12092020 NEWS AND SPORT

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VOLUME:118 No.13, DECEMBER 9, 2020

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INSIDE: BUMPER PUZZLER PULLOUT FOR ALL THE FAMILY

Oil firm told ‘we’ll see you in court’ Activists blame minister for late action - as company says it could cost them $500m

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ACTIVISTS yesterday launched a bid for a judicial review to halt oil drilling in Bahamian waters - and claimed they were told by a minister that oil drilling would never happen.

Waterkeepers Bahamas and the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay said they were “misled” by Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira at a meeting in May, 2018, that permission would never be given for offshore oil dilling in The Bahamas.

Bahamas Petroleum Company’s Bahamian attorneys said the company

would incur costs “in excess of $16m” if forced to halt plans to drill its Perserverance One well at the 11th hour. The drilling ship, the Stena Icemax, is already on its way to The Bahamas.

Attorney Leif Farquharson said: “The need to seek further authority could cost BPC a further $15m in direct costs, and could cause vastly greater indirect and consequential economic harm to BPC, which is estimated to be in the order of up to $500m.”

Activists claim environment impact studies “fall far short” of what is required by law.

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION Minister Elsworth Johnson said yesterday he is not aware of any abuses happening at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre despite claims that several asylum seekers are being deprived of certain rights in contravention of Bahamian law.

However, he noted that if such injustices are being done, those workers responsible will be dealt with accordingly.

His comments to the press came after Human Rights Bahamas over the

weekend raised alarm about the alleged illegal detainment of several Cameroonians at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

According to the activists, the group sought to take refuge in the Bahamas after fleeing war-torn Cameroon in Central Africa out of fear of their lives after having experienced many injustices there.

Rights Bahamas claimed the Cameroonians have been detained at the Detention Centre for long periods of time that contravene the laws of this country.

SEE PAGE THREE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AS the United Kingdom became the first nation to start to vaccinate its citizens against COVID-19 yesterday, Health Minister Renward Wells said the government is currently engaged in its own talks with several vaccine producers.

He said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is “leading the charge” on those discussions and added the government will not import any vaccine that will put people at risk.

He reiterated that the Bahamas remains on the “queue” to receive 80,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine whenever it becomes available, which the government has already made a $250,000 down payment towards.

SEE PAGE FOUR

TECHNOLOGY APPLE UNVEILS HEADPHONES TWICE THE PRICE OF AIRPODS

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

MINISTER ‘NOT AWARE’ OF DETENTION CENTRE ABUSES

WELLS: WE’RE IN TALKS TO BUY VACCINES

SEE PAGE NINE

‘I SURVIVED COVID - BUT I’M STILL FIGHTING TO RECOVER’ HENRY Dean caught COVID-19 nearly two months ago. His condition got so bad that he had to be hospitalised. Now, after beating the virus, he tells The Tribune of how he is still struggling to breathe normally even weeks later. He’s not alone - with a number of recovered patients experiencing longterm effects. See page five for the full story.

HUNDREDS OF PLEA DEALS SINCE JANUARY

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has facilitated 274 guilty plea bargains since January 2016 as part of an unprecedented push to alleviate the burden on the judicial system through these arrangements.

The plea deals include 16 for murder, 18 for attempted murder, 25 for manslaughter, 80 for armed robbery and 40 for unlawful sexual intercourse.

SEE PAGE FIVE

MAN GUNNED DOWN IN NASSAU VILLAGE A MAN is dead after he was shot in the Nassau Village area last night.

“Around 8.30pm, police received reports of a shooting incident on Forbes Street, Nassau Village,” ASP Audley Peters said at the scene. “A unit responded, and on the arrival of the officers, they met a male lying on the ground with apparent gunshot wounds.”

EMS pronounced the man dead at the scene.

A BODY is taken from the scene of last night’s shooting.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh

“Investigations reveal that a small vehicle was combing the area and it stopped (at) the intersection of Forbes Street and Lawson Avenue,” ASP Peters said. “A male exited the vehicle armed with a firearm and discharged it in the direction of the victim, hitting him.”

The victim appears to be in his 20s and was shot multiple times, he said.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE TWO

WHAT ABOUT THE PROBLEMS FACING MEN?

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Wednesday, December 9, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

MAN GUNNED DOWN IN NASSAU VILLAGE from page one

His identity was not known up to press time.

According to the police press liaison officer, there was no information initially suggesting the killing is gang-related or that it is connected to any recent homicides.

Last night’s homicide came after two men were killed last week.

One of the victims was shot dead on East Street on Friday night.

Around 9.35pm, officers received reports of a shooting at a business south of

Soldier Road.

When they arrived at the scene, they found a large gathering outside the business and were directed to the body of the man on the ground.

Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

Last Thursday, Alfred Bastian Jr, aka “Halfman”, 33, was fatally wounded during a shooting incident at a home in Cooper’s Terrace.

Police are appealing for anyone with information on these shootings to contact the Criminal Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS (847).

POLICE on the scene of last night’s shooting.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh

Dames: We can keep law and order

IN this image taken from video, masked gunmen are seen running into a home brandishing weapons. It appears to be the residence off Kemp Road where Alfred Bastian Jr was shot dead on Thursday of last week.

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AMID a spate of gun violence and fears of a gang war, National Security Minister Marvin Dames expressed confidence that the police force can maintain law and order.

Asked by a reporter about concerns of a “gang war” in retaliation to the shooting death of a man killed off Kemp Road last week, Mr Dames said: “I’m certain the commissioner of police and his officers have that or anything else related to (those concerns) in hand.

“Listen, this is the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) is charged with the business of maintaining law and order and they take that very seriously.

“The police have a very robust intelligence arm.

They have tremendous response capability and I have no concern about their ability to maintain law and order in this country.”

His statements came as a surveillance video showing masked gunmen running into a home while firing their weapons made the rounds on social media yesterday.

In the beginning of the video, two men run into the home blazing with gunfire. Seconds later, one of the assailants leaves the house and heads into the street, calling for his accomplice to leave. The gunman is then joined by two other masked men outside the home before the group escapes.

The home in the video appears to be the Coopers Terrace residence off

Kemp Road where Alfred “Halfman” Bastian Jr was shot dead on Thursday, December 3. The video was recorded by someone watching the footage on a computer monitor that bore the date December 4.

Police spokespersons could not say if the video showed the murder in question nor would they confirm social media claims that four men had been arrested for the crime.

According to police, initial reports indicated that a group of people were gathered in front of the residence when a small vehicle pulled up and four men got out of the vehicle armed with firearms.

“The assailants discharged the weapons in the direction of the group injuring the male who succumbed on (the) scene,” police reported.

PLEA FOR MORE FOOD AID IN BAIN AND GRANTS TOWN OFFICIALS from the Feeding Bain Grants Town project said they are bracing for a significant increase in the demand for food assistance by residents in the months ahead.

Operating since March when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, the feeding initiative is a partnership between Mt Olive Baptist Church and the Bain Grants Town Advancement Association.

Although initially designed to provide supplementary food to residents of the Over-the-Hill area, people from throughout New Providence and some of the Family Islands have benefitted from the more than 12,000 food packages distributed to date, organisers said.

Rev C B Moss, director of the project, expects that

going forward the need for assistance will become more critical for a number of reasons, including the cutback or closure of some of the previous donor entities.

Additionally, official identification is required from recipients by some providers which forces a large number of undocumented immigrants to rely on the Feeding Bain Grants Town project which requires no identification, organisers of the programme said.

Rev Moss thanked those who have donated to the initiative so far, but says more help is needed.

He said food or financial assistance should be sent to Mt Olive Baptist Church. Interested donors are asked to call 325-7909 or 328-8984.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 9, 2020, PAGE 3

FNM ‘wants to solve Pinewood flooding’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer said the government wants to solve Pinewood Gardens’ flooding problems, but suggested challenges faced by the Minnis administration had slowed progress on outstanding issues.

Pinewood MP Reuben Rahming said on Monday he will not support another budget that “neglects” his constituency and does not include financing to address long standing flooding issues in the area.

Mr Rahming said while he believes Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is the best person to lead the country, he does not “blindly support” the Free National Movement.

He told Parliament he does not want to be put in a position to choose between his constituents and party loyalty, saying in that case, the government would “lose against my conviction”.

In response, Mr Culmer said he was certain when all was said and done, Mr Rahming would be “happy”.

“As you are aware, Pinewood has been a problem from it was built almost

30 years (ago) and you are aware of the challenges this FNM administration has seen since coming into governance,” Mr Culmer said.

“We have had two major hurricanes and a serious pandemic that we are still working through. We support all of our MPs and we want to fix Pinewood Gardens.

“It should have never happened, but at the end of the day the problem is ours and we’ll face it.

“The thing is that it is something that I think the government will sit down and discuss with him and I think that at the end of the

‘ONE AND DONE? McALPINE IS ONE OF THEM’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net PINERIDGE MP Frederick McAlpine, pictured, predicted the course of his own future when he told Parliament that many MPs would be one term representatives following the 2022 general election, according to Free National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer yesterday.

“He’s one of them,” Mr Culmer told The Tribune. “He is one and done.”

Meanwhile, some FNM MPs yesterday urged their outspoken colleague to “speak for himself”.

On Monday, Mr McAlpine declared his intention to run in the next election no matter how the government adjusts the constituency boundaries, adding that many of his party colleagues would not be re-elected.

He went on to hint that he could run either as an independent or for another political party outside of the FNM, under whose banner he was elected in 2017.

While Mr Culmer did not respond to a question of whether the MP would be offered a nomination, he said: “He is prophesying his future.”

“He’s speaking about himself,” Mr Culmer added.

Asked about Mr McAlpine’s relationship with the FNM, Mr Culmer said: “Well he says he’s an FNM, well we’ll take it as that.

As chairman my job is to ensure all FNMs are treated fairly. So, as long as he says he’s FNM we’ll take him at his word.”

Mr McAlpine has long had a frosty relationship with the FNM. Previously he has said that there were forces within the party that wanted to see him gone.

He has also voiced frustration that the party has intentionally not included him in events and has said he has repeatedly been ignored by party leadership.

“Well, he needs to tell us how he is not being treated fairly. Furthermore, does he show up to any meetings?” Mr Culmer asked yesterday. “This goes two ways, you know. He needs to come to council. He needs to show up at the FNM meetings. He needs to show up at parliamentary meetings.

“No-one has isolated him. He’s isolated himself.”

Before Cabinet met yesterday, four MPs shrugged off Mr McAlpine’s prediction, among them Yamacraw MP Elsworth Johnson.

“Tell Mr McAlpine speak for himself, speak for himself,” Mr Johnson, who is also immigration minister, said. “I don’t know if he is some prophet, but the people will make that decision, not Mr McAlpine.”

Meanwhile, Mt Moriah MP Marvin Dames considered the assertion a joke.

“You know that’s a joke,” the national security minister said. “I mean come on we’re in the business of politics and this is

the season that we’re in.

“He is free to (make) his own comments.

I don’t know if he was referring to himself, but I know what I need to do to continue to represent the persons who would have put me into Parliament. I continue to do that to the best of my ability and that’s my only concern. I can only speak for me, what I do. Certainly, for us as a party, we continue to live up to those obligations that we would have promised the Bahamian people through our manifesto.”

Mr Dames said the Minnis administration has faced many obstacles since taking office.

“Listen we faced over the last five years probably and arguably the most difficult term of any government in the history of this country and we’re still standing.

“There are a lot of people out there hurting. That’s not a loss on us as a government.

We continue to do what we need to do to ensure that we bring relief to those persons... These are difficult times.”

He continued: “I do my part within my constituency. I continue to do so and many of our colleagues are doing the same and so the time has come for some of us who continue to go out in public and pontificate to stand up and be counted, not to use their platform to talk nonsense.”

Free Town MP Dionisio D’Aguilar added that he doesn’t “pay attention” to Mr McAlpine’s views.

He said: “I’m sure Mr McAlpine has lots of views about lots of things. I don’t pay any attention to that. Dionisio D’Aguilar (is) gonna do what Dionisio D’Aguilar (is) gonna do. So, until then...”

For his part, Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells said he did not share Mr McAlpine’s view.

“The hardest thing is to win the second time around, but I don’t share brother McAlpine’s view. He can make any sort of statement he chooses to.

“The Free National Movement has done I believe, what was necessary during this term. We are a tested, tried and proven leadership through crisis.

“Look at our record: lowest unemployment in 10 years in May, 1.8 percent deficit, more tourists to this country than any other point in time in the history of the Bahamas, 7.2m tourists, free education at BTVI, free education at COB, free pre-school education, Over-the-Hill redevelopment, tax free zones. I could go on and on as to why the Free National Movement.

“When the tale of the tape is told we will be re-elected. So, Mr McAlpine could make whatever statements he wants.”

Asked if he thought the MP should be concerned for his political future, Mr Wells said: “The Bahamian people will make that decision and all I can say is when the roll is called up yonder, I’ll know one thing, Bamboo Town will still be in the House of Assembly and the Free National Movement, Lord willing, will remain the government of this country.”

day he will be happy and we are looking forward to hearing him speaking to the next budget.”

Mr Rahming, high commissioner to CARICOM, said Pinewood had suffered an injustice for a long time and his politics doesn’t supersede his divine conscience.

“I remember every time I stand here, that this seat does not belong to the FNM, it does not belong to Reuben. This belongs to the residents of Pinewood,” he said on Monday night.

“This administration has been doing good by Pinewood and this country. I

don’t blindly support this administration no way — my conscience wouldn’t allow it.”

“I’m the kind of man I want to see the war I’m going into; I want to see the battle... don’t cover my eyes when I go. So, everything I say is blatant and deliberate and I mean it with all my heart.”

He also said: “I mean it with all my heart saying that Dr Hubert Minnis, in my opinion and I will stand alone at that until God tells me different, is the best person for this country. And I am afraid of the alternative, I really am.

“But I want my people to know that what Pinewood needs falls within the money category. So, I am speaking to each one of my Cabinet colleagues. . .Pinewood needs deliverance in this term. “We have paid into this Consolidated Fund after countless MPs after MPs and if God is going to take a simple shepherd boy (to get the job done). . .we need to do what we need to do for Pinewood.”

Mr Rahming said he has always been supportive of the government in the House of Assembly and was “calling in that debt right now”.

from page one

Department yesterday, noting that the agency has faced false accusations of abuse in the past.

“Anybody that is held and anyone that is taken in the protected custody of any agency in the Bahamas, we have a constitutional duty to protect those persons, to ensure equality before the law and to see that their rights are protected. That is what the government is obligated to do and we’re going to ensure that that happens,” he insisted to reporters.

“But what I want y’all to do sometimes is you know there were some booklets that were put out with immigration officers with firearms, attack dogs, people being beaten which I’ve said in the past are ridiculous and dishonest.”

He added: “And when I question persons as to why they would publish such lies, they indicated they were doing it for sensationalism and that’s not right.

You know I took one of your colleagues, she’s not here, into the Detention Centre and allowed her to go in almost every section.”

“I took her down in the back to let her see and inspect and it was my belief that she found just what the InterAmerican Commission

on Human Rights had said in 2019 when it commended the Bahamas for the improvement at the centre was just that.

“We have one of the best eateries that provide food for detainees and they do it very well. There’s food that the detainees eat, the immigration officers eat and I eat from the establishment so there’s no difficulties there and so we’re trying our best as a small country in the conscience of COVID-19 to do what is right and what is acceptable by the law. “ Asked whether any abuses were being done at the centre, he replied: “Not that I know of and if abuses occur, they will be dealt with. They will be dealt with and you can see from what we’ve been doing obviously led by the director and his team where we find there are abuses by the law, persons go before the courts and we have sat with IOM and many number of human rights entities to ensure that what we’re doing meets not just first with our constitutional mandate but our international treaties that we signed onto.”

Rights Bahamas has threatened to take legal action against the government over the asylum seekers’ treatment.

MINISTER ‘NOT AWARE’ OF DETENTION CENTRE ABUSES

When asked to respond to the claims outside Cabinet yesterday, Mr Johnson said he could not directly address the matter, but noted there’s a process every applicant must go through in order to obtain refugee status. He said: “I can’t speak directly to it but there’s a process that persons go through that’s internationally accepted and we’re going to go through that process and if those individuals prove to be entitled to asylum, we will see how best we could assist.

“But, it’s not always that the country where they claim asylum would sometimes give it. You look to see your capacity, or you can refer to the United Nations to see how best they can assist in these matters.

“So, we’re investigating it but as always, it’s the department’s intention and obligation to follow the law to ensure the rule of law is upheld and the dignity of everybody who finds themselves in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas is protected and so we’re doing that.”

Mr Johnson also defended the integrity of the Immigration

Private Funeral Service For

Nathaniel Arthur, 79 of Garden Hills #3, will be held on Thursday, December 10th, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at Old Trail Cemetery Old Trail Road, Nassau, Bahamas.

Officiating will be Pastor Alfred Stewart The New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church Assisted by Pastor Theophilus Claridge and Pastor Cherece Evans.

He is survived by his Sisters: Geraldine Taylor and Corinne Robinson; Nieces and their spouses: Virginia and Ian Anderson, Anthea and Irwin Pinder; Nephews and their spouses: Inspector Kellison and Eartha Taylor, Nathaniel and Carla Taylor; Great grand nieces and nephews including: Ross Anderson, Allison and Kellison Jr. Taylor, Natanya, Nathayla and Nathalie Taylor, Tyree and Inaiya Pinder; Cousins: Danzella McPhee, Hezekiah McPhee, Bethsheba Bowles, Donna Sweeting, Trinton Taylor, Christine Edgecombe, Hesselyn Fernander, and the children of Sidney, Ronald, Granville and Ralph Thompson; Friends and Family including: Jerome Coakley, Franklyn Brice, The Rolle and Collie families, Bernice Whylly, Rose McCartney and family. Friends and neighbours from Carnation Lane families, and the Rolle Avenue Family; Special thanks to: Dr. Yasmine Williams Johnson, Caregivers at Pat’s Home Hall and the many dedicated nurses who cared for him and many others too numerous to mention.

MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE! Viewing will be held in the “Serenity Suite” at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Soldier Road on Wednesday (TODAY) December 9th 2020 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, December 9, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Wells: We’re in talks to buy vaccines

from page one

TOTAL CASES TOTAL DEATHS

“The total cost is going to be about $1.6m,” he said. “We’ve already paid $250,000 of that and so we’re just waiting for the WHO (World Health Organisation) to approve whether it’s Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, I think the Chinese have about two vaccines out, the Russians have about two and a number of other countries such as Israel and other nations in Europe are developing vaccines as well, and whichever that WHO agrees to, that’s the one that we’re going to be using.”

He added: “But, The Bahamas is also in negotiations directly with the various known brands of vaccines that are being developed such as Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca.

We’re speaking to them directly. We haven’t reached out to them directly. Interestingly enough, they’ve reached out to us and we’re doing our due diligence as a nation and the Prime Minister is actually leading the charge on that. “

Mr Wells said while officials want Bahamians to take the vaccine, no one will be forced to do so. He also said the vaccine will be safe.

“You would’ve heard the prime minister say on Sunday that whatever vaccine we do get, he’ll be first in line to take the shot and so we want the Bahamian

people to know whenever it is we secure and procure the vaccine, we want them to take it,” he stressed.

“We’re not going to be bringing anything in that’s going to have a deleterious effect on our people.

We are not going to do (that) and also, we are not going to force a vaccine on anyone…That is the

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AMID rising COVID-19 cases in the United States,

Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said while officials are concerned about the number of US infections being recorded daily, they are hopeful

COVID-19 travel protocols will help minimise the threat of transported cases.

His comments came as major hotels across the country prepare to re-open

7,585 163

NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES TUESDAY 5 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE GRAND BAHAMA BERRY ISLANDS

MONDAY

3 1 1

1 CASE

NEW PROVIDENCE

TOTAL TESTS

45,112

1

HOSPITALISED

10

CASES IN ICU

1

RECOVERED

6,032

policy position the government has held with all of its vaccines.”

Yesterday, the UK became the first nation to begin vaccinating its citizens with a fully vetted and authorised Covid-19 shot, CNN reported.

The first Briton to get the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was 90-year-old Margaret Keenan. She received the first of two doses less than a week after the UK became the first country to approve use of the drug.

PAHO assistant director Dr Jarbas Barbosa has previously said the Bahamas can have access to the COVID-19 vaccinations between March and April of 2021.

Asked if the vaccinations will be made freely available to anyone who wants it, Mr Wells replied: “The vaccines in country now are all free of charge…I would like to say that based on the policy, the established policy of the government that we will continue with that free of charge seeing that we would’ve already spent the money and what it means for us as a country that we need to get

CONCERN OVER INFECTIONS IN THE US

Private Funeral Service For (Eleuthera)

Zenovia Thelma Pinder, 32 of Gregory Town, Eleuthera, will be held on Saturday, December 12th, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at Hatchet Bay Public Cemetery, Eleuthera. Officiating will be Pastor Eric Johnson, assisted by other ministers.

Left to cherish her memories are, Parents: Rev. Dr. Arnold & Faye Pinder; Son: Amari Pinder; Sisters: Taffia & Phylicia Pinder; Brothers: Arnold Jr. & Sadat Pinder; Nephew: Alkavio Pinder; Nieces: Arianna & Aiden Moultrie; Aunts & Families: Joan Horton (Travan Horton), Sherry Cooper (Nacara McKinney, Kaylissa Rolle, Kamaal Cooper), Crystal Pinder (Chrishae Daniel, Osborne Pinder Jr.) Brenda Knowles (Andira Knowles ), Ellen (deceased) & Bertram Bell (Natasha & Gerald Cartwright, Orson, Javan Belle), Priscilla Scavella (Tessa & Dexter Cambridge/ Twanna & Clement Cash, Shancola & Warren Hudson, Glennique Scavella), Joan & Steve Stubbs (Yuwonka & Frank LaFrance, Dr. Odia, Lashante & Kristna Stubbs, Tito & Jeliza Stubbs), Stephanie & Don Seymour (Devenor & Joshua Daniels, Donavon & Kimberly Seymour, Darzell & Tory Gilbert, Don Seymour Jr.), Susan & McNeil Newbold (Shurneil, Reynaldo, Maurice & Samia Newbold), Latoya & Demico Russell (Demica & Samuel Russell); Uncles & Families: Harold & Portia Rolle (Jacinta Johnson, Jawann & Jamika Rolle &), Don & Barbara Pinder (Asta Mackey, Dornio, Nikita, D’Andrea, Dianca & Donnell Pinder), Thomas & Louise Pinder (Tommika & Elvis Cooper, Crystal & Lamont Knowles, Thomas Jr. & Antonia Pinder), McClain Pinder (McClain Jr.), Howard Pinder (Joan, Howard Jr., Alpheaus & Shanterah, Summer, Fernique & Ajanae Pinder) Cephas & Antoinette Pinder (Cephia & D’Angelo Moss, Antoniqua & Cephas Jr. Pinder), Gershom & Clarissa Pinder (Gershanda, Jasmine, Jewel & Shomara Pinder); Grand Aunts & Families: Annie & Thomas Mingo (Tony & Kencene Mingo, Kelvin & Alisa Mingo, Pamela & Perris Armaly), Edith (deceased) & James Smith (Michelle & Sherwin Fernander), Lorrie Valadum, Verna Grant; Grand Uncles & Families: Hon. Oswald Ingraham (deceased) & Marie Ingraham (Terry, Wayne & Regina, Dwight Ingraham, Wendy & Rodney Cleare, Jackie & Andrew McCartney, Velma & Michael Dorsett), Robert & Evelyn Deal, Gordon, Richard & Joseph Deal, The late Clerance & Yvonne Pinder (Darren, Jeffrey, Trevor & Worell Pinder, Deserina Johnson, Dorcey Pinder); Godchild: Malacious Davis; Godparents: Mrs. Olivia Daxon, Mrs. Maybel Gibson, Mrs. Rosie Hudson, Bishop Samuel & First lady Betty Higgs, Ms. Susan Hanna, Mrs. Cynthia BarryWalker, Mrs. Melrose Stuart-Albury; Special Friends: Shenal Kemp, kenya Adderley, Tameka Rahming, Madlene Nesbitt, Fedra Symonette, Brakera Taylor, Monique Cooper, Jan Gardner & Tiffany Wilson; Other Relatives and friends including: Emmerson Hurton, Yvonne Ingrahm, George & Pearl Edwards, Glen & Helenia Edwards, Jason & Vernetta Edwards, Jewel Edwards, David & Sterlene Morley, Kenneth & Kafie Morley, Ferne & Ed Scott, Hervis, Sam, Kino & Kenric Cartwright, Karen Smith, Melanie Godet, Dorothy Bethel & family, William Johnson & Family, Rosie Outten & family, Eris Jr., Marion, Phil and Phillippa, Robert Ingraham, Merlene Clarke & family, Van Oldham, Halson Neely, Konto & Candy Miller, Densel & Javon Richards, Pastor Vaughn Symonette, Gurtude Saunders & family, Mariam Forbes & family, Terryann Gardner & family, Charmaine Alday. Gwendolyn Francis & family, Katherine Pinder-Gierszewski, Glen Scavella, Crytal, Cindy & Spacey Pinder. The late Pastor Lambert Farrington & family, Pastor Eric Johnson & Stephen Baptist Church family. Rev. Claudius Bethel & family, The Pratt, Pinder, Carey, Belle, Johnson, Bethel, Lewis, Dean, Farrington families, Preston Albury class of 2005, faculty & staff of P. A. Gibson Primary School, North Eleuthera High School, Central Eleuthera High, Samuel Guy All Age School, The communities of Tarpum Bay, Hatchet Bay, Spanish Wells and Gregory Town.

MAY HER SOUL REST IN PEACE Viewing will be held in the “Serenity Suite” at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Soldier Road on Wednesday (TODAY) December 9th, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and again in the “Serenity Suite” at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd. Queens Highway, Gregory Town, Eleuthera on Friday, December 11th, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. until service time on Saturday.

this month, with Atlantis scheduled to resume operations on Thursday, followed by mega resort Baha Mar on December 17.

Hailing the scheduled reopenings as a “watershed moment” for the country, Mr D’Aguilar told reporters yesterday the long-awaited hotel industry’s return will allow for thousands of Bahamians to return to work, helping to aid the country’s economic rebound from COVID. “So absolutely, the tourism industry is beginning to re-open,” he said. “We start with Atlantis on the 10th, Baha Mar on the 17th, the Hilton on the 15th notwithstanding there’s been some hotels already opened during this whole time like the Ocean Club and the Marriott downtown have been operating throughout this entire pandemic.

“But it is indeed delightful that these major properties are opening and thousands upon thousands of Bahamians are being called back to work so this is really a watershed moment. It’s great, it’s wonderful and we got to really make it work.

“And we have to ensure that the foreign visitors when they come here have an exceptional experience and we really get the engines and the cogs of our tourism industry back to work. After all, that’s two thirds of our economy and two thirds of every job, 50 percent of our total economic output so it’s very important.”

Many major hotels closed in March after COVID19 cases began to spread locally.

Some resorts had initially scheduled to reopen in July when the country first reopened its borders, but had to delay their dates due to high COVID-19 cases in the country and certain restrictions.

After the country began its second re-opening attempt in November, many of the larger hotel

our people vaccinated so that we can open up in the economy and move in that direction.”

Pfizer has formally submitted a request to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorise its COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.

An analysis released by the FDA yesterday morning stated there were no safety concerns found to stop approval for vaccines.

However, the FDA said it plans to meet tomorrow to make a formal decision for the Pfizer vaccine.

Moderna, also seeks permission for emergency use.

The FDA will meet again on December 17 to discuss Moderna’s request.

Yesterday, Mr Wells said his ministry has already developed a strategic plan to distribute the vaccine in The Bahamas.

“The Ministry of Health developed that strategy whether it’s Pfizer or Moderna,” he told reporters.

“If it is Pfizer, the $1.6 (million) is simply just getting the vaccine. We have to put out probably an additional the overall plan I think calls for about somewhere

in the area of maybe $4.5 million dollars because we’re going to need to be able to purchase the freezer equipment because you have to keep Pfizer vaccine at negative 80 degrees.”

He continued: “We are also looking with the Ministry of Works to be able to source the kind of equipment because we’re going to need to store it in country so we need to be able to get the kind of freezer so the engineers that the Ministry of Works are working on the HVAC – the heating ventilation air conditioning system – that will be necessary to hold that kind of vaccine.

“But that’s just the larger freezer and we’re going to need the smaller ones to transport it to all the various islands and we’re attending once we get the vaccine to be able to deploy it to all the islands at the same time quickly so we’re going to need freezers for all of our population centres. We’re going to need to fly it out. Obviously, we need to be able to rent aircraft to do that and this is part of the plan.”

TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar. properties announced they would officially re-open in December.

However, this comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are surging in the US – the country’s core tourism market. A similar situation was seen when the country first reopened in July.

While acknowledging that the situation is worrying, the minister also said tourism officials feel confident in the current travel protocols.

He said, “Of course, I’m concerned. I mean everybody turns on the television every night. They see the volume of people coming through the door and they see the cases, the deaths. It is very concerning, but we are hopeful that our protocols in place have been doing a fairly good job thus far.

“The numbers are down, I think people are getting a little slack so people have

Photo: Shawn Hanna to double down, wear your masks, do what you have to do in order to stay safe in the tourist comeback.”

Current COVID-19 travel protocols mandate that returning residents and visitors present a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test no older than five days and have an approved Bahamas health travel visa.

Travellers must complete a daily online health questionnaire for symptom tracking purposes and also will be required to take a COVID19 rapid antigen test on day five of the visit (unless departing on day five).

According to health officials last month, four people who travelled to the Bahamas during the country’s first week of re-opening tested COVID-19 positive five days after arrival.

One of the travellers was identified as a Bahamian and the other three as work permit holders.

‘STILL A FEW BREAKING LAW’

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames says while most Bahamians understand the seriousness of COVID-19, there are still a few who continue to operate “counter to the law”.

“I think Bahamians are beginning to understand that we are in some serious times and that if we are going to get beyond this, it’s incumbent upon each and every one of us to play our own individual roles in keeping, first and foremost, ourselves safe and by extension those around us,” Mr Dames said before going into a Cabinet meeting.

“It’s just a small few who continue to be counter to

the law. The police and the COVID ambassadors have been doing a tremendous job. I hear from them every night, in having to go into communities and shut down crowded clubs and things of that nature.”

While there have been some who break COVID laws on gatherings, Mr Dames thanked the average Bahamian who has been adhering to the protocols.

“I think it’s beginning to resonate and while we continue to commend our healthcare professionals and our front-line officers – the police, defence force,” he continued, “we have to commend the average Bahamian because many Bahamians are taking this very seriously. Many Bahamians truly understand the times that we are in.

“I am so proud of the officers in law enforcement.

That is the police force and defence force and Bahamas Correctional Services, even those outside of my remit, customs and immigration, for the job that they continue to do to keep us all safe during these times.”

This comes as the competent authority has relaxed some restrictions for the Christmas holidays.

From December 13 to January 3, the government is allowing citizens to have gatherings at homes with no more than ten people on islands with curfews in place and no more than 20 people on islands with no curfew.

Churches are also allowed to operate outside of the 10pm curfew to accommodate watch-night and Christmas services.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 9, 2020, PAGE 5

‘I survived COVID - but I’m still fighting to recover’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net TWO months after testing positive for COVID-19, Henry Dean says he still struggles with breathing normally even after having won his four-week long battle with the deadly virus.

The 62-year-old, who has now recovered, told The Tribune he contracted the disease in late September and tested positive on October 1 after being exposed to a friend who had been dishonest about having virus-related symptoms.

“I got it from a friend of mine who had it and denied having it,” he said. “So, I thought they were having some other issues and I had been in close proximity to this friend and talking and so I know where I got it.

“I was hugely angry with the person and I say that when I prayed about it in my sickness and released that anger, my recovery began. Because I was spending all my time pissed with this person. They ought to have known they had it and they lied to me and it was unfair to me.”

However, Mr Dean said it is was not his friend’s positive status, which was not known to him at the time, that led him to get tested for the infectious disease.

His desire to do so was driven by the death of one of his workers, who died from COVID-19 in late September.

“I had an employee who was pronounced dead on the 30th of September, and he’s been off from work for six weeks but a few weeks before, we discovered that he had COVID and that day he died the 30th I went for the test and on the

HENRY Dean credits prayers and his faith in God for helping him to defeat the virus. first (of October) I got the limbs, I developed pneu- make sure that they did not result,” he told this news- monia and my wife was a get fluids out of whack and paper. “Not one soul out nurse and she had to take that kind of thing requires of my office had gotten the time off because she was more than a five-hour virus since him so it’s clear exposed and she stayed interval.” to us that he did not get it home for three weeks and He added: “A few times, from around us and he did her job was to constantly I thought I would not have not give it to any of us.” take my temperature and made it. I saw life leaving Recalling his horrible monitor my pressure and to and then I had a close friend experience with COVID, Mr Dean said he had almost every symptom with the exception of loss of appetite, adding there were times he thought he would die from the disease.

He added that he was the only one in his household who contracted the disease.

“I spent two nights in hospital,” he said. “I had the virus for like four weeks. My symptoms were more severe than I had realised and that I had talked about. My breathing was dangerously bad. My oxygen levels, I came home and in the succeeding two weeks, I properly used like more like 14 oxygen tanks.

“I had weakness in my

HUNDREDS OF PLEA DEALS SINCE JANUARY from page one There were 41 plea deals in 2016, 96 in 2017, 62 in 2018, 62 in 2019 and 13 in 2020. The figures for this year have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Director of Public Prosecutions Garvin Gaskin.

The statistics obtained

by The Tribune came after Chief Justice Brian Moree encouraged greater use of plea bargains during a press conference last month.

In a statement to The Tribune, Mr Gaskin said: “We determined that it was measurably prudent for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to have very early assessments of the quality of the evidence to be relied on by the Crown at trial.

This qualitative exercise looks, particularly, at the cogency of this evidence.

“The defendant, with astute advice, has an appropriate appreciation and regard for the resulting cogent evidence.

Consequently, there’s now an increased willingness to have guilty plea discussions with the ODPP, with a view to concluding a guilty plea agreement.

“It is noteworthy that the law permits a proportionate discount on a sentence imposed by the court when there is a guilty plea. The earlier the plea, the greater the discount. This ‘reward’ is issued to the defendant, not just for this act of contrition, but also for not wasting the court’s time and for not unnecessarily and adversely impacting a traumatised victim in a contentious trial.

“Whenever there is a guilty plea, there is notably a significant reduction in the use of precious judicial time. A criminal trial in the Supreme Court lasts on average for two weeks; so if there are two guilty pleas within a month, four weeks of judicial time are saved.

“Twenty-six guilty pleas amount to a year’s worth of

judicial time saved. These salient features amply tell the story of how materially beneficial guilty pleas are to the administration of the criminal justice system.”

A plea deal is an agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant where the accused agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for some concession.

The push for increased use of plea deals began in 2008 when the government passed a law allowing plea bargaining in criminal cases.

Last month, Chief Justice Moree said he wants to see even greater use of plea bargains in the Bahamian criminal justice system, saying the country does not have the resources for every case to go to trial. He noted that though the country’s plea-bargaining rate has historically been low, it has increased in the last three to five years.

“What the empirical data shows throughout courts around the world,” he said, “is that no court system in the United States, in Australia, in Britain, in the largest countries in the world, no court system has the resources to bring to trial every criminal case that is filed. It simply cannot happen and it doesn’t happen anywhere in the world so plea bargaining becomes an integral part of the disposition regime for criminal cases.

“I would strongly support the judicious and careful and proper use of plea bargaining in appropriate cases in order to manage the backlog, and as I said it has to be an integral part of the system because we cannot take all criminal cases to trial, we just don’t have the resources.

“I’m glad the DPP seems to be focusing on that. I hope that members of the private criminal Bar will also focus on it and we will see an increased use of plea bargains moving forward as part of our reduction of the backlog.”

who contracted the virus a week or two after me and then he died and that too caused me to wonder about this thing.”

Mr Dean credits prayers and his faith in God for helping him defeat the virus.

“There’s no question who gets the credit. I attribute to prayerful warriors who troubled the throne on my behalf,” he said. “I’m satisfied that their prayerfulness played a huge role in my recovery and being able to speak at this moment.”

Mr Dean said while he has since recovered from the disease, he still struggles with some lingering effects such as breathing issues.

“Pretty much I’ve been cured of the virus in its pureness but there are lingering effects,” he said.

“Well, I still have breathing challenges. I’m starting to do more physical work so hopefully, I’m regaining strength in the limbs.

I don’t have problems in (my limbs) but I’m building back up where I was supposed to be. I’m 90

percent back to what I used to be.”

According to the US Centres for Disease Control, while most persons with COVID-19 recover and return to normal health, some patients can have symptoms that can last for weeks or even months after recovery.

Even people who are not hospitalised and who have mild illness can experience persistent or late symptoms, the CDC says.

Common long-term symptoms include: fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain and chest pain.

Other reported long-term symptoms include: difficulty with thinking and concentration (or brain fog), depression, muscle pain, headache, intermittent fever, and a fast-beating or pounding heart, the CDC says.

As of yesterday, total COVID-19 cases in the country stood at 7,585.

There have also been 163 virus-related deaths while 24 are still under investigation.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, December 9, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Not the end of COVID-19 yet - but a landmark day IT was a landmark day yesterday in the UK. The British government dubbed it ‘V-day’, or vaccination day, and the first person to receive the approved Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 was a 90-year-old Northern Irish woman.

The second, amusingly, was a man by the name of William Shakespeare, leading to social media dubbing the day “The Taming of the Flu”. COVID-19 is worse than the flu, of course, but we’ll take the smiles where we can get them this year.

As we watch from afar, the thought turns to when will we get our vaccines?

The UK has been the first out of the gate to approve one of the major vaccine candidates – although Russia and China both have their own vaccines they have started administering. Scientists further afield say neither of those countries have finished the late-stage trials considered essential in vaccine testing.

The Pfizer vaccine might be the one we get – but there are others, from companies such as Moderna and AstraZeneca. Not all vaccines are the same – some for example require extra freezer equipment. The Pfizer vaccine has to be kept at minus 80 degrees.

Another, being worked on by teams in Oxford, England, can be stored at much warmer temperatures. That might be a consideration in rolling out to the Family Islands and locations which might not have facilities ready to store vaccines.

Health Minister Renward Wells said yesterday that The Bahamas is waiting for the World Health Organisation to approve which vaccine we are likely to receive. We have put down our downpayment of $250,000, and will pay $1.6m, with us in line to receive 80,000 doses.

Those 80,000 doses of course will not be enough – but they will be a start.

Those doses might need two injections per person, so they might treat just 40,000 people, or about a tenth of the

country. To truly stop the virus, we will need more people with immunity than that.

Who will get those? We hope that list has been made clear already. Healthcare workers and those who are vulnerable ought to be at the top. The essential workers who have kept our country going ought to get the jab so they can keep it going.

Yesterday was a landmark day, but it was not the end. Rather, it is the start of the end. It’s up to us all now to see it through.

Long-lasting effects For many, thinking about COVID19 has been a matter of life and death.

There has been genuine fear over the number of deaths that the virus causes – and rightly so.

But survival does not necessarily mean a full recovery, or a quick one.

For Henry Dean, his struggles with COVID-19 have been going on for two months, and long past the time he recovered from the virus itself.

In its wake, it left him fighting to breathe normally. He says how even now, weeks later, he is only 90 percent recovered to his previous fitness, and is still regaining strength in his limbs.

Elsewhere, people have described long-term symptoms such as headaches, depression, brain fog, a pounding heart and more. In Tuesday’s Tribune, our health columnist, Dr Greggory Pinto, detailed studies suggesting it could lead to male infertility.

So when we talk about the battle against COVID-19, it’s not only the mortality rate that we face, but the lingering aftermath for so many.

There is so much we still have to learn about how this virus affects people – so don’t take a chance. Be safe. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. Why risk it?

Zimbabwe corruption EDITOR, The Tribune.

CORRUPTION has been grown, cultivated and nurtured in Zimbabwe and the effects of such high level political dishonest, fraudulent conducts, embezzlement of funds and bribes in civil servants, ministers, judges, prison officers and ordinary people.

The effects of such profound levels of corruption are pushing the country into severe economic conditions.

Politicians

are number one corrupt people in Zimbabwe, particularly those who belong to the ZANU PF party. Funds which were donated for the constituencies have been diverted to personal use by politicians. The claims that the judges and the judiciary system have been tainted by corruption are also deeply worrying.

The redistribution of land from white farmers was also marked by corruption.

The corrupt, careless

and clueless Zimbabwean government should be removed from power because corruption in Zimbabwe is pushing Zimbabweans to go and live in other countries such as South Africa, Botswana and Namibia in search of better economic conditions.

KUDZAI CHIKOWORE Human Rights Activist London, December 6, 2020.

Death knell for tourism EDITOR, The Tribune.

OUR family have regularly visited The Bahamas for many years and have liked it so much that we purchased a vacation property. We keep abreast of events there by reading The Tribune online.

We are now gravely concerned about the current developments in the tourism sector. We continually read with a mixture of sorrow and disbelief at the statements coming from government people, union leaders and local residents.

On the one hand, there appears to be great excitement at the reopening of hotels, especially the large resorts, but on the other hand an attitude propagated by medical professionals interviewed by the media about the great dangers coming from allowing visitors to arrive.

It seems like an irrational fear that nearly all tourists are carriers of the COVID-19 virus and they should be clamped down on with harsh restrictions.

A need for a reality check is immediately required.

Unless some common sense prevails very soon there will be no tourist industry at all and the hotels will remain mostly empty.

Your story about a 99 percent drop in visitors in September should have set off alarm bells and warnings of what is to come unless the entry rules are changed.

When I was young and visited Nassau with my

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net parents there were very few West Indian destinations served by flights from New York City.

Cuba had been popular but was then barred to Americans due to problems with the Castro regime.

So The Bahamas benefited being so close to the US. Warnings to your Tourism Ministry should have been noted when President Barack Obama started to open the American tourist market to Cuba.

President Donald Trump put an end to most of that opening.

However Joe Biden may well again allow American tourism. This could seriously affect The Bahamas.

Right now you have gone from an easy place to book a holiday to the most difficult in the whole area.

We are not even certain we can come this year because of the poorly conceived rules.

With other destinations offering much easier entry and welcoming visitors why should anyone, except the most loyal fans of The Bahamas, even want to undertake all the steps required just to come for a holiday?

We feel trapped because we own a property there and are almost compelled to travel to The Bahamas.

Most other people will go elsewhere.

Despite all the complaints from overseas

people written to your newspaper and to the Tourism Ministry which I understand rarely replies to concerns the Government still adheres to the rigid rules.

Why should prospective visitors have to spend large sums on obtaining COVID19 tests if they are even available in their area, take time to get and fetch the written results, send them by computer to Nassau and not know when confirmation will arrive and be expected to take a flight or connecting flights and be in Nassau within five days?

The easiest method would be to test upon arrival or even allow people to bring a test which is still a logistical problem for many people. Our travel agency was formerly a great booster for The Bahamas.

However, when we visited recently they said they have all but given up any interest in getting clients to book there.

It is just too cumbersome, expensive and with too many uncertainties so they are sending clients to other southern destinations who are eager for visitors.

If the current situation continues The Bahamas will be very badly affected and so many Bahamians reliant on the tourism industry will be without employment and the economy seriously in decline for a very long time. Let us hope change comes very soon.

ALEXANDER ROBERTSON Albany, New York, United States.

December 8, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 9, 2020, PAGE 7

THE HANDOVER of tablets by the District Grand Lodge Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas Football Association.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh

All on the same team with a gift of tablets THE District Grand Lodge Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas Football Association have responded to the appeals of the Ministry of Education to assist in the education of students.

On Monday, the ministry accepted 300 tablets from the corporate donors.

The District Grand Lodge, in partnership with Masonic Charitable Foundation, Royal Victoria Lodge No 443 and Aliv, donated 200 tablets. The

District Grand Lodge also made a donation of 50 tablets for the Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture and Library Services in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Bahamas Football Association donated 100 tablets.

Executives and members of the Bahamas Football Association, Aliv and the District Grand Lodge attended Monday’s event.

Jeffrey Lloyd, minister of education, expressed

gratitude for the generosity displayed by the organisations.

“You have come forth with great generosity and philanthropy to meet this phenomenal goal of 36,000 devices. We’re well on the way, we’re not there yet.

The ambition was to raise $1m we’re over $300,000 toward that goal with more coming every day. In addition to the funding, you provided the actual physical device for our children,” said Mr Lloyd.

FACE RECOGNITION AT AIRPORT STARTING today, US Customs and Border Protection Preclearance operations at Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau will introduce Simplified Arrival.

Simplified Arrival uses facial comparison technology to make inspection easier and faster for travellers, and more secure and efficient for CBP officers and everyone involved in the process, a press release from the US Embassy in Nassau noted.

Simplified Arrival also has public health benefits.

By reducing the need to capture fingerprints or handle documents, the new technology helps limit the spread of disease and infection.

When arriving at or departing from LPIA in Nassau, as well as other select airports during international travel, passengers will pause for a photo at the CBP primary inspection area or their departure gate.

In a matter of seconds, CBP’s biometric facial comparison service will automatically compare the new photo of the traveller to images that the traveller has already provided to the government, such as passport and visa photos.

A CBP officer then interviews the traveller to validate results, establish the purpose and intent of travel, and determine admissibility to the United States.

Eligible travellers who wish to opt out of the process may notify a CBP officer as they approach the primary inspection point.

These travellers will present their valid travel documents for manual identity verification by a CBP officer in accordance with existing requirements for entry into the United States.

More details on the equipment are available at https://biometrics.cbp.gov On the issue of security and privacy, US officials said CBP is “committed to privacy and has taken steps to safeguard the privacy of all travellers”.

CBP has employed leading industry technical security safeguards and has limited the amount of personally identifiable information used in the facial biometric process, the press release noted.

“Moreover, CBP uses facial comparison

technology simply to automate the document checks that are already required at all US ports of entry, and only at specific times and locations where travellers are already required to present proof of identity. New photos of US citizens will be deleted within 12 hours, and photos of foreign nationals will be stored in a secure DHS system.

“Facial comparison technology enhances CBP’s ability to facilitate lawful travel and secure the border and expand on the benefits of CBP preclearance through LPIA. This process provides travellers with a touchless process

that further secures and streamlines international arrivals while providing CBP officers time to focus on travellers’ intent instead of administrative tasks.”

The press release also noted that preclearance requirements for travellers have not changed.

“We kindly remind all passengers that CBP officers evaluate every application for admission to the United States on a caseby-case basis, in accordance with existing laws and regulations. In other words, each person’s travel situation is unique, and is evaluated as such,” the US Embassy said.

Death Notice for

Caliope ‘Cally” Mangos Caliope ‘Cally” Mangos was the 4th child born to Nicholas and Kiriaki Mangos of Kalymnos, Greece in Nassau, The Bahamas on March 2, 1929.

This baby girl would grow into a ‘little ‘ giant of a woman.

Cally attended Queens College but formal education was not to her liking and opted to drop out in high school. She had a burning desire to blaze her own little path in life and was determined to be self employed. Cally’s entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic kicked in at an early age. She was not afraid to take chances, she understood that in order to succeed she needed to remain focused and work hard. From selling sandwiches on Long Wharf Beach to being a hair stylist for some of the elite with no professional training Cally did whatever she had to do to inch by inch her way towards making her dreams a reality. In 1955 she met, fell in love with and married George Papageorge from Kalymnos, Greece and that loving union produced three children: Christopher, Nicholas and Alexandra. Now more than ever her work had more meaning as it then became about providing and securing a better lifestyle for her children. Cally fought many battles in her life both personal and in the business world especially because back in those days the playing field was not all that even. Cally never allowed anyone or anything to deter her from achieving her goals and if there was a way to do something when there seemed to be no way Cally found the way. Failures along life’s road did not discourage her but only encouraged her to start all over again and push on.

Cally opened up her first shop Chris’ Boutique on Fredrick St. Selling shoes she would buy from Bakers shoe store in Miami. When her husband needed her in the restaurant she jumped in without hesitation working side by side to proudly operate the popular Lums Restaurant on Bay St. When a shop space became available next to Lums she acquired that and opened up her first of 3 touristic gifts shops. While working grueling hours Cally never stoped being curious as to what could come next and sure enough in about 1976 an opportunity to purchase the old HG Christie building on Bay St came and despite everyone in the real estate world giving her advise to not buy on the north side of Bay she leapt at the chance and secured the property. Her vision was to build an open air shopping plaza with a European flair and in June 1978 the Nassau International Bazaar was open for business. At the entrance to the Bazaar she opened Guccini Jewelers and her second gift shop. She wasn’t done yet. Forever looking out for what she could do next in 1985 she was afforded the opportunity to purchase the the location on Bay St., where the old Prince George Hotel stood. In August of 1987 the Prince George Plaza opened for business. But something else happened in August of 1987 and that was the birth of her first grandchild and it was at that moment she decided that it was far more important for her to stay at home and help raise her grandson and the other 6 grandchildren who soon followed. The love she had for her grandchildren was a love on a whole new level.

Cally was a trailblazer. She was small in stature but huge in presence. She was firm especially when it related to business and responsibilities but gentle at heart.

Cally was an excellent cook, enjoyed her gardening loving her roses and orchids especially and a very gracious host. She was happiest when her home was full of family and friends sharing a nice meal with lots of conversation and laughs.

Cally barreled thru life’s difficulties,it’s hardships and it’s joys. Cally was a proud Bahamian of Greek decent and always maintained that in her opinion there was no better place in the world than the Bahamas.

Cally was awarded an “outstanding business award “ in 1983 by Business and Professional Women’s Association of New Providence.In 2000 she was extended the Woman’s Living Legend by Women of Worth of the Zonta Club of New Providence. While awards were appreciated and being successful in the business world made her proud it was without a doubt that what made her most proud where her children and grandchildren who she showered with love, support and guidance. She instilled in each and every one of her children and grandchildren that nothing and no one should ever come between them and that love and unity reigned supreme.

Cally passed away peacefully at her daughters residence on Saturday, December 5th, 2020.

She will be treasured and loved forever and will be missed dearly by her son, Chistopher (Chris) and Nicholas (Nick); daughter, Alexandra; grandsons, James, George Chris, George and Constantine; grandaughters, Calliope, Zoe and Cally; daughter-in-law, Helen; grandson-in-law, Mel, Kristofer and Basem; granddaughter-in-law, Bianca and Amelia and many other relatives and close friends including Miaoulis family, Fondas family, Loukakis family, Mangos family and Gatis family.

The family would like to especially thank Dr. Angela Kuntz for her many years of caring for our beloved Cally and for all her support.

The family wishes to extend with great gratitude many thanks to the care takers who on a daily basis showed an unwavering commitment to care for our beloved mom and grandmother. Every day and every night these angels Gloria Downer, Alan Calilan, Ebony Banggalat and Yvette Pineda did absolutely everything possible to make our Cally’s life as comfortable as possible. And for this we are eternally grateful.

Relatives and friends may pay their respects at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, West Street, Nassau, (TODAY) Wednesday 9th December, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

A Private Funeral Service will be held.

Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, December 9, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

What about problems facing men?

TOMORROW is the last day of the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign coordinated by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership. It is also International Human Rights Day. Over the past few weeks, organisations and advocates have been starting and sustaining conversations about gender-based violence, women’s rights, and human rights. These awareness-raising events are important, but they come and go, only having lasting impact when our work continues.

Almost every time there is a conversation about women’s rights, someone

By Alicia Wallace

says, “What about the men?” When we talk about violence against women, it is almost guaranteed that someone will say, “Men experience violence too.”

We consistently see people trying to derail conversations about women and gender minorities, but not starting the conversation about men on their own. It’s quite clear

that they are insincere in their comments, and not interested in having a conversation about men’s experiences, but want to distract those having conversations about vulnerable people.

There are some people who are genuinely interested in conversations about men and masculinity, and it is important to

engage in conversations with and about men. During the global campaign, Equality Bahamas organised an event focused on genderbased violence, masculinity, and the LGBTQ+ community. At that event, human rights advocate Erin Greene was in conversation with MPhil in Interdisciplinary Gender Studies and PhD student in Cultural Studies Amílcar Sanatan. Their discussion was rich and people on the call quickly engaged, sharing their own thoughts and experiences.

Sanatan talked about the need to “trouble” the structures and practices familiar to us, including masculinity. He spoke to the need to

SPEND DIFFERENTLY, START A GIVING CIRCLE PEOPLE always want to know what to give the person who has everything, what to do with all of the useless gifts they receive, and how to entertain their family members and friends in ways that don’t bore them with similarity to previous holiday seasons.

This may be the year you, with more than enough and a circle in the same position, forego gifts. This may also be the year you skip the large, lavish festivities. There are thousands of people in need, affected by Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19 in particular.

Get together with family members and friends and decide how you would like to contribute to causes that matter to all of you.

An easy way to come together and make a big impact is to pool your resources. Decide how much money you each would like to contribute.

This could be a nominal amount, the amount you would have spent on gifts for everyone who is usually on your list, or the amount of money

HELPERS at last week’s IL Cares event - but what can we do this Christmas to help those in need? you tend to spend on parties and Secure an apartment with first and other holiday-related expenses. last month’s rent and the security Whether your group has hun- deposit. Cover an overdue electricity dreds or thousands of dollars, there bill. Provide a holiday meal for a few is an organisation or family in need families. Donate cases of baby forthat would greatly benefit from your mula, pampers, and wipes. There is a contribution. cause waiting for you.

expand our thinking about what masculinity is.

A participant pointed out that limited views of masculinity and forcing men and boys to perform in particular ways is a form of gender-based violence. This form of gender-based violence is common and often goes unnoticed, and it disproportionately affects gay, bisexual, trans, and gender nonconforming men.

Greene talked about the need to engage our imaginations as we are thinking about the world as we know it and the world we can have. She often talks about the need to talk about and develop ideas, to expand our understanding of what is possible, and to engage people who can help us with limitless thinking.

At one point, Sanatan pointed to his privilege as a man who is immediately recognised, not only as a man, but as a masculine man. He talked about coming to the understanding that he is in a unique position to engage men and boys in conversations about masculinity, manhood, gender-based violence, and feminism.

He coordinates Feminist Bredren, an informal network that engages men and boys in conversations and work on gender justice and

peace in the region.

The discussion about masculinity was one of the most popular events during the 16 Days campaign. It had the most participants, one of the highest rates of participant in the chat, and the longest run time.

After the event came to a close, most of the participants lingered, much like we used to do at in-person conferences, to listen to Sanatan and Greene talk a bit more, raise questions, and express their thanks for the conversation. It showed that there is an interest in addressing the issue of toxic masculinity and hyper masculinity. We are beginning to understand it as a source of violence and a tool of oppression that puts men in a box where they are only allowed to behave in limited ways.

In many ways, men need to be free from the constraints of a limited, restrictive understanding of masculinity. They need to be able to express a full range of emotion in nonviolent ways, and to be able to safely report violence against them and be taken seriously.

For those who are always asking about the conversations about men, visit the Equality Bahamas Facebook page to watch the recording.

PRACTISING CHRISTIANITY WITH RESPECT FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT CHRISTIANS OVER the past few months, I have been attending community meetings meant to involve civil society organisations in the decision-making process by a particular body. It has, for the most, been a positive experience. Those coordinating these meetings are truly interested in listening to understand, working with new ideas, asking for feedback and responding with action, and creating a collaborative working environment.

From the first meeting, I noticed that a Christian prayer was always the first item, whether or not it was on the agenda. I take no issue with individuals’ religious practices, but I do find it frustrating that national events, business meetings, and the like start — and sometimes end — with prayer. It is an assumption that everyone is a Christian or is okay, or must be okay, with the dominance of Christianity in every space. There is no allowance for people of other faiths, even in the form of a period of silence for people to pray, reflect, meditate, or anything else as they wish. I withheld my comment on this frequent occurrence until a call this week. I spoke up because it is clearly a pervasive issue that is seen as acceptable because it is now a norm that is not often challenged.

As usual, the meeting started with a Christian prayer. Perhaps all of the people on these calls are Christian people or accepting of this norm that exists in households, schools, and other shared spaces. When it was time to give feedback, someone on the call suggested the use of a scripture from The Bible for a public communication tool. When they were finished offering feedback, I offered my perspective on the meetings starting with prayer and the inappropriate nature of biblical scripture in communications intended for the general public which includes people of other faiths. Someone on the call said prayer is not only Christian and it is not exclusive. I noted that the prayers are Christian prayers and people of other religions are not being included, and that is not really the point, but an example of the issue I was raising.

The point is that the use of scripture is inappropriate and it is not inclusive as there was not even a recommendation to use other religious texts. I was then advised that it was a suggestive not a decision, to which I responded that I was responding to the suggestion as should be expected.

Why take offence? This was all quite interesting. Then, the person who suggested the use of scripture said,

“I would like to point my colleague to the preamble of our constitution. Thank you.” Fascinating.

Later, in making a comment about a holistic approach to the issue being discussed, the person referred to me as “having some challenges” with spirituality. Having no idea what my faith is or my religious or spiritual practices, this person assumed that I am spiritually challenged and they decided to be disrespectful, even after we had passed the point in the meeting and I had chosen not to challenge them further in that space, largely out of an abundance of respect for others in the meeting and the agenda before us.

We talk about the preamble of the constitution all the time, and only to defend the misconception that The Bahamas is a “Christian nation”. The preamble does not call The Bahamas a “Christian nation”. It calls for “an abiding respect for Christian values and the Rule of Law”. First, respect is not the same as subscription or immersion. Second, “Christian values” is not synonymous with Christianity. Third, the rule of law is included there. Fourth, the preamble is not the law.

Article 15 of the constitution — the actual constitution — entitles every person in The Bahamas to fundamental rights and freedoms “subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others”. Further, Article 26(3) speaks to discrimination when people are “subjected to disabilities or restrictions to which a person of another such description are not made subject or are accorded privileges or advantages which are not accorded to persons of another such description”.

We need to talk about the preamble, Article 15, and Article 26 of the constitution and what it all means for people who are Christian and people of other faiths and religious practices. We need to talk about tolerance and inclusion, the difference between the two, and where we are when it comes to religion.

At the very least, if people truly believe they are Christians living in a Christian nation, they should endeavour to truly practice the faith with Christ-like behaviour; not just quote scripture when it is convenient. While we are all at it, we need to know a lot more about the constitution than the preamble. Perhaps Christians can also be good citizens with love and respect for other citizens. Jesus himself showed that it is not that hard. Practice the best version of Christianity you can, and keep looking for better ways. You can do it.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 9, 2020, PAGE 9

APPLE UNVEILS HEADPHONES THAT COST TWICE AS MUCH AS AIRPODS

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Apple has one more thing for the holiday shopping season: overthe-ear, wireless headphones that will test how much people are willing to splurge on for highquality sound.

The headphones, called AirPods Max, will cost $549 — far more than similar products from Bose and Sony that offer many of the same features, such as noise cancellation. The lofty price is more double what it costs to buy Apple’s in-ear wireless headphones.

Apple began accepting orders for the AirPods Max on Tuesday, but they won’t be in stores until Dec. 15.

The announcement of the long-rumored headphones caps a one of Apple’s busiest autumns in years, despite a pandemic that has kept most of its engineers at home to help fight the spread of the novel coronavirus. Since September, Apple has rolled out its next generation of smartwatches,

A PAIR of AirPods Max, Apple’s newest wireless headphones.

Apple is rolling out the latest product for the holiday shopping season, that will test how much people are willing to splurge on for high-quality sound. (Apple via AP)

four new iPhones and Mac computers that will run on its own internally designed processors

instead of chips made by Intel.

Some of the new products have included lower-priced options

likely to appeal to consumers struggling to make ends meet during a pandemic-driven recession that many experts may worsen in the U.S. without more financial aid from Congress to hep support the economy until vaccines are widely distributed.

But the AirPods Max are clearly intended for Apple’s more affluent customers looking for the best in acoustics. The overthe-ear headphones are aiming to expand upon the popularity of the wireless ear buds that Apple first released four years ago after eliminating the headphone jack from its iPhones. The in-ear AirPods sell for $159 to $249.

Apple overestimated how much its loyal fans are willing to pay for high-quality sound when it released its internet-connected speaker, the HomePod, in 2018. The HomePod originally cost $349, far more than other internet-connected speakers from Amazon and Google.

Apple eventually reduced the HomePod to $299 and last month released a smaller version of the speaker that sells for $99.

CHINESE PROBE ORBITING MOON WITH EARTH-BOUND SAMPLES BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese probe was orbiting the moon on Monday in preparation for the returning of samples of the lunar surface to Earth for the first time in almost 45 years.

The ascent module of the Chang’e 5 spacecraft transferred a container with two kilogrammes (4.4 pounds) of samples after docking with the robot spacecraft on Sunday and was then cut free.

The orbiter and reentry vehicle will circle the moon for another week awaiting a narrow time window to make the roughly threeday, 383,000-kilometre (238,000-mile) journey back to Earth. It will first “bounce” off the Earth’s atmosphere to slow its

speed before the reentry vehicle separates and floats down on parachutes to land on the vast steppes of Inner Mongolia, where China’s Shenzhou crewed spaceships have also made their landings.

If the mission succeeds, it will make China the third country after the United States and former Soviet Union to bring moon rocks to Earth.

They will be the first fresh samples of the lunar surface obtained by scientists since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 probe in 1976.

The Chang’e 5 ascent stage blasted off from the moon’s surface on Friday, leaving behind the lander module flying the Chinese flag, according to the China National

THIS graphic simulation image provided by China National Space Administration shows the orbiter and returner combination of China’s Chang’e-5 probe after its separation from the ascender, at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) in Beijing Sunday. (China National Space Administration/Xinhua via AP)

Space Agency, which also released a photo taken by the orbiter showing it approaching for its rendezvous with the ascender, a sliver of the Earth seen in the background.

That marked the first time China had succeeded in lifting off a spacecraft from a celestial body, while no country had previously achieved the tricky feat of executing a robotic

docking in lunar orbit.

Controllers on Earth had to deal with distance and time lag while precisely maneuvering a clamp into position with almost no room for error.

SPACEX CAPSULES PARKED SIDE-BY-SIDE AT STATION FOR 1ST TIME

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer

IN this image taken from NASA TV the Dragon cargo capsule docks at the International Space Station, Monday, alongside a Dragon crew capsule that carried up astronauts three weeks ago. (NASA via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A SpaceX supply ship bearing Christmas goodies arrived at the International Space Station on Monday, parking alongside another Dragon capsule that carried up astronauts three weeks ago. It’s the first time Elon Musk’s company has two Dragons at the orbiting lab, filling both available slots.

Unlike SpaceX’s previous cargo carriers, which had to be plucked from orbit by the space station’s robot arm, this larger and updated model docked all by itself a day after rocketing into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. This unusually large shipment — exceeding 6,400 pounds (2,900 kilogrammes) — includes experiments, equipment, Christmas presents and the makings for a holiday feast for the seven station astronauts.

The crew monitored all the action as the

capsule pulled up and docked at the station more than 260 miles (420 kilometres) above the Indian Ocean. The two Dragon parking spots are just 15 feet (4.5 metres) or so apart.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins offered “a huge congratulations” to SpaceX and everyone else involved.

“It’s pretty amazing to think that less than a month ago you docked four crew members,” radioed Rubins, a microbiologist and one of four Americans on board. “And now you’re bringing a vehicle full of world class science for us to execute.”

There are also two Russians and one Japanese crew member on board.

SpaceX redesigned its cargo ships to be as big as its spacious crew capsules in order to pack more in.

The cargo Dragon will remain at the space station for a month, before parachuting into the Atlantic with science samples and discarded gear. The crew Dragon will stay up until spring.

TECHTALK • SAN RAMON, Calif.

(AP) — Uber is selling off its autonomous vehicles development arm as the ride-hailing company slims down after its revenues were pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Self-driving vehicle technology company Aurora will acquire the employees and technology behind Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group in an stock transaction, the companies said Monday.

Uber will also invest $400 million into Aurora, and Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Aurora’s board of directors.

After the transaction, Aurora will be worth $10 billion and Uber will hold 26% stake in the company, Aurora CEO Chris Urmson said in an interview.

“Our first product will be in trucking and freight, but we look forward to taking this great team that we have and accelerating that while continuing working on light vehicles and ride-haling, and we’ll ultimately see our vehicles deploying on the Uber network,” Urmson said.

Uber will not have exclusive rights as a ride-hailing company to Aurora’s technology, but the two companies will have a “preferred relationship,” Urmson said.

San Francisco-based Uber will lose a critical piece of its company after the pandemic cut into its finances by suppressing demand for shared rides.

Its path to profitability has often been linked with its plans to deploy autonomous vehicles and reduce the high cost of paying drivers.

• IRONWOOD, Mich.

(AP) — A city in Michigan’s far western Upper Peninsula hopes an electric vehicle charging station can juice the local economy.

A Chargepoint station has been installed in Ironwood, population 4,900.

It has two outlets that can fully charge an electric vehicle in about two hours, the Daily Globe reported.

“If somebody is passing through on their way to Marquette, and they need to do a two-hour charge, they can park at the city square and walk to our downtown businesses,” said Tom Bergman, Ironwood’s community development director.

“The idea of it is that it’s an economic development tool to have people stop that normally wouldn’t stop in our community,” Bergman said.

He said Ironwood, near the Wisconsin border, might have the only charging station in the western U.P. Drivers can find the location with an app.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, December 9, 2020

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CUSTOMS OFFICER DENIED BAIL ‘AFTER BEING FOUND WITH GUN’

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A CUSTOMS officer was remanded to prison over allegations that he was reportedly found with an unlicensed firearm last week.

Marco Smith Jr, pictured left, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after he was accused of being in

possession of a black coloured Springfield Armory pistol on December 5.

He denied the allegation and the case was adjourned to March 18, 2021 for trial.

Due to the nature of the charge, Smith Jr was denied bail and remanded into custody until that time.

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

Photo: Donovan McIntosh

EIGHT MONTHS IN JAIL FOR SLASHING MAN’S NECK

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 46-YEAR-OLD MAN who slashed another man’s neck with a box cutter when he refused to give him money was yesterday sentenced to eight months in prison.

Police arrested Gregory Sweeting after he caused grievous harm to a man on East Street on December 6.

He pleaded guilty during a hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes yesterday.

The court was told that the complainant was at Kelly’s Lumber Yard when Sweeting approached him and asked him for some money.

The prosecution said when the man told him he was broke, Sweeting called him a “joker” and cut his throat with a box cutter that he had in his left hand. The accused then shouted: “One Order world” before leaving the scene.

The complainant was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital for medical

treatment.

Sweeting was arrested a short time later. In an interview with police at the Criminal Investigations Department, he admitted to the offence.

Sweeting told the magistrate that he had had medication and alcohol in his system at the time of the incident. He insisted he wasn’t “normal at the time” and said he had no intentions of harming anyone that day.

In response, Magistrate Forbes told the accused that being intoxicated was not an “excuse for the commission of an offence” as he should have been able to differentiate between right and wrong even if he were under the influence of alcohol. He told Sweeting he was “lucky” he missed the complainant’s coronary artery by inches or else he would have been charged with murder.

As a result, he sentenced the accused to eight months behind bars.

“You cannot walk around slashing people,” the judge warned him.

MAN JAILED FOR THREAT TO HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 35-YEAR-OLD man who threatened to “blow off” his ex-girlfriend’s head during an argument was sentenced to a month in prison.

Kevin McKenzie was arrested after he threatened to harm the mother of his child on December 3.

He admitted to the offence during a hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes.

The court was told that the complainant was at her residence around 8.30 on the night in question when McKenzie approached her and told her she would “soon get her head blow off”. The prosecution said the accused’s comments put the woman in fear for her life, which prompted her to file an official complaint with police.

McKenzie was arrested a short time later.

In an interview with police at a nearby station,

he denied the allegations.

Still, he was charged with the offence because of the evidence produced from further investigations.

When given an opportunity to speak during the hearing, McKenzie told the magistrate he had gone to prison when his ex-girlfriend was pregnant with his child.

He claimed when he was released after spending six years on remand, he didn’t want “anything to do with her”, so she kept filing police reports against him to spite him.

In response, Magistrate Forbes told him that if he felt his ex-girlfriend was trying to falsely accuse him, he should have come to the court to file a restraining order application instead of taking matters into his own hands.

Magistrate Forbes said he considered McKenzie’s “violent history” of antecedents and sentenced him to one month at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

PROBATION SENTENCE FOR GROWING MARIJUANA

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 30-YEAR-OLD man was placed on probation after he was caught cultivating a marijuana plant last month.

Anthony Lockhart appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after he was accused of growing a marijuana plant on November 29. The prosecution said officers also found another quantity of Indian hemp when they searched Lockhart’s house that night.

He pleaded guilty to one count of cultivation of dangerous drugs and simple drug possession during his arraignment.

The prosecution said officers, acting on information around 8.46pm, went to a residence in Treasure Cove. Upon their arrival, they knocked on the door and informed Lockhart that his home would be searched for dangerous drugs and firearms. The court was told

that when officers searched the accused’s bedroom, they found a one-foot-tall marijuana plant along with a clear ziploc bag containing a quantity of suspected marijuana.

Lockhart was subsequently cautioned and taken to the Drug Enforcement Unit. In an interview there, he acknowledged the bag of marijuana, but denied having knowledge of the plant.

During the hearing, Lockhart was represented by attorney Ian Cargill. He told the magistrate his client had the marijuana in his possession for his personal use and had no intentions of selling the drugs. He also said the accused had no previous convictions or pending matters.

As a result, Magistrate Forbes placed Lockhart on probation for 12 months on the agreement that he would be of good behaviour during that time. He warned him that if he didn’t, he would be sentenced to three months in prison.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 9, 2020, PAGE 13

The shot watched around the world LONDON Associated Press A NURSE rolled up 90-year-old Margaret Keenan’s sleeve and administered a shot watched round the world – the first jab in the UK’s COVID-19 vaccination program kicking off an unprecedented global effort to try to end a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million people.

Keenan, a retired shop clerk from Northern Ireland who celebrates her birthday next week, was at the front of the line at University Hospital Coventry to receive the vaccine that was approved by British regulators last week.

The UK is the first Western country to deliver a broadly tested and independently reviewed vaccine to the general public. The COVID-19 shot was developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. US and European Union regulators may approve it in the coming days or weeks.

“All done?” Keenan asked nurse May Parsons.

“All done,” came the reply, as hospital staff broke into applause and also clapped for her as she was wheeled down a corridor.

“I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Keenan, who wore a surgical mask and a blue “Merry

Christmas” T-shirt with a cartoon penguin in a Santa hat. “It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”

The second injection, in a fitting bit of drama, went to an 81-year-old man named William Shakespeare from Warwickshire, the county where the bard was born.

The fanfare was good cheer to the nation, if but for a moment. Authorities warned that the vaccination campaign would take many months, meaning painful restrictions that have disrupted daily life and punished the economy are likely to continue until spring. The UK has seen over 61,000 deaths in the pandemic — more than any other country in Europe — and has recorded more than 1.7 million confirmed cases.

“This really feels like the beginning of the end,” said Stephen Powis, medical director for the National Health Service in England.

“It’s been a really dreadful year, 2020 — all those things that we are so used to, meeting friends and family, going to the cinema, have been disrupted. We can get those back. Not tomorrow. Not next week.

Not next month. But in the months to come.”

BLACK MAN SHOT BY DEPUTY HELD SANDWICH, NOT A GUN COLUMBUS, Ohio Associated Press

CIVIL rights and FBI investigators will help look into the fatal shooting by an Ohio sheriff’s deputy of a Black man whose family says that he was holding not a gun, but a sandwich, and that he was shot in front of two toddlers and his grandmother while inside his home, not outside it, as authorities assert.

The office of US Attorney David M. DeVillers in Ohio said yesterday that it would step in — along with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the FBI in Cincinnati and the Columbus police — after the state attorney general’s office declined to investigate the shooting of Casey Goodson Jr, 23, because it said the police department didn’t ask soon enough.

“My grandson just got shot in the back when he came in the house,” Goodson’s grandmother told a dispatcher Friday, according to 911 recordings obtained by The Associated Press. “I don’t know if he’s OK.” Goodson had just gone to the dentist, she told the dispatcher, and she didn’t know what had happened or who shot him.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office first reported on Friday the fatal shooting of a man that day on the north side of Columbus. The case was given to city police because the Sheriff’s Office does not oversee investigations of its own deputies in fatal shootings, and the police department did not release such details as the names of Goodson and the deputy who shot him until Sunday.

Since then, Goodson’s relatives and law enforcement officials have given conflicting details. Visible evidence of the events is lacking because the Sheriff’s Office does not provide officers with body cameras, and the deputy’s SWAT vehicle did not have a dashmounted camera.

The deputy, Jason Meade, a 17-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, had been assigned to a US Marshals Office fugitive task force. The task force had just finished an unsuccessful search for a fugitive on Friday afternoon when Goodson, who was not the suspect, drove by and waved a gun at Meade, according to US Marshal Peter Tobin.

Meade confronted him outside Goodson’s vehicle in front of the man’s home, Tobin said.

One witness heard Meade command Goodson to drop his gun, and when he didn’t, the deputy shot him, Tobin said. Goodson was taken to a hospital, where he died.

But attorneys for Goodson’s family say he was shot while walking in his home, and that his grandmother and two toddlers, who were not his own children, witnessed the shooting.

Tobin’s narrative leaves out “key details that raise cause for extreme concern,” the attorneys’ statement reads, including the object Goodson was holding.

Police say it was a gun that was later recovered from the scene; Goodson’s family says he was holding a Subway sandwich.

Even if Goodson had been carrying a gun, the statement read, he had a licence to do so.

SUPREME COURT REJECTS PENNSYLVANIA APPEAL THE Supreme Court yesterday rejected Republicans’ last-gasp bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the electoral battleground.

The court without comment refused to call into question the certification process in Pennsylvania.

Democratic Gov Tom Wolf already has certified Biden’s victory and the state’s 20 electors are to meet on Dec 14 to cast their votes for Biden.

Biden won 306 electoral votes, so even if Pennsylvania’s results had been in doubt, he still would have more than the 270 electoral votes needed to become president.

Republican US Rep. Mike Kelly of northwestern

Pennsylvania and other plaintiffs pleaded with the justices to intervene after the state Supreme Court turned away their case.

The Republicans argued that Pennsylvania’s expansive vote-by-mail law is unconstitutional because it required a constitutional amendment to authorise its provisions.

Biden beat President Donald Trump by more than 80,000 votes in Pennsylvania, a state Trump had won in 2016. Most mail-in ballots were submitted by Democrats.

The state’s high court said the plaintiffs waited too long to file the challenge and noted the Republicans’ staggering demand that an entire election be overturned retroactively.

But it is important beyond these shores. Britain’s program is likely to provide lessons for other countries as they prepare for the unprecedented task of vaccinating billions.

On Saturday, Russia began vaccinations with its Sputnik V vaccine, and China has also begun giving its own domestically made shots to its citizens and selling them abroad. But neither countries’ vaccines have finished the late-stage trials scientists consider essential. Other vaccines are also being reviewed by regulators around the world, including a collaboration between Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca and one developed by US biotechnology company Moderna.

Documents released by US regulators yesterday confirmed that Pfizer’s vaccine was strongly protective against COVID-19 and appeared safe.

90-YEAR-OLD Margaret Keenan, the first patient in the UK to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, administered by nurse May Parsons at University Hospital, Coventry, England, yesterday.

PAGE 14, Wednesday, December 9, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

SPORTS

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 9, 2020, PAGE 15

NFL UNION SEES NO CURRENT NEED FOR BUBBLE TO SLOW COVID-19

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer THE NFL players believe the season can be completed on time without the league moving into a version of a postseason bubble like other sports have as long as everyone follows the rules already in place meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

NFLPA President JC Tretter and Executive Director DeMaurice Smith held a virtual news conference yesterday to discuss the challenges the players have felt this season while playing during a global pandemic and address how things will change in the future.

Both Tretter and Smith said that the rules in place requiring players and staff to be tested daily, wear masks, socially distance and

have tracers for contact tracing have helped prevent the spread of the virus.

They believe if everyone adheres to those rules over the next two months there would be no need for teams to sequester in hotels to avoid contact with the public.

“When we all follow the protocols, they work and they work well,” Tretter said. “The contact tracing, getting everyone who potentially are exposed out of the building, works to stop the spread of the virus. It will all come down to how well we follow those protocols and we will continue to evolve those protocols as needed.

We know they work and we need to make sure we have 100 percent compliance to finish the season.”

Tretter and Smith didn’t rule out the possibility that

circumstances could change if the rate of infection in surrounding communities continues to rise, but said the situation in football is different with much bigger rosters than the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball.

Smith also said that epidemiologists that the union consults with said moving into a bubble with such a large roster carries its own risks because it could make the virus spread even more if someone does happen to get it.

Tretter, a centre on the Cleveland Browns, said there is also a human aspect to consider.

“Our players have wives and kids at home that they want to see,” he said.

“It’s been a tough year from a mental health perspective for our players. The feeling of isolation of not being able to see people,

their friends and family. Further asking guys to stay away from their young kids and family for six weeks is a big ask and has ramifications outside of the game of football.”

The league and union released the latest results from testing that showed the rate of positive tests fell last week to 0.11 percent from 0.20 percent the previous week and rate of incidences fell to 0.74 percent from 1.35 percent.

In all, there were 18 new confirmed positive tests last week among players and 27 among other personnel, raising the numbers since August 1 to 173 players and 297 personnel.

Union spokesman George Atallah said that 90 percent of players that test positive do so within five days of exposure. That is why the league and union have decided to

isolate “high-risk” close contacts for a five-day period to make sure they continue to test negative.

That has led to some issues such as Denver being forced to play a game against New Orleans in Week 12 without any quarterbacks after backup Jeff Driskel tested positive and the three other QBs on the team were deemed “high risk” close contacts after they all were together unmasked during a film session.

That day of that game wasn’t moved, while others have been when there has been concern that the virus could still be spreading through a team, making it more risky to play “We’re in a world where things won’t all be perfect,” Smith said.

“We have to make decisions on the information and data we have at the time.”

MICHIGAN CANCELS OHIO STATE SHOWDOWN, CITING COVID-19 CASES

By LARRY LAGE and MITCH STACY AP Sports Writers ANN ARBOR, Mich.

(AP) — Citing a rising number of COVID-19 cases in its programme, Michigan cancelled its annual showdown with Ohio State yesterday as college football lurches toward the end of the season without one of its cornerstone rivalry games.

The season-ending grudge match known as “The Game” won’t be played for the first time in 102 years. “Our players, they want to play,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “They wanted to play this week and they want to play next week.”

Harbaugh said his players were “very disappointed” to not face the thirdranked Buckeyes, who would be heavily favoured: “The odds were against us, but our players, to a man, wanted to have that opportunity.”

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said the spread of the coronavirus has not slowed since last week’s outbreak began and the team was not expected to be cleared to practice by the end of the week.

“The number of positive tests has continued to trend in an upward direction over the last seven days,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we will not be able to field a team due to COVID-19 positives and the associated quarantining required of close contact individuals.”

Outbreaks have disrupted more than 110 games across major college football since August — including this weekend’s regular-season finale between No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 18 Tulsa, which will instead look ahead to their matchup in the December 19 American Athletic Conference title game.

NCAA President Mark Emmert, in an interview with AP yesterday, said even with all the disruptions

ROBERTS FROM PAGE 18

In yesterday’s match, both teams had an ace and four double faults apiece.

However, Hardt and Mochizuki dominated in every other category except for second serves in which Roberts and Maginley held the advantage.

The big difference in the match was on break points won where Hardt and Mochizuki were 5-for-8 for 63 percent, compared to Roberts and Maginley, who were 2-for-7 for 29 percent.

“I thought it was a good quality match. I felt we were unlucky at the beginning because the first three games we lost all three, but they were good quality points,” Maginley said.

“We fought all at 4-4.

I felt I could have served better, but overall, like Justin said, it was a good level of tennis today. I’m happy with the way we played. The results could have been better. It sucks to lose, but the tennis play was good.”

more than 80 percent of the games are likely to be played and the football season should still be considered a success. Along with the volleyball and soccer seasons.

“If you’re just looking at college football, how can you have a successful football season without Ohio State-Michigan. I mean, that seems crazy, right?”

Emmert said. “But on the other hand, the success was despite all of the pressures to have that game, they said no. The health of our people is just too important.

Our students and our staff, we’re not going to risk. So to me, that’s a success.”

The problems with the Wolverines were closely watched in part because the undefeated Buckeyes (5-0) have championship goals again this season.

With two games already cancelled, the Buckeyes under current conference rules still need a sixth game to be eligible to play for a Big Ten championship December 19 in Indianapolis against Northwestern.

Coach Ryan Day said the conference should consider allowing Ohio State to play with only five games.

“If we don’t quite get the games we need to get into the championship game, I think that needs to be looked at hard, just like anybody else in the conference,” Day said shortly before Michigan’s announcement.

“The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is one of the most important rivalries in all of sports,” the Big Ten said in a statement. “The conference is committed to transparency and will continue to collaborate with its member institution stakeholders to determine Big Ten championship game participation requirements as well as tiebreakers.”

The league could decide Ohio State will still represent the East Division at least in part because the conference also doesn’t want to hurt the Buckeyes’ Today, Roberts will be back in action when he plays his first match in the men’s singles main draw.

He is scheduled to take on American Oliver Crawford, who won the singles title last week in the Dominican Republic.

“It’s going to be a high quality match. I know I will have to play well to win,” Roberts said. “I just want to be able to play better than I have so far. “I don’t think I’ve played my best tennis yet, so I’m just looking to find my groove and play a lot better in this match.”

Maginley, however, was eliminated from singles when he was beaten on Sunday by American Austin Ansari in a marathon three-setter 3-6, 6-2, 10-2.

This is the second straight tournament in two weeks for Roberts and Maginley as they prepare to wind down the year, which was hampered by a limited amount of tournaments because of COVID-19.

They didn’t survive past the first round of main draw in singles and together, they

MICHIGAN wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (9) celebrates his 25-yard touchdown reception against Ohio State during the first half of their NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan cancelled its annual rivalry game at Ohio State yesterday because of the COVID-19 outbreak within the Wolverines football programme.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya) chances of earning a playoff berth. Ohio State entered the day No. 4 in the CFP rankings.

Manuel said he didn’t think the Buckeyes, or any team, should be punished for not playing enough games during the pandemic and added that Ohio State is one of the top four teams in the country. He also said if Ohio State does not play for the conference championship, it would be “great” to play the rivalry game against Michigan on December 19.

The Buckeyes played through what Day called a “mini outbreak” last Saturday in a 52-12 win at Michigan State as he watched the game from home. Day is among the coaches and players in the programme who tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to Ohio State cancelling a game at Illinois.

The Wolverines cancelled last weekend’s game against Maryland because they had at least 12 positive COVID19 cases within the football programme, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. That number had reached 16 lost in the opening round of doubles last week in the Dominican Republic.

Maginley said he has not been back home in Antigua since last year Christmas, so he’s eager to get back to reunite with family and friends.

Roberts, the top ranked Bahamian international tennis player, hopes to do the same as he looks forward to coming home for Christmas after he’s done with his singles play at the tournament this week.

They both intend to return to Texas where they are located in the United States to resume their training in early January for the 2021 season and the new coronavirus pandemic environment.

The two tournaments in the Dominican Republic are being played under COVID-19 rules where social distance, wearing masks at all times and washing of hands regularly apply.

“They are doing alright.

We’re not a bubble, but they are enforcing some of the rules,” Roberts said.

by yesterday, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the size of the outbreak has not been disclosed by the school.

The cancellation spares Harbaugh and the Wolverines (2-4) what would likely be another lopsided loss.

The Buckeyes beat Michigan 56-27 at the Big House last year, extending their winning streak in the series to a school-record eight straight. Harbaugh fell to 0-5 in the rivalry, continuing a trend that has seen Michigan lose 15 of its last 16 games to Ohio State to knock some luster off one

of the greatest rivalries in sports.

Harbaugh’s winless record as a coach in The Game is often scrutinised, especially this season with Michgan sputtering.

Harbaugh, who is paid about $7 million per season, has one year left on his contract at the school he led as a quarterback in the mid-1980s.

The Game was first played in 1897 and became an annual contest in 1918.

Michigan still leads the series 58-51-6, but the next showdown will have to wait.

Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs said

the idea of not being able to play against Michigan made him “sick to my stomach.”

“This game has been a part of my life since I was 5 years old,” said the 59-yearold Coombs, who grew up in suburban Cincinnati.

Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis said the team works all year with the goal of beating Michigan.

“There’s a lot of hatred that goes toward that (Michigan) logo,” he said.

“All the stuff we have to do during the offseason, all the sit-ups and push-ups, everything, so there’s a lot of stuff that is definitely geared toward them.”

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PAGE 16, Wednesday, December 9, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Players walk off in protest against alleged racism in CL

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer IN a powerful protest against alleged racism, players from Paris SaintGermain and Istanbul Basaksehir walked off the field during a Champions League game yesterday and didn’t return after a match official was accused of using insulting language about a Black coach.

On a night when English giant Manchester United was eliminated after a 3-2 loss at Leipzig, the PSGBasaksehir game in the same group never finished as the players from the visiting Turkish team refused to come back out on the field because the same group of officials would still be in charge.

The remaining minutes of the match will be played today with a new set of match officials, UEFA said, following discussions with the clubs after one of the most controversial incidents in the competition’s history.

The score was 0-0 after 14 minutes when the game was stopped because Basaksehir assistant coach Pierre Webo accused the fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu of Romania, of using a racial term to describe him. It sparked a commotion in the technical area that led to Webo being sent off by the referee.

Players and coaches discussed the incident in heated fashion on the field — Basaksehir striker Demba Ba asked the fourth official whether he would have referenced a

MANCHESTER United’s Paul Pogba leaves the field after the Champions League group H soccer match against RB Leipzig at the RB Arena in Leipzig, Germany, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) player’s colour if he was white — before the referee pointed for the players to leave for the locker room.

UEFA said it would be looking into the matter, while stating the match would restart with a different fourth official inside an empty Parc des Princes stadium.

That never happened.

“A thorough investigation on the incident that took place will be opened immediately,” UEFA said in a second statement that announced the remainder of the match was being pushed back a day.

A top official at antidiscrimination network Fare, which helps UEFA investigate cases, said the decision by players to walk off “lays down a marker in Europe.”

“Many players are fed up with half measures to tackle racism,” Piara

Powar, Fare’s executive director, told The Associated Press.

PSG’s players will return to their stadium knowing they have already qualified for the knockout stage.

That’s because United was beaten by Leipzig and dropped to third place in Group H — tied for points with PSG, regardless of its result against Basaksehir, but behind the French team courtesy of an inferior head-to-head record.

In a result that weakens Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position as manager and further damages United’s financial state amid a pandemic, his team made a customary slow start and was 2-0 down after 13 minutes. When Justin Kluivert added a third in the 69th, Leipzig looked certain of advancing but United pulled goals back through Bruno Fernandes in the

80th and Paul Pogba in the 82nd.

A draw would have been good enough for United to progress — Solskjaer’s team beat Leipzig 5-0 in the first game between the sides — and there was drama in the final seconds when Leipzig goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi showed great reflexes to prevent an own-goal by Nordi Mukiele.

“We didn’t perform as a team well enough and that’s always the manager’s responsibility, to get everyone ready,” Solskjaer said.

“We just didn’t turn up until they scored the second goal.”

Lazio was the other team to advance yesterday, courtesy of a 2-2 draw with Club Brugge, though the Italian team would have been eliminated at the expense of the Belgians had a shot by Brugge’s

Charles De Ketelaere in stoppage time gone in rather than rebound off the crossbar.

Lazio advanced from the group stage for the first time in 20 years.

RONALDO OUTSHINES MESSI Cristiano Ronaldo got the better of great rival Lionel Messi as Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0 away to seal top spot in a group from which they had both already qualified.

Ronaldo converted spot kicks for Juventus in either half, after briefly embracing with Messi before kickoff when the pair — who have combined for 11 World Player of the Year awards — also exchanged a few words.

Juventus clinched first place in Group G because of a better head-to-head record with Barcelona after both finished level on 15 points.

Dynamo Kyiv secured third place and a spot in the Europa League knockout stage by beating Ferencvaros 1-0.

UNBEATEN CHELSEA Chelsea finished the group stage unbeaten after a weakened team drew 1-1 with Krasnodar at home.

Chelsea coach Frank Lampard fielded a virtual second-string lineup because his team had already qualified for the knockout stage as Group E winner, while Krasnodar knew it would finish third and play in the Europa League. Sevilla, which was assured of second place, beat already-eliminated Rennes 3-1.

UCLA WILL BE OUTFITTED BY NIKE, JORDAN BRAND STARTING IN ‘21 LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA will be outfitted by Nike beginning next year under a sixyear deal announced yesterday.

The Bruins football and men’s and women’s basketball teams will be outfitted under the Jordan Brand.

UCLA will be the first Pac-12 school to wear the “Jumpman” logo on its uniforms and will join Michigan, Florida, Oklahoma and North Carolina as programmes under the Jordan Brand for football and both basketball teams.

The new deal with Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike starts next July 1. Until then, UCLA’s 25 programmes will continue to be outfitted by Under Armour even though the university is suing the apparel company for breach of contract.

“Going into this process, our top priority was to secure the best quality and most innovative products to help our student-athletes and coaches compete for championships,” athletic director Martin Jarmond said in a statement regarding the new agreement.

“As we build upon our rich history and strive for greater heights, this transformative collaboration is a signal of the future.”

Under Armour announced in June that it was ending its contract with UCLA, citing unforeseeable circumstances due to the coronavirus pandemic as one of the reasons.

The two sides were four years into a 15-year deal worth $280 million, which was the highest in college athletics. UCLA filed a lawsuit against Under Amour in

August in US District Court in Los Angeles for breach of contract, seeking damages in excess of $200 million.

Terms of UCLA’s contract with Nike have not been available since it is pending formal approval.

“The popularity of the brand, especially the Jumpman brand, within our sport of basketball is undeniable,” men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin said through Zoom.

UCLA guard David Singleton said he owns over 80 pairs of Jordan shoes and has two more “coming in the mail.”

“I watched him as a young kid and he became my favourite player. I loved his demeanour and his will to win,” Singleton said on a Zoom call. “Jordan is a line of Nike, so I feel like having

Nike will increase our recruiting chances already.”

The men’s basketball team has been wearing various brands in its games so far this season.

“It’ll be a big upgrade for UCLA and recruiting,” basketball forward Cody Riley said. “I was always in Nikes or Jordans growing up playing. Also, it’s just Michael Jordan, one of the greatest players of all time.”

Under Armour paid $10 million per year in rights and marketing fees as well as contributing $2 million total to aid in facility improvements. Under terms of the contract, the company is supposed to supply $6.85 million in athletic apparel, footwear and uniforms. UCLA was outfitted

by Adidas prior to its deal with Under Armour.

AUSTRALIA WINS 3RD T20 TO PREVENT INDIA SWEEPING THE SERIES SYDNEY (AP) — Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell combined to help Australia to a 12-run win to prevent Virat Kohli’s India sweeping the Twenty20 series, ensuring the white ball section of the tour finished all square.

The scene is well and truly set for a four-match test series starting next week in Adelaide.

Australia won the one-day international series 2-1 and India won the first two T20s to clinch the series in the shorter format before the home team rallied to finish on a high.

It was the first major sports event in Sydney since the state government removed restrictions on crowds that were put in place for the COVID19 pandemic, and there was plenty of entertainment for the 30,436 fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Wade scored 80 from 53 balls and shared a 90-run fourth-wicket partnership with Maxwell, who had plenty of reprieves in his 36-ball 54 as Australia tallied 186-5 after being sent in to bat.

Australia’s spin bowlers — wrist spinners Mitch Swepson (3-23) and Adam Zampa (1-21) and allrounder Maxwell (1-20) — combined for the first five wickets before paceman AJ Tye dismissed Kohli for 85 in the penultimate over to all but end the chase.

Kohli had a lucky start, when Maxwell missed a runout chance and Steve Smith dropped a catch in the outfield, before posting his 25th half-century in the T20 format.

He shared important partnerships of 74 with Shikhar Dhawan (28) for the second wicket and 44 for the sixth wicket with hard-hitting Hardik Pandya (20 from 13 balls), but wasn’t able to convert the start into his first century in T20s.

India’s victory equation was 43 runs from 17 balls when Zampa removed Pandya and it got even harder when Kolhi’s 61-ball knock ended on the first ball of the 19th, cutting Tye to Daniel Sams at deep backward point. India finished 174-7 from 20 overs.

“At one stage, when Hardik got going, I thought, ‘Yeah we could pull this one off,’” Kohli said, but “the middle-over phases when we were batting cost us the game.

“This series win is a nice little asterisk for us finishing the limited-overs leg of T20 on a high.”

LASHANN Higgs in action in the Spanish Professional Basketball League yesterday.

LASHANN from PAGE 18

11th loss in 13 games and is near the bottom of the 16-team league, but Higgs said they are seeing an improvement as the season progresses.

“This is one of the top leagues in Europe and the top league in Spain, so it’s good competition,” she pointed out.

Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM will be back in action on Saturday when they take on Estudiantes and Higgs hopes that they can get back on the winning track.

“Some days are more mentally exhausting than others, but it’s a matter of finding that space where

you can rejuvenate, not just your mind, but your body as well,” she said. “It’s about finding that medium or middle ground.

“But for us as a team, regardless of the results, we are progressing and we are continuing to fight and to get better.”

With this being her first year as a professional, Higgs said she’s trying to soak up the entire experience and taking in as much as she can, despite the restrictions imposed by COVID-19.

In the meantime, Higgs said she and Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM will continue to work towards improving their performance as a team and eventually in the standings.

SPORTS

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 9, 2020, PAGE 17

MIAMI RALLIES FROM 20-POINT DEFICIT, BEATS PURDUE 58-54 CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Kameron McGusty scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half, and Miami rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to beat Purdue 58-54 last night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Miami (3-0) closed the game on a 31-10 run — after being down by as many as 32-12 late in the first half — for the Hurricanes’ largest halftime-comeback victory over the last 20 seasons, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

McGusty hit two free throws with 1:36 left to give Miami its first lead since 1-0. He added a three-point play on the Hurricanes’ next possession for a fourpoint advantage.

Miami was held to 14 points in the first half, tying the record for fewest in a half in a ACC/Big Ten Challenge game. But the

Hurricanes made 11 of 12 two-point shots to start the second half, and McGusty sank Miami’s first 3-pointer, in 16 tries, with 4:59 remaining to get within 50-45.

Miami was without guard Chris Lykes after he injured his ankle against Stetson.

Lykes is averaging 15.5 points per game.

Zach Edey, a 7-foot-4 freshman, scored 15 points for Purdue (3-2) despite fouling out with 3:11 left.

Trevion Williams also fouled out with eight points and seven rebounds.

Brandon Newman scored Purdue’s opening seven points during a 15-0 run to build a double-digit lead after the first four minutes of the game.

The Boilermakers led 32-14 at the half after holding the Hurricanes to 5-of-22 (22.7 percent) shooting, including 0 of 10 from 3-point range.

CONDOLENCES

MIAMI forward Anthony Walker (1) dunks over Purdue defenders during the second half of their NCAA college basketball game yesterday in Coral Gables, Florida.

(Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP)

NBA COACHES ATTIRE: MASKS ARE IN, JACKETS ARE OPTIONAL

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — For NBA coaches, masks are required this season. Jackets are not.

Rules for coaching attire will be relaxed by the league this year, though not as much as was the case during play at the bubble at Walt Disney World this past summer.

Suit jackets or sport coats will not be required — but coaches won’t be able to wear the short-sleeved shirts that most donned for games in the bubble, either.

The new league mandate, as detailed in a memo sent to coaches Sunday and obtained by The Associated Press, requires “business attire ... dress shirts, pants, socks, and shoes.” There’s no mention of ties, which some coaches have often gone without in recent years.

BUDDY FROM PAGE 18

“I came from the Bahamas to play in the NBA. That was my dream. I beat those odds, so I’m a fighter.

I’m going to compete for whatever is supposed to be mine, and if it’s not mine, it won’t be. So this is fun for me. I just love competing.”

Despite coming off the bench for 28 games, Hield was second on the team in scoring at 19.2 points per game. He was removed from the starting lineup in favour of Bogdan Bogdanovic last January and continued to see inconsistent minutes for the duration of the season, culminating in season low minutes when the NBA resumed play at the “bubble” in Orlando, Florida. Bogdanovic signed

The biggest change, though, is the masks, a decision made with safety in mind as the coronavirus pandemic rages on and NBA teams prepare to play in arenas again for the first time since last season was suspended on March 11 when Utah centre Rudy Gobert tested positive.

The rules will be in effect for the preseason, which begins Friday.

The regular season starts December 22.

The National Basketball Coaches Association discussed the changes in a call with the league last night.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich wore masks for games in the bubble this past summer, as did former Houston coach Mike D’Antoni and former New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry. They are all 65 or older, and at more

with the Atlanta Hawks this offseason and most NBA pundits interpreted that as a sign the organisation would move forward with Hield as the team’s starting shooting guard.

“To be honest with you, I always love competing and it doesn’t matter. That’s not my job. I don’t control that. The head coach controls that. They brought me here to play basketball and win basketball games, so whatever they need me for, I’m going to do it and try to compete at the highest (level) I can.”

Hield enters the first year of his new four-year $86 million extension that could reach as much as $106 million.

“I’m here to play basketball, win games and that’s my main focus, you know, trying to turn things around,” Hield

risk of contracting the virus based on guidelines established by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Now, masks are a mandate for all coaches, regardless of age.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said he hopes the move by coaches will further normalise mask-wearing among the public; the Heat were part of a campaign across Florida last summer, as virus numbers were soaring, to get people to wear masks.

“That’s why I continued to wear masks during the playoffs, during the finals, even when we were not required to wear them during our media sessions,” Spoelstra told The Associated Press. “One, it became a habit. And then two, we want to continue to use our platform to make people aware that masks can and do make a difference.

And if they see us wearing them all the time and not having a problem with it and understanding the importance of it, hopefully that can normalise it everywhere else.”

It’s not just a game-night rule.

The league, with limited exceptions, also will require coaches to wear masks “at all times” inside their team facility, while travelling and during practices.

“Although I look very good in a suit and tie, I will admit, I’m also very, very comfortable wearing a Nuggets polo and a pair of TravisMathew athletic leisure wear pants,” Denver coach Michael Malone said last season during play in the bubble. “I think I’ve done a very good job with the look.”

Alas, the athletic pants — “athleisure” is the term the NBA uses — must be shelved for game nights this season.

CHAVANO “BUDDY” HIELD said. “That’s all I’ve been prior to Walton’s arrival in focused on, trying to win Sacramento, and its second games, so everything will leading scorer in 2019-20, come with it that comes but started just 44 of 72 with it, but I’m just locked games before he was relin on that.” egated to a reserve role Hield was the team’s off the bench in favour of leading scorer in 2018-19, Bogdanovic.

Following the Kings’ regular season finale, Hield spoke with reporters on several topics, most noteworthy was his reply when asked whether he would be content to continue his role off the bench next season.

“Y’all know me, y’all know how I talk, y’all know how I feel with a lot of stuff, y’all can read me well, so I’ll let y’all answer that for yourselves,” Hield said.

Walton briefly addressed his relationship with the Grand Bahama native in his pre-training camp interview.

“I’m not going to get into in-house stuff of who I’ve talked to and this and that, but Buddy’s a very talented player,” he said.

“I’ve always had a good relationship with him and we’re excited that he’s part of the group.”

BETTY COLE BOC SYMPATHY THE Bahamas Olympic Committee’s Women in Sports Commission offers its condolences to the family of the late Elizabeth Betty Cole.

The statement reads as follows: “On behalf of The Women in Sports Commission and indeed The Bahamas Olympic Committee, it is with a saddened heart that we extend condolences to the Cole family on the passing of Ms Elizabeth “Betty” Cole.

“Ms Cole, a true pioneer and legend, has committed her life to the development of youth in The Bahamas. She was the first female swimming coach and teacher and because of her love for the sport of swimming, in 1969 she established the Dolphin Swim Club, providing competitive swimming to hundreds of Bahamians.

“In 1984 Ms Cole was selected swim coach for The Bahamas team at the Commonwealth Games, in New Zealand. Most notably she was made a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1990, inducted into the Bahamas National Hall of Fame in 2003 and as a Special Honoree by The Women and Sports Commission in July 2013.

“Ms Cole although small in stature, made quite an impression on those whose path she crossed; she once boasted of playing the centre position in basketball, the room was filled with laughter. “She was quite a character and leading sports ambassador.

May she Rest In Peace.

STEVEN STRACHAN BLTA CONDOLENCES THE Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association offers its condolences to the family of the late Steven Strachan.

The BLTA’s statement reads as follows: “The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) sends condolences to the family of Mr Steve Strachan, a former council member of the BLTA. “We send condolences to his wife Shanda and his daughter Erin who has represented the country in tennis, also to Tyler and Zane and the rest of the family.

“We pray for the family’s comfort during this difficult time.”

SPORTS PAGE 18

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020

UEFA

Page 16

Pro golfers looking for work

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

M

embers of the Bahamas Professional Golf Association were delighted to be back on the golf course over the weekend as they honoured the memory of their founding father, the late Roy Bowe.

But at the end of the National Championship, held in Bowe’s honour and won by Grand Bahamian Greg Maycock over five other competitors, BPGA president Chris Lewis and executive director Glenn Pratt said more of their members need to be employed on the various golf properties in the country.

“The whole thing about the Bahamas Professional Golf Association was started with Roy Bowe and we are doing everything to honour his legacy,” said Lewis at the end of the four-day tournament at the Ocean Club.

“He was a true gentleman in the sport. Everybody in America knows Arnold Palmer as their golf hero.

Everybody needs to know Mr Bowe as the true Bahamian hero for professional golf in the Bahamas.”

Crowned as the king of professional golf in the Bahamas, Bowe was the first Bahamian to turn pro in 1967. One year later in 1968, he founded the BPGA. Bowe, who was also an outstanding sloop sailor, died on November 1, 2012 at the age of 78.

“The constitution that we operated on now is the one that he put together,” Pratt said. “A lot of the policies that were put in place are not being utilised and that is why the professional golfers are not being employed.

“The main policy in place that we are urging the government to enact is that at

every golf course, the head pro position was reserved or Bahamians only.

“So if there was a foreign director, a Bahamian would be the second person in charge.”

Pratt said the golf properties are changing the policy and leaving the Bahamian pros on the sidelines.

“As an organisation, we intend to litigate it if we have to and allow the government and all the properties to account to how it’s done because we have folks coming in here for five years and end up staying for 15 years and the Bahamians are shoved aside.”

According to Lewis, who is based in Grand Bahama, the labour law indicates that if there are qualified Bahamians, they should be given the opportunity to perform their duties.

“But that is not adhered to or even being considered,” he said.

“It’s second nature to what is taking place and we as Bahamian professional golfers are left out of the process.”

Georgette Rolle is currently the head pro at Baha Mar, while Richard Gibson is the head pro in Exuma.

At Albany, Lemon Gorospe is the director and the head pro position is reportedly still vacant.

Keno Turnquest, the top Bahamian pro golfer, is also at Albany, but he’s not the head pro.

“There is no succession plan for Bahamians at the golf clubs,” Lewis said.

“If there is one, whenever the golf director leaves, the Bahamian should take over.

But that is not the case and we hope we can change that.”

At present, there are at least 10-12 golf properties in the Bahamas and there are less than that amount of pro golfers who are employed on those properties.

LASHANN HIGGS SCORES 27 POINTS IN LOSS

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

A PORTRAIT of the late Roy Bowe can be seen behind the national championship trophy of the Bahamas Professional Golf Association. Members of the BPGA were delighted to be back on the golf course over the weekend as they honoured the memory of their founding father during the four-day tournament at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island.

HARBOUR Island native Lashann Higgs produced another outstanding game, but it wasn’t enough to get her Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM team back into the winning column in the women’s Spanish Professional Basketball League.

While she poured in 20 of her team high 27 points in the second half yesterday, Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM suffered an 81-64 defeat to the still undefeated and league-leading Perfumerias Avenida as they returned home to the Bembibre Arena.

“I thought we played pretty well. I thought we competed, but it just didn’t result in a win,” said Higgs, who was coming off her career high of 32 points in their last game a week ago.

The 23-year-old graduate of the University of Texas feels she has found her shooting groove.

“I’m more confident and aggressive now because even in the games when I scored, I wasn’t shooting as well as I am now,” she reflected.

“So I think it’s the consistency and being aggressive and not getting down on myself when I missed a few shots in a row. I’m a lot more consistent right now.”

Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM, however, has now suffered its

SEE PAGE 16

Roberts and Maginley suffer loss in doubles

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN Justin Roberts and his longtime close friend and partner Jody Maginley from Antigua suffered a loss yesterday in the men’s doubles at the M15 Santo Domingo Tournament.

In a match that lasted one hour and 57 minutes, Roberts and Maginley lost 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 16 to the No.3 seeded team of Nick Hardt from the Dominican Republic and Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan.

Incidentally, Hardt and Mochizuki were the doubles champions from the

previous tournament played last week in the Dominican Republic where Roberts and Maginley were ousted in the first round by the duo that went on to be the runners-up.

“It was a tough one,” Roberts said. “It was a good doubles team. They won the tournament last week, so they are in good form.

We lost a lot of deuce points that didn’t go our way.

“But I think it was the best doubles match we played since we had the break for COVID-19 in March. So it was bad results, but decent tennis played.”

SEE PAGE 15

Buddy: ‘I have no regrets’

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net CHAVANO “Buddy” Hield addressed the media for the first time since the regular season finale and the outspoken Sacramento Kings guard sought to clarify.

In his pre-training camp media availability, Hield said he has no regrets on his contract demands last offseason, but also downplayed previous reports of any rift between himself and Kings head coach Luke Walton.

“I have no regrets,” Hield said. “There’s nothing to be worked on. I never had a problem with nobody here, so everything that was being heard, it wasn’t put

out by me. I love everybody here in this franchise and this organisation, so I don’t regret nothing I said. I’m going to keep it 100.”

The Athletic first reported in October that Hield was not accepting calls from Walton during an offseason filled with trade rumours and speculation on the elite shooter’s future in Sacramento.

Walton did little to quell those rumours when he would not commit to Hield as a starter for the upcoming season and said spots would be earned in training camp.

“Everything in life, we all have to earn. You have to earn your job. There’s nothing free in this world.

SEE PAGE 17