10202022 NEWS AND SPORT

Biggest And

BAIN ARRESTED AT PARLIAMENT

Activist and coalition members held after Rawson Square protest

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ACTIVIST Lincoln Bain, along with several support ers, were arrested yesterday outside of the House of Assembly after scores of them bombarded Parlia ment Square demanding that the government tackle what they deemed an “immigration crisis”.

Ahead of the cha otic scene, Mr Bain, the leader of the Coalition of Independents and his sup porters, handed members of Parliament entering the House of Assembly printed

copies of a bill they want the government to amend.

The group is seek ing the support of the government in banning ille gal immigrants born in The Bahamas from applying for citizenship.

“Today, we are actually delivering a bill to mem bers of Parliament,” Mr Bain said before the scene became rowdy. “We have printed copies of a bill to amend our immigra tion laws to prevent illegal immigrants and their chil dren from getting status in this country.

COMPANY CHIEF DEFENDS ANKLE MONITOR SYSTEM

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE chief executive officer of the company contracted by the Minis try of National Security to provide ankle monitor ing bracelets for people on bail vehemently defended the system, saying there is no fault in the devices he offers.

Leon Bethell, former

assistant commissioner of police and CEO of Metro Security Solutions, was yesterday adamant that his company has never had any concerns with the monitor ing devices. He further insisted that before the company was contracted, people on bail were not being tar geted for breaching bail conditions.

MOTHER UPSET AT WAIT FOR TURIN FILES

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

BLAIR John’s mother is unhappy that more than three years since her son’s death, Bahamian officials have yet to receive files related to the investigation from Italian authorities.

Blair, 28, and Alrae Ramsey, 29, were found in the Po River in Turin, Italy on June 4 and 5, 2019 respectively.

told this newspaper that she was pleased that For eign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell continued to agi tate in trying to get answers, as well as probing further with a view to getting to the bottom of what led to the men’s deaths.

Mr Mitchell this week expressed frustration with the Italian government for its continued delay in hand ing over the files on the investigation of the tragedy.

OLD FORT BAY ROW SPLITS COMMUNITY

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

ONE of western New Providence’s most upscale communities is being “torn” apart through an escalating dispute triggered by demands that homeown ers finance a 50 percent increase in security costs.

Multiple homeowners in the subdivisions that com prise Old Fort Bay said they and their neighbours have steadily become more “soured and depressed” during a year which has literally seen the high-end community split in two.

They revealed the disa greement over security fees has morphed into the closure of a gate that now prevents residents from roaming freely throughout their community.

$600,000 ON FURNITURE AT EMBASSY

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AN AUDIT into The Bahamas’ Embassy in Brus sels, Belgium found that over $600,000 of taxpayer’s money was spent on fur niture purchases for the official residence.

The report was one of several audits tabled yes terday that looked into the financial operations of Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ embassies, consulate general offices and a per manent mission.

“During our audit, we noted furniture purchased for the official residence in the amount of 472, 427.80 EUR or $614,156.14,”

Auditor General Terrance Bastian said in an audit con ducted between November 1, 2019, and July 7, 2022.

Cathleen Rahming, told The Tribune yesterday the impasse has prevented a proper investigation by rel atives and ultimate closure.

However, Mrs Rahming

ALRAE RAMSEY, left, and Blair John.

LINCOLN Bain faces up to a police officer outside the House of Assembly.

Photo: Moise Amisial

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Lincoln Bain arrested at Parliament

moments before being arrested yesterday.

“We’re delivering it to each of the members of Parliament to give them an opportunity to do what’s right for the Bahamian people to protect our bor ders. There’s a crisis in Haiti right now and that crisis is spilling over to us and so we have to protect ourselves.”

Not long after, tempers flared as police officers engaged with Mr Bain and his supporters in an attempt to remove protestors from demonstrating on the steps of Parliament.

The police had requested that the group relocate to Rawson Square, but Mr Bain insisted otherwise.

Following this exchange, several supporters of the Coalition of Independents were arrested and taken to Central Police Station.

At one point, a group of supporters surrounded officers as they attempted to wrestle, apprehend and later arrest Mr Bain. He was handcuffed and placed in the backseat of a police car.

Mr Bain accused the gov ernment of fascism as he alleged being assaulted by police officers who were arresting him.

“The United Nations does not allow for politi cal prosecution,” he said

“For me to be arrested delivering letters to the House of Assembly to members of Parliament and then to be assaulted for no reason by a police officer that means we have gone to a gestapo state. We are now a factious nation,” he added.

As a result of the chaos in Parliament Square, police barricaded Parliament and Rawson Squares.

Following his arrest, sup porters gathered outside of the Central Police Station where Mr Bain was taken.

In a statement last night, police said they were actively investigating an unlawful assembly in Par liament Square.

“Initial reports revealed that around 10am a group of persons were illegally gath ered on Bay Street in front of the House of Assembly causing a disturbance.

“The group was asked to disperse which they refused; subsequently, nine persons were arrested for various offences inclu sive of unlawful assembly, obstructing members of parliament access to the House of Assembly, dis orderly behaviour and assaulting a police officer.” Police said investigations continue.

WATSON APOLOGY ‘NOT ACCEPTED’

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

WOMEN United has rejected press secretary Clint Watson’s apology saying that alone it was not enough as it failed to identify the female con tributors to the national dialogue who he recklessly marginalised.

Despite the apology, the advocacy group said that through Mr Watson’s care lessness by making the statement, from the Office of the Prime Minister, he invalidated and damaged decades of effort by women from all walks of life to bring about change.

Their statement followed a meeting with Prime Min ister Philip “Brave” Davis and comes in the aftermath of comments by Mr Watson that advocacy groups had been “quiet” on marital rape.

The meeting on Tuesday night saw the attendance of not only Women United, but Women of Strength Associa tion, Bahamas Urban Youth Development Centre, Eve ryone Counts Organisation, Women Investments Group, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and Erin Brown Connects.

“We discussed comments made last week by press secretary Clint Watson concerning their advocacy around the issue of marital rape,” Mr Davis said in a statement yesterday. “They understood and accepted that those comments were made in error. By the time of the meeting, the press secretary had already issued a full apology.

“He was misinformed about the extent of the con sultation and has set the record straight. The Attor ney General has been clear that women’s groups have played an important role during the consultations, and we are grateful for their engagement.

“Marital rape is an issue that The Bahamas has been grappling with for a long time. The work to build progress on this issue and on other difficult issues requires all of society to engage in continued consul tation and dialogue.”

In a press statement before Mr Davis’ com ments, Women United said that Mr Watson’s apology issued on Tuesday night was “not enough”.

“In keeping with the call to action provoked by Mr Watson and the energy

within the organisations that we have had contact with we hereby renew our demand that the Davis administration immediately move to revise the Sexual Offences Act to reflect that all rape is a criminal act.”

Women United said yes terday that Mr Watson’s comments were “not just insulting it was, as he has admitted, ‘inaccurate’.”

The statement read: “He invalidated and damaged decades of effort by women from all walks of life to bring about this change. Therefore, his apology alone is not enough as it fails to identify the female contributors to the national dialogue that he recklessly marginalised.”

Last Friday, Mr Watson made negative statements about the advocacy of wom en’s groups on the issue of marital rape.

He said: “A lot of the groups are quiet. A lot of the activist groups and the groups that protect women, where are your voices?”

The following Tuesday, Mr Watson was forced to backtrack on these com ments after immense backlash, offering an apol ogy for his saying that he “should have been more aware of their active involvement in the consul tation process”.

According to Women United, no administration since 1993 has valued the side of women on the issue of marital rape.

In 1993, The Bahamas ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimi nation of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). These efforts came about as a result of leading Baha mian women, including, Dame Janet Bostwick, Allyson Maynard-Gibson, Loretta Butler-Turner, Marion Bethel and Sandra Dean-Patterson.

Recently, Women United said some women and organ isations who have called for legislative reform in The Bahamas include the Crisis Centre, Prodesta Moore of BUYDC and Women United, Alicia Wallace from Equality Bahamas, Shervonn Hollis of 242 Domestic Vio lence Support Network, Cindy Godet, Khandi Gibson of FOAM, Marissa MasonSmith of Zonta, Charlene Paul of CIWiL, other offi cials, along with many other women activists and advo cacy groups.

LINCOLN Bain being arrested yesterday and, right, inside the police car.

Photos: Moise Amisial

Mother upset at wait for Turin files

Mrs Rahming noted the pandemic’s effect on pro gress with the file when asked about her satisfaction with the movement of the matter.

“Shortly after that event happened, the whole world went through COVID,” she said in an interview yes terday. “And as a result of COVID, we were told that a lot of things stopped and slowed down, basically.

“So, it’s hard to really say yes or no on that due to what happened shortly thereafter. Of course, we’re not happy in terms of not being able to ascertain the files to really do a proper investigation from this side.

“We’re not happy with that at all but we had very little control as to what could happen or how quickly it could happen, because the pandemic hap pened shortly thereafter.”

She explained that the government took full responsibility to investigate the matter and so because of that the family did not engage a private lawyer.

“The laws in Italy were explained to us. Everything that is done you have to go through the Italian authori ties. So it would make it very difficult for you being on this side of the world to really facilitate what needs to be done. So, we have entrusted the details of the investigation into the hands of the government and because it is a foreign affairs

matter we have decided we will let them handle it.

“We’re very limited. We’re a small island nation, resources, location, and because of the laws of Italy, you basically use their author ities, their investigators, their lawyers. It’s so much red tape. And so, we have to basically wait to see what happens from the government’s per spective who have taken

the charge and the lead with regard to pursuing this matter and its investigation to which we are very grateful.”

While the autopsy reported that their deaths were likely accidental as a result of drowning, Mrs Rahming has rejected that explanation and continues to seek answers.

She stressed that it was important that the family

got answers because she would not want another parent to send their child off to school or travel ling internationally only to be returned home in a “body bag” because of nothing they did, but just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She added that Mr Mitch ell had kept dialogue open over what was happening with the situation.

“When he met with them from last October, when I was briefed, he made me aware of the requests made at that time and we were very hopeful that the Ital ian authorities would have responded within the time frame that they had given at that point.”

Mrs Rahming added: “I was told that they said to give them two weeks. And that was last year, Octo ber. So, we’re not pleased at all with the direction or the speed in the manner at all with the progress of the investigation.

“As a family, we are very displeased with that. How ever, I am pleased with the fact that Mr Mitchell is still

agitating and trying to get an answer and he is probing further to try to get to the bottom of what happened.

“There’s no, there’s absolutely no way we could say we are happy or satisfied. No, we’re not. We also know that certain events have been beyond even our Foreign Affairs control.”

She said that former Foreign Affairs Minister Darren Henfield was help ful to the family.

When asked about her thoughts on the Italian gov ernment’s failure to deliver the files, Mrs Rahming said: “I was insulted by the manner in which it was dealt with. I was insulted because I still believe it was a hate crime and I still believe it was a cover up and it contin ues to be a cover up.

“But I was mostly insulted at how quickly they came to a closure with the investigation - I was insulted. Knowing the nature of my son and know ing the purpose and the reason for him being there he was never in trouble, not one day of his life.”

BELL DEFENDS GOVT AFTER COMPLAINTS OF ‘MISTREATED’ MIGRANTS

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION Min ister Keith Bell yesterday defended government’s efforts in handling irregu lar migrants in response to claims that migrants have been “mistreated” by law enforcement during the government’s recent shanty town crackdown.

The Immigration Depart ment launched Operation Expedition from October 7 to 10, when immigration officials, as well as the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, went to Abaco to explore, detain and eventu ally repatriate any irregular migrants found there.

When asked by reporters about the alleged “mishan dling” of immigrants during the Operation in Abaco, Mr Bell said he had not received any reports of mis handling of immigrants.

The Immigration Min ister emphasised that the raids are conducted with “common decency”, “humanity”, and “respect”.

“I did not receive any reports or complaints,” he told reporters yester day outside the House of Assembly.

“There is a grievance process, and I would indi cate to all that if there is a grievance, then, of course, I have an open-door policy, as well as the director of immigration is always

available to hear complaints and address concerns.”

The expedition found that one shanty town in particular - The Farm - has grown from 50 acres to about 200 acres since Hur ricane Dorian.

Other shanty towns, including a large area in Marsh Harbour, have also expanded.

The Supreme Court had previously ruled that the government was banned from further demolishing shanty town communities in Abaco.

Mr Bell affirmed that nothing will be done in that regard as there were claims of residents of the shanty towns being concerned.

“I’ve communicated with

both the Attorney General and the Minister of Works as you would appreciate, construction and illegal construction comes under the remit of the Minister of Works, not the Minister of Immigration,” he said yesterday.

“I think that he has indi cated that he has formed a committee and they are going to report to him imminently to determine the way forward.”

According to Mr Bell, there have been more than 2,400 foreign nationals repatriated so far for the year, the majority of whom are from Haiti.

In response to the demo lition of the unregulated communities, particularly

POLICE INVESTIGATE ‘MAN WITH KNIFE’ AT SCHOOL

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

POLICE have confirmed an inves tigation is ongoing into a six-year-old girl’s account that she was approached and chased by a man with a knife while at school.

In a statement, police said the girl was able to evade the suspect who fled the area in a dark coloured vehicle.

“The incident reportedly occurred after school was dismissed,” police said. “Police are investigating and appealing to parents and guardians to collect their child/children imme diately following school or as soon as practicable. Parents are also reminded to instill in their children not to talk or take anything from strangers.”

Yesterday, The Tribune con tacted acting Director of Education Dominique McCartney-Russell for further insight into the situation.

“The child reported that she was hit by an unknown male adult with a knife shortly after school, that’s what she reported,” Mrs McCartney-Rus sell said.

Following the alleged incident, there has been a meeting with the child’s parents.

“There was an investigation con ducted by the school administrators, so they would have met with the par ents. And they would have met with the teachers who were at the gate as well as some other staff members and students who were in the vicinity.”

When asked if there were secu rity officers present on the school’s

campus, she said there were although she was unable to give an exact number of how many officers.

Following the incident, a post on social media site Facebook circulated on Tuesday claiming that the school involved was Claridge Primary, and urging parents to be vigilant.

“Parents be on High Alert,” the post by an alleged parent read.

“A gentleman came on campus in hopes to take a girl child. He had a knife and made an attempt to take a child. The child ran and screamed from the bathroom area and the man fled in a black vehicle. Please double check the whereabouts of your kids today”.

Many parents raised their concerns about the safety for students, ques tioning the security measures of the school.

at Abaco, Works Minister Alfred Sears said during a press conference that once he is briefed on the matter, he will provide a “compre hensive multi-dimensional

response.”

Mr Sears said gov ernment is “more than concerned” about the immigration problem in the country.

THE SCENE in Turn after the body of Alrae Ramsey was found with, inset, images of Mr Ramsey and Blair John.

‘Govt will phase in liveable wage’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

LABOUR Minister Keith Bell said the govern ment remains committed to phasing in a “liveable wage” for Bahamian workers.

He said the transition to a liveable wage will come over a period of time and not overnight.

Mr Bell was speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday on the increase of the country’s national minimum wage from $210 to $260 per week.

The higher wage will be retroactive in the public service going back to July

LABOUR Minister Keith Bell.

of this year and for those in the private sector, the change will begin in Janu ary 2023.

“In the past week, vari ous arguments have been made from varying sectors

about the sum of $260,” Mr Bell told parliamentarians yesterday. “I wish to make it clear to persons who are employed, who work incredibly hard and cannot survive off the current wage

of $210.

“The government is not saying that you should only earn $260 or that sum is adequate. No, indeed the government recognises that the minimum wage must, in time, be transitioned into a wage that is appropriate for today’s cost of living.”

Mr Bell then pointed to a 2020 study done by the University of The Baha mas that concluded that a living wage in New Provi dence and Grand Bahama is $2,625 and $3,550 per month respectively.

He said in some circles, the report was viewed as unreasonable or unrealistic.

However, Mr Bell said in his view, “it is hard to argue with the numbers.”

“While it is accepted that it is not possible to move to a liveable wage immedi ately, it is the view of this Davis-led Progressive Lib eral Party government that as a goal, we should seek to transition to a liveable wage over time,” he added.

“I emphatically empha sise that the transition to a liveable wage over time, can only be sustained and

implemented if there are corresponding increases in efficiency and productivity.

“On a national level, our overall labour productivity must increase, and it can only increase by us continu ing to offer opportunities for workers to upgrade their skills and offer education and training.

“We must also work smarter and use more effi cient technologies to assist in making our work more productive.”

During his contribution, Mr Bell also expressed ela tion over the success of the Labour on the Blocks job fair that was held over the weekend.

The event attracted some 1,500 job seekers and fortyfive employers participated in the fair.

“It was nothing short of astounding and God’s work in us,” the labour minister continued.

“A major hotel inter viewed and hired a young lady on the spot and asked her to report to work at 2pm on Saturday afternoon. Another hospitality par ticipant hired 42 persons on

the spot and began work on Monday gone.

“A local restaurant group hired 44 persons on the spot and began work on Monday. A luxury retailer interviewed over 75 persons and identified 55 possible new staff pending back ground checks.

“Another restaurant group interviewed over 60 persons and identified 40 persons expected to be hired during this week. A hardware store inter viewed 44 persons, hired two persons on the spot and expected to add additional persons in a few weeks.”

He also noted that an automotive part retailer interviewed seven persons, three of whom were also hired on the spot.

“On behalf of a thankful government and people, I extend sincerest gratitude to all the employers who came out and carried out their civic duties – very pro fessionally organized and disciplined,” he said.

According to Mr Bell, the country’s labour force is comprised of around 214,600 people.

COMPANY CHIEF DEFENDS ANKLE MONITOR SYSTEM

from

There have been reports that those being moni tored have not adhered to curfew conditions. In other instances, it has been reported that the device batteries have intention ally been allowed to die and cases where some have removed the devices from their bodies.

Last month, Police Commissioner Clayton Fer nander said 38 people had been charged with breach ing bail conditions.

Another aspect of the situation is that at one point more than 50 percent of persons out on bail for murder were themselves murder victims, according to National Security Minis ter Wayne Munroe.

On Monday, the min ister said officials were concerned about the high number of persons commit ting offences while being electronically monitored.

Mr Munroe added at the time he was to schedule a meeting with the Director of Public Prosecutions in view of the recent trends of persons committing offences and being vic tims of crime while being monitored.

Asked how quickly his company alerts law

enforcement of per sons breaking curfew, Mr Bethell explained: “There’s always an immediate alert that comes to the monitor ing centre and immediately it is forwarded on to the police department.”

The CEO pointed to indi viduals being brought to court for breaches when he was pressed about instances where an individual has continually broken curfew, but has not been contacted by police.

“Well, I’m not going to educate persons. Some persons who should not be educated - I’m not going to do that. I will say that if you look at the court system you will see how much people go to court every so often for breach of their bail conditions.”

“We have never had no issue, no concerns,” Mr Bethel said. “And, I said before that there is no issue with nothing - with none of our systems - none whatsoever.

“Once a person goes to court for a breach of their bail conditions, they would use anything that they could pull out the ground to try to evade going back to prison.

“It has never happened before where the moni toring company go out and target every breach of bail condition and have

the person arrested by the police. This has never hap pened before. There’s never been discussion about this before, so the persons who are being placed before the courts they know why they are crying out now to say how they are being arrested and taken back to court because the persons who you said breached bail condition they would have been taken to court.

“Every one of the mat ters have been reported to the police, so they could be arrested and taken back to court. They know, whoever you’re talking to, they know that prior to Metro Security Solutions being involved, they were not being tar geted for breaching the bail conditions.”

Since December of last year, Metro Security Solutions has been respon sible for the monitoring devices. Previously, Migra fill Security Group had the contract.

Recently, a 38-year-old man being electronically monitored and on bail for murder was shot dead after he allegedly attempted to rob a woman of her car.

A mother and her adult son were shot dead earlier this month and police were searching for a man on bail for murder to help them in their investigation.

Govt owes $1.7m to BTVI

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

MORE than $1m is owed to the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) by the Ministry of Education, according to an audit into the institution.

“The outstanding amount of $1,749,310.50 was invoiced and BTVI is awaiting payment of the same. It is recommended that the outstanding amount of $1,749,310.50 be paid to BTVI and indicated in the balance sheet under accounts receivables,” the report read.

The audit, which was con ducted by Auditor General Terrance Bastian during the

periods of July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 and July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, was tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday.

It found that policy pro cedures were not followed as laid out in the BTVI Act such as the requirement to have its financial statements audited each year and that the accounts office was not properly secured among other things.

“The statements for the years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 202 are unaudited,” the report said.” It is recommended that BTVI management engage the services of an account ing firm to have the financial statements audited, brought

up to date and presented to Parliament.”

The report also speaks of the lack of proper docu mentation to validate credit card purchases or charges and recommends that inter nal controls for the use of credit card be strengthened and personal expenses by cardholders via the credit card be discouraged.

“Reconciliations are not being performed, charges are being made without receipts and to indicate that approval was obtained,” the report said.

It also highlighted challenges faced by the institutions Fund Develop ment Department, noting there are no policies or

procedures manual in place. “The FDD is facing a number of systematic challenges. Details are as follows: no budget to carry out fundraiser or any other departmental expenses; lack of support from the board and management to carry out its mandate; lack of meetings with the president; staff shortages, presently staffed by two officers; exclusion from meetings when decisions are made; lack of access to empower to utilize the scholarship module,” among other things.

As it relates to payrolls for the period October 15, 2019 to July 30, 2020, audi tors noted that it observed

a difference of $95,596.57 and recommended that the institute provide an expla nation for the difference.

The audit also high lights outstanding student receivables.

“Students at BTVI Abaco and Andros have made a number of payments, of which the student financial services division has no record. Island coordinators in the districts of Abaco and Andros were given receipt books. However, no funds were remitted to the accounts department,” the report notes.

“It is recommended that the use of manual receipt books be minimised and a more reliable method for

collecting fees be introduced to improve accountability and transparency.

The report added: “A student was allowed to register while having an outstanding balance from previous semesters. In addition, students were allowed to register with out a verification letter, transcript and Ministry of Education grant evidencing good standing.

“It is recommended that the documented policy for registering students be followed. It is further rec ommended that students be made to sign a formal agreement acknowledging their indebtedness to the institute,” the audit said.

$600,000 ON FURNITURE AT EMBASSY

from page one

“The High Commission, London assisted the Baha mas Mission, Belgium with a 50 percent initial deposit of 257, 667.40 EUR or 334,967.62 USD. In addi tion, a second payment of 131,577.20 EUR (171,024.36 USD), totaling 389, 244.60 EUR ($506,017.98 USD).

“Additionally, payments were made from the Mis sion Belgium account in the amounts of 72,873.20 EUR and 10,3100.00 EUR totaling 83,183.20 EUR or $94,735.16 USD and $13,403.00 USD totaling $108,138.16 USD.”

Auditors said the funds obtained from the London office went towards furni ture purchases that were approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the Brus sels Mission did not have a bank account.

Labour and Immigra tion Minister Keith Bell first raised alarm about the extravagant pur chases in Parliament in June, accusing the Minnis

administration of the “indiscriminate callous haemorrhage” of the public purse.

At the time, he said more than $1m was spent on lavish items for an ambassa dor’s apartment in Europe, including middle chairs that cost nearly $40,000, a rug at $18,475, $14,000 for a lamp and $10,000 for a mahogany scroll among other costly purchases.

In view of the findings, auditors recommended that the ministry establish poli cies for the purchasing of furnishings for all residents and embassies, consulate, etc, and noted that ambas sadors should not solely be responsible for these functions but through con sultations with the ministry.

Meanwhile, at the Bahamas Consulate Gen eral‘s office in Atlanta, Georgia, auditors made several recommenda tions pertaining to its expenditure controls after reviewing payment transac tions from the accounting records.

The report highlighted

an instance where a loan was approved by a senior officer without approval by the ministry and recom mended that cash payments be minimised to strengthen disbursement internal control.

“We observed copies of two loan agreements from the operational account in the amount of $4,000 and $7,000 respectively. The loans were approved by the senior officer without approval from the Minis try of Foreign Affairs. The loan of $4,000 was paid off; however, the amount of $7,000 to be repaid begin ning January 31, 2019,” the audit reads

“No repayment amount was indicated in the agree ment. We noted evidence of six repayments to the account totaling $5,537.59 as a result and we were not made sure if the remaining balance of $1,462.41 was repaid to the account.”

The audit also recom mended that the Atlanta consulate office provide the authority for the increase in transportation allowance

ORG PARTNERS WITH SOFTWARE COMPANY

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Organisation for Responsible Governance announced a partnership yesterday with Modinet Global Software Ltd, a digi tal advertising company that offers public education ads.

Modinet approached ORG after observing its recent events that pro moted “accountability and democracy”, according to a press release yesterday.

Modinet has placed ORG’s messages of responsible gov ernance on digital marketing platforms in over 60 busi nesses on islands across The Bahamas, including New Providence, Andros, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, and Great Exuma.

For the next 12 months, Modinet has pledged to continue to donate its technical expertise and is working with ORG to adjust public education ads, which are being fea tured nationwide, every six minutes, on the company’s digital platform.

Modinet President Marc Hohnstein said both Modi net and ORG are grounded in similar beliefs and values.

“We need organisations like ORG to fill the gap and to share knowledge of how the government system works,” he said.

ORG’s executive director, Matthew Aubry, said: “The ORG team is exceptionally grateful for Modinet’s belief in our work.”

between June 2014 to November 2021.

It also noted that if evi dence cannot be provided, the effected officers should be forced to reimburse the government.

“During our account’s pay ments review, we noted an amount of $11,050 paid for four local staff for retroac tive transportation allowance during the period of June 2014 to September 2018. This was done to increase the transpiration allowance from $200 to $250 per month,” the report added.

“We noted a minute that referenced the Bahamas Human Resources Manual Article 16.3 of benefits/ provisions, circular No 10 dated August 14, 2014 justi fying the increase; however, a review of the foreign service allowances indi cated that the allowance amount of ($200.00) remain unchanged.”

“The increase was applied to the salaries of local staff from October 2018 to November 2021. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not approve the

increase.”

The report also noted that a senior officer who was entitled to a clothing allowance of $5,520 bian nually, received $11,040.00 from a four-year payment from the operation account.

“The disbursement was affected on April 12, 2019.

The officer was appointed in September 2017 which would have allowed for a two-year payment only. We recommend that the authorisation document from the Ministry of For eign Affairs be placed on the file. Clothing allowance should not be paid from the operational account.”

Auditors also observed that the interim accounting officer lacked the neces sary training in government accounting procedures and advised that training be given to the officer.

The report also recom mended that the consulate office seek assistance from the ministry in recovering outstanding receivables.

“The Atlanta consulate office incurred expenses on behalf of the ministries.

Departments and Bahami ans in distress. We could not determine amounts repaid or owed. The consulate office does not maintain an accounts receivable ledger.”

And at the Bahamas Per manent Mission in Geneva, auditors recommended adherence to Cabinet orders at it relates to inde pendence celebrations.

“A review of the financial records for the Independ ence celebrations of the past three years 2019, 2020 and 2021; revealed increases in spending of CHF 1,199.69; however due to the COVID-19 no funds were over spent in 202 and in 2021,” the auditor said.

“The mission received an amount of 2,5000.00 USD to host the 48th Bahamas independence celebration; however, no celebrations were held. The funds remained on the account.”

According to the report, the Cabinet directive states that “detailed reports be provided upon completion of the Independence cel ebrations and not to surpass the 50 per cent allocation.”

PICTURE OF THE DAY

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI

Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

TELEPHONES

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China party congress offers look at future leaders

WHILE Xi Jinping is primed to receive a third term as head of China’s ruling Communist Party on Sunday, it is unknown who will join him for the next five years on the party’s leading bodies, the Central Committee and the Politburo.

Analysts will scrutinise who joins, and who leaves, for any clues about the future direction of policy as well as just how much power the 69-year-old Xi has been able to amass as one of China’s most influential figures in the country’s modern political history.

Most closely watched will be the Polit buro Standing Committee, whose size fluctuates but has stood at seven mem bers under Xi. Based on past practice, the new lineup will be revealed when the members walk out from behind a curtain Sunday, one day after the end of a weeklong party congress.

The positions they take on stage, to Xi’s left and right, will indicate their rank within what is considered the inner circle of power. Leading contenders include both current members and newcomers:

PREMIER LI KEQIANG

One major question is the future of the party’s No 2 official, Premier Li Keqiang, who has been on the Standing Committee since 2012 and is primar ily responsible for heading the cabinet and managing the world’s second-largest economy.

The 67-year-old Li is regarded as an advocate of market reforms and private enterprise, in contrast to Xi, who favors state-led development with an emphasis on technological self-reliance and reduc ing the large gap between rich and poor.

Li has had little impact on policymaking since Xi sidelined him politically, but he has led efforts to promote consumptionled economic growth and reduce reliance on exports and investment, employing tactics that some other countries say vio late China’s free-trade commitments.

Though he has said he will step down as premier next year, he is still eligible to stay on the Standing Committee. If he remains, analysts say that might indicate that supporters of a more market-driven economy have tempered Xi’s push for greater state control.

ADVISORY BODY HEAD WANG YANG

Other possible holdovers include Wang Yang, who joined the Standing Committee in 2017 and is also regarded as a member of the wing that favors markets, private enterprise and eco nomic experimentation.

Wang heads the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a party-controlled advisory body made up of representatives from various sectors such as religious groups, pro fessional organizations and chambers of commerce. He won plaudits in 2011 for defusing protests by residents of the fishing village of Wukan over land sales by local officials.

POLITICAL THEORIST WANG HUNING

Longtime party political theorist Wang Huning is seen as likely to stay on the Standing Committee. He may move up to head of the National People’s Con gress, the largely ceremonial legislature,

which would make him one of the top three party officials.

VICE PREMIER HU CHUNHUA

Among possible newcomers, Vice Pre mier Hu Chunhua is considered one of those with the best chance. He was a top official in Guangdong province from 2012 to 2017, where he led a crackdown on “naked officials” who work in China but have sent their families to live abroad, considered an indication of corruption. Hu rose through the party’s Communist Youth League, which is seen as a sepa rate faction from Xi’s circle and politically close to Xi’s predecessor, former party leader and President Hu Jintao.

Hu Chunhua is known as a boy wonder who ranked first in China’s national university entrance examina tions and became the youngest person to hold several official posts.

He spent the first two decades of his career in Tibet, where he promoted economic development and oversaw efforts to suppress pro-independence sentiment. He was thereafter appointed party secretary for the Inner Mongolia region.

SHANGHAI CHIEF LI QIANG

Li Qiang has been party secretary of Shanghai, China’s largest city and financial hub, since 2017. The post was previously held by Xi, former President Jiang Zemin and former Premier Zhu Rongji.

Li is regarded as being close to Xi after serving under him in the southeast ern province of Zhejiang, a center for export-oriented manufacturing and pri vate enterprise.

His reputation was dented by a lengthy lockdown of Shanghai earlier this year that confined 25 million people to their homes, disrupted the economy and prompted scattered public protests.

CHONGQING LEADER CHEN MIN’ER

Chen Min’er, another Xi ally who worked under him in Zhejiang province, has served as party secretary of the vast southwestern city of Chongqing since 2017.

The 62-year-old Chen is regarded by analysts as a rising star whom Xi might want to promote in order to secure his legacy in the next generation.

Chen has never held a national-level position but is seen as a capable leader who made Chongqing’s government more responsive and efficient after a turbulent period under the now-impris oned Bo Xilai, who was a Xi rival.

He previously held the top post in Guizhou, a relatively poor southern province, from 2012 to 2017.

The guessing game aside, some ques tion how much the makeup of the Standing Committee matters given Xi’s steely hold on power and the lack of sig nificant policy or ideological differences.

With his combative approach, Xi is more of a politician in the mold of com munist China’s founder Mao Zedong than his more collegial predecessors, who sought to encourage the private sector and maintain good relations with the West.

By the Associated Press

Fitting site for food festival

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT SEEMS appropriate that the historic Collins House, also known as Cen treville House, on Shirley Street, is to be the site for the upcoming International Culture Wine & Food Fes tival on the 22nd and 23rd of October.

I say this because the renovation of the grounds, commenced March 30th 2009 and completed three months later, was done with the intention of providing a useable public space for Bahamians to enjoy within a cultural and historical reference. Many hands worked together on this project which was started by Orjan Lindroth of Lindroth Development Company and Schooner Bay, Abaco, together with Antonius Roberts, artist and conservationist, the designer of the green space; their aim being to reno vate both the house and the garden under the aus pices of the Antiquities, Monuments & Museum Corporation.

The vision and direc tion of this project was built on a foundation of several important guid ing principles: to make it a community project; to create a city park accessible to and for Bahamians; to reflect and preserve aspects of Bahamian history that belong uniquely to these islands and to maximise the use of native wood, plants and trees and observe a ‘green’ philosophy by recyling organic material and mulching it back into the earth. All of the guide lines were adhered to - I know this because I kept a daily record of the proceed ings. Although it is now 14 years since then I think the many people, contractors, artists, artisans, children, individuals and businesses who participated in resur recting history deserve to be recognised for it was truly a commendable com munity effort, yet to be

replicated.

This beautiful green space boasts a Pond with a Fountain, Sculpture Garden and a Labyrinthperfect for a quiet reflective stroll. The stones painted by many schoolchildren form a giant Turtle and Madeira benches were placed at intervals around the encir cling path. Orjan Lindroth facilitated the donation of a massive boulder from the New Providence Devel opment Company placed close to the entrance from Shirley Street and a smaller boulder was placed on the easterly side of the main driveway, nestled into a sandy area surrounded by low growing shrubs and vines. At the south erly end of the property a herb garden in the form of an Hutea abuts the space designated as a Children’s Play area. This included the existing giant Rubber Tree but graced with wooden swings and benches and amphitheatre style seat ing for parents to watch their children play in a safe environment. The intention was that in the future, audi ences could watch musical or dramatic performances on the main lawn. Wouldn’t it be amazing if more quiet spaces or gardens could be created in the heart of Nassau for everyone, including tourists, to enjoy - I am sure there are many possibilities, smaller ones, such as the derelict Pink House, recently destroyed by fire and subsequently taken down along with the derelict house next door.

Everyone involved in the Collins House restoration went above and beyond their original scope of work and so many of the artists are now household names: Jason Bennett’s Earthstone Construction was responsible for the design, fabrication and

implementation of the Pond and Sculpture Garden, restoring the original Foun tain, the amphitheatre style seating and the perimeter pathway. Native Sun Nurs ery provided and planted trees, transported logs and donated crane time; Design Elements were the consulting Botanist and Landscapers; Rocky Farms and Fox Hill Nursery pro vided many of the native plants and shrubs as did pri vate donors. Tony Mohabir, Master Carpenter, built the amazing Lucayan style Tree House and huts, drawing on his own native Guyanian and Indian heritage for authenticity; Robin Hardy milled some of the wood on site for the benches. Several artists created work specifi cally for the site. Antonius Roberts donated and installed his “Driftwood” sculpture; Jessica Cole brooke created ceramic tiles picturing Bahamian fish; Chantal Bethel carved a wooden bench in honour of her late father, a well respected agronomist in the country; Peter Bates of Signman adopted a plot next to Chantal’s bench as a memorial for his daugh ter; Tyrone Ferguson fabricateda bronze sun dial; Lavar Munroe created a mural inspired by the Lucayan Indian heritage; John Cox and his summer students added hiero glyphics to the huts; many schoolchildren participated, painting local found stones that form the Turtle effigy in the ground.

The enthusiasm, love, pride, belief and energy invested in this project by everyone involved from experienced contractors, interested donors, contrib uting artists and children, is evidenced by the lasting quality of workmanship still to be seen and enjoyed today. A truly Bahamian experience.

VICTORIA SARNE Nassau October 19, 2022

Is Davis our version of Liz Truss?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

ONE of the benefits of becom ing Prime Minister after being a member of a law firm that has produced two Prime Ministers is that you have had an opportunity to gain insights that many aspiring politicians never get to experi ence. However, I am not too sure that Prime Minister Davis has used those two models as effec tively as he should have; viewing the recent decisions surround ing VAT and the “adjustments” in Customs duties. I would go as far as to say that I don’t think he followed the advice of persons in his Cabinet who are aware of “economic outcomes” if certain decisions are made.

He reminds me of Prime Minis ter Liz Truss, hopefully he has the

sense to back off. However, with the prior decisions made in the salary adjustments for a number of Government connected agen cies, the die may have been cast.

The other members of the party base that he seems to be cater ing to, want theirs also, hence the minimum wage upgrade. This should have happened first.

I thought that the 10 per cent “reduction” on VAT was one of those hard decisions that an Ingraham led administration would have done and I was very impressed with that decision, and thought that he would have the foresight to let that deci sion gain momentum and at least wait a year or so to allow for us to get use to the adjustment, but no! He does a move that you would expect from a Christie-led

administration. He wants to be nice. Perhaps this is a move to recover needed revenue from those who got those raises now that they can afford to be taxed, but to throw many of the retail ers under the bus and not even do a Christie-like consultation for those most affected will not go well. It is like every food business that looked like it was getting to a place of stability was targeted.

As strange as it may sound, I don’t think the inherent business cul ture in the FNM that has been a blessing to this nation would not allow this misstep; I can’t believe I am saying something positive of the last Minnis-led administration.

They have their issues, but when it comes to running the nation like a business, the PLP has some les sons it can learn from them.

Can he do a U-turn? I don’t know. Can he do another national address where he tells us that we are all in this together and explain his reasons for doing what he did?

One thing is certain, his party has spent too much money on travel, events, and fluff, and not on those things that should be addressed.

We need an adjustment to the minimum wage, but we also need those persons whose heads are above water to tread a while longer so that those who need help, get that help. Leaders who want to be popular shoot them selves in the foot at times, instead of putting their foot down. The only thing that the Prime Min ister will get out of this will be the opportunity of giving a good Christmas speech, but no matter how good that speech is he will

still have to face the end of Janu ary 2023.

Are we going to see South Flor ida overrun again this November? Will there be long lines in the banks beginning the end of this month? I did see one of the locals begin to take a COVID-19 stance regarding the number of per sons it was allowing into the loan department at the beginning of this week. Or will this be the year that we make a decision to ease off and stay home and do our spending in a place that is in dire need of it? Our Prime Minister must begin to live up to his nick name – Is his middle name really Edward?

EDWARD HUTCHESON Nassau, October 18, 2022.

POPE Francis arrives to hold his weekly general audience at The Vatican, yesterday.

Photo: Andrew Medichini/AP

Grieving mother testifies over son’s murder in 2016

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A VISIBLY distraught mother gave testimony in the Supreme Court yester day in the murder trial of two men charged with the shooting death of her son in 2016.

Giovanni Clarke, repre sented by attorney Calvin Seymour, and Dekeil Bowe, represented by Attorney Ryszard Humes, faced Justice Guilimina Archer-Minns on charges of murder and attempted murder.

According to Pros ecutor Kenny Thompson, who presides over the case with Timothy Bailey, on April 13, 2016, the accused allegedly shot 23-year-old Akeem Raheem Brennen and Ken Rolle while their car was parked at a traffic light on Robinson Road.

While Rolle survived his injuries, Brennen was pronounced dead in the parking lot of the Police

Traffic Division on East West Highway on the same night.

One of the first witnesses to testify was Detective Sergeant Frazer who was attached to the CSI unit at the time of the incident and served as photographer and evidence collector.

It was on April 20, 2016, at around 10pm that he spoke to the forensic pathologist at the Grand Laboratory of PMH and was shown Brennen’s body. There the officer observed that the victim had suffered from sev eral apparent gunshot injuries, including two gun shot wounds to the neck as well as a wound to the centre chest area.

In addition to taking pho tographs of the body, SGT Frazer said he collected several exhibits in a post mortem kit.

These items included blood, urine and vitreous humor samples, as well as two fired bullets removed from the deceased.

PROBATION FOR BAIL BREACHES

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was placed on 18 months’ probation by a Magistrate’s Court yes terday after admitting to breaching curfew while on bail for murder and attempted murder.

Robin Delancy, 24, stood before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on five counts of violation of bail conditions.

This is in connection with his Supreme Court bail for charges of murder and two counts of attempted murder as well as firearm and ammunition charges.

It is alleged that on June 16, 2020, Delancy, along with others, were involved in the drive-by shooting death of Renaldo Nairn.

The accused is further said to have been connected to the attempted murder of Antonio Pratt and Lamar Wilchcombe.

In relation to his most recent charges, between August 29 to September 23 in New Providence, Delancy is said to have breached his court ordered residential curfew on five occasions.

In court, the accused pleaded guilty to all charges against him. The Magistrate placed Delancy on 18 months probation for which defaulting carries a six-month prison sentence.

Magistrate McKinney also imposed a $1,500 fine on the accused. Failure to pay means an additional six months in custody.

PAIR ACCUSED OVER THEFT OF PROPELLER

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN aircraft mechanic and a heavy equipment operator were charged in a Magistrate’s Court yester day in connection with the theft of a Western Air’s pro peller in Andros last month.

Ryan Munnings, 34, and Clayton Colebrooke, 33, both of Andros and repre sented by Attorney Alex Dorsett, appeared before Magistrate Kendra Kelly on a charge of stealing.

On September 14 at Western Air, San Andros

Munnings – a mechanic and Colebrooke, an equipment operator are accused of stealing an airplane propel ler valued at $27,287. In court, both accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

As such, they were granted bail at $9,000 each with one or two sureties.

Under the conditions of their bail, both are expected to sign in at Nicoll’s Town Police Station every Monday and Friday by 7pm.

Trial in this matter was adjourned to February 10, 2023.

After receiving these items and completing the request analysis form, the officer proceeded to the CSI office where he handed over the kit to the relevant official and uploaded the photos to a CD.

This CD was shown in court and entered into evidence. A photo album showing the deceased vic tim’s body was also shown in court and likewise logged into evidence.

In his cross-examination, Mr Seymour asked why the samples were taken to a lab to which the officer said for a toxicology report.

When Sgt Frazer was asked if he ever received the report’s results, he said he had not.

While the officer told counsel during questioning that he did not know if the bullets were analysed, Sgt Frazer told Mr Humes that he did not take photos of the recovered bullets.

The second witness called to give testimony was Bren nen’s mother. A distraught Ms Marshall told the court

that on the day of the murder she got a call from her daughter and then went with her to the police sta tion at East West Highway.

Once there, she was taken to the morgue to identify her son’s remains saying that he was “just laying there dead”.

When asked by the pros ecution of the last time she had seen her son alive, she said it was the Wednesday that he died.

Regarding questions of her child’s health and well being before the incident, Ms Marshall said that her son did not suffer from any illnesses or expressed any concern for himself at the time.

She told the court that he was in a friendly mood the last time she saw him and that her son was “always smiling”.

Before leaving the wit ness stand, Ms Marshall confirmed that it was her son’s body in the photos presented in court.

In Detective Consta ble Nelson Rahming’s

testimony he said that he was attached to the Traffic Division of the East West Highway station on the day of the incident. It was at that time that he recalled a dark male, later identi fied as Ken Rolle, entering the station requesting assistance.

Once he went outside the station, Mr Rahming said he saw a blue 2001 Honda Accord with gunshot damage to the front wind shield and front right side passenger door. Upon further inspec tion he saw Brennen’s body bent over in the front passenger seat with his eyes open and apparently lifeless.

He further said that he saw seven unfired rounds of .40 ammunition in the vehicle as well as one spent bullet believed to be from the shooting.

The officer also said there was suspected Indian hemp in the Honda at the time.

Mr Rahming recalled that EMS services pronounced Brennen dead at the scene

and that he accompanied Rolle, the survivor in this matter, to PMH.

There, Rolle was treated and discharged for a gun shot wound in his right arm.

After being treated, Mr Rahming said that Rolle was taken to Central Police Station for safekeeping and a subsequent inter view, as he was arrested as a suspect for the murder and drugs.

During cross-examina tion from the defence’s counsel, Mr Rahming con firmed that he was the first officer to examine the vehi cle and was the one to see Rolle get out of the car.

He also told the court that Rolle indicated that he and Brennen were the only ones in the car when they arrived at the station.

However, when asked if he knew of a third person connected to the vehicle or inquired as to the car’s owner, the officer replied that he had not.

The trial will continue today at 11am.

Space

THERE is a rejoinder, allegedly made by Brit ish Prime Minister Harold Macmillan when asked what was among the great est challenges he faced as a political leader. The alleged response: “Events, dear boy, events,” has never been fully authenticated, though it has been widely reported.

Whether or not Macmil lan actually delivered the specific retort, many leaders would agree how quickly events and mistakes upend the direction and focus of a government.

Few, by example, could imagine a global pandemic, the course of a war in Ukraine, the greater and sustained economic con sequences from Brexit or some other seismic event.

Sometimes the events are of a leader’s own making, with unintended conse quences and fallout from one’s decisions.

The implosion of British Prime Minister Liz Truss is a spectacular example of how events may unravel with dizzying speed. Many are wondering how long she will survive in office, especially given the febrile atmosphere in the Conserv ative Party and the Tory press.

Is her time in office numbered in days, weeks, months or can she hang on? The Conservatives are rip ping themselves apart, with the different ideological and other factions at war and revolting against the party’s leadership.

It has been a momentous time in the UK, includ ing the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Bloomb erg described Truss’s first month in office as: “The most turbulent debut of any British prime minister in peacetime. In just three weeks, her administration has been battered by a crisis of confidence in her poli cies that have triggered a collapse in the pound and a surge in borrowing costs that threaten to push the UK toward a deep reces sion and a housing market crash.”

FLAWS

As noted in this column in early September, during the two-month Tory lead ership race there were glowing flaws, inconsisten cies and gaffes by Truss,

who never won a majority of the votes by her parlia mentary caucus.

“Power will reveal Truss’s character: strengths, weak nesses, latent positive and negative traits and other characterological features.” Still, it is important to give new leaders a chance to see how they might perform.

Some leaders defy expectations, performing admirably, while others perform poorly or even miserably. Few expected the disastrous course Ms Truss and her fired Chan cellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, would chart.

The mistakes are myriad and well-reported: a fail ure to consult and to game the response from the marketplace; doctrinaire policy prescriptions in a volatile and fluid economic environment; abysmal com munications; eye-watering U-turns and other errors of policy, judgment and politics.

Many observers were puzzled that the Chancel lor failed to consult with the Office for Budget Respon sibility (OBR) as well as with many leaders in the banking community, who were stunned by many ele ments in the mini-budget, including heavy borrowing to pay for tax cuts.

The Conservative British politician Ann Wid decombe voiced the deep concern over the lack of consultation: “But none of that happened, so without explanation, without prep aration, without getting

people on side, she just launched into this out of a clear blue sky, that’s what’s gone wrong.

“Nobody was saying ‘stop, Prime Minister just let’s think this through’, nobody was doing that. It was an appalling mis take but if she’d had good advisers there, though, that wouldn’t have happened. They’ve got to get some solid advice and solid advi sors in Downing Street, older hands, wiser hands on the tiller.”

After becoming Chan cellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt realised the need for quick action and consultation. Earlier this week, to steady the mar kets and the pound and to reduce the cost of govern ment borrowing, he made a morning statement before briefing the House of Com mons. He appeared to have some success.

Hunt went further than many expected, including limiting the government’s energy price guarantee for only six months, with a review after that period. Events have now so over whelmed Ms Truss that she no longer controls the economic direction of her government.

Elizabeth Truss is no Margaret Thatcher! The former is no longer in con trol of her cabinet, much of government policy or the current political narrative.

On some of the key components of leader ship – authority, judgment, competence, capacity to

communicate effectively – the 47-year-old prime minister failed miserably at the outset.

INCOMPETENT

Her authority vanished within days. Her policy and political judgment was atro cious. She proved woefully incompetent and a poor communicator.

Given the turmoil in Truss’s government it is best to check the latest implo sion in her cabinet. As this column was being written, news reports appeared on the resignation of Home Secretary Suella Braver man, who apparently resigned for the minor offence of sending an offi cial document from her private email.

There seems to be more to the story. In her resigna tion letter Ms Braverman, on the right of the party, issued a blistering parting shot at Truss: “Not only have we broken key pledges that were promised to our voters, but I have had seri ous concerns about this Government’s commitment to honouring manifesto commitments.

“Pretending we haven’t made mistakes, carrying on as if everyone can’t see we have made them and hoping that things will magically come right is not serious politics.”

The BBC has reported that the Conservative Par ty’s Chief Whip and Deputy Whip have also resigned, though the network has not

confirmed the resignations as yet.

Ms Truss has had to replace allies as Chancel lor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary, two of the great offices of state, with Jeremy Hunt and Grant Shapps, two men who backed her leadership rival Rishi Sunak.

Two days ago, Mr Shapps stated that he did not believe that the prime minister could survive. As reported in the Mirror, he jibed: “She needs to thread the eye of a needle with the lights off, it’s that difficult.”

There is an extraordinary difference between being a minister and prime minister. The latter is a lonely exist ence. The very same people who laud you one day, may turn on you within hours.

Many in the Tory press and in the party were giddy that Ms Truss was a “true blue Conservative”, pursuing con servative economic policies.

When her mini-budget spooked the City, and even got a rebuke from the Inter national Monetary Fund, it was remarkable to watch the speed with which many rightwing British tabloids turned on her and the then Chancellor.

TOO LATE

It appears too late for Ms Truss to restore confidence. With a dire lack of stability and predictability and her government in shambles, Ms Truss may have little choice but to go. She will go down in history as the shortest serving prime min ister in Britain.

Though this is mostly of her own making, it is difficult to watch such a dramatic political melt down. One may wish her to go while also having compassion for what she is enduring. Political life is often so brutal.

President John F Kennedy liked to say: “Good judg ment is usually the result of experience. And experience is frequently the result of bad judgment.” Some lead ers acquire good judgment because of hard experience. They go on to survive.

But for some, their ter rible judgment is not survivable. Having lost the confidence of the country, much of the press and, criti cally, her caucus, Ms Truss should resign. She has been outstripped by events which she can no longer control nor direct.

that Terrance Johnson

conduct

BRITAIN’s Prime Minister Liz Truss speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons in London, yesterday.

Photo: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament via AP

Watching threat of longline fishing and to queen conch

STATESIDE

with Charlie Harper

WE are an island nation. Marine resources and the sea that surrounds us are critical to our eco nomic prosperity and sense of who we are. It is natural that periodically, maritime issues crop up abroad that should and do con cern us. Two recent develop ments in the US are thus of inter est. They concern longline fishing and protections for the queen conch. We’ll look at them in that order.

‘We have determined that the queen conch is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout its range. Therefore, we propose to list the queen conch as a threatened species.’

news recently. Longline fishing was outlawed here in 1993 in response to out rageous, deleterious and predatory practices by for eign fishing fleets in our territorial waters. In tough economic times, most recently about four years ago, the notion of restor ing and taxing some degree of longline fishing was floated.

Should we be bracing for a new longline proposal?

“The BNT is aware that there are persons advocat ing for the amendment of Bahamas fishery legisla tion to allow for longline fishing. This practice is known around the world to have devastating effects on marine resources.

Longlining has been responsible for the deci mation of fisheries around the globe, resulting in huge amounts of waste, as sharks, marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, other non-targeted fish and juve niles end up on the line,” the Trust said.

Can we expect longline fishing to enter the public discourse again?

Longline fishing has been in the American

In 2018, the Bahamas National Trust echoed the views of many in con demning longline fishing.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has cer tainly been talking about it. At the September UN General Assembly, and this month on a visit to Peru, he

LOOKING AT MLB’S CHANGES

MAJOR League Base ball’s playoffs were expanded this year to include six teams from each league. While MLB piously insisted that this would keep more fans engaged in the 162-game, six-month long regular season which spans April through Sep tember, the real reason was television revenue. Money from TV contracts drives most decisions in pro sports, and has long infected bigtime collegiate American sports like football and bas ketball as well.

So we have had four series, each longer than the one before, in both the American and National Leagues, all set to lead up to the World Series. Base ball did do away with the single game elimination game which most observ ers saw as just a bad idea anyway.

We have now reached the Final Four stage of this year’s baseball postseason. In the American League, the Houston Astros and New York Yankees began their best of seven series in Houston. Since these two finished the regular season with the best two records in the AL, they were drawn automatically into the second round.

In that round, the Astros swept away the Seattle Mariners in three straight games, but that 3-0 record belies a really tough slog that obliged Houston to claw back from a seven-run deficit in the opening game and to endure 17 scoreless innings on the road before finally winning baseball’s longest-ever scoreless play off game to finally triumph. Seattle had defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the first, three-game play off round in which all the games were played in the home ball park of the higher-seeded team.

The Yankees, who won seven fewer games than Houston in the regular season, edged past the newly renamed Cleveland Guardians, finally reach ing the AL championship round with a fairly routine 5-1 victory on Tuesday in the Bronx. It wasn’t easy for the Yankees, though, as their lack of depend able arms in the bullpen and spotty defence lead to defeats at the hands of baseball’s youngest team. On Tuesday, New York’s payroll, four times as large as Cleveland’s, prevailed as sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge hit home runs and the Yankees got a second straight strong pitching start.

In its first-round series, the Guardians, who were known for over a century as the Indians, swept away the Tampa Bay Rays by scores

of 2-1 and 1-0 in tight, well-balanced games. Both teams do a lot with per petually low payrolls. It was fortuitous that both games were played in Cleveland, as Hurricane was ravaging Southwest Florida at the same time.

Now the Yankees and Astros, whose payrolls rank seventh and sixth in baseball, face each other.

The Astros haven’t missed the playoffs since the year before they won the World Series in 2017 and were implicated in a tawdry sign-stealing scandal that cost them the jobs of their manager and some front office personnel. The team has nevertheless been care fully constructed to contend every year.

Houston is a superior team, has more key players healthy and should advance to this year’s World Series.

Their opponents from the National League will be either the San Diego Padres or the Philadelphia Phil lies, who own the second and third biggest payrolls in baseball. The Padres had the tougher path to their league title series, as they faced the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers in the first two rounds. The Mets have baseball’s larg est payroll and the Dodgers are a contemporary pow erhouse. But San Diego, a wild-card team that traded

for baseball’s newest super star Juan Soto at the end of July, managed to prevail.

The Phillies are no stran gers to headline-grabbing player moves, having signed the sport’s previous trans cendent superstar, Bryce Harper, three years ago.

Philadelphia also had a tough route through the early playoff rounds, facing two of baseball’s most consistently successful franchises in the St. Louis Cardinals and the defend ing champion Atlanta Braves. Both triumphs sur prised most observers but the Phils are overdue for some postseason success. Now they’re a step away from the Series.

Philadelphia vs San Diego is tough to forecast, with the Padres opening as modest betting favorites in Las Vegas. In the series opener on Tuesday, the Phillies rode two early home runs, one by Harper, to a 2-0 victory. There were only four hits in the game.

It says here that Philadel phia will build on that win and win its Series ticket.

The Phillies haven’t been to the playoffs since 2011, and if they reach the World Series they will be heavy underdogs against either the Yankees or Houston.

That just means a bigger potential payoff if you place a bet on Philadelphia’s Cin derellas to win it all.

Dr. Franklin Walkine

The office hours are from Monday to Friday 9 am – 1 pm.

said: “Consider just for a minute illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organiza tion, one in five fish on the market come from illicit fishing – one in five fish on the market! That translates to losses of between $10 and $23 billion a year to lawful fishing industries in the Atlantic region. That harms coastal communi ties that rely on sustainable fish stocks for their income, for food. It fuels corrup tion. It threatens the health and biodiversity of our oceans. It’s something that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. We’re working to try to deal with that, to get ahead of it.”

This bears watching.

As does a current initia tive from the US National Marine Fisheries Service, which is responsible for the

management, conserva tion, and protection of living marine resources within about 200 miles of the US coast. The NMFS is a division of the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

On September 7, NMFS announced a proposed rule to list the queen conch as a threatened species under the American Endan gered Species Act (ESA).

Public comment period ends November 7. Here’s what they said: “We have completed a comprehen sive status review for the queen conch (Aliger gigas).

After considering the status review report, and after taking into account efforts being made to pro tect the species, we have determined that the queen conch is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable

future throughout its range. Therefore, we propose to list the queen conch as a threatened species under the ESA. Any protective regulations determined to be necessary and advisable for the conservation of the queen conch under ESA would be proposed in a sub sequent Federal Register announcement. We solicit information to assist this listing determination, the development of proposed protective regulations, and designation of critical habi tat within US jurisdiction.”

This proposal is for US territorial waters, but it could well affect us, too. We should all keep a close watch on these develop ments. As Blinken said, it’s good to get ahead of issues that are being discussed elsewhere but have the potential to have a major impact here.

THE QUEEN conch.

Wishes to announce his retirement from the Clinical Practice of Medicine, October 31, 2022.

I wish to thank all my patients for the opportunity to participate in their health care. Any patients wanting their notes should request them from the office.

Two feeding programmes launched

By LETRE SWEETING

SOCIAL Services Min ister Obie Wilchcombe announced the start of two new feeding programmes that will offer breakfast to students and make avail able provisions for people to be fed at night.

His ministry will launch the programmes, among others, on October 31.

Mr Wilchcombe said: “We are working on those right now, as we are working on (the) Rise (pro gramme). A number of things are happening at the ministry. We hope to begin a rollout of a number of new programmes by Octo ber 31.”

Mr Wilchcombe made these statements follow ing the morning sitting of Parliament after a back-and-forth with Offi cial Opposition Leader

Michael Pintard during the sitting.

Last September, Mr Wilchcombe’s ministry announced the end of the National Food Distribution Initiative, the brainchild of former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis due to the “spending of an incred ible amount of money”.

He then noted that his ministry was working with “haste” to introduce a new food programme as soon as possible.

Yesterday, Mr Wilch combe pointed to a recent Hands for Hunger survey, which reported that some 28 percent of Bahamians have skipped meals for lack of money or other resources.

He said the results of the survey was one of many reasons why his ministry, along with other agencies, are developing new food initiatives.

“It’s good information. The data is important for us to look at as we make deci sions, one of the difficulties we have is yes, we have some food programmes, some feeding products. But the problem is people can’t get food in the nights,” he told The Tribune

“So, what we’re trying to do is we have spoken with Red Cross, we’re trying to put together a system now. We will very shortly, whilst there are provisions, sometimes at lunch, we’re trying to ensure that people have a place to go or places to go to get a meal at night time. Because I think that’s one of the great difficulties.

“In addition to that and work with the Ministry of Education, we are about to begin a programme for breakfast for children.

Because many children

MINISTRY ‘AWARE’ OF TEACHER SHORTAGE

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

CONCERNS have been raised about a teacher shortage at RN Gomez All Age School in Bullocks Harbour, Berry Islands.

It was circulated on social media that residents on the island allegedly have made the decision to remove their children from the school due to a lack of teachers and no security officers present.

Acting director of education Dominique McCartney-Russell yes terday told The Tribune the ministry is aware of the teacher shortage, noting officials are working actively to resolve the issue.

“We would have sent two teachers there; one will go there after midterm. But we are aware of it and we are mitigating,” she said.

When asked about con cerns raised about the school lacking security officers, a handyman, and other staff, Mrs McCart ney-Russell reiterated that staffing matters were being addressed.

In August, Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin said officials were in the process of hiring teach ers as they seek to address shortages in critical areas in core subjects.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ministry’s annual public schools administra tor’s conclave, the minister

highlighted efforts made to hire new teachers as the opening of schools for the new year approaches.

“We’re hiring many, many teachers in this upcoming season,” Mrs Hanna Martin told report ers. “So, the hiring is well underway. We’re seeking to address shortages in criti cal areas in core subjects. It’s a challenge. The teacher shortage is happening glob ally so The Bahamas will not be excluded from that.

“We’re subjected to the same challenges as nurses, but we’re trying our utmost to actively and proactively to recruit teachers to take office in the ensuing days, weeks, and months ahead.”

go to school without break fast, some get lunch, but not breakfast. And so, you have to think of the needs. So, the statistics provided by the organisation, valuable statistics, it helps us in our decision making.”

Just as with social assis tance, Mr Wilchcombe said the new food assistance programmes will help over 11,000 struggling Bahami ans when it launches.

“At the present time, we’re providing around 10,000 to 11,000. I think that number will go up due to the fact that you have inflation, given the fact that that’s a reality. I expect a couple more thousand will be added to it. But then it fluctuates from time to time to again.”

Mr Pintard told Parlia ment that since the end of the initial food programme last year the Bahamian people have been waiting

and holding on to the prom ise of a new food assistance programme, with no progress.

“When in government, we (the Free National Movement) implemented a massive food programme that sought to deal with the issue of food insecurity among Bahamians and tens of thousands of Bahamians benefitted from the food pro gramme” Mr Pintard said.

“But then this govern ment came to power, instead of improving the food programme, in fact we found dignified ways to try and distribute it and we accepted any criticism when it came and we then pivoted to try and address the food insecurity of our people.

“This government came and virtually cancelled it. If they didn’t cancel it, they sure didn’t tell people when they were going to get it up.”

Mr Pintard continued: “This government, they dance well and the key dance that they know, it’s the moon walk. They moon walk on a regular basis, back from decisions made when the pressure gets hot.”

Other programmes that the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Devel opment are working to introduce by October 31 include a women’s pro gramme and a programme for disabled persons, Mr Wilchcombe said.

“I believe over the next several months, we’ll see massive changes and so beginning October 31st, you’ll see a roll out of a number of new things. And don’t forget we have dis ability. And then we have the women’s programme. We have a number of issues that are going on simultaneously.”

TRUSS VOWS TO STAY AS MINISTER QUITS

LONDON Associated Press

BRITISH Prime Min ister Liz Truss described herself as “a fighter and not a quitter” yesterday as she faced a hostile opposi tion and fury from her own Conservative Party over her botched economic plan. Within hours of the defiant statement, her government was teetering on the verge of collapse.

A senior member of the government left her post with a fusillade of criticism at Truss, and a House of Commons vote descended into acrimony and accusa tions of bullying, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she resigned after breaching rules by sending an offi cial document from her personal email account. She used her resignation letter to lambaste Truss, saying she had “concerns about the direction of this government”.

“The business of govern ment relies upon people accepting responsibility for their mistakes,” she said. “Pretending we haven’t made mistakes, carrying on as if everyone can’t see that we have made them and hoping that things will magically come right is not serious politics.”

Braverman is a popular figure on the Conservative Party’s right wing and a champion of more restric tive immigration policies who ran unsuccessfully for party leader this summer, a contest won by Truss.

Braverman was replaced as home secretary, the minister responsible for immigration and law and order, by former Cabinet minister Grant Shapps. He’s a high-profile supporter of Rishi Sunak,

the former Treasury chief defeated by Truss in the final round of the Conservative leadership race.

Truss faced more turmoil in Parliament yesterday evening on a vote over fracking for shale gas — a practice that Truss wants to resume despite opposition from many Conservatives.

With a large Conservative majority in Parliament, an opposition call for a frack ing ban was easily defeated by 326 votes to 230, but some lawmakers were furi ous that Conservative Party whips said the vote would be treated as confidence motion, meaning the gov ernment would fall if the motion passed.

There were angry scenes in the House of Commons during and after the vote, with party whips accused of using heavy-handed tactics to gain votes. Labour law maker Chris Bryant said he “saw members being physi cally manhandled... and being bullied”.

Some lawmakers reported Conservative Chief Whip Wendy Morton, who is responsible for party discipline, and her deputy had resigned. But Truss’ office later said both

remained in their jobs.

Conservative officials denied there had been man handling, but in the chaos Truss herself failed to vote, according to the official record. Many Tory lawmak ers were left despondent by the state of their party.

Conservative lawmaker Charles Walker said it was “a shambles and a disgrace”.

“I hope that all those people that put Liz Truss in (office), I hope it was worth it,” he told the BBC. “I hope it was worth it to sit around the Cabinet table, because the damage they have done to our party is extraordinary.”

The dramatic develop ments came days after Truss fired her Treasury chief, Kwasi Kwarteng, on Friday after the economic package the pair unveiled on September 23 spooked financial markets and trig gered an economic and political crisis.

The plan’s 45 billion pounds ($50 billion) in unfunded tax cuts sparked turmoil on financial mar kets, hammering the value of the pound and increasing the cost of UK government borrowing.

IN this grab taken from video from the House of Commons, Prime Minister Liz Truss speaks during Prime Minister’s Ques tions in the House of Commons in London yesterday.

‘Buddy’ opens season with double double - 16pts, 10 rebs

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

offence for his improved efficiency.

SOFTBALL/ VOLLEYBALL NOTES

New Providence Softball Association Championships

THE Wildcats are one win away from the title while the Marlins evened their series. Both series are scheduled to continue 7pm tonight at the Baillou Hills Complex.

Chavano

“Buddy” Hield opened his 2022-23 campaign with a double double but the Indiana Pacers strug gled at home en route to their first loss of the season.

Hield finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the Pacers’ 114-107 loss to the Washington Wizards last night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

He shot 6-16 from the field, 4-11 from three-point range and added three assists in 31 minutes.

Hield’s rebound and three-point makes were both team leads. He was just one of four Pacers players to reach double figures along with Tyrese Haliburton (26), Jalen Smith (16), and rookie guard Benedict Mathurin (19).

The Pacers never got closer than five points in the second half — until Mathurin’s basket with 31.2 seconds left made it 110-107. But he missed the ensuing free throw and Washington closed it out at the line.

Hield got out to a quick start from beyond the arc, after finishing second in the league last season with 262 made three-point field goals.

Indiana will look for their first win with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs tomor row night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

During training camp, Hield credited head coach Rick Carlisle’s free flowing

Hield’s 4.8 assists per game with the Pacers was an increase from 1.9 per game with the Kings.

“Rick does a good job just letting me be myself and just letting me play freely and do random things but in accordance with his offence and con trol in the system. As a player, you want to be free and be myself but in the structure of his offence,” he said. “Rick’s offence allowed me to expand a little bit more. I was able to do more with the ball, be creative and play freely.”

One of only two play ers on the team aged 29 or older, Hield said the development of the Pacers’ youth movement will be a joy to watch.

“The young atmosphere keeps you healthy. Run ning around with young guys, I love the competitive spirit they bring everyday, it’s a grind it’s a challenge everyday,” he said. “Every body’s voice is needed. We just have to learn quickly, adapt, and when training camp comes get after it. We brought in a group of guys that are a great fit, have great personalities, when you understand and likes each other, it’s easier to have a great vibes.”

The early veteran exten sion deadline passed on October 17 without Hield and Pacers reaching an agreement to extend his current contract.

Hield has been the sub ject of trade rumours for much of the offseason and had the sides agreed to an extension, he would have been ineligible to be traded for at least six months if the deal included a more than five percent raise. Hield will now be ineligible for an extension until next offseason.

Women

The Sunshine Auto Wildcats continued their dominance over the R&B Operators, defeating them 12-7 and taking a com manding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five series. Thela Stevens was the winning pitcher while Diva Burrows was tagged with the loss.

Men

The Cybertech Blue Mar lins won game two of their series 18-0 over the C&S Enterprise Hitmen.The series is now tied 1-1.

Thomas Davis was domi nant on the mound, while Alcott Forbes suffered the loss for the Hitmen.

New Providence Volleyball Association

The NPVA returned to play and in the women’s division, the defending champion Panthers picked up where they left off.

The Panthers won in straight sets over the Bamboo Shack Lady Warhawks 25-21, 25-19, 25-15

The defending men’s champion Warhawks won in five sets over the Defend ers 19-25, 25-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-12.

League play continues tonight at the DW Davis Gymnasium at 7:30pm when the Johnson’s Spikers face the Lady Techs, fol lowed by the Technicians and the Intruders at 9pm.

Bahamas Scholastic Athletic Association

Volleyball Volleyball results for October 18 at Tom “The

Shamar Burrows leads Tigers in final year

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

SHAMAR Burrows enters his final year of eli gibility with the Dalhousie Tigers and looks to step into a leadership role as the programme pursues its fourth consecutive Atlantic University Sport title.

The fifth year guard has led the Tigers in scoring in five preseason games and posted three double dou bles as the Tigers prepare for the 2022-23 campaign.

Dalhousie began their preseason in the RBC Clas sic, hosted by the Brock Badgers. After a 68-48 loss to Ottawa in the opener, Burrows finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 71-64 win over Brock and concluded with a 73-70 win over Manitoba.

At the Concordia Clas sic, the Tigers finished 2-1 and Burrows posted double doubles in consecutive games. He finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds in a 72-60 win over Concordia

and followed with 26 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in a 79-69 loss to Toronto Metropolitan.

The Tigers moved on to the Naismith Classic hosted by the Waterloo Warriors. Burrows had 13 points and four assists in an 85-79 win over the hosts, 19 points and seven rebounds in a 59-57 win over Windsor, and eight points and five assists in a 74-62 loss to his former team, Laurier.

The Tigers conclude the preseason on October 22 against Laurentian. They

Curry, Warriors celebrate championship, beat Lakers

By JANIE MCCAULEY AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)

— After all those thrilling NBA Finals battles of last decade, Stephen Curry and LeBron James can still put on a spectacular show well into their 30s.

Opening night between these two greats showed why Curry’s team is on top these days.

Curry began the season with 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds despite a slow start, and the Golden State Warriors beat James and the Los Angeles Lakers 123-109 on Tuesday night after receiving their cham pionship rings in a pregame ceremony.

“I’m thrilled with the win,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Ring night is never

an easy game and the first game of the season is usu ally filled with some nerves early on.”

Jordan Poole made a pretty bounce pass to a

at practice October 5, then took a brief leave of absence from the team to work on his emotions.

Poole wound up with 12 points and seven assists.

“We went out there, we had a job to do tonight to win a game,” Poole said when asked if healing has happened between him and Green. “It was a ring night and that’s really what we were focused on finishing the first game. It was a huge win against a really good team.”

James had 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, while Russell West brook scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds after nursing a sore left hamstring. Anthony Davis added 27 points, but the

open the regular season the following weekend (Octo ber 28-29) against the UNB Red Bombers.

The Tigers concluded their 2021-22 season with a fifth-place finish overall at the U Sports Men’s Basket ball Final 8.

In three Final Eight games, he averaged 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

On the season, Burrows was named a second team AUS All-Star. He finished third in scoring for Dalhou sie, averaging 14.8 points

per game shooting 73 per cent. He also led the Tigers in rebounding with 6.7 boards per game.

In their 2020-21 Final Eight appearance, the Tigers finished as the sec ond-ranked team in all of Canadian collegiate basketball.

They finished with the silver medal at the 2020 U SPORTS Final 8 Basketball Championships, the best finish in programme his tory. For the tournament,

WASHINGTON Wizards’ Kristaps Porzingis (6) dunks against Indiana Pacers’ Buddy Hield (24) during the first half last night in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

driving Draymond Green for a layup and all seemed perfectly well with the defending champions almost two weeks after Green punched Poole

WARRIORS guard Donte DiVincenzo, right, defends against Lak ers forward LeBron James, left, during the first half in San Fran cisco on Tuesday night.

(AP Photo/Godofredo A Vásquez)

SHAMAR BURROWS

Zion Williamson scores 25 in return, Pelicans beat Nets 130-108

NEW YORK (AP) —

Zion Williamson returned from a one-year absence with 25 points and nine rebounds, powering the New Orleans Pelicans to a season-opening 130-108 rout of the Brooklyn Nets last night.

The No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft looked fully recovered and explosive after being sidelined with a broken right foot.

Ben Simmons also returned to action after a missed season but had the misfortune of having to cover Williamson for much of the brief time he was in the game. He fouled out early in the fourth quar ter with four points, five rebounds and five assists, taking three shots.

Brandon Ingram scored 28 points and CJ McCollum had 21 for the Pelicans, who finished strong last season and opened impressively in this one. Jonas Valan ciunas had 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Kevin Durant scored 32 points but was largely a one-man show, with no other Nets player in double figures until the final two minutes of the third quar ter. Patty Mills had 16 points and Kyrie Irving managed 15 on 6-for-19 shooting, going 0 for 6 from 3-point range.

BULLS 116, HEAT 108

MIAMI (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 28 of his 37 points in the second half, Ayo Dosunmu added 17 and short-handed Chicago beat Miami.

Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls, and Goran Dragic added 12 off the Chicago bench.

Jimmy Butler scored 24 points and Tyler Herro added 23 for Miami, which got 22 from Max Strus and 12 from Bam Adebayo.

The Bulls played with out All-Star guard Zach LaVine, citing left knee injury management. That knee had him in and out of the lineup last season and required surgery in May.

LaVine played in three of Chicago’s preseason games and experienced discom fort in recent days — which Bulls coach Billy Donovan said is to be expected, given that LaVine was limited for much of the summer.

HAWKS 117, ROCKETS 107

ATLANTA (AP) — Dejounte Murray had 20 points and five steals to lead Atlanta past Houston.

Murray, acquired from San Antonio in the Hawks’ biggest move of the off season, also dished out 11 assists. Trae Young had 23 points and 13 assists,

SHAMAR

Burrows averaged 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game on 49 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from three-point range.

teaming with Murray to give a glimpse of how a pair of star point guards can co-exist.

The Rockets were led by Kevin Porter Jr, with 21 points, two days after he signed an $82.5 million, four-year contract exten sion to help lead Houston’s major rebuilding project.

John Collins led the Hawks with 24 points and De’Andre Hunter chipped in with 22 points.

GRIZZLIES 115, KNICKS 112, OT MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 34 points and nine assists, and Mem phis beat New York in overtime.

Santi Aldama had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, and Des mond Bane finished with 16 points.

Julius Randle led the Knicks with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while reserve Cam Reddish added 22 points, making 9 of 15 shots from the field. Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Jalen Brunson, signed as a free agent, had 15 points and nine assists in his debut for New York.

The Grizzlies took a 115112 lead on Tyus Jones’ 3-pointer with 47.7 seconds left. Evan Fournier had a chance to send the game

A fifth year guard, Burrows’ numbers have progressed across the board since he transferred to the Tigers programme in 2018. In his first season he aver aged just 3.3 points in 19 appearances off the bench and in year two progressed to 8.8 points and four

LAUNDRY

into a second overtime, but his shot from the left corner was off the mark.

TIMBERWOLVES 115, THUNDER 108

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 15 rebounds in his debut with Minnesota in a victory over Oklahoma City.

D’Angelo Russell had 20 points and Jaden McDan iels added 19 points for the Timberwolves, who turned a 16-point lead into a six-point deficit during the third quarter.

Gobert, picked up in a summer trade with Utah, stepped up on a night when Karl-Anthony Towns (12 points) and Anthony Edwards (11 points) shot a combined 6 for 27 from the floor. Jaylen Nowell, who had 13 points, put the Tim berwolves ahead for good with his layup with 10:47 remaining.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points and cut the lead to 105-103 with 4:04 left, but didn’t get any closer.

RAPTORS 108, CAVALIERS 105

TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out, O.G. Anunoby scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and Toronto beat Cleveland.

rebounds per game in 20 appearances with six starts.

Following the COVID-19 cancelled 2020 season, Bur rows averaged career highs last season with 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Off the court, Burrows has excelled in the class room and achieved an

Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points, and Scottie Barnes and Fred Van Vleet each had 15 as Toronto out scored Cleveland 32-21 in the final period.

Donovan Mitchell had 31 points and nine assists in his Cleveland debut, Jar rett Allen had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Evan Mobley added 14 points for the Cavaliers, who held an eight-point lead through three quarters but failed to close it out. Cedi Osman chipped in 17 points.

Cleveland All-Star guard Darius Garland injured his left eye in a collision with Trent late in the second quarter and didn’t return. Garland shot 2 for 8 and scored four points in 13 minutes.

PISTONS 113, MAGIC 109

DETROIT (AP) — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 24 points in his debut with Detroit in a victory over Orlando.

Orlando’s Paolo Ban chero, the No. 1 overall pick last summer, had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists in his NBA debut.

Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 pick last year, had 18 points and 10 assists. Cunningham’s last assist set up Isaiah Stewart for a 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds

Athletic Financial Award (AFA), which he said allowed him freedom and financial stability.

Burrows is currently pur suing a master’s degree in public administration.

“It was a big step for me joining a ranked team and having expectations on me

left that gave the Pistons a four-point lead.

Bogdanovic made two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to restore Detroit’s four-point cushion, sealing the victory.

In their first NBA games, first-round picks Jaden Ivey had 19 points and Jalen Duren had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons.

Jalen Suggs, the No. 5 pick last year, had 21 points for the Magic before foul ing out with 3:47 remaining.

HORNETS 129, SPURS 102

SAN ANTONIO (AP)

— Terry Rozier had 24 points and six teammates scored in double figures in Charlotte’s win over San Antonio.

The Spurs opened their 50th season in San Anto nio inauspiciously, losing a season opener for only the third time under Gregg Popovich.

P.J. Washington had 17 points and Gordon Hay ward added 15 as all five Hornets starters scored in double figures. Hornets reserve center Nick Rich ards had a career-high 19 points.

Keldon Johnson had 20 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to lead San Antonio. Jakob Poeltl and Tre Jones added 14 points each.

in the classroom,” he told Dalhousie Sports.

In 2019-2020, was named an Academic All-Canadian. That same year he won his second Athletic Financial Award and granted a full scholarship. “I thought I had a good chance but nothing is guaranteed.

Lakers couldn’t keep up in another signature, runaway third quarter by reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry and Co.

“That third quarter is where they always excelled, when they made this transition to being a powerhouse team,” James said. “You’ve always got to be ready for the third quar ters, and we were not tonight.”

Curry missed his ini tial five 3-pointers and finished 10 for 22, 4 of 13 from deep.

Klay Thompson con tributed 18 points in 20 minutes for the Warri ors, who celebrated the franchise’s fourth title in eight years. “It’s really fun to be a part of, it’s really fun to watch,” Poole said. “... These guys have played at the highest level over and over and over again.”

Kerr limited the min utes of both Thompson and Green, who was away from the team until last Thursday. Kerr said he will increase Thomp son’s minutes each game as a precaution follow ing his return in January from an absence of more than 2 1/2 years for sur geries to his left knee and right Achilles tendon.

Warriors centre James Wiseman made his first appearance since his rookie season of 201920 after sitting out all of last season recovering from right knee surgery. He had eight points and seven rebounds.

The Lakers’ 22 turno vers led to 27 points for the Warriors.

“Whether you make a shot or you miss a shot, you turn the ball over, whatever, you’ve got to have a short memory and get on to the next play immediately,” firstyear Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham said. “That has to be something that’s in our fabric, not just against Golden State but against the entire league.”

SAGINAW PROUD Ham was thrilled to represent Saginaw, Michigan, in his coach ing debut — and proud that it’s also Green’s hometown.

“I’m excited for the city of Saginaw, Michi gan, to get to see a kid that represents the city well and happens to be playing some really good basketball and play ing at a high level his entire career in Dray mond Green,” Ham said. “And now they get to see another kid who is the coach of the Los Ange les Lakers. This is a great night for Saginaw.”

UP NEXT Lakers: Host the Clip pers for their home opener tonight.

Warriors: Host Denver on Friday night in a rematch of the first round of this year’s playoffs after the Nuggets handed the Warriors their lone preseason defeat last Friday.

When much is given, much is expected of you. I had to work for it,” Burrows said. “Without the AFA, I’d probably be working a lot of jobs to help support myself. The AFA gives me a lot more freedom and takes a lot of burden off me and my parents’ shoulders.”

NEW Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson (1) drives past Brooklyn Nets’ Day’Ron Sharpe and Patty Mills (8) during the second half of an NBA basketball game yesterday in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Pro Picks takes Cardinals to snap 8-game home losing skid

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer

A PAIR of undera chieving 2-4 teams face off tonight when the Arizona Cardinals host the New Orleans Saints.

Maybe, the winner can turn its season around.

Kyler Murray and the Cardinals get DeAndre Hopkins back for the first time since a knee injury sidelined him for the final three games of last season and a six-game suspen sion for violating the NFL’s policy on performanceenhancing drugs delayed his return.

Arizona is 3-9 in its past 12 games since a 10-2 start in 2021. Hopkins’ inju ries and absence from the lineup coincided with that slide.

“I hope that he can pro vide just a spark,” Cardinals coach Kilff Kingsbury said.

“The way he competes and his play-making, his afterthe-catch stuff, he’s a guy you get it close to him he’s going to make a play on the ball.”

The Saints expect leading receiver Chris Olave back after he missed a game with a concussion but are deal ing with several injuries.

They’ve averaged 30 points with backup quarterback Andy Dalton while going 1-2 in the past three games. Two losses were by an aver age of 3.5 points.

The Cardinals are only a 1 1/2-point favourite, per FanDuel Sportsbook, at home, where they have lost eight straight games. Arizo na’s most recent home win was against Houston last October 24.

Pro Picks sees that losing streak ending.

CARDINALS, 24-20

Kansas City (minus 3) at San Francisco Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs watched Josh Allen and the Bills avenge a play off loss. The 49ers can’t do much in the second half.

BEST BET: CHIEFS, 29-20 Indianapolis (plus 2 1/2) at Tennessee

Coming off a bye, the Titans aim to complete a season sweep over their AFC South rival. The Colts have rallied to win two straight games behind Matt Ryan.

UPSET SPECIAL:

COLTS, 24-23 Detroit (plus 7) at Dallas Dak Prescott may be rusty if he returns, as planned, after missing five games. It won’t affect the outcome, only the score.

COWBOYS, 23-20 New York Giants (plus 3) at Jacksonville

After beating the Packers and Ravens in consecutive weeks, the Giants get no respect from oddsmakers going against a Jaguars team that has lost three in a row.

JAGUARS, 22-17

Cleveland (plus 6 1/2) at Baltimore If the Ravens avoid taking a double-digit lead, they’ll be fine. Balti more has lost three of its six games after taking a double-digit lead in every game.

RAVENS, 27-22 Atlanta (plus 6 1/2) at Cincinnati

Two teams sitting at 3-3 when both were supposed to be heading in opposite directions.

The Bengals are reigning AFC champions. The Fal cons are rebuilding.

BENGALS, 28-17 Green Bay (minus 5 1/2) at Washington Good news for the Pack ers that they’re done facing New York teams. They also go against a team missing its starting quarterback.

PACKERS, 26-17 Tampa Bay (minus 10 1/2) at Carolina

Tom Brady isn’t happy after another poor perfor mance. That doesn’t bode well for the Panthers.

BUCCANEERS, 34-13 Houston (plus 7) at Las Vegas

The Raiders are rested and ready to bounce back from a poor start. The Texans are touchdown underdogs despite a slightly better winning percentage at 1-3-1.

RAIDERS, 27-16

New York Jets (plus 1 1/2) at Denver Russell Wilson’s first season with the Broncos hasn’t gone as planned. The Jets are off to their best start in seven years.

BRONCOS, 23-20 Seattle (plus 6 1/2) at Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers will be coming off an overtime win over a divisional rival on a short week. That helps the Seahawks.

CHARGERS, 27-22 Pittsburgh (plus 7) at Miami

The Steelers try for their second straight win over a Florida team. They won’t catch the Dolphins off their guard.

DOLPHINS, 23-17 Chicago (plus 7 1/2) at New England Bailey Zappe or Mac Jones? The Patriots could bring back Steve Grogan against this Bears team.

PATRIOTS, 23-16 2022 RECORD

Last Week: Straight up: 8-6. Against spread: 10-4. Season: Straight up: 57-37. Against spread: 50-43-1.

Best Bet: Straight up: 0-1. Against spread: 0-1.

Season: Straight up: 4-2. Against spread: 4-2.

Upset Special: Straight up: 1-0. Against spread: 1-0.

Season: Straight up: 3-3. Against spread: 4-2

RODGERS REMAINS UPBEAT AMID THUMB INJURY, PACKERS’ SLUMP

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Pack ers quarterback Aaron Rodgers insists he’s still having fun even as he plays through a thumb injury while trying to lead a slumping offence on a .500 team.

“This has been my love since I was 5 years old. I still love waking up every day knowing I’m coming into 1265 (Lombardi Avenue),” the four-time MVP said yesterday as he referenced the address of Lambeau Field.

Rodgers didn’t prac tice for a second straight Wednesday because of an injured right thumb, but said afterward that it’s feeling better. He hurt the thumb while get ting hit before he could attempt a desperation pass on the final play of a 27-22 loss to the New York Giants in London on October 9.

He said the thumb problem gave him grip issues at times Sunday when the Packers fell 27-10 to the New York Jets at Lambeau Field. Rodgers has previously played through injuries and continued to thrive. He threw 20 touch down passes without any interceptions through the Packers’ final seven regular-season games last season while fighting through a fractured pinky toe that severely limited his practice time.

“I can deal with pain,” Rodgers said. “Pain man agement has been part of all of our careers. We just learn to deal with what ever you’ve got going on. And if you can be out there, you’re out there.”

The Packers open a three-game road swing Sunday at Washington (2-4).

Rodgers said he expected to follow the same pattern as last week by returning to practice today and Friday.

He said the thumb is improving and added that “hopefully in a couple of weeks it won’t be an issue.”

RONALDO NOT NEEDED AS MANCHESTER UNITED SHOWS PROMISE IN EPL VICTORY

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer

WITH a few minutes remaining in the match, Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United’s dugout and made his way along the side of the field and down the tunnel, shun ning fans’ attempts at a high-five off the soccer great.

He was in no mood for that, not after failing to even make it off the substi tutes’ bench.

United didn’t need him yesterday.

Producing possibly its most complete performance under Erik ten Hag, United swept past Tottenham in a 2-0 win to move to the brink of the Champions League qualification positions in the Premier League.

Another of English soc cer’s storied clubs is stirring, too.

Liverpool completed a redemptive week by beating West Ham 1-0 at Anfield, where three days earlier Jurgen Klopp’s team had seen off Manchester City by the same score. Darwin Núñez scored the first-half winner against West Ham, showing signs of life after a slow start at his new club.

Much like United, Liv erpool maybe has been

written off too soon this season.

After goals by Fred and Bruno Fernandes sealed its win, fifth-place United is now only a point behind Chelsea, which occupies the fourth and final Champions League place after it drew 0-0 at Brentford to stay undefeated under recently hired manager Graham Potter.

Liverpool is three points further back in seventh but won’t be discounted by its rivals higher in the standings.

RONALDO’S EXIT

Ronaldo managed to cause a stir without even getting on the field.

“I will deal with that tomorrow,” Ten Hag said of the Portugal striker’s premature exit down the tunnel, with the clock yet to strike 90 minutes.

Ronaldo also showed his frustration on Sunday after being substituted in the second half of the 0-0 draw against Newcastle, follow ing his first Premier League start since August.

NUNEZ’S RUN Núñez is a striker in much better form.

By scoring in three of his last four appearances for Liverpool, the Uruguay striker has hit some good form just before the World Cup and ensuring the Reds

might not miss the injured Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota as much as first feared.

“He was outstand ing,” Klopp said of his big summer signing from Ben fica who also struck the post with a dipping shot. “He is a massive talent. He came from Portugal and he wasn’t there for long, so not too long away he was Uruguay. He is a really big talent and we’re really excited about him.”

Liverpool also had Alis son Becker to thank for the win. The Brazil goalkeeper saved a penalty from Jarrod Bowen in the first half after the forward had been fouled by Joe Gomez.

NEWCASTLE

IN FORM Saudi-owned Newcastle sits right between United and Liverpool in sixth place and might also be a topfour contender this season. The team extended its unbeaten run to six games by beating Everton 1-0 thanks to Miguel Almiron’s first-half goal. It was a third straight defeat for Everton, leaving Frank Lampard’s team one point above the relegation zone.

In the other match, Southampton climbed out of the bottom three with a 1-0 victory at Bournemouth that ended its five-game winless run.

LIVERPOOL’s Darwin Nunez scores his side’s first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, yesterday.

Photo/ Jon Super)

NO.1 IN BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FREDRICK King and the Creighton Bluejays were selected to finish number one overall in the Big East when the con ference announced its preseason poll.

The conference hosted media day yesterday at Madison Square Garden and the Bluejays were selected to finish first by Big East coaches for the first time in programme history.

The Bluejays collected eight first-place votes and earned 98 points in the poll.

The Blue Jays finished last season 23-12, fourth place in the Big East Con ference regular-season standings, and runner-up in the league tournament.

After receiving an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament, they defeated San Diego State in the first round before they lost in the second round to even tual national champion Kansas Jayhawks. King joins a roster that returns

three double figure scorers from last season, several players that received allconference honours and a highly touted team.

“Certainly from a depth standpoint we have expe rience and we have a lot of versatility,” McDer mott said at Tuesday’s BIG EAST Media Day at Madi son Square Garden.

“We have a starting five that can do a lot of things. We can be small and quick or we can be big and physi cal. We just have to make sure our defence is elite

like it was last year and then hopefully in time our offence will catch up.”

Creighton will open its preseason on October 30 against Drury and the regu lar season on November 7 against St Thomas.

“Fredrick is a versatile and an athletic front line player,” McDermott said at the time of King’s signing.

“Having played at NBA Academy Latin America, he has been coached and trained at a high level. His motor and competi tive spirit will allow for an

Verlander Ks 11 to lead Astros over Yankees 4-2 in ALCS

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander struck out 11 in six strong innings and Yuli Gurriel, Chas McCor mick and Jeremy Peña all homered to power the Hou ston Astros past the New York Yankees 4-2 in their AL Championship Series opener last night.

The Astros are in their sixth consecutive ALCS, looking to reach the World Series for the fourth time in that span, against a New York team in the LCS for the first time since being eliminated by Houston in 2019.

The game was tied 1-all in the sixth when Gurriel con nected off reliever Clarke Schmidt on a solo shot to the seats in left field to put Houston on top.

Two batters later, McCor mick sent a sinker from Schmidt into right field to make it 3-1.

Verlander set a major league record with the eighth double-digit strike out game of his postseason career and passed Clayton Kershaw (213) to become the all-time leader in strike outs in the playoffs with 219.

“I thought early we had our chances. I don’t think he was real sharp early, but then he kind of dialed it in,” Yankees manager

immediate impact on our programme.”

King, a 6’10” frontcourt player out of the NBA Academy (Latin America), decided on the Blue Jays over the BYU Cougars, Georgia Tech Yellow Jack ets and Utah Utes..

King said he hopes to learn from and lend support to Bluejays starting centre and Big East Defensive Player of the Year - the 7’1” Ryan Kalkbrenner.

“(Kalkbrenner) is a great player. He’s bigger than everybody else,” King said.

Aaron Boone said. “He started really executing, staying away from trouble. I thought he spun the ball really well.”

New York whiffed 17 times in all to only two for the Astros — the largest difference ever in a postsea son game.

“They’re obviously really dynamic,” Boone said.

“Outstanding starting pitching, but can shorten the game with the best of ‘em. So we’ve got to find a way to break through against them.”

Peña, whose 18th-inning home run completed a sweep of the Mariners in the ALDS, belted a homer off Frankie Montas to start the seventh and extend the lead to 4-1.

Montas was pitching for the first time since Septem ber 16 because of a shoulder injury that kept him off the Division Series roster.

Anthony Rizzo homered off Rafael Montero with two outs in the eighth to get the Yankees within two. Giancarlo Stanton singled before Josh Donaldson walked, spurring Astros manager Dusty Baker to bring in closer Ryan Pressly. He struck out Matt Car penter to end the inning and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to get the four-out save.

Carpenter, back recently from a broken foot, fanned all four times up. After struggling in Game 1 of the ALDS against Seat tle, Verlander looked shaky early in this one, giving up a second-inning homer to Harrison Bader that put the Yankees up 1-0. It was Bader’s fourth home run in six playoff games — his first four long balls with New York. But the Astros tied it in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double by Martín Maldonado.

DRURY, PADRES RALLY TO BEAT NOLA, PHILLIES 8-5, TIE NLCS 1-1

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Brandon Drury hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a five-run rally in the fifth inning and the San Diego Padres stunned Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 yesterday to tie their all-wild card NL Champi onship Series at one game apiece.

The outburst started with Padres catcher Austin Nola hitting an RBI single off his younger brother that brought the sellout, rally towel-twirling crowd of 44,607 at Petco Park to life. Three innings ear lier, the Phillies had taken a 4-0 lead with a rally that included bloop hits, a sun-aided double on a gor geous, 92-degree afternoon and some shoddy Padres defense.

But just as they did Sat urday night in eliminating the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres were spurred by the bottom of their lineup in a big comeback.

Drury and Josh Bell hit back-to-back homers for the Padres, and Manny Machado went deep late.

The series shifts to Phila delphia for three games starting with Game 3 on Friday night. The Phillies,

NOTES FROM

11

Bird” Grant Sporting Complex in Yellow Elder.

Primary Boys Believers Faith Christian Academy defeated Teleos Christian School 20-21, 19-14, 15-9

Senior Girls

Teleos Christian School defeated Achievers Chris tian Academy 25-6, 25-12

trying to reach their first World Series since 2009, outscored Atlanta 17-4 in two home Division Series games last weekend to elim inate the defending World Series champion Braves.

Blake Snell got the win and Josh Hader the save after striking out the side in the ninth to send the crowd into a frenzy. Aaron Nola, in the playoffs for the first time in his career and off to a brilliant start, took the loss.

The Padres, playing in their first NLCS since 1998, appeared to be in deep

Senior Boys Teleos Christian School defeated Believers Faith Christian Academy 25-21, 25-21

Bahamas Government Departmental Softball Association Championships Both best-of-seven championship series near elimination.

trouble after Snell threw 37 pitches in the Phillies’ fourrun second.

San Diego began its comeback with homers on consecutive pitches by Drury and Bell to open the bottom of the inning.

Drury lined a shot to left field and Bell lifted a fly ball deep to right that stayed just fair.

Bell and Juan Soto, who had an RBI double in the fifth, were obtained in a blockbuster trade with Washington on August 2, the same day the Padres got Drury from Cincinnati.

Men BTC Lasers currently have a 3-0 lead over the PHA Rookies. BTC took game one, 17-9, game two 16-7 and game three 18-6.

Women Electrotelecomm Invad ers have a 3-0 over the RBDF Waves. It was an 114 win in game one followed by a 30- 6 win in game two and 13-6 win in game three.

“I’ll come in after Kalk brenner,” King said. “I’ll be able to help inside while also working on multiple skills.”

PADRES’ Manny Machado celebrates his home run during the seventh inning in Game 2 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday in San Diego. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

FREDRICK KING

ASTROS starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) celebrates the third out during the sixth inning in Game 1 of baseball’s American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees yes terday in Houston.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

THE Bahamas Golf Fed eration hosted its Junior Open at the Ocean Club Golf Course, featuring the country’s top golfers between the ages of seven and 18, on Sunday, October 16.

Division winners were as follows:

Boys/Girls 8U flight:

9 Hole Division

1st - Maximilien Demole

2nd - Luis Ortiz Von Bismarck

3rd - Thomas West

T4- Sarah Scheidecker

T4- Zara Greaves

6th - Safari Hanna

Boys/Girls 9-10: 9

Hole Division

1st- Francisco Ortiz Von Bismarck

2nd- Hugo Johnston

3rd - Kayleigh Rolle

4th - Kai Bastian

5th - Briland Cunningham

6th - Tracy Johnson

7th- Deandrey Poitier

8th - Alyssa Richards 9th - Leo Bisterzo

Boys/Girls 11-12: 9 Hole Division

1st - Sean Norville-Smith

2nd - Mirko Gervasini

3rd- Christian Fox

4th - Torin Sands

5th - Nicholas Turnquest

6th- Zhyen Wraing

7th- Rylee Cunningham

Boys/Girls 13-18: 9

Hole Division

1st - Gabrielle Pratt

2nd- Biswalriya Patti

3rd - Tysha Johnson

4th- Olivia Ott 5th- Nataija McPhee

6th - Jackson Cary 7th - Omar Smith Jr.

8th- Hailey Ellis

Boys/Girls 11-12: 18 Hole Division

1st - Patrick Mactaggart

2nd- William West

3rd- Harry White

4th- Haley Hall

5th - Maddison Carroll

6th - Zachary Joseph

7th- Renaisha Dill

8th - Sebastian Halewyck

9th - Juan Wilson

10th - Anissa Robinson

Boys 13-14: 18 Hole Division

1st- Aidan Gorospe

2nd - Jackson Mactaggart

3rd- Kerrington Rolle 4th- Luke Grimes 5th- Christopher Callendar

6th - Maximillian Landry 7th- Nolan Russell Girls 13-14: 18

Hole Division

1st - Chemari Pratt

2nd - Lilly Bisterzo 3rd - Tiar Agaro-Gibson 4th - Daliah Hamilton-Knowles 5th - Seannae

Norville-Smith

6th- Taylor Sands Boys/Girls 15-18: 18

Hole Division

1st- Oliver White 2nd- Zadok Smith

3rd- Alex Dupuch 4th - Rhan Miller 5th- Tyesha Tynes 6th - Jermaine Dawkins 7th - Camdyn Forbes 8th - Tylere Hamilton 9th - Andrew Benjamin 10th - Mia Underwood

King

Meal Deal

Big King Jr.

YOUNG