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‘WE DID OUR BEST TO HELP HEAVENLY’

Police alerted to her ordeal but she would not make a complaint

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net SENIOR officials have insisted law enforcement did all in its power in the days leading up to the murder of 21-year-old Heavenly Terveus by her boyfriend and father of her child, Fenron Ferguson.

According to National Security Minister Wayne Munroe yesterday, on January 16 a patrol car was dispatched to the Miami Street home where Heavenly lived with her mother in response to a complaint of damage to a vehicle

by Ferguson.

However, when police arrived, Ferguson was long gone and Heavenly declined to make a formal complaint against him at a nearby station despite the urging of a friend who was there at the time, Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle further revealed.

At one point, officers even spoke to Ferguson to try to have him return so that he could be arrested.

But aware that police were searching for him, Ferguson evaded authorities and was never caught.

SEE PAGE THREE

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe says the concept that greater penalties will stop someone from committing a crime overlooks the fact that people need to have self-control and take personal responsibility for their actions.

Ahead of a Cabinet meeting yesterday, the minister

was asked if he was of the view that stiffer penalties were needed as a deterrent to crime.

He made the comment during an interview about what transpired in the lead up to the murder of Heavenly Terveus on Saturday.

The young mother was shot by her partner in front of her newborn son. Police said the man, Fenron Ferguson, then shot himself.

SEE PAGE THREE

- SEE PAGE EIGHT

CORRUPTION RATING EDGES SLIGHTLY UP

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE BAHAMAS’ latest relatively favourable corruption ranking “doesn’t tell the full picture”, governance reformers warned yesterday, as they urged it to “grow a culture of integrity”.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

GOVT U-TURN ON PAYOFFS TO LUCAYAN MANAGERS

HARSHER SENTENCES ARE NOT THE ANSWER

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

ALICIA WALLACE: SOUNDBITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA WON’T CHANGE A THING

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE government has reversed course and settled a wrongful/unfair dismissal claim by 36 current and former Grand Lucayan managers that it previously won before the Supreme Court.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

39 MISSING AT SEA FROM SHABACK DEFENDS PLACE ON DUBAI TRIP BIMINI BOAT FENRON FERGUSON, who shot and killed Heavenly Terveus before shooting himself. He died of his self-inflicted wounds on Monday.

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

SHABACK, the gospel group led by Office of the Prime Minister Press Secretary Clint Watson, has said its participation at Expo 2020 was in the works long before the former talk show host assumed his role in government.

While thanking Bahamians for their support as it represented The Bahamas

SHABACK, led by Clint Watson, performing in Dubai. in Dubai, Shaback said discussions about the possibility of performing there began with the Ministry of

Tourism in 2019.

However, the plans were sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group said in a press statement yesterday.

The statement followed questions and criticism of the size of the delegation that travelled to the United Arab Emirates and the cost of the undertaking. Some have also questioned the criteria for selecting participating groups and solo acts at the world expo.

SEE PAGE TWO

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

THE US Coast Guard searched yesterday for 39 people missing for several days after a boat believed to be used for human smuggling capsized off Florida’s coast en route from the Bahamas.

A good Samaritan called the Coast Guard early Tuesday after rescuing a man clinging to the boat 45 miles east of Fort Pierce, the maritime security agency reported on Twitter.

SEE PAGE FOUR

PAGE 2, Wednesday, January 26, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

‘We must do better for medical care in Family Islands’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net AFTER a relative of a traffic fatality victim from Long Island complained about the level of care he received, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said he thinks “we must find a better way for emergency medical services” on the Family Islands.

The Tribune previously reported that Mandie Constantakis, 20, Trevon Roxbury, 18, and Manoli Constantakis, 18, were two minutes from home when their Nissan Infinity crashed into a residence in the settlement of Mangrove Bush around 9pm on Friday.

Roxbury and Mandie were pronounced dead at the scene, however Manoli was airlifted to New Providence where he later died from his injuries.

His mother, Amber Constantakis, said doctors in New Providence told her Manoli could have survived if he had been brought in sooner.

She said on Sunday that it took police and the doctor on the island more than an hour just to reach the scene of the crash and it took the nurse about an hour to get there. Mrs Constantakis said the air ambulance arrived for her son about five hours after the crash.

Yesterday, Dr Darville told reporters he had concerns about the state of emergency ground transportation on Family Islands.

“I do not know the extent whether or not the individual (would have) survived or not, but I am concerned with the fact that in our Family Islands ground transportation for medical emergencies needs major improvements,” he said.

FROM left, Mandie Constantakis, Manoli Constantakis and Trevon Roxbury.

He said he has visited all the clinics throughout the Family Islands and can say “unequivocally that something must be done”.

“I believe the days are gone when individuals who are in any sort of traumatic event are placed on the back of a truck and try to get to the facility or get to the airport. I believe we must do better. I think we must find a better way for emergency medical services on our Family Islands

and as a matter of fact we intend to bring a paper to address that. Address the manpower shortages at our clinics. I’ve visited the clinics - there’s no handyman and a lot of things that need to be done around the clinic, preventative maintenance, all of these things are necessary and we’re moving in that direction.”

Dr Darville addressed the issue of funding to provide resources to these communities.

“One of the criteria for infrastructural upgrades in the Family islands in our clinics is tied in with an IDB loan. We are in the process of activating the parameters of that loan and resources will be provided through that loan facility to improve our clinics and look at the manpower resources as well as the physical plan and get them to a standard that I feel is consistent on what we need to provide throughout the country.”

He said officials are looking at ways to improve air ambulance transport from the Family Islands.

“We believe sometimes there is a lag time coming from New Providence and we must look at level one and level two degrees of trauma and we must do better. That’s all I can say, but I can tell you that this administration we’re looking at it and we intend to put some resources to try to correct it.”

SHABACK pictured performing in Dubai, in this image from social media.

SHABACK DEFENDS PLACE ON DUBAI TRIP from page one

Some critics felt the National Youth Choir should have been selected for the event. Its director Dexter Fernander has said the choir was under the impression it would be selected and only found out through unofficial channels that it would not go on the trip.

He contended that maybe it did not meet the criteria to travel despite the choir having discussions regarding the event since 2019.

“Our participation in the expo was years in the making; in 2019, we entered discussions with the Ministry of Tourism regarding the possibilities of performing there,” according to Shaback’s statement.

“The pandemic sidelined those plans, but in 2021 we learned that the expo was back on.

“When we renewed discussions with the ministry, we were told that due to budget cuts there was now only space for 11 people and there would be no compensation. We agreed to these conditions

without hesitation. This is a special year for us - after 25 years of making music together, we are in what we believe will be our final year. We believed participating at the expo would be the perfect conclusion to a quarter of a century of music and ministry to our country and the world.”

Shaback went on to note its accomplishments over the years, including representing The Bahamas on three continents and addressed concerns about performing as a gospel group in a predominant

Muslim country.

“It’s been an extraordinary 25 years: we’ve released four musical recordings, collaborated on numerous projects, worked with some of the world’s biggest names in music, and received numerous awards locally and internationally. We’ve been proud to represent The Bahamas on three continents, in seven countries, and in scores of cities around the world. Every year for seven straight years we have travelled during independence to visit cities and countries

where we have consulates or embassies.

“For decades, we’ve enjoyed the support of consecutive governments; the Ingraham, Christie, Minnis, and now Davis administrations have all invested in our mission of celebrating and sharing, via gospel music, our Bahamian culture and heritage.

“Our leader, Clint Watson, has led our group and our travel long before becoming press secretary in the current administration, and our participation in this expo was in the works long before he assumed his

new role.

“We’re so pleased to report that Shaback’s performance was well-received in Dubai.

“We know there were some questions about the propriety of a Christian gospel choir performing in a Muslim country – but the purpose of a world expo is to provide countries with an opportunity to showcase their unique cultures, not to mimic the culture of the host country. As a modern, diverse city, Dubai was proud to welcome religions and cultures from all over the world.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 26, 2022, PAGE 3

‘We did our best to help Heavenly’ from page one He was on bail after he shot at Heavenly’s older sister and another person last year.

Mr Munroe said had his prior trouble with the law and bail status been disclosed to officers that day, there would have been a different response.

People who knew the young mother said she was tormented by Ferguson and lived in fear in the final days before her death.

On both the Monday and Tuesday before her death, a neighbour disclosed that Heavenly was the victim of hostility and confrontation from Ferguson.

Days later, he murdered her before turning the gun on himself in front of their one-month-old son.

While he was taken to hospital in critical condition following the incident, Ferguson died of his selfinflicted injuries on Monday at around 7pm.

Heavenly’s loved ones believe the police did not take the matter seriously.

They believe if they had, the photographer might have been alive today.

Commissioner Rolle insisted matters of this sort are taken seriously and each one is investigated on its own merit. He said: “We dispatched a team of officers there. They spoke with the young lady and she declined to make an official complaint. So, we got a complaint, we went there. There were no visible injuries. The law, if you are familiar with the provisions of the Protective Order Act, it gives the police certain mandates where certain circumstances exist — they did not exist.

“She declined to make an official complaint, but because this individual was on bail and this complaint

was lodged, I had the officers still go to try and find him to take him into custody and so that we could try to have his bail revoked.

“But he was quite aware that the police were searching for him because officers even spoke to him and tried to get him to come in. He was still able to evade the officers and get back to that place and regrettably cause ultimate death to this young lady.

“I do want to extend condolences to the family and assure the family that, you know, that it is regrettable that this has happened, but we take these matters seriously and each and every one of these are investigated on its own merit.”

Mr Rolle continued: “You see if the persons were together living in the same place that would be different. Remember the officers did everything that the law permits and if the individual does not follow through to make a complaint. A friend of hers was there trying to encourage her to make the complaint and she declined.”

He said the police cannot force a person to make a complaint. “We cannot force an individual to make a complaint and this is why I have said over and over and repeatedly that someone said once - the fella hit you once leave, what you going back for?

“I have also made an appeal and I want to again make that appeal to family members, if you know that your loved ones, you know that your friends have firearms, illegal firearms ask them to turn it over.

“If you (are) in a relationship with an individual and you know the fella got a gun, tell him ‘I don’t feel good with you having a gun’ before he get angry with you one day and he turns the gun on you.”

Mr Munroe also told reporters yesterday outside Cabinet that Heavenly also tried to get Ferguson to return to be arrested.

Asked why this was the case, he said patrol officers were not investigators.

“They make arrests. They respond to actual things that are happening. So, if they meet you there, they arrest you. They take you to the station. The matter is given a case number, the investigation begins,” Mr Munroe said.

“What we do not see in the system is indication from her for instance that ‘he shot at my sister, he is on bail’ which she would have been aware of. Had they known that that would have triggered a different response.”

He was also asked if he was of the view that more could have been done in this situation.

Mr Munroe said it is always different in hindsight, but manpower constraints do not allow for more.

“Hindsight is 20/20. If you looked at it in hindsight add those components to what you told the police would trigger a different response.

“The police can always do more. If we had maybe 1,700 to 2,000 more policemen once the complaint is assigned, then the police can go and look for the complainant.

Generally, people are directed to go to the nearest police station which was the Grove Police Station and make a complaint.

“Our manpower restraints doesn’t permit the police with all the responses to go looking for you and so we do require some cooperation from the public and the clearest cooperation is if you tell us everything then we will have all the information to respond,” Mr Munroe said.

HARSHER SENTENCES ARE NOT THE ANSWER from page one Terveus, Ferguson and their infant son were all found on the floor of her bedroom by other occupants of the home, police said. The baby was taken to hospital, but was later discharged.

Ferguson died in hospital on Monday evening.

“Well, the incident that just passed of domestic violence would be an offence of murder,” Mr Munroe told reporters.

“The ultimate penalty for murder is death. If you

aren’t sentenced to death, you are generally awarded punishments in the range of 50 to 60 years in prison. I can’t think of a harsher penalty than that yet with that being the penalty the young man did what he did.

“We have to get to the point that people control their behaviour because they accept that it is not right to shoot someone in their head.”

Mr Munroe added: “It’s not right to rob people. It is not right to rape people.

“This concept that

somehow a penalty greater than death would stop a man killing a woman overlooks the fact that we have to have personal control and we have to take personal responsibility. Until we buy into that we’re going to continue to think that the police catching somebody, the courts convicting and sentencing someone, is the answer.

“The answer is let us try to stop this nonsense before it starts. Let us concentrate on raising well-adjusted young people.”

HEAVENLY TERVEUS, who was shot dead by the father of her one-month-old son.

SAFE HOUSE NOTES RISE IN DOMESTIC ABUSE

By PAVEL BAILEY

THE chairwoman of a local safe house has noted an alarming rise in cases of domestic abuse in the country.

The Links Safe House in Nassau has been a shelter for women and children fleeing domestic abuse for over 19 years. However, the recent murder of a 21-year-old mother and photographer Heavenly Terveus has put domestic abuse back in the spotlight.

Police said the mother was shot by her fiancé who later turned the gun on himself. Links Safe House chairwoman Christine Robinson said she has been in contact with the Ministry of Social Services regarding recent tragic events and similar cases of domestic violence.

“Speaking to the situation that is now going on, I’m in close contact with Social Services and we are finding that more and more mothers with their children are in a situation where they can’t find housing when it comes to having to leave their homes from an

abusive situation,” said Ms Robinson.

“Social Services is doing their part and when they have space available, they do recommend women to us. I believe there are other homes that do the same thing that we do, but we are available and more than willing to help as many women as we can.”

In addition to providing shelter to women in need of help for up to four to five months, Ms Robinson described how people at the safe house are also prepared to become financially independent before they leave the shelter, so they don’t have to return to their abusive households.

“We find that in many cases the mothers are unable to take care of themselves economically because they don’t have a trade or a job and so we equip them to be able to go out and be able to sustain themselves. We feel that they would have a better chance of surviving once they leave the safe house.

Through our training programme they now become equipped to be skilled to be able to obtain jobs or

some type of trade that they would have that would make them viable for their job.”

Ms Robinson believes that by giving these women the means to provide for themselves they can break the cycle of abuse.

“We figure that once they are able to collect a salary and not depend on the abuser, then they can go out on their own. In many cases we find that when the time comes that they have to leave the safe house they have no funds and so they are unable to go out and rent an apartment if they want to go out on their own, they are unable to care for their children financially.

And so, it’s a vicious cycle where we sometimes see them again because they are unable to go out and take care of themselves on their own. And there are cases where the mother returns to the abusive environment, to the home, and the situation repeats itself all over again.”

Due to a recent increase in charitable donations from organisations like FTX Digital Markets, who donated $100,000 on

Monday, the Links Safe House is currently drafting plans to expand the facility to accommodate more people seeking refuge.

Ms Robinson also attributed the recent spike in abuse cases to unemployment in the nation which she says has led to growing frustration and anger among the population.

“From what I see over the past few years it’s almost parallel to what’s going on in the community with the economy. There has been an effect of frustration among spouses and as a result sometimes the mother and children become victims of that frustration. And so, while we speak to the mothers and the children, we also want to have the same conversation with boys and men to say that it’s not ok to lash out at your spouse or your children during times you’re frustrated. So there has to be some type of programme in place also to let them know there is a better way.”

Ms Robinson also agreed with Minister of State for Social Services Lisa Rahming’s recent comments

that the country needs to draft new legislation geared towards the protection of vulnerable women and children from abuse.

She also urged people to reach out for help.

“I would say that there are, be mindful that there are homes in our community that are available for them,” Ms Robinson said.

“If you are unable to get in contact with a home, and we aren’t accessible just by contacting us,

you go through protocols of Social Services or the police, but come. Speak to a family member, speak to a friend, find the nearest police station, but speak to someone. I’d advise them not to stay silent and endure the abuse, particularly when it comes to mothers and children because you see the effects of abuse on mothers to their children they are almost scarred for life, so seek help.”

PAGE 4, Wednesday, January 26, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

39 MISSING AT SEA FROM BIMINI BOAT from page one

THE US Coast Guard ship Bernard C Webber pictured last year in Miami Beach, Florida.

Photo: Marta Lavandier/AP

The man said he was with a group of 39 others that left the island of Bimini in The Bahamas on Saturday night. He said the boat capsized in severe weather and that no one was wearing life jackets.

The Coast Guard is calling it a case of human smuggling. Officials said on Twitter that they are searching by both air and sea over a roughly 135-mile area extending from Bimini to the Fort Pierce Inlet.

The agency patrols the waters around Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and The Bahamas, along routes often used by migrants trying to reach

the US. The agency stops and repatriates foreigners found navigating in US waters.

On Friday, the Coast Guard found 88 Haitians in an overloaded sail freighter west of Great Inagua.

“Navigating the Florida straits, Windward and Mona Passages... is extremely dangerous and can result in loss of life,” the Coast Guard said in a statement last weekend.

Last July, the Coast Guard rescued 13 people after their boat capsized off of Key West as Tropical Storm Elsa approached.

The survivors said they had left Cuba with 22 people aboard. Nine went missing in the water.

Darville defends PM over leaving quarantine

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Health and Wellness Michael Darville.

Death Notice Mr. Garland Wayde Sands

The family regret to announce the passing of Garland Wayde Sands, on Sunday, 23rd January, 2022 at his residence Cloister Drive, Paradise Island.

A Service Of Thanksgiving will be held in his honour at Evangelistic Temple, Collins Avenue, Nassau, on Friday 28th January, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.

He was predeceased by his wife, Marguerite Sands.

He is survived by his wife, Priscilla Sands; four daughters, Debra, Denise, Deidre and Darlene; two stepchildren, Christopher and Candi; thirteen grandchildren, twelve great grandchildren, five grandsons-in-law and two granddaughters-in-law and many other relatives and close friends.

Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

WITH Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis facing backlash for breaking quarantine, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville defended him, saying the nation’s leader was “responsible”.

Before the morning Cabinet meeting yesterday, Dr Darville reiterated that Mr Davis was not ordered into quarantine by medical professionals at the time.

He said when the medical professionals made the recommendation, Mr Davis abided by the rules.

Dr Darville told reporters that Mr Davis “was en route” to quarantine when he stopped off to purchase some items.

Dr Darville’s position was similar to a recent Office of the Prime Minister’s statement stating that Mr Davis did not breach the 2021 Health Services Rules by leaving quarantine last month, adding he had not been ordered to sequester by a medical professional.

Dr Darville told reporters: “Well, the OPM made a statement as it relates to the situation with the Prime Minister. I thought it was satisfactory. They were self-quarantined. The Prime Minister stopped off and purchased some items and subsequently went into quarantine. They made it very clear and so I don’t think I have much more to add to that except the fact that he was responsible and he did finish the quarantine as indicated.”

It was previously reported that Mr Davis went into self-isolation on the night of December 22.

Last week, Mr Davis admitted he left quarantine to purchase Christmas gifts at former Taxicab Union President Leon Griffin’s store on Bay Street just moments before receiving news of his death.

Mr Griffin was shot dead outside his home on the evening of December 23.

Mr Davis’ admission prompted Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard to criticise him for breaking quarantine last month, labelling the decision as a “very serious one” and a “betrayal of his oath to uphold the law.”

Asked if the Prime Minister should pay the fine for those who break quarantine, Dr Darville maintained that when the medical professionals made the recommendations, Mr Davis abided by the rules.

“Between me and you, he was en route to quarantine and he stopped off...

He was not ordered into quarantine by medical professionals at the time.

Subsequently, when the medical professionals made the recommendations, he abide(d) by the rules.”

Asked if it would be okay if a civilian did the same thing, the minister answered: “I didn’t say that.

What we said is that there’s no violations of the rules.

The Prime Minister got a report. He subsequently decided that en route to going into quarantine he stopped off and paid a bill and he stayed (in) quarantine.

“The medical professionals came behind and clearly indicated that he was exposed and abide by the rules. So it has nothing to do with whether it was civilians or the Prime Minister.

He was en route to quarantine — self-quarantine.”

Former Health Minister Dr Duane Sands has called for the Prime Minister’s resignation. In 2020, then Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis accepted Dr Sands’ resignation due to the controversy surrounding permanent residents allowed entry to the country from a plane carrying COVID-19 test swabs.

Back then, Mr Davis called for his resignation.

However, the tone was

different when Dr Darville was asked if the calls for the Prime Minister’s resignation were a reasonable request.

“Absolutely unwarranted,” he said. “The Prime Minister spent his entire time in quarantine.

He did what he had to do and the issue as far as I’m concerned with medical professionals when he was informed, he abide(d) by the rules.”

Officials had previously said that Mr Davis went into quarantine after being exposed to the virus from a close relative at a family gathering. Among those close to him who tested positive was his wife, Ann Marie Davis. However, officials stressed that Mr Davis had taken several COVID19 tests, which were all negative.

Mr Davis made the revelation about leaving quarantine at Mr Griffin’s memorial service last week.

“To all of my parliamentary colleagues and persons present, I think I was the last person that Griffin spoke to before he was killed in person,” Mr Davis said last Thursday. “After that conversation, I got a telephone conversation with Melanie.

“I was supposed to be in quarantine and Christmas was nearing as we know and I ordered all of my Christmas gifts and I needed to pay for them so, I called the store and I said, ‘Look, I’m in quarantine and I need to pay for the things, but I can’t be seen out.’

“They said ‘Well when we close the store, we’ll let you know when the store is empty and you can come by.’ So, they called the aide about ten minutes after six to say, ‘All clear, come now.’”

Mr Davis said he met Griffin shortly after entering the store and added that the two spoke briefly, reminiscing on the past. He said the store was empty aside from Griffin and workers.

101 NEW CASES

THE Ministry of Health recorded 101 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday and two more related deaths.

Two New Providence women — ages 64 and 66 — died on January 15 and 19 respectively. This means 731 people have officially died from the disease since the start of the pandemic.

Forty-two other deaths are under investigation.

Officials also said 137 people are in hospital with COVID-19, nine of whom are in the intensive care unit.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 26, 2022, PAGE 5

Prospect Ridge plan ‘unlikely’ to go ahead

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net TRANSPORT and Housing Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis has suggested it is unlikely the Davis administration will go forward with the affordable homes project in Prospect Ridge, though she said Cabinet has yet to make a final decision.

Mrs Coleby-Davis said studies, including a feasibility study, a topography study and a master plan were not done even as former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis touted the project and opened it up for applications before his administration was voted out of office.

“Our team has provided a full briefing to the Cabinet,” Mrs Coleby-Davis said. “We gave a briefing to Cabinet and we’re just waiting for them to give a final response. I would say from my tech team, they have recommended that we leave it alone and move elsewhere and so what they’ve been doing is they have a serious, intense programme on finding other areas of land that we can build on and they have beautiful designs, beautiful models.

“We’re going to be providing a lot of housing to Bahamians, young professionals or old professionals or whoever is able to quality. I can assure the public that we will be providing other housing options and I’m not sure that Prospect will be on my agenda.”

Mrs Coleby-Davis could not say whether the administration will introduce an affordable home programme that offers lots in western New Providence, though she said that cannot be ruled out. She said at the moment, officials will look at government owned land first because it will be cheaper.

Last year, Mrs ColebyDavis said her ministry was

OFFICERS last night display the drugs that were seized in Abaco.

Photos: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff

COCAINE HAUL SEIZED ON ABACO BY OFFICERS

TRANSPORT and Housing Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis speaking at the launch of the Department of Housing’s new housing initiative at the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation yesterday.

Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff planning a final briefing to get discouraged, but paper to present to Cabi- (what) I do want to do is net. However, although the make sure that I properly matter has attracted the place you in a home and attention of many, she said you will be proud of, that it is unlikely the briefing you will be able to brag paper will be shared with about. the public.

“I don’t want issues “That was for Cabinet, where infrastructure really that was requested by the wasn’t taken into considPrime Minister so that was eration and people have a specific to Cabinet,” she mountain of problems and said. we don’t have a long warAs for people who have ranty so once a warranty applied for the project, she runs out the cost is so great said: “Their applications are on the purchase. So it’s still on file and obviously important for me because, they’ve been approved for like I said, I’m young, me various amounts and, like and my husband did this I said, we’re offering an on our own, we did not go expansive amount of homes through an affordable proacross New Providence and gramme and it was stressful options are beautiful, the and it cost us so much, so models are beautiful and I for me it is important that am quite certain they will as a young person having be very happy to start their this seat at the table that I families or grow their lives look at what I suffered and or make their first single provide a better response, largest investment in any of not just throw something the homes that are offered. out there for throwing And so I don’t want anyone something out there sake.”

‘JUMPSTART’ FOR HOUSING INITIATIVE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

TRANSPORT and Housing Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis said the government is set to jumpstart its affordable housing initiative, adding some 600 people could benefit when all phases of the project are complete.

Mrs Coleby-Davis made the announcement at the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation yesterday.

She said the government has identified a number of locations where construction will begin at the same time.

“The first is 43 lots in an upscale community in South Beach called Pine Crest,” she said. “Using our PPP initiative, the necessary infrastructure will also be put in place while houses are being constructed.

These homes will cost from

$167,000 to $182,000. When these homes are completed, they will have fencing and landscaping included. The floor plan design includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms and two bedrooms and two bathrooms in three different models.”

She added: “The other areas will be portions of Dignity Gardens subdivision and the Firetrail subdivision as well as a number of lots on scattered sites in the inner-city. These houses will be constructed by our small contractors and paid for by the government by mobilisation and staged payments. The cost of the houses on these lots will range from $110,000 to $160,000.

“The largest project will take place in Carmichael Village. There are about 365 lots. The infrastructure work has just been about completed in phase one and will begin for phase

two shortly. Unfortunately, the issue here is that there is no tying point for the water and sewer in phase one so we have to complete some work in phase two in order to connect the water and sewer system to the connection point in Dignity Gardens. The first thing we will do in phase two is make provision for that connection and get started with construction of houses immediately thereafter.”

Mrs Coleby-Davis said officials expect to break ground for the Pine Crest development tomorrow.

She said the public-private partnership team behind the Carmichael development is also ready to go, adding that she will be able to give a proper timeline in the next month.

“We’re hoping to have some homes turn the keys

by September of this year,” she said.

POLICE PROBE SEPARATE SHOOTINGS POLICE are investigating two shootings that took place on Monday.

Police said around 6.20pm officers were informed of a shooting that occurred on Wiseman Lane, Pinewood Gardens.

A man was shot in his body and taken to hospital in a private vehicle.

Initial investigations revealed that a man was standing outside a residence

on Wiseman Lane when a small vehicle approached him and an occupant discharged a firearm in his direction. The victim is listed in serious condition.

A few minutes later, around 6.30pm, police said a shooting took place on Spice Street, Pinewood Gardens.

Another man was shot in that incident and taken to hospital by private vehicle.

Police said a group of

men were gathered in a parking lot when the occupants of a small vehicle drove by.

One of the occupants discharged a firearm in the direction of the group.

The men ran for cover and moments later one of them discovered that he was shot in his left leg. The victim’s condition is listed as stable.

Investigations into both incidents are continuing.

A SIGNIFICANT quantity of suspected cocaine has been seized by law enforcement officers.

In a statement issued last night, police said: “The Drug Enforcement Unit in a joint effort with OPBAT, US Coast Guard, Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs Boarder Protection, Air Marine Operation and the Police on the island of Abaco, arrested two male suspects for possession of a large quantity of suspected cocaine.”

The suspects and drugs were brought to New Providence last night, with officers showing the various packages that had been seized in the operation.

Investigations are continuing.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, January 26, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

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Blueprint for action on domestic violence already exists THE responses to the death of Heavenly Terveus have continued from all quarters.

Yesterday saw comments from the National Security Minister, the Police Commissioner, and more.

As we pointed out in this column previously, the difficulty is that we must see action rather than just talk – but a lot of the groundwork for such action has already been laid.

As our columnist, Alicia Wallace, points out in today’s Tribune, an entire plan to address gender-based violence has already been created. And it hasn’t been created last week, or last month, but back in 2015. The question is whether it’s being left to gather dust or whether there will be an effort made to pick it up and work through the recommendations.

Some of the suggestions made in recent times have been practical, others less so. For example, one suggestion has been tougher sentencing for crimes – but in the case of Heavenly Terveus, the man who killed her turned the gun on himself afterwards. A tougher sentence in the court wasn’t going to deter someone set on killing himself.

Some of the commentary has been less helpful. Police Commissioner Paul Rolle yesterday said that he has told people over and over “the fella hit you once, leave, what you going back for?”

The trouble is, many people have nowhere to go. The cycle of abuse that keeps people trapped is part of the problem, and not everyone is able to leave.

Time and again, victims have told stories of staying so that the abuse isn’t passed on to another relative, or because they are threatened that the abuser will hurt someone else. Others have no place to live, no safe shelter to go to.

Then there’s the question of whether the police really did enough to protect Heavenly Terveus. They looked for the man in question, but what protective measures might have been put in place that could make a difference?

All of these circumstances are nothing new – and are addressed in the strategic plan. There are building blocks already in place to take action.

The document itself though will only get so far, and we need to have a cultural shift ourselves to ensure domestic violence is not acceptable, that we do not tolerate it when we see it, when people we know talk about it. We have seen the subject be reduced to a laughing matter in the House of Assembly in the past, treated as a joke – and that’s not good enough. It’s also not good enough when discussion of issues such as marital rape

are continually pushed back and not treated as a priority.

If we do not treat violence against women and children as a priority legislatively, then, of course, no one is going to take seriously talk after an incident such as this latest one.

There needs to be a clear structure for reporting and investigating, and ways to provide victims safe shelter and the encouragement they may need to press charges if they wish.

We should, in short, listen to the experts who have already given us their advice. We are already past the starting point – the research is done, the recommendations are made. Now it’s time to act.

People smugglers The news of a boat sinking off Florida with 39 people missing includes a note that the boat set sail from The Bahamas.

The boat apparently set off from Bimini on Saturday night, according to one man found clinging to the boat 45 miles east of the Florida coast. The boat, seemingly used in a human smuggling operation, capsized in rough weather.

No one was wearing life jackets.

Bimini has a relatively small population – the appearance, and subsequent disappearance of at least 40 people in connection with this boat journey might well have been noticed.

More to the point, if Bimini is being used as a launch point for a human smuggling operation, it’s unlikely no one knows anything about it. There may be people still there who are part of the deal or aware of it. Perhaps a Bahamian or two was aboard that boat as captain – so who is missing, who hasn’t been seen for a couple of days?

Someone locally knows something.

What will the island’s top police officer be doing in the wake of this most likely fatal journey to track down the human smugglers in his patch?

And what about local MP Obie Wilchcombe? We have heard nothing from him in response to this smuggling operation in his constituency - never mind will he be working with law enforcement to look at the problem, will he even raise his voice to comment on the situation to start with?

There is often great criticism of the migrants making these journeys, but what about the criminals making such journeys possible? Stop the illegal networks for travel, and you at least slow down the migration. And in cases like this, maybe 39 people are still alive.

Income tax EDITOR, The Tribune.

PERMIT me to respond to a few questions posed to me by G Minnis (Friday, January 21, 2022), in reference to my recent letter decrying the regressive nature of the Bahamian economy and proposing corporate and personal income taxes to fix it.

1) Is Mr Allen proposing a “socialistic economy”?

Depends on what you mean by that wronglymaligned, over-used and under-grasped word. If you mean the progressive tax system that every developed country in the world (including the notexactly-Marxist one to the northwest of us) has long adopted, then yes.

If you mean the present peculiarly Bahamian system of government-assisted profits for wealthy corporations and ‘free market’ misery for everyone else, then no.

2) Is CFAL not in the business of making profits?

Presumably, yes. But then, as I pointed out in my letter, so am I and many others. And there is nothing wrong with that. But does this mean it should pay no tax on those profits, which are made disproportionately from the spending of poor and middle-income consumers, who are themselves taxed on the spending side of the equation?

Again, the whole developed world says “no” (with the exception of a few crackpot rightwing politicians). So do all our neighbours.

The only reason we ourselves are any different is because politicians have lazily permitted the logic of our “offshore” sector to seep into their management of our domestic economy, with the disastrous socio-economic consequences that we see around us.

3) But couldn’t CFAL, for example, just pay its directors huge fees and salaries to avoid the effect of taxes

on corporate profits.

They could. But personal income taxes would then be collected from those same directors, rendering it a fruitless exercise, right?

4) But consumers always end up with the tax burden, because big corporations would just pass on the cost of the new tax as higher costs to the consumer, right?

Again they could. But if they did they would be quickly replaced by leaner, hungrier businessmen who absorb the new cost and take their business. That’s free market competition, is it not?

And no, consumers do not generally end up with the burden of corporate taxes. If they did, then wealthy corporations would not spend billions lobbying politicians to reduce or remove them and finding loopholes and tax havens to hide them, right?

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, January 25, 2022.

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Bloody murder EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT HAS been exactly one month, but I can no longer stranglehold myself into a position of silence, so I am here to scream, “Bloody Murder”! The Progressive Liberal Party came to power in September of 2021, following that there was promised an expansive review of the public service which led to the suspension of promotions. The Minister of The Public Service, The Hon Pia Glover Rolle, pronounced that promotions would be reviewed and ready in time for Christmas.

Admittedly, I was at first titillated by this undertaking but after it had all been said and done and promotions of The Royal Bahamas Defence Force were completed, they looked more like Christmas presents and not necessarily the advancements and promotions of enlisted men for the purpose of filling necessary billets.

To some, my dismay may be considered that of gadfly actions, but to the men to whom it matters most, the promotion of 42 Force Chief Petty Officers, approximately 19 months after the promotion of 32 Force Chief Petty Officers for a total of 78 Force Chief Petty Officers or approximately 6% of the Force’s make-up, to be serving at its highest senior noncommissioned officer rating, is bloody murder.

In May 2020, Commodore Raymond King took command of The Royal Bahamas Defence Force and shortly thereafter there was a massive promotional exercise within the ranks and files of that organisation; a promotion so big that the jokes in the mess areas are that it took six days to get everyone on the list. Dr King argued that although unordinary, there was nothing unethical about his promotional list, since there had been lulls in the promotion before his coming to the top chair. A simple look at his second promotion reveals quite the contrary as there are more of the top senior noncommissioned officers promoted in this exercise than there were in the previous exercise. I imagine that this is much to the chagrin of the men and women that serve in the ranks beneath this enlisted rating, that was once a rating associated with the men and the women that had become the best and the brightest in the forces’ fleet; now it has been reduced to the equivalence of a self-help manual give away in an Oprah Winfrey live studio audience.

The new running joke in the mess areas aboard the ship in case the commander is unaware, is that there was once a time that both the Flamingo and the Blue Marlin were considered endangered species; now if one wishes to spot a Blue Marlin or a Flamingo, you need only visit the senior enlisted mess area of HMBS Coral Harbour. To cheapen the rating of Force Chief to nothing more than a running joke in the mess areas of their juniors or to have it seen as nothing more than a Christmas present, retirement token or much worse,

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net a rank not exempted from duty watches, as opposed to the once glorious standing it held, where the stare of a Force Chief could melt a Marine right where he stood or the bark of an instruction, even at a Lieutenant could cause heart arrhythmia, is bloody murder.

I do not claim to know the mind of the Commander and I assure you that I am not a member in the King’s court but someone, somewhere, must tell the King that the most recent promotion has him looking like the court’s jester. A basic Google search would easily reveal that the rank of a naval captain is equivalent to that of a Colonel in the US Army. A further Google search would reveal that a Colonel in the US Army has command over generally 3,000 to 6,000 soldiers at any given time. Regrettably, the Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, whether willingly or under duress, in his infinite wisdom or otherwise, deemed it necessary for him to have in his command structure almost one dozen naval captains as his administrative command team.

For the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to be made up of approximately 1,580 people and for 6% of that force to be made up of the rank of Force Chief Petty Officer, I must then argue that to additionally add 11 captains to this organisation, must be bloody murder.

I fear that the Commander seems to be unwilling to upset people that serve under his command. Dr King is a Commander, a naval Commander and this is in fact a military, the award for Mr Congeniality simply doesn’t exist here. It is my prayer that he understands that in order to be effective in his tenure he is going to have to frustrate some people. I get it, his degree is in organisational leadership and largely, it is the intention of people with that qualification to try and work in an environment that is nonvolatile, but I again say, this is a military and so the Commander has to make himself comfortable with upsetting people, regardless of whether they are his squad mates, roommates, shipmates or helpmate. I sit and I smile because I am fully aware that by this time the Captains and the Force Chiefs of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force must all be wondering who this man is, this Leyvon Miller, a resigned Able Seaman and where does he get his authority to speak to men at our rank. Well, they may be correct and so I will digress and return to the ranks that I am aptly qualified to speak to.

The incident that took place at the Government House grounds that involved four enlisted marines on April 29, 2019, was bloody murder in my opinion. To allow those Marines to leave the scene of that murder to proceed on any form of leave was again, in my opinion, bloody murder. To

reintroduce those Marines back into active duty after two years and hide them in billets such as capital development, information technology, administration registry and base civil construction was also bloody murder - again in my opinion. More egregious than that, to have promoted every single person that testified in the court case of the murder at Government House must be considered bloody murder.

What the Commander must now answer, not just to the men and the women of the deck who find themselves perplexed, but also to the Bahamian people is, do we reward bloody murder? What is arguable is that members of this force, having to work with newly promoted Marines who all still have the taint of the suspicion hovering over them as they work similar duties as they did the night of the April 29, 2019, is –to my way of thinking – bloody murder.

I offer the Commander this, if a Marine testifies before a jury that he, while on sentry duties fell asleep after hiding his service weapon in a block and having it removed from him all while sleeping, only to be awakened by two shots (although the victim sustained five shots), to see a man in a camouflage outfit that he assumed was a certain named person because he “wasn’t fully conscious” as well as admit in open court that it was not his first time hiding his weapon in the block and you approve his promotion, to me that is bloody murder.

Further, if not one but two Marines testify that while in an area approximately 14 feet by 10 feet, they saw a man that they identified to be Jevon Seymour, that camera footage later identified was nowhere near the scene of the crime and you permit those two men to also be promoted, that is bloody murder.

Lastly, if you promote a Marine who, while on duty as a sentry in an open area allowed an assailant to fire a weapon five times in that area, while in possession of a service weapon without returning a single shot and his best excuse after the act was that he fired several times but his weapon jammed, only for weapon experts and examiners to testify that the weapon was fully functional, that is bloody murder.

Dear Editor, the promotions of 2021 in my opinion leave the King with blood on his hands, and I fear if he doesn’t clean it up quickly, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force may find itself pronounced dead by gunshot wounds to the torso and right upper extremities with multiple injuries, including a lung contusion, a fractured vertebrae and a collection of blood in the chest cavity.

Oh King, you must fire them all. To the offended, I won’t be as easy to kill.

LEYVON A MILLER, JP Nassau, January 24, 2022.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 26, 2022, PAGE 7

Former teacher awarded $24K for contract breach

By PAVEL BAILEY

A FORMER teacher who was let go over alleged rape charges he was later acquitted of, has been awarded $24,000 in costs by the Supreme Court after the government was found in breach of contract.

In a court ruling last Friday, Leon Palmer, a trained teacher formerly employed by the Ministry of Education, was awarded the figure by Supreme Court Justice Indra Charles after the government was found in breach of contract during his supposed interdiction for alleged rape charges as well as for backpay for after his acquittal.

The plaintiff was arrested and charged for rape on January 23, 2013 at which time he was allegedly interdicted by the Ministry of Education. The ministry agreed to pay him half his salary during this

interdiction and he was asked not to return to work at that time.

However, while a letter was prepared for his interdiction, it was never signed nor dispatched to the proper authority or given to the plaintiff, which resulted in him continuing to receive his full salary until October 2013 when payments stopped.

After being acquitted of rape charges on November 30, 2015, Palmer claimed the government had breached his contract. He also argued the government had failed to redeploy him and refused to pay his emoluments and salary, inclusive of increments which he said were unlawfully withheld from October 2013 to the present day.

While the government conceded it did in fact owe Palmer gratuity from his contracted employment period of September 11, 2009 to August 26, 2012, the

Office of the Attorney General - which was listed at the defendant in the case argued the government had not breached any contract agreement from those dates onwards. It was also argued Palmer was on a month-tomonth contract and as such had no claim to payment from when he was formally discharged from duty in October of 2013. They also alleged Palmer was not interdicted.

The judge ruled that as the defendant permitted the plaintiff to continue working after his contract had expired on August 26, 2012, to his arrest date in January 2013, they had tacitly agreed to renew his contract for another two years in accordance with Palmer’s application for renewal on March 30, 2012. The court found the Ministry of Education’s claims that Palmer was operating on a monthto-month contract were disingenuous considering

all the evidence.

The judge ruled the government did owe Palmer his salary and emoluments up to August 25, 2014 — inclusive of 15 percent gratuity for his contractual period with interest at the statutory rate of 6.25 percent per annum. He was also awarded $24,000 in costs.

Additionally, the court found Palmer was never formally interdicted by the Ministry of Education as he had never formally received a letter indicating such from the principal of the school and received full payment until October 2013. The court said that at best, the ministry had only contemplated interdiction.

The court also ordered the government to pay its portion of NIB payments to the National Insurance Board up to August 24, 2015.

However, the judge ruled against Palmer’s claims that he was entitled to be reemployed by the ministry after

he was acquitted of the rape charges, as the court found the Ministry of Education was under no legal obligation to re-employ him once his contract had ended.

“This is an unfortunate case,” the judge noted. “By all accounts, Mr Palmer was an exceptionally hardworking and talented teacher. Had it not been for the allegation of rape, to which he was eventually found not guilty, he might have still been employed by the ministry.

“That being said, he was not interdicted by the ministry. He continued to work until the allegation of rape when he was advised not to return to work. That was about five months into the unwritten two-year contract. It is a fact that the ministry hires teachers and sometimes takes months or even up to a year to formally execute their contractual appointment.

“However, the defendant

is under no legal duty to continuously re-engage an employee after his fixed term contract has expired.

After it comes to an end, an employer is at liberty to decide whether or not that employee would be reemployed. “The defendant chose not to continue with the services of Mr Palmer but they should have paid him up to the expiration of the two-year unwritten contract which ended on 25 August 2014. He is also entitled to 15 percent gratuity on this contract which I so order.”

On the issue of costs, she ruled: “Mr Palmer claims costs in the sum of $27,000 in the event of him being successful. The defendant was prepared not to seek costs in the event of their success. Mr Palmer was not successful on every point and, therefore, I will make an award in the amount (of) $24,000. This represents fair and reasonable costs.”

MARINE AND SECOND MAN ON $300K FRAUD CHARGE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A ROYAL Bahamas Defence Force officer and another man were yesterday charged on several fraud-related offences after being accused of trying to defraud nearly $300,000 from Bank of The Bahamas last week.

Prosecutors allege that Duke Moss, 37, and RBDF officer Wilton Saunders, 38, conspired to commit fraud earlier this month and subsequently tried to fraudulently obtain $193,800 from Bank of The Bahamas on January 20.

It is further alleged that Moss had in his possession forged Royal Bank of Canada cheques, collectively amounting to $576,496, drawn on the account of Sun Oil Limited between December 13,

2021 and January 17.

Police said Moss uttered those forged documents during those same dates and further accused him of defrauding nearly $400,000 from Bank of The Bahamas.

The 37-year-old was further charged with money laundering offences and attempted money laundering.

Moss is accused of acquiring over $350,000 from Bank of The Bahamas between December 16, 2021 and January 14, while knowing the funds represented the proceeds of crime.

Police also alleged that he converted some $97,000 and transferred over $17,000 in funds to attain a 2014 Buick vehicle and five motor vehicles between January and December.

On the attempted money laundering charge, police

alleged that he tried to possess $193,838 in money obtained from Bank of The Bahamas.

Yesterday’s arraignment comes after a video of a man showing off stacks of crisp cash circulated on social media on the weekend, purporting to be of the accused.

In the nearly 30 second clip, a man can be heard saying “we out here” before turning the camera on the driver, who then sticks up his middle finger.

During yesterday’s hearing, both men pleaded not guilty to the charges.

After they denied the allegations, prosecutor Sgt Vernon Pyfrom told the magistrate the Crown would not object to bail.

However, he requested both men be given sign in conditions and further asked for Moss to be outfitted with an ankle

18 MONTHS IN JAIL FOR BREAK-IN

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AN Andros man who broke into a woman’s house and stole several of her belongings last week was sentenced to 18 months behind bars yesterday.

Brenden Baker, 23, was charged with housebreaking and stealing from a home after he was accused of breaking into Annamae Dorsette’s San Andros home sometime between January 21 and 22.

Police said that after breaking into Ms Dorsette’s home, the accused stole two televisions, one cell phone and cell phone charger, a

pair of white sneakers and an assortment of jewellery and clothing, all valued at over $1,900.

During his arraignment, the 23-year-old admitted the offences and was subsequently sentenced to 18 months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Also appearing in court yesterday was 55-year-old Sherman Johnson.

Johnson is accused of behaving in a disorderly manner and assaulting two police officers on January 19.

Police further allege that he tried to resist arrest the same day.

However, Johnson denied the charges before

Magistrate Kendra Kelly.

After the accused pleaded not guilty, his attorney asked the court to be lenient when imposing bail conditions, noting her client was a businessman and “responsible citizen” who had no previous convictions.

She also told the court the charges stemmed from an incident involving his tenant.

In response, Magistrate Kelly granted him bail at $3,000 with one or two sureties and also ordered him to report to the Grove Police Station every Wednesday before 6pm.

The case was adjourned to February 9 for trial.

KIDNAP ACCUSED DENIED BAIL

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 35-YEAR-OLD man accused of kidnapping and robbing several people at gunpoint last month was remanded to prison yesterday.

Akandi Gibson was arrested after he was accused of using a firearm to rob a man and two women of over $100,000 in cash and an assortment of other items, including a cellphone, 2020 Honda

vehicle and jewellery on December 30, 2021.

Police said Gibson also kidnapped two of the victims he stole from the same day while being concerned with others and said he used the stolen funds to purchase an iPhone on December 31, 2021.

He is further accused of having $7,310 in his possession on December 30, 2021 which represents the proceeds of crime.

Gibson was also charged with one count of receiving after police alleged that he dishonestly received some

of the stolen items sometime between December 30 and 31 last year.

The 35-year-old was not required to enter a plea to the offences during his hearing before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt yesterday.

Magistrate FergusonPratt told him that his case would be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court for trial through a voluntary bill of indictment.

As a result, bail was denied and the matter was adjourned to March 30.

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monitoring bracelet.

In response, Moss’ attorney objected to his client being outfitted with the electronic device, insisting he did not pose a “flight risk” and instead asked for his travel documents to be surrendered to the court, which was later granted.

Meanwhile, Saunders’ attorney sought to convince the court of her client’s innocence, saying it appeared he was being charged because of his association with Moss, who was later revealed to be his cousin.

The attorney also spoke on her client’s character, noting he was a father and RBDF officer who had recently been promoted

because of his “integrity”.

In view of this, the attorney asked the prosecutor to review the case, arguing her client should have not been charged.

In respect to the viral video of the two men, defence lawyers explained to the court Saunders was off duty on the day in question and was just “riding around” with his cousin.

However, the prosecutor did not agree with the defence attorney’s arguments, saying there was sufficient evidence to prosecute both men.

As a result, Saunders was granted $9,500 bail with two sureties and ordered to report to the East Street South Police Station once a

week.

Meanwhile, Moss was granted $200,000 bail with two or three sureties and ordered to report to the Elizabeth Estates Police Station twice a week.

The matter was adjourned to April 5 and 6 for trial.

In a separate hearing, Moss was further charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition and possession of a component part of a firearm.

He denied the firearm offences before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson​ -Pratt and the matter was adjourned to today where a decision on bail is expected to be made.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, January 26, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

STATE Minister in the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development Lisa Rahming presenting a wreath to the family of Heavenly Terveus after the photographer, pictured below, was shot and killed in her home in front of her onemonth-old son.

SOUNDBITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA WON’T CHANGE A THING - WE MUST FORCE THROUGH A NEW MINDSET ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE A FEW years ago I woke up to the sound of an argument in the street. A woman was telling a man to stop, telling him to let her go, telling him to leave her alone. I looked out the window to see them in the middle of the street, him behind her, his arm around her neck. He was berating her as he dragged her along.

Their movement was slow.

She was struggling.

I called the police but they never showed up that night. I could stand at the window and watch, go back to bed, or find a way to intervene. It did not take a long time for me to decide to do something to help, but I had to think quickly about how to be effective and minimise the risk for myself. In situations like that, we not only have to consider our responsibility to each other and dedication to whatever we believe in, but our own safety. We are regularly reminded the police are ill-equipped and, in most cases, by the time we call the police, it is (too) late.

Over the past few months, headlines have shown us that gender-based violence against women is a pervasive issue that is not being appropriately addressed. When reports of gender-based killing and domestic violence make it to the news, there is shock.

“How could this happen here?” “What is wrong with these people?” “This place really changed for the worse!” There is outrage.

“Something must be done!”

“We need stiffer penalties!” “Time to hang these people!”

Gender-based violence against women is not new and it has not just arrived here. Not only are there serious problems with violent people, but we need to address the issue of violent and unresponsive systems.

We need to understand the root of gender-based violence in order to end it. This means dismantling patriarchy - the socio-political system designed for men to hold the power, be dominant and have absolute control, authority and ownership of and over women - in all of its forms, including those that are considered “traditional” or “cute.” Think, for example,

By Alicia Wallace of fathers “giving away” their daughter to marry their husbands as though it is a transfer of property.

These practices are not without consequence.

WE CAN AGREE, POLICE FAIL US REGULARLY

I have called the police and been told there were no cars available. I have gone to the police station and spent hours making a report. I have been told I cannot have a copy of my own report. I have been told by a 9-1-1 operator to leave safety to directly engage a party before they would send assistance. I have received a personal phone call from a police officer I have accompanied other people to make police reports after they had been turned away. I have heard the stories of women who have been harassed and stalked, documented the events and been told nothing can be done to protect them. I remember the murder of Alicia Sawyer and her daughter and the report she had gone to police to record the threats against her.

I know there are multiple problems with the police.

I have seen the failings of law enforcement and the so-called justice system.

We need an alternative to police and it will take research, imagination and consultation to develop it.

We all know the existing systems do not work and they were not designed to meet the needs we have now. Most people do not report gender-based violence and most people who report do not want to go through the painful, difficult process that is the court system. This is not a lack of strength or bravery on their part. This is a clear indication that what we have not only does not work, but does harm and

zero-tolerance approach.

Sub-committees puts lives at risk. Reform of focused on the criminal systems and practices has to justice system, medical start with a foundation that and psycho-social, comincludes an understanding munications, services for of gender, knowledge about survivors, perpetrators and gender-based violence and families, surveillance, data the forms it takes, and the collection and information engagement of experts and management, Family Island advocacy and education survivors.

During the Global 16 and training.

There was an assessment Days Campaign, Equality Bahamas clearly of The Bahamas at that stated its six demands and time and recommendations highlighted 16 CEDAW were made including the establishment recommenof a statutory dations that ‘Speak to your Gender-based need to be acted upon. faith leaders. What Violence This was a are their positions Authority to facilitate the little over on domestic process of one month implementago, when violence? Marital ing the Plan people were rape? The genderand estab“oranging the based killing of lishment of a world” to end national progender-based women and girls? tocol which violence, and How do they talk would include there were about marriage? a Victim’s a few short Advocate. periods of out- How do they talk Within its rage following about relations implementareports of between men tion strategy, gender-based the Plan lists violence. Still, and women? “the ten low there have What does that hanging fruit” been no com- mean for your which are mitments to action from participation in the practical and be politicians. organisations they could implemented There are run and the spaces with relaempty statetive ease ments all the they control? and within a time, from senators and Members of short period of time. They Parliament, but no one is include creation of a unihelped and no lives are fied family court system, saved by those soundbites a national awareness proand social media posts. gramme on gender-based We need them to take spe- violence, a sexual assault cific actions as a matter of response team project, programmes for men and urgency. boys and programmes for perpetrators.

The Strategic Plan to End The National Strategic Gender-based Violence is Plan to End Gender-based 184 pages long. It is rather Violence was published in thorough and organised in 2015. The task force was a way that makes it easy chaired by Retired Justice to read and easy to idenRuby Nottage with deputy tify the action steps. I point chairs Dr Sandra Dean- this out because we all need Patterson and Dr Robin to understand the governRoberts. It focused on pre- ment is not at a loss. It is vention, protection and not without the tools to do accountability with a vision what needs to be done. We of eliminating gender- have research and researchbased violence through a ers. We have plans and

A STARTING POINT

draft policies. We have stories and statistics. We have people who are capable of reviewing, editing, recommending and training.

What we do not have is the political will required to get this done. It is on us, people in The Bahamas, to create the political will by making the elimination of gender-based violence a priority and a tool by which we measure performance and commitment to us.

What does this mean? We have to demand the Members of Parliament state their positions on genderbased violence. We have to reject the empty “violence is wrong” statements and demand answers to specific questions. Will you support a bill to criminalise marital rape and call it rape? Will you provide training on gender-based violence to your staff? How will you encourage your colleagues to support women’s rights and the elimination of violence against women?

What are you doing to ensure The Bahamas takes steps toward compliance with CEDAW? It also means we have to use our own power and influence and hold others with power and influence accountable for the way they use it.

If you are an employer, look for ways to protect your employees. Provide gender-based violence training and bystander intervention training. Read the International Labour Organization’s Convention 190 and Recommendation 206 and make clear commitments toward the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. Consider ways to support employees who are experiencing violence which can include flexible schedules, working remotely and time off.

Speak to your faith leaders. What are their positions on domestic violence?

Marital rape? The genderbased killing of women and girls? How do they talk

about marriage? How do they talk about relations between men and women? What does that mean for your participation in the organisations they run and the spaces they control? Think about the ways you support, directly or indirectly, people who do not support women’s rights, blame victims of gender-based killing, or dehumanise women.

Pay attention to what they say in the media and the impact it has on survivors, family members of victims, perpetrators and the general public. You can challenge their positions.

You can withdraw your support. You can encourage those who are quiet in their positions of support to speak up and join the people who are working every day to protect women, to save women’s lives.

Politicians listen to people of influence - people they believe drive votes.

They are followers, so use your power to set trends.

Implement measures within your organization and become a model. Go public with your initiatives and let the country see what you are doing. Challenge other organisations and the government to do the same, or to do more.

As an individual, ask the difficult questions and make them specific. Write to your MP. Write to cabinet ministers. Make it public. Call the radio talk shows, post on social media and let your positions be known in your social circles. We, quite literally, have to be the change. We have to do what we want to see done, apply pressure on those in positions to do it at higher levels and on larger scales - and be loud about it.

The outrage is useless once it dissipates in a few days. Take some time to focus on what you have the power to do and how you can use your influence to end gender-based violence and move others to take action too.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 26, 2022, PAGE 9

FACEBOOK PARENT META CREATES TECHTALK BIONTECH, GOOGLE, DEUTSCHE BAHN POWERFUL AI SUPERCOMPUTER BACK AFRICAN MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Facebook’s parent company Meta on Monday said it has created what it believes is among the fastest artificial intelligence supercomputers running today.

The social media giant said it hopes the machine will help lay the groundwork for its building of the metaverse, a virtual reality construct intended to supplant the internet as we know it today.

Facebook said it believes the computer will be the fastest in the world once it is fully built around the middle of the year.

Supercomputers are extremely fast and powerful machines built to do complex calculations not possible with a regular home computer. Meta did not disclose where the computer is located or how much it is costing to build.

The computer, which is already up and running but is still being built, is called AI Research SuperCluster.

Meta says it will help its AI researchers build “new and better” artificial intelligence models that can learn from “trillions” of examples and work across hundreds of different languages simultaneously and analyse text, images and video together.

The way Meta is defining the power of its computer is different from how conventional and more technically powerful supercomputers are measured because it relies on the performance of graphicsprocessing chips, which are useful for running “deep learning” algorithms that can understand what’s in an image, analyse text and translate between languages, said Tuomas Sandholm, a computer

FOUNDED AI FIRM

FACEBOOK employees take a photo with the company’s new name and logo outside its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. last year. Facebook’s parent company Meta on Monday said it has created what it believes is among the fastest artificial intelligence supercomputers running today. The social media giant said it hopes the machine will help lay the groundwork for its building of the metaverse, a virtual reality construct intended to supplant the internet as we know it today. Facebook said it believes the computer will be the fastest in the world once it is fully built around the middle of the year.

(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

science professor and co-director of the AI centre at Carnegie Mellon University.

“We hope RSC will help us build entirely new AI systems that can, for example, power realtime voice translations to large groups of people, each speaking a different language, so they

can seamlessly collaborate on a research project or play an AR game together,” Meta said in a blog post.

The company said its supercomputer will incorporate “real-world examples” from its own systems into training its AI. It says its previous efforts used only

open-source and other publicly available data sets.

“They are going to, for the first time, put their customer data on their AI research computer,” Sandholm said.

“That would be a really big change to give AI researchers and algorithms access to all that data.”

ROBOT UMPIRES AT HOME PLATE MOVING UP TO TRIPLE-A FOR 2022 NEW YORK (AP) — Robot umpires have been given a promotion and will be just one step from the major leagues this season.

Major League Baseball is expanding its automated strike zone experiment to Triple-A, the highest level of the minor leagues.

MLB’s website posted a hiring notice seeking seasonal employees to operate the Automated Ball and Strike system. MLB said it is recruiting employees to operate the system for the Albuquerque Isotopes, Charlotte Knights, El Paso Chihuahuas, Las Vegas Aviators, Oklahoma City Dodgers, Reno Aces, Round Rock Express, Sacramento River Cats, Salt Lake Bees, Sugar Land Skeeters and Tacoma Rainiers.

The independent Atlantic League became the first American professional league to let a computer call balls and strikes at its All-Star Game in July 2019 and experimented with ABS during the second half of that season. It also was used in the Arizona Fall League for top prospects in 2019, drawing complaints of its calls on breaking balls.

There were no minor leagues in 2020 due to the pandemic, and robot umps were used last season in eight of nine ballparks

BERLIN (AP) — Vaccine maker BioNTech, Google and rail firm Deutsche Bahn are among the companies investing in African-founded artificial intelligence company InstaDeep.

The company, now based in London, announced Tuesday that it has raised $100 million from investors, allowing it to expand its presence to the United States. The exact amounts invested by each company were not disclosed.

InstaDeep focuses on using artificial intelligence to improve electronics manufacturing, logistics and biotechnology research.

Recently, the company announced the development of an early warning system together with BioNTech to analyse coronavirus samples and predict highrisk variants.

BioNTech and its U.S. partner Pfizer developed the first widely available vaccine against COVID-19.

The two companies said Tuesday they are working on a shot tailored to the omicron variant.

Founded in Tunis eight years ago, InstaDeep now has engineers and researchers in South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia, France, Britain and the United Arab Emirates.

GM TO SPEND NEARLY $7B ON EV, BATTERY PLANTS IN MICHIGAN

By DAVID EGGERT and TOM KRISHER Associated Press

IN this photo from 2019, Ron Besaw, right, operates a laptop computer as home plate umpire Brian deBrauwere gets signals from radar with the ball and strikes calls during the fourth inning of the Atlantic League All-Star minor league baseball game in York, Pa. This was the first time an American Professional League let a computer call balls and strikes. Now Major League Baseball is expanding its automated strike zone experiment to Triple-A. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) at the Low-A Southeast League.

The Major League Baseball Umpires Association agreed in its labour contract that started in 2020 to cooperate and assist if

Commissioner Rob Manfred decides to utilise the system at the major league level.

“It’s hard to handicap if, when or how it might be employed at the major

league level, because it is a pretty substantial difference from the way the game is called today,” Chris Marinak, MLB’s chief operations and strategy officer, said last March.

MLB said the robot umpires will be used at some spring training ballparks in Florida, remain at Low A Southeast and could be used at non-MLB venues.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — General Motors is making the largest investment in company history in its home state of Michigan, announcing plans to spend nearly $7 billion to convert a factory to make electric pickup trucks and to build a new battery cell plant.

The moves, announced Tuesday in the state capital of Lansing, will create up to 4,000 jobs and keep another 1,000 already employed at an underutilized assembly plant north of Detroit.

The automaker plans to spend up to $4 billion converting and expanding its Orion Township assembly factory to make electric pickups and $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion building a third U.S. battery cell plant with a joint-venture partner in Lansing.

GM CEO Mary Barra said the investment would make Michigan “the epicenter of the electric vehicle industry.”

PAGE 10, Wednesday, January 26, 2022

MIGRANTS are brought to shore after being intercepted by the Libyan coast guard on the Mediterranean Sea, in Garaboli Libya, on October 18, 2021.

Photo: Yousef Murad/AP

THE TRIBUNE

Migrant abuses continue in Libya BRUSSELS Associated Press A CONFIDENTIAL European Union military report calls for continuing a controversial EU programme to train and equip Libya’s coast guard and navy despite growing concerns about their treatment of migrants, a mounting death toll at sea, and the continued lack of any central authority in the North African nation.

The report, circulated to EU officials this month and obtained by The Associated Press, offers a rare look at Europe’s determination to support Libya in the interception and return of tens of thousands of men, women and children to Libya, where they face insufferable abuse.

Compiled by Italian navy Rear Adm. Stefano Turchetto, head of the EU arms embargo surveillance mission, or Operation Irini, the report acknowledges the “excessive use of force” by Libyan authorities, adding that EU training is “no longer fully followed”.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants hoping to reach Europe have made their way through Libya, where a lucrative trafficking and smuggling business has flourished in a country without a functioning government, fragmented for years between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

The EU report acknowledges “the political stalemate” in Libya has hindered Europe’s training program, noting that the country’s internal divisions make it difficult to obtain political support for enforcing “proper behavioral standards ... compliant with human rights, especially when dealing with irregular migrants”.

The European Commission and the EU’s External Action Service — the equivalent of the 27-nation bloc’s foreign office — declined to comment on the report.

But spokesman Peter Stano confirmed the EU is determined to train coast guard personnel and bolster Libya’s capacity to manage a massive search-and-rescue area of the Mediterranean.

The EU training program “remains firm on the table to increase the capacity of the Libyan authorities to

save lives at sea,” Stano said.

Criticism of Europe’s migration policies has been growing. At least three requests have been filed to the International Criminal Court demanding that Libyan and European officials, as well as traffickers, militiamen and others be investigated for crimes against humanity. A UN inquiry published in October also found evidence that abuses committed in Libya may amount to crimes against humanity.

Last week, UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres called for countries to “re-examine policies that support interception at sea and return of refugees and migrants to Libya”.

Stano dismissed those criticisms. “When it comes to migration, our objective is to save peoples’ lives, protect those in need and fight trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling,” Stano said.

Human rights defenders and asylum seekers disagree. “The Europeans pretend to show the good face,” said a Cameroonian woman who arrived in Libya in 2016 with her child thinking she would find work. Instead, she was trafficked and forced into prostitution after being separated from her daughter.

The AP does not identify victims of sexual violence.

In 2018 she got on a smuggler’s boat bound for Europe but her group was caught by Libyan authorities and taken to the notorious Tajoura detention center where detainees were beaten and abused.

She was only released after a friend paid a $700 ransom to the guards.

“They’re calling it saving lives? How is it saving lives when those lives are tortured after being saved?” the woman asked.

Questioned about the detention centers in Libya, Stano said the EU’s position is clear: “They are unacceptable. The current arbitrary detention system must end.”

But despite such assertions nothing has changed on the ground. The Libyan government last month named Mohammed Al-Khoja, a militia leader implicated in abuses against migrants, to head the Department for Combating Irregular Migration, which oversees the detention centres.

PFIZER BEGINS TESTING OMICRON-MATCHED SHOTS PFIZER is enrolling healthy adults to test a reformulated COVID-19 vaccine that matches the hugely contagious Omicron variant, to see how it compares with the original shots.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech announced the study yesterday.

COVID-19 vaccine-makers have been updating their shots to better match omicron in case global health authorities decide the change is needed. Omicron is more likely than previous variants to cause infection even in people who’ve been vaccinated, but it’s not yet clear that a change to the vaccine recipe will be ordered.

Among the issues regulators are weighing: Some of the first places to face an Omicron surge already are seeing the mutant wane — and there’s no way to know if the next variant that arises will resemble omicron or be totally different.

The original vaccines still offer good protection against severe illness and death. Studies in the US

and elsewhere have made clear that adding a booster dose strengthens that protection and improves the chances of avoiding even a milder infection.

Another wrinkle in deciding whether vaccines need an update: A new US report yesterday echoes data from Britain and South Africa that Omicron infections cause less severe illness — at least in part because so many people have some protection from vaccination or prior infection. During the Omicron surge, 13 percent of hospitalised COVID-19 patients ended up in intensive care, compared with about 18 percent during two earlier waves, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, “we recognise the need to be prepared in the event this protection wanes over time and to potentially help address Omicron and new variants in the future,” Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer’s vaccine research chief, said in a statement.

SPORTS PAGE 11

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022

Newton seeks another term as BLTA president

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedis.net

Annual general meeting and election of officers all set for this Saturday

P

erry Newton, the president of Sub Region Three of COTECC, will be seeking another two-year term as president of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association when the BLTA holds its annual general meeting and election of officers on Saturday.

The AGM and elections are scheduled to begin 3pm at the National Tennis Centre and will be open to all financial members.

Newton, elected to serve on the COTECC board in August with the responsibility for The Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Haiti over the next two years, said he’s looking forward to regaining the confidence of the BLTA to serve for another two-year term here at home.

“I think it’s a part of the process that federations undertake,” Newton said.

“Recently, we used to go every year, but some people felt it was a short time.

“Even two years is a short time, but this allows the federation to stay fresh.

“We have a lot of things to report to the membership about the growth of the sport during the pandemic and being

PERRY Newton incorporated after being registered as a non-profit organisation last year. So we made a lot of progress during COVID-19. This year, we will focus a lot more on the players by having more tournaments this year compared to the last term in office.”

Newton, who was opposed by Daphany Mortier during the last election in 2020, said while they managed to get in some tournaments during the past two years, it wasn’t sufficient to keep the local players active, especially those who are vying to obtain athletic scholarships to further their education in school.

“This term, once we are re-elected, we want to focus on getting more tournaments for our players to participate in, not just the ones who are at home, but those who are on the tour and just try to build a stronger relationship with all of them,” Newton said.

As for the elections, Newton said he’s looking forward to the elections.

“It’s a time to get people to join in and be part of your vision for tennis in the country,” he said.

“We have a lot of exciting things moving forward.

No matter what the outcome, we need to have dedicated people in positions representing each island association in Abaco, Grand Bahama and Eleuthera. So it’s exciting because they are in a unique position representing their respective island.”

During the break in the pandemic, Newton said they got to send out their nomination list with the deadline closed for them to be returned on Sunday.

He said the list will be available on the ballot sheet for everyone to peruse on election day on Saturday.

While the AGM will be face-to-face, Newton said there will be a virtual setup for persons who choose not to attend because of the COVID-19 environment.

He anticipates that there will be a number of persons who will be in attendance at the NTC. “At the last elections, we had about 140 persons who showed up to participate in the AGM,” Newton said.

“We really can’t say how many people will show up, but we anticipate that the numbers could be around the same as the last one in 2020.”

Although he was elected during the start of COVID19 in 2020, Newton said there were some projects already in the works under the previous leadership of Darnette Weir, whom he served as treasurer and his administration was able to carry some of those out when they took office.

“COVID-19 affected some of the things we wanted to do because of the restrictions that were put in place (by the Ministry of Health),” Newton said. “But based on that, we saw a lot of growth with tennis being viewed as a safe sport. “So we’ve seen some growth since 2020 and I think if it wasn’t for the pandemic, we would have seen a lot more growth. But it was a good two years. We learned a lot. We had to make a lot of adjustments on the fly because it was something new for everybody.”

Through the measures they implemented, Newton said the Bahamas gained a lot of recognition by the

International Tennis Federation in regards to the return of tennis in the pandemic and he credited a lot of that from what Weir left in place.

“The Bahamas also did very well in a lot of the international competitions that we participated in,” Newton said. “We saw a lot of growth with new players at the beginners and adult levels, so it was a really good two years.

“I would definitely say my team really meshed together around FebruaryMarch last year and we really clicked as a unit. So I expect more growth and I hope that the country maintains a low level of COVID-19 inflections and once we do, we can bring back our international tennis to allow the local players who don’t have the opportunity to travel to get some experience here at home.”

As for his slate of officers, Newton said he anticipates that those seeking to join him on the board will be successful as he is in securing their positions as they look forward to serving in another twoyear term on the BLTA board.

Nadal, Page 15

JAMES, LAKERS ROCK BROOKLYN 106-96 IN DAVIS’ RETURN LEBRON James welcomed Anthony Davis back with a lob pass for the game’s first basket, then turned to his own offence to score 33 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 106-96 victory over the Brooklyn Nets last night.

Davis had eight points in 25 minutes after missing 17 games with a sprained left knee and the Lakers got good nights off the bench from Malik Monk and Carmelo Anthony.

James added seven rebounds and six assists, punctuating his performance with steals and dunks about 15 seconds apart midway through the fourth quarter.

Monk scored 22 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Anthony added 13.

James Harden had 33 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in an impressive follow-up to his strong game in Los Angeles when the Nets won there on Christmas.

CLIPPERS 116, WIZARDS 115 WASHINGTON (AP) — Luke Kennard scored seven points inside the final 9 seconds, including a goahead four-point play with 1.9 seconds remaining, and Los Angeles overcame a 35-point first-half deficit to stun Washington.

Kennard hit a 32-footer out of a timeout and then, after Washington committed a 5-second violation, sank another 3 running to

SEE PAGE 14

‘OUR KIDS ARE READY TO ENGAGE IN AFTER-SCHOOL SPORTS’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedis.net WITH the forum created

by Best Events and Sports management team during the Meet & Greet for Minister of Sports Mario Bowleg, the sporting associations and federations got to express their grievances over the state of sports in the country in the COVID19 environment.

BES’ husband and wife founders Tommy and Makeva Wallace-Stubbs provided the opportunity on Saturday at the Fusion Superplex in what turned out to be the largest gathering of sporting personalities to discuss the plight of sports in the country.

Varel Davis, the president of the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association, said as a physical education teacher for at least 20 years, it’s a bit discouraging to know that there is no after-school sporting activities for the past two years for the student-athletes.

“We know how important sports is to our students, especially those in the government schools,” said Davis, who is a physical education teacher at CH Reeves Junior High School.

“Two years now, we have been fighting and praying that something would work out for our kids.

“They are our kids. They are ready to engage in after-school sports. Everybody knows how important

sports are. Just like education, they go hand-in-hand.

So we really need to get our kids back out there because if they don’t, we know that they can find ways to be idle.”

She said she’s hoping that through this forum, they can find ways and means to engage the student-athletes into wholesome sporting activities because they can’t get much done online. She noted that they are tired of trying to find ways to do everything virtually and looking forward to the day when they can return to face-to-face competition.

“Hats off to my coaches who have been able to engage in virtual activities for the kids who came to them,” she stressed.

“Again, we haven’t done

anything in two years.

And if we don’t do anything, how can we feed our national team programme?

So we need to get high school sports up and running, I’m hoping that this is the year that we will be able to do it.”

Evon Wisdom, the sports director in the Ministry of Education, offered his dedication to Patricia ‘Pattie’ Johnson, who has devoted her life to coaching so many young girls through her coaching at HO Nash Junior High School. He noted that she’s now in need of assistance as she recovers from her illness.

Wisdom advised the sporting personalities in the room at Fusion Superplex to give “respect where respect is due.”

Vladimir Putin backs China over ‘politicization’ of Beijing Olympics MOSCOW (AP) — Russia and China oppose “the politicization of sport and demonstrative boycotts” ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday in an address to his country’s athletes.

The US is among several countries which have said they will not send politicians or other representatives to next month’s Games in a so-called diplomatic boycott, citing concerns over human rights in China.

Putin plans to attend the Olympics and to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

“I consider the main goal of these competitions to

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin yesterday. (AP) attract as many citizens as possible to sport and the strengthening of friendship between peoples. These approaches are shared by the organisers of the upcoming Games, our Chinese friends,” Putin said.

“Together we stand against the politicization of sport and demonstrative boycotts.

“We support the traditional Olympic values, above all, equality and fairness.”

Instead of the usual ceremony in Moscow before Russian teams depart to the Olympics, Putin addressed athletes by video link as they gathered at training centres across the country.

“I ask you and all of your teammates to rigorously observe all requirements of the organising committee for the Games and to strictly follow all medical instructions,” he said.

As at last year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Russians will be competing without their country’s name or flag at the Beijing Games in the fallout from years-long doping disputes.

The team will be known as “ROC”, short for Russian Olympic Committee.

He noted that it doesn’t matter whether one likes the person or not, when one considers what Johnson did, she, along with others like Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt, deserves the credit that is due.

He noted that over the years, the efforts of a lot of Bahamian coaches have produced some wealthy Bahamian athletes, who have now become multimillionaires and are doing much better than many of those that they have left behind.

Wisdom revealed how NBA player Chavano “Buddy” Hield has secured a new basketball floor to put down in a gymnasium in his hometown of Grand Bahama, but they can’t do it because they have to first

find the funding to repair the roof.

“If we don’t catch up and understand what is going on, we will be left behind,” said Wisdom, alluding to the fact that young baseball players are signing more and more professional contracts here and there is still no completion of the new baseball stadium on site.

“Baseball is out there, basketball is coming.

What’s the next sport. Track and field has been doing it for years with professional athletes. What are we doing to enhance that.”

With high school sports officially on hold, Wisdom said one physical education teacher told him that she felt like two buses ran

SEE PAGE 14

PAGE 12, Wednesday, January 26, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

‘We will start our first Father versus Daughter basketball programme’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@trivbunemedia.net THE Annual Diamond Basketball Development Programme is back at the Hope Centre and organiser Terrance “Red Eye’ McSweeney couldn’t be more happier with the progress he’s seen from the young girls participating between the ages of 5-18 years old.

“This is our second day back for 2022 with our Diamond Basketball Development League. Thank God for the weather,” McSweeney said. “What we’re looking at this year, continuing from 2021, with more than 10, we hope to have more games played.

“However, we have some special events that we will be starting from as early as February 19. We will start our first Diamond Basketball Development’s Father versus Daughter basketball programme where the fathers can come out and play with their daughters.

He pointed out that he had a father, who showed up for the first time with his five-year-old daughter, and he’s loving it.

“We started our primary school programme last year and this is one of the recipients from that programme,” he said.

For the past eight years, McSweeney said the Hope Centre has been a fixture for the programme and he commended Pastor Carlos Reid and his wife, Minister Tiffany Reid, for allowing them free access to utilise the facilities.

In March, McSweeney said the girls will be allowed to stop in on Friday afternoons after school hours from 4-6pm where they will participate in pick up games to help sharpen their skills before they return on Saturday morning for the training sessions starting at 9am.

Additionally, McSweeney said they are looking forward to having his players in the programme in some scrimmages against visiting teams.

But if that doesn’t materialise, they will just play amongst themselves.

“One thing we are not looking at getting into that we did last year was to participate in tournaments,” he said. “We found out that the tournaments we went to, our girls ended up playing against ourselves. That didn’t make any sense.

“Why pay a fee of $80 or $100 and we are unable to play against any other team or club. The clubs only focus on primary, junior and senior boys. So this year and in the future, we will create for ourselves.

We will provide shirts for the girls and they will have

TERRANCE McSweeney their own league to play in.”

It’s a year-round programme with a break just for the weather. There’s an average of 20-30 girls participating on a weekly basis.

Reyenne Greene, a 10th grader at St John’s College, has been a part of the Diamond Basketball Development Programme for the past four years. She first met McSweeney when she was at TG Glover Primary School.

“I was supposed to be running track, but I ended up playing basketball for St John’s,” Greene said. “I always liked it. I found it very interesting.”

She noted that McSweeney has certainly helped her to improve her game and she’s looking forward to heading off to school on a basketball scholarship and eventually becoming a professional player, hopefully in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

“Despite COVID-19, we still get to practice and keep up with a lot of stuff,” Greene said. “This is good to keep us occupied without any competition in school right now.”

Arianna Gomez, a 15-year-old 10th grader at St Augustine’s College, said her love for the game she developed four years ago inspired her to get more knowledge and that is why she joined the Diamond Basketball Development Programme.

“I used to play with my brothers and neighbours before I started coming here,” Gomez said. “It’s a very friendly environment. We are all very close with each other and coach (McSweeney) really pushes us to get better.”

Without any league to play in for the Big Red Machine because of COVID-19, Gomez said Diamond Basketball Development enables her to stay fit and sharp. She noted that she can even go home and display what she has learned against her brothers and the neighbours.

In the near future, Gomez said her ultimate goal is to go to college, hopefully South Carolina,

COACH Terrance “Red-Eye” McSweeney teaches basketball fundamentals on Saturday during his Diamond Basketball Development Programme, which staged its second weekend of action at the Hope Centre. McSweeney noted that once school reopens this week, the players will be invited to come out at 4pm on Fridays to participate in scrimmage games.

Photos by Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff which offers one of the best division one basketball programmes, and eventually go on to play professionally as well, either in the WNBA or in the European League.Cara Deveaux, the mother of 10-year-old Chloe Deveaux, who is in the fifth grade at Southwest Christian Academy on Gladstone Road, said when she met McSweeney in her neighbourhood, he was impressed with her 5-foot, 6-inch height and encouraged her to come out and check out her options.

“Chloe’s school doesn’t have any extra-curricular activities, so I wanted to bring her out to tap into something extra,” her mother said.

“She’s a little bit on the shy side, but basketball is bringing her into her own and this is giving her an opportunity to do more.

Basketball is an outlet for her to do something extra rather than being idle around the house.”

Deveaux said the programme has definitely fit the bill.

“I love the programme.

It brought out a lot of discipline in her as well,” she said. “Chloe didn’t want to come out today, but because they’re just starting back and I saw the potential in her, I decided to bring her out.

“I love the way coach McSweeney works with them. He’s very professional and he pushes them to do even more than they think they could do. I’ve seen her do some things in the programme that I didn’t

think she could do. So it’s bringing out a lot more in them than they expect.

That’s what I liked about the programme.”

Keva Ferguson, a former cheerleader, said she wished her daughter Tasah’nae Barnett, a 17-year-old 12th grader at CV Bethel Secondary High, had gotten exposed to the Diamond Basketball Development Programme at a much younger age.

“I came out here to visit a scrimmage game that they had against CV Bethel and I saw coach ‘Red Eye’ and the way he dealt with the girls and that was why I wanted to push my daughter into the programme,” Ferguson said.

“If I had known about the programme earlier, I would have had her here from the sixth grade instead of grade 11 when she joined last year. But dealing with him so far, she has progressed from what she was doing before to now. I’ve seen the transformation with her.

Things she is doing with the ball, I’ve never seen any other coach get that out of her.”

Ferguson said she continues to encourage more parents to get their girls involved in the programme because McSweeney is doing an excellent job with the programme.

Even Bahamas Basketball Federation president Eugene Horton is weighing in on the programme. His daughter, Ebony Horton, a 17-year-old student at the University of the Bahamas, got involved when

McSweeney brought the programme to Sunshine Park. “What I liked about it is that if there’s 10 people or one person, he went through the drills with whoever was there,” Horton said. “During the COVID19 and taking her exams at school, she had to stop.

“But I never pushed her to come here. I told her that she will have to tell me when she wants to go and I will be there to support her.

She told me she wants to come back out and develop her skills. So I brought her out.”

Horton said more of this type of programme is what is needed in the country to help develop the skills of the young people. He noted that his daughter also worked with Sharel Cash.

But he said that while there are a number of persons working, the BBF will be pushing for the same type of training across the board so that if a child goes somewhere else, they are getting the same training as the other programmes.

“We want to know that the same drills and programmes are being implemented so that when we do invite these players out to try out for the national team, they have developed the same skills and you don’t spend that much time going through that process with them,” he said. “Speaking with a lot of the parents, they are comfortable with bringing their child here and leaving them in the hands of coach McSweeney. We want to know that they can

do the same thing if they take them to any other programme elsewhere.”

Over the years, McSweeney said he appreciates those parents and coaches who are encouraging their players to come out and participate. He said he will continue to offer his expertise to whoever comes out. “I am developing your daughter, your young niece, your grandchild, your ball player in the fundamentals of the game,” said McSweeney. “The coaches in the schools will develop the plays for them to execute.

“At the end of the day, at least seven to eight of the young girls who have made the junior national team in the past few years, have come from the Diamond Basketball Development Programme. Numbers are not my thing. For me, if we have four or more, we can play some games. But if one shows up, we will go through the drills from nine (am) to noon.”

With the programme being free of charge, McSweeney said all he expects is for the players to come out and follow all of the safety protocols in place with the wearing of their masks and having their temperatures checked and recorded and be willing to spend the time going through the drills assigned for that particular day.

Once they do that, McSweeney said they will be able to enjoy their time spent at the Diamond Basketball Development Programme.

South Korea, Iran set to qualify for soccer World Cup

By JOHN DUERDEN Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Asia could confirm its first participants in the World Cup — along with host Qatar — on Thursday with Iran and South Korea both within reach of securing their places.

Iran is on top of Group A with 16 points from six games with South Korea two points behind in the second of the two automatic qualification spots, eight ahead of United Arab Emirates (UAE) in third. Only the top two are guaranteed a place at the World

Cup that kicks off in November.

If the UAE fails to defeat Syria in Dubai then South Korea will secure a 10th successive appearance if it defeats Lebanon in Sidon. Lebanon has collected just five points from six games.

South Korea, a 2002 semifinalist, has been warming up for the game — and next Tuesday’s match with Syria — with a training camp in Turkey. Preparations have gone well with a 5-1 win over Iceland on January 15 and a 4-0 victory against Moldova on Friday.

“The results and the performances were good,” said South Korea coach Paulo Bento, who

has been unable to call star forwards Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan. They have picked up injuries playing for their respective English Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Iran is even closer to a third successive World Cup appearance and a sixth overall — a win against Iraq in Tehran will be enough.

Coach Dragan Skocic has recalled Mehdi Taremi to the squad after previously omitting the FC Porto striker for critical comments made in an interview.

“I have high expectations, he’s a

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great player. I’m glad we resolved the disagreement by talking. We have all the best interests of the national team in mind.” Skocic said.

The race for the top two spots is more open in Group B. Saudi Arabia is four points clear of Japan and five ahead of Australia and can take a step closer to a sixth World Cup with a win over Oman in Jeddah.

Australia has appeared at every World Cup since joining the Asian Football Confederation in 2006 and needs to defeat Vietnam, a team that has lost all six games so far in this round of qualification, to stay in touch.

Coach Graham Arnold will not be present on the sidelines in Melbourne as the Socceroos coach has contracted COVID-19.

“We have four games that we have to play between now and qualifying for Qatar and I expect to win four games,” Arnold said.

“We are here today, where we have everything in our own hands.”

Japan also needs to take three points at home to China ahead of today’s crunch meeting with Saudi Arabia. The Samurai Blue is just about on course for a seventh successive World Cup spot but will be without Kyogo Furuhashi.

The Celtic striker has been in fine form in Scotland but has been struggling for fitness.

“We don’t know the details about his injury,” said Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu. “But because it’s at the level where we were concerned about whether he’d be able to contribute to the team we decided not to call him up this time.”

The trip to Japan is the first game in charge for Li Xiaopeng, who was appointed as China coach in November, taking over from Li Tie. With just one win in six games, China’s hopes of returning to the World Cup for the first time since its 2002 debut are virtually over, although the team can start preparation for the 2023 Asian Cup, which it will host.

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Wednesday, January 26, 2022, PAGE 13

Senegal and Morocco advance, concussion concern for Mané BAFOUSSAM, Cameroon (AP) — Sadio Mané got up from a horrible clash of heads that left him dazed on the ground, possibly with a concussion, to score a goal and help put Senegal into the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations yesterday.

Senegal won 2-0 against Cape Verde, which had two players sent off in the last 16 game in Cameroon’s western city of Bafoussam.

The Liverpool star didn’t finish the match and later was taken to the hospital, though he said on social media that he was OK. Morocco followed Senegal into the last eight by coming from behind to beat Malawi 2-1. The Moroccan comeback was completed by a magical free kick

by Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi, who curled the ball over the wall and into the top corner for the winner in the 70th minute.

He ran across to the Morocco bench and took a bow.

The African Cup action continued a day after a crush outside the stadium at the Cameroon-Comoros last 16 game left eight people dead and seven others in a serious condition, throwing a shadow over the continent’s top soccer tournament. There had been questions about whether the day’s games would go ahead. They did, after a moment’s silence at both. Some players also wore black armbands.

In the Senegal-Cape Verde game, Cape Verde’s second red card was dished out to goalkeeper Vozinha when he raced out of his area and tried to head a ball clear with Mané chasing it down. The players’ heads clashed badly as they leaped in the air and Vozinha clearly sustained a concussion as he tried to get up afterward and ended up staggering around.

Vozinha left on a stretcher and wasn’t around to see the red card referee Lahlou Benbraham held up for him.

But questions will be raised over Mané being allowed to continue after he hit the ground face first following the collision, rolled over and lay still

NO INJURIES AFTER EXPLOSION AT ALBANIAN SOCCER HEAD’S HOME

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press

SENEGAL’s Saido Mane lays on the pitch following a collision during the African Cup of Nations 2022 round of 16 match between Senegal and Cape Verde at Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam, Cameroon, yesterday. on his back for a moment, clearly dazed, possibly with a concussion.

Mané dragged himself to his feet and scored less than 10 minutes later in the 63rd minute when a corner kick fell to him beyond the far post, and he sent a right-footed shot in off the crossbar.

The Liverpool forward was eventually substituted in the 70th minute, clearly struggling. It was more than 15 minutes after sustaining the head knock that appeared serious enough for him to be taken off immediately.

Mané later posted a photo on Facebook of him and Vozinha together and smiling at the hospital, with the words: “Everything is good. Thank you to everyone for the messages!”

The Senegal star was sitting upright in his hospital bed, with Vozinha standing alongside.

Without Mané, Senegal finished off nine-man Cape Verde with a second goal from a breakaway in injury time by Bamba Dieng.

Cape Verde was up against it from the 21st minute when Patrick Andrade was sent off for a tackle on Pape Gueye.

The two red cards for Cape Verde meant seven red cards have been handed out

SENEGAL’S SAIDO MANE, in action against Cape Verde, during the African Cup of Nations 2022 round of 16 match yesterday.

(AP Photos/Sunday Alamba) in the first five knockout fought with team medics Yaounde when Gabadinho games of the African Cup. when they tried to help Mhango hammered a shot Every last 16 game has had him off the field after the from way out in just the collision, insisting that he seventh minute. That gave at least one sending off.

Mané’s injury again wanted to play on despite the minnow a shock lead on focused attention on soc- being unable to even stand its first appearance in the cer’s struggle to deal properly. They eventu- knockout stage of the Afrieffectively and safely with ally convinced him to walk can Cup. concussions. The issue shakily to the sidelines.

Morocco controlled The red card made the game from then on has been high-profile in recent years, with the certain he wouldn’t be and should have won by game criticised for allow- returning anyway. more goals. Youssef EnAlthough Hakimi’s pin- Nesyri’s headed equaliser ing players to play on after having sustained danger- point free kick won it, in first-half injury time and ous head injuries. Cape Malawi had a stunner of its Hakimi’s moment of class Verde goalkeeper Vozinha own to open the scoring in were enough.

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — An explosion shook the home of Albanian soccer federation president Armand Duka without causing injuries, his spokesman said yesterday.

Andi Vercani said the explosion occurred Monday at Duka’s home in the western port city of Durres.

European soccer’s ruling body UEFA expressed its concern to the Top Channel private television station, and its support to Duka “following the recent bombing at his house.”

UEFA also warned of “political interference in the running of the Albanian federation,” and raised “its concerns regarding the safe staging of the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final in Tirana in light of the recent events.”

The final is due to be held on May 25.

Duka’s wife and son were at home but were not injured in the explosion.

Duka was in the capital city of Tirana.

Cameras captured an image of a hooded person apparently setting the explosive.

Yesterday, Duka said he had received a life-threatening text message asking him to resign.

The 59-year-old Duka, who has been federation president since 2002 but is at the end of his mandate, is running for re-election on March 2 and is the main candidate. The contest has sparked a clash between him and Tirana city hall, which has accused Duka of corruption.

Tirana city hall has indicted two senior federation officials for interference in the election process of the city’s football club, KF Tirana, a day earlier.

The soccer federation’s website has also been hacked and is not running.

DEATH TOLL IN CAMEROON STADIUM CRUSH AT 8 AS SECURITY BLAMED

By EDWIN KINDZEKA MOKI AND ISIFU WIRFENGLA Associated Press YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — The death toll in a stampede outside a game at the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Cameroon has risen to eight, as witnesses blamed security officials for making fatal errors and competition organisers decided yesterday to suspend all further games at the stadium pending an investigation.

Another seven people were in serious condition in the hospital after the crush Monday night at the game between host Cameroon and Comoros at the Olembe Stadium in the capital, Yaounde.

The African soccer body has moved the next game due to take place at the Olembe on Sunday to another stadium in Yaounde. The last two games at the Olembe, a semifinal and the final of the African soccer championship on February 6, could also be moved.

“I have given the local organising committee ... up to Friday to tell me who was responsible for the accident, who shares the blame and additional safety and security measures taken to protect football fans, players and match officials,” said Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, which runs the African Cup alongside local organisers from the host country.

“Our priority is the safety of people and if we are not assured that the stadium offers that safety, we will

not accept matches to be played there again,” he said.

The death toll increased after two more fans were pronounced dead outside the Messassi hospital, police said. Injured people had initially been rushed to that nearby hospital by police and civilians trying to help. The hospital quickly became overwhelmed.

A total of 38 people were hurt in the stampede. The remaining 31 people had slight to moderate injuries.

The injured were now being treated at four different hospitals, Communication Minister René Sadi said.

On Tuesday morning, people gathered at the hospitals searching for missing family members.

The crush came when soccer fans struggled to get into the stadium to watch the home team play in a highly-anticipated knockout game at Africa’s top soccer tournament. The tragedy may have been connected to fans trying to avoid COVID-19 checks.

Organisers have made it compulsory that fans show proof of negative virus tests and be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to attend games at the African Cup. They need to go through that health screening as well as security checks at stadiums.

Local TV stations broadcast footage showing people jumping over security fences to avoid checks and there are reports that police and security were overwhelmed. The Cameroon government said 57,000 people were at the stadium when the crowd was meant to be restricted

PEOPLE assist victims of a stampede outside a stadium hosting an African Cup of Nations soccer game in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Monday. Several people have died in a stampede that happened as crowds struggled to get access to Olembe Stadium to watch the host country play Comoros in a last 16 knockout game in Africa’s top soccer tournament.

(AP Photo/Thierry Noukeu) to a maximum of 40,000 “When the security guys basic first aid on victims,” because of the virus. The finally began opening the Asongafack said. “I saw a Olembe has a capacity of gates, with all the anxi- child less than 10 years old, 60,000. ety and after having been lifeless. Guys were trying to A witness said the stam- locked out ... people pushed revive him.” pede at the south entrance the security guys away and Later yesterday at a news of the stadium happened forced themselves inside,” conference, African soccer after supporters were said the witness, Marie- body president Motsepe directed by security officials Therese Asongafack. said the initial investigatoward an entrance gate “That’s where it all began ... tion would centre on why that was locked. The gate By the time I found myself that gate at the stadium was was eventually opened, the in front, there were people shut. witness said, causing a surge on the ground being tram“Who closed that gate? and people were trampled. pled on.”

And why did they close that Children were caught up in Medical help wasn’t gate?” he said. the stampede, the witness immediately available, “so World soccer body said. people were just trying their FIFA released a statement

expressing its “deepest condolences” to the families and friends of the victims.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino attended the African Cup’s opening ceremony at the Olembe Stadium two weeks ago.

Cameroon President Paul Biya also ordered an investigation into the tragedy, which came a day after at least 17 people died after a fire set off a series of explosions at a nightclub in Yaounde.

The Central African nation is hosting the African Cup for the first time in 50 years and its preparations have been under scrutiny.

Cameroon was meant to host the tournament in 2019, but it was moved to Egypt because of problems with Cameroon’s stadium preparations.

The main Olembe Stadium was one of the arenas that organisers were concerned about and serious concerns were still being raised as recently as a few months ago.

Games are also being played in four other cities.

Organisers said the tournament would continue as planned later yesterday with last 16 games between Senegal and Cape Verde and Morocco and Malawi.

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PAGE 14, Wednesday, January 26, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

LAKERS’ ANTHONY DAVIS RETURNS NBA

FROM PAGE 11 his right while absorbing a foul from Bradley Beal.

He finished with 25 points.

Amir Coffey scored a career-high 29 points for the depleted Clippers, who evened their record to 2-2 at the midpoint of a seasonlong eight game trip.

Terance Mann and Isaiah Hartenstein each had 16 points for Los Angeles, which scored 80 points after halftime to improve to 7-10 since losing seven-time AllStar guard Paul George to a right elbow injury last month.

Kyle Kuzma had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Beal added 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter of Washington’s fourth consecutive defeat.

76ERS 117, PELICANS 107 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 12 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter as Philadelphia pulled away from shorthanded New Orleans.

Tobias Harris added 33 points for the 76ers, who opened a five-game homestand by winning their 12th of the last 15.

Nickeil AlexanderWalker scored 31 points and Willy Hernangómez had 29 for the Pelicans.

Embiid has played in 19 straight games, averaging 33.3 points, and Philadelphia is 13-6 over that stretch.

RAPTORS 125, HORNETS 113 TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 24 points and matched his career high with 12 assists, Gary Trent Jr scored a season-best 32

and Toronto never trailed against Charlotte.

OG Anunoby scored 24 points, Chris Boucher had 12, Malachi Flynn 11 and Dalano Banton 10 as the short-handed Raptors overcame the absences of starters Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes. Siakam finished with nine rebounds, narrowly missing his second career triple-double.

LaMelo Ball scored 25 points and Miles Bridges had 22 for the Hornets, who had won three straight road games but were missing Gordon Hayward and Jalen McDaniels.

CELTICS 128, KINGS 75 BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 36 points and Jaylen Brown had 30 points and 10 rebounds before both rested the entire fourth quarter as Boston routed Sacramento.

Robert Williams finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds for the Celtics, who got off to a torrid start and never let up on the Kings, even when both teams went to reserves for the fourth quarter of a game that had been long decided. Boston stretched its lead to 60 points before it was over.

Chavano “Buddy” Hield led the Kings with 11 points. He was the only Sacramento player to score in double figures as the Kings lost their fourth straight.

Richaun Holmes had nine points and nine rebounds and Tyrese Haliburton added seven assists for Sacramento.

SPURS 134, ROCKETS 104 HOUSTON (AP) — Dejounte Murray had 19 points and 10 assists, Jacob

LOS Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (6) reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022 in New York. The Lakers won 106-96.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) Poeltl had 18 points and nine rebounds, and both sat out the fourth quarter as San Antonio coasted past Houston. Houston led early in the first quarter, but the Spurs soon took over and were up by 15 at halftime.

A 39-point third quarter put the game out of reach.

Kevin Porter Jr had 16 points and nine assists for the Rockets. Christian Wood scored 15 points with seven rebounds for Houston.

Keldon Johnson added 16 points for San Antonio and Doug McDermott had 15.

NUGGETS 110, PISTONS 105 DETROIT (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists, and Denver beat Detroit.

Monte Morris made four free throws in the final 11.5 seconds to clinch the game,

while Jeff Green added 20 points for the Nuggets in the second game between the teams in three nights.

Denver won 117-111 at home on Sunday.

Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 34 points, eight rebounds and also eight assists.

Fraught heavyweight boxing scene set to become clearer

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer HEAVYWEIGHT boxing’s landscape should become a lot clearer this week when the promoters of Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte conclude drawn-out negotiations over a world title fight that could yet bring Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk into the conversation.

The Fury and Whyte camps have been unable to come to an agreement over the split of fight revenue for their proposed fight for the WBC and Ring Magazine belts, currently held by the unbeaten Fury.

The WBC granted an extension of their negotiation period until today, when purse bids will take place if no agreement has been reached. That would mean rival promoters can bid to stage the fight.

KIDS

FROM PAGE 11 over her, one that hit her and one that reversed and hit her again because of the plight of the sports programme.

“We have to listen to what the health experts are saying,” he charged. “It is for your safety. One of the first persons in sports who died from COVID-19 was a primary school coach. We don’t know how he got it.

But we take this challenge very seriously and so high school sports are on hold.”

Wisdom said his ministry is proposing that the schools begin competing in the non-contact sports like golf, tennis, swimming, track and field and chess in championship forms in the first instances and in the second phase, they can look at the other kids they can stage in a safe environment.

Mario Ford, a veteran allaround player who began coaching at the age of 14, two years after he returned home from travelling with the men’s national basketball team as a bat boy at 12, said he too is feeling the effects of COVID-19 with his Mario Ford Baseball programme he has conducted on Windsor Park since 1986.

“The state of baseball as we see it now, is not what

Fury’s UK promoter, Frank Warren, has said the champion will be fighting on March 26 — reportedly back in Britain after Fury’s last five fights took place in the United States — and deserves at least an 80-20 split if he takes on Whyte, the mandatory challenger who has never fought for a world title.

Whyte’s promoter is Eddie Hearn, who also looks after Joshua — the former WBA, WBO and IBF champion who lost his belts to Usyk in September and has since activated a contractual clause for a rematch against the Ukrainian.

No date for their second fight has been set yet and adding intrigue Monday was a report in British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, saying Joshua might be willing to step aside — for what the paper says could be 15 million pounds ($20 million) — to

it used to be,” he said. “We have lost almost three or four generations of players, but thanks to Freedom Park, JBLN, myself and other persons like Michael Butler, who have gone out to seek ways to keep baseball alive in this country.

“My programme was developed from scratch. I think players off the street, who have no idea about the way, are using whatever resources I have from whatever other resources I can get to help some of these kids to go on further, either to college or to the pros,” he said.

“I think we need to look at the bigger picture and that is educating these kids through sports because we have a lot of kids on the streets not doing anything.

That’s where most of the talent is. We need to come together and start being selfish and give these young kids the structure.”

Ford called on all of the sporting bodies to come together and find ways where they can collectively work on developing a sustainable programme to assist the young people on the streets, who are not doing anything positive.

Rochelle Kemp, representing the New Providence Basketball Association, said they too are faced with the challenge of when they will resume competition

TYSON FURY, of England, hits Deontay Wilder in a heavyweight championship boxing match on October 9, 2021, in Las Vegas.

(AP Photo/Chase Stevens) allow Usyk to fight Fury to unify the titles. Joshua might then face

and they are working on their plans, but they’re still optimistic that something will happen very soon.

And New Providence Softball Association president Desiree Taylor said after not playing in two years, they are finding the requirements to resume competition a little too stringent, so she’s not able to say when they will be able to resume play as well.

“There’s a baseball tournament that is being played here in June or July and they’re currently having the fields rearranged for that,” she said.

“So when softball will start, night league that is, I am not sure.

“The WBSC mandates that persons under them to have protocols established where teams will have to take a COVID--19 test prior to the start of play, officials have to take tests prior to the start of play and I don’t see that happening right now because it’s going to be costly to the sponsors and the league.”

With the league normally playing three nights a week, Taylor said it would mean that at least two teams will have to be tested twice before they can and that is where their main problems lie. She noted that the players want to play, but it’s going to be too costly at this time.

the winner. Joshua responded by saying Monday in a video

“Once we can get this pandemic under control, meaning everyone does their part, then we will be able to start by establishing the right protocol,” she said.

“But we all need to do our part to get it together so we can have softball and every other sport playing again.”

Jennifer Dotson-Isaacs, the first vice president of the Bahamas Softball Federation, said as sporting leaders, they have to realise that COVID-19 is here and it’s not going anywhere so they have to learn to live with it.

“We have to adapt and to do whatever is necessary to resume sports by working closely with the Bahamas Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the Ministry of Health in establishing the different protocols in our particular areas,” she stated.

She suggested that the sporting bodies come together with a diverse plan to raise funding rather than keep going to the government to furnish their programmes when it’s obvious that they are not in a position to do so.

“Funding is critical to all of our organisations and it is something that we have to look at closely in restarting sports so that we won’t

published by DAZN that he has yet to sign a contract to that effect. “I’m the man in control of my destiny,” Joshua said. “I’m the man that handles my business.

I’m a smart individual and I make calculated decisions every step of the way.”

It is getting increasingly difficult for all the pieces to fall into place.

“It is boxing, it is messy and there is a lot of money involved,” Hearn said last week, “so it is getting even messier.”

Bob Arum, Fury’s promoter in the U.S., has described the situation as “total chaos” and told British radio station talkSPORT he had “absolutely no idea” who Fury will be fighting next.

Hearn said he will meet with Joshua on Tuesday to go through his options. That could yet involve Joshua being a kingmaker for a deal that brings the two titleholders together.

lose a whole generation of athletes,” she summed up.

Teddy Sweeting, the secretary general of the Bahamas Baseball Association, commended Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis for appointing Bowleg as the minister of sports and he asked for every organisation to support him as he works to move sports forward.

Sweeting, however, said that Bowleg can leave his legacy by forming a committee that will look at sport funding to assist all of the sporting bodies, especially as it relates to ensuring that the national teams are able to travel when they have to without having to worry about funding.

“Leave a legacy. When you walk away 10-15 years down the line, when individuals come along, one thing they can say is Mario Bowleg put legislation in place for sports funding,” Sweeting said. “We need it.”

Sweeting said the sporting leaders must stop all of the talking and come together and assist Bowleg by forming a committee that will provide some plans to finalise sports funding for our athletes in the country.

Adam Watehouse, the chairman of the Bahamas Rugby Football Union and a physical education teacher at Queen’s College,

said he shares in the frustration of not having sports played in the schools.

But he noted that rugby is also experiencing the same pain.

“We have not had any competition in the past two years, so we are suffering from not being able to participate in any international competition,” he said. “We have sent a beach team over to Florida to participate in a tournament and they did very well, winning all of their games.”

Watehouse said the Bahamas is still poised to be a major sporting destination for international competitions as it has done in the past, but he also called for a collective effort to ensure that everything is in place to achieve these goals.

Kyle Chea, president of Nassau Rowing Club, said they had an opportunity to host a number of international athletes at Lake Kennedy and they have gone home and are encouraging their peers to come to the Bahamas to stage their training sessions. Chea said they will be looking at working closely with the GSSSA to get more of their athletes to come out and participate in their activities free of charge with the view of being able to earn athletic scholarships available through the sport.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 26, 2022, PAGE 15

Nadal fends off Shapovalov, advances to semis in Australia

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — With another Australian Open semifinal spot secured after a four-hour, five-set victory, Rafael Nadal looked toward his support team in Rod Laver Arena and nodded his head.

It was like he was just confirming the plan: Five wins down, two to go in his bid for a men’s record 21st major title.

On the other side of the net, 14th-seeded Denis Shapovalov broke his racket on the hard blue court after a frustrating 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 loss to Nadal, who later acknowledged he felt “destroyed” physically on a hot Tuesday afternoon.

There were plenty of momentum-shifting moments, including Nadal needing attention for a stomach ailment in the third and fourth sets after dominating the first two.

Shapovalov openly complained to chair umpire Carlos Bernardes during the quarterfinal match about Nadal getting longer breaks than players usually are entitled to, and taking too long between points.

He took a few shots at Nadal in his post-match news conference, too, saying he’s “100 percent” convinced the 35-year-old Spaniard receives special treatment.

At a tournament where he’s clinched the title only once (2009) and had lost seven of his previous 13 quarterfinals — by far his worst conversion rate at any of the four major tournaments — Nadal looked vulnerable in the third and fourth sets.

But following a sevenminute break — when Nadal left the court and went to the locker room — between the last point of the fourth set and his first serve in the fifth, he recovered sufficiently to save a break point with an ace, hold serve and then break Shapovalov for a 2-0 lead.

“I don’t know, was a little bit of miracle,” Nadal said of his revival. “I was destroyed honestly physically. But my serve worked well, and for me, every game that I was winning with my serve was a victory, no?”

He rejected any assertion that he gets any special treatment from umpires or referees, and added that Shapovalov was young and said he would get over it.

“I honestly feel sorry for him. I think he played a great match for a long time,” Nadal said.

RAFAEL NADAL, of Spain, plays a forehand return to Denis Shapovalov of Canada during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) “Of course is tough to accept to lose a match like this, especially after I was feeling destroyed and probably he felt that, and then I was able to manage to win.

“I wish him all the very best ... probably he will understand later on after he thinks the proper way that probably he was not right today.”

Nadal shares the men’s record of 20 major singles titles with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and he’s got an inside run with the absence of his longtime rivals at Melbourne Park. Federer continues to recover from knee surgery, and Djokovic was deported for failing to meet Australia’s strict COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

“I respect everything that Rafa has done and I think he’s an unbelievable player. But there’s got to be some boundaries,” Shapovalov said. “It’s just so frustrating as a player.

You feel like you’re not just playing against the player; you’re playing against the umpires, you’re playing against so much more.

“Physically I feel fine.

Just emotionally more, just sucks to lose that one,” the Wimbledon semifinalist added. “Definitely felt like I had it on my racket.

And towards third, fourth, fifth set I felt like I was the better player, had more chances. Just one bad game for me.”

Nadal will get two days off before Friday’s semifinal match against Matteo Berrettini. The Wimbledon

ASH Barty of Australia plays a backhand return to Jessica Pegula of the U.S. during their quarterfinal match yesterday.

(AP Photo/Andy Brownbill) runner-up, who became the first Italian man to reach the Australian Open semifinals, held on to beat No. 17 Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2.

“I’m not 21 anymore!” said Nadal, who was sidelined with injuries after last year’s French Open and then had to overcome COVID-19. “After this ... great to have two days off.

“I felt quite good physically in terms of movement.

I really believe I’m going to be ready for the semifinals.”

The women’s quarterfinals were over in straight sets, with 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys beating French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-2 in the Day 9 opener on Rod Laver Arena and top-ranked Ash Barty advancing with a 6-2,

6-0 win over No. 21 Jessica Pegula.

Barty is back in the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the second time in three years; Keys is back seven years after losing her first Grand Slam semifinal to Serena Williams in Australia.

Barty, who won the Wimbledon title last year and the French Open in 2019, wants to become the first Australian woman to win the Australian Open singles title since 1978.

In her best run to date, she lost in the 2020 semifinals to eventual champion Sofia Kenin.

“I’ve grown as a person.

I’ve grown as a player,” Barty said. “I feel like I’m a more complete player.”

Keys continued her resurgent 2022 season, extending her winning

streak to 10 matches, including a title run in a tuneup event, and 11 overall for the year.

She only won 11 matches in total in 2021, when her year-end ranking slumped to 56th.

“I did everything I could to rest this off-season and focus on starting fresh and new ... starting from zero and not focusing on last year,” Keys said. “I think it’s going well so far.”

Krejcikova took a medical timeout while trailing 5-2 in the first set, with the temperature heading toward 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit).

“It was the heat with some physical conditions that started to bother me after five games,” she said.

“I mean, from there on, you know, I just couldn’t put it together.”

DANIELLE COLLINS JOINS KEYS IN SEMIS AT AUSSIE OPEN MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Danielle Collins has joined fellow American Madison Keys in the Australian Open semifinals.

Collins swung the match in her favour with a key service break in the final game of the opening set on her way to a 7-5, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Alize Cornet today.

The 28-year-old American equalled her best previous performance at Melbourne Park — she also advanced to the semifinals in 2019, her previous best Grand Slam tournament result.

Collins underwent surgery last year to treat endometriosis, with the condition leaving her in severe pain during tournaments in 2021.

“It feels incredible, especially after some of the health challenges I’ve had,” Collins said in her post-match interview. “To be able to get back to this level and be able to compete like the way I have been and being able to be as physical as I haven’t been so rewarding.”

Keys will play top-ranked Ash Barty in the other semifinal on Thursday.

The loss ended a strong run by Cornet, who played her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in her 63rd main-draw appearance.

The French player had an upset victory over twotime major winner Simona Halep in the fourth round.

The WTA says that Cornet should return to the top 50 in the rankings due to her performance here .

Collins will play the winner of the following quarterfinal on Rod Laver Arena between former French Open champion Iga Swiatek and Kai Kanepi.

Later Wednesday, second-seeded Daniil Medvedev was expecting to face one of the toughest challenges to his bid to collect a second consecutive Grand Slam singles title when he plays 21-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime in a night match.

Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Jannik Sinner in the other men’s quarterfinal.

The winners will meet Friday in one men’s semifinal, while Rafael Nadal and Matteo Berrettini have already booked their spot in the other, also on Friday.

Djokovic could play in France under latest vaccine rules

By ANGELA CHARLTON and SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press

KEI NISHIKORI, of Japan, returns a shot to Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, during the third round of the US Open tennis championships on September 4, 2021, in New York.

(AP Photo/John Minchillo)

2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori to have left hip surgery KEI Nishikori, the 2014 US Open runner-up, will have arthroscopic surgery on his left hip this week and be sidelined for about six months.

Nishikori posted a message yesterday on his app saying he tried “several different rehab options” before deciding with his medical team to go ahead with the operation.

The 32-year-old from Japan sat out the Australian Open and has not played on tour since a

second-round loss to Dan Evans at Indian Wells in October. Nishikori lost to Novak Djokovic in the third round of the US Open in September.

Nishikori reached the final at Flushing Meadows in 2014 before losing to Marin Cilic. The next year, Nishikori reached a career-high ranking of No. 4. He is currently No. 46.

Yesterday’s post said: “I will work as hard as I can and the goal is to be back in about 6 months.”

PARIS (AP) — Top-ranked player Novak Djokovic could be allowed to defend his French Open title under the latest COVID-19 rules adopted by the French government, even if he is still not vaccinated when the claycourt Grand Slam starts in May. Djokovic was deported from Australia and barred from playing in the Australian Open this month for not meeting the country’s strict COVID-19 vaccination rules.

It initially appeared that the Serb tennis star would not be welcomed at Roland Garros either under a new law intended to exclude the unvaccinated from stadiums, restaurants, bars and other public places.

As questions quickly arose about Djokovic’s status in France following his deportation from Australia, Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu previously said that as soon as the law was passed the country’s vaccine pass would become compulsory to enter stadiums, theatre or exhibitions, “for all spectators, practitioners, French or foreign professionals.”

But the vaccine pass is not restricted to vaccination.

Under the law that took effect on Monday, anyone who has proof they tested positive within

the previous six months is exempt from having to show a vaccine pass. That suggests Djokovic could play in the French Open in May and June, the next Grand Slam tournament, because he has said he tested positive in mid-December.

The French sports ministry was not immediately available to answer questions from The Associated Press on Djokovic.

French Open organisers have previously said it’s too early to comment since virus restrictions can change between now and May depending on the virus situation.

Djokovic’s team also declined to comment Monday. Djokovic said earlier he would not give public statements until the end of the Australian Open.

Cafe owners and patrons in Paris largely welcomed the new law, which is central to the government’s anti-virus strategy.

“Personally, it reassures me in the sense that I know the people I have around me,” said Parisian Charles Tuile.

“We want to be in a place where we can be safe in terms of health. And if you can see that the waiter checks vaccine passes and even ID cards, then it’s reassuring in many ways.”

France is registering Europe’s highest-ever daily coronavirus infection numbers, and hospitals are continuing to fill up with virus patients, even though the number

of people in intensive care units has dropped in recent days.

The government has imposed few other restrictions amid the surge in the omicron variant, focusing instead on the vaccine pass, approved by France’s parliament and Constitutional Council last week.

Critics question whether the pass will make much difference in a country where 94 percent of French adults have had at least one vaccine dose, and scattered groups held protests Saturday against the new law. The French government hopes that it protects the most vulnerable and reduces pressure on crowded ICUs, where most patients are unvaccinated.

Since last summer, France has required a “health pass” to go to any cafe, museum, movie theatre or take a regional train or domestic flight. But until Monday, unvaccinated people could activate the pass by getting a recent negative test. The new pass only works for people who are fully vaccinated and those who recently recovered from the virus. “To me, it’s not a problem (to show ID card) but I can perfectly imagine the kind of downward spiral it could trigger – it’s like racial profiling,” said Tania Chauvin, 31, as she ate in a Paris restaurant.

France, meanwhile, opened up access to booster shots Monday for 12- to 17-year-olds.