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Speculation swirled this week over the re-emergence of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), but three high-profile political figures — Dr. Hubert Minnis, Branville McCartney, and Desmond Bannister — have all denied any involvement.

The trio, once central players in the Free National Movement, were each rumored to be backing the DNA as it prepares a return to politics ahead of the next general election. But in separate statements, all rejected suggestions that they were a part of reforming the party.

McCartney, who founded the DNA in 2011 before stepping down in 2016, said, “I’m out of politics. I’ve been out of politics for some time. I don’t have any type of political ambitions at this stage,” he told the Tribune.

Former Prime Minister Minnis called the rumors shocking, while Bannister, the former Deputy Prime Minister, dismissed them outrightly, “I have not had contact with the DNA and the DNA has not had contact with me…that is not in my plans,” he told Eye Witness News.

The denials come as the DNA seeks to revive itself as an independent third party. The party won no seats in the three elections it contested, garnering fewer votes each time it went to the polls.

Minnis was not given the nomination for Killarney but has expressed interest in running in the constituency despite the FNM nominating Michaela Barnett-Ellis. Bannister served as his deputy in 2017, while McCartney is a close friend of Minnis, having even lobbied for his return as leader of the party in 2024, a position Minnis ultimately lost to Party leader Michael Pintard.

Questions about who is behind the DNA could shape how seriously voters take its comeback.

The bottom line

The DNA insists it’s charting its own path, but its comeback may again show how difficult it is for third parties to break through in Bahamian politics.

Amazon has announced a new free delivery service for Bahamian customers. This service, which applies to eligible products as part of orders worth USD $49 or more, promises to enhance the shopping experience for consumers.

The initiative, celebrated by many, especially ahead of the bustling holiday season, offers what seems like a more convenient and cost-effective option for accessing a wide range of products. The promotion is an attractive promotion from one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms through DHL.

Some celebrated on social media.

Susanna Moss said, “First Jamaica, now us and I’m all for it as long as it’s either the same as the freight forwarder or cheaper.”

Andy Stevens said he will test the services and if it works as advertised he would switch from his freight forwarder. “I definitely will be trying them out before I knock it because these local shipping companies charge an arm and a leg and can’t even get your stuff here on time.”

Sedley Jean said he tried it and proved it to being inexpensive. “It is in fact much, much cheaper. It cost me much less to bring in 85 inch (television) through DHL. Only the 35% duty was collected and zero percent on the shipping and weight.”

However, this presents a challenge to local courier companies, which have long been the bridge between Bahamian consumers and their international purchases.

Industry experts suggest that local couriers and freight forwarders may have to reassess and innovate their business models.

Amazon said “Not all items are eligible for the Free Delivery promotion. Look for ‘FREE Delivery to Bahamas’ when you spend over $49 on ‘eligible items’ throughout your shopping journey.

“Once you have a cart with eligible items and exceed the threshold, you will see the ‘Free Delivery’ promotion option at checkout. The promotion is part of our continuous effort to provide greater value to our customers worldwide, and we have not announced an end date to this promotion.”

Twenty-two-year-old Brendan Adderley was reportedly the fifth brother to be killed when gunmen on Thursday evening riddled his body with bullets. He tried to escape his attackers but died on Eden Street. His gruesome death made the rounds in a viral video as many lamented his family tales of trouble with the law and becoming murder victims.

Police said Brendan and his brother were riding together when gunmen intercepted their vehicle and shot at them. The young men ran but Brendan was cornered and shot to death while his brother was shot in the arm.

Brendan’s twin brother was killed by gunmen in a similar incident back in May when gunmen obstructed their vehicle. He tried to flee in the car but the gunmen with high-powered weapons got out of their vehicle and shot into the car, killing Brandon, 22.

Their other brother, Thor “Trip Out”, 21 years old at the time, was killed in 2015 after an argument with another man outside of a nightclub. He was shot in the abdomen and succumbed.

Another brother was reportedly killed in December 2022.

“No matter what they all were hard-working young men that had utmost respect for their elders even though they might have been “bad,” a friend who goes by the name ‘Brice’ said. “I watch them renovate the house they lived in. They had goals. They had dreams. Some decisions they [were] bad but still they were trying young men who depended on no one but each other.”

Robert Pratt begs to differ. “The mother and father fail to train these young men. They failed to discipline them and correct them when they broke the rules. So the streets had to discipline them and the penalty was death.”

Friends said the boys’ mother died a few years ago.

“Tasha oh I know this killing you all over again. Your four boys all gone to be with you,” Shirley said in a social media post.

When Brendon was 18, he was accused of killing and shooting Diano Nixon in November 2021. Nixon was found dead in a car near Hospital Lane and Petticoat Lane.

Brandon was just buried two weeks ago.

The circulated video of Brendan’s death caused a stir. It showed a graphic scene of the murder as he lay lifeless in the street with wounds to the body.

“He is just a kid. Dear Lord stop the murder,” one social media user lamented.

“That video was horrible. Nassau is scary and out of control,” Nashad said.

Tashara added, “This is getting out of hand for such a small population.  Something needs to be done…We need action.”

Featured pictures: Social media

No one has found a trace of 41-year-old Taylor Casey since her disappearance in the Bahamas after she visited the Sivanandra Ashram Yoga Retreat on Paradise Island, igniting international headlines and safety concerns in the Bahamas, a destination for millions of tourists each year.

Though Taylor’s mother believes the woman may have faced danger because she is transgender, it is possible Taylor could have drowned like Wesley Bell who disappeared 11 years ago at the same site, both seeking wellness tourism.

Bell who was 41 at the time, was visiting from Houston Texas when he vanished from the yoga retreat on Paradise Island where he was a guest.

Bahamas authorities issued a missing person bulletin hoping he would be spotted, but he vanished.

His father, Don Bell, told NBC last week, he believes his son “drowned in the water” adding that authorities “couldn’t find him.” His shoes, shirt, and hat were found on the beach.

Danniel Ward-Packard 58, who befriended Bell at the time said she remembered him walking off alone to snorkel, but never returning.

“People were pretty traumatized. It’s a beautiful place, everybody is having an amazing yoga experience in this gorgeous location, and then somebody’s gone.”

Now that Taylor is missing just two weeks into her visit to certify as a yoga instructor, drowning seems to be the more plausible cause. The beautiful waters around the site are dangerous. It became the focus of efforts to find her– from divers, drones, and search dogs deployed in the area.

Raquel Ramotar acquainted with the area where Taylor was last seen, remembers it as private property that’s dangerous and treacherous.

“That place should be investigated. The ocean in the back of that retreat is a mystery. It is breathtaking but when you walk into it, the drop below is deep and the sand sinks.”

Someone had seen Taylor going to look at a coral reef but did not see her return.

Bahamas police, accused of not doing enough to find her, found her phone and journal under 56 feet of water. Now, many wonder where is her US passport since authorities said it remains missing. This is mystifying.

All of her belongings were found in her tent where she lived and the spokesperson for the retreat says she “was not taken” but left “voluntarily.”

On the face of it, the circumstances seem unusual because she has not been found. However, considering tourists’ admiration for the turquoise waters, Taylor’s curiosity may have ended tragically.

Taylor may never be found and Bahamas authorities may always face scrutiny from her family and friends amid a succession of unfounded speculations.

The mother of Taylor Casey, the woman who went missing in the Bahamas last month on a yoga retreat, is just now revealing that Taylor is a transgender woman, as the search seems to hit a stalemate and detectives are stumped by her disappearance.

When she first disappeared, CSJ Report learned of her transgender identity when family and friends spoke in a Zoom meeting about her “large footprint” in the trans community in Chicago. But they never officially identified her as such, and neither did Bahamian authorities.

Now three weeks into the search, friends in a press statement disclosed her gender identity: ‘Community Urgently Seeks Help in Finding Beloved, Black Trans Advocate Missing Since June 20’

Seymore revealed to NBC why she shielded Taylor’s identity: “The focus was going to be taken off of finding my child, my child being missing and that they were going to put the focus on ‘oh, Taylor’s transgender,’ which should not be the focus at all.

“It should be the focus is finding Taylor, an American, human being citizen that’s missing in the Bahamas.”

Seymore who criticized Bahamas police for not doing enough to find Taylor, said her child would have already been found if she was white and heterosexual.

“Without a doubt. Without a doubt. There would have been way more effort. The investigation would have been done properly, the way it should have been done.”

Some took to social media, scolding the family for shielding Taylor’s gender identity.

“Sadly, they should have revealed transgenderism right away. You need a detailed description to find someone,” one user said.

Another said, “They should have said immediately that Taylor is transgender. That’s a huge component to this case.”

In a press conference on Thursday, the family honored Taylor’s 42^nd birthday and urged Chicago officials to call for FBI intervention in the disappearance.

Taylor’s phone has been found in waters near where she stayed, but her passport remains missing.

Her trip to the Bahamas was supposed to be a month-long training in yoga instructions at Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Center on Paradise Island but nearly two weeks into the course, she reportedly disappeared.

Bahamian authorities are expected to give the family an update on Friday.

Former Parliamentarian Donald Saunders was shot and killed on Wednesday night in what appears to be a botched robbery in Gambier.

What happened?

Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander said Saunders, Deputy Chairman of the Free National Movement was one of six patrons sitting outside of a community bar after 9 pm, when two gunmen demanded cash.

The patrons fled and the gunmen fired their weapons.

The other five patrons soon realized Saunders was not with them. They then returned to the scene and found him lying face down outside of the establishment, with a gunshot wound to the back. When police officers arrived on the scene, he had already succumbed.

The big picture

The year began with worrying crime trends, spilling over from 2023, spurring loud calls from the Opposition and citizens alike for the government to amend laws in hopes of curtailing the surging homicide rate and implementing stringent measures against criminals.

The RBPF has maintained that most murders in the country are gang retaliation and some people’s unwillingness to resolve conflicts. But Saunder’s murder, the 35^th for the year, is a rare occurrence since politicians in the Bahamas are not often victims of homicides.

His killing rocked the country as the government and the RBPF continue to grapple with this crime wave and ways to prevent further mayhem by gun violence.

Thirty-five murders from January to March is a startling figure since it is only the first quarter of the year and could spell a troubling pattern for the remainder of 2024.

Though homicides are mostly concentrated in New Providence, Gambier lies farther west of the capital, is a rather quiet community, and is sparsely populated.

Saunders, a lawyer,  won the Tall Pines seat in the 2017 general election, becoming a Member of Parliament until 2021 in the Hubert Minnis administration. He then served as the deputy speaker of the House of Assembly during his party’s period in office.

He was also a counsel in the ongoing Adrian Gibson fraud and bribery trial.

What FNM Party Leader Michael Pintard is saying

Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard with other party members arrived on the scene in shock, looking on as Saunders’ body was placed in the hearse. He said, “We are trusting that the system is going to work and appealing to Bahamians, everyone who can contribute to bringing justice for him and literally the hundreds of Bahamians who have lost their lives, whose matters have not yet been resolved.”

Pastor Rickeno Moncur believes a new move of God is taking place in the Bahamas as hundreds of believers who are “in love with Jesus” pack the cinema for church services, seeking forgiveness and rededicating their lives to Christ.

The second church service that began last week is now heading for the establishment of a new church since Moncur’s resignation as senior pastor of Mt Tabor.

“As we get ready to move this thing forward, I’m only prepared to lead people who are going all the way after God,” Moncur preached passionately in the 8 am service.

Thirty-nine-year-old Moncur once pastored a small church Word of Life Kingdom Ministries before he was asked to become the Senior Pastor of mega church Mt Tabor where he served for one year, following the retirement of prominent clergyman Bishop Neil Ellis.

But Moncur’s surprise resignation last week following challenges with his leadership at the church, has sent believers in a frenzy, who have come to enjoy his fiery, apostolic preaching, and many have followed him at his new venture for prayer and encouragement.

“If you want religion, if you want your name called, if you want to be seen, then this is not for you. But if you want to see Jesus, if you want to go all the way with him, then this is it.”

The response to gathering at the Fusion Superplex for prayer and worship has been beyond what Moncur expected. Just days since the start, hashtag #IchooseGod has spread on social media, a nod to one of Moncur’s latest sermons.

Believers lined the door on Sunday to get a seat in the already packed cinema with only standing room available, as ushers sought extra chairs to seat believers filing in.

Millennials and elderly church mothers make up most of the new congregation.

“God wants to do something new. Our instruction from heaven right now is solely to gather and seek him,” Moncur wrote in a social media post.

The response has prompted Moncur to establish a children’s and teen’s church to free up space in the theatre for more worshippers.

The church will launch its brand in February and is recruiting church volunteers.

The sister of the country’s 12^th murder victim is stricken with grief after learning that her brother was killed in Dundas Town, Abaco on Tuesday night.

He reportedly only left home to purchase a soda and was to return home, but never did.

“Oh the pain,” Nicoya Penn lamented.

Thirty-eight-year-old Cieon Davis, also known as “Bolo”, was shot multiple times about the body on the island around 7pm. His body was found lying on the side of the street.

His sister was seen wailing near his body in the street, before emergency personnel arrived.

Niece Oshawnte Walker cried, “My want my uncle. I want him back home now.”

Unlike New Providence, this is the first homicide for the island which remains relatively crime-free. Dundas Town which is populated, is in Marsh Harbour, Central Abaco.

A national day of prayer was held in Nassau and Abaco on Monday, called by the Prime Minister Philip Davis, in hopes to bring comfort to victims of crime  after an alarming and spiraling rate of homicides since the beginning of the year.

Mark Handwerker who lives on the island begged, “Oh that’s enough people. [It’s] bad enough [that] it’s common in Nassau. We don’t need that here.

“Just stop.”

News reporter on the island Silbert Mills said he knew Davis from a young boy and was surprised since he was the first murder victim for the island.

Dira Diana visited the settlement and knew it to be tranquil. “It’s sad. just visited there and it was so peaceful and calm.”

“What the hell is going on in our land Abaco?” Angenell Gray questioned.

Clergymen, Prime Minister Philip Davis, parliamentarians and scores of Bahamians congregated in Rawson Square to present a united front against the scourge of homicides which has spiraled in recent weeks.

The Bahamas Christian Council on the advice of Davis, hosted the event, praying to bring healing and comfort as the country battles eleven murders for the new year.

Recognizing that it is partly a spiritual fight, scores of Bahamians prayed and lifted their hands hoping to cancel the evil spirit and bring change among the country’s young men involved in gang retaliation.

COVID-19 cases flair up; Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander laments alarming homicide rate; PharmaChem shuts down. What do you remember from the week?

There are 7 questions about current events. How many can you answer correctly?