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Volume: 121 No.7, November 29, 2023

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PM ‘SHOCKED’ BY IMF OVER DEFICIT PM says no concerns were raised with him during recent meeting

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has said he was shocked by the International Monetary Fund’s conclusion that government spending this fiscal year will outpace revenue by almost three times its projections.

“I’m shocked by that because they met with me

Defence Force clear homes before demolition

and never raised those matters,” he said.

He said he had been busy and wasn’t aware of the IMF’s position until The Tribune asked him about it after an event to open the Turks & Caicos Government Diaspora Office last night. He is scheduled to attend the COP28 event in Dubai.

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net CARLOS Reid, a consultant in the Ministry of National Security, said 42 percent of the people killed this year were on bail.

His comment came as the murder tally nears 100, a threshold Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said he wanted to avoid.

Ninety-six people have been killed for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

“This was all our hope that we wouldn’t get to the number,” Mr Reid said.

“If we were to take the numbers of persons that

SEE PAGE THREE

DEFICIT TARGET MISSED AS Vat undershot by $160M

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government narrowly missed its deficit target for the recently closed 2022-2023 fiscal year despite a near-$160m undershoot on its VAT forecast, it was revealed yesterday.

The Ministry of Finance,

unveiling its monthly report for June 2023, which also represented the fiscal year-end, disclosed that the $533.4m full-year deficit was just 2.5 percent or $12.8m higher than the revised target of $520.6m presented with the 20232024 Budget at end-May. That outcome was also FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

‘42 percent OF MURDER VICTIMS WERE out on bail’

SEE PAGE FIVE

ARMED Defence Force officers clear a home in the All Saints shanty town prior to demolition crews proceeding yesterday. See PAGE FOUR for full story.

Photo: Ministry of Works

OFFICERS IN AZARIO CASE ALLOWED TO APPEAL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A SUPREME Court judge granted officers in the Azario Major killing leave to appeal the Coroner Court’s homicide by manslaughter ruling.

The officers sought to appeal the ruling even as they await Justice Franklyn Williams’ ruling on a motion questioning the constitutionality of the

AZARIO MAJOR coroner’s inquest.

Justice Williams had previously said the officers’ lawyer was doing a

“disservice” to his clients by insisting the inquest finding should be quashed because the coroner did not consider his constitutional motion claiming that pretrial publicity prevented a fair inquiry.

In February, a five-person jury ruled against two officers after the killing of Azario Major outside Woody’s Bar on Fire Trial Road on December 26,

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE THREE

‘Man set his UNCLE AND MoM on fire’ A 29-YEAR-OLD man set his 54-year-old and 74-year-old uncle and mother on fire at a residence on Gibbs Corner yesterday.

According to preliminary reports, the suspect, around 10pm, was upset with his uncle and poured an unknown liquid on him and ignited him. The suspect’s mother was also burnt.

Both victims were taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital to be treated for their burns.

Officers of the mobile division arrested the suspect at the hospital for grievous harm.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 29, 2023, PAGE 3

PM ‘shocked’ by IMF over deficit from page one

The IMF’s conclusion was contained in its annual Article IV consultation report on the country.

The body estimated that the fiscal year’s deficit would be “considerably larger than expected in the budget” at a sum equal to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The fund said more policy measures will be needed to achieve targets.

The Free National Movement (FNM) jumped on the IMF’s report to say it proves what the party has been saying about the Davis administration’s fiscal strategy and claims.

“Again and again, the opposition has warned this PLP government that its reckless and wasteful spending will worsen the country’s fiscal position at a time when rising revenues from a recovering economy should be moving the country toward a balanced budget,” East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson, the

party’s Shadow Minister of Finance, said in a statement.

“Now again, the IMF, in its statement released yesterday, is now projecting that the government’s deficit for this fiscal year 2023/2024 will approach $380m, which is almost 300 per cent higher than the $131m deficit in the government’s budget and medium-term fiscal strategy. This massive projected spike in the deficit is also projected by the rating agency Standards & Poor (S&P) in its September 2023 report on The Bahamas.”

Mr Thompson highlighted that the government has not been publishing monthly and quarterly budget and fiscal reports as the law requires, with the last two quarterly reports still outstanding, as are August, September and October reports.

“It would seem that the Davis administration has been and continues to keep away the lawful reports of the shaky state of the public finances from their

PRIME MINISTER PHILIP ‘BRAVE’ DAVIS employer, the Bahamian taxpayer,” he said.

Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said

in a statement last night that the administration has

met or beat every deficit projection given over the past two years and is confident it will meet the 2024 projections.

“What you see is an opinion of the IMF that our revenue will not come in as well as we estimate that it will,” he said.

“We have a difference of opinion. Remember that since 2021, we have had the IMF and the rating agencies consistently underestimating how our revenue can perform. Our experience has shown that our revenue along with the growth in the economy has performed very well. We believe that will continue.”

He said in the 2022/2023 fiscal period, the deficit was $42m below projections.

He also noted that the IMF has revised its economic growth projection for the economy to 2.3 per cent, up from 1.8 percent.

“That’s a massive revision,” he said, adding it reflects that the economy is growing and inflation is declining.

Witness that testified against Gibson admits to being questioned by police on fraud

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A SENIOR engineer at the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) who has given testimony harmful to Adrian Gibson and his co-accused admitted police questioned her for suspected fraud last year.

Under cross-examination in court yesterday from Damian Gomez, KC, Mr Gibson’s lawyer, Dedrie Taylor, head of the WSC’s engineering and planning department, confirmed that police interviewed her last April.

Mr Gomez asked the witness if she was arrested on April 25, 2022, and she said no.

When he posed the question again, Mrs Taylor said she had been told that the experience was a procedure to get information.

She claimed she was held at the station for eight hours because the police didn’t have a stenographer and had to write her statement manually.

“So no one touched you and said you were under arrest?” asked Mr Gomez.

“And no one said you’re entitled to a lawyer?”

In response, Mrs Taylor denied that police told her she was under arrest, but admitted to being informed of her right to get a lawyer.

Mr Gomez said: “Didn’t

ADRIAN GIBSON they say this to you, ‘you are suspected of fraud?

I wish to put some questions to you in relation to

this offence. You’re not obliged to answer any of

the questions, but if you do, the questions and your answers put to them may be written down and given as evidence?’”

Mrs Taylor said she could not remember what the police told her, though she recalled police asking her if she wanted a lawyer.

Mrs Taylor was then shown a police document.

“Do you see that they have you booked in at 1pm on that date?” Mr Gomez asked her.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Do you see the arresting officer is a woman sergeant?” Mr Gomez asked, to which she replied: “Yes.” When Mr Gomez asked if she realised they suspected her of fraud, she said yes.

Asked if she was shown the WSC Act during the experience, she said no.

She also admitted that she never read the entire law since being employed at the corporation.

She was also asked about her role in the payment process to contractors.

She said she deals with the initial payment certificates, gets the signatures of relevant people and forwards the documents to the accounts department.

She said she signed off on payments to Elite Maintenance Incorporated and Baha Maintenance.

However, she claimed

that the then WSC Deputy General Manager Robert Deal didn’t sign off on any of the payments because he claimed he needed more time to review the documents.

She was then shown job jackets for the water tanks featuring Mr Deal’s signature.

Mr Gomez said: “And you’re saying that he did not sign any of the payment vouchers?”

She replied: “He did not sign any of the payment vouchers.”

When asked how he signed the job jackets, Mrs Taylor said she couldn’t explain.

She will return for continued cross-examination at a later hearing.

Mr Gibson is charged with Mr Donaldson, Jr, Ms Peaches Farquharson, Rashae Gibson, Joan Knowles and Jerome Missick.

Together, the group face 98 charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, fraud, receiving and money laundering.

They have denied all of the allegations.

Mr Gomez, KC, Murrio Ducille, KC, Bryan Bastian, Mr Raphael Moxey, Christina Galanos, Ian Cargill and Donald Saunders represent the defendants.

Meanwhile, Ms Cordell Frazier, Cashena Thompson and Karine MacVean are the Crown’s prosecutors.

Officers in Azario case granted leave to file appeal, says judge from page one 2021.

Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier has not decided whether to charge the officers with a crime because she is awaiting the conclusion of the various appeal processes.

Azario’s relatives have said they are not satisfied with the inquest finding and want the officers to face more severe repercussions through a criminal trial.

Ms Frazier recently told The Tribune she had not decided on other matters that resulted in adverse findings against police this year, including the May 27, 2018 killing of Deangelo Evans. That killing was also ruled a homicide by manslaughter.

Justice Williams agreed to hear an appeal of the

Coroner’s Court finding in Azario’s case in February of next year.

At the start of the inquest, Keevon Maynard, the lawyer for the officers who shot Azario, filed a constitutional motion to stop the inquiry because of the pretrial publicity. He argued that Acting Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux had no right to refuse that constitutional motion and should have been compelled to refer the matter to the Supreme Court.

Justice Williams said the acting coroner was within her right not to refer his initial constitutional motion to the Supreme Court because the inquest was underway.

He indicated in August that his decision on the motion would be revealed on October 30, but the ruling has not been released.

AZARIO MAJOR

PAGE 4, Wednesday, November 29, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

All Saints shanty demolition begins

AFTER Police and Defence Force officers ensured homes were unoccupied bulldozers demolished structures at All Saints shanty town.

Photos: Ministry of Works

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net DEMOLITION activities began in the All Saints Way shanty town yesterday.

Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs assistant civil engineer Bahiyyah Hepburn said the number of structures that will be demolished fluctuates as officials do research.

Works and Family

Island Affairs Minister Clay Sweeting had previously said 162 structures in the Kool Acres and All Saints Way shanty towns would be demolished. But Luther Smith, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works, said on Friday the task force was not targeting many structures in All Saints Way. “We are doing this in different stages,” Ms Hepburn told Eyewitness News. “Once we’ve identified and we’ve done

our final confirmation for demolition then we go in and we demolish.”

Superintendent Stephen Carey said a team of about 40 to 50 defence force and police force officers went into All Saints Way. “We had the dog unit.

We had the fire department. We checked all of the structures before they were demolished,” he added.

He said one home they checked still had people inside. The people who

requested more time to find a place to stay were allowed to remain for the day, but were informed they had to vacate the structure.

Myles Laroda, State

Minister for Social Services, revealed on Sunday that 18 rooms at the Poinciana Arena on Bernard Road have been leased to provide housing assistance to Bahamians

displaced by shanty town demolitions.

The Unregulated Communities Action Task Force demolished the Kool Acres shanty town earlier this month.

Abaco hurricane shelter progress inspected by govt and dignitaries

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net SHRI R. Masakui, High Commissioner for India to Jamaica, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the British Virgin Island inspected a hurricane shelter under construction in Abaco.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Assistant Resident Representative Ava Whyte-Anderson also inspected the site.

Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Myles LaRoda and the executive leadership of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA) led the site visit, which also included officials from the Ministry of Disaster Risk Management and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

During the visit, the delegation was given a project brief by project manager Chris Symonette of Chris Symonette and Associates and contractors Wilkem Solutions.

According to the DRA, the Indian government is a significant donor to the project, providing financial support through the UNDP’s multi-country office in Jamaica.

“There’s been a lot of anticipation [leading up to this trip], and we’ve been getting the reports and writeups, but there is nothing like seeing it firsthand, and I couldn’t be more pleased with what I’ve seen,” said High Commissioner Masakui, according to a press release from the government.

The Davis administration said the Indian government’s funding has played a crucial role in the project, which they chose to support as a show of solidarity with Bahamians.

Mr Masakui said: “Although [our countries] are 15,000 km apart, we still remember The Bahamas as our brothers and sisters –– in the name of one world, one family.”

The project has received the delegation’s satisfaction, prompting continued progress despite being only the

A HURRICANE shelter under construction in Abaco was inspected yesterday by the Jamaican High Commissioner to The Bahamas as well as the by a representative of the UN Development Programme along with Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Myles LaRoda and other govt representatives.

Photo: BIS first instalment of the $1,000,000 donation from the Indian government.

In addition to visiting the Abaco hurricane shelter site, the delegation

also visited several stormdamaged homes that the DRA has repaired under its Homeowner Assistance and Relief Programme (HARP)

and the debris management site in Spring City, which the contractor has started demobilizing.

The DRA said the shelter is expected to

be partially complete and available for use, if needed, by the start of the 2024 hurricane season, and fully completed by the end of 2024.

THE US Embassy Nassau conducted a successful emergency preparedness exercise with Bahamian security partners. The exercise illustrated excellent coordination between the Embassy, Royal Bahamas Police Force, and Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

During the exercise, the security partners practiced responding to a hostile attack on the Embassy.

Photos: US Embassy

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 29, 2023, PAGE 5

‘42 percent of murder victims were out on bail’ from page one would have been locked in prison out of the equation, then the numbers would be significantly low.

“Now, the challenge is that the constitution says that a man is innocent until proven guilty.”

“The constitution also

says that if we cannot bring them to court in a reasonable amount of time, then we have to give them bail.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police Leamond Deleveaux described bail yesterday as “almost a death sentence,” saying law enforcement is doing what it can to reduce Bahamians’ fears of crime.

“We can see almost certainly once a person is granted bail, that’s almost a death sentence to them once they are on bail for murder or armed robbery, more particularly murder or attempted murder,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the country will record

fewer murders than the 128 last year. There were 113 murders in New Providence in 2022, 12 in Grand Bahama and three in the Family Islands.

According to police statistics, retaliation, gangs, drugs and conflict were the most common motives for murders in 2022,

representing 76 per cent of the killings.

Yesterday, Free National Movement Deputy Leader Shanendon Cartwright said the government’s crime approach is inadequate.

“Over the last 23 months,” he said, “the nation has sadly amassed 224 murders, an average

of close to ten murders a month over the same period.”

“Despite these startling and unacceptable numbers, the government has refused to lead and remains negligent in presenting to the Bahamian people a comprehensive anti-crime plan.”

Cat Island woman’s murder trial sees HIGH SCHOOL BOY STABBED BY testimony focus on victim’s body TWO OTHERS, SAYS POLICE REPORT To advertise

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A POLICE officer testified that the body of American Janice Kissinger was found nude on a beach in Cat Island in 2017 with gold jewellery on a cord around her neck.

As Rodrigo Rolle’s murder trial continued yesterday, the defence questioned whether robbery was the motive of the crime as the victim was found with jewellery.

Rolle, 33, is accused of killing Kissinger, 74, during a home invasion in Orange Creek, Cat Island, on September 29, 2017. Rolle is also accused of stealing a 2006 Ford Explorer and a $500 safe containing a $5,000 Rolex.

Sergeant Austin Bowles said yesterday that he went to a beach in the Bain Town area of Cat Island and saw the deceased’s nude body wrapped in a sheet under a bush on October 2, 2017.

SGT Bowles observed that the deceased had a wound to her neck and a white cord tied around it. He also saw that she had on a gold watch, bangles and necklace.

Before the body was taken away, the sergeant placed a

bag around her hands to preserve forensic evidence.

As part of his crime scene investigation, he photographed and collected the evidence found near the body, including a panty.

Geoffrey Farquharson, the defendant’s attorney, suggested to the officer that the panties could not fit the victim. Sgt Bowles responded that he would not know as he sent it away for analysis to see if it were connected to the crime. He also said that he would not be in a position to tell if the panties were there before the body was dumped.

When it was suggested that the crabs could have inflicted wounds on the victim after she died, the officer said he could not say how Kissinger got the injuries.

Mr Farquharson questioned why the victim had her jewellery on if robbery led to her death. Sgt Bowles said he would not speculate on the motive.

The officer said that, to his knowledge, no photographs were taken of a struggle.

Devonte Jamal King, the defendant’s uncle, testified that on September 30, 2017, he met with his nephew to

discuss cleaning his grandfather’s car.

Mr King told the court that the defendant asked him if he had gone partying the day before, to which he responded no. He then recalled how Rolle told him if anyone asked if they were together to say they were out from 9pm to 5am on September 29.

Mr King also said his nephew told him about a safe he needed to open.

After hearing of Ms Kissinger’s disappearance later that day, he said he called Rolle asking if he knew about it, to which Rolle said no. He said Rolle asked him to bring him a cigarette after work, which he did.

When asked by Mr Farquharson if he told police that he saw his nephew at 9.30pm the Friday of the murder, Mr King said he gave police the same report he gave the court.

Mr King also said he told police he didn’t go out that Friday to keep a “low profile” and stay out of trouble. He admitted he smokes marijuana.

Eucal Bonamy and Janet Munnings are the prosecutors in the case. Justice Gregory Hilton is the presiding judge.

THREE senior high school boys were involved in a stabbing incident yesterday.

A 16-year-old student of a school on Baillou Hill Road and School Lane was attacked and stabbed by 17 and 15-year-old students, police said. Police

did not name the school, but CR Walker Senior High is located in that area.

The victim was taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital by ambulance for stab wounds to his lower back. He was listed in stable condition.

in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

Service of Celebration The family of the late

NORMICA SUSAN CAMPBELL

of Clermont, Florida; and formerly of Providenciales Turks and Caicos, invites you to participate in a ceremony celebrating her life and legacy on Thursday, November 30th, 2023, at 10:30 AM. Normica passed away peacefully at Moffitt Cancer Treatment Center in Tampa, Florida on October 28th, 2023.

The celebration will be held in the Ballroom at the Sandals Royal Bahamian, on West Bay Street. Cremation has preceded the memorial.

Continuing her legacy, she is survived by her, husband: Mario Campbell; children: Mario II, Miguel and Angel Campbell; granddaughter: Alasja Campbell; sisters (spouses): Jenesta (Rex) Messam, Brendalee (Pascal) Mattio, Shandella (Noel) Dames, LaPage (Wendell) Rolle, Marilyn Delancy, Hedda Armbrister; brother: Hollin Wilson; nieces (spouses): Johnna Messam, Jena (Robin) Janse, Tatianna and Tyler Mattio, Sarah Dames, Wendana Rolle, Candia (Errol) Seymour, Davina and Davette Armbrister, Jewel and Jasmine Campbell, Deneisha Dean, Brandy Campbell; nephews: Noel, Nicholas and Hollin Dames, Wendell and Wenton Rolle, Giovanni Delancy, Omar Armbrister, Eugene, Dario, Giovanni, Shaquille and Kyle Campbell, Dennis Dean, Bannerman Campbell: aunts (spouses): Lorraine (Lowell) Edgecombe, Violet Thompson; Father-in-law: Edward Campbell; sisters-in-law: Natasha and Geann Campbell, Monique Campbell; brothers-in-law: Bannerman, Dwayne Campbell. We acknowledge a host of other relatives and friends too numerous to mention.

Forever in our hearts we request you bring your thoughts and prayers.

Shalom!

PAGE 6, Wednesday, November 29, 2023

The Tribune Limited

THE TRIBUNE

PICTURE OF THE DAY

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991 C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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Ceasefire is far from lasting peace FOR the first time since the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israeli border towns on Oct. 7, 2023, that left at least 1,200 people dead, the Israeli government agreed on Nov. 22 to suspend its air and ground campaign in Gaza for four days in exchange for the release of at least 50 hostages held by Hamas.

That suspension has held.

Nearly six weeks in the making, the cease-fire deal also calls for the release of 150 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. As of the morning of Nov. 27, 58 hostages held in Gaza have been released by Hamas, as well as 111 Palestinian prisoners released

by Israel. Of the hostages, 40 were women and children. In a separate deal between Hamas and Egypt, 17 Thai hostages and one Filipino were also released.__The fate of the remaining hostages is still unclear.

To make sense of the deal, The Conversation asked Gregory F. Treverton of USC Dornsife, a former chairman of the National Intelligence Council in the Obama administration, to share his thoughts on what it means for the ongoing war in Gaza.

Military goals unchanged The agreement between Israel and Hamas – driven by U.S. pressure on Israel – to exchange 50 hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners and to pause fighting for four days is surely a welcome break in a horrific war.

Not least, it will permit food and fuel to enter a devastated Gaza.

It does not, however, fundamentally change the awful geometry of the war: Netanyahu has pledged that Israel will continue the fight, and there seems little sign that Israel is any closer to a plan for what to do about Gaza or the Palestinians than when the war began.

For its part, events have played out much as Hamas might have planned.

They knew their barbarism on Oct.

7 would call forth a brutal Israeli response.

Hamas knew, cynically, that the more Palestinians who were killed, the better for its cause. Global opinion would shift against Israel, and its American patron, and it has. And Hamas likely expected the Palestinian statehood issue, all but forgotten by the world, including the Arab world, would return to international prominence.

In the process, Hamas probably anticipated it would, paradoxically, become more popular in Gaza, not less.

A distant hope for lasting peace In the short run, the best that can be hoped is that this exchange and pause will be extended or be the first of more to come.

Certainly, Israel has been under global – and especially American – pressure to agree to some pause, and the Netanyahu “unity” government has felt the heat, domestically, for seeming to disregard the hostages.

In the longer run, after much more killing and suffering, the alternatives still remain dreary. Israel has no stomach for occupying Gaza and surely none for letting Hamas again pretend to govern. The Palestinian Authority remains corrupt, weak and inept in the eyes of those it governs, and as a result is a poor candidate to take on Gaza.

The best hope is a distant one – that some coalition of mostly Arab states but also perhaps including the U.S. could govern Gaza, perhaps exercising some tutelage over a reformed Palestinian Authority.

But that is a long way off, and the hostage exchange and pause does not take the region or the world much closer to a lasting peace.

Gregory F. Treverton USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Davis’s fight at COP 28 EDITOR, The Triune AS world leaders convene at COP 28, the stakes could not be higher, especially for nations like the Bahamas. Prime Minister Davis, bearing the weight of our nation’s experience with Hurricane Dorian, is set to lead a crucial fight for recognition and action on climate change, a battle underscored by profound human suffering and resilience.

This summit is not just another diplomatic engagement for us; it is a matter of survival. The catastrophic impact of Hurricane Dorian on the Bahamas is a harrowing testament to what lies ahead if decisive action is not taken. Homes destroyed, communities uprooted, lives lost – these

are not mere statistics but the stark reality of climate change’s wrath.

Prime Minister Davis attends COP 28 with a mission to transform these tragedies into a force for global change. He represents not just our nation but every community that has felt the merciless blow of a warming planet. His advocacy is fueled by real stories of loss and recovery – stories that highlight the urgent need for a united global response to the climate crisis.

The leadership of the Bahamas at this summit is critical. We are there to demand action, to ensure that the voices of those most affected by climate change are not just heard but heeded. Prime

A MAN climbs a coconut tree at Coco Cay.

Pintard resignation is bad idea EDITOR, The Tribune.

Minister Davis’s presence is a powerful reminder to the world that the fight against climate change is fundamentally a fight for the lives and futures of real people.

As leaders gather at COP 28, the Bahamas stands at the forefront of a critical battle. Under Prime Minister Davis’s leadership, we are fighting not just for policy changes but for the recognition of the human toll of climate inaction.

This is our plea, our fight, and our hope for a future where no nation has to bear the brunt of climate change alone.

LATRAE RAHMING Director of Communication Office of The Prime Minister

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Photo: Colin Lloyd

ON A ZNS Radio talk show on the day following the West Grand Bahama and Bimini by-election, several callers suggested to the Progressive Liberal Party leaning host that Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard, in keeping with our outdated Westminster system of government, should resign his position as leader. In the wake of the devastating general election loss in 2012, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham resigned from the House of Assembly and as leader of the FNM. Former Prime Minister Perry G Christie would resign as PLP leader following the 2017 general election loss. He had lost his Farm Road seat to the FNM’s Reece Chipman.

Based on conventional wisdom, according to the aforementioned callers, Pintard should follow the example of the two erstwhile political leaders.

But I see the West Grand Bahama and Bimini by-election as a different animal from general elections. The West End constituency was established in the lead up to the historic 1967 general election by the United Bahamian Party administration of Premier Sir Roland Symonette. It was won by the PLP’s Warren J Levarity. Levarity would win again under the PLP banner the following year in 1968 in a snap general election precipitated by the untimely death of the PLP MP Uriah McPhee.

Levarity, along with seven disgruntled PLP MPs would

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net leave the governing party and form the Free-PLP, which would become the Free National Movement in 1971. Led by Sir Kendal GL Isaacs in the 1972 general election, the FNM West End incumbent would lose his seat to the PLP’s Henry J. Bowen. Between 1972 and 1997, the West End seat was held by Bowen and Moses Hall. Obie Wilchcombe represented that area from 2002 to 2017; and again from 2021 to 2023.

The FNM held West End from 1997 to 2002; and again from 2017 to 2021.

Of the 56 years of its existence, the PLP has held West End for 47 years. The FNM nine years. Based on this sobering fact, West End can be dubbed a dyed-inthe-wool PLP stronghold.

Last week’s by-election only reconfirmed this ageold fact. And while FNM stakeholders have pledged to undertake a post mortem with the aim of finding out why the opposition lost, I believe that the answer is obvious.

The seat was the PLP’s to lose. Based on the strong ties of that community to the PLP, I am not sure what the FNM top brass would gain by removing Pintard, considering that of the eleven general elections between 1972 and 2021, the PLP has won a staggering nine to the FNM’s two. Punishing Pintard for what Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, Sir Kendal GL Isaacs, Tommy

Turnquest and J Henry Boswick (as Bahamas Democratic Party head) all failed to do would be both irrational and unfair.

It would be like punishing Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis for failing to win St Anne’s and Long Island.

Even Ingraham, considered the greatest leader of the FNM, failed to win West End in 1992, 2007 and 2012.

Resigning as FNM leader at this juncture would cause the entire organization to go into a tailspin.

Having yet to recover from the 2021 general election loss, Pintard resigning would further weaken the organisation. Other than Dr Hubert Minnis, who remains unpopular among young Bahamians aggrieved that their freedoms were infringed upon during the COVID-19 lockdowns, I don’t see a viable alternative to Pintard in the FNM Parliamentary caucus.

Smith had the sheer weight of the entire PLP government backing his campaign.

With the government resources at his disposal, the PLP candidate, particularly in an economically depressed West End community, was obviously the more attractive choice. Notwithstanding the confidence expressed by the FNM campaign machinery, it was a tall task to win West Grand Bahama and Bimini. Again, I don’t see what meaningful purpose it would serve the opposition if Pintard resigns.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama November 28, 2023.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 29, 2023, PAGE 7

Junkanoo groups ready for upcoming Boxing Day and New Year’s parades

THE VALLEY BOYS

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net AFTER a fire destroyed its shack last year –– consuming dozens of drums, costumes, and materials –– the Prodigal Sons junkanoo group is in “good spirits” now as it prepares to return to Bay Street for the annual parades.

Eric Knowles, the group’s leader, told The Tribune yesterday that the group wants to dazzle

attendees even though the road back hasn’t been easy.

“You know, when you have a God and a few good friends, we have been able to put things together,” he said. “As a matter of fact, we have completed one half of our shack. We were able to get BPL to come and turn the lights back on after trying to get it on for quite some time.”

John Williams, frontline chairman of The Valley Boys, said the group’s preparations have been

good.

The Valley Boys came second last year in the Boxing Day parade with a “Wonders of the Deep” theme.

Mr Williams said although the group is eager to snag first place this year, its main goal is to put on a magical show for the public.

“We want our fans to come out and support us as usual,” he said. “It is going to be a great show.”

“We also want you to

bring your kids out because we are going to turn back the clock to remind all of those adults out there what it was like to be a child again. And you know, we want them to expose their kids to some of the classics that they would have been brought up on.”

The Saxons Superstars’ representative, Kendenique CampbellMoss, said the cost of materials for costumes, decorations, and other materials has increased

since the pandemic. However, she said the group is determined to look and sound great for the parades.

Despite Junkanoo’s competitiveness, Mrs Campbell-Moss said when the dust settles, the only thing that matters is keeping the spirit of the cultural expression alive.

“I think we will pull some triumphs in these two parades,” she said.

Anthony Coakley, of One Family, said his group

is hungry for another win after winning last year’s Boxing Day parade and this year’s New Year’s Day event.

“This year, we are still hungry,” he said. “That’s our position coming into these two parades.”

“We’re not allowing the victories of the last two parades to make us lax in any way because in Junkanoo, one of the hardest things to do is to repeat, and our objective is to repeat.”

Man remanded after allegedly Man charged with assaulting and injuring a woman with a box cutter molesting a 15-year-old girl

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A 39-YEAR-OLD has been remanded after he allegedly molested a 15-year-old girl earlier this month.

Magistrate Raquel

Whyms charged Antion Thompson with unlawful sexual intercourse.

Thomas is accused of having unlawful sexual intercourse with an underaged girl in New Providence on November 18.

Thompson was informed that his case would be

moved to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

He will be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until the higher court grants him bail.

His VBI is set for service on February 2, 2024

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was granted bail after he allegedly injured a woman and threatened her with a box cutter last week.

Magistrate Shaka

Serville charged Darron Johnson, 50, with causing harm and assault with a dangerous instrument.

Johnson is accused of threatening Torri Rose with a box cutter in New Providence on November 18.

Johnson is also accused

of injuring Ms Rose during an argument on November 24.

After pleading not guilty to the charge, the accused was granted $5,000 bail with one or two sureties.

His trial begins on March 20, 2024.

Who is a woman?

PAGE 8, Wednesday, November 29, 2023

SATURDAY, November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW), marked the beginning of the Global 16 Days Campaign, also known as 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. National Women’s Week, a government initiative, coincides with the Campaign and usually involves the Department of Gender and Family Affairs planning a few events. One of them always seems to be Christian church service. There is, of course, no acknowledgement of the existence of other faiths or the people who have them which, on its own, gives insight into the way that many people think of this nation. That way of thinking extends to the way that many, including the government and far too many of its actors, regard women.

This should raise the question: Who is a woman in The Bahamas? The finely printed continuation of the question is “who is considered to be of sufficient value to be protected from gender-based violence?”

There are many issues here. For now, we can look at two of them. One is the singular way that the government and many other institutions define “woman.” Another is the focus on the protection of (some) women from gender-based violence.

Women are not all the same. We do not all have all of the same experiences. We do not all experience the same forms of oppression to the same extent. The difference is not one that just happens to exist. It is one that based in the difference of and between women.

No woman is only woman.

Though we are often discussed as though we only have gender and that dictates our entire life experience, we have many other identities. In the same way that society has used gender to define and limit women, it used our other identity markers. We have race and ethnicity, age, nationality,

THE TRIBUNE

By Alicia Wallace

income level, and marital status, among many others.

None of these exists in isolation. They are used together to oppress, discriminate, and violate to extents that vary greatly among us.

Consider women and age. A twenty-year-old and a seventy-year-old are not treated the same in very many circumstances, if at all. What happens to each of them when they seek social assistance? How are they each treated when they go to the police to report incidents of violence against them? How do people respond to each of them when they report a concerning pain to a medical professional, or even to their family members? We have certain ideas about age that shape the way to engagement with people of different ages. In no time at all, we decide, based on age, whether or not a person should have enough resources needed to meet their needs, or the ability to indecently create or access them. Can this woman get a job? Does or should this woman have savings? Does this woman have a husband or children? The assumptions that we make about people, based on what is visible to use, affect them and the way they move through the world.

Consider women and religion. The image of the Bahamian women that is held by the government seems to be one that is a Christian who goes to church regularly. She wears pantyhose and a slip, and she likely wears a hat and/or a broach. After church, she cooks dinner for her family to eat together. She quotes verses from The Bible and she likes to let people know that she is a member of a

church and believes in the Christian God. Based on this description, how old do you think this woman is? Is she married?

How many children does she have? What kind of car does she drive? Where does she shop for her clothing?

What is her race? What area does she live in?

These are important questions because this is the woman that the government sees and thinks about.

This is the woman who is centred in governmentplanned activities. This is the woman who needs to be protected from genderbased violence. She is the Bahamian woman, she is the one of value, and she is the one who deserves to live a happy, violence-free life.

You know this woman, don’t you? You probably know quite a few of them.

You see them at work, you pass them in the grocery store, and you sit behind them when you find yourself at church, whether that is weekly, monthly, seasonally, or strictly for special occasions. What does it mean to be that woman?

What about the other women? How many of the women you know and interact with on a daily basis are not that woman of a certain age and marital status who goes to church with her knees covered? How many of the women in your life are not included when the government thinks about what women need and plans national events to honour women and call attention to the achievements of women over the years? What does it mean for them to be excluded?

There are many other questions to grapple with when we consider the way that women are defined, not

“Who is a woman in The Bahamas who is considered to be of sufficient value to be protected from genderbased violence?”

just by the people around us, but by the government, and not just in theory, but in its practice which is supposed to include critical services and resources.

Perhaps the definition it holds for women is the reason there are so many dark streets and overgrown bushes. The government definition of woman suggests that women do not venture out of their homes when it is not light outside. This may seem like

an exaggeration, but look at the evidence. Look at who is centered and who is ignored. A national church service is not just a church service. It is a site of exclusion and it is a statement on who gets to be a woman who is regarded by the government and its actors as a woman who, importantly, “deserves” acknowledgement of any kind.

The central question raised here is: “Who is a woman in The Bahamas?”

I put a finer point on the question. “Who is a woman in The Bahamas who is considered to be of sufficient value to be protected from gender-based violence?” The definition of woman, as seen by the government (based on its planning of National Women’s Week among other demonstrations), considered, we can look at the second issue. Protection. When we talk about gender-based violence against women, there is still an emphasis — and often singular focus — on protection. This suggests that there is nothing to be done about the issue, that is will continue to exist, that prevention and intervention are not an area of focus (or secondary to protection, at best), and we must resign ourselves to focus on ensuring that gender-based violence does not happen to certain women. The women the government sees as fitting into its narrow understanding of womanhood which is bound up in other issues and areas, including the persisting refusal to acknowledge people of other faiths.

Protection does not solve the problem. On the contrary, the focus on protection is the throwing up hands, communicating (incorrectly, in this case) that the problem cannot be solved, so we must simply live with it and put measures in place to ensure that the problem does not affect a certain group of people, or that it only affects a certain group of people.

Who can be included in protection from genderbased violence? Does it include LGBTQI+ people who, along with women and girls, are disproportionately impacted by gender-based violence? Does it include migrant people and, in particular, undocumented migrants?

What about people who have been and are being trafficked? Does it include sex workers? Who is protection for?

We see, with every reported case of violence

against women and girls, that some women and girls are valued more than others. There are some women and girls that people are more concerned about.

People are more upset by violence against certain kinds of women and girls, while violence against others is shrugged off. Look at the reports of missing girls and requests for help in finding them. What do most of the comments say? What does it say about this country that so many people are adamant that they will not help to find a child because she is “bad” or “think she is woman” when this has nothing to do with her, if she was taken by a man, being raped? What does it say about this place, that some even some girls are seen as less “deserving” of protection? If all girls do not need or get protection, then what about women?

Protection is not the way to go. Violence against women and girls must be eliminated. Gender-based violence must be eliminated.

This is in the language of the day that starts the Global 16 Days Campaign every year. International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

It is in the language of the recommendations based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Gender-based violence is not to be accepted.

It is to be eradicated. The Government of The Bahamas needs to understand that it is responsible for ensuring that all women and girls — not just the ones fitting its special definition — live free of violence, and that protection will not get us there.

Equality Bahamas is hosting a series of events during the Global 16 Days Campaign, delving into the issue of gender-based violence from various perspectives. Tonight, at 6pm, in a session on genderbased violence research, Étoile Binder, president of Sanigest International will talk about data collection and analysis on gender-based violence in The Bahamas, regional statistics, and the development of a coordinated care model in response to genderbased violence. Register at tiny.cc/16days23c. See the full event lineup at tiny. cc/16days23.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 9, 2022, PAGE 9

TECHTALK US ELECTRIC VEHICLE SALES TO HIT RECORD THIS YEAR, BUT STILL LAG BEHIND CHINA AND GERMANY

By ALEXA ST. JOHN Associated Press

PEOPLE stand in the lobby for Amazon offices in New York. Amazon finally has its answer to ChatGPT. The tech giant said Tuesday, it will launch Q – a generative-AI powered chatbot for businesses. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

AMAZON LAUNCHES Q, A BUSINESS CHATBOT POWERED BY GENERATIVE AI NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon finally has its answer to ChatGPT. The tech giant said Tuesday it will launch Q — a business chatbot powered by generative artificial intelligence.

The announcement, made in Las Vegas at an annual conference the company hosts for its AWS cloud computing service, represents Amazon’s response to rivals who’ve rolled out chatbots that have captured the public’s attention.

San Francisco startup OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT a year ago sparked a surge of public and business interest in generative AI tools that can spit out emails, marketing pitches, essays, and other passages of text that resemble the work of

humans.

That attention initially gave an advantage to OpenAI’s chief partner and financial backer, Microsoft, which has rights to the underlying technology behind ChatGPT and has used it to build its own generative AI tools known as Copilot.

But it also spurred competitors like Google to launch their own versions.

These chatbots are a new generation of AI systems that can converse, generate readable text on demand and even produce novel images and video based on what they’ve learned from a vast database of digital books, online writings and other media.

Amazon said Tuesday that Q can do things like synthesise content,

streamline day-to-day communications and help employees with tasks like generating blog posts.

It said companies can also connect Q to their own data and systems to get a tailored experience that’s more relevant to their business.

The technology is currently available for preview.

While Amazon is ahead of rivals Microsoft and Google as the dominant cloud computing provider, it’s not perceived as the leader in the AI research that’s led to advancements in generative AI. A recent Stanford University index that measured the transparency of the top 10 foundational AI models, including Amazon’s Titan, ranked Amazon at the bottom.

Stanford researchers said less transparency can make it harder for customers that want to use the technology to know if they can safely rely on it, among other problems.

The company, meanwhile, has been forging forward.

In September, Amazon said it would invest up to $4 billion in the AI startup Anthropic, a San Francisco-based company that was founded by former staffers from OpenAI. The tech giant also has been rolling out new services, including an update for its popular assistant Alexa so users can have more human-like conversations and AIgenerated summaries of product reviews for consumers.

NISSAN WILL INVEST $1.4 BILLION TO MAKE EV VERSIONS OF ITS BEST-SELLING CARS AT UK FACTORY

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Nissan will invest $1.4 billion to update its factory in northeast England to make electric versions of its two best-selling cars, a boost for the British government as it tries to revive the country’s ailing economy.

The Japanese automaker manufactures the gasoline or gas-hybrid Qashqai and smaller Juke crossover vehicles at the factory in Sunderland, which employs 6,000 workers.

Nissan Motor Co. said it’s directly investing up to 1.12 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) to produce electric successors to the two models.

The money also will enable “wider investment in infrastructure projects and the supply chain, including a new gigafactory” for EV batteries at the site, the government said in a separate press release.

“Nissan’s investment is a massive vote of confidence in the U.K.’s automotive industry,” which contributes 71 billion pounds a year to the economy, Prime Minister

NISSAN car production continues ahead of an announcement by President and CEO Makoto Uchida for further electric vehicle production at the Nissan plant in Sunderland, England, Friday. Nissan will invest more than $1.3 billion to update its factory in northeast England to make electric versions of its two best-selling cars.

(Ian Forsyth/Pool Photo via AP) Rishi Sunak said.

Sunak visited the factory for the announcement, posing for photos with Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt in front of a blue Qashqai on the assembly line, meeting workers and getting a tour from plant staff. The day before, Hunt announced tax cuts and other budget priorities ahead of a national election next year, coming as economic growth is weak in the U.K. and still-high inflation is squeezing consumers.

The Qashqai is the U.K.’s

second most popular vehicle this year, while the Juke is the seventh. Nissan also said it will make the next generation of its long-running Leaf electric car at the factory.

The company said in 2021 that it planned to build an electric vehicle at the factory, alongside batteries made next door by supplier AESC, owned by China’s Envision.

AESC already has two gigafactories in Sunderland, and Friday’s announcement adds a third.

EVs are “at the heart of

our plans to achieve carbon neutrality,” Nissan President and CEO Makoto Uchida said in a statement.

“With electric versions of our core European models on the way, we are accelerating towards a new era for Nissan, for industry and for our customers.”

Nissan has set a target of electrifying its entire European passenger car lineup by 2030.

“With today’s announcement, we are making that vision happen,” Uchida said at the plant, which temporarily stopped production for the ceremony.

The future of Nissan’s Sunderland had been in question before and after Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union.

Brexit opponents said leaving the bloc without a trade deal would damage Britain’s economy because companies like Nissan would face tariffs on exports to the EU. The auto industry is bracing for 10% post-Brexit trade tariffs taking effect in January.

They threaten to raise the cost of new EVs by

punishing manufacturers in their respective markets for not sourcing enough of their components from either the EU or Britain.

Many EV makers will struggle to meet the requirement because Europe lags behind Asia in battery production.

Nissan, however, is the only carmaker in the U.K. with a dedicated battery plant nearby.

Nissan joins other automakers making the transition to EV production in the U.K., even as Sunak pushed back a deadline to end the sale of new gas and diesel cars by five years, to 2035.

BMW said earlier this year that it’s investing 600 million pounds into its Mini factory in Oxford, England, to start making electric vehicles by 2026.

India’s Tata Sons, which owns Jaguar Land Rover, is building a 4 billion-pound EV battery factory in the U.K. that’s expected to produce about 40 gigawatt hours of battery cells every year, enough to provide half the U.K.’s electric vehicle batteries.

ELECTRIC vehicle sales are expected to hit a record 9% of all passenger vehicles in the U.S. this year, according to Atlas Public Policy.

That will be up from 7.3% of new car sales in 2022.

It will be the first time more than 1 million EVs are sold in the U.S. in one calendar year, probably reaching between 1.3 million and 1.4 million cars, the research firm predicts.

Although the numbers show significant progress for electrification, the nation is lagging behind countries like China, Germany and Norway.

EVs reached 33% of sales in China, 35% in Germany, and 90% in Norway for the first six months of 2023, according to a BloombergNEF EV outlook published in June. These figures include both battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid EVs.

NEW GOOGLE GEOTHERMAL ELECTRICITY PROJECT COULD BE A MILESTONE FOR CLEAN ENERGY

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press AN ADVANCED geothermal project has begun pumping carbon-free electricity onto the Nevada grid to power Google data centres there, Google announced Tuesday.

Getting electrons onto the grid for the first time is a milestone many new energy companies never reach, said Tim Latimer, CEO and co-founder of Google’s geothermal partner in the project, Houston-based Fervo Energy.

“I think it will be big and it will continue to vault geothermal into a lot more prominence than it has been,” Latimer said in an interview.

The International Energy Agency has long projected geothermal could be a serious solution to climate change. It said in a 2011 roadmap document that geothermal could reach some 3.5% of global electricity generation annually by 2050, avoiding almost 800 megatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

But that potential has been mostly unrealised up until now. Today’s announcement could mark a turning point.

Fervo is using this first pilot to launch other projects that will deliver far more carbon-free electricity to the grid. It’s currently completing initial drilling in southwest Utah for a 400-megawatt project.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, November 29, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Israeli hostage describes deteriorating conditions while being held by Hamas TEL AVIV Associated Press

AN Israeli hostage freed

by Hamas said in an interview that she was initially fed well in captivity until conditions worsened and people became hungry. She was kept in a “suffocating” room and slept on plastic chairs with a sheet for nearly 50 days.

In one of the first interviews with a freed hostage, 78-year-old Ruti Munder told Israel’s Channel 13 television that she spent the entirety of her time with her daughter, Keren, and grandson, Ohad MunderZichri, who celebrated his ninth birthday in captivity. Her account, broadcast Monday, adds to the trickle of information about the experience of captives held in Gaza.

Munder was snatched Oct. 7 from her home in Nir Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel. Her husband, Avraham, also 78, was taken hostage too and remains in Gaza. Her son was killed in the attack.

Initially, they ate “chicken with rice, all sorts of canned food and cheese,” Munder told Channel 13, in an audio interview. “We were OK.” They were given tea in the morning and evening, and the children were given sweets. But the menu changed when “the economic situation was not good, and people were hungry.”

Israel has maintained a tight siege on Gaza since the war erupted, leading to shortages of food, fuel and other basic items.

Munder, who was freed Friday, returned in good physical condition, like most other captives. But one of the released hostages, an 84-year-old woman, has been hospitalized in life-threatening condition after not receiving proper care in captivity, doctors said. Another freed captive needed surgery.

Freed hostages have mostly kept out of the public eye since their return. Most details about their ordeal have come through relatives who have

RUTH MUNDE R, a released Israeli hostage, walks with an Israeli soldier shortly after her arrival in Israel on Friday. A four-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza on Friday with an exchange of hostages and prisoners.

Photo: IDF /AP visited them.

Munder, confirming accounts from relatives of other freed captives, said they slept on plastic chairs.

She said she covered herself with a sheet but that not all captives had one.

Boys who were there would stay up late chatting, while some of the girls would cry, she said. Some boys slept on the floor.

She said she would wake up late to help pass the time. The room where she was held was “suffocating,” and the captives were prevented from opening the blinds, but she managed to crack open a window.

“It was very difficult,” she said.

Munder’s account emerged as Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their truce. The two sides have been exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners under a cease-fire deal that has paused the fighting. The deal also includes an increase in aid to Gaza.

Israel declared war after the Islamic militant group’s cross-border attack Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 others taken hostage. An Israeli offensive has left over 13,000 Palestinians dead, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run territory.

Munder said that on Oct. 7, she was put on a vehicle with her family and driven into Gaza. A militant draped over them a blanket her grandson had carried from home, which she said was meant to prevent them from seeing the militants around them. While in captivity, she learned from a Hamas militant who listened to the radio that her son was killed, according to the Channel 13 report.

Still, she said, she held out hope that she would be freed.

“I was optimistic. I understood that if we came here, then we would be released.

I understood that if we were alive — they killed whoever they wanted to in Nir Oz.”

Two Israeli TV stations, Channels 12 and 13, reported that Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, visited the hostages in a tunnel and assured them they would not be harmed.

“You are safest here.

Nothing will happen to you,” he was quoted as saying in the identical reports, which did not reveal the source of the account.

This round of releases has seen mostly women and children freed. They have been undergoing physical and psychological tests at Israeli hospitals before returning home.

Mirit Regev, whose 21-year-old daughter, Maya, was freed Sunday, told Israeli public broadcaster Kan that the family has been counselled to “return the power to her” in their interactions by always asking her for permission before things occur, such as leaving the room. Regev’s 18-year-old son, Itai, is still

being held by Hamas.

Itai Pessach, director of the Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital at Sheba Medical Centre, where many of the released children have been treated, said he felt some optimism because the hostages were physically recovering. But he said medical staff had heard “very difficult and complex stories from their time in Hamas captivity,” without elaborating.

“We understand that despite the fact that they might seem physically improving, there’s a very, very long way to go before they are healed,” he said.

In a separate interview, the aunt of a 25-year-old Israeli-Russian hostage who was released Sunday from Gaza said her nephew fled his captors and hid within Gaza for a few days before being recaptured.

“He said he was taken by terrorists, and they brought him into a building. But the building was destroyed (by Israeli bombing), and he

was able to flee,” Yelena Magid, the aunt of Roni Krivoi, told Kan radio on Monday. “He was trying to get to the border, but I think because he didn’t have the resources to know where he was and which direction to flee, he had some trouble.”

He told her in a phone conversation he was able to hide himself for around four days before Palestinians in Gaza discovered him, she added.

“One thing that gave us hope from the start is that he’s a boy who’s always smiling, and he can figure things out in any situation,” Magid said.

Shoshan Haran, who was released from Hamas captivity on Saturday night, met with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday at the president’s office in Jerusalem. “I’m here but there’s so many left behind,” Haran said. “I still don’t have the full picture of what was here, but I know what was there, and you have to do the maximum (to get them home).”

Eitan Yahalomi’s aunt, Devorah Cohen, told French media that her 12-year-old nephew was sometimes kept alone, but when he was with others, his captors threatened him with a gun whenever the children cried in order to keep them quiet.

“The Hamas terrorists forced him to watch films of the horrors, the kind that no one wants to see, they forced him to watch them,” Cohen said.

Relatives of Yaffa Adar, 85, who was released on Friday night, told Channel 12 that they did not shower or change clothes for the entire period of their captivity, and only the day before they were released they were given a new set of clothes.

Israeli media aired video Monday of Ori Megidish, an Israeli soldier who was taken captive, then freed by the military late last month.

She said she was happy and doing well and wished all the captives would return home.

“I’m glad to have my life back,” she said.

Hunter Biden tells Congress he’d testify publicly, setting up a potential high-stakes face-off WASHINGTON Associated Press HUNTER Biden offered Tuesday to testify publicly before Congress, striking a defiant note in response to a subpoena from Republicans and setting up a potential high-stakes face-off even as a separate special counsel probe unfolds and his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for reelection.

The Democratic president’s son slammed the subpoena’s request for closed-door testimony, saying it can be manipulated. But Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, stood firm, saying Republicans expect “full cooperation” with their original demand for a deposition.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer called the inquiry a “fishing expedition,” a response in line with the more forceful legal approach he’s taken in recent months as congressional Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie his father to his business dealings.

The early-November subpoenas to Hunter Biden and others from Comer were the inquiry’s most aggressive step yet, testing the reach of congressional oversight powers.

Republicans have so far failed to uncover evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing. But questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden family’s international business, and lawmakers insist their evidence paints a troubling

picture of “influence peddling” in their business dealings, particularly with clients overseas.

Comer said Tuesday that the president’s son could testify publicly in the future, but he expects him to sit for a deposition on Dec. 13 as outlined in the subpoena.

“Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That won’t stand with House Republicans,” he said. Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, also pressed the deposition date followed by a public hearing — a timetable that would take any hearing closer to the 2024 election and heighten the political stakes for President Biden.

Hunter Biden, for his part, said his business dealings are legitimate and accused Republicans of seeking to contort his past struggles with addiction.

His attorney Abbe Lowell said in Tuesday’s letter that his client had previously offered to speak with the committee without a response. He’s willing to appear publicly rather than behind closed doors because those sessions can be selectively leaked and used to manipulate the facts, Lowell said.

“If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings,” Lowell wrote.

Hunter Biden offered to appear on Dec. 13, the date named in the subpoena, or another day next month. His uncle James Biden has also been subpoenaed, as well as former

HUNTE R Biden walks with wife Melissa Cohen as they visit shops with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden in Nantucket, Massachussets, Friday. Hunter Biden is offering to testify publicly before Congress, setting up a potential high-stakes face-off. The offer

by President Joe Biden’s son on Tuesday is in response to a subpoena from Republicans investigating his business dealings as they pursue an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president.

Photo: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP business associate Rob lawsuits against Repub- difficult as Hunter Biden Biden did nothing wrong.

Hunter Biden is charged Walker. The subpoenas lican allies of former continues to fight both the are bitterly opposed by President Donald Trump congressional probe and a with three firearms feloDemocrats, and the White who have traded and criminal case into the next nies related to the 2018 House called for the “irre- passed around private year, and there are indica- purchase of a gun during sponsible” subpoenas to data from a laptop that tions it’s politically fraught a period he has acknowlbe withdrawn. purportedly belonged to territory for the president. edged being addicted to Rep. Jamie Raskin, him.

An October poll by The drugs. The case was filed the top Democrat on the President Biden, for Associated Press-NORC after an expected plea deal Oversight Committee, his part, has had little to Center for Public Affairs on tax evasion and gun blasted the GOP rejection say about his son’s legal Research found that 35% charges imploded during a of Hunter Biden’s offer to woes beyond that Hunter of US adults believe Joe July hearing.

No new tax charges have testify publicly on Dec. 13, did nothing wrong and he Biden personally has saying, “What the Repub- loves his son. The White done something illegal been filed, but the Juslicans fear most is sunlight House strategy has gener- with regard to the busi- tice Department special and the truth.” ally been to keep the elder ness dealings of his son. counsel overseeing the Hunter Biden’s response Biden focused on govern- An additional 33% say the long-running investigation comes as he pushes back ing and voters focused on president acted unethi- has indicated they are posagainst his detractors in his policy achievements. cally but did not violate sible in California, where court, pursuing a flurry of That could prove more the law. Just 30% say Joe he now lives.

SPORTS PAGE 11

A

s they all watched the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024 draw unfold on Monday, assistant coach Moses Johnson said they are thrilled with the pool the Bahamas national men’s basketball team was placed in.

Team Bahamas, coming off its championship victory in the Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Santiago, Argentina, in August, was selected to play in Valencia, Spain in Group B with Finland and Poland from July 2-7. Making up Group A are Lebanon, Angola and Spain.

There are three other Groups of three teams placed in two pools in Piraeus, Greece, Riga, Latvia and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Two teams from each group will advance to the semifinal stage. However, only the winners of each group will book their tickets to the 2024 Olympic Basketball Tournament in Paris, France.

Selected to play in Group B in Valencia, Spain

GO TEAM BAHAMAS: Our men’s national basketball team has been selected to play in Valencia, Spain in Group B with Finland and Poland July 2-7.

Those teams will join France, USA, Canada, Australia, South Sudan, Japan, Serbia and Germany, who have already qualified for the Olympics, scheduled for July 27 to August 11.

SEE PAGE 14

FRONT 9 GOLF TOUR IS BACK

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net THE Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy’s Front 9 golf tournament series got underway for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic this weekend at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s practice facility.

The event was the first of 10 in the series and juniors showed up in a big way on Sunday. The tourney is geared towards promoting camaraderie among the fellow golfers and helping to improve their skill sets in friendly competition.

Georgette Rolle-Harris, founder of the Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy, talked about the return of the Front 9 golf tournament series.

“The Front 9 is the tournament arm of Fourteen

Page 13

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023

Team Bahamas set for Olympic qualifier

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

NBA,

Clubs Golf Academy now that the US kids’ season is all done with the 18 events this year. We are jumping into something that is geared towards players grabbing a friend and playing in a team scramble format.

“For our newer players, who have never played in an event before but are in one of our junior programmes, this is their first time playing in the tournament so to be able to play with one of their friends has been huge and it is really good to see the magic that has been created out there,” RolleHarris said.

On Sunday, Savannah Mackey and Lucas Stokes came out with a total gross of 39 for first place. In the second position was

SEE PAGE 14

ON THE PODIUM: Samantha Mahelis and Liv Ward (right) finished first and the duo of Payton McKenzie and Tyhler Rolle (left) claimed second at the Front 9 Golf Tournament series Sunday.

NPBA ACTION: ROCKETS, REGULATORS IN THE WIN COLUMN

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net ON Monday night, the Leno Regulators and Discount Distributors Rockets pulled off wins in division one and two men’s basketball action for the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) at the CI Gibson Gymnasium.

The Leno Regulators defeated the Brandon Deli Kings 79-67 in game two of Monday’s double header.

Meanwhile, the newlynamed Michael Boshang Cooper division two Rockets blew past the Javon Medical Shockers 82-67 to earn a 15-point victory.

Division One Leading the way in scoring for the Regulators was Alexander Rolle. In more than 30 minutes of action, he dropped a game-high 27 points and pulled down 14 boards to mail in a dominant double-double.

Defensively, Rolle also stole the ball five times and on offence he shot 9-for-19 on a 47.4 per cent shooting clip.

The Kings jumped ahead by six in the opening quarter behind the efforts of Levanti Roberts, who finished with 17 points and four rebounds in the contest.

Despite the Kings having a 22-16 advantage going into the second quarter, Trujillo Darville Jr knocked down a go-ahead three pointer to make the score 30-26 in favour of the Regulators.

The lead changed on multiple occasions but two made free throws by Roberts put the Kings up 38-34 going into halftime.

The third period began and the Regulators took over and extended the lead by 10 (53-43) as the Kings fell behind. They ended the quarter 60-52. In the final quarter, it was all the Regulators as the Kings never managed to regain their footing in the game and fell to their opponents.

Division Two The division two Rockets had three players score in double digits to help drop the Shockers by 15. Quebell Martin and Kevin Rolle poured in 16 points apiece in the NPBA regular season game.

SEE PAGE 13

Rolle-Valente enjoying her career as pro bodybuilder

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net ALTHOUGH there was a big separation in between her performances, former Bahamian female teenage middle distance runner Kim Rolle-Valente is now making waves as a married mother as she flexes her physique on stage as a highly acclaimed British professional bodybuilder.

Rolle-Valente, a former employee of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, based in London, has been rising in the United Kingdom for the past 23 years, and started competing in bodybuilding 18 months ago.

As determined as she was when she competed in track and field as a teenager, Rolle-Valente excelled so fast in such a short period

KIM Rolle-Valente at the World Championships. of time that she got her pro card late last year at the WNBF Super Naturals UK Championships.

“Winning my pro card was my proudest moment because this was achieved after only six months of

competing in this sport,” she pointed out. “This gave me the confidence boost I needed to go further in this sport as a natural athlete.”

At the ICN World Bodybuilding Championships in Perugia, Italy, November 3-5, competing as part of the UK team, RolleValente not only won the Sports Model World Champion title, but also placed second in the Classic Figure and Figure Open classes amongst a very competitive line-up of amazing athletes from around the world.

“Having won the ICN UK championships this past October and selected to represent the UK team in Italy at the ICN World Championships, was an honour,” Rolle-Valente stated.

SEE PAGE 13

PAGE 12, Wednesday, November 29, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

2023 BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

Villanova Wildcats endure Memphis’ big run, win 79-63

Photos by Dante Carrer PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — TJ Bamba scored 13 points and all of Villanova’s starters scored in double figures in beating Memphis 79-63 in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Friday.

Villanova used a 12-0 run late in the first half to lead by as many as 30 and led by 35 midway through

the second half. At that point, Memphis, which shot just 15% in the first half, responded with a press and 21 unanswered points on 9-of-11 shooting led

by Jahvon Quinerly’s nine points to get within 14 with 4 1/2 minutes to go before the monster rally ended.

Justin Moore, Tyler Burton and Eric Dixon scored 11 points each and

Mark Armstrong had 10 for Villanova.

The Wildcats (6-1) made 13 of 35 3-point attempts, three apiece from Bamba and Moore.

Burton had a game-high nine rebounds.

David Jones scored 13 points, Quinery 12 and Caleb Mills 10 for the Tigers (5-1), who made only 7 of 25 from the arc.

TITLE GAME: Villanova Wildcats celebrate after adding a third Battle 4 Atlantis title to their collection after they triumphed 79-63 over the University of Memphis Tigers in the championship game at the Atlantis resort’s Imperial Arena, Paradise Island.

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Wednesday, November 29, 2023, PAGE 13

Bucks beat Heat to win group, Celtics, Knicks also advance in NBA In-Season Tournament

MILWAUKEE Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat last night in Miami.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

MIAMI (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Damian Lillard added 32 and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 131124 last night and clinch a home quarterfinal game in the NBA In-Season Tournament.

Khris Middleton scored 17, Malik Beasley had 16 and Brook Lopez added 12 for the Bucks, who won East Group B with a 4-0 record. They’ll host wildcard New York on either December 4 or 5, with East Group C winner Boston going to Group A winner Indiana for the other quarterfinal before the Final Four in Las Vegas.

Bam Adebayo scored 31 points for the Heat, who got 21 from Kyle Lowry and 20 from Josh Richardson. Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Caleb Martin each scored 14 and Duncan Robinson added 13 for the Heat.

KNICKS 115, HORNETS 91 NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle had 25 points and 20 rebounds,

City in the NBA In-Season Tournament.

Edwards had 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter to lead the Timberwolves back from a deficit they faced for most of the first half, before landing hard on his right side during a dunk attempt and leaving the game in pain.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points on 13-for-22 shooting for the Thunder.

His 37-foot try to tie at the buzzer, his only 3-point attempt of the night, was well off the mark.

Brown made one of two foul shots with 4.5 seconds left to give the Thunder an opening.

NETS 115, RAPTORS 103 NEW YORK (AP) — Spencer Dinwiddie scored 23 points to lead Brooklyn over Toronto Raptors to win its third straight, but was knocked out of the NBA In-Season Tournament.

Bridges was one of five players to finish in doublefigure scoring for Brooklyn (9-8).

RJ Barrett scored 16 points and New York advanced to the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament with a victory over Charlotte.

The Knicks missed their chance to win Group B when the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Miami Heat to finish unbeaten in pool play.

But the Knicks took the wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference by tiebreaker because of their point differential in the preliminary round.

The Knicks will visit the Bucks, the East’s No. 1 seed, either Monday or Tuesday.

Reserves Immanuel Quickley scored 23 points and Josh Hart chipped in 17 as the New York bench outscored Charlotte’s 50-35.

CAVALIERS 128, HAWKS 105 CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 40 points, Evan Mobley added 17 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, and Cleveland completed pool play in the NBA

In-Season Tournament with a win over Atlanta.

The Cavs finished 3-1 and in second place in East Group A. They had to win to have any chance of capturing a wild-card entry, but needed four other teams to lose and ultimately fell short of advancing by point differential.

Still, the Cavs are getting healthy and Mitchell had his best performance (14 of 25, 11 rebounds) in weeks and did it in a meaningful game — by regular-season standards.

Darius Garland added 19 points.

De’Andre Hunter scored 18 for the Hawks, who went 1-3 in the tourney.

Trae Young added 13 on 3-of-14 shooting and had 10 assists.

TIMBERWOLVES 106, THUNDER 103 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, reserve Troy Brown Jr. scored 17 points and Minnesota withstood an injury to Anthony Edwards to beat Oklahoma

Mikal Bridges scored 22 points, Cam Johnson and Royce O’Neale had 18 apiece, and Nic Claxton chipped in with 15.

CELTICS 124, BULLS 97 BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Jayson Tatum had 21 and Boston routed Chicago to advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament.

The Celtics won a threeteam tiebreaker with Orlando and Brooklyn via point differential to take Group C and earn the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

They are scheduled to visit the No. 2 Indiana Pacers next week.

The Celtics made a season-high 21 3-pointers, getting four each from Al Horford and Jrue Holiday.

All five Boston starters scored in double figures.

Horford finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Holiday, who returned after missing two games with a sprained right ankle, had 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Pro bodybuilder Rolle-Valente enjoying career FROM PAGE 11 “Not only did I walk away with a world championship title, but placed second in both the Classic Figure and Open Figure classes amongst a very competitive field of athletes from around the world.”

The 48-year-old, married to Riccardo Valente, an Italian national currently residing in the UK and the mother of Alessandro Valente, 18, and Sofia Valente, 9, said her goal in competing in the sport is primarily to provide an inspiration to other women who think it’s too late to pursue their goals and interests.

At the age of 18, RolleValente left the Bahamas to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business management at Rust College in Holly Springs Mississippi.

While at Rust College, she applied for and won the Tambrands Tampax Marketing Internship Scholarship, worth USD $15,000, amongst a very competitive entry of over 40 young women from colleges/universities across the United States.

“I worked in the sales and marketing programme for Tambrands in New York, gaining hands on experience in the marketing, production, sales and distribution of their products,” she said.

“On completing my degree in 1994, I applied and was then awarded the Northern Ireland Methodist Scholarship Foundation award to further my studies at the University of Ulster, Coleraine Northern Ireland.

“While in Northern Ireland, I pursued courses in humanities. This led me to pursue my master’s degree at Trinity College, Dublin Ireland, where I graduated in 1999 with a masters of philosophy degree.”

In 1999, Rolle-Valente returned to The Bahamas and eight months later was offered a position with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism as marketing executive based in the UK office.

In 2005, after having her first child, she resigned to start her own travel

business, Bahamas Flavour, but still worked closely with the Bahamas Tourist Office, London in promoting the Islands of The Bahamas.

After working in travel for 16 years, she decided to change career paths and qualified as a level 3 personal trainer and cognitive behavioural therapist and currently owns a fitness business - Squat2Fit, where she works 1-2-1 with clients.

“In 2017, I returned to athletics as a masters athlete and competed in many track events in the UK. In March 2020 I won the British Masters Indoor long jump and silver in the 60m sprints,” Rolle-Valente recalled.

“I was due to represent team GB at the European Championships in Portugal in March 2020. However, COVID-19 came and everything got cancelled. As a result, I wanted to focus my attention on a different sport and decided on bodybuilding. I found a coach initially to guide me through the training and nutrition process. However, I currently coach myself.”

Rolle-Valente competed in her first bodybuilding competition in May 2022 and after securing the victory, she then competed in several more competitions across the UK with over seven natural bodybuilding federations.

“I am happy to say that within my first year of competing, I won six championship titles, three overall titles, two pro cards and most recently ICN World Sports Model Championship title. This achievement meant so much to me because I coached myself through these championships.”

As she reflects on what has been a very competitive stint in the sport over the past two seasons, RolleValente is currently in off season training and bulking up to bring a bigger and better package to the bodybuilding stage in 2024.

“I hope to compete in the World Championships and also UK championships with a few federations next year,” she summed up.

“However, it would be an absolute privilege and

A JUBILANT Kim Rolle-Valente reacts to her winning performance in this collage. honour to compete in The Bahamas with the Bahamas Bodybuilding Federation.”

Rolle-Valente is the third child of four to the late Edwin Rolle Jr, from Mt Thompson, Exuma, who was an architect and business owner and Elizabeth Alexandra Turnquest-Rolle from Long Island.

She has two older brothers Oran and Edwin Rolle and one sister Nahkeisha Rolle-Williams.

She is a 1992 graduate of St. Anne’s High School where she participated in track and field in both the 400 and 800 metres and was a member of the CARIFTA team in the early 1990s.

At the age of 16, she won the Miss Bahamas Talented Teen Scholarship Pageant and represented The Bahamas at the Hal Jackson’s Talented Teens, New York City where she was a top 10 finalist and in 1993, she again represented the Bahamas at the Miss Black Teenage World Scholarship Achievement Programme in Greensborough North Carolina, where she won the title.

TO ADVERTISE TODAY IN THE TRIBUNE CALL @ 502-2394

SPORTS CALENDAR BASKETBALL SMALL SCHOOLS LEAGUE THE Bahamas Scholastic Athletic Association continued its basketball regular season action on Monday at The Hope Center located at University Commons and Bahama Games Blvd.

Primary Boys Genesis 34, Freedom 28: Caz Bethel scored 11 points in the win, but Christopher Strachan led the attack for the losers with a game high 22 points.

Primary Girls Teleos 11, Freedom 6: Evans Pierre scored six points to pace the winners.

Kylida Green had two points in the loss.

Junior Girls Teleos 11, Akhepran 0: Shernise Ferguson scored four points to lead the winners.

Junior Boys ISBET 40, Freedom 32: Zhyon Thompson scored 19 points in the win.

Joevard Wright had a game high 20 in the loss.

Senior Boys Teleos 51, Boost Academy 12: Kenny Blanfort scored 17 points in the win.

Shiloh Munroe had 10 points in the loss.

NPBA MONDAY RECAP: LENO REGULATORS, DISCOUNT DISTRIBUTORS ROCKETS EARN WINS FROM PAGE 11 Martin was efficient on offence. He made four of his nine baskets and canned seven shots at the charity stripe.

The ball game was tightly-contested between the division two teams as the Shockers were only able to create a three-point separation on the scoreboard (21-18) after the first quarter.

The second quarter began and the Rockets quickly evened the score at 25 following a smooth layup by Kevin Rolle.

They capitalised on their opportunities and went up by seven (38-31) to close out the half.

The Shockers were back on top again after the third quarter leading 58-53, but after a made two-pointer by Quiandre Robsinson at 1:59 the Rockets were too far ahead on the scoreboard.

The Rockets outrebounded the Shockers 72 to 47 on the glass.

Lamont McPhee posted a 26 points and 11 rebound double-double in a losing effort.

Additionally, his fellow teammate Joshua Anderson scored 20 points, reeled in eight rebounds and stole the ball four times in the game.

On Wednesday, the Sand Dollar High Flyers face off against the BIBT Great Whites in division two action at 7:30pm.

Division one will feature the Island Development Rebels versus the Sand Dollar High Flyers at 8:30pm.

Nov 2023

BASKETBALL MARVIN HENFIELD BASKETBALL COACH Marvin Henfield has announced that his *After-School Basketball Trainings* and *Saturday Basketball Classes* will be completed this month as follows: Saturday, December 16th Saturday Basketball closes for Christmas.

Monday, December 18th - MHB Winter Fun Week begins, Dynamic Winter Training Camp UÊ 7 ÌiÀÊ ÎÝÎÊ >à iÌL> Ê i>}ÕiÊ v ÀÊ ALL After-School Athletes & Public UÊ I/ iÃ\Ê > Ê Ì Ê £Ó« IÊ QÈÞÀÃÊ Ì Ê 11yrs] UÊI£« ÊÌ Ê{« IÊÊQ£Ó³ÊÞi>ÀÃR UÊ I{Ê >ÞÃÊ " ÞIÊ Q iV°Ê £nÌ Ê Ì Ê iV°Ê 21st] Thursday, December 21 at 4pm After-School Basketball closes.

Friday, December 22-Saturday, January 5, 2024, all trainings sessions will be closed.

Saturday, January 6, 2024 at10:05am, Saturday Basketball Re-Opens Monday, January 8, 2024 - AfterSchool Basketball Re-Opens

PAGE 14, Wednesday, November 29, 2023

GOLF

FROM PAGE 11 Jervarie Dawkins and his sister Jermany Dawkins with 42 in flight one. Flight two saw the duo of Samantha Mahelis and Liv Ward round up a total gross of 38 for first place. The duo was followed by Payton McKenzie and Tyhler Rolle who finished second with 40.

In flight three, Sarah Scheidecker and Zara Greaves emerged victorious with 32. The sibling tandem of Zaire and Zion Poitier ended in second with 34. Third place went to Jamiah Miller and Janai Miller with 35.

Liam Bethel and Luca Greaves notched 39 at Sunday’s event for first place honours.

Meanwhile, Antoine Roberts and Treilon Stuart collected second place with 44 for flight four.

Rolle-Harris said the tournament will be very beneficial for the young golfersm especially those joining forces with their usual competitors.

“We have some brothersister duos, and teenage juniors that played with younger juniors who were their mentors at this point.

We want this to be a huge

learning ground. I think this benefits some of the players who have close skill levels and paired together because they have been learning how to hit different shots from each other,” “Typically, they are in an environment where they compete against each other but now we are really seeing them further develop friendships,” she said.

Zachary Landry and Maximilien Demole took flight five with a total of 32.

Briland Cunningham and Hugo Johnston were tied for second with William Mahelis and Juan Pedro Viana.

For flight six, Londyn Strachan and Maddison Carroll came first.

Hailey Hall and Annaleigh Deveaux wrapped up in second and the duo of Zeden Poitier and Anissa Robinson earned third.

Rylee Cunnigham and Naomi Cole totalled 37 for a first place finish in flight seven. Benjamin Cole and Gideon Cole took the second podium spot with 42 and Adelyn and Eloise Amorello-Bradley were third.

Flight eight went to Daliah Hamilton-Knowles and Shane Gibson with 26 and Kaleah Brown and

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WINNERS of the Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy’s Front 9 golf tournament series which underway for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic this weekend at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s practice facility. The event was the first of 10 in the series and juniors showed up in a big way on Sunday.

Payton Haye nabbed first for flight nine.

“We have 10 events from now through March for the kids to play in, some are scrambles, we have a couple of drive, chip and

putt events. We are just trying to create a space for newer golfers to develop their games or just to have a little bit of fun during the off tournament season,” she said.

Tiger Woods sounds more optimistic about his game than a Saudi deal getting done on time

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer TIGER Woods sounded more optimistic about playing golf next year than he did about the PGA Tour finalising a deal with Saudi Arabia or private investors by the end of the year.

Woods addressed reporters yesterday for the first time in nearly eight months, and so much has happened since then — fusion surgery on his right ankle that kept him out of golf, the PGA Tour’s shocking agreement with the backers of LIV Golf and his decision to join the PGA Tour board for the first time in his career.

He is playing the Hero World Challenge, his holiday event in the Bahamas for 20 top players. Woods said his ankle — but not the rest of his body — is painfree and even suggested he hopes that he can play once a month next year, starting with the Genesis Invitational at Riviera.

Woods was most candid about his frustration that he and other players were blindsided by the secret negotiations by PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and two high-profile

OLYMPIC QUALIFIER FROM PAGE 11

Johnson, an assistant coach on the staff that is led

by Chris DeMarco, an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors, said the draw is just what the Bahamas Basketball Federation needed to be in a position to participate in its best chance ever as a team to qualify for the Olympics. “We are happy where we are placed.

We are confident that we can compete in that group and we’re looking forward to starting the process for July 2024,” Johnson said.

“The coaching staff is ecstatic, the players are ecstatic, but it’s more than just being pleased about where we ended up in the group. We now have to put our mind towards competing in that group and getting to the top of the group because only that one team that raises to the

board members that led to the agreement announced June 6 with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

“We were very frustrated with what happened and we took steps going forward to ensure that the player involvement ... we were not going to be left out of the process like we were,” he said. “So part of that process was putting me on the board and accepting that position.”

He also expressed faith in Monahan as one reason he agreed to join the board, “what he can do going forward and what can’t happen again.”

He was far more vague on details, not surprising since the board negotiations are private. Woods said only there were options, a lot of moving parts and that all sides were working aggressively toward finalising a deal.

“All the parties are talking and we’re aggressively working on trying to get a deal done,” he said.

“We’re all trying to make sure that the process is better, too. So the implementation of governance is one of the main topics occasion will be left standing to head into Paris.”

Matched against Poland and Finland, Johnson said Team Bahamas will have to play basketball for 48 minutes and be prepared to go toe-to-toe with their rivals when it counts the most down the stretch.

“Those are tough, gritty teams. Poland might not have a bunch of superstars that people think, but they have guys who play at a high level in Europe, so we are not playing any slouch. We have to play for 48 minutes.

“And with Finland, they have a pretty good team, led

by Lauri Markkanen (who plays for the Utah Jazz in the NBA). We just have to prepare for them. We feel we have a chance to be in every game when it counts down the stretch, especially with having Eric Gordon returning.”

In preparation for the tournament, Moses said the BBF and the coaching staff will be looking at assembling the best 12 players to play.

TIGER WOODS, left, congratulates his son Charlie Woods, right, after finishing the 18th hole during the first round of the PNC Championship golf tournament on December 17, 2022, in Orlando, Florida. Woods and his son are returning to play in this year’s tournament for the fourth straight year.

(AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski) (along) with getting the agreement announced in deal done, but making sure June set a December 31 it’s done the right way.” deadline to be finalised, The agreement for a though there was a clause for-profit commercial enter- that it could be extended. prise was with PIF and the “I am confident a deal European tour. will get done in some way,” Now there are five pri- Woods said. “Whether vate equity groups wanting that comes December 31 to get involved, such as or is pushed back, all sides Fenway Sports Group and understand we’re working a Friends of Golf, a group together.” that includes Henry Kravis Among the topics is a and George Roberts. The fair pathway back to the

tour for LIV players who want to return, and where team golf can fit in. He said the future appeared just as murky for those working on the agreement as it might seem to those on the outside.

“There’s a lot of moving parts on how we’re going to play, whether it’s here on the PGA Tour or it’s merging or team golf,” he said.

“There’s a lot of different aspects that are being thrown out there all at once and we are trying to figure all that out and what is the best solution for all parties and best solution for all the players that are involved.”

Among moving parts is his ankle, which appears to be moving just fine.

Woods said it was a matter of time before he would have needed ankle replacement surgery or fusion, and he chose the latter in April a few weeks after he made the cut at the Masters but then withdrew.

“I don’t have any of the ankle pain that I had with the hardware that’s been placed in my foot. That’s all gone,” Woods said.

“The other parts of my body, my knee hurts, my back. The forces go

A LOOK AT THE QUALIFYING FIELDS PIRAEUS, GREECE Group A: Slovenia (11), New Zealand (21), Croatia (30) Group B: Egypt (41), Greece (14), Dominican Republic (18) VALENCIA, SPAIN Group A: Lebanon (28), Angola (34), Spain (2) Group B: Finland (20), Poland (15), Bahamas (57) RIGA, LATVIA Group A: Georgia (23), Philippines (38), Latvia (8) Group B: Brazil (12), Cameroon (67), Montenegro (17) SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO Group A: Mexico (25), Ivory Coast (33), Lithuania (10) Group B: Italy (13), Puerto Rico (16), Bahrain (69) “This is the highest level that we’ve ever been in basketball and so the coaching staff will be looking at getting the best 12 players together over the next few months,” he stated. “We will try to name a squad of about 24 players and from that, we will select the best 12 to represent the country. It was such an honour to hear the commentators say that this is the only time that the Bahamas will play at the Qualifying Tournament and to hear them say that the Bahamas has never

been to the Olympics, but they are no pushover.”

In their quest to assemble the best 12 players, Johnson said the federation is looking at taking a team to play in the Americas Cup in February, which will serve as a tune-up as the Bahamas competes against Puerto Rico in a home and away series. “We are reaching out to all of our corporate partners in the Bahamas to help us assemble this team,” Johnson stated. “We want them to come on board and assist us because this is no

easy feat to get to the Olympics. “We just hope that persons can start wrapping their minds around how they can assist the federation and the team and so if there are persons out there interested, we are asking them to reach out to us because we need the financial support of everybody to accomplish this goal.”

Team Bahamas, behind the NBA trio of newly acquired Gordon (from the Phoenix Suns), Grand Bahamian Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield (Indiana Pacers) and

somewhere else. Just like when I had my back fused, the forces have to go somewhere. So it’s up the chain.”

He said he was “just as curious as all of you” how he would play against a 20-man field in the Bahamas, though he said walking 90 holes (including the proam) would not be an issue.

Woods has been saying for years that his schedule would be drastically reduced because of so many surgeries. He sounded far more optimistic going into 2024, suggesting an ideal scenario of once a month, still uncertain if that’s realistic. Such a schedule might include Riviera in February, The Players Championship in March and the majors in April, May, June and July.

“This week is a big step in that direction,” he said.

The other direction is working toward a finalised deal by the end of the year, or soon thereafter. Woods also is seen as a top candidate to be the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain for Bethpage Black in 2025.

He said his time is consumed with board duties and he’s not willing to entertain any thoughts on the Ryder Cup just yet.

DeAndre Ayton (Portland Trail Blazers), won their Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Santiago del Estero, Argentina in August.

In the championship game, Team Bahamas knocked off Argentina 82-75 to earn the rights to play in the Olympic Qualifier. The teams won 78-62 over Uruguay in the semifinal.

Other members of Team Bahamas were Dominick Bridgewater, Franco Miller Jr, Rashad Davis, Travis Munnings, Lourawls Nairn Jr, Kentwan Smith, Jaraun Burrows, Garvin Clarke and Davis Nesbitt. “We expect that all of the players who were at the qualifying tournament to return,” Johnson said. “We are looking at trying to do some more stuff to beef up the team a bit. “We will look at the eligibility clause of some other players and see what we can do. We just want to be able to put the best 12 players on the floor that the Bahamas has ever seen.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 29, 2023, PAGE 15

Tiger’s Hero World Challenge at Albany PGA TOUR HERO WORLD CHALLENGE Site: Nassau, Bahamas.

Course: Albany GC. Yardage: 7,449. Par: 72.

Prize money: $4.5 million.

Winner’s share: $1 million.

Television: ThursdayFriday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, noon to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-5 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1:304:30 p.m. (NBC).

Defending champion: Viktor Hovland.

FedEx Cup champion: Viktor Hovland.

Notes: Tiger Woods returns to competition for the first time since fusion surgery on his right ankle in April.

Woods last played at the Masters but withdrew after making the cut. This will be

PGA TOUR GOLF TOURNAMENT SET TO TEE OFF ON THURSDAY

TIGER WOODS the first time Woods plays his holiday event since 2019.

The tournament has a 20-man field and is sanctioned by the PGA Tour, though it is unofficial. It receives world ranking

points because of criteria that everyone be ranked inside the top 50. ... There is an exemption for the tournament host (Woods). ...

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele withdrew from the original list of players.

The field includes Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa and Collin Morikawa.

Hovland is going for his third straight victory in the tournament. Scheffler has been runner-up both times.

Woods is the only other player to win back-to-back since the event began in 2000.

Next tournament: The Sentry on Jan. 4-7.

WOODS AND SON TO PLAY IN PNC CHAMPIONSHIP AGAIN

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer TIGER Woods is returning to the PNC Championship, the 36-hole event that has become one of his favourites because of his partner: His son.

Woods and 14-year-old Charlie are playing the PNC Championship for the fourth straight year, the one tournament he has not missed during the last injury-plagued four years.

“It is an amazing gift to be able to share my love of golf with Charlie and we genuinely do look forward to playing in the PNC Championship all years,” Woods said.

“Competing together, against a field of so many golfing greats and their families, is so special.”

The PNC Championship is December 16-17 at

the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando at Grande Lakes.

Woods and son were runner-up in 2021, just 10 months after Woods badly damaged his right leg and ankle in a car crash in Los Angeles.

CHARLIE They finWOODS ished seventh in their 2020 debut and tied for eighth last year.

Because the PNC Championship is run by the PGA Tour Champions, Woods is allowed to ride in a cart.

The tournament is for major champions or winners of The Players Championship. It began as a father-son outing and now has gone modern, with tour players having sons and daughters, grandchildren,

even parents as their partners. New to the field this year is a formidable pair of Steve Stricker, who won three of the four majors he played on the PGA Tour Champions this year, and daughter Izzi, a state high school champion in Wisconsin.

Padraig Harrington is playing for the sixth year, this time with youngest son Ciaran instead of Paddy.

“It was actually Ciaran watching Paddy and I play together out there these last couple of years that really ignited his passion for the game, which shows what a very special event this is,” Harrington said.

“He must have watched me play in hundreds of events over the years and it has taken the unique atmosphere and experience of the PNC Championship to inspire him!”