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BRAVE GOES ALL-IN ON FINANCE ALLEGATIONS RCI CHOSE NOT TO BID ON LUCAYAN CONTRACT

Claims against former govt rise to front of attack while actual proof remains absent

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday went all-in on accusations that the Minnis administration hid almost $650m worth of bills owed by the government in its pre-election report on the country’s finances.

Mr Davis, unveiling the mid-year Budget in the House of Assembly, doubled down on assertions that his predecessors “failed to disclose significant liabilities and unfunded obligations” worth $821.5m compared to the $173.1m

that was revealed to voters just before the September 16 general election.

Mr Davis also returned to the attack on the former Minnis administration’s COVID-19 feeding programme, the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority and the Bahamas Health Travel Visa immediately after promising not to “seek to inflict ‘victor’s justice”.

He accused members of the former Minnis administration of viewing their time in office as “an extractive industry”. No names were called, or other specifics and details provided.

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ROYAL Caribbean International has abandoned plans to acquire the Grand Lucayan resort, with its President and CEO Michael Bayley saying the cruise company did not submit a bid during the recently concluded request for proposals process.

Mr Bayley said his company is in discussions with other partners for a different project in Grand Bahama.

SEE PAGE FIVE

SEE PAGE THREE AND BUSINESS

NEW UNIT TO TARGET $900M IN UNPAID TAX

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday unveiled plans to crackdown on delinquent taxpayers owing a collective $900m by creating a new unit.

Mr Davis, presenting the mid-year Budget statement in the House of Assembly, revealed the Department of Inland Revenue was considering whether to

establish a Large Taxpayer Unit to focus on clients who both contribute the bulk of the government’s revenues and pose the greatest noncompliance vulnerabilities.

“This is a significant reform as currently the department has about $900m in outstanding taxes. The vast of majority of these taxes are owed by relatively small group of businesses,” he said.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

CONCERN REMAINS ON VACCINE HESITANCY

A WONDERFUL WELCOME THE WONDER of the Seas - the largest cruise ship in the world - arrived in Nassau yesterday, and Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley announced he hopes to bring three million guests to The Bahamas by 2024. See PAGE FIVE for more photographs of the visit and the full story.

CUSTOMS OFFICERS PAID $4M FOR USE OF THEIR OWN CARS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

TWO senior Customs officers received a combined $836,391 in reimbursements over a three-and-a-half year period by selecting themselves for the most lucrative import clearance assignments.

COMPTROLLER Geannine Moss was recently placed on administrative leave although with no suggestion of wrongdoing.

The Auditor General’s

Office, in a report tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, revealed that the “supervisor” in charge of Customs’ examination section and their “assistant supervisor” together accounted for 21 percent - more than one-fifth - of all so-called “transportation fees”.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

By PAVEL BAILEY A PAN American Health Organization official has said The Bahamas has only reached around 39 percent vaccination coverage and that vaccine resistance is a serious issue both here and the region at large.

SEE PAGE FOUR

FRONT PORCH: USE, ABUSE AND DELUSIONS OF HISTORY

- SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Thursday, March 10, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

HAITIAN migrants being loaded onto the charter flight yesterday for repatriation.

200 HAITIAN MIGRANTS REPATRIATED NEARLY 200 Haitian migrants were repatriated to their homeland in two separate charter flights yesterday.

The first Bahamasair flight left New Providence for Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with 77 men, 33 women, and 15 minors onboard.

Later that morning, a second charter departed with a group of 49 men and

four women.

The Department of Immigration’s deportation team led this escort with all COVID-19 protocols strictly observed “as the health, welfare, and safety of our officers, law enforcement counterparts, and migrants remain the highest priority in this COVID19 environment,” a press release noted.

NEW MINISTRY ROLE FOR TERRELL THE Ministry of Health and Wellness has announced that Judy Terrell, former director of communications at the Public Hospitals Authority, has taken on a new post as the ministry’s director of global health communications.

The appointment took effect on March 7. In her new position, Ms Terrell will be spearheading communications for national health campaigns and key public health priorities.

“Ms Terrell is a communications executive with more than three decades working in the public and private sectors,” a press release noted.

“Her experience spans the fields of corporate media, campaign

management, broadcast and internet journalism and crisis communications.

She has managed projects that span the range of individual client portfolios to leading communications projects and acting as government liaison for a billion-dollar resort. She is a familiar face in The Bahamas having anchored the national news at the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas for many years where she was also assigned as reporter to three Bahamian Prime Ministers.”

The ministry said it is confident that Ms Terrell will bring a critical level of expertise to the national objective for a healthier Bahamas and pledges its full support in this regard.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 10, 2022, PAGE 3

PM blasts former govt

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said investigations into the former government’s handling of its food assistance programme revealed some NGOs had held onto substantial amounts of money while adding the Parks and Beaches Authority had been used as a “slush fund”.

He also said there were some in the previous administration who viewed governance as an “extractive industry” and used public office to “enrich themselves”.

Mr Davis yesterday said so far evidence of wrongdoing at the Parks and Beaches Authority is “overwhelming”. He said while the records and the money trail are clear, he has been approached by some who have pre-emptively sought forgiveness and offered to implicate others higher up in the hierarchy. Despite this, Mr Davis said he has not entertained discussions

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday. as it would be inappropriate.

He also told Parliament that despite the telling evidence, his administration would not seek to inflict “victor’s justice”, make unsubstantiated accusations, or unfairly tarnish the reputations of anyone, just because they support his party’s political opponents.

Mr Davis called the practice “abhorrent”, adding it was something he hoped would never be seen in public life in The Bahamas again.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that some in the previous administration viewed governance as an extractive industry,” Mr

BRAVE GOES ALL-IN from page one

The Prime Minister also questioned why a nonprofit group involved in the COVID-19 food initiative was holding on to $2m in its bank accounts, something that Susan Larson, head of the former National Food Distribution Task Force, said was explained by a “miscoding” error and no funds were missing (see Tribune Business).

And, although the Auditor General’s Office largely praised the Bahamas Health Travel Visa while noting several flaws, Mr Davis promised this was “not the end of the investigation”. He questioned how the money transfers to its vendors could be justified when they operated without contracts and often did not issue invoices.

The Prime Minister then slammed the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority as “effectively a slush fund, with no attempt made to ensure that the services being paid for by Bahamian taxpayers were provided.

No evidence was provided to back-up the accusations made under protection of

Parliamentary privilege.

Michael Pintard, the Opposition’s leader, demanded that the Prime Minister “lay out the facts without being irresponsible in making accusations and not putting the details in the public domain and giving those accused an opportunity to respond to them”.

With regard to the claim of unfunded obligations, which Mr Davis described as “astounding”, the report by the Deloitte & Touche accounting firm that provided the $821.5m figure struck a markedly different tone. It revealed the gap between the two figures stemmed from what it termed as “fundamental differences of interpretation” over what the Fiscal Responsibility Act required as well as two separate accounting treatments.

Deloitte added that the Act’s terms need to be clarified to remove all doubts and ambiguities as to what they require, while pointing out that “the challenges noted in this report are a direct consequence of maintaining the current approach to accounting” within government which still relies on an antiquated cash-based system.

Davis said in the House of Assembly yesterday.

“They used public office to enrich themselves, their families and their friends.

They did not care that the country was devastated by a Category 5 hurricane, or was burdened by a pandemic that hadn’t been experienced in a century.

They wanted theirs and they wanted it now. And the political leadership directly contributed to this by taking steps to ensure that normal safeguards were not applied.

“For example, the public officers responsible for Social Services who created a food programme, were isolated from the operations of the programme. Why was this basic element of public accountability removed? Or in the case of the Parks and Beaches Authority, specific instructions were given not to verify whether contractors were tax compliant prior to payments being made. Again, a basic check in the system was removed.

“At the previous sitting of the House, the Auditor General tabled a report on the Bahamas Travel Health Visa. It was truly shocking.

The report indicated that the Ministry of Tourism allowed a vendor to receive revenue into a bank account which they, the vendor, controlled. It was also reported that a well-known insurance company did not provide the Ministry of Tourism with the information required to ascertain whether the insurance protection represented a ‘value-for-money’ proposition.”

Mr Davis said the report was not the end of investigations, and there were questions that needed answers. “A critical question which still must be answered is, who issued the instructions to transfer public funds to the various vendors mentioned in the report? In addition, what was the supporting information used to justify these transfers, given that most of the vendors identified operated without contracts, and did not issue invoices for their services?”

Further, he said, a review of the food programme launched by the Minnis administration is also ongoing, adding that “startling” results had come to light.

“During a period of great food insecurity, when many Bahamians were struggling to feed themselves and their

FNM: WHERE IS THE GROWTH PLAN?

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

Mr Davis tied his relaxation of COVID-19 rules to the improving economy.

“It is disingenuous for the government to give the impression,” Mr Pintard said, FREE National Movement Leader “that the circumstances at the beginning Michael Pintard said the FNM is disap- of COVID are identical to this period pointed by the absence of a growth plan when the economy is gradually being or preparations to deal with inflation in opened in its entirety.”

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ The FNM also defended itself against mid-year budget communication. allegations Mr Davis made about govDuring his communication yester- ernment programmes run by the Minnis day, Mr Davis highlighted relaxation in administration.

COVID-19 rules, uptick in tourism arrivMr Davis said investigations into the als and improved rates of tax collection. former government’s handling of its food At a press conference, Mr Pintard said: assistance programme revealed some “What is his plan to ensure prosperity NGOs had held onto unused large sums for Bahamians so that they don’t need of money, with one group holding $2m unemployment benefits or the food pro- in its bank account which has since been gramme? We are now faced with inflation, returned. He also charged that the Bahaincrease in fuel costs and the Prime Min- mas Public Parks and Public Beaches ister had nothing to say in any meaningful Authority had been used as a “slush fund”. way about what his plan is to address the Mr Davis also faulted the Minnis adminrising costs that have been brought on by istration for leaving nearly $1bn in liabilities inflation. He continues to say that he did the and unfunded obligations, which he said right thing by pulling back on bread basket were not disclosed in its pre-election report. items, that he did the right thing in terms In response, Mr Pintard said: “The truth of reducing the VAT payments from 12 is, the previous administration’s interprepercent downward for persons who made tation of the law requiring the pre-election property purchases that exceeded $2m.” report cite certain liabilities, that interpreMr Pintard said the FNM is pleased that tation differs from the financial secretary the economic plan it left in place is still and those that are presently in the chair.” largely being followed by the PLP. On the issue of the food programme, “When the Prime Minister referred to the Mr Pintard defended the NGOs involved. first six months of the revenue generation, “The government through Social Serthree of those months that he was in fact vices has always been helping, but in terms referring to were under the Free National of a concentrated effort in the midst of Movement government,” he said. “In fact, the COVID, a number of community groups, work that they are presently doing is a contin- faith based organisations were all engaged uation of what we started and when they boast in this work. about revenue being ahead of projections, “So it’s very troubling that the way he they are in fact referring in part to a period laid out the case today, suggested that some that we were in government and the continua- of them were doing something untoward.” tion of the policies that’s generating the returns Former BPPPBA chairman Shanendon that they seem quite excited about.”

Cartwright defended his tenure, saying Mr Pintard accused the Davis admin- the body followed policies and protocols istration of trying to rewrite history after left by the Christie administration. families, several NGOs failed programme.

There are some vendors and to utilise the full amount “It clearly was not just to employees of the authorallocated to them. Why not? address food insecurity. Some ity who seem to believe What is the point of holding NGOs have, in fact, failed to that they are not to be held onto funds when there was provide any real information. accountable. A forensic such a huge need to feed In Grand Bahama, the pro- review of the authority is people? And if the funds gramme was run out of the nearing completion. were available, why was political office of the then“The records and the better quality food not pro- Minister for Grand Bahama, money trail are clear. And vided to all Bahamians? We and no real cooperation has the evidence of wrongdoall remember the complaints been forthcoming. ing is overwhelming. I have of those who, week after “The Bahamian people been approached by some week, had a diet imposed deserve answers and steps who have pre-emptively on them of little more than have and will be taken to sought forgiveness, and corned beef and rice. ensure that those responsible offered to implicate others “These NGOs were hold- will be held accountable.” higher up in the hierarchy. ing onto substantial amounts Regarding the Bahamas “I have not entertained of cash. In one case, one Public Parks and Public these discussions as that had close to $2m sitting in Beaches Authority, Mr would be highly inapprotheir bank accounts. Why? Davis said the agency was priate. All I wish to say for These amounts have since being used as a “slush fund”. now is that the chips will been returned as we have “The initial finding which fall where they may.” demanded, but this fact, is in the public domain The government has also coupled with the extremely speaks for itself. The author- commissioned operational poor record-keeping which ity was effectively a slush reviews of the Disaster characterised all elements fund, with no attempt made Reconstruction Authorof this programme, leaves to ensure that the services ity, Water and Sewerage one to question what exactly being paid for by Bahamian Corporation, and Bahamas was the true purpose of this taxpayers were provided. Power and Light.

DAVIS: WE’RE HEADED AWAY FROM THE FISCAL CLIFF

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE nearly $1bn in liabilities and unfunded obligations left behind by the previous Minnis administration, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the government is headed in the right direction away from a “fiscal cliff”.

In his mid-year budget communication, Mr Davis said these liabilities were not disclosed despite totalling $821.5m. However, he again pledged not to increase taxes or fees in the short term as the government deals with its liabilities and inflation.

Unfunded obligations include $255.3m in debt and interest payments related to the government taking over Bahamas Power and Light’s legacy debt and $155.5m in unpaid bills and other obligations for state-owned enterprises.

Other debts include $25.7m for the Ministry of the Public Service, which largely represents outstanding payments for insurance services, along with $17.7m for the Office of the Attorney General to settle outstanding legal claims.

Mr Davis told Members of Parliament that $14.2m in VAT refunds for the Department of Inland Revenue; $15.8m for the Ministry of Health, including payments owed to Doctors Hospital for critical care COVID-19 patient support; and $129.5m in unfunded contract obligations for the Ministry of Public Works were also outstanding.

More debts include $23m in bills for water purchased by the Water and Sewerage Corporation; $56m for the

Public Hospital Authority, which includes over $25m in potential liabilities for the 2018 union agreement; and $34.2m for the Ministry of Tourism, including a significant number of unpaid bills for Bahamasair.

“Are we to assume that all these invoices and unfunded obligations magically appeared in less than two months after the election?” Mr Davis asked.

“Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, in trying to determine the most accurate picture of the public finances, many vendors have chosen not to cooperate in providing even the most basic information, or continue to stall and attempt to frustrate efforts to determine who received public funds, in what amounts, for what purpose and under what terms.

“This is extremely unwise, and I advise those vendors who are called on to provide any information to their dealings with public funds to cooperate. Failing which, anxious consideration will be given to the options available to compel cooperation.”

Regarding steering the country in the right direction, Mr Davis said there had been marked improvement within just six months of taking office.

“I wish our creditors, investors, members of the business community and most importantly, the Bahamian people, to all take note of the fact that, based on all accounts at the sixmonth mark of the current fiscal year, The Bahamas has already begun to take steps back from what I characterised in recent years as ‘a fiscal cliff’.

“While this is cause for

momentary celebration, it is not a cause for us to rest on our laurels. We must remain steadfast in carefully monitoring our fiscal position, and remain firmly committed to our guiding principles, thereby avoiding the mistakes of the past.”

He also said the rate of economic growth was forecast by the IMF in October 2021 to increase by two percent and eight percent in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

“While the IMF has not yet revised this forecast to account for its latest global outlook, we remain confident that the upward momentum that we have witnessed to date will largely be sustained.

“That said, as I stated earlier, we will need to maintain a cautious and prudent policy stance, and adjust policies as necessary to sustain both economic momentum and the health of the public finances. Labour market conditions in our country have also continued to improve, with the number

of persons relying on the COVID-19 unemployment assistance programme administered by the National Insurance Board, decreasing to fewer than 8,000 people at the end of December 2021, from more than 22,000 at the peak of the programme.

“On the prices front, increasing global inflationary pressure has translated into domestic inflation peaking at 4.12 percent in September 2021. In the short-term, we expect inflationary pressures to continue throughout this fiscal year.

“The government and its agencies are the largest providers of goods and services in this economy. This means that the government feels the impact of inflation immediately. Despite this, we are committed to not increasing taxes or fees in the short term as we believe that this surge in inflation is not structural in nature.”

Mr Davis went on to defend his administration’s decision to reduce value added tax to 10 percent

from 12 percent. He said as a result, most goods and services were less expensive.

“The lowering of VAT across-the-board is helping to reduce the impact of inflation on Bahamian households, although we recognise that the effect of the reduction is harder to appreciate in a time of rising prices. Nonetheless, 95 percent of goods and services

are less expensive than they would otherwise have been because of the reduction in the tax burden.”

He said there was also favourable improvement in the tourism market, saying while still below pre-pandemic levels, the industry has continued to improve with year-overyear increases in stopover and cruise ship visitors.

PAGE 4, Thursday, March 10, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Govt relaxes restrictions as COVID-19 cases trend down

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net SEVERAL COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed yesterday, signalling a closer return to normal for the country as virus cases continue to trend downward.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis announced the changes as he underscored his administration’s commitment to reopening the economy that was nearly crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Press secretary Clint Watson confirmed to The Tribune the new rules took effect yesterday.

While the government had previously announced it had reduced testing requirements for visitors — ending the day five post-travel antigen test requirement and replacing it with a departure test only - Mr Davis said cruise ships now no longer need to present a passenger and crew manifest disclosing vaccination status.

He also said residential care establishments are now able to set their own

MEMBERS of Parliament outside the House of Assembly yesterday. parameters for visitors and salons and barber shops and spas will now be allowed to operate at 50 percent of seating capacity.

Restrictions on recitals, regattas, in-person conferences, seminars, workshops, and drive-through cookouts have also been relaxed.

Mr Davis said these events will not require submissions for review and approval by the Advisory Committee and restrictions surrounding large events also will be eased.

He said the Ministry of Health was expected to provide more comprehensive details regarding the loosening of restrictions.

The Prime Minister said his administration had taken a different approach to navigating the pandemic when compared with the previous Minnis administration. He pointed to the removal of the curfew, ending Emergency Powers Orders and opening schools among other changes since his administration was

using regular legislation, we brought the decision-making back to a deliberative, representative body, instead of having all that power reside with a single individual. We have conducted tens of thousands of free COVID tests and we are distributing medical grade masks; both of these are important tools in limiting COVID transmissions.

“We hired more nurses to help us prepare for (the) crisis. By rationalising the travel sector requirements,

and eliminating the travel health visa for Bahamians, obstacles to international and domestic tourism were removed.

“By working closely with health professionals and relying on scientific advice, we have been able to safely re-open schools.

And by maximising all available resources to repair and refurbish those school buildings which had fallen into a terrible state, we were able to open schools without delay.”

He also said: “Our hotels are filling up. Our businesses are open. Many Bahamians are back at work and our children are back in school.

“This is progress, and indeed our economy has already begun to show promising signs of revival.

We are proud that our country has made such significant progress over the last few months despite the Delta and Omicron variants, and we are grateful to the thousands of Bahamians who worked hard to get our country back on track again,” Mr Davis said.

over the previous week.

“This week marks a sombre occasion; it has been two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic just before COVID transmission became widespread in our region. And since then, we have lost at least six million people around the world to this virus and the Americas have been disproportionately affected.

“With more than 2.6 million lives lost we reported the most COVID deaths out of any other region in the world. Nearly half of all global deaths were in the Americas, even though our region is home to fewer than 13 percent of people around the world.”

While Dr Etienne sympathised with growing global sentiment for the pandemic to end, she said that it is unlikely that the virus is going away anytime soon.

She said the world needs to learn to live with COVID and continue to find ways to adapt to this new reality.

“We all want the pandemic

to be over, but optimism alone cannot control the virus. It is too soon to lower our guard. Public health measures are being left behind in many parts of our region, some but not all countries are making that decision based on risk assessment and health data. Omicron is still around, and this pandemic is unpredictable. We must build on lessons from the past two years to prepare for quick action if a new variant emerges or outbreaks happen among those who remain vulnerable,” she said.

“COVID-19 is likely to be here to stay, we must learn to live with this virus and quickly adapt to new changes. We can do that by keeping our finger on the pulse of the pandemic and adjusting public health guidelines any time there is a risk of increased transmission.

“Surveillance is our eyes and ears so countries should continue to sequence the virus to monitor for variants and changes in transmission.”

Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

elected to government last September.

“Our administration has taken a very different approach than the previous one,” he said in Parliament.

“We immediately ended the curfew, because the data to justify it just didn’t exist.

Businesses were able to open for longer hours – this had a significant impact for certain sectors of our economy, as well as restoring important civil liberties to our people.

“And, by ending the Emergency Orders and

PAHO: TOO SOON TO LOWER GUARD AGAINST COVID-19

By PAVEL BAILEY

THE Pan American Health Organisation says it is too soon for countries to lower their guard against the coronavirus as some world leaders are rolling back COVID-19 restrictions.

PAHO officials are also concerned about the possibility of another spike in cases as travel increases over the summer, and has advised easing travel restrictions too much could cause another spike.

PAHO director Dr Carissa Etienne yesterday spoke on the status of COVID-19, acknowledging this week marks the two-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic in the region. She noted the Americas have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

She reported that last week that the Americas experienced a decline of 26 percent in COVID-19 cases with 1.1 million new

CONCERN REMAINS ON VACCINE HESITANCY from page one

During a press briefing yesterday, assistant director of PAHO Dr Jarbas Barbosa responded to questions of large gaps in vaccine coverage in people under the age of 12 in The Bahamas and throughout the region due to lack of access to paediatric vaccines.

However, Dr Barbosa said the main priority should be to vaccinate the priority groups before children, urging the immunisation of the elderly and those with comorbidities first.

“I think that the main priority now, not only in The Bahamas, but in all

Caribbean countries, and all countries in the world is to vaccinate the priority groups.

“The Bahamas has around 39 percent of immunisation coverage, that is not enough vaccination to protect all the vulnerable population. So, before thinking about vaccinating children, we need to go first to the elderly and to adults who have any underlying conditions, such as diabetes or hypertension or other diseases that can put them at risk to develop a severe form of COVID-19.”

Dr Barbosa also said PAHO is working with the Ministry of Health and other health officials from countries in the region on how to respond to vaccine

resistance.

“We are working with the Ministry of Health of The Bahamas and other countries in the Caribbean on how to respond to vaccine (resistance); that unfortunately is a very important phenomenon that we have detected in that region.

“The Ministry of Health (is) concerned, and we are working with them to engage not only the healthcare workers - that is very important - but other leaders in the region. Political, religious leaders that can provide the information that the families need to receive in order to make the right decision to protect their lives, getting vaccinated.”

infections reported. She also noted while there had been a decline in COVID deaths by nearly 19 percent with close to 18,000

deaths reported, there are still countries in the region reporting an increase in cases. In the Caribbean Dr Etienne said there had been

a slight rise in cases by 2.2 percent and that countries and territories like Bolivia and Puerto Rico reported an increase in COVID deaths

PORT FACILITY SECURITY EXERCISE HELD TODAY THE Ministry of Transport will be conducting an International Ship and Port Facility Security national exercise from 10am to 1pm

today in Abaco, Grand Bahama, North Bimini, New Providence, South Eleuthera and Inagua.

The ministry has

advised the public that these events are part of an emergency response exercise and people should not panic.

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 10, 2022, PAGE 5

RCI CHOSE NOT TO BID ON LUCAYAN CONTRACT

from page one

“We obviously had a great ambition for Grand Lucayan and then the pandemic hit and, of course, things changed quite dramatically,” he told reporters yesterday.

“We’re still hopeful and committed to being part of a project in the long run

for Freeport obviously and we’re in discussions with the government.”

Last year, when the Davis administration announced the cancellation of RCI’s agreement with the ITM Group to acquire the resort, RCI said it looked forward to participating in the new bid process.

The RFP process for the Grand Lucayan ended on

March 2.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper said the government received a significant level of responses.

He added: “Based on what I’ve seen, there are several credible responses that we have already received in relation to the acquisition of the hotel.”

“Over the next few days, I will receive a formal briefing and when we do so, I will have more to say next week during the budget debate.”

In December, Mr Cooper said the previous agreement for the sale of the Grand Lucayan was cancelled because of what the new government considered to be the poor

terms negotiated under the Minnis administration and what it considered was a lack of clarity on how quickly the project would be advanced.

Mr Cooper said the Minnis administration’s agreement to lend subsidiary company Bahamas Ports Investments (BPI) money to renovate and develop the property was a

no-go.

He said the ideal candidate would be a company that has experience, significant resources, a vision for the property and a commitment to develop Grand Bahama as a destination.

Mr Cooper said to maintain and operate the Grand Lucayan property, the government spends $1.2m to $1.5m a month.

Royal Caribbean sets target of 3 million guests

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net ROYAL Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley hopes to bring three million guests to The Bahamas by 2024, up from 1.5 million - the pre-COVID peak for arrivals in 2019.

His comment to reporters yesterday followed a ceremony celebrating the inaugural cruise of its biggest and newest ship, the Wonder of the Seas. The vessel is the largest cruise ship in the world.

Emphasising the significance of yesterday’s ceremony, Mr Bayley said: “It’s important in so many ways. First of all is the

fact that the world’s largest cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas, flies the Bahamian flag, it’s registered in The Bahamas along with 35 other Royal Caribbean ships.

“It’s meaningful because it’s our first port of call on what’s called a revenue cruise where we got our customers, or guests on board and it’s symbolic because when Royal Caribbean was started as a company, as a cruise liner over 50 years ago, our very first port was Nassau. So, here we are 50 years later through everything we’ve all been through and Wonder of the Seas is into Nassau.

“I think it’s also important because it yet again

kind of confirms our relationship with The Bahamas that we’ve had over many, many decades. Obviously as a company it’s our flagship brand, this ship, and it’s also a ship that was literally born through the pandemic.

It takes about two and a half years to build a ship such as this. This is the fifth ship in the Oasis class.”

The ship, which weighs 236,857 tons, can accommodate nearly 7,000 passengers.

“Every month it will bring 28,000 cruise tourists to The Bahamas and to every destination it goes to,” Mr Bayley said. “Over a year that’s gonna be about 360,000 cruise tourists coming to The Bahamas.”

ANN MARIE DAVIS, the wife of Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, Captain Rob Hempstead and other government officials enjoying a Junkanoo Rushout aboard the Wonder of the Seas.

BAHAMIAN performers aboard the Wonder of the Seas during its inaugural cruise to Nassau.

Photos: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLIES HOLD ANNUAL CONVENTION THE Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Council of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World is currently hosting its 73rd annual General Convention under the theme: “Standing on a Firm Foundation”.

Hybrid services are underway at Transformation Ministries International in Dignity Gardens, Nassau

with daily sessions at noon2pm and nightly 7.30pm until tomorrow.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis commended Diocesan Bishop Ellis J Farrington Sr and the work of the executive team of the 39th Diocesan District in the areas of evangelism, missions, community outreach, Christian education

and Christian leadership, recognising the importance of the work of the church in civil society.

Suffragan Bishop Dr Anthony Farrington said the general convention is important and timely as it promotes Christian values in a time when some “abandon their principles and accept to conform to other

cultures and practices”.

On Sunday, March 6, District Elder Dr Roosevelt Kamiller Whyms led the national Sunday School session.

Bishop Ellis Farrington Sr encouraged those gathered in the church and via livestream on ZNS and social media to “live a clean and upright life”.

Addresses also came from Suffragan Bishop David Higgins; Minister Rosalie Farrington Wilkinson; Sister Sheniqua Roker; Suffragan Bishop Dr Sharon Rolle; Bishop Barrington Smith; and Evangelist Mother Gloria P Dawkins.

Tonight’s session will cover the topic: “Faith Without Limit”, facilitated

by Elder Murietta Scavella.

Tomorrow, the church will address: “Pulpit Etiquette”. Evening hybrid worship services include vibrant praise and worship sessions, prayers, and special speakers delivering the Word of God. The public is invited to join the worship on Facebook Live or Youtube.

COURT ORDERS MAN TO REPAIR HIS OWN SON’S BICYCLE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 56-YEAR-OLD man was yesterday ordered to repair his son’s bicycle after admitting damaging it earlier this week.

Cyrol Thurston, 56, appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence RolleDavis charged with causing damage on March 8 to his son’s bicycle, valued at $150.

The 56-year-old, who pleaded guilty, told the

court he committed the offence in anger.

Thurston said the incident happened after he kicked his son out of the house for being unruly and refusing to heed his words.

“I told him he had to leave because there was a situation where some stuff (from) my house was missing,” he told the court.

Thurston claimed his son denied knowing the whereabouts of the items, something, he said, that angered him.

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The accused said it was because he was so angry that he went on to damage his son’s bike tyres. “He brought the police and I told the police I would fix the bike, but they still charged me,” he told the court.

Having listened to his

explanation, Magistrate Rolle-Davis told him he would grant him an absolute discharge under the condition that he repairs the bicycle.

Asked how soon the repairs would be done, the accused said he would be

able to do it by next week.

Carlos Georges, 19, also appeared before Magistrate Rolle-Davis yesterday after he was accused of obstructing a police officer from executing his duties on March 7.

The teenager is further

accused of behaving in a disorderly manner, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

He denied the allegations and the case was adjourned to June 15 for trial.

He was also granted $1,500 bail with one surety.

PAGE 6, Thursday, March 10, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

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Davis accuses, but doesn’t deliver evidence PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis was keen to point the finger of blame yesterday.

During his mid-year Budget speech in the House of Assembly, Mr Davis ticked off a catalogue of complaints.

He railed against the former government’s handling of the food assistance programme, despite the fact that an investigation is already under way by the Auditor General and a report hasn’t been delivered yet.

He complained that the Parks and Beaches Authority had been used as a “slush fund” and that evidence of wrongdoing there was “overwhelming” while not providing that evidence.

He also lashed out at the Bahamas Travel Health Visa, citing the Auditor General’s report on the scheme and saying it was “truly shocking”, despite the Auditor General actually praising the “vision and implementation” of the Health Travel Visa. There were concerns raised by the Auditor General, such as the lack of competitive bidding, a measure that has been repeated by this administration in the selection of a company to provide insurance services.

Mr Davis also claimed that one of the non-governmental organisations involved in the food programme had “close to $2m sitting in their bank accounts. Why?” Well, if he’d asked that question of the NGO rather than in Parliament, he might have found the answer. Opposition Leader Michael Pintard already castigated Mr Davis for suggesting the NGO may have been doing something untoward, and in fact the sum has already been repaid when the government asked.

There are two things you might notice about this speech – first, it was quite scattershot, taking aim at all manner of targets; and second, it was all claim, no evidence.

If someone is doing something wrong, lay out the evidence. If someone has

broken the law, follow the processes to penalise them. Don’t just stand there using Parliamentary privilege to make accusations and not back them up. It brings back bad memories of Jerome Fitzgerald reading out emails for a nongovernmental organisation he says he found in his political trash can.

What will be crucial will be to see whether Mr Davis actually acts on these accusations. If he does and a court finds wrongdoing to have taken place, then well done, that’s exactly what we want to see. If he doesn’t, then is this just all talk?

The clue to that might be when he says that he has been approached by some who have pre-emptively sought forgiveness and offered to implicate others higher up in the hierarchy, but he has not entertained discussions as it would be inappropriate.

Why not? Invite those people to commit it all to record and provide the information to the Auditor General and the police if necessary. To have someone come up to you and say I know something was done wrong and I can tell you who was responsible only to turn a deaf ear seems implausible to say the least.

Mr Davis says that steps “have and will be taken to ensure that those responsible will be held accountable”, but who has determined who is accountable if he isn’t listening to people? What process is being used to apportion blame?

The Auditor General, who praised the implementation of the health visa that Mr Davis is lambasting?

“The chips will fall where they may,” concludes Mr Davis, rather than identifying those he holds to blame for inappropriate actions and tabling the evidence for all to see.

So if Mr Davis comes back and shows the evidence, we shall take him seriously, and if there is wrongdoing proven, we shall praise him for snuffing it out.

But if this is all talk? Well, we’ve all had enough of that.

A city stuck in the mud EDITOR, The Tribune.

ON FRIDAY, the 4th of March, exasperated residents of Grand Bahama marched from a local business in Grand, Freeport to the headquarters of the Grand Bahama Port Authority. They wanted to protest and register their concerns about a city that appears to be dying slowly on the vine and its key infrastructure seems to be falling into disrepair.

To be sure, no one really knows the real population of Grand Bahama since the passage of hurricane Dorian in 2019, which saw a mass exodus that hollowed out the city’s population which was already in decline, and deprived the city of the critical body mass needed to sustain itself.

The Grand Bahama Port Authority has oversight of the city limits of Freeport until 2054. This right was given to them by way of a legislative treaty known as The Hawksbill Creek Agreement signed 4th Aug in 1955 for a ninety-nine year lease agreement.

In recent years, the Port Authority has been in serious decline because of natural disaster hurricanes Frances, Jean, Wilma, Matthew, and the straw that broke the camel’s back,

hurricane Dorian. Then, the protracted family court fight between the owners of the Port Authority was another contributing factor that caused the decline of the second City. It was at this time that the vision for the city was totally abandoned. The only persons benefiting from this deleterious fight was the lawyers.

This self-inflicted wound suck the scarce resources that should have been reinvested into the upkeep and promotion of the city.

Instead, the city became the victim. Along the way, the vision for the city’s foreign investors from USA was lost. The forward movement of Freeport stalled, and its reputation severely damaged.

The third and final reasoning for the decline of Freeport was an apologetic Minnis Administration, and its inability as a sovereign government with overall responsibility for the well-being of the Commonwealth; it was weak-kneed and lacking in vision. The FNM Government became complicit in the troubled city of Freeport when they were hoodwinked into the purchase of the Grand Lucaya Hotel, and the Grand Bahama International Airport which, also, represented a material

change to the Hawksbill Creek agreement. The divestment of the airport and other key entities could be seen as material changes to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. The prescribed protocols for changes in the agreement were not followed, therefore, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement was abrogated. So sanctions should have been brought to bear.

It now falls to the Davis administration’s new day government, six months into a new mandate, to untangle this web of incompetence, and misadventure using all lawful means to remedy this sad state of affairs that now exists in Freeport; a city stuck in the mud unable to move.

It is in the national interest of The Bahamas that Freeport, this gold mine, 60 nautical miles off the Florida coast flourishes and prospers once again. Using a Biblical admonition “if we stay here and do nothing, we will surely die”, the time for demonstrations and bluster has long passed.

Prime Minister Davis, Immediate Action is Now required. Please Do Not Blink!

BRIAN SEYMOUR Freeport, GB, March 9, 2022.

The storm is over EDITOR, The Tribune.

MY BASIC philosophy in public life has always been to give roses and kudos to individuals while they are alive to appreciate them. I make no exceptions. The storm that hovered over The Bahamas for several years, for whatever reasons, appear to be over. The elimination and relaxation of possibly heavy handed curfews and lock downs. The economy, save for certain historical enclaves within our Family Islands, is back up and running on almost full throttle.

Individuals, in my view, now understand the basic concept: ‘That he who does not work will not eat’ are seeking to become financial wards of the state. Of course, there are exceptions: the elderly; the disabled; mentally challenged. The Ministry of Social Services & Urban Renewal is doing an excellent job at alleviating poverty pockets and the odd cases. By and large, however, the average Bahamian never liked bread lines and food stamps.

Thanks to the return of the economy we should see a drastic reduction in such cases. The Storm is over.

Inflation is the biggest elephant in the room, so to speak. Prices on consumer goods and services are going up and will get higher in my view. I note that BPL was contemplating a rise in electrical costs that had not been approved by the Minister of Works

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net & Utilities or the cabinet.

This idea was shot down quickly. In these challenging times I would invite the Most Hon. Prime Minister to advise the relevant ministers to hold the line at BPL and The Bahamas Water & Sewerage Corporation. Electricity and water are essential in the ongoing fight with the lingering effects of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

Customers with arrears should be given, again, but for the final time, a grace and mercy period of three months to pay off arrears and to remain current going forward or work out a realistic payment plan with the particular corporation. It would demonstrate that this PM and his enlightened administration has compassion; a heart and a soul. The storm is over but there are still some strong breezes and inadequate income.

The Bahamas is now recognised on the world stage and has become a small, but key player globally. Out foreign and diplomatic services have been beefed up.

I am particularly pleased with the stellar appointments of the Hon Leslia Miller-Brice (PLP-Sea Breeze) as Ambassador to Guyana & CARICOM ; His Excellency Wendal Jones to the USA and Malaysia and, of course, His Excellency Elliston Rahming to Cuba.

Yes, the storm is over but there is much more work to be done.

The lid must be held on inflation and we need to ramp up The Price Control Commission must be beefed up and given real teeth…no more dentures, to eliminate or reduce price gorging. One of my vehicles is a mid-size Japanese type car. In December, 2021 to replace a tyre that could be done for B$60.00 In January, 2022 I went to my regular supplier and was told that the same tyre had increased to B$104! Thank God, I know of another supplier and when I went there I was able to purchase two brand new tyres for B$130.00 inclusive of Vat. In some food stores an item that one could have gotten for B$2.69 – a simple TV dinner now goes for B$3.69...The supply chain challenges is also going to be a challenge for the Davis Administration. Off brand products are all over the place. I have not been able to purchase Oscar Myers Beef Bologna or the Hard Salami in recent times and no store manager seems to know when they will become available. Yes, the storm is over but still windy. The Davis administration, will, in my opinion, bring hope and help to the unwashed masses. The storm is over.

Jr

ORTLAND H BODIE, Nassau, March 9, 2022.

To Publish your Financials and

Legal Notices Call: 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 10, 2022, PAGE 7

Govt proposing gender equality laws

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE Davis administration is proposing several key legislative changes, among them how the country deals with gender equality.

Social Services and Urban Development Minister Obie Wilchcombe revealed yesterday that the government is proposing to address gender equality issues as part of its legislative agenda in the House of Assembly as he gave remarks in observance of Tuesday’s International Women’s Day. However, the minister did not give specifics as to how far the proposed change will go.

Mr Wilchcombe said: “I’d like the House to be told that the Attorney General (Ryan Pinder) of our country is today (Wednesday) engaged in significant legislation that we will soon come to this Parliament with to discuss how we move the whole question of human rights and gender equality will certainly be amongst the legislative changes that we hope to make to this Parliament and to this country.”

His comments came amid continued discussion in the country about marital rape

MINISTER of Social Services and Urban Development Obediah Wilchcombe in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff and the urging of some for government to criminalise the act. The Free National Movement on Tuesday called on the Davis administration to amend the Bahamas Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act (1991) to criminalise marital rape.

Further, children born outside of the country to a married Bahamian woman and a foreign man are not automatically granted Bahamian citizenship and

thus must apply to receive it.

In 2016, a gender equality referendum asked the electorate whether they would support four constitutional amendments. One of those questions included Bahamian women being afforded this right as their male counterparts, but it was rejected.

When he spoke yesterday, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis also told members of Parliament that

there were several laws that were rushed by the former administration and poorly constructed.

He was referring to the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018; the Public Procurement Act, 2021; the Public Financial Management Act, 2021; the Debt Management Act, 2021 and the Statistics Act, 2021.

Mr Davis said: “While these items of legislation may have been well-intentioned, much of the detail was not properly considered. The Bills were rushed, poorly-constructed and did not reflect the views and realities of the people who must operate under the auspices of the legislation.

“We did raise objections at the time, but it is regrettable that the government at the time used its supermajority to shout down sensible debate, and allow for full and proper consideration. “We intend that revised legislation allows for increased transparency, while accommodating the need for operational efficiency.”

Mr Davis said it was his administration’s intention for revisions that would allow for increased transparency, while accommodating the need for operational efficiency.

“All the items of legislation I am about to highlight are flawed.

“In the Fiscal Responsibility Act, we have created a Fiscal Council which is not functioning in the way which was intended. The Public Procurement Act creates a Public Procurement Department, but no steps have been taken to create that department.

“In particular, the ‘Methods of Procurement Section’ of the Act needs to be re-drafted. The Public Finance Management Act, created another department, the ‘Accountant General’s Department’ but again, the previous administration which introduced it, took no action to create the entity in the public service.

“You can well imagine our shock when we were told that that is why we have to retroactively approve transactions made since July 1, 2021. The PFM Act also has reporting clauses which no one seems to understand how to implement. Matters were made worse by the fact that the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Public Procurement Act and the Public Finance Act were all introduced without regulations.”

Mr Davis said these were serious impediments when implementing complex legislation, and raised further serious questions of competence regarding the previous administration.

Continuing in this vein,

the Debt Management Act also creates a Debt Office, but as with the previous Acts mentioned, no work was done in implementing the legislation. So, no, there is no organisation chart for the Debt Management Office, no true separation of roles between the back, middle and front offices as required by legislation, and no procedural manual.

“For the Statistics Act, the major concern we have is that it deprives the members of staff of the former Department of Statistics of their pension rights. The Act, which I am advised did not have the support of the senior management of the former department, requires all employees to be forced to resign, and then be rehired.

“This provision would have been chaotic and there is no precedent in the public service for treating the staff in this manner.

“Madam Speaker, to be charitable, one might presume that the previous administration did not understand the legislation they were passing. To think otherwise suggests that they were intent on undermining the very fabric of the public sector. Such an attack on the infrastructure of the state is almost too unconscionable to imagine,” Mr Davis said.

CHRISTIE: WE MUST LOOK AT ALL ACTS THAT CAUSE PAIN TO WOMEN

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Perry Christie said all offensive acts that cause pain to women must be looked at carefully, adding steps should be taken to protect victims.

Mr Christie gave his opinion after speaking at a National Training Agency event yesterday when he was asked if marital rape should be criminalised.

“You want to ask those questions of the government of today. The point of this is all offensive acts that cause pain - and pain of all kinds to women of our country - must be looked at carefully, okay, and we must always take steps that are pointed in the direction of protecting those people who are victims.

“Whatever level the steps are, be that legislation, must be aimed at being effective and it must be aimed at being able to serve the

interest that it’s intended to serve,” he told reporters.

“So, whatever the debate is about, you begin with looking at the victims and understanding what it is you have to do to protect victims in terms of abuse of any kind. That ought to drive public policy — the complying urgency to extend levels of protection to people who are victims.”

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe recently spoke at a Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) men’s

branch meeting about the issue. He said the offence needs to be called something other than rape if successful convictions are being sought.

“I can tell you, in my judgment, if we decide that we want consent to … in sex given in marriage to be able to be withdrawn at any time and for any reason, so that you can commit an offence of having intercourse with your spouse without their consent, if we want to succeed in getting convictions for it, we better

call it something other than rape. That’s just the reality of it,” Mr Munroe said.

“When we engage in this debate, it should be in this fashion: What behaviour are we wanting to outlaw? After we define what behaviour we want to outlaw, we can write it down and you can come up with any name to call it. But if you call it rape, in the modern-day Bahamas, you will have a very low conviction rate for that.

“Then, you would only be successful if your

objective was to call it that as opposed to (getting) people punished for it.”

The issue of marital rape has been a topic of debate for years spanning several administrations.

The last Ingraham administration aimed to criminalise all forms of marital rape in 2009 but the plan faced immense pushback and prompted uproar from religious leaders and many Bahamians. The Marital Rape Bill was ultimately shelved.

PAGE 8, Thursday, March 10, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Use, abuse and delusions of history destroys [the various] children… pervades each scene of the play.” We all know of such deep-seated flaws in our own families.

the conceits, the chequered history and the brutality of other nation-states which are rivals to the United States, rendering their judgments often askew.

The history of and relationship between Russia Given the complexities of and Ukraine is complex. It family history, imagine how is certainly not as simple much more complex is the as the view that Ukraine history of nations, societies is inherently a part of and peoples. We often retell Greater Russia. Historian family and national narra- Yuval Noah Harari notes: tives to circumscribed or “Ukraine is a nation with more than a thousand years self-serving ends.

Some details are pur- of history, and Kyiv was posefully omitted or already a major metropolis simply forgotten with no when Moscow was not even ill-intent. Memories are a village.”

It is all too easy for filtered through many screens and generations, the various sides in intercompetitions, the resulting narrative national lines becoming less factual rivalries and wars to and more romanticized or miscalculate and to misundarkened depending on the derstand the intentions and stratagems of others. story-teller.

Then US President RichDuring the COVID-19 ard Nixon, who enjoyed pandemic, the lack of histremendous torical memory insight into forand knowledge, ‘It is near eign policy, turbocharged impossible brought into by social media the prevailing and ignorance of to predict that basic science, has how long this attitude the communist led to the most conflict will parties in the bizarre conspirUSSR, the Peoacy narratives, last. There ple’s Republic of some of which will likely be China and North have resulted in outcomes few Vietnam were greater illness can imagine. of such common and death. cause that he Humans often There is the could prevail on press history the two larger and ignore facts possibility countries to help to serve ideo- of gross logical and other miscalculation limit and bring to a quicker end the ends. The dearth Vietnamese War. of education and even the He was wrong. in history and widening of The Soviet Union the humanities the conflict.’ liked the US is a longstandbeing bogged ing challenge in many countries, includ- down in Vietnam. The Chiing here at home where nese government was itself some students leave school often frustrated with the devoid of a working knowl- Vietnamese and had less edge of Bahamian history leverage than the Americans thought. and basic world facts.

Last year, a dear friend told of her frustration after asking a good number of people if they could locate The Canadian-born Russia on a map. To her Margaret MacMillan is surprise, most Bahamians a professor of history at she asked had never heard the University of Oxford. of Russia.

The study of war is one of Today, the country many her specialties. MacMillan never heard of is now pros- observes: “Firstly, people ecuting a brutal war that go to war out of fear. They may lead to worsened eco- need to defend themselves. nomic conditions for The They feel that those they Bahamas. This is an exam- love and their way of life is ple of where ignorance under attack. does not lead to a blissful “Secondly, people go outcome. to war because of greed.

With the Ukrainian war They want some of what now raging, it is good to someone else has – a piece know something of the of land, loot, or civilians to history of Ukraine and turn into slaves. The third Russia, and the longstand- reason people go to war ing relationship between is over ideas. People will the two Slavic nations. fight and die for things like This is especially important their nation, revolution or for policymakers in every religion.” country.

She also notes: “In more extreme instances, war has led to revolution. Russia’s story would have played Russian Federation Pres- out very differently without ident Vladimir Putin has the First World War. I don’t a certain view of history. think the Bolsheviks, who Like other imperial powers were a tiny little factional throughout history, Russia party at the time, could has geopolitical and geo- have taken power without economic interests which it. That, of course, changed not only Russian history colour its worldview.

After the collapse of the but also the history of the Soviet Union, the West- modern world.”

The late Canadian Prime ern powers, including the Pierre Elliot United States, should have Minister been more judicious in its Trudeau famously declared relationship with Russia. to a US audience: “Living But this does not negate next to you is in some nor excuse the savagery or ways like sleeping with an revanchist horror Putin has elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered unleashed on Ukraine.

It is an example of is the beast, if I can call the oddity of ideological it that, one is affected by extremes that the former every twitch and grunt.”

But Trudeau, like his son leftist leader of the UK Labour Party, Jeremy Justin, who is now his counCorbyn, and US right wing try’s Prime Minister, also Fox News talk show host, understood the essential Tucker Carlson, are mostly role of the United States on the same page in seem- in maintaining something ingly blaming the US for of a world order at critical the Russian intervention moments.

Leadership makes a vital while soft-pedalling Putin’s difference. Imagine how march to war.

Some are so vehement differently the world would in their disdain for Ameri- have responded in Ukraine can imperialism, that they had Donald Trump been often downplay the hubris, President. It may be too

COMPLEX

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin speaking on International Women’s Day, in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday.

HISTORY does not nec- a self-aggrandising hisessarily exactly repeat itself. tory, erroneously claiming Yet, it sometimes rhymes the greater privilege and and there are resonances supremacy of Europeans and historical parallels over the peoples of Africa.

We like to know “our from which lessons may be drawn. The dearth of people” and to whom we historical knowledge and are related. “Where might insight sometimes leads to I have derived my physical, tragedy and disaster for emotional and other feanation-states, and farce and tures?” Moreover, why are upset in communities and some family groups prone family groups. to more mirth and levity, Individuals and families while others are dourer? derive meaning and underWe sometimes hear: standing from exploring “Child, you are the spitgenealogical and lineal his- ting image of your tories. Today, this includes grandmother!” or “I hope DNA testing to give us a you don’t have your daddy’s better sense of from whom ways!” Sir Lancelot, the and whence we came.

Trinidadian Calypsonian, The raping of the identi- popularised Shame and ties and the debasement of Scandal in the Family, a the history of those trans- powerful lesson about ported to the Americas knowing one’s antecedents during the Atlantic slave and history: trade, remains one of the “In Trinidad there was a greatest abuses in human family history and an attempt to With much confusion as destroy history itself. you will see Racism is built on the It was a mama and a papa abuse and delusions of and a boy who was grown

He wanted to marry, have a wife of his own Found a young girl that suited him nice Went to his papa to ask his advice His papa said: ‘Son, I have to say no, This girl is your sister, but your mama don’t know’…

“He went to his mama and covered his head And told his mama what his papa had said His mama she laughed, she say, ‘Go man, go Your daddy ain’t your daddy, but your daddy don’t know’.”

In Ghosts, written in 1881, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen casts a family drama of tragic flaws inherited through several generations. The source of the hereditary flaw which

WAR

PUTIN

horrifying to imagine. President Joe Biden is a steadier hand. He is presently quietly working with European partners to secure a revised Iran nuclear deal, which Trump blew up.

The Biden Administration has clearly been in back-channel negotiations with the Venezuelan Government, which has now reached a new stage, though it is still early days.

Reuters reported: “Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Monday said he agreed an agenda for future talks with a US delegation that he met on Saturday, the first high-level meeting between the two countries in years.”

Maduro stated: “Last Saturday night a delegation from the government of the United States of America arrived in Venezuela, I received it here at the presidential palace. We had a meeting, I could describe it as respectful, cordial, very diplomatic.”

This is diplomatic-speak for saying the discussions went generally well. This is also realpolitik at play. By potentially securing more oil flowing from Iran and Venezuela over time, Biden is playing a long game to isolate Russia and to lower the geopolitical temperature in other areas of the world.

In history and global politics, opportunities come that one could not foresee.

If Maduro plays this well, securing his and Venezuela’s interest as the world needs more oil, he may be able to play, pun intended, a trump card.

On Tuesday “Venezuela released two Americans from detention on Tuesday in a gesture of goodwill to the United States”.

Politics, war and the need for oil have always made for curious bedfellows.

Meanwhile, The Bahamas Government needs to be very clear of its policy and standing at this moment.

It remains very early days in the Ukraine War. There is sadly more horror to come with the deaths of many more civilians and combatants. Much of the infrastructure, including the historical architecture of Ukraine, will be destroyed.

It is near impossible to predict how long this conflict will last. There will likely be outcomes few can imagine. There is the possibility of gross miscalculation and even the widening of the conflict.

During his rise to power many years ago, President Putin, in interviews published as a quasi-autobiography, “recalled chasing big rodents with a stick around his dismal, communal apartment building in St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad: “There, on that stair landing, I got a quick and lasting lesson in the meaning of the word ‘cornered’. There were hordes of rats in the front entryway. My friends and I used to chase them around with sticks.

“Once I spotted a huge rat and pursued it down the hall until I drove it into a corner. It had nowhere to run. Suddenly it lashed around and threw itself at me. I was surprised and frightened. Now the rat was chasing me.

“It jumped across the landing and down the stairs.

Luckily, I was a little faster and I managed to slam the door on its nose.”

A lesson of history: When at war with most enemies, all sides need to show a certain restraint in order to forestall an even worse tragedy if possible. Human beings and nations often react in unimaginable ways when they believe they are cornered.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 10, 2022, PAGE 9

Whatever next?

China the peacemaker, Biden popularity up and even McDonalds has closed up shop in Russia

UKRAINIAN emergency employees work at a maternity hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A

THOUGHTFUL friend was musing the other day about the parlous state of security in the world. “Two weeks ago,” he said ruefully, “I was worried about climate change. It’s so obvious that the world is heating up and that we’re all guilty of participating in overcooking planet earth. Rising sea levels threaten The Bahamas and other places I cherish, including South Florida. The large economies of the world lack the skill or will to curb their carbon emissions.

We seemed to be on an inexorable conveyor belt to oblivion.”

Then Putin invaded Ukraine. “I hardly think about the climate anymore,” my friend said.

“Now it’s non-stop Russia, all the time. It seems like more people are psychoanalyzing Putin than were looking for clues to Trump’s bizarre behaviour, even at his most mystifying. Climate change is terrifying, but at least its most calamitous effects are probably decades down the road.

This war between Russia as invader and Ukraine as victim could easily get out of control and lead to World War III. The unimaginable effects of that would be felt, in all probability, this year.”

Weapons Albert Einstein may or may not have been the smartest man of the modern age, but he is certainly one of the most widely quoted. One oftenattributed citation making the rounds these days is the following: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” In other words, the World War III antagonists, long assumed to be the US and Russia, would reflexively bomb each other back into the stone age. Sticks and stones would then be the only remaining weapons for any surviving future combatants.

As the world contemplates the dreadful prospect of the West and Russia stumbling into a prospective thermonuclear exchange for the first time in the history of our world, what’s the way out of this morass?

Perhaps it’s not too surprising that a currently popular theory is that China is the way out of the mess the world is in.

How’s that? Didn’t the two most renowned autocrats in the world today, Presidents Xi of China and Putin of Russia, just conclude amiable talks on the eve of the China-hosted Winter Olympic Games?

Less than a month ago, according to the Guardian, Xi and Putin called on the West to “abandon the ideologized approaches of the cold war”.

They also said the bonds between the two countries had “no limits. There are no forbidden areas of cooperation.” It was the 38th time Xi and Putin had met in the past nine years.

In the joint statement released by the Kremlin, Putin and Xi called on NATO to rule out expansion in eastern Europe, denounced the formation of security blocs in

the Asian Pacific region, and specifically criticized the trilateral security pact between the US, UK and Australia.

That was then. Now, the Chinese seem as baffled as the rest of the world by the inspired resilience of Ukrainians and their TV star-turned-President Volodymyr Zelensky. Defiant in the face of overwhelming Russian force – and by the way, still alive – Zelensky has become the world’s hero. Lashing themselves even more closely to the world’s present pariah Putin cannot be a path the Chinese will embrace, inasmuch as the hallmark of their foreign policy - at least outside their own backyard - has been to seek political influence with generous gifts to small nations like The Bahamas while eschewing military predominance.

Equally, if not more important though, is the Chinese drive for economic dominion. Already with the world’s second-largest economy and by far its largest population, China likely has little interest in the upheaval that a major Russia-West conflict would surely produce. And part of the Chinese game plan is almost certainly not to be Russia’s only friend in the world, particularly in the present circumstances.

Many observers feel if Xi were to whisper to Putin that he should abandon his conquest and occupation of Ukraine, the Russian leader would have to take it seriously. What if, for instance, China mentioned that it would otherwise no longer be prepared to buy as much now-boycotted Russian oil as may have been committed. What if the two nations’ significant bilateral trade started to decline even as Russia was cut off from the commerce of much of the rest of the world?

There’s an old fable about three fighting fish placed in the same tank for the amusement of their human owners. Two of them immediately set upon each other, battling to an exhausting finish while the third looks on from a remote spot. Eventually, one of the combatants prevails, but is exhausted from the fight. The well-rested third fish promptly kills the victor and eats both of the others.

Some observers think China may be the third, clever fish waiting for the US and Russia to wear each other down and then take over world leadership. But this ignores the Chinese roadmap for world predominance, which is not presently military.

The Chinese have already been modifying their message to increasingly loudly condemn the fighting and tragedy unfolding in Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Beijing has even offered to mediate the war.

Meantime, it’s March in Ukraine. While many fields and verges are still frozen, and snow is still falling, a spring thaw is in prospect.

There are reports that one of the reasons for the lengthy delay in forward progress by a 40-mile-long Russian force headed for Kyiv is the transformation of ground along the route from frozen tundra to mud.

Every “thoughtful” talking head is predicting the eventual military collapse of the Ukrainian resistance.

But their sober, reflexive guesses have often been wrong so far. We’ll see if the Russian juggernaut materializes or continues to stall. The Russian invaders are reportedly doing better along the Black Sea coast, and are advancing toward the critical port city of Odessa.

Critics, even some of the obdurate Biden opponents in the American Congress, are beginning to fall in line behind the President, as was customary in many such situations in the past, though not all.

For instance, many Republicans fought President Franklin Roosevelt for years as his administration tried to provide support to Britain and other Western Allies against Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Biden’s popularity in the polls is on the rise as Americans seem to generally approve of his administration’s handling of this war which represents such an enormous threat to a world order that has essentially existed since 1945. There are reports of some Americans seeking to volunteer to fight along with Ukrainians on the battlefield.

At the same time, hundreds of disaffected US truckers remain assembled just outside Washington in an effort to raise awareness of their pandemic-related grievances. They are also wasting gasoline even as fuel prices threaten to drive further inflation and mask mandates have almost all been dropped.

Oil One of the American administration’s initiatives could have important repercussions in the months ahead. A US group is presently in Venezuela, reportedly to discuss oil options with the Maduro government. Some are calling for Biden to replace recently sanctioned oil from Russia with oil from Venezuela.

Before Washington broke ties with Venezuela in 2019, most Venezuelan crude was shipped to Gulf of Mexico refineries in the US. Now that practice could resume. But Biden must beware: An estimated 200,000 Venezuelan refugees now reside in South Florida. They may not support US trading with Maduro any more than the powerful Cuban exile community there appreciated President Obama’s dealings with the Havana government.

Earlier this week came a corporate announcement that should convince any remaining sceptics of the seriousness of the situation in Russia and Ukraine.

McDonalds revealed it has suspended operations in all of its 850 restaurants in Russia and 100 more in Ukraine. McDonalds has generously offered to continue paying its 70,000 employees in the two countries during this hiatus, at least for the near term.

McDonalds golden arches in the US now boast of 99 billion meals served.

This giant worldwide concern is now forfeiting nine percent of its estimated annual revenue by closing its Russian and Ukrainian operations. McDonalds will take a hit to its bottom line of roughly $2 billion if the closures remain in effect for the rest of this year.

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin.

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

CHINESE President Xi Jinping.

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden.

PAGE 10, Thursday, March 10, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Lawyer federation hails McDonald for her work

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net IN celebration of International Women’s Day 2022 and its campaign theme, “Break the Bias,” The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Grand Bahama Chapter is spotlighting Constance Elrone McDonald, QC. According to the organisation, Ms McDonald has broken the bias in the workplace and the Grand Bahama community.

Hadassah Swain, FIDA Regional Vice President North America and the Caribbean, said McDonald received the highest honour in the legal profession when she was bestowed the title of Queen’s Counsel on December 17, 2021.

“She is the first and only female attorney in the Northern Region in the history of The Bahamas to receive such an honour,” she said.

Ms Swain said that FIDA Grand Bahama Chapter proudly celebrates and salutes Ms McDonald who continues to make a positive impact on the lives of women and children.

“She is a fierce advocate who holds fast to her convictions; a woman who tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear; a woman who is not frightened to take on challenges; a leader who continues to fight to “Break the Bias”, she said.

Ms McDonald has been practising law for some 40 years in the Bahamas.

She opened her law firm McDonald &Co in Freeport, in April 1994.

Born in Bennetts Harbour, Cat Island, Ms McDonald is the eldest daughter of ten children to parents Revd Norris Holman McDonald and Margaret Loretta McDonald neé Thurston. She is the

CONSTANCE ELRONE MCDONALD mother of one adult son, Michon McDonald.

Ms McDonald completed her high school education in Nassau in 1965 at Government High School. In 1972, she went to the University of the West Indies in Bridgetown, Barbados, where she obtained her LLB degree in August of 1976. She also attended the Norman Manley Law School in Kingston, Jamaica, where she received a Legal Education Certificate in September 1978.

According to Ms Swain, Ms McDonald’s “illustrious legal career” began when she was called to The Bahamas Bar on August 25, 1978.

So, for the past 43 and a half years she has been engaged in the practice of law,” she said.

Ms McDonald worked at the Office of the Attorney General as Assistant Legal Counsel for four years before moving on to become the first Legal Counsel at The Bahamas Development Bank, where she remained for three years.

In 1985, she relocated to Grand Bahama Island and took up employment as Legal Counsel with the Grand Bahama Port Authority Limited for five years. In 1990, she entered private practice as the

attorney in charge of the Freeport Office of Maynard & Co. Then, she became a Partner in Charge of the Freeport Office of Gibson, Serville & Co. until 1994.

In April 1994, Ms McDonald started her own practice at McDonald & Co. which she has operated for the past 28 years.

Said Ms Swain: “When one examines Ms McDonald’s legal career, one would agree that the honour she received on the 17th of December 2021 was most befitting. She was officially recognised for her long years of esteemed counsel and service in the administration of justice in our country when the highest honour in the legal profession of that of Queen’s Counsel was bestowed upon her.”

Ms Swain said Ms. McDonald always found time for civic duties, despite her demanding legal career.

In 1991, she said, Ms McDonald served as an Acting Stipendiary & Circuit Magistrate, and was also appointed Acting Vice President of the Bahamas Industrial Tribunal Northern Region from 1997 to 1999.

For the past 40 years, she has been a part-time lecturer at the College of The Bahamas now University of The Bahamas, lecturing in Business Law, Banking Law, Principles of Liability, Ethics, Family Law and Social Welfare.

In 2002, she was appointed by the Minister of Labour as a member of the Labour and Employment Law Review Commission and charged with reviewing the Labour Laws of The Bahamas.

She published a minority report regarding the Family Islands. Ms McDonald’s community activities and membership in professional

and civic organisations are too many to list.

IWD is globally celebrated annually on March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political, and socio-economic achievements of women. It is also a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.

Ms Swain said the day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

She indicated that aligned with the overall campaign theme for IWD 2022 “Break the Bias”, the theme for the United Nations (UN) Observance of International Women’s Day 2022 is “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”.

The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) in consultative status with the UN. In March of 2011, the UN launched UN WOMEN, an organisation within the UN which focuses on the progress of the world’s women, in the pursuit of justice. FIDA was organised in Mexico City in 1944, to promote the principles and aims of the UN in their legal and social aspects. With members in over 73 countries around the globe, FIDA works to establish friendly international relations on a basis of mutual respect and equality and to promote the welfare of women and children.

On this International Women’s Day 2022, FIDA Grand Bahama Chapter joins with the UN and the rest of the world in celebrating the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future for a sustainable tomorrow.

ACCUSED OVER SLAPPING MOTHER

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 29-YEAR-OLD man who slapped his child’s mother during a heated argument last month was charged in Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Police said William Charlow assaulted the woman while she was visiting her father’s residence to collect their son on February 28.

The woman told officers Charlow approached her and started asking her questions. During the conversation, the woman said the accused became angry and slapped her in the face.

Police action was requested and Charlow was later arrested. During his interview with police, he admitted the offence.

Charlow told the court he was sorry for his actions. He said the incident happened after he started questioning his child’s mother about her whereabouts after being out with friends that day.

The accused said she became annoyed at his line of questioning and started punching him.

“She got upset by my questioning and she punched me and my natural reflex was to hit her in the face,” he said, adding the two were drinking that day.

Charlow said the next

day, he reported the incident to the police, but claimed that only he was arrested in connection with the matter. “I ask the court for leniency,” he said.

In response, Senior Magistrate Derence RolleDavis warned him to be of good behaviour.

Also appearing before court on similar charges yesterday was Johnathan Armbrister, 44.

Ambrister is accused of assaulting Ercharae Ferguson on March 3.

The 44-year-old denied the allegations and the matter was adjourned to June 15 for trial. He was granted bail at $500 with one surety.

In a separate case, Dameko Johnson, 26, and Travis Taylor, 26 were charged with assaulting a man with a blue Honda Civic on March 6. The two are also accused of threatening to kill the man and robbing him of $150 cash.

During their hearing yesterday, the accused pleaded not guilty to charges of threats of death and robbery. Taylor also denied one count of assault with a deadly instrument, however Johnson pleaded guilty to the offence.

Magistrate Rolle-Davis adjourned the matter to June 13 for trial and also set bail for both accused at $5,500 with one surety.

DISTURBANCE IN COURT

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was arrested in Magistrate’s Court yesterday after he cursed a senior magistrate and punched a police officer in an unprovoked attack.

The incident happened in court six, which is presided over by Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans.

The Tribune was told the man came to court to hear evidence in his trial for causing harm and resisting arrest. However, after witnesses never showed up, the magistrate adjourned the

case which was said to have angered the accused.

Sources say the man started to act in a disorderly manner, and even cursed Magistrate Vogt-Evans, accusing the court of wasting his time.

It was reported that he began attacking one of the police officers as he tried to leave the courtroom and even punched him in the face, causing injuries.

The incident resulted in the intervention of several other officers and bystanders, who ultimately restrained him. The accused is expected to be charged with this incident.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 10, 2022, PAGE 11

‘SHOTS FIRED IN UKRAINE’ MAY SINK ECONOMIES LIKE BAHAMAS

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A UNITED Nations recognised organisation has warned that “shots fired in Ukraine may sink small island economies”.

The warning came from SIDS Dock, an international group created to build sustainable energy and climate change resilience in small island countries.

Former Prime Minister Perry Christie also weighed in on the issue yesterday, saying The Bahamas and the Caribbean will feel the “pain” the European countries are facing due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

SIDS DOCK is worried that SIDS economies, struggling to recover from the

battering by the COVID-19 pandemic, could be devastated by oil prices spiked by the war in Ukraine.

In a statement issued yesterday, the group’s chair Ronald Jumeau noted that small economies are 90 percent dependent on already expensive oil imports. He said the war in Europe could sink SIDS economies, “as well as their hopes and efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which ravaged their islands.”

He said SIDS, dispersed far from Ukraine, “will experience exploding and uncontrollable energy prices the longer the shooting continues.”

SIDS already have a 90 percent dependency on petroleum fuels for commercial energy costing

more than $220 billion per year, pre-COVID-19, he noted. They will now see a significant escalation in the cost of imports, particularly food, as almost all small islands import 60 percent or more of their food needs, Mr Jumeau forecasted.

The COVID-19 pandemic, he added, “had already pushed several SIDS to the brink of economic collapse; they suffered disruptions in supply chains and international trade, flight cancellations, slowdowns in the shipping industry and logistics bottlenecks.”

Oil is over $120 per barrel compared to under $30 per barrel, two years ago, the group said, adding that due to the small size of their economies and the limited number of goods

and services, primarily tourism, agriculture, and fisheries that they provide to the global economy, SIDS are very vulnerable to external shocks such as the war in central Europe.

Meeting in an interview with reporters yesterday, Mr Christie was asked if he thought the government should pose sanctions on Russia as the United States and other countries have already done.

“Anyone who understands freedom and democratic functioning would be horrified at what’s taking place in Ukraine and there is no doubt in my mind that to the extent we are members of the United Nations will be a part of complying with whatever international sanctions that exist,” Mr Christie told

reporters yesterday.

“The Bahamas won’t jump off and say we’re not in this world, but are just under 400,000 people and counting and therefore we’re not a producing nation. We’re a purchasing nation and what not and most of what we purchase comes through the United States of America and quite frankly we’re going to be affected by the economic punishment, so to speak.

“The prices are going to increase, inflation (is going) to be a challenge, the price of gas is going to go through the roof... Whatever the pains that European countries are facing, The Bahamas and the Caribbean countries will also face.”

He also referred to tragedies that happen in other parts of the world, saying

he hopes they get the same level of attention as the plight of Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia last month.

“It’s a tragic thing to see children separated from their parents or children or wives being separated from their husbands. You know it’s just tragic to see and by the millions and what not.

To know that it’s a horror that it is taking place where children are being killed.

But I’m saying it has happened before in other places and we’re hoping, therefore, that we’re sensitive to the fact that this happens in other places and be sensitive to the world being able to respond in the same fashion to those areas where it happens and not have a level of disinterest because it’s not in Europe,” Mr Christie said.

Airstrike hits maternity hospital MARIUPOL, Ukraine Associated Press A RUSSIAN airstrike devastated a maternity hospital yesterday in the besieged port city of Mariupol amid growing warnings from the West that Moscow’s invasion is about to take a more brutal and indiscriminate turn.

Ukrainian officials said the attack wounded at least 17 people.

The ground shook more than a mile away when the Mariupol complex was hit by a series of blasts that blew out windows and ripped away much of the front of one building. Police and soldiers rushed to the scene to evacuate victims, carrying out a heavily pregnant and bleeding woman on a stretcher as light snow drifted down on burning and mangled cars and trees shattered by the blast.

Another woman wailed as she clutched her child. In the courtyard, a blast crater extended at least two stories deep.

“Today Russia committed a huge crime,” said Volodymir Nikulin, a top regional police official, standing in the ruins. “It is a war crime without any justification.”

In Zhytomyr, a city of 260,000 to the west of Kyiv, bombs fell on two hospitals, one of them a children’s hospital, Mayor Serhii Sukhomlyn said on Facebook. He said the number of casualties was still being determined.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Mariupol strike trapped children and others under the rubble.

“A children’s hospital. A maternity hospital. How did they threaten the Russian Federation?”

Zelenskyy asked in his nightly video address, switching to Russian to express his horror at the airstrike. “What kind of country is this, the Russian Federation, which is afraid of hospitals, afraid of maternity hospitals, and

destroys them?”

He urged the West to impose even tougher sanctions, so Russia “no longer has any possibility to continue this genocide”.

Video shared by Zelenskyy showed cheerfully painted hallways strewn with twisted metal.

“There are few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenseless,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be held “to account for his terrible crimes”.

The World Health Organization said it has confirmed 18 attacks on health facilities and ambulances since the fighting began, killing ten people. It was not clear if that number included the assault on the maternity hospital.

US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken condemned Russia’s “unconscionable attacks” in a call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, the State Department said.

Two weeks into Russia’s assault on Ukraine, its military is struggling more than expected, but Putin’s invading force of more than 150,000 troops retains possibly insurmountable advantages in firepower as it bears down on key cities.

Despite often heavy shelling on populated areas, American military officials reported little change on the ground over the past 24 hours, other than Russian progress on the cities of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to assess the larger military situation.

Authorities announced new cease-fires yesterday to allow thousands of civilians to escape bombarded towns around Kyiv as well as the cities of Mariupol, Enerhodar and Volnovakha in the south, Izyum in the east and Sumy in the northeast.

People streamed out of Kyiv’s suburbs, many

headed for the city center, as explosions were heard in the capital and air raid sirens sounded repeatedly.

From there, the evacuees planned to board trains bound for western Ukrainian regions not under attack.

Civilians leaving the Kyiv suburb of Irpin were forced to make their way across the slippery wooden planks of a makeshift bridge, because the Ukrainians blew up the concrete span leading to Kyiv days ago to slow the Russian advance.

With sporadic gunfire echoing behind them, firefighters dragged an elderly man to safety in a wheelbarrow, a child gripped the hand of a helping soldier, and a woman inched her way along, cradling a fluffy cat inside her winter coat.

They trudged past a crashed van with the words “Our Ukraine” written in the dust coating its windows.

“We have a short window of time at the moment,’’ said Yevhen Nyshchuk, a member of Ukraine’s territorial defense forces.

“Even if there is a cease-fire right now, there is a high risk of shells falling at any moment.”

Previous attempts to establish safe evacuation corridors over the past few days largely failed because of what the Ukrainians said were Russian attacks. But Putin, in a telephone call with Germany’s chancellor, accused militant Ukrainian nationalists of hampering the evacuations.

In Mariupol, a strategic city of 430,000 people on the Sea of Azov, local authorities hurried to bury the dead from the past two weeks of fighting in a mass grave. City workers dug a trench some 25 meters (yards) long at one of the city’s old cemeteries and made the sign of the cross as they pushed bodies wrapped in carpets or bags over the edge.

About 1,200 people have died in the nine-day siege of the city, Zelenskyy’s office

A WOMAN walks outside the damaged maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, yesterday.

Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP said. Nationwide, thou- country, the biggest exodus the spent radioactive fuel sands are thought to have of refugees in Europe since that is stored at the site been killed, both civilians the end of World War II. and must be kept cool. But The fighting knocked out the UN nuclear watchdog and soldiers, since Putin’s forces invaded. The UN power to the decommis- agency said it saw “no critiestimates more than two sioned Chernobyl nuclear cal impact on safety” from million people have fled the plant, raising fears about the loss of power.

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PAGE 12, Thursday, March 10, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

‘Born With Purpose’ – New author tackles difficult past to share message of hope

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net

L

ampheir Lance Maycock has been through some tough times in his life, but with his new book he wants readers to focus on living through the darkness and coming out victoriously on the other side.

The book, “Born With Purpose”, is out now and it outlines Mr Maycock’s childhood, his experiences of growing up with a lot emotional pain and other struggles. It speaks to some of the many battles he and others around him faced: depression, feelings of anxiety and suicidal thoughts. He writes about overcoming each obstacle with the help of God and those who He placed in his life.

“Born With Purpose” also speaks about the growing faith of Mr Maycock. The first-time author, who is also the senior pastor of the Sons and Daughters of Zion Apostolic Tabernacle Church, said the book aims to remind readers that in times of trouble, God will always “make a way out of no way”, even when you cannot see it.

“The motivation for writing the book stems from me seeing so many young people going through the same things I went through growing up, and I found that many of them made bad life decisions because of the hurt and pain. I wanted them to see that no matter what they experience in life, God still gives you the will power to steer your ship in the right direction despite the storms. It was my tenacity to keep on fighting through my life struggles that inspired the name of the book. Being able to understand that purpose was created in

FIRST-time author Lampheir Lance Maycock recently celebrated the launch of his book.

the womb and was birthed in the world,” he told Tribune Religion.

Mr Maycock wears many hats.

In addition to his role as pastor, he serves as a financial administrator at a local school, as the president of the investment company Ant Farm, and is the founder of the Children of the Cross Foundation, a local non-profit outreach

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO ‘LOVE YOUR ENEMIES’?

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net

A BIBLE verse that many struggle with is Matthew 5:44: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

Tribune Religion asked several readers what this scripture means to them.

Here are their responses.

Crystal Gibson believes in taking scriptures exactly as they are, and not adding her own interpretation to it.

“This verse is the epitome of unconditional love. It means loving those that may not be the most loveable or even deserving of our love.

It is an extremely difficult thing to carry out and do without the help of Jesus.

Treating someone in the way the scripture suggests seems downright crazy, but what good is fighting fire with fire? Water puts out fire. How will people know us by our witness if we are treating them the way they are treating us? Praying to people who hurt us instead of paying them back with revenge will allow God to heal our hearts and help to change them too,” she said.

Lashaundra Ferguson admitted that it is sometimes extremely difficult to love those that have done her wrong.

“To me, this means I have to basically force myself to forgive. It’s often said that God is not like man and He forgives all sins because no sin is greater than the next, which can very well be true, but honestly, it’s hard to forgive people who hurt you,” she said.

“It’s hard to move on from pain that gives you

anxiety. How can you really forgive the people that meant harm and agony for your life? It’s really a form or growth and maturity to actually live by this scripture, and honestly, I really don’t believe I’m there yet.”

Toni Bethel also reiterated that the Matthew 5:44 mentality comes with growth and maturity. She said the concept of loving your enemies, for her, is something she witnessed with her late mom who recently passed away.

“No matter what wrong was done to her, she always continued to give to people, bless people, and that is something, even before her passing that she tried to teach me, that God is the judge. It is a challenging thing for me, but I understand that God is love. I feel once you are able to forgive your enemies, you are putting something good in the universe and you are doing something good for yourself,” said Toni.

Yasmin Beneby said as followers of Christ Jesus, people are commanded by the Lord to love all, even those who hate; they are to love them and do good to them.

“This is the level of growth I strive to achieve.

You don’t have to stoop to people's level, but love them anyway, pray for them anyway. Now don’t get me wrong, people do some real awful things to others that cause hurt and pain, and we are all human. It is hard to forgive and not hold some kind of grudge. My advice is to try your best to not harbour hate in your heart for people. I am no saint herem but I have learned to let go and let God, even if I have to love from a distance. It takes way too much energy to hate,” said Yasmin.

ministry. And now he’s also officially an author.

“My inspiration to become an author stems from my passion of helping people. I am a humble, kind-hearted, hard-working individual who works toward tasks that are presented and gets them done with little or no assistance,” he said.

“I believe that if I have the opportunity to share my life story with others, my story can help someone find the ability to get through their struggles no matter what they may face.”

Completing the book was not an easy task. Mr Maycock said he started and stopped writing the manuscript so many times that he thought it would never see the light of day. But putting it all together made him realise just how much he’d overcome to get to where he is today.

“Honestly, I did not realise how much I went through. This book took me down memory lane as it brought back tears and smiles, almost as if I was reliving the moments all over again,” he said.

“I cannot find the words to describe the feeling of having accomplished such a great milestone. To see this book published today tells me that I can do anything despite the challenges and naysayers who constantly said

you can’t do it, or this project is too big for you. It was a breath of fresh air. There was an inner peace that came over me. I could hear the words of my grandmother saying, ‘My son, you did it. The fight is over and a new one has just begun.”

Mr Maycock hosted an official and intimate book launch event on Friday, February 11. He said the feedback from those attendance was very encouraging.

“Born With Purpose,” is available for purchase on Amazon as well as locally at True Vine Publishing and Marketing.

“As the year continues, I plan to keep working on the other parts of the series of ‘Born With Purpose’. In addition to this, I plan to have a mini book tour where I visit some schools and youth groups to inspire and encourage the youth of the Bahamas to keep pressing forward,” said Mr Maycock.

HELPING NEW BELIEVERS TRANSITION TO A LIFE OF FAITH

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

O

nce converted, new Christians are in need of continuous education and guidance in navigating their lives in order to see the real transformation a life of faith promises.

Many of them enter a relationship with Jesus Christ with lots of vigour and excitement, but unfortunately run out of steam before seeing real, permanent changes in their lives. Some are not aware that the Christian walk is a journey requiring a commitment to renewing one’s dedication to the word and applying scripture to their daily lives.

To help in this transition, Dr Albert Ferguson has released a new pamphlet called “Transitioning: Getting on Your Feet As A New Christian”.

This guide and manual, he said, was written to help take the “blindfold off”.

Designed to help any and all who embark on the road of Christianity, it aims to be a resource that focuses on a few central points that make the spiritual life of a new Christian stronger and more successful.

Broken down into seven sections, Dr Ferguson’s pocket-sized guide is easy to read and easy to understand.

“As more persons turn to Christian spiritual grounding as a way of living, it is crucial that a guide is there to help them stay the course,” he told Tribune Religion.

“No longer will people wonder if they are truly saved, or be confused by the foundational concepts of the faith. Instead, readers are certain to not only understand much more about the life of a Christian, but they will also be motivated to study the scriptures supplied on their own.”

Dr Ferguson said one of the initial things the book addresses is the need for new Christians to understand what their salvation entails.

“It is critical for the new Christian to understand that his/her rescue from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God is not simple, or as simple as, for example, merely walking to the altar at the front of a church, repeating words after a speaker or preacher or displaying emotions. Such actions are not capable of accomplishing salvation. His/

DR ALBERT FERGUSON her salvation takes the work of the entire trinity,” he said.

Dr Ferguson’s new booklet explains this, showing how the Holy Spirit and grace actually make it possible for the new Christian to say “yes” to Jesus.

The guide, he said, breaks down in very simple terms the meaning of essential Biblical truths such as justification and sanctification. It explains the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

It also outlines essential considerations for maturing as a new Christian and provides helpful counsel for growing daily to become more Christ-like.

“Before the resurrected Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. Matthew 28:19, 20 records what is commonly called, the Great Commission, in which Christ commanded his disciples, and by extension all Christian believers, to go and preach the gospel – the good news about the person and work of Jesus – and to make disciples of all men. All who believe and are baptised will be saved and all who refuse to believe will receive the

punishment of eternal damnation in hell, the consequence and just punishment for their sins and their sinful natures inherited from the disobedience of Adam, the first man,’ he said.

“Every Christian ought to be about the business of making new disciples of Christ, about leading sinners to Jesus. Therefore, every Christian ought to possess a handy resource which they can give to the new Christians they lead to Christ.

Every Christian ought to know a new Christian, someone recently won to Jesus.”

The pamphlet, he said, is suited for individual study or for teaching classes and leading new members induction meetings. It is also for all denominations.

“This book embraces only the basic biblical principles of Christianity. It is not connected to or concerned with particular doctrinal positions which may be held by some Christian denominations and Christian religious groupings,” he said.

For more information, contact Dr Ferguson at email albertsferguson@ gmail.com.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 10, 2022, PAGE 13

Teens learn all about ‘Sex & Dating’ according to Christian principles

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

A

recent event titled “Sex & Dating” provided Bahamian youth with much-needed answers and clarity on the topic of relationships.

The special conference was held at the Emerge Youth Church at Bahamas Faith Ministries.

Seeking to provide assistance especially to Christian singles in navigating this complex area of life, the event was streamed live online in addition to being held in-person.

It featured a panel discussion, which organisers said was designed to give teens and young adults the they need to how to participate in modern day dating.

According to Dr E Corey Rolle, who is the pastor of the youth church and was also the host, the idea for event was inspired by Pastor Dave Burrows’ book “Sex & Dating”.

“Its purpose was to give youths and young adults the correct knowledge in a time where being irresponsible is believed to not have consequences,” he told Tribune Weekend.

The panel was made up of married and single individuals, including as Pastor Samantha Cartwright, Vincent Macdonald, AyshaCassidi Lockhart, Tomia Shearer and Dr E Corey Rolle, also known as DJ Counsellor.

The discussion addressed topics such as red flags to look out for, how to handle mixed signals, sexual relations, as well as love versus lust.

“The event achieved its goal by providing answers and clarity to some muchneeded questions,” the pastor said.

“It’s our mandate to present the word of God and to bring much needed clarity to the topic. Originally, the home is supposed to prepare both males and females for marriage, and that’s another topic. The Church should be the loudest voice on this and the example for the world to model after.”

Dr Rolle said there will be many activities and events like this as the in the future as the Church

FRANK discussions on sex and relationships were had.

should always lead the conversation and be a moral compass for Christians.

“We've realised that as community leaders if we don't speak truth to this generation pertaining to their sexuality and love, this world will continue to lead them down a path of misery and confusion.

We discussed dating and dating the right way, red flags, navigating through toxic relationships, when to get help, the benefit of not being unequally yoked, and how not to become another statistic,” he said.

The event also featured special performances from gospel hip hop artist Young Flax and Young WYSTM.

Cope with Hope THERE are many ways to cope with adversity.

Some people have persons to pray for them, and talk with them, and help them to stay on the straight and narrow. Some depend on a chemical substance; others are in denial. The best way is to find hope so that when alone you can still cope: 1. Faith in God from past experience or revelation 1 Chronicles 16;8-14a “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations

what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants, the descendants of Israel, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. He is the Lord our God.” 2. Hope is a gift from God to sustain us with power to

the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

experience joy, peace and strength in the midst of the challenges: Romans 15;13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 40:31 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his

REV ANGELA C BOSFIELD PALACIOUS MEDITATION understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases

1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is my prayer that you would gather your own scriptures to add to these so that you would have all the

spiritual ammunition you need to have a victorious Lent, engaging is spiritual battles of various kinds, trials and temptations of varying intensity, and overcoming them all by the weapons of love and hope.

May we be able to declare to God as the psalmist does in Psalm 71:14: “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.”

• Rev Angela Palacious, a motivational speaker and author of several devotional books, is an Anglican priest. She may be contacted at 393-9000 or by e-mail at angelapalacious@gmail.com.

Jesus everywhere…Smiles from the ‘super’ wash

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ver the past few weeks, I have been pondering two groups – those who I’ve known for quite some time and those with whom I have had brief, recent encounters. And two things stand out about them all: each was the epitome of Christian grace, love and integrity, and, more amazingly so, there was not a religious title to be shared among them.

Mind you, I am not one to suggest that Jesus can only be experienced within the walls of a church. In fact, I’ve heard many say it is the very last place they search for Him (but that is another article, for another time).

The lesson of this week’s article is to applaud those who have learned the practicality of Christianity, and

to remind the rest of us that Christian values aren’t spoken but lived!

There is a song I learned as a child in Sunday school.

It simply tells us we can smile anytime, anywhere.

Because of this song, I love titling my most recent encounter: Smiles from the “super” wash.

Picture this. It’s 6am on a Thursday morning. The world around me is either asleep or rising from a night of slumber and preparing for the day ahead. I’m in my car and headed to drop off something to be steam-pressed at the nearest laundromat. I enter the building and I’m bombarded with the sounds of a TV, machines washing, and patrons chatting on their phones or with each other. I step up to the counter and I’m greeted by the

brightest, cheeriest smile I have seen in a minute. You would think this woman just won the lottery or something – her smile was broad, and better yet, real!

I wondered immediately at the cause behind the smile. She hadn’t just come from a Sunday service so I knew it wasn’t the panacea of a religious experience.

She wasn’t listening to a gospel song. She wasn’t listening to the most popular televangelist. In fact, if truth be told, she was simply sitting there, waiting on her customers. As she served me, I realised that her joy was not a rehearsed action. It was innate and complete. I can’t say she didn’t have her own battles, or her own hardships to face, but none of it was seen or felt in that brief meeting. She was totally

consumed by a light which emanated from the inside.

As I walked away from the experience, I immediately thought of another popular gospel song: “This joy that I have...the world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.”

I never got her name, but to say that I was both honoured and humbled all at the same time is an understatement.

Here’s a question for us all: How many times have we encountered someone and left the other person completely enthralled with our inner joy and peace?

How many times has the love of God emanated from us in a genuine smile, not because our lives are perfect or blessed beyond measure, but simply because He is “Christ in us, the Hope of Glory?”

I have come to learn that the practicality of Christianity extends far beyond hearing God’s call and seeking means to gain a title in answer to that call. The practicality of Christianity is seen in the way we live from day to day. It is not about gaining a position so we can be served; it is about our godly service to God’s Kingdom. It is in the way we esteem others. It is in the way we embody every Christian grace – love, joy, peace, temperance, et cetera.

The hallmark of the Christian existence should not be how much honour we can amass ourselves, but how many lives we can impact with the love of God; how we can serve others (not in a self-congratulatory manner), but in

AYANNA CLARKE

a way that directs people toward the God we serve.

Christianity is not just lessons from a book, but each Christian life is an open book that teaches and exemplifies God’s love, in touching, speaking and yes, even simply smiling.

God bless you this week!

SPORTS PAGE 14

Benzema, Page 17

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022

MLB cancels 93 more games

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred cancelled 93 more games yesterday, appearing to close the remaining chance to play a full 162-game schedule and threatening locked out players with loss of salary and service time.

After the sides narrowed many economic differences and became bogged down over management’s attempt to gain an international amateur draft, MLB announced two additional series had been cancelled through April 13. That raised the total to 184 games

Gap narrows in bargaining wiped out from the 2,430-game regular season, or 7.6 percent.

“Because of the logistical realities of the calendar, another two series are being removed from the schedule, meaning that opening day is postponed until April 14,” Manfred said.

The union’s latest counteroffer was hand delivered by chief negotiator Bruce Meyer to MLB’s office after he walked three blocks through a wintry mix from union headquarters.

While the gaps slimmed on the luxury tax, pre-arbitration bonus pool and minimum salary, management continued to press for its long-held goal of an international amateur draft. Players have repeatedly rejected the proposal since it was made on July 28.

“The owners’ decision to cancel additional games is completely unnecessary,” the union said in a statement. “After making a set of comprehensive proposals to the league earlier this afternoon and

NATIONAL BASKETBALL TEAM PLAYERS BACK TO WORK WITH CLUBS

being told substantive responses were forthcoming, players have yet to hear back.”

MLB said it would not make a new counteroffer to players unless the union first chose one of three options: agreeing to the international draft in exchange for the elimination of direct amateur draft pick compensation for qualified free agents; keeping compensation in exchange for MLB dropping the international draft proposal; or dropping compensation while giving players until November 15 to accept an international draft starting in 2024 while giving MLB the right to re-open the labour contract after

the 2024 season if players fail to accept the draft.

On the 98th day of baseball’s first work stoppage since 1995, the last alternative would leave open the possibility of another labour conflict in less than three years between parties that regard each other with disdain.

Players rejected all three options and instead proposed to drop compensation for this year, have the sides agree to a draft by November 15 or then revert to compensation for the 2022-23 offseason. “In a last-ditch effort to preserve a 162-game season, this

SEE PAGE 16

Tatum on fire, scores 44 as Celtics top Hornets

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net FOLLOWING the latest window of FIBA 2023 World Qualifiers, several national team members were back with their respective clubs as they prepared for a run to the postseason.

Danrad Knowles continues to have an immediate impact on his Agrupación Deportiva Cantbasket 04 Santander club in Spain.

Knowles finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds in a 61-60 win over Gexto last night in the Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado (Liga EBA) preseason finale. In his first season with club, Knowles is averaging 11.3 points and six rebounds per game.

AD Cantbasket 04 is based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, and competes in Liga EBA. It is the fourth tier level in the Spanish basketball system, after the Liga ACB, LEB Oro, and LEB Plata.

Tavario Miller led his Minas Belo Horizontae club to a 78-75 third ranked win over Rio Claro in Brazil’s Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB). He finished with 14 points, five rebounds and was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line in 25 minutes. Miller is averaging 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game through 25 contests.

Minas is second in the league standings at 21-4 behind Sesi Franca at 24-1.

SEE PAGE 16

ROMAD DEAN ENDS SEASON IN OSBA FINAL 4

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BOSTON Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) leads a fast break during the first half against the Charlotte Hornets last night in Charlotte, N.C. Tatum scored 16 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter, helping Boston beat Charlotte 115-101 for its fourth straight victory. Coming off a 54-point performance against Brooklyn on Sunday, Tatum made 16 of 24 shots from the field and 6 of 9 from beyond the 3-point arc. He also made all six free throws.

(AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

ROMAD Dean and the Crestwood Lions finished the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association season as one of the top prep programmes in all of Canada.

Dean posted 24 points and 13 rebounds in an 84-73 loss to United Scholastic Academy in the OSBA Semifinals at Durham College in Oshawa, Canada.

United went on to finish as national runners-up after an 81-71 loss to Fort Eerie.

Crestwood defeated Victory Prep 106-85 in the play-in game.

Dean had a strong conclusion to the 2022 season and averaged 27.2 points per game as the Lions closed out the regular season 6-1.

The 6’7” wing was named an OSBA Third TeamAll Star after averaging 20 points and 18 rebounds per game.

Some of his top games for the year included 28 points in a 97-89 win over Vanguard North Prep, 38 points in an 83-78 win over New Horizon Academy and 31 points in an early season 98-97 loss to United Scholastic.

Tiger Woods inducted Bahamians in NJCAA into Hall with hard Division I Men’s National work and big payoff Basketball Tournament

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (AP) — The greatest of his generation, Tiger Woods took his place among the best of all time last night when he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and shared a life story of a passion to play and a work ethic that made him feel like he earned it.

Woods didn’t touch on any of his 82 victories on the PGA Tour or his 15 majors, or the eight surgeries he endured along the way.

He spoke of his parents taking out a second mortgage that allowed him to play the junior circuit in California, choking up when he mentioned his late father who told him he would have to earn everything he wanted.

“If you don’t go out there and put in the work, you don’t go out and put in

TIGER Woods becomes emotional during his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame yesterday.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) the effort, one, you’re not going to get the results,” Woods said. “But two, and more importantly, you don’t deserve it. You need to earn it. So that defined my upbringing. That defined my career.”

He was introduced by Sam, his 14-year-old daughter who said her father

preaches to her and 13-yearold brother Charlie the same message he learned from his late father.

“Train hard, fight easy.”

Woods was the headliner in an induction class that included retired PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, three-time US Women’s Open champion Susie Maxwell Berning and the late Marion Hollins, a visionary who became the first woman to develop prominent golf courses.

The show was so geared around Woods that it featured three short video presentations that were titled “GOAT,” the popular acronym for “greatest of all time.”

There was little doubt Woods belonged in the Hall of Fame. He was on a slate of candidates two years ago, all of them introduced one at a time with a list of their accomplishment — except

SEE PAGE 15

By RENALDO DORSETT The No. 11 ranked TroTribune Sports Reporter jans finished the season rdorsett@tribunemedia.net at 27-5 and secured one of eight at large bids in THE NJCAA Divi- the field while the Cobras sion I Men’s Basketball are the No. 22 seed in the Tournament will feature field and finished 25-7. several Bahamian stuIn 32 games this season dent athletes, including a with 18 starts, Elisee, the head-to-head matchup in 6’9” freshman forward, the opening round. averaged a team-leading Twenty-four teams will 3.3 blocks, 9.6 points and travel to Hutchinson, 4.3 rebounds per game.

Kansas, to compete in the Trojans first year tournament March 14-19. head coach John Clancy Deangelo Elisee and reflected on the journey his Triton Trojans will the programme had to face Garreth Edgecombe take to make it to this and the Caldwell Com- point and knew he inhermunity College Tech ited a great foundation.

Cobras on Tuesday, “I am thrilled for our March 15 at the Hutchin- players, programme and son Sports Arena.

Triton College for earnTipoff is at 1pm local ing a bid to the national time. tournament,” said Clancy.

Deyton Albury and “They [Caldwell] are the Chipola College are the leading rebounding team no.5 seed in the bracket in the country and have and earned a first round three dynamic scorers… bye.

Coach McIver does a

great job and any team that makes it to ‘Hutch’ is going to be an elite team.”

Edgecombe and the Cobras defeated USCSalkehatchie 68-66 in the Division 1 Region 10/ Atlantic District Tournament Championship Saturday afternoon in Hudson, North Carolina to earn an automatic bid to the tournament.

The Trojans captured their second straight Region 4 Division I title and third in four years with a 92-65 victory over second-seeded Kankakee Community College last month. They missed out on an automatic bid with a loss to Moberly Area Community College in the District title game but still earned an at-large bid.

SEE PAGE 15

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 10, 2022, PAGE 15

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup: West Indies defeat defending champions England

A STEP AT A TIME IN AUSTRALIA’S 1ST PAKISTAN TOUR SINCE 1998

By STEVE MCMORRAN AP Sports Writer

By RIZWAN ALI AP Sports Writer

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin again were at the centre of the action as the West Indies pulled off a dramatic upset win at the Women’s Cricket World Cup yesterday, beating defending champion England by seven runs at Dunedin, New Zealand.

The West Indies edged host New Zealand by three runs in its opening match on Sunday with Matthews making 119 and Dottin bowling a thrilling final over in which three wickets fell. Yesterday, Matthews made 45 and Dottin 31 in an 81-run opening partnership which set the West Indies on course to 225-6 as they batted first on winning the toss.

Matthews then took 2-40 as England was bowled out for 218 in 47.4 overs, falling just short in a run chase for the second match in a row.

In its first match England fell only 12 runs short as it chased Australia’s mammoth 310-3.

While the West Indies have moved up to second place behind Australia in the tournament, England now is winless after two matches and in desperate need of a win when it next plays South Africa.

England seemed to be heading towards a victory yesterday when Sophie

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Sometimes, it just took David Warner to step in and get the crowd going as Australia’s first test match in Pakistan in 24 years crawled toward an inevitable draw on a lifeless pitch at Pindi Cricket Stadium.

Bat was so dominant over ball that a mere 14 wickets fell across five days of cricket. As the home crowd’s appetite for batters piling on runs waned, fans turned their attention back to the novelty of just having the likes of Australian players Warner and Josh Hazlewood out on the field, smiling and waving back to them, responding to their cheers and chants.

Whenever Warner produced some dance moves on the field, including perfect steps to the Bhangra, a Punjabi dance, it brought the people in the crowd to their feet.

“I think the occasion has just really surpassed any concerns about the pitch,” Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said after the series-opening match ended in a draw.

Still, more than 40,000 spectators spent time at the stadium, holding placards and banners to welcome their favorite players on both teams, and enjoy two long Pakistan innings.

Opener Imam-ul-Haq became the fourth Pakistani batter after Younis Khan, Azhar Ali and Misbah-ulHaq to score a century in each innings of a test match against Australia. Pakistan declared its first innings at 476-4, then chalked up 252-0 without loss in the second innings.

Australia’s Islamabadborn Usman Khawaja missed out a century in the country of his birth. He and Marnus Labuschagne were dismissed in the 90s.

Steve Smith and Warner also posted half-centuries in Australia’s first innings of 459.

Veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who suggested before the series that Australia was aiming for a 3-0 series sweep, ended up with just one just one wicket and finished with match figures of 1-236 off his 78 overs. The conditions were dispiriting for the bowlers.

They’ll have to regroup quickly, with the second test starting Saturday in Karachi and the third test from March 21-25 in Lahore.

“We’d love to see an even contest between bat and ball. We want to see results in test matches,” Hockley said. “I think the two teams had an opportunity to really size each other up, so, you know, we’d love to see a bit more balance in the pitches for Karachi and Lahore.”

Australia hasn’t played a test in Pakistan since 1998 because of security concerns. The players are embracing what for them is a new adventure.

Labuschagne is among the Aussies who’ve been particularly interactive with fans on social media.

TIGER

Eccleston and Kate Cross combined in a 61-run partnership for the ninth wicket. At the start of the 48th over, England was 217-8 and needed only nine runs to win with 18 balls remaining.

But Cross was cruelly run out while backing up at the non-striker’s end and No. 11 Anya Shrubsole was bowled two balls later by Anisa Mohammed as the West Indies again secured victory in a dramatic final over. “This isn’t something that I like. It’s a bit nervewracking for me,” West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor said. “But it’s pleasing that we turned out on the good side.

For us, we try our very best every time we go out to play. We try to play our best game and that’s what the coaches tell us.”

It was Dottin who once again provided what may be the longest-lasting memory of the match, a breathtaking catch at backward point to dismiss England opener Lauren Winfield-Hill for 12. Winfield-Hill cut a ball from

ANNABEL SUTHERLAND, of Australia, takes a diving catch to dismiss England’s Lauren WinfieldHill during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 cricket match between England and Australia at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand, on Saturday.

(Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP) Shamilia Connell hard and wide of the fielder but Dottin dived full length and clasped the ball onehanded at shoulder height.

The catch was one of the high-points of a see-sawing match in which both teams played themselves into strong positions, suffered setbacks and rallied again.

The West Indies were on course for a higher total than they achieved when Dottin and Matthews guided them to 81-1 after the 20th over. But Ecclestone bowled the 21st over in which three wickets fell, including those of Dottin and Matthews.

The cascade of wickets changed the tenor of the match, even more when Kycia Knight was out soon after for six, leaving the West Indies 98-4.

Shemaine Campbelle and Chedean Nation led the recovery with a superb partnership of 123 for the fifth wicket in which Campbelle made 66 and Nation 49 not out.

England, in turn, was in trouble after the loss of Winfield-Hill, then captain Heather Knight (5) and Nat Sciver (2), both of whom fell to Matthews.

Sciver made an unbeaten 109 from 79 balls as

England fell 12 runs short of Australia in its opening match.

England was 94-5 when Tammy Beaumont was out for 46 in the 26th over but Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley came to its rescue with a partnership of 60 for the sixth wicket.

Just as the match had begun to turn in England’s favor Dunkley was out for 38 and Wyatt for 33 within the space of three balls, leaving England 156-8.

Ecclestone and Cross then took England within sight of victory again but its chase unraveled in the final over.

TIGER Woods speaks during his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame yesterday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

FROM PAGE 14 for Woods. There was no need to bring up what he achieved, who he influenced and the enormous impact he had on his sport in attracting new fans, spiking television ratings and increasing prize money.

The Players Championship prize fund this week is $20 million, and that’s not lost on the players in the field. The entire purse was $3.5 million in 1997 when Woods made his debut. The winner this week gets $3.6 million.

“I think every pro out here owes a debt of gratitude to Tiger because this sport wouldn’t be where it is today without his impact,” Patrick Cantlay, who won the $15 million prize last year as FedEx Cup champion, said earlier this week.

Woods, the first player of Black and Asian heritage to win a major at the 1997 Masters when he was 21, also spoke of the discrimination he felt as a youth.

He told one story about going to a country club to play a tournament, and he wasn’t allowed in the clubhouse like the other juniors because of the colour of his skin.

“So I was denied access into the clubhouses. That’s fine. Put my shoes on here in the parking lot,” he said. “I asked two questions only, that was it. Where was the first tee, and what was the course record? Not complicated.”

The room at PGA Tour headquarters, which only held about 500 people, burst into applause.

The ceremony was moved from the World Golf Village, which held previous ceremonies in Florida, to the new PGA Tour headquarters located about a mile away from where Woods first rose to fame.

Sure, there was the appearance on the Mike Douglas Show when he was a 2-year-old prodigy, and the three straight US Junior Amateur titles.

It was on the island green on the par-3 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass in the 1994 US Amateur when Woods first delivered the uppercut that would define his celebration.

That was the first of an unprecedented three straight US Amateur titles, and it only got better.

Much better.

His record is so strong that Woods had three Hall of Fame careers in one. After four full years as a pro, he already had the career Grand Slam and 24 victories on the PGA Tour.

The first major was the 1997 Masters, which he won by 12, one of 20 records.

When he was 30, he already had 46 wins on tour and 10 majors, including a sweep of the majors, a feat no one had ever accomplished.

Woods now has a record-tying 82 wins on the PGA Tour, along with 15 majors, three behind the gold standard set by Jack Nicklaus.

More than his wins was his influence.

TIGER Woods stands with his daughter Sam during his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame yesterday.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Woods never wanted to be looked upon as a golfer but rather an athlete. He wasn’t the first to find the gym, but his devotion to strength and fitness created a template for others to follow.

“Tiger changed people’s perception of golf from a game to a sport,” Padraig Harrington said.

Woods’ popularity, his showmanship, was so great that Finchem was able to turn that into television contracts that sent purses soaring.

Finchem also created the World Golf Championships events, and a

Presidents Cup to give the burgeoning group of international players from outside Europe a chance to compete in team matches. And he kept the PGA Tour strong with sponsors during the recession of 2008.

Maxwell Berning won only 11 times on the LPGA Tour, but she played in an era when juggling family and golf led to short careers.

She won the US Women’s Open three times — only five others have won at least three — in a six-year span. She also won the Women’s Western Open, a major in her era.

She noted she earned a total of $16,000 from her three Women’s Open titles.

“I was wondering if you’d like to swap cheques,” Berning said to Woods.

Hollins financed and developed a golf course for women in New York and was the brains behind two fabled golf courses in California — Cypress Point and Pasatiempo.

Hollins, who died in 1944 at age 51, was a visionary in golf course architecture, a confidante of Alister Mackenzie and a US Women’s Amateur champion.

Renee Powell was honoured with the inaugural Charlie Sifford Award for her spirit in advancing diversity in golf, while the Lifetime Achievement recognition went to Peter Ueberroth and the late Richard Ferris, both part of the ownership group at Pebble Beach.

The induction brought the Hall of Fame to 164 members.

NJCAA

FROM PAGE 14 Deyton Albury and Chipola advanced to the national tournament with a 73-64 win over Indian River State College Saturday night to win the FCSAA State Title and an automatic bid. He finished with four points and five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.

The freshman guard averaged 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in his first season with the programme.

Following their bye, Chipola will play the winner of the matchup between no.12 seed Hutchinson and no.21 seed Connors Stat at 3pm on Wednesday, March 16.

PAGE 16, Thursday, March 10, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

AP SOURCE: COLTS AGREE TO TRADE CARSON WENTZ TO COMMANDERS

Booker returns, NBA-leading Suns rout Heat on back-to-back MIAMI (AP) — Devin Booker scored 23 points, Mikal Bridges added 21 and the Phoenix Suns shook off a slow start to beat the Miami Heat 111-90 last night in a matchup of the NBA’s conference leaders.

Booker, returning from a four-game absence for virus-related issues, flirted with a triple-double, finishing with nine assists and eight rebounds to help Phoenix clinch a playoff spot.

Phoenix improved the NBA’s best record to 53-13, and the reigning Western Conference champion Suns have now beaten all other 29 teams this season — the first time they’ve done that since 2006-07.

Coming off a victory Tuesday night at Orlando, Phoenix improved its NBA-best road mark to 25-6. They have an 8 1/2game lead over Memphis and are nine games ahead of Golden State and Eastleading Miami.

Deandre Ayton had 19 points on 9-for-10 shooting and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who got 11 points and 15 rebounds from JaVale McGee, and 11 points apiece from Jae Crowder and Cameron Payne.

RAPTORS 119, SPURS 104 SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Fred VanVleet had 26 points and Toronto beat San Antonio, delaying Gregg Popovich’s coronation as the winningest coach in NBA history.

Popovich is tied with his friend and mentor, Don

Nelson, with 1,335 regular-season victories. San Antonio’s next opportunity to get the record for its 73-year-old coach is Friday night at home against Utah.

VanVleet was 7 for 15 from the field in his return from a five-game absence because of knee soreness.

Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam added 20 points to help Toronto snap a threegame skid.

Keldon Johnson had 27 points for San Antonio, and Dejounte Murray added 25 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. The Spurs have lost five of six games.

BUCKS 124, HAWKS 115 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 43 points and 12 rebounds and Milwaukee beat Atlanta for its sixth straight victory.

Defending champion Milwaukee edged a half-game ahead of idle Philadelphia for second place in the Eastern Conference and moved within two games of first-place Miami, which lost at home to NBA-leading Phoenix.

Bobby Portis added 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Khris Middleton had 23 points and eight assists to help Milwaukee beat Atlanta for the first time in three tries this season. Trae Young led Atlanta with 27 points and 11 assists.

TIMBERWOLVES 132, THUNDER 102 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Malik Beasley made 11 3-pointers to set a Timberwolves franchise-record

By STEPHEN WHYNO AND MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writers

PHOENIX Suns centre Deandre Ayton (22) aims to score over Miami Heat centre Bam Adebayo (13) and guard Kyle Lowry (7)during the first half last night in Miami.

(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) and finished with 33 points from LeBron James — 23 19 points, Gary Harris to help lift Minnesota past points, 14 rebounds and a added 16 in a reserve role Oklahoma City for its sixth season-high 12 assists — and Orlando beat New win in a row. and Russell Westbrook’s Orleans.

Beasley took 17 3-points. 30-point night for their CJ McCollum scored 32 He didn’t play the final second win in 15 games. points for New Orleans.

4:57, ending three made BULLS 114, Jonas Valanciunas had 30 3-pointers shy of Klay PISTONS 108 points and 15 rebounds.

Thompson’s NBA record.

DETROIT (AP) — KNICKS 107, Taurean Prince scored DeMar DeRozan scored MAVERICKS 77 17 points off the bench 16 of his 36 points in the DALLAS (AP) — Julius for Minnesota, and Karl- fourth quarter and Chicago Randle scored 26 points Anthony Towns had 13 beat Detroit to snap a five- against his hometown team points and 11 rebounds in game losing streak. and New York won for the 29 minutes.

Zach LeVine added fifth consecutive time in Aaron Wiggins led Okla- 25 points for the Bulls, Dallas. RJ Barrett added homa City with 25 points and Nikola Vucevic had 18 points for the Knicks. and nine rebounds.

21 points. They won They won their third ROCKETS 139, despite only hitting three straight after a seven-game LAKERS 130, OT 3-pointers. losing streak and improved HOUSTON (AP) — Cade Cunningham had to 3-2 on a seven-game trip.

Rookie Jalen Green scored 22 points for the Pistons, Luka Doncic scored 17 a career-high 32 points, but no one else scored of his 31 points in the third including 10 in overtime, more than 12. Detroit had quarter for Dallas. The and Houston outlasted Los won three straight.

Mavericks missed their first Angeles.

MAGIC 108, 19 3-point shots while fallLast in the Western PELICANS 102 ing behind by 28 in their Conference, Houston NEW ORLEANS (AP) lowest-scoring first half of withstood a triple-double — Cole Anthony scored the season.

Religious runner exalts in victory on athletes’ expression

By PATRICK ORSAGOS and ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Noor Abukaram’s elation at completing one of her first varsity cross-country races quickly turned to disappointment when she failed to find her name among those of her high school teammates on the results list.

To Abukaram’s shock, she learned she’d been disqualified for something she’d done all season as a Muslim athlete: wear a hijab.

“My worst nightmare just came true,” Abukaram said this month as she recalled the October 2019 race in which her team from Sylvania Northview in suburban Toledo qualified for the Ohio regional championships.

At the time, Ohio High School Athletic Association rules banned most head coverings and caps unless competitors received religious exemption waivers in advance. Abukaram’s coach acknowledged making a mistake by not obtaining a waiver but said he didn’t think it was needed because

MLB

FROM PAGE 14 week we have made good-faith proposals that address the specific concerns voiced by the MLBPA and would have allowed the players to return to the field immediately,” Manfred said.

“The clubs went to extraordinary lengths to meet the substantial demands of the MLBPA. On the key economic issues that have posed stumbling blocks, the clubs proposed ways to bridge gaps to preserve a full schedule. Regrettably, after our second late-night bargaining session in a week, we remain without a deal.”

it hadn’t been an issue at prior races.

Abukaram’s experience, and efforts to prevent similar episodes elsewhere, have garnered national attention recently.

Last year, the National Federation of State High School Associations announced it will no longer require state approval to allow soccer or volleyball players to wear religious headwear during games.

Later in the year, the association approved the same rule change for basketball, softball, track and field, field hockey, and spirit. Previously, state athletic associations had to approve all head coverings.

In Ohio, Abukaram didn’t have long to wait before the world learned of her disqualification through a viral Facebook post by her cousin. And not long after that, her plight caught the attention of state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, a Bowling Green Republican outraged at the girl’s treatment.

Gavarone, who is Roman Catholic, recalled the experience of her hockey and lacrosse player son who was allowed to wear a Christian cross under his pads as long as he taped it to his chest.

NOOR Abukaram stretches before running on a trail along the Olentangy River at Ohio State University on March 2.

(AP Photo/Patrick Orsagos) Anger at Abukaram’s sit“For decades, that waiver uation triggered her “inner had just been a normal prohockey mom,” the senator cess of head coverings, for said. “No student athlete medical reasons, religious, should ever have to choose cultural, it was just a part of between exercising their the sport,” said Tim Stried, deeply held religious beliefs director of media relations and participating in the at the OHSAA. sport they love,” Gavarone Stried said Abukaram’s said. disqualification led officials Gavarone’s first bill pro- at the organisation to questecting such beliefs died in tion the necessity of the 2020, but by then the high advanced waiver. school athletic association “Why would we have the had changed its rules to waiver there if it’s natural let referees approve use of to wear that?” he said. “So religious head coverings if it led to some change pretty a coach asks before a com- quick.” petition, without a formal Gavarone hoped such waiver. attention on the issue would

settle the matter. Then, in spring 2020, Abukaram was incorrectly asked for a waiver before competing in the 1600-metre relay at a track race. She was allowed to compete but, fearing it would happen again, she contacted Gavarone.

“We need to reintroduce this because clearly rules are subject to change, and once discriminatory policies are put into place, people will still continue to enact them,” Abukaram said.

Gavarone introduced the bill again in May 2021.

The House and Senate approved the legislation this year with broad bipartisan support, and Gov. Mike DeWine signed it into law in February.

Abukaram, 18, is now a freshman at Ohio State studying fashion design and sports industry — and still a runner. She was heartened not only by the bipartisan support for the bill but backing from other religious groups, including Christians and Jews.

“It was kind of like a no-brainer that what had happened to me was a form of discrimination and that religious freedom is something that everyone can agree on,” Abukaram said.

Opening day was to have been March 31 but has been wiped out by baseball’s ninth work stoppage, its first since 1995.

If April 14 games are cancelled and players do not receive credit for service time in the eventual settlement, free-agent eligibility would be pushed back for many players, including Shohei Ohtani from 2023 to 2024, Pete Alonso from 2024 to 2025, Jake Cronenworth from 2025 to 2026 and Jonathan India from 2026 to 2027.

Players dropped their threshold for the luxury tax to $232 million this year, with increases to $235 million in 2023, $240 million in 2024 and $245 million

in 2025 and $250 million in 2026.

Players had been at $238 million to $263 million in their previous proposal of a week earlier. They were within 2.5% of management’s starting figure of $230 million in Tuesday’s proposal. Players were within 3.2% of MLB’s $242 million for 2026.

Management’s desire for an additional fourth tax threshold at $60 million above the first threshold is among the contentious points remaining.

Players dropped to $65 million from $80 million for their proposed bonus pool for pre-arbitration-eligible players, a day after MLB raised its offer from $30

the union agreed to starting in 2012 for the amateur draft covering residents of the US, Puerto Rico and Canada.

The international draft proposal includes hard slots that could not be negotiated by individuals.

MLB estimates $17 million in additional spending for the drafted international players above the $166.3 million spent by the 30 teams in 2021, plus an additional $6 million on non-drafted players. The draft would start in 2024.

International players would lose the right to pick which team they sign with.

The age for the draft would be in the year a player turns 16.

million to $40 million. The union is asking for $5 million annual increases, while management’s offer is the same for all five years.

The union dropped its proposed minimum salary to $710,000 from $725,000, a figure rising to $780,000 by 2026. Management is at $700,000 this year, rising to $770,000.

The union’s proposals on the tax threshold and bonus pool were first reported by The Athletic.

In the proposal for an international draft, teams would rotate picking in different quadrants of the first round over a four-year period.

A slotting system would be installed similar to what

THE Indianapolis Colts are moving on from Carson Wentz after one season, sending him to a team he’s familiar with from his days in the NFC East.

The Colts agreed to trade Wentz to the Washington Commanders, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity yesterday because the deal cannot be finalised until the start of the new league year next week.

Washington is getting the 47th pick in the draft along with Wentz and sending Indianapolis Nos. 42 and 73 this year and a 2023 conditional third-rounder that can become a second based on Wentz’s playing time, according to a different person with direct knowledge of the move. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced.

Wentz, 29, has three years remaining on his contract with salary cap hits of $28.3, $26.2 and $27.2 million consecutively.

The 2016 second overall pick of the Philadelphia Eagles spent just the 2021 season with Indianapolis, with the team going 9-8 and missing the playoffs.

This will be the sixth consecutive year the Colts will have a different opening day starter, though Jacoby Brissett took over when Andrew Luck missed the entire season in 2017 and again in 2019 when Luck abruptly announced his retirement in August.

While coach Frank Reich urged the Colts to acquire his former Eagles pupil 13 months ago and continued to support Wentz throughout the season and offseason.

“Stability is ideal, continuity is ideal, you long for that,” Reich said last week at the NFL’s annual scouting combine.

“I believe in Carson.

I stuck my neck out for him last year. I was a big part of that decision to get him here and I believe he’s going to have a lot of success as a quarterback whether that’s here or somewhere else.”

TEAM

FROM PAGE 14 Travis Munnings saw an 11-game win streak come to an end for Sporting Lisboa Benfica. He scored six points off the bench in a 68-63 loss to league-leading FC Porto.

Munnings is averaging 8.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, shooting 54 percent from the field and 47 percent from threepoint range.

Munnings is currently in his second season in the LPB. Last year he averaged 12.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for UD Oliveirense.

In 14 EuroCup games, Munnings has averaged 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

At the national team level, The Bahamas won 86-76 over the US Virgin Islands and lost 90-65 to The Dominican Republic at the Palacio de los Deportes in the Dominican Republic in the FIBA Qualifiers last month.

In the win over UVSI, Knowles had 14 points and seven rebounds, Miller had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Munnings had six points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.

In the loss to The Dominican Republic, Munnings was the leading scorer with 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Miller had 14 points and six rebounds, and Knowles scored 12.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 10, 2022, PAGE 17

Tommy Stubbs donates baseball equipment to Mario Ford’s youth camp MARIO Ford and Tommy Stubbs have much in common. They were youthful neighbours with Windsor Park as their playground in the 1960s and 1970s.

They became rivals in high school fast-pitch softball, with Ford playing for Aquinas College and Stubbs for CC Sweeting.

Then, they moved the rivalry to junior and senior league baseball in the 1990s when Ford stood out for the T-Bird Flyers and Stubbs was leading Buttons Formal Wear to multi-national championships.

Years later, Stubbs returned to Windsor Park to spearhead the establishment of the Ed Armbrister Baseball League for the youth.

The mission was to bridge the gap between inner city baseball clubs organised by Mario Ford, Mikey Butler, Andy Percentie and Fred “Papa” Smith.

From this merger came the Community Baseball League which went on to compete at the Nationals in Freeport, Grand Bahama, as a member of the baseball federation.

Recently, Stubbs returned to make a timely contribution to the youth at Windsor Park - a 7 ft x 7 ft multi-purpose net/screen, a batting T and ball bag.

Ford expressed gratitude to his old friend Tommy, his wife Makeva Wallace-Stubbs and their new company, Bahamas Events and Sports, for the donation.

“We’ve watched, read or heard of Mario’s struggle over the years in keeping his baseball programme going, most often he’s the only adult on the field training youngsters for a future in baseball and life.

“We simply wanted to give him a helping hand, if we couldn’t be there in person to assist. Mario is

MARIO FORD, Tommy Stubbs and Makeva Wallace-Stubbs in front of the youth baseball equipment. one of our heroes who’s very deserving of any support.”

The screen can be used as “an assistant” where batters can work on their swings, and pitchers and fielders

can throw baseballs at a target.

“Tommy has always contributed to our camp wherever he can,” said Ford of his former teammate with the Crusaders in the

New Providence Softball Association. “He has never forgotten his roots, baseball, or sports in general.

He truly cares about people and their struggles. “Many people are experiencing

FIRED F1 DRIVER MAZEPIN AND FATHER ON EU SANCTIONS LIST

Benzema scores hat trick, Madrid rallies to oust PSG from CL

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Karim Benzema scored a hat trick in less than 20 minutes in the second half yesterday as Real Madrid came from behind to defeat Paris SaintGermain 3-1 and advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Kylian Mbappé had opened the scoring in the first half to increase PSG’s aggregate lead after the France striker also netted in stoppage time to secure a 1-0 first-leg win in Paris.

Benzema evened the match at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the 61st after a blunder by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, then scored again in the 76th and 78th minutes to give the 13-time European champions a 3-2 aggregate win.

Madrid reached the last eight for the second straight season after consecutive eliminations in the round of 16, while PSG failed to live up to the massive expectations after adding Lionel Messi to its star-studded team this season.

PSG, seeking its first Champions League title, had advanced past the round of 16 the last two seasons, losing the final to Bayern Munich in 2020 and being eliminated by Manchester City in the semifinals in 2021.

Madrid eliminated PSG at this stage in 2018 en route to its third straight title in the competition.

In the other last-16 match yesterday, Manchester City advanced past Sporting Lisbon 5-0 on aggregate after a scoreless draw in England.

PSG appeared in control after Mbappé, who had been doubtful to play after picking up a knock in training on Monday, scored in the 39th after collecting a long pass by Neymar and making a run into the area before firing a low shot past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

It was the 27th Champions League goal for the 23-year-old France forward with PSG, leaving him three shy of Edinson Cavani’s club record in the competition.

He has scored 14 goals in his last 14 Champions League appearances.

Mbappé had already had a few chances before opening the scoring, including a goal disallowed for offside in the build-up.

He also had one goal called back for the same reason in the second half.

Neymar and Lionel Messi also threatened for PSG after Madrid looked in control early.

Vinícius Júnior and Benzema threatened the most for Madrid, and the French striker scored the equalizer off a pass from Vinícius

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN AND JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writers

REAL Madrid’s David Alaba celebrates with Karim Benzema, right, who scored his side’s first goal during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) after Donnarumma gave the ball away while being pressured by Benzema inside the area.

Benzema added the second after a pass from Luka Modric and a couple of minutes later sealed the team’s spot in the quarterfinals with a one-time finish after another run by Vinícius down the left flank.

Madrid was without Ferland Mendy and Casemiro because of yellow-card suspensions.

But Toni Kroos started after being doubtful because of muscle injury.

Federico Valverde replaced Casemiro, while Nacho Fernández started at left back instead of veteran Marcelo.

FIFA POSTPONES UKRAINE PLAYOFF, GIVES POLAND A BYE VS RUSSIA

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Amid a shutdown of domestic soccer during the invasion by Russia, FIFA agreed Tuesday to Ukraine’s request to postpone the national team’s World Cup qualifying playoff in Scotland in two weeks’ time.

FIFA also awarded Poland a bye through its playoff semifinal against Russia that was also scheduled on March 24.

That decision will be tested by an urgent Russian appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a FIFA ban on its national teams.

FIFA said it will now organise the Scotland-Ukraine game in June during the next fixture dates protected for national teams.

The delay became likely when the Ukraine Premier League shut

down after the Russian military invasion on February 24.

Ukraine cited “the impossibility of organising both the travel and training of a team under the current circumstances,” FIFA said in a statement.

Most of the Ukraine squad is typically drawn from domestic clubs Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk. They were unable to resume games on February 26 after a midwinter break and most of their players from other countries left Ukraine to escape the war.

The FIFA postponement adds more uncertainty to the World Cup finals tournament draw on April 1 in Qatar.

It was already going ahead with two of the 32 entries undecided because of a fixture backlog during the COVID-19 pandemic. An intercontinental playoff round had

financial hardships, including Tommy, but he’s got a heart of gold.

“We appreciate the gifts.

The kids will enjoy the extra training equipment,” said Ford.

to be pushed back to June. The draw in Doha should now have only 29 confirmed teams with the playoff bracket featuring Scotland, Ukraine, Wales and Austria now stalled.

Ukraine was to face Scotland in a single-game playoff semifinal in Glasgow. The winner was to play at Wales or Austria five days later for a ticket to Qatar.

The Wales-Austria game will go ahead on March 24.

European national teams are set to return to action after the 2021-22 club season ends at the Champions League final on May 28. Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zinchenko could be involved in that game with Manchester City.

June 2 shapes up as the next option for a Scotland-Ukraine playoff on a date when several countries begin their UEFA Nations League groups. Scotland

and Ukraine have already been drawn together in a second-tier Nations League group and were due to face each other in Glasgow on June 7. The date could be needed for the playoff bracket final against Wales or Austria.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has caused more uncertainty for the World Cup playoffs schedule.

FIFA and UEFA imposed a ban last week excluding all Russian teams from their international competitions.

The Russia-Poland playoff was part of a playoff bracket including Sweden and the Czech Republic.

The other three soccer federations have refused to play Russia.

The Russian Football Union’s appeals were registered on Tuesday by CAS. Russia first seeks to freeze the punishments in a bid to allow the national team to play.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Fired Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin has been added to a list of people sanctioned by the European Union in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because of his father’s connections to the Kremlin.

European Union countries agreed to slap further sanctions on Russia yesterday, targeting oligarchs and their relatives.

In addition to the already adopted measures targeting president Vladimir Putin himself, Russia’s financial system and the country’s high-tech industry, the EU imposed travel restrictions and an asset freeze on an extra 160 individuals, including Mazepin and his father Dmitry, the owner and chief executive of the mineral fertilizer company Uralchem.

According to the EU, Dmitry Mazepin is a member Putin’s “closest circle” and Nikita was a “natural person” to add to the list because of his connections to his father.

The EU said Dmitry Mazepin met Putin on February 24 alongside 36 other businesspeople to discuss the impact of Western sanctions on Russia.

Earlier yesterday, Nikita Mazepin said he was shocked at losing his Formula One ride and that he will create a foundation to help athletes excluded from competition as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mazepin was fired Saturday by Haas F1 when it terminated its contract with both the driver and sponsor Uralkali. “I did not expect Haas would break the contract with me. I didn’t see it coming,” Mazepin said yesterday in a virtual news conference. “It was a very painful and unexpected situation for me.”

Formula One had already terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix, and Mazepin said Haas informed him of his firing through an attorney.

“There has been no legal reason for the team to terminate my contract. I lost my dream,” Mazepin said.

PAGE 18, Thursday, March 10, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

UB celebrates International Athletic Training Month THE University of The Bahamas Athletics department is celebrating International Athletic Training Month which is an opportunity to spread awareness of the impact athletic trainers have on sports and student-athletes.

Athletic trainers are health care professionals that prevent, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate injuries for active people in many industries usually in sports but can extend to military and clinical applications.

UB Director of Athletics Kimberley Rolle said the two trainers at UB - Sasha Johnson the head athletic trainer and Shakeitha Henfield the assistant athletic trainer - are standouts here in The Bahamas.

“Both of our athletic trainers are US boardcertified and holders of master’s degrees which means we have the top two in-country athletic trainers at The University of The Bahamas,” she said.

Johnson said trainers are important to the health of athletes for many reasons.

“Most times we are first on the scene and act as first-responders when we think about the whole sports medicine model,” she said. “When a kid goes down on the field or on the court traditionally the athletic trainer is the first on scene and does the assessment and makes a judgment call on whether or not that athlete can return to play.”

And if an athlete does suffer an injury, Johnson

UNIVERSITY of the Bahamas head athletic trainer Sasha Johnson provides treatment to UB men’s basketball guard Theo Grant.

(UB ATHLETICS) says athletic trainers guide them back to the sport they love.

“When they do sustain an injury we are able to provide immediate treatment and guide them through their rehab protocol and a lot of times at the end of that rehab we are the ones that return them to play,” she said.

Mingoes basketball guard Theo Grant has sustained two injuries while at UB and he said the

therapy he received from the athletic trainers was invaluable to getting him back on the court.

“They made sure I got the rehab that I needed to get back to playing,” he said. “They got me back to 100 percent.”

Mingoes softball captain Cyntese Cooper said the athletic trainers have been a huge help to all the student-athletes at UB. “They are like caretakers to us and we can always

depend on them to help us through whatever we are going through,” she said.

Rolle though points out that athletic trainers at UB do a lot more than just physically help the student-athletes.

“Our ATs have to be a lot more than just athletic trainers at times,” Rolle added.

“Often times they have to be a counsellor and counsel our athletes who have had serious injuries

and even career-ending injuries.

“That’s not a part of their job description but that’s invaluable and that’s something you can’t put a price tag on.”

‘Providing Health Care Everywhere’ is the theme of this year’s National Athletic Training Month, which is sponsored by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), a not-for-profit organisation based in Dallas, Texas.

THUNDER G DORT HAS SEASONENDING LEFT SHOULDER PROCEDURE OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Lu Dort, Oklahoma City’s No. 2 scorer, will miss the rest of the season after having surgery to address a cartilage tear in his left shoulder.

Dort joins reserves Ty Jerome and Mike Muscala as Thunder players who had procedures on Tuesday, the team announced.

Dort, a well-established defensive guard, stepped up his offensive game this season and averaged 17.2 points per contest.

The team said he is expected to return to full basketball activities before next season.

Muscala, a power forward and centre, had procedures to repair his injured right ankle.

The crowd favourite averaged 8.0 points in 43 games and shot 42.9 percent from 3-point range.

He is expected to return to full basketball activities prior to the start of the 202223 season.

Jerome, who plays guard and small forward, had surgery to repair a sports hernia.

He averaged 7.1 points in 48 games. He is expected to return to full basketball activities in approximately eight weeks.

The Thunder already were without starting point guard Josh Giddey (right hip) and don’t expect him back for at least a few weeks.

BESHEAR SIGNS BILL REGULATING PAYMENTS FOR COLLEGE ATHLETES

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Coaches and administrators filled a small cheering section yesterday as Governor Andy Beshear signed a bill regulating name, image and likeness compensation for college athletes in Kentucky.

The new law sets a framework for the athletes to profit off their notoriety, while university governing boards can adopt NIL-related policies for their school’s athletes.

It recognises that athletes are the “main attraction” in college sports and deserve to be

fairly compensated for use of their name, image and likeness, Beshear said. Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, a former college basketball player, called it “step toward equity for the athletes that we cheer on.”

Rhyne Howard, a star on the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team, thanked the lawmakers for passing the measure to benefit athletes.

“We are very thankful for being able to be compensated for all the work that we do,” she said.

The high-profile issue united Republican and Democratic lawmakers as well as rival schools in a state with nationally renowned

college sports programmes with legions of fans.

The bill-signing ceremony at Kentucky’s Capitol featured a cross-section of college coaches and administrators — including University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari and University of Louisville women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz. Calipari said the Kentucky measure protects both athletes and their schools while providing needed flexibility, saying NILrelated issues are “moving fast.”

“I believe it’s model legislation that will be looked at now to say ‘Well, we can do this,’” he said.

Lawmakers in statehouses across the country are wrangling

with the high-stakes issue, as millions of dollars pour into endorsements for college athletes. In Kentucky, college athletes have been able to make money off their name, image and likeness since last summer, when Beshear signed an executive order. His action was seen as a short-term response, resulting in the bill that sailed through the legislature with bipartisan support.

The result will be that college athletes in Kentucky are “fairly compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness,” the Democratic governor said at the bill signing yesterday. “For decades, student-athletes — unlike

their peers — were barred from pursuing compensation associated with skills and talents,” Beshear said.

“And unlike most of their nonathlete peers, student-athletes are the main attraction of what is a multi-billion-dollar industry in this country.”

Walz stressed that student-athletes not only will benefit from NIL opportunities, but can use their notoriety to help others in their communities.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our student-athletes to finally be able to make a little money off their name, their image,” he said. “But it’s also an opportunity for them to give back.”

Athletes force a change in ban of Russians at Paralympics

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer ATHLETES around the world cheered when leaders of the Paralympics booted Russia from the Games.

The move, in many eyes, marked the high point of a growing movement by the people who actually deliver the show to find a greater voice in the Olympic world.

“It is because of the athletes,” said Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, who has been living about 100 miles from Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, fearful of an attack by Russian troops who invaded the country earlier this week.

The tipping point to the rapid turn of events was “a very, very volatile environment” in the athletes village in Beijing at the Paralympics, according to the head of that organisation.

The International Paralympic Committee was faced with the very real possibility that athletes might simply pick up and go home before their Games start today.

To prevent that, it made an abrupt about-face and chose to ban the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic teams that, previously, were being allowed to compete under a neutral flag.

“We did not think that entire delegations, or even teams within delegations, will withdraw, will boycott, will not participate,” IPC president Andrew Parsons said.

Rob Koehler, the head of the advocacy group Global Athlete, called the moment “a clear message to every single athlete about how valuable and important their voices are for change.”

Early in the week, a cadre of Ukrainian athletes aligned with Koehler’s group to put out a statement condemning Russia’s invasion and asking for an immediate ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Olympics and Paralympics The list of signers to this letter grew by the hour. It encompassed several hundred athletes, when adding the individuals who put their names on the letter to those who were members of the federations and athlete committees that signed on, as well.

It could have been more, but as the letter poignantly stated, “it has been a challenge to speak with all athletes from Ukraine as they are seeking safety in bomb shelters.”

The International Olympic Committee signalled that it heard the message.

It urged all federations to prohibit athletes from those countries from competing.

Many took heed of that advice — including ice skating, skiing, soccer, hockey, basketball and others.

But the Paralympics didn’t do a ban, explaining it would never hold up in court because of the rulebook. The IOC, with the Olympics in the rearview

PRESIDENT of the Ukraine National Paralympic Committee Valerii Sushkevych speaks to the media following the IPC announcement that athletes from Russian Paralympic Committee and Belarus, despite being called neutral, are no longer allowed to compete at the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing.

(Joe Toth/OIS via AP) mirror, also passed on a ban held a summit the day after itself. the opening ceremony and That decision cast a dif- declared their strategic ferent light on a New York partnership had “no limits.”

Times report that China It was no shock that China had specifically asked didn’t want the start of a Russia to hold off on any war to tarnish its massive invasion until the Olympics sports spectacle. were over. The countries But the Paralympics bring are allies — their presidents another 600-plus athletes to

Beijing to compete over 10 days of skiing, skating and sledding. It is one of the largest gathering of international athletes this side of the Olympics. The removal of Russia’s flag, without the removal of the country’s athletes was, Parsons said, the “harshest possible punishment we can hand down within our constitution and the current IPC rules.”

Those rules, however, took a backseat to reality.

The Latvian and South Korean curling teams said they wouldn’t take the ice against Russia for an early round match. Other athletes were considering leaving. The IPC could no longer ignore that possibility.

“It is abundantly clear that athletes forced this decision, not sport leaders,” said Ali Jawad, a four-time Paralympian who is on the board of Global Athlete.

The thought of walking away is the most drastic possible option for athletes who spend their lives training for a day or two of glory at the biggest spectacle in sports. For decades, none have willingly made that choice.

The thought of competing in China, with its record of human-rights abuses, was stomach-turning to many Olympians. But they all chose to go, in large part because they knew there was no groundswell that would follow them out the door. Boycotting by themselves, they said, would

grab headlines for a day or two, but then the world would simply move on.

Athletes posed a bigger threat than that at the Paras. It was the latest, most striking show of power in a movement that has included victories in the fight over Olympic rules on marketing and demonstrations, a flap over women wearing bikini bottoms for beach handball, pay for women’s soccer players and more.

“The list goes on and on, and it shows that when athletes say ‘Things are changing, and they’re changing today,’ that it really can happen,” Koehler said.

Russia is likely to take this case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. CAS, the IOC, World Athletics, the World Anti-Doping Agency and dozens more in this long “alphabet soup” of sports organisations have a long history of contorting the rulebooks of international sports to make them say whatever they want.

One example: While, before the war broke out, Russia remained largely eligible in most sports despite eight years of rule-breaking and cover-ups, it was still considered a rogue state in track and field.

It is also, for the time being, persona non grata at the Paralympics. The credit for that goes to a growing group of athletes who wouldn’t accept any other option.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 10, 2022, PAGE 19

DOMANTAS SABONIS SUSPENDED 1 GAME FOR MAKING CONTACT WITH REFEREE NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA suspended Sacramento Kings centre Domantas Sabonis one game without pay yesterday for aggressively confronting and making contact with an official who called him for a technical foul.

Sabonis was ejected in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game against the New York Knicks after receiving double technicals.

The first was for unsportsmanlike reaction to a called foul. He then “approached

and bumped the official in a hostile manner,” the league said, which led to the second technical and his ejection.

The Kings said in a statement that they disagreed with the suspension. “He is a consummate professional and the ultimate competitor,” the team said. “We stand behind Domas, and he has our full support.”

Sabonis had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings in the 131-115 loss.

The Knicks rallied from a

20-point deficit. “It was just a frustrating game,” Sabonis said afterward. “We keep getting these leads playing the right way and we just can’t come out in the second half and sustain it.”

Sabonis served his suspension last night when the Kings hosted the Nuggets. He is averaging 17.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 11 games since being acquired from the Indiana Pacers before the trade deadline.

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