02062023 NEWS AND SPORT

HOUSE & HOME

The Tribune

BAHAMIAN LIQUIDATORS SEEK CONTROL OF FTX ASSETS

FTX’s Bahamian liquidators will next Wednesday seek US legal recognition that will enable them to conduct investigations and pursue the local subsidiary’s assets held in the United States.

Two anonymous calls warning of death for Davis

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis plans to continue his normal duties despite his office receiving two anonymous calls on Friday from someone who made death threats, prompting a full-blown investigation.

Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said during an emergency press briefing at the Prime Minister’s office that the calls

were made shortly after noon on Friday, adding that officers are following significant leads.

The caller in question is believed to be a man, he said, while describing the threat level as “high”.

PM ‘AS NORMAL’ DESPITE THREATS 20 HOMES DESTROYED IN SHANTY TOWN BLAZE

“Both calls came in, one right after the other about 15 minutes apart, threatening to kill the nation’s leader,” Commissioner Fernander said.

“We, as Bahamians, it shouldn’t happen. When

‘ALL I WANT IS JUSTICE FOR MY CHILD’ SAYS VICTIM’S MOTHER

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE mother of a teenage girl shot dead on Saturday has said she is left heartbroken and hoping for justice for another child.

Shortly after 1am on Saturday, a 22-year old man and an 18-year-old girl were on Coleman Lane in the Kemp Road area in a Nissan March when three men approached them from nearby bushes and opened fire on the vehicle, according to police.

ShotSpotter technology alerted police to the gunshots.

Arriving on the scene,

SEE PAGE FOUR

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

FAMILIES were left homeless yesterday after a massive fire ripped through homes and vehicles in a shanty town in the Carmichael area.

Shortly after 10am, firefighters were notified of a fire at Pink Meadow Road off Belot Road in the Carmichael area. On arrival, firefighters found a shant town consisting of wooden single-story

structures totally engulfed in flames.

Firefighters responded with three fire trucks reportedly filled to capacity with water and were able to bring the blaze under control within a relatively short period of time.

On the scene of yesterday’s incident, where explosions could still be heard and over 50 persons were gathered crying over the loss of their homes, Police Chief

Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings reported that more than 20 homes had been lost in the fire.

“There were roughly over 20 homes in this particular area and an estimated 50 people have since been displaced,” CSP Skippings said.

“We don’t have any death or any injuries reported at this particular time. The fire has been contained, everyone thus

SEE PAGE THREE

Brian Simms KC, the Lennox Paton senior partner, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accountants, Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, on Saturday filed legal documents confirming their bid for Chapter 15 status is to be heard before Delaware Bankruptcy Court judge, John Dorsey, on February 15.

AG SEEKS PERMISSION TO DEMOLISH SHANTY TOWNS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Attorney General filed a summons on Friday seeking permission from the courts to demolish an expanded shanty town in Abaco as well as at two locations in New Providence.

Prime Minister Phillip ‘Brave’ Davis confirmed the filing in a tweet on Friday, a week after announcing the government’s plans to seek a modification of an existing shanty town injunction. He also revealed that further steps to address the country’s immigration problem will be outlined in the days ahead.

“This morning, the Office of the Attorney General filed a summons seeking permission to demolish the expansion of a shanty town

INSIGHT PM DEATH THREATS MUST BE CONDEMNED SEE PAGE

FIREFIGHTERS inspect the rubble in the aftermath of a blaze that razed 20 homes in a shanty town in the Carmichael Road area. Crime scene and fire investigators inspected the area but no information has yet been released on the cause of the fire.

Photo: Moise Aimsial

YOUNG 18-year-old Harrinique McPhee is country’s latest murder victim.

SHAUNAE & MAICEL EXPECTING FIRST CHILD

BAHAMIAN Olympic star Shaunae Miller-Uibo has announced today that she and her husband, Maicel, are expecting their first child.

In a post on Facebook and Instagram, she wrote: “New Year, New Blessing. We can’t wait to meet our little bundle of joy!!!”

Happy 6th Anniversary - The Uibos”

The news was accompanied by a photo shoot of the couple taken in the Exuma cays. The announcement brought a quick response

from Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, who wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations to @Hey_ItsShaunae and her husband on the exciting news of their first child! As parents, Ann and I know the joys and challenges ahead, wishing you all the best on this new journey.”

Shaunae will not now compete in the World Championships, due to be held in Budapest in August.

(Photos by Stanley Babb as posted to Facebook and Instagram by Shaunae Miller-Uibo).

BAHAMIAN Olympic star Shaunae and her husband Maicel Uibo had a photo shoot on a beach in the Exumas as a part of their announcement of her pregnancy. The couple have been together 6 years.

Photos: Stanley Babb

PM ‘as normal’ despite threats

you’re talking about threatening the nation’s leader and we as Bahamians, how we got to this level in threatening individuals and you can go beyond the prime minister and individuals and we take this very seriously.”

Mr Davis had been apprised of the situation and remains in good spirits, according to the police chief.

“We are now viewing the threat level so we can put some additional security measures in place along with our law enforcement partner and the team here from the defence force and so we are on top of this,” Commissioner Fernander added.

He said police are working on phone tracing as well

as looking into the caller’s nationality given the current political climate as a part of their investigations.

He also pleaded with those responsible for the calls “to stop now”, saying police will not tolerate it and will go after them with the full extent of the law.

On Wednesday, a group of Bahamians, led by Lincoln Bain, protested outside Parliament about the immigration “crisis” in the country.

A video of the protest circulated on social media.

In the video, a man in the crowd is heard threatening to kill Mr Davis.

Asked if he believed the two events could be connected, Commissioner Fernander said officers could not rule out the

possibility and added that it was something they were following.

“Permit was approved for him (Lincoln Bain) to hold a peaceful protest down there and at some point, I myself will invite him to my office to have a word with him because he has to control his supporters,” Mr Fernander said.

Members of the COI have reportedly threatened to protest at next week’s CARICOM meeting, which will be held from February 15 –17 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Davis.

According to Commissioner Fernander, security will be tightened even further at the event to ensure the safety of all attendees given recent developments.

He also noted that

20 HOMES DESTROYED IN SHANTY TOWN BLAZE

Watson said Friday.

Mr Davis also remains in “good spirits” and told reporters on Friday that business will continue as usual.

“This is just an example of what inflammatory and inciteful language produces. It produces atmosphere where people just do things that’s out of the ordinary and unfortunately, that’s the atmosphere that’s being created at the moment, but we will all get it done,” Mr Davis said.

increased saturation patrols and frequent road checks will continue as usual.

In the meantime, Mr Davis is still expected to continue his normal duties – though he will be under stricter security.

“While the threat against the prime minister is being

taken seriously, it is the current assessment of the prime minister’s security team and the prime minister that he should continue with his normal duties and further assessments will be made once the investigation reveals further information,” press secretary Clint

“So, business as usual.”

This is not the first time a Prime Minister has been threatened, according to Commissioner Fernander.

“So, we are continuing to remain focused and do what we have to do,” he also said on Friday.

BAIN DENIES RECENT PROTESTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THREATS ON PM

BY LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

COALITION of Independents Leader Lincoln Bain says he finds it “ridiculous” that people would seek to blame last week’s protest as the catalyst for threats being made to the nation’s leader, insisting the party would never incite people to do such a thing.

Mr Bain claimed that to date, he has never used irresponsible or hateful language at protests held over the country’s immigration problems and also denied that members of COI were behind the calls made to the Prime Minister’s office on Friday.

from page one

far is safe. The fire marshals will remain on the scene until the blaze is completely brought to an end,” she said.

“We have reached out to (The Department of) Social Services and so we’re presently awaiting their arrival so that they can assist the displaced persons in resuming normalcy in their lives at this particular time,” CSP Skippings said.

It was an emotional scene at the site of Sunday’s fire, with many area residents expressing outrage over what they believe was a slow response to the blaze.

Some claimed that they lost important documents, such as their passports which they believed could’ve been saved.

Residents also claimed that an officer told firefighters to “let it burn.”

“The officer tell the firefighter to let it burn down and they don’t want nobody to save nothing... you know how hard we worked to get them stuff,” one angry resident said.

CSP Skippings added: “At this time, of course (The Department of) Immigration maintains records and files, so once persons would’ve had their papers, they can go back to immigration, those papers will be filed and they will be able to provide them with a copy of their documentation.”

She added: “We’re not focusing on documents right now, we’re focusing on saving their lives. They are also human beings. Despite what might be going on in Haiti at this time, as a country we have an obligation to ensure that their basic welfare needs are met. That is what we’re doing at this particular time.”

One of the community’s displaced residents, 66-year-old Rosny Fertil who had been living in the community for over 30 years with his wife, said despite yesterday’s fire, he and his wife have spent the better part of their lives in The Bahamas and will get back on their feet again.

“I live in this yard for 36 years. I have been living in the yard with my wife since 1998. This day, this problem come into our (community). I am a man who tries to help people. But when I was at work, my wife called me and said, ‘Fire catching in the yard,’” Mr Fertil explained.

“I just fixed my house with 40 sheets of plywood and now no house. And all my jeep and where I go to

sleep (is gone),” he said.

“But guess what, God protects me and even as a foreigner, I love The Bahamas. There’s better living in The Bahamas. That’s where I put all my blood and all my couple of dollars. I have to excel for my children. I have twins, it feels like they were just born and I look at them now and they’re 18.

They’re going to be finished school in June,” Mr Fertil said.

“So, now what do I have, where do I stand? I (am) living just like (a) dog. A dog lives everywhere, so that’s just what I’m going to do,” he said.

Mr Fertil added he was not able to save any of his or his family’s belongings.

“Documents, bed, clothes, I didn’t get to save anything. My children can’t go to school. We were supposed to go to church, but now the fire broke out, we can’t go,” he said.

Both fire investigators and crime scene investigators have commenced work into this latest incident to find out exactly how this fire started.

The fire came days after government filed a court summons seeking permission to demolish the expansion of a shanty town in Abaco as well as at two other locations in New Providence.

Such fires are not unusual as there have been several blazes in shanty town communities over the years.

On December 26, 2020, ten people were displaced after a fire destroyed five homes in a shanty town community off Cowpen Road.

On November 14, 2021, six families lost their homes after a fire broke out in a shanty town community off Joe Farrington Road.

No one was reported to be injured in either incident.

Recently, there have been renewed calls for the government to address the issue of shanty towns, with many citing environmental hazards and safety concerns due to illegal building practices.

“Up to this time, we think all of my statements have been responsible,” the political hopeful told The Tribune yesterday. “I have said that we do not hate Haitians or any nationality. We are not specifically targeting Haitians, for example, but we have a crisis as it relates to them flooding our country.

“We make it clear that this is not against any people. This is against illegal migration, and we have called on the government to do something.

“In terms of other persons who may be making inflammatory statements, I will say this – Bahamians are angry and fed up and they are losing their patience.”

During an emergency press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister on Friday, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said officers could not rule out the possibility that last week’s demonstration outside Parliament could be connected to Friday’s incident.

He was speaking in reference to a video of the protest that circulated on social media.

In the video, a man in the crowd is heard threatening to kill Prime Minister Phillip Davis.

The police chief said that in view of the incident, he intended to have a word with Mr Bain because he claimed that the COI leader needed “to control his supporters”.

However, Mr Bain took issue with these comments yesterday, saying he doesn’t understand why police would even try to link the two.

“I find it ridiculous that they connect a protest to something that happened days later, and we don’t understand why they would even try to connect them.”

“The commissioner said that he cannot rule it out and that it could be a COI member, but he can’t rule it out that it would be a PLP member or FNM member or a member of any other organisation,” he said.

“So, to make that statement so loosely, we think is completely irresponsible so we are concerned about that, and we also find it disappointing that anyone would connect that demonstration to the COI.”

As for the threatening remarks heard in the video, Mr Bain said he had no issue speaking with the commissioner to help police get to the bottom of the matter.

However, he was clear that “to make him responsible” for someone else’s action was ludicrous and again insisted that last week’s demonstration was

incident.

However, Mr Bain is of the view that government should just allow the protest to be held without any hindrance, saying this is a part of democracy.

“We are extremely concerned that this call to the Prime Minister’s office is an effort to be used to increase security or push the protests back out of the eye view of the international media to have an excuse to raise the security levels,” the COI leader continued.

not a “COI event”, but was organised for all Bahamians.

“There were persons that came out of shops downtown and joined the march and there were persons who came from all over. I have no problem with speaking to the commissioner at any time,” he added.

“In terms of making me responsible for any other adult’s action, I think is actually ludicrous. Again, that was an event for all Bahamians and if I go to Junkanoo and some people start to get unruly at Junkanoo, do we say that a Junkanoo committee needs to be reined in because there was a fight at Junkanoo, and they are somehow responsible.”

“I think that that is nonsensical.”

As for the way forward, Mr Bain said he plans to continue raising awareness on critical issues in the country, adding he had another demonstration planned at next week’s CARICOM meeting.

Police have warned that security will be tightened at the event in view of Friday’s

“We don’t think that it’s a legitimate threat and as the Commissioner of Police says, this is not the first time that the prime minister would’ve received a threat.”

Meanwhile, in a video circulating last night, Mr Bain is seen calling for “vigilante action” against shanty towns.

The video shows an interview with Mr Bain during a crowd gathering. While the date of the event is not clear in the recording, which appears to have been made on a cellphone, it appears to be from last week’s protest. While being interviewed by reporters, he says: “You have to stand up. I am calling for vigilante action against the taking of our land, the building of homes on our land. I am calling for vigilante justice.”

In the clip, he also called for the breaking down of shanty towns and said: “We are going to now begin breaking down shanty towns. Since the government can’t do it, we will do it.”

PM Philip ‘Brave’ Davis during his tour of Princess Margaret Hospital last week Monday.

Photo: Austin Fernander

LINCOLN Bain leads a group of protestors outside OPM on January 17

FIREFIGHTERS continue to ‘mop up’ smoldering areas after bringing the blaze under control. The fire destroyed over 20 homes and displaced about 50 residents of the area.

Photo: Moise Aimsial

ROSNY Fertil Bob expresses sadness at the loss of his home and posessions in yesterday’s shanty town fire which destroyed over 20 homes. Rosny had lived in the community for 36 years, he said. Now, he says “I am living just like a dog. A dog lives everywhere, so that’s just what I’m going to do.”

Photo: Moise Aimsial

‘All i want is justice for my child’ says victim’s mother

from page one

police found both victims were injured, having been shot multiple times. The 18-year-old reportedly died of her injuries in hospital and the 22-year-old man is “detained in stable condition”.

Blanch McKenzie, mother of 18-year-old Harrinique McPhee, told The Tribune that after the death of a third child, she is just hoping for justice and peace.

“It’s heartbreaking, very painful. The bone can’t mend. It’s happening too fast. I am not getting any satisfaction, there’s no justice, no one is locked up. All I want is justice for my child, because I don’t think she should have died that way,” Ms McKenzie said.

“I lost one (child) in December 3, 2020, and then I lost a son on April 15, 2021. Now, it’s Harrinique. I don’t think they should kill a woman, a young woman. I think the police needs to get these persons, arrest them and stop letting them run free,” Ms McKenzie said.

“It’s a burden and they (Ms McKenzie’s sons) left a lot of children,” she said.

Ms McKenzie recalled the last time she spoke with her daughter, Harrinique, on Friday morning, before they both left for work.

“That morning, I cooked some mashed potatoes, fried chicken and corn. I took up the boys own first, so she (Harrinique) said to me, ‘Mommy, you took up my brothers’ food before

me, you don’t love me no more hey?’”

At the time, Ms McKenzie responded: “Harrinique, you can’t get first all the time, they’re not in the house, so I took up their food first. I am taking up your food now.”

However, Ms McKenzie’s two grandsons showed up for food as well.

“She (Harrinique) told me to give them the food and she’ll make a sandwich until she gets to work. So I gave the grandchildren the food and me and her talked. I was going to get ready for work and she said she going to walk in the front (to a neighbour),” Ms McKenzie recalled.

“By the time I was getting ready, she was walking back, I asked her, ‘Harrinique, what time you going to work?’”

After Harrinique told her mom the time that she would be heading to her job at Burger King on Village Road, Ms McKenzie responded: “Don’t be late now, because you know, you have to walk.”

“Harrinique said, ‘Mommy, I straight, I straight’ and then she turned around and said, ‘Mommy I love you’.”

Ms McKenzie responded: “I love you too and be a good girl today.”

At the time, Ms McKenzie said Harrinique laughed it off and gave a joking remark to which Ms McKenzie said, “Everything cool.”

Ms McKenzie added: “Then I walked to the bus

stop and that was the last I saw my child different from seeing her in Accident and Emergency (at the hospital) lay out.”

Ms McKenzie praised her daughter as being very loving, active and talented.

“Harrinique is very active, she likes sports.

She’s in the Urban Renewal band, she plays the drums and the trumpet. The only thing she can’t do play piano, but she sings a lot and she raps, plays basketball, everything,” she said.

“She’s a very loving person with everyone in the community, churches, they would send her tickets and she would fly away to sing and beat drums, she’s very talented,” Ms McKenzie said.

This latest incident was the country’s 11th murder for the year, according to The Tribune ’s records and is one of many recent violent killings.

On January 26, a 43-year-old man was shot on Johnson Road around noon. Police said the victim, a resident of the area, was near his home when he was approached by a man he knew.

The man shot him multiple times. The victim was taken to the hospital by EMS, however, he died a short time later.

Several days earlier on January 17, three shooting deaths occurred within 24 hours.

The first incident occurred shortly after 7am that day. Police were notified by Shot-spotter technology of gunshots

being discharged,” Police Chief Superintendent Skippings said at the time.

POLICE SEARCH FOR TWO MEN WHO TRIED TO ABDUCT 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

POLICE have launched an island-wide manhunt for two men who tried to kidnap an 11-year-old girl on Thursday.

The incident happened shortly after 3pm when the girl was in the Balfour Avenue and St Charles Vincent Street area.

Police reported that while the primary school student was there, two male occupants of a white van attempted to abduct her.

However, the girl escaped without injury and now police are actively searching for the men responsible.

“Police are aggressively investigating and appealing to members of the public who may have been in the area during the time of the incident to contact police at 911/919, the criminal investigation department at 502-9991/2 or Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS(8477,” police said.

This latest incident comes after a girl on Grand Bahama was sexually assaulted on Tuesday by an intruder who unlawfully entered a residence.

According to police reports, an unknown man burglarised a home in a Freeport neighbourhood and assaulted a minor resident there.

A male resident of the home was alerted by an unusual noise and disturbance and approached and fought the assailant who eventually escaped. Police did not release the victim’s age, but said she is a juvenile.

At last report, two men were said to be in custody in connection with the incident.

In a statement sent to The Tribune on Friday, Rise Bahamas expressed outrage over the incidents, saying the country has a “child protection crisis.”

The advocacy group also renewed calls for more to be done to protect children, citing the need for stiffer penalties for both predators

and “neglectful” parents.

“In 2011, Marco Archer was abducted on his way to the store and murdered,” the advocacy group said.

“Just days ago, police alleged that a man broke into a Grand Bahama home and sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl. Two young men were questioned in relation to this matter.

“In recent times, there was a woman abducting children off the streets. Although the children were not reported to be physically harmed, that experience traumatised them, their families and people that are parents across the nation.”

Rise Bahamas said in view of these incidents, one would think the country would become more vigilant when it comes to protecting children, but “seemingly we are not.”

“Every day, we witness small children walking to and from school. We see children unattended on the road day after day,” Rise Bahamas continued.

“Along with the Coalition

of Child Advocates (CoCA) we have been pleading for stiffer penalties for predators and we won’t stop, but now it seems that stiffer penalties need to be in place for parents and guardians that are neglectful.”

Rise Bahamas acknowledged that while most family structures may not be ideal, it doesn’t mean that parents ought to leave their children to fend for themselves.

“If the family is not available, groups or parents from the school, possibly through PTA can implement a ‘buddy system’ and take turns walking with the children in the community,” Rise Bahamas continued.

“That’s a simple suggestion but we cannot allow our children to be forced to fend for themselves.

“Predators are watching. Every concerned adult should be as well.”

Last year, police investigated 144 missing persons cases; 67 of them have been solved, while 77 cases remain under investigation.

“Preliminary reports thus far suggest that the victim was travelling west

along Infant View Road when he was reportedly cut off by another vehicle.

It is reported that the culprits fired gunshots at the victim in his vehicle and subsequently he died as a result of the injuries,” CSP Skippings said.

EMS personnel were called, but pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

The second incident occurred at 9.30pm in the Red Land Acres area.

According to reports, Shot-spotter technology alerted police to gunshots being discharged in the area of Shahs Street off Sumner Street.

Police responded and found a man with multiple gunshot injuries.

According to reports, the 32-year-old victim was sitting in front of a residence when a man got out of a black Suzuki Swift and shot at him.

The third shooting happened shortly before 2am the next morning on Armbrister Street, Fox Hill.

There are few details, but it is reported that neighbours heard gunshots before finding 30-yearold Alvarez McCoy, a Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer, with gunshot injuries in his vehicle, a Burgundy coloured Nissan Cube.

The victim was his mother’s only child and a father of three.

As investigations into the latest incident continue, police said they are, “aggressively searching for (the) three males” involved.

STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN EXPECTED FOR WEEK AHEAD

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

WEATHER officials are urging Bahamians in the northwest and central Bahamas to brace for strong winds and heavy rain this week from an approaching thunderstorm.

Yesterday, the Bahamas Meteorology Department issued a severe thunderstorm weather warning for the islands of Abaco, Grand Bahama, Bimini, and North and Central Andros.

The statement told residents of those islands to brace for thunderstorms with strong winds, lightning, and heavy downpours.

Residents should stay indoors and avoid windows as conditions worsen, said the statement.

Patricia Weeks, a weather forecaster from the Department of Meteorology, yesterday told The Tribune that the weather that passed through New Providence on Saturday night will continue passing toward the north and central Bahamas.

“That same frontal boundary that came down

across us with a lot of water. Those showers and thunderstorms are still looming across that area and will continue through to tonight and tomorrow (Monday),” Ms Weeks said.

“It’s expected to lift as a warm front, because it’s so close to our more northern islands, we’re going to just keep wet for a little while,” she said.

“We are always here monitoring 24 hours to keep residents and mariners alert as to if at any point in time anything intensifies or seems to threatening life or property, then we would issue a severe weather warning, based on other parameters as well,” Ms Weeks said.

“We do expect showers to continue especially across the extreme northwest Bahamas tonight into tomorrow as well. That front boundary that is across the northwest and central Bahamas, it’s supposed to lift north as a warm front,” she said.

“Then when it gets near Grand Bahama area, north of Abaco, it just may meet up with a low pressure that’s just to the north of us and then create some unstable weather conditions for those islands mainly,” Ms Weeks said.

Last month, several cold fronts passed through The Bahamas bringing temperatures as low as 13 degrees (Celsius) or 55 degrees (Fahrenheit).

At the time, weather officials urged Bahamians to keep their blankets and warm clothes handy.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact

HARRINIQUE McKenzie

AG seeks permission to demolish shanty towns

from page one

in Abaco and at two locations in New Providence,” the prime minister tweeted on Friday.

“I am coordinating a cross-government response with the senior leadership of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Ministry of Immigration, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Ministry of Works, and the Attorney’s General Office.

“In the coming days, I will outline further steps on immigration, focusing on enforcement, protection of our borders and international cooperation.”

The filing came the same day the Prime Minister received deaths threats from an anonymous caller who phoned into his office - with investigations into the matter said to be continuing.

It also follows months of reignited calls for more to be done to address the shanty town problem and increasing protests over what some term to be an “immigration crisis” in the country.

Local officials have long lamented the increasing number of illegal communities springing up on several islands, including Abaco, Eleuthera and North Andros.

Central and South Abaco MP John Pinder told reporters last month that the issue of shanty towns on the island is about to reach a “boiling point”.

North Eleuthera MP Sylvanus Petty also recently voiced concern that the problem is getting worse on the island.

Meanwhile, the Davis administration has

repeatedly maintained that illegal shanty towns will not be allowed to go unchecked indefinitely, while vowing that any action taken will be done in accordance with the law.

Currently, shanty towns in Abaco and New Providence are covered under a 2018 Supreme Court injunction that bars demolition of the structures pending an outcome of a judicial review over the matter.

After Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco in 2019, the Minnis administration sought to have the 2018 injunction varied to exclude Abaco shanty towns and their residents and started demolishing newly built structures on the island post Dorian.

However, the government was ordered to cease and desist from further demolitions when Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson ordered an extension of her injunction to include all unregulated communities in Abaco.

They must now get approval from the court before demolishing any further structures, as the injunction remains in place.

On January 26, Prime Minister Davis told reporters it was the government’s intention to seek a modification of the injunction so officials can stop the growing numbers of illegal developments in the country.

He also responded to criticism that the government has not been doing enough the stem illegal migration after The Bahamas repatriated a “record” number of irregular migrants last year.

Currently, The Bahamas is experiencing a spike of illegal migration from Haiti and also from Cuba.

“Maybe they could tell us what else we can do, but we know that we are doing all that we can,” Mr Davis said last month.

“They’re going to continue to come. As long as the conditions in Haiti persist, we’re going to have people trying to get out of Haiti and if you speak to them most of them are not coming trying to get to The Bahamas.

“They are trying to get to the United States of America. And as they come into our waters, because of our international treaties we are bound to process them and return them as quickly as we can. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

BPSU MEMBERS PROTEST OVER PARKS AND BEACHES MANAGEMENT

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter

A GROUP of Bahamas Public Service Union members protested outside the Ministry of Works and Utilities on Friday to voice their frustrations about management at the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority.

The group of public servants, which consists of maintenance workers who are responsible for the upkeep of roadsides and government buildings, have accused the body’s management of overstepping their authority and disrespecting staff.

BPSU president Kimsley Ferguson said the two parties were initially working in partnership together to do their duties.

However, he said now, it appears that the authority wants to absorb the ministry’s staff and order them around, despite not having the power to do so.

“We know that the authority is not an approved authority,” Mr Ferguson told The Tribune

“If I am not your staff, how could you give me any instruction? They are public servants. They are governed by the rules and regulations of the public service.”

“The persons they have been agitating to have as staff are the persons who have been cleaning the road verges from time immemorial and so that is really a challenge (because) people do not wish to go over to the Beaches and Parks Authority and they do not wish to be supervised by the Beaches and Parks Authority.”

Mr Ferguson said staff members do not want to

work under the authority because they have no organisational structure in place to ensure that they are adequately compensated, among other things.

“There is no sort of structure in place, no means to promote people. They have no means to pay pension and so it must have structure similar to how the public service is structured,” the BPSU president continued.

He said until these mechanisms are put in the place, the union would not agree to any staff working under the Public Parks and Public Beaches authority.

“They were informed by the Minister of Public Works, Mr Alfred Sears, that the staff belongs to the Ministry of Works, they were informed and now for whatever reason, Mr (McKell) Bonaby wants staff and machinery,” he added.

“If you are giving out contracts to persons, what do you need machinery for? So, again that’s where a discrepancy came in.” Workers are also angered

over the “blatant disregard” for the positions they hold, the BPSU president further explained.

“The Beach and Parks Authority wanted a junior person to supervise the most senior supervisor in the grounds and beautification section,” Mr Ferguson said.

“So, they were also resistant to that because if we allowed that to happen, they can almost send someone to join a job today or tomorrow and say go and supervise those people because there’s no regard for seniority.”

Mr Ferguson said Minister of Works and Utilities Alfred Sears has responsibility for the Public Parks and Beaches Authority, but said “it appears like the chairman (Mr Bonaby) doesn’t seem to be paying attention to what the minister is saying.”

Mr Ferguson also said he has already spoken with the ministry officials on the issue, adding that meetings are expected to be held this week to discuss the way forward.

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder speaking to Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis during a briefing between senior leadership in response to the shanty town and immigration issues.

The Tribune Limited

The language of hate must not prevail

IT seems the language of hate hastaken a grip in our nation.

There is, leading our front page today, the story of our Prime Minister receiving death threats, phoned in to his office. That is far from the only hate on show right now. We shall come to that in a moment.

But first let us look at the fire that took place yesterday, in which more than 20 homes were destroyed, leaving around 50 people homeless, and many without any of their possessions.

Most disconcerting of all are the reports that as firefighters arrived to tackle the blaze, there were people nearby chanting “let it burn”.

Let it burn. Firefighters were trying to save lives, and people are calling for them to let it burn.

Now the dwellings appear to have been shanty dwellings, and perhaps should not have been there at all –though one man who has lost all his belongings told The Tribune yesterday how he had been living there for 36 years.

Rosny Fertil is married with children who are nearly finished with their schooling, and has been in The Bahamas since 1979.

Now he says he has lost documents, his bed, clothes. He says his children can’t go to school now.

How did he come to be able to stay in one place like that for 36 years? That is a broader question.

But the issue of immigration has been stoked to stir the anger of people. The people shouting “let it burn” do not know the legal status of the people living there. If Mr Fertil has been here since 1979 and his children are finishing school, then those children have most likely been born here.

Yet we allow hate to encourage the destruction of these people’s lives.

As for the Prime Minister, he is quite right to vow to carry on as normal

despite receiving two death threats on Friday.

The exact nature of why someone is threatening him was not revealed, but it follows a protest on Wednesday last week in which a video showed someone calling Mr Davis’ name and then saying “assassinated”.

The two incidents may of course be entirely unconnected, but they are both part of a rising use of violent language in our politics.

From that same event, video circulated of Coalition of Independents leader Lincoln Bain calling for “vigilante action” over shanty towns and calling on people to take matters into their own hands and tear shanty towns down. In other words, calling for people to break the law. What right has Mr Bain to make assumptions over who has the right to live somewhere? That is in the hands of government.

These kinds of words can only lead to violence, and that is wrong.

This is a nation of law and order. Taking action into people’s own hands is a breach of the law.

As Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said on Friday: “We, as Bahamians, it shouldn’t happen.”

As our Insight writer Malcolm Strachan writes today: “No one who threatens harm against our nation’s leaders can claim to be a patriot.”

But perhaps the most potent words belong to Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings on the scene of yesterday’s fire.

She said: “We’re focusing on saving their lives. They are also human beings. Despite what might be going on in Haiti at this time, as a country we have an obligation to ensure that their basic welfare needs are met.”

Human beings. Sometimes in all this heated rhetoric, we could do well to remember that.

EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS we hear the constant advocacy for reformed agriculture policy, we must admit there are many areas to be addressed. Access to land, stiffer penalties for theft of agricultural goods and labor are just a few of the areas that concern Bahamian agriculturists.

It is in our best interest to have a policy that heavily considers the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. We need a policy to not only benefit Bahamian agriculturist today, but in years to come. The topic of immigration cannot be overlooked. Importing labour is not new to agriculture. As The Bahamas grows our agriculture sector, we need labour. The question is, what skill level of labour is needed to take our agriculture sector to the next level and target the food security problems we currently face and what we will possibly face in the future?

We need climate-smart agriculturists, environmental engineers, greenhouse specialists, aquaculture specialists and the list of specialist goes on and on.

It is time that we discontinue engaging economic refugees that lack skill in the agriculture sector and engage highly skilled migrants that can drive

us forward. For over

40 years, The Bahamas has accepted economic refugees into agriculture, yet there has been very little advancement.

Statistics show that even though we issue many work permits for farm labourers, we have less registered farmers, less cultivated farmland and less use of packinghouses when compared to over 40 years ago. We cannot continue to go this route if we want advancement.

On the contrary, if people from the international community believe that they can contribute to our agriculture sector and they are not skilled, we have an entire institution dedicated to agricultural studies where they can obtain the skills needed to commit to agriculture in The Bahamas. BAMSI should be the base that we build our agricultural skills bank upon, and the University of The Bahamas should be the next step if studying locally.

By attracting international students at BAMSI, the revenue of the institution will increase because international students pay more (as with any other institution). It will also

ensure there is little to no language barrier and last but by no means least ensure that persons are familiar with practices that benefit our local environment and food security issues .

Leaders of our agriculture sector must include agriculturists across the entire Bahamas in the conversation of a food security policy. It is important to include students locally and abroad that are studying agriculture, marine studies, climate change, natural resources and other subjects that can address the problems faced regarding food security.

Persons like Dr Godfrey Eneas, a Bahamian agriculture pioneer should not be ignored. In the past, there were policies such as the duty reduction policy that were made without consulting agriculturist. This caused over 400 Bahamians to be without a job. Let us not repeat history and incorporate pioneer farmers with modern day farmers and address the issues. This policy can take our sector forward, or backward and will need as much viable input as possible.

COLETTE BUTTERFIELD

Current BAMSI student and agri-consultant

January 30, 2023

Time to seek highly skilled labour in agriculture Appreciation for ‘Bishop of Motivation’

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THANK you kindly for allowing me to write a few words in your newspaper on behalf of one of our highly talented and inspiring radio and television talk show host for the twentyfirst century era.

Mr Spence Michael Finlayson, better known as the “Bishop of Motivation,” and host of the programme “Immediate Response,” created his motto and theme is based on his powerful and unique testimony of his Christian walk and commitment to his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: “I’m Standing on the Promises of God,” taken from the Scripture text that is found in the Book of Hebrews 10:23. He is also the last child of his late parents, Mr Alpheus Sr, and the last child of Mrs Diana Finlayson. One of Mr Finlayson’s favorite Scripture verses in the Bible that keeps

him motivated to minister is found in the Book of Romans 4:17, and I quote, “As it is written, I have made thee a Father of many nations before Him whom He believed. Even God who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”

Not only does Mr Finlayson touch the lives of his own people here in The Bahamas, but also those throughout the Caribbean region and the United States.

Mr Finlayson has used his social media platform to invite a great number of Bahamian pastors, now living in the United States and other places around the world, to showcase their Evangelism Outreach Ministry via zoom, the ZNS television network, Facebook page and the National Voice of The Bahamas, “The People’s Station”.

Pastor Evangelist Shawn Pinder and Pastor Evangelist Bryan A Bassett, originally from Grand

Bahama and the Turks and Caicos Islands, were the proud recipients of Mr Finlayson’s radio and television programme and Outreach Ministry with the year of our Lord 2022. However, we must also recognise and make mention of all other inspiring and encouraging talk show hosts, who are also doing an awesome job throughout The Bahamas.

And so, Mr Finlayson, it is my sincere prayer that God will continue to motivate and inspire you and your exciting and awesome Outreach Ministry as you travel throughout the Caribbean, the United States and indeed, the world. May God’s blessings be upon you and your family, including your special assistant, Mrs Erma Duncanson.

VOLUNTEERS carry supplies for firefighters near trees burning in Puren, Chile, late Saturday. Forest fires are spreading in southern and central Chile, triggering evacuations and the declaration of a state of emergency in some regions.

Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP

Darville ‘exceedingly happy’ action taken on Exuma oil spill

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL environmental activist is “exceedingly happy” that action is being taken against the company responsible for last summer’s Exuma oil spill, adding it has been long overdue.

Joseph Darville, of Save the Bays and Waterkeepers Bahamas, made these comments on Friday a day after Attorney General Ryan Pinder said that the company responsible for the diesel spill that occurred in Exuma last July will face penalties.

The incident resulted in 35,000 gallons of diesel being spilled into waters off an Exuma bay as a vessel contracted by Sun Oil was offloading fuel to Bahamas Power and Light at George Town.

Mr Darville said: “I mean that was obvious, that the people should be penalised for what happened.”

When asked if he was satisfied that penalties were being levied against the company, Mr Draville replied he was “exceedingly happy” by the announcement. “I was exceedingly happy that finally, the Attorney General made that particular announcement. I support it 100 percent. It should

have been said long before now, just as we should have had an announcement for Equinor and also in Grand Bahama and also the situation in Abaco.”

Although incidents are bound to happen, Mr Darville stressed that operators must be able to provide a certificate that their vessel is “seaworthy” before traversing in Bahamian territory. He suggested it would prevent fewer accidents of negligence by checking to see if a vessel is fully up to par, adding that the country has “territorial waters”

that need to be protected.

“You got to make sure that the message goes out there that any vessels traversing in our territorial waters must be as secure as possible. I know that incidents will happen, there’s no doubt about that at all. But the fact is that we have traditionally paid very little attention to what is traversing our national waters.”

Mr Darville continued: “We have territorial waters that we have to protect because that’s our livelihood. We got

100,000 square miles of ocean, we have only 6,200 square miles of land. And by the end of the century, we’re going to have less land because of sea level rise. And so we got to be able to make sure that we maintain the pristine aspect of our ocean.”

In terms of penalties for the Onego Traveller ship that sank with heavy fuel on board off Abaco in December, Mr Pinder said on Thursday that officials are still awaiting final reports.

“We’re still awaiting

final reports from the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection and the Department of Environmental Health Services. That ship is still there, and we have issued an order for it to be removed from The Bahamas.” He said the government gave the ship’s owner 45 days to remove it from Abaco waters. Asked about the sunken ship in Abaco, Mr Darville said he is confident that a decision will be made at some point.

“Well definitely that is still fluid and so one cannot determine now at this particular point in time, what reparations should be made to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas for whatever damage being done to the seabed and to fisheries in that area.

“And so I am certain that a specific time when he (the Attorney General) has all of the information. Then we will hear a money level or money amount that would be compensated for the damage done to our environment,” Mr Darville said.

MINISTER of Transport and Housing Jobeth Coleby-Davis (centre) to sign a MOU to strengthen effective and efficient port management within the area of both ports.

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT SIGNS MOU WITH PORT OF MIAMI

A MEMORANDUM of understanding has been signed with the aim of helping to build links with Port Miami in Florida.

On Tuesday of last week, a delegation travelled to Miami, led by Minister of Transport and Housing JoBeth Coleby-Davis.

The signing of the memorandum aims to solidify the partnership between the Bahamas Port Department and Port Miami.

The delegation included acting Permanent Secretary Gaynell Rolle, acting port controller Senior Commander Berne Wright, and assistant port controller Lonna Bethel. The Bahamas delegation met with port director and CEO of Port Miami Hydi Webb, along with deputy

port director Frederick Wong Jr, director of government and international relations Debra Owens, and cargo analyst Sonless Martin.

In recognition of the shared interest between the Port Department and Port Miami, the MOU seeks to strengthen effective and efficient port management within the geographicallyproximate area of both ports.

Ultimately, the parties agreed to work together to foster cooperation, information exchange and technical assistance on several points of interests in the maritime sector, including port security, sustainable maritime practices and crew and passenger safety.

DIESEL fuel collects at a beach in the Exumas last July after 35,000 gallons spilled from a Sun Oil owned vessel offloading fuel for Bahamas Power and Light at George Town.

Photos: Anthon Thompson/BIS

JOBETH Coleby-Davis meeting with Port of Miami officials to sign a MOU.

Death threats to Prime Minister must be condemned outright

By MALCOLM STRCHAN

TALKING

politics can be a passionate business.

When I sit down and talk politics, it can get heated. People believe strongly in their viewpoints. But at the end of the day, we win or we lost at the ballot box. How did we get to a place where death threats are part of our new political landscape?

On Friday, the Prime Minister’s office received two anonymous calls making death threats against the incumbent Philip “Brave” Davis.

An urgent briefing was called, with Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander in attendance. He said there were not one, but two calls, shortly after noon, about 15 minutes apart, threatening to kill Mr Davis.

He was blunt and clear in his assessment, saying: “We, as Bahamians, it shouldn’t happen. When you’re talking about threatening the nation’s leader and we as Bahamians, how we got to this level in threatening individuals, and you can go beyond the Prime Minister and individuals and we take this very seriously.”

Was this out of the blue? Well, it might not even have been the first threat to the Prime Minister last week.

During a protest outside Parliament with members and supporters of the Coalition of Independents in attendance, a man in the crowd can be heard shouting about the Prime Minister, and using the word assassinate.

What does the Coalition of Independents leader, Lincoln Bain, say about that? He went on a livestream on Friday on Facebook, during which he noted the incident and said: “He made some comments that were to the effect of … all of these police out here for Bahamians, it’s like they want to kill us, they need to go kill them. He did not say who the them was or identify who the them was.”

I sat and listened to the video and the words Mr Bain heard are not the ones being shouted. Granted, quite what the person was shouting is a little unclear – but let’s not be making up what was said out of whole cloth, Mr Bain.

Mr Bain did find his way

to a criticism of threats. He said: “We want to make it categorically clear that we do not condone threats against any Bahamian in this country, especially the Bahamian who is our chief servant and who works for us and on our behalf, or who is supposed to work for us and on our behalf.”

Notice there that even in his condemnation, Mr Bain manages to undermine the target of the threats by saying they are “supposed” to work for us, implying that they are not. Also, he criticises threats only against Bahamians. Threats should be criticised against anyone. The place of a person’s birth should not make them open to being threatened.

Mr Bain went on to muddy the waters by describing a reporter asking questions at the briefing as being “of Haitian descent” and then went further by suggesting without presenting any evidence: “We believe that a PLP supporter or supporter of the government was instructed to make that call to the Office of the Prime Minister.”

He then went on to speculate that perhaps it was one of the people Mr Davis had represented in his time as criminal attorney or their associates. Again, without any facts offered to support such claims.

Instead of outright condemnation, we get outright conspiracy theories.

There should be nothing but complete condemnation across the board for death threats against anyone, no matter who they are.

The irony of the shouts at the protest is that this was a gathering of people who claim to be proud patriots – yet among them is someone using the word assassinate about the Prime Minister. What kind of patriot wants to kill the nation’s leader?

Now maybe it’s all just talk, some might say, and no one will really follow through with it. We need only look across the water to the United States to see how such talk can lead to unhinged individuals trying to cause harm.

Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in an incident that killed six

other people by Jared Lee Loughner, who fell down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories before deciding to try to kill the politician.

The man who attacked the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, David Wayne DePape, was similarly obsessed with conspiracy theories and extreme politics.

These are not the only cases – and, of course, there was the incident at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, where a riot saw people attacking the building, with 138 police officers injured in the process.

When we introduce the language of violence into our politics, we start the fire – and who knows what will get burned along the way?

If we permit such behaviour, if we encourage the behaviour of the mob, we cannot be surprised if they show up with torches and pitchforks. And who knows where it ends?

The only acceptable response to these threats is outright condemnation across the board. No ifs, no buts. Every political leader should say so as loudly as they can.

You may well disagree with Mr Davis – plenty of people do – but you disagree in your words, you disagree in your arguments, and you disagree with your vote. You do not threaten his life. You do not threaten the life of anyone, in politics or out of it, it is far beyond acceptable.

If political leaders cannot simply say no, this is wrong, and if you say this you are no supporter of mine, then that is a fundamental failure of leadership. It is very simple to draw a line here. A simple no. Not a no, but … Just no.

I am glad to hear Mr Davis is planning to continue with his normal duties. That’s the way our nation should be.

No one who threatens harm against our nation’s leaders can claim to be a patriot. And anyone who does is doing more damage to any cause they claim to believe in than any words of opposition possibly could. It is simply wrong. As a Christian nation, the very least we should be able to do is say as much.

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis pictured last week and, below, the protest held last week outside Parliament.

What next for nation’s environment?

By FAY SIMMONS fsimmons @ tribunemedia.net

WITh the country’s 50th independence approaching, Tribune Business sat down with people in the environmental field to discuss their vision for our environment going into the next 50 years.

Stacey Moultrie, an environmental planner at SEV Consultancy Group, said: “A healthy environment with ecosystems that function properly, are vital to our country and its people.”

The approach that the country has previously taken to development has been criticised by environmental scholars and activists alike.

Environmentalist Joe Darville said natural resources on many of our island have been permanently damaged by unsustainable development.

He said: “Our environment in The Bahamas, specifically on some of the Family Islands had been devastated as a result of development, when there was no regard for just digging up hundreds and thousands of acres of prime mangroves, because they said they serve no purpose.”

Some have called for a step away from mega developments and a transition to more eco-friendly constructs. Mr Darville is of the opinion that building for financial means without regard for the environment will have detrimental consequences if continued. He said: “Governments in the past have allowed unregulated development to actually destroy a tremendous amount of our environment because people want us to have places along the coastal area. If our islands become inundated and unlivable in certain areas? Where do we flee to? Where do we go?”

Ms Moultrie recommends a vision for development by collaborating with advisors to construct a development plan for each island and then bringing in developers that align with that vision. She said: “We need to develop our own vision for our country’s development. We should collaborate with citizens on each island and develop our own vision for what that island should look like in the future. And then we seek out developers that would help us to fulfill that vision. So the vision comes from inside the country rather than outside the country.”

Stronger zoning laws can also aid in ensuring that commercial and residential areas are clearly zone away from protected nature areas.

Mr Darville said: “We are not talking about ceasing developments but rather to develop with common sense, do not develop where it is going to negatively impact our ocean, our mangroves, our sea borders, etc.”

Ms Moultrie also suggests embracing more eco-tourism models rather than mega developments as they do not have the economic benefits they are perceived to - especially when considering the environmental costs associated with such constructs. She said: “Because we’re a small island development state, we have to move away from mega development, they aren’t sustainable. And if

we will take the time to actually look at the economics, they do not have the positive impact locally, that they’re counted to have.

“She believes the financial benefits of such large developments do not filter proportionately through the country as the majority of profits leave the country with the foreign owners. She said:

“Whenever they bring up these large developments, they’ll talk about the billions of dollars it will generate, but that money never filters into this country, it leaves. And so it makes no sense to keep pursuing these large developments that not only damage the environment, but also don’t really have any impact locally, in terms of economic benefit to citizens, or programmes or our overall development.”

Strides must also be made in the country’s approach to environmental education, according to some. Dr Brandon Bethel, programme coordinator for Small Island Sustainability at the University of The Bahamas, is of the opinion that we need a new outlook on sciences.

He said: “We need a radical shift in the way that we approach science. In terms of why should we fund it? Why should we do it? Why should we encourage it?”

Dr Bethel said we need to have people that understand our environment on a scientific level to conserve

it.

He said: “If we cannot do the fundamental science to develop or understand our environment or to understand the spatial temporal distribution of our natural resources, then we cannot conserve these things and then we definitely cannot benefit from them economically.”

Dr Bethel also suggested that an agency or programme dedicated exclusively to scientific grants and research would also be advantageous to facilitating environmental conservation. He said: “Under the backdrop of anthropogenic climate change and sea level rise, we need to have avenues by which research can be done in the workplace, and then funded to actually do it.”

Environmental education not only raises an awareness and sensitivity to the environment and the environmental challenges we face, but it encourages an attitude of concern for the environment and motivates people to improve or maintain environment quality.

Mr Darville suggests embedding conservation classes into the curriculum as a means to enlighten both students and parents of the dangers our environment faces and how we can combat it.

He said: “We should be introducing conservation into the schools as well, because they go back into the homes and carry that message to the parents.”

Mr Darville also suggests diversifying to ensure that potential climate change consequences, such as rising sea levels would not have such a drastic impact on our economy if the tourism sector collapses. He said: “We are fortunate because of where we

are placed on the planet, to have probably one of the most lucrative tourism industries in the world. But we have to be careful that within 25 or 30 years, many of our islands can be inundated with the ocean, and so that means that we could eventually lose all of the things that actually attract tourists to come to our shores.”

Ms Moultrie agrees that our economy needs to be diversified and careers in sustainability should be supported and encouraged. She said: “We definitely need to diversify our economy. There are a lot of careers linked in sustainability that people can pursue. And the government should ensure that they are supported and facilitated. It’s all about teaching young people, not

just the value of natural resources and ecosystems, but that they can actually have a livelihood based on natural resources that is sustainable and provides a lucrative income.”

Careers in conservation also include scientific roles such as data entry and processing personnel, environmental economists, and environmental planners.

Bethel added that although there are funds available for environmental research, locally there is an issue sourcing qualified persons to assume those roles. He said: “There is a vast quantity of funds available from both local and international organisations to do this kind of basic research. And our issue is, and we have no one who could do it, we always have to bring in somebody from abroad.”

Ms Moultrie hopes Bahamians will one day see our environment as a core part of our identity. She said: “For the future, I want to see Bahamians come to see the environment as a part of their identity, and important to their wellbeing. We cannot continue to think of the environment as something outside ourselves.”

Mr Darville added: “My wish is that before I die, I want to make sure that the most Bahamians are aware of the gem, the treasure that we have, and the responsibility to protect it that has been bequeathed to us by the virtue of being here. We need people who have a gut-wrenching sense of what it is to protect our environment and our country and preserve resources for future generations.”

Jarol Investments Limited is seeking to fill the following position: Surveillance Officers (Nassau)

• Monitor operations to ensure compliance with safety or security policies or regulations. Observe individuals’ activities to gather information or compile evidence.

• Operate surveillance equipment to detect suspicious or illegal activities.

• Discuss performance, complaints, or violations with supervisors.

• Monitor establishment activities to ensure adherence to all gaming regulations and company policies and procedures.

• Observe gaming operations for irregular activities such as cheating or theft by employees or patrons, using audio and video equipment.

• Report all violations and suspicious behaviors to supervisors, verbally or in writing.

• Act as oversight or security agents for management or customers. .

• Be prepared to work within a shift system

• Retain and file audio and video records of gaming activities in the event that the records need to be used for investigations.

• Perform other related duties as assigned by Management. Interested persons must require surveillance experience, certification, training, communication skills, attention to detail, ability to work independently and should apply at Jarol Investments Limited Head Office, Prince Charles Drive (Across from Restview) between the hours of 9am to 5pm. Or send your CV to careers@

JOE Darville in the Bimini wetlands.

STACEY MOULTRIE, of SEV Consultancy Group, said a healthy enviornment is vital to the country.

DR BRANDON BETHELL, of the University of The Bahamas, says we need a “radical shift” in how we approach science.

‘We are not talking about ceasing developments but rather to develop with common sense, do not develop where it is going to negatively impact our ocean, our mangroves, our sea borders, etc.’

Joe Darville

A long way down part 1

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

THE internationally beloved movie, Mrs Doubtfire, starring Sally Field and Robin Williams, was released in 1993 and quickly became a smashing, box-office success. In it, Williams played a devoted and loving but unreliable father who temporarily loses custody of his children following his divorce. Then, in an act of desperation, he applies to be his ex-wife’s housekeeper, disguised as an elderly British nanny. Initially things go well but, when his cover is blown, his ex-wife is granted full custody even after he explains to the judge the motivation behind his insane antics.

• Maintains accounting records by making copies; filing documents.

• Counting cash and verifying amount received with Z reports.

• Maintains accounting database by entering data into the computer; processing backups.

• Preparing bank deposits.

• Protects organization’s value by keeping information confidential.

• Updates job knowledge by participating in education opportunities.

• Accomplishes accounting and organization mission by completing related results as needed.

• Compiling daily cash collection report.

Interested persons should email their resume to careers@ chancesgames.com. or visit our Head Office on Prince Charles Drive (across from Restview Funeral Home) between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As a father, his deep and enduring love for his children sometimes made him crazy, he remorsefully explained and he simply couldn’t imagine living without them. My patient, who’s chosen the alias Ashley, loved this movie growing up because it demonstrated the intense love that can ideally exist between a father and his children. For most of her life, Ashley yearned for anything similar but was repeatedly denied that wish. Her father, hereafter referred to as Henry, was one of seven children and like his brothers and nephews, he became addicted to cocaine at a young age. Henry battled with drug addiction most of his life, but all the while unaware it was Ashley who bore the sharpest toll of his selfinflicted struggle.

Henry was born and raised in the Berry Islands, a remote part of The Bahamas, which stood at the centre of the 1980s drug trade. At the time, The Bahamas was a major transshipment hub for Carlos Lehder and his notorious Medellin drug cartel, used to successfully smuggle Colombian cocaine into the United States. While Exuma and Norman’s Cay made the headlines, it was quieter locales like the Berry Islands

and particularly Great Harbour Cay where an entire generation of young men were lost when they became enraptured by drugs.

Cocaine was everywhere throughout the island and, at the time, little was known about the associated dangers tied to its recreational usage. Many lives were destroyed as they rode the drug wave and then came crashing down in its demise.

For a while, Henry worked on a golf course, as a mechanic and as a bartender at his mother’s resort. Life on the island was simple. Everyone loved to party and tourists flocked to the island to openly engage in drug parties. Soon enough, Henry found himself constantly surrounded by cocaine. When the crackdown on drugs amplified, the economy on the island faltered and Henry relocated to Nassau where he worked as a lab technician.

While living in Nassau, he met a woman and married her 11 days before she gave birth to Ashley, the first of their two children. The marriage lasted for five years and ended with distrust and bitterness. As the years went by, cocaine habitually became Henry’s escape and his descent was swift. Initially he craved the perceived mental clarity that it granted but soon thereafter he only desired the feeling of euphoria that it elicited. As expected, the effects lasted for shorter periods each time, forcing him to take it more often and in higher quantities, destructively chasing an initial high that he couldn’t possibly achieve once more.

During one of his binges, he went to a coke house where he got high and fell asleep, leaving Ashley home alone for several hours when she was just two years old. Ashley’s mother never knew. They had another daughter nine months later but when Henry’s drug abuse intensified, the two finally divorced.

Angry, Henry took everything he could from their home, even the rugs off the floor and moved in with his mother but it wasn’t long before she kicked him out. So, eventually, he found shelter outside, living out of an abandoned rusted car on a vacant lot camouflaged by overgrown bush and off the beaten path. The hurricane season was particularly cruel as was the stench of fecal matter and urine. Henry domiciled in this humble lodging for more than 40 years, flanked relentlessly by snakes and mosquitos and victimised particularly by the heat of the summer.

For a while, Henry worked as a landscaper and despite his disheveled appearance, women were drawn to him because he was so charming, fun-loving and personable. Behind his overgrown, unkept hair and dirty clothing stood a strong man, fairly tall with smooth skin, strong shoulders and kind eyes. Like his daughter, Henry simply wanted to be loved and to give love in return but his addiction crippled him and he never understood that to Ashley, his consistent presence in her life was more than enough.

Henry had seven other children with multiple other women, for a total of nine.

Ashley’s mother, the only woman Henry married, worked a lot so Ashley was raised by other family members and in time began living on her own. She sought love from verbally and physically abusive men, one after the other and Ashley had her first child at the age of 18.

Still yearning to feel the same love that Mrs Doubtfire had for her children, Ashley began visiting her

father at his makeshift home in the bush. In retrospect, she acknowledges how dangerous that was but every acknowledgement of the associated risks was increasingly curdled by her need to maintain her father’s presence in her life.

Ashley had difficulty sleeping and was prescribed a medication for her insomnia to which she quickly became addicted. Then, for a short while, she began to abuse alcohol but, in a moment of clarity, she soon realised that she couldn’t do to her child what was done to her. So, she called upon an unbelievable internal strength and stopped without outside intervention.

That ordeal, for all of its imperfections, made her appreciate her father’s struggle in a more humane way. She soon came to appreciate that despite his circumstance, or perhaps because of it, he had the agency and freedom to be unapologetically authentic. Henry never judged her and appreciated her immensely, teaching her how to love people who don’t love you back because he had to do it every day to survive. So, whenever she took him food, she’d also take some for other homeless people around him, knowing that when she left, he was at the mercy of strangers who’d hopefully be there for him when she couldn’t.

Her concern was justified. Henry had been beaten while living on the streets many times and Ashley feared every day that her father would either be killed or die from an overdose. The first time that she saw him with Cocaine, she cried for hours, praying that something would happen to force him to turn his life around.

Then, not long after, when Henry was climbing a dilly tree for food, he lost his balance and fell 15-feet to the ground. As he landed, he heard a loud, audible crack. The pain was immediate and Henry couldn’t move because his back was broken.

Truth be told, he’d fallen long before this day and his descent was heedlessly initiated the first time that he touched cocaine. As he laid there, in excruciating pain and sobbing alone, Henry reflected on what brought him to that point. This journey was a long way down from his privileged, king of the mountain, life as a young mechanic and bartender living in paradise on a small tropical island.

Soon after Robin Williams became famous, he struggled with cocaine and alcohol abuse, publicly stating that cocaine was a place for him to hide. Then, 21 years after the release of Mrs Doubtfire and having warmed the hearts of millions of people across the world, he committed suicide at the age of 63. Robin and Henry both began using drugs around the same time. Despite their similarities, in that moment, the only fate that Henry could think of was his own. So, while there, gazing at the sunbaked sky and reeling at the possibility that he may never walk again, Henry, now also in his mid60s, yearned desperately, today more than ever, for his next hit of cocaine.

This is The KDK Report.

• Part two next week

Nicknamed ‘The Prince of Podiatry’, Dr Kenneth D Kemp is the founder and medical director of Bahamas Foot and Ankle located in Caves Village, Western New Providence. He served as the deputy chairman for the Health Council for five years and he currently sits on the board of directors for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in his role as co-vice-chairman.

ACTOR Robin Williams both in and out of costume, with his Mrs Doubtfire role pictured left.

Jarol Investments Limited is seeking to fill the following position: Accounts Clerk (Nassau)

HAITI AND PERU BIGGEST WORRIES AS DEMOCRACY IN AMERICAS IN DECLINE

ALL the countries of ‘the Americas’ ie, those in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean are experiencing political, social and economic trials to some extent.

In large part, these trials, in most countries, are the result of several factors, including persistent historical societal inequalities, the lingering economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the prices of food, oil and gas, and the worldwide chain of supply of goods and services.

However, in some countries of ‘the Americas’, the tribulations are caused by undemocratic practices by governments or other power holders.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), usually reliable for the thoroughness of its investigation and analysis, recently published its Democracy Index for 2022. The Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.

The EIU ranks only 4 countries of ‘the Americas’ among the top 22 fully democratic nations of the world.

These are: Uruguay (11), Canada (12) Costa Rica (17) and Chile (19). The United States of America (US) is ranked at number 30 of the 167 countries that were examined.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) experiences its seventh consecutive year of decline in 2022 in the EIU table. The area’s average score fell to 5.79, down from 5.83 in 2021. However, I point out that The Bahamas, Barbados and the 6 independent countries in the Eastern

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines, were not examined. This omission is probably due to the smallness of the populations of these countries, although it is an omission in the EIU analysis which should be corrected.

According to the EIU, the countries driving the 2022 decline in the LAC are Haiti (-0.68), El Salvador (-0.66) and Mexico (-0.32). Countries recording more modest declines include Peru (-0.17) and Brazil (-0.08). Peru’s declining score ranks it lower than a “flawed democracy”.

“Weak state capacity” is cited by the EIU as a major cause of the region’s low scores related to the functioning of government and political culture.

The analysis concludes that “the most extreme case of weakening state capacity in the region is Haiti, which experiences the area’s steepest fall in score in 2022”. Stating that the interim prime minister, Ariel Henry, has “failed to re-establish the state’s control over parts of the country, ceding ground to heavily armed gangs, many linked to drug-trafficking networks”, the EUI blames Mr Henry for “failing to call elections, which led to significant score downgrades”. The EUI also regards Henry’s call for foreign intervention to help re-establish order, as “an abdication of leadership

and a damaging admission that the country is no longer capable of self-rule”.

Regarding Peru, this country has declined rapidly into political chaos. As I pointed out in a recent commentary, the cause of the current crisis, while it is a struggle for power between rival political parties, is rooted in economic discrimination and marginalization of indigenous people. Even in the midst of social and political upheaval, which should have demanded inclusionary dialogue to find a solution, the response has been a disproportional use of force by the military against protestors, resulting in the deaths of 58 persons so far.

These events in Peru led to the introduction of a Declaration at the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) by Antigua and Barbuda and Colombia. The Declaration, which was adopted by the OAS on January 30, called for “respect the right to assembly and for protest to be exercised in a peaceful manner” and for the resumption of dialogue to “build consensus to overcome the current situation”, and also for “the prompt holding of free, fair and transparent general elections, with international electoral observation.” The latter is unlikely to happen anytime soon. The Peruvian Congress has refused to bring forward the date of elections, even though the current President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, has called for it in the wake of angry demonstrations.

Both Peru and Haiti will occupy the attention of the member states of the OAS in the coming weeks.

Haiti will be a greater priority for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Haiti is now run, for all practical internal purposes, by more than 200 armed gangs, according to United Nations and Haitian National Police figures. The situation has worsened since 9 October 2022, when Prime Minister Henry wrote to the OAS Secretary-General, Luis Almagro, asking countries

“that are friends of Haiti” to deploy “without delay a specialised international armed force” to address “the breakdown in security.” There was no formal response from the OAS, although diplomatic representatives have informally expressed concerns about the provision of an “international armed force”, who would contribute to it, how would it be financed, under what terms, including immunity, would it operate, and for how long.

Pierre Espérance, the Executive Director of the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) in Haiti, claimed in a publication on February 2, that “the root of the problem lies in the corruption of successive governments and their increasing use of gangs to suppress public

protests, provide personal protection, and ultimately to retain their hold on power.” Espérance rejects an international armed force entering Haiti, saying “…such a force cannot possibly be effective in the current political chaos. Henry effectively rules on his own, with no Parliament, as just last month, the mandate of the 10 remaining members of the Haitian Senate expired for lack of elections in recent years. And yet, elections make no sense in the current tumult.”

The internal situation in Haiti, as in Peru, poses enormous difficulties for the world’s governments to help. In both countries, there has first to be internal political agreement that external governments can support. Everyone wants to help, but all the parties

within Haiti and Peru must first agree on the nature of the help they want and the terms on which it could be provided. The issues to be settled internally are precisely the categories in the EUI index of Democracy: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com

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

Employment Opportunity Human Resources Coordinator

An industrial company located in Freeport, Grand Bahama is seeking to employ an experienced Human Resources Coordinator to support their Human Resources Department

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Recruits, interviews, tests, and selects candidates to fill vacant positions.

• Develops and/ or maintains descriptions for all new jobs, reviewing and update job descriptions as needed.

• Assists with new policy and procedure development and responds to inquiries regarding policies, procedures, and related programs.

• Plans and conducts new employee orientation to foster positive attitude toward company vision, mission and goals.

• Identifies legal requirements and government reporting regulations affecting human resources functions and ensures policies, procedures, and reporting are all in compliance.

• Improves manager and employee performances by identifying and clarifying problems; evaluating and implementing potential solutions; coaching and counseling managers and employees.

• Assist employees with solutions to queries regarding eligibility, salaries, benefits, and other pertinent information.

• Coordinates training for employees and contractors in regard to soft skills, technical, quality and safety topics.

• Coordinates and develops management training in regard to interviewing, leadership development and performance management.

• Maintains the confidentiality of the HR department in regard to employee disclosures and issues.

• Responsible for the administration of the Employee Wellness and Recognition programs.

• Responsible for the administration of the Compensation Program ensuring that it is internally and externally equitable through the processes of Job Evaluations and Salary Surveys, and that Company Benefits are competitive through the exercise of Benefits Surveys.

• Maintains human resources records by maintaining paper-based and electronic records.

• Assist with the preparation of the department budget.

• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks and participating in professional organizations.

• May be assigned other projects by the Human Resources Manager

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Must have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Human Resources or related field with preferred minimum three (3) HR generalist experience or equivalent work experience.

• Human Resources Certification would be a plus.

• Must be in good physical condition.

SKILLS AND SPECIFICATIONS:

• Have good interpersonal skills and be able to communicate effectively to carry out broad objectives with minimum supervision.

• Knowledge of adult learning practices and techniques to include visual aids, interactive exercises/ activities and theoretical application as needed to train.

• Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups and the measurement of training effects.

• Have initiative and ability to organize and follow through.

• Knowledge of the operational characteristics, services, and activities of a comprehensive human resources program as needed to assist in setting and achieving site and departmental goals.

• Knowledge of labor law compliance issues and practices.

• Ability to establish and implement new policies and procedures.

• Have the ability to facilitate collaboration between individuals and also between the best interests of an employee and that of PharmaChem.

• Be adept at creating win-win situations.

• Be compassionate and understanding of his fellow employee.

• Strong ability to handle confidential information with discretion and maturity. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Only candidates who are legally authorized to work in the Bahamas will be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Interested candidates should submit their resumes in confidence, including name, email address and telephone contact information to:

NATIONAL police control security on a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, last month.

Photo: Odelyn Joseph/AP

RESIDENTS line up to buy propane gas for cooking in downtown Cusco, Peru, on Friday.

Photo: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Bahamas Waste partners with organisers of 2023 Carifta Games

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Waste will continue to provide the sanitary care of the Thomas A Robinson National and Track and Field Stadiums by coming on board as one of the latest sponsors of the 2023 Golden Jubilee Carifta Games.

Francisco de Cardenas, the managing director, told the Local Organizing Committee that they are only doing what they have been doing over the years in their support of the National Sports Authority and the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations, as they have been in other community and sporting projects around town.

LOC chief executive officer Lynden Maycock said Bahamas Waste does not just believe in supporting clean environment and spaces, but ensuring that the youth of the nation have a clean prospective, especially in sports.

“That is why today we are having our press conference next to our natural pond

because of our waste partners, Bahamas Waste, we are hoping to keep these games green, clean and pristine,” said Mr Maycock, as they welcomed Bahamas Waste as sponsors for the games, scheduled for April 7-11.

Mr Maycock said Bahamas Waste has been supporting a number of events in the country, including the Street Legends, which has brought together hundreds of young men in communities in Bain Town, Kemp Road, Englerston, Gambier and Adelaide.

Now he said it’s the same type of environment they hope to foster for the young people in the region through their sponsorship of the Carifta Games, which provides a positive

Mr De Cardenas said when he was contacted by Fern Hanna, the marketing chairman of the LOC and Maycock approached him to supporting the games, he couldn’t tell either of them no.

“Our main focus is our environment and we also help the Children’s Home, the aged and anyone who

needs help,” he said. “The NGOs throughout this island and wherever our assistance is needed, we help.”

For over ten years, de Cardenas said Bahamas Waste has been a sponsor of the NSA, providing waste removal from all of the facilities within the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, including the TAR stadiums, Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex, Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium, National Tennis Centre, Roscoe Davies Developmental Center and the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

“We’ve been doing it,” he summed up. “So we are excited about the partnership. We hope you have an amazingly successful event and we are pleased to assist. We are very proud of what Bahamas Waste does. We look forward to a wonderful Carifta Games.”

Carifta chairman Harrison Thompson said one of the motivating factors for the games is providing a clean and healthy environment for everyone to get involved in. Through Bahamas Waste, Thompson said they hope to keep

the environment clean and healthy.

“Our newest partner is not just a company that contributes to our overall health by removing unwanted waste, they are a company that give consistently to others and support positive activities such as sports and the arts,” Mr Thompson said.

Bahamas Waste, according to Mr Thompson, has constantly supported a

number of charity and nonprofit events as they pride themselves in providing an experience team that take care of more than half of the waste that is accumulated in the country.

Pauline Davis, the Dame of the games, said as a product out of Bain Town she’s thankful Bahamas Waste is partnering with the LOC and she knows they will make sure that the environment is very clean.

Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations president Drumeco Archer also chimed in, noting how pleased they are as well to have Bahamas Waste coming on board and assisting the LOC for the games. Bahamas Waste, according to Mr de Cardenas, is expected to make sure that there are sufficient receptacles to take care of all of the waste accumulated before, during and after the games.

MAN PLEADS ‘NOT GUILTY’ TO GUN POSSESSION CHARGE; GRANTED $10K BAIL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was granted $10,000 bail in court on Friday after being accused of being found by police with a loaded gun.

Jefferson Louis, 31, faced Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

It is alleged that February 2, officers arrested Louis after he was found with a grey and gold 9mm D’usse pistol with serial number erased. The confiscated weapon is said to have had 19 unfired rounds of 9mm ammunition.

In court the accused pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was granted $10,000 bail and is expected to sign in at Quakoo Street Police Station every Monday,

Wednesday and Friday by 7pm. The accused is also to be fitted with an electronic monitoring device and must abide by a 9pm to 7am residential curfew.

Louis’s trial is expected to begin on March 8.

In a separate case, a man was granted bail after being accused of stealing $3,000 worth of conch from the Montagu ramp last month.

Sean Dorsett, 43, appeared before Magistrate Kendra Kelly on a

charge of stealing.

It is alleged that on January 26 at the Montagu ramp the accused stole an estimated $3,000 worth of conch.

In court the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was granted $3,000 bail with one or two sureties. As a condition of his bail he is to

sign in at the East Street South Police Station every Wednesday by 6pm. Dorsett’s trial is set for April 5.

INCEST ACCUSED REMANDED UNTIL TRIAL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 38-YEAR-OLD man was remanded to prison on Friday after being charged with sexually assaulting his ten-year-old niece last month.

The accused, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of the child, stood before Senior Magistrate Carolyn

Vogt-Evans on a charge of incest.

It is alleged that on January 29 in New Providence, the accused had unlawful sexual intercourse with his sister’s child.

Due to the nature of the offence, the accused was not required to enter a plea at this time. He was informed that the matter would be transferred to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

The magistrate further told him that while she lacked the jurisdiction to grant him bail, he had the right to apply for it through the higher court.

Until bail is granted to him, the accused will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. The accused in this matter is expected to be served his VBI on May 17.

ALLEGED ARMED ROBBERS DENIED BAIL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THREE men were sent to prison on Friday in connection with the armed mugging last month of a businessman in Andros when over $10,000 in cash and a cheque was stolen.

Tito Newton, 33, Eddrico Colebrook, 31, and Solomon Fowler, 40, all from Andros, stood before Magistrate Samuel McKinney. There Newton and

Colebrook faced charges of armed robbery and receiving while all three accused faced a charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

It is alleged that on January 28, while being armed with a handgun, the accused robbed Joshua Zimmerman of $8,600 in cash as well as a cheque made out in the amount of $1,492.

As this is an indictable offence, none of the accused was required to

enter a plea in court. They were informed that their matter would proceed to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

While the accused were denied bail at this time they were told by the magistrate of their right to apply for it through the higher court.

They were sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services and will receive their VBIs on April 11.

Our company has been around gaming for over 30 years and pride ourselves on quality service and customer relationships. We are moving forward in the market and such are looking for qualified, dedicated, people friendly customer services representatives. We are accepting applications to fill the following position: Assistant Island Manager (Eleuthera)

Duties include, but not limited to:

• Overseeing adherence to company policies and procedures by employees.

• Auditing cashiers work to ensure accuracy.

• Maintain a safe and secure working environment for customers and staff.

• Maintaining confidentiality of sensitive data.

• Evaluating, assessing and managing the performance of each employee.

• Ensuring that the opening and closing of shops in a timely manner.

• Ensure safe keeping of company funds.

• Overseeing the selection and recruitment of new employees.

• Perform other duties as assigned by Management.

FRANCISCO de Cardenas, the managing director of Bahamas Waste (pink shirt) continues the company’s community giving through a sponsorship and partnership with the local organising committe for the 2023 Golden Jubilee Carifta Games. His company will be responsible for collection of trash at the events.

US and China at odds as ‘spy’ balloon shot down

WASHINGTON Associated Press

THE US military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions.

President Joe Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier, on Wednesday. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, US officials said. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000ft would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticised the US for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice”.

In its statement yesterday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “China will resolutely uphold the relevant company’s legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the

right to take further actions in response”. China’s Ministry of Defence echoed the statement later in the day, saying it “reserves the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations”.

The presence of the balloon in the skies above the US this week dealt a severe blow to already strained US-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions.

“They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,” Biden said after getting

off Air Force One en route to Camp David.

The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. About 2.39pm, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about six nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, senior defence officials said.

The spectacle had Americans looking to the skies all week, wondering whether the mysterious balloon had floated over them.

On Saturday, Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, and noticed her neighbours looking up — and there it was, the balloon in the cloudless blue sky. Then she saw fighter jets circling and the balloon get hit.

“I did not anticipate waking up to be in a ‘Top Gun’ movie today,” she said.

The debris landed in 47ft of water, shallower than officials had expected, and it spread out over roughly seven miles and the recovery operation included several ships. The officials estimated the recovery efforts would be completed in a short time, not weeks.

A salvage vessel was en route.

US defence and military officials said on Saturday that the balloon entered the US air defence zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. It crossed back into US territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.

The balloon was spotted on Wednesday over Montana, home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which has fields of nuclear missile silos. The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the US, giving them a number of days to analyse it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, according to two senior defence officials said.

The officials said the US military was constantly assessing the threat, and concluded that the technology on the balloon didn’t give the Chinese significant intelligence beyond what it could already obtain from satellites, though the US took steps to mitigate what information it could gather

CANADA STARTS AIR PATROLS TO COMBAT HAITI GANGS

CANADA has announced it is deploying a long-range patrol aircraft to help tackle gangs in Haiti.

The Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora aircraft deployment was announced yesterday by Canadian Minister of National Defence, Anita Anand and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly.

A statement announcing the deployment said: “Canada is undertaking efforts to address the dire security situation in the country and supports the Haitian National Police. Canada is providing this assistance in response to Haiti’s request for support as violence continues to escalate in the country.

“This Canadian patrol aircraft will provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability to bolster efforts to establish and maintain peace and security for the people of Haiti. The CP-140 aircraft has already deployed to the region and is currently operating over Haiti. It will remain in the region for a number of days.”

Ms Anand said: “Canada is committed to supporting the people of Haiti,

as well as peace and security in the country. The deployment of a Canadian patrol aircraft will strengthen efforts to fight criminal acts of violence and to establish the conditions necessary for a peaceful and prosperous future. I thank all members of the Canadian Armed Forces involved in this mission for their service and dedication to global stability.”

Mrs Joly added: “In recent weeks, the violence in Haiti has escalated as the gangs continue to terrorise vulnerable populations with impunity. The international community has a role to play in responding to the current humanitarian and security crisis and Canada is committed to playing a leadership role. We will continue to support Haitian-led efforts to restore security and build a safer and brighter future for its people.”

The announcement statement continued: “Canada supports the people of Haiti as they strive for a peaceful and prosperous future. Canada has been supportive of diplomatic efforts toward an inclusive political dialogue that will lead to fair and

free elections; provided more than $98m in international assistance to respond to the urgent and basic needs of the population; imposed sanctions on those responsible for the ongoing violence, including Haitian elites who are enabling the gangs; and provided support to the Haitian National Police.”

In October 2022 and January 2023, the RCAF airlifted Haitian-purchased armoured vehicles to the Director General of the Haitian National Police in response to requests from the Haitian government.

In December last year, Canada conducted a diplomatic mission in Haiti to encourage greater unity.

Since November 2022, under the Special Economic Measures (Haiti) Regulations, Canada has imposed sanctions on Haitian figures who provide illicit financial and operational support to armed gangs.

On November 10, Canada implemented UN Security Council sanctions into Canadian law imposing a dealings prohibition against a Haitian gang leader.

AT LEAST 29 DEAD AS QUAKE HITS TURKEY AND SYRIA

ANKARA, Turkey

Associated Press

A 7.8 MAGNITUDE quake has caused significant damage in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared.

Damage was reported across several Turkish provinces, and rescue teams were being sent from around the country.

At least 130 buildings tumbled down in Malatya province, Gov.

Hulusi Sahin said. Authorities there have retrieved three bodies and around a hundred people have been hospitalised, he said. That brought the death toll in Turkey to at least 18.

In Syria, 11 were reported killed so far. Dr Muheeb Qaddour in the northwestern town of Atmed told The Associated Press by telephone that they have 11 deaths in the town alone. He added that others are buried under the rubble. He said: “We fear that the deaths

are in the hundreds.”

A mother and child were killed in Idlib province, Syria, according to the Syrian American Medical Society.

The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude quake was centered about 20 miles from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital. Strong aftershocks followed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched”.

as it moved along.

Republicans were critical of Biden’s response.

“Allowing a spy balloon from the Communist Party of China to travel across the entire continental United States before contesting its presence is a disastrous projection of weakness by the White House,” said Mississippi Sen Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

China said the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.

The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation of Blinken’s trip. “In actuality, the US and China have never announced any visit, the US making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese

surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement. Officials said the balloons are part of a fleet that China uses for surveillance, and they can be maneuvered remotely through small motors and propellers. One official said they carry equipment in the pod under the balloon that is not usually associated with standard meteorological activities or civilian research.

This isn’t the first time Chinese balloons have crossed into US airspace in recent years, one of the officials said. At least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Biden’s time as president they’ve seen balloons cross, but not for this long, the official said.

Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the US was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have”.

IN this photo provided by Brian Branch, a large balloon drifts above the Kingstown, North Carolina area, with an airplane and its contrail seen below it. The United States says it was a Chinese spy balloon, but China insisted it was just an errant civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research that went off course due to winds and had only limited “self-steering” capabilities.

Photo: Brian Branch/AP

IN this photo provided by Chad Fish, the balloon is struck down above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

Photo: Chad Fish/AP

SPORTS

Charlton wins 60m hurdles at New Balance Grand Prix

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Although there’s no indoor championships to compete in this year, national record holder hurdler Devynne Charlton continues to shine, while men’s 400m national record holder Steven Gardiner made his return to action after a year of inactivity over the weekend.

The duo competed in two separate meets, but led a Bahamian contingent of athletes in action across the United States of America.

New Balance Indoor Grand Prix

Charlton posted a season’s best of 7.87 seconds to win the women’s 60 metre hurdles after she led the race from start to finish at The Track at New Balance in Boston, Massachusetts. Her nearest rival was American Sharinka Nelvis in 7.93 for second.

“It was a great race, but I just have to continue to

work on my technique,” said Charlton, who fell short of her national indoor record of 7.81 that she posted in winning the silver medal at last year’s World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

“I had a great start, but I think I lost a lot of momentum in the middle of the race going over the second or third hurdle, but I was still able to finish off the race pretty strong. So I think that was the highlight of the race.”

SEE PAGE 18

Ayton cans 31 points in victory

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer

DETROIT (AP) — Deandre Ayton had 31 points and 16 rebounds to help the Phoenix Suns beat the Detroit Pistons 116-100 on Saturday night.

The surging Suns have won eight of 10 games, including a victory at Boston on Friday night, and have help on the way with Devin Booker nearing his return. The three-time All-Star guard has been out since Christmas with a groin injury, but dunked in warmups in another sign that he’s close to coming back.

“I wouldn’t read too much into it,” said Suns coach Monty Williams, who didn’t want to speculate on the chances Booker will play Tuesday night at Brooklyn.

Phoenix started each half strong, leading 13-3 in the opening minutes and scoring the first eight points after halftime, to take and keep control against Detroit. “It was huge because they set the tone,”

Pistons coach Dwane Casey said.

Chris Paul had 14 assists for the Suns’ balanced offense that didn’t need him to make shots, finishing 0 for 7 and without a field goal for the first time since March 18, 2017, when he helped the Los Angeles Clippers beat Cleveland by 30 points.

“It’s a great lesson that you don’t have to score to have an impact on the game,” Casey said.

Mikal Bridges scored 24 points, Cameron Johnson had 20 points and Torrey Craig added 14 points for Phoenix.

“You don’t win eight out of 10 without moving in a good direction, but satisfied is probably not a word that I would ever use,” Williams said.

Johnson had a knee injury in November and has been working his way back into game shape since returning to the lineup two weeks ago.

“When he’s knocking down shots, it just gives everyone more room to operate,” Williams said.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for the Pistons, who are vying with Houston to have the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft and a shot to select 7-foot-3 French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

Detroit reserve Saddiq Bey had 25 points, Isaiah Stewart had 17 points and nine rebounds while rookie Jaden Ivey added 13 points and six assists. Like Phoenix, the Pistons were coming off a

Column: IOC talks tough on Russia - until Paris on horizon

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Columnist

THE IOC likes to talk tough — as long as it’s not heading into an Olympic year. Not surprisingly, as we draw ever closer to the cash cow that is Paris 2024, the hypocrites running the Olympic movement are eager to get Russia back in the games.

They’ll surely find a way, despite Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and growing threats of a boycott from those who don’t think the Russians should be allowed anywhere near the City of Light — even if, ludicrously, the IOC is trying to pass it off as a human rights issue.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy put it more accurately: “A white

Irving, Page 17

PRIMARY SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS CROWNED

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE members of the Carlton E Francis girls’ basketball team knew that there was no better way to keep the memory alive of their beloved deceased coach Sherman Smith than winning the New Providence Public Primary Schools Sports Association mini basketball tournament.

The week-long tournament, named in honour of Smith, who passed away in January, 2020, wrapped up on Friday at the Kendal Issacs Gymnasium with Carlton E Francis holding off CW Sawyer for a hard fought 8-6 decision.

Third place went to Albury Sayles, who blanked Palmdale Primary 5-0.

CW Sawyer’s Laila Leonard, an 11-year-old sixth grader, said they did it for coach Smith. “We did good. There was a lot of chaotic around the court, but we tried to stay focused

SEE PAGE 16

MILLER-UIBO ANNOUNCES SHE AND HER HUSBAND EXPECTING FIRST CHILD

BAHAMIAN Olympic star Shaunae Miller-Uibo has announced that she and her husband, Maicel, are expecting their first child.

In a post on Facebook, she wrote: “New Year, New Blessing. We can’t wait to meet our little bundle of joy!!!

win and playing on consecutive days. “When you think you’re tired, you make mental mistakes and it turns into physical mistakes,” Casey said.

SEE PAGE 17

or any neutral flag is impossible for Russian athletes.

All their flags are stained in blood.”

For once, just once, we’d love to see the International Olympic Committee do the right thing:

Make it clear that the Russians — and their accomplices from Belarus — will not be allowed to compete on the world’s biggest sporting stage until they halt the war in Ukraine.

There’s certainly precedent for such a decision.

— After World War I, the losing countries — Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey (the successor to the Ottoman Empire) — were barred from the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp. In fact, Germany’s ban lasted until 1928.

— The IOC acted in similar fashion against the two nations blamed for igniting World War II. Germany (which had split into two

countries) and Japan were prohibited from competing at the 1948 Winter Games

SEE PAGE 16

Happy 6th Anniversary #TheUibos” The announcement brought a quick response from Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, who wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations to @Hey_ItsShaunae and her husband on the exciting news of their first child!

“As parents, Ann and I know the joys and challenges ahead, wishing you all the best on this new journey.”

Olympic flame to take seaborne journey to 2024 Paris Games

MARSEILLE, France

(AP) — The Olympic flame is going for a sail.

Instead of arriving overland, the symbolic flame alighting the 2024 Paris Games will take to the seas from its birthplace in Greece, arriving aboard a three-mast tall ship in the French port of Marseille.

Paris organisers announced the flame’s journey on Friday at City Hall in Marseille, a former Greek colony founded 2,600 years ago.

According to tradition, the flame will be lit by the sun’s rays at a ceremony in Ancient Olympia. Then it will be carried by the Olympic torch to Athens and across the

Mediterranean to the famed Old Port of Marseille, where the flame will be greeted by an armada of boats along the French coastline, organisers said.

It will travel to the Marseille marina — where Olympic sailing competitions will be based — and the Marseille stadium hosting Olympic soccer games. After that it will be carried overland in the traditional torch relay, before arriving in Paris to light the cauldron and officially open the 2024 Games, which run from July 26-August 11. The Paris Paralympics follow

GREEK actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of High Priestess, lights the torch with the flame during the Olympic flame handover ceremony at Panathinean stadium in Athens, Greece, on October 19, 2021.

(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

PHOENIX Suns centre Deandre Ayton (22) dunks against the Detroit Pistons in the first half in Detroit on Saturday.

GARDINER

DEVYNNE CHARLTON, of the Bahamas, in action at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.

Photo: Kevin Morris

STAR TRACKERS CLASSIC HAS CARIFTA QUALIFIERS

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE the inclement weather, which forced officials to finish the meet ahead of time, at least a pair of CARIFTA Games qualifying standards were established in the same event at the Star Trackers Track Classic on Saturday.

Competing in the girls’ under-17 400m hurdles, Tamia Taylor of the Road Runners Track Club clocked one minute and 6.33 and Azaria Marshall of Red-Line ran 1:08.44 as they both dip under the qualifying standard of 1:09.86.

The meet, which was to be used as a tester for the Local Organising Committee in preparation for the staging of the 50th Golden Jubilee CARIFTA Games, was hampered by the rain and windy conditions, but organisers were still pleased to get in some of the events.

“On behalf of the athletes, coaches and parents of Star Trackers Track and Field Club, I would like to thank all persons and entities who were instrumental in the success of our meet,” said Laura Charlton, who organised the meet with her husband and head coach David Charlton.

“The inclement weather forced the unfortunate

cancellation of some of the scheduled events and we apologise for that.”

Special thanks went out the BAAA, BACO officials, meet director Tyrone Burrows and coach Larry Clarke (DTSP), the announcers and sound team, Bahamas Athletics, the Sisters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, SAC Student Volunteers, the Medical Team headed by Drs. Keir Miller and Cindy Dorsett, CARIFTA LOC and sponsors, security staff, NSA staff and all other volunteers. “More importantly, we thank the participating athletes who too braved the weather and competed fiercely for the prize,” Charlton said. “Thank you coaches, administrators and parents for your support.

Constructive feedback is accepted as we continue to enhance our product for next year.”

• Here’s a look at some of the performances turned in before the meet was halted:

Girls under-7 60m – Erin Strachan of Kids’ Athletics won in 19.40. X-treme team-mates Sta-Viah Brown got second in 24.21 and Riley Munroe was third in 26.13. Girls under-9 100m – Jazmyn Demeritte of Red-Line Athletics won in 16.33, followed by Christovia Moss of Beginners Track Club in 16.76 with

Harmony Rolle of Andros Heat third in 17.46.

Girls under-11 100m –

Jaelyn Munroe of DTSP

Wolfpack won in 15.51 with Christyn Gibson of Kids’ Athletics second in 16.66 and Kailia Symonette of Kids’ Athletics third in 16.97.

Girls under-13 100m –Rocellis Moxey of Swift Athletics won in 12.77.

Sandra Russell of Grand Bahama Heats Athletics was second in 13.55 and Jazae Johnson of the Striders third in 13.70.

Girls under-14 400m –Trinity Rolle of Fast Track Athletics won in 1:03.48 with Brianna Bootle second in 1:05.09 and Cassidy Pratt was third in 1:06.83.

Girls under-15 100 –Brion Ward of DTSP Wolfpack won in 13.18.

Vanessa Mackey of Alliance Athletics was second in 13.18 and Jayla Smith of Star Trackers wads third in 13.40.

Girls under-15 400m –

Keyezra Thomas of Speed Beginners won in 1:03.01 with Ramonique McClennon of Hurry Murray Athletics second in 1:04.30 and Ana Butler of Bahamas Speed Dynamics third in 1:04.97.

Girls under-15 800m –Jade Knowles of DTSP

Wolfpack completed the two-lap race in 2:!9.22.

Girls under-15 75m hurdles – Kaiya Benneth of

Davis Cup: US sweeps Uzbekistan, advances to the group stage

THE United States swept its way into the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals on Saturday, getting the winning point in a 4-0 victory over Uzbekistan from the doubles team of Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek.

They beat Sergey Fomin and Sanjar Fayziev 6-2, 6-4, after Tommy Paul and Mackenzie McDonald had won singles matches Friday in Tashkent.

Stan Wawrinka punctuated his return to the competition he helped Switzerland win alongside Roger Federer in 2014 by winning the deciding match against Germany. Serbia, France, Britain and

Sweden also closed out victories Saturday.

Ram is No. 3 in the ATP Tour doubles rankings and partnered with Joe Salisbury to win the last two U.S. Open men’s doubles titles. But the Americans opted not to use Ram last year in the final round, when they dropped the doubles match in a 2-1 defeat against Italy in the quarterfinals.

Krajicek was making his Davis Cup debut, having reached No. 9 in the doubles rankings late last year.

“They had five great days of preparation, and as anticipated they came out really sharp and got the early break in the first set.

And after that it was like two freight trains, there was no stopping them,” interim captain David Nainkin said.

Denis Kudla then beat Amir Milushev 6-4, 6-4. The winners of the 12 qualifiers being held this weekend — six on Friday-Saturday, six on Saturday-Sunday — advance to the Davis Cup Finals group stage in September, along with reigning champion Canada, 2022 runner-up Australia and wild-card recipients Italy and Spain. Eight teams will advance to the closing matches of the Davis Cup Finals scheduled for Nov. 21-26 in Malaga, Spain.

CROATIA ADVANCES IN DAVIS CUP AS CORIC BEATS THIEM

BORNA Coric beat

2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem 7-6 (3), 6-2 yesterday to send Croatia into the group stage of the Davis Cup.

Coric helped the Croatians win their second Davis Cup title in 2018, but he was sidelined when they lost in the 2021 final while missing a year of action with a right shoulder injury.

He returned to the tour last March, winning a Masters 1000 title in August in Cincinnati, Ohio, and rejoined the Croatians when they reached the Davis Cup semifinals last year.

His victory over Thiem, who has also dealt with injuries in recent years, gave Croatia a 3-1 victory in Rijeka.

The Austrians had taken the tie against the No. 1 team in the Davis Cup rankings to a fourth match when Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler beat Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic 6-3, 7-6 (11) in the doubles match earlier Sunday.

Chile, Finland, the Netherlands, South Korea and the Czech Republic also completed victories Sunday to secure their places in the next round, which will be played in September.

On Saturday, the U.S. completed a sweep of Uzbekistan, while Serbia, France, Britain, Switzerland and Sweden also finished off victories. Those 12 countries will play in the group stage, along with reigning champion Canada, 2022 runner-up Australia and wild-card recipients Italy and Spain.

Eight teams will then advance to the closing matches of the Davis Cup Finals scheduled for Nov. 21-26 in Malaga, Spain. In Sunday’s other matches:

— Finland 3, Argentina

1: On indoor hard courts in Espoo, Finland, Harri Heliovaara and Emil Ruusuvuori edged Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, before Ruusuvuori secured the winning point and a

Red-Line Athletics won in 12.91 with Dallas Strachan of Fast Forward second in 13.24 and Taylor Moss of Red-Line Athletics third in 13.46.

Girls under-17 100m

– Shayann Demeritte of Swift Athletics was the winner in 12.38. Phoebe Thompson of Speed Beginners was second in 12.77 with K’Leigh Davis of Fast Forward third in 13.06.

Girls under-17 400m –Shania Adderley of Fast Forward won in 1:00.73. Akaree Roberts of Road Runners was second in 1:01.35 and Rizpah Thompson of Speed Beginners third in 1:03.01.

Girls under-17 800m

– Alicia Knowles of the Golden Eagles won in 2:45.65 with Jasmine Rolle of Road Runners second in 3:14.35.

Girls under-17 1,500m – Erin Barr of Grand Bahama Hearts won in 5:22.36 and Zoe McCarroll of Red-Line Athletics was second in 5:46.73.

Girls under-17 100m hurdles – Gabrielle Rolle of Spirit of Excellence won in 15.56 and Andrinique Lamour of Speed Capacity Maximized was second in 17.40.

Girls under-17 400m hurdles – Tamia Taylor of Road Runners clocked 1:06.33 to surpass the Carifta standard of 1:09.86. Azaria Marshall of Red-Line also

did the standard in her second place in 1:08.44.

Girls under-20 100m –Lydia Clarke of DTSP Wolfpack won in 12.65 with Latia Archer of Elite Athletics second in 12.90. Zaria Stapleton of Elite Athletics was third in 12.96.

Girls under-20 400m – Melvinique Gibson of T-Bird Flyers won in 1:00.41 with Treasure Burrows of Golden Eagles second in 1:00.58. Janiyah Rolle of Fast Trackers was third in 1:01.74.

Girls under-20 800m –Alfrenique Knowles of Golden Eagles won in 2:33.42 with Treasure Burrows of Golden Eagles second in 2:33.50 and Tellica Seymour of Road Runners third in 2:48.71.

Girls under-20 1,500m – Akaya Lightbourne of Grand Bahama Heats won in 5:16.69. Tellica Seymour of Road Runners was second in 5:54.59.

Girls under-20 100m hurdles – Kaily Pratt of Ninety Degrees won in 15.47. Devondra Sands of SunBlazers got second in 15.80 and Essence Sands, also of SunBlazers, was third in 16.59.

Girls under-20 400m hurdles – Paris Augustine of Andros Heats was the lone competitor, winning in 1:11.02.

SEE PAGE 18

personal 3-0 weekend by beating Facundo Bagnis 7-5, 6-1.

— Netherlands 4, Slovakia 0: On indoor hard courts in Groningen, Matwe Middelkoop and Wesley Koolhof sent the hosts through with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Alex Molcan and Lukas Klein. Middelkoop then beat Jozef Kovalik 6-4, 6-4.

— South Korea 3, Belgium 2: On indoor hard courts in Seoul, the hosts rallied from a 2-0 deficit after the first day.

Min-Kyu Song and Ji Sung Nam kept them alive with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) victory over Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille. Soonwoo Kwon then beat David Goffin 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 before Seong Chan Hong completed the comeback with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Zizou Bergs.

— Czech Republic 3, Portugal 1: On an indoor clay court in Maia, Portugal, Jiri Lehecka wrapped up the victory by beating Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-1.

LYON, France (AP)

— Unseeded American Alycia Parks secured a stunning 7-6 (7), 7-5 upset win over WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia in the Open Métropole de Lyon final to clinch her first career title yesterday.

“I think France has a special part in my heart right now,” Parks said. “I’ll be back next year.”

UNSEEDED PARKS BEATS TOP-SEEDED GARCIA FOR HER 1ST TITLE PARKS

The 22-year-old Parks, who is ranked 79th, had 15 aces and saved all four break points against the top-seeded Garcia. Parks secured the only break of a tight contest to win the match.

The fifth-ranked Garcia, a U.S. Open semifinalist last year, was seeking a 12th career title.

“Congrats on a great tournament,” Garcia told Parks in English. “If you keep playing like this for sure you’re going to keep going up (the rankings).” Parks has a career-best ranking of 75th.

The 29-year-old Garcia, who grew up in Lyon, took time to thank her home crowd — this time in French.

“It means a lot to play here, thanks for being here,” Garcia said. “You supported me from the first point to the last. Thanks for all your encouragement.”

THE USA team pose for a photo after playing the Davis Cup qualifier tennis match between Uzbekistan and the USA in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Saturday. The USA sweep into Davis Cup Finals with victory over Uzbekistan. (AP Photo)

TYLER Pratt TRINITY Rolle

KEYEZRA Thomas KAILEY Pratt ANDREW Brown

FROM PAGE 14

because we wanted to win it for our coach, who died. He used to win a lot of basketball tournaments for our school,” said Leonard, who played with Smith.

She noted that their new coaches really prepared them for the tournament.

Her teammate Alyssa Bain, a 12-year-old sixth grader, said she was pleased with their performances, but noted that coach Smith would not have liked the way they drilled and shot the ball.

“I felt honoured to win it for coach Smith because he used to practice a lot with us. He was my favourite coach,” Bain said. “So I was glad that we won it. We want to thank the coaches who worked with us. They did good.”

Coach Melanie Gibson, who brought a winning tradition to Carlton E Francis having won just about every other title in sports played in the NPPPSSA, said it was good to finally get her first basketball title under her belt.

“I told them from yesterday (Thursday). I told them we have to win this one for coach Smith,” said Gibson, who came to Carlton E Francis just after Smith’s death in 2020.

“The children were too excited. Everybody, they wanted to come out to practice. We started from January preparing for this tournament.”

Smith’s family members were in attendance to watch the tournament and they were not only thrilled that the NPPPSSA decided to honour him, but they were even more delighted with the outpouring of love received from everyone.

“We are very honoured to have been invited to watch the tournament because this is something that he always liked to see with the kids having fun and being competitive at the same time,” said Sherzel Williams, his daughter.

Stephon Smith, who represented his brothers, Solomon, who is in school in Kentucky and Sherman Jr, who was unable to get off from school, said they are really appreciative of the NPPPSSA naming the tournament in honour of their father.

And his mother-in-law Teazel Bowe, said she enjoyed everything herself.

“It reminded me of when I used to come and watch Sherman and Solomon and Stephon play when they used to be running all over the place,” Bowe recalled. “These children are so tiny. I really enjoy watching them play.”

IOC FROM PAGE 14

in St. Moritz, as well as the Summer Games a few months later in London. — South Africa was rightfully barred from the Olympics from 1964 through 1988 and kicked out of the IOC altogether for waging war on its own people through its abhorrent apartheid system. Only when whiteminority rule collapsed was South Africa allowed to compete again at the Barcelona Games in 1992.

IOC officials maintain that Russia doesn’t deserve to be treated like South Africa because it’s not under United Nations sanctions.

Of course, that’s a disingenuous argument. Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, which means it has the right to veto any measure. In other words, there is no chance of UN sanctions — which presumably means the Russians could never be barred from the Olympics.

Frankly, Russia should’ve been kicked out after its massive, state-sponsored

NPPPSSA president Latoya Bain-Sturrup thanked all of the schools for bringing their teams out to compete. She noted that it was one of the most competitive basketball tournaments they have hosted, which showed that the coaches are putting in the work with their teams.

She also thanked the Bahamas Basketball Federation for partnering with them and for the tremendous role that Christian Wilmore played in serving as the tournament director and the referees who assisted him in officiating the games.

Prior to the start of the tournament, Wilmore, Freddie Brown and Yves Pierre also conducted a mini basketball clinic, which Bain-Sturrup said was a huge success for all of the coaches who participated and passed their certification courses.

In the girls’ divisional playoffs, Carlton E Francis whitewashed Albury Sayles 21-0 to win pool A, while CW Sawyer doubled up Palmdale 10-5.

In the boys division, Sadie Curtis emerged as the champions after they knocked off Sandilands Primary. In the bronze medal game, Uriah McPhee held off Sybil Strachan 13-11.

Sadie Curtis advanced to the final with a 20-18 nipping of Uriah McPhee in one of the two semi-final matches. The other saw Sandilands was 10 points better than Sybil Strachan in a 19-9 victory.

With four divisions contested, the pool championships saw Sybil Strachan def. Carlton E. Francis 11-8 in pool A; Sadie Curtis def.

CW Sawyer 8-6 in pool B;

Uriah McPhee def. Palmdale 7-1 in pool C and Sandilands def. Albury

Sayles 19-3 in pool D.

The team standings at the end of the boys pool play are as follows:

Boys division

Pool A

Sybil Strachan 4-0

Carlton Francis 3-1

Garvin Tynes 2-2

Gerald Cash 1-3

Gambier 0-4

Pool B

C W Sawyer 4-0

Sadie Curtis 3-1

Cleveland Eneas 2-2

Yellow Elder 1-3

Ridgeland 0-4

Pool C

Uriah McPhee 4-0

Palmdale 3-2

Woodcock 3-2

Claridge 3-2

Centreville 1-4 E P Roberts 0-4

Pool D Sandilands 5-0

Albury Sayles 4-1 Eva Hilton 3-2

Thelma Gibson 2-3

T G Glover 1-4

Marjorie Davis 0-5

doping ring from the 2014 Sochi Winter Games was exposed, not to mention its continued efforts to cover up a level of cheating that hadn’t been seen since the notorious East German days.

But the IOC could never mustre the courage to pull the trigger on a proper punishment, instead allowing the Russians to compete at the last three Olympics as supposedly neutral athletes known by the ludicrous monikers of OAR (Olympic Athletes from Russia) and ROC (Russian Olympic Committee).

Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine a mere four days after the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, a curious sense of timing that may not have been coincidental.

At that point, with the next Olympics nearly 2 1/2 years away, the IOC could lead worldwide sanctions that barred Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at most international competitions across a wide range of sports.

Those bans largely remain in place, but now the next Olympics are a

year closer. The IOC has changed course, looking for a way out to give a pair of warmongering nations a way in.

With its usual doublespeak, the IOC said its mission is “to unite the entire world in a peaceful competition.” Instead, its cow-towing to Russia could spark the biggest Olympic boycott since the Cold War era. Ukraine has raised the possibility of sitting out the Paris Games if the Russians are there. Neighbouring countries such as Poland and the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have signalled they may be willing to follow that lead.

The United States is highly unlikely to join such a protest, especially after the Jimmy Carter-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics over the invasion of Afghanistan is largely viewed as a major blunder that left behind lingering bitterness from athletes who missed out on their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The new leader of the United States Olympic and

Paralympic Committee sent out a letter to athletes and other stakeholders last week, reiterating the organisation’s support for finding a way for Russian athletes to compete in Paris as neutrals.

“We encouraged the IOC to continue exploring a process that would preserve the existing sanctions, ensuring only neutral athletes who are clean are welcome to compete,” Gene Sykes wrote.

“If these conditions of neutrality and safe, clean, and fair competition can be met, we believe the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games can prevail,” he wrote.

If the IOC is determined to clear the way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris, it goes without saying they should only allow those who haven’t actively supported the war, though that requirement may pose some challenges of its own.

Going further, it should only be athletes who compete in individual sports, perhaps making them part of the Refugee Team to further dilute any connection

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Amanda Serrano finally has all four belts in her weight class.

Next, she can have revenge on Katie Taylor.

Serrano wore down a bloody Erika Cruz and won a unanimous decision Saturday night to become the undisputed featherweight champion and set up a rematch with fellow champ Taylor.

They fought a thriller last year at Madison Square Garden and are expecting nothing less in Ireland on May 20.

“The last fight was an epic fight and I think the next one’s going to be exactly the same,” Taylor said.

Before that, Serrano got the better of a bout in which the fighters stood close and kept swinging throughout, emerging with the victory by scores of 98-92 on two cards and 97-93 on the other.

Cruz spent much of the fight wiping away blood from near her eyes after a clash of heads in the third round. With the Mexican’s light blue outfit turning progressively redder during the bout, perhaps Serrano was helped find the range with her combinations.

Afterward, promoter Eddie Hearn said Serrano (44-2-1, 30 KOs) and Taylor, who joined him in the ring, would meet again. Taylor, the undisputed champion at lightweight, edged Serrano by split decision last April 30 before a sold-out crowd in the first women’s match to headline at Madison Square Garden.

Back in the Garden, this time in the smaller Hulu Theater, Serrano found herself with another tough test, but this one went her way.

And she thinks her next match will, too.

“I’ve done enough and I will do more,” Serrano said of the rematch.

The match with Taylor was one of the most significant in women’s boxing history and lived up to the hype, earning numerous fight of the year awards. Taylor won most of the late rounds to pull it out, perhaps a little stronger with Serrano moving up two weight classes to fight her.

Back at her preferred weight of 126, Serrano appeared to be the fresher fighter Saturday. She won the final eight rounds on one card and the last seven on another.

Cruz (15-2) held the fourth and final belt that Serrano needed to complete her goal of becoming the first undisputed champion from Puerto Rico, and made her work for it.

to the shameful deeds of their homelands.

Even then, contact sports such as judo and wrestling might also be ruled out to avoid putting athletes in the unenviable position of deciding whether to withdraw rather than grappling with a competitor from Russia or Belarus.

By all means, Russia and Belarus should be barred from any team sports in Paris, since it would be clear which countries those squads were representing no matter the acronym.

There’s one athlete who, if reports out of Ukraine are accurate, definitely won’t get a chance to compete in Paris next summer.

Volodymyr

Androshchuk, a 22-year-old Ukrainian decathlete-turned-soldier, who was killed in recent days while fighting the Russian invaders, according to Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs.

“RIP, Volodymyr,” Gerashchenko tweeted. “We keep losing our best people.”

Your move, IOC.

For once, do your best.

OLYMPIC FROM PAGE 14

August 28 to September

8. Friday’s announcement came as the general assembly of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee met in Kyiv to discuss a possible boycott of Paris 2024 if Russian athletes are allowed to compete.

The International Olympic Committee last week sought to chart a path for athletes from Russia and Belarus who have not actively supported the war in Ukraine to join the Paris Olympics. That provoked strong objections from Ukraine, which wants those countries banned from most international sports.

Asked by the Associated Press about the issue, Paris 2024 organising committee president Tony Estanguet declined to delve into what he said was a political decision.

“My job is to make sure that all athletes who want to participate will be offered the best conditions in terms of security, to offer them the chance to live their dream,” he said.

NPPPSSA coaches receive their mini basketball certifications from BBF officials. NPPPSSA executives pose with family of the late coach Sherman Smith.

GIRLS champions Carlton E Francis.

BOYS champions Sadie Curtis

GIRLS second place finishers CW Sawyer.

BOYS second place Sandilands Primary.

GIRLS third place team Albury Sayles.

BOYS third place finishers Uriah McPhee.

AYTON FROM PAGE 14

STUNG BY SNUB

Williams is bothered that Booker, who he called one of the world’s best players, was not selected to play in the AllStar Game.

“The fact that the fans have that much input on it doesn’t make sense,” Williams said. “He’s the best two-guard in the league.”

TIP-INS

Suns: Incoming team owner Mat Ishbia, who lives in suburban Detroit, was courtside in his usual seats near the visitors’ bench at Little Caesars Arena with his three children wearing Suns gear.

The former Michigan State walk-on guard agreed to purchase the Suns and Phoenix Mercury for $4 billion in December, and sale is still in the process of being completed.

“He stuck his neck out to buy our ballclub and we’re happy to have a leader like that,” Williams said.

Pistons: Stewart missed all five of his 3-pointers in the firrst half, extending his streak without a make beyond the arc to 18 shots over seven-plus games. The power forward made all three of his 3-point attempts in the third quarter to end the drought.

“When we got opportunities to shoot 3s, we have to shoot them,” Stewart said. “It’s frustrating because in practice, I hit like 10 in a row. Hopefully, this is a start of a great run for me.”

UP NEXT

Suns: Play the Nets on Tuesday night in middle of five-game trip.

Pistons: Host Boston on Monday night.

‘BUDDY’ SCORES 21, HELPS

PACERS BEAT FORMER TEAM

By MARK AMBROGI Associated Press

BUDDY Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.

Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.

“Especially against your old team, it’s always good to get the win,” Hield said.

Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.

Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.

“(Hield) made some big shots down the stretch,” Turner said.

Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.

Sacramento was without leading scorer De’Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.

Davis sank a 3-pointer with two minutes left to slice the Pacers’ lead to 107-104, but neither team scored the rest of the way.

Barnes missed a 3 with 9.1 seconds left, and Nesmith came up with the rebound.

“We didn’t react trying

THE WEATHER REPORT

to foul,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “It’s on us as a staff to remind them to foul, if we’re down three and the clock is below 24 seconds and we’re down three points or two or one. That’s just a teaching point.”

Brown thought his team had several problems in the final quarter.

“You’ve got to be able to box out,” he said. “You can’t give up second shots. We didn’t do any of that down the stretch. Throughout the course of the game, our turnovers were terrible. It really hurt in a one-possession game to have 20 of them on the road. Our inability to communicate on defense against a team — and give up too many good looks — that can shoot like the Pacers, was not good.”

The Pacers, who led by 12 at halftime, took a 19-point lead in the third quarter before the Kings ended the period with a 20-8 run to narrow the deficit to 87-80 after three.

Indiana went 10 of 21 on 3s to take a 60-48 halftime lead. In contrast, the Kings were 6 for 23 from long range in the opening half.

The Pacers scored 14 straight points to build a 51-39 advantage. Nesmith hit a trio of 3-pointers during the stretch.

Haliburton, playing his second game after missing 10 with an elbow sprain and knee bruise, acknowledged he was tired after the game and struggled to make shots. He had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting and nine assists.

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

PHOENIX Suns centre Deandre Ayton in action against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

Photo: Paul Sancya/AP

UB MINGOES MEN BEAT GIANTS 69-51

By Tanajh Sweeting

THE University of The Bahamas Mingoes men’s basketball team pulled off a 69-51 rout over the TMT Giants as the two teams faced off in their second matchup of the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) season at the AF Adderley Gymnasium on Saturday night.

The Mingoes’ leading scorer Delano Armbrister willed the team to victory with 14 points and three rebounds and Erquantae Edgecombe also had 14 points and eight rebounds.

Theodore Grant also led both teams in assists with nine and has 10 points and Timothy Grant added eight points with nine rebounds.

Cousins rallies NFC to 35-33 win over AFC in Pro Bowl

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) —

For Kirk Cousins, it wasn’t quite the NFL-record 33-point comeback against the Indianapolis Colts to win the NFC North.

However, Cousins was the quarterback for the third and final flag football game at the Pro Bowl on Sunday for a reason.

NFC coach Eli Manning wanted Cousins in that spot to decide the overall winner, and the Minnesota Vikings QB responded by throwing three touchdowns passes to rally the NFC to a 35-33 victory over the AFC in the Pro Bowl Games and end that conference’s five-game losing streak.

Cousins completed 15 of 19 passes for 150 yards in the NFL’s reformatted all-star contest, which gave the NFC the victory.

“It’s hard to wait around that long to play, but I appreciate Eli letting me be the third guy and fun to go in there and be the closer,” Cousins said.

Based on the earlier flag games and skills competitions, the AFC took a 21-15 lead into the final flag game.

The Pro Bowl changed its format this season, eliminating the traditional game and replacing it with three flag games played on a 50-yard field and a series of skills competitions.

Each of the first two flag games was worth six points and each skills event was three. The total points were accumulated to form the score entering the final flag game.

“I thought it was awesome,” San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey said. “Guys had fun. It got intense there at the end.”

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams noticed the NFC took the game more seriously than expected, such as sending Cowboys safety KaVontae Turpin at the quarterback.

“Hopefully, next year the NFC will actually play

some man and not sit back in Cover-2 the whole time and blitz one of the fastest men in the league,” Adams said. “Interesting technique by them, but it was still a good time.”

BROTHERLY COMPETITION

Brothers Eli and Peyton Manning each have two Super Bowl rings, but Eli has this Pro Bowl victory over his older sibling.

“I am the greatest coach of the Mannings,” Eli said tongue-in-cheek on the NFL’s Twitter account. “I am so much better at coaching than Peyton, it’s unbelievable.”

He wasn’t the only brother to earn bragging rights. Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs intercepted a pass off a trick play from Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

MYLES GARRETT INJURED

The Cleveland Browns, however, announced defensive end Myles Garrett dislocated a toe Sunday, but X-rays were negative.

Garrett played with a sprained shoulder this season from a car accident in September, but still had a team-record 16 sacks.

Injuries were something the NFL hoped to avoid by switching to this new format.

Though tackling wasn’t allowed, Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey levelled Miami

Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill at the goal line.

PLAYGROUND

FOOTBALL

Cousins said he hopes youngsters watching the Pro Bowl will want to participate in flag football and help that version of the sport grow.

The change to a flag game took some getting used to, but Cousins said that also made it more fun.

“You’re kind of drawing stuff up in the dirt,” he said. “It’s not as defined of a plan, so some of our guys were coming into the huddle saying, ‘Hey, I think if we did this.’ You try to listen to them and incorporate it. So it was fun, but also a little hectic.”

McCaffrey agreed.

“Learning the rules was a little tricky because this was so different,” McCaffrey said. “But I think everybody learned pretty quick and had fun.”

FANS COME OUT

The Pro Bowl has received quite a bit of criticism in recent years, but the NFL keeps the event for a reason — fans pay attention.

The announced crowd of 58,331 was more than 2,000 more than last year, also played at Allegiant Stadium.

No site has been announced for next year’s Pro Bowl, but it’s unlikely the NFL will want that event to be played in the same venue just before the Super Bowl, which will be in Las Vegas.

Donovan Dean had a game high 15 points and 16 rebounds for the night for the losers. Randy Miller had 14 points and 15 rebounds and Daniel Hall chipped in with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals. UB went up by as much as 24 points near the end of the third quarter and were able to dominate the paint 46-24.

Mingoes’ Armbrister talked about the team’s strategy coming off a 73-89 loss to the Giants in December.

“We feel like we are a very conditioned team so we wanted to continue going fast and continue to execute what we did in practice,” Armbrister said.

The strategy seemed to work as the Mingoes were able to capitalise on turnovers with 31 points from

TRACKERS

FROM PAGE 15

Boys under-7 60m –Rashad Hanna of Beginners Track Club won in 19.58 over Andros Heats duo of Dedrick Storr in 23.07 and Logan Johnson in 23.55.

Boys under-9 100m –Ashlyn Cooper of Golden Eagles won in 17.21 with Daython Ingraham of Swift Athletics second in 17.22 and Edvardo Burrows of Beginners Track Club in third in 18.34

Boys under-11 100m – George Brown, Swift Athletics, won in 15.10. Vincent Johnson Jr of Jumper’s Incorporated was second in 15.22 and Jayden Allen of Red-Line Athletics was third in 15.71.

Boys under-13 100m –Avontae Lottmore of Grand Bahama Heats Athletics won in 13.14. Tyrone Johnson of Spirit of Excellence was second in 13.37. Jacob Pickstock of Swift Athletics was third in 13.55.

Boys under-13 400m –Adrian Woodside of T-Bird Flyers won in 1:09.71. Patrecio Sherman of Red-Line Athletics was second in 1:10.50 and Jonathan Linton of Swift Athletics got third in 1:11.34.

Boys under-15 100m –Eagan Neely of Red-Line Athletics won in 11.73. Shevanno Nixon, also of Red-Line, was second in 11.92 and Rohman Rolle of Fast Forward got third in 12.29.

CHARLTON FROM PAGE 14

With one more race to go, Charlton said her and Bahamian coach Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene, the head coach at the University of Kentucky, have identified what they need to correct and hopefully they will iron it out before she competes in her final indoor meet this weekend in New York.

“I feel pretty good. I feel like I’m in a better spot than where I was this time last year,” said Charlton, who after her success at World Indoor Championships, made the finals of the 100m hurdles at the World Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon and capped off the year with

turnovers compared to seven from the Giants.

“Last time we played it was a really close game so we took that game, we built on it and we saw the mistakes and we fixed the mistakes tonight,” Armbrister added.

Terry Thompson, acting head coach of the TMT Giants, talked about their biggest takeaway from the loss.

“Conditioning, the evidence was there on the floor but not to take away from UB they played an excellent game and they were more determined,” Thompson said. “Once we get some conditioning and practice under our belt we should be a better team for the next game.”

The Giants only led the game once since the opening tip. It was the final meetup between both

Boys under-15 400m – Aiden Musgrove of Bahamas Speed Dynamics was the winner in 55.93. Kamron Henfield of Velocity Athletics was second in 56.73. Dario Butterfield of the Spartans was third in 57.79.

Boys under-15 80m hurdles – Simon Sands of SunBlazers won in 13.03 with Rohman Rolle of Fast Forward second in 13.58.

Boys under-17 100m – Andrew Brown, unattached, was the winner in 10.82. Ishmael Rolle of Swift Athletics was second in 10.93 and Aiden Kelly of Golden Eagles got third in 11.05.

Boys under-17 400m –Zion Davis of Fast Forward got the win in 53.13. Javano Bridgewater of Fast Track got second in 53.36 and his team-mate Cleon Laguere was third in 55.01.

Boys under-17 800m –Jaden Moss of Invictus Athletics won in 2:26.52. Quincey Rolle of Red-Line Athletics was second in 2:30.11 and Ethan Swann of Red-Line Athletics came in third in 2:30.14.

Boys under-17 1,500m – Ross Martin on Hurry Murray won in 4:50.90. Terron McKenzie of RedLine Athletics got second with 6:06.89.

Boys under-17 110m hurdles – Kenny Moxey Jr of Panthers Track Club won in 16.00. Kersch Mackey of SunBlazers was second in 17.88 and Leviticus Levarirty of Fast Forward was third in 21.60.

a bronze at the NACAC Championships in Grand Bahama where she also ran on the women’s silver medal 4 x 100m relay team.

“I am just looking forward to identifying the deficiencies that I experienced indoors and hopefully working on them as I prepare for the outdoors,” Charlton said.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully getting a medal in Worlds this year. That is the main goal right now.”

Back on the track, Anthonique Strachan, still training in Jamaica, had to settle for eighth place in the women’s 60m in 7.40, trailing seven other Americans, led by champion Aleia Hobbs, who won in 7.02.

Strachan had the eighth fastest qualifying time of

teams for the NPBA regular season. The Mingoes are expected to face the D1 Rebels in their next game.

In the men’s division II opener, Your Essential Store Giants won by default over the BIBT Great Whites.

Tonight 7pm - Discount Distributors Rockets vs Rebels (DII).

Wednesday 7pm - Mekaddish Millionaires vs RC Liquors Eagles (DII).

8 pm Zulu Media Marketing vs Rebels (D1).

Friday 7 pm BIBT Great Whites vs Mekaddish Millionaires (DII).

Saturday 7pm - Rebels vs Products Express (DII).

8pm - Rebels vs University of the Bahamas (D1).

Boys under-17 400m hurdles – Quinton Rolle of Red-Line Athletics was the winner ion 1:00.51.

Boys under-20 100m – Adam Musgrove of Bahamas Speed Dynamics won in 10.51. Samalie Farrington Jr of Swift Athletics was second in 10.71 and Taejuan Spence of Golden Eagles got third in 10.71.

Boys under-20 400m –Andrew Styles of Ninety Degrees won in 51.54. Zion Miller of Bahamas Speed Dynamics was second in 52.00 and Ackeem Bowleg of Golden Eagles was third in 52.24.

Boys under-20 800m –Sharan Roker of T-Bird Flyers was the winner in 2:08.62 with Felton Robinson of Invictus Athletics second in 2:12.79 and Reddith Stubbs of Fast Track third in 2:17.21.

Boys under-20 1,500m –Nathan Johnson of Hurry Murray won in 5:01.96. Mikail Paul of DTSP was second in 5:03.65. Edoney Russell of Hurry Murray was third in 5:13.29.

Boys under-20 110m hurdles – Otto Laing of Bahamas Speed Dynamics won in 14.03. Tayshaun Robinson of SunBlazers took second in 14.41 and Rowan Sands, also of SunBlazers, was third in 15.63.

Boys under-20 400 hurdles – Morgan Moss of Red-Line Athletics was the winner in 1:00.63 with Dana Rolle of Road Runners second in 1:06.08 and Tahj Brown of Red-Line Athletics came in third in 1:11.64.

7.32 after she was fourth in her heat.

On the field, Thomas, the Grand Bahama native, was second in the men’s high jump with a leap of 7-feet, 3 ¾-inches or 2.23 metres.

He was beaten out by Tejaswin Shankar of India in 7-5 (2.26m).

South Carolina

Invitational Gardiner, returning to action after almost a year of inactivity due to an injury, placed third in the men’s 300m in 33.03.

The Abaco native representing Adidas, trailed Michael Cherry of Nike, who won in 32.66 with Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith, competing for Puma, coming in second in 32.72.

MINGOES forward Glenderson Black scores against the Giants on Saturday at A.F. Adderley Gym.

Photo: UB ATHLETICS

AFC wide receiver Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders, centre, pitches the ball back to AFC wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) of the Miami Dolphins as NFC cornerback Jalen Ramsey of the Los Angles Rams defends during the flag football event at the NFL Pro Bowl yesterday in Las Vegas. (AP Photos/ David Becker)

AFC wide receiver Stefon Diggs of the Buffalo Bills competes in the Best Catch football event at the NFL Pro Bowl yesterday.

CHASING KAREEM: TRACKING LEBRON JAMES’ PURSUIT OF NBA RECORD

A LOOK at LeBron James’ pursuit of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA’s scoring record. Abdul-Jabbar has held the record since April 5, 1984: Abdul-Jabbar points: 38,387. James points: 38,352.

Difference: 35 points.

James’ latest game: He scored 27 points Saturday

night in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 131-126 loss at New Orleans. James’ scoring average this season: 30.0.

Potential record-breaker: At his current rate of 30.0 points per game, with 36 points needed to pass Abdul-Jabbar, it would take James two more

games to become the NBA’s scoring leader. Assuming he does not miss any games in the interim, he would be on pace to break the record Thursday night at home against Milwaukee.

• Next Lakers game: Home Tuesday night against Oklahoma City.

LAKERS’ LeBron James tosses powder before an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday, January 31 in New York.

(AP Photo Frank Franklin II)