01092022 NEWS AND SPORT

FTX CEO’S ATTACKS ON BAHAMAS ‘MISGUIDED’

Attorney General hails regulator for ‘proper’ measures

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FTX’s US chief has admitted his attacks on The Bahamas’ integrity were “misguided” by agreeing to work with the failed crypto exchange’s local liquidators, the Attorney General argued last night.

Ryan Pinder KC, speaking after John Ray put his name to a statement vindicating the Securities Commission’s actions in protecting assets belonging to clients of FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary, said this

was further evidence that the regulator had undertaken “proper, lawful and responsible” measures.

“The negative comments about the jurisdiction from the Chapter 11 debtors were always false, misguided and aimed to discredit our jurisdiction,” Mr Pinder said, referring to Mr Ray and his team. “With or without a co-operation agreement, that type of action was never warranted, and clearly even the Chapter 11 debtors recognise [it was] misguided.”

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

TWO men are dead after separate shooting incidents on Friday.

The first incident occurred around 2.30am.

According to police, a male victim was at a bar on Washington Street and Robinson Road when he was approached and

subsequently shot multiple times by an unknown man. The suspect, who was wearing dark clothing and a ski mask, fled on foot. Police said the victim died on the scene.

A few hours later, police were investigating a shooting incident in Nassau Village.

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis and Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe pledged more resources to assist police in crime-fighting efforts, including more manpower and vehicles for patrols.

Yesterday, the Royal Bahamas Police Force hosted its annual church service and parade under the theme “Bridging the divide, strengthening partnerships and

Empowering our communities”. The annual event commenced at the Garden of Remembrance at Police Headquarters, where Commission of Police Clayton Fernander laid the first wreath in commemoration of fallen officers who were killed in the line of duty.

Following the brief ceremony, officers marched to Zion Baptist Church on East and Shirley Streets.

SEARS: FORENSIC REPORT OF BPL SOON

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

WORKS and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears said Deloitte has been engaged in a forensic examination of Bahamas Power and Light and officials should receive that report “shortly”.

“Deloitte is currently engaged in a forensic audit and I expect that audit will be before us shortly and once we have the audit, we

“Brave” Davis said last August his administration is considering staging a number of official inquiries, among them one that will look into the affairs of BPL.

However, Mr Sears could not say whether a televised inquiry was on the table.

“No, you’d have to speak with the prime minister. I’m focusing on the portfolio I hold and I can confirm that Deloitte is and has

OFFICERS at yesterday’s annual Royal Bahamas Police Force church service and parade and, right, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis speaking at the event. Photos: Moise Amisial

will share it. We will put it before the House of Assembly,” he said on Friday. Prime Minister Philip

PRIME

Two unscathed after plane crash

TWO people were lucky to walk away with no injuries after a plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Exuma on Friday.

The incident occurred shortly after 10am, after the plane left the George Town International Airport.

Officers on the island of

Exuma along with officials from the Department of Civil Aviation are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.

According to preliminary reports, the plane was en route to Hog Cay when it crashed about one and a half mile east of the runway.

No injuries were reported; however the aircraft was extensively damaged, police said.

A team of investigators from the Civil Aviation Department in New Providence will travel to Exuma to investigate this incident.

TOURIST FOUND DEAD IN HOTEL ROOM

A TOURIST was found unresponsive in his hotel room on Friday.

Police said family members reportedly discovered the man, who is in his 30s

shortly after midnight on Friday.

EMS visited the scene and confirmed no signs of life.

At present, foul play is

not suspected; however, an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

An investigation is ongoing.

A PHOTOGRAPH circulated online of the plane crash in Exuma on Friday.

PM: We’ll give more resources to crime fight

Governor General Sir Cornelius Smith, Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper and other dignitaries were in attendance to mark the special occasion.

In his speech to the congregation, Mr Davis referred to the crime crisis within the country, describing the violence as “one that tears at our soul”.

While acknowledging the seriousness of the issue, Mr Davis empathised with Bahamians, saying that the government is aiming to implement measures to strengthen and revitalise law enforcement.

“No one knows better than a police officer that there is no one answer to the crisis,” Mr Davis said.

“You deserve the resources, manpower, training, and technology you need to enforce the law. You deserve a government and a private sector working together to create opportunities and paths out of need and despair.

“You deserve a health care system that can address mental health breakdowns. You deserve communities in which mentors and role models are plentiful and dedicated.”

He continued: “You deserve a legal system that delivers justice and delivers it swiftly. You deserve prisons that rehabilitate, in the truest sense of that word.”

Mr Davis credited the Royal Bahamas Police Force for their efforts thus far, while also urging Bahamians to come in partnership with the police in the face of the crisis.

While using biblical context, Mr Davis offered words of encouragement: “The most important commandment is to love our Lord with all of our hearts, and the second most important is to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.”

He said progress in the crime fight will come from “strong leadership, more resources and new initiatives targeting gangs and guns”.

He added that recruitment exercises were suspended for years so a priority of his administration is to add more manpower to the ranks.

Mr Davis said that the government will implement measures to strengthen the defence of the country’s borders, to try to stave off illegal migrants and smugglers.

“We have established a

formal working arrangement with the American law enforcement agency ATF, and we will continue to work with American agencies to share intelligence to help stop the flow of arms across our borders,” Mr Davis said yesterday.

According to Prime Minister Davis, the government is aiming to expand and improve the Urban Renewal and Second Chance programme as an initiative to intervene and deter potential offenders.

Meanwhile, Mr Munroe expressed confidence in the fact that the RBPF will adapt to the demands of both the present and the future, adding that crime prevention is a “major” priority for the Davis administration.

During his remarks at the service, Mr Munroe reported the approval of

new vehicles for the RBPF, which he said will facilitate more saturation on patrols.

According to Mr Munroe, this crime-fighting strategy aims to ensure that police presence is “inundated” in hotspot areas and serves as a preventive measure.

He said: “I’m pleased to report that approval has been granted for additional vehicles to facilitate more saturation patrols.

“Combined with recruitment, personal development, this crime fighting strategy aims to ensure that police presence is inundated in hotspot areas to prevent crimes before they occur.

“In many cases, an offender calculates their actions and their consequences before carrying them out, but saturation in patrols the offender is minded to delay his intent or not offend

at all because of the possibility of being detected or arrested,” he continued.

Since the launch of the Firearms Trafficking Task Force last year, Mr Munroe said that there have been “successes”.

He also announced that by the end of January, there will be a domestic violence section in the RBPF.

He said: “While domestic violence is one of the most common crimes and is often misunderstood, this office will serve to support all victims irrespective of gender and prevent further abuse. More importantly, it will liaise with government and non-government agencies to provide victim care and support.”

In ending his speech, Mr Munroe pledged support to the members of his ministry for their hard work and daily efforts.

FNM: DAVIS GOVT HAS FAILED TO ADDRESS CRISIS

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright voiced concerns that the Davis administration has neglected the Bahamian people by failing to address the “crime crisis”.

The St Barnabas MP continued his criticism of government’s failure to address the issue in a press statement yesterday.

Mr Cartwright noted that there was an eight percent increase in murders last year, as the 2022 murder count was 128 in comparison to 119 in 2021.

“Crime continues to shake our communities, threaten our way of life, and take Bahamian lives,” Mr Cartwright said.

“Already for the year, police have recorded four homicides. Just as regrettable is the government’s failure to address the issue of crime in a holistic and strategic way.

“The government seems paralysed to bring a coordinated strategy to stem it. As stated before, the Bahamian people feel no more secure, despite the promises of this administration to deal with crime.”

While applauding the commissioner of police for acknowledging the need for major changes in the criminal justice

system, he criticised the government for falling “woefully” short in the way of decisive action to deal with the uptick in armed robberies, assaults, and gun crimes.

Mr Cartwright has previously called on the government to address the longstanding issues that the country is facing, noting that in March of last year, the opposition made 14 anti-crime recommendations to the government.

“We remain adamant that our law enforcement professionals deserve the full support of the executive and the legislature and changing laws to better facilitate the operation of the system must be a part of the conversation,” Mr Cartwright said.

“The opposition in March 2022 delivered to the government 14 anticrime recommendations. We remain committed to assisting the government in developing solutions to the issue of crime. The government is failing at its most sacred duty of keeping the Bahamian people safe and secure,” he continued.

In late December, in response to the rise in murders Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander said in 2023, officials will take policing to “another level”.

He said the police force’s new strategies would be revealed later this month.

TWO MEN DEAD AFTER SEPARATE SHOOTINGS

The victim was taken to hospital by EMS personnel, but later died, police said.

This brings the country’s murder count for the year to four, according to this newspaper’s records.

On January 2, a couple was shot dead as they slept. The incident took place in a home in Montell Heights. Police arrested two suspects shortly after the incident, one of whom was arraigned in connection with the double homicide on Friday.

In late December, in response to the rise in murders, Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander said in 2023, officials will take policing to “another level”.

He said the police force’s new strategies will be revealed later this month.

Meanwhile, a local community activist has called for a shift in the way the country deals with crime

following the rise in killings last year.

Dr Carlos Reid, a consultant to the Ministry of National Security, thinks the country’s crime crisis is a result of several root issues, adding that there are not enough resources dedicated to the prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation.

He deemed preventive measures as a vital part of tackling the matter, adding that individuals must be adequately prepared to face the reality of failure.

“We need to start raising up the kind of citizens that we basically want to see, so we have to go back to the basics,” he told this newspaper recently.

“What are we putting in these persons’ heads? We (are) training everybody for success, but I believe that the time has come when we got to prepare people for failure. Because success is something that you might experience, but failure is something that you will experience.”

SCENES from yesterday’s annual Royal Bahamas Police Force church service, parade and wreath laying.

Photos: Moise Amisial

‘All hands’ needed to curb crime

By JADE RUSSELL

PASTOR Dave Burrows said all hands are needed on deck to curb crime, adding there’s a misconception that only those from the “streets” can reach troubled youth.

“There are not enough people working in this field. And what we need to do is expand the number and variety of people involved.

“We need more trained individuals from various backgrounds. One of the misconceptions that exists is that only if you come from the streets, can you reach the streets,” Pastor Burrows said.

Pastor Burrows, president of Bahamas Faith Ministries, gave a presentation on Friday at the Ministry of National Security on his initiative “Reaching the Streets”.

He spoke at the ministry’s Advisory Council on Crime, which is chaired by noted psychiatrist Dr David Allen.

He said that young people have become more

involved in crime but that does not mean they are unable to change.

“We have young people involved in crime and young people involved in gangs. And we cannot just say ‘well they’re unreachable.’

We have to understand and appreciate that they have been reached and they can be reached. And what is needed is the right strategy,” Pastor Burrows stressed.

He added that there are

three main components to reaching troubled youth which include: access, engagement, and sustained programming.

“There are several methods of access you have: schools, the community, the

church, and then captive access.

“Captive access is one of the most important. When kids are in school and they call an assembly or there’s a programme, they don’t have a choice, that’s captive access.”

He explained that having access to troubled youth allows experts to build relationships with and also to fully engage with them.

Pastor Burrows said that also having probation programmes for troubled youth could aid in their transition to living a non-criminal lifestyle, adding that many young men were raised in a violent community.

Pastor Burrows continued: “What we have to do is whenever we engage these young people, we have to get them involved in a programme. That teaches the spiritual side of it, character, business, career, and life skills side of it.

“And that’s what we talk about in the book,” he said, referring to a book he wrote on the subject.

“If you change your life and you go back to the same

environment and nothing is different eventually, you’re going to go back. Because nothing is sustaining you. So, you have to have a programme that’s ongoing where you have contact with these guys on a regular basis.”

On January 2, Prime Minister Phillip Davis said the government was hoping to launch a youth guard programme, which intends to capture the youth to build the communities and to help reduce the effects of crime.

He said the government was hoping to launch this programme sometime this year as a wider part of its crime fighting strategies after the country’s murder toll hit over 120 in 2022.

“Over the years, I think we have spent too much effort and too much resources on detecting crime, punishing crime without any regard to what I call the preventative measures and rehabilitative measures. Emphasis will be placed on those labours of the crime fighting initiatives,” Mr Davis added.

TASKFORCE TO DEAL WITH BACKLOG OF CRIMINAL CASES

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

WITH the judiciary experiencing a backlog in cases, particularly criminal proceedings, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe announced yesterday the appointment of a taskforce to address the persistent problem.

Speaking at the Royal

Bahamas Police Force’s annual church service yesterday, Mr Munroe revealed that Chief Justice Ian Winder consented to the appointment of a taskforce to deal with the backlog of criminal cases.

Mr Munroe said this appointment would serve as a “bonus” for the administration of justice and the nation at large.

He said: “On a broader level, the administration of justice serves to protect both the social and economic interests of citizens and by extension, the wider society.

“To seek to address the backlog and our system, Chief Justice Ian Winder has consented to the appointment of a task force to address the causes of

the backlog and move the system back to the swifter, more deliberate administration of justice,” he continued.

This comes as people out on bail continue to be murdered.

In a recent interview with The Tribune , Dr Carlos Reid, a consultant to the Ministry of National Security stated that 46 of the 128 murder victims last year were people who were either electrically monitored or on bail for murder.

This, he said, reflects that retaliation is one of the biggest contributing factors to crime in the country, noting that crime prevention and intervention are important,

however, the country also needs to find ways to solve murder cases faster.

There have been four homicides so far this year, with two of those victims said to be alleged offenders.

Court officials have sought to get firearm trials completed within 21 days after arraignments to help prevent people from being killed while out on bail.

Last month, Mr Munroe revealed that the government was seeking to reintroduce the Swift Justice programme to help speed up court cases.

At the time, he first mentioned the plans to hopefully form a task force in the first quarter of this year to deal with the

backlog of criminal cases.

“Justice must be delivered, but justice must also happen on a timely basis,” Mr Munroe told reporters in late December.

“Swift Justice was just a moniker that the previous PLP administration used. Clearly it wasn’t liked by the Minnis administration that replaced us. There wasn’t such a focus on it.

“We’re refocusing on it. And, as I say, we have arranged to have a meeting with the Chief Justice and senior justices in charge of the criminal division, we’ve agreed to have a task force to look at it - and speed it up even more - little, small things that may make a huge difference.”

PASTOR Dave Burrows speaking on Friday.

Photo: Austin Fernander

BNT concerned about sunken ship’s impact

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS National Trust has expressed concerns about the cargo ship that recently sank off the southern coast of Abaco and its impact on the marine environment.

In a statement on Friday, BNT indicated concern about the location of this vessel as it is currently within the Cross Harbour Protected Area.

On December 29, Onego Traveller sank in waters in the southern part of Abaco with heavy fuel onboard.

The general cargo ship registered in Antigua and Barbuda, built in 2002, reportedly began taking on water in the ballast water tank area near Hole in the Wall, off South Abaco.

The Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) has been in communication with the BNT to provide updates on the situation.

“We know that the Onego Traveller vessel was transporting Kemira Ferix3, an industrial granulated solid used in wastewater treatment, odour control, and fertiliser. This chemical along with fuel from the vessel has been observed in the surrounding sea since the vessel’s sinking. “The BNT is reaching out to experts in environmental chemistry and toxicology to better understand the spill’s environmental impact,” the statement said.

“The primary concern around the Ferix is how it will affect water quality in the short and long term. It is currently impacting the pH of the water surrounding the sunken vessel, creating highly acidic conditions. If the Ferix acts as a fertiliser in the seawater, this could also lead to harmful algal blooms which negatively impact marine life and have health impacts on people exposed in and around the water. The scale and extent

of such impacts will depend on the amount of the chemical ultimately released into the environment and other nutrient levels in the seawater.”

The statement added: “The BNT is especially concerned about the location of this vessel. lt is currently within the Cross Harbour Protected Area. This marine protected area was declared in 2015 to protect important terrestrial and coastal ecosystems and was expanded in 2021 to include significantly more marine areas. This area is particularly important for bonefish, as it serves as a pre-spawning aggregation site which supports a vibrant fly-fishing industry of local and national economic significance. The

SEARS: FORENSIC REPORT OF BPL SOON

from page one

been engaged in a forensic examination of BPL and we should receive that report shortly.”

In November, it was reported that the government has hired Deloitte & Touche to conduct a 30-day “rapid assessment” of BPL’s massive $535m refinancing. Mr Sears told the House of Assembly that the Davis administration is “currently reviewing BPL” to determine if the proposed rate reduction bond (RRB) placement and other initiatives designed to restore the energy utility to financial

and operational stability should proceed.

Meanwhile, the minister also gave an update on the committee set up to assess shanty towns.

“Two things: one is we have put together an interministerial group which comprises of eight ministries, because they relate to the various issues involved.

We will be seeking Cabinet approval for the constitution and functions of that committee within the next two weeks and the committee will then be able to speak with you and give you an update in terms of their work plan and their progress from time to time,” he said.

vessel is also approximately seven miles south of the shoreline of the Abaco National Park managed by the BNT.”

BNT executive director Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle said, “The BNT’s key concern at this time is the impact of the ship on the seabed and the potential impact of the vessel’s spilt chemical contents on coastal and marine organisms and habitats in the area, especially given that the vessel is currently within the boundaries of a marine protected area, not yet assigned to any protected area management agency. If the chemicals are not quickly and properly contained they can potentially spread to other areas.

“The BNT is prepared to support any remediation or monitoring efforts, including the creation of long-term policies to prevent or respond more quickly to such incidences in the future. We have been in constant communication with the director of

DEPP, who has requested assistance to conduct ecological assessments; and our park wardens and scientists are on standby and ready to help with these efforts as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Speaking to reporters at a BNT event earlier yesterday, Ms Anderson-Rolle spoke in detail about the work on the ground.

“We actually also have our senior science officer on standby, we will be providing support to the ministry on the ecological assessments. We are familiar with the area, it’s actually an area that has been established or approved as a protected area since 2015. It was also recently expanded in 2021. So our concern really has to do with the fact that it is actually within a protected area. And so we are on standby to provide support for the government with respect to making sure that no physical damage has been done, but we anticipate that that may be the case. But we are working and speaking

with experts in the field of environmental chemistry and toxicology to really determine the impacts of chemicals in saltwater.”

Asked about concerns about possible impact to wildlife, the executive director noted: “The last update we received, they were containing the chemicals, obviously, because it’s been contained, it hasn’t really been spreading to really cause a major impact. We’re only really waiting to be able to get in the water to see the impacts for ourselves to be able to make that assessment.”

The BNT is pleased that the government has already responded to this incident by deploying measures to contain any spillage and initiating a meeting of the National Oil Spill Contingency Advisory Committee (NOSCAC).

In a statement released recently, the Ministry of Transport and Housing confirmed that a meeting with members of the NOSCAC was held to discuss the way forward.

APRIL CROWTHER-GOW

TRIBUTES ARE PAID TO APRIL CROWTHER-GOW

TRIBUTES have been paid to April CrowtherGow, a former deputy chief councillor of Freeport, and a council member of the Free National Movement.

In a statement last night, the Minister for Grand Bahama, Ginger Moxey, said April Crowther-Gow was a community builder.

She said: “My heartfelt condolences to the family of April Crowther-Gow. We are grateful for the invaluable contributions April has made to Grand Bahama Island and our nation, as a community builder, business leader, and former deputy chief councillor of the City of Freeport.

“April had a vivacious personality, loved Grand Bahama and our Bahamaland and served courageously. She was a freedom-fighter and nationalist at heart, and left an indelible mark on many lives. She will never be forgotten.”

She offered condolences on behalf of Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and his wife, Ann Marie Davis, as well as other senior members of the PLP and officers and members.

FNM leader Michael Pintard said she was a “loyal member of our FNM family and made incredible sacrifices to ensure our success. She was an especially strong advocate for the foot soldiers of our organisation who she believed were often overlooked”.

Mr Pintard said she pushed for more qualified women to feature in the party’s leadership, and added: “April was also a fearless and plain-spoken individual, who would passionately articulate her position on various party as well as national issues. She was a well-organised individual, bursting with ideas and always ready to serve in any capacity she was called upon.”

Ms Crowther-Gow served in local government in East Grand Bahama, was executive of the Grand Bahama Council, a national protocol officer and also the former president of the Women’s Association in Grand Bahama.

THE ONEGO TRAVELLER, pictured in this image provided to The Tribune after its sinking.

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

Published daily Monday to Friday Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207

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Mayor: Teacher shot by child aged six ‘red flag for the US’

A VIRGINIA teacher who was critically injured when she was was shot by a six-year-old student in Newport News is showing signs of improvement as authorities struggle to understand how a child so young could be involved in a school shooting, the city’s mayor said on Saturday.

Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said the condition of the teacher, a woman in her 30s, is “trending in a positive direction” as she remains hospitalised. Police Chief Steve Drew met with the teacher and her family Saturday morning. “She has improved and is currently listed in stable condition,” police said in a news release.

The boy shot and wounded the teacher with a handgun in a first-grade classroom on Friday at Richneck Elementary School, according to authorities. Drew said the shooting was not accidental and was part of an altercation. No students were injured.

Police on Saturday declined to describe what led to the altercation or any other details about what happened in the classroom, citing the ongoing investigation.

Jones also declined to reveal details of the shooting, or say how the boy got access to the gun or who owns the weapon.

“This is a red flag for the country,” Jones said.

“I do think that after this event, there is going to be a nationwide discussion on how these sorts of things can be prevented.”

Virginia law does not allow six-yearolds to be tried as adults. In addition, a six-year-old is too young to be committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice if found guilty.

A juvenile judge would have authority, though, to revoke a parent’s custody and place a child under the purview of the Department of Social Services.

Jones would not say where the boy is being held.

“We are ensuring he has all the services that he currently needs right now,” Jones said.

Experts who study gun violence said the shooting represents an extremely rare occurrence of a young child bringing a gun into school and wounding a teacher.

“It’s very rare and it’s not something the legal system is really designed or positioned to deal with,” said researcher David Riedman, founder of a database that tracks US school shootings dating back to 1970.

He said on Saturday that he’s only aware of three other shootings caused by six-year-old students in the time

period he’s studied. Those include the fatal shooting of a fellow student in 2000 in Michigan and shootings that injured other students in 2011 in Texas and 2021 in Mississippi.

Riedman said he only knows of one other instance of a student younger than that causing gunfire at a school, in which a five-year-old student brought a gun to a Tennessee school in 2013 and accidentally discharged it. No one was injured in that case.

Daniel W Webster, a professor at Johns Hopkins University who studies gun violence, agreed that a six-year-old shooting a teacher at school is extremely unusual. But he said his research shows that instances of young children accessing loaded guns and shooting themselves or others unintentionally in homes or other settings are rising.

“A six-year-old gaining access to a loaded gun and shooting him/herself or someone else, sadly, is not so rare,” he said in an email.

In the Newport News case, Drew said on Friday that the shooting didn’t appear to be an accident and that it was isolated to the single victim. He said the student and teacher had known each other in a classroom setting.

“We did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting,” Drew told reporters.

Investigators were trying to figure out where he obtained the handgun.

Parents and students were reunited at a gymnasium, Newport News Public Schools said via Facebook.

The police chief declined to discuss what contact investigators have had with the boy’s parents.

“We have been in contact with our commonwealth’s attorney (local prosecutor) and some other entities to help us best get services to this young man,” Drew said.

Newport News is a city of about 185,000 people in southeastern Virginia known for its shipyard, which builds the nation’s aircraft carriers and other US Navy vessels.

Richneck has about 550 students who are in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to the Virginia Department of Education’s website. Jones said there would be no classes at the school today and tomorrow.

“Today our students got a lesson in gun violence,” said George Parker III, Newport News schools superintendent, “and what guns can do to disrupt, not only an educational environment, but also a family, a community.”

By DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press

Warning on crime

I HAD written several Letters to the Editor in 2022 in The Tribune newspaper giving great recommendations and suggestions to deter gangs, reduce guns and prevent crime in the Bahamas.

Prime Minister Philip Davis, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe and the new Police Commissioner implemented two of my suggestions and recommended Police Gang Task Force and Police Gun Task Force in 2022. As I do have more ideas, visions and plans that

can immediately reduce and prevent crime in The Bahamas.

In 2023 if the government does not reduce crime - murders and robberies - also if in any event an American tourist is rob or murdered, the United States Department will definitely issue a travel advisory to American tourists warning that it is unsafe because of high crimes, robbery and murders as just happened last month in December 2022 when Jamaica got issued an advisory that it is unsafe to travel to Jamaica – this will now severely cripple their economy.

Which when it does happen to The Bahamas will destroy the Bahamas economy resulting in the devaluation of the Bahamian dollar and causing many hotel owners to lay off thousands of Bahamian workers.

Wishing the Bahamas Government, Bahamian people and The Bahamas a happy new year 2023, one nation, one people, one Bahamas, one God, onward upward and forward to a better Bahamas.

PEDRO SMITH Nassau,

January 2023

Davis taxation

EDITOR, The Tribune.

This is an Open Letter to Prime Minister Davis on Bahamian Suffering: Dear Mr Davis,

You have spent much time lately talking about inflation impacting the high cost of living here in The Bahamas. It is striking to me that for the most part, you and the majority of your class are completely immune from the realities facing MOST Bahamians. Most Bahamians do not have the luxuries you do. Perhaps you have earned these luxuries. Yet, I would argue that living paycheck to paycheck, uncertain of what tomorrow will bring economically, should not be the fate of most Bahamians in 2023, in a relatively rich country. Yet, these are our realities, Mr Davis, not yours. So, how can you say you and your party truly “represent” us? How can you say we are all in this together?

Even more important, is what you are not saying regarding the dire situation The Bahamas faces as a whole; in the collapse of our standard of living, rising crime, a 100% debt to GDP ratio, millions of dollars leaving our coffers on a daily basis to pay off loans which were taken out solely to cover up the inefficiency and incompetency of our political class. This is before we confront the very real and near term costs associated with climate change mitigation.

Let me be direct here, Mr Davis. Most of our social problems stem directly from the regressive and odious taxation policies here at home. I am claiming that, above all else that is going on in the world, our own taxation scheme is what is causing the pain and suffering here in The Bahamas. You have not mentioned this, as far as I know. Instead, you focus on things we can do nothing about. There are things we can do here and now that would be game changers for our standard of living and hopes for our children’s future.

All this talk of Duty, VAT, NIB contributions, rising fuel and electricity costs, business licences, of hiring people to go around

as “price controllers”, is utter nonsense. These are diversionary tactics to hide the real villain. Trickle down economics, upon which the premise of our taxation scheme is predicated, has proven to be an utter intellectual fallacy. This experiment has failed everywhere in the world. Why do we still cling to this lie that if we don’t tax the rich our economy will prosper and everyone will be better off?

The cost of running The Bahamas is placed entirely on the backs of those least able to afford it, the wage earners, the poorest of us.

Here in The Bahamas, we have taxation exactly backwards. Rich people can come to the Disney World of the Caribbean, our Bahamas, and live virtually tax free. No tax on their income. No tax on their business gains, no real property tax, to speak of. Is this fair? All taxes placed on businesses, are passed along to the consumer, the poorest of us.

With this recent FTX scandal, what stood out to me was not the level of alleged criminality involved. What really struck me was how willing we were to take Sam Bankman-Fried’s ill-gotten money and use it for frivolous political contributions, sports stadiums, high end real estate, yet not use a penny of it to ease the burdens of most Bahamians.

Before a Bahamian wage earner’s money is touched by the Bahamian government, we need to agree upon and implement a fair, reasonable and Christian way of taxing our people.

A progressive income tax is one way. Taxing those best able to pay. Arguing against this can only work with those uneducated and ignorant of fiscal and Christian thinking. Regressive taxation, as we have here, is in the same category as defending marital rape.

Smart, educated Christian people simply can’t defend these policies anymore.

To ignore the very real social costs of our present taxation system is unacceptable. Our rising crime is economic in nature.

Poverty, homelessness, poor nutrition, poor educational outcomes, mental health issues, suicide are all directly tied to our

declining financial security. I maintain that it is not just poor household decisions which are at the root of these ills, rather they are a direct result of our unchristian, and unfair taxation of our people, by the political ruling class.

Until you are honest, Mr Davis, about the true causes of human suffering here in The Bahamas, you will only be a politician, never a leader. A true leader of the people would wish for the best possible outcome for all of us, and speak the truth. A true leader would not support policies that benefit a select few, as you do now, who get richer by the day. If we are all truly in this together, the present status quo is unacceptable. Period.

You do not have to be a PhD in economics to see what is going on here. That you do not have in your administration, even one bold, moral and intellectually honest member willing to speak to this matter, says wonders.

From my perspective, neither the PLP nor the FNM, nor any other fringe party, has any hope of leading our country into the future. For all the talk of Christianity in this country, I find it absolutely incredible that we continue, in a methodical and calculating way, to place such unchristian burdens on the backs of those the Bible refers to as, the least of us. We are not behaving as a Christian country. Let’s quit pretending, and claiming that we are a Christian nation, until we get our odious taxation system in line with Christian values.

Mr Davis, the Bahamian people are only asking for fairness and decency. For too long we have accepted the short end of the stick, all for the benefit of the wellto-do and rich class, whom we refuse to tax adequately and fairly. Until we make this substantial change of how we raise taxes to run this country, and pay our politicians, I can see no progress in our country that benefits the majority of the Bahamian people. Until we fix our broken tax scheme, our social and fiscal ills will continue to get worse.

OFFICERS at yesterday’s annual Royal Bahamas Police Force church service and parade. Photo: Moise Amisial

EDITOR, The Tribune.

MAN ACCUSED OF MURDERING COUPLE IN THEIR SLEEP

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was remanded to prison on Friday in connection with the year’s first double homicide. This incident left a couple dead after armed assailants broke into their home while they slept.

Shervin Munnings, 28, faced Magistrate Kendra Kelly on two counts of murder.

According to police reports, around 3am on January 2, two suspects broke into a residence on Mantol Street in Montell Heights. It is there that the pair are said to have shot and killed Kevin Andrews and Lauranique Taylor.

Andrews was acquitted because of

insufficient evidence in 2017 for the 2014 murder of Robert Cartwright in a home invasion in Blair Estates.

In court due to the gravity of the offence, Munnings was not required to enter a plea at this time. He was informed that his case would proceed to the Supreme Court by way of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

The magistrate told the accused that while she lacked the jurisdiction to grant him bail he had the right to apply for it in the higher court. Until bail is granted, he will be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Service of Munnings’ VBI is due on March 14.

HUNT FOR SEX ATTACKERS

POLICE are looking for three men who sexually assaulted a woman after breaking into a home in southern New Providence yesterday.

The incident took place shortly after 5am, police said.

Officers were told that a man, a woman and other relatives were at their home on Marshall Road when three gunmen entered.

The residents were reportedly tied up and robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash.

During the burglary, a woman in the home was sexually assaulted, police said.

The assailants then fled the scene.

Police are also investigating an incident that left a 48-year-old man in hospital.

Shortly after 2pm on Saturday, two men were at a business in Stapledon Gardens when they got into a fight.

One of the men produced a knife and stabbed the victim in his upper body. The victim was taken to hospital by EMS where he is detained in serious condition.

Police are questioning a 46-year-old man in relation to this matter. Police investigations continue.

Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to contact police at 5029991 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS (8477).

JAILED FOR BAIL BREACH TO TAKE DAUGHTER TO CARNIVAL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sentenced to six months in prison after admitting to breaching his bail on a murder charge to go to the carnival with his child over the holidays.

Shaquille Culmer, 30, represented by attorney David Cash, appeared before Magistrate Kendra Kelly on four counts of violation of bail conditions.

This bail was granted to him by the Court of Appeal in connection with his alleged involvement with the shooting death of Alexander Gibson on John Road on February 22, 2021.

On December 18, 25, and 27 of 2022 as well as January 2 of this year, the accused is said to have breached his court-imposed curfew on four nights.

In court, Culmer pleaded guilty to all four charges.

During his mitigation hearing, Mr Cash said Culmer is remorseful and had taken responsibility for his actions with his early plea of guilt. He said

his client was only 50 yards away from his home on December 18. Mr Cash further explained that on the remaining days Culmer breached his bail to take his daughter to the holiday carnival and attend Junkanoo.

After asking for leniency on Culmer’s behalf and that he be spared a custodial sentence, Mr Cash implored the court to take into consideration that Culmer’s girlfriend is pregnant. He said Culmer missed the birth of his last child while on remand.

Magistrate Kelly told him that he is to abide by bail conditions at all times and that the holidays are not an excuse to fail to observe these rules. She further said that he willfully breached his bail conditions.

Culmer was sentenced to six months in prison on the first two counts against him. He was further ordered to pay two $1,000 fines or risk three months in prison for each of the remaining two charges.

Culmer was informed of his right within seven days to appeal the sentences.

$3K FINE OVER INDIAN HEMP

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was fined $3,200 in court on Friday after admitting to having 2.2lbs of Indian hemp.

Tevin Johnson, 29, stood before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on two counts of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

On January 4, Johnson was arrested after he was found with two separate packages of Indian hemp

which had a collective weight of 2.2lb. In court, the accused pleaded guilty to the charges. As a result, Johnson’s two co-accused, a 31-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl, both of whom pleaded not guilty to the offence, had their charges withdrawn.

Johnson was then fined $2,200 or a year in prison and $1,000 or nine months in prison on the two charges.

PROBATION FOR HATCHET THREAT

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was placed on 18 months’ probation in court on Friday after admitting to threatening another man with a hatchet last year.

Charlton Sears, 37, appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on

a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

At around 10am on July 1, 2022 on West Bay Street, Sears assaulted Randy Gordon with a hatchet.

In court, Sears pleaded guilty. Magistrate McKinney placed the accused on probation. Should he breach his probation, he faces a fine of $3,500.

TRIBUTES PAID TO FORMER FINANCIAL SECRETARY

A STATE-RECOGNISED funeral for the late Ruth Rosalie Millar, CMG, former Financial Secretary, was held on Friday at the historic Bethel Baptist Church, Meeting Street. Interment was at Lakeview Memorial Gardens.

Minister of Education Glenys Hanna Martin made a presentation to the family and addressed the funeral, and former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham also spoke.

Photos: Patrick Hanna/BIS

‘The money gone’

“FTX!,” he sings, bent over and shaking his head for emphasis. “The money is gone!”

“FTX!,” his backup singer and audience scream back. “The money have done gone!”

The cryptocurrency exchange FTX was supposed to be the crown jewel of the Bahamian government’s push to be the global destination for all things crypto, after years of having an economy overly reliant on tourism and banking. Instead, FTX is bankrupt and Bahamians are trying to figure out what’s next for their country and whether their national crypto experiment has failed. Regulators are trying to locate FTX’s customers’ missing money.

Meanwhile, charities like Rolle’s and dozens of contractors now out of work hope that another company will come along and bring new opportunities to the island nation, without the complications and embarrassment of an alleged billiondollar fraud.

Rolle, a Pentecostal preacher known as the “Singing Bishop,” has for decades cooked and donated food to the poor and provided school lunches from his neighbourhood kitchen at International Deliverance Praying Ministry in Over-TheHill. Rolle and his staff feed roughly 2,500 people a week.

Rolle had been invited by Kirby Samuel, the principal of Mt Carmel Preparatory Academy, to sing as part of the school’s Christmas celebration. His performance consisted mostly of a half dozen gospel songs, but one number stood out — his social media hit about the recent collapse of FTX.

Rolle’s ministry received $50,000 from FTX in early 2022, one of several donations FTX made to the Bahamian people when it relocated to the Caribbean island nation in 2021. It was money, he said, that was used to restore a food storage trailer and make additional food donations. Rolle said it cost upward of $10,000 a week to run his food donation program.

Asked about the failure of FTX, Rolle described it as a sad distrac tion from the many issues facing the country. Others are angry, par ticularly with Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX.

The Baha mas enacted the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act in 2020, making the Bahamas one of the first countries to put together a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis partici pated in the groundbreaking ceremony for FTX’s $60m head quarters in Nassau in April, along with Bankman-Fried.

“Their arrival was sort of the culmination of the work the Bahamians did to move in this direction,” said Stefen Deleveaux, president and CEO of the Caribbean Blockchain Association.

Several other crypto companies and startups are headquartered in The Bahamas, some at an incubator known as Crypto Isle, not far from Downtown.

Deleveaux said he became interested in crypto as early as 2014, and mostly has been trying to focus his organisations’ efforts on the non-trading parts of crypto, like blockchain technology, financial inclusion and technological uses. He remains skeptical about cryptocurrency trading.

“It’s frustrating. Now when people think about crypto they are going to think of FTX,” Deleveaux said. “That’s going to

make my own job much harder.”

In some ways, FTX was both ubiquitous and removed from the local community, Bahamians said. Its ads were notable at the Nassau Airport in the hall for tourist arrivals. But at the same time, FTX ran most of its operations from the secure luxury compound at Albany, where residents like Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake can be regularly spotted.

“You don’t casually wander into Albany,” Deleveaux said.

One bartender at the Margaritaville Resort, where FTX ran up an unpaid $55,000 tab, described a group of ten to 15 mostly white FTX employees who would eat in the restaurant, faces buried in their laptops the entire time. While FTX did hire Bahamians or contracted with Bahamian businesses, it was almost entirely for logistics jobs like construction, janitor services or food catering.

Just as quickly as FTX became engrained in elite Bahamian circles did the whole thing unravel. FTX failed in spectacular fashion in early November, going from solvent to bankrupt in less than a week. One food catering servicer said he had to let go most of his workers after FTX, his biggest contract, went bankrupt.

Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested last month in the Bahamas, and extradited to the US to face criminal charges in what US Attorney Damian Williams has called “one of the biggest frauds in American history”. The floppy-haired crypto entrepreneur has been released on bail and is scheduled to go on trial in October.

Meanwhile, law enforcement and regulators in the US and The Bahamas, as well as lawyers and FTX’s new management, are trying to determine how much of investors’ and customers’ money “is gone”, as Bishop Rolle repeats often in his song. Estimates of how much money was lost in the FTX collapse have varied significantly, since some assets are still being recovered, but

one estimate puts the losses at around $8 billion to $10 billion.

“Like the rest of the world, I’ve been glued to my television set since (FTX’s) collapse,” said Mt Carmel’s principal Samuel, in an interview.

Other Bahamians, however, said the FTX collapse has diverted attention away from ongoing issues facing the country.

FTX officials seemed to recognise food and hunger as an issue to tackle to develop goodwill with its new neighbors. Along with the $50,000 donation to Rolle’s ministry, FTX donated $250,000 to Hands for Hunger and poured $1.1m into the Agricultural Development Committee, focused on building up the nation’s food security. The founder of the committee, Phillip Smith, did not respond to several requests for comment on the donation.

As FTX filed for bankruptcy, there was speculation in Bahamian media about whether Rolle might have to return the $50,000 donation, which he said was spent in roughly a month after it was received.

“We pinched that money the best we could, buying flour, rice,” Rolle said.

“There’s just too many hungry people.”

“It’s a difficult issue for the Bishop, but it’s one thing I think everyone in the country will agree: whatever they gave him, he did not spend it on himself,” Mt Carmel’s Samuel said.

“I just wish there will be better companies than FTX,” Rolle said. “Many of our children got no parents, or we got parents who have two or four or five children, or kids have no father. We can barely afford to feed them. I pray to God that someone comes to donate even more.”

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer

DRESSED in a canary blue suit on a warm December night, sweat dripping from his brow, Bishop Lawrence Rolle belts out the lyrics to his latest hit song for the hundreds of children and adults gathered to celebrate Christmas.

SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, centre left, founder of FTX, at Magistrate’s Court in Nassau last month.

Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

BISHOP LAWRENCE ROLLE, top, performs at Mt Carmel Preparatory Academy last month and, above, looking over toys and supplies in his trailer.

Photos: Ken Sweet/AP

A show of faith in The Bahamas over FTX probe

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

THE collapse of FTX – with the vast amounts of money involved – was always going to attract a global spotlight.

Perhaps just as inevitable is the hardball being played by different jurisdictions and vested interests considering that billions are at stake.

A lot of commentary however has been completely unwarranted –particularly when it comes to casting doubt on The Bahamas in terms of its ethics or its ability to handle such a collapse.

Last month, an article in the Washington Post stirred plenty of disgruntlement, and rightly so.

It was a supposed analysis but it was so out of date that literally it veered off into the 17th century.

The article claimed that the biggest red flag over FTX was the fact that it relocated to The Bahamas, before venturing back into the history of The Bahamas’ piracy days. Of course, navigating a pirate ship is centuries removed and light years away from modern day crypto currency fund transfers, but it didn’t stop the author from casting aspersions on The Bahamas over two things that are not remotely connected.

It didn’t stop there, with the author plunging on through Prohibition bootlegging, the Bay Street Boys, Meyer Lansky and more – again, not one of which has anything to do with the current situation. All nonsense.

But, that one article aside, such nonsense seemed to be buzzing around in various allegations loosely pointed towards the Securities Commission, The Bahamas and the Joint Provisional Liquidators, without much substance to back them up.

The biggest of those centred around the Securities Commission securing assets of FTX – but again the evidence backed the commission. An allegation of supposed collusion with Sam Bankman-Fried was undermined by the very documents put forward by FTX. An email referred to by FTX US chief John Ray is actually the document

that prompted the Securities Commission to seek Bankman-Fried’s removal.

The email, which was also copied to Christina Rolle, the Securities Commission’s executive director, and Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC, the former attorney general who acted as FTX’s Bahamian attorney, said FTX had separated all Bahamian client assets from those of other customers and would give them preferential treatment by returning their funds.

“We are deeply grateful for what The Bahamas has done for us, and deeply committed to it. We are also deeply sorry about this mess,” Mr Bankman-Fried told Mr Pinder. “As part of this we have segregated funds for all Bahamian customers on FTX.

“And we would be more than happy to open up withdrawals for all Bahamian customers on FTX, so that they can, tomorrow, fully withdraw all of their assets, making them fully whole. It’s your call whether you want us to do this, but we are more than happy to and would consider it the very least of our duty to the country, and could open it up immediately if you reply saying you want us to. If we don’t hear back from you, we are going to go ahead and do it tomorrow.”

But as one of the liquidators, Brian Simms, said: “That very email referenced in the objection was the same email that the commission used as evidence to obtain authorisation to commence the Bahamian provisional liquidation in The Bahamas.”

If you look beyond the public mudslinging and what people are actually doing in this case, everyone has been doing what they’re supposed to – their jobs.

Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis spoke up last week to say that statements from the US about not trusting The Bahamas in the wake of the FTX matter were “very serious” – and he was right. Trust is important in international trading.

So, it might not attract the big international headlines, but it was a very significant step when on Friday it was announced that FTX had agreed on terms for “mutual cooperation” on

the Chapter 11 proceedings in the US and the provisional liquidation in The Bahamas.

Under that agreement, it will mean parties share information and work to secure and return property – as well as agreeing on what will happen with real estate in The Bahamas, a very solid asset that will prove significant in trying to pay back those who lost their money when FTX collapsed.

But beyond the detail, it is the show of faith in the parties involved that matters most.

The statement pointedly said: “The parties are each comfortable the digital assets have been appropriately safeguarded by the Securities Commission as restructuring discussions continue.”

That’s a big pat on the back for the commission considering the sharp-edged words that have been exchanged previously – which often seemed ill-researched on the part of those casting doubt on the Bahamian process.

The liquidators too, who have been stymied by the inability to access FTX’s cloud-based information systems, are singled out for praise. John Ray said: “We would like to thank all of the Joint Provisional Liquidators of FTX DM for constructive meetings this week in Miami and all their work on behalf of their estate.”

Peace, it seems, has broken out.

Mr Ray spoke of “some issues where we do not yet have a meeting of the minds: but this is very much a big step forward.

It dispels the questions of trust that were floating in the air and fuelling articles such as that one that harked back to the days of piracy, irrelevant as that might be to the realities of today.

A lot of this is couched in the language of business and the formality of legal wording, but the truth endorses the work the commission and the liquidators have been doing.

They would be fully entitled to give themselves a pat on the back for a job well done – so far. There’s a long way to go, but it looks like the world is recognising that we have the right people in place for the journey.

THE FALLACY OF ‘PRESIDENT’ JUAN GUAIDÓ IS NOW OVER

THE pretender, Juan Guaidó, is now finally gone. The myth that he was the President of Venezuela and had the capacity to act and speak for the country, has now evaporated.

The myth of Guaidó’s presidency and authority was possible only because Donald Trump, as President of the United States, endorsed him on 23 January 2019, for personal political reasons. Trump needed the exile votes in South Florida for his run for a second term as President. Several countries were “persuaded”, in defiance of customary international law to support Trump’s position. But many of the then governments of those supporting states knew that the position they took was not rooted in international law or practice, and it was unsustainable unless the de facto government of Nicolás Maduro crumbled. Four years later, Maduro is still there.

Further, sanctions applied against the Maduro government, designed to hasten its collapse, did not succeed. The only thing that the sanctions accomplished was hurting the populace of the country, particularly the poor, creating the second largest flow of refugees in the world today.

Many countries, which followed the Trump lead in recognising Guaidó as President of Venezuela, had begun to abandon that farce. In Latin America and the Caribbean, change of governments in Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, St Lucia, and Guyana, which had formed themselves

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

with Canada into the “Lima Group”, departed from the patently obvious uselessness of supporting a charade. The Jamaican government, while not formally a member of the Lima Group, continued its proGuaidó position.

The purpose of the “Lima Group” was to try to give international legitimacy to Juan Guaidó, particularly in hemispheric organisations, such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the InterAmerican Development Bank, where, along with the U.S. government, they used their slender majority to impose Guaidó’s nominees as the representatives of Venezuela.

Several Caribbean governments resisted this imposition, which was also a violation of the rules of the OAS and of customary international law. Among the Caribbean countries, which steadfastly adopted this principled stance from the outset, were Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. These countries, recorded in the resolutions of the OAS, that they did not accept the violation of the OAS rules and would not be bound by any decision, which required the

vote of Guaidó’s representative to pass.

On 6 October 2022 – just three months ago – at the General Conference of the OAS in Peru, as Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda, I introduced a resolution to overturn the decision to seat Guaidó’s representative at the OAS. The resolution received majority support of 19 of the supposedly 35 member states (neither Cuba nor Venezuela are members despite the unenforceable 1948 rules of the organisation, really making membership 33). Only 4 countries voted against, namely Canada, Guatemala, Paraguay and the US.

However, even though Guaidó’s nominee was seated at a General Conference in 2019 by 19 votes, which, wrongly, included the nominee voting for himself, the archaic rules of the OAS required a favourable vote of 22 to pass. Abstentions by three CARICOM countries deprived the OAS of correcting the blemish of illegality and immorality of seating a pretender as a legitimate government. How any government could expect to maintain the credibility of the OAS in such circumstances is deeply troubling.

As matters turned out, it

was the Venezuelan opposition parties that put an end to this international conspiracy to accord Guaidó the status of President.

The opposition shadow “National Assembly” voted on Friday, December 30, 2022, to remove Juan Guaidó. Guaidó’s own party did not oppose removing him; they wanted to replace him.

But the three major opposition groups recognised that, realistically, a farce was never sustainable in the beginning, and continuing it was self-destructive. Instead, they have created a five-member commission to manage Venezuela’s foreign assets, especially the USbased CITGO, a subsidiary of the state-owned oil company, PDVSA. However, this scheme is entirely dependent on the support of foreign governments, including the US and the United Kingdom.

Almost $2 billion worth of Venezuela’s gold reserves are held in the Bank of England. A London High Court had ruled last August that Guaidó should control these assets,

but the Maduro government appealed the decision. Now that Guaidó has been deposed by the Opposition parties and the farce of his Presidency has evaporated, the Court will be constrained to review its ruling.

Meanwhile, Gustave Tarre, Guaidó’s nominee as representative to the OAS, has announced the termination of his own appointment in the wake of Guaidó’s removal.

Since it was Guaidó who, himself, made this appointment as “President of the National Assembly”, and he has been removed by the same opposition National Assembly, the entire scheme at the OAS now falls away. Unless, of course, 19 governments are brazen enough to try to once again bulldoze and bully the other members of the Organization to accept another mockery of customary international law and practice.

It is most unlikely that 19 member states will support such an initiative. The vote at the OAS General Conference on 6 October,

2022 was self-evident. Only 4 countries voted against the Resolution by Antigua and Barbuda, whose objective was to restore respect for law and rules at the OAS by removing Guaidó’s representative.

Spain has shown the way to all those who initially recognised Guaidó. On 28 December 2022, Spain formally appointed an Ambassador to Venezuela, dealing directly with the Maduro administration.

The reality is that on 27 April 2017, the Government of Venezuela denounced the OAS Charter and announced its withdrawal from membership of the Organization with effect two years later on April 27, 2019, as required by the Charter. Since then, a pretender has wrongly occupied the Venezuelan seat, not paying any part of the $10m, ascribed as dues payable by Venezuela over the last four years.

The consequence was false accounting that has contributed to the inability of the Organisation to fulfil its mandate to the peoples of the member states.

This additional fallacy must also now end.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com.

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States of America and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto).

JUAN Guaido pictured in September last year.

Photo: Ariana Cubillos/AP

SAC STUDENTS WIN TOP SCHOLAR PRIZES

TWO Saint Augustine’s College students were named the 2022 Bahamas All Merit Scholar and runner-up respectively.

They were among 25 outstanding students who have excelled academically and demonstrated commitment to community, leadership and service that have been honoured for their efforts by the Ministry of Education and Technical and Vocational Training on Thursday.

A special award was presented to St Augustine’s College, the top performing school for 2021 and 2022. Marici Thompson, principal of St Augustine’s College, accepted the award and also gave remarks.

Alexis Godet, a graduate of Saint Augustine’s College, is the 2022 All Bahamas Merit Scholarship (ABM) recipient and Kobe Forbes, also a graduate of St Augustine’s College and a student at St John’s University, is the 2022 All Bahamas Merit Scholarship Runner-Up.

Ms Godet, a chemical engineering major at University of South Florida, led the achievers who were recognised Thursday, at an award ceremony at Holy Trinity Activities Centre.

Maya Tilberg, also a graduate of Saint Augustine’s College who is studying at University of Missouri, is the 2021 All Bahamas Merit scholar and Kamori Sawyer, a graduate of Queen’s College, who is attending Georgia Institute of Technology, is the

2021 All Bahamas Merit Runner-Up.

Public recognition of the 2021 scholars was delayed due to the previous COVID-19 emergency orders.

The National Merit Scholarship Recipients for 2021 are: Jasmine Adamson, Kingsway Academy; Dariq Chase, Aquinas College; Kemuel Clarke, Queen’s College; Alyssa Forbes, Saint Augustine’s College; Kiran Halkitis, Saint Augustine’s College; Katrell King, Queen’s College and Rashad Rolle, Bishop Michael Eldon High School.

The National Merit Scholarship Recipients for 2022 are: Devin CuffyBethel, Queen’s College; A Kristin-Grace Braynen, Queen’s College; Aaliyah Harrison-Brennen, Queen’s College; Danielle Bonimy,

BRAZIL AUTHORITIES SEEKING TO PUNISH PRO-BOLSONARO RIOTERS

RIO DE JANEIRO Associated Press

BRAZILIAN authorities were picking up pieces and investigating yesterday after thousands of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential palace then trashed the nation’s highest seats of power.

The protesters were seeking military intervention to either restore the far-right Bolsonaro to power or oust the newly inaugurated leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in scenes of chaos and destruction reminiscent of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol.

Rioters donning the green and yellow of the national flag on Sunday broke windows, toppled furniture, hurled computers and printers to the ground. They punctured a massive Emiliano Di Cavalcanti painting in five places, overturned the U-shaped table at which Supreme Court justices convene, ripped a door off one justice’s office and vandalised an iconic statue outside the court. The monumental buildings’ interiors were left in states of ruin.

In a news conference late Sunday, Brazil’s minister of institutional relations said the buildings would be inspected for evidence including fingerprints and images to hold people to account, and that the rioters apparently intended to spark similar such actions nationwide. Justice Minister Flávio Dino said the acts amounted to terrorism and coup-mongering and

that authorities have begun tracking those who paid for the buses that transported protesters to the capital.

“They will not succeed in destroying Brazilian democracy. We need to say that fully, with all firmness and conviction,” Dino said. “We will not accept the path of criminality to carry out political fights in Brazil. A criminal is treated like a criminal.”

So far, 300 people have been arrested, the federal district’s civil police said on Twitter.

In the months that followed Bolsonaro’s October 30 electoral defeat, Brazil was on edge – leery of any avenue he might pursue to cling to power. Bolsonaro had been stoking belief among his hardcore supporters that the electronic voting system was prone to fraud — though he never presented any evidence. And his lawmaker son Eduardo Bolsonaro held several meetings with Trump, Trump’s long-time ally Steve Bannon and his senior campaign adviser, Jason Miller.

Results from Brazil’s election — the closest in over three decades — were quickly recognised by politicians across the spectrum, including some Bolsonaro allies, as well as dozens of governments. And Bolsonaro surprised nearly everyone by promptly fading from view. He neither conceded defeat nor emphatically cried fraud, though he and his party submitted a request to nullify millions of votes that was swiftly dismissed.

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA PM CONDEMNS BRAZIL UNREST

THE government of Antigua and Barbuda has condemned the storming of the Congress in Brazil by supporters of the country’s former leader, Jair Bolsonaro.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne also denounced the actions of right-wing groups who surrounded the Supreme Court and the Presidential Palace.

Mr Browne said: “Mr Bolsonaro lost the presidential election, found to be free and fair by Observers from international organisations, including the Organization of American

States, and the will of the electorate must be fully respected.

“These attacks on institutions of government by groups, seeking to overturn the results are assaults on democracy, which will not be tolerated by the governments and peoples of the hemisphere.

“The Government of Antigua and Barbuda stands in support of democratically-elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his government, and we will make this position clear at the OAS and at the UN, in the coming days.”

Queen’s College; Shakinah Clarke, Saint Augustine’s College; Andrew Coley, Kingsway Academy; Mary Edomwonyi, Bishop Michael Eldon School; Yannik Gibson, Bahamas Academy; Jenovia Higgs, Saint Augustine’s College; Christopher Knowles, Queen’s College; Yoshi Moxey, Genesis Academy; Kageon Neilly, Queen’s College; Jeevon Pratt, Saint Augustine’s College; and T’ron Strapp, Aquinas College.

The students accepted their awards before teachers, family, well-wishers, school administrators, Ministry of Education officials, senior government officials and representatives of the National Scholarship Advisory Committee.

Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin congratulated the achievers.

She described their accomplishments as the exemplification of a potent combination of discipline, dedication and a consistent pursuit of excellence.

She said, “This formula has yielded spectacular dividends which today we celebrate with you. Indeed The nation not only celebrates with you but we celebrate you — our sons and daughters because you represent the possibility of all that our ancestors dreamed of.”

Mrs Hanna Martin strongly urged the students to return home on completion of their studies abroad to contribute to the national development of the nation.

“Your knowledge, skills, and abilities will help to substantially increase not just the modernisation of this great nation but the qualitative improvement

of our social and economic cohesion,” she said.

Robyn Lynes, chairperson of the National Scholarship Advisory Committee, in a message, said one of the biggest challenges the committee faced was the selection of the ABM scholar. “All of our 16 applicants found themselves competing with the slightest score margins dividing them. It was such a wonderful problem to have.

Despite the disruption to their method of learning and other impediments spurred by the Pandemic, our scholars worked hard and defied all odds to get here.”

The ABM scholarship is the “most prestigious” scholarship awarded in The Bahamas and is valued at $35,000 per year for up to five years.

The National Merit

Scholarship, the second highest level of merit scholarship awarded by the Government of The Bahamas, has a value of $15,000 - $25,000 per year for up to four years.

POLICE HOLD JOINT PATROL

POLICE officers on New Providence conducted an island-wide joint operation in collaboration with members of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force.

The operation was conducted from 7.30pm to 11pm in the areas of Nassau Village, Montell Heights, East Street south, Englerston as well as western, central and eastern New Providence.

Several checkpoints were established throughout the island to enhance police presence and visibility in the community, to conduct aggressive stop and search and to enforce all laws. The operations resulted in 252 people being stopped and searched, 149 traffic citations issued to drivers, and 22 people being arrested for various offences including drug possession with intent to supply, outstanding traffic and criminal warrants.

Police wish to inform members of the public that these operations are ongoing so drivers should ensure that their vehicles are in roadworthy condition and in compliance with the Road Traffic Act. Those drivers who fail to comply with the RTA laws will be prosecuted.

GLENYS HANNA-MARTIN, Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Training, presents the All Bahamas Merit Scholar award to Alexis Godet, left photo, and runner-up Kobe Forbes, right photo. Also pictured are Ann-Marie Davis, wife of the Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and State Minister for Education Zane Lightbourne.

Photos: Patrick Hanna/BIS

PROTESTERS, supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, storm the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on Sunday.

Photo: Eraldo Peres/AP

Don’t Blink: Freedom Farm receives $200,000 worth of baseball equipment

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

In the aftermath of the return of the fifth annual Don’t Blink Home Run Derby in Paradise in Montagu last month, Freedom Farm received a generous donation of $200,000 worth of baseball equipment from the Players Alliance Association.

Now dubbed “the greatest show on sand,” co-founders Todd Isaacs Jr and Lucius Fox said they are delighted that the league that got them started in the sport of baseball is the beneficiary of the gift.

NPBA: GIANTS AND DDL IN WIN COLUMN

THE defending champions Discount Distributors Liquors and runners-up Commonwealth Bank Giants both pulled off victories over the weekend to highlight the men’s division one play in the New Providence Basketball Association.

Discount Distributors stunned the Caro Contractors 86-56 in Saturday night’s feature contest, while Commonwealth Bank beat the Sand Dollar 88-80 in Friday’s feature match-up.

And in the men’s division two play, defending champions Your Essential Store Giants routed the RC Liquors Eagles 97-59 in Friday’s opener and on Saturday, the Produce Express wiped out the Cyber Tech 85-69.

• Here’s a summary of the matches played: Rockets 86, Shockers 58: Crispin Gibson scored 17 points with four rebounds and two steals to pace the Discount Distributors Liquors to victory as they remained undefeated with the league’s best 6-0 winloss record.

Christoff Stuart had 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals and both Roosevelt Whylly and Ryan Turnquest helped out with 12 points. Whylly also had 11 rebounds and three assists.

Caro Construction, who dropped to 3-2, got 15 points and 11 rebounds

The professional baseball players, who have been childhood friends off the field, made the announcement in the foyer of the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on Friday concerning the December 13-18 event, which attracted one of the largest crowds since its inception in 2018 with over eight-plus million viewers on their social media platforms.

Fox, who last year became the eighth Bahamian to crack the Major Leagues when he made his debut with the Washington Nationals, said the donation will help to

Buddy scores 21 in Pacers’ win

BAHAMAS WOMEN ARE NOT ENTERED IN ECASC TOURNEY

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE English Caribbean Amateur Softball Confederation (ECASC) Women’s Fast-Pitch Tournament Qualifier will be held in St John, US Virgin Islands February 28 to March 6, but according to tournament director Burkett Dorsett, the Bahamas is not entered.

The Bahamas, now ranked at no. 61 in the world, finished as runnersup in the last tournament that was held in Grand Bahama in 2013, losing out to Aruba.

This year’s ECASC Tournament is a ladies’ championship and a qualifier for the Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador.

Aruba will be in attendance to defend their title along with four other teams confirmed in the tournament when games are

MASTERS SOFTBALL LEAGUE TO HOST RETURN OF SENIOR MOMENTS

By CHRIS GOFF Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— Myles Turner scored 29 points, Buddy Hield had 21 and the Indiana Pacers capped the first half of their regular-season schedule with a 116-111 comeback victory over the Charlotte Hornets yesterday.

Tyrese Haliburton finished with 16 points, 13 assists and five rebounds for the Pacers, who trailed by nine early in the fourth quarter and needed a series of clutch plays in the final minutes to improve their record to 23-18 at the midpoint.

“I’m just excited for us,

excited that we’re overachieving,” Turner said. “We still have a lot of work to do. We can’t be satisfied.”

P.J. Washington had 22 points and five rebounds for the Hornets. Terry Rozier chipped in 19 points, six assists and six boards, and Mason Plumlee wound up with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Plumlee attempted a dunk with 13 seconds left that would have brought Charlotte within a point, but Turner’s blocked shot sent the crowd into a frenzy. The 26-year-old rising star finished with nine rebounds and four blocks. His three-point play with 1:11 left had

tied the game. “Myles is in his prime,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s playing the best he’s ever played. Down the stretch, he was tremendous. I coached Jermaine O’Neal here, and Jermaine had that. It was uplifting to his teammates.”

Two free throws from Aaron Nesmith made it 116-111 with 6.9 seconds left and secured Indiana’s eighth win in its last 10 games.

“Forty-one games: doesn’t feel like 41 games, but it is,” Carlisle said. “The next 41 will go by pretty fast, too. We’re getting a lot of clutch experience. We’re not perfect, but we’re

Davis beats Garcia by TKO, retains WBA lightweight title

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gervonta Davis defended his WBA world lightweight championship, beating Hector Luis Garcia by TKO early yesterday morning after eight rounds.

Davis shrugged off a slow start to improve to 28-0 with 26 KOs and hand Garcia his first professional loss in his 17th match. Garcia held in tough with Davis early but could not answer the bell for the ninth round because he lost vision in his right eye.

“A little surprised, but when I caught him, I knew he was hurt — he was hurt bad,” Davis said. “He’s a fighter, so he didn’t want to show it. I knew he was hurt, though.”

Davis, a Baltimore native fighting in his second hometown, is scheduled to face Ryan Garcia April 15 in one of boxing’s most anticipated showdowns of the year. “No more talking,” Garcia tweeted. “Let’s get it on.”

“I’ll be ready,” Davis said. “I’m ready for the fight. He’s been training, he’s been talking and let’s see who’s really about that.”

But first, “Tank” Davis had to get through Garcia, the Dominican who he said “earned his spot” thanks to a strong 2022.

After the sellout crowd of 19,731 waited until just before 1am for the start of the main event, Davis and Garcia waited a little longer to get going, starting with a couple of low-event rounds and very few punches

thrown. Davis found his groove in the fourth round, landing several jabs and bringing fans to their feet.

“I was tying to beat him mentally,” Davis said. “I

was trying to trick him with my hands and with my eyes. He’s a talented fighter, so I had to bait him in.”

gradually getting better, and we’ve got a great crowd that has helped us get over the hump in a lot of these games.”

Charlotte, which dropped to 11-30 at the halfway mark, has lost four of its last five. Top scorer LaMelo Ball fouled out in the final minute with 13 points and eight assists.

“It’s hard for us when (Ball) only plays 24 minutes,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “That is just part of his growth. We had a couple really bad fouls. We put ourselves in a good place for three quarters. Our defence in the fourth wasn’t good enough.”

Senior Masters, a group of 50-and-over players, is led by Shelby Simmons and they will arrive as usual on a cruise ship. They are expected to leave immediately following the games and social interaction with the MSL.

Lawrence ‘Buddy’ Smith is calling on all players over the age of 50, who participate in both the MSL and the Oldtimers Softball Association, to join them as they assemble two teams to entertain their guests in the friendly matches.

Hamlin, still critical, continues recovery, tweets thanks

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Doctors described Damar Hamlin’s neurological function as “excellent” Saturday, as the Buffalo Bills safety continued making progress in his recovery after having to be resuscitated on the field in a game at Cincinnati on Monday.

In providing their daily update on Hamlin, the Bills said the player continues to breathe on his own but remains in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Hamlin took a major step forward in his recovery on Friday when he was taken off a ventilator

and showed an ability to speak.

There was a tweet on the 24-year-old’s verified Twitter account Saturday evening saying that any love put into the world comes back three times as much and thanking all who have “reached out and prayed.” It also said that the response to his injury will make Hamlin stronger. The tweet was followed by a heartshaped emoji and “3.”

The tweet read: “Putting love into the world comes back 3xs as much… thankful for everyone who has reached out and prayed.

“This will make me stronger on the road to

GERVONTA DAVIS, left, delivers a shot to the head of Luis Garcia during their boxing match for the WBA lightweight title in Washington on Saturday.

(John McDonnell/The Washington Post via AP)

THE Masters Softball League will host the return of their visitors Senior Moments softball team from various places in the United States on their 17th trip to the Bahamas for a series of games on Tuesday at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

DON’t Blink Home Run Derby co-founders Lucius Fox, far left, and Todd Isaacs Jr and CARIFTA Local Organising Committee CEO Lynden Maycock.

INDIANA Pacers’ Buddy Hield reacts during an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, January 4 in Philadelphia. Yesterday, he scored 21 points with two assists in a 116-111 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Fellow Bahamian Kai Jones did not play. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

JON RAHM WINS A STUNNER AFTER MORIKAWA WIPEOUT

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Jon Rahm began the bold new year on the PGA Tour by coming from seven shots behind to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions yesterday with plenty of help from Collin Morikawa, who had a spectacular wipeout even by Maui standards.

Rahm was six shots behind on the 13th hole at Kapalua when he ran off three straight birdies and a 12-foot eagle putt, and his final birdie gave him a 10-under 63.

Morikawa was two groups behind him. He had gone bogey-free over

67 holes on the Plantation Course when it all fell apart with his wedges and his putter, the two areas that had carried him to a sixshot lead at the start of the day.

From 25 yards short of the 14th green, he blasted out of a bunker and over the green. He muffed a wedge from a tight lie with the grain of grass into him on the par-5 15th.

His wedge to the 16th didn’t go far enough and rolled some 60 feet back into the fairway.

Morikawa looked to be in a state of shock as he walked down the 17th fairway, leading by as many as seven shots during the final round and suddenly finding

himself two shots behind and running out of hope.

“It’s going to hurt, but I’ve got to get over it because we’re still in the very early parts of the season,” Morikawa said.

He wound up tying a PGA Tour record for losing the largest 54-hole lead at six shots.

Seven other players have done that, most recently Dustin Johnson in the fall of 2017 at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

Rahm finished at 27-under 265 to win by two shots over Morikawa, who birdied the 18th hole — his first birdie since No. 6 — to close with a 72.

It was the second such collapse by Morikawa in a

little more than a year. He closed out 2021 at the Hero World Challenge and had a five-shot lead with a chance to reach No. 1 in the world with a victory. He shot 76 and finished fifth.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler had a chance to return to No. 1 this week if he finished in a two-way tie for third or better. He had to settle for a 70 and tied for seventh. It was a small measure of redemption for Rahm, who last year finished at 33-under par at Kapalua which was a PGA Tour record for that lasted only a few seconds. Cameron Smith finished at 34 under to win by one.

Rahm now is 60 under in his last two appearances at

Kapalua. The victory was his ninth on the PGA Tour and 17th worldwide, and assure he will be back on Maui to start 2024.

Rahm now has won three times in his last six starts worldwide — he won in Spain and Dubai late last year — and he goes home with $4.2 million.

This is one he didn’t see coming — not after starting the final round seven shots behind, and then making bogey on his first hole. But he found his rhythm on the 12th hole, and when he stood over the eagle putt on the 15th, he knew he was back in the game.

“Fifteen is when it truly became a reality,” Rahm said.

Durant injures right knee before Nets edge Heat 102-101

MIAMI (AP) — Royce O’Neale’s putback with 3.2 seconds left put Brooklyn to stay, and the Nets beat the Miami Heat 102-101 last night in a game where Kevin Durant left early with a right knee injury.

Kyrie Irving scored 29 to lead the Nets, who have now won 18 of their last 20 — after winning only nine of their first 20 games.

Durant had 17 before departing and Seth Curry scored 14 for Brooklyn.

Nic Claxton had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets.

Jimmy Butler scored 26 for Miami, which got 24 from Tyler Herro.

Butler missed a contested shot at the rim on the game’s final play, and Herro was shaken up on it as well before limping off — replays showing he may have slipped.

GRIZZLIES 123, JAZZ 118

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Desmond Bane had 24 points and nine assists, Tyus Jones added 21 points and Memphis, playing without leading scorer Ja Morant, defeated Utah.

Jaren Jackson Jr finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five blocks as Morant was a late scratch with right thigh soreness. That led to Jones running the first unit for Memphis. Jones also had six assists as Memphis won its sixth straight.

Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 21 points, while Kelly Olynyk added 19 points. Each also had eight rebounds.

Jordan Clarkson had 17 points before he was ejected late in the third quarter, and Malik Beasley added 15 points.

Rookie Walker Kessler finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks.

In addition to Morant, Memphis was without centre Steven Adams, sidelined with a non-COVID illness. That took the Grizzlies’ leading scorer and top rebounder off the floor.

THUNDER 120,

MAVERICKS 109

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai GilgeousAlexander scored 33

ECASC

FROM PAGE 14

played from March 1-5 at the National Park Ball Field. They are hosts to US Virgin Islands, Curacao, Turks & Cacaos, the British Virgin Islands and St Martin.

Dorsett serves on the organising committee that includes Kevin Quinn out of Canada and Virgo Perez from Peru, who also resides in Canada. They are all members of the WBSC of Americas Commission for Competition.

He noted that their responsibility is putting

points, and Oklahoma City beat Dallas.

It was supposed to be a showdown between two of the league’s top scorers in Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas guard Luka Doncic, but Doncic — the NBA’s scoring leader with 34 points per game — sat out with a sore left ankle.

Doncic had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists Saturday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Gilgeous-Alexander, a guard who entered the night fourth in the league with 30.9 points per game, made 11 of 17 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws.

Christian Wood had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Spencer Dinwiddie

the tournament together and it’s disappointing that the Bahamas Softball Federation has not accepted an invitation to participate, having finished as runnersup in the last tournament.

But Jenny Isaacs-Dotson, who was elected last year as the first female president of the BSF, said they sent in a formal communication indicating that they will not be able to attend.

She outlined various reasons for the Bahamas’ absence.

“The federation has not selected its national team coaches and a team has been assembled to do

added 21 points and eight assists for the Mavericks.

CAVALIERS 112, SUNS 98

PHOENIX (AP) — Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell both scored 22 points and Cleveland pulled away late to beat banged-up Phoenix.

The Cavaliers won for the fourth time in five games. It’s the second time this week the Cavaliers have topped the Suns after beating them 90-88 on Wednesday.

Struggling Phoenix — playing without their All-Star backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker — has dropped six in a row and nine of 10. The Suns now have a 20-21 record,

any practicing in preparation for this tournament,” Isaacs-Dotson said.

“We got some funding from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, but in taking over, we were not able to get our accounting set up in time.

“The cost of sending the team to the ECASC is going to be very costly, which we couldn’t afford at this time.

“We are just getting ourselves in a position to start appointing our national team coaches and trying to get players to come out to practice on a regular basis so we will be ready when

which is the first time they have been under .500 all season.

The offensively challenged Suns failed to top 100 points for a fourth straight game.

76ERS 123, PISTONS 111

DETROIT (AP) — James Harden had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead Philadelphia to a comfortable victory over Detroit.

Tyrese Maxey added 23 points and Montrez Harrell scored 20 for the Sixers, who have won four of five.

Killian Hayes scored 25 points for Detroit, which has alternated wins and losses in its last seven

we do get to start travelling on international tournaments again.”

It’s expected that there will be a total of 15 games played along with the playoffs and championship and bronze-medal games.

A total of eight umpires are expected to make up the cadre officiating, along with Thomas Sears, the ECASC deputy umpire in chief, who will be attending the tournament.

The men’s tournament for ECASC is not yet scheduled, but Dorsett said it has to be held before the CAC Games as it will also serve as a qualifier.

games after a six-game losing streak.

Isaiah Stewart finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Bojan Bogdanovic had 20 points. The Sixers led 71-54 at halftime, thanks to Harrell’s 16 points and Harden’s 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Harden only needed 27 seconds in the second half to complete his triple-double, setting up Tobias Harris’ basket to put Philadelphia up by 19.

RAPTORS 117, TRAIL BLAZERS 105

TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 27 points, Scottie Barnes had 22 and Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Portland.

But he said if they don’t host the tournament, he’s making the recommendation for the Bahamas, who won the last title in 2016, beating Aruba.

The Bahamas is not listed in the top 40 in the world.

Isaacs-Dotson said the federation would be more willing to get the men’s national team prepared to play in the ECASC tournament because they have sufficient players who are in a position to represent the country now, as opposed to the ladies’ team.

“Our men are the defending champions, so we have to start looking seriously at

TENNIS: BLTA NEW YEAR’S TOURNEY UNDERWAY UNTIL JAN. 10

THE Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) kicks off 2023 with a New Year’s Tournament for U14 and U16 categories from January 7-10 at the National Tennis Centre.

Tennis is getting started early in 2023 and the juniors in the U14 and U16 will lead the field of talented players and headline the beginning of the calendar year that has some exciting tournaments and tennis activities throughout the Bahamas.

The girls came out first. The forehands, the backhands, the serves and the volleys were all on display.

Leading the way, top seed Tatyana Madu along with Brianna Houlgrave, Aryauna-Skye Davis, Gabrielle Clarke, Claudia Drgon, Jasleen Salkey, Millie Beukes and Caila Bowe competed at the National Tennis Centre.

The BLTA is providing the wonderful opportunity for junior competition. The boys were also ready for the new year of competition and they are turning up the heat on the courts at the tournament.

On day one, the top seed in the U14 category, Patrick Mactaggart led the way along with Reeves Mahelis, Chase Newbold, Pano Mousis, Cohen Knowles, Atharva Hambal, Miguel Smith, Synaj Watkins, Jack Boals, Ayai Bethel, Benjamin Kofoed and Joshua Eldon. The event is being sponsored by Limeade Bahamas.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 against his former team and Fred VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby each had 14 as the Raptors halted a five-game losing streak against Portland.

Toronto won for the second time in nine home games, and the fourth time in its past 15 overall.

Damian Lillard scored 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter but Portland’s road losing streak reached seven.

Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 18 rebounds, Anfernee Simons scored 22 points and Josh Hart had 18. Portland has lost three straight and seven of nine.

TIMBERWOLVES 104, ROCKETS 96

HOUSTON (AP) — D’Angelo Russell scored 22 points and Anthony Edwards added 21 as Minnesota overcame a big early deficit to beat Houston for its fourth straight win.

Minnesota scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to take an 88-81 lead. Rudy Gobert had four points in that span and Taurean Prince added a 3-pointer. Houston missed six shots and had a turnover to help the Timberwolves go on top.

Porter had 25 points and Alperen Sengun added 18 for the Rockets, who dropped their seventh in a row.

Jalen Green had a tough game, making just four of 15 shots overall.

trying to get them ready to defend their title,” she said.

As for the possibility of the Bahamas hosting the tourney, Isaacs-Dotson said it will have to take a collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture in assisting the federation because of the funding that it will take to pull it off.

“Many of our islands have not been playing fast pitch. They have been playing more slowpitch, which was also a damper for us in trying to put the ladies’ team together, along with the funding issues that we encountered when we took over.”

MIAMI Heat forward Haywood Highsmith, left, swats the ball away from Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant, centre, as centre Bam Adebayo (13) attempts to catch the ball during the first half last night in Miami.

(AP Photo/ Wilfredo Lee)

BAAA EXECUTIVES, MEMBERS BEGIN SEASON IN CHURCH

EXECUTIVES of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations and its members began the 2023 season by attending church together at St Barnabas Anglican Church yesterday.

Rev Fr Roderick Bain welcomed the BAAA and its president Drumeco Archer gave some remarks on behalf of the BAAA.

Joining Archer and his executives were members

FREEDOM FARM

FROM PAGE 14

give more Bahamians an opportunity to harness their skills with the proper equipment to follow suit in their quest to become the next core of players to excel in pro baseball.

Isaacs Jr, who played for the New Jersey Jackals in the Frontier League, said when they presented the first cheque, it was a complete surprise, but to be able to create an event that enabled the Players Alliance Association to donate the amount of money that they did was the “coolest thing” that happened at last month’s Home Run Derby.

“For us to create an event that has garnered the attention of the world and to garner the attention of a non-profit organisation like the Players Alliance Association, who came down and shared with us all week and to top it off by donating $200,000 in equipment to

of the Bahamas Association of Certified Officials (BACO), headed by Val Kemp and a number of the track teams, including Swift Athletics, headed by coach Andrew Tynes, Red-Line Athletics, headed by coach Tito Moss and the Star Trackers, headed by coach David Charlton.

The BAAA will kick off the season this weekend at the Thomas A Robinson

Freedom Farm says it all,” Isaacs Jr added.

“We want this event to be successful. We want the world to come to the Bahamas to experience this event, but we want organisations to come down and believe in our message and to believe in our vision and to see the future and hope of what is to come next. We have no excuses because we have the equipment to get the job done.”

The donation, according to Fox, will enable more of the inner-city kids to get the same opportunities as the more privileged kids to get a chance to play the game and change their lives and their family’s lives by getting a chance to become pro baseball players just as they are.

Putting the event into perspective, Isaacs Jr said it closed out with a bang as Fox’s team retained their team title, while for the first time, it was an all-Bahamian final with BJ Murray of the Chicago Cubs’ affiliated Mesa Solar Sox in the

Track and Field Stadium with the staging of the T-Bird Flyers Track Club meet, headed by coach Foster Dorsett. The club is expected to honour the memory of the late BACO officials Courtney Wallace and Ivy Charlton.

The meet will serve as a qualifying meet for the 50th Golden Jubilee CARIFTA Games, scheduled for April 7-11 in New Providence.

Arizona Fall League, outhitting Trent Deveaux, who previously played in the Los Angeles Angels’ minor league organisation, for the individual championship crown after a star-studded showcase of the Bahamian current and visiting pro players.

“This year, we’re looking forward to celebrating the 50th Independence and so we’re looking forward to closing out the year with a bang in December,” Isaacs Jr said.

“We’re just looking at bringing fresh new ideas to the Bahamas and continue to evolve this event.

“We started the Don’t Blink week off with a celebrity softball game and ended it with a gospel concert headlined by Todd Delaney.

Our friends came down and had a great time. We hosted over 75 Major and Minor League players, current and former players along with two Hall of Famers, so it shows the growth of the event and the

interest the world is showing in the event.”

Lynden Maycock, the chief executive officer of the Local Organising Committee for the 50th Golden Jubilee CARIFTA Games that will be staged at the stadium from April 7-11, said they are delighted to be a part of the “greatest show on sand.

“On Sunday night, we hosted the Todd Delaney Gospel Concert and we had an awesome experience with Todd Delaney. Coming out of the experience with Todd Delaney, he mentioned that the experience was the greatest he’s ever experienced on all of his tours.

“Even though it was free to the Bahamas, for the first time, he has given promoters exclusive rights to market that particular concert.

So the return that the Bahamas and the LOC would receive based on the investment we would have invested in that particular event, we are very

fortunate to know that the blessings will continue to follow us.”

The Don’t Blink Home Run Derby also attracted the Major League Baseball Association, led by its executive director Tony Clark, who met and chatted with Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis about the future of baseball in the country with the construction of the new Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium.

“To have the second most powerful man in baseball in the country is just a sign of things to come,” Isaacs Jr revealed.

In March, Fox said the majority of the Bahamian players, who participated in the Home Run Derby in December, are expected to suit up and play for Great Britain at the World Baseball Classic in March.

He said one day the Bahamas will have its own team participating, but for now they can cheer on the players as they participate for Great Britain. Fox expressed their gratitude

to the many sponsors, who assisted in “Sports in Paradise” as they continue to present the “greatest show on sand,” including the Bahamas Government, the CARIFTA LOC, Atlantis Resorts, REV TV, Chandler Bats, Bahamasair, Bahamas Waste Management, Heritage Seafood, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, A Sure Win, M&E Limited, Cuba Libra, Balso, Global Sun Integration Management, Family Medical Center, Triple A Marine, Harmony Construction, BiG Baseball Generations, Prime Shipping, Happy Healing Homecare, C3 Propane, MVP Sports Nation, Roc Nation, Pop Studios, Gatorade, National Sports Authority and Bahamas Shack Express.

“To all of the fans, we can’t say this enough,” Fox summed up.

“Thank you for helping bring back the greatest show on sand and for making our dreams come true.”

MARDY FISH OUT AS US DAVIS CUP CAPTAIN BEFORE NEXT MATCHES

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer

MARDY Fish is out as captain of the US Davis Cup team after the US Tennis Association said that the two sides “mutually agreed to move in a new direction.”

“Was time for me to focus more on my business ventures at my firm, Disruptive, family and my passions for MMA and golf,” Fish, a former professional player who had been the US captain since 2019, wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

“I simply don’t have the time to commit fully.”

The USTA announced the change as part of a news release that began by listing the members of the American roster for a qualifying matchup at Uzbekistan on February 3-4.

Those players are doubles specialist Rajeev Ram, Tommy Paul, Jenson Brooksby, Mackenzie McDonald and Austin Krajicek.

Ram was notably left off the squad by Fish for the Davis Cup Finals in November. That was shortly after the 38-year-old Ram reached the No. 1 ranking in men’s doubles for

the first time on the heels of winning a second consecutive US Open doubles championship for his third Grand Slam trophy overall.

Fish and Davis Cup coach Bob Bryan were fined $10,000 apiece in November by the International Tennis Integrity Agency for promoting a gambling operator via social media.

Fish and Bryan also were given four-month bans that were provisionally set aside and would be enforced only if there was another breach of rules during a probationary period that ends in March.

The United States reached the Davis Cup quarterfinals in 2022, losing to Italy at that stage.

The Americans have won a record 32 titles in the

international team competition for men, most recently in 2007.

The USTA said Friday that an interim captain for the matches against Uzbekistan would be picked “in the near future,” while information about the search for someone to fill the position on a full-time basis will come “at a later date.”

A USTA spokesman referred to Friday’s release and declined to comment further.

In Friday’s email to the AP, Fish called serving as the US Davis Cup captain “a dream of a lifetime” and said it was “a true honour” to succeed Jim Courier in the post and to be the captain for the last Davis Cup match in the careers of twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan.

Fish won six titles in singles and eight in doubles as a player, earned a silver medal for the United States at the 2004 Athens Olympics in singles and competed in the Davis Cup from 2002-12.

He made it to the quarterfinals at three Grand Slam tournaments and reached a career-best ranking of No. 7. He retired from the tennis tour in 2015.

MARDY FISH (AP)

BAAA president Drumeco Archer, second from left, with BACO members after the church service.

BAAA executives after the church service yesterday at St Barnabas Anglican Church to begin the new season.

Rodgers, Packers lose 20-16 to Lions, miss NFL playoffs

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)

— Aaron Rodgers threw a late interception and the Green Bay Packers lost 20-16 to the Detroit Lions last night to fall short of the playoffs.

After winning four straight games and receiving plenty of help from

other teams, the Packers had control of their postseason fate heading into the final game of the NFL regular season. But they fell short against the Lions, who had been eliminated from the playoffs earlier Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 in overtime.

Seattle (9-8) instead earned the NFC’s final

playoff spot and will play at San Francisco (13-4) in the opening round. The Packers (8-9) missed the playoffs for the first time in Matt LaFleur’s four seasons as coach.

Rodgers went 17 of 27 for 205 yards with one touchdown and the crucial pick on the final pass of what was perhaps the four-time MVP’s final

game at Lambeau Field. The 39-year-old Rodgers has said he doesn’t know whether he plans to continue playing next season.

During the game, Rodgers became the eighth NFL player to have at least 5,000 career completions.

Jamaal Williams’ second 1-yard touchdown run of the night against his former team put the Lions (9-8)

ahead with 5:55 remaining. Williams had 17 touchdown runs to break the Lions’ single-season record that Barry Sanders had set in 1991. Green Bay only got as far as its own 33 on its next series before Kerby Joseph picked off Rodgers’ deep throw on third-and-10 with 3 1/2 minutes left. Detroit held onto the ball for the remainder of the game.

Bills beat Patriots 35-23, NE eliminated

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Nyheim

Hines ignited an emotionally charged atmosphere celebrating injured Bills safety Damar Hamlin by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns, and Buffalo clinched the AFC’s second playoff seed with a 35-23 win over the New England Patriots yesterday.

The loss, coupled with Miami beating the New York Jets, eliminated the Patriots (8-9) from the playoffs for the second time in three years and just the fourth time in 23 seasons under coach Bill Belichick. Buffalo will host the division rival Dolphins in the wild-card round next weekend.

With the game in hand, Bills players held up three fingers in honour of Hamlin’s number with the crowd chanting “Hamlin! Hamlin!”

The Bills (13-3) closed their season by winning their final seven games and overcame an emotional week in which Hamlin collapsed after going into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati on Monday night.

Stefon Diggs, who visited Hamlin at the hospital immediately after that game, sealed the victory yesterday with a 49-yard touchdown catch from Josh Allen to put Buffalo ahead 35-23 with 8:51 remaining.

Allen finished 19 of 31 for 254 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

SEAHAWKS 19, RAMS 16, OT

SEATTLE (AP) — Jason Myers kicked a 32-yard field goal midway through overtime, and Seattle beat Los Angeles to keep its playoff hopes alive.

Myers missed from 46 yards when he hit the upright on the final play of regulation, but given another shot in overtime, the Pro Bowler connected on his fourth field goal of the game.

Seattle (9-8) eliminated Detroit from playoff contention but still needed a Lions win or tie against Green Bay on Sunday night to reach the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the NFC. The Packers would grab that spot and eliminate the Seahawks with a win.

Geno Smith had a shaky performance, throwing two interceptions to Jalen Ramsey. But he threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett in the third quarter and made several key lays late to put Seattle in position to win.

Smith finished 19 of 31 for 214 yards and rookie Kenneth Walker III rushed for 114 yards for Seattle.

EAGLES 22, GIANTS 16

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts returned from a sprained right shoulder and threw for 229 yards as Philadelphia beat New York to clinch the top seed in the NFC.

Hurts was back for the first time in three weeks — and now so are the Eagles (14-3) as a Super Bowl threat. Philadelphia rebounded from two straight losses behind backup QB Gardner Minshew.

Hurts was 20-of-35 passing in a game that had a preseason feel — the Eagles scored one touchdown in five trips to the red zone. Jake Elliott kicked five field goals for Philadelphia.

Hurts completed a 35-yard pass to A.J. Brown on the Eagles’ first play and

showed no ill effects from the sprained right shoulder suffered three weeks ago. The Eagles played at halfspeed against the Giants backups and refused to risk Hurts’ health — they did not call any rushing plays for him.

The Giants (9-7-1) had already secured the No. 6 seed in the NFC and rested the bulk of their starters, including quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley.

49ERS 38, CARDINALS 13

SANTA CLARA, Calif.

(AP) — Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes for his sixth straight game with multiple TDs and San Francisco beat Arizona to secure the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Purdy overcame two sacks by J.J. Watt in the final game of the star defensive end’s career and connected with George Kittle twice and Christian McCaffrey once on TD passes to lead the Niners (13-4) to their 10th straight win.

San Francisco beat out Minnesota on a tiebreaker for the second seed, assuring the 49ers won’t have to go on the road before the NFC title game. The Niners weren’t able to secure a first-round bye because Philadelphia beat the New York Giants.

The Cardinals (4-13) ended the season going in the opposite direction with seven straight losses to tie a franchise record for defeats in a season.

BENGALS 27, RAVENS 16

CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow threw for a touchdown and Joe Mixon ran for another as Cincinnati took advantage of four Baltimore turnovers to set up a rematch in the first round of the playoffs next week.

The AFC North champion Bengals (12-4) — playing on the same field where Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest in a horrifying scene six days ago — beat a Ravens team that rested some key players ahead of the postseason. Cincinnati closed the regular season with eight straight wins.

Cincinnati also avoided a coin flip to determine the site of its playoff game against Baltimore. The Bengals were unhappy with

the prospect of a coin flip costing them a home playoff game and mocked the rule change with a coin-flip celebration after Mixon’s TD.

Cincinnati’s chances at the No. 2 seed in the AFC ended when Buffalo beat New England.

STEELERS 28, BROWNS 14 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Najee Harris ran for 84 yards and a touchdown and Pittsburgh beat Cleveland but was eliminated from the playoffs when Miami edged the New York Jets.

The Steelers (9-8) will have to settle for a 16th straight non-losing season under coach Mike Tomlin, fuelled by a 7-2 finish.

Pittsburgh’s ugly 2-6 start included an injury to star linebacker T.J. Watt and rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett’s ascension to the starting job at halftime of a Week 4 loss to the Jets.

Pickett completed 13 of 29 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown and avoided an interception for the sixth time in his last seven appearances.

Pittsburgh’s defence sacked Deshaun Watson seven times to assure the Steelers of finishing ahead of the Browns (7-10) in the standings for the 34th consecutive time.

Cleveland has had 17 seasons of 10 losses or more since the franchise rebooted in 1999.

TEXANS 32, COLTS 31

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— Davis Mills threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Akins on fourth down with 50 seconds left and then connected with Akins on the 2-point conversion as Houston beat Indianapolis to cost itself the first pick in April’s draft.

Houston (3-13-1) won twice in the final three weeks to finish second to the Chicago Bears in draft positioning.

Indy (4-12-1) lost its seventh straight under interim coach Jeff Saturday, assuring itself of a top-five draft selection.

Sam Ehlinger threw two touchdown passes and led the Colts to scores on three consecutive late drives to erase a 10-point deficit and give Indy a 31-24 lead with 3:33 to play.

Mills answered with a 30-yard completion on

fourth-and-12 to move Houston to the Indy 18-yard line with 1:26 left. And after throwing two incompletions and getting sacked on third down, Mills’ throw to the end zone went through the hands of Colts safety Rodney Thomas II and into the hands of Akins.

VIKINGS 29, BEARS 13

CHICAGO (AP) — Kirk Cousins threw for 225 yards and a touchdown in the first half and watched the rest of the way as NFC North champion Minnesota tuned up for the playoffs by beating Chicago.

Cousins led three scoring drives as the Vikings (13-4) grabbed a 16-6 halftime lead. They remained in control the rest of the way.

The Bears (3-14), who held out star Justin Fields, set a franchise record with their 14th loss and extended one by dropping their 10th game in a row.

With Houston winning 32-31 at Indianapolis, Chicago gets the No. 1 pick in the draft for the first time since 1947.

Cousins completed 17 of 20 passes while posting a 130.2 rating. He hit K.J. Osborn for a 66-yard completion on Minnesota’s first possession, setting up a 4-yard touchdown to Adam Thielen, and led two more scoring drives.

COMMANDERS 26, COWBOYS 6

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Dak Prescott completed just 14 of his 37 passes for 128 yards and threw another interception that was returned for a touchdown as playoff-bound Dallas lost to Washington in its regular-season finale.

Despite playing their starters with coach Mike McCarthy pledging they were playing to win, the Cowboys (12-5) limped into the playoffs and a wild-card showdown at Tampa Bay next weekend with Prescott on a career-long sevengame interception streak.

Beyond getting picked off by Kendall Fuller on the pick-6, Prescott was wildly inaccurate and the Dallas offence had just 169 total yards before he was replaced by Cooper Rush in garbage time.

The Cowboys’ slim chance of winning the NFC East ended when Philadelphia beat the New York Giants.

ATLANTA

DOLPHINS CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH AFTER BEATING JETS 11-6

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida (AP) — After just one successful field goal of 50-plus yards all season, it was only fitting that the Miami Dolphins’ playoff hopes came down to a 50-yard kick.

“I felt like I owed it to the guys,” said Jason Sanders, whose booming go-ahead kick with 18 seconds helped Miami squeak past the New York Jets 11-6 yesterday to clinch a postseason berth for the first time since 2016.

Miami (9-8) snapped a five-game losing streak, and then had to wait a few minutes for Buffalo to defeat New England 35-23 to make the Dolphins’ playoff appearance official. “We’re In” was displayed on the videoboard at Hard Rock Stadium.

“Jason Sanders, to come through the way he did and have all the points, you have to be built different for that,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “I’m very, very happy with the entire locker room, the entire building, and I feel they wanted no part of this season to be over, and it’s not.”

Miami will play at Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs next weekend. The AFC East rivals split the season series, with each winning at home.

The Jets (7-10) ended the season with six straight losses, finishing a disappointing collapse for Robert Saleh’s squad. New York failed to score a touchdown in its final three games.

Brady left the game late in the first half with the score tied at 10.

He had been 11-0 in his career against Atlanta, including New England’s 34-28 win over the Falcons in the Super Bowl following the 2016 season.

The Falcons can now claim to be responsible for Brady’s first losing final record in a regular season.

Brady and Tampa Bay’s other healthy regulars started even though the Buccaneers (8-9) had secured the NFC South title and were locked in as the NFC’s No. 4 seed in the playoffs.

Brady began the day needing nine completions to top his 2021 single-season record of 485.

He set the mark on a 5-yard pass to Russell Gage, the former Falcons receiver, early in the second quarter.

Brady finished with 490 completions.

PANTHERS 10, SAINTS 7

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Eddy Pineiro kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired and Carolina beat New Orleans.

The Saints finished with some wide statistical advantages, outgaining Carolina 304 yards to 203, but the game remained tight until the end because of New Orleans’ inability to score on four possessions inside the Panthers 40-yard line.

The Saints (7-10) were in position to win when safety Daniel Sorensen intercepted Sam Darnold near midfield and returned it to the Carolina 35 with 1:36 to go.

But New Orleans failed to move the ball on three plays and Wil Lutz missed a 55-yard field goal attempt — his second miss of the game.

Darnold then moved Carolina (7-10) into field goal range with a first-down scramble, followed by just his fifth completion of the game — a 21 yarder to former LSU receiver Terrace Marshall Jr.

“Next year, we’re going to be in December football and the challenge is going to be finish,” Saleh said. “Not just be satisfied with December football, but finishing December football.”

On the Jets’ last-ditch effort with time running out, they lateraled the ball a few times before Elijah Moore fumbled, the ball was recovered by Garrett Wilson and he was ruled to be tackled in the end zone for a safety.

“Everybody gave it their all,” Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “Comparing last year to now, there’s so much improvement, so much building to talk about.”

The Jets reached midfield with 7:28 left on a 27-yard penalty after a defensive pass interference call on Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou. That drive ended in a punt by an offense that finished with just 187 total yards. The Jets had tied it with about 12 minutes left on a 35-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein. Joe Flacco led the team down the field on a 14-play, 75-yard drive.

Flacco completed 18 of 33 passes with 149 yards for the Jets in the place of Mike White, who is dealing with broken ribs.

HAMLIN

recovery, keep praying for me!”

The NFL also will show support for Hamlin during all Week 18 games, which started Saturday afternoon, including a pregame moment of support, painting Hamlin’s No. 3 on the 30-yard line and pregame shirts with “Love for Damar 3.” The Bills will also wear “3” jersey patches.

A couple hours after the first, there was another tweet that said, “The love is felt, & extremely real. No matter race or religion everybody coming together in prayer!”

FALCONS 30, BUCCANEERS 17

(AP) — Rookie Desmond Ridder’s first two career touchdown passes powered Atlanta past playoff-bound Tampa Bay after Tom Brady broke his own NFL record for completions in a season.

PLAYERS gather for a prayer after an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots yesterday.

(AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Djokovic shrugs off injury scare, wins Adelaide title

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic showed no signs of an injury that might derail his Australian Open campaign when he beat unseeded American Sebastian Korda 6-7 (8), 7-6 (3), 6-4 yesterday to win the Adelaide International.

Djokovic worried Open organisers when he said after his semifinal in Adelaide against Daniil Medvedev that he had been troubled by a tight hamstring. He said the injury eased as the match progressed.

If there had been any lingering issue, it likely would have been exposed in Sunday’s marathon final that stretched over more than three hours and finished with Djokovic claiming his 92nd career singles title.

He also took his second Adelaide title 16 years after his first; he won the tournament in 2007, aged 19.

Djokovic had to save a match and chamionship point at 5-6 in the second set yesterday and was fully

stretched by the 22-yearold Korda, son of 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda.

The match turned on a handful of points. Djokovic held serve to love in his first four service games of the final set and then held serve after being taken to deuce by Korda in his fifth service game.

Djokovic then rallied from 15-40 down at 5-4 in Korda’s next service game to win four-straight points and take the set in 51 minutes — and the match in 3 hours, 9 minutes.

“I hope everyone enjoyed the show tonight, it’s been an amazing week,” Djokovic said. “Seb’s had an amazing tournament and put in an amazing effort today.

“I think he was closer to victory at times today than I was. It was only a couple of shots, a couple of points.”

Djokovic at times showed irritation with this coach Goran Ivanicevic who supported him from

a courtside box or remonstrated with himself after a wasted point.

“I’d like to thank my team for handling me, tolerating me in the good and bad times today. I’m sure they didn’t have such a blast with me going back and forth with them but I appreciate them being here.”

His serve was reliable at the start of the first set and he didn’t concede a point on first serve until Korda broke him to lead 5-4.

Djokovic immediately broke back and took the set to a tiebreaker.

Korda had an early lead and five set points but Djokovic saved them all and levelled the tiebreaker at 6-6.

Djokovic framed a forehand that sailed into the crowd and gave Korda another advantage, allowing the American to take the tiebreaker 10-8.

Djokovic saved a match point at 5-6 on serve in the second set, then forced the set into another tiebreaker

that he took comfortably. Korda produced some outstanding service games and troubled Djokovic at times with the kick of his serve.

But he was broken for only the second time in the match in the 10th game of the deciding set, with only a couple of points making the difference.

Earlier, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka claimed her 11th WTA Tour singles title but her first in almost two years when she overcame qualifier Linda Noskova 6-2 7-6 (4) in the women’s final.

In doing so she ended an extraordinary run by the 18-year-old Noskova who beat third-seeded Daria Kasatkina and former Australian Open champion Viktoria Asarenka in the main draw on the way to her first final.

Sabalenka didn’t drop a set all week and seemed set for another comfortable win when she took the first set yesterday.

But Noskova was much more competitive in the

second, holding serve and putting pressure on Sabalenka’s serve, especially with her powerful backhand returns.

“I think I’m a different player right now,” Sabalenka said.

“Maybe a little bit smarter, a little bit calmer on court. Just a little bit of everything changed.

“I want to congratulate (Noskova) on an amazing week.

“I think you’re going to have a great future and 100 percent appear in many more finals.”

Sabalenka’s last single title came in Madrid in May 2021 but she went without a title in 2022 despite reaching three finals.

She ended the year ranked fifth after qualifying for the season-ending WTA Finals in Fort Worth where she lost in the final to Caroline Garcia.

Sabalenka now has won three tournaments in the first week of a season after Shenzen in 2019 and Abu Dhabi in 2021.

NAOMI OSAKA WITHDRAWS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Organisers confirmed in a tweet yesterday that Japan’s Osaka, the Open champion in 2019 and 2021, will not be playing in Melbourne.

“Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023,” the tweet said.

The 25-year-old Osaka’s ranking has slipped to 47 and she hasn’t played since September after withdrawing during the second round in Tokyo.

She won her first round match at that tournament when Australia’s Daria Saville withdrew after one game with a knee injury.

Osaka won only one

Coco Gauff wins ASB Classic in strong start to the year

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Top-seeded American Coco Gauff has capped a commanding start to the new season yesterday by beating Spanish qualifer Viktoria Masarova 6-1, 6-1 in the final of the ASB Classic.

Gauff claimed her third WTA Tour title but her first in years on hard courts, boosting her confidence ahead of the Australian Open.

The match was punctuated by another of the long rain breaks that has been typical of a week in Auckland in which matches either have been delayed or forced indoors.

The 18-year-old Gauff coped better than most with the challenge posed by the weather because she has been used to rain

interruptions by the tropical climate of her native Florida.

She didn’t drop a set all week, though she faced tough matches against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and seventh-seeded Danka Kovinic.

“It’s been a great week for me despite the rain,” Gauff said. “I couldn’t ask for a better start to my season.

“It’s my first title on hard courts since I was 15 so it’s lovely to finally do well on a surface that I love.”

Gauff has looked in outstanding form all tournament, building her game behind a strong serve. She was powerful from the baseline and accurate when she unleashed passing shots.

Gauff came to the net often and decisively. Whenever she did so she played with purpose and executed ruthlessly, pinching off Masarova’s attempted

passes. Even when both players were at the net in the fourth game of the second set, Gauff kept her composure and lobbed her opponent to take the point.

Masarova, ranked No. 130, had an outstanding week to reach her first WTA Tour final.

But she was playing her eighth straight game and that effort may have told. She tried everything yesterday but Gauff had an answer.

“I’m glad I was able to reach my first WTA final but I was disappointed with today’s match,” Masarova said. “I felt I couldn’t really play my game but Coco was playing amazing and didn’t really give me a chance.

“I had a lot of tough matches. I think that helped me stay physically good throughout the week but it was a long week with the stopping and starting. I think I warmed up about 25 times.”

completed match since May and was beaten in the first round of her three previous tournaments, including the US Open at which she also is a two-time champion.

Last week she posted pictures on social media of a trip to Europe with her United States rapper boyfriend Cordae and had been considered unlikely to play in the first Grand Slam of the season.

Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska has been promoted to the main draw in her place.

Osaka took a mental health break after missing the 2021 French Open and later said she had been struggling with depression and anxiety for several years.

Her absence from Melbourne adds to uncertainty over when or if she will resume her career.

The Australian Open which starts on January 16 already has lost several leading players including men’s world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz who pulled out Saturday with an ankle injury.

Former finalist Simona Halep also is not playing this year and Venus Williams also has handed back a wildcard entry after suffering an injury while practicing in Auckland.

TEAM USA BEATS ITALY TO WIN INAUGURAL UNITED CUP

SYDNEY (AP) — The United States claimed the inaugural United Cup yesterday in convincing fashion with an overpowering display over Italy in the final of the mixed teams event.

No. 9-ranked Taylor Fritz gave the United States an unassailable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup when edging former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7).

The Indian Wells Masters champion failed to convert nine break points but faced none on his own serve and proved the steadier player in the two tiebreakers.

He was mobbed by his teammates at Ken Rosewall Arena after clinching the title for the Americans.

“We came in with really high hopes before the start of the event and I was really happy to be in the position to clinch the match and just the emotions when you win and everyone comes running at you, it is amazing,” Fritz said. “We have gotten a lot of team bonding this

week and it was a lot of fun.”

Jessica Pegula put the United States on the path to victory by beating Martina Trevisan 6-4, 6-2, continuing her strong form, which included a win over top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Friday.

Frances Tiafoe, a 2022 US Open semifinalist, extended the lead when Lorenzo Musetti withdrew with a shoulder injury after losing the first set of their match 6-2.

Madison Keys continued the US dominance in the final when defeating Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 7-2 in what was rendered a dead rubber in terms of the title.

The United States were considered favourites for the 18-nation tournament based on the strength of a team where all four singles players were ranked inside the world’s top 20.

Heading into the final, the US had lost just two of the 20 rubbers they played in ties against the Czech

Dual-Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova defeated Pegula in the opening tie of the event, while 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Cameron Norrie beat Fritz in three sets on Jan. 4.

Similarly to Fritz’s 7-6, 7-6 victory over Poland’s

But Berrettini, who fell in three sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas in a semifinal against Greece on Saturday, lost his composure early in the first tiebreaker and late in the second to give

Fritz the victory. “I had a lot of chances in there and he kept playing so well on those chances, so he made it really tough for me,” Fritz said.

Pegula claimed the first three games against Trevisan and then withstood a challenge from the No. 27-ranked player late in

the first set on the way to a solid victory.

No. 3-ranked Pegula said that as her team’s topranked player of either sex, she wanted to lead by example.

“I wanted to win because I am the No. 1 American on the team. I wanted to embrace that. I did not want to shy away from that,” she said.

Tiafoe, ranked No. 19, was in a dominant position against Musetti when the Italian ended the match on the opening point of the second set.

The 20-year-old had earlier received medical treatment after dropping serve to trail 2-5 in the opening set.

United States coach David Witt, who is also Pegula’s individual coach, praised his players for their teamwork.

“It has been an honor to be a coach of them and enjoy the time we have had together. It has been awesome,” he said.

SERBIA’s Novak Djokovic makes a forehand return to USA’s Sebastian Korda during the final of the Adelaide International tennis tournament in Adelaide, Australia, yesterday. (AP Photo/Kelly Barnes)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two-time champion Naomi Osaka has confirmed she will not play at the Australian Open, adding her name to a growing list of notable withdrawals.

UNITED States’s Coco Gauff plays against Spain’s Rebeka Masarova in the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday.

(Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

NAOMI OSAKA

Republic, Germany, Great Britain and Poland.

Hubert Hurkacz on Saturday, the clash between Fritz and Berrettini was dominated by serving.

THE UNITED States team pose with their trophy after defeating Italy to win the United Cup tennis event in Sydney, Australia, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Mark Baker)

NEW PROVIDENCE BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: GIANTS, DDL IN WIN COLUMN

from Jeron Smith, but it wasn’t enough. Their only other player in double figures was Spurgeon Johnson with 13 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Giants 88, Sands Dollar 80: Dylan Musgrove netted a side high 21 points with five rebounds, five steals, three assists and a block shot to lead Commonwealth Bank to victory as they improved to 4-1.

Eugene Bain had 18 points, 16 rebounds and four assists, Michael Bain Jr had 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals and Jackson Jacob chipped in with 12 points, five assists and two rebounds.

For Sand Dollar, who suffered their first loss in four games, Jeremy Neely had an all-around game with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Van Hutchinson Jr had 11 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and a block shot, Rashad Ingraham also had 11 points, two rebounds and two steals, Rus-Shorn Strachan had 10 rebounds, three block shots, three assists and two rebounds and both Dale Davis (with seven rebounds and two assists) and Shantoin Pratt (with four rebounds, four assists and four steals) helped out with nine points.

Produce Express 85, Cyber Tech 69: Rumalo Ellis led a balanced scoring attack in their win with 16 points, five assists and three rebounds with a steal. In the process, the Produce Express pulled even with the Discount Distributors Rockets at 4-1.

Jefferson Oliver had 13 points, six rebounds and

two assists, Maleak Johnson had 12 points, eight rebounds and six steals and Anthon Williams chipped in with 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

In a losing effort for Cyber Tech, who slipped to 2-4, K’Jay Nixon had a game high 19 points with three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Jayson McHardy had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals and Daniel Bethel finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

Giants 97, Eagles 59: Brandon Strachan exploded for 24 points with 10 rebounds and four steals to lead YES to victory as they stayed undefeated at 6-0.

Kirklyn Farrington had 22 points, seven assists and three rebounds, Simar Rolle had 20 points, 12 rebounds and two steals and Matthew Saunders added 15 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

For the losing RC Liquors, who fell to 3-2, Cornelius Albury had 11 points, six rebounds and three steals, Sherman Marshall also had 11 points with seven rebounds and Devon Seymour added 10 points.

Alexis Francis helped out with eight points and 17 rebounds.

THE SCHEDULE

Today 8pm - Rebels vs Sand Dollar (D1) Wednesday 8pm - Commonwealth Bank Giants vs Leno Regulators (D1) Friday 8pm - Caro Contractors Shockers vs University of the Bahamas (D1) Saturday 8pm - Tuckers Boys vs TMT Giants (D1)

CITY ROUTS CHELSEA IN FA CUP, 4TH-TIER STEVENAGE OUSTS VILLA

By

DIFFERENT competition, same outcome. Manchester City beat Chelsea for the second time in less than three days, on this occasion in the FA Cup.

And this time it was a 4-0 thrashing, without even needing Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.

City’s top two players were given a rest after the 1-0 win over Chelsea

in the Premier League on Thursday yet they weren’t especially missed, with Riyad Mahrez, Julián Álvarez and Phil Foden scoring first-half goals and Mahrez adding another late on in a third-round cruise.

Next up for City in world soccer’s oldest knockout competition is a rival that is likely to be its biggest threat to the defence of the Premier League title. Arsenal, which leads second-place City by five

points in the league, will be heading to Etihad Stadium in the fourth round if it beats third-tier Oxford United today.

Mahrez scored the only goal in the teams’ league match at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. While that was a tap-in, this one in the cup was a curling shot from a direct free kick that sailed into the top corner in the 23rd minute.

Álvarez, making his first start for City since

winning the World Cup with Argentina, converted a 30th-minute penalty after Chelsea forward Kai Havertz bizarrely chose to lead with his left arm as he attempted a headed clearance at a corner and succeeded only in punching the ball away to concede a spot kick.

Foden wrapped up a three-goal flurry in a 15-minute span at the Etihad when he guided home a close-range finish at the end of a flowing team move involving Rodri, Mahrez and then Kyle Walker, who sprinted upfield to deliver a cross for Foden.

Mahrez scored his second from the penalty spot in the 85th after Foden was bundled over by Kalidou Koulibaly.

The problems mount for Chelsea manager Graham Potter, whose injury-hit squad is in 10th place in the Premier League and is already out of both cups — having already lost to City in the League Cup in November.

City is still in the hunt for trophies in all four competitions and plays Southampton away in the League Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday.

VILLA SHOCKED Aston Villa conceded twice from the 88th minute and was beaten 2-1 at home by fourth-tier Stevenage in

DAVIS

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An altercation in the stands ringside led the referee to stop the action midway through the eighth round, as Davis and Garcia were distracted by the disturbance. The fight resumed for more than a minute, and Davis put on a show until the bell, landing enough blows to end the match.

“It was going well up until that point,” Garcia said through an interpreter. “Sometimes I would put him in a bad spot, a bad

probably the biggest shock of the third round.

Ahead thanks to Morgan Sanson’s 33rd-minute goal, Villa was reduced to 10 men when Leander Dendoncker was red-carded in the 85th for a professional foul that gave Stevenage a penalty.

That was converted and the visitors, who are in second place in League Two, grabbed an unlikely winner in the 90th.

LEEDS’ RALLY

Jesse Marsch had quite the ride in his first match in the FA Cup.

The American coach saw his Leeds team rally from 2-0 down against secondtier Cardiff to draw 2-2 thanks to an equaliser in the third minute of stoppage time by substitute Sonny Perkins.

condition, and I was picking my spots against him during the fight. Until then, I thought the fight was going well.”

The fight headlined Showtime’s first major event at the building now known as Capital One Arena since Mike Tyson’s final bout in 2005 against Kevin McBride. It was in danger of being called off when Davis was arrested and charged with domestic violence in late December, before the woman who called police put out a statement on social media days

Rodrigo began Leeds’ recovery by pulling a goal back in the 65th before the Spain striker had a penalty saved in the 81st after Cardiff defender Joel Bagan stopped a goal-bound shot from Junior Firpo with his outstretched hand and was shown the red card.

The 18-year-old Perkins came to Rodrigo’s rescue with a close-range goal to send the teams to a replay.

The last time they met in the famous competition was in 2002, when Leeds — the Premier League leader at the time — was stunned by a Cardiff team that was in 10th place in the third tier.

FOURTH-ROUND DRAW

Wrexham, the non-league team owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, was rewarded for beating second-tier Coventry in the third round by getting a home match against another club from the Championship — Sheffield United.

In other standout matches from the draw made yesterday, Manchester United will host second-tier Reading, Brighton will be at home to the winner of the replay between Liverpool and Wolverhampton, Tottenham will visit secondtier Preston and fourth-tier Walsall will host Leicester.

The games will be played from January 27-30.

later saying Davis “did not harm me or our daughter.” Davis said he was not worried about the fight not happening, saying he just wanted to clear his name.

In the co-feature, Jaron “Boots” Ennis won the interim IBF welterweight championship by unanimous decision against Ukraine’s Karen Chukhadzhian, going the distance for the first time in his career to remain unbeaten at 30-0. The fastrising Philadelphia native had never gone beyond six rounds before.

MANCHESTER City’s head coach Pep Guardiola. (AP Photo/DaveThompson)