Bahamas Morning Briefing: News Headlines – Tuesday, November 10, 2026

By Michael Elijah Muhammad Clare

Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Good morning, Bahamas. A new $10 note is one day from circulation, hundreds of taxi drivers are getting behind a home-grown ride app, and the country’s top athletes have been honoured at the National Sports Awards. Here is what you need to know this Tuesday, at home, across the region and around the world.

The Bahamas

New $10 banknote goes into circulation on Wednesday

The Central Bank of The Bahamas will release a new $10 note on Wednesday, November 11. The note keeps the portrait of Sir Stafford Sands on the front and the Hope Town Lighthouse in Abaco on the back, but carries a stronger grey tone so it is easier to tell apart from other denominations. The Central Bank says it is printed on a more durable, more secure paper and has an upgraded security thread that lets the public and cash-handling machines check it faster.

More than 300 taxi drivers join Bahamian-built ride app

The Bahamas Taxi Cab Union has thrown its support behind Aqua Rides, a ride-hailing app built by taxi driver Lamont Nixon, months after the union rejected a proposal to partner with Uber. Union president Tyrone Butler said more than 300 licensed taxi drivers are now on the system. Passengers see an estimated fare based on government-regulated rates before they confirm, and can share a live trip with a family member. Every driver on the app is a licensed public service driver, the union said.

Aviation weather firm rejects US airline lobby’s claims as overflight fee talks continue

The Bahamas Aviation, Climate and Severe Weather Network has dismissed as false a suggestion from US lobby group Airlines for America that it would charge for services the US Federal Aviation Administration already provides. President and CEO Patrick Rollins said the issue is the lack of real-time aviation weather information over Bahamian airspace, which a US advisory committee report has identified as a safety hazard. The Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation said technical talks with industry over the overflight charging framework are progressing well. Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis said any charges must be fair, transparent and related to the cost of the services provided.

Abaco mourns teenager who drowned off Guana Cay

A ninth-grade student of Patrick J Bethel High School drowned off Guana Cay, Abaco, on Saturday, November 7. Police said the boy, whose age they gave as 15, was swimming with friends at Dolphin Beach when strong currents swept him away. Officers, Hope Town Fire and Rescue and private boaters searched the area before a police drone located him, and he was later pronounced dead at the Marsh Harbour Healthcare Centre. He is the second student of the school to die in Abaco waters this year.

LaRoda to 56 new police officers: respect the public’s rights

National Security Minister Myles LaRoda told 56 new police officers that the power to enforce the law gives them no right to disregard people’s dignity. He was speaking on Friday, November 6, at the passing out parade for A and B Squads at the Police Training College. Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles told the 30 men and 26 women not to become so consumed with enforcing the law that they forget how to treat people. Another 36 officers graduated in Grand Bahama two days earlier.

US firm puts up to $95 million price tag on Grand Bahama LNG hub

Excelerate Energy has told investors it expects to spend between $85 million and $95 million on a floating liquefied natural gas storage and distribution hub near Grand Bahama, planned for the second half of 2028. The hub is anchored by an 11-year supply agreement with AxDo Bahamas, a joint venture between Swiss energy trader Axpo and Bahamas-based Domicisle LNG. First deliveries are expected in the first quarter of 2027, supplied from the company’s Jamaica operations. The project remains subject to permitting and construction timelines.

Government moves to build first aircraft maintenance facility

The Bahamas is working with Middle Tennessee State University to set up the country’s first certified aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility, Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis has announced. She said millions of dollars now leave the country when aircraft are sent abroad for heavy maintenance, and that a local facility would keep those jobs and skills at home. The Government has also launched study grants for 18 Bahamian students at the university and a partnership with Nashville International Airport. Aviation executives have welcomed the plan but warn that legal, tax, land and skills barriers must be dealt with first.

Edgecombe and Charlton take top honours at National Sports Awards

Philadelphia 76ers guard Valdez “V.J.” Edgecombe received the Prime Minister’s Award for National Pride at the 2026 National Sports Awards, held on Saturday, November 7, as part of November Youth Sports Month. Hurdler Devynne Charlton took the Minister of Sports Award for Excellence and the Tourism Impact Award, while Shaunae Miller-Uibo received the Leevan Sands Courage Award. Bahamas Golf was named National Team of the Year and the CARIFTA Swim Team took the youth team prize. Minister Mario Bowleg said support for athletes and coaches has been increased with the 2028 Olympic Games in view.

Bonefishing championship opens in George Town, Exuma

George Town, Exuma, hosts the championship stage of the second annual Bahamas Bonefishing Tournament Series from today through Sunday, November 15. The series brings anglers and guides together on the shallow flats the country is known for, and is part of a November events calendar aimed at drawing visitors beyond the usual sun-and-sea market.

The Caribbean

London court due to rule today on Trinidad and Tobago’s gay sex law

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London is scheduled to hand down its judgment today on whether Trinidad and Tobago’s laws against “buggery” and “serious indecency” can stand. Activist Jason Jones won his challenge in the High Court in 2018, but the Court of Appeal reversed that ruling in 2025 on the basis that the laws are protected by the constitution’s savings clause. The decision is final and binds only Trinidad and Tobago, though lawyers say it will be watched closely in other Caribbean states that kept similar laws.

Grenada awaits final count after ruling party’s 14-seat landslide

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell’s National Democratic Congress won 14 of Grenada’s 15 seats in the general election of Thursday, November 5, on provisional results, with about 61 percent of the vote. The opposition New National Party was left with a single seat. A CARICOM observer mission said voting was peaceful and orderly. Official certification of the results was still pending as of Monday.

Amnesty presses Haiti and El Salvador over troop deployment

Amnesty International on Monday, November 9, called on Haiti and El Salvador to publish the agreement governing the deployment of Salvadoran soldiers in Haiti. More than 2,000 troops have been sent since four Salvadoran personnel went missing in mid-October. The rights group wants both governments to explain the rules on the use of force, who the soldiers answer to, and how people can report abuses.

Jamaica: teachers protest at Merl Grove High as young athletes win in Dakar

Scores of teachers at Merl Grove High School in St Andrew, Jamaica, staged a silent protest on Monday, November 9, calling for a change of leadership at the all-girls school. Separately, Jamaica’s team at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, won three medals on Monday, including a gold.

Tropics quiet as hurricane season enters its final weeks

The US National Hurricane Center said this morning that no tropical cyclone formation is expected in the Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf over the next seven days. The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on November 30.

United States

House heads toward impeachment vote on Defense Secretary Hegseth

Republican congressman Thomas Massie on Monday, November 9, introduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of waging war on Iran without the approval of Congress. House rules give leaders two legislative days to act, so a vote is expected by Wednesday. Mr Hegseth, who says he is not worried, is holding his first Pentagon press briefing since May today. President Donald Trump said he will stand by him even if the House impeaches.

Senate Republicans meet to pick leaders after midterm losses

Senate Republicans are scheduled to hold their leadership election today, their first meeting as a group since losing at least seven seats on November 3, with two races still uncalled. Majority Leader John Thune is running unopposed, but seven Republican senators have called for the vote to be delayed until the party has discussed what went wrong. Democrats are set to take control of both chambers of Congress in January.

Trump says he plans “tremendous numbers” of pardons

In a television interview that aired on Sunday, November 8, President Trump said he intends to issue a large number of pardons before he leaves office. He said he does not expect to pardon himself but called the idea “not unreasonable”. He blamed his party’s midterm defeat on the Iran war, fuel prices and poor messaging, and said his deportation policy had been “too tough”. Republicans lost more than 40 seats in the House.

Nvidia board investigates chief executive over alleged spy link

Nvidia’s board has opened an independent investigation after chief executive Jensen Huang told staff he had an affair with a businesswoman whom US intelligence officials reportedly believe was working for China. The board says it has no reason to believe trade secrets were obtained, and Mr Huang says he will cooperate and stay on as chief executive. China’s foreign ministry called the spy claims baseless. Lawmakers from both parties are calling for hearings, and the company’s shares have fallen this week.

Around the World

US, Russia and Ukraine open peace talks in Abu Dhabi

Delegations from the United States, Russia and Ukraine began two days of talks in Abu Dhabi today, the first three-way meeting since February. The talks are focused on security guarantees and post-war arrangements, and US officials say both sides have shown a little flexibility on the question of territory in eastern Ukraine. The first day has ended and the talks resume on Wednesday, November 11.

At least 17 dead in steel plant explosion in western Turkey

An explosion at the Habas iron and steel plant in the Aliaga district of Izmir province on Monday, November 9, has killed at least 17 workers, Turkey’s health minister said. Initial findings point to an overhead crane falling into an electric arc furnace while molten steel was being poured. More than a dozen people were injured, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said an investigation is under way.

COP31 climate summit under way in Antalya

The United Nations climate summit, COP31, opened on Monday in Antalya, Turkey, with nearly 200 countries taking part. Turkey holds the presidency and Australia is leading the negotiations under an unusual shared arrangement. World leaders meet there on Wednesday and Thursday, and the summit runs until November 20. The talks cover climate finance, loss and damage funding and the shift away from fossil fuels, all matters of direct concern to small island states.

Russell Brand jailed for ten and a half years

British comedian and actor Russell Brand was sentenced in London on Monday to 10 years and six months in prison. A jury had convicted him of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others between 2004 and 2009. The judge described him as a sexual predator whose fame had protected him for years.

US moves aircraft from a second British base over reported Iran threat

The US military moved refuelling tankers and other aircraft out of RAF Mildenhall in eastern England on Monday because of a reported threat from Iran. It is the second British base the US has thinned out since a suspected Iran-linked plot in September. US European Command said aircraft move for a variety of reasons and that it does not discuss force protection. President Trump said on Monday that the Iran war is “effectively over” militarily, while adding that the US is ready to strike again.