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Volume: 119 No.108, April 28, 2022

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GOING GLOBAL PM hails potential of crypto industry for The Bahamas

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis addressing the Crypto Bahamas conference yesterday.

Photo: BIS

WORK PERMIT CLAMPDOWN IN RESTAURANTS, CONSTRUCTION

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net LABOUR Director Robert Farquharson says his department has denied labour certificates in all restaurant manager applications and in the vast majority of applications for construction site supervisors and project managers since September, preventing the applicants from getting work permits.

Mr Farquharson has pledged to clamp down on granting work permits, insisting qualified Bahamians should get the jobs.

SEE PAGE FIVE

CARTWRIGHT THREATENED WITH REMOVAL

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the arrival and presence of FTX underscores the “readiness of The Bahamas to be a home for global leaders in the crypto space.”

While giving the opening remarks at Crypto Bahamas, a cryptocurrency conference hosted

by FTX and Salt at Baha Mar, Mr Davis said he believed that crypto innovations are going to have a transformative impact across many industries.

He pointed to the Central Bank launching the Sand Dollar as well as the government’s

recently released white paper on the future of digital assets in The Bahamas as key strides the country was making in this arena.

“Ladies and gentlemen, The Bahamas is not only open and ready for business, but moving to the forefront of this most exciting era of digital asset innovation. For generations, our people have developed a unique expertise as leading professionals in international financial services.

As a result, The Bahamas has an extensive capacity of human capital positioned to assist all in the fintech space who look to do business here,” he said.

SEE PAGE THREE

‘HOTEL IN DISGUISE’ TOLD TO STOP STANIEL CAY BUILDING

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Supreme Court this week extended the construction halt on a property at the centre of an escalating dispute between Staniel Cay homeowners over fears it is a boutique hotel development in disguise.

Justice Neil Brathwaite, in a verdict on Tuesday upheld the recently-reinstated injunction barring developer Keith Doyle, and his DeepBlue Properties vehicle, from continuing to expand what he describes as a “family residence” and not the “Hotel Thunderball” that was originally proposed.

While admitting in legal papers that a boutique hotel, named after the James Bond movie that filmed key scenes in the nearby Exuma cave system, was initially planned for the location, Mr Doyle said: “I have never submitted

DEPUTY House Speaker Sylvanus Petty threatened to have St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright removed from yesterday’s morning sitting of Parliament after the member continuously stood to argue with Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin as she made a contribution.

During his contribution to the Climate Change and Carbon Markets Initiatives Bill 2022, Mr Cartwright said thousands of Bahamians continued to financially struggle, echoing calls for the removal of value added tax from breadbasket items.

SEE PAGE FOUR

ROBERTS: TAKE VAT OFF BREADBASKET CONSTRUCTION work at the site in Staniel Cay. those plans for approval to the Ministry of Works nor the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) specifically.”

The developer, who operates a charter airline, Staniel Air, which transports visitors to the island from Fort Lauderdale, added that “harassment” from neighbours opposed to his plans for the renowned yachting and boating destination had made him abandon the Hotel Thunderball project

- and its “ten private and exclusive rooms” - almost two years ago.

However, other Staniel Cay residents are far from convinced. Supreme Court filings obtained by Tribune Business reveal their belief that what Mr Doyle is attempting to build “is larger than existing boutique hotels in Staniel Cay”, and an attempt to construct a mini high-end resort under the guise of a family residential property.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SUPER Value principal Rupert Roberts yesterday backed calls to remove VAT from breadbasket foods as a means to ease the burden of soaring inflation.

Mr Roberts said “I’d certainly agree” eliminating the 10 percent levy on products such as bread, rice, flour, butter and baby food/ formula would help lessen the pressure on low-income Bahamians.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

PAGE 2, Thursday, April 28, 2022

MILLER: WE WON’T LET THE WORLD DECIDE OUR FUTURE

THE TRIBUNE

ENVIRONMENT and Natural Resources Minister Vaughn Miller.

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE Climate Change and Carbon Markets Initiatives Bill 2022 demonstrates that The Bahamas will not sit idly by and allow the rest of the world to decide its future.

This is according to Environment and Natural Resources Minister Vaughn Miller, who yesterday told Parliament the Bill allows for positive engagement with high carbon emitting countries and companies for The Bahamas’ benefit.

He made the contribution during debate on the Bill in the House of Assembly.

“The Climate Change and Carbon Initiatives Bill 2022 will position The Bahamas to participate in the global response to the threat of climate change, in ways which will benefit our environment and eventually have monetary value,” the Golden Isles MP said.

“Numerous reports by the United Nations and many international organisations point to the role of carbon emissions in causing temperatures to rise on our planet.”

He also said: “By participating in and benefitting from the trade of carbon credits, The Bahamas will not be standing idly by,

hoping that the rest of the world does right by us.

“This Bill will ensure that science and environmental protection will serve as the foundation for addressing the climate crisis. This Bill will encourage us to positively engage with high carbon emitting countries and companies for our benefit.

“This Bill will ensure that the financial benefits arising from the trade in carbon credits will be wellregulated, well-run and well-managed.

“And in aligning with best practices established by the international agreements of which we are a part, this Bill will further enhance the standing and reputation of The Bahamas as a good place to do business.”

The Bill will ensure that all carbon credits identified in the country remain the property of The Bahamas and therefore cannot be traded without the consent of the government.

It will enable the government to create incentives and implement initiatives to support the overall global target of greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

Once enacted, it will allow The Bahamas to establish a market to trade carbon credits among other things.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 28, 2022, PAGE 3

ATTENDEES at yesterday’s Crypto Bahamas event listening to the address by Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis.

Photo: BIS

PM hails potential of crypto industry for The Bahamas from page one “In our policy white paper, you will also note the commitment of my government to provide the highest in tertiary education to Bahamians who want to be in the fintech and cryptocurrency space. The Bahamas and Bahamians all across our archipelago are ready and willing to partner with you to do business in our great country.

I hope that consideration of the potential and possibilities in our country will feature in your discussions over these next few days.

There are many pragmatic reasons to partner with us.

But we think you’ll also fall

SENIOR politicians in attendance including, from left, Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis, Attorney General Ryan Pinder, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper and the wife of the Prime Minister, Ann Marie Davis.

in love with our country and our people.”

He also spoke about keeping the greater good in mind as digital progression occurs.

He noted: “While your many and myriad conversations flourish around the technological marvels and possibilities for wealth-generation, the conversation in this space is largely being considered merely in terms of services, processes, and objects.

“I encourage you simultaneously to include in that conversation what you can do to promote the common good. In this transition to a digital future, let us do what we can to uplift and bring along the many, not just the

few. In this transition to a digital future, let us do what we can to uplift and bring along the many, not just the few.”

Mr Davis asserted he is determined to make sure that in this country “this era of dramatic change is also an era of progress”. His remarks also highlighted that despite the country’s challenges the nation marches forward.

“The Bahamas is the third oldest democracy in the Western Hemisphere.

Perhaps it is this stability that underpins our ability, and confidence to implement big changes, while at the same time, upholding our timeless, fundamental values. We have been

battered by disasters not of our own making: economic storms, hurricanes made more intense by climate change, and viruses unleashed across borders.

Yet, we face our future with an optimism borne of strength, resilience, and a capacity to innovate.”

On Monday, FTX Digital Markets held a groundbreaking ceremony for its $60m headquarters on West Bay Street. At the event, Mr Davis said it sent a strong message that The Bahamas is a safe place for international companies to set up shop.

The digital asset exchange company opened its office in western New Providence late last year.

PAGE 4, Thursday, April 28, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

SEARS: I’M NOT INVOLVED WITH WSC OPERATIONS

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

WORKS and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears says he is not personally involved in the operations of the Water and Sewerage Corporation, however, he is confident the utility provider’s board of directors will

handle any issues and turn them over to the proper authorities if needed.

His comments came after local media reported a special WSC investigation allegedly revealed “apparent conflict of interest, lack of due diligence, and poor professional judgement” at the corporation.

On the sidelines of an

event yesterday, Mr Sears was asked if he was confident that the culture in the corporation will change with the new board in place.

He answered: “We have a board and the board has conduct of the affairs of the Water and Sewerage Corporation, as with respect to BPL or the Bridge Authority, and I

trust the board to act in (a) responsible way and if there are any issues, it will be turned over to the appropriate authorities. But I personally, I’m not directly involved. We have to allow as the law requires that the board, that these corporations have responsibility for the conduct of the affairs

within the corporation and I have confidence in the board.”

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis was asked about the allegations in the report.

However, he told reporters he was “not going to get into that.”

“Matters of that nature will be handled

appropriately by the necessary authority,” Mr Davis said.

“I don’t want my hands in it. Whatever is discovered, the chips will fall where they may.”

The new WSC board was named last year, months after the Progressive Liberal Party won the 2021 general election.

Cartwright threatened with removal from page one The items were zerorated under the former government, but have again been subject to VAT under the Davis administration.

He called on the government to “find a way to bring some relief to those who struggle”.

His comments struck a tone with Mrs Hanna Martin. When she stood to make her contribution to the Bill, she staunchly criticised the St Barnabas MP. She said in part: “I listened with interest to the member for St Barnabas and I’m just wondering whether he has just arrived in the reality of what has been happening in this country.

“We went through a pandemic where it took three months before there was even an intervention and the economy was shut down and people didn’t have a dollar or a piece of bread and people had to be innovative.

“I know in Englerston we had to try to find some solutions. I didn’t hear St Barnabas crying for the poor.”

In response Mr Cartwright stood to his feet to make a point of order,

telling members that he had maintained a reputation of caring about the poor and advocating for better conditions for them.

“Take VAT off breadbasket items. How can you govern looking back?

Let’s look forward to it.

You in government fix it,” he said.

While the deputy speaker struggled to get order amidst the shouting MPs, Mrs Hanna Martin said: “I don’t want the member for St Barnabas to believe he could bully this member.”

The deputy speaker went on to remind members that a point of order did not equate to a difference of opinion.

The Englerston MP said she viewed Mr Cartwright’s words as giving the impression that the struggles of the poor was a new phenomenon.

As Mr Cartwright again stood, Mrs Hanna Martin quipped: “You’re a good guy. May I finish my contribution?”

Still he continued that Bahamians expected the government to bring relief, to which Mrs Hanna Martin shouted: “This is not Hollywood. Hollywood ain’t in the Parliament, man.”

Once again, Mr Cartwright continued to argue

his position leading the Englerston MP to say: “This member believes I’m a light target in here. I don’t want him get mix up.”

The deputy speaker interjected that Mrs Hanna Martin had 27 minutes and 43 seconds left to contribute to the Bill and no one would be allowed to interrupt further.

After several more minutes of back and forth between the MPs, the deputy speaker stood to his feet in an attempt to restore order.

“I already made a ruling three times,” Mr Petty said.

“I will have the sergeant-atarms remove you from this House if you need to cool off. I already made a ruling three times. It would not be a fourth time.

“Sergeant-at-arms, I am putting you on guard to remove St Barnabas if he cannot respect the rules of this place.”

In response, official opposition leader Michael Pintard stood, saying he took exception to a blanket ruling that a member is not allowed to get up on a point of order until a contributing member has concluded.

He said threatening a member’s removal on those grounds was inconsistent with the rules of Parliament.

SHANENDON Cartwright MP in the House of Assembly previously.

Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 28, 2022, PAGE 5

Work permit clampdown in restaurants, construction from page one

He told reporters yesterday: “The application for a work permit must be accompanied by a labour certificate. Section 86 of the Industrial Relations Act gives me the authority to deny a labour certificate if there is a qualified and available Bahamian and so we have through the provisions been extremely vigilant in ensuring that whenever an application for a labour certificate is issued, we do not issue if there is a qualified Bahamian.”

“We have denied a significant amount of

applications or deferred them pending consideration for employees. A prime example, we have a couple of hotels that have submitted applications for labour certificates for restaurant managers. We have denied all because we believe there are too many qualified, available, trained, unemployed Bahamians who can manage a restaurant.

We have taken the steps to say to that employer ‘this is denied.’ We utilise our database and we identify in some instances 15-20 unemployed Bahamians and we send them the resumes. We say you must consider these applications before any

consideration is given and that process is ongoing.

“Another example is persons in the construction sector. Many applicants come from project managers and site supervisors. We have too many qualified contractors in our country who have the ability to perform these tasks so we have denied those applications and said to those employers ‘no, here are qualified, available contractors to perform these duties.’ It is that route we’re taking. In addition to that, we have worked with the director of immigration and said to the Immigration Department

HANCHELL: WE NEED HELP

By PAVEL BAILEY BISHOP Walter Hanchell said his organisation needs help to fight the stark rise in homelessness and hunger in New Providence over the past few years.

“Over the last, not just the last few months, over the last couple years we’ve seen a great increase in homelessness throughout New Providence,” the founder and president of Great Commission Ministries said. “We’ve struggled to get people in homes or in our shelters or if our shelters are full, we try to get them into some other facility or hotel if necessary.

“We’ve found a lot of mothers sleeping in abandoned buildings with their children, we’ve found mothers staying on the beaches in their car with their children who get evicted or lost their jobs. Some because of COVID and others because of other situations. And definitely there has been a great increase, and something has to be done.”

Bishop Hanchell said he’s seeking the help of the government and public donors to establish a new homeless shelter on Carmichael Road before the end of next year.

“We decided that what we will do is construct a 100-bed facility, state-of-the-art homeless shelter on Carmichael Road that can accommodate men, women and children in one facility and that will alleviate the homeless problem.

“We’re seeking to get support from the government, and we’ve spoken with the minister responsible and we’re also seeking to get the support of the general public because it’s costing us $3m which we plan to raise and have constructed by mid-2023, God willing.”

He also hopes that the government will approve an increase in its yearly subvention to Great Commission to further the group’s

charity work.

When asked if inflation has affected Great Commission’s work, the bishop said that it has.

He said that more and more Bahamians are struggling to pay for groceries which in turn has led to more people coming to his outreach centre for help than ever before.

“It has affected us in that we have more persons who were not coming in who are coming in now because their dollars are not stretching because of the inflation.

And they need more help and so subsequently we need more help.

We need more resources, we have to buy food more regularly and even in greater quantities now to accommodate so we are seeking additional funding from the public and from the government to make sure that people don’t go hungry because it’s so vital that everybody has to eat.”

He said even small donations — as little as $30 a month — can go a long way to help his outreach centre.

“We have people that support us regularly, but we don’t have sufficient financial support to carry the load. So, we need more donors, we need more businesses to help us.

We need more churches to help us,” he said.

He also encouraged those in need to seek help rather than to just take “shortcuts” through crime.

“We tell them to find somebody who can help. Maybe a church or civic organisation or Social Services, if you need help seek help.

If you need food go find Social Services, Great Commission, Salvation Army, Red Cross, find some organisations that focuses on that.

“Don’t just take any shortcuts.

We want people to make sure they do the right things. As we know poverty drives crime so rather than going in that direction, we want people to just reach out to different organisations that can help, and things will get better after a while.”

‘we have qualified technical people,’ particularly when companies like BTC and BPL apply for foreigners to perform duties that qualified Bahamians are able to do. So they are also denied those applications and asked to consider.”

Mr Farquharson said since September when he returned to lead the department, 80 percent of construction site supervisor and project manager applications have been denied.

Despite the position of his department, he said the number of applications submitted has not declined, with many Bahamians unaware of job possibilities.

“Surprisingly, some employers have said to us that we put out an ad and no Bahamian applies and so that meant to us that maybe the Bahamians were unaware, that they did not see the newspaper articles, so they were very pleased when we would’ve provided the resumes of qualified Bahamians because it’s a cost to employers as well when they have to pay work permits for $10,000 or $12,000 per year,” he said.

“If they could find a qualified Bahamian to fill that post then that’s a cost they wouldn’t have to incur so we are working with Bahamian employers to utilise

the services of the Department of Labour to ensure that they have every opportunity to hire Bahamians.

“Additionally, we also want to encourage those Bahamians who are professionally qualified, whether you are employed or not employed, but if you see yourself looking to move from one job to another, to register with our database, go to our online portal, jobsseekers@bahamas.gov.bs and upload your resumes and register and therefore you may have an opportunity to have us send your resume to a prospective employer for you to be considered for a new position.”

CELEBRATING EARTH DAY AT BOTANICAL GARDENS

THE Botanical Gardens proved the perfect space for students and their teachers to celebrate Earth Day. Over 100 students from Eva Hilton Primary, HO Nash Junior High, Yellow Elder Primary and CC Sweeting Junior High came to enjoy the student fun day and to learn the importance of their role in the care and protection of the environment.

The youngsters experienced an interactive lesson spearheaded by Forestry Unit representative Danielle Hanek and Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Permanent Secretary David Cates on environmental concerns such as pollution and endemic plants. Environment and Natural Resources Minister Vaughn Miller also gave remarks before the group planted a special tree in commemoration of the event.

Following this, the students and other attendees enjoyed refreshments and treats while playing among the 90 species

FROM left, Tayla Storr, Botanical Gardens; Serena Williams; Karen Kikivarakis-Ferguson, Botanical Gardens; and Ashley Albury, of Serena Williams Media and Public Relations. of palm trees, native and exotic in our fight against worrying flowers, streams, mirror-like climate change conditions,” ponds, and lively birds that call said Serena Williams, who The Botanical Gardens home. also noted the longevity of the The Royal Bahamas Defense Gardens.

Force Marching Band and “The Botanical Gardens was Prison Pop Band also treated well ahead of its time in the the students to renditions of fight against climate change Bahamian music. conditions; since their openA local publicity company, ing in 1973, its 18 acres of flora Serena Williams Media and and fauna daily help reduce the PR, donated funds toward the country’s carbon emissions.”

100 plus treat bags for each Karen Kikivarakis-Ferguson, child and teacher that were The Botanical Garden’s Manpresent. ager, thanked Serena Williams “Hopefully, the more stu- Media and Public Relations. dents learn of their connection “Thank you for lending a to their environment, they helping hand with our event. will become more aware of It was really appreciated,” she what’s needed from all of us said.

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application form will be sent to you by return eMail.

PAGE 6, Thursday, April 28, 2022

The Tribune Limited

THE TRIBUNE

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Is our permit system up to scratch?

A COURT case in today’s Tribune raises interesting questions about the permit process in this country.

The case – reported in Tribune Business today – revolves around a development in Staniel Cay. Justice Neil Braithwaite upheld an injunction barring the developer, Keith Doyle, from continuing to expand a property. Mr Doyle described the property as a family resident, but had originally proposed it to be a “Hotel Thunderball”, named after the James Bond movie that filmed in the Exuma caves nearby.

Mr Doyle admitted that he originally planned a boutique hotel in legal papers, and residents remained concerned that the property was a boutique hotel in disguise, despite Mr Doyle saying he had never submitted hotel plans for approval “to the Ministry of Works nor the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection specifically”.

The issue has caused disquiet in the island community – with Mr Doyle complaining of “harassment” from neighbours opposed to his plans, and other residents convinced he was trying to build a mini-resort.

The injunction puts a stop on any further construction work while the case goes to the Supreme Court – a victory for the residents opposed to the project.

But it is the words of former Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira that are most interesting. He conducted a report on behalf of Mr Doyle’s opponents, and he was in office when Mr Doyle was granted his Certificate of Environment Clearance. He is now working to overturn a permit issued by the agency he oversaw.

Mr Ferreira cautioned that the permit system itself might not be up to the task, and that it created a “backdoor” for developers “to cloak their boutique hotels as single-family residences”.

Essentially, he seems to be suggesting that, regardless of this particular case, the system itself offers the possibility of a bait-and-switch where you get approval for one thing then build something else.

He said developers can “avoid public consultation and scrutiny, by improperly describing the nature of their projects as residential – rather than commercial – when applying for a Certificate of Environmental Clearance”.

Should that be the case, it is a loophole that could see developments in areas they are not appropriate for, with the accompanying knock-on effects for the surrounding environment and nearby residents.

As Mr Ferreira said: “This sets a dangerous precedent likely to attract more developers of the same kind who seek to evade and avoid the law. More importantly, it undermines the very purpose for which the law was enacted; to regulate development.”

We have already seen recent instances of residents challenging nearby developments – such as the swimming pig attractions in Adelaide Village, one of which saw its application to develop a bar and grill rejected by the Town Planning Committee.

The rules need to be there to ensure appropriate development for an area is conducted – or else we might as well have no rules at all.

It will be interesting to see the Supreme Court’s ruling in this particular matter – but this is a broader issue to resolve if indeed there is a possibility of enabling a developer to say one thing and do another.

Although the approval in this case happened under his watch, Mr Ferreira is right to speak up – this is a bigger issue, and one that needs to be sorted out.

Consultants and advisors EDITOR, The Tribune.

SO, WE chose advisors and consultants — let’s hope their choice or initial consideration for retention is based on critical criteria at the least in the area they are intended to be retained the person or persons have already shown their expertise and have been called on by a Ministry — a Minister - a

Permanent Secretary or a Board.

If not or no to all of the above — please, then explain the rationale for retaining and paying the person?

Security issues surely first line of the basic qualification is had any of the past three Commissioners of Police called or had reason to call on that person to ‘give advice’?

If No in all cases, then the public has to ask... why retain obviously someone who the professionals don’t call on for advice?

It’s time we govern with sense and purpose.

Political thank you’s stop right there.

PAULA MINNS Nassau, April 26, 2022.

A MUSLIM boy waits to break his day-long fast during Ramadan in Hyderabad, India, yesterday.

Islam’s holiest month is a period of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts.

Photo : Mahesh Kumar A/AP

Definition of hypocrisy over war EDITOR, The Tribune.

WHILE the western media agonises over Russia’s supposedly outof-the-blue intervention in a war that their audiences probably do not realise has been going on since 2014, half a world away events are transpiring that show the staggering hypocrisy and double standards that neo-colonial politicians in certain countries continue to press upon the world.

The tiny Solomon Islands, plagued by internal strife and economic insecurity, have entered a security pact with their regional giant, China, with which it has a benign, respectful and mutually beneficial relationship. Under the plan, China would assist with security and be given access to naval bases for its expanding fleet.

Incredibly (though unsurprisingly) the very powers loudly deploring Russia’s ‘red line’ against Ukraine joining NATO as an unacceptable infringement on its sovereignty are now scrambling to prevent the Solomon Islands from exercising the same sovereignty.

Australia is fuming

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net and threatening the little country with reprisals of all sorts, while the USA has dispatched senior officials for high level “talks”.

One suspects that these “talks” will resemble those between a mafia capo and a delinquent small businessman whom he “protects”.

Western politicians need to stop pretending that the world is theirs to control and bully and concentrate instead on the increasing stagnation, political alienation and income disparities of their own countries.

In a 2019 telephone conversation between Donald Trump and Jimmy Carter (the only two peaceful US presidents of my lifetime), the former asked the latter (who had normalised diplomatic relations with China in 1979) why he thought that once-impoverished country was “getting ahead of us”.

Carter, who confessed afterwards that he saw no threat in China’s rise, offered a simple explanation to the then-incumbent

president: “Since 1979, do you know how many times China has been at war with anybody? None. And we have stayed at war”.

He pointed out that while China has spent its resources on infrastructure and education rather than defence, the United States, once the epicentre of the rail industry, cannot today boast one single mile of high speed rail, but has spent an estimated three trillion dollars on war.

Trump clearly listened.

His administration, whatever the theatrics, was focused on where it should be (on the American people) rather than on the dictates of either the military industrial complex or Euro-centric clubs (like NATO and the G7), yearning for their colonial pasts and using American taxpayers and soldiers to bully the world into accepting it.

2024 sounds like a long time to wait for that kind of sanity to return to world affairs.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, April 24, 2022.

Thank you for rescuing me EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM writing this letter in the hopes that it may be read by the wonderful, caring couple who came to my aid last Saturday night.

Last Saturday, April 23rd, I planned to attend a concert at the Convention Centre at Baha Mar. Upon arrival at what I thought was the correct location, I found that valet parking was full. As I am physically disabled, this was of concern to me. However, I had no choice but to reverse back down the hill to the Visitor’s Parking area. On driving around the parking area, which was overflowing, I knew immediately that even if I was lucky enough to find a parking space, my chance of finding my car in the dark, after the concert was fairly remote. I was eventually directed to a

parking space near the main road into Baha Mar, and, with difficulty, walked up the hill to the hotel, only to be told that the Convention Centre was back the way I had come. Fortunately, a Baha Mar employee took me in a golf cart to the Convention Centre. Which incidentally did not appear to have any valet parking.

After the concert, I came out, and to my distress was completely disorientated and could not locate the area where I had left my car. While wandering around, and starting to panic, I was approached by a couple who evidently sensed my predicament and asked me if I was in distress.

After telling them of my problem, they immediately insisted that I get into their truck and would not leave me until my car was found.

We did eventually locate

my car, to my overwhelming relief, and again, they insisted that I follow them until we got out onto the main road.

For some reason, which I can only attribute to my anxiety at the situation, I never obtained the names of that wonderful couple who came to my aid. All I know is that the lady is a teacher at St. Augustine’s College.

If any reader has any knowledge of who these wonderful people are, please pass this letter on with my sincere and heartfelt gratitude.

PS Baha Mar really do need to have more facilities for disabled persons if valet parking is not available.

JOANNA ROBERTSON Nassau, April 26, 2022.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 28, 2022, PAGE 7

THE WORLD Heritage Day ceremony held at Clifton Heritage National Park yesterday and, right, students from Gambier Primary School read the proclamation.

Photos: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff

CELEBRATING OUR HERITAGE

By PAVEL BAILEY

CLIMATE change’s potential impact to Bahamian culture was highlighted at a ceremony at Clifton Heritage National Park celebrating World Heritage Day yesterday.

Clifton Heritage Authority chairman Chris Saunders and Secretary General of UNESCO Bahamas Desiree Bevans spoke at the function. Mrs Ann Marie Davis, wife of Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, also attended the event.

Mr Saunders spoke of the tremendous danger climate change posed to Bahamian culture.

“This year we celebrate under the theme ‘heritage

and climate’ which is very appropriate that we met out here to talk about that.

Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time and one of the greatest threats facing our cultural and national resources and our world heritage sites not only here in The Bahamas, but worldwide,” Mr Saunders said.

“One in three natural sites and one in six cultural sites are currently threatened by climate change — that means things can go away. Worldwide we’ve seen cultural and natural heritage sites threatened by wildfires, storms and in some cases mass bleaching events.”

He also warned that a few degree celsius increases in the climatological scale

could mean the “wipe out” of beaches, islands, cays and our cultural heritage. He said that his organisation is working with relevant world agencies to integrate heritage site preservation into climate action plans for future generations.

“The hope is for all of our monuments and sites not only here in The Bahamas, but worldwide are fully integrated into climate action and strategies both as a shared global asset.

So that not only us here in The Bahamas appreciate it but worldwide people appreciate it as well, but be a part of safeguarding it from climate change and making it a focus to make sure that climate change does not eliminate all of our resources, our

A SELECTION performed by Lyford Cay International School students.

ANN MARIE DAVIS, the wife of Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, and board members take part in a tree planting ceremony.

heritage and making sure that it stays here for future generations.”

Ms Bevans echoed his sentiments by saying that Bahamians need to take a moment to appreciate their culture and that they also need to do what they can to protect it for future generations.

“Our main objective of World Heritage Day, also known as the International Day for Monuments and Sites, is to raise awareness of culture and heritage in the general public. It also focuses on community heritages, sensitivity and vulnerability as a part of the endeavour to preserve it.

“The goal is to bring people from all around the world together to learn about one another’s cultures, histories and customs,” Ms Bevans said.

At the end of the ceremony Mrs Davis along with members of the Clifton Board planted a Lignum Vitae tree near the ruins of the slave plantation Great House before going on a heritage tour.

PAGE 8, Thursday, April 28, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Hubris: WAVERING BETWEEN REALITY AND FANTASY

DENZEL Washington in the most recent film adaptation of Macbeth.

“Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires. The eyes wink at the hand; yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.”

- Macbeth, cloaking his ambition to be king YEARS ago in a high school English literature class reading and studying Macbeth, many of the students were surprised that the eponymous leading character constantly refused to heed the warnings of his impending doom as he vaingloriously pursued his bloody ambitions.

There in the fog of the Scottish highlands, bolstered too by the overweening ambition of his wife, Lord Macbeth remains in the fog of isolation and delusion throughout the Shakespearean masterpiece, shifting, like the apparitions in the play, between reality and fantasy.

His hubris becomes so metastasized that he appears to “want to conquer fate itself” amidst his cul-de-sac of false security. He rationalises or misinterprets many warnings, including, infamously, those of the three witches, who resemble the three fates of classical mythology.

“Why can’t he see what is about to befall him?!”

It is a perennial question, often asked by even a high school student, as to why those with great power are unwilling or incapable of seeing how their stratagems and decisions may lead

to disaster for themselves and their institutions or countries.

In various tragedies and comedies, Shakespeare regaled and impressed on his Elizabethan and Jacobean audiences, both princes and paupers, the conceits and pitfalls of great power, especially that of hubris and its companions of overweening ambition cum pride and excess.

Centuries before Shakespeare, the ancient Greeks seemed mesmerised, near fixated, on the human traits of hubris and excess. From philosopher to playwright to poet, in Homer, Herodotus, Hesiod, Aeschylus, Pindar, Xenophon, Aristotle and others, the Greeks offered a similar path and warning: “Nothing to excess”.

PHAETHON

Though the Icarus and Daedalus myth is often most recited, the Fate of Phaethon, the son of Apollo or Helios, the Sun God, is another powerful story of hubris, of a boy incapable of controlling the horses and power of the sun chariot, resulting in ecological destruction and his demise by thunderbolt from the hand of Zeus, leading to the boy’s death.

For the Greeks, hubris referred not solely to the misuse of political power.

It referred also to excesses and unwieldy arrogance in various areas of one’s life.

Though Pope Gregory the Great, after whom the Anglican parish in Nassau is

named, codified the Seven Deadly Sins, they have a much older provenance in Western and human history.

For many, these were dispositions of human nature, becoming “sinful” when abused.

Pope Gregory reduced the list of sins to the classical seven: pride, avarice (greed), wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. The states are considered “insidious” because we may be unaware or unsure of the interior state out of which we are motivated and acting.

Pride and envy are mostly about status, while three of the others concern the insatiable desire for and consumption of food (gluttony), sex (lust) and power and riches (avarice). Wrath is the sin of anger and rage.

Sloth is sluggishness, the avoidance of spiritual or physical work.

The dispositions may also be seen as potentially tragic flaws, especially in those with great power, struggling to temper themselves, including a certain emptiness seeking base satisfactions which never satiate.

Power reveals character, for good and ill, including the range of deadly sins. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was notoriously insecure, including of his physicality and sexual abilities. He craved adulation, acknowledgement and affirmation.

Not being born of noble birth he endlessly sought glory, which he could never

startling and sharper relief during the most recent invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24th.

There may be a tell that Putin realises that he underestimated the global and Western response and that the war has not gone according to the plans in his mind: he keeps threatening the use of tactical nuclear weapons because his proverbial back may be against the wall.

VAUNTED

fully satisfy. His is a prime historic example of hubris wedded to grave insecurities and excess leading to his downfall. He was a brilliant military strategist who was as equally, tragically, flawed.

COMPLEXES

As noted by the History Channel: “The number of complexes he suffered from, including class inferiority, money insecurity, intellectual envy, sexual anxiety, social awkwardness and, not surprisingly, a persistent hypersensitivity to criticism. Taken in whole, these traits drove his stark ambition, undermined his grandiose endeavours – and ultimately crippled his historic legacy.

“When Czar Alexander began to defy him, Napoleon felt so threatened that he gathered the greatest army the world had ever seen in an attempt to make him stand down.

“It did not, and the consequence was the ill-fated invasion of Russia. His ministers and marshals begged him to make peace on the best terms available, but he felt he could not.”

During the famous retreat from Moscow, a number of generals attempted to overthrow Napoleon. Though they failed, he came to realise “that his whole edifice of imperial glory had feet of clay.”

Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, with his messianic, expansionist and fascistic worldview may similarly see his desire for imperial glory turn to clay.

It is a glory that Putin has sought for decades as he became even more imperious, intoxicated by power and wealth, and even more isolated with his particular and truncated read and interpretation of Russian imperial history, as brutal and violent as the imperialism of other world powers.

No one knows how the war in Ukraine will end.

But the hubris and excess of Putin has been revealed in

The vaunted army with which the saber-rattling and bullying Putin threatened his neighbours appears not to have been as modern, as organised, as strong and as capable as his generals may have told him.

In his extremely isolated world, how many facts and how much truth is he told by his advisers? Put more bluntly, how much have they been lying to him about the strengths of the Russian military?

Clearly, the US and the West are also waging a propaganda war against Putin. Still, how paranoid and isolated is the Russian leader? What is the state of his health? Is he getting advice beyond his closed and tight inner circle?

Earlier this week, the mild-mannered and softspoken US Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, noted at a meeting of 40 countries at an airbase at Ramstein, Germany, “Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here.” Austin is not given to hyperbole.

The meeting of what is known as the Ukraine Contact Group was called to organise military support for Ukraine, which continues to be ramped up. The group will now meet monthly.

When US President Joe Biden stated in Poland in late March that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”, his aides rushed out to say that he had misspoken. Many believe that Biden may have simply telegraphed out loud his genuine intention.

For all of the propaganda and bluster coming from the Kremlin, how rattled is Putin? No one should underestimate his determination in the war or his staying power. The dehumanization of Ukrainians by state media in Russia suggests that the Kremlin may be willing to unleash chemical and other weapons.

Still, the determination of NATO and the West must not be underestimated at this juncture. The United States appears to be giving Ukraine considerable military and other intelligence.

And high-grade lethal weapons will continue from

numerous sources, including weaponry that has not been publicly declared.

If Putin thought that his war would go more quickly or that the West would be intimidated, he has been proven colossally wrong, even pushing Sweden and Finland toward NATO membership.

And the economic sanctions on Russia, including, over time, less European dependence on Russian oil and natural gas, will continue to drain the country’s state accounts and economy.

The British grandee, Lord David Owen, a physician, who served in a Labour government as Foreign Minister and was a founder of the Social Democratic Party, has researched and written extensively on the role of hubris at the highest levels of politics, especially in the United States and Britain.

He has written of the Hubris Syndrome, which he suggests has physiological components. He describes the symptoms of those with the syndrome: • They seek self-glorification; • Act to enhance personal standing; • Are excessively conscious of their own image; • Display messianic tendencies; • Believe “I am the organisation”; • Use the royal “we”; • Have excessive confidence in their own judgement and are contemptuous of others’ opinions; • Display exaggerated self-belief; • Feel they’re accountable only to history; • Believe unshakably that they will be vindicated; • Are out of touch, isolated; • Are restless, reckless, impulsive; • Are impractical – overlooking detail and possible unwanted outcomes; and • Implement incompetently – fail to attend to details through excessive self-confidence.”

Lord Owen posits how just a number of these symptoms are dangerous in a leader in a democracy, and even worse in an autocracy.

How many of these traits are evidenced in Putin?

We will see in the months and years ahead, whether Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin survives and, if so, how well he survives, as he shifts between reality and fantasy.

But it is also possible, like other hubristic strongmen in history, that the emperor may be the instrument of his own ignominious demise. We are witnessing one of those pivotal moments in history, which might still become an even more dangerous and widened conflict.

DEATH NOTICE Jennie Maria Fernander, 79 of Seabeach Estates of West Bay Street, Nassau N.P Bahamas.

Date of Death: April 21st, 2022 Place of Death: Atlanta, G.A USA Survived by: Husband: Lowell A. Fernander Sr., children: Marlene, Allister, Tieschka, Junann, Jennifer, Kayus, Lowell Jr. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 28, 2022, PAGE 9

Victory doubts over GOP vote?

THE Republicans are widely favored to win majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate this November. This has been a heartening rallying cry for the GOP, but their increasingly smug assurance of victory might be faltering a bit these days.

Most commentators, including especially those in the national liberal media, have believed in a Democratic election setback this November. They base this belief partly on the pattern in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries of the party of the newly elected president generally suffering at the polls in the first election after his victory. Whopping Democratic setbacks in 1994 to then-congressman Newt Gingrich’s Compact with America and in 2012 to the Tea Party-fueled revolt against Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act have established the template for a potentially calamitous showing by US President Joe Biden and his Democratic Party in six months.

In response, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has admitted that he is simply biding his time until he resumes his rightful place as majority leader when the new Senate convenes in January. He has said often, in public, that the Republican Party has no particular plans to establish a policy platform from which to contest this year’s elections. His priority will simply be to gum up the works for Biden & Company, sometimes using the controversial filibuster rule or sheer obstructionism to hold up nominations and policy initiatives from the White House and congressional Democratic leaders.

His stated aim is to see Biden fail. That’s the policy initiative the Republicans in the Senate are offering to voters.

Over in the House, minority leader Kevin McCarthy openly lusts for the opportunity to serve as Speaker of the House in a Republican majority chamber that he clearly expects to lead starting in January. But McCarthy has so far had no better luck than his recent predecessors in leading a fractious Republican caucus in the House. The long shadow of former president Donald Trump influences almost everything McCarthy does as he cravenly continues to endorse fallacious conspiracy theories about the “stolen” 2020 election.

No significant evidence

STATESIDE

with Charlie Harper

SENATE candidate JD Vance, left, greets former President Donald Trump at a rally at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, on Saturday.

Photo: Joe Maiorana/AP of such fraud has ever been revealed, though it is certainly not for a lack of trying by the Republican National Committee and numerous other party organizations and individuals. Publicly at least, GOP congresspersons still deem it prudent to hew to Trump’s own line, which essentially boils down to the notion that he could not possibly have been defeated in a fair fight.

McCarthy himself was embarrassingly ensnared in the Trump vs reality conundrum this week. The January 6 congressional commission has leaked information about that day’s infamous assault on the US capitol almost every day. It was reported about a week ago that McCarthy had harshly criticized Trump for not calling off his dogs during the riot that engulfed the capitol in January, and that McCarthy thought Trump should resign as a result of his incitement of the riot and inaction as it unfolded.

McCarthy vociferously denied it. However, this was immediately followed by the release of tapes revealing that he said exactly what had been reported.

No problem though, apparently. From his political exile in Florida, Trump let it be known that he would not discard McCarthy for this indiscretion. Hardly anyone outside the studios at MSNBC even bothered to

notice that McCarthy had just been caught in an outright public lie. That’s the morass in which American politics wallows now, especially in the national capital.

Outside the Washington Beltway, however, there are some flickering signs that in an election year where Democratic congressional gains do not now seem likely, some surprises might be lurking, well camouflaged by the welter of polling which foretells Democratic defeat.

First of all, there is the faltering credibility of the polls themselves. Virtually all of the national polls either predicted outcomes that did not materialize in recent presidential elections or missed significant trends and swings in voter preferences. Biden might even take heart from the unanimity of pollster reporting that his ratings are sagging and possibly terminally mired in a mess of inflation and ill-conceived policy decisions. Given the polls’ dismal recent record of inaccuracy, he could be forgiven for taking some comfort from their findings.

But more significantly, there is evidence that Trump himself may be contributing to divisions in the GOP that could weaken the eventual Republican nominees this November. Still unwilling and probably unable to step back into obscurity and even irrelevance after 40

years as a celebrity, Trump has been travelling outside Florida to give grievancefilled speeches to crowds in areas deemed sufficiently passionate in their continuing support for him. This closely follows a practice instituted when he travelled outside Washington, DC, as president.

He makes no secret that he enjoys the persistent, sometimes desperate attempts by Republican candidates from all over the country to secure the Trump Endorsement for their election bids. In three states that figure to be significant in determining the future balance of power in Washington and elsewhere, Trump’s picks that favour celebrities have been at the very least controversial. At most, they may prove to be destructively divisive.

In Georgia, 2020’s unexpected national bellwether

state, Trump has recruited former US senator David Perdue, who lost one of Georgia’s Republican Senate seats that year, to run in the GOP primary against a popular governor, Republican Brian Kemp.

Kemp, who is certainly no liberal, has solid Republican credentials and by many accounts has done a good job as the state’s chief executive. His failure to suborn the constitutional election process and overturn a shocking but legitimate Biden win in Georgia has condemned Kemp to suffer Trump’s disfavour.

Waiting for the potentially wounded survivor of this May 24 GOP primary election is none other than one of America’s most accomplished political organizers, Democrat Stacey Abrams. If Kemp wins in the primary as expected and Trump continues to bad-mouth him, as is also expected, watch out.

We could see a black female governor in Georgia.

Trump has also strongly influenced the US Senate candidacy of former football star Herschel Walker, who should win the primary in May and will oppose incumbent Rev. Raphael Warnock in November.

The Republicans probably need to win this race to help recapture their Senate majority. But Walker’s main qualifications for office are his brilliance 45 years ago as a University of Georgia running back and Heisman Trophy winner, and his long friendship with Trump.

Warnock and Abrams make a formidable team for the Democrats.

In Ohio, Trump has just endorsed Republican Senate candidate and author J D Vance, of “Hillbilly Elegy” fame. Vance’s 2016 bestseller offered a cogent explanation for the changing allegiance of poor working white voters from Democratic to Republican.

In the process, he helped

to clarify one of the reasons Trump won in 2016 and still counts poor and lowerincome white voters as key elements of his “MAGA base”. In a contentious primary race, voters are constantly reminded that Vance called Trump an “idiot” prior to the 2016 election.

Vance will square off on Tuesday against a handful of other Republican Senate hopefuls, some of whom have accumulated endorsements from national figures as Texas senator Ted Cruz and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The state party has been divided by Trump’s surprise endorsement, and there are murmurs that if Vance wins the primary election, some party faithful will sit out November’s election. And if Vance loses, Trumpers may do the same. It all gives certain Democratic nominee Tim Ryan hope where he realistically had almost none just a month ago.

Then there’s Pennsylvania. Incumbent Republican Senator Pat Toomey is retiring. In another contentious and crowded GOP primary, Trump has just endorsed Dr Mehmet Oz. This Turkish-American physician, whose public medical advice career was nurtured

by Oprah Winfrey among others and who owns a Palm Beach mansion like Trump, is a longtime TV star. Dr. Oz is opposed principally by hedge fund millionaire David McCormick, who like Oz had assiduously sought Trump’s endorsement for months.

This May 17 primary election, like the one in Ohio, may well leave lasting scars.

Given the demographic predominance of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the state and the Democratic Party’s traditional strength in those dominant cities, this seat should revert to the Democrats this year.

Fratricidal disputes by their opponents can only help.

PAGE 10, Thursday, April 28, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Boy cursed caretaker on day he was spanked

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A BOY who testified in court yesterday of his alleged beating at the Children’s Emergency Hostel admitted to cursing one of the caretakers and calling her a “b****” on the day he got spanked.

The child, age nine, is one of several witnesses giving testimony in the ongoing child cruelty trial involving six former employees at Children’s Emergency Hostel.

The accused women are Eloise Canter, Carmetta Woods, Natasha Pratt, Occonelle Gordon, Sabrina Smith and Shawn Seymour.

The former staff members are accused of unlawfully physically abusing nine boys and two girls in a way that caused them unnecessary suffering on September 22, 2020.

However, Seymour is solely accused of failing to report the abuse of the minors — who range from ages seven to 11 — to the

THE CHILDREN’s Emergency Hostel. appropriate officials on the day in question.

They were charged last year after police launched an investigation at the home following a surveillance video that went viral on social media, showing several children being beaten at the facility.

However, the women have denied the allegations.

Yesterday, the child

witness recalled being beaten at the home by Smith, who he initially identified as Ms Mackey.

Asked why he was beaten, the child said he was being rude. However, he could not say how many spanks he received or where he was beaten.

“How did it make you feel?” asked the prosecutor.

The child replied, “Bad.”

He was also asked if he cried, to which he said, “Yes.” The child also told the court he went to Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre three months after the incident, but could not say why he was sent there.

Asked how he felt at the facility, the child replied, “Frustrated.”

In cross-examination,

attorney Wallace Rolle, who represents Smith, questioned the child about his behaviour and asked how he was being rude.

The boy told the court he was fighting with another child at the home.

However, when asked if he fought with workers that day, the boy denied doing so.

“Do you believe children who fight should be spanked,” the attorney asked.

The boy replied, “Yes.” “Did you curse them?”

Mr Rolle questioned.

The nine-year-old nodded.

When asked which words he used that day, the child was initially hesitant and told the court he didn’t want to repeat the words because it was “confusing.”

However, when the magistrate indicated that it was okay for him to say the words, the child said he used the “b-word.”

The prosecutor then asked the child if he used any bad words in reference to the women’s private

parts.

However, the Crown prosecutor objected to the question and asked him to rephrase it.

In response, the child said he only used one curse word.

The prosecutor also suggested the reason the child was sent to Sandilands was because of his bad behaviour and even went on to say that the child also fought with the staff.

However, the magistrate interjected, reminding him the child had previously said he didn’t know why he was sent to the rehabilitative centre.

The case continues May 16 at noon.

The attorneys in the case include Larell Hanchell who represents Seymour; Mr Rolle who represents Smith, Ian Cargill who represents Pratt, Rysard Humes who represents Woods, and Barry Sawyer for Cantre.

Sgt Vernon Pyfrom is prosecuting, while Magistrate Kendra Kelly is presiding over the matter.

TEENAGE THIEF ORDERED TO PAY BACK VICTIM AFTER CAR RAID

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A TEENAGER was yesterday ordered to compensate a woman whose car he broke into last month and stole over $1,000 worth of items.

Keevon Strachan, 18, was charged with stealing after he was accused

of breaking into Shakera Higgs’ car on March 12 and stealing her mink eyelashes, eyelash glue and car battery, all together valued at over $1,600.

Strachan, who is represented by Alex Morley, had initially denied the allegations.

However, he changed his plea to guilty during

his second appearance before Magistrate Kendra Kelly.

Police said a woman reported the stolen items to police sometime around 11.30 am that day.

The woman said her car was parked outside her residence when the break-in occurred.

However, police said it wasn’t until a month later when officers arrested the accused.

Mr Morley told the court that although his client had a pending criminal case, he had no previous convictions and asked the court to consider his clean record.

He argued that Strachan’s early guilty plea

showed he was remorseful for his actions and considerate of the court’s precious time.

Noting his client’s youth, the attorney asked the court to show leniency and consider not imposing a prison sentence.

In response, Magistrate Kelly asked the accused what he did with the items.

While he was unable to identify the eyelash kit’s whereabouts, Strachan admitted to selling the car’s battery for about $90.

“I didn’t mean to do (it),” Strachan said.

When asked about his reasons for stealing, Strachan was initially hesitant to speak, but later said he

did it to make money.

Magistrate Kelly reprimanded him, saying he needed to get his life together.

She also urged him to make better choices moving forward, warning that his freedom could be at risk if he continues this behaviour.

“You already have a pending matter for receiving and then you go and break into a vehicle. You are only 18 years old… is this (what) you want for the rest of your life?” the magistrate asked. “Crime is not the solution. You have to get your life together.”

The magistrate ordered him to compensate the victim $1,646 for the stolen items.

He was also fined $500 and placed on probation for six months.

He was told that failure to comply with the conditions of his release could result in imprisonment.

In a separate case, Sidney Hart was charged with two counts of possession of a forged currency note after he was found with a number of fake Bahamian and American bills on April 25.

Hart had initially pleaded guilty to the offence, but the court changed his plea to not guilty after he disagreed with the facts in the case. As a result, the matter was adjourned to June. Hart was also granted $3,000 bail.

WOMAN ‘STABBED BOYFRIEND IN EYE’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN was remanded to prison yesterday after she was charged

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with stabbing her boyfriend in his right eye.

Brendamae Lewis, 41, is accused of committing the act on March 24.

According to the prosecutor, the man is listed in serious condition and could potentially lose the eye.

However, Lewis pleaded not guilty to the offence of causing grievous harm.

When the question of bail was brought up, the Crown prosecutor objected to the woman’s release, saying he wanted to confirm whether the accused had any pending matters or outstanding warrants.

As a result, bail was deferred to Friday.

Lewis was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until that time.

In a separate matter, a man accused of punching a woman at a local restaurant was charged with causing harm yesterday.

Phillip Smith, 41, appeared before Senior

Magistrate Derence RolleDavis after he allegedly caused harm to Shonique Reckley while at Arawak Cay on April 19.

This comes after an incident captured on video went viral last week.

The one-minute-long video begins with the woman, who appears to be a waitress, wiping down tables.

A man seen in green then enters the restaurant and later punches another worker in the face, who then falls to the ground.

Another man could later be seen trying to restrain the attacker before he flees the scene.

However, as he leaves the restaurant, the woman throws an item which looks like a shoe at him.

During yesterday’s hearing, Smith denied the allegations and the matter was adjourned to June 28 for trial.

He was granted $1,000 bail with one surety.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 28, 2022, PAGE 11

ILO representatives are in Nassau on a fact-finding mission on unemployment insurance, and today met with the Trade Union Movement at the Department of Labour, Rosetta Street.

Photos: Patrick Hanna/BIS

Jamaica studying Bahamas unemployment insurance

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net JAMAICAN officials are in The Bahamas studying its unemployment insurance programme as part of their feasibility study concerned with introducing the benefit to their country.

Audrey Deer-Williams, chief technical director in Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security, said: “Jamaica is undertaking a feasibility study for the implementation of unemployment insurance, which would be an additional benefit under our social protection system.

We have been working with the ILO and the planning institute is actually overseeing the feasibility study for further implementation.”

She spoke to the press at the Department of Labour yesterday.

Deidra Coy, the director of the Human and Community Development Unit in the Planning Institute in Jamaica, said The Bahamas’ system has been well implemented. She said officials will also visit Barbados, the only other country in the region that has unemployment insurance benefits.

“We are here to learn from the Bahamian experience of implementing unemployment benefits here in 2009 and as was your experience during COVID,” she said. “We hope to learn from this

experience to see what it is that we can take away, lessons to be learned as far as implementation so we don’t repeat any mistakes that were made and to implement best practices and we’re doing that, of course, along ILO standards and guidelines and the ILO is supporting this feasibility study, both financially and technically.”

The Bahamas’ unemployment insurance system, she said, “seems to be a very robust benefit and, of course, it is one of the branches of social security so my first impression would be that it is well implemented. Of course there is always room for improvement in any system.

We have learnt a lot since being here.”

Ms Coy said the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for unemployment insurance.

“The situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the mass levels of unemployment that occurred, it is important for countries to have some kind of unemployment benefit instituted,” she said. “For Jamaica, that is the only missing element in our social protection system and so we saw the need for something like this in Jamaica and during the time that government had to institute a care programme, which was fully funded by the government, so we do see the need for it,

hence the feasibility study.”

Ariel Pino, the ILO’s representative, said The Bahamas adheres to a number of international standards that guide unemployment insurance schemes.

“The analysis shows that actually there is full alignment with international standards so the unemployment benefit of the Bahamas is fully aligned with conventions one and two which is the minimal requirement of social security.”

The ILO recently submitted an actuarial review of the National Insurance Board that said the fund is not sustainable without an increase in the contribution rate.

PAGE 12, Thursday, April 28, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Taxi for NASA CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida Associated Press SPACEX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA yesterday, less than two days after completing a flight chartered by millionaires.

It’s the first NASA crew comprised equally of men and women, including the first Black woman making a longterm spaceflight, Jessica Watkins.

“This is one of the most diversified, I think, crews that we’ve had in a really, really long time,” said NASA’s space operations mission chief Kathy Lueders.

The astronauts were due to arrive at the space station Wednesday night, 16 hours after a predawn liftoff from Kennedy Space Center that thrilled spectators.

“Anyone who saw it realised what a beautiful launch it was,” Lueders told reporters. After an express flight

comparable to traveling from New York to Singapore, the crew will move in for a five-month stay.

SpaceX has now launched five crews for NASA and two private trips in just under two years. Elon Musk’s company is having an especially busy few weeks: It just finished taking three businessmen to and from the space station as NASA’s first private guests.

A week after the new crew arrives, the three Americans and German they’re

replacing will return to Earth in their own SpaceX capsule. Three Russians also live at the space station.

Both SpaceX and NASA officials stressed they’re taking it one step at a time to ensure safety. The private mission that concluded Monday encountered no major problems, they said, although high wind delayed the splashdown for a week.

Photo: Chris O’Meara/AP

House GOP backs McCarthy despite January 6 audio leak WASHINGTON Associated Press HOUSE GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy assured colleagues Wednesday he never asked then-President Donald Trump to resign over the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, defending private conversations that have spilled into the open and jeopardised his leadership.

It was McCarthy’s first face-to-face meeting with House Republicans amid the fallout from his criticisms of Trump as well as the party’s most far-right members, but it’s probably not the last time he’ll have to shore up his own standing as leader. In line to become House speaker if Republicans win control in the fall midterm election, McCarthy has treacherous months ahead.

For now, he received a standing ovation.

One Republican in the room said the meeting was “cathartic” for lawmakers.

Another voiced confidence that McCarthy would be the “next speaker”.

“He’s got the support of the conference and then some,” Rep Dan Meuser, R-Pa, said as he left the private session at GOP headquarters across the street from the Capitol.

Yet amid the show of support, McCarthy was challenged by two of the party’s most hard-right lawmakers — Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia — who said they felt particularly singled out by the leadership team over their fiery comments around January 6. Trump ally Rep Scott Perry, R-Pa, who helped organise challenges to the 2020 election results, also voiced concerns, another Republican said.

The detractors are a political force among the Republicans, but they also appeared to be in a dwindling minority as

HOUSE Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, on April 6.

Photo: J Scott Applewhite/AP In the recordings, to resign, only that he told leader he was “not mad” rank-and-file lawmakers rallied around McCarthy, McCarthy is heard telling Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., about the disclosures. the man who recruited Republicans privately that and other members he To become speaker if many of them to Congress he was considering asking would.

Republicans win back the As president, Trump had House, McCarthy would and is now raising untold Trump to resign. In another millions to win back the recording released late affectionately referred to need to win at least 218 Tuesday, McCarthy warns McCarthy as “My Kevin,” votes.

House.

“You guys obsess over that dangerous public com- one of his earliest endors“President Trump said January 6. Nobody cares,” mentary from Gaetz and ers, but their relationship their relationship has never Rep Glenn Grothman, others is “putting people has frayed over time. been stronger. That’s good momentarily enough for me,” said Roger R-Wis, told a gaggle of in jeopardy” of potential McCarthy turned on Trump as his sup- Williams, R-Texas. “We’re reporters outside House violence.

McCarthy has denied The porters stormed the Capitol totally supportive of Kevin GOP headquarters. “It’s New York Times account of on Jan. 6 to disrupt cer- McCarthy.” history.”

A California Republican events, leading Democrats tification of Biden’s 2020 “He’s got my support. long eyeing the speaker’s and others to call him a presidential win.

He’s got everybody else’s In the days after the riot, support, too,” he said. gavel, McCarthy is at a criti- liar, as audio of the secretly cal juncture as he works to recorded calls was released. it seemed Republicans in Still, Gaetz and other ascend to the top leader- The House committee Washington might part detractors remain a force ship position. It will be his investigating January 6 is ways with Trump. Senate McCarthy must contend second try after a failed seeking an interview with Republican Leader Mitch with, much like the lawMcConnell gave blistering makers six years ago 2015 bid — but one now him.

On Wednesday, McCa- speeches against Trump, who denied him backing fully dependent on his stood at party and McCarthy’s public to become speaker. He volatile relationship with rthy Trump, who still holds great headquarters and defended and private conversations abruptly dropped out of the influence over the party his actions, suggesting he at that time show flashes race. and can make and break was merely running through of anger and the depth of Gaetz tweeted late possible scenarios as Dem- angst over the shocking, Tuesday that the private careers.

New audio recordings ocrats moved to impeach devastating riot by Trump comments from McCarthy released in recent days by Trump in the aftermath of supporters. and Rep Steve Scalise, the But once Biden took No 2 Republican leader, The New York Times por- the violent siege.

In the GOP meeting, office McCarthy quickly to Cheney and others tray McCarthy as fed up with Trump in the after- McCarthy clearly stated went to Trump’s Mar-a- are “the behavior of math of the Capitol attack, that he never asked the Lago club in Florida to weak men, not leaders.” when the defeated presi- president to resign, the patch things up with the He brushed off interdent rallied his supporters Republicans said. He has defeated president. views Tuesday night and Trump and McCarthy Wednesday morning. to head to Congress and also publicly said he did not object to Democrat Joe do so. The Times did not spoke last week, and the Among past rivals for report that he asked Trump former president told the the Biden’s election victory. speaker’s gavels,

Scalise of Louisiana is no longer outwardly chasing McCarthy for the job, and has in fact become wrapped in the January 6 fallout.

Scalise also faced questions Wednesday in the private meeting after the Times had reported that he joined McCarthy in raising concerns about Gaetz’s public comments at the time, Republicans said.

Scalise said the call had been a private conversation, and no one had been accused of anything.

In a statement, Scalise said “it’s pathetic” that this is what the media chooses to cover. He said with inflation, crime and other issues, it’s obvious that Democrats and the media “continue to double down on their obsession with January 6th” to distract public attention from “the absolutely dismal state of the country.”

Yet other Republicans remained noncommittal about McCarthy. Asked if he still has the votes to be the party leader, Rep Ralph Norman, R-SC, said, “Time will tell.”

From the Democratic side, Rep Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the caucus chairman who is also seen as a potential speaker candidate if Democrats retain control, dismissed the Republican strategy for winning back the House as nothing but lies.

“Every day it’s a fivepoint playbook: Number one, lie. Number two, lie.

Number three, lie. Number four, lie. Number five, lie again,” he said.

Jeffries said it would be nice if, “instead of the infighting, the chaos, the shots fired against each other, the knife fights in a phone booth that is the modern day House Republican Conference, that they would actually decide to work with us on issues of importance to the American people.”

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THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2022

Ayton, Suns look to end series tonight

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

D

eandre Ayton said his Phoenix Suns refocused in one particular area to take a 3-2 lead in their best-ofseven first round series against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Ayton finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in a 112-97 Game five victory Tuesday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

“Defence for sure,” Ayton said. “Accepting the physicality, not worried about calls that’s not going our way, not letting their offence dictate our defence and letting the defence create our offence, that was the main motto out there. We played together and it showed.”

Ayton scored 13 points in the first half as the Suns built an early 17-point second quarter

advantage. They led 59-46 at the half. The Suns maintained an 89-78 lead headed into the fourth and the Pelicans would only pull within seven in the final period.

Phoenix will have an opportunity to close out the series tonight in game six at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana at 7:30pm local time.

It was the third straight game the Suns played without injured All-Star guard Devin Booker, but Ayton credited Mikal Bridges for being the game-five catalyst.

Bridges finished with 31 points and played 47 of 48 minutes.

“Thats what ‘Kal do, that’s Iron Man,” Ayton said. “The man take care of his body and he approach the game the same way everyday.

He don’t change up nothing. He’s a true student of the game and it’s contagious because we know the type of task he has every game.

We need him through every possession, every game and you

PHOENIX Suns centre Deandre Ayton reacts to making a basket against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half of Game 5 of their NBA basketball first-round playoff series on Tuesday, night in Phoenix.

(AP Photo/Matt York)

just can’t take stuff like that for granted having a player like him.”

Bridges, a top three finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, limited the Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram to 22 points on 7-19 shooting from the field.

“It made my life easy. Game four, them dudes was comfortable in their pick and rolls and tonight Mikal was in their way,” Ayton said of Bridges’ defensive effort. “All I had to do was mirror them to make sure they’re not getting too deep or Valanciunas wasn’t getting behind me on those pick and rolls but Kal made everybody’s life easy putting pressure on the ball and making those dudes get late into their offence. That’s what created our aggressiveness and getting to our offence in transition.”

Ayton added that another new addition to the Suns’ game plan was playing him at the power forward spot alongside veteran

centre JaVale McGee. “It felt good, having two bigs out there and me popping. It felt good not to roll a little bit but just giving different looks in the game, rebounding as well so we can close out possessions,” Ayton said.

“Monty introduced it in shootaround and I couldnt wait to take advantage of that. Felt like college. Playing that four position, switching out on them guards with a big dude who can slide his feet a little bit. I love that, I love defending…try to be more like Mikal.”

Ayton is averaging 20.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game with one double double through five games of the series.

“We were running [in game five], we were really in that paint,” he said. “That’s what got us momentum, got the growd going, what made it feel like a regular game in a way. Just attacking the paint, getting paint touches and finding guys.”

Two Bahamian players star in MLB game: Marlins’ Chisholm, Nats’ Fox

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THEY were members of the same International Signing Class in 2015 and now seven years later, Jazz Chisholm Jr and Lucius Fox made Bahamian baseball history once again at the major league level.

The 24-year-old duo became the first pair of Bahamas-born players to appear in the same Major League Baseball game since 1961 when Fox’s Washington Nationals hosted Chisholm’s Marlins last night at Nationals Park in Washington DC. Chisholm had the better individual night and his Marlins won the second game of the series 2-1 last night. He went 2-3 at the plate and scored one run on the night while Fox went 0-4 with three groundouts.

Chisholm singled to right field in his first at bat and in the seventh inning, singled again to centre on a ground ball that just got by the outstretched glove of Fox. Fox grounded out to Chisholm in his first two at bats. With the Marlins clinging to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning

and Victor Robles on first, Fox came up to the plate representing the go-ahead run, but flied out to left to end the game.

Fox made his MLB debut and his first career start back on August 10, going 0 for 3 with a runscoring bunt. He is still in search of his first major league hit.

“There’s been a lot of guys who have been there, and we told him that, and we just say, hey, keep battling,” Davey Martinez told reporters after a weekend matchup against the Giants.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other pair of Bahamians to play in the same game were Andre Rodgers and Tony Curry, who faced each other six times during the 1960 and 1961 seasons.

Game three in the series is set for today at 1:05pm.

Both players signed out of the Maximum Development Academy in 2015 - Chisholm with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Fox with the San Francisco Giants.

Chisholm spent just over three seasons in the Diamondbacks organisation before he was traded to the Marlins for Zac Gallen.

76ERS, MAVS AND SUNS HAVE CHANCE FOR GAME 6 CLOSEOUTS

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

NATIONALS shortstop Lucius Fox stands on the field during the first inning against the Miami Marlins last night in Washington.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass) Chisholm, who was called up late in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, was an opening

MARLINS’ Jazz Chisholm Jr, left, gestures next to first base coach Keith Johnson (88) after he singled during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals last night in Washington.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass) day starter this season year with the Giants organand quickly became a fan isation, Fox was traded favorite for his production along with to the Tampa and exuberant personality Bay Rays for pitcher Matt both on and off the field.

Moore and third baseman He was named to MLB Matt Duffy.

Pipeline’s All-Rookie After spending just Second team. over two seasons with the Chisholm appeared in Royals organisation, Fox 124 games this season (91 was placed on waivers folat second base, 37 at short- lowing his 2021 season with stop) with 119 starts. He hit the Storm Chasers. .248 with a .728 OPS, slugIn a busy offseason, he ging .425 with 115 hits, 183 was claimed off waivers by total bases, 70 runs scored, the Orioles on November 20 doubles, four triples, 19 before he was released 18 home runs, 53 RBI and shortly thereafter. Fox was a team leading 23 stolen eventually claimed by the bases. After just over a Nationals on November 30.

THE Philadelphia 76ers were up 3-0 in their series against the Toronto Raptors just a few days ago. The lead has since been sliced to 3-2.

That is waking up some echoes for 76ers coach Doc Rivers. He’s the only coach in NBA history to lose three series in which his team had a 3-1 lead.

No coach in NBA history has ever been on the losing end of a series after leading 3-0, either.

But Rivers and the 76ers haven’t put the Raptors away yet, and now face a Game 6 in Toronto tonight with hopes of avoiding a winner-take-all Game 7 in Philadelphia on Saturday.

“Let’s win it,” Rivers said. “Then we don’t have to talk about it.”

The 76ers are one of three teams that will take 3-2 leads on the road tonight, when a trio of Game 6’s are on tap. The others are Western Conference

SEE PAGE 15

Amid NFL draft Bad baseballs? New uncertainty, prospects York Mets angry display confidence after rash of HBPs

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Very little is certain heading into an NFL draft. Not that the prospects on hand seem to care.

There’s a level of confidence that, for them, tonight’s first round is a sure thing.

“I know I am the best cornerback in this draft,” Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner said yesterday, a massive necklace spelling out his nickname “Sauce” wrapped around his neck.

“I feel like I can dominate whoever is in front of me.”

Not many players figure to be selected in front of him, though all of the 20 men on hand for a Play 60 event with local youths and Commissioner Roger Goodell believe they have shown the goods to be a high first-rounder. Even the

PHOENIX (AP) — New York Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt has a theory about why his bat-swinging teammates have turned into targets at the plate during the season’s first month.

Bad baseballs.

“The MLB has a very big problem with the baseballs. They’re bad,” he said Tuesday. “Everyone knows it. Every pitcher in the league knows it. They’re bad. They don’t care. MLB doesn’t give a damn about it. We’ve told them our problems with them and they don’t care.”

It’s understandable Bassitt wants to protect his teammates. The Mets have been hit by pitches 18 times through their first 19 games this season — including three times against the Cardinals on Tuesday night — which is by far the most in the league.

They’ve also been hit by a lot of balls in the head and neck area, which can be particularly dangerous.

But a look at MLB-wide statistics shows a complicated picture that’s likely

NOTRE Dame defensive back Kyle Hamilton - a possible pick in the NFL Draft - runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine on Sunday in Indianapolis.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings) very first pick, which for the second straight year Jacksonville owns.

“Oh yeah, in college I thought about being

No. 1 for sure,” acknowledged Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson,

SEE PAGE 17

affected by April’s usual cold weather and random chance. The league’s HBP rate is actually down slightly from last season. The Pittsburgh Pirates played their first 17 games without anyone getting hit by a pitch.

Still, that doesn’t change Bassitt’s main thesis.

Are the baseballs really “bad”?

Maybe “inconsistent” is the better word.

“They’re rubbed up differently by different people in different climates in different places,” Braves pitcher Collin McHugh said. “I understand the challenge of trying to get a consistent product under all those different variables. There’s no doubt that the ball you get in the first is going to be different than the ball you get in the eighth and from batch to batch.

“Sometimes the ball feels small in your hand. Sometimes they feel big.

Very often they’re real slick, dusty slick.

So you see guys out there rubbing it.

They’re really not trying to rub anything onto the ball, they’re trying to rub that layer of dust off the ball because it

SEE PAGE 17

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 28, 2022, PAGE 15

OSAKA WANTS TO GO EASY ON HERSELF ENTERING CLAY SEASON

CURRY, WARRIORS HOLD OFF JOKIC, ELIMINATE NUGGETS

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer

By JANIE MCCAULEY AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 30 points in his return to Golden State’s starting lineup and the Warriors beat Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets 102-98 last night to end the first-round series in five games.

Curry converted a threepoint play with 1:33 left and scored again with 29 seconds remaining to held sent the Warriors on to the second round in the Western Conference.

Jokic scored 12 of his 30 points in the final 3:46 and finished with 19 rebounds and eight assists.

The Warriors advanced to play the winner of the Memphis-Minnesota, with the Grizzlies up 3-2 going into Game 6 on Friday night in Minneapolis. Memphis eliminated Golden State in the play-in round last year.

Jokic tied it at 90 on an 18-footer with 2:26 remaining before Golden State’s Gary Payton II made a layup moments later. Payton also hit a go-ahead 3-pointer from the baseline corner in front of Denver’s bench with 6:57 left to put Golden State up 86-84 and finished with 15.

Jokic converted two free throws with 3:46 left after Draymond Green’s foul the Golden State defensive star wanted called on the 7-footer.

Jokic wound up 12 for 18 from the floor. DeMarcus Cousins added 19 points off the bench against his former Golden State team, and Aaron Gordon had 15 points and nine rebounds.

Denver made 7 of its first 10 shots after halftime to turn a 48-48 tie into a 10-point lead, 66-56. Curry’s 3 with 4:06 left pulled the Warriors to 68-67.

Curry shot 10 of 22 with five 3-pointers. He came off the bench the first four games with the series beginning one month from when he sprained a ligament in his left foot March 16 against Boston.

Coach Steve Kerr went small with Curry, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson as Kevon Looney came off the bench.

Thompson had 15 points and nine rebounds.

Kerr challenged the Warriors to “get back to being us.”

They had given up 30 points off 15 turnovers and committed 27

SEE PAGE 19

NBA

FROM PAGE 14

matchups: Top-seeded Phoenix will try to close out New Orleans, and fourth-seeded Dallas has a chance to eliminate fifthseeded Utah.

Philadelphia’s lead looks far more tenuous than the ones held by Phoenix and Dallas. The Suns and Mavericks are coming off double-digit home wins that gave the appearance of them gaining control of those respective matchups.

But the 76ers are hurting, most notably because centre Joel Embiid has a torn thumb ligament. And two closeout opportunities have already come and gone, which is why Rivers was getting questions yesterday about those past 3-1 leads that haven’t worked out.

The first was in 2003, when he had eighth-seeded Orlando on the brink of beating top-seeded Detroit in Round 1 before the heavily favoured Pistons rallied.

The next was in 2015, when the Los Angeles Clippers led Houston 3-1 in the West semifinals before falling apart when Chris Paul got hurt. And the other was in 2020, when the Clippers lost a 3-1 lead to Denver in the NBA’s restart bubble at Walt Disney World near Orlando.

“Game 7 would have been in LA,” Rivers said.

“It just happens.”

MILWAUKEE Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks during the first half of Game 5 of their NBA playoff basketball game last night in Milwaukee.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Bucks rout Bulls 116-100 in Game 5, advance to face Boston Celtics

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and nine rebounds and the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks routed the Chicago Bulls 116-100 last night to finish off the first-round series in five games.

The third-seeded Bucks advanced to face second-seeded Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with Game 1 on Sunday in Boston. The Celtics swept Brooklyn.

After splitting the first two games, the Bucks won the last three by an average margin of 23.3 points. They won those three games without Khris Middleton, the AllStar who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during the fourth quarter of Game 2.

Chicago didn’t handle the loss of key players quite as well. The Bulls played without the starting backcourt they used for the first four games

The Raptors, meanwhile, continue to believe they can make history. Only three teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7 in the NBA. None has gone on to win the series; if Toronto pulls this off, it would meet Miami — and former Raptors guard Kyle Lowry — in the East semifinals beginning Monday.

“If somebody could do it, it would be us,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.

Today’s games: 76ERS AT RAPTORS Philadelphia leads 3-2.

Game 6, 7 p.m. EDT, NBA TV. — NEED TO KNOW: The Sixers lead, yes, but the pendulum sure seems to be swinging Toronto’s way. Over the last three games, the Raptors have led (or been in a tie) a staggering 92.8% of the time.

And if the Raptors hadn’t blown a 17-point lead in Game 3, the overtime game where Embiid’s 3-pointer was the game-winner, they could have a chance to close things out Thursday.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: 76ers G James Harden.

He’s shooting just 35% from the field, 29% from 3-point range and averaging a low-for-him 16.9 points over his last eight playoff games going back to last season. With Embiid hurting, Harden needs to do more.

— INJURY WATCH: Raptors G Fred VanVleet

because two-time AllStar Zach LaVine was in health and safety protocols and Alex Caruso was in concussion protocol.

The absences enabled Milwaukee’s defence to focus much of its attention on containing DeMar DeRozan, who had scored 41 points in the Bulls’ Game 2 victory.

DeRozan was held to 11 points Wednesday while shooting 5 of 10.

Antetokounmpo led the way for the Bucks by shooting 11 of 15 from the floor and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line. Pat Connaughton hit 6 of 9 3-pointes and scored 20 points, and Bobby Portis added 14 points and career-high 17 rebounds.

The Bucks’ largest lead was 29.

Patrick Williams scored 23 points, Nikola Vucevic 19 and Coby White 17 for the Bulls. Vucevic also had 16 rebounds and six assists.

DeRozan was scoreless in the first 26 minutes of the game and attempted just one shot in the first

quarter as he tried to get his teammates involved.

The problem was Chicago’s other players weren’t hitting open shots, allowing the Bucks to take command early.

Milwaukee pulled ahead for good 3 1/2 minutes into the game and built a double-digit lead by scoring 12 straight points in the first quarter.

Late in the first period, the Bucks began a 23-2 run that helped them extend the advantage to 49-20 with 7:25 left in the second period. Antetokounmpo scored nine straight Bucks points during that second spurt.

Chicago outscored the Bucks 22-11 the rest of the second quarter and got the margin down to 11 on Ayo Dosunmu’s 3-point play with 9:32 left in the third quarter, but Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis hit a pair of corner 3-pointers 36 seconds apart to make it 72-55.

TIP-INS Bulls: The Bulls attempted 52 shots from 3-point range and only 40

76ERS’ Doc Rivers reacts during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors on Monday in Philadelphia.

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (hip) missed Game 5 and is listed as doubtful for Game 6. Embiid is continuing to play through a torn thumb ligament.

— PRESSURE IS ON: Philadelphia. If this goes to Game 7, even in Philly, the advantage would be all Toronto.

SUNS AT PELICANS Phoenix leads 3-2. Game 6, 7:30 p.m. EDT, TNT. — NEED TO KNOW: In the all-rounds-bestof-seven format that has been in place since 2003, only four No. 1 seeds have been taken to a Game 7 in Round 1. Phoenix is going to try and avoid becoming the fifth. The Suns had

a very businesslike win in Game 5, and now will enter a raucous road environment to try and close things out.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: New Orleans’ turnovers and 3-point shooting. The Pelicans were outscored by 11 (23-12) in points off turnovers in Game 5 and by 15 (30-15) from 3-point range. Phoenix won by 15. The Pelicans can’t afford discrepancies like that again and think this is going to Game 7.

— INJURY WATCH: Suns G Devin Booker (hamstring) remains out.

— PRESSURE IS ON: Phoenix. There’s no way

from inside the arc. Chicago made just 28.8% of its 3-point shots. ... The Bulls haven’t advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs since 2015, when they beat the Bucks before losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East semifinals.

With LaVine and Caruso unavailable, Javonte Green and Dosunmu made their first career playoff starts.

Bucks: Reserve guard George Hill still hasn’t played in this postseason due to an abdominal strain. Hill had been listed as questionable the injury report Wednesday before getting ruled out, an indication he’s getting closer to a return.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that Hill is “making progress” but added that “he needs more time.”

The Bucks have won 20 of their last 22 meetings with the Bulls. Jrue Holiday had 10 points and nine assists but also committed six turnovers. for the Pelicans to feel pressure in this series, after going 36-46 and needing two play-in wins just to get here. They’re using house money right now, and the Suns can’t risk a winnertake-all Game 7 against a team playing fast and loose.

MAVERICKS AT JAZZ Dallas leads 3-2. Game 6, 10 p.m. EDT, TNT. — NEED TO KNOW: The last time Dallas won a playoff series, David Stern handed Mark Cuban and Dirk Nowitzki the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The Mavs have lost all six series they have played since winning the 2011 NBA title, but the seventh try might be the charm. Utah will try to overcome a 3-2 series deficit for the first time since the 2007 first round against Houston.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: Jazz G Donovan Mitchell.

He’s 3 for his last 30 from 3-point range, spanning the last 14 quarters. His nine points in Game 5 were a playoff career-low.

— INJURY WATCH: Mitchell’s quads are bruised, but an MRI ruled out any hamstring issues.

— PRESSURE IS ON: Utah. It’s not just because the Jazz face elimination.

If they can’t get out of this round, in a series where Mavs G Luka Doncic missed three games, it would be reasonable to think that big changes might be on the horizon.

MADRID (AP) — Former No. 1 Naomi Osaka enters the clay-court season with the goal of not being too hard on herself.

Osaka made the final in Miami last month and will be playing as a wild-card entry when the Madrid Open begins today.

“I’m trying to embrace my mistakes compared to the previous years as well, so I’m not that hard on myself,” she said yesterday.

“If I make a mistake or if I don’t move up to the ball fast enough — because I find on clay you actually have to move much more — but if I do stuff like that I just tell myself not to be mad.”

Osaka withdrew from the French Open last year and took a break from competition after saying she “suffered long bouts of depression” and experienced “huge waves of anxiety” before speaking to the media. The four-time Grand Slam champion has openly talked about working on her mental health since winning the 2018 US Open over Serena Williams.

She left last year’s US Open in tears and was brought to tears again by a comment from a spectator at Indian Wells earlier this year. “I’m still a student so I should try to keep learning,” she said ahead of her debut in Madrid.

Osaka said she hoped to learn from some of the claycourt specialists who are playing in Madrid, including Rafael Nadal and the red-hot Carlos Alcaraz.

“Honestly. I’ve been wanting to watch the really good clay-court players practice because I feel like I’m the type of person that learns really fast if I see it up close, and honestly it’s a bit of a waste to have all these really good professional tennis players and not watch them,” the 24-year-old Japanese player said.

“I’ve kind of wanted to see Alcaraz, so it’d be cool to watch everyone practice.”

Osaka said she “stole one of the things” that Nadal did and was practicing it, without elaborating. “It’ll either go really good or really bad. There’s like no in between,” she said.

“But I think as I’ve been doing it, it’s been going pretty well.”

Osaka took two weeks off after playing in Miami and said she “changed a couple of things” in her game to prepare for the clay season.

SWIATEK WITHDRAWS FROM MADRID OPEN WITH SORE ARM MADRID (AP) — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek withdrew from the Madrid Open yesterday because of a sore arm.

Swiatek, who has won four straight titles, was going to be the top-seeded player in the women’s draw for this week’s clay-court tournament.

“It’s time to take care of my arm that has been fatigued since the Miami Open and I haven’t had a chance to handle it properly,” the 20-year-old Polish player wrote on Twitter. “I need a break from playing so intensively in order to treat my arm well.”

Swiatek won the Stuttgart Open on Sunday to add to titles in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami. Her winning run is at 23 matches.

“My body needs rest,” she said. “I’m going to take some time to prepare for Rome and Paris. Hopefully, I will play in Madrid many times in the future.”

PAGE 16, Thursday, April 28, 2022

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Thursday, April 28, 2022, PAGE 17

Foster signs with Barry University Buccaneers

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net ST Augustine’s College senior Malik Foster made it official with the Barry University Buccaneers and signed his letter of intent to join the men’s baseball programme next fall.

Foster made his announcement before family, friends and faculty Tuesday afternoon at the Big Red Machine campus.

“From a young age I knew I wanted to play the sport of baseball. I had a lot of goals for myself and there were times I had to ask myself if this is what I really want to do. There was times I really wanted to quit but I know that God had something in store for me, and to see this in front of me it’s hard to hold back tears to be honest.

“I know the work is just starting but I’m happy where I’m at right now,” Foster said. “I wouldn’t be here firstly without God, without my parents, they sacrificed the most for me.

A lot of money to help me to get exposure and get in front of the eyes who needed to see what I really have. I want to thank my friends because they’re the ones who support me behind closed doors. I really appreciate that.”

The Freedom Farm Baseball League product credited his development throughout the programme and the coaches that guided his progression to this point.

“I remember coach Forbes, when I was young on the Mosquitoes, was one of the first ones to really have faith in me and tell me that I could do this. Coach Fergsuon with the Silver Jacks, I feel like he was my best coach, he really guided me to be the person that I am today.

Coach Culmer, he taught me so much about playing the game the right way, coach Moxey is the type that will teach you the hard way and how things are in the real world and I can’t thank him enough for that because any coach can just sugarcoat it and tell you what you want to hear but he tells you reality,” he said.

“I also want to thank coach Edwards at SAC

NFL DRAFT FROM PAGE 14

considered along with Georgia defensive end Travon Walker as the probable top pick.

“I’ve just been trying to put myself in that position,” he added.

Hutchinson laughed when asked if going atop the draft would be even more satisfying than finally beating Ohio State, which the Wolverines did in November.

“Nothing compares to beating Ohio State,” he said, his eyes seemingly drifting back to the Big House in Michigan.

“Being drafted is a big feat, being drafted first, but

BASEBALL FROM PAGE 14

just feels a little slick.”

Last year, MLB cracked down on pitchers who used sticky substances — remember Spider Tack?

— to try to get a better grip on baseballs. These days, umpires routinely check pitchers’ gloves and hands as they’re coming off the field.

The crackdown was met with tepid response. It’s true pitchers can use sticky substances to make the ball spin faster to get a harder break on off-speed pitches.

But it also helped pitchers know where the ball was going, particularly in cold weather.

MLB proposed during collective bargaining that hitting a batter on the head

STANDING: Guidance counsellor Stephan Walkin, Physical Plant manager/track and field coach William Johnson, immediate past principal Sonja Knowles, and Physical Education Department head Jason Edwards. SITTING: Jacqueline Foster, Malik Foster and Michael Foster. who never said my dreams were pipe dreams - he told me to keep going at it.”

A 5’11”, 175-pound infield and right handed submarine pitching prospect, Foster spent the last two years travelling to a number of independent showcases and tournaments in an effort to gain exposure on the collegiate recruiting circuit.

“The process, it’s tedious.

Baseball is a game where you fail more than you succeed. You go to a showcase and you don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t think I ever went to a showcase and was 100 percent proud of what I did, I always felt like I could have done better and see how I can be better for the next time, but the process, baseball is a hard sport.

“I’m happy I’m here and I was able to finally achieve this,” he said. “Everytime I wanted to give up I just had to remember (God) is the one in control and that the present might not be what you want, but the future is I don’t think anything can beat beating Ohio State.”

The self-faith that the very-soon-to-be pros exhibited matched their level of performance on the field in college.

A vast majority of them went to big-time football programmes in major conferences, and played for a variety of championships.

Big games were common for, say, any of the multitude of Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide and Ohio State Buckeyes players attending the draft in Las Vegas.

Linebacker Nakobe Dean, a key contributor to Georgia’s national title, noted that as many as 15 of his teammates might be drafted.

or neck result in an automatic ejection irrespective of intent, which the union rejected, a person familiar with the negotiations said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither side has disclosed that detail. MLB also proposed a discussion of additional discipline for cumulative batters hit, the person said.

MLB has tried to standardise its baseballs and made humidor usage mandatory this season. The humidor is used to try to get baseballs to behave in a similar fashion, whether the game’s being played in Colorado’s thin air or New York or Atlanta.

Let’s just say it’s a work in progress.

“Sometimes, pitchers just, the ball feels like a little bit of like a cue ball,”

ST Augustine’s College senior Malik Foster has made it official with the Barry University Buccaneers and signed his letter of intent to join the men’s baseball programme next fall. what you are going to get so just trust in him (God).”

During the recruitment process, Foster said the Buccaneers coaching staff and volunteer assistant coach Josh Fellerman stood out.

“The coaches welcomed me with open arms this summer. Coach Fellerman, he came to see one of Asked how he will react if he hears his name called

by Goodell tonight — the second and third rounds are Friday night, the final four rounds Saturday — Dean didn’t see the need to replace the word “if” with “when.” But it was clear in his response.

“I’ll share the moment with all of my teammates,” he said. “We all talked about when we first got to college. Win a championship and then go the NFL and get drafted in the first (round). You’ve got to have that confidence about yourself, period. Even guys who are at a Division III school.

If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will.”

There is no Division III player in Las Vegas — at

my games and said ‘I like this kid, I want to see him later.’ Some coaches let you know you can come to their school, he had an attitude of ‘we want you here’ and for me, the number one thing is I want to be somewhere I feel wanted, somewhere I feel at home.

I felt that with Barry University.” least none who was invited by the league — but plenty of guys who are accustomed to the big stage and crucial games are present.

Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, who easily could go in the top 10, believes such a background can only help in the adjustment to the professional ranks.

“Every week and wherever we would go, it was a big game,” he said, adding with a chuckle that “people either love us or hate us, mostly hate us. So we played with that chip on our shoulder. At Notre Dame, we’re used to the spotlight.

And every game in the NFL is a big game.

“I’ve always watched the draft since I can remember.

To be taken on the first day

KANSAS City Royals’ Salvador Perez grimaces next to a trainer after being hit by a pitch during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

(AP Photo/Stephen Brashear) Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “And there’s not always like a lot of rhyme or reason for it.

Sometimes, it has to do with the cold, and sometimes it’s just, you pick the ball up and it feels a little foreign.”

Clearly, it’s a difficult problem to address. MLB said it continues to look for answers. “MLB is always concerned about keeping hitters safe from dangerous pitches,” an MLB spokesman said. “We closely

The Bucs are currently 17-26 in NCAA Division II’s Sunshine State Conference.

Proud parents Mike and Jacqueline Foster were on hand to witness the career milestone.

“I’m very proud of this moment. This journey has been very long,” his father Michael said.

“I congratulated him for the effort he has put into what he wanted to do and I pray that he will continue to succeed, particularly with his college education. I would just say that I thank God that he has this opportunity.”

His mother, Jacqueline Foster added: “It has been a long one but it’s been, I guess an enjoyable one for us as a family, and we look forward to what is to come for him. We want to also thank all who have been a part of the process - all of the coaches at Freedom Farm, the coaches at St Augustine’s College, and the independent coaches who have helped him along the way.”

FEDERER PLANS RETURN AT SWISS INDOORS ROGER Federer intends to return to tournament tennis after what will have been more than a year away from the tour by playing at the Swiss Indoors in October.

The event in Basel announced in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday that the 20-time Grand Slam champion “has officially entered the tournament and will appear on the entry list with the protected ATP ranking” of No. 9.

His agent, Tony Godsick, confirmed to The Associated Press that is Federer’s plan.

Federer’s first match there is scheduled for October 25, according to the website.

The 40-year-old Swiss star has not played a competitive match since losing to Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-0 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on July 7. Soon after that defeat, Federer had surgery to repair damage to his meniscus and cartilage in his right knee — the third time in a span of 1 1/2 years that knee was operated on.

Federer has won a men’s record eight championships at the All England Club. He and Novak Djokovic are tied for the second-most overall major tennis titles won by a man; they trail Rafael Nadal, who has 21.

Federer said in an interview with a Swiss newspaper in November that he expected to miss Wimbledon this year — it starts on June 27 — and was not sure when, if ever, he might be able to play again at a high level, although he did “want to see one last time what I’m capable of as a professional tennis player.”

In February, Federer and Nadal announced they were both planning to participate in the Laver Cup in London September 23-25.

That would mark Federer’s return to action for the first time since last July — albeit not at a full-fledged tournament but at a team event founded by his management company.

Federer has won the Swiss Indoors trophy 10 times. The tournament will return this year after being called off in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

of the NFL draft will be very satisfying.”

It’s likely that not all 20 players attending will go in the opening round. Rarely does everyone invited by the NFL wind up a first-rounder.

Mississippi quarterback Matt Corral and fellow QB Malik Willis of Liberty, Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis and Boston College offensive lineman Zion Johnson could last into Friday. Or they could go in the top dozen.

That’s how speculative this grab bag is, especially this year when there is no slam dunk prospect, particularly a passer.

Naturally, that’s not how any of the players

are thinking. They refer to their pedigree, to what they showed on the field in games, and their performances in draft-evaluation workouts.

“There’s no strain or stress at all,” said Jermaine Johnson, the dynamic edge rusher from Florida State who played the 2019 and ‘20 seasons at Georgia before transferring. “Just enjoying it, living the dream.

“Teams see I am a complete player, can pass rush, but affect the game not just in the passing game but I will shut down one side of the field in the running game. You’ve got to take away another man’s will and show him that you won’t ever give up. That’s what I live for.”

analyse trends in the game and have active conversations with our players and coaches to address concerns. Through April 26, leaguewide statistics show hit-by-pitch rates and wild pitch rates are down relative to previous seasons.

However, one Club has been hit more than twice as often as the league average so far in 2022, which is something we will continue to monitor.”

That team is the Mets.

The drama continued yesterday afternoon after Mets third baseman J.D. Davis was hit by a pitch on the ankle and had to leave the game. An inning later, Mets pitcher Yoan López threw high and tight to Cardinals star Nolan Arenado, who reacted angrily.

The benches cleared.

Arenado and Cardinals first

base coach Stubby Clapp were ejected. Pete Alonso was tackled during the scrum. And so it goes.

Mets pitcher Max Scherzer — one of the game’s best — gave up just one hit over seven innings in 48-degree weather last week against San Francisco.

Even in victory, the baseballs were a problem.

“I think everybody was coming back talking about how difficult it was to grip the ball today,” Scherzer said. “When you don’t have sweat, it just felt like you were throwing a cue ball tonight. Everybody was over-gripping everything.

Just part of the game right now. So just frustrating.”

“You know, everybody has to deal with it, so it’s not like I can complain about it. It’s just, you have to deal with it.”

PAGE 18, Thursday, April 28, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Baseball prospect Adari Grant performs well in minor league camp

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net ADARI Grant has yet to receive his minor league assignment for the 2022 season, but the highly touted St Louis Cardinals prospect made enough of an impression in preseason minor league camp for franchise staff to take notice.

Cardinals minor-league infield instructor, Jose Oquendo, raved about the progression of the 18-yearold infielder, one of the youngest invitees to minor league camp.

“Like I told him, ‘you have been the biggest surprise to me,’(From) when I saw him in Santo Domingo for the first time to what he is doing right now is a complete change. He’s gotten better,” Oquendo

told Daniel Guerrero of the St Louis Post Dispatch.

“He has always wanted it.

He has a strong desire to be a professional baseball player — and a good one.”

Gary Kendall, manager of the club’s Low A affiliate Palm Beach Cardinals, had an opportunity to see Grant for the first time.

“He plays with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of emotion. I see a guy that came over a little bit raw, and through the instruction of Jose Oquendo and the staff, I’ve seen this guy develop and learn the game and make quick adjustments,” he said.

“You know, guys that go far in this game make quick adjustments. And they’re quick learners. And (Grant) seems to be that type of guy. He’s a very quick learner. So I really

like what he brings to the table. He’s a plus runner.

You know, he’s coming along defensively. I’ve seen his bat improve, you know, so I mean, he’s got the world in front of them.”

Grant became the first Bahamian player to join the Cardinals organisation when they signed him in the 2021 class.

In his rookie season, he was assigned to the Dominican Summer League with the DSL Cardinals Blue.

He finished with a batting average of .220 with a .691 OPS on the season with 22 hits, one home run, six RBI and seven stolen bases.

“As soon as I’m on the field, I think I’m the best. I don’t think I’m better than anyone else, but I think I’m the best. I don’t think anybody is better than me.

That’s the way to be about

MATCHDAY: EUROPA SEMIFINALS, MAN UNITED TO HOST CHELSEA

HIGHLY touted St Louis Cardinals prospect Adari Grant has made an impression in preseason minor league camp and the franchise staff are taking notice. it in baseball,” Grant said.

Baseball is hard enough, so if you don’t have that confidence (and) you don’t think you’re the best, baseball can really attack you.”

After Lucius Fox received the call-up he said the Bahamian pipeline is

sure to place more Bahamians in the major leagues.

“It’s motivation for sure,” Grant said. “But people don’t know there’s plenty young talent coming from the Bahamas. Plenty.

There’s plenty guys after me that’s coming out.

Liverpool overwhelms Villarreal 2-0, on course for CL final

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool looks like being one European giant too many for Villarreal.

Wins in the Champions League semifinals are rarely as routine as Liverpool’s 2-0 first-leg victory yesterday over the Spanish underdog, which appears to have finally come unstuck on a fairytale run that has already accounted for European football royalty in Juventus and Bayern Munich.

Liverpool, still on course for an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies, proved to be a bigger test. The six-time European champions slowly dismantled the limited challenge of Villarreal on another night when they were swept along by the power of Anfield.

The goals came early in the second half — and within 133 seconds of each other — as Villarreal left back Pervis Estupinan unwittingly deflected a cross by Jordan Henderson into his own net in the 53rd minute, with goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli only

managing to tip a looping ball into his own net.

One goal can quickly turn into two in these energy-charged European nights at Anfield and that’s what transpired again, with Villarreal still shaken up from conceding the opener when Sadio Mane ran onto Mohamed Salah’s throughball and toe-poked a low finish beyond Rulli.

The second leg takes place at Estadio de la Cerámica on Tuesday and only a major surprise will prevent Villarreal — a team only in seventh place in the Spanish league and filled with players who failed to make it in England — from bowing out, just like in 2006 in its only other appearance in the semifinals.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp struck a cautious note despite the one-sided nature of the first leg.

“Nothing has happened yet,” he said. “We’re playing a game and it’s 2-0 at halftime. You have to be completely on alert, 100% in the right mood.”

Klopp has built a formidable winning machine that looks even more complete than the team

LIVERPOOL’s Sadio Mane celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the Champions League semi final, first leg soccer match against Villarreal at Anfield stadium yesterday.

(AP Photo/Jon Super) which won the Champi- population of the town in — Mane headed wide off ons League in 2019, a year eastern Spain — swarmed his face, Salah curled over after also reaching the final its way from Liverpool city then volleyed over, and and losing to Real Madrid centre to Anfield ahead Thiago Alcantara smashed under the German coach. of the game. A rendition a long-range shot off the As his players did a lap of The Beatles’ “Yellow outside of the post — but of honour inside Anfield Submarine,” which is the Villarreal held out until after the final whistle, nickname of visitors, was halftime.

Klopp waved to the crowd well-received by the lively Then it all went wrong. and tapped the club crest away contingent before The two goals came in on the front of his thick kickoff. between two disallowed coat.

That was as warm as the efforts, by Fabinho then Another win. Likely welcome got.

Andrew Robertson, and it another Champions Liverpool snapped into was only Liverpool’s playLeague final. And, amaz- tackles and pressed high ers taking their foot off the ingly, the quadruple is from the first whistle, gas that stopped an even still on for a team that has meaning Villarreal’s play- bigger victory. “We had put already won the English ers hardly got out of their in a perfect performance League Cup, is into the half all match. up to the first goal,” said FA Cup final and is only a “The reality is, they are Rulli, who called Liverpool point behind Manchester in the best moment,” Vil- the best team in the world.

City in the Premier League larreal coach Unai Emery “After that, we were a bit title race. said of Liverpool. “They uncertain.”

It could yet be a Cham- are in the favourite to win Klopp used the opporpions League final between this competition.” tunity to take a number of the two northwest rivals, Yet, with Emery setting key players off early, with with City taking a 4-3 lead up his team with his back a potentially tough Preover Real Madrid into four screened by a deep- mier League game against the second leg of their lying and narrow midfield Newcastle on Saturday semifinal in Spain next four, Liverpool was ini- sandwiched between the Wednesday. tially starved of space in six-day turnaround for the A sea of yellow-clad Vil- what quickly became tan- Villarreal games. larreal fans — at around tamount to an attack vs.

Liverpool’s quadruple 5,000, they amounted defence exercise. There charge is likely to be headto almost 10% of the were plenty of half-chances ing deep into May.

REAL MADRID HAPPY TO BE ALIVE AHEAD OF 2ND LEG

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid was holding on to the positives after coming close to being routed by Manchester City but staying alive in the Champions League semifinals.

Madrid lost 4-3 in the first leg in England on Tuesday, but it was one of those defeats that allowed for some celebration.

Pep Guardiola’s City had plenty of chances to put the series away but instead Madrid found a way to fight back and it goes into next week’s second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium only a goal down.

“You are never happy when you lose, but we have 90 minutes ahead of us to make the difference at the Bernabéu,” said Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior, who scored one of the goals for the Spanish powerhouse. Karim Benzema scored the others as Madrid trailed by two goals three times at Etihad Stadium.

“The next game will be different,” Vinícius said.

“I’m really happy with the team’s attitude. We were 2-0 down against an extremely good team and we come away with our heads held high and ready to put in a good performance in the return leg.”

Madrid just won’t go away this season, having already rallied in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 and against defending champion Chelsea in the quarterfinals.

Madrid knows it will have to do better than it did Tuesday, though, to reach its first Champions League final since winning its last title in 2018.

“We have to stay calm and improve our performance if we want to advance,” Vinícius said.

“We have to improve pretty much in all areas and start the game better so we don’t concede early goals that make it difficult for us to recover.”

Madrid was losing 2-0 by the 11th minute on

REAL Madrid’s Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal from penalty during the Champions League semi-final, first leg soccer match against Manchester City at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, on Tuesday.

(AP Photo/Dave Thompson) Tuesday, and coach Carlo like this and never give in.

Ancelotti said the team will They always keep their have to defend better next heads up.” week.

Ancelotti said he doesn’t “We started the game expect another back-andvery poorly. We were forth match like the first too soft,” he said. “It’ll leg, when both teams had be really important to significant chances. improve defensively in the “It’ll be a different return leg. I have a very match,” he said. “City has experienced team that the advantage and you have keeps its cool when things to take that into account. I get tough. These players hope that our fans demand have been in many games a better performance from

us so we can reach the final. Our fans have to be ready because we are going to fight to make it another magical night.”

Madrid is hoping for a third straight Champions League comeback at the Bernabéu to remain in contention for a recordextending 14th European title.

Against PSG, it needed a second-half hat trick by Benzema after losing the first leg 1-0 and conceding a goal early in the return match. Then, it was down 3-0 at home in the second leg against Chelsea when it scored twice to recover, including in extra time, to advance on a 5-4 aggregate score. The decisive goal was scored by Benzema, who is having his best season and now is the Champions League’s leading scorer with 14 goals.

“Miracle after miracle,” said the front-page headline of the Marca sports daily yesterday. “Madrid stays alive in Manchester and it will all come down to the Bernabéu.”

A LOOK at what’s happening in European soccer today: EUROPA LEAGUE After Eintracht Frankfurt fans took over the Camp Nou for their upset quarterfinal win over Barcelona, London is the next destination as their team plays West Ham in the first leg of the semifinals.

Club president Peter Fischer has suggested that the thousands of fans heading to England could party outside Buckingham Palace.

Both clubs are bidding to reach what would be their biggest match in decades — Frankfurt’s last final came when it won the old UEFA Cup in 1980, and West Ham’s last game of that stature was the 1976 Cup Winner’s Cup final. In the other semifinal, Rangers are bringing plenty of fans to Leipzig as they seek to stun German opposition for the second time this season after earlier eliminating Borussia Dortmund. Leipzig beat Atalanta to reach this stage and is aiming for its first-ever European final.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE First-leg semifinals of the UEFA Europa Conference League — the new third tier of European competition — features Roma at Leicester and Marseille at Feyenoord.

Roma manager José Mourinho faces his apprentice, Leicester coach Brendan Rodgers, who was appointed to Chelsea’s academy during Mourinho’s first stint with the London club. Roma striker Tammy Abraham and Leicester counterpart Jamie Vardy are vying for a spot in England’s team at the World Cup. It’s an especially poignant match for Abraham, who left Chelsea last year after falling out of favor with the English club and is returning to his home country to show how far he has progressed, with 24 goals in 46 matches across all competitions this season with Roma.

A large contingent of Roma fans are travelling to the game.

Feyenoord striker Cyriel Dessers is tied with Abraham for the competition lead with eight goals each.

Feyenoord and Marseille are both former European Cup champions, with Feyenoord having won Europe’s premier competition in 1970 and Marseille having lifted the Champions League trophy in 1993.

ENGLAND Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick thinks the Champions League places are already out of reach ahead of a home match against Chelsea, with defender Harry Maguire and forward Jadon Sancho the latest injury absentees. It’s one of four remaining Premier League games for United, which is six points behind fourth-place Arsenal having played a match more.

Midfielder Paul Pogba, forward Edinson Cavani and left back Luke Shaw are also sidelined for United, while right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka is also a doubt.

Chelsea is more comfortable in the top four, sitting in third place, five points ahead of Arsenal.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel hopes defenders Antonio Rüdiger and Reece James will be able to return to action at Old Trafford, but midfielder Mateo Kovacic will miss out due to an ankle ligament injury.

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Thursday, April 28, 2022, PAGE 19

WARRIORS FROM PAGE 15

WARRIORS’ Stephen Curry (30) shoots against the Nuggets in the first half last night. (AP)

fouls that led to 36 free throws for Denver in a 126-121 road loss Sunday.

GREEN’S DEFENCE Green was whistled for his first foul 20 seconds into the game, much like Game 4 when he fouled 40 seconds into the opening quarter. Green had 11 points and six assists. His three blocked shots moved him past Kevin Garnett for 22nd on the NBA’s career postseason blocks list.

TIP-INS Nuggets: Austin Rivers exited late in the first with tightness in his right hamstring.

Denver shot 3 of 14 from deep in the first half and 6 for 29 overall.

Warriors: Curry (3,108) passed Julius Erving (3,088) for 24th place on the NBA’s playoff scoring list. The Warriors are 12-3 in Game 5s since winning the 2015 championship for the franchise’s first title in 40 years.

Golden State was held below 50% shooting for the first time in five games.