries in their treatment of the culprit upon capture.

He added that the police incorrectly handled the man, whom he claims was laying in the street unattended for far too long

By Viraj Perpall

Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources the Hon. Lawrence Cartwright led a delegation to Exuma last week to present 89 cheques to assist farmers affected by Tropical Storm Noel in 2007.

?I am so happy this morning to be with you on behalf of the Government of The Bahamas to present to you these cheques,? Minister Cartwright said. ?As I said before, it would not be enough money to pay you for all that you would have lost; but it would certainly be a little contribution towards your ambitious efforts and hopefully help you to get on the go again.?

The cheques were part of the Government?s continued assistance package for certified farmers affected throughout The Bahamas. Also included in the programme is the supplying of agricultural supplies such as seeds and heavily discounted plants. Ministry representatives were slated to make more such presentations on Long Island on August 2, 2008 and on Eleuthera the following weekend.

?The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, in its attempt to try and help farmers to get back on their feet has been over the last six months sending out packages ? in some islands seeds, in some islands fertilizers and in some islands plants,? Minister Cartwright said.

Minister Cartwright said that farmers in Exuma today have a ?golden opportunity? because of the tourism product and the number of tourists who visit the island.

?Now is the time for Exuma to make money off agriculture,? he said. ?You have the people here now who need the food.?

Minister Cartwright added that Bahamians and tourists alike need food that is easily obtained locally, especially in light of possible future difficulties of importing foodstuff that might be in short supply.

?One of the best ways for us to get the food we need is to produce it,? he said. ?Exuma, you have a golden opportunity to provide food for your people, as well as to make a lot of money. Go for it.?

Exuma farmer Wesley Ferguson of Farmers Hill said that he appreciated ?very much? what the Government did for the farmers on the island.

?It is a great blessing to me as a farmer,? Mr. Ferguson said. ?I think it is a great assistance and will help us greatly in Exuma because we have been out of work (on the farms) for a while. The recent droughts and whatnot set us back; but, thank God, this now is a great blessing.?

?It is very good because it is a little help to the people,? said Alice Munnings of Rolleville. ?Some of the people lost real badly in their farms. This is a good thing that they do. We appreciate it.?

?It will encourage them to go on,? added Annie Lloyd of Barretarre, speaking on behalf of her mother of the same name.

Livingston Smith of Stuart Manor said Exuma farmers should ?feel good? about the assistance.

?Any man in his right mind should feel good anytime somebody comes to help you,? he said. ?This is something that they do not have to do; but when you look out for your people, you help them out, which is the best thing to do.?

?Use it to your benefit and it comes from The Bahamas Government and we are happy that we can provide this ?little pittance? for you to help you to get started,? Minister Cartwright said.

The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations had two venues to decide where to hold a training camp for its sprinters, jumpers and throwers leading up to the Beijing Olympic Games

Singapore and New Providence were the two first choices by the BAAA according to General Secretary and team manager Foster Dorsett.

He said the BAAA explored the options of holding the camp in Singapore, China near to Beijing but discovered it was too expensive.

Once it was decided that home (Bahamas) was the only other option for the camp, a number of the athletes requested to remain in their training base in the United States and Europe.

"The coaches on the team along with myself and BAAA president Mike Sands agreed to let the athletes work with their individual coaches because of the lateness in preparing a training camp," said Dorsett on Friday.

However, he said there is a possibility once all of the athletes arrive in Beijing by the 6th August, there will be shortened or mini camp for the athletes. But even the mini camp is not a sure thing because it is hard to tell exactly when each athlete will arrive in Beijing because they will be coming from different parts of the world.

The athletes and officials based in The Bahamas schedule to depart leave for Beijing on Monday August 4th.

According to Dorsett once the entire team is together then a final decision would be made on what the team will do before the track and field competition begins on August 15th.

Friday Dorsett said there was no word given from the Bahamas Olympic Association in regards to long jumper Jackie Edwards and weather or not she would be added to the team.

He said the new Bahamas Olympic Association executives issued a letter to the International Olympic Committee, International Association of Athletic Federation and the Pan American Sports Organization requesting to add Edwards to The Bahamas Olympic team and they are still waiting for a response.