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Volume: 118 No.245, November 16, 2021
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AUDIT LIFTS LID ON MINISTRY FAILINGS
‘Many failures’ identified at Sports ministry Minnis ordered be ‘locked down’ By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net A CONTRACT awarded without Cabinet approval is among the problems Auditor General Terrance Bastian uncovered when he audited the National Sports Authority for the period between July 1, 2018 to January 2021. He also found instances where cheques to contractors were collected by a senior official of the
ROAD RAGER
Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture. The Office of the Auditor General’s report, tabled in Parliament yesterday, found poor maintenance practices at the agency, inadequate inventory controls and boards that were not able to carry out the functions of the authority, among other things. “We were concerned about the following,” the report said. “(A) The
WORKS and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears says officials have identified numerous irregularities with contracts the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority issued before the September 16 general election. St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright, the executive chairman of the body at that time, countered
yesterday that he operated fairly and sought to bring credit to the organisation. Golden Isles MP Vaughn Miller, however, rebuffed him, saying he was treated in a “low down, egregious way” before the election. “As a matter of fact,” he claimed, “leading up to the elections, as the Member of Parliament, my opponent was treated as the Member of Parliament. Contracts were issued in excess of
- SEE PAGE EIGHT
‘$62M WIPED OFF IN TAX AMNESTY
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE Government wroteoff $62m in outstanding real property taxes to gain just $37.5m in extra revenue via its recent amnesty initiative, it was revealed last night. Unveiling its fiscal performance for the three months to end-September 2021, the Government disclosed that it has “foregone” 65 percent more in taxes than it actually collected through this programme. Or, flipped the other way, it gained a sum that is 39.4 percent less than what it has written-off.
SEE BUSINESS SECTION
SEE PAGE THREE
ACCUSED DENIES DAMAGE TO STATUE
AUTHORITY ‘RENEWED ALL CONTRACTS’ PRE-ELECTION By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
FACE TO FACE: HOLDING HANDS WITH HAVANA
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
A WOMAN is in hospital with ‘significant injuries’ after a man hit her with his car during a confrontation and dragged her body a short distance before crashing and overturning. See story on page two. Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune staff
SEE PAGE TWO
‘A CLEAR AND RANK ABUSE OF POWER’
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
A SUPREME Court judge has dismissed the court action of Melissa Hall, a former general manager of the Bridge Authority, who sued the body in 2018 by claiming breach of contract of employment. The judge in the case called Ms Hall’s claim that she was entitled to three years’ notice “delusional”
and “a clear and rank abuse of power” adding that it was “disappointing” that the plaintiff called on thenMinister of Labour Shane Gibson to approve this. Ms Hall brought the action after the Minnis administration ended her employment in February 2018 with three months’ pay in lieu of notice. She had sought more than $600,000 in damages and costs. According to Justice Ruth Bowe Darville’s
ruling on the matter, Ms Hall was appointed a member of the board of the Bridge Authority on July 1, 2012 and was later appointed general manager on December 14, 2012. Her contract was dated January 7, 2013. That contract specified that her employment would continue indefinitely until either party gave proper notice of its end. According to that contract, she was supposed to be SEE PAGE FIVE
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
A 37-YEAR-OLD man has denied allegations that he trespassed on Government House property last month and caused $2,000 worth of damage to a Christopher Columbus statue. Shervandaze Smith SEE PAGE SEVEN
PETER YOUNG: STILL WE REMEMBER AND SALUTE THE FALLEN’S SACRIFICE
- SEE PAGE NINE
PAGE 2, Tuesday, November 16, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
WOMAN ‘GIVES BIRTH WHILE WAITING TO BE SEEN BY A DOCTOR’ AT RAND
BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
A CONCERNED resident has expressed frustration over the long wait time and delays at the Rand Memorial Hospital before patients are seen by a doctor. The delays are so long in a video post on social media, a Grand Bahama woman claimed she and others had to assist a pregnant woman who gave birth to a baby after waiting outside to be seen by a doctor. “It made me cry to know where that baby born in the middle of the floor,” the woman claimed in a video posted on facebook. According to the woman, the pregnant woman and other patients were made to wait outside the hospital. The woman said she took her mother who experiencing breathing complications to the Rand around 7pm. Her mother was screened and told to wait in the vehicle. “After two to three hours… my mother started having complications again. She started holding her chest, saying she can’t breathe, she can’t breathe.” The woman said someone came out with a wheel chair and wheeled her mother to the front door, but did not take her inside. She said she was told the doctors were busy. The woman said a male patient with injuries also came to hospital seeking assistance. “His finger was hanging off and they…wrap couple pieces of gauze around it and say they dealing with a baby first,” she said. The woman claimed a pregnant woman in labour also came to the hospital. She said the woman
appeared to be in a lot of pain. She said she sanitized her hand and started to comfort the woman by rubbing her down and fanning her because she was sweating. “We were sitting outside and we were cold, but she was sweating,” the woman recalled. Me and a next lady we timed the contractions. She said, ‘the baby coming’ and I said, ‘don’t push.’ “ “Me and two ladies had to throw our hands around her and the baby was out. We helped deliver the baby right there in the middle of the hallway,” the woman claimed. “They have to do better with this system. “We have babies sitting up out here in the cold. “We were sitting outside because there is no place to sit. “When they screen you, you have to sit outside. If it is rain… you getting wet - this ain’t a place for nobody to be. “That lady deliver her baby walking inside the Emergency Room door. We had to grab the blanket and throw her sweater around her. “And it is hurtful.” The woman claimed hospital personnel came running to assist only after the woman had already given birth. “The baby was in the woman pants crying, she said. “I am so angry right now, but I am happy because it is a healthy baby girl.” The woman called for improvement in hospital. The Tribune understands that hospital officials were aware of the video post. However, the hospital administrator did not return our call up to press time.
POLICE at the scene close to the overturned car. PHOTO: Racardo Thomas/Tribune staff
Woman hit and dragged by car after confrontation By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
A MAN hit a woman with his car during a confrontation and dragged her body a short distance before he crashed into a parked car, police said. The assailant’s car overturned and he exited the vehicle and tried to flee the scene but was restrained by bystanders who held him until police arrived. The woman, who is in her early 30s, was taken to hospital with “significant injuries,” police said. The incident took place on Key West Street. Police were called to the scene after 3pm and met the woman lying on the ground with multiple abrasions about her body. “Initial investigations revealed that there was a conflict or confrontation between her and a
male and as a result of this the male drove a vehicle and struck her, dragging her a short distance before stopping as a result of hitting a vehicle that was parked nearby,” Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters said. “That vehicle that driver was driving overturned and that driver exited that vehicle and attempted to flee the scene. As he was doing so, members of the community accosted him and held him until the police arrived on scene. EMS had transported the female to the hospital. She appears to be coherent, however it is concluded that she has received significant injuries,” he said. Asked if this was a “lovers’ quarrel”, the officer said while that had not been concluded, “It is a possibility.” ASP Peters appealed to families, friends and persons who are
in relationships that find themselves in conflicts to find better ways to resolve their issues. He added: “You can use the continuum of de-escalation whether you either be passive and walk away; be assertive and get your point across in a coherent manner so that the person may understand what it is you want and you can help them meet their needs as they meet your needs. “The aggression will not be fruitful in any way as the result of this incident here today. “You can also simply end the relationship rather than continue on and have incidents like these recur and cause persons in the community to be affected by it because in this incident, family members are affected because someone has to take care of who would’ve been left behind.”
AUTHORITY ‘RENEWED ALL CONTRACTS’ PRE-ELECTION
FROM PAGE ONE
$200k; only under $5,000 I was able to access and the record would reflect that.” In response, Mr Cartwright said: “I vehemently resent the aspersion the member is trying to cast on this member to call my integrity into question relative to the assignment of contracts. The member can surely make the statement that he wishes that she doesn’t feel like he was dealt with fairly, I have no issues with that. But to suggest that this member tried personally to deprive or disadvantage the member, I’ve not been about that in politics.” For his part, Mr Sears said the permanent secretary of his ministry and the management team of the authority brought concerns to him on Friday about how the authority handled contracts. “According to the permanent secretary, shortly before the general election, all of the contracts were renewed and according to the management team some of these contractors had not been performed satisfactorily,” he said. “Nevertheless there was instruction that every contract be renewed. Secondly, some contracts were not signed by the authority and the contractors purported to perform notwithstanding the fact that the contracts were only signed by the contractor but not the authority. The report also said that after the general election had been called there was a rash of contracts issued, which they are seeking to reconcile. “Fourthly, I was advised that contracts were issued without board approval and the Act requires that the authority act on the basis of board resolution.
Fifth, that contracts were issued but some of those contracts which had been issued had not been communicated to the accounts department,” Mr Sears said. “Number six, that there were duplication of contracts and second was the issue of (the) inspectorate. I’ve asked that there be a reconciliation. I’m only reporting what was reported to me as the responsible minister and when the board is fully constituted it will be a matter for the board of the authority to reconcile and then report to me as the responsible minister and the issue of the inspectorate and the quality of the inspection and so on will be addressed. “Since the question was raised, the authority is being fully constituted and since the transfer from the Ministry of Environment to the Ministry of Works we have insisted that there be a proper reconciliation so that upon receipt of it we will be fully seized of what would have happened in the first part of the fiscal year and we will know what we are dealing with,” Mr Sears said. Mr Cartwright, in response, said he performed his duties without an eye to political considerations. “So let me just say for the record that we would have done our endeavour best to ensure that there was a balanced approach,” he said. “Many times we would’ve done our best to ensure that we meet the needs of every Member of Parliament. “The member of Fort Charlotte also mentioned duplications. On being appointed to the authority the issue of duplication was always a challenge that we sought to rectify…there
was nothing sinister about duplications. It happens in the assignment of road contracts and so forth and it’s something that always presents a challenge that we endeavour to clear up. “Also on the matter that the honourable mentioned about contracts prior to the election, contracts were already in train prior to the calling of an election on August 19. “These were not done as a result of the election being called. After August 19, the process still had to be concluded, so it was not a deluge or mad rush and not to suggest honourable member that you said that, I’m just trying to bring clarification. “A lot of times when we’re seeking to balance this approach to ensure that the opportunities that are there for everybody, and I emphasise again Madam Speaker, what we are most proud of is that the regular Joe Blow off of the street who was unaffiliated with any political party was able to come to the authority and to enquire about the opportunities that were there, young men and young women, and we were very proud of that. “This member has come into politics to operate a certain way. “It may not be perfect in terms of certain requests that were made, and so I just want the Bahamian public to know that we operated in a way that we thought would bring credit to the authority. “Obviously there may have been things that could have been done better. When I was appointed, I fully acknowledged the improvements that were made by the chairman prior to me and then we improved on a lot of systems that were in place.”
THE TRIBUNE
AUDIT LIFTS LID ON MINISTRY FAILINGS FROM PAGE ONE
micromanagement of the operational affairs of NSA. Section 8 of the Sports Authority Act, 2011 indicates that ‘the minister may give to the authority directions of a general or of a specific nature as to the policy to be followed by the authority in the performance of its functions as appear to the minister to be requisite in the public interest.’ However, documents obtained suggest that circumvention of controls may have occurred. “(B) The awarding of a contract without Cabinet approval along with the receipt of items by NSA before payment was effected.” In its conclusion, the OAG said: “Having examined the accounting system, we conclude that there were many failures of executive management in breach of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 2010, Financial Regulations 1975 and the Sports Authority Act 2011. We have noted our observations in the report and concluded that besides several control functions in need of overhaul the accounts are being fairly maintained.” Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis ordered a lockdown of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture before receiving an internal audit that led to the resignation of then-Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture MP Lanisha Rolle. The Tribune reported that when ministry officials and the board of the NSA became concerned that established processes and procedures were not being followed, they took their concerns to Dr Minnis. The Auditor General was in the midst of auditing the NSA––which manages and develops sporting facilities––at the time. During the audit, officials reviewed eight contracts to ensure they were properly negotiated, executed and performed in accordance with the law. For some of the agreements—those worth $45,600, $22,600, $48,303, $168,000 and $49,700—the auditor found the contracts were generated through the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, with paperwork subsequently forwarded to the NSA to make the payments. In three of those cases, cheques were paid “in individual names rather than the company and collected by a senior official of the MOYSC.” In at least one case, a procurement exercise was not done and the NSA’s management team and board were not involved in the selection of the vendor. The Auditor General also found the NSA has a high number of accounts receivable, with up to $1,056,328.95 owed to the body during the period covered. “The NSA, although funded by the government, must place more emphasis on cash management and position itself to be able to ensure that payments are immediately received for all services,” the report said.
• SEE BUSINESS SECTION FOR MORE
Tuesday, November 16, 2021, PAGE 3
Bishop Laish Boyd concerned about election victory margins, turnout By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net BISHOP Laish Boyd has voiced concern regarding margins of victory and a lower-than-normal voter turnout in the September general election, saying such margins may encourage a government to be less than fair and less than evenhanded. In the September 16 election the Progressive Liberal Party secure 32 seats in the House of Assembly, while the Free National Movement only won seven. Voter turnout was around 65 percent. Bishop Boyd urged the new PLP government not to use its majority to settle old scores. In his address last night to attendees at the 118th session of the Anglican Synod, Bishop Boyd said: “Mr Leader of the Opposition here in The Bahamas, I ask you and your team to be a good and honourable opposition, issue-centred truth-focused and on the high road, sir, with the greatest respect. And I say the same thing to you Mr Prime Minister, to you and your team, be a good and honourable government issue-centred, truth-focused and on the high road, sir, with the greatest respect. “I have a concern about two elements of the elections: the wide margins of victory and the lowerthan-normal voter turnouts.
Victories “In The Turks and Caicos Islands, the PNP won 14 to 1. In The Bahamas, the PLP won 32-7. While these are victories ‘fair and square’, such margins might encourage a government to be less than fair and less than even handed. The overall national good could be in jeopardy if a government were not upright, transparent and accountable. Let us challenge our leaders to take the high road. Do not cater to your base, which can be very base at times. Do not use your majority to settle old scores. “Serve the people. Work collegially with all colleagues. Use your position to build your country for all. “Ladies and gentlemen of both countries, government and opposition, please uplift and build your beloved Turks and Caicos and Bahamas. Focus on the task at hand. Leave out personal attacks and negativity. Offer positive
BISHOP Laish Boyd at the 118th session of the Anglican Synod. Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune staff suggestions. Govern all citizens and He noted The Bahamas’ 40 per- God!’ I commend The Turks and residents. Pay particular attention to cent vaccination rate, adding “more Caicos Islands where 77.5 percent of the poor and the vulnerable, those of us need to be vaccinated”. the population is fully vaccinated. who cannot help themselves. And, As of Sunday, there were 139,471 “Here in The Bahamas, we are at remember, those with more should people fully vaccinated in the 40 percent. More of us need to be be prepared to give more and to pay county. There has also been a drop vaccinated. Here, in The Bahamas more. off in the number of vaccinations in we need more discipline and com“In The Turks and Caicos Islands, recent weeks. pliance. Our numbers are too high, voter turnout was 76 percent down The bishop also commended the though (we are) improving. Would from over 80 percent in recent elec- government for an “admirable” job have had fewer cases if more of us tions. In The Bahamas, turnout was in the face of the challenges sparked had simply behaved ourselves and 65 percent, down from the 80s and by the coronavirus pandemic. complied. 90s in recent elections. “Now, our healthcare facilities “What this means, I do not know. remain full and our healthcare workHowever, we need to be nurturing, ers and funeral industry workers encouraging and inspiring greater remain overtaxed. We thank all of awareness and participation in “We thank God for all of His our responders and front-line care, national affairs, because there are few national privileges greater than blessings to us at all times and espe- security and support functions. God having your say at the polls. Do cially in this COVID-19 season,” he bless and strengthen you all, because you know how long the world has said at the Christ Church Cathedral it is not over yet. “We must not let our guards fought for one person one vote… event. “Both the Turks and Caicos even right here in The Bahamas and Islands and The Bahamas have had down. Let’s keep the protocols, let’s Turks and Caicos? And some of us our share of health, public health, get vaccinated. Let’s move forward.” He continued: “I challenge all are throwing it away. Nothing should financial, job, personal mental and discourage or disillusion a person emotional challenges over the past Anglicans to lead the way in getting vaccinated – unless you have some from exercising that right. Do not 20 months. “In both countries the govern- special circumstance which prevents let anyone discourage you from it,” ments did an admirable job in a you. Following the protocols and Bishop Boyd said. He also said more discipline and circumstance where there was no now getting vaccinated is a powerful compliance is needed from Bahami- play book to go by. Bravo! Things way of loving your neighbour: putans in the fight against COVID-19, could have been a whole lot worse, ting yourself in the safest position as he urged Anglicans to lead the and there are areas where we could and ensuring that your neighbour way in getting vaccinated. have done better but ‘Thanks be to can be as safe as he/she can be.”
Challenges
PARENTS ‘AT FAULT’ FOR STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING VIRTUAL CLASSES By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net PARENTS are at fault for the deficits in learning that have arisen from some students not attending classes virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, Anglican Bishop Laish Boyd said yesterday. He said parents “have to own this” because it was the result of “irresponsibility”. “We recognise that education has been impacted severely by COVID-19,” he said during the 118th session of the Anglican Synod at Christ Church Cathedral last night. “Virtual learning has been difficult for teachers, students and parents, for some more than others. “We have to be sensitive to the struggles that all of these groups have had, and I commend teachers, students and parents for their best efforts. We have to do all that we can to help and to encourage them, and to provide equipment for those who do not have the technology to learn and to study. “We are very concerned about the numbers of children in The Bahamas who have not signed in to the virtual portals and therefore have missed out on a lot of their own education. Some of these children have equipment issues and some are victims of poverty, but most are not in this category. “The government nor the Ministry of Education is at fault. It is the home and the parents who have to own this. It is simply irresponsibility. Sad but true. My earnest prayer is that children and parents would see the importance of prioritising education and seek to make up for the time and learning opportunity lost. “We wish the Ministry of Education and private institutions well as we all venture deeper in hybrid and, ultimately, full face-toface learning.” In October, Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin said COVID-19 has had a “cataclysmic” impact on education as she pledged
to ensure the country does not produce “a lost generation of Bahamian youth”. Earlier this month, she announced all schools will reopen for in-person instruction in the second week of January with just a few exceptions. The learning model is expected to be hybrid instruction at first. The bishop went on to urge people to reduce levels of violence in the community, while pinpointing the death of a child in recent days. He said there were many other children in similar circumstances.
“…Girls, boys, women and men who are victims of physical, mental and emotional violence. “We in the church must not turn a blind eye and we must work to make our homes, schools, workplaces and communities places of peace and safety. We join the government in seeking to nurture and to create better family life. “Strong families create strong communities and societies and countries. I encourage those responsible for policy formation and the allocation of necessary resources to reignite efforts to commence a
Family Court. This will take the strain off of the general court system and form a more direct reach into a special and critical area of need.” Bishop Boyd also noted the situation in Haiti. He said Bahamians and those in Turks and Caicos must be tolerant to all Haitian migrants. “We continue to pray for peace and stability: only God can bring that. The Bible urges us to pray without ceasing. And we in The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands must continue to be tolerant and humane to Haitian and to
all migrants, even when they break the law. “Mind you – do not get me wrong – the law must be respected and maintained and no one should be allowed to break laws with impunity. “However, most of us have no idea of the conditions in Haiti and in other countries, and the suffering and hopelessness that causes tens of thousands of people to risk their lives and the lives of their children to find a better life. “We have no idea! So let us seek to have the mind of Christ and the sacred heart of Jesus in these matters.”
PAGE 4, Tuesday, November 16, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE PANDEMIC IS THROUGH ‘BIPARTISAN APPROACH’ By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net AFTER pointing out the yeoman’s effort made by healthcare workers in the fight against COVID-19, Senator Darren Henfield said a bipartisan approach is the only way to survive the pandemic. The Free National Movement senator made those remarks while presenting his contribution to the debate for the COVID-19 Pandemic Special Provisions Act 2021 which was passed in the Senate last Thursday. Former minister of foreign affairs, Senator Henfield told the Senate that at the onset of the deadly pandemic, there was no manual issued on how to deal with the health crisis. He said, “I am convinced that the only way for us to survive and win this war against COVID-19 is through a bipartisan approach. In so doing I believe it’s important for the record that we contextualise how we got to this point in the COVID war. “When the novel coronavirus hit our shores sometime, officially around March of 2020, just six months after Hurricane Dorian the world was still grappling with how to (deal) with this deadly pandemic. “There was no play book. And worse than that there was no vaccine. “We had to act urgently and decisively. We knew that uncontrolled spread would put the country in a very bad position as we simply don’t have the facilities or personnel to adequately defend against an out of control outbreak,” he said. Continuing, he spoke to those responsible for caring for the people stricken with COVID-19. “You know I still don’t believe that we have enough tongues to thank sufficiently our healthcare workers and security forces for the yeoman’s effort they made and continue to make in the fight
against COVID-19,” he said. “May God continue to bless them and their families. “We did so by invoking Emergency Order Protocols as provided for under Article 29 of our Constitution, which was enacted for the specific purpose of addressing public emergencies such as those presented by the pandemic. “None of this was done flippantly or lightly. Invoking the emergency provisions enshrined in Article 29 of the Constitution represents a dilemma with no ready solution. The test is in balancing individual rights with the duty of care owed to the collective by the state.” The former administration met much criticism from the Bahamian public when it applied restrictive measures in an attempt to curtail the spread of the virus. Months of curfews and lockdowns are believed to be a part of the reason for the FNM’s defeat at the polls recently. “Even though the Constitution provides for it, we knew that arresting fundamental rights would prove challenging,” Senator Henfield said on Thursday. “Countries all across the world, large and small, acted similarly, shutting their borders and restricting the movement of their citizens. “All in an effort to balance the health and wellbeing of citizens alongside economic survival. Our efforts were applauded by external bodies as evidenced by the IMF Executive Board’s 2020 Article IV Consultation report on The Bahamas. “I quote: ‘The authorities introduced timely measures to sustain public health, protect the most vulnerable and cushion the impact of the pandemic on employment,’ end quote.” As of Saturday, the state of emergency and emergency orders which governed the country expired. Senator Henfield noted that it was always the former government’s intention to do away with the orders when they expired on November 13.
NOTICE
Sean D. Pratt L.F.D&E, C.E.O
PMH bed space issue seeing ‘some relief’ By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
WITH COVID-19 cases declining and hospital rates down, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said the issue with Princess Margaret Hospital’s bed space is seeing “some relief”. The minister told The Tribune the new administration and those at the Ministry of Health and Wellness are “taking the inventory and beginning to look at areas” they can improve in the short-term while developing a strategy for the long-term. “Now that the pandemic numbers are going down and the hospitalisation as a result of COVID is going down, there is bed space. The challenges we have with the PMH are many, but with the pandemic and hospitalisations down, that major issue that we had with the PMH with bed space - we’re seeing some relief.
HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville.
“With that being said we still have to make ways to improve what is available at the PMH and prepare ourselves for the possibility of another wave that might come our way for COVID-19. “So work is ongoing,” he explained. He noted his team toured the morgue and “we realised that there are some immediate needs in that location”. “We need to do some
immediate work there. The scope of work is completed and hopefully within a week, maximum two, we would award a contract to begin to start that work. “The area is run down. We have some mechanical, an air-conditioner as well as an airflow situation that needs to be worked out by mechanical engineers and then as you go to the back of the morgue we didn’t think it was presentable and so there’s a plan to clean up the space.” As for the issues with bodies at the morgue, the minister added: “A plan was put in place to move quickly to have a lot of the remains of loved ones moved in a more organised and rapid fashion. To my understanding, some of that is being done.” A press conference had been organised earlier this month to address recent reports of maternity deaths, standard operating procedures, threats to staff and staff fatigue at PMH.
However, it was postponed to a later date. Dr Darville admitted a press conference was in the works from the Public Hospitals Authority to address the maternity ward, the children’s ward and some of the concerns private citizens had in the delivery of those services. “We’ve decided to, first of all, speak directly to those who have been impacted to listen to their complaints while this independent study is going on. The information that we will receive from those individuals will prove to be beneficial on the way forward how we conduct our affairs at the Princess Margaret Hospital and to ensure that customer (satisfaction) is achieved,” he said. Fourteen new cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Sunday, bringing the nation’s toll to 22,601. Officials said 47 people are in hospital with the virus.
‘Quite a bit’ of Atlantis workers remain furloughed By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
DORRIEN BOWE Mr Bowe is not affiliated with Amethyst Memorial and is not authorized to conduct any business transaction on behalf of Amethyst Memorial. Signed Management
BAHAMAS Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union president Darrin Woods says “quite a bit” of Atlantis workers remain furloughed, adding they continue to hang in the balance for word on what the hotel intends to do with the end to the COVID-19 Emergency Powers Orders.
However, he told The Tribune the mega resort has 30 days from the expiration of those orders—which was last Saturday—to make a decision on the way forward for the workers. The expired emergency orders suspended the Employment Act provision requiring companies to provide full severance pay to furloughed workers after 90 days. “Atlantis has some between 5,000 and 6,000 workers in general and out of that I think about 4,000 plus are a part of the bargaining unit and out of that we have the majority,” Mr Woods said yesterday. “I would say we (are) just barely scraping 50 to 55 percent of our members who are back to work. “So, there are still quite a bit of persons who are still home. “They will tell you that they only have a couple home but I’ll tell you that there are quite a bit that’s still home.” Despite this, Mr Woods said nothing definitive had been said regarding the way forward, but there was a meeting planned to discuss pertinent issues. “As a matter of fact we are trying to have a general membership meeting on Wednesday to discuss the whole issue of furloughed workers and also persons who are still unvaccinated. “But they do have 30 days you know from the expiration date that they have to make a decision. “So, I guess you can say
BAHAMAS Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union president Darrin Woods. that they are still within the comfort of the order.” Last week Press Secretary Clint Watson told reporters that a major employer had been instructed to follow the law pertaining to how the furloughed workers should be treated. Ultimately, he said a conversation needed to be had to determine the best course of action. “Here is what has to happen,” he told the media during last week’s weekly press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, “obviously there needs to be a conversation as to will these persons be reengaged and if not, then what needs to happen next as far as proper packages for disengagement. “The administration has met with a major employer who did express the need
to disengage and we have told them that they had to follow the laws not the emergency orders, the laws as far as payout and how it should be done and they have agreed to follow that. “So, that is our position with other companies. “It’s one thing to say people are furloughed but there ought to be at some point a bending point. You just can’t have people just waiting and saying we’ll see what happens.” He continued: “There are a lot less people on furlough than there were when we were in the height of this pandemic and so the ones that are on furlough, we have been talking with those employers to ensure that a decision is made because it has to be made so people know whether they’ll be re-engaged. Whether or not they are going to have to move on and if so give them their package and what is rightfully due according to the labour laws of this country. “So, we are very much mindful of that. “The Department of Labour is very aware of that and is having that conversation to ensure the law is followed in regards to persons who are furloughed.” Labour Director Robert Farquharson was contacted for comment yesterday. However, he declined saying a statement was coming addressing the issue. No statement was received up to press time.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, November 16, 2021, PAGE 5
‘A CLEAR AND RANK WSC CHAIRMAN SAYS NO WIDESPREAD ABUSE OF POWER’ DISCONNECTION OF WATER SUPPLY THIS WEEK
FROM PAGE ONE
given 30 working days’ notice. However, an addendum dated April 20, 2017—weeks before the 2017 general election— purported to amend this clause of her contract to specify that she must be given three years’ notice before her contract could be terminated. Ultimately, Justice Bowe Darville rejected the validity of the addendum, saying it does not bear statutory elements. She said the variation to Ms Hall’s terms of employment “exhibited gross abuse of power.” “The preparation and execution of the document, ‘the addendum,’ calls for closer scrutiny,” she wrote. “From the evidence given as to the production of the addendum, the typing by Lisa Elliot, the exchange of emails and messenger’s delivery of documents, it is evident that the plaintiff was solely responsible for the preparation of the same. During the course of cross examination she did her best to explain firstly, how she prepared that draft and had it typed up, emailed it to [then] Minister [of Labour Shane Gibson] (bypassing the board in the first instance) and on her word, passing same email with attachment to (Rory) Higgs.” Mr Higgs is chairman of the Bridge Authority. She added: “The court can only conclude that the addendum was not a deed and its possible efficacy is questionable. This document was not found in the human resource manager’s files. “The plaintiff in her claim relied on the then minister’s agreement to the new terms of her contract of employment no doubt crafted by her for her purposes. Such an addendum, if valid, would have bound/ prevented further ministers from exercising the statutory power of appointing chief administrative officers. “Should a minister choose to exercise his powers as per the relevant provisions found in the schedule to the Bridge Authority Act he/she would have to payout the three year notice as per the addendum together with
benefits. Even a blind man could see that it was a well calculated form of entrapment. What was even more apparent was the fact that the plaintiff was not satisfied with her salary structure prior to 2017 and sought to increase the same beyond measure. “When reviewing the purpose of her employment was to achieve or further the interest of the Bridge Authority and to do what was in the best interest of the Bridge Authority the plaintiff fell far short. To have claimed a notice period of three years was delusional on her part and disappointing that she would call on the minister to approve the same and, according to her and by (Rory) Higgs evidence, he did.” According to the judgement, Mr Higgs in a statement said that on April 11, 2017, he received an email with an unsigned copy of the proposed addendum. “The email advised that the plaintiff had reviewed her employment agreement and the relevant legislation regarding the Bridge Authority. She determined that the minister responsible had the authority to appoint a chief administrative officer. “The email went on to further say that the minister had agreed to the proposed amendment which had been vetted by counsel. “The minister was copied on the email. Higgs went on to further state that he was contacted by the minister a few days later. In the course of this telecom, the minister confirmed his approval of the form of the addendum and instructed Higgs to attend the signing of the same,” the judgement noted. Justice Bowe Darville ultimately found that the addendum in question was not valid for several reasons including that its method, preparation and production were not in keeping with the procedures of the board and it was not executed in conformity with the Bridge Authority Act and that there was “clear and rank abuse of power” by the plaintiff, among other reasons.
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
SYLVANNUS Petty, chairman of the Water & Sewerage Corporation, said there will not be any widespread disconnection of water supply to customers who are behind on their bills this week, adding that “political mischief” prompted WSC’s recent announcement that it would occur. WSC said in a recent Facebook notice that disconnections would resume on November 15. The government suspended disconnections in 2020 to help people cope with the COVID19 pandemic. Alfred Sears, Minister of Works and Utilities, has said he was not informed of the WSC’s policy decision before the notice was released. He said he would take the matter to Cabinet. He declined to discuss the issue yesterday. However, Mr Petty told reporters mass disconnections will not resume. “But moving forward,” Mr Petty said, “we do encourage people to pay their bills. It’s been surprising that we have a lot of people still paying their bills even though it’s been a slow period for Bahamians.”
He declined to elaborate on his claim that political mischief was behind the WSC’s notice. “Like I said, you can doctor any document, and that’s been happening, so moving forward there is no mass disconnections,” he said. Asked if someone has been held accountable for the policy decision and notice release, he said: “We’re still investigating it and don’t want to spend too much time on that right now
because we’re here to do the people’s work and that’s just a distraction.” He declined to say how much money the corporation is owed. In June, thenWSC Executive Chairman Adrian Gibson said the corporation sustained a nearly $14 million shortfall in payments since the directive to cease disconnections was implemented. In March he said the corporation suffered a “monumental” 30 percent revenue loss in 2020 compared with 2019.
MITCHELL ADVISES COLLEAGUES TO RETURN PHONE CALLS, NOT TO CHANGE NUMBERS By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net A GOVERNMENT minister is advising his colleagues to adapt the habit of returning phone calls to those who put them in office and also not to change phone numbers they were reached on before coming to office. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Public Service gave the advice yesterday while sharing his own experience as an MP. Prior to leaving office, some politicians in the Minnis administration became unpopular, being cited as inaccessible with most of the MPs and Cabinet ministers allegedly not picking up on calls and not returning them. Members of the press faced similar challenges with the former administration while trying to obtain interviews to include in articles. With many members of the Davis administration already receiving new phone numbers, Mr Mitchell said there is no reason to change a phone number while in public life. Both Mr Mitchell and former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham are known to be reached at numbers they have had for well over a decade. “Let me address the issue of returning phone calls,” Mr Mitchell said. “When I was a young man, I met and was befriended by a man named Edward St George. He was the owner of the Grand Bahama Port Authority. “It was my first experience, actually, interacting with a rich man and I was surprised after we had a chance meeting and introduction by Sir Lynden Pindling, that he said he would call me back and he did. He later told me that insofar as he could, no matter who it was he would always return a phone call.” He said: “As a young politician, I parked that in my memory bank and
FRED MITCHELL, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Public Service. adopted it as a practice. I recommend it to young politicians today. You or your staff should return phone calls and you should also abandon the practice, in this age of mobile phones, of changing your phone number. Keep your number for life – your public life that is. Do not change it, as long as you are in public life.” Mr Mitchell also advised the wouldbe callers and seekers of assistance. This is his second time telling them to be patient. He said: “Now, for the other side of the coin. The caller, the voter, the constituent has some obligations too. One of them is patience. Another is understanding and trying to understand the difference between an emergency, which is life and death, urgency or something which is important. “I am advised and detect that there is a great deal of anxiety around because eight weeks into the administration the wheels haven’t turned as quickly as we all would like.
“Take a deep breath, folks. Exhale. I was minister of the government before and what astounded me then and astounds me now is how slowly things tend to move. It takes a while to get to know your way around.” He said some calls or messages can inadvertently slip through the cracks. He not only asked supporters and those trying to make connections to be patient, but he also asked them not to jump to conclusions. He said: “I asked for my old job back because I wanted to be in a place where there was no learning curve, but where I was able to concentrate on letting you, the public and especially those who voted for us in the last election, know how things were coming along. “I’ve been heartened by your words of support and encouragement and pained by the myriad of problems and discomforts. “From the Prime Minister on down to all ministers and MPs, we are pained by these discomforts. The problems are many and the pain is real. I believe that one day at a time they can be solved, but it takes two to make this work. “Try not to jump to conspiracy theories about the fellows ‘dissing’ you, ignoring you or not paying attention. Sometimes the calls may not be returned because of inadvertence. You can easily miss things on WhatsApp. Sometimes there is the volume of calls which requires delay,” he said. He further advised the public to try to connect with others as an alternative to have their needs met. Continuing he said: “Sometimes a text or speaking to the staff will do. All of us have to work together to resolve this. PM, DPM, MPs, ministers, senators have their part and citizens and constituents have their part to do as well.”
PAGE 6, Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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Organised crime is a top driver of global deforestation Every year the world loses an estimated 25 million acres (10 million hectares) of forest, an area larger than the state of Indiana. Nearly all of it is in the tropics. Tropical forests store enormous quantities of carbon and are home to at least two-thirds of the world’s living species, so deforestation has disastrous consequences for climate change and conservation. Trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, slowing its buildup in the atmosphere – but when they are burned or logged, they release their stored carbon, fueling further warming. Tropical forest loss generates nearly 50% more greenhouse gases than does the global transportation sector. At the 2021 U.N. conference on climate change in Glasgow, more than 100 world leaders pledged on Nov. 1 to halt deforestation by 2030. In the Declaration on Forests and Land Use, countries outlined their strategy, which focuses on supporting trade and development policies that promote sustainable production and consumption. Governments and private companies have pledged over US$19.2 billion to support these efforts. From my research on social and environmental issues in Latin America, I know that four consumer goods are responsible for the majority of global deforestation: beef, soy, palm oil, and wood pulp and paper products. Together these commodities are responsible for the loss of nearly 12 million acres (5 million hectares) annually. There’s also a fifth, less publicized key driver: organized crime, including illegal drug trafficking. The dominant role of beef Among major products that promote deforestation, beef is in a class by itself. Beef production is now estimated to be the biggest driver of deforestation worldwide, accounting for 41% of global forest losses. In the Amazon alone, cattle ranching accounts for 80% of deforestation. From 2000 to 2011, beef production emitted nearly 200 times more greenhouse gases than soy, and 60 times more than oil palm in tropical countries with high deforestation rates. Beef is produced in many countries, but it mainly drives forest losses in Latin America. On the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa and the plains of the U.S. Midwest, cattle graze without directly contributing to deforestation. However, beef production in these regions indirectly contributes to deforestation by increasing demand for soy-based feed. Cattle production worldwide also drives climate change because cattle emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Soy and palm oil: Ubiquitous ingredients Together, soy and palm oil drive nearly 10% of deforestation annually – almost 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares). Clearing land for palm oil plantations fuels large-scale rainforest destruction in Indonesia and Malaysia, where most of the world’s palm oil is produced, destroying habitat for endangered and threatened species such as orangutans, elephants and tigers. More recently, palm oil production has expanded to other parts of Asia, Central and South America and Central and West Africa. Palm oil is the most commonly produced, consumed and traded vegetable oil. Some 60% of the 66 million tons produced globally every year is used to produce energy in the form of biofuel, power and heat. About 40% is used for food, animal feed and chemical products. Palm oil is an ingredient in half of all products found at the supermarket, including margarine, shampoos, frozen pizza and detergents.
Soy production has doubled globally in the past 20 years. Nearly 80% of global soy is fed to cows, chickens, pigs and farmed fish. This demand reflects the tripling of global meat production over the past 50 years. The remaining soy is largely used to produce vegetable oil and biodiesel. Humans directly consume just 6% in the form of tofu, soy milk, edamame and tempeh. The United States and Brazil produce nearly 70% of the world’s annual 350 million-ton soy crop. Brazil has rapidly caught up to U.S. production in the past 30 years, with disastrous consequences for tropical forests in the Amazon. Wood products Wood products are responsible for about 5% of annual global deforestation, or about 1.2 million acres (500,000 hectares) yearly. Wood is widely used for home construction and furniture, and also as a pulp source for paper and fabric. And in low-income nations and rural areas, it’s an important fuel source for heating and cooking. The three largest paper-producing countries are the U.S., Canada and China, but tropical countries have also become important pulp and paper sources. Timber plantations account for a growing share of tropical wood products, but there’s disagreement about whether this approach is more sustainable than logging natural forests. In Indonesia between 2001 and 2016, more forests were cleared to create wood product plantations than for palm oil production. Illegal deforestation and organised crime Making the supply chains for these four commodities more sustainable is an important strategy for reducing deforestation. But another industry plays an important role, especially in tropical forests: organised crime. Large, lucrative industries offer opportunities to move and launder money; as a result, in many parts of the world, deforestation is driven by the drug trade. In South America and Central America, drug trafficking organisations are the vanguard of deforestation. Drug traffickers are illegally logging forests in the Amazon and hiding cocaine in timber shipments to Europe. In my research, I have analysed how traffickers illegally log and raise cattle in protected areas in Central America to launder money and claim drug smuggling territory. Other scholars estimate that 30% to 60% of deforestation in the region is “narco-deforestation.” Legal and illegal activities also interweave along the commodity chains for palm oil and soy. Forest Trends, a U.S. nonprofit that promotes market-based approaches to forest conservation, estimates that nearly half of deforestation for commercial products like cattle, soy, palm oil and wood products is illegal. According to the group’s analysis, exports tied to illegal deforestation are worth US$61 billion annually and are responsible for 25% of total global tropical deforestation. Not all large-scale illegal deforestation is linked to drug trafficking organisations. But it is almost always tied to organised crime that depends upon corruption to operate. Promoting sustainable production and consumption are critical to halting deforestation worldwide. But in my view, national and industry leaders also have to root organised crime and illicit markets out of these commodity chains. Until they do, global pledges to halt deforestation will have limited effect. • This article is by Jennifer Devine, Texas State University, for theconversation.com.
The Health Services Rules 2021
EDITOR, The Tribune. The PLP has issued the Health Services (COVID19) Rules 2021, which should be read and construed in conjunction with one another and are alleged to amend section 29 of the Health Services Act to declare a pandemic of COVID-19 (i.e. a state of emergency) in The Bahamas. However, it is submitted that the Rules issued by the Minister of Health are ultra vires as they go beyond his authority under section 29 of the Act, and Rule 3 declares de facto state of emergencies contrary to Article 29 of the constitution. Background While on The Hit Back show with Nahaja Black, Dame Joan Sawyer described Article 2 of the constitution best when she said: “Our constitution... makes the constitution the supreme law and parliament is required to act in accordance with the constitution.” The relevant rules found in Article 29 expressly set out how to declare and exercise powers within a state of emergency. Parliament may only change these rules via a constitutional referendum under Article 54(3). The Minister of Health and Wellness recently said to reporters, “We are trying to regulate COVID19 via rules by way of the Health Services Act through amendments of section 29 (of the Act).” This statement raises many red flags as to whether the legislations are Rules issued by the Minister of Health under section 29 or whether they are Bills to amend the Act by Parliament. Powers of the GovernorGeneral (GG) Nevertheless, similar proposed amendment Bills attempt to remove the power to declare a state of emergency from the GG to Parliament, which leads to the same inconsistencies, uncertainty, and outcomes outlined in my pre-election article on this topic. (See first note below). In short, Clause 3 of the Bills purport to declare de facto state of emergencies on the Bahamas inconsistent
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net with Article 29 of the constitution and are void. If passed by both Houses, I urge the GG to withhold His royal assent under Article 63(4) to mitigate an even greater constitutional crisis. Powers of the Judiciary It is submitted that the Rules issued by the Minister of Health are ultra vires as they go beyond his authority under section 29 of the Act. Although Rules issued under section 29 of the Act may annul, vary, amend, or substitute provisions of section 11 of the Act as per section 29 (2)(b), only Parliament may amend section 29. Therefore, further clarification and expressly drafted Bills would be necessary. Moreover, Parliament cannot apply section 29 (2)(a)(ix) as a gateway to declare a COVID-19 pandemic in the Bahamas as that section only speaks to “declaring any part of The Bahamas” as opposed to the whole or entire Bahamas. Such an amendment by way of new Rules is beyond the scope of the Act, and, more importantly, only the GG may declare a state of emergency in The Bahamas. Therefore, whether or not the legislations are Rules or amendments to section 29 of the Act, it is submitted that the courts should order a “declaration of unconstitutionality”. If any layman were to read Article 29 and then Rule 3 of both pieces of legislation, it is clear that the provisions are inconsistent and incompatible. The courts possess the power to strike down such legislation and exercise wide statutory interpretative powers in doing so. However, Dawn Oliver, Emeritus Professor of Constitutional Law at University College, London, asserts that one of the problems with judicial review of legislation, accompanied with strike down powers, is that it, “would expose the judges to political pressure and criticism, not only from
politicians but also often from the press and sections of the public.” Yet Dame Sawyer championed this criticism head-on. She stated, “I say only what I see. I don’t care what people think of me because it’s not about me. It’s about what is right, what is just, what is fair! If it’s not those things, then forget any thing! If there is no justice, there is no peace!” Therefore, one may hope the courts will uphold the rule of law and our constitution by striking down parts, if not all, of the Rules, “reading in” the rest. Powers of Parliament Parliament must seek alternative options within its powers. The new government is urged to omit Rule 3, extend the state of emergency following the constitution, and review the remaining Rules in alignment with section 29 of the Act. Alternatively, Parliament may put forward and pass similar provisions in the form of clearly expressed alterations to the constitution and call a constitutional referendum. The referendum’s chance of success is very unlikely as there is little reasoning or public support to justify transferring the power to declare a state of an emergency from the GG to any government. Indeed, unfortunately, political parties have played politics with the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and failed to listen to the most supreme law of the land, and by extension the citizens of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. With that said, I am thankful for the countless number of Bahamians that supported my For Hope Look To The Hills election campaign. A special thank you to the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture for the recent National Youth Award in Governance. Thank you all for your continuous support and understanding. The work continues... BOYKIN G SMITH B.A. (Hons), Politics, LL.B(Juris Doctor) Nassau, November 9, 2021.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, November 16, 2021, PAGE 7
ACCUSED DENIES DAMAGE TO STATUE FROM PAGE ONE pleaded not guilty to the damage and trespassing charges during his second appearance before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt yesterday. Smith was arrested in early October after police received reports ofa man causing damage to the Christopher Columbus monument with a sledgehammer. When they arrived, they arrested a man who they said was caught in the act of vandalising the statue. When Smith first appeared before Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt, he was not allowed to enter a plea to the charges after his mother asked the court if he could be evaluated, explaining Smith had been acting strangely for a while and his family was concerned about his behaviour. However, Smith told the court he was operating under a divine purpose after he had an encounter with God and even alluded to conversations he allegedly had with the late Dr Myles Munroe years ago concerning his purpose. Afterwards, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt said she was going to “err on the side of caution” as she was concerned that Smith may not be a “mentally
competent person” and subsequently ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. During yesterday’s hearing, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt informed the court she had received Smith’s evaluation report, which stated he was fit to plead to the offences. After recording his not guilty pleas, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt told Smith she was not minded to grant him bail at this time, but would entertain a bail application in about two weeks’ time. However, Smith’s attorney, Donna Major, took issue with this, arguing her client had spent nearly two months in prison. She further argued the offences were “bailable” and added it appeared the case was becoming “very political”, but this was staunchly rejected by Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt yesterday. “My position is firm and resolute… I don’t wear any colours and my decision is devoid of any political consideration,” the magistrate told the court. While agreeing the offences were bailable, she said her decision on the matter was “well within her rights”. As a result, the matter was adjourned to January 5 at 10 am.
$5m worth of cocaine found in Grand Bahama By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
A JOINT Bahamian-US law enforcement operation led to a $5m drug bust in Grand Bahama yesterday morning, the largest drug seizure here on the island so far this year.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Stephen Rolle reported that 250 kilos of cocaine were discovered at an apartment complex in the Eight Mile Rock area shortly after 12am. He said that officers from Drug Enforcement Unit, US Drug Enforcement Administration and OPBAT conducted a joint
operation, which led them to an unpainted apartment complex situated in Russell Town, Eight Mile Rock. ASP Rolle said officers knocked on the front door of the unit on the western end of the complex, where a man opened the door. The man was shown a search warrant. Officers searched the unit but found
nothing.ASP Rolle said the man then led the officers to the apartment unit next door, where they discovered nine suitcases, which contained in total 250 kilos of suspected cocaine. The total weight of the drugs is 638 pounds, with an estimated street value $5 million. A man is assisting police with the investigation.
Four arraigned on illegal ammunition, firearm charges By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net THREE men and a minor were arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday on several illegal ammunition and firearm possession charges. Michael Fox, 28; Philano Forbes, 24; Kyle Jones, 25
and a 17-year-old stood before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt after police allegedly found them with a black Glock .45 pistol and 26 live rounds of .45 ammunition on November 12. Police also alleged the group, being concerned together, were found with a .45 extended magazine on
the same day. During yesterday’s arraignment, all of the defendants pleaded not guilty to possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition with intent to supply and possession of a component part of a firearm. The matter was subsequently adjourned until
November 17 and bail was also deferred until that time. The defendants, with the exception of the minor, were remanded to prison until their next court appearance. Meanwhile, the teenager was ordered to be sent to Simpson Penn Centre for Boys.
21-year-old man accused of rape By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A 21-YEAR-OLD man accused of raping a
woman earlier this month was remanded to prison yesterday. Mervin Johnson, 21, appeared before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola
Swain yesterday faced with one count of rape. It is alleged that on November 10, he raped a 22-year-old woman. Due to the nature of the charge,
Johnson was not required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to December 10 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).
BTC LIBERTY LATIN AMERICA MISSION WEEK VOLUNTEER INITIATIVE KICKS OFF BTC has kicked off its second annual Liberty Latin America Mission Week 2021 volunteer initiative, with workers contributing their time and energy to positively impact the communities they serve. Michael Coakley, VP head of communications, Liberty Latin America, parent of BTC, said, “Giving back to the communities where we live, and work has always been integral to our business. Through our company wide Mission Week initiative, we encourage our nearly 12,000 employees across Latin America and the Caribbean to volunteer and make a positive impact in the areas of learning, environment, access, and disaster relief. “Collectively, we aim to enable progress and build more resilient communities in the region through education, connectivity, and access to the digital world.” This year’s event will take place from November 15-19, with BTC employees volunteering with the Bahamas National Trust to teach children the importance of caring for their environment. Schools in Inagua, Long Island, Exuma and New Providence will participate in a virtual tour of Grand Bahama’s national park that protects over 100 acres of Caribbean pine forests. Teams will also deliver care packages to residents at the Persis Rodgers and Unity House senior citizens homes. In New Providence, teams will start a vegetable garden for the children at The Bilney Lane Children’s Home, encouraging them to develop healthy nutrition habits. In Exuma, Grand Bahama and Abaco, BTC will assist with various beach and community cleanups in association with local civic and community groups. There will also be an inter-island tree planting relay, where employees will plant a tree and virtually pass on the shovel with participating islands. The tree planting relay will end in Abaco with the planting of mangroves. Through the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation (CWCF), 150
BTC CEO Andre Foster.
tablets will be donated to the Ministry of Education. Later in the month, BTC will also partner with the Red Cross in Grand Bahama for its annual Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels to deliver meals to 100 senior citizens and residents affected by COVID-19.
BTC CEO, Andre Foster said, “Our employees are passionate, engaged, and committed to making meaningful and lasting contributions to the community. Each year, we look forward to giving back. “I’m proud that our team in every single island, will engage in activities to give back to our communities in a special way. “We are also proud to invest in our youth through the donation of tablets to the Ministry of Education as well as to partner with the Bahamas National Trust, to teach our children about the importance of caring for the environment.” During last year’s Mission Week, employee volunteering activities took place in 28 countries with over 1,000 employees providing 3,100 volunteer hours across 40 in-person or virtual events.
Sean D. Pratt L.F.D&E, C.E.O
Memorial Service of Praise & Thanksgiving for
Tramaine Brendon, 26 & Barbara Jane Bain, 55 of South Street, Matthew Town, Inagua, Bahamas, will be held on Wednesday, November 17th, 2021, 11:00 a.m. at Zion Baptist Church, Established 1835-B.M.S. located East Shirley Street, Nassau, Bahamas. Officiating will be Bishop Andrew Brown & Pastor Muriel Mcintosh, assisted by Rev. T.G. Morrison, Rev. Ulric Smith, Rev. Anthony Sampson & other ministers of the gospel. Interment will be Follow at Lakeview Memorial Gardens, John F. Kennedy Drive, Nassau, Bahamas. Left to cherish Barbara & Tramaine’s Memories are, Husband & Father: Tyrone Bain Sr., Son & Brother: Tyrone Bain, Jr. & family; Ranajh Fowler; Adopted Daughter & Sister: Pearline Rolle; Stepparents: Thaddeus & Gloria Thompson; Brothers/ Uncles: Oswald, Laverne, Don, Richard, Kenneth, Bertram Ingraham; Sisters/ Aunts: Esther Rolle, Ingrid Gibson, Heather Rolle, Janice, Ann, Yolande, Antonia Morley, Janice, McKinney, Wendy Bain, Barbara Pinder, Aldrea & Lavanda Bain, Camille Bennett, Ursula & Renecia Bain; Brothers-in-Law/Uncles in Law: Delano Gibson, Kennard Rolle, Daniel Morley, Cedric & Dexter Bain, Don Pinder, Terry Bennett; Sisters-in-Law/Aunts-in-Law: Shonia, Val, Karecia & Shirleyann Ingraham; Nieces & Nephews: LJ, Lawston, Rondal, Arnald, Gladstone, Diverne, Kristian Ingraham, LaCher, Arcoy, Boris, Marilyn Ingraham, Kato & Kenaz Rolle, Donmetria Mackey (Shervan), Donnica, Dion, Khalia Ingraham, Richara, Goulbourne (Standford), Rashona, Richard Jr. Richarlette, Torono, Bernadette, Bernard Jr., Bernardo, Patrick, Kentia & Shonae Ingraham, Ingdesha & Deshano Gibson, Rinara & Ricara, Brandy Ingraham, Carter & Dominic, Ingraham, Darnell, Dion, Danae Morley; Grand Nieces & Nephews: Leara Gilbert, Stedfanie & Stedford Jr. Goulbourne, Tiara, Ranajh Robinson, Khy, Knowles & family, Shervai Mackey, Sabrina & family, Salario Morris, Chrishana Kelly, Caden Arnette, Eli Gardiner; Uncles/Aunt-in-Law: Everette & family; Mersay Thompson; Aunts: Irene Decosta, Mary Arnett, Betty Clarke, Francina Grant; Godchildren/Godbrother & Godsisters: Krystal Nixon, Cory Saunders, Donnell Finley, Omarinique Nottage, Autumn; Special Family & Friends: The Herman & family; Alera Ferguson Clan, The Bain Family, Shakera Forbes, Inga M. Johnson, Ronald Roker Sr., Vivian Moultrie, Melisha Smith, Gwen Cartwright & Family, Gloria Cox & Family, Vincent & family; Stevie Cartwright, The Nixon Family, Dorothy Ingraham & Family, The Burrows Family, Jane Major & Family, The Evans Family, Mrs. Annie Green & Family, Ethalyn Cartwright & Family, Mr. Robert & Maglyn, Forbes, Attorney Devard Francis, Stevie & Joyce Ferguson, Drucilla Burrows, Candace Darville, Shani Roker, Adrain & Chrishelle Pyfrom, George & Sophia Smith, Jaycoda Major, Samuel Nixon, Mr. & Mrs. Chester Palacious, Iverne & Miranda Palacious, Solario Morley, Dion Simmons, Anton Taylor, Alvan Mullings, Desmond Cox, Rico Moultrie, Anita McIntosh, Traneika Ingraham, Dean Mullings, Candice Thompson, Jackie Francis Maxine Thompson, Lincoln Taylor, Pastor Muriel McIntosh & Family, & Church of God of Prophecy (Inagua), Rev. T. G. & Royanne Morrison, Rev. Anthony & Michelle Sampson, Bishop Andrew & Mrs. Niquel Brown, Pastor Dave & Rose Butler, Pastor Napthali & Sarah Cooper/Cooper Family (Millars, Long Island), Pastor Dinahmae Mackey & Family, Bishop Patrick & Maria Rodriquez, Pastor Simeon Outten, The Boaters Club (Inagua), Patrons of the Gas Station, Colleagues of Morton Bahamas, Staff at Inagua Community Clinic, and the Entire Community of Matthew Town, Great Inagua, The Bahamas. We do apologize if we did not mention your name(s), please know that it was not our intention to miss anyone, there are too many persons to list. Please forgive us if we inadvertently excluded your name. We thank everyone for your prayers and support during this time. May Their Souls Rest In Peace! Relatives and friends may pay their last respects at Zion Baptist Church, Established 1835-B.M.S. Located East Shirley Street, Nassau, Bahamas on Tuesday, November 16th, 2021 from 12: 00p.m. to 6:00p.m. Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, masks and social distancing are required and will be strictly enforced. There will be no viewing at the cemetery.
PAGE 8, Tuesday, November 16, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Holding hands with Havana T
his is a November to remember for The Bahamas and Cuba, according to Ambassador Julio Cesar Gonzalez Marchante as it marks the 48th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Just yesterday, Cuba officially opened its doors to international tourism after ensuring that 70 percent of its population was fully vaccinated with Cuban-engineered COVID-19 vaccines. Most of the other 30 percent of Cubans have received at least the first dose of vaccine. All school-going children ages two and up are also fully vaccinated as schools return to face-toface teaching. November will also mark the opening of the 2021 Cuba Business Forum, with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce collaborating with the Cuban Embassy to ensure Bahamian businesses can benefit. This month will also mark the 502nd anniversary of the forming of the city of Havana and with it, Ambassador Gonzalez Marchante seeks to increase education, health and cultural relations between Cuba and The Bahamas. He is confident the two countries can continue to meet on common ground and support each other. He expressed gratitude that Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis called for an end to the economic blockade against Cuba when he spoke at the United Nations General Assembly in September of this year. The minute he heard the speech, Ambassador Gonzalez Marchante contacted Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell to express his gratitude for Prime Minister Davis’ mention of his country. “I take this opportunity to thank the people of The Bahamas and its government for the support they give us and the joint work we have developed to face this adverse scenario,” Ambassador Gonzalez Marchante said. “We acknowledge the recent intervention of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas in the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly when he conveyed the rejection of the ongoing economic blockade against the sister Caribbean nation of Cuba.” A total of 184 countries including The Bahamas voted in favour of a resolution to demand the end of the United States economic blockade on Cuba, for the 29th year in a row. Only the United States and Israel voted against it. “I wish to convey The Bahamas’ rejection of the ongoing economic blockade of our sister Caribbean nation, Cuba,” Prime Minister Davis told the UN. On November 30, The Bahamas and Cuba
celebrate the 48th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Ambassador Gonzalez Marchante pointed out that “friendship, collaboration and mutual respect have made it possible to build and enjoy lasting and positive bonds of friendship between the two nations”. He said there have been positive results in areas of common interest for both countries, including health, education, sports, culture, agriculture and national security. “Today, Cuba contributes to The Bahamas in sectors such as education and health with dozens of Cuban professionals,” Ambassador Gonzalez Marchante said. “I take this opportunity to ratify our willingness to continue expanding, according to our possibilities, the work in these sectors and in others for mutual benefit. “The countries of the Caribbean and The Bahamas have always counted and will be able to count on the solidarity and collaboration of Cubans.” This month, Prime Minister Davis rallied on behalf of The Bahamas, Caribbean countries,and all Small Island Developing States. He took to the podium to make a passionate plea to world leaders and representatives at COP26 - the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties. There in Glasgow, Scotland, countries scrambled to come to some kind of agreement to reduce carbon emissions and slow harmful practices that are devastating to the planet. PM Davis reminded the world that “those who are hardest hit by the impact of climate change are the least responsible”. That includes countries like Cuba, and yesterday, the country celebrated reopening, both externally an internally, returning to the “new normal”. International flights to Cuba are now expected to increase. Hospitality facilities such as hotels are reopening on a controlled and staggered basis. There will be epidemiological surveillance on tourists staying at hotels during their stay in the country. To make international tourism a “safer and more reliable” activity, Cuba has strengthened its medical assistance
CUBAN school children back in classes this week.
RIGHT: Ambassador Julio Gonzalez Marchante. BELOW: Ambassador Gonzalez Marchante signs a trade agreement with Caricom back in 2017.
CUBAN-engineered vaccines have been given to at least 70 percent of the population thus far, including children age 2 and up.
programmes. Confidence came after the country achieved one of the highest vaccination rates in the world with 70 percent of its population vaccinated, including its child population from two years of age. Cuba’s scientists worked hard to develop three vaccines – Abdala. Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus. There are also two vaccine candidates on schedule for future approval – Soberana 1 and Mambisa.
“Cuba is the first Latin American country to have its own vaccines and have shown “great results in the control of the pandemic”. The Ambassador said: “The previous achievements were made despite the tightening of the blockade applied to the Cuban people for more than six decades; the increase in its measures in the midst of the pandemic; the complex economic situation of the country that has had to dedicate huge resources due to the pan-
demic; and the difficult international economic crisis. Likewise, due to the communication campaigns financed from abroad that seek to distort the Cuban reality and change the system that the majority of its people decided to adopt.” Although international blockades exist, Cuba continues to strengthen its relations with countries that support it. The Ambassador was proud to sign the Second Protocol to the Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement between CARICOM and Cuba back in 2017. The agreement includes the inclusion of the new reciprocal market access commitments that will apply between CARICOM and Cuba. The Cuba 2021 Business Forum, also known as FECuba 2021, will be held from November 29 to December 2. This event will be virtual for the first time and will serve as a space for negotiation and establishment of business contacts. The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce is on board to increase linkages with Cuban businesses. Cuba will display its exportable supply of tourism, agrifood, renewable energy,
biopharmaceutical goods, and more. Cuba will also display its foreign investment opportunities. Contact the Cuban Embassy in Centerville or visit https:// www.foroempresarial. mincex.gob.cu/en/home/ to register before November 25. Last week, a representative of the African People’s Socialist Party paid a courtesy call on Ambassador Gonzalez Marchante. They said they “stand in solidarity with the Cuban people and their right to preserve the Cuban Revolution against imperialist aggression”. As the month of November is commemorated, the Ambassador pointed out that “both countries face common challenges such as natural disasters, the confrontation with diseases, the current pandemic that plagues the world, and the intention of recovering the economy for the wellbeing of the respective peoples”. “As Cuba celebrates and opens itself again to the world, we reiterate the willingness to fight together to face these challenges and to continue strengthening the good health of our bilateral relations,” he said.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, November 16, 2021, PAGE 9
Still we remember and salute the fallen’s sacrifice AFTER last year’s comprehensive scaling back of the Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday commemorations because of coronavirus, how encouraging it was to see the return to a full range of events throughout Britain this past week. These are sacred moments in the nation’s calendar. Equally, given the significant involvement of the many individual Bahamians who volunteered for service in both World Wars, people locally will surely have been glad to have witnessed the wreath-laying ceremony here at home at the Cenotaph in the Garden of Remembrance on November 11. In the UK, however, the Remembrance Sunday event at the Cenotaph in central London, which is the traditional focus of the national commemorations, was overshadowed by The Queen’s inability at the last minute to attend because of a sprained back. The Prince of Wales laid a wreath on her behalf. She has expressed her deep disappointment at missing the ceremony, which it is said she considers to be one of her most important annual duties. The Queen has only missed it six times during her long reign. So, understandably, her absence has caused further public concern about her health, not least because she had earlier been advised on medical grounds to take a rest from official duties for a few weeks. In 2020, the coronavirus rules put a halt to
Remembrance Sunday church services and official ceremonies throughout the UK because people were forced to stay at home. But a small national ceremony was held at the Cenotaph as well as a limited service at Westminster Abbey since, in his typically robust way, Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted no virus was going to stop the British people from honouring the memory of “those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom”, including having the customary two-minute silence at 11am. Remembrance Sunday always falls on the second Sunday in November while Armistice Day, also known as Remembrance Day, is observed on November 11. The two-minute silence is
POPPY wreaths placed during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London, Sunday. (Toby Melville/Pool via AP) held to mark the end of the First World War at the 11th hour on the morning of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. The Armistice brought to a close four years of bloody conflict that claimed the lives of more than 700,000 members of Britain’s Armed Forces. The poppy became a symbol of remembrance after a poem called “In Flanders Fields” whose author was inspired by the sight of the red poppies surviving in the battlefields despite the devastation of war, with the red signifying bloodshed. This year, services and ceremonies took place the length and breadth of Britain.
The two-minute silence was observed throughout, and tributes were paid to fallen heroes and to those who continue to serve in the Armed Forces, while the ceremonies included the previous level of military representation and restoration of the march by veterans who had been prevented from participating in this way last year. Reportedly, most of the remembrance events attracted large crowds. There are said to be more than 80,000 war memorials in every corner of the UK including some small villages. An important milestone this year is the 100th Anniversary of the Royal British
Legion. It was established in 1921 as a charity to provide financial, social and emotional support to the surviving veterans and their dependants. The British Legion - Bahamas Branch, previously known as The Bahamas Ex-Servicemen Association - has been led most ably for many years by Adina Munroe-Charlow. Under her direction, the Bahamas Branch not only looks after the diminishing numbers of Bahamian veterans and their families and administers financial assistance grants to them but is also involved in organising the local annual
DANGEROUS DAYS
WRITING separately on this page about Armistice Day and the end of the First World War – also known as the Great War – prompts a brief look at the causes of that conflict and possible parallels with the current threatening events in eastern Europe in what has been described as the age of feverish anxiety that we live in. Historians still argue about the underlying causes but they tend to agree that, rather than by design, the Great War started through a series of miscalculations arising from the insecurities of Europe’s political leaders of the time. What is clear is the fateful moment of history - the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne on a visit to Sarajevo in 1914 - set off a chain of events that became unstoppable and eventually led to the outbreak of hostilities. In summary, Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible for this heinous act and the latter sought support from its powerful protector, Tsarist Russia. In its turn, Austria was supported by Germany while France was still seething with resentment after defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and Britain had pledged to guarantee Belgium’s independence. So, a small crisis in the Balkans
dragged the big alliances of Britain, France, Belgium and Russia into war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. When German forces advanced westward and were stopped, a stalemate resulted which turned into a four-year war of attrition of trench warfare in Belgium and France with a terrible loss of life. Against this background, consider the present-day drama unfolding amid growing global tensions. China continues to build up its military power - particularly in the South China Sea - and is sabrerattling about Taiwan. In Europe, discontent and conflict have been simmering since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its backing of separatist rebels in the southeast of Ukraine, with the US reportedly warning its European NATO allies that recent mobilisation by Russia could be in preparation for an invasion of that country. The West and Russia are also at serious odds over the latter’s buildup of troops on the borders with the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Meanwhile, Belarus - situated between the European Union and Russia and its capital Minsk only some 400 miles from its ally Moscow
MIGRANTS from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the checkpoint “Kuznitsa” at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, on Monday. (Leonid Shcheglov/ BelTA photo via AP)
- has become strategically important. The country’s authoritarian leader has precipitated a stand-off with its western EU neighbour, Poland, by encouraging thousands of migrants to gather at its border in an attempt to gain entry to the EU and is now reported to be threatening to cut off its transit supply of gas to Europe. In response, while considering an intensification of existing sanctions, Brussels has accused Belarus of state-sponsored people smuggling and of engineering the humanitarian crisis at the border by flying in migrants and supporting them. There is now disquiet in the West that Russia could be drawn directly into this, though Putin, who has been railing against the West’s naval presence in the Black Sea,
A viable road map SO IT is finally over. COP26 was extended by one day until last Saturday for intensive negotiations in order to produce an agreed text of a final agreement forming the new Glasgow Climate Pact. There has been so much international media coverage of this that further comment may be considered superfluous. But, having been writing extensively about climate change in recent weeks and given the importance of the issue to The Bahamas, I wanted to offer brief comment about the final deal and what it means for this country. Overall, the organisers claim that COP26 has been a success. It was a considerable achievement to get 200 countries together to reach a final agreement which will not satisfy everybody but is a compromise so that the world is heading in the right direction in its efforts to control global warming. As Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, the Glasgow summit was never going to solve the problems of climate change overnight and large gaps remain between targets and action. But a significant step forward was the commitment,
enshrined in the agreement, to keep the increase of global warming to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels and the establishment of a process - a viable road map - to make progress towards specific targets. Moreover, to maintain such progress, under the UK’s continuing presidency countries will be required to report back regularly on their plans for cutting carbon emissions in the lead-up to the next meeting in Egypt in 2022. There is insufficient space today for much detail about, for example, the controversy over fossil fuels, in particular coal. But, as far as The Bahamas is concerned, an important outcome is the mention of financing in the text of the final agreement. From what
commemorative ceremonies. Having observed her activity in running the Bahamas Branch for some 20 years I believe her dedicated work in helping veterans has been truly admirable. Those interested will no doubt have seen the informative supplement about the Bahamas Branch published by The Tribune on November 11. Another notable organisation - this time created during wartime - is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission established by Royal Charter in 1917. It is responsible for the commemoration in perpetuity of the 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two World Wars. The Commission owns the Nassau War Cemetery on Farrington Road and is responsible for its maintenance. After it had become derelict some years ago, it fell to me to organise its renovation on the Commission’s behalf and the maintenance work is now carried out most effectively by Peter Bates’s team from The Signman company. So, after the paring down of events in 2020, this has been a special year for the Royal British Legion on its 100th anniversary and for commemorating Armistice Day and paying tribute to the fallen on Remembrance Sunday. Long may the Legion prosper – and all concerned will surely wish the Bahamas Branch well in its worthy and important work.
I have read - even though earlier promises by the richer countries to stump up $100 billion annually to help vulnerable developing countries to adapt to climate change have not been met - new funding for use in addressing the threat of loss and damage in connection with rising sea-levels and extreme weather has now been doubled. Specifically, the final COP26 text speaks of commitments to increase significantly financial support through the Adaptation Fund as developed countries are urged to double their support to developing countries by 2025. I wrote last week about the Prime Minister’s excellent speech at COP26 which has put The Bahamas on the map in relation to climate change. In the words of the UN head of climate change, there has been much progress in many areas and bridges built between good intentions and reasonable actions to lower emissions, increase resilience and provide much-needed finance. Let us hope that The Bahamas will benefit, in particular, from the extra funding that should be made available.
has denied any involvement even while his troops mass near Ukraine and are claimed to have entered Belarus. Thus, in such a hostile environment there seem to be genuine fears about the possibility of some action by either side that could unintentionally set off a wider conflict. This is a chilling reminder of the fragility of the peace we all tend to take for granted. The UK press may be exaggerating the danger. But, when the head of Britain’s armed forces, General Sir Nick Carter, was quoted at the weekend as saying that in a multi-polar world the UK and US are at the greatest risk of accidental war with Russia at any time since the end of the Cold War in 1991, perhaps people should sit up and take notice.
To the man-in-the street, the Western world more than ever needs strong, decisive leadership in the face of mounting provocation from China and Russia. But Biden is obviously on the wane and his Vice President seems unsuitable to replace him if he is forced suddenly to quit. Boris Johnson remains in some ways untested in the face of an international crisis and the French President does not inspire confidence while German Chancellor Angela Merkel is about to step down. Sadly, the wag who was wondering, jokingly, why the world was worrying about climate change when new tensions and the risk of war should be of greater concern, may have been making a serious point.
PAGE 10, Tuesday, November 16, 2021
MACRON AND PUTIN DISCUSS DEESCALATING BELARUS BORDER TENSIONS
THE TRIBUNE
TURKEY ARRESTS A HAITIAN BUSINESSMAN SOUGHT IN MOÏSE KILLING HAITI’S President Jovenel Moïse (left) was shot at his private home (below) in a pre-dawn attack in which his wife, Martine Moïse, was wounded.
By LORNE COOK ASSOCIATED PRESS BRUSSELS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian leader Vladimir Putin talked on the phone Monday about the need for de-escalating the tensions around the growing migrant pressure on the European Union’s borders with Belarus, Marcon’s office said. In the almost two-hour talk, they also agreed upon the “need for a humanitarian effort for the migrants” but did not announce any concrete steps, according to the Elysee statement. The EU says Moscow has a role in building the migration pressure and could actively help in easing it. The Kremlin’s account of the conversation said Putin informed Macron about his contacts with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and “emphasized the necessity of discussing the problems that had arisen directly between the leaderships of the EU countries and Belarus.” Putin also noted “the extremely harsh treatment of refugees by Polish border guards,” according to the Kremlin. Polish forces are blocking people from entering Poland and are pushing back to Belarus those migrants who cross the border. Also Monday, Lukashenko spoke on the phone with Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel for 50 minutes about “the situation with refugees on the Belarusian-Polish, Belarusian-Lithuanian and Belarusian-Latvian borders,” according to Belarusian state news agency Belta. They discussed “ways and prospects of resolving” the crisis and preventing its escalation, as well as humanitarian aid to the migrants, Belta said. The calls took place as the EU ratcheted up pressure on Belarus by agreeing to slap sanctions on airlines accused of helping Lukashenko wage a “hybrid attack” against the entire bloc using migrants. The EU is also calling for humanitarian aid as up to 4,000 migrants are stuck in makeshift camps in freezing weather in Belarus while Poland has reinforced its border with 15,000 soldiers, in addition to border guards and police. The EU has expressed solidarity with Poland’s guarding the bloc’s external border. At least 11 migrants have died in recent weeks. Polish authorities said Monday that Belarusian services had led a large group of migrants to a border crossing with Poland and made them believe they would be transported by bus to Germany. Polish police broadcast messages across the border telling the migrants that “they have been deceived.” “The Belarusian side is deliberately escalating the situation,” said Marcin Przydacz, a deputy foreign minister. “The situation is unprecedented and unpredictable.” Belarus’ borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are also the eastern borders of both the EU and NATO. The EU says Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime has for months invited migrants to the Belarusian capital of Minsk, many of them Iraqis, Afghanis and Syrians, with the promise of helping them across the border. Meanwhile, Lithuanian officials said they were seeing a rising number of attempts by migrants to cross its border from Belarus. The 27-country EU has already imposed four sets of sanctions on Belarus authorities and senior officials over the disputed election last year that returned Lukashenko to office and his government’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters. Opposition leaders and Western nations have described the vote as a sham. The EU is preparing a fifth lot of sanctions on Belarus. On Monday the bloc’s foreign ministers extended the scope of those measures to add airlines, travel agents and others accused of helping to bring migrants to Minsk.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A Haitian businessman considered a suspect in the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse was arrested in Turkey, authorities in Haiti announced Monday. Haitian Foreign Minister Claude Joseph said on his Twitter account that he spoke with his Turkish counterpart about the arrest of Samir Handal, but gave no more details, including whether Haiti would seek the man’s extradition. Handal has been mentioned as a suspect in the plot to kill the president, although the government has not given any specifics about his alleged involvement. More than 40 suspects have been arrested so far in the presidential slaying, including 18 former Colombian soldiers and several Haitian police officers. Colombian authorities have said the majority of its former soldiers did not know the true nature of the operation they were hired to participate in. In October, another Colombian man was arrested in Jamaica. Moïse was shot at his private home in a pre-dawn attack in which his wife, Martine Moïse, was wounded. The presidential killing deepened the political instability in the country, which also since then has been trying to recover from a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people in Haiti’s southwestern region in mid-August, a spike in gang-related violence and a severe shortage of fuel.
AN ARMED police officer holds a breaching shotgun, used to blast the hinges off a door, at an address in Rutland Avenue in Sefton Park, after an explosion at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital in Liverpool, England, Monday. British police arrested three men under terrorism laws Sunday after a car exploded outside the hospital, killing one man and injuring another. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
UK says Liverpool taxi blast was a bomb, raises threat level By JILL LAWLESS AND DANICA KIRKA Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — British authorities raised the country’s threat level to its second-highest rung on Monday, after police said a blast in a taxi outside a Liverpool hospital was caused by a homemade bomb. Investigators said they were treating Sunday’s explosion — which killed the suspected bombmaker and injured the cab driver — as a terrorist incident, but that the motive was unclear. Counterterrorism police named the dead man as 32-year-old Emad Al Swealmeen. They did not give further details, though Britain’s Press Association news agency and other media reported that he had not been on the radar of the security services. The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raised the U.K. threat level from substantial — meaning an attack is likely — to severe, meaning it is highly likely, following the U.K.’s second fatal incident in a month. Conservative lawmaker David Amess was stabbed to death in October in what police said was an act of terrorism. Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the “sickening attack” at Liverpool Women’s Hospital and told reporters that the British people “will never be cowed by terrorism.” “We will never give in to those who seek to divide us with senseless acts of violence,” he said. The male passenger in a taxi was killed and the driver injured when a blast ripped through the vehicle as it pulled up outside the hospital on Sunday morning. Russ Jackson, the head of Counterterrorism Policing in northwest England, said the explosion was caused by “the ignition of an explosive device” that was brought into the vehicle by the passenger.
HEAD of Counterterrorism Policing North West Russ Jackson, left and Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy take part in a press conference after an incident outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Sunday, at Merseyside Police Headquarters, in Liverpool, England Monday. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP) Three men in their 20s were arrested elsewhere in the city Sunday under the Terrorism Act and a fourth was detained on Monday. All are believed to be “associates” of the dead passenger, police said. Suspicions about a motive for the explosion have been aroused by the timing — just before 11 a.m. on Remembrance Sunday, the moment when people across Britain hold services in memory of those killed in wars. Jackson said investigators had not found a link to remembrance events “but it is a line of inquiry we are pursuing.” “Although the motivation for this incident is yet to be understood, given all the circumstances, it has been declared a terrorist incident,” he said at a press briefing. He said the passenger had been picked up by the cab a 10-minute drive away and asked to be taken to the hospital, where the explosion occurred. The driver, named by local media as David Perry, managed to escape from the car. He was
treated in the hospital and released. Police said officers had searched two addresses in the city linked to the passenger — one where he had lived and a second he had recently rented — and found “significant items” at the latter. Officers performed a controlled explosion “as a precaution” as part of the investigation. Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson said the taxi driver had locked the doors of his cab so the passenger couldn’t leave. Police did not confirm that account. “The taxi driver, in his heroic efforts, has managed to divert what could have been an absolutely awful disaster at the hospital,” Anderson told the BBC. The prime minister also said the driver appeared to have behaved “with incredible presence of mind and bravery.” Nick Aldworth, a former senior terrorism investigator in Britain, said the taxi appeared to have sustained “a lot of fire damage with very little blast damage.” He said “whatever was in that
vehicle was either a low yield, or didn’t work properly, or possibly an incendiary. So I think it’s very much open to debate at the moment about what has happened.” Britain’s official terrorism threat level was lowered from “severe” to “substantial” in February. It has been at severe most of the time since 2014, briefly rising to “critical” amid a spate of violent attacks in 2017. The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre sets the threat level based on intelligence about international terrorism at home and overseas. Britain has experienced attacks by both Islamic and far-right extremists over the years, including a May 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that killed 22 people. Amess was stabbed to death Oct. 15 while meeting with constituents, in what police said was an act of terrorism by a supporter of the Islamic State group. His slaying came five years after Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death by a far-right extremist.
SPORTS PAGE 11
NFL, Page 15
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2021
Ayton returns, posts double double By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
D
eandre Ayton returned to the Phoenix Suns starting lineup and the defending Western Conference champions extended their league-leading win streak to eight games. Meanwhile, Chavano “Buddy” Hield and the Sacramento Kings brought an end to a four-game losing streak. (See full story on this page). Ayton finished with his fourth double double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds in a 99-96 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves last night at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ayton gave the Suns the lead for good when he made the go ahead running hook shot to give the Suns a
Deandre scores 22, grabs 12 rebounds in victory 93-92 lead with 1:13 left to play in the fourth quarter. The Suns improved to 10-3 on the season, second in the Western Conference behind the Golden State Warriors (11-2). The Suns will look to continue their win streak on Wednesday, November 17 when they are scheduled to face off with the Dallas Mavericks. The fourth-year centre missed the past five games with a lower right leg contusion. Ayton has been in and out of the lineup since he suffered the injury on October 30 in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He missed the following game on October 31 against the New Orleans
Pelicans and was listed as day-to-day. He returned to the lineup on November 4 with 16 points and 11 rebounds in just 26 minutes of a 123111 win over the Houston Rockets but would go on to miss the next five games. Hield and the Kings got their first win since November 6 and brought an end to a four-game losing streak. Hield scored a team high 22 points in a 129-107 win
over the Detroit Pistons last night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. He shot 8-14 from the field and 6-10 from threepoint range. The Kings dominated wire to wire and led 31-12 at the end of the first quarter. They took control with a 26-2 run for a 33-12 lead early in the second quarter. The Kings will continue their roap trip Wednesday night when they visit the Timberwolves.
DEANDRE Ayton shoots against the Timberwolves in the first quarter last night in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
WIDE RECEIVER PRINCE STRACHAN LEADS RAMS TO WIN IN PLAYOFFS By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net PRINCE Strachan and the John Carroll Catholic Rams advanced through the first round of the Florida High School Athletic Association playoffs. Strachan finished with five receptions for over 100 yards and a touchdown and his No.5 seed Rams defeated No.4 seed True North Classical Academy Titans, 41-20 in Class 2A, Region 4, playoffs, November 12 in Miami, Florida. The Rams (6-2) will advance to face the No.1 seed and undefeated Avant Garde Academy Sharks (8-0) on November 19 in Hollywood, Florida. John Carroll Catholic got off to a slow start but rallied for the game’s final 34 points and 21 points in the fourth quarter en route to the come from behind victory. After they fumbled the opening kickoff, the Titans took a 7-0 lead. After a Rams score, the Titans scored twice in 18 seconds to take a 20-7 lead. The John Caroll offence responded with 34 unanswered points. Last season, the Rams were eliminated in the Class 3A regional final and finished the season 9-2. Strachan led the Golden Rams in every receiving statistical category as the team concluded a shortened regular season at 5-2. In those seven games, he finished with 29 receptions for 623 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged 21.5 yards per reception, with a long of 70 and 89 yards per game. Strachan had two multitouchdown reception games, three games with over 100 yards receiving and three games with at least five receptions.
DETROIT Pistons guard Josh Jackson (20) falls on Sacramento Kings guard Chavano “Buddy” Hield (24), also in action above right, as they chase the loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game last night in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
‘Buddy’ fires for 22 points Hield, Haliburton lead Kings, rout Pistons, end 4-game skid By DAVE HOGG Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Chavano “Buddy” Hield scored 22 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 17 points and 10 assists as the Sacramento Kings routed the Detroit Pistons 129-107 last night. The Kings ended a four-game losing streak, taking control with a 26-2 run for a 33-12 lead early in the second quarter. “We knew we needed to do something to get better on this road trip,” Haliburton said. “You always want to win games, but this was a situation where we needed to win one.” Richaun Holmes had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Kings. De’Aaron Fox had 19 points and nine assists for Sacramento, which
had six players with at least 15 points. “There’s a lot to love about this game,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “We had 32 assists, we played at our pace, and we kept building after our good start. When you are a professional athlete, it gets frustrating to lose a bunch of a games in a row, so now we don’t have that hanging over us.” Cade Cunningham had 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Detroit. Saddiq Bey scored 28, but no one else reached double figures for the Pistons. “I think our first group came out too lax —- we didn’t set the right tone and it dragged all through the quarter,” Cunningham said. “You want to throw that quarter away, but when you are down
31-12, there’s not much you can do other than try to chip away at it.” Detroit shot 20 percent from the floor in the first quarter, but rallied in the second to get within 46-32. Sacramento answered with a 14-2 run and led 68-44 at halftime. “I think we’ve probably played 10 or 11 good games this season, with a couple terrible ones,” Walton said. “We haven’t been finishing off wins when we’ve had a chance, so that was a focus tonight.” The Kings shot 56.3 percent from the floor in the half, including 9 of 16 on 3-pointers, while the Pistons shot 31.4 percent and missed 21 of 27 on 3s.“We weren’t ready to play, and that’s on me,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “It is always tough to come back from a long road trip and get right back at
it at home, but that’s not an excuse. You have to be ready to play every night in this league, and we weren’t there tonight.” TIP-INS Kings: The most-lopsided win for the Sacramento franchise over the Pistons came in a 130-96 victory as the Rochester Royals on December 31, 1957. Pistons: Detroit was starting a stretch of five home games in nine days. With Kelly Olynyk (knee) out for several weeks, rookie centre Lucas Garza played a career-high 17 minutes, finishing with five points and seven rebounds. UP NEXT Kings: Visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Pistons: Host the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
PAGE 12, Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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Djokovic beats Ruud at ATP Finals for 6th straight victory TURIN, Italy (AP) — Five-time champion Novak Djokovic reopened his ATP Finals account and beat Casper Ruud 7-6 (4), 6-2 yesterday. He’s attempting to match Roger Federer’s record of six titles at the elite seasonending event for the top eight players. In the other group match, Andrey Rublev topped 2018 champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4. Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev won their group singles on Sunday. After his match, Djokovic was presented with the trophy for finishing the year ranked No. 1, a feat he accomplished for a record seventh time — breaking a tie with childhood idol Pete Sampras. In an on-court interview, Djokovic recounted how he fell in love with tennis watching Sampras when he was “4 or 5 years old” and asked his dad to buy him a racket. “Now I’m here and I’ve won this (trophy) seven times, one more than (Sampras) — incredible,” Djokovic told the crowd in
Italian. “The dream continues. I hope to play this great sport for a couple of years.” Later, when asked about his on-court comments, the 34-year-old Djokovic said he doesn’t have a number in mind for how many more years he wants to play. “I don’t want to impose a limit to myself at all, because I still enjoy playing tennis, and I really enjoy competition and playing at the highest level,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion said. “Being No. 1 in the world, there is no reason for me yet to think about leaving tennis. I really am in a good place at the moment.” Following a two-month break after his loss to Medvedev in the US Open final, which ended his pursuit of a calendar-year Grand Slam, Djokovic returned this month and won the Paris Masters. He’s won six straight matches. Ruud, a first-time qualifier, broke serve in their opening game when Djokovic fell and dropped his racket as he changed
PAULA BADOSA, of Spain, reacts after winning a point against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during the Mexican Tennis WTA Finals on November 11. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)
SERBIA’s Novak Djokovic kisses the trophy as ATP world best player, at the Tennis ATP World Tour Finals, at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, yesterday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) direction to run down a lob. Djokovic managed to pick his racket back up and hit a weak reply but Ruud quickly finished off the point. A double-fault from Ruud handed Djokovic the
break back and evened the set at 3-3. Djokovic then began holding easily and putting pressure on Ruud’s serve, enabling him to wear down the Norwegian during the tiebreaker. Helped by fast
conditions inside the Pala Alpitour, Djokovic won a near-perfect 20 of 21 points with his first serve in the opening set, and 35 of 39 throughout the match. Djokovic served 10 aces and Rudd nine.
Muguruza beats Kontaveit to reach semifinals in Mexico By CARLOS RODRIGUEZ myself, today I knew that it Associated Press was a must win match and went out to get it”, Muguruza said. GUADALAJARA, “I had to end Anett´s Mexico (AP) — Garbiñe Muguruza ended Anett streak, she was like invinKontaveit´s 12-match win- cible in the tour and ning streak with a 6-4, fortunately I did it”. Muguruza had an early 6-4 victory Sunday that propelled her into the sem- break and then saved two break points to take the ifinals at the WTA Finals. Muguruza, who will be first set against Kontaveit, playing in her first semi- who never appeared setfinals of this tournament tled in the night match. “She was not a the top of since 2015, needed the win to advance to the semi- her game tonight, I could finals at the expense of see it, maybe been already Wimbledon finalist Karo- qualified to the semifinals had something to do with lina Pliskova. Kontaveit was already it”, added Muguruza. The WTA Finals are assured of a spot in the semis before her last played in a round-robin format with the top two group-stage match. Muguruza avenged a players from each group recent loss to Kontaveit, advancing. Pliskova rallied from a who beat her in just 48 minutes in the Kremlin Cup set and a break down to quarterfinals in Moscow beat Barbora Krejcikova last month. “I have been 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the earlier improving and found match to maintain a chance
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA, of Spain, celebrates after defeating Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova during a WTA Finals tennis match in Guadalajara, Mexico. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz) of reaching the semis, but was eliminated with the Muguruza win.
“Obviously horrible start, horrible first set. I think was combination of
both me not playing really well and (her) playing just amazing,” Pliskova said. “I´m just proud that I was able to reset and start from zero and find a bit my game, although it was not great.” French Open champion Krejcikova finished the singles tournament 0-3, but remains alive in the doubles along with Katerina Siniakova. “I think I had amazing season. I was doing really well throughout the season and right now it’s very disappointing,” Krejcikova said. “I really want to do well in doubles with my partner. I´ll just keep going, stay focused.” The WTA Finals are being played in Guadalajara for this year only, with the event scheduled to return in 2022 to Shenzhen, China.
SWIATEK SPOILS BADOSA’S BIRTHDAY AT WTA FINALS GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Iga Swiatek departed the WTA Finals with a win after spoiling Paula Badosa’s birthday 7-5, 6-4 yesterday. The Pole couldn’t advance from her group after losing her first two singles but got to finish her two-title season with a smile. She also ended Badosa’s eight-match winning streak. Swiatek, the youngest player at 20 in the eightwomen field, came from a break down in each set. Badosa, 24 on Monday, had already qualified first in their group and will face Spanish compatriot Garbiñe Muguruza in the semifinals. Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari played the late match yesterday, with the winner going to the semifinals to face Anett Kontaveit. The semifinals are today and the final is set for Wednesday at Centro Panamericano de Tenis in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara. Swiatek lost her only previous meeting with Badosa in the second round of the Tokyo Olympics. Badosa won the first titles of her career this year in Belgrade and Indian Wells, and is among six players to have made their top-10 debut this season.
WTA CEO calls for investigation of China assault allegation ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The head of the women’s professional tennis tour called for a full investigation of sexual assault allegations made by a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion from China against a former top government official in that country. Earlier this month, Peng Shuai, a former No. 1-ranked doubles player, wrote in a lengthy social media post that Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier and member of the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, had forced her to have sex despite repeated refusals following a round of tennis three years ago. Her post — which was removed from her verified account on Wiebo, a leading Chinese social media platform — also said they had sex once seven years ago and she had feelings for him after that. “Peng Shuai, and all women, deserve to be heard, not censored. Her accusation about the conduct of a former Chinese leader involving a sexual assault must be treated with
CHINA’s Shuai Peng plays a shot against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea during their first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, on May 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) the utmost seriousness. In all societies, the behaviour she alleges that took place needs to be investigated, not condoned or ignored. We commend Peng Shuai for her remarkable courage and strength in coming forward. Women around the world are finding their voices so injustices can be corrected,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said
in a statement released by the tour on Sunday. “We expect this issue to be handled properly, meaning the allegations must be investigated fully, fairly, transparently and without censorship,” Simon said. Peng has won 23 tourlevel doubles titles, including at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014. She was a semifinalist in singles at the US Open in 2014. Her accusation was the first against a prominent government official since the #MeToo movement took hold in China in 2018 before being largely tamped down by authorities the same year. In the post, Peng, 35, wrote that Zhang, now 75, and his wife arranged to play tennis in Beijing about three years ago and that he later brought her into a room at his home where the assault occurred. “I was so frightened that afternoon, never thinking that this thing could happen,” the post said. Zhang retired in 2018 and has largely disappeared from public life, as is usual with former Chinese officials.
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Tuesday, November 16, 2021, PAGE 13
‘Tanny’ scores 13 with three blocks in Rams’ 96-94 win By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net LATHANIEL Bastian had an impressive debut in his transition to NCAA Division II basketball to highlight the weekend from Bahamians at the top tier of the sport. In his first game in an Angelo State Rams uniform, Bastian finished with 13 points on 6-9 shooting from the field, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in the Rams’ 96-94 win over New Mexico Highlands. He followed with 16 points and six rebounds in a 98-87 win over Fort Lewis as the Rams completed the Lone Star Conference/ Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Challenge 2-0. The Rams were projected to finish seventh overall when the LSC
announced the results of the Preseason Coaches’ Poll at its virtual media day. Rams head coach Cinco Boone said Bastian is one of several new additions that has the programme excited about the season. He has early season averages of 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. “With our new additions they are some guys that we are excited about and we will recruit from all over, different levels of high school kids, JUCO players and four-year players,” he said. “Tanny Bastian was a player out of Trinity Valley that comes in with experience in the JuCo national tournament.” Bastian spent the last two seasons with the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals at the JuCo level. Last year he averaged 5.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
South Carolina, UConn top women’s AP Top 25, Indiana No. 4 By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer AFTER an impressive win, Indiana has vaulted to its best ranking ever: No. 4 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll. The veteran Hoosiers had their best ranking ever at No. 8 in the preseason Top 25 and then had a week that included a rout of then-No. 13 Kentucky, 88-67. Indiana returned all five starters from last season’s team that went to the Elite Eight and had its sixth consecutive 20-win season. “I’d like to think the the band’s back together,”
coach Teri Moren said. “This team has a tremendous chemistry and plays well together. There’s something to be said for experience as they have a really good feel for one another.” South Carolina remained the top team in the poll, receiving 25 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Gamecocks had an impressive nine-point win at No. 5 North Carolina State to tip off the season. The Gamecocks were followed by UConn, which garnered the other five No. 1 votes, and Maryland. All five of the top teams will head to the Bahamas
LATHANIEL BASTIAN The Division I level was highlighted by a matchup of Bahamians on the court and on the sidelines. Coach Yolette McPheeMcCuin continues to lead her Ole Miss Rebels women’s basketball programme against Annya Moss and the Mississippi Valley State Devillettes.
The Rebels improved to 1-1 on the season after they defeated the Devillettes with a 94-44 win at the Pavilion in Oxford, Mississippi. “It was better to finish off on the win side of the win column, so I’m grateful for that. Today I really wanted to see our team be
more disciplined and play our style of basketball,” said McPhee-McCuin. “I felt like we had a lot of moments when we had those opportunities and I still think that there’s a lot more that we can improve upon, but it was good to see Angel score today. It was good to see a lot of people scoring.” In last season’s matchup the Rebels defeated Mississippi Valley State 86-46. Moss finished with nine points. For the Ole Miss men, junior forward Sammy Hunter scored six points on 3-5 shooting from the field in 10 minutes in a 93-68 victory over Charleston Southern. Garvin Clarke finished with three points, five rebounds and three assists in his Akron State Zips’ lopsided 102-49 win over Point Park Pioneers.
SOUTH Dakota’s Chloe Lamb, right, is prevented from making a basket by South Carolina’s Victoria Saxton during NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Erin Woodiel/The Argus Leader via AP) over the next two weeks to play in two tournaments. There is the potential for a 1-2 matchup between the Gamecocks and Huskies if both teams win their first two games in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. The Hoosiers, Terrapins, Wolfpack and No. 7 Stanford play in another round-robin tournament on the island over Thanksgiving. The Cardinal dropped four spots after losing to then-No.25 Texas, which jumped to No. 12. “It’s a great field. I think it’s going to be an interesting year for women’s basketball,” Moren said. The Longhorns climbed 13 spots, ending up just
behind Arizona, which jumped to No. 11 from 22nd after an overtime victory against then-No. 6 Louisville. The Cardinals fell to 10th. WAITING MOUNTAINEERS No. 22 West Virginia is the lone member of the Top 25 yet to get its season started. The team will host Saint Francis (Pa.) to open the season on Tuesday. TIP-INS Kentucky fell to 19th after its loss to Indiana. ... Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer is stepping away this season because of COVID-19 concerns. Stringer has 1,055 wins in her 50-year coaching
career and is fourth alltime in Division I victories. The school decided that any win or loss this season will go to acting head coach Tim Eatman. Teams coached by Stringer have been ranked 439 weeks, the fifth most ever. GAME OF THE WEEK Baylor at Maryland on Sunday. Before the No. 3 Terrapins head to the Bahamas next week, they will host the No. 6 Bears. That will be the first of three top-10 teams that Brenda Frese’s team will face. Maryland plays No. 5 N.C. State on Thanksgiving and No. 7 Stanford two days later.
USA BASKETBALL PICKS TEAM FOR INITIAL 2 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — USA Basketball has picked its initial team for the opening games of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup. Jordan Bell, who won a title with Golden State in 2018, was among the 12 players announced yesterday as the team that will represent the US when qualifying starts in Mexico later this month with games against Cuba and Mexico. Most of the players on the roster have NBA experience and will be coming to the US team from current stints in the G League. Frank Mason III and Chasson Randle have been part of World Cup qualifying teams before for the US and were picked for this roster. Also selected along with Bell, Mason and Randle: Brian Bowen II, Josh Gray, Shaq Harrison, DaQuan Jeffries, BJ Johnson, Orlando Johnson, Luke Kornet, Zavier Simpson and Emanuel Terry. Combined, they’ve made nearly 900 regular-season NBA appearances for 17 teams. Jim Boylen will coach the US team, assisted by Othella Harrington and Ty Ellis. The Americans will train in Houston for about a week, starting Saturday, before travelling to Chihuahua, Mexico to play Cuba on November 28 and Mexico on November 29. Those are the first two of six first-round games for the US. The Americans are also scheduled to play Puerto Rico on February 24, Mexico on February 27, Puerto Rico on July 1 and Cuba on July 4 in the opening qualifying round. There are four teams in four groups of qualifying out of the FIBA Americas region. The top three teams in each group move onto the second round of qualifying, which starts in August and runs through February 2023. The US was drawn into Group D for the first round of qualifying from the Americas region, joined by Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Group A consists of Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and Venezuela. Group B is made up of Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay. Group C consists of Bahamas, Canada, the Dominican Republic and the US Virgin Islands. The World Cup — where teams can directly qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics — runs from August 25 to September 10, 2023.
Cryer scores 20 for No. 9 Baylor in 89-60 win over Nicholls By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer WACO, Texas (AP) — LJ Cryer is getting his chance to lead ninth-ranked Baylor after the departure of a trio of standout guards from last season’s national championship team. He also has some pretty talented freshmen around him. Cryer had a career-high 20 points to lead five players scoring in double figures as the Bears rolled to an 89-60 win over Nicholls State yesterday in a rare midday game. “I’ve always been a scorer, but as far as developing my game, I feel like mentally I’ve grown a lot, just being able to flush out a miss whenever I miss, just move on from that play. Just on to the next one,” said Cryer, who finished 7-of-9 shooting with five of Baylor’s 13 3-pointers. Freshman Kendall Brown had 13 points and 10 assists for the Bears (2-0), who had 33 assists on their 37 made baskets. Jeremy Sochan, another freshman, had 14 points, while returning players Adam Flagler and Matthew Mayer had 12 each.
Ty Gordon had 20 points for the defending Southland Conference champion Colonels (3-1). Latrell Jones had 11 points. “We actually shot it OK in the first half, we were 5 for 9 from 3. We missed a lot of layups. Their length bothered us at the rim,” Nicholls State coach Austin Claunch said. “Against their physicality, it’s hard to finish. And then when you miss, they’re just so explosive in transition.” Baylor coach Scott Drew said Cryer gets a lot of credit for working hard this summer, and the 6-foot-1 sophomore learned a lot being around Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague last season. “That really helped him in going against them every day, made him want better, and he’s been confident from the beginning,” Drew said. “He’s played well from the beginning, and we knew he was going to have a great year because he showed us that.” Cryer hit two 3s and had a jumper in the game’s first seven minutes, when Baylor made 10 of its first 14 shots and jumped ahead 25-11. A few minutes after that, Mayer and Sochan
BAYLOR guard LJ Cryer (4) drives against Nicholls State guard Latrell Jones (11) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game yesterday in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte) TOO had 3s in a 12-0 run for the said. “So there’s things we MANY Bears. The Bears extended can improve on.” TURNOVERS their lead to 73-43 midway BIG PICTURE Baylor had 20 turnovers, through the second half Nicholls State won its when Cryer had a steal and which led to 26 points for first three games for the passed ahead to Brown for Nicholls State. first time since 1971-72. “It was a game with a lot But facing top 10-Baylor, a breakaway dunk. “I know Kendall’s a high of transition opportunities, the world’s largest Baptist flyer. Whenever he gets a a couple of them, you’ve got university, was quite differdunk, the arena goes crazy,” to credit their speed, ath- ent than scoring 120 and Cryer said. “You love to see leticism, slippery floor, but 101 points in games played it. And we’re looking to get probably 16 of them, we can Friday night and Saturday him those opportunities as make better passes, sharper against Carver College, a passes, deep passes,” Drew Bible college in Georgia much as we can.”
with only about 100 students. The Colonels beat Northern Iowa in their opener. Baylor: The Bears have won 15 consecutive home games, and 27 of 28, with the only setback in that span a three-point loss to Kansas two seasons ago. Unlike their opener Friday night, when they unveiled the national championship banner and presented rings to returning players and staff, the Bears got off to a fast start and led throughout. Incarnate Word, which is in the Southland Conference with Nicholls State, led by six points twice before Baylor had a halfending 11-2 run and went on to an 87-60 victory. PROUD FAMILY Along with all of the kids, the grandmother of the Nicholls State coach attended the gae. Claunch’s grandmother is a Baylor alumna who was dressed in Baylor green and gold. She got a picture together with her grandson and Drew, telling the Baylor coach her grandson did a pretty good job. She also took a picture with the Bears’ national championship trophy.
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Steffen displaces Turner as top US goalkeeper, starts at Jamaica By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Zack Steffen is in quite an unusual position: The No. 2 goalkeeper with Manchester City is No. 1 with the United States. New England’s Matt Turner started the first five US qualifiers, and Steffen took over for the 2-1 win over Costa Rica last month. Steffen made a pair of key saves in Friday’s 2-0 victory over Mexico and will start tonight when the Americans open the second half of qualifying at Jamaica. “It was a difficult decision,” US coach Gregg Berhalter said yesterday. “It wasn’t something that was easy based on how we thought Matt was playing.”
While the US beat Jamaica 2-0 on October 7, the 59th-ranked Reggae Boyz have been boosted by the return of West Ham striker Michail Antonio and Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey. The No. 13 Americans will be missing midfielder Weston McKennie and defender Miles Robinson, serving one-game suspensions for yellow-card accumulation. Berhalter prefers Steffen for his role in possession. “We were looking at the games and how they were unfolding and were saying there’s a number of possessions that we can be keeping in these games that we’re not,” Berhalter said. “We think Zack is stronger with his feet,
and we made that decision based on that.” Steffen’s September was disrupted by back spasms followed by a positive COVID-19 test. He returned for the October 13 match against Costa Rica in Columbus, Ohio, where he played for the Crew from 2016-19. Steffen’s headed clearance led to Keysher Fuller’s goal 60 seconds in, but the US rallied on goals by Sergiño Dest and Tim Weah for a 2-1 win. Then against Mexico, he dived to make saves on Edson Álvarez in the 11th minute and Hirving Lozano in the 19th, keeping the US even on a night Christian Pulisic and McKennie would score late in the second half.
“We ask keepers all the time: Can you make that one, maybe two big saves that you need to make?” defender Walker Zimmerman said. “And if he doesn’t make that save, I think the game is a lot different.” Steffen is City’s backup to Ederson, a 28-year-old Brazilian who won the Golden Glove for most Premier League shutouts in each of the past two seasons. A 26-year-old from the Philadelphia suburb of Coatesville, Steffen signed with City in July 2019, then was loaned to Fortuna Düsseldorf for a season cut short by an injured left patellar tendon. The Cityzens announced this month he had agreed to a
four-year contract through 2024-25, one year shorter than Ederson’s deal. Steffen has four appearances at City this season: one in the Premier League, one in the Community Shield and two in the League Cup. “My goal is to become a starter, whether that’s at City, whether it’s at another team,” Steffen said. “I go into training focused on trying to push Eddie, and I know that’s another good, really good goalkeeper. ... We’re friends off the field, so then it becomes easier to to support and push each other on the field. So that’s my mentality, is just to go there and learn and train as best as possible, and the rest will fall in line.”
Italy stumbles into playoffs again in World Cup qualifying By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer ITALY is facing another detour to get to a World Cup final. The playoffs beckon for the Azzurri — just like four years ago — after stumbling to 0-0 at Northern Ireland yesterday, plunging the recently crowned European champion to a second-place finish behind Switzerland in their qualifying group. Switzerland leapfrogged Italy with a 4-0 win over Bulgaria. Italy’s soccer-mad fans might be starting to fear the worst. After all, their country also failed to secure automatic qualification for the 2018 World Cup and wound up losing to Sweden in a two-leg playoff, one of the darkest moments in Italy’s soccer history. This time, the Italians will need to get through two one-leg matchups to advance in a newly devised playoff system. The draw takes place on November 26 and Italy will be at home for its first match because it will be a seeded team. England, like Switzerland, is heading straight to Qatar. On the next-to-last night of group play in Europe, England romped to its biggest competitive win — 10-0 over the part-timers of San Marino — to finish top of its group with more
goals (39) than any other team in qualifying. Harry Kane enjoyed himself, in particular, with four goals — all in the first half — to move to 48 for England, five off Wayne Rooney’s national record. Scotland will be seeded, like Italy, in the playoffs after a 2-0 victory over Group F winner Denmark, whose perfect record in qualifying came to an end. Poland finished second in England’s group and closed with a 2-1 loss at home to Hungary, and will likely be away in its first match in the playoffs. AZZURRI AGONY Italy and Switzerland went into their final qualifiers on 15 points each in Group C but with the Azzurri having a superior goal difference, the first tiebreaker if they ended tied on points. That didn’t come into play because while Switzerland swept to an easy win over already-eliminated Bulgaria thanks to goals by Noah Okafor, Ruben Vargas, Cedric Itten and Remo Freuler, Italy became the latest big team to struggle in an intense atmosphere at Windsor Park. Without injured striker Ciro Immobile and other regular starters, the Italians struggled to carve out opportunities despite dominating possession. As Switzerland piled up the goals in Lucerne, Italy’s task became even
ANDREA Belotti of Italy, right, and Jonny Evans of Northern Ireland compete for the ball during the World Cup 2022 group C qualifying soccer match between Northern Ireland and Italy at Windsor Park stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland, yesterday. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison) harder and Roberto Mancini’s team nearly lost when Conor Washington’s late effort was cleared off the line. Mancini has sparked a revival for the Azzurri, culminating in winning Euro 2020 in July, but they could miss out again on soccer’s premier tournament for the second straight time. “We need to rediscover what has set us apart until now,” Mancini said, “and remain completely calm until March.”
ENGLAND CRUISE Not since 1964 and a 10-0 win over the United States have the English reached double figures in goals in a match. They’d never done so in a competitive match before yesterday. Harry Maguire, Emile Smith Rowe, Tyrone Mings, Tammy Abraham and Bukayo Saka joined Kane in scoring for England, while there was also an own-goal by San
Marino, the world’s lowestranked team — a lineup filled with non-professionals who were using annual leave from their day jobs to play in the qualifier. Getting near England’s record win, 13-0 over Ireland in 1882, looked on when Saka made it 10-0 in the 79th, by which time the beleaguered hosts were down to 10 men. But there were no more goals.England finished on 26 points, six clear of Poland.
ENGLAND ROUTS SAN MARINO 10-0, QUALIFIES FOR WORLD CUP SERRAVALLE, San Marino (AP) — England hit double figures in goals in a competitive game for the first time to power into the World Cup yesterday. Harry Kane enjoyed himself, in particular, in the embarrassingly one-sided 10-0 win over San Marino that secured England first place in Group I of European qualifying. England’s captain scored four goals — all in the first half, with two of them being penalties — to move his international tally to 48, which is tied with Gary Lineker and only five off Wayne Rooney’s all-time record for the country. Kane finished 2021 with 16 goals for England, a national record for a calendar year, and it could have been more if he hadn’t been substituted just after an hour. “If we left him on another half an hour, we would have had Wayne Rooney’s family on the phone,” England coach Gareth Southgate said. “He is a phenomenal goal scorer,” he added about Kane. “We wanted to give him the chance tonight and he took it well.” Harry Maguire, Emile Smith Rowe, Tyrone Mings, Tammy Abraham and Bukayo Saka also scored, along with an own-goal, as England showed no mercy against the world’s lowestranked team — a lineup filled with non-professionals who were using annual leave from their day jobs to play in the qualifier in Serravalle. When England got to double figures after 79 minutes, there appeared to be a good chance the team could at least match its biggest ever win — 13-0 over Ireland in 1882. That’s one of only three times England has scored 11 goals or more. This was England biggest victory since 1964 when it achieved 10-0 against the United States in New York. “We cannot do anything about the level of opposition,” Southgate said, “but the mentality and the way they applied themselves was terrific.” England finished on 26 points, six clear of secondplaced Poland, which lost at home to Hungary 2-1 and might be unseeded for next year’s playoffs. That would mean Poland playing away in its one-leg semifinal in one of the three playoff brackets.
Scotland spoils Denmark’s perfect record in WCup qualifying GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — John Souttar scored in his first international game for three years to give Scotland a 2-0 win over Denmark in World Cup qualifying yesterday and secure a home draw in the playoffs. Denmark had already won Group F but Scotland spoiled the European Championship semifinalist’s perfect record as they aimed to win 10 games out of 10. Scotland put pressure on Denmark from the start and won a succession of set-pieces. John McGinn swung Scotland’s eighth corner deep to the far post, where Liam Cooper nodded it back for Souttar to head in. He hadn’t played for Scotland since a red card against Israel in October 2018. “I went through a lot in the last year and I was just looking forward to it and I didn’t expect anything like this to be honest and it
was brilliant,” Souttar told broadcaster Sky Sports. “It was a total blur. We worked on that corner during the week, and thankfully we scored from it, just delighted.” Denmark substitute Mikael Uhre miskicked an excellent chance straight at Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon in the 85th. A minute later, Scotland made Denmark pay as Ché Adams charged in behind the Danish defence on the counter and scored. Scotland will enter the playoffs in March along with 11 other teams who finished second in qualifying groups or else had a good record in the UEFA Nations League. They will be placed into four-team brackets to play for the three World Cup spots on offer. Elsewhere in Group F, Israel finished third after beating the Faeroe Islands 3-2 in a tense finish, and Austria won against Moldova 4-1.
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Tuesday, November 16, 2021, PAGE 15
49ERS WIN 1ST HOME GAME IN MORE THAN A YEAR, 31-10 OVER RAMS By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes, Jimmie Ward returned one of his two first-quarter interceptions for another score and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-10 last night for their first home win in more than a year. The Niners (4-5) had lost four of five games and were in danger of falling out of the playoff race before putting together a complete performance against the Rams (7-3). San Francisco has won five straight against Los Angeles. Garoppolo threw TD passes to George Kittle and Deebo Samuel, Samuel also ran for a score and Ward delivered the big plays defensively to give San Francisco its second home
win in the past two seasons. The other also came against the Rams on October 18, 2020. The Niners sealed the game when Garoppolo connected on a 40-yard TD to Samuel on fourth-and-6 early in the fourth quarter that made it 31-7. Garoppolo finished 15 for 19 for 182 yards and the two TDs. The Rams lost for the second straight week with Matthew Stafford once again throwing two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. Los Angeles struggled to get into any rhythm offensively in the first game after receiver Robert Woods went down with a seasonending knee injury last week in practice. Odell Beckham Jr made his Los Angeles debut after signing last week but had only two catches for 18 yards.
49ERS running back Eli Mitchell (25) runs against Rams outside linebacker Leonard Floyd (54) and inside linebacker Troy Reeder (51) during the first half last night. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn) Recently acquired edge Williams trapped on his rusher Von Miller also backside only to have it played for the first time wiped off by a penalty. TAKE IT AWAY with the Rams and had Ward intercepted Stafthree tackles but didn’t put ford on Los Angeles’ first pressure on Garoppolo. Stafford went 26 for two drives of the game after 41 for 243 yards with one coming into the night with TD, two interceptions and two INTs in 85 games and nearly a third that K’Waun none since 2016.
The first came on a deep heave by Stafford to Beckham that went right to Ward. The next came on a quick throw that tight end Tyler Higbee bobbled right into Ward’s hands, leading to a 27-yard TD return. Ward became the seventh player since 2000 with two interceptions, including a pick-6, in the first quarter. KEEP IT AWAY The Niners did a good job keeping the ball away from Stafford in the first half. They had an 18-play, 93-yard drive that took 11:03 off the clock after Ward’s first interception. It was capped by an 8-yard TD pass from Garoppolo to Kittle. That was the second opening drive of at least 18 plays in the past eight seasons, with Houston doing it earlier this year against New England. San Francisco then had an 11-play,
91-yard drive on it second possession capped by Samuel’s 8-yard run to take a 21-7 lead. FAKE IT Rams coach Sean McVay made a curious decision when he called for a fake field goal on fourth-and-8 from the 17 with 18 seconds left in the first half. Holder Johnny Hekker completed a 2-yard pass to Kendall Blanton that was well short of the first down. INJURED Rams: RB Darrell Henderson left in first quarter to be evaluated for a concussion but returned late in the first half. 49ers: RT Jaylon Moore (knee) left the game in the first half. UP NEXT Rams: Los Angeles has a bye next week before visiting Green Bay on November 28 49ers: Visit Jacksonville on Sunday.
Porzingis leads Mavs past Nuggets (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis had 29 points and 11 rebounds, Tim Hardaway Jr scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and the Dallas Mavericks rallied past the Denver Nuggets 111-101 last night. Dallas opened the fourth period on a 17-6 run that included 3-pointers by Hardaway, Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock to go ahead 98-88 with six minutes left, its largest lead to that point. Doncic had 23 points and 11 assists and Jalen Brunson scored 17 off the bench for the Mavericks, who have won five of six. Nikola Jokic scored a season-high 35 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, who finished a back-to-back and had their five-game winning streak snapped. GRIZZLIES 136, ROCKETS 102 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 22 points, six rebounds and six assists, Jaren Jackson Jr added 18 points and the Memphis Grizzlies beat Houston, sending the Rockets to their 12th straight loss. Dillon Brooks finished with 16 points, and Kyle Anderson added 15 as Memphis snapped a threegame losing streak. The 136 points was a season-high for the Grizzlies.
Jalen Green led the Rockets with 15 points, while Jae’Sean Tate added 14 points and nine rebounds. Houston, again was stymied by poor shooting, connecting on only 38 percent. KNICKS 92, PACERS 84 NEW YORK (AP) — Immanuel Quickley came off the bench to score 16 points, and the Knicks limited the Pacers to two baskets in the fourth quarter to rally for the win. Kemba Walker also had 16 points for the Knicks, but he didn’t play in the fourth when the reserves and especially the defence won it for New York. Derrick Rose, Walker’s backup, added 14 points. The Knicks ended a three-game home losing streak and a two-game skid overall by outscoring the Pacers 23-10 in the final 12 minutes. Indiana shot 2 for 20 in the fourth period. Malcolm Brogdon had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Pacers, WIZARDS 105, PELICANS 100 WASHINGTON (AP) — Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, and the Wizards erased a 19-point deficit to beat the Pelicans
DALLAS Mavericks centre Kristaps Porzingis, left, takes a shot over Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic (15) in the first half yesterday in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) for their fifth consecutive victory. Washington at 10-3 is off to the franchise’s best start in 47 years when the Bullets opened the 1974-75 season 11-2. The Wizards have done this with and without All-Star guard Bradley Beal, who missed a second consecutive game mourning the death of his grandmother. Aaron Holiday, who took Beal’s spot in
the starting lineup, scored 12 points. HEAT 103, THUNDER 90 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 26 points and the shorthanded Heat beat the Thunder. Duncan Robinson scored 21 points and Kyle Lowry added 11 points and 11 assists for the Heat. Miami played without Jimmy
Butler (sprained right ankle) and Bam Adebayo (bruised left knee). Butler, who averages 23.6 points per game, missed his third straight. Lu Dort scored 20 points and rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 16 for the Thunder. Shai GilgeousAlexander, who entered the night averaging 22.6 points per game, finished with a season-low 10 on 2-of-11 shooting.
HAWKS 129, MAGIC 111 ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young and John Collins each scored 23 points and the Hawks beat the Magic for their second straight win. Clint Capela finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds and Bogdan Bogdanovich added 20 points for Atlanta, which snapped a six-game skid with a 20-point win over defending NBA champion Milwaukee on Sunday. CELTICS 98, CAVALIERS 92 CLEVELAND (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 23 points and Dennis Schroder had six points in the final 76 seconds as the Celtics beat the Cavaliers. Al Horford had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Schroder and Marcus Smart each scored 14 as Boston (7-7) won for the third time in four games. Tatum also had eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks. On Saturday, Darius Garland made two free throws with 9.4 seconds left as Cleveland rallied from a 19-point deficit in a 91-89 win over Boston. Both teams played their third game in four nights. Ricky Rubio scored 26 of his 28 points in the second half and Cedi Osman had 26 points and five assists off the bench for the Cavaliers.
BAHAMIAN BASKETBALL PLAYERS STANDOUTS IN JUNIOR COLLEGE By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net SEVERAL Bahamian athletes delivered standout performances for their respective programmes at the Junior College level. The Bahamian contingent for the Northeast Community College Hawks - Collin Storr, Saheed Sanusi, Emmanuel Alexandre, Jaden Strachan and Charles Joseph have shown flashes of brilliance in their first year with the programme. In the season debut, Storr scored 17 points on 7-11 shooting from the field and added four rebounds in 18 minutes of a 105-86 loss to Morningside University JV. Strachan was the leading scorer off the bench for the Hawks with 13 points on 6-7 shooting from the field. He also added three rebounds and three assists off the bench. Sanusi finished with eight points. In game two, Strachan finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench of a 93-68 loss to Central Community College - Columbus. In the Hawks’ first win of the season, 121-67, over Mount Mary University JV three of the Bahamian players reached double figures. Alexandre made his debut in game three and posted a double double with 15 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Strachan
while Dames finished with 11 points off the bench. Through five games, Lghtbourne is averaging 11.4 points on 46 percent shooting in just over 13 minutes per game while Dames is averaging 13.8 points on 40 percent shooting from the field. Both freshmen guards transferred to KCKCC after a COVID-19 shortened season with Midland
BRADLEY LIGHTBOURNE, left, and Joshua Dames.
DEYTON Albury. had another strong performance with 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals while Sanusi had a season
high 17 points, three assists and three steals. In a 99-61 loss to Southeast Community College, Sanusi scored 10, Alexandre added 10 points and four rebounds and Strachan scored seven. Joshua Dames and Bradley Lightbourne continue to have an immediate impact in their first season with the Kansas City Kansas Community College Blue Devils despite the team’s early season struggles. Both players scored in double figures of a 75-69 loss to Link Year Prep on November 13. In his first start of the season, Lightbourne scored a team high 14 points on 6-13 shooting from the field
College Chaparrals in Midland, Texas. They completed their high school British Columbia Christian Prep Panthers signed their letters of intent to join the Midland College Chaparrals in Midland, Texas. Deyton Albury had his first impactful game off the bench for Chipola College Indians men’s basketball programme.
The freshman guard reached double figures for the first time this season with 11 points off the bench in a 74-69 win over Santa Fe College on November 13. The Indians improved to 4-1 on the season. And Richard Lowe finished with seven points and eight rebounds in Western Oklahoma State College’s 63-60 loss to On Point Academy.