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Volume: 122 No. 46, January 29, 2025
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‘READY TO GET GOING’ ON GENERAL ELECTION Officials to ramp up preparations - as they reject local vote critics By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net ACTING Parliamentary Registration Commissioner Arthur Taylor said the department will ramp up preparations for the next general election next month and rejected claims that his institution was unprepared for the recent local government elections. “Everybody now is at the
point where they are ready to be going,” he said, adding that teams will be mobilised and sent to islands to verify voters. He discussed his department’s general election plans with The Tribune and responded to criticism about last week’s elections. Some Family Islands faced significant polling delays and ballot errors. SEE PAGE THREE
COLEBY-DAVIS RESPONDS TO BACKLASH OVER VIRAL VIDEO By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net ELIZABETH MP Jobeth Coleby-Davis responded to the backlash and apologised to those who took offence over a viral video in which she showcased designer jewellery, clothing, and accessories, including items from Rolex, Cartier,
Tiffany & Co, Uggs, and Louis Vuitton. Critics slammed the video as tone-deaf given the country’s economic struggles, but Mrs Coleby-Davis, appearing on Beyond the Headlines with Shanique Miller on Monday, said the video was filmed at a private family Christmas SEE PAGE FIVE
Exuma resort developer threat to pull-out RESORT owner Bob Coughlin and ONE Consultant principal Eric Carey speak to reporters during a media tour of Turtlegrass Resort on Big Samson Cay, Exuma, yesterday. See BUSINESS for stories. Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
Pageant contestant says she lost ELECTRONIC crown after she refused to share VISITOR STAY By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net A YOUNG woman’s dream of winning the Miss Teen Exuma and Ragged Island title was dashed after
her crown was allegedly stripped away for refusing to share it with the first runner-up. Event organisers have attributed the decision to scoring discrepancies. The unexpected turn
of events left Azaria Wilson devastated. She was informed that the first runner-up was the rightful winner. In a letter sent to The SEE PAGE FOUR
SIDNEY Cooper, a man National Security Minister Wayne Munroe warned the public about in 2023 because of his history of sexual assaults, was denied bail and imprisoned after he allegedly committed a sexual crime against a 68-year-old woman in
SIDNEY COOPER
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
weekend. Assistant Chief Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans arraigned Sidney Cooper on indecent assault. The defendant allegedly accosted an elderly woman and rubbed his erect privates against her buttocks twice at a convenience store on Crooked Island Street on January 25.
THE suspension of electronic processing for extended tourist stays in The Bahamas “just adds to the pain” for visiting boaters and local marinas, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) chief asserted yesterday. ABM president Peter Maury said the move unveiled yesterday “is going to add to the inconvenience” for boaters and yachters as they will now seemingly have to visit Immigration offices in-person to extend their stays and economic impact in The Bahamas.
SEE PAGE SEVEN
FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
SERIAL GROPER ACCUSED OF ANOTHER SEX ASSAULT By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
halt ‘just adds to pain’
a convenience store last
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper