05192025 BUSINESS by tribune242

Pintard wants transparency on Grand Lucayan deal

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@trribunemedia.net

OPPOSITION leader

Michael Pintard yesterday advised the FNM has pressed the Davis administration to provide more details of the agreement behind the sale of the Grand Lucayan resort and its surrounding property for $120m to Ancient Waters Bahamas Limited, a Bahamian subsidiary of US-based Concord Wilshire Capital (CWC). In a statement yesterday, Mr Pintard said while the FNM “welcomes any credible progress” towards Grand Bahama’s economic recovery the details of the arrangement should be transparent.

“The Free National Movement welcomes any credible progress toward the redevelopment of the Grand Lucayan and the economic revitalisation of Grand Bahama. We recognise that this represents movement on the longstanding effort to revitalise

Sandals

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

SANDALS is disputing the addition of ﬁve of its Exuma properties to the Department of Inland Revenue’s (DIR) latest auction listing - which appears to have been done by mistake.

The resort issued a statement noting that the properties were listed due to “inaccurate records” by DIR and the mistake will be rectiﬁed by the department.

“We are aware of recent media reports suggesting that private properties owned by Sandals in Exuma are slated for auction. We wish to state categorically that is an error stemming from inaccurate records at the Bahamas Department of

Inland Revenue,” said Sandals.

“We have been assured that the mistake will be rectiﬁed and no bids for these properties will be

accepted by the Department of Inland Revenue.”

The company said it remains “fully committed” to the country and will

continue to “invest heavily” in the region.

“Sandals remains fully committed to The Bahamas. We continue to invest heavily in the region and look forward to building on our long-standing partnership.”

The Department of Inland Revenue began exercising its power of sale under section 25 (a) of the Real Property Tax last year in a bid to recover more than $700m in delinquent real property tax arrears. It is using the lien, or charge, it has over these properties to sell them via a public auction on June 24, 2025.

Among the properties listed for sale in the notice published on May 12, 2025, are ﬁve properties in Exuma all labelled as “Farmers Hill, Sandals Beach Units”. The values of the parcels range from

GB Shipyard targets new ﬂoating dock this year

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter

THE Grand Bahama Shipyard is anticipating the arrival of a new ﬂoating dock later this year, as part of a multi-million-dollar expansion project.

Chris Earl, the new CEO, said the immediate focus is to get the dock ready for the arrival of its ﬁrst ship, which is scheduled for repair at the facility in January 2026. To develop more skilled Bahamians, the shipyard has overhauled its apprenticeship programme and has partnered with a UK training institution to provide training.

On Thursday, the company sent off 20 young apprentices for intensive training in Liverpool.

Mr Earl said the apprentices have been split into four main trades in the shipyard.

“They will get handson training from a world-renowned school, and they will bring that training to the shipyard where they will start working with employees to reﬁne those skills.” On completion of the four-year programme, Mr Earl said the apprentices will be fully qualiﬁed in their trade.

Under the new programme, some 16

Park vendors hope to secure lower fees

BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE RM Bailey Park and Allied Vendors Association plans to ﬁght against fees imposed on vendors by the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority. Having to pay $110 as a vendor utilising RM Bailey Park, association president Karen Brown said the fees are too high and she plans to ﬁght to have the cost lowered. Even with the allowance of weekend vending, Ms Brown argued the fees are still excessive.

Ms Brown said vendors are tasked with paying for their use of the park as well as seasonal garbage disposal and security services. She also commended the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority for cracking down on vendors who weren’t paying their fees.

“So everybody now has to pay amenities fees,” Ms Brown said. “So now you have the people who never used to pay, now they are beginning to make noise because they are saying, now they have to pay $110, plus whatever the fee is. Now we do security. To make it cheaper, we only

MICHAEL PINTARD

SANDALS ROYAL BAHAMIAN

ENGINEERING students from Stanford University are given a tour

Irrigation by solar power in North Andros project

A SOLAR-POWERED

irrigation system has been piloted on a North Andros farm as part of a collaboration between the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) and the US-based Community and College Partners Program (C2P2) and Stanford University’s Chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World.

“At BAMSI, we see this partnership as a vital opportunity to build capacity within our

farming communities while advancing the use of renewable technology,” said Dr Raveenia Roberts-Hanna, president of BAMSI. “Collaborations like this allow us to not only transfer knowledge and practical skills, but also to foster innovation and resilience in the agricultural sector. Our goal is to empower farmers with sustainable tools that support productivity and protect our environment for generations to come.”

During a trip the team, which included students from both Stanford and BAMSI, conducted an assessment of Descendants Harvest, a farm operated by Shantell Riley in the North Andros community of BARC.

Ms Riley said: “I am hopeful that this innovative irrigation system will maintain the current output the farm requires for optimum production and will ultimately lead to the ﬁnancial

reduction of the farm’s operational costs.”

Michael Burns, founder and executive director of C2P2, said: “Transitioning to solar-powered irrigation is not only an investment in the future of sustainable agriculture but also a step towards reducing the carbon footprint."

Haleyn O’Brien Solis, a Stanford representative, said: “Our students have learned so much from the wisdom of the students, farmers, and community members we met throughout this process, and we look forward to scaling sustainable, solar-powered irrigation systems to every farmer on Andros Island.”

BUSINESSES ‘NEED TO FEEL’ EFFECTS OF NATION’S GROWTH

BY ANNELIA NIXON

SMALL and mediumsized businesses need to feel the economic growth in the country, said Senator Darren Pickstock, at the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ (BICA) SMP seminar.

Pointing to the positive Moody’s rating, The Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) which reported The Bahamas as having growth of 3.4 percent, and tourism numbers, Mr Pickstock noted the cost and ease of doing business are challenges in the way of allowing SMEs to enjoy growth.

“But while these statistics are promising, they tell only part of the story,” Mr Pickstock said. “GDP growth is good, but we must ensure that that growth is widespread and felt by everyone. This can only be achieved through government policies supporting a healthy private sector. Small and medium sized enterprises are the lifeblood of our economy.

“Standing between us and the fulﬁllment of our true economic potential are challenges that small and medium-sized enterprises are uniquely positioned to address. Yet there remains a palatable sense of frustration in certain communities that are falling short that we rather are falling short of our potential, particularly when it comes to issues like the cost of doing business, the ease of doing business and access to capital.

“As Bahamians, we believe our nation has the potential to be the best little country in the world, we set high standards for ourselves. We don’t

want to just see economic growth. We want to own more of that growth, and that means growing local and small, medium-sized businesses and enterprises and is both economic and socially imperative. SMEs create jobs on every island and in every community, and the wealth they generate largely stays within our communities. This positions SMEs as the back door of a more equitable and stable economy, obviously, given their importance to the economy, supporting SMEs is a major priority for this administration. There are a few things that must be done to properly empower local businesses to achieve success.”

Mr Pickstock said the process of obtaining a business licence and other documents and certiﬁcates must be accelerated and handled more efﬁciently. He added that digitalisation efforts play a major role in making that happen. Addressing banking in The Bahamas, Mr Pickstock said “the speed and quality of service” in the country is “in desperate need of improvement”.

Referring to the cost of doing business, Mr Pickstock said rent and electricity costs can create yet another hurdle for business to overcome in order to survive. However, he added, that energy reforms that were put in place have led most customers to see “noticeable savings and more savings are projected to come”. With the investment of solar microgrids and cleaner fuels, Mr Pickstock said more job opportunities will become available.

“Climate change represents perhaps the greatest challenge and opportunity of our time,” Mr Pickstock said. “As we embrace cleaner fuels and invest in utility scale solar throughout our family islands, new business ventures will emerge in this sector. By 2030, 32 percent of generated energy in The Bahamas will be solar energy. This exceeds the global target of 30 percent by 3030. Through historic investments in energy reform, we will transition from playing catch up to exceeding the global standard.

“We have already begun preparing Bahamian for

a renewable future with the launch of the Renewable Energy Programme at BTVI. With so many relevant areas within the climate change issue to explore, we can anticipate opportunities growing in the renewable energy, sustainability, climate science, Environmental Science and impact investments. Our natural environment, particularly our seagrass meadows and their role in carbon secretion represents potentially a billion dollar opportunities. We may well be on the cusp of a green rush, no pun intended, comparable to the gold rushes of the 19th century. It is critical that Bahamian business owners are a part of that rush.”

‘We need roads and bathrooms at RM Bailey Park’ - vendors

BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE progress in talks, the RM Bailey Park Association is still ﬁghting for bathroom facilities and properly paved roads. Association president Karen Brown told Tribune Business members have been in talks with the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority, Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle and Works Minister Clay Sweeting.

Ms Brown said there had been agreement to “everything else” except the facilities and roads. Ms Brown said. “So, I’ve been in meetings with the labour minister since. She tried to do a follow up because Clay Sweeting did call me, and when he called, I didn’t know she had spoken to him at that time. This was earlier on. She asked him to call me, but he didn’t indicate that. All he said was, ‘Good afternoon, Miss Brown, how are you? This is Clay Sweeting here. So for RM Bailey Park, you need a bathroom, and you need the grounds to be ﬁxed and the roadways to be ﬁxed’. And I was like, ‘Yes sir.’ He said, ‘Okay then’ as if somebody mentioned it to him or told him to do that and that was it.

“When I met with her, she said, No, I told him to call you and to speak with you and to see what all was necessary. I was trying to reach him and to send message. But then when I met with her, she told me that he was actually currently off the island. And in the meeting, she actually tried to reach out to him, WhatsApp him and everything, and she said she sent him a message. But to this day, I still haven’t heard anything yet.

“But we had Easter holiday, and then Mother’s Day was like two weeks behind, so I really didn’t have time to be running up and down trying to deal with that. So I have to get right back on that again.”

Ms Brown noted having brought up a bathroom facility and proper roads and ground area on the park to the authority who directed her to the Ministry of Works. She made the complaint that the authority falls directly under the Ministry of Works and “as government ministries, you should be able to communicate and get the problem solved”.

Ms Brown said because the authority governs the association, it is the authority’s responsibility to communicate with the Ministry of Works what is needed for RM Bailey Park. Ms Brown also said she was questioned on who would care for the restroom facilities if they were to be provided to which Ms Brown responded “that shouldn’t be a problem for the RM Bailey Park Association” and that association vendors aren’t the only ones using the park.

“I don’t know who said it,” Ms Brown said. “But when it was ﬁrst brought up, Bernard Evans, he was in the meeting with the PM originally, and he was acting as the labour person for the government. And he had spoken to Parks and Beaches…I can’t say for sure who said it. But that was his thing when he came back to me. He says, ‘They want to know, to get bathroom and stuff, who’s going to take care of the bathrooms. Or whose job it will be.’ But more than us use the park, and I’m sure if [a] bathroom is constructed, and other persons pay to use the park, they will have access to the bathroom as well. The public should have access to the bathroom as well. So that shouldn’t be a problem for the RM Bailey Park Association. That’s a government problem. We’re not the only persons that use the park.

“But I’m not going to let up, because, you know, when you look around RM Bailey Park is one of the most used parks. They collect funds for this park. So I

MEMBERS of Stanford University’s Chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World arrive in North Andros. During the visit, the students were part of a discussion surrounding future initiatives between the two tertiary institutions regarding environmental engineering and sustainable agriculture. Pictured are the students at the airport in North Andros being met by Dr. Raveenia Roberts-Hanna, President of BAMSI.

BAMSI President Dr. Raveenia Roberts-Hanna (far left, in purple) welcomes students from Stanford University’s Chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World to BAMSI’s campus.

of the BAMSI farm.

$120m price tag on Grand Lucayan deal

By FAY SIMMONS

Business

THE purchase price of the 56-acre beachfront Grand Lucayan resort along with the adjacent 160-acre Reef Golf Course was $120m, according to the Ofﬁce of the Prime Minister’s communication director Latrae Rahming, who said Ancient Waters Bahamas Limited, a Bahamian subsidiary of US-based Concord Wilshire Capital (CWC), was the purchaser.

In a statement following the heads of agreement (HOA) signing last Thursday, Mr Rahming said construction of the project will be phased with the ﬁrst expected to begin within 90 days of securing all necessary approvals.

“Under the terms of the agreement, the government of The Bahamas has agreed to sell the Grand Lucayan property including the 56-acre beachfront resort and the adjacent 160acre Reef Golf Course for $120m to Ancient Waters Bahamas Limited, a wholly owned Bahamian subsidiary of Concord Wilshire Capital (CWC),” said Mr Rahming. “The project will be rolled out in phases, with construction scheduled to begin within ninety days of obtaining all necessary permits and approvals.”

Mr Rahming said all expenses associated with the Grand Lucayan will be transferred from the government to the developers, which is a “signiﬁcant shift” as the government has paid about $1.5m per month on the upkeep of the resort over the past three years.

“From this point forward, all expenses associated with the property will be assumed by the developer. This is a signiﬁcant shift in ﬁscal responsibility, as the government had been paying approximately $1.5m per month over the past three years—amounting to an estimated $63m in holding costs,” said Mr Rahming.

“The agreement also includes a retention framework to support oversight, collaboration, and timely execution throughout the life of the project.”

He also revealed that employees and the developer will enter a “retention agreement” under which they will receive a portion of their salaries and agree to remain available for callbacks.

The employees may seek other employment during this period but if they are unavailable to developers

Pintard wants transparency on Grand Lucayan deal

FROM PAGE B1

Grand Bahama’s economy, an objective we all share,” said Mr Pintard.

“The Free National Movement has long supported responsible investment that delivers tangible beneﬁts to the Bahamian people, creating meaningful opportunities, strengthening local businesses, and contributing

to sustainable national growth. We believe the successful redevelopment of the Grand Lucayan has the potential to do just that. Where such development is pursued transparently and in the public interest, we stand ready to collaborate in moving it forward.”

He said the Opposition has requested brieﬁngs on the agreement’s details, timeline and anticipated

GB Shipyard targets new ﬂoating dock this year

FROM PAGE B1

Bahamians were among the ﬁrst group of apprentices that were sent off last year for training in the UK.

The new CEO, a former Canadian Naval veteran, joined the shipyard in early May. His appointment comes at an exciting time when the shipyard is undergoing a signiﬁcant investment over the coming years, with the acquisition of two new ﬂoating docks.

Mr Earl, who has extensive experience in shipyard operations, was initially employed at a Canadian shipyard, where he ran all of the overhaul programs for the company out of Victoria. Before that, he was enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy, where he ran a shipyard.

Elvardo Kemp, training manager at the shipyard, said the shipyard’s apprenticeship programme has been expanded.

“It is a pretty new programme. Last year, we took 16 young individuals to Liverpool. At that time, we only focused on two trades: pipefitting and mechanical fitting,” he said. “This year, we decided to expand the program. We have 20 apprentices who we divided across four different trades: welding, fabrication, mechanical engineering, and pipefitting,” he said.

The training period has also been extended to allow for more comprehensive instruction and additional qualiﬁcations, he added.

“The ﬁrst group went for three months, but this group will be gone for four and a half months. We wanted to enhance the programme from last year, so they will also get an additional qualiﬁcation at the end of their four-year training,” he explained.

Mr Kemp said the programme is a partnership between the Grand Bahama

impact to ensure the public is informed of the speciﬁcs surrounding the sale of a “major public asset”.

“In that spirit, we have formally written to both the Prime Minister and the developer, Ancient Waters Bahamas Ltd, to request brieﬁngs on the agreement’s details, timeline, and anticipated impact,” said Mr Pintard.

Shipyard, a trade school in the UK, and the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).

“Once they have completed the four-year program, we offer them a job,” he said.

Mr Kemp emphasised that the long-term vision is to replace foreign workers with skilled Bahamians.

“When you look four years from now, these 20 apprentices, that means 20 expats that will no longer have a position to come to The Bahamas,” he explained.

He noted that the ﬁrst cohort is now in their second year and has already begun applying their training in the workforce.

“They are in year two and are generated out into the workforce, working with local tradesmen developing their crafts. Once successfully completed, we will offer them a permanent job at the shipyard.”

Mr Kemp said signiﬁcant research was done before launching the programme to ensure its effectiveness and sustainability.

“We wanted to ﬁnd a robust programme and we

when called, this payment will be discontinued.

“In addition, the developer will enter into a retention arrangement with employees to ensure continuity and institutional knowledge during the transition. Under this arrangement, eligible individuals will receive a portion of their compensation in exchange for remaining available to be called back for speciﬁc duties as needed,” said Mr Rahming.

“They will be permitted to seek and accept other employment during the retention period. However, if they are no longer available for recall when required, the retention payment will cease. This approach ensures operational ﬂexibility while respecting the right of individuals to pursue other opportunities.”

“While the public has been made aware of broad project ambitions, there remain important aspects of the transaction that have yet to be clariﬁed. We believe the Bahamian people have a right to be informed on the speciﬁcs of a development of this magnitude, particularly as it concerns the sale of a major public asset and the future of a critical economic centre.”

Mr Pintard said the Opposition is “encouraged” by the interest foreign investors have shown in Grand Bahama but noted that all developments

wanted something that is working, and I travelled to the UK several times looking at the institutions,”

Krispin Bartlett and Michael Clark expressed excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to travel to the UK for training.

Mr Bartlett, who will be specialising in welding, was

Developers say the new property will feature seven major resort components, including three new hotel buildings and branded timeshare units.

Other features include a 35-acre cruise destination open to all cruise lines and guests, a 25,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor casino, the conversion of the Reef Golf course to a 160-acre Greg Norman signature golf course, and a 16-slip megayacht marina.

Mr Rahming said the project is expected to create 1,320 construction jobs and 1,750 permanent jobs once the resort is fully operational.

Developers have pledged that 80 percent of employees will be Bahamian and the use of local contractors, suppliers and service providers is encouraged.

“Construction-related employment will include 450 jobs for the hotel, 300

should provide opportunities for Bahamians as partners and stakeholders.

“We are encouraged by the interest being shown in Grand Bahama, and we welcome the opportunity to engage constructively with both government and private sector stakeholders as the project advances,” said Mr Pintard.

“Our objective is to ensure that transparency, accountability, and public beneﬁt remain central throughout the development process. The people of Grand Bahama have waited for far too long for real progress.

chosen from among 400 applicants.

“I feel wonderful to be selected from among 475 applicants, and to be selected top 20 is wonderful. I look forward to not only going to college to learn something new, but also experiencing different lifestyles and cultures,” he said.

for the timeshare development, 350 for the cruise ship resort, 75 for the casino, 60 for the marina, and 85 for the golf course,” said Mr Rahming.

“The developer has committed to a workforce comprising at least 80 percent Bahamian employees, subject to the availability of qualified candidates. The agreement further encourages the use of Bahamian contractors, suppliers, and service providers wherever possible, and supports the formation of joint ventures with qualified local firms.”

He added that the agreement is part of the Davis administration’s broader plan for Grand Bahama and the government is in “advanced stages” of the redevelopment of the Grand Bahama International Airport for which it has already identiﬁed ﬁnancing.

“We must now move beyond symbolic gestures toward tangible delivery. Our vision is for a Grand Bahama that thrives, anchored by a modernised airport, a diversiﬁed economy built on tourism, innovation, and maritime opportunity, and a development model that includes Bahamians not just as employees, but as partners and stakeholders. At this critical juncture, we must work together to ensure that what is promised is delivered and that all Bahamians share in the beneﬁts.”

Michael Clark, who is interested in mechanical ﬁtting, said they underwent 12 weeks of training, initially learning the four basic trades in the shipyard.

“I feel it is an awesome opportunity to go abroad and get training so we able to perform efﬁciently at the shipyard,” he said.

‘We need roads and bathrooms at RM Bailey Park’ - vendors

FROM PAGE B2

don’t understand that someone mentioned that, if they construct bathrooms, who’s going to maintain the bathrooms. But people paying you a fee. They have events out there all the time, and people have to pay. If it’s one day, it’s under $110. If it’s a week, it’s $110. So all the funds you collecting, they giving people contracts, left, right and centre,

give someone a contract to keep the bathroom clean. “I said a bathroom isn’t something new, because if you look, Windsor Park have a bathroom. Christie park have a bathroom, South Beach Park have a bathroom. I say y’all, y’all don’t have no business sense because if y’all were to put a bathroom on the park, then you all will have more people trying to use RM Bailey park. Plus, the walkers who come there

every day. They must be think I’m in charge of the park. A lot of the walkers get to know me, you know, the regulars. And they be like, ‘Y’all need to tell them put a bathroom on this park. So the public uses it as well. People are on that park from before 5am in the morning. And if you go there, ten at night, people still using the park.” Ms Brown spoke to the ground sof the park noting

issues with ﬂooding and potholes.

“We have a big problem with flooding,” Ms Brown added. “I don’t know if you’ve seen RM Bailey Park during the rainy season. It’s like a lake. The area near the entrance of the field, there’s no grass in that area... It needs filling in. For years, we had asked to keep it filled or to fill it and under both governments. And they were like, this is a government

Park vendors hope to secure lower fees

pay for security during the seasons, only Christmas, because people doing bicycles and you have a lot of heavy boxes of garbage during the Christmas season. So we do the dumpster around Christmas time. We only pay for security. But now they are starting to make noise because they are feeling the pinch. But we have been feeling the pinch carrying them along for years.

“They were complaining, you know, saying that how Parks and Beaches had just gone up on the fees, and now they adding security fee. They went up on their fees. The association members. I fought for our fees to stay the same but I asked them for the weekend vending. They did grant that, but she trying to still charge us $110 for two days. And I tell her, no way. You all charge $110 for one day, or it’s up to a week, even if you do a month, that’s still only a week. So I’m in negotiations with them not to try to drop that.”

Noting that both vendors and consumers are feeling the economic “pinch”, Ms Brown said the fees are “unfair”.

“[It’s] either $110 a day or $110 a week. It doesn’t matter if it’s one day or one week,” Ms Brown said. “They are getting away.

And I told the PM that fee [and] his eyes opened. Now with us in the association, when we were ﬁned, we were paying per day according to your tent size, which was 5,7, and $8, a day, according to your tent size. You only paying for the dirt. Every time I go out there, I have to pay $100 for the guy, just to put down my pallet - every time. The ground was so terrible. So if I’m only paying for that little 20 by 20 space, or I have a 20 by 20 tent, that little 20 by 20 space, why should I pay $100 a day. Or now that they grant us the weekend thing, why should I pay $60 a day for the dirt, where I gotta pay somebody to put something on top of that so I could even walk on [it]. That’s too high. $110 is too high.

“And like, let’s say the season may run like Mother’s Day. We put probably ﬁve days. So for the nonassociation member, that’ll be $110. For me, it’ll be $8 per day, plus the VAT. And now we added the security fee. The security fee will waiver - depends on how much persons are coming out and how much days the season is. Easter was eight days, and Mother’s Day was ﬁve days. But I still didn’t go out until, like Friday. So although I paid for the days or whatever, you still don’t get to use all the days. And so some of the people who

paying $110 only out there one or two days. And it’s not fair, but I tell them, join the association and pay the association price. But you have some who will rebel, so you all stay out there and pay that price. But that $110 is too high.

“Things are slow. Business is slower now than before. People never start shopping for Mother’s Day, until like, Friday night, Friday evening, you know, and sales pick up Saturday, and then you had some sales Sunday. But it’s not like before. Things are tough for everybody. So we feeling the pinch. The consumers feeling the pinch. Everybody feeling the pinch. So people are not shopping like that, like before. And when they come, they looking for something cheap or looking for you to give them discount. I had to discount almost every basket I sell to get a sale. So why you going to be killing vendors with the fees? It isn’t like, it’s a big function, like a fair or something what gone be bringing in one bunch of money in a day? So even now that that they grant us the permission to do the weekend vending, you could go to go out there on a Friday and Saturday and maybe not make a dollar. I had people who went out Mother’s Day, and those ﬁrst few days, they didn’t make a dollar.”

Ms Brown expressed her pleasure with the authority during the Easter and Mother’s Day holidays. She said those who set up shop without proper permits were shut down and some vendors who hadn’t paid fees or didn’t have all the proper documentation, were let off with a warning.

“The person who they made pack up, actually was an association member,” Ms Brown added. “And I told them in the meeting, I don’t care if it’s an association member or a non-association member. I have some people like, I tell you on the park 80-something [years old], and if these old people could make sure that they have their business licence, their police permit, their police record, the documents that you need. If you want to sell, the ﬁrst thing you need is a business licence. So how you going to be out there selling without a business licence?

“And then like, how it was Easter, Easter was a long holiday weekend. So some of them realise Parks and Beaches was closed. So they would wait. So we will have people who come and they will wait until like, close to the weekend to set up. So they thought they would have had Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, to sell. And no one from Parks and Beaches would be checking. So that’s that’s

property. You all can’t bring no truck to bring no ﬁll inside there. Two years ago, they came with a truck with one yard, I say y’all come with one truck with this little bit of ﬁll to do what?

“So the place is messy.

I know, in the back of my stall, in the back of some of the other vendors’ stalls, you have to walk in water to get in your stall. And that old dirty water, you have to be walking in water to get in your store. And when it

what they do. They come and they sneak out, but this time they were caught, and it was about ﬁve of them, some association members and some non association members. And Scavella was happy. I told her, this is what happens when you work together.”

Regarding negotiations, Ms Brown added “I could have asked for Jesus on the cross that day and I would have gotten it.” She said the authority agreed to meet with the association at least twice per year. They agreed to weekend vending and for inspectors who conduct routine checks on the parks. They also have agreed to new policies concerning documentation.

“Documentation, you had to send in every season,

really rains, although you have the pallet down, the pallet starts to ﬂoat. I have videos, I have pictures. I showed them over and over, and they just have the park neglected. Half of the wall is breaking down. So either take down the wall or ﬁx it, do something. The park is in a mess and this is, this is a park that y’all make money off. It’s in a state of repair. It needs to be repaired.”

two copies of passport, police record, all police permits,” Ms Brown said. “So they agreed that once you send it in once a year, they will only be requiring the police permit. But we need the police permit and the police record for the police. But Parks and Beaches will only be requiring the police record, saying that everybody police record expire different times during the six months. So that’s the only document they’ll be asking for. They did agree that they will try to get the permits out in an earlier fashion, earlier time, sign them up so we could get them to the police on time and everything will be ready.”

MICROSOFT SAYS IT PROVIDED AI TO ISRAELI MILITARY FOR WAR BUT DENIES USE TO HARM PEOPLE IN GAZA

By MICHAEL BIESECKER, GARANCE BURKE and SAM MEDNICK Associated Press

MICROSOFT acknowledged Thursday that it sold advanced artiﬁcial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military during the war in Gaza and aided in efforts to locate and rescue Israeli hostages. But the company also said it has found no evidence to date that its Azure platform and AI technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza.

The unsigned blog post on Microsoft's corporate website appears to be the company's ﬁrst public acknowledgement of its deep involvement in the war, which started after Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and has led to the deaths of tens of thousands in Gaza.

It comes nearly three months after an investigation by The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the American tech giant's close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial AI products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

The AP reported that the Israeli military uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance, which can then be cross-checked with Israel's in-house AI-enabled targeting systems and vice versa.

The partnership reflects a growing drive by tech companies to sell their artificial intelligence products to militaries for a wide range of uses, including in Israel, Ukraine and the United States. However, human rights groups have raised concerns that AI systems, which can be flawed and prone to errors, are being used to help make decisions about who or what to target, resulting in the deaths of innocent people.

Microsoft said Thursday that employee concerns and media reports had prompted the company to launch an internal review and hire an external firm to undertake "additional factfinding." The statement did not identify the outside firm or provide a copy of its report.

The statement also did not directly address several questions about precisely how the Israeli military is using its technologies,

and the company declined Friday to comment further. Microsoft declined to answer written questions from The AP about how its AI models helped translate, sort and analyze intelligence used by the military to select targets for airstrikes.

The company's statement said it had provided the Israeli military with software, professional services, Azure cloud storage and Azure AI services, including language translation, and had worked with the Israeli government to protect its national cyberspace against external threats. Microsoft said it had also provided "special access to our technologies beyond the terms of our commercial agreements" and "limited emergency support" to Israel as part of the effort to help rescue the more than 250 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. "We provided this help with signiﬁcant oversight and on a limited basis, including approval of some requests and denial of others," Microsoft said. "We believe the company followed its principles on a considered and careful basis, to help save the lives of hostages while also honoring the privacy and other rights of civilians in Gaza."

The company did not answer whether it or the outside ﬁrm it hired communicated or consulted with the Israeli military as part of its internal probe. It also did not respond to requests for additional details about the special assistance it provided to the Israeli military to recover hostages or the speciﬁc

steps to safeguard the rights and privacy of Palestinians.

In its statement, the company also conceded that it "does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices."

The company added that it could not know how its products might be used through other commercial cloud providers.

In addition to Microsoft, the Israeli military has extensive contracts for cloud or AI services with Google, Amazon, Palantir and several other major American tech ﬁrms.

Microsoft said the Israeli military, like any other customer, was bound to follow the company's Acceptable Use Policy and AI Code of Conduct, which prohibit the use of products to inﬂict harm in any way prohibited by law. In its statement, the company said it had found "no evidence" the Israeli military had violated those terms.

Emelia Probasco, a senior fellow for the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, said the statement is noteworthy because few commercial technology companies have so clearly laid out standards for working globally with international governments.

"We are in a remarkable moment where a company, not a government, is dictating terms of use to a government that is actively engaged in a conﬂict," she said. "It's like a tank manufacturer telling a country you can only use our tanks for these speciﬁc reasons. That is a new world."

ESTATE OF JOAN MARIE CAREY

TAKE NOTICE that anyone having a claim against the Estate of JOAN MARIE CAREY late of #19 Buen Retiro, Eastern District, New Providence, Bahamas, who died on the 26th day of June, 2024, may submit such claim in writing to the law frm of MAILLIS & MAILLIS, Chambers, Fort Nassau House, Marlborough Street, Nassau, Bahamas, tel: (242) 322-4292/3, fax: (242) 323-2334 ON OR BEFORE the 30th May, A.D., 2025

SANDALS PROPERTIES LISTED FOR AUCTION ‘BY MISTAKE’

FROM PAGE B1

$1.15m to $2.7m, collectively totalling nearly $9.3m.

Last year, Sandals was in a dispute with the DIR following assertions by the tax authorities that its Emerald Bay resort only reported 40 percent of revenues earned.

Melissa John, the Exuma hotel’s ﬁnancial controller, in a September 8, 2023, letter to the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) denied the property had failed to properly disclose “the true nature of transactions” which have sparked demands for $30.844m in allegedly unpaid VAT and Business Licence fees combined.

The Department’s audit ﬁndings, which covered six years between 2017 and 2022, claimed the tax arrears had arisen because Sandals Emerald Bay and its operator, Clearview Management Ltd, had under-reported gross revenue income for the period by more than $284m.

Israel has used its vast trove of intelligence to both target Islamic militants and conduct raids into Gaza seeking to rescue hostages, with civilians often caught in the crossﬁre. For example, a February 2024 operation that freed two Israeli hostages in Rafah resulted in the deaths of 60 Palestinians. A June 2024 raid in the Nuseirat refugee camp freed four Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity but resulted in the deaths of at least 274 Palestinians.

Overall, Israel's invasions and extensive bombing campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 people, many of them women and children.

No Azure for Apartheid, a group of current and former Microsoft employees, called on Friday for the company to publicly release a full copy of the investigative report.

The dispute, according to documents ﬁled with the Supreme Court, appears to result from the Sandals’ corporate structure and business model. All guest bookings and payments are made to the resort chain’s corporate parent, Sandals Resorts International 2000, and its third-party booking platform and sales agent, Unique Travel Corporation. Both these entities are domiciled in Panama.

Rather than funds ﬂow up the corporate chain, from subsidiaries to parent company, in Sandals’ case the money trail appears to move in the opposite direction - from Sandals Resorts International 2000 to the resort where the relevant guest has booked their vacation.

The crux of the Department of Inland Revenue’s assessment, and eightfigure tax demand, is that Sandals Emerald Bay over that six-year period only declared the net income received from its parent and not the gross sum collectively paid by tourists to stay at the Exuma property. As a result, the resort both under-reported and underpaid VAT and Business Licence fees for that period. Arguing that Sandals Emerald Bay had breached the VAT Act by making “a false or misleading statement” in filing incorrect returns, the Department of Inland Revenue added: “In filing the returns for Clearview Management, you have reported taxable supplies of $190.768m compared to the calculated revenue of $474.919m.

During a press brieﬁng at the Ofﬁce of the Prime Minister in August, acting director Shunda Strachan revealed there were large enterprises like Sandals that owe government in taxes, but could not say how much is owed. However, she maintained the plan is to still pursue the resort for $30.8m in back taxes.

AN ISRAELI tank moves in a staging area in southern Israel, near the border with Gaza, Friday, May 16, 2025.

Photo:Maya Alleruzzo/AP

Student loans have been confusing lately. Here’s a guide to know where you stand

By ADRIANA MORGA Associated Press

BETWEEN collections resuming, courts blocking student loan programs and layoffs at the Education Department, borrowers might be confused about the status of their student loans.

Recently, the Education Department announced it would start involuntary collections on defaulted loans, meaning the roughly 5.3 million borrowers who are in default could have their wages garnished by the federal government.

At the center of the turmoil are the government's income-driven repayment plans, which reduce monthly payments for borrowers with lower incomes. Those plans were temporarily paused after a federal court blocked parts of the plans in February.

"There's so much confusion, they've made it very complicated," said Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center.

At the same time, some borrowers are struggling to get their loan servicers on the phone, making it hard to ﬁnd answers to their questions, said Abrams.

If you're a student loan borrower, here are some answers to your questions.

What if I want to enroll in an income-driven repayment plan?

Applications for incomedriven repayment plans are open, but they're taking longer than usual to process.

The applications were temporarily shut down earlier this year after a federal court in Missouri blocked the SAVE plan, a Biden administration plan that offered a faster path to loan forgiveness. The judge's order also blocked parts of other repayment plans, prompting the Education Department to pause income-driven applications entirely.

Amid pressure from advocates, the department reopened the applications on May 10.

Borrowers can apply for the following income-driven plans: the Income-Based Repayment Plan, the Pay as You Earn plan and the Income-Contingent Repayment plan.

Abrams expects applications will continue to be approved but at a slower pace than before the application pause.

Borrowers currently enrolled in an incomedriven plan should be receiving notifications about recertification, said Khandice Lofton, counsel at the Student Borrower Protection Center. Recertification is required annually to update information on family size and income, and

dates are different for each borrower.

To review income-driven repayment plans, you can check the loan simulator at studentaid.gov.

What if I applied to the SAVE plan?

Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan have been placed in forbearance while a legal challenge is resolved. That means they don't have to make payments and interest is not accruing. Time in forbearance normally does not count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

The Education Department will notify borrowers with updates on payments and litigation.

"We don't know for sure when the SAVE forbearance is going to end," Abrams said.

While the future of the SAVE plan is decided in court, Abrams encourages borrowers to explore their eligibility for other incomedriven repayment plans.

What if I want to consolidate my student loans?

The online application for loan consolidation is available again, at studentaid.gov/loan-consolidation.

If you have multiple federal student loans, you can combine them into one with a ﬁxed interest rate and a single monthly payment.

The consolidation process typically takes around 60 days to complete. You

can only consolidate your loans once.

What if my loan was forgiven?

It would be difﬁcult for the Education Department to reinstate loans that were canceled during President Joe Biden's administration. So far, it isn't believed to be happening, Abrams said.

What about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program?

Nothing has changed yet.

President Donald Trump wants to change the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to disqualify workers of nonproﬁt groups deemed to have engaged in "improper" activities. He signed an executive order to that effect, but it has yet to be enforced.

Borrowers enrolled in PSLF should keep up with payments to make progress toward loan forgiveness, said Sarah Austin, policy analyst at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

"There could be some changes coming in regards to PSLF but at this current time PSLF is still functioning and there is still loan forgiveness being processed under the PSLF provision," said Austin.

An income-driven repayment tracker has disappeared from the federal student loan website for many borrowers, said

Abrams. For keeping track of their status, Abrams is recommending that borrowers take screenshots of their payments.

What if I can't get a hold of my loan servicer?

Contacting your loan servicer is crucial to managing and understanding your student loans. Due to the large number of people trying to get answers or apply for programs, loan servicers are taking longer than usual to respond.

Abrams recommends borrowers prepare for long wait times. "We've heard borrowers being in hold for three or four hours, then being transferred to a supervisor and then being hung up on, after all that wait time. It's incredibly frustrating," Abrams said.

What can I do if I'm delinquent on my student loans?

If you're delinquent, try to get back on track. Borrowers who don't make their payments for 270 days go into default, which has severe consequences.

"If you're delinquent but have not defaulted yet, do whatever you can do to avoid going default," said Kate Wood, a student loans expert at NerdWallet.

Borrowers who are delinquent on their student loans take a massive hit on their credit scores, which could drop 100 points or more,

HOW THE S&P 500 RECOVERED ALL OF ITS LOSSES FOR THE YEAR

CONDITIONS

Economists warned of a recession. Consumer conﬁdence, already waning, weakened further. Corporate executives struggled to

give investors a clear picture of their ﬁnancial prospects.

This week, though, the S&P 500 rallied 5.3% and turned positive for 2025.

Just a few weeks ago, the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts was down about 15% for the year.

Analysts caution that the tariff drama is hardly over, and stocks could fall again. But the run for U.S. stocks back upward has been just as wild and unexpected as its fall. Here's a look at what happened:

"Liberation Day"

Trump appeared in the Rose Garden on April 2 and announced steeper-thanexpected tariffs on almost all U.S. trade partners. He especially targeted China, eventually raising the duties on imports from China to 145%. Beijing retaliated by raising tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%. Investors ﬂed the U.S. stock market.

Pause 1

Wood said. A delinquency stays on your credit report for seven years.

Wood recommends contacting your servicer to ask for options, which can include forbearance, deferment or applying for an income-driven repayment plan.

What if I'm in default on my student loans?

The Education Department is recommending borrowers visit its Default Resolution Group to make a monthly payment, enroll in an income-driven repayment plan or sign up for loan rehabilitation.

Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute for Student Loan Advisors, recommends loan rehabilitation.

Borrowers in default must ask their loan servicer to be placed into such a program. Typically, servicers ask for proof of income and expenses to calculate a payment amount. Once a borrower has paid on time for nine months in a row, they are taken out of default, Mayotte said. A loan rehabilitation can only be done once.

What happened to Fresh Start?

The Fresh Start program was a one-time temporary program that helped borrowers get out of default. This program ended Aug. 31, 2024.

employers added 177,000 jobs in April and that inﬂation has cooled.

Plenty of proﬁts

Through all the market's tumult, U.S. companies have continued to deliver proﬁt reports for the start of the year that have topped analysts' expectations. Stock prices tend to follow proﬁts over the long term, and that's given the market a notable boost.

Three out of every four companies in the S&P 500 have beaten analysts' expectations for proﬁts in recent weeks, including such market heavyweights as Microsoft and Meta Platforms. They're on track to deliver growth of nearly 13.6% from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

The S&P 500 soared 9.5% for one of its best days ever.

Bonds and the dollar

On April 9, Trump announced on social media a "90-day PAUSE" for most of the tariffs he'd announced a week earlier, except those against China.

Trump largely ignored the damage to the stock market, surprising for a president who boasted repeatedly during his ﬁrst term about how the Dow was doing. But he couldn't ignore the signs of trouble in the bond and foreign exchange markets.

Tumbling prices for U.S. government bonds raised worries that the U.S. Treasury market was losing its status as the world's safest place to keep cash. The value of the U.S. dollar also sank in another signal

of diminishing faith in the United States as a safe haven for investors.

Unlike stocks, Treasurys and the dollar haven't fully bounced back. Some of that may be because of shifting expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates, but it's also still a signal that investors globally still have some trepidation about the United States.

The economy

While consumer sentiment has weakened – it has fallen for ﬁve straight months by one measure -what investors call "hard data," such as employment numbers, indicate the economy is still doing OK. Recent data show

Pause 2

Wall Street's outlook brightened this month as the U.S. signaled a willingness to negotiate on trade. Last week, the administration struck a deal with the United Kingdom. Then came the biggest news: The U.S. and China said Monday that they were temporarily rolling back most of the tariffs they'd imposed on one another The S&P 500 rose to its best day since the ﬁrst tariff pause.

What's next?

Even as companies have delivered fatter proﬁts than expected, many have also warned they're unsure about what lies ahead.

TRADER Jonathan Corpina works on the ﬂoor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Photo:Richard Drew/AP

ARAB LEADERS PROMISE TO WORK ON RECONSTRUCTION OF GAZA AND PRESS FOR A CEASEFIRE

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press

ARAB leaders at an annual summit in Baghdad called Saturday for an immediate end to Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and to allow aid into the Palestinian territories without conditions. They promised to contribute to the reconstruction of the territory once the war stops.

In March, an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo endorsed a plan for Gaza's reconstruction without displacing its roughly 2 million residents.

Saturday's summit was attended by Arab leaders including Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Siss

i. The Egyptian leader said that even if Israel succeeds in normalizing relations with all Arab states, "a lasting, just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will remain elusive unless a Palestinian state is established in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions." Egypt was the ﬁrst Arab country to normalize ties with Israel.

Among the guests were Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and U.N.

Secretary-General António Guterres, who called for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and the ﬂow of aid into the besieged territory. He said that the U.N. rejects any "forced displacement" of Palestinians.

Saturday's summit comes two months after Israel ended a ceaseﬁre reached with the Hamas militant group in January. In recent days, Israel has launched widespread attacks in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a further escalation to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.

"This genocide has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conﬂicts throughout history," Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a speech that called for allowing aid to ﬂow into Gaza. Al-Sudani added that Iraq will work on setting up an Arab fund for the reconstruction of the region in which Baghdad will pay $20 million for Gaza and a similar amount for Lebanon.

Final statement calls for end to Israeli attacks in Gaza

"We demand an immediate end to the Israeli aggression on Gaza and an end to hostilities that are increasing the suffering of

COLOMBIA SEEKS TO JOIN CHINA-BASED DEVELOPMENT BANK AS LATIN AMERICA DRIFTS AWAY FROM WASHINGTON

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press

COLOMBIA'S govern-

ment has applied to join a China-based development bank, another sign of Latin America's drift away from the U.S. as the Trump administration's foreign aid cuts, trade barriers and crackdown on immigration spurs many leaders in the region to seek closer ties with Washington's geopolitical rival. Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrapped up a visit to China this week with a stop in Shanghai, where he met with former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the head of the New Development Bank.

The multilateral lender was set up a decade ago as a project of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the so-called BRICS nations of major developing markets — as a

counter to U.S.-dominated institutions like the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank.

To date, the New Development Bank has approved loans for 122 infrastructure projects totaling more than $40 billion in areas such as transport, sanitation and clean energy, according to Rousseff.

Petro, speaking to reporters in China on Saturday, said that Colombia is committed to purchasing $512 million worth of shares in the bank. He said that he was especially excited by the possibility of securing the New Development Bank's support for a 120-kilometer (75-mile) canal, or railway, connecting Colombia's Atlantic and Paciﬁc Ocean coastlines that he said would position the country at the "heart" of trade between South America and Asia.

innocent civilians," said the ﬁnal statement issued after the summit that was read by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein. "Humanitarian aid should be allowed into all areas in Palestine without conditions."

The leaders said they reject any attempt to displace Palestinians in Gaza saying that any such move would be "a crime against humanity and (an act of) ethnic cleansing." The statement said Arab leaders support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call for the holding of an international peace conference that leads to a two-state solution.

El-Sissi said that Egypt, in coordination with Qatar and the U.S., is "exerting intense efforts to reach a ceaseﬁre" in Gaza, adding that the efforts led to the release of Israel-American hostage Edan Alexander. He said that Egypt plans to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza "once the aggression stops."

Abbas calls for Hamas to give up power in Gaza

Abbas, the Palestinian president, called on Hamas to abandon power in Gaza and along with other militant groups to hand over weapons to the Palestinian

Authority. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas' Western-backed Palestinian Authority in 2007, and reconciliation attempts between the rivals have repeatedly failed.

The Baghdad meeting was upstaged by U.S. President Donald Trump's tour in the region earlier in the week. Trump's visit did not usher in a deal for a new ceaseﬁre in Gaza as many had hoped, but he grabbed headlines by meeting with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa — who had once fought against U.S. forces in Iraq — and promising to remove U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria.

Al-Sharaa did not attend the summit in Baghdad, where Syria's delegation

13, 2025.

Colombia is the second Latin American country to try and join the bank after tiny Uruguay sought membership in 2021. But Colombia's traditional role as a staunch U.S. ally and caretaker in the war on drugs is likely to raise eyebrows in Washington. The U.S. State Department this week said that it would "vigorously oppose" ﬁnancing of projects linked to China's Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America. Petro signed up to the initiative during a

was headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.

Iraqi Shiite militias and political factions are wary of al-Sharaa's past as a Sunni militant and had pushed back against his invitation to the summit.

During Syria's conﬂict that began in March 2011, several Iraqi Shiite militias fought alongside the forces of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, making alSharaa today a particularly sensitive ﬁgure for them.

Arab leaders back Syrian unity

The statement issued after the summit said Arab leaders back Syria's unity and reject foreign intervention in the country. They condemned Israel's airstrikes and land incursions

into Syria over the past months.

They praised Trump's plans to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria and the easing of European sanctions recently saying that would "speed up recovery and the reconstruction process" in the war-torn country.

An Iraqi ofﬁcial, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, said that Iran's Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani paid a visit to Baghdad prior to the summit and "conveyed messages of support for the Iranian-American negotiations" to reach a nuclear deal and lifting of crippling sanctions on Iran.

summit with fellow leftist leaders from Brazil and China.

Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, said he wouldn't be dissuaded by U.S. pressure and reafﬁrmed that Colombia seeks to remain neutral in a new era of geopolitical wrangling.

PRESIDENT of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sissi attends the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 17, 2025.

Photo:Hadi Mizban/AP

CHINESE President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro after delivering his opening speech for the opening ceremony of the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Forum of China and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States at China National Convention Center in Beijing, Tuesday, May

Photo:Andy Wong/AP

Trump warns Walmart: Don’t raise prices due to my tariffs but do eat the costs from those taxes

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press

PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Saturday ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs.

As Trump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses. Most economic analyses are deeply skeptical of those claims and have warned that the trade penalties would worsen inﬂation. Walmart warned on Thursday that everything from bananas to children's car seats could increase in price.

Trump, in his Truth Social post, lashed out at the retailer, which employs 1.6 million people in the United States. He said the company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, should sacriﬁce its proﬁts for the sake of his economic agenda that

he says will eventually lead to more domestic jobs in manufacturing. "Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain," Trump posted. "Walmart made BILLIONS

OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, "EAT THE TARIFFS," and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I'll be watching, and so will your customers!!!"

The posting by the Republican president reﬂected the increasingly awkward series of choices that many major American companies face as a result of his tariffs, from deteriorating sales to the possibility

of incurring Trump's wrath. Trump has similarly warned domestic automakers to not raise their prices, even though outside analyses say his tariffs would raise production costs. So far, those tariffs have darkened the mood of an otherwise resilient U.S. economy. The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment on Friday slipped to its second lowest measure on record, with roughly 75% of

NOTICE is hereby given that CLAUDIN LORISTON of Treasure Cay, Abaco, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 19th day of May 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

respondents "spontaneously" mentioning tariffs as they largely expected inﬂation to accelerate.

In April, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon was among the retail executives who met with Trump at the White House to discuss tariffs. But the Trump administration went forward despite warnings and has attacked other companies such as Amazon and Apple that are struggling with the disruptions to their supply chains.

Walmart chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcer John David Rainey said he thinks $350 car seats made in China will soon cost an additional $100, a 29% price increase.

"We're wired to keep prices low, but there's a limit to what we can bear, or any retailer for that matter," he told The Associated Press on Thursday after the company reported strong ﬁrst-quarter sales.

The administration recently ratcheted down its 145% tariffs on China to 30% for a 90-day period.

Trump has placed tariffs as high as 25% on Mexico and Canada due to illegal immigration and drug trafﬁcking, harming the relationship with America's two largest trading partners.

There is a universal baseline tariff of 10% on most countries as Trump promises to reach trade deals

in the coming weeks after having shocked the ﬁnancial markets in early April by charging higher import taxes based on trade deﬁcits with other countries. Trump insists he intends to preserve the tariffs as a revenue source and that a framework agreement with the United Kingdom would largely keep the 10% tariff rate in place. Trump has also placed import taxes on autos, steel and aluminum and plans to do so on pharmaceutical drugs, among other products.

The tariffs and Trump's own reversals on how much he should charge have generated uncertainty across the U.S. economy, such that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has held the central bank's benchmark rates steady until there is more clarity. Powell has warned that tariffs can both hurt growth and raise prices.

On Saturday, Trump repeated his calls for Powell to cut the benchmark rates. That could cause inﬂation to accelerate, but the president has maintained that inﬂationary pressures have largely disappeared from the economy.

"Too Late Powell, a man legendary for being Too Late, will probably blow it again - But who knows???"

didn't disclose its results, dpa said.

BERLIN Associated Press

A LUFTHANSA ﬂight to Spain last year went without a pilot for 10 minutes after the co-pilot fainted while he was alone in the cockpit, German news agency dpa reported on Saturday.

During the ﬂight from Frankfurt to Seville, Spain, on Feb. 17, 2024, the copilot of an Airbus A321 fainted while the captain was in the restroom, dpa reported, referring to a report by the Spanish accident investigation authority CIAIAC.

The aircraft, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members, ﬂew for around 10 minutes without a pilot in command of the plane, according to the report.

Lufthansa told dpa that it was aware of the investigation report and that its own ﬂight safety department had also conducted an investigation. The company

Although the unconscious co-pilot apparently operated controls unintentionally, the aircraft was able to continue ﬂying in a stable manner thanks to the active autopilot. During this time period, the voice recorder recorded strange noises in the cockpit that were consistent with an acute health emergency, dpa reported.

The captain initially tried entering the regular door opening code, which triggers a buzzer in the cockpit so that the co-pilot can open the door. He did so ﬁve times without being able to enter the cockpit. A stewardess tried to contact the co-pilot using the onboard telephone.

Finally, the captain typed in an emergency code that would have allowed him to open the door on his own. However, shortly before the door would have opened automatically, the co-pilot opened it from the inside despite being ill, dpa reported.

The pilot then decided to make an unplanned landing in Madrid, where his colleague was taken to a hospital.

A WALMART store is shown, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

REPUBLICANS LOOK TO GET TRUMP’S BIG BILL BACK ON TRACK WITH RARE SUNDAY COMMITTEE SESSION

By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO Associated Press

REPUBLICANS will look to get their massive tax cut and border security package back on track during a rare Sunday night committee meeting after that same panel voted against advancing the measure two days earlier, a setback that Speaker Mike Johnson is looking to reverse quickly.

Deﬁcit hawks joined with Democratic lawmakers on the House Budget Committee in voting against reporting the measure to the full House. Five Republicans voted no, one on procedural grounds, the other four voicing concerns about the bill's impact on federal budget deﬁcits.

Johnson expressed conﬁdence the bill will advance out of the committee and be on the House ﬂoor by the end of the week.

"This is the vehicle through which we will deliver on the mandate that the American people gave us in the last election," he said in a Fox News interview that aired Sunday.

The Republicans who criticized the measure noted that the bill's new

spending and the tax cuts are front-loaded in the bill, while the measures to offset the cost are back-loaded.

For example, they are looking to speed up the new work requirements that Republicans want to enact for able-bodied participants in Medicaid. Those requirements would not kick in until 2029 under the current bill.

"We are writing checks we cannot cash, and our children are going to pay the price," said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the committee. "Something needs to change, or you're not going to get my support."

Johnson said the start date for the work requirements was designed to give states time to "retool their systems" and to "make sure that all the new laws and all the new safeguards that we're placing can actually be enforced."

Roy was joined in voting no by Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia. Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania switched his vote to no in a procedural step so it could be reconsidered later, saying after the hearing

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, KENSON ALIX, of Coconut Grove, Nassau, The Bahamas. intend to change my name to KENSON ALIE If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Offcer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

he was conﬁdent Republicans would "get this done." Johnson said talks to deal with their concerns were continuing Sunday.

Remarkably, the vote against advancing the bill came after President Donald Trump had called on Republicans in a social media post to unite behind it.

"We don't need 'GRANDSTANDERS' in the Republican Party," Trump posted. "STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!"

At its core, the sprawling package permanently extends the existing income tax cuts that were approved during Trump's ﬁrst term, in 2017, and adds temporary new ones that the president campaigned on in 2024, including no taxes on tips, overtime pay and auto loan interest payments. The measure also proposes big spending increases for border security and defense.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan ﬁscal watchdog group, estimates that the House bill is shaping up to add roughly $3.3 trillion to the debt over the next decade.

Democrats are overwhelmingly opposed to the measure, which Republicans have labeled "The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act." Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called it, "one big, beautiful betrayal" in Friday's hearing.

"This spending bill is terrible, and I think the American people know that," Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., told CNN's "State of the Union'' on Sunday. "There is nothing wrong with us bringing the government in balance. But there is a problem when that balance comes on the back of working men and women. And that's what is happening here."

Johnson is not just having to address the concerns of the deﬁcit hawks in his conference. He's also facing pressure from centrists who will be warily eyeing the proposed changes to Medicaid, food assistance programs and the rolling back of clean energy tax

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The public is hereby advised that I, JENNIFER SHENIQUE ROBERTS of Pitt Road, Nassau, Bahamas intend to change my name to JENNIFER SHENIQUE BAIN. If there are any objections to challenge the name by deed poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Offcer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice.

credits. Republican lawmakers from New York and elsewhere are also demanding a much large state and local tax deduction. As it stands, the bill proposes tripling what's currently a $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction, increasing it to $30,000 for joint ﬁlers with incomes up to $400,000 a year.

Rep. Nick LaLota, one of the New York lawmakers leading the effort to lift the cap, said they have proposed a deduction of

$62,000 for single filers and $124,000 for joint filers. If the bill passes the House this week, it would then move to the Senate, where Republican lawmakers are also eyeing changes that could make final passage in the House more difficult.

Johnson said: "The package that we send over there will be one that was very carefully negotiated and delicately balanced, and we hope that they don't make many modiﬁcations to it because that will ensure its passage quickly."

BUFFETT PLANS TO ATTEND, BUT NOT TAKE QUESTIONS, AT NEXT YEAR'S BERKSHIRE SHAREHOLDER MEETING

BILLIONAIRE Warren

Buffett plans to attend, but not take questions, at next year's Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting — a big change following his recent surprise retirement announcement.

Buffett's handpicked successor, Greg Abel, told the Omaha World-Herald that Berkshire plans a shareholder meeting for the ﬁrst weekend of May that will have a question-and-answer session. But Buffett, who plans to remain as Berkshire's chairman, plans to sit with the conglomerate's board of directors and not be on stage taking questions.

The annual shareholder meeting attracts some 40,000 people to Omaha in what's been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists." The marathon Q&A sessions held by Buffett, the world's most important investor known for his wit and self-effacing humor, have been a major draw. The 94-year-old Buffett shocked an arena full of shareholders earlier this month by announcing at the end of a ﬁve-hour Q&A that he will retire at the end of the year. Susie Buffett, Buffett's daughter, told the World-Herald that Buffett wants Abel to handle the question-and-answer sessions going forward.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RODNEY CASSIUS of East Street South, New Providence, Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 12th day of May, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that MARK ANTHONY HUNTER of Maxwell Lane #3 off Farrington Road, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 12th day of May, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that YINGLIN FRANCES HUANG of Westridge Lakeshore Drive, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 12th day of May, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

THE CAPITOL is seen in Washington, March 25, 2025. Photo:J. Scott Applewhite/AP

OMAHA, Neb. Associated Press

Portugal headed for yet another minority government following election, exit poll suggests

By BARRY HATTON and HELENA ALVES Associated Press

A GENERAL election in Portugal on Sunday was poised to deliver yet another minority government, an exit poll suggested, as the country's increasingly fragmented political landscape deﬁes efforts to unite behind policies on issues such as immigration, housing and the cost of living.

The center-right Democratic Alliance captured between 29% and 34% of the votes in the country's third general election in three years, according to the exit poll by Portugal's Catholic University for public broadcaster Radiotelevisao Portuguesa.

The center-left Socialist Party got between 21% and 26% while the hardright populist party Chega (Enough) had between 20% and 24%, the poll indicated.

With that tally, the Democratic Alliance could get between 85 and 96 seats, short of the 116 needed for a majority in Portugal's 230seat parliament. It could form a minority government or forge partnerships with smaller parties to obtain a majority.

Most ofﬁcial results are expected by midnight (2300 GMT).

Cheers and applause broke out at the Democratic Alliance campaign headquarters when the exit poll was broadcast. The Socialist headquarters was largely silent as the party

faced what could be its worst result since 1987. Chega's possible count was a surprise, potentially putting it close to a level footing with the Socialist Party. Chega competed in its ﬁrst election six years ago, when it won one seat. Sunday's exit poll gave it as many as 61, up from 50 in last year's election as it fed off discontentment with the traditional main parties. A second consecutive minority government in Portugal would dash hopes for an end to the worst spell of political instability in decades for the European Union country of 10.6 million people.

For the past 50 years, two parties have dominated politics, with the Social Democrats, who head the Democratic Alliance, and

TALKS AIMED AT ENDING NEW JERSEY TRANSIT RAIL STRIKE RESUMED SATURDAY AND WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY

By MIKE CATALINI

Associated Press

TALKS aimed at settling a strike between train engineers and New Jersey's huge commuter railroad resumed Saturday and are set to continue Sunday, New Jersey Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said. The locomotive engineers' strike began Friday at the rail system with 100,000 daily riders and left commuters either working from home or searching for other ways to travel across the state or over the Hudson River to New York City. Kolluri spoke Saturday at Newark's Broad Street Station, saying the agency is preparing for the workweek commute by "surging" buses to help commuters at train stations. But he cautioned that the buses can't handle the entire volume of the commuter rail system.

Kolluri said he and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen President Mark Wallace spoke and agreed to meet Saturday. It had been uncertain whether the two sides would meet ahead of a National Mediation Board meeting already set for Sunday.

Late Saturday afternoon, Kolluri said in a statement that the talks were constructive and had ended for the day.

"Today's discussions continued to be constructive. We've mutually agreed to adjourn formal discussions for the day but will continue talking and look forward to resuming discussions tomorrow," Kolluri said.

Wallace said he had hopes for a deal with the resumption of negotiations, which had ended shortly before the strike Thursday night.

"If we come out together, we'll have a deal," Wallace said. NJ Transit has a train yard, just over the Delaware River from Trenton in the suburban Philadelphia town of Morrisville. Picketers in red shirts that said "United We Bargain Divided We Beg" carried signs and blared music not far from the yard there on Saturday.

Bill Craven, a 25-year veteran engineer, described the mood among union members positively. He said they usually don't get to congregate because they are typically passing each other on the rails at 100 mph.

the Socialist Party alternating in power.

But public frustration with their record in government has fueled the growth of new alternatives in recent years. That has denied the bigger parties enough seats in parliament for a majority needed to ensure that they serve a full four-year term.

"This campaign was very, very weak, had ridiculous moments, like clownish. Very little was spoken about Portugal within the European Union — it's like we are not part of it," teacher Isabel Monteiro, 63, said in Lisbon, adding that she felt "disenchantment" with all parties.

The center-right alliance had led opinion polls

The Democratic Alliance, which also includes

"Most of us would much rather be running trains. That's what we do for a living. We don't want to disrupt our lives, other people's lives, but it comes to a point where we haven't had a raise in six years," he said.

The walkout comes after the latest round of negotiations on Thursday didn't produce an agreement. It is the state's ﬁrst transit strike in more than 40 years and comes a month after union members overwhelmingly rejected a labor agreement with management.

Wallace walked the picket line Friday outside New York City's Penn Station. He said the engineers are committed to staying on strike until they get a fair deal. Union members were nearly unanimous in authorizing a strike last summer, and 87% of them rejected the latest agreement.

Wallace said NJ Transit needs to pay engineers a wage that is comparable to Amtrak and Long Island Railroad because engineers are leaving for jobs on those other railroads for better pay,

The union has seen steady attrition in its ranks at NJ Transit as more members leave to take better-paying jobs at other railroads. The number of NJ Transit engineers has shrunk from 500 several months ago to about 400. The engineers are responsible for operating trains, ensuring safe and smooth transport between stations, New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said

But Chega has recently fallen foul of its own lawmakers' alleged wrongdoing.

One is suspected of stealing suitcases from the Lisbon airport and selling the contents online, and another allegedly faked the signature of a dead woman. Both resigned.

the smaller Popular Party, lost a confidence vote in parliament in March after less than a year in power, as opposition lawmakers teamed up against it. That triggered an early election, which had been due in 2028. The confidence vote was sparked by a political storm around potential conflicts of interest in the business dealings of Social Democratic Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's family law firm. Montenegro has denied any wrongdoing and is standing for reelection.

Corruption scandals have dogged Portuguese politics in recent years. That has helped fuel the rise of Chega, whose leader André Ventura says he has "zero tolerance" for misconduct in ofﬁce.

Friday that it is important to "reach a ﬁnal deal that is both fair to employees and at the same time affordable to New Jersey's commuters and taxpayers."

"We are lacking people with character, with righteousness," said Alexandre Cardoso, a 75-year-old retiree. "It worries me more due to my grandchildren. ... There is a lot of disenchantment, a lot, especially for people of my generation that have gone through what we did. I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Immigration and housing are key issues

Chega owes much of its success to its demands for a tighter immigration policy that have resonated with voters.

Portugal has witnessed a steep rise in immigration. In 2018, there were fewer than a half-million legal immigrants in the country, according to government statistics. By early this year, there were more than 1.5 million, many of them Brazilians and Asians working in tourism and farming.

Thousands more lack the proper documents to be in Portugal. The outgoing government announced two weeks before the election

that it was expelling about 18,000 foreigners living in the country without authorization. Though such a step is routine, the timing drew accusations that it was trying to capture votes from Chega.

Socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos, who is also standing for prime minister, described the move as a "Trumpification" of Portuguese politics, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's focus on immigration policies. A housing crisis has also fired up debate. House prices and rents have been soaring for the past 10 years, due in part to an influx of white-collar foreigners who have driven up prices.

House prices jumped another 9% last year, said the National Statistics Institute, a government body. Rents in and around the capital Lisbon, where around 1.5 million people live, last year saw the steepest rise in 30 years, climbing more than 7%, the institute said.

The problem is compounded by Portugal being one of Western Europe's poorest countries.

The average monthly salary last year was around 1,200 euros ($1,340) before tax, according to the statistics agency. The government-set minimum wage this year is 870 euros ($974) a month before tax.

NJ Transit is the nation's third-largest transit system and operates buses and rail in the state, providing nearly 1 million weekday trips, including into New York City. The walkout halts all NJ Transit commuter trains, which provide heavily used public transit routes between Penn Station on one side of the Hudson River and communities in northern New Jersey on the other, as well as the Newark airport, which has grappled with unrelated delays of its own recently.

CHILD watches a voter ﬁll their ballot in Portugal’s general election at polling station in Lisbon, Sunday, May 18, 2025.

Photo:Ana Brigida/AP