Bahamas Morning Briefing: News Headlines – Saturday, November 7, 2026

By Michael Elijah Muhammad Clare

Saturday, November 7, 2026

Good morning. Today’s briefing leads with a push to build the country’s first aircraft maintenance facility, new winter airline routes and a power outage in Abaco that has stretched to nearly two weeks for some residents. Regionally, a major Haitian gang is seeking talks as fighting continues, and Grenada’s ruling party has won a landslide. In the United States and abroad: a White House staff shake-up, a strong jobs report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s trip to G7 talks in Paris, new US strikes on Iran and the removal of Paraguay’s president.

The Bahamas

Bahamas Moves Toward Its First Aircraft Maintenance and Repair Facility

Minister of Energy, Utilities and Aviation JoBeth Coleby-Davis said on Thursday, November 5, that the Airport Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas are advancing talks with Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) to develop the country’s first maintenance, repair and overhaul facility certified under US aviation repair-station rules. Speaking during her second visit to the university this year, she said the country now sends aircraft abroad for heavy maintenance and that a local facility would keep that spending, the jobs and the skills at home. The government also launched the Bahamas Aerospace Human-Capital Alliance, under which 18 students will receive study grants at MTSU, along with a training programme for two professionals from each of six aviation agencies and a new partnership with Nashville International Airport. The steps build on an amended agreement the minister signed with MTSU in August.

New and Expanded Flights Announced for the Winter Season

The Ministry of Tourism announced on Thursday, November 5, an expanded airline schedule for the 2026–27 season. Tradewind Aviation plans daily nonstop flights between Fort Lauderdale and Nassau from December 10, and American Airlines plans three daily nonstop flights between Miami and Exuma from December 17 through April 5, 2027. Breeze Airways is set to begin twice-weekly Raleigh-Durham to Nassau service on June 30, 2027, and Southwest Airlines plans weekend flights between Austin and Nassau in June and July 2027. The ministry’s calendar also lists the Bahamas Bonefishing Tournament Championship in George Town, Exuma, from November 10 to 15.

North Guana Cay Residents Report Up to 13 Days Without Electricity

Some residents of North Guana Cay in Abaco have been without power for up to 13 days, according to reports on Friday, November 6. Bahamas Power and Light said newly connected transformer equipment ran into capacity and overheating problems, forcing it to take some customers offline again after it had restored supply to about 60 percent of the affected area, and it gave no restoration window. The utility said a dive team was scheduled to inspect a subsea cable fault between Matt Lowe’s Cay and Man-O-War Cay. Hope Town’s chief councillor, Jeremy Sweeting, called the prolonged outage a serious concern for the community.

Regulator Awaits Revised Bahama Rock Plans for Freeport Harbour Expansion

The Department of Environmental Planning and Protection said on Thursday, November 5, that it is waiting for revised documents from aggregate producer Bahama Rock following public consultation on its proposed expansion of Freeport Harbour, Grand Bahama. Director Dr Rhianna Neely-Murphy said the company was asked to address issues raised about its operating history, community engagement and the technology it plans to use. The plan would excavate about 269 acres of the former Bahamas Cement Company site for limestone over an estimated 15 to 20 years before turning it into an expanded harbour basin, and the advocacy group Preserving Paradise has called for an independent assessment of the resource’s value before any approval. The application is still under review; Bahama Rock suspended production in September, saying its existing reserves were depleted.

Prime Minister Davis Returns From Commonwealth Summit With New Africa Talks

Prime Minister Philip Davis returned on Wednesday, November 4, from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, where he held bilateral talks with Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama and Namibia’s Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare. The government said the talks covered digital government services, eye care, trade and investment, and reparatory justice. The delegation also sought support for Stephen Bereaux, The Bahamas’ candidate for Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, in an election at the ITU conference in Doha this month. More than 30 Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers and marines helped provide security at the summit.

US Military Ospreys Fly Over Nassau on Training Run

At least six US military MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft flew in formation over New Providence on Thursday, November 5, before landing at Lynden Pindling International Airport to refuel, according to reports and widely shared video. The aircraft were reported to be on a routine training exercise linked to the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) on Andros, a US facility used for undersea testing.

Minister Calls for a Development Plan for Each of 33 Local Government Districts

Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs Clay Sweeting told a Department of Local Government conclave in Nassau on Monday, November 2, that every one of the country’s 33 districts should have its own District Development Plan. He said councils had too often been limited to administration rather than leadership, and that residents should not have to board a plane or mailboat for services that ought to be available at home. The week-long conclave was held under the theme “Stronger Together: One Team, One Goal.”

Bahamian Junior Sailors Cleared to Race at Youth Worlds in St. Croix

Five young Bahamian sailors passed boat inspections and completed a practice race in Christiansted, St. Croix, ahead of the ISCA Youth World Championships, according to reports on Friday, November 6. The fleet is racing 75 new Sunfish boats, and the event doubles as a qualifier for the Pan American Games. The championships run through November 14, with the Open World Championships starting on Monday, November 9; the trip was supported by Friends of Exuma.

Today: Sports Performance Conference Wraps Up at Baha Mar

The two-day High Level Sports Performance 2026 conference concludes today, Saturday, November 7, at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, according to the Ministry of Tourism’s events listing. Presented by Anachronist Wellness and The Winner’s Circle, it brings together coaches, trainers and athletes under the theme of sports performance, recovery and injury management.

Caribbean

Haiti: Powerful Gang Contacts Disarmament Commission as Fighting Continues

The 400 Mawozo gang said on Friday, November 6, in a statement sent to The Associated Press, that it had reached out to Haiti’s National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration in a push for dialogue. The commission confirmed it had been contacted on the group’s behalf but said any talks with armed groups must follow the government’s roadmap. Late on Friday, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé announced that a gang leader had been killed; Haitian police identified him as Mathias Saintil, leader of the Nan Boston gang in Cité Soleil. The developments follow El Salvador’s deployment of more than 2,000 troops to Haiti after four Salvadoran personnel went missing in an October 18 attack; the UN has said most of those troops operate outside the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force.

Grenada’s Ruling Party Wins 14 of 15 Seats

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell’s National Democratic Congress won a second straight term in Grenada’s general election on Thursday, November 5, taking 14 of 15 seats, according to provisional results. The NDC received about 61 percent of the vote to about 37 percent for the New National Party, whose leader, Emmalin Pierre, lost her own seat; turnout was about 63 percent. Mitchell declared Friday, November 6, a public holiday, and observer missions from CARICOM and the Organization of American States monitored the vote.

Commonwealth Leaders Welcome UK Agreement to Reparations Dialogue

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting closed in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, on Wednesday, November 4, with a communiqué welcoming the United Kingdom’s agreement to a “structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith dialogue” with affected parties on the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and its historical harms. The agreement stops short of any commitment to financial reparations, and CARICOM chair and Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre said reparations should not be ruled out of the talks. Leaders also backed debt-pause clauses in lending, wider measures of vulnerability for concessional finance, and the principle that maritime zones remain in force as sea levels rise.

US Widens Sanctions on Cuba as Blackouts Deepen

The US State Department on Thursday, November 5, issued a determination clearing the way for sanctions on new sectors of Cuba’s economy, including electronics, manufacturing, marine and technology, and targeted eight entities and two individuals, among them two China-based companies accused of supplying weapons and surveillance equipment to the Cuban government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba’s leadership was hoarding resources while ordinary Cubans face blackouts and shortages, with power outages on the island now running longer than 24 hours, according to The Associated Press. Canadian travel agents said in a report published today, Saturday, November 7, that winter travellers are shifting to other destinations, and The Bahamas’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to advise against non-essential travel to Cuba.

USA

Trump Names Stephen Miller White House Chief of Staff

President Donald Trump announced on Friday, November 6, that senior adviser Stephen Miller will replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, three days after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. Trump said Wiles will move to his political operation, told reporters the change was “not because of the election,” and said he expects further Cabinet changes. His first sit-down interview since the midterms is set to air on CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, November 8.

US Economy Added 165,000 Jobs in October

Employers added 165,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, November 6, well above economists’ forecasts. Gains were led by professional and business services (70,000), health care (42,000) and transportation and warehousing (25,000), while August and September were revised up by a combined 84,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings rose 3.1 percent over the past year, and about 2 million people had been out of work for 27 weeks or more.

Midterm Counting Continues as Democrats Prepare to Take Congress in January

Democrats are on course to hold majorities in both the House and the Senate when the new Congress convenes in January, after the Tuesday, November 3, midterm elections in which they flipped Senate seats in states including Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to projections by The Associated Press and major networks. As of Friday, more than two dozen House races were still uncalled, along with races in Alaska and Mississippi, where the Senate contest is close enough to raise the prospect of a recount. Republicans keep their majorities until the new session begins.

Incoming Democratic Committee Leaders Signal Investigations

Several Democrats in line to lead congressional committees next year have signalled plans to investigate the Trump administration. Representative Robert Garcia, expected to chair the House Oversight Committee, released a video on Friday, November 6, listing business dealings he intends to examine, including Trump family cryptocurrency investments and Pentagon contracts. Trump has said he does not view the results as a defeat for him personally because he was not on the ballot.

Rubio Heads to Paris for G7 Talks on First Trip Since the Midterms

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Paris from Sunday, November 8, to Tuesday, November 10, to attend a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, the State Department announced on Friday, November 6. It is his first foreign trip since the November 3 midterm elections, and the agenda includes the Iran war, the war in Ukraine, freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, and Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti, according to The Associated Press. France moved the meeting from Marseille to Paris at short notice amid nationwide protests, Reuters reported, and the French foreign ministry has said the talks will not produce a joint communiqué.

Global

US Carries Out “Minor” Strikes on Iran as Trump Weighs Next Steps

President Trump on Friday, November 6, described US strikes reported on Iran’s Qeshm Island as minor and said there had been progress toward a deal, a day after saying he would soon decide whether to resume larger-scale military action. Iran has sent the United States a nuclear proposal through Qatar that it says would be discussed only after Washington meets seven Iranian demands tied to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Friday that two oil tankers struck mines and caught fire in the strait, and the US State Department offered up to $20 million for information on Iran’s nuclear programme. The war began with joint US-Israeli strikes in February; the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in June but talks have stalled.

Paraguay’s President Removed and Placed Under House Arrest Over Bank Collapse

Paraguay’s Senate voted on Friday, November 6, to remove President Santiago Peña from office over his alleged links to the collapse of Ueno Bank, a day after he announced his resignation, and Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president, CNN reported. Prosecutors said Peña has been placed under house arrest pending a judge’s decision, as the attorney general pursues three criminal investigations into the bank’s supervision, the placement of public funds there and the conduct of officials. The bank had about 2.9 million customers, many of whom have been unable to reach their savings, and Paraguay’s central bank has begun phased guarantee payments. Peña has denied wrongdoing.

Ukraine: Death Toll From Strike on Aid Centre Rises to 53

The death toll from Monday’s Russian bombing of a school used as a humanitarian aid centre in Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, rose to 53 as the search entered a fifth day on Friday, November 6, according to Ukrainian officials. Russia’s Defence Ministry said the attack targeted Ukrainian military units in the area. Russia launched 227 drones at Ukraine overnight into Friday, causing new power outages in several regions, and President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is preparing a major attack on bridges and other critical infrastructure.

UN Climate Summit COP31 Opens Monday in Antalya

The 31st UN Climate Change Conference, COP31, opens on Monday, November 9, in Antalya, Türkiye, and runs through November 20. Türkiye is hosting and presiding over the summit in partnership with Australia, which will lead negotiations under an arrangement agreed between the two countries. Delegates are expected to focus on putting existing national climate plans into action, climate finance and adaptation.

China Confirms Contacts on Possible Xi–Putin–Trump Meeting

China said on Wednesday, November 4, that it is in contact with the relevant parties over a possible meeting of Presidents Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, a day after the Kremlin said work was under way to arrange one. The meeting could take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19, and would be the first joint summit of the three leaders. Ukraine has insisted it must be included in any negotiations over its future.

Sources: Government of The Bahamas; Bahamas Ministry of Tourism; eTurboNews; GlobeNewswire; Middle Tennessee State University; Fox 17 Nashville; The Associated Press; Al Jazeera; NOW Grenada; Caribbean National Weekly; CNC3; Uganda Broadcasting Corporation; CTV News; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Department of State; CNN; CBS News; NBC News; Yahoo News; Reuters; ABC News; Just Security; Khaleej Times; ANI; IBTimes UK; Kyiv Independent; Institute for the Study of War; UN Convention to Combat Desertification; TRT World; Anadolu Agency.