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VOLUME:117 No.187, AUGUST 26, 2020

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

INSIDE: BUMPER PUZZLE PULLOUT FOR ALL THE FAMILY

Travel ban to stay two more months?

Tourism pressure remains as foreign flights may be off until end of October

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net DESPITE most businesses in New Providence being set to re-open on Monday, Finance Minister Peter Turnquest said he anticipates it will still take several weeks until the government fully re-opens the country’s borders allowing for the resumption of domestic and international travel in all islands.

This comes after Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced on Monday the resumption of commercial activity in the capital, which will allow most businesses in New Providence to resume operations under certain restrictions, including restaurants and retail stores.

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net AN ATTORNEY and activist have urged the government to expunge the records of street coconut vendors who were charged and fined for breaking emergency orders, insisting Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ plan to offer them grants to advance their businesses does not go far enough.

According to Wayne Munroe, QC, yesterday the Committee on

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

A FINANCIAL expert contended yesterday that the government’s comprehensive long-term post-coronavirus plan should already have been presented to Bahamians.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief financial officer, told The Tribune the “danger” in Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ Monday address is that many would not understand why last week there was a need for a complete lockdown, but this week the nation is now poised to reopen.

Both elements together,

SEE PAGE THREE

the Prerogative of Mercy should now be directed to pardon each of the vendors and a consideration made on proper compensation.

Meanwhile, activist Khandi Gibson - who was instrumental in seeking help for the vendors to pay fines and acquired business licences for 22 of them said offering grants neglects the sad reality that they all have criminal records, which poses a threat to their further advancement.

SEE PAGE TWO

SEE PAGE EIGHT

WHERE’S THE PLAN ON WHAT WE DO NEXT?

The news, which came as a surprise to many, was a sharp reversal for Dr Minnis, who just last week announced an immediate seven-day near full lockdown for New Providence in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

However, on Monday, Dr Minnis maintained that new COVID-19 data suggests no hard lockdown is needed at this time for the island.

As it relates to the current lockdown provisions, Dr Minnis said the restrictions will remain in place until 5am next Monday.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting yesterday, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed hope that the eased restrictions will help to revitalise the economy.

‘VENDORS CRIMINAL RECORDS SHOULD NOW BE WIPED CLEAN’

ALICIA WALLACE HARD TO SEE WHAT CHANGED IN SEVEN DAYS

SEE PAGE THREE

POLICE COVID CASES WERE INEVITABLE

GEEKING OUT

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

SHANNON COLLINS, dressed up here as Spider-Gwen from Marvel Comics, and the owner of 242 Cosplayer Nation, would like to see her creative hobby, where people dress up as their favourite characters, take off in The Bahamas and she’s delighted that more and more people are attending the monthly mini convention called “The Geek Out!” which has its own cosplay competition.

For the full story, see Tribune Weekend, out on Friday.

THE number of COVID19 cases in the Royal Bahamas Police Force is “trending downward significantly”, according to National Security Minister Marvin Dames, who said active cases among officers now stand at three.

SEE PAGE THREE

GLOBAL WARMING’S HUGE THREAT TO BAHAMAS TECHNOLOGY

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas is at risk of losing 80 percent of its landmass in the next eight decades due to the current pace of global warming, according to Bahamian T Oneil Johnson Jr. “I want to make this abundantly clear, The Bahamas is perhaps one of the most vulnerable countries to sea-level rise,” he stressed, as he spoke on

VULNERABLE: The Bahamas the topic, ‘Climate Change - the Reality of Our Warming World’ to the Rotary of

Club of Grand Bahama via Zoom.

Mr Johnson - who has a Master’s Degree in Foreign Impact of Hurricanes and Climate Change on Education – said climate change is real and threatens The Bahamas, the Caribbean and other small countries.

He noted that sea level is projected to rise by as much as one metre by 2100. Eighty percent of The Bahamas’ landmass is less

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE SEVEN

COOK FULFILS ANTOHER OF JOBS’ VISIONS

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, August 26, 2020

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

THE TRIBUNE

OPENING UP

ROADSIDE vendors were hard at work in New Providence yesterday.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

‘Vendors criminal records should be wiped clean’ from page one During a press conference Monday to announce several new developments in the country’s COVID-19 response, Dr Minnis said street vendors will be provided with financial grants. “… Meaning that is money that they will not have to repay,” Dr Minnis said. “That is a gift from the government so that they can establish their business and expand their business.

“The coconut vendors or the coconut boys as they are called, the coconut vendors on the streets would be provided with the necessary materials and equipment to ensure safety of their coconut water.

“They will be provided with coolers and umbrellas and whatever items are necessary and this will be provided as grants from the government.”

Mr Munroe said he was unimpressed by this announcement because it appeared to be an admission by the Prime Minister that he was wrong for shutting the country down during the first COVID-19 wave. He drew a comparison between that time frame and the second wave, which has seen more cases and deaths.

He said: “Insofar as these grants are concerned if we are correct and he was wrong… him opening us up is an admission that he was wrong, isn’t it?

“If you could open up when we have 1,700 plus infections and 40 something deaths and 90 people in hospital you really can’t justify closing us down with two infections, nobody in hospital and (a handful of) deaths. So bearing in mind that his speech last night was an admission that you can’t justify

the initial lockdown to say that you are going to give me a grant when you have destroyed my business is unacceptable.

“The coconut vendors— I think one guy was fined $1,300 when you add all of it up.

“That’s going to be one hell of a cooler and umbrella and they’ll still have a criminal record.”

He continued: “So I think if he wanted to be honest and decent he would have the Prerogative Board of Mercy direct the Governor General to pardon everyone who was convicted of an offence of breaching the curfew. He would in settlement agree to fines paid and he should with the Ministry of Finance enter into discussions with businesses as to what compensation they will pay.

“Now if they cannot come up with the money they can enter schemes for

instance that say you would take a certain reduction out of VAT payments or a certain reduction out of taxes.

“But don’t come and tell me we are opening up now when we are much worse than when you closed down and put me out of business and I must be happy? I must look like a fool.”

Jason Williams, 18, Marvin Joseph, 20 and 19-year-old Moreko Mackey were vendors charged in recent weeks.

For her part, Ms Gibson applauded the government for the effort, but said the wider picture was missed.

“Yes the guys were wrong,” she said. “They were out there selling coconut water and coconut jelly without a business licence like many other street vendors do. They were never locked up. But these young men were locked up and were charged, hauled before the courts.

“Jason Williams that was his first time ever being arrested at just 18-years-old and he was locked up. That was an experience for him.

“Then we have Marvin who was locked up and spent three days locked up in the cell and spent two nights in Fox Hill prison Now all of a sudden now you are just going to give them a grant?

“I feel like their records need to be quashed. At the end of the day you give them a grant, let’s say at the end of the day they want to travel to the US to buy some utensils or to buy some things to advance their business, it’s going to show up on any police record that they were arrested and charged and had to pay a fine. If they were to apply for a visa how would they get their visa with a police record like that?

“What if they want to go to college abroad? How

does that work with a record?”

On Monday, the Prime Minister called street vendors an important part of the economy.

“Accordingly, we will be offering a way for enterprising Bahamians to be able to sell their products on the streets of their respective islands, and to be able to do so in a safe and sustained manner,” he said. “The government will review the current licensing and regulatory procedures for street vendors. Our intention is to enable street vendors to be able to sell their products in safe and secure venues.”

He said standards would be put in place to ensure they could meet health code requirements and not pose any health risk related to COVID-19 or otherwise.

The vendors will be trained in these standards as a requirement of their license, Dr Minnis said.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, PAGE 3

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS from page one He said: “Well, hopefully as we open up, we’ll get the domestic economy started to go again. Hopefully, we will not have any cause to have to go back in a curfew situation or lockdown situation. That will allow for some domestic activity to happen and people to go back to work.

“It’s still going to be a few weeks, I imagine, before we open the borders even for domestic travel, much less for international travel.

And so, the tourism sector is going to be under pressure, but hopefully we will have a positive experience with this particular lockdown and we’ll be able to get back to the international travel as quickly as we can.”

Mr Turnquest said while he could not give a definitive date concerning the resumption of international travel, finance officials are eying late October or early November as a potential reopening date.

Travel ban may stay for two more months “I do not have that date,” he said. “I think the Minister of Tourism will be better (able) to answer that question. But from the Ministry of Finance perspective, we’ve always said that we’re looking towards a.. late October to early November opening and that’s where our budget forecasts puts us, so we’ll see. Hopefully, we’ll be able to meet that date.”

Last week, Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Travis Robinson told The Tribune that tourism officials were looking at late October as the return of its global marketing strategies, hoping by

then the country is ready to reopen.

“We are looking at around late October for Phase One (of the reopening) and the early part of November, if everything pans out, for the final phase as we go back out and infiltrate the market with the tourism brand of The Bahamas,” Mr Robinson told this newspaper.

There have been concerns that the resumption of international travel could possibly lead to another wave of the virus more deadly than the previous ones as seen with the second COVID-19 wave.

Responding to those concerns yesterday, Mr Turnquest said the issue is not with tourists coming into the country, but rather Bahamians travelling to COVID-19 hotspots and subsequently returning home.

Ever since the country re-opened its borders in early July, the Bahamas has seen over 1,600 additional COVID cases reported, with the total as of Monday standing at 1,798.

Family Islands that were once deemed COVID-free have also recorded cases in recent weeks.

This, according to Mr

Turnquest, is why it’s so important for Bahamians to remain disciplined and adhere to all the COVID-19 safety guidelines implemented by health officials.

He said: “… Less than one percent of those new infections came from foreigners. They were all domestic cases or persons who travelled and brought back the virus, so we can put in place strategies to quarantine to mitigate the risk that the tourist will provide, but it is us that we have to be concerned about.

“Obviously, we don’t want to have a situation

where foreigners can come and Bahamians can’t come and go and so it is incumbent upon us to make sure that we are disciplined about all of the protocols and have a heightened awareness as we travel because, for instance, we know that Florida is a hotspot. So, the tourists aren’t necessarily the issue. It’s us.”

In an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, Mr Turnquest also urged small businesses yesterday to ensure all the necessary health protocols are being followed when they resume operations on Monday.

Police cases inevitable, says Dames from page one Mr Dames also said there are some 18 Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers who are still infected with disease while adding at least two people at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services have tested COVID positive.

Despite these relatively small numbers, the minister maintained law enforcement agencies continue to carry out their duties in protecting the public.

“Listen, these agencies are very large agencies and they’re just a microcosm of our wider society and so it is expected therefore that given the nature of what they do... there will be some numbers within the ranks of these agencies impacted,” he told reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting yesterday.

“I mean to date, I believe the defence force has some 18 active cases and the police force, three active cases and so as far as the police force is concerned, those numbers have trended downward significantly.”

His comments came a day after health officials revealed the uniform branches led the way in terms of contacts’ workplace exposure by occupation, followed by health workers and those in the category of trade, utility and construction.

He added: “And the prison, I believe, they may have had two overall cases and so when you look at it across the board,

these agencies are doing extremely well. And we, from the beginning of COVID, each of these agencies would’ve had their own individual COVID plans.

“And they continue to manage those plans and their plans are much more stringent and strict that what we see on the outside because know that if we allow it to run rampant in these agencies, it could have a devastating effect on their ability to deliver services to the Bahamian people and so I mean to date while these agencies have been impacted, I think the numbers are all manageable and we continue to meet on a daily basis.”

Last month, Mr Dames told The Tribune that as many as ten police officers had been infected with COVID-19, adding that more than 100 police officers were in quarantine because of COVID-19 exposure.

Earlier this month, he told a local news station that more than 50 COVID19 cases were confirmed in the RBPF and 12 in the RBDF. It is not clear how many officers are currently in quarantine to date. However, in an effort to better protect workers against the COVID threat, Mr Dames said officials have introduced a number of safety protocols among law enforcement agencies such as the implementation of a COVID-19 inspector.

“For example, within the Royal Bahamas Police Force and every division, there is a COVID monitor

and it has the responsibility at the divisions,” the Mount Moriah MP said.

“It would be one of the inspectors at the divisions and it would be that officer’s responsibility to ensure that officers are adhering to the protocols because these are frontline agencies and we had to take that extra step – adhering to the protocols and wearing their masks or washing their hands and maintaining social distancing as well as persons coming into these stations that they too are attended to in the safest possible manner.

“The same thing with the defence force, the Commodore and I discussed yesterday a kind of similar set up. In all of the departments there is a COVID monitor and a COVID inspector so to speak whose job it is again to ensure that we are applying the appropriate preventive measures.”

Asked yesterday to respond to criticism that officers were not being careful enough in preventing themselves from catching the virus, the minister insisted that it is not the case. He said that given the nature of the job, the likelihood of members contracting COVID are bound to happen.

He replied: “I say the police officers are only a microcosm of the wider community.

They live within these same communities where we all live, right, and so it is expected...

I mean the police force has close to 4,000 members and civilians. That’s a significant number of the Bahamian

public and workforce and so again, that will happen.

You think people will go out there and intentionally get COVID? Some people are reckless, yes, but I don’t agree with that for one second.”

Yesterday, the minister also responded to increasing theft concerns in the community of Abaco. The matter has been an issue for the island and its residents since the passing of Dorian in early September.

In recent weeks, many have expressed concern with the lack of police presence on the island, citing a need for more officers to be deployed there.

“Listen, I don’t know where that came from but we never (left) Abaco, “ Mr Dames said. “Since Dorian, we would have had an increased number of resources on both Abaco and Grand Bahama of RBPF and defence force officers.”

of virtual collapse and needed to be in a complete shutdown. A week later we were told that some of that data may not have been accurate and we are now in a position where we can start opening up the economy.”

He continued: “… Either science was flawed, either the data left much to be desired - which appears to be the case - or we made a decision that is based on economic fortunes as opposed to health. The question will be well why wasn’t that decision made earlier because we have gone through a tremendous amount of economic downturn?

“So I think we have to be careful that that message is not perceived as being a

situation where the country is safe to move around freely.

“I think the reality is we are at a point where economically we just cannot sustain being shut down because the little trickling economic activity that is taking place, if that is shut off then that would be irreparable. “... Where there is no vision the people perish and ultimately there should have been by this point in time greater demonstration and presentation of a long-term plan. Not what is deemed to be phases, but a comprehensive plan that says these are the metrics that we are managing.”

Mr Bowe, pictured, questioned yesterday why nothing had not been

articulated so citizens had a clear idea of the government’s actions.

“If we know that we have x number of beds; we know we have x number of health professionals; we know what we can sustain in our medical system in terms of positive cases deaths etc, then on a metrical basis we should be able to say that when we hit these particular triggers then we are going to make more restrictive decisions and so it shouldn’t start from being the most restrictive or start from being the least restrictive. It should start on the basis of what is going to trigger and how different phases are going to come about.

15 MORE VICTIMS AND TWO DEATHS THE Ministry of Health recorded 15 additional COVID-19 cases yesterday with two more deaths under investigation. This brings the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 1,813 and the number of deaths - which now includes those under investigation to 48.

According to the latest data, there are now 1,039 confirmed cases of COVID19 in New Providence, 525 in Grand Bahama, 66 in Abaco, 53 in Bimini, 19 in Exuma, 15 in the Berry Islands, eight in Cat Island, eight in Inagua, five in Eleuthera, four in Acklins, two in Crooked Island and one in Andros. There are 68

confirmed cases with “locations pending”. Of the 15 cases reported yesterday, 10 are in New Providence, two in Grand Bahama and three are in Bimini.

“The Ministry of Health also confirms that there were two deaths reported today that are under investigation,” a statement released shortly before midnight said. “Details about these deaths will be released once they have been properly classified. Hence, the death toll currently stands at 48. Also, one death has been classified as a confirmed non-COVID related death. Hence, non-COVID related deaths now tally at six.”

WHERE’S THE PLAN ON WHAT WE DO NEXT, ASKS BOWE from page one he suggested, show there is no plan in place to steer the nation amid economic downturn due to COVID-19.

However, he agreed the country is at a point where an economic shutdown can no longer be sustained.

Mr Bowe said: “I would argue that when we stop and pause, even from March, the purpose of having lockdowns globally has been to devise a strategy in terms of how we live with COVID going forward and that has been lacking and still is necessary.

“I think the danger in the communication last night is a week ago we were told that we were on the brink

“I think there has to be an acknowledgment that this is unprecedented but equally in the business world it’s very candid. If you don’t have the right advisors then you seek them and if you don’t have the right systems you purchase them.

“If you don’t have the right treatments to address it you ensure that you procure it and so the government has to take an all-out position that it will make sure that it is engaging the right persons to devise a strategy that is not thinking about next week or the month, but is thinking about the next 12 months or 18 months

as it relates to how we live with it balancing the health officials, the economic contributors and also the social considerations.”

On Monday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said the government was committed to a measured phased re-opening of the economy and society, based on specific health metrics.

This was hoped to act as an aid to the public, to gauge when there may be more relaxed or more restrictive measures.

While he did not go into specifics of what his administration’s economic recovery plan would look like, Dr Minnis said officials were working on a revised detailed phased plan to boost jobs and economic growth domestically.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, August 26, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Mixed views on reopening plans

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net THE business community had mixed reaction yesterday to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ announcement of an ease in lockdown restrictions starting next week.

Arawak Cay vendors previously complained about getting shafted by the government during the first wave of the pandemic, after they were the first to be ordered closed and the last to reopen only to be abruptly shut down again. Lillian LarrimoreSmith, vice president of the Arawak Cay Vendors Association, said they are happy about the news.

“We are actually having a meeting (today),” Ms Larrimore-Smith said. “We have also been meeting

over the past several weeks.

We have some plans, we are going to set up a one day training session for vendors and staff.

“We’re excited and have no problem with the curbside and take out only because in the past, when we had to close, we had some infractions with several of the restaurants in terms of outside dining and the crowds. And, so we are going to train our people in a better way and after that we will contact the Prime Minister’s Office to request that we get outdoor dining.”

Effective August 31, New Providence restaurants can provide outdoor dining, curbside service, take-away and delivery. However, both the Fish Fry and Potter’s Cay Dock will only be allowed to offer curbside, takeaway and delivery.

Construction activities and hardware stores will

continue as usual while other retailers will be permitted to offer curbside and delivery services.

Dr Minnis also said offices and other businesses will be permitted to operate with physical distancing restrictions.

Like the Arawak Cay vendors, the grooming and beauty industry took a serious blow, being closed down for up to about four months.

The industry was briefly reopened last month, before soon being shut down again in early August like most of the commercial sector.

Proprietor of Johnson’s Barber and Beauty Salon Trevor Johnson said he can’t get excited until he sees the specifics of the reopening plan.

“Well I don’t know if I should rejoice about businesses being opened right now,” said Mr Johnson.

“The thing is the Prime Minister never really stipulated beauticians and barbershops in these businesses (set to reopen). He just said most businesses or some businesses. I am not going to get all excited and be presumptuous and get my staff out and open our doors and then get cited by police and have to close down.

“I think the PM is supposed to address us again (soon). Hopefully he is more specific on what type of businesses are to be opened then. Things are really rough out here and our industry really needs to get back to work. We were good to go when we finally got the green light to work.

Now we are shut down again. Let’s hope we get some good news, soon.”

Sandra Bullard, of Bijon Event Planners, has seen her business come to a

screeching halt because of COVID-19. She is hopeful that she can have some normalcy again, businesswise.

“I am very happy to know that as of next week we can be doing at least some business in this country,” Ms Bullard said. “I see where the competent authority says there can be 20 people at social gatherings on Family Islands. I am hoping that we, here, in New Providence will soon be afforded the same opportunity.

That’s where people like me can get some work in.

“It’s been a very hard road for these past months.

I appreciated the Prime Minister’s address on Monday. I think as Bahamians we can all breathe a sigh of relief. All we have to do is practice social distancing, wearing our masks and washing our hands. If we practice this, we will be good.”

UNION CHIEF CONGRATULATES PM ON CHANGES

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Public Service Union president Kimsley Ferguson yesterday praised Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis for relaxing the COVID-19 restrictions in New Providence, saying the move will bring much needed relief to the business community.

He also said union members are anxious to hear from government officials on efforts to better protect workers from contracting COVID-19 when the country starts to re-open on Monday.

Yesterday, the union president reiterated the need for more personal protective equipment among public servants.

In an effort to rectify the

issue, Mr Ferguson said union officials are hoping to have a detailed discussion with Dr Minnis very soon to address their safety concerns.

He said: “Well, I did also hear the prime minister indicated that he is going to meet with unions and we are hopeful that when that happens, we will be able to get some of our concerns addressed. We do have some concerns with that particular regard.

“One of the things we can use to remedy the concern that healthcare workers may have is we can step up on the personal protective equipment. We can give them the suit and we can ensure that they have the masks and face shields.”

He continued: “We can also ensure that instead of some persons only getting a

regular surgical mask, they can actually be issued with the N95 mask which is more protective as they carry out their various duties and we don’t want the administrators from the various healthcare institutions to discriminate between the nurses and doctors as opposed to the support staff because we have been receiving some complaints that support staff is not getting the actual protective equipment that they should be getting.

“So that is a concern for us, and we are hopeful that that will be addressed.”

The BPSU represents support staff at public healthcare facilities.

On Monday, Dr Minnis announced that most businesses in New Providence will be allowed to partially reopen on August 31,

including restaurants and retail stores. Beaches will also be permitted to open on the island from 5am to 9am starting Monday.

The news came hours after he eased lockdown restrictions for Grand Bahama and several Family Islands, allowing the resumption of indoor church services, curbside business activity and outdoor dining as of yesterday.

As it relates to New Providence, Dr Minnis said the current lockdown restrictions will remain in place until 5am next Monday.

Speaking to reporters outside the Churchill Building yesterday, Mr Ferguson said he was impressed with a number of initiatives outlined in the prime minister’s address, including his decision to not cut the pay of public servants.

“I think the prime minister took a very bold initiative in that he maintained that his intention was not to cut the public service and again, I want to reiterate that the public service is also what is keeping the economy afloat presently and again, some of those various households that would have been impacted as hoteliers are actually those persons who have public servants carrying them. . .(with) monies to ensure that those particular homes stay afloat.

“And so again, I thought it was a very bold initiative on his part and we are hopeful that the hotels are going to open and the various properties are going to re-engage those persons who would’ve been laid off.”

SCHOOL VAT HOLIDAY TO BEGIN ON MONDAY THE Ministry of Finance has announced that the back-to-school VAT holiday will begin on Monday to provide relief for parents and teachers.

“The purpose of the tax relief measure, announced during the budget debate, is to make back-to-school shopping less expensive for parents while providing support to local businesses throughout The Bahamas,” a press release from the ministry said. “The Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) will work with businesses across the country to administer this tax relief measure.

“While the country grapples with the ongoing health and economic crisis, the government will continue to find ways to reduce the financial strain on families and businesses and provide support where we can. With the VAT holiday on school supplies, parents and teachers will be able to find some financial relief as they prepare for the reopening of school.”

Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said: “Even with the tax breaks, many people will still need the support of the broader community, so we continue to encourage and celebrate those who have been rallying together to support their neighbours, family members, friends and even strangers.”

Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd said: “We know parents and teachers across the country are anxious to prepare for the reopening of schools in September, and the transition to virtual school.

“Naturally, there are learning tools required for remote learning that were not necessary for in person learning. The government has ensured that the VAT holiday covers traditional school supplies, such as notebooks, folders and other stationary, and digital learning tools such as personal computers, tablets and other related accessories.”

The VAT holiday will cover a range of locally purchased school supplies, including school uniforms, clothing, backpacks, electronic book readers, and even school snacks.

Imported items are not included under the VAT holiday and will attract the ordinary border taxes.

The back-to-school VAT holiday will run from Monday, August 31 to Sunday, September 20.

For a more comprehensive list of items included in the VAT holiday, visit Inlandrevenue.finance.gov. bs and see “VAT Holiday” under the VAT menu.

GB FNM COUNCIL PRAISES MINNIS FOR ‘LISTENING’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

The Free National Movement Grand Bahama Council has commended Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and the government of The Bahamas for “listening to the voices of the people”.

In a statement released yesterday, the council praised Dr Minnis for being guided by health professionals to save lives, and for now striking a caring, compassionate and competent balance to help save the economy and sustainable way of life.

“In the face of never seen before historical challenges, our Prime Minister and this FNM government continue to meet the moment and make the pivotal adjustments in the best interest of all Bahamians,” it read.

“Here on Grand Bahama, we look forward to adhering to the health and safety protocols, being our brothers and sisters’ keeper, using our creative energies, and demonstrating our resilient and determined will to recover. With God’s grace and leadership willing to listen to the voices of the people, we know there are better days ahead, the statement said.

BRAVE GETTING BETTER

PLP leader Philip “Brave” Davis continues to make progress in a US hospital, according to PLP chairman Fred Mitchell.

“I spoke to him myself by video link; he spoke from his private room,” Mr Mitchell said yesterday.

“He looks well and spoke

strongly. The doctors are pleased with his progress.

No visitors are allowed per hospital policy during the pandemic. Both the family and the doctors are pleased with the progress.”

Mr Davis was airlifted to the United States last week for COVID-19 treatment.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, PAGE 5

POLICE RELEASE SKETCHES OF SUSPECTED RAPISTS

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

POLICE have released sketches of three suspected rapists and are appealing to the public for information leading to their arrests.

ASP Audley Peters confirmed to The Tribune yesterday that the suspects are wanted for separate incidents which occurred between May and August.

However, he was tightlipped about the details of the offences.

Their names, ages, and last known addresses are unknown but a sketch and description of the men

were provided on their wanted posters.

All of them are of medium build with a dark brown complexion. Two were around 5’9” to 5’10” in height while one was described as being 5’10”.

Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle announced last month that the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Sexual Offences Unit had recorded 83 cases between January to June, representing a 14 percent decline from the year prior. The numbers were outlined in the force’s midyear report.

Last year, there were 96 sexual offences recorded for the specified period.

TEENAGERS REMANDED OVER CLAIMS THEY PLANNED TO HARM A WOMAN

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

PICTURED front (L-R) are: Michael Thompson and Theodis Kemp; Back (L-R): Miguel Francis and Dominique Delevaux. All were in court yesterday.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

BAIL DENIED AS MAN FACES CHARGES OF ARMED ROBBERY

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 37-YEAR-OLD man was charged with armed robbery in the Magistrates Court yesterday. Miguel Francis, also known as “Smokey”, was accused of robbing Tevaun Davis on August 4. The prosecution said the funds belonged to Polhemus Drugs.

According to initial reports, shortly before 2pm that afternoon, a lone gunman entered the business situated on Boyd Road and robbed a cashier of an undetermined amount of money. Police said the suspect then exited the store before escaping in an unknown direction.

During the hearing, Francis was not required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to October 15 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and the defendant was remanded to

the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until trial.

He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

In a separate matter, a man who was found with $300 worth of counterfeit Bahamian notes was fined $500 yesterday.

Michael Thompson, a fisherman by profession, was arrested after police discovered three fraudulent Bahamian $100 bills in his possession when they searched him on August 22.

The court heard officers near Windsor Place on Soldier Road conducted a search of Thompson’s Honda on the day in question. While doing so, they discovered the counterfeit notes and arrested the defendant. In an interview with police at a nearby station, Thompson acknowledged the money was fraudulent, but said he received it from a man whom he had sold a car to for $1,800 on August 14.

FINED $500 FOR ASSISTING IN THEFT

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 28-YEAR-OLD man who admitted helping another man steal a weed whacker from a yard cleaner last month was fined $500 yesterday.

Danrico Carey appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after he was accused of stealing the gardening tool from Saint Vylard Simeon while the man was walking on the side of the street on June 20.

At the time, Mr Simeon told officers he was walking on Saint Vincent Road when a silver vehicle pulled up alongside him and a person exited the car. Mr Simeon said the person then pushed him to the ground from behind before grabbing the $700 weed whacker and jumping back in the vehicle which then drove off.

The court heard officers arrested Carey a short time later. He was then taken to the Carmichael Road Police Station where he admitted to driving the car that pulled up next to Mr Simeon that day. In his interview with police, Carey claimed he was riding with one of his “boys” who was the one who pushed the complainant down and snatched the weed whacker from him.

Carey said after his friend stole the gardening tool, he dropped him off and then sold the weed whacker to a person in the Big Pond area for $200. According to the prosecution, officers were able to retrieve the weed whacker and return it to its rightful owner.

Yesterday, Carey pleaded guilty to the single count of robbery and was fined $500.

If he fails to pay the fine, he will spend three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

FORMER SENATOR LIES IN STATE THE body of Johnley Walter Ferguson, former senator and parliamentarian, will lie-in-state in the foyer of the Senate today from 9am to 3pm. All COVID-19 health protocols will be strictly enforced.

Viewing for the general public will be from noon to 3pm today. Mr Ferguson died in hospital on August 6.

After pleading guilty to one count of possession of forged currency notes during his hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes yesterday, Thompson was fined $500.

Magistrate Forbes warned him if he failed to pay, he could risk spending six months in prison.

TWO teenagers were remanded into custody yesterday over allegations they planned to use a firearm to harm a woman last week.

Mantez Rolle, 18, and a 17-year-old male were accused of being in possession of a handgun, which the prosecution alleged they intended to use to endanger the life of a female on August 20.

The defendants were not required to enter a plea during their hearing before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain and the matter was adjourned to October 14 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). Bail was denied and the youngsters were remanded into custody until trial. They both have the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

Yesterday, Theodis Kemp, 31, also appeared before Magistrate Swain after he was found with a handgun which police believed he planned to use to harm a man and woman on June 20.

MANTEZ Rolle and a juvenile. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff Kemp was also charged with being in possession of an unlicenced firearm and ammunition after officers seized a .9mm pistol and five live rounds of ammunition from him.

Like the teenagers, Kemp was also not required to enter a plea during his arraignment and his case was adjourned to October 15 for service of a VBI. Bail was denied and the defendant was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim.

In a separate matter, a 39-year-old man who was accused of assaulting

another man with a firearm and trying to run him over with his car was denied bail before his trial.

Dominique Deleveaux was accused of assaulting Tony Louidor with his blue car on August 20. He was further accused of threatening to kill Mr Louidor and assaulting him with a handgun that same day.

During his arraignment before Assistant Chief Magistrate Swain yesterday, Deleveaux denied the allegations and the matter was adjourned to October 15 for trial. In the interim, bail was denied and the defendant was put on remand.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, August 26, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Is a level playing field really the best way?

WITH the country on course to start to reopen next week, when will the borders fully reopen?

Don’t hold your breath – for if Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest is to be believed, that moment is weeks away, if not months.

“It’s still going to be a few weeks, I imagine,” he said, “before we open the borders even for domestic travel, much less for international travel.”

While Mr Turnquest would not give a definite date, Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Travis Robinson suggested late October would see the first phase of reopening, with early November seeing international travellers being encouraged to return to The Bahamas.

This is our second go around at this, of course, with the first reopening ending, so we are told, in a rush of Bahamians travelling to hotspots and returning with the virus. According to the government, cases spread as a result of tourism are minimal, and not one visitor has been recorded as a case in the daily figures so far, while Mr Turnquest says “less than one percent of those new infections came from foreigners”.

Part of that reopening tangled up in international agreements, however, when flights from the US were cut off.

For whatever reason, that prompted a rethink to level the playing field for all countries – but is that really a level field?

If someone is coming from a country with next to zero cases, should they really be considered on the same level

as someone coming from a country that is a hotspot? Or should we not just look at the passport that a person carries, but a health passport? Already, we have rules about arriving with a recent negative COVID-19 test, but if we know they are coming from a country where the virus is under control, can we not be more flexible towards those visitors?

Essentially, what is wrong with setting a baseline for entering The Bahamas based on the number of new cases in the country they’re coming from? Can we move to reopen at the pace of the best-performing countries and not at the pace of the worst? For that is what happens if we treat all countries the same and base our response on how the one lagging along at the back might be doing. Once a country reaches a certain threshold, it too can be added to the approved list.

We also need to address how our own population deals with the borders reopening. People have many reasons they need to go overseas – from studies and exams to medical examinations and more. To cast blame on frivolous trips doesn’t take into consideration people who needed to go. We need to be better at managing those trips – at ensuring quarantines take place as needed, and that those are enforced.

But if the opportunity is there – safely managed – to open our borders more, then we should push to be able to take it. The economy is on its knees – and it’s time to take a pace forward.

There’s trouble ahead NO ONE wants to hear this right now, but there’s a bigger threat on the horizon for The Bahamas than COVID-19.

In the next 80 years, the country is at risk of losing 80 percent of its land mass.

That’s what the Rotary Club of Grand Bahama heard this week from T Oneil Johnson Jr, a young Bahamian whose future this is very much relevant for.

The risk, he tells us, is the rising sea level. By 2100, the sea level is projected to rise by a meter. That doesn’t sound much, does it? But 80 percent of The Bahamas is below that level.

Mind you, even before COVID-19 hit, this wasn’t something too many people wanted to pay attention to.

Former Prime Minister Perry Christie repeatedly used to go overseas, warn of the “existential threat” facing The Bahamas then return home and little changed.

So when all this is over, and we remain hopeful and confident that this viral threat will be over one day, let’s not just pat ourselves on the back and go back to normal. Let’s actually do something about the next threat.

Prime minister’s interesting display of political theatre EDITOR, The Tribune IN an interesting display of political theatre, the prime minister decided to throw the Bahamian people to the wolves in order to save his own political hide.

Yet another quality unbecoming of a national leader.

It is no small thing that the data conveniently allowed the “competent authority” to make a decision that would quell the social unrest that may have been inevitable with a lockdown announcement.

Business owners were already preparing to protest the continued closure of their businesses and many people were on edge prior to this announcement. This makes it abundantly clear that data can be manipulated to create the outcome a politician might need, in spite of the objective evidence of continued deaths and rates of infection. So, even though we are virtually guaranteed to have one death per hundred infected, you can now go

to the beach from 5 am to 9 am, but you were strictly banned from doing so just one month ago when there were no deaths!

This now raises several questions in my mind, firstly of how trustworthy future reports of testing and results will be. Should we now be on the lookout for increased rates of “nonCOVID” related deaths since it might fit the political narrative?

Secondly,, is the question of why there seems to be an increase in efficiency when Dr. Dahl Regis is present in an advisory capacity and an obvious lack of the same in her absence? How can the Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Public Health continue to have her authority undermined or apparent incompetence exposed without resigning?

A rhetorical question, since accountability is not usually a part of third world governments administrative policies.

Thirdly, I don’t recall the Minister of Health being

present at the conference, I can only wonder why!

Lastly, I hope business owners will do their part in helping to control rates of infection primarily by adhering to a designated shopper protocol, along with the obvious requirements of having shoppers wear masks and using hand sanitizers, etc. At this stage in the game, it is unacceptable that couples are allowed entry into stores to stroll around like they are on vacation.

Even though many are relieved that no lockdown has come, it is at the inevitable expense of increased rates of infection and the known complications. It is a convenience that may be paid for with the blood of innocents! For now, at least, the prime minister has extended his political shelf life and has made the Bahamas a stellar example of how not to manage a pandemic!!

JB Nassau, August 25, 2020.

The 157 will be to blame EDITOR, The Tribune A GERM carrier has been defined as a person or thing that carries and transmits harmful microorganisms. According to the Bahamas COVID-19 Dashboard, as of August 24, 1,798 persons have been infected with the novel coronavirus, with 46 casualties.

The Family Islands of Acklins and Crooked Island have four and two confirmed cases, respectively.

I mentioned both islands because Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis alleged, at his recent COVID-19 press conference, that 157 persons from New Providence travelled to Acklins before inter-island travel was banned in July 28.

These people, according to Minnis, had contaminated Acklins with the COVID19 virus – an island that was previously COVID-19 free.

In all things considered, it looks like Minnis’ lockdown announcements are routinely being preempted by someone within the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). Hours before his abrupt announcement of a seven-day lockdown for New Providence, people in Freeport were already aware of it.

One Grand Bahamian was heard telling another Grand Bahamian that based

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net on reliable sources within the OPM, Minnis was going to impose a severe one-week lockdown on the country. The abrupt sevenday lockdown was Minnis’ way of circumventing this, it would appear. New Providence, with its 1,029 confirmed COVID-19 infections, as of August 24, is a quintessential hotspot that Family Islanders must avoid like the plague, no pun intended. But at least New Providence residents have the Princess Margaret Hospital and Doctor’s Hospital to go to when they get sick.

Acklins and Crooked Island have no hospital. Even

by Bahamian third world standards, both islands are still stuck in the dark ages, lacking the means to handle a potential outbreak. None of this was obviously taken into consideration by the alleged 157 Nassauvian COVID-19 carriers.

In an April 27 opinion piece written by one Dan Kaszeta for The Washington Post, former head of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps, General William Creasy is quoted as saying that “biological weapons are public health in reverse.”

The gist of Kaszeta’s piece is that despite there being an advanced virology lab in Wuhan, China, there is no ironclad evidence that the current COVID-19 pandemic is a deliberate attack China had unleashed on the world. One can make the same argument for the 157 Bahamians who infected Acklins. The few who were infected, if Minnis’ allegations have any merit, were in all probability asymptomatic. There are those who believe Minnis is scapegoating these Bahamians.

But I don’t see it that way.

The 157 Bahamians are no different than the over 4,000 Bahamians who fled to Florida once the borders were opened on July 1. It was after this watershed date that the COVID-19 numbers started going through the roof. Attending a homecoming took precedence over the health of the people of Acklins and Crooked Island. In this regard, the 157 were acting irresponsibly. If there is, God forbid, any casualty on the islands due to COVID19, it should be laid at the doorstep of the 157 Bahamians who decided to outsmart the Competent Authority.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, GB August 25, 2020.

Remembering Neville Smith EDITOR, The Tribune THE passing of the Hon Justice Neville Smith adds to the rich tapestry of the invaluable contributions that Barbadians have made and continue to make to the development of the Bahamas in various professional capacities, such as teaching, nursing, lawenforcement, engineering, law and medicine.

Mr Justice Smith’s legacy was in the field of Law, having been an Attorney and a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of The Bahamas.

I remember him as a faithful member of Christ Church Cathedral, where

he was a dedicated servant of the Lord as a Catechist, Lay-Reader and Chalice Bearer. Always respectful, courtly and pleasant, he demonstrated old world charms of humility, Christian love and charity, unlike so many of his confreres.

Mr Smith did his native land proud. He represented his fellow Bajans well.

They had no reason to be ashamed of him. It was once remarked to me by his compatriot, Fred Phillips, that Neville Smith was the most pre-eminent Barbadian of his time in the Bahamas.

My sincere condolences are extended to his two children, grandchildren and other relatives.

I conclude with a few words of Shakespeare on “the seven Ages of Man” in the play, “As you like it”.

“And then the justice, In fair round belly, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws, and modern instances, And so he plays his part Thus ends the eventful history.”

Rest eternal grant unto him O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him.

GEORGE L L HEASTIE Nassau, August 25, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, PAGE 7 Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

LIFTING THE SPIRIT

A GROUP which plans to clean up derelict areas in the Elizabeth constituency recently organised debris removal.

The group went to the property of one homeowner, whose home was damaged by fire in 2014, to clear rubble that was on the property. “We are trying to lift their spirits, give them the help that they need and next week or the following week we should be starting some plumbing work inside with some electrical work in the home,” Progressive Liberal Party Senator Jobeth Coleby-Davis said.

Some debris was also removed from an area near the Elizabeth Estates Clinic which residents had complained of for some time, she added.

Bahamas may lose 80% of land mass, warns expert from page one than one metre above sea level, he said.

“The Bahamas is at risk of losing 80 percent of its land mass by 2100 if sea level continues to rise the way that it is,” Mr Johnson warned.

“Sea level rise, which we are hearing more and more about in The Bahamas, is perhaps one of the most vexing concerns for small island developing states because most of us are very low-lying.”

Countries, such as Guyana is at risk of losing 90 percent of its land mass if sea levels were to rise one metre, and Guam, the US Territory is already experiencing the impact on sea-level rise, Mr Johnson pointed out.

The US, he added, is also at risk of losing 40 percent of its land mass in Florida.

Mr Johnson said greenhouse gases caused by pollution in the atmosphere are responsible for global warming, which is causing glaciers to melt around the world.

He noted that countries such as China and the US are mainly at fault, with the former accounting for more than one-quarter of global emission of greenhouse gases, and the latter 14 percent, while the rest of the world contributes less than 22 percent of emission.

Mr Johnson indicated The Bahamas’ emission is 0.001 percent. “So obviously, we are not causing global warming and we are not causing climate change,” he said.

Most of the information on climate change can be obtained from the InterGovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ITCC), which is an international agreement containing

information regarding CC, said Johnson, who noted that Bahamian Dr Dell Thomas is a contributing author to the panel on CC. “It is unbelievable to know the state that the world is in,” said the senior officer in the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction in Grand Bahama.

Other threats of climate change, he mentioned are ocean acidification and more intense hurricanes.

Referring to Hurricane Dorian “as one of the strongest recorded in the Atlantic basin in modern history,” Mr Johnson said the increase in ferocity and strength of these systems as they pass through The Bahamas is a serious concern for climate scientists.

“No longer are we seeing weak Category Three storms like Jeanne, Wilma and Ike - we are now seeing

these explosive Category 5 storms, like Dorian and Irma. And it begs the question, is Dorian going to be our new reality? I think last year was a humbling experience for The Bahamas and it shows us we must really take serious action,” he said.

Climate change also impacts all sectors of the economy from Agriculture, Tourism, and Education.

Caribbean countries are experiencing extreme drought more than ever before, such as Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, and the Grenadines, said Johnson.

He stated that the Tourism sector is going to be crippled by the sun, sand, and sea.

“According to exit surveys, tourists are now complaining about the

heat in Caribbean countries. This is, of course, very concerning because we are expected to see an increase in temperature,and tourism is the lifeblood, the bread and butter of many economies in our region,” he said.

In terms of education, Mr Johnson said if The Bahamas has more hurricanes children are going to be out of the classroom for more extended periods.

Mr Johnson said that all is not lost as there are things that can be done to mitigate the effects of climate change, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by requiring countries like America, Japan, European Union by resorting to more environmentally friendly means of doing business, with renewable energy.

Adaptation by reducing The Bahamas’ vulnerability and enhancing resilience is another weapon in the war against climate change, according to Mr Johnson.

“This could range from building sea walls, which I am totally against, to research, preventative measures, and passing legislation and environmental laws, mangrove rehabilitation and restoration, he said.

Mr Johnson commended the government for the establishment of the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management, and Reconstruction and Disaster Reconstruction Authority. “It is the first institution of its kind in the region,” he said.

Editorial View - Page 6

BAIC STAFF UNHAPPY WITH NEW MANAGER’S CHANGES

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net

WHILE staff at the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation have complained about the style of the new management, BAIC’s new general manager Rocky Nesbitt said he is just trying to bring accountability and transparency to an area that is used to a slack culture.

The Tribune was informed that staff at BAIC allegedly walked off the job recently because of issues with Mr Nesbitt, who assumed his new post on July 1.

The position, which took almost a year to be filled, was last held by Benjamin Rahming, who retired last August.

“I don’t understand how this man thinks,” one BAIC staff member who asked to remain anonymous said.

“He treats us like we are children, speaks to us any kind of way and is mixing up everything we do. We get it you know. He. . . is a political appointee just like everyone they get to manage this place. No one looks at experience in the industry when hiring these managers here. It’s all about politics. This man does not know anything about the agriculture industry and how to run it but he is the boss and we have to take it or leave it.”

When contacted about the complaints, Mr Nesbitt

said any new measures taken are strictly to bring the quasi-government agency to full corporation status.

“When I came into the institution (BAIC), I implemented a series of adjustments,” Mr Nesbitt said. “Right now the Research Department has undertaken the task of assessing every department to see the competence of our service operating procedures (SOPs). We are looking at our SOPs to see if they are efficient and effective for BAIC moving forward.

“My background … I have a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Global Management, from Nova South Eastern University. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in prelaw from Florida Memorial University. I have worked in the Ministry of Education, I worked in the Bahamas Department of Corrections and I am a lecturer at Southern College,” Mr Nesbitt said.

The BAIC staff member, who spoke on behalf of the other disgruntled staff, said one major complaint was the level of protection offered to staff who deal with the public in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The staff member also complained about being overworked.

The general manager said all of this is just simple

culture shock. “The culture has to change so this will be a culture shock,” he said.

“For example, during the lockdown I have allowed staff in the corporate office to work Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 12pm. That equates to nine hours with Tuesday and Thursday off.

“They still are getting their 40 hours a week pay along with 100 percent employer contribution to their health insurance.

You cannot get that anywhere on this planet. But, they feel if government ministries are shut down, we should be home too and get our pay. That is unsustainable,” Mr Nesbitt said.

Asked if he thinks that the environment was just slack before he got there, the general manager said, “I definitely think that is the case and this is well expected. That is why the position of general manager was open for such a long time. The board has decided that they want to move in the direction of a 21st century corporation and to move forward with that, they need a lot of energy, innovation and someone who is going to be strict and stern and consistent when it comes to the daily operations of the corporation.”

Mr Nesbitt sidestepped the question when asked if the staff recently walked out in protest. He said all services provided by BAIC “went unimpeded”.

Private Funeral Service For Stephanie Beryl Rolle, 68 of Breadfruit Street, Pinewood Gardens and formerly of Conch Sound, North Andros, will be held on Thursday, August 26th, 2020 at Woodlawn Gardens, Soldier Road. Officiating will be Pastor Robert W. T. McKinney, assisted by Minister Clifford Baton.

Left to cherish her memories are her loving devoted husband of 42 years: Tonney Pedro Rolle; six children: Clifford and Melvera Woods, Shenez Carey, Nadia and Tony Rolle and Tamra Deleveaux; two daughtersin-law: Garnell Woods and Nathasha Bethel; two sons-in-law: Valentino Carey and Reuben Deleveaux; eighteen grandchildren: Clifford and Riana Woods, Jamal Wilson, Laraj and Jalyn Rolle, Na’Jaya Sands, Shantina, Valentino Jr., Santino and Vashawn Carey, Dennisha Black, Stesha Newbold,Tony Rolle III, Reuben, Alisha and Talia Deleveaux; one aunt: Evelyn Haley of Miami, Fl.; six siblings: Derick Miller, Doral Miller, Alvilda Evans, Mildred Miller, Dennis Miller, Keva Walker of Moore’s Island, Abaco; seven sisters-in-law: Judy and Angie Miller, Una Daniels, Kirklyn Harris, Vera Forbes, Denny Clarkeand Betty Sanchez; six brothers-in-law: Damien Daniel’s, William Forbes, Dave Harris, Lloyd Clarke, Lionel and Fred Rolle; numerous nieces and nephews: Ellen Mott, Portia Brown, Sherrie Rahming, Loretta Charlie, Glacy, Felisia, Patricia, Ron and Wilshare Evans, Shantell, Ray, Doral Jr. and Dorinda Miller, Elvis Miller, Perry Roberts and Brad Evans Shawn, Latoya, Leanser and Cindy Walker, Melissa, Regyna, Lavado, Timmon, Shandera, Willeica, Daunte, Lashawna, Natika, Samantha, Alisha, Antoine Clarke; other relatives and friends: Sharlene Miller, Francen Rolle, Faye Lewis, Yvonne Armbrister, Ann Johnson, Ricardo Mott, Bradley Miller, Craven Miller, Nelson Scott, Ellen Higgs, Pawa Russell, Rosetta Miller, Linda Wallace, Gertrude Pedican, Dr. Daniel Johnson (podiatrist) and the doctors and nurses at South Beach Clinic and Princess Margaret Hospital who made her health struggles easier to bear.

The Rahming Family, Driggs Hill Family, the Strachan North Andros Conch Sound Family, Grace Communion Church Family, Breadfruit Street Family, Cable Bahamas, Atlantis Royal Tower (Housekeeping Dept.), Atlantis Coves (Security Dept.) and the Super Value Families.

If you name wasn’t mentioned, it was not intentional.

Viewing will be held in the Celestial Suite at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Soldier Roads on Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, August 26, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Scratching your head trying to work out what really changed in seven days?

Me too LAST week, the Prime Minister announced a seven-day lockdown to start immediately due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.

The next day, he reversed the decision because, as should have been obvious, people were not prepared for it. He said various business could operate “until further notice”, but never gave any indication of plans to announce another lockdown.

Many of us spent the week doing the best we could to prepare for a lockdown of seven to 14 days, unsure of what would come next and not wanting a repeat of last Monday week. This Monday evening, he announced the reopening of the economy

The

Alicia Wallace column and referenced tourism as the only industry that could carry us.

With the number of COVID-19 cases still rising, we never got an explanation of the sudden change in tune and members of the public generally fall into one of two groups.

We are either thrilled to be able to be out and about as we please as of next week Monday or very wary of

what is happening and trying to figure out why this is the chosen course. There are, as has been the case for a long time, more questions than answers.

At the press conference on Monday, Ministry of Health officials and the Prime Minister consistently referenced “the data”.

It was the data that said we needed a lockdown last week Monday and it

PRIME Minister Dr HUbert Minnis speaking on Monday

was the data that said we could reopen this coming Monday. The number of cases is still going up every day, even when accounting for the supposed duplication that caused an inflation in total number of cases, hospital beds are all in use, and there is no vaccine, but the data indicates that we can reopen.

What data? Which numbers and what kind of analysis is sending us down this path? If these decisions are data-driven, we need to have access to it and be able to make calculations for ourselves, especially since we generally receive information at the last minute.

Regrets and responsibility Even as plans are made to reopen, the blame game continues. A reporter, for whatever reason, asked the Prime Minister whether or not he regretted his decision to announce a lockdown without notice last week. (This is an example of the throw-away questions frequently asked at the press conferences that really only serve to drive sensational headlines and laughable or infuriating soundbites rather than provide the public with better information, but for now, let’s focus on the response to this question.)

The Prime Minister chose to participate in the scapegoating of the Bahamian people.

It is, apparently, our fault that we are experiencing the second wave of COVID-19 cases. It is our fault that people travelled to a hotspot when the Prime Minister, the competent authority, decided to open the borders—in the middle of Florida’s spike in COVID-19 cases—which allowed Bahamians to travel and visitors to enter with 10-day-old negative test results.

For making decisions based on the policies the Prime Minister put in place, the Bahamian people are blamed. He and this government have taken no responsibility for their part in our current state of affairs, yet we are to take collective responsibility when it is convenient.

In his speech, the Prime Minister said we need to shift from what “they” need to do to what “we” need to do, but failed to acknowledge the difference in decision-making power.

Was there a “we” last week, when he decided to shut everything down, either without thought or without care for the people who did not have a sufficient supply of food and water?

People have surmised that the Prime Minister is “tired of us”. Some say he has chosen the herd immunity option. Some say he is going to let us seal our own fates. Most say this with the belief that he is right to do so because the people are hard-headed. For some reason, it is easy to put the

blame on individuals who are given options and exercise them rather than the body responsible for implementing and enforcing appropriate measures. The person who campaigned for the job, won it and is paid to do it is allowed to get away with washing his hands of the situation and leaving us to fend for ourselves. If this is true, why is this okay with so many people?

Do we really believe that we deserve grave illness and the death of innocent people like the grandparents we insist on visiting after having an outdoor dining experience with four people, talking and laughing with masks off, letting the droplets fly? Are we not going to demand a detailed plan for businesses and the management of public spaces?

How will we reopen?

Do we believe the data shows it is safe to reopen?

I am of the opinion that we are in a similar position as we were in March when the first measures to deal with COVID-10 were announced. The announcement last week showed how many “middle class” people are actually living hand-to-mouth. It showed that any new restrictions, particularly at this stage, requires the government to offer more support to the people.

The government is not prepared to do what it takes to implement what may be necessary measures. It does not want to expand the food assistance programme to provide more nutritious food nor make it available to more people. It does not want to continue to pay benefits to those who have been laid off. It does not want to take care of people during lockdowns or while the economy stagnates. It wants to return to the individualist system, everyone fending for themselves. It wants to increase its chances of re-election, and the fast food drive-thru seems like an easy path. Maybe it is in the government’s best interest to reopen, regardless of what it means for us beyond the simple and fleeting pleasures like brunch with friends.

Is it wrong to take this approach? Is the government shirking its duties?

Yes. Is there a way to do it that is safer and more suitable to our circumstance?

Of course.

Businesses are going to reopen which means staff will spend time together in the same space and they will interact with members of the public.

There needs to be a set of standards and procedures for all businesses to follow. The simplest regulations are already not being followed. We have seen people at work with their masks under their chins. We stand in lines at the appropriate distance only to get into

stores where people do not adhere to social distancing at all and staff do not monitor or respond to it. Individuals have been fined for breaking curfew. How will businesses be fined for failing to adhere to and enforce regulations?

If we are reopening, we can at least do it in a responsible way. Approaches we can consider include: 1. Starting with (retail) businesses that have functioning online stores and approved curbside and/ or delivery systems. To be approved for curbside service, businesses must have adequate parking to prevent cars from blocking street traffic or an appointment system to control the flow of traffic to the physical location.

2. Encourage online initiation for businesses offering services that require faceto-face interaction with customers. Use technology to get basic information and set appointment times as needed and use a number system that allows customers to wait in their vehicles until they are called. Require designated seating in a shaded area with appropriate spacing for those traveling by foot or public transportation.

3. Incentivising the use of technology and delivery services to reduce traffic and the amount of time spent in-store.

To assist those who are currently unemployed, the government can: 1. Assist them in developing mobile apps in order to offer third-party pickup and delivery services. This can reduce the number of people in stores and create jobs.

2. Provide online training and certification for people in areas of crowd management, safety protocol, and other useful and specialised areas required to enforce regulations such as social distancing in lines, proper wearing of masks, and use of public space.

3. Contract artists, public relations professionals and social media experts to develop effective messaging on regulations and available resources for various audiences including young people, children, senior citizens, unemployed people, and in-house people.

Whether or not we are excited about the reopening, it is very likely to affect our lives. As we learned in July, just because it is allowed does not mean it is advised. The government does not always act in the best interest of the people. It is often more focused on systems. Pay attention. Hear what is being said and listen for what is not being said. Do the best you can to keep yourself and the people around you safe. The next few weeks will tell us a lot about the government and ourselves. The Prime Minister says it’s “we” now, so be prepared for that shared responsibility.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, PAGE 9

APPLE CEO TIM COOK IS FULFILLING ANOTHER STEVE JOBS VISION

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Business Writer

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, was a tough act to follow. But Tim Cook seems to be doing so well at it that his eventual successor may also have big shoes to fill.

Initially seen as a mere caretaker for the iconic franchise that Jobs built before his 2011 death, Cook has forged his own distinctive legacy. He will mark his ninth anniversary as Apple’s CEO Monday — the same day the company will split its stock for the second time during his reign, setting up the shares to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis beginning Aug. 31.

Grooming Cook as heir apparent was “one of Steve Jobs’ greatest accomplishments that is vastly underappreciated,” said long-time Apple analyst Gene Munster, who is now managing partner of Loup Ventures.

The upcoming four-forone stock split, a move that has no effect on share price but often spurs investor enthusiasm, is one measure of Apple’s success under Cook. The company was worth just under $400 billion when Cook the helm; it’s worth five times more than that today, and has just become the first U.S. company to boast a market value of $2 trillion. Its share performance has easily eclipsed the benchmark S&P 500, which has roughly tripled in value during the past nine years.

But it hasn’t always been easy. Among the challenges Cook has faced: a slowdown in iPhone sales as smartphones matured, a

showdown with the FBI over user privacy, a U.S. trade war with China that threatened to force up iPhone prices and now a pandemic that has closed many of Apple’s retail stores and sunk the economy into a deep recession.

Cook, 59, has also struck out in into novel territory.

Apple now pays a quarterly dividend, a step Jobs resisted partly because he associated shareholder payments with stodgy companies that were past their prime. Cook also used his powerful perch to become an outspoken advocate for civil rights and renewable energy, and on a personal level came out as the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company in 2014.

Apple declined to make Cook available for an interview. But it did point to 2009 comments Cook made to financial analysts when he was running the company while Jobs battled pancreatic cancer.

Asked what the company might look like under his management, Cook said that Apple needs “to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.” It has doubled down on that commitment, becoming a major chip producer in order to supply both iPhones and Macs. He added that Apple would resist exploring most projects “so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.”

That laser focus has served Apple well. At the same time, though, under Cook’s stewardship, Apple has largely failed to come up with breakthrough successors to the iPhone. Its smartwatch and wireless ear buds have emerged as market leaders,

but not game changers.

Cook and other executives have dropped hints that Apple wants make a big splash in the field of augmented reality, which uses phone screens or hightech eyewear to paint digital images into the real world.

Apple has yet to deliver, although neither have other companies that have hyped the technology.

Apple also remains a laggard in artificial intelligence, particularly in the increasingly important market for voice-activated digital assistants. Although Apple’s Siri is widely used on Apple devices, Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s digital assistant have made major inroads in helping people manage their lives, particularly in homes and offices.

Apple also has stumbled a few times under Cook’s leadership.

In 2017, it alienated customers by deliberately but quietly slowing the performance of older iPhones via a software update, ostensibly to spare the life of aging batteries. Many consumers, though, viewed it as a ploy to boost sales of newer and

APPLE CEO Tim Cook waves after speaking at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California in 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

more expensive iPhones.

Amid the furor, Apple offered to replace aging batteries at a steep discount; later it paid $500 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over the matter.

Apple has also faced government investigations into its aggressive efforts to minimise its corporate taxes and complaints that it has abused control of its app store to charge excessive fees and stifle competition to its own digital services. On the tax front, a court ruled in July that Apple did nothing wrong.

Cook has turned the app store into the cornerstone of a services division that he set out to expand four years ago.

At the time, it was growing clear that sales of the iPhone — Apple’s biggest money maker — were destined to slow down as innovations grew sparse and consumers kept their old devices for longer.

To help offset that trend, Cook began to emphasise recurring revenue from app commission, warranty programmes and streaming subscriptions to music, video, games and news sold for

the more 1.5 billion devices already running on the company’s software.

After doubling in size in less than four years, Apple’s services division now generates $50 billion in annual revenue, more than all but 65 companies in the Fortune 500.

Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives estimates Apple’s services division by itself is worth about $750 billion — about the same as Facebook currently is in its entirety.

That division could be worth even more now had Cook done something many analysts believe Apple should have done at least five years ago by dipping into a hoard of cash that at one point surpassed $260 billion to buy Netflix or a major movie studio to fuel its video streaming ambitions.

Buying Netflix seemed like within the realm of possibility five years ago when the video streaming service was valued at around $40 billion.

Now that Netflix is worth more than $200 billion today, that idea seems off the table, even for a company with Apple’s vast resources.

SWISS TEAM CLAIMS 1ST JUMP, FREE FALL FROM SOLAR PLANE BERLIN (AP) — A Swiss team working to take a solar-powered plane to the edge of space says it has performed the first jump and free fall from an electric aircraft.

The SolarStratos team said its experimental plane took off from an airfield in western Switzerland with two people on board early Tuesday and climbed to 5,000 feet (1,520 metres) before its founder, Raphaël Domjan, jumped out of the aircraft.

It said Domjan remained in free fall for several hundred metres, reaching speeds of over 150 kph (93 mph) before releasing his parachute and landing safely.

The team quoted Domjan saying the stunt was part of the goal of demonstrating that activities such as skydiving can be carried out

without producing planet-warming greenhouse gases. Emissions from kerosene-fueled planes currently account for about 2% of the manmade carbon emissions.

“I hope that this will continue to make the young people of tomorrow dream, thanks to aircraft that are more respectful of our planet and our climate,” he added.

The SolarStratos team follows the pioneering work of Switzerland’s Solar Impulse mission, which completed the first circumnavigation of the globe with a solar-powered plane in 2016.

The team’s goal is to eventually fly the single-propeller aircraft studded with 22 square metres (237 square feet) of solar panels into the stratosphere.

SWISS adventurer Raphael Domjan jumps from the SolarStratos solar powered aircraft prototype with Spanish test pilot Miguel A. Iturmendi aboard during a test flight and attempt to break two world records at the airbase in Payerne, Switzerland, yesterday. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

TECHTALK • TEACHERS and parents got a brief glimpse of a new kind of pandemic-era nightmare Monday when Zoom — the video-conferencing service that powers everything from distance learning to business meetings to casual, socially distant gettogethers — abruptly went dead.

For roughly two-and-a-half hours Monday morning, many users were unable to load the Zoom website; others could neither host nor join scheduled meetings. Zoom fixed the problem by 11:30 a.m. ET, the company reported on its status page.

The timing was less than ideal, since many schools across the U.S. were just starting online instruction after a summer surge in the coronavirus pandemic scotched many plans to reopen classes with students present in the flesh.

“Today was horrible,” said Jacqueline Donovan, a professor at Broward College in Broward County, Florida. Her 12-year-old daughter Michaela and 14-yearold son Jayden were trying to log onto Zoom classes, but unable to.

“They were both panic stricken and anxious,” she said.

Meanwhile, Donovan herself was trying to hold her first class, an introduction to business, and getting frantic emails from her own students. Her class was eventually canceled.

Zoom did not disclose the cause of the problem, which appeared to hit both coasts of the U.S. especially hard. Its shares fell less than 3% during regular trading.

• CHINESE electric car brand NIO plans to start expanding to Western markets next year and might export a battery-swapping service that could help it compete with rival Tesla, the company’s chairman said last week.

NIO, founded in 2014, pushed back foreign plans due to the coronavirus pandemic, William Li told reporters. He said the company is studying which market to start in and how to structure its operations.

“Hopefully, in the second half of next year, we can start some small batch exploration in countries where EVs are popular,” Li said. “We would like to start with European countries.”

NIO Inc. is the most prominent premium-priced Chinese brand in a crowded electric vehicle industry with dozens of competitors including startups, state-owned automakers and joint ventures with foreign partners. The ruling Communist Party has promoted electrics with multibillion-dollar subsidies that have made China the biggest EV market, accounting for about half of global sales. Subsidies were due to end but have been extended through 2022 to help producers weather the pandemic.

NIO, whose early investors included Chinese tech giants Tencent, Baidu and Lenovo, has struggled financially, but Li said the company is more stable as sales improve.

The company lost $164 million in the quarter ending in June but said sales of its two SUV models, priced at up to 370,000 yuan ($53,000), rose to a record 10,331. A third model, a coupe, goes on sale in September.

Li said a potential competitive advantage is NIO’s service that allows owners to swap drained batteries instead of recharging them. The company has set up 143 battery-swap stations in cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, August 26, 2020

by PHILIP ROSCOE Reader in Management, University of St Andrews WHEN the infamous Zong trial began in 1783, it laid bare the toxic relationship between finance and slavery. It was an unusual and distressing insurance claim – concerning a massacre of 133 captives, thrown overboard from the Zong slave ship.

The slave trade pioneered a new kind of finance, secured on the bodies of the powerless.

Today, the arcane products of high finance, targeting the poor and troubled as profit opportunities for the already-rich, still bear that deep unfairness.

The Gregsons, claimants in the Zong trial, were merchant princes of 18th century Liverpool, a city that had quickly grown to be one of the world’s leading commercial capitals.

The grandiose Liverpool Exchange building, opened in 1754, boasted of the city’s commercial success and the source of its money, its friezes decorated with carvings of African heads.

But Liverpool’s wealth also stemmed from its innovations in finance. The great slave merchants were also bankers and insurers, pioneers in what we today call financialisation – they transformed human lives into profit-bearing opportunities.

From the point of view of merchants, the Atlantic trade was slow, unreliable and risky. Ships were threatened by disease, poor weather and by the constant threat of insurrection. To speed up the flow of money, merchants

THE TRIBUNE

How shadow of the Atlantic slave trade hangs over today’s world of finance began to issue credit notes that could travel swiftly and safely across the ocean.

Slaves would be purchased in Britain’s African colonies and transported to the Americas where they were sold at auction. The merchant’s agent would take the money received and rather than investing it in commodities like sugar or cotton to be sent back to Liverpool, they would send a bill of exchange – a credit note for the sum plus interest – across the Atlantic.

The bill of exchange could be cashed at a discount at one of the banking houses in the city, or replaced by another, again at a discount, to be dispatched to Africa in payment for more human chattels. Credit flowed swiftly, cleanly and profitably.

Obscenely novel

This evolution of private credit did not originate in Liverpool. It had underpinned the Florentine banking dynasties of the 15th century and gave rise to money as we know it now.

The obscene novelty of the slavers’ banking system was that this financial value was secured on human bodies. The same practices continued on the plantations, where the bodies of slaves were used as collateral on loans allowing the expansion of estates and the acquisition of yet more productive bodies. The slaves were exploited twice: their freedom and labour stolen from them, their captured “economic value” leveraged by cutting edge financial instruments.

The Liverpool merchants also pioneered the use of insurance as a means of guaranteeing the financial value of the their commodities. The slavers had long recognised that the only way to survive the occasional total losses that expeditions incurred was to gather together in syndicates and share the risk.

So when the captain of the Zong realised he was unlikely to land his cargo of sickening and malnourished slaves, he ordered 133 souls to be thrown overboard.

The perverse legal logic was that if part of the cargo had to be jettisoned to save the ship, it would be covered by the insurance.

These bodies-as-financial-commodities had only speculative value. Insurance made it real and

bankable. This was true in 18th century Liverpool and it remains so in 21st century Wall Street.

Financialisation today

Financialisation has since taken many forms, but basic elements remain the same. It is based on uneven power relations that capture future individual obligations and make them saleable. The contracts underlying the 2008 credit crisis, for example, turned future mortgage payments into tradeable financial securities with actual present value.

For those issuing the bonds, the profit was risk free. The risk was borne by predominantly poor Americans, whose adverse credit ratings and lack of financial skills made them easy prey for the issuers of mortgages so constructed as to lock them into economic bondage. These people were disproportionately black, Latino or migrant.

Insurance played a part here, solidifying the speculative value of investments to the benefit of traders.

And when the bubble finally burst governments stepped in to maintain this system, the US Federal Reserve supporting giant insurer AIG to the tune of $182 billion while many people lost their homes.

The credit crisis bailout is eerily reminiscent of another. By the time of abolition slave ownership was so embedded in British

society that the government was forced to compensate individual owners for the loss of their capital – it required an enormous loan that taxpayers only finished paying off in 2015.

I’m not saying that bankers today are like slave traders. But I am saying that contemporary finance is still riddled with regimes of dominance and exploitation at work.

Take contemporary philanthrocapitalism, where finance seeks to do good while also benefiting investors. Novel financial instruments position social problems as an opportunity for profit.

The bodies of prisoners, for example, become implicated in schemes to prevent recidivism with personal character reform the trigger for investment payouts.

Schemes such as this make social problems the responsibility of individuals and ignore the structural relations of austerity that lie behind them. Finance wins twice, praised for solving the very same problems that it has benefited from creating.

Beware financiers bearing gifts. Student loans, mortgage bonds, social impact bonds, even biodiversity investing – all earning rents from the captured future activities of relatively powerless individuals – bear the shadow of the Atlantic trade. theconversation.com

THE SLAVE Ship by JMW Turner depicts the Zong massacre

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, PAGE 11

US VIRUS CASES FALL AS MASKS GAIN FAVOUR BUT TESTING LAGS NEW YORK Associated Press

THE number of Americans newly diagnosed with the coronavirus is falling — a development experts say most likely reflects more mask-wearing but also insufficient testing — even as the disease continues to claim nearly 1,000 lives in the US each day.

About 43,000 new cases are being reported daily across the country, down 21% from early August, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. While the US, India and Brazil still have the highest numbers of new cases in the world, the downward trend is encouraging.

“It’s profoundly hopeful news,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious-diseases expert at the University of California, San Francisco, who credits the American public’s growing understanding of how the virus spreads, more mask-wearing and, possibly, an increasing level of immunity.

“Hopefully all those factors are coming into play to get this virus under control in this country that’s really been battered by the pandemic,” she said.

But insufficient testing is probably concealing the full extent of the crisis, said Dr Jonathan Quick, who leads the pandemic response for the Rockefeller Foundation,

which has recommended the US test 4 million people a day by fall.

“We’re grossly under-testing in some of the places that are still having high caseloads,” Quick said, singling out Mississippi, Texas, Georgia and North Dakota as hot spots with high rates of positive test results.

Even at 43,000 new cases per day, the US remains far above the numbers seen during the spring, when new daily cases peaked at about 34,000, he said.

“It’s a good trend, but nowhere near what we need to be,” Quick said of the recent decline.

The virus is blamed for more than 5.7 million confirmed infections and about 178,000 deaths in

MASKS being worn on the New York subway

the US. Worldwide, the death toll is put at more than 810,000, with about 23.7 million cases.

Jeffrey Shaman, a public health expert at Columbia University, said he is skeptical enough people are immune to significantly slow the spread. But he agreed that changes in Americans’ behavior could well be making a difference, recalling the impact that people’s actions had in containing Ebola in West Africa several years ago.

“Ebola stopped for reasons we didn’t anticipate at the time. It was so horrifying that people stopped touching each other,” Shaman said. “Something similar may be happening with the coronavirus.”

BBC DITCHES RULE, BRITANNIA! SINGALONG AMID COLONIAL RETHINK LONDON Associated Press

POLICE clash with protesters near the Kenosha County Courthouse

Police victim Blake is unlikely to walk again WISCONSIN Associated Press JACOB Blake, the black man shot multiple times by police in Wisconsin, is paralyzed, and it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again, his family’s attorney said yesterday, while calling for the officer who opened fire to be arrested and others involved to lose their jobs.

The shooting of Blake on Sunday in Kenosha — apparently in the back while three of his children looked on — was captured on cellphone video and ignited new protests over racial injustice in several cities, some of which have devolved into unrest. It came just three months after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police touched off a wider reckoning on race.

“They shot my son seven times, seven times, like he didn’t matter,” said Blake’s father, who is also named Jacob Blake and who spoke to reporters alongside other family members and lawyers. “But my son matters. He’s a human being and he matters.”

The 29-year-old was in surgery, said attorney Ben Crump, adding

JACOB Blake with a cousin that the bullets severed Blake’s spinal cord and shattered his vertebrae. Another attorney said there was also severe damage to organs.

“It’s going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again,” Crump said.

The legal team plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police department over the shooting. Police have said little about what happened, other than that they were responding to a domestic dispute. The officers involved have not been named. .

After a night during which protests

devolved into unrest, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called for calm while also declaring a state of emergency under which he doubled the National Guard deployment in Kenosha from 125 to 250. The night before crowds destroyed dozens of buildings and set more than 30 fires in the southeastern Wisconsin city’s downtown.

“We cannot allow the cycle of systemic racism and injustice to continue,” said Evers, who is facing mounting pressure from Republicans over his handling of the unrest.

“We also cannot continue going down this path of damage and destruction.”

Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, said the damage in Kenosha does not reflect what her family wants and that, if her son could see it, he would be “very unpleased.”

She said that the first thing her son said to her when she saw him was he was sorry.

“He said, ‘I don’t want to be a burden on you guys,’” Jackson said. “‘I want to be with my children, and I don’t think I’ll walk again.’”

Three of the younger Blake’s sons — aged 3, 5 and 8 — were in the car at the time of the shooting, Crump said. It was the 8-year-old’s birthday, he added.

In the cellphone footage, Blake walks from the sidewalk around the front of his SUV to his driverside door as officers follow him with their guns drawn and shout at him. As Blake opens the door and leans into the SUV, an officer grabs his shirt from behind and opens fire. Seven shots can be heard, though it isn’t clear how many struck Blake or how many officers fired.

Blake’s father told the Chicago Sun-Times that his son had eight holes in his body.

Anger over the shooting has spilled into the streets of Kenosha and other cities, including Los Angeles, Wisconsin’s capital of Madison and in Minneapolis, the epicenter of the Black Lives Matter movement this summer following Floyd’s death.

Hundreds of protesters defied an 8pm curfew on Monday night, massing in downtown Kenosha, where they were met by a wall of law enforcement officers, including members of the Wisconsin National Guard. There were 34 fires associated with the unrest, with 30 businesses destroyed or damaged along with an unknown number of residences.

THE BBC has ditched the lyrics of “Rule, Britannia!” for its traditional end-of-summer concert amid a debate over the song’s celebration of the British Empire at a time when critics are reevaluating the nation’s colonial past.

Britain’s publicly funded broadcaster said the final night of its Proms concert series would feature instrumental versions of “Rule, Britannia!” and another patriotic mainstay, “Land of Hope and Glory,” instead of traditional singalongs.

The BBC statement didn’t directly address the controversy, but said the decision reflected ``this extraordinary year’’ and the fact that there will be no live audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics accused the broadcaster of caving in to political correctness and pressure from social justice campaigners. ``The BBC will allow the tune to be played but not sung, thereby offending all shades of opinion all the time,’’ music critic and author Norman Lebrecht wrote in a blog post after the BBC announced the programme for the concert. ``There is no excuse for such cowardice. At least one BBC head should roll.”

The controversy arose when it was reported that the BBC was considering scrapping the songs amid concerns about their ``perceived association with colonialism and slavery.’’ Dalia Stasevska, the 35-year-old Finn who will conduct the concert, was seeking to modernize the event and reduce the ``patriotic elements’’.

The BBC rejected the ``unjustified personal attacks’’ on Stasevska and said the changes in the program were made by the corporation after consulting all the artists involved.

The Proms is an annual series of summer concerts that was created in 1895 and has been organised by the BBC since 1927.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS FLEE US COAST AHEAD OF HURRICANE LAURA GALVASTON Associated Press

IN the largest US evacuation of the pandemic, more than half a million people were ordered to flee the Gulf Coast yesterday as Laura strengthened into a hurricane that forecasters said could slam Texas and Louisiana with ferocious winds, heavy flooding and the power to push seawater miles inland.

More than 385,000 residents were told to flee the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur, and another 200,000 were ordered to leave low-lying Calcasieu Parish in Louisiana, where forecasters said as much as 13 feet of storm surge topped by waves could submerge whole communities.

The National Hurricane Center projected that Laura would draw energy from warm Gulf waters and become a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall today or tomorrow, with winds of around 115mph. The strengthening may slow or stop just before landfall, forecasters

EVACUEES wait to board a bus in Galveston as Hurricane Laura heads toward the Gulf Coast said. “The waters are warm enough everywhere there to support a major hurricane, Category 3 or even higher.

The waters are very warm where the storm is now and will be for the entire path up until the Gulf Coast,” National Hurricane Center Deputy Director Ed Rappaport said.

Ocean water was expected to push onto land along more than 450 miles of coast from Texas to Mississippi. Hurricane warnings were issued from San Luis Pass, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, and storm surge warnings from the Port Arthur, Texas, flood protection system to the

mouth of the Mississippi River. The evacuations could get even bigger if the storm’s track veers to the east or west, said Craig Fugate, the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Officials urged people to stay with relatives or in hotel rooms to avoid

spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. Buses were stocked with protective equipment and disinfectant, and they would carry fewer passengers to keep people apart, Texas officials said.

The storm also imperiled a centre of the US energy industry. Oil refineries and

liquefied natural gas plants that dot the region could shut down along the coast, and the government said workers were removed from more than 40% of the 643 platforms that are normally staffed in the Gulf.

While oil prices often spike before a major storm as production slows, consumers are unlikely to see big price changes because the pandemic decimated demand for fuel.

As of yesterday afternoon, Laura was 480 miles southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, traveling northwest at 17 mph (28 kmh).

Its peak winds were 80mph.

Marco, a system that approached land ahead of Laura, weakened into a remnant just off Louisiana’s shore on Tuesday. Satellite images showed a disorganized cluster of clouds, what meteorologists call “a naked swirl,” Jones said.

Meanwhile, Laura powered up. The crew of a hurricane hunter plane confirmed that Laura became a hurricane shortly after passing between the western tip of Cuba and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

SPORTS PAGE 12

PAGE 15

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2020

Samuel on the hunt

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SEE PAGE 15

Defensive Player of the Year

BUCKS’ Giannis Antetokounmpo fist bumps referee James Capers (19) on Monday. He was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year yesterday. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) SEE THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 15

A

fter spending time here at home since March during the suspension of school because of the coronavirus pandemic, Samuel Hunter has returned to the University of Mississippi for his sophomore year as a member of the Rebels men’s basketball team.

“It’s been good. We’ve been working out, but I have to get used to breathing in the masks that we have to wear,” said Hunter, who went back to Mississippi in July to prepare for the upcoming season.

“I think we have a good team. I think we have a good chance to win a lot of games and hopefully get to the NCAA Championships.

It’s going to be a lot of fun playing with these games.”

In preparation for his return to the Rebels’ lineup where he hopes to move from the bench to the starting line-up, Hunter spent some considerable time working out here at home with some top Bahamian players like Zane Kmowles, Michael ‘Furly’ Bain,

Detarrio Thompson, Jeffery Henfield and Adam Johnson to sharpen his game.

“I know the work will pay off,” said Hunter, a 6-foot, 6-inch forward.

“I am just glad to be back here. Hopefully everything will go full stream ahead from here.

“I just have to continue working on my game and hopefully I can get to start this year. I just have to be ready for whatever happens this year.”

If all goes well, the Rebels, coached by Kermit Davis, are scheduled to open their season on November 10 against New Orleans in the first of three home games.

That will be followed by North Carolina A&T on November 15 and Charleston Southern on November 18 before they play their first game on the road in Niceville, Florida against La Salle on November 23.

Having started classes on Monday, Hunter said he’s looking forward to duplicating or surpassing the 3.8 grade point average he maintained as an honour roll student last year as he continues his studies towards a degree in sport

SAMUEL HUNTER shoots during a training session.

and recreation administration or sports management.

“They gave us a lot of help with our tutors and stuff, but you just have to stay focused,” said Hunter, who graduated from British Columbia Christian Prep in Canada. “I just have to stay focused on basketball and school and still have some fun.”

While there is still a lot of concern about the coronavirus, Hunter said he’s taking it in stride.

“You only can control what you can control, so you just have to put your mask on, do your hand sanitising and so I want to encourage everyone in Nassau to put their masks on,” Hunter said.

“You can’t save everyone, but you can try. Just stay safe and mask up. That’s all I have to say. We have our protocols to follow over here and I’m trying to follow them. So I want to encourage the Bahamian people to do the same over there.”

Hunter, who turns 20 on November 28, is coming off a freshman year with the Rebels, having played in 27 games, primarily off the

SEE PAGE 14

NATHANIEL MAKES AN IMPACT AT JUCO BASKETBALL SHOWCASE

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net BASED on his performance, Lathaniel Bastian felt he made an impression on the scouts at the AllAmerican Junior College Basketball Showcase.

The showcase took place from August 15-16 at the International Sports Arena in Stone Mountain, Georgia where Bastian was among a field of 80 elite basketball players in the west (used to be invited to our Vegas event) and the elite 80 players in the east.

“It went very well. We had some of the best players in JUCO (Junior College) and a lot of people got to watch me perform,” said Bastian, who attends Trinity Valley College in Texas after his transfer from Rend Lake College in Illinois in January.

“Playing against some of the top players in the nation gave me a lot of experience and what to expect when I get ready to play at the JUCO level next season.”

At the showcase, the players were placed in one of the 19 groups of players.

The first day, the showcase opened with about 10 players each, but the number dwindled to about seven on the last day.

“It was better for us who showed up on day two because about every five minutes they had us switching in and out on the court playing,” said Bastian, a six-foot, eight-inch small forward.

From his appearance at the showcase, the 2016 graduate of Doris Johnson High School, where he helped the Mystic Marlins under coach Denycko Bowles win the school’s first championship title, said he was able to see the weakness in his game, which was his jump shot.

“I didn’t jump that much.

I just drived the ball in to the rim and tried to be as productive as I could in the paint. I didn’t shoot that much as I usually do, but just being a big body, I know that I will have to improve on that aspect of

LATHANIEL Bastian felt he made an impression on the scouts at the All-American Junior College Basketball Showcase earlier this month. my game if I want to play at the next level.”

Talking about the next level, Bastian said he has

to get prepared for his final season with Trinity Valley College where he feels he will now be under

the microscope from those coaches who saw him perform in the showcase.

“I know a lot of the big schools will be watching me, so I just have to produce now,” said Bastian of their season that is expected to get underway in January, depending on the outcome of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I will be working on improving my game in every aspect so that I can be ready when I have to decide depending on the offers that I receive. There have been some schools already expressed an interest, but I have to wait and see what happen.”

As far as the virus is concerned, Bastian said they are taking the necessary precautions on campus wearing their face masks, washing their hands and practicing the social distancing.

“We can’t go into other dorms and stuff like that,” he noted.

“Everybody is trying to play it smart and be safe around campus.”

It was the same situation at the showcase where Bastian indicated that they had to have their temperatures checked before they could enter the arena, they had to wear their masks whenever they were not on the court playing and they had to remain at least 3-6 feet apart from each other.

The showcase was designed for the players to play in front of a national audience on ESPN, CBS Sports and Rivals with NBA personnel and numerous other national media and scouting services on hand.

Each player will be evaluated and considered for the 2021 JucoRecruiting.com Top 100 Rankings.

Bastian said he’s grateful to God for providing him with the opportunity to be seen by the scouts and he also expressed his gratitude to his mother, Monique Jennings, who has been with him through his entire ordeal from making the transformation from the Bahamas to the United States.

Anderson gets to 600 wickets, England clinch series win SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — England paceman Jimmy Anderson became the first fast bowler to reach 600 wickets in test cricket before the third and final test against Pakistan finished as a draw yesterday, leaving the home side to celebrate a second series victory of the pandemic-disrupted summer.

Less than two hours of cricket were played on a rain-affected Day 5, with England taking just two of the eight wickets needed to win the match at the Rose Bowl after Pakistan resumed on 100-2 and trailing by 210 runs. The big consolation was Anderson

took one of them, removing Pakistan captain Azhar Ali to join retired spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble in the “600 club” in tests.

“It feels amazing,” said Anderson, a 38-year-old seamer who was playing in his 156th test.

“I just absolutely love it. There is not better feeling for me than putting the boots on and doing what I love doing.”

England won the series 1-0, with its three-wicket victory in the first test in Manchester followed by two rain-hit, drawn tests in Southampton. It was a

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first series triumph over Pakistan since 2010 and a second of the summer after beating the West Indies 2-1.

Pakistan was 187-4 when the teams settled on a draw, with 27.1 overs bowled yesterday.

Babar Azam was 63 not out. The first two sessions were washed out because of heavy overnight rain and a subsequent drenched outfield.

With rain forecast for most of Tuesday, Anderson said he feared he wouldn’t make it onto the field to reach his latest milestone.

When he eventually did late in the afternoon, it took him 14 deliveries.

After England captain Joe Root took a high catch at first slip off Azhar to give Anderson the prized wicket, the fast bowler was mobbed by his teammates.

Then Anderson took the ball in his right hand and — with a cheeky smile — saluted all sides of the

ENGLAND’s James Anderson holds up the ball to celebrate his 600th test wicket after dismissing Pakistan’s captain Azhar Ali yesterday. (AP) Rose Bowl, which is without spectators because of coronavirus restrictions.

England coach Chris Silverwood applauded on the boundary edge.

Muralitharan (800), Warne (708) and Kumble (619) remain above Anderson on the all-time list of wicket-takers. “I think we should all raise a glass for

Jimmy,” said Warne, who was at the Rose Bowl on media duties. “For any fast bowler to play 156 test matches and take 600 wickets, we should all say well done “To be able to evolve your game all the time — the wobble ball, he can swing the ball both ways, he is a smart bowler. You need

to have those cricket smarts when you are playing for such a long period of time.

His skill is his superpower.”

Kumble took to Twitter, calling Anderson a “great fast bowler” and saying: “Welcome to the club.”

Root, meanwhile, called Anderson a “credit to our country.”

“To stand up and perform and be at the elite end of test cricket for such a log time is an incredible effort,” Root said. “He is so much more than what you see on the field.”

Pakistan, which has spent the last month in isolation because of the COVID19 restrictions in place for the tour, took England all the way in the first test and didn’t have a chance to win the second test because of bad weather. Despite being outplayed in the third, Azhar — a century-maker in the first innings — said he would be taking positives from the tour.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, PAGE 13

Frustrated NBA players wonder again whether they should play

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — As the NBA sought to resume the season, players had to weigh whether playing basketball aided or distracted from their calls for social justice reform.

Those discussions are starting again.

With the second round of the postseason set to begin Thursday when Toronto plays Boston, players from both teams say there have been discussions about whether they should boycott games following the police shooting in Wisconsin of Jacob Blake, a Black man.

Players and coaches around the league say they have been frustrated and are upset after seeing cellphone video that showed Blake being shot multiple times after they have spent a month and-a-half in the bubble calling for reform.

“But it’s not working, so obviously something has to be done and right now our focus really shouldn’t be on basketball,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. “I understand it’s the playoffs and everything like that but we still have a bigger issue, an underlying issue that’s going on and the things that we’ve tried haven’t been working.

“So we definitely need to take a different approach and we need to try new things out to try to get this thing working the way that we know it should and get our voices heard even more.”

They’ve certainly been trying.

At Disney, players have walked onto a basketball court lined with the words Black Lives Matter, went to a knee for the playing of the national anthem, and afterward used interviews to call for justice for Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician who was shot eight times in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 13 by plainclothes officers serving a narcotics search warrant without knocking at her apartment.

No drugs were found.

In the early weeks at Disney, players felt their

LAKERS, BUCKS LOOK TO CLINCH 2ND-ROUND BERTHS TODAY

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

message was getting out when anger over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police was still so fresh.

But lately, having moved into the playoffs, the conversations had largely shifted toward basketball.

Now with Blake’s shooting coming so soon after the start of the playoffs, Toronto guard Fred VanVleet said it was hard to get excited about the second-round matchup with Boston — if they decide to play it.

“Coming down here, making the choice to play was not supposed to be in vain but it’s starting to feel like everything we’re doing is just going through the motions and nothing’s really changing,” VanVleet said, “and here we are again with another unfortunate incident.”

Blake was shot Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

On Monday, George Hill of the Milwaukee Bucks said players shouldn’t even have come to the bubble because it took focus off the racial injustice issues, where they wanted the attention to be.

Some players, including LeBron James, wouldn’t comment on Hill’s thoughts. But they understand the frustration of not being able to join protesters or activist groups in their communities.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t think there’s anything we can do here that’s going to stop what’s happening across this country, with the latest example being Kenosha,” Denver coach Michael Malone said.

“I saw George Hill say in his press conference, why are we even here? Why are we doing this? By being

BOSTON Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots the ball over Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid (21) during the second half in Game 3 of a first-round playoff series on August 21.

TOP LEFT INSET - Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, left, drives against Brooklyn Nets guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, right, during the first half of Game 4 Sunday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

(Kim Klement/Pool Photos via AP) here we’re isolated and can’t help where maybe we need to help. It’s frustrating for a lot of players, a lot of coaches to be here.”

Toronto’s Normal Powell wondered if the images that TV viewers are seeing from the bubble, such as players wearing Black Lives Matter warmup shirts, have become so familiar that that aren’t resonating anymore.

“It’s starting to get washed out,” he said.

Players are trying to figure out not only how to revive them, but keep them

going long after they leave the bubble.

James has focused on the need to vote, not only in November but long after, no matter who wins the presidential election.

But voting comes later.

Players want actions they can do now.

Boston’s Jaylen Brown marched with protesters in Atlanta.

He said being in the bubble gives a feeling of helplessness, because he isn’t able to do that again.

“I do think the NBA has done a great job — initially

— to kind of give us the platform to speak on certain things and things like that, but I do kind of do feel like it is kind of lessened as the playoffs have gotten started,” Brown said.

“Things have kind of diminished. I’m curious to see in what creative ways that people put their minds together to continue to push these conversations and make me feel more comfortable about playing basketball in the middle of like a lot of things that are going on.”

IT was only a week ago when the sky was falling on the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA’s two best teams in the regular season, the top seeds in their respective conferences, both lost their playoff openers and looked vulnerable.

Not so much now.

Order has been emphatically restored, the Bucks and Lakers are a combined 6-0 since — winning those games by an average of 15.8 points — and both teams can reach the second round of the NBA playoffs with victories today at the Disney complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

The Bucks lead the Orlando Magic 3-1; the Lakers lead the Portland Trail Blazers 3-1. The other game in today’s tripleheader is Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, that series knotted at two games apiece.

“Obviously, in Game 1, we were all disappointed in ourselves,” Milwaukee centre Brook Lopez said yesterday. “We felt we weren’t the team that we are and capable of being.

Each and every game, our effort has been there since then. ... The bottom line is we’ve come out and competed so much harder.”

The wake-up call helped the Lakers as well. They’ve had some of their best bubble showings since dropping Game 1, and now LeBron James has a chance to close out yet another series. James’ teams went 5-5 in his first 10 seriesclinching opportunities; they’re 30-5 in those situations since.

“One thing about playing a team that’s desperate, they understand that if they lose, they go home,” James said. “So, we’ve got to be just as desperate as they are.”

PAGE 14, Wednesday, August 26, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THE SHOW GOES ON FOR BAHAMIAN EQUESTRIANS ABROAD BAHAMIAN show jumpers abroad are seizing the opportunity to shine in the ring, as equestrian event organisers worldwide begin to establish a “new normal” for showground competition after months of event cancellations due to the coronavirus (Covid19) pandemic.

For equestrians Marcus Davis, who trains in Canada, and Anna Camille Vlasov, who is currently based in France, it’s back to training and competing as usual.

With equestrian competition on hold earlier this year due to Covid-19, Davis used his time out of the saddle to participate in social media campaigns to raise awareness for diversity in equestrian sport.

He returned to competition in July, riding in his first Grand Prix competition. At the Angelstone Tournament in Ontario, Davis and his mount El

Porvenir Corro put in two strong rounds in the 1.15m Jumpers to finish 5th out of a field of 22.

Vlasov has been active on the European circuit since competitions resumed. Last week, in Deauville, France, she and her veteran equine partner Beaumont M/V placed 3rd out of 42 in the 1.15m class.

While Vlasov noted that Beaumont is “in his retirement phase” and just “having fun winning”, she is very excited about her elite competitive prospects with her new mount, Etos HBC. At Deauville the pair had a clear round in the 1.30m class, finishing 24th out of 78 in a time of 74.21 seconds. Vlasov was enthusiastic about the performance, noting that Etos is a young horse and still has a lot to learn.

“I’m so pleased with [his] progress,” she said. “Hopefully next show we can start the bigger classes.”

HUNTER from PAGE 12 bench, averaging 12.1 minutes per game. In his only start versus Butler, he logged a career-high 31 minutes with 12 points and three rebounds. He finished the season with a tally of 2.9 ppg and 1.4 rpg.

He shot 40.8 per cent (29 of 71) from the field, 12.5 per cent (1 of 8) from beyond the arc and 70.4

DEFENDING CHAMPION MEDVEDEV INTO QUARTERFINALS

MILLIE Vlasov and Beaumont M/V receive the 3rd place prize in the 1.15m Jumpers at Deauville, France.

MARCUS Davis and El Porvenir Corro moved up to Grand Prix level at Angelstone, Ontario.

per cent (19 of 27) from the free throw line.

Additionally, Hunter scored a career-high eight points in the win over Western Michigan (11/15).

He also helped Ole Miss earn a victory over Vanderbilt (2/29) with seven points and a careerhigh three blocks, tying for the most blocks by a Rebel in a game throughout the season. And he recorded a career-high three steals in a win over Missouri (3/4).

The son of Andrew and Sophia Hunter was ranked as the No. 184 prospect, according to 247Sports, averaging 27.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 3.0 apg as a senior at British Columbia Christian Prep.

He was named the MVP of the Signature All-Canadian Showcase, competing among the top seniors in Canada, by scoring 18 points to go along with five rebounds and two blocks. He also recorded 13 points, four rebounds

and two steals in the BioSteel AllCanadian Game, featuring the top 24 male Canadian high school basketball players who are either Canadian-born or enrolled in a Canadian institution.

Also, he averaged 18.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg for the Bahamas in a pair of exhibitions against ACC teams, including an 18-point output versus North Carolina and he earned a spot on the Caribbean Tip-Off Classic

NEW YORK (AP) — Defending champion Daniil Medvedev returned to the quarterfinals at the Western & Southern Open with a 6-3, 6-3 victory yesterday over Aljaz Bedene, who accidentally hit a ball that struck a TV cameraman in the stands between secondset points.

The cameraman did not appear hurt, but an ATP Tour supervisor came onto the court to determine whether Bedene should forfeit the match. Instead, he was given a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.

As Bedene, a qualifier ranked 61st, left the court after the match was over, he walked over and exchanged a fist bump with the cameraman.

The No. 3-seeded Medvedev never faced a break point and won 89 per cent of the points when he put his first serve in play.

Last year, the Russian’s title at the Western & Southern Open was part of a stretch in which he reached the finals at six consecutive tournaments, including a runner-up finish to Rafael Nadal at the US Open.

The Western & Southern Open usually is held in Ohio, but it was moved to New York this year as part of a no-spectators-allowed doubleheader at the US Open site in Flushing Meadows to create a controlled environment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

All-Tournament Team by averaging 33 ppg throughout the tournament that included a 40-point outburst.

Hunter also competed in the 2018 CAC Games for the Bahamas senior national team and he averaged 14.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg for the Bahamas junior national team at the 2017 Centrobasket Under17 Championship. He was also a member of the Bahamas 2016 CBC U-16 Championship team.

GIOLITO FANS 13 IN NO-HITTER, WHITE SOX BLANK PIRATES 4-0 CHICAGO (AP) — Lucas Giolito pitched the first no-hitter of the pandemic-delayed major league season, striking out 13 and permitting just one runner in leading the Chicago White Sox over the Pittsurgh Pirates 4-0 last night. With the seats

at Guaranteed Rate Field empty, the hollers of his teammates echoed around the ballpark after right fielder Adam Engel caught Erik Gonzalez’s slicing drive toward the line for the final out.

An All-Star last year, the 26-year-old Giolito (3-2)

OPEN

matched his career high for strikeouts set in his previous start against Detroit.

Only a four-pitch walk to Gonzalez leading off the fourth inning got in Giolito’s way of perfection.

The right-hander threw 101 pitches and made quick work of the Pirates

-- Pittsburgh came into the game batting just .229 this season and has the worst record in the majors.

Giolito pitched the 19th no-hitter in White Sox history and first since Philip Humber threw a perfect game at Seattle in 2012.

This was the seventh time

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the Pirates have been held hitless, previously by Washington’s Max Scherzer in 2015.

INDIANS 4, TWINS 2 CLEVELAND (AP) — Shane Bieber corrected some unusual early control issues to strike out 10 and Francisco Lindor hit a two-run homer to lead Cleveland past Minnesota.

Bieber (6-0) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings as the Indians ended a four-game losing streak to the Twins and pulled within 1 1/2 games of the division leaders.

Bieber had three walks in the first three innings but regrouped.

The right-hander fanned the side in the sixth to give him double-digit strikeouts for the third straight game.

Oliver Pérez and James Karnichak worked a scoreless inning each before closer Brad Hand finished for his eighth save in eight tries.

RED SOX 9, BLUE JAYS 7 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rafael Devers hit a three-run triple to highlight Boston’s six-run outburst in the sixth inning as the Red Sox rallied to beat Toronto.

Devers, who snapped an 0-for-10 streak with a single in the second inning, hit a full-count slider from A.J. Cole, giving Boston an 8-6 edge.

Devers later scored on a sacrifice fly by J.D. Martinez as Boston recorded its sixth comeback win of the season.

Xander Bogaerts had three hits, and Mitch Moreland and Jackie Bradley Jr. each had two RBIs for Boston (10-20), which has won four of its last six.

PHILLIES 8, NATIONALS 3 WASHINGTON (AP) — J.T. Realmuto hit a three-run homer, Jake Arrieta pitched five strong

innings before a rain delay of more than an hour ended his night, and Philadelphia beat Washington.

Realmuto ripped his ninth homer in the third inning off right-hander Erick Fedde. His shot bounced up off the top of the right field wall, then fell in the Nationals’ bullpen while Washington outfielder Adam Eaton looked on helplessly.

TIGERS 7, CUBS 1 DETROIT (AP) — Jonathan Schoop hit a grand slam in a five-run sixth inning as Detroit beat the Cubs.

The Tigers have won three of five since a ninegame losing streak dropped them out of serious postseason contention. Chicago still leads the NL Central despite going 5-8 in its last 13 games.

Spencer Turnbull (3-2) picked up the win with 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and walked three while striking out five.

Cubs starter Tyler Chatwood (2-2) struggled in his return from the injured list, allowing eight baserunners while getting just four outs.

Willson Contreras led off the ninth with a homer off Buck Farmer.

RAYS 4, ORIOLES 2 ST. PETERSBURG. Fla. (AP) — Tyler Glasnow struck out a career-high 13 over seven innings and AL East-leading Tampa Bay beat Baltimore.

Glasnow (1-1) fanned nine of his final 10 batters.

The 6-foot-8 right-hander allowed two runs, five hits and one walk.

Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot hit backto-back homers for the Rays, who have won eight of 10.

Edgar García got the final two outs with a runner on second, claiming his first career save.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, PAGE 15

MURRAY SCORES 42, NUGGETS BEAT JAZZ 117-107 IN GAME 5 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 33 of his 42 points in a second half where he played every minute and the Denver Nuggets avoided elimination by beating the Utah Jazz 117-107 last night in Game 5.

The Nuggets trail the sixthseeded Jazz 3-2 with Game 6 on Thursday.

Murray was unstoppable down the stretch in nearly matching his 50-point effort in Game 4. He hit 17 of 26 shots and had eight assists, including a pass to Nikola Jokic for a 3-pointer with 23.6 seconds remaining that sealed the win.

The dynamic tandem of Murray and Jokic clearly weren’t ready to leave the NBA bubble just yet.

Jokic had it going early as he scored 21 of his 31 points in the the first quarter.

Murray took over late.

With the game tied at 101, Murray scored nine straight for Denver to help the Nuggets gain some separation.

the second quarter on April 28, 2002.

They trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter.

Donovan Mitchell finished with 30 points while wearing a pair of bright, multicoloured shoes.

The sharpshooter is averaging 37.6 points over the five games.

Reserve Jordan Clarkson added 17 points and Joe Ingles found his rhythm with 13. Ingles had a combined two points in the previous two games.

The Nuggets turned in their best third period of the series when they needed it most. Trailing 63-54 at halftime, they outscored the Jazz 28-23. Utah has dominated the third quarter by a 142-92 margin before Tuesday.

NO HARRIS Although Gary Harris was upgraded to “questionable” for Game 5, that balky right hip sidelined him again. His last NBA game was March 11.

“I would never ask a player to go out there if he did not feel confident in his abilities,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone explained.

NUGGETS’ Jamal Murray reacts after a shot during the second half.

(Mike Ehrmann/Pool Photo via AP) TIP-INS Jazz: Before the game, C Rudy Gobert had his two-year reign as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year come to an end with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo winning the award. Gobert had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr. had 15 points. ... Jerami Grant had 13 points.

HOT HAND Jokic hit all five 3-pointers he took in the first quarter. He’s the third player in the series to have five in a quarter, joining Murray (fourth quarter in Game 4) and Mitchell (third in Game 2).

According to Basketball Reference, the playoff record for 3-pointers in a quarter is held by Antoine Walker. He had six by in

SOCIAL INJUSTICE Before their walk-through Tuesday morning, Malone and the Nuggets talked about the situation with Jacob Blake, a Black man whose shooting by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday has roiled the nation.

“I am wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt. Black Lives Matter is on the courts. But a T-shirt and a slogan on a court is obviously not doing anything to stop the vicious cycle that we’ve seen time and time again,” Malone said.

Antetokounmpo voted NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo figured somebody was in trouble.

Even though the Milwaukee Bucks had just defeated Orlando for a 3-1 lead in their playoff series, Mike Budenholzer wanted to talk to them in the locker room afterward.

Antetokounmpo looked around, wondering if a teammate was about to be scolded.

“Usually when coach wants to talk to us after a game, somebody messed up,” Antetokounmpo said.

This time, it was because the Greek Freak did really well.

Antetokounmpo was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year yesterday, becoming the

fifth player to win that award and MVP in a career.

The All-Star, who was MVP last year and is the favourite to repeat this season, ended the two-year reign of Utah centre Rudy Gobert as Defensive Player of the Year.

He got the news with the rest of his teammates on the league’s best defensive team a day earlier.

“Coach was so excited, he was so happy,” Antetokounmpo said.

“He told me I won Defensive Player of the Year. He jumped on the table.”

Antetokounmpo received 75 first-place votes from a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters, finishing with 432 points.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis was second (200 points; 14 first-place votes) and Gobert (187 points; six first-place votes) third.

Antetokounmpo joined Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Kevin Garnett as players to do the MVP-Defensive Player of the Year double. He was runner-up for the defensive award last year.

He led the Bucks to the NBA’s best record and helped them limit opponents to 101.6 points per 100 possessions, the league’s top defensive rating, as of March 11.

Voting was conducted on games through then, before the season was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“His commitment to defence, his commitment to winning, his commitment to doing everything is beyond incredible,” Budenholzer said. “His impact on the game with blocked shots and rebounds, guarding all five positions, chasing down blocks,

close-outs, communicating. He does everything defensively — literally everything. This award is representative of that.”

At 6-foot-11, Antetokounmpo is able to handle a matchup with any frontcourt player, especially because the Bucks also have 7-footer Brook Lopez behind him at centre.

Milwaukee allowed only 96.5 points per 100 possessions with Antetokounmpo on the court, giving him the lowest defensive rating among the more than 300 players who averaged at least 15 minutes per game.

The Bucks were holding opponents to an NBA-low 41.3 per cent shooting from the field when the season was suspended and Antetokounmpo often ended up with the shots that were missed.

He was leading the league with

11.5 defensive rebounds per game, while also averaging a little more than a steal and block.

“If you win and you take care of business, awards can come. We’ve had the best defensive team in the league. We have the best defense in the league,” Antetokounmpo said.

“At the end of the day, I guess what it means is you have to win, you have to do whatever it takes every day to go out there, put yourself in position, put your team in position to win and good things are going to happen and everything is going to take care of itself.”

He became the first Bucks player to win Defensive Player of the Year since Sidney Moncrief, who earned the first two that were awarded in the 1982-83 and 198384 seasons.

JAMAICAN OFFICIAL SAYS USAIN BOLT TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica’s Minister of Health says legendary sprinter Usain Bolt has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Minister Christopher Tufton said Bolt was aware of the results and his recent contacts were being traced.

“It is now public knowledge that Mr Bolt has tested positive. He has been formally notified, I’m told by the authorities,’’ Tufton told reporters Monday evening. “It triggers an approach to questioning, interrogation if you will, which we follow through with contact tracing.”

Bolt said on social media Monday that he was awaiting the result of a coronavirus test and was quarantining himself as a precaution.

The 34-year-old retired sprinter who won gold in the 100 and 200 metres at the last three Olympics posted a video on social media to explain the situation.

“Good morning everybody. Just waking up. Like everybody, checked social media and saw that social media says I’m confirmed of COVID-19,” he said.

“I did a test Saturday, because I work. I’m trying to be responsible, so I’m going to stay in and stay here for my friends.”

Bolt, who appeared to be lying in bed in the video, said he has no symptoms.

“Just to be safe, I’ll quarantine myself and just take it easy,” he said.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said police are investigating the case.

USAIN Bolt watches the first half of a game between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers in Miami on December 13, 2019. (AP) He didn’t specify what offence might have

been committed, though Jamaica has imposed social

distancing requirements due to the COVID-19

pandemic. “They’re looking into all aspects of the matter.

“So no one is going to be treated with any exemption or given any special treatment.

“All Jamaicans have a duty,” he said.

Jamaica has had fewer than 1,700 cases, a relatively low number in a country of nearly three million.

On the track, Bolt was known for his poses — his “Lightning Bolt” became iconic — and of course his post-race celebrations. His speed and charisma made his sport can’t-miss viewing whenever he lined up in the blocks.

Bolt set the world records in the 100 and 200 metres at the 2009 world championships in Berlin. He retired in 2017.

Spieth, Fowler among those needing help for big fall events

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (AP) — Jordan Spieth is only three years removed from winning the British Open and now has to ask for sponsor exemptions.

So does Brooks Koepka, who started this year at No. 1 in the world.

They were among several top players who failed to reach the top 70 in the FedEx Cup Playoffs and advance to the BMW Championship. It’s not only about keeping alive hopes of reaching East Lake for the Tour Championship, and from there having a shot at the $15 million prize.

The FedEx Cup standings this year determine eligibility for the big-money,

limited-field, no-cut events in the fall. And those become more attractive this year with the CJ Cup moving from South Korea to Shadow Creek in Las Vegas and the Zozo Championship in Japan headed to Sherwood Country Club in California.

That gives players a good two-week stretch leading to the Masters in November.

The fields for those events are top 60 available in the FedEx Cup. Phil Mickelson, who won his $9 million winner-take-all match against Tiger Woods at Shadow Creek two years ago, is at No. 75.

Koepka, who withdrew from the first playoff event, is at No. 104. Spieth failed to reach the BMW Championship for the first time and

finished at No. 107. Justin Rose ended his season at No. 81, while Rickie Fowler was at No. 94.

They all need exemptions for the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship.

Getting them shouldn’t be a problem, of course, although players typically are expected to give something back in return, mainly time with sponsors.

Still, it will be rare for players of this caliber to ask for an exemption. And those exemptions will be in high demand.

The CJ Cup can offer as many as eight exemptions to PGA Tour players (three of those unrestricted).

The Zozo Championship has only five spots (four for PGA Tour members, one unrestricted). Early

JORDAN Spieth drives on the 11th hole during the first round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament at Sedgefield Country Club on August 13.

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson) indications are that most will be going. Jon Rahm said last week he would happily take a short flight from Arizona to play the CJ Cup. Some of the other elite events, such as Memorial, Riviera and Bay Hill, exempt major champions

from the last five years. The Asia events that are coming to America this year do not.

Louis Oosthuizen was aware of this when he spoke about what was at stake for him, in the 99th spot, at TPC Boston. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, he doesn’t plan to return

home to South Africa late in the year to play. He is looking for more starts on the fall schedule, and the CJ Cup and Zozo are the biggest.

“I need a good week here to get into next week to get into them,” Oosthuizen said.

PAGE 16, Wednesday, August 26, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

4

MARVIN BLONDIE

1

There are six answer be entered clockwi clock face. Each has fou each begins with the last t previous one, until we com answer six ending with the f answer one. Here are 1 Strokes 2 Russian ru 3 Military bo 4 Tropical bi 5 US wine reg 6 Father, inform

➔

6

➔

CARPE DIEM

Se Wi Ck

5

➔

JUDGE PARKER

In the following passage, the numbers 12345 represent different letters: 3244 met his contact, 1533 15445, beneath the statue of 5324. “The 125 is the enemy of the 3245,” said 3244. “And the 1245 is the enemy of the drought,” 15445 replied, “but a 1532’4 41254 are hard to fill.”

“That goes double for 1234541254,” said 3244. “Let’s 455 if we can find some lunch in 4212.”

Solution in Monday’s puzzle pull-out

CL o

WorDS

4

D

Daily Express Friday, June 19, 2020

Puzzles

SuMTHiNg Fit the missing numbers into the grid below so that all the sums are correct – reading left to right or on single lines top to bottom. There are 11 squares to fill, with one digit in each, and the 11 digits you must use are listed beneath the grid. But where do they all go?

Solution in Monday’s puzzle pull-out

?

+

–

CRUSADER PRIZE CROSSWORD ? + acrOss 1 Payment method succeeded? A hit?

Nonsense (10) 6 It’s a new drink (4) 10 Collar Scot, a thug (7) 11 Married a large, fat duck (7) 12 Routine, putting everyone behind hospital building (5,4) 13 Loner forced to sign up (5) 14 Trust is suitable to acquire a husband (5) 15 Depressed, climb to see shrink (9) 17 Played main race, got nothing but a coffee (9) 20 Something valuable, as arranged (5) 21 Laugh at mine and go away (3,2) 23 Identifying ditty and article on gem’s variety (5,4) 25 Atmosphere found in military establishment (3,4) 26 Engineers perfect to change structure (7) 27 Almost pass time in traditional attire (4) 28 Start of business reveals gap – a few hours (7,3)

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

TIGER

CALVIN & HOBBES

1 2 3 4 DOWN 1 Fixed copperWe’ve with = given you one digit – the 4 on the middle row.

Here are the missing digits to fit in: socialist (5) 2 Needs five changes, being 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 6, 7, 9 ? x 10 thin-skinned (9) 3 Amish twitchers have weird snowy festival (5,9) The Daily Express 4 Country takes fellow backPuzzled Mentathlon is in five parts, each cons of our puzzles. Take the last letters of the answers to DITLOIDS 12 the last letter of the first answer in C to some rope (7)OF THE WEEK and QUIZ 5 Ham, slow-cooked, says sections. Now rearrange those into a five letter wo something about resistance (4,3) 14 15 7 Art is performed for part of the flight (5) 8 Easy-goingSAMurAi at home, glued SuDoku WorDSeArCH design on books (9) 3 1 6 7 5 9 say 4 8 2 – for 6 5 217 3 8 4 1 7 9 9 Tree – Californian, T M Y T X O L D 18 U S 8 5 4 6 1 2 3 7 9 4 3 8 9 1 7 6 2 5 7 8 4 3 1 5 6 (5,9) 9 1 7 6 5 2 3 8 4 experienced2 9politician Y N V W H O B B E S 4 7 8 3 2 6 9 1 5 5 2 9 7 3 6 4 1 8 14 Blaze returning O O A E I K J T L E 9 3 1 5 in 8 4earlier 2 6 7 1 7 4 5 9 8 2 6 3 H T W K Q T A O O C scene (9) 51 64 25 92 73 17 86 49 38 2 1 3 37 84 65 21 46 19 98 53 72 8 3 4 9 5 7 2ran 1 4 9 5 8 6 321 4 2 5 7 9 1 22 C O A M D R T E 23 C E 16 Second bad67 criminal 2 9 1 6 8 5 3 4 8 7 6 2 9 1 8 7 3 5 4 6 O B U L C E U G K N 1 4 6 5 8 2 9 3 7 away (9) 8 5 2 7 3 9 4 1 6 N E S O P L S S E C 18 Want to move queen 9 7 to 3 6 4 1 5 8 2 F L S U P P E C S N 8 4 5 3 1 7 2 6 9 1 5 8 3 7 4 6 5 9 8 2 1 quiet city (7) 1 7 3 2 9 6 4 8 5 3 6 7 1 2 9 3 8 4 5 6 7 U T S O R X Y G A E 9 2 6in5 storm 8 4 3 1 7 (7) 9 2 4 6 5 825 1 2 7 9 3 4 19 Finished race 3 9 2 6 5 8 7 4 1 2 9 5 8 7 3 4 1 6 C O C A H U M T E R 6 8 creature 1 4 7 3 9 5 2 left 7 4 1 2 6 5 3 8 9 22 Supernatural I T V M R I C T E H 5 7 1 2 9 8 3 6 8 3 6 4 9 1 7 5 2 in jeopardy47(5) 3 8 9 6 1 5 2 4 9 6 3 5 4 2 1 7 8 U S F C Q T F I K P 5 1 4 7 3 2 6 9 8 5 8 7 9 1 6 2 4 3 24 Bird unknown in canyon (5) 2 6 9 8 4 5 1 7 3 4 1 2 7 3 8 6 9 5 S I D Q Z R R T P U

Y

27

SMALL CroSSWorD Across: 1 Assistant, 7 Cherub, 9 Seaweed, 10 Or so, 12 Sgd, 13 Cortege, 14 Nil, 15 Rain, 17 Barbara, 19 Series, 20 Grandiose. Down: 1 As soon as, 2 Seer, 3 Spa, 4 Sheltered, 5 Teeter, 6 Nudge, 8 Badinage, 11 Ordain, 13 Cider, 16 Iris, 18 Ado.

T R G A F L 28 C E Q E Y A H E I D E G G E

THe ALPHAbeA

black squares: 5, 6, 7, 13, 17 27, 29, 30, 31, 35, 40.

Across: Blood, Brothers, Op Jewellery, Pry, Exam, Fill, A Dwell, Sugar, Feminism, Clot Down: Lop, Whey, Wheeze, cAn you crack the Alphabeater?

Each grid Craven, Drowsy, Story, Extr Equa TArgeT Aft. square. number represents a letter – or black 090 gALVANize Asagain in Alphapuzzle, every alphabet agave agaze agile aginletter alga of the (Dedu CroSS DoubT align angel gain gala gale is used.

Butangle you have to complete the gridPUNCH too! each ex Across: galena GALVANIZE gave gavel gaze use the given letters and black squares below Down: QUEST f gean genial give given glaze glean theglen grid to start. ‘rotationally 090 lazing leaving the linagegrid ling isvagal SuMMiT uP vegan zing – in other words, it looks the symmetrical’ *Calls co 108 and 105 your t same if you turn the page upside down. netw

THE ALPHABEATE

TARGET

l r i nA l i t B

● The Target uses words in the main body of Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (1999 edition)

Solution on Monday

A 25 38 30 9 12 32 29 2 39 5 B C 39 22 13 17 33 39 26 39 31 12 D E 21 13 32 35 20 8 10 14 16 23 F G 37 26 27 11 23 40 3 33 21 38 H I 15 10 29 38 9 34 40 30 13 20 TODAY’S TARGET J Good 17; very good 25; excellent 34 K 13 24 13 8 22 20 16 1 12 2 (or more). Solution on Monday L M 30 38 6 21 36 35 30 12 17 3 call 0907 181 2585 N for today’s target solution 4 3 in 32 11 4the task 4 34 crossword, 34 26 as6a number BestOdescribed Kakuro *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone is toPfill all of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so company’s network access charge. the sum the number Q 28of each 34 18to its 2 35 19 30 equals 40 36 block 39 horizontal left, R and the sum of each vertical block equals the number on itsS top.

No number may be used in the same block more 10 36 11 36 17 12 34 10 13 7 than once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Kakuro T increases from Monday to Sunday.

U 4 13 33 10 36 33 19 12 36 7 FIND where the fleet of ships shown is hidden V in the grid. The numbers to the right of and W 40 30 9 39 30 39 23 13 29 3 below the grid indicate how many of the Yesterday’s squares in that row are filled in with ships or X Yesterday’s parts of ships. The ships do not touch each 12 32 30 16 40 5 Y 37 16 12 7 Sudoku Answer Kakuro Answer other, even diagonally. Some squares have Z HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here? in making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least one nine-letter word. no plurals or verb forms ending in “s”.

DENNIS THE MENACE Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

BATTLESHIPS

been filled in to start you off.

Solution on Monday 2

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10

A

1

B

3

C

2

D

2

E

1

F

3

G

2

H

1

I

3

J

CRYPTIC PUZZLE 1 Defend strongbox with soldier (9) 8 Benefit a few and suffer for it (5) 9 How to make a cancellation fully in order? (7) 10 Band in the theatre (6) 11 Feels one would be mad to be out of them (6) 12 Why we consult reference books of course (2,2,4) 15 High church man? (8) 18 The first violin in German music, say (6) 20 The insecure should, when they lose heart (6) 21 Last drop of drama (7) 22 Think of America (5) 23 Important description of a plateau? (4,5)

2

3

4

5

2 Invective for a sailor to

4 Naughty nun’s feat is to

12

16

vessel is about to leave 11 They should be well loaded

19

21 22

by Christmas Eve (9)

23

13 Is it operated by the ring finger? (4,4) 14 China city for which doctor needs transfer (7) 16 Rapid inflow in basket material (6) 17 Chessman in defensive situation (6) 19 No longer lie about being an outcast (5)

Across

2 By oneself (5)

8 Eagle’s nest (5)

3 Decadent (6)

9 Entrust (7)

4 Be basis of (8)

10 Worldwide (6)

5 Vendor (6)

11 Annoy

6 Uprightness (7)

persistently (6)

Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Across: 1 Bedroom, 4 Canal, 7 Mist, 8 Iron rule, 10 Shape badly, 12 Specie, 13 Issues, 15 Fishmonger, 18 Dominoes, 19 Wing, 20 Elgar, 21 Engaged.

Across: 1 Jamaica, 4 Scrap,

19 Able, 20 Surly, 21 Poverty.

18 Fine specimen (6)

Down: 1 Bumps, 2 Diseased, 3 Mortar, 4 Conclusion, 5 Nous, 6 Laertes, 9 Petitioner, 11 Outgoing, 12 Swindle, 14 Cheese, 16 Raged, 17 Smog.

Down: 1 Judas, 2 Material,

20 Morbid fear (6)

7 Data, 8 Acquaint, 10 Sure enough, 12 Crafty, 13 Casual, 15 Off the cuff, 18 Antelope,

3 Anchor, 4 Sour grapes,

Down

1 To alternate (4,5)

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution

12 Book of an opera (8) 15 Loss of nerve (4,4)

7 Dire consequences (4,2,3) 11 High vertical rock face (9) 13 Gradually (3,2,3) 14 Intoxicating liquor (7)

21 Shorten (7)

16 Bankrupt (6)

11 Cucumber, 12 Canvass,

22 Hot and stuffy (5)

17 Lasso (6)

14 Step up, 16 Fiery, 17 Star.

23 Penniless (9)

19 Stingy (5)

5 Ruin, 6 Pitfall, 9 Feet of clay,

1

2

3

4 x submarine

20

(4,5)

1

2 x cruiser

17 18

2

3 x Destroyer

14 15

2

1 x Battleship

13

group (3,4) 7 Sad boy seen when a

73

11

5 Make an appointment 6 Cool beat from the backing

1

10

unzip (8) about four in case (6)

2 4

9

employ (5) 3 Join forces? (6)

6

8

Down

EASY PUZZLE

Across

1

1

2

21

22

C

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

1

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30 31

32

33

34 35

3

■

W

■

■

● Alternatively, for six Extra Letter clues to your text DXBEAT to 84901. Texts cost £1 plus your usual

KEIJO 1

3 1

1

1

1

2

2

3

3

3

2

4

4

2

4

4

P

n

a

PAGE 18, Wednesday, August 26, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Millennial Money: Six Great Recession lessons that still apply

By MELISSA LAMBARENA Associated Press

T

HE Great Recession demolished jobs across the US, and it eventually came for mine, too.

After graduating in 2009, I worked four months as an entry-level executive assistant at a nonprofit before being laid off.

I had limited financial knowledge, a short work history and a lot to prove to break into the field of journalism, my ultimate goal.

Along the way, I picked up valuable lessons that might help you manage your finances during the coronavirus-related recession.

1. SAVE WHAT YOU CAN My short work history disqualified me from receiving unemployment benefits, so I relied on my savings account. Even a small emergency fund of $500 can prevent you from falling into debt, and I had socked away enough to cover a few months of expenses.

If you’re still employed, “pay yourself first,” said Samuel Deane, a financial planner at Deane Financial in New York. “Even if it’s $20 every time you get paid, make sure you put that $20 away first and then live your lifestyle with the remainder.” Automate it with direct deposit if you can.

If you’ve lost your job, saving will obviously be tougher. Apply for unemployment if you qualify, and contact your landlord, creditors, area nonprofits and family members to seek relief. If you’re still employed but have had your salary cut, consider a

Even if it’s $20 every time you get paid, make sure you put that $20 away first and then live your lifestyle with the remainder. side gig and work on trimming expenses.

2.

THINK TWICE BEFORE REJECTING JOB OFFERS After many interviews and dead ends, I applied for an administrative role at an accounting firm and got hired in December 2009. It paid about $7,000 less than my previous salary. I knew it wouldn’t put my career on track, but it would cover most of my bills, so I took it.

Amanda Grossman, now a certified financial education instructor in El Paso, Texas, made similar compromises after being laid off as a market researcher in Florida in 2008. She took a career counselor’s advice and relocated to Texas for a lower-paying job in the environmental industry. “(The counselor) said, ‘Look, the economy is not doing well. You need to take that job, it’s going to keep going down; you’re

not going to be able to find work,’” Grossman said.

If your sector is hurting and unemployment benefits or savings are lacking, even a less-than-ideal role can help you ride out a recession.

3.

GET SMART ABOUT MONEY You’ll find a myriad of financial literacy resources online and at your local library, assuming it is open and safe to visit during the pandemic.

I struggled to save money on a lower salary.

Credit cards became my emergency fund. I don’t recommend this approach, but times were tough. Had I learned about financial hardship programmes, student loan repayment options or balance transfer credit cards, I would have saved heaps on interest and ditched debt faster.

4. ESTABLISH MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME I still wanted journalism experience and extra income, so on top of my new full-time job, I learned to shoot and edit video. I

began freelancing in 2010.

A year later, I also launched a small social media consulting business.

Grossman, too, had other goals. “I’ve always wanted to be a writer and I love, love, love talking about money,” she said.

While she was unemployed in Florida, she launched the blog “Frugal Confessions”. She learned new writing skills from books and sought feedback from editors at newspapers.

In 2013, she left her environmental job in Texas to run her blog full time.

5. PROTECT YOUR CREDIT — BUT PROTECT YOURSELF FIRST In a crisis like COVID19, many normal financial rules don’t apply. You may need to carry a credit card balance to buy groceries or address an emergency. You may need to make only the minimum payment to cover rent. You may even need to contact your card issuer and ask for relief options like payment deferrals.

Even with three jobs, I struggled at times to make the minimum payments

on my credit cards due to high balances and interest rates. I never defaulted, but I did stress and scramble over it. I wanted a record of on-time payments and the good credit they build so that I could qualify for future low-interest rate offers.

That’s a worthy goal, but in times of emergency, prioritize getting back on your feet first. Once you do, you’ll have time to address your credit scores.

6.

MAKE CALCULATED MONEY MOVES Eventually, I left my apartment and moved in with roommates. I also read the post-recession climate and, in successive jobs, learned how to ask for a raise. Every year that my workload and responsibilities increased, I made a case for a higher salary. Asking is uncomfortable at first, but it gets easier.

The extra money eventually paid off my debts.

A recession’s impact is largely out of your control, but your reaction isn’t. With strategic steps, you can insulate yourself and create new opportunities.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, PAGE 19

US-Canada border closure hurts Washington state town POINT ROBERTS Associated Press THE border closure between Canada and the United States has severely hurt Point Roberts, Washington, which is isolated from the rest of the country.

The extended coronavirusinduced border closure shut down two border crossings for the town of about 1,300 people, who must commute 25 miles through Canada to get to the rest of Washington state.

“We really need that border open to survive,” said Tamra Hansen, who owns the Saltwater Cafe in Point Roberts.

The economy still depends on the flow of people and resources to and from the border, which closed in March and will remain closed through at least Sept 21, KING-TV reports.

“I rely on approximately 90% of my business from the Canadians, that come from the seasonal people,” Hansen said. “And we make our money in the summer to get through the winter.”

There is no regular ferry or air service to Point Roberts. There have been no confirmed coronavirus cases reported in the town.

In 2019, 1.4 million people crossed the border into Point Roberts. So far this year,

there have been just 217,000 visitors.

Gov Jay Inslee penned a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last Friday addressing these concerns. Inslee cited in his letter the need for a “practical solution to this issue” and emphasised “unique hardships” faced by Point Roberts residents.

It followed a similar letter to the US Ambassador to Canada co-written by the state’s Senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and two other Washington state congresspeople.

The city was created because of a quirk in the Oregon Treaty of 1846

between the United Kingdom and the United States.

The two countries agreed to settle their border dispute by dividing their territories in the Pacific Northwest along the 49th parallel. But, that left the small area of Point Roberts on the southern tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula in American control.

Darryl Marquette, an employee at TSB Shipping in Point Roberts, says the shipping company has had boxes meant for Canada backlogged for months because of the border closures.

Residents like Brian Calder, a longtime resident who worked as a city councilor in Vancouver, have

advocated for relief, saying that citizens of Point Roberts should be given an exemption to cross the border.

“Businesses here are down 80% -- down 80%!” said Calder. “They can’t survive through this winter. Like, it’s not possible. I’m really pessimistic about the recovery here.”

Canada recently ironed out a plan to allow those in Alaska to cross the border at five specific ports using car placards to identify themselves.

Hansen worries, though, that the efforts of its citizens and lawmakers will be futile.

“All the other restaurants have closed down, the golf

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 93° F/34° C Low: 77° F/25° C

TAMPA

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Partly sunny, a t‑storm in spots

A t‑storm around in the evening

A t‑storm in spots in the morning

A blend of clouds and sunshine

Partly sunny

Partly sunny, a t‑storm possible

High: 90°

Low: 78°

High: 91° Low: 80°

High: 90° Low: 80°

High: 90° Low: 79°

High: 89° Low: 78°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

100° F

86° F

103°-90° F

102°-89° F

102°-89° F

102°-88° F

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 83° F/28° C

7‑14 knots

S

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 78° F/26° C

6‑12 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 81° F/27° C

E

W S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

N

uV inDex toDay

TONIGHT

High: 92° F/33° C Low: 79° F/26° C

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 80° F/27° C

MIAMI

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 81° F/27° C

7‑14 knots

KEY WEST

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 81° F/27° C

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 78° F/26° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

N

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

tiDes For nassau Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

2:16 a.m.

3:02 p.m.

High

Ht.(ft.)

2.8 3.3

8:31 a.m.

9:33 p.m.

0.4 0.9

Thursday

3:23 a.m.

4:08 p.m.

2.7 3.3

9:35 a.m. 0.5 10:41 p.m. 0.9

Friday

4:30 a.m.

5:10 p.m.

2.6 3.3

10:40 a.m. 0.6 11:42 p.m. 0.8

Saturday

5:32 a.m.

6:07 p.m.

2.7 3.3

11:40 a.m. 0.6 ‑‑‑‑‑ ‑‑‑‑‑

Sunday

6:27 a.m.

6:57 p.m.

2.8 3.4

12:37 a.m. 0.8 12:34 p.m. 0.5

Monday

7:16 a.m.

7:42 p.m.

2.8 3.4

1:24 a.m.

1:23 p.m.

0.7 0.5

Tuesday

8:00 a.m.

8:22 p.m.

2.9 3.4

2:06 a.m.

2:08 p.m.

0.6 0.5

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:49 a.m.

7:34 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

2:36 p.m.

12:41 a.m.

Full

Last

New

First

Sep. 2

Sep. 10

Sep. 17

Sep. 23

CAT ISLAND

E

W

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

S

E

W

7‑14 knots

S

7‑14 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 90° F/32° C Low .................................................... 81° F/27° C Normal high ....................................... 89° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 76° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 92° F/34° C Last year’s low ................................... 81° F/27° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ............................................... 38.35” Normal year to date ................................... 23.98”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

course is closed,” Hansen said.

“Quite honestly, I probably should have just closed.”

The number of coronavirus infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

7‑14 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 88° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

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

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 88° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

N

N E

W

E

W

H

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

S

S

7‑14 knots

6‑12 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday:

WINDS E at 6‑12 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots

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business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2020

$3.98 Restaurants happy to reopen – but say revenue will be halved

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net RESTAURANTS are “excited” to be able to reopen on August 31, but the restrictions still means more than half in revenue losses.

Jacques Carlino, owner/ operator of the Blue Sail Bar & Grill, Sandyport, told Tribune Business yesterday that he is “extremely excited” about the news to reopen his restaurant. Mr Carlino also said: “We are a bit surprised because COVID-19 cases are high, I thought that they would allow restaurants to open with just the takeout, but I believe we are the best place in Nassau for dining out for outdoors especially. I am 150 percent confident that I’m following the protocols to a tee and I am extremely proud. I am having a meeting this week with my staff so we can go over all of our protocols and tightening them as well.”

Mr Carlino added: “I’m extremely excited but I know all businesses must be champions of the health protocols now.”

Mr Carlino also said he projects at least a 50 percent revenue loss versus what he would normally make having been limited to just curbside, takeaway and outside dining for the time being. He added: “We feel it is going to drop by more than 50 percent, when we reopened during the first reopening phase in July we were below 60 percent of the regular market.

But we are lucky enough to be one of those restaurants that can open up, so let’s not forget that. The space between my tables is tremendous and my staff all wear masks, I think we are one of the safest places in Nassau.”

Chris Tsavoussis, president of Aetos Holdings which manages the Wendy’s, Marco’s Pizza and Popeyes franchises, said: “The health, safety and well-being of our employees, customers and communities is our top priority. As such, we completely understand the issues that indoor dining pose in a COVID 19 environment, given the country’s total case count. We do not wish to be in the position of the of our prime minister as our country faces tries to tackle COVID 19, while dealing with the existing economic fallout.”

Mr Tsavoussis also said: “We will be happy to reopen and operate within established safety guidelines as announced by the prime minister and the ministry of health. We made it work before our restaurants closures and will make it work again.

He added: “Some of the measures that we have included our contactless drive thru, which is in fact, is of less risk versus going into the food store. Additionally, we have developed and established COVID 19 protocols that was shared with the Ministry of Health. It is our hope that this standard can hopefully be applied across the entire country.

These protocols spoke of restaurant readiness- employee health and wellness, enhanced restaurant sanitation, order placement, payment and order expediting in the drive thru as well as the overall restaurant.”

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‘No VAT cut’ after lockdown

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

T

HE deputy prime minister said that there will be no tax cuts or additional incentives for businesses coming out of the COVID-19 lockdown.

K Peter Turnquest, speaking to reporters outside of cabinet office yesterday responded to questions about the government considering reducing the value added tax (VAT) back to 7.5 percent as a way to give businesses a kick-start, said: “At the moment, no. The reality is that we are not receiving much revenue at all and in the meanwhile government has to run on.”

Mr Turnquest also said: “The incentives and the assistance that we have given to businesses as well as to individuals has to be paid for and so those businesses

DPM says no revenue, no incentives that are operating and that have been able to operate during this period, we’re counting on them. We need them, unfortunately. So I don’t that at the moment, obviously as we go forward we make decisions, but at the moment I don’t see that as an option.”

In addition to the government assistance programmes already in place, Mr Turnquest said that the game plan to stimulate the economy in the meantime is that the government will have to rely on the domestic economy more than it had before the COVID-19 shutdown and that the government has undertaken a

“simulative infrastructure programme, where we will be doing projects that need to be done anyway, but we will bring them forward to engage as many people and small businesses as we can to try and provide some form of income to those individual families. The Minister for Works (Desmond Bannister) will talk about that and the prime minister spoke about it on Monday evening, but we will speed up some of the infrastructure work we already have on the board and other small projects we can engage small businesses in. We will certainly roll those forward to try and assist.”

Mr Turnquest also warned small businesses that are saying that they don’t having the leeway to reopen on August 31: “They have a responsibility to be responsible to make sure that their customers follow the rules

Essential businesses see trade down by half

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

K PETER TURNQUEST as people enter the establishments that they sanitise, make sure that they have on masks, make sure that they enforce the distancing protocols. Make sure that their staff know what the protocols are in the first instance and are educated about the protocols and that they follow through diligently and that they put in place internal safety inspectors to ensure that they go around and ensure that all of the people are doing what they are supposed to be doing having on gloves or masks or whatever.

He added: “Again, this is not a big business, small business, government or individual problem. This is a problem that we all face and together we can beat it.”

Back to school VAT holiday ‘still on table’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE deputy prime minister said that the back to school value added tax (VAT) tax holiday is “absolutely” still on the table to help citizens during this difficult times brought on by the COVID-19 shutdown.

K Peter Turnquest, speaking to reporters outside cabinet office yesterday added “We are going to have the two week, in fact it is three weeks, of a VAT free back to school shopping as an attempt to try and assist people the best way we can as they go back to school realising that a lot of people are going to have challenges, so this is one way that we are trying to help along with the other assistance programmes that we have offered.”

Late yesterday afternoon, the Ministry of Finance issued a statement, which

said the ministry “advises the public that the Back-toSchool VAT Holiday will begin on Monday, August 31, 2020. The purpose of the tax relief measure, announced during the Budget Debate, is to make back to school shopping less expensive for parents while providing support to local businesses throughout The Bahamas. The Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) will work with businesses across the country to administer this tax relief measure.”

“While the country grapples with the ongoing health and economic crisis, the Government will continue to find ways to reduce the financial strain on families and businesses and provide support where we can. With the VAT holiday on school supplies, parents and teachers will be able to find some financial relief as they prepare for the reopening of school. Even with

the tax breaks, many people will still need the support of the broader community, so we continue to encourage and celebrate those who have been rallying together to support their neighbours, family members, friends and even strangers,” said Mr Turnquest.

Jeffrey Lloyd, Minister of Education, said: “We know parents and teachers across the country are anxious to prepare for the reopening of schools in September, and the transition to virtual school. Naturally, there are learning tools required for remote learning that were not necessary for in person learning. The Government has ensured that the VAT holiday covers traditional school supplies, such as notebooks, folders and other stationary, and digital learning tools such as personal computers, tablets and other related accessories.”

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The release continued, “The Back-to-School VAT holiday will cover a range of locally purchased school supplies, including school uniforms, clothing, backpacks, electronic book readers, and even school snacks. The comprehensive list will be available on the DIR website. Imported items are not included under the VAT Holiday and will attract the ordinary border taxes.”

Gaynell Rolle, comptroller of the DIR, said: “The Department of Inland Revenue will work with businesses to ensure this tax relief initiative is delivered smoothly. All merchants who are VAT registrants and are licensed to sell back to school supplies will be required to participate.

Consumers will benefit from the VAT savings at the cash register.”

The VAT holiday will run from Monday, August 31, to Sunday, September 20.

BUSINESS has fallen by 50 percent and is beginning to slow down even more at essential services businesses during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Vasco Bastian, owner/ operator of Esso Service Station on East Street and Soldier Road, told Tribune Business: “Business has been pretty much regular, there is no money circulating now. So business has fallen off and it has fallen off 50 percent and there is no change.”

Mr Bastian added: “We have to get this right and we have to get it right quickly.

People are just in the wings waiting. The buck stops with the prime minister and we hope he gets this buck right.”

We all know what the solution to this COVID-19 problem is, Mr Bastian said, and that is to “roll up our sleeves, roll up our boots and get to work and that means staying inside and following the social distancing guidelines set forth by the ministry of health”.

Mr Bastian reiterated: “Business has fallen off 50 percent. We need to get this economy open and my biggest fear is the rising unemployment which stands now at over 40 percent. That is scary.”

Atwell Ferguson, general manager of Golden Gates Supermarket said: “Business is real slow right now, business has been real slow.”

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UN: Global tourism lost $320bn in five months from virus UNITED NATIONS Associated Press THE tourism global industry has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, with $320bn lost in exports in the first five months of the year and more than 120 million jobs at risk, the UN chief said yesterday.

SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres, pictured, said in a policy briefing and video address that tourism is the third-largest export sector of the global economy, behind fuels and chemicals, and in 2019 it accounted for 7%

of global trade.

“It employs one in every ten people on Earth and provides livelihoods to hundreds of millions more,” he said.

In addition to boosting economies, “it allows people to experience some of the world’s cultural and natural riches and brings people closer to each other, highlighting our common humanity,” he said.

But the UN chief said that in the first five months of 2020, because of the pandemic, international tourist arrivals decreased by more than half and earnings plummeted.

Guterres said this has been a “major shock” for richer developed nations “but for developing countries, it is an emergency, particularly for many small island developing states and African countries.”

Tourism for some of those countries represents more than 20% of their GDP, he explained.

Sandra Carvao, the UN World Tourism Organization’s chief of market intelligence and competitiveness, said the $320bn in lost exports from January through May is three times what was lost during the year 2009 at the height of the last global financial crisis.

And according to the policy briefing, “export revenues from tourism could

fall by $910bn to $1.2tn in 2020” and that “could reduce global GDP by 1.5% to 2.8%”.

In addition to tourism jobs that are at risk, the policy paper said jobs in associated sectors, including food service, that provide employment for 144 million workers worldwide are also at risk.

It stressed that small businesses, “are particularly vulnerable”.

Guterres said tourism “is also a key pillar for the conservation of natural and cultural heritage”.

According to the briefing, some 7% of world tourism relates to wildlife, “a segment growing by 3% annually”.

“The fall in revenues has led to increased poaching

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and habitat destruction in and around protected areas,” the secretary-general said, “and the closure of many World Heritage sites has deprived communities of vital livelihoods.”

Guterres called for the tourism sector to be rebuilt in a way that is safe for host communities, workers and travelers, and is also “equitable and climate friendly”.

Noting that travel restrictions and border closures still remain though some have been lifted, Carvao said “the recovery will be very much dependent on the evolution of the pandemic and the economic situation.”

“No country has escaped the impact of COVID on tourism,” she said.

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