01152025 NEWS AND SPORT by tribune242

The Tribune PUZZLER

SARKIS: ‘JOBS S AFE’ IN CC A WIND-UP BID

Staff reassured their livelihood not at risk in face of

NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

liquidation

BAHA Mar’s original developer yesterday pledged hundreds of Bahamian jobs will be protected despite his bid to wind-up two major Nassau hotels. Sarkis Izmirlian, in a statement, reassured staff at downtown Nassau’s British Colonial and Margaritaville Beach Resort properties that their livelihoods will be safe even if he succeeds in persuading the Bahamian Supreme Court to appoint liquidators for their parent company that is presently owned by the Baha Mar project’s Chinese contractor. JUNKANOO GROUPS UPSET over ‘biased’ judging system

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrusssell@tribunmedia.net

FRUSTRATION is mounting for several Junkanoo groups over what they call a deeply broken and biased judging system that has, for years,

Court injunction orders unions to return to work

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Davis administration secured an interim injunction yesterday against afﬁliates of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), ordering staff to return to work after two days of industrial action.

The injunction, granted by Justice Darron Ellis yesterday, restrains members of the Bahamas Air Trafﬁc

Controllers Union, the Bahamas Doctors Union, the Consultant Physician Staff Association, and the Bahamas Nurses Union from engaging in any strike or industrial action against the government. Such action includes refusing to report to work, leaving their place of employment during scheduled hours, taking sick leave without a valid sick

lack of gb fire trucks ‘a state of emergency’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

COMMUNITY leaders, residents, and public ofﬁcials on Grand Bahama have expressed outrage over the island’s lack of functioning ﬁre trucks, describing the situation as a “state of emergency” and

PHOTO: DANTE CARRER/TRIBUNE STAFF

Junkanoo groups upset over

‘biased’ judging system

stifled fair competition in the nation’s most iconic cultural parades.

At a press conference yesterday, leaders from Genesis, Roots, Music Makers, and the Junkanoo Commandos stressed their intention was not to “cry over” the Saxons’ recent victories in the parades but to demand an overdue fair, transparent judging process.

Philip Taylor, chairman of Genesis, said the group was not satisfied with the results of the recent parades and criticised the current judging system for lacking consistency, transparency, and clear criteria.

Angelique McKay, CEO of the Junkanoo Commandos and a Genesis member, said her group has faced bias due to being smaller and newer than older, more established A groups. She said the groups don’t expect to win every parade but at least expected a fair playing field, insisting that flaws in the system have worsened over time.

Roots chairman Duane Ellis shared similar frustrations, claiming that some groups are favoured based on reputation or longevity in the Junkanoo community. The groups collectively said they are not opposed to the Junkanoo

Corporation New Providence (JCNP) rules but seek changes to create more direct regulations and criteria for judging. Each group will be presenting the JCNP rules committee with a list of recommendations to improve the parades.

Concerns were also raised about the fairness of using judges with ties to specific groups. One key recommendation was enhanced judge training to ensure that judges are knowledgeable about Junkanoo’s history, culture, and technical elements.

A recommendation Junkanoo Commandos gave was to separate A and B groups in the parades to improve the length of the parades.

Mr Ellis also highlighted the low stipends for judges, suggesting this has contributed to a decline in participation.

Gary Russell, executive chairman of Music Makers, lamented the loss of vibrancy in Nassau’s parades, comparing them unfavourably to the high-energy displays in Freeport. He linked the decline to inconsistent enforcement of rules on costumes, music, and pasting. When asked about the potential rejection of their recommendations by the JCNP, Mr Russell said: “We will cross that bridge

Taylor express his displeasure with the current state of junkanoo at a press

when we get there.”

JCNP chairman Dion Miller told The Tribune that groups have the ultimate say in the parades’ judging system. He said this year, all Junkanoo groups decided

they wanted a combination of junkanoo legends, professional judges, and members of the public. He added that all judges attended a training course that the groups agreed on. He noted that about

150 people are selected to judge the parade every year, but after Junkanoo groups vet those people, only half make the cut.

Mr Miller committed to looking at the recommendations presented by the

various groups, adding that the JCNP’s rule committee is also open to the public where anyone can make recommendations. He noted the judging system has been a vexing problem for many groups.

Elderly man found hanging at residence in apparent suicide

POLICE are investigating the apparent suicide of an elderly man in the area of Jennie Street.

Royal Bahamas Police Force’s newly appointed press liaison, Chief Superintendent Sheria King, said at around 4pm yesterday, authorities received a call about an apparent suicide on Jennie Street.

“As a result, officers responded and, on their arrival, they observed an elderly male hanging from the ceiling. EMS examined the body and as a result, they found no signs of life,” she said.

She noted that police were in the preliminary stages of their investigation but confirmed that foul play is not suspected.

Many onlookers gathered near the residence. Four homes were in the yard. Some of the onlookers speaking among themselves were of Haitian descent. CSP King declined to comment on the man’s nationality. Police reported an attempted suicide involving a woman in Grand Bahama earlier this year.

PHILIP

conference held at Crypto Isle yesterday.

Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr

POLICE at the scene of am alleged suicide at aresidence on Jennie Street yesterday. Photos: Chappell Whysm Jr

Court injunction orders unions to return to work

certiﬁcate, or encouraging other staff not to return to work.

The court order also warns that failure to comply may result in contempt of court charges and imprisonment, ﬁnes, or the seizure of assets.

The move follows a signiﬁcant increase in union members refusing to report for work in some government agencies yesterday, particularly in the healthcare sector.

Public Hospitals Authority managing director Aubynette Rolle said the number of doctors represented by the Bahamas Doctors Union (BDU) who did not report for work increased from 90 percent on Monday to 98 percent yesterday.

For the Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA), the absenteeism remained at around 60 percent.

Meanwhile, ofﬁcials noted a slight increase in the number of nurses calling in yesterday, though

there was a slight decline in absenteeism on the Family Islands. The reduced staff numbers prompted the early closure of some clinics, including the Elizabeth Estates Clinic and the South Beach Health Centre.

Ms Rolle said several areas were also “signiﬁcantly” affected by the increased absenteeism, particularly the Accident and Emergency Department of the Princess Margaret Hospital.

“We were able to divide the levels of care in the emergency room, so we were able to deal with levels one, two and three at a different level, and four and ﬁve,” she said. “So we were able to deal with non-urgent care and those urgent care.”

She also acknowledged that there were slight delays for some urgent care services, including dialysis.

Additionally, she said some patients had to be moved to other spaces to accommodate the changes.

She thanked retired staff who came to support the current team.

“It really shows that in times of crisis, that there are persons who are willing to come on board to assist the Bahamian population,” she said during a press conference.

The TUC’s decision to protest stems partly from a 2021 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and trade union bodies.

The MoU promised a “Workers’ Agenda” to address pressing labour issues. However, union leaders have criticised the Davis administration for allegedly neglecting the labour movement’s demands.

Ms Rolle said meetings were held with the CPSA yesterday to address unresolved labour issues and expired industrial agreements.

She said all articles in the proposed industrial agreement for the CPSA, except for the ﬁnancial aspects, had been agreed upon.

As for the BDU, she said all elements of the proposed labour contract, including the financial aspects, had been signed. She said one issue remains unresolved: time and attendance.

“The government has made its position,” she said. “The PHA supports the position that all employees, if we are going to ensure that your remuneration is right, then we have to have an accounting of the hours worked.”

GB schools reopened with ‘minimal’ staff and low student attendance

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter

ALTHOUGH public schools in Grand Bahama reopened on Tuesday, a senior education executive said only a “minimal” number of teachers and administrators returned to schools and student attendance was very low.

On Monday, a nationwide strike prompted the early dismissal of classes and the closure of public schools on the island after teachers and administrators failed to report for work. Thousands of students were sent home around noon.

Michelle Bowleg, deputy director of the Ministry of Education in Grand Bahama, reported yesterday that student attendance was poor across the schools.

“The doors remained open, however, many parents opted not to send their children,” she said.

“We appeal to parents that school is not closed, and it is vital that students return.”

She said teachers from the Bahamas Union of Teachers, Bahamas Educators, Counsellors and Workers Union (BECAWU) once again failed to show up, but those under the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) attended. The Trade Union

Congress (TUC) initiated a two-day nationwide strike for all government workers, though healthcare workers and teachers in the government school system mainly carried out the industrial action.

While BECAWU president Sandra Major supports the union’s move, Education Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin described the action as “unfortunate.”

Glover-Rolle: 96 percent of the MoU has been delivered

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

LABOUR Minister Pia Glover-Rolle claimed the government had fulﬁlled 96 percent of what was agreed upon when the Progressive Liberal Party signed a pre-election Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two umbrella union organisations.

Her comments came after Trade Union Congress (TUC) President Obie Ferguson led union afﬁliates on industrial action this week, insisting that the government has inadequately fulﬁlled its MoU promises.

“Ninety-six percent of the MoU has been delivered,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said. She said there are still a few outstanding matters that are being addressed. Among them is renovating the House of Labor on Wulff Road, a matter reportedly discussed with the Prime Minister. She said the government has indicated that it cannot fully fund the renovations on its own and is urging the TUC to contribute to

the effort. She said another outstanding issue is providing crown land to unions. She also suggested that unions that signed the MoU have complained that the beneﬁts have also been reaped by unions that didn’t.

She said 53 industrial agreements have been signed since the Davis administration came to power.

Mrs Glover-Rolle emphasised that industrial agreements are being signed and honoured, ensuring that members — not the government — realise the beneﬁts. These, she said, include seven increments over a threeyear period, which will conclude in July 2025.

Mrs Glover-Rolle noted that an agreement for doctors is awaiting signature and negotiation.

In December, Obie Ferguson, KC, President of the TUC, warned of a mass strike, revealing that 14 union afﬁliates had received strike vote certiﬁcates. The union claims

the Davis administration has failed to address outstanding issues and has not honoured commitments outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding signed three years ago.

PUBLIC Hospitals Authority managing director Aubynette Rolle speaks to the media at a press conference yesterday. Seated next to her is Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville.

Photo: Leandra Rolle/Tribune Chief Reporter

THE SISTER Mary Patricia Russell Junior High School campus in Freeport was among more than a dozen public schools dismissed around noon on Monday due to a strike initiated by the Trade Union Congress.

LABOUR MINISTER PIA GLOVER-ROLLE

King reports 37 percent decrease in migrant apprehensions in 2024

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) reported a 37 percent decrease in migrant apprehensions in 2024, totalling 2,019 compared to 3,201 in 2023. Nonetheless, Defence Force Commodore Raymond King said a surge is expected in The Bahamas in response to the potential rescindment of the Temporary Protected Status and Residency Sponsorship Policies by the incoming Trump administration.

The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Residency Sponsorship Policies provide legal protections to migrants unable to return to their home countries due to conﬂict, natural disasters, or other crises. The rescinding of these policies by the US could force thousands of migrants back to unstable or unsafe conditions, potentially triggering a surge in undocumented migration through the Caribbean.

Commodore King said 875 Haitian nationals were intercepted from Haiti to The Bahamas in 11

incidents.

He said there was a “general decline observed in 2024 compared to previous years, which was likely attributed to the Temporary Protected Status and two-year Residency Sponsorship Policies in the US for Cubans, Haitians, and Venezuelans in particular”. “However,” he added, “an uptick of Haitians has been observed towards TCI within recent months.”

Meanwhile, United States Coast Guard Cutters intercepted 112 Cuban nationals attempting to reach Florida in nine incidents on the Cay Sal Banks.

Commodore King said “the number of Cubans attempting to reach the US via the Cay Sal Banks have increased signiﬁcantly during December 2024 and January 2025 to date”.

March 2024 saw the highest number of apprehensions, with 516, followed by April, with 331. July recorded the lowest, with 26 apprehensions. May and December each saw 49 apprehensions.

Apprehension numbers for 2024 and 2023 were much lower than 2022, which saw 4,313.

DEFENCE FORCE MARINE AND WIFE ACCUSED OF NIGHTCLUB ASSAULT OF WOMAN

By PAVEL BAILEY

Staff Reporter

A DEFENCE force

marine and his wife were accused yesterday of assaulting a woman outside

a nightclub on Recovery Way in November.

Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley arraigned Ofﬁcer Deavien Duncombe, 35, and Dorneka Duncombe, 38, on charges of causing harm.

According to reports, Mrs Duncombe got into a verbal altercation with Jestina Miller at Prime Time Club on November 29. Afterwards, she allegedly followed Ms Miller outside and punched her while she

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was on the ground.

Mr Duncombe is accused of choking and punching Ms Miller during the same incident.

The victim reportedly suffered injuries to both arms and her neck.

Mr Duncombe pleaded not guilty in court, while Mrs Duncombe pleaded guilty to her charge.

Lilinique Grant, Mrs Duncombe’s attorney, highlighted that her client

had no prior criminal history and is a mother. She added that Mrs Duncombe, employed as a manager at Nassau Flight Services, was under the inﬂuence of alcohol during the incident. Ms Grant emphasised her client’s remorse and early guilty plea, which spared the court’s time. She recommended that instead of a custodial sentence, Mrs Duncombe should enrol in anger management classes.

The court granted Mrs Duncombe a conditional discharge, requiring her to attend six months of anger management classes. Failure to comply would result in a $500 ﬁne or one month in prison. Mr Duncombe was granted $800 bail with one or two sureties and is scheduled to stand trial on February 18. Inspector Deon Barr served as the prosecutor.

New ofﬁcers and members of BNT Council announced

THE Bahamas National Trust has announced the appointment of new ofﬁcers and members of the BNT Council, elected at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in October.

Joanne Smith has been elected as president of the council. She is president and creative director of Media Enterprises, and a former president of the Rotary Club of East Nassau and a lifetime member of the BNT.

Returning to the council as deputy president is Janet Johnson, a former BNT president.

Ashley Sturrup joins as honorary secretary. She is a lawyer with a background in the Ofﬁce of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs. She is also a member of the BNT’s Legal Affairs Committee.

Phillip Cumming has been appointed honorary treasurer. He is a chartered accountant and past president of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, and is also an avid birder and nature photographer, as well as a former ﬁnancial controller of The Tribune.

Elected members of the BNT Council include: Geoff Andrews (immediate past president); Marvin Arrington; Glenn Bannister;

Kevin Cartwright; Hank Ferguson; Janet Johnson; Marcus Laing; Neil McKinney; Devin Peet; Naisha Roberts; Karin Sanchez; Gary Sands; Tanya Woodside; and Eddie Carter.

Appointed members are: Dr Maria WoodsideOriakhi, University of The Bahamas; Dr Ana Luz Porzecanski, American Museum of Natural History; Dr Karen Bjorndal, University of Florida; Christopher Hughes, US Parks Service; Meredith Ross, Leon Levy Foundation; Dr Pamela Reid, University of Miami RSMAS; Dr Barney Long, re:wild; and Aurelio Ramos, National Audubon Society.

Representing the Bahamas government are: Christina Davis-Justin and Holly Peel, Governor General’s representatives; Ashley Sturrup, Ministry of Education; Dr Kenneth Romer, Ministry of Tourism; Dr Rhianna Neeley-Murphy, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources; and Gregory Bethel, Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources.

“We are thrilled to welcome such a talented and diverse group of leaders to our executive board,” said Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle, BNT’s executive director.

“Their combined experience and dedication to The Bahamas’ national park system will be essential as we work to accomplish the goals outlined in our new ﬁve-year strategic plan.”

“It is indeed an honour to serve as the president of the BNT,” said Joanne Smith. “They have grown The Bahamas’ national park system to 33 national parks that protect marine resources, endangered species, and the habitats necessary for the survival of our island ﬂora and fauna. I am looking forward to working with the BNT team and the council to ensure we meet our strategic goals.

“One of my goals is to increase the membership of the organisation and support sustainable finance mechanisms for the parks. I am especially grateful to past president Geoff Andrews, who has agreed to lead the Advancement Committee in successfully achieving our financial goals over the next five years. We hold our first full Council meeting at the end of January and look forward to working with the Council on initiatives that guide the BNT into its next chapter.”

To learn more about the BNT, visit www.bnt.bs.

RBDF COMMODORE RAYMOND KING

LEFT to right: Janet Johnson, BNT deputy president; Joanne Smith, BNT president; Philip Cumming, treasurer; and Ashley Sturrup, secretary

Lack of GB ﬁre trucks

‘a state of emergency’

calling for immediate action from the government.

The Tribune understands that none of the ﬁve ﬁre engines at the newly built Fire Station on Settler’s Way are operational, leaving the island vulnerable.

Pressed on the matter yesterday, Assistant Superintendent of Police Stephen Rolle, the press ofﬁcer in Grand Bahama, acknowledged that there are “challenges” on the island with ﬁre equipment.

“Our partners are assisting us greatly to bring these matters under control,” he added without elaborating.

The lack of equipment has forced some to fend for themselves during emergencies, including a recent six-day bushﬁre that threatened a church and a farm. Farmer Tiffany Dennison and her husband were forced to battle a large bushﬁre near their farm last Tuesday with little assistance.

East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson described the situation yesterday as unacceptable and called for urgent action.

“This is a dire situation, and the consequences are too serious to ignore,” he said. “The government has a duty to protect its citizens, and this failure to maintain vital equipment is a clear violation of that responsibility.”

situation a tragedy.

“This is indeed a tragedy for a modern city of Freeport and Grand Bahama generally. The Port and the government cannot allow these tragedies to occur,” he said.

Businessman David Wallace also voiced his outrage, calling the lack of ﬁre equipment “inexcusable.”

“Over the last week, we witnessed in California the widespread devastation of uncontrolled ﬁre, and my fear is that if something similar breaks out in Freeport or on the island of Grand Bahama, those businesses or homes in the path of the ﬁre will be totally destroyed,” he said. Mr Wallace called on the minister responsible and the Prime Minister to address the issue urgently.

Another resident, businessman and community advocate Omar Isaacs, recounted the frustration of relying on external entities for help.

“We need more than promises; we need action. It is time to get our ﬁre trucks

Mr Thompson raised concerns about the airport fire truck being used between flights to respond to fires, leaving the airport itself vulnerable. He also questioned why calls for replacement parts for the fire engines have gone unanswered and highlighted a shortage of manpower at fire stations.

fully operational and ensure that we have the necessary resources in place,” he said. Community leader and Reach Out Youth Ministries founder Dudley Seide also condemned the situation, calling it shocking.

“It is sad to hear that at this present time, we have no ﬁre trucks that are working,” he said. “Fire trucks

can save lives and property. Look at what is going on in California; we need to get those ﬁre trucks up and running. I hope this sends a clear message to the government and everyone concerned that we need ﬁre trucks in Grand Bahama.”

Mr Seide emphasised that proper ﬁreﬁghting equipment is needed across

the island, including in East End, West End, and Freeport. He criticised the lack of resources, noting: “For a ﬁre truck to leave Freeport and ride 25 miles to High Rock or West End is unacceptable. We have to treat every settlement like they are important.”

Human rights advocate Joseph Darville called the

During a recent three-car collision and ﬁre in West Grand Bahama, Mr Isaacs unsuccessfully attempted to call the Freeport Container Port to assist in extinguishing the blaze.

He called for rebuilding the ﬁre station previously located at the rear of the police station in Eight Mile Rock.

“It is just a travesty at this point in time in West Grand Bahama’s evolution,” he said, adding that the district has been underserved for too long.

30-year-old’s murder ‘has left family living in fear’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

RASHAD Sweeting, the ﬁrst murder victim of the year, was a kind-hearted, unproblematic young man who dreamed of starting his own rental car and scooter business, his aunt said.

The 30-year-old father of one, affectionately known as “Shaddy”, was gunned down shortly after midnight on Monday while standing with two others outside his grandmother’s home near Big Pond.

Sweeting’s aunt, Claudine Sweeting, who lives abroad, said his death has devastated the family, who are still mourning the loss of his

mother to cancer last year. She described him as someone who was always willing to help and said they shared a close relationship, speaking frequently.

“This has left the whole family living in fear,” she said.

According to Mrs Sweeting, this is not the ﬁrst time her family has been targeted. She alleged that someone tried to kill Rashad’s sister a few months ago, an incident she said was reported to the police but went unaddressed.

The family believes the attacks are connected to assets left behind by Rashad’s mother, including a duplex currently in

probate and two insurance policies. They recently learned that the court case for the probate is scheduled for next week and speculate that the timing of the case may have inﬂuenced this week’s events.

She added that the same individual had threatened her directly, asking when she would return to New Providence.

Police have not conﬁrmed if a suspect has been arrested or whether any prior complaints from the family had been ﬁled. Investigations into the murder are ongoing.

The family is calling for answers and justice. “We just want this to end,” Mrs Sweeting said.

The Tribune Limited

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI

“Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972

Contributing Editor 1972-1991

RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B.

Publisher/Editor 1972-

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GB residents deserve swift action from govt

GRAND Bahama deserves better. That has always been the case, but the situation is highlighted even more so by the news that the island is suffering a shortage of functioning fire trucks.

How did we find this out? The hard way. A farmer and her husband had to fight a large bushfire with little sign of help.

There is a newly built fire station on Settler’s Way – but we understand that none of the five fire engines there are operational. What is the use of a new building if the equipment does not work?

To have one engine out of commission at a time might be understandable – routine to allow regular maintenance cycles to take place, even.

To have five fire engines unable to function looks like mismanagement on a scale that has a risk of costing lives.

East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson, of the FNM, called the situation unacceptable. He is right.

He said that calls for replacement parts have gone unanswered. That claim deserves a response – and fast.

He also said that the airport fire truck has been used between flights to respond to fires. He suggested this leaves the airport vulnerable, but it is actually worse than that – fire engines are an integral part of the requirements to ensure airports get the approvals to function in the first place. It should be at the airport to respond come what may – or else the airport could risk losing the approval to operate at all.

The worst case scenario might be

an incident at the airport and no fire engine there to respond – one dreads to imagine the possibilities. That could be both a risk to life and a hammer blow to economic hopes across the nation.

More than the airport, though, Grand Bahamians themselves deserve better. They deserve the protection that, frankly, they pay their taxes for.

The reaction was as you might expect yesterday – one community leader calling it shocking, a human rights campaigner calling it a tragedy, a businessman calling it a travesty.

That businessman, Omar Isaacs, said that West Grand Bahama had been underserved for far too long.

This is not a matter of inconvenience. This is not a demand with no basis. This is life and death.

What needs to be made very clear, very quickly is when the parts will arrive for repairs, and when the fire trucks will be back in service.

Quite simply, Grand Bahama residents need to know when they will be protected again.

Look across to what is going on in California at present and you can see the horrific effects of an out-of-control blaze being tackled by underequipped firefighters.

Never mind underequipped, at present firefighters in Grand Bahama are not equipped at all.

That needs to change. Residents need a promise of action and a timetable to go with it – and the action itself swiftly on the heels of the promise.

Freeport may be our second city, but Grand Bahama residents do not need to be treated like second-class citizens.

FNM excels at political gymanstics

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Free National Movement (FNM) continues to excel in political gymnastics, attempting to play both sides of the ﬁscal debate. On the one hand, they criticise the Davis administration for not providing enough relief to Bahamians facing a cost-of-living crisis. On the other, they lament the revenue implications of a 50 percent VAT reduction on food items. This blatant contradiction demonstrates either a lack of policy coherence or a cynical attempt to exploit every angle for political gain.

Former Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest’s recent remarks epitomise this hypocrisy. He warns that the $30m in lost revenue from the VAT cut is a “signiﬁcant chunk”, suggesting ﬁscal irresponsibility on the part of the government. Yet, this is the same FNM that called for VAT to be completely removed from essential food items and other necessities just two years ago. If the FNM believed revenue losses from VAT

reductions were manageable when they proposed it, why is it suddenly reckless now?

This cognitive dissonance becomes even more glaring when juxtaposed with their rhetoric about supporting Bahamians during tough economic times. Turnquest and Kwasi Thompson conveniently sidestep the fact that under their administration, VAT was increased to 12 percent—a regressive policy that disproportionately affected lower-income households. They now attempt to position themselves as champions of the people, advocating for relief measures they failed to implement when they held power. The FNM’s call for ﬁscal discipline is equally hollow when viewed against their own record. Under their tenure, debt levels soared, and the government was criticised for lacking a clear strategy to address structural ﬁscal issues. Their newfound concern about “credit markets” and “balancing revenue” reeks of opportunism rather than

genuine commitment to ﬁscal prudence. It is one thing to hold the government accountable; it is another to undermine credible efforts to provide relief while offering no viable alternative. Bahamians deserve better than political posturing and empty rhetoric. If the FNM has a concrete, actionable plan to address the costof-living crisis without compromising government revenue, now is the time to present it. Otherwise, they should step aside and let this administration take bold steps to provide relief where it is most needed.

The Davis administration’s VAT reduction on food is not a panacea, but it is a meaningful step in addressing the struggles of ordinary Bahamians. For the FNM to criticise this policy while offering no realistic solutions of their own is not only hypocritical—it is an insult to the intelligence of the Bahamian people.

THE GATE KEEPER Nassau, January 13, 2025.

Could Cooper be next PM?

EDITOR, The Tribune. DO Free National Movement and disgruntled Progressive Liberal Party supporters want to see the back of Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis? The answer to that rhetorical question is undoubtedly yes. Both groups must tread carefully. Looking at a potential replacement who stands a very good chance of succeeding Davis in the unlikely event he quits before the general election, I would caution these FNMs and PLPs about making any political moves to oust Davis. If Davis stands down, I would prefer Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper succeeding him. As noted by The Nassau Guardian columnist Arinthia Komolafe in a recent write-up, PLPs do not consider Cooper to be a bonaﬁde PLP. This sentiment is also shared by this writer. Yet this writer recalls the saying that the PLP tent is big enough to accommodate those of who hold to differing philosophical viewpoints which does not subvert the ideological platform of the oldest political party in The Bahamas. Cooper’s political pedigree might come back to haunt him if he decides to run for the top post. Since Sir Lynden Pindling stepped down as PLP leader in 1997 - a post he had held for a little over four decades - the PLP has only had two leaders: former Prime Minister Perry Gladstone Christie and current Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, both of whom are the political heirs of the father of the modern Bahamas. What was Cooper’s political persuasion when Pindling led the PLP? I recall him hosting the ZNS TV13 programme You and Your Money. Back then I had no idea that Cooper had aspirations of entering front line politics.

Yet here we are today with him holding the second most powerful post within the PLP, much to the chagrin of his PLP detractors. I am of the viewpoint that The Bahamas would be better off if Cooper assumes the post of PLP leader once Davis retires. If he becomes PLP leader, one would

assume that his ascension to the highest political ofﬁce would be automatic, considering the fact that Bahamians change governments every election cycle. My sole basis in wanting Cooper to succeed Davis is due to the alternative I have chosen to nickname Winnie Mandela, named after the legendary South African freedom ﬁghter Nelson Mandela’s second wife. I will not divulge the name or the sex of his particular individual within the PLP. I will not even state his/her current position, or whether or not the said person is an MP or Cabinet minister. My unwillingness to divulge such pertinent information is due to my fear of what I believe this person is capable of doing if he or she were to leapfrog Cooper and assumes the role of PLP leader and subsequently prime minister.

Mandela, while her husband was imprisoned for nearly three decades by the National Party, embarked on a campaign of terror and political violence. She allegedly used her Mandela United Football Club, which was composed of a violent group of black thugs, to eliminate her perceived opponents. One such opponent was a 14 year-old United Democratic Front activist named Stompie Seipei. Stompie was murdered in Mandela’s home in the Soweto township in 1989. In 1991, Mandela was convicted for the kidnapping of the teenager. Her sentence was commuted, however. It has also alleged that Mandela was either directly or indirectly tied to at least seven other murders, one of which was a Soweto physician named Dr AbuBaker Asvat, who angered Mandela for treating the wounds of Seipei. When she stood before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to answer for her atrocities, a deﬁant Mandela was unwilling to see what she did was wrong. Another disturbing allegation was the hanging of former Mandela ally, Sizwe Sithole, who accused

Mandela of committing human rights abuses.

With our proximity to the US, I doubt we’ll ever experience the level of political violence that South Africa has had to deal with under the African National Congress, the National Party and Winnie Madikizela Mandela. Yet I believe that acts of violence, albeit carried out moderately, would become a reality under this ambitious politician. I wouldn’t put it past him or her. This individual has already used their surrogates to defame suspected political rivals within the PLP on social media. These accomplished PLP Parliamentarians have worked hard in building up their reputation, only to have it ruthlessly smeared by a group of amoral individuals for a bowl of porridge. It would appear that their greatest opposition comes from this Winnie Mandela clone, and not the FNM. I believe that the said ambitious politician is prepared to use these goons much like Winnie Mandela used the thugs in her football club. I can stomach political victimisation that entails job losses within the civil service or government contracts of political rivals being cancelled for no legitimate reason. After all, the PLP, FNM and the United Bahamian Party have all done this. Torturing and murdering political opponents is unheard of in The Bahamas. If PLPs are fair game, what will become of opposition supporters, especially those who do not possess the ﬁnancial resources to leave the jurisdiction or to hire a hotshot attorney? Perhaps I am overreacting to what I have observed regarding this ambitious politician. But so far, nothing he or she has done would cause me to think differently. The Winnie Mandela vibes I’m getting from this individual are too strong to ignore. In this regard, I am hoping that Davis puts in place a seamless transition plan that would pave the way for Cooper to succeed him. If the ambitious politician ever becomes PLP leader, there will be no turning back.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama January 14, 2025.

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NAOMI Osaka of Japan plays a backhand return to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday.

Photo:Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP

Court denies bail to man facing murder charges

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE Supreme Court has denied bail to 23-yearold Dana Guillaume, who faces charges of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The decision was handed down by Justice Andrew Forbes, who cited the serious nature of the offences, the strength of the evidence, and concerns about public safety and witness interference.

Guillaume, a Bahamian citizen, was charged with the crimes following an incident in July 2024. He was accused of fatally shooting one person and injuring two others at a local establishment.

According to an affidavit submitted by Corporal Harris Cash of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, an anonymous eyewitness identified the accused in a 12-person line-up. The witness reportedly saw a man, known as “Black Boy,” carrying what appeared to be a firearm before hearing gunshots. The witness’s account said: “While at an establishment, I saw an individual, identified as ‘Black Boy,’ brush past me holding something that appeared to be a firearm. Moments later, I heard several loud popping sounds from the area the individual had headed toward.”

Justice Forbes, in his ruling, highlighted the gravity of the allegations.

“Murder and attempted murder are sufﬁciently serious offences as the accused may face harsh penalties if convicted,” he wrote. “The nature and seriousness of an offence weigh heavily against the grant of bail.”

Guillaume, represented by Nathan Smith, maintained his innocence and argued for bail. His attorney emphasized that Guillaume has no prior convictions or pending matters and is willing to comply with any conditions imposed by the court. In his submission, Mr Smith said: “Every person accused of an offence is innocent until proven guilty. The court must assess whether the applicant will appear at trial and whether the public interest is at risk.”

Mr Smith also challenged the reliability of the identification evidence, noting that the witness identified the accused under poor lighting conditions and by a nickname. He argued that the prosecution had not provided sufficient evidence to suggest that Guillaume would abscond, interfere with witnesses, or pose a risk to public safety.

On behalf of the Crown, Sean Norvell Smith argued that the severity of the charges and the strength of the evidence warranted detention. He contended that the anonymous witness’s testimony, coupled with the identiﬁcation of Guillaume in a line-up, constituted “strong and

cogent evidence.” Mr Smith further noted that no conditions of bail could sufﬁciently mitigate the risk of further offences or witness interference, particularly given the small size of the community involved.

Justice Forbes acknowledged the constitutional presumption of innocence but stressed that public safety and the integrity of the judicial process must also be considered. He said: “The primary consideration is whether the accused will make himself available for trial. This cannot be answered in the negative simply because the person is charged with a serious offence. However, the court must also assess whether conditions can ensure attendance and prevent risks.”

The judge noted that there has been no unreasonable delay in the case thus far, with Guillaume’s next court appearance scheduled for January 2025 for the service of a Voluntary Bill of Indictment. However, he advised that if the trial is not scheduled within a reasonable time, the applicant may reapply for bail.

Justice Forbes wrote: “Given the audacity of the alleged crime and the potential for witness interference, the court is not satisﬁed that bail conditions can sufﬁciently address these concerns. Therefore, the application for bail is denied.”

POLICE INVESTIGATE DROWNING INCIDENTS

POLICE have launched investigations into two separate drowning incidents that claimed the lives of two men on Monday.

The ﬁrst incident occurred in Exuma, where a 34-year-old man was found unresponsive in the waters near Jolly Hall Beach shortly after 11am.

According to initial reports, the man was retrieved and later pronounced dead by a local doctor. While no signs of

foul play were noted, an autopsy has been scheduled to conﬁrm the cause of death. Later that afternoon, a second drowning was reported in the Berry Islands.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) reportedly responded to a distress call near Mackie Shoal involving a jet ski. A 28-year-old man was rescued and treated for distress, while a second man

was found unresponsive in the water and pronounced dead at a local clinic.

Preliminary reports suggest the two men left New Providence on Saturday for a ﬁshing trip to Bimini but encountered trouble when their jet ski reportedly took on water near Andros, forcing them to use it as a raft.

Authorities reported no visible signs of foul play in this case as well, and an autopsy is also pending.

T WO-AND-A-HALF YEARS JAIL OVER LOADED GUN

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sentenced to two and a half years in prison yesterday after admitting to having a loaded gun in his home last week.

Consulate: No reports of Bahamians in distress due to California wildﬁres

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Consulate General in Los Angeles said no Bahamian nationals have reported distress or required assistance as California wildﬁres rage on.

Southern California has been grappling with wildﬁres primarily affecting the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The ﬁre has been exacerbated by severe drought conditions, low humidity, and powerful Santa Ana winds, with gusts reaching up to 100 miles per hour.

The ﬁres have led to widespread power outages, disruption in transportation, and signiﬁcant economic losses estimated in the billions.

UCLA’s campus,” she said. “The ﬁres are on the west side of the 405 Freeway, in areas like Brentwood and the Palisades. The freeway acts as a barrier, so the ﬁres haven’t crossed to our side. However, depending on the wind, smoke and embers could shift eastward and impact us in Westwood.”

Bahamian nationals are encouraged to adhere to federal and state health advisories, which recommend limiting outdoor activity, keeping windows closed, and running air conditioning systems on internal circulation to mitigate smoke inhalation risks.

area.

“We,” she said, “are from a different natural disaster zone, so we are hurricane pros, right? So we no longer, pretty much have that in a sense of fear, but this was new to us. It’s more an apprehension, an unsettling feeling. My staff in conversations, in our meetings, I believe it’s more of a psychological thing. It’s the uncertainty of having to pack and run and move and leave right away, and not knowing when it may happen.”

She added: “You do get apprehensive, and you then get a bit nervous, because you want to make sure that one, you are securing as best as you can: securing your personal effects and preparing to move as quickly as

Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley arraigned 31-year-old Dwayne Harris on charges of possession of an unlicenced ﬁrearm and possession of ammunition. Harris was charged alongside Antonio Collie, 36, Antonique Harris, 31, and Arnette Ferguson, 56. Police reportedly discovered a black Taurus 9mm pistol and 18 rounds of ammunition at Harris’s residence on Victoria Blvd on January 11. Harris admitted ownership of the weapon and ammunition, pleading guilty to the charges, while his co-accused pleaded not guilty. The charges against the other defendants were subsequently withdrawn. In court, Harris said he had the ﬁrearm for protection and not to harm anyone. He accepted full responsibility for the offence and expressed remorse.

of Correctional Services. Attorney Joel Seymour represented Harris, while Inspector Deon Barr served

Taking into account his early plea and contrition, the court sentenced Harris to two and a half years at the Bahamas Department

T EEN INVOLVED IN STABBING INCIDENT SENT TO SIMP SON PENN

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy was remanded to Simpson Penn yesterday after admitting to stabbing an 11th-grade student at Government High School in November.

Senior Magistrate Algernon Allen Jr arraigned the teenager, whose name is being withheld because he is a minor, on a charge of grievous harm.

The defendant reportedly stabbed a male student in the upper right chest during an incident at Government High School at 4pm on November 18, 2024. The victim was treated in hospital for serious injuries and made a full recovery.

The teenager pleaded guilty to the charge. He will remain in custody at Simpson Penn until a probation report is completed and reviewed on February 27.

Consul General Joy Newbold told The Tribune that The Bahamas Consulate General in Los Angeles remains safe as wildﬁres rage west of their 405 Freeway.

“The ofﬁce is located in Westwood, right in front of

Ms Newbold said that the consulate ofﬁce remains operational and open for business despite earlier evacuation warnings, which have since subsided. She added that an evacuation warning was also issued for an area where the residence of a consular ofﬁcer was.

Ms Newbold described the toll of preparing for a potential evacuation after the wildﬁre warning was issued for the consulate’s

“We are just reiterating those policies and those advisories because we want our nationals who are in the area, even if not immediately affected, to follow the health orders. We want you to know that we’re monitoring those, you should be as well.”

THE REMAINS of the Masjid-Al-Taqwa mosque ares seen in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire on Friday in Altadena, California.

Photo: Jae C. Hong/AP

Maternity: Putting people over proft

T HE world of work, with all of its complexities and far-reaching impact, is a fascinating one to explore, especially alongside society and its stagnation in some areas and changes others. We have learned to measure ourselves and our worth based on what we are able to (tangibly) produce. E ven outside of the formal workplace, people feel the need to be productive. There is always work to do. E ven in engaging in hobbies, there is the impetus to do more, more, more and, perhaps more devastatingly, to monetise. Very little is done for the sheer enjoyment of the activity. E ven leisure is turned into work, or there is a significant, persistent encouragement to turn what was once fun into a money-making venture.

The push toward entrepreneurship was strong at the turn of the millennium, and not much has changed since then. People convince one another that it is good to struggle, that it will eventually pay off, and that the rags to riches stories can belong to everyone. Side hustles are the norm and have even become necessary for the survival of far too many people. After a while, there is pressure to somehow level up, and that could

“The work of labourersproducing for the continuation of the capitalist system should not be punished.”

By Alicia Wallace

mean renting a brick and mortar space, significantly increasing the overhead cost, needing to produce even more to cover those costs, hiring people to help and not being able to pay them a fair wage, and pinching pennies in the (often futile) attempt to make ends meet. People, regardless of socioeconomic status, get caught up, quite easily, in the dream that capitalism tries to sell us—that we can all benefit from the capitalist system that only sees people as means of production and amassing wealth, if only we find people to subjugate with the promise of wages and benefits that are somehow better than abject poverty.

The same system that drags so many out of bed early in the morning to sit in traffic for more than hour to get to work on an island that is only 21 by 7 miles to be paid less than a living wage, all in the name of production, requires reproduction. Capitalism does not work without a

labour force. It does not work without people. For capitalism to continue to function, babies have to be born, children have to raised and education, and people have to work for the money they need to survive. Capitalism needs people to reproduce. It requires both productive and reproductive labour from all of us. Productive labour is the work that produces commodities for capitalist enterprises, producing surplus value. Reproductive labour is the work, including paid and unpaid cleaning, cooking, and childcare, that makes productive labour possible. The economy is such that people of all genders are necessarily engaged in productive labour. H ouseholds require two or more incomes to function. It is no longer the norm for men to go out to work and women stay at home to manage the household and the children. E veryone must work. At the same time, reproductive labour must be done.

While the responsibility to bring in an income for a household to function has been redistributed to include women (with the acknowledgement that black women have always been engaged in productive work), reproductive labour has largely remained on the shoulders of women. Women, then, work a second shift. Women go to work all day, then return to home to prepare meals, clean the house, do the laundry, go through the homework, check on elderly family members, make the grocery list, and complete tasks that men may never even think about. This is not where it ends.

Women not only engage in productive labour (and for less money than men are paid for work of the same value as evidenced by numerous reports) and reproductive labour (for no pay if it is in their own households and low pay if it is in the household(s) of others); women also bear the cost of reproductive labour. Though pregnancy is different for every pregnant person, it is never without its scars and long-lasting effects. The body goes through drastic changes, there are medical expenses that sometimes require loans, and there is significant impact on careers. Women are punished by the workplace for taking maternity leave and for being mothers. It is absolutely necessary for mothers to have maternity leave, both to recover from harrowing medical procedures and to bond with their babies. In The Bahamas, women get three months of maternity leave which is insufficient. It takes longer than three months to heal following the delivery of a baby, breastfeeding is recommended for six months, and nurseries do not take babies as young as three months old. The absence of paternity leave is also a challenge. It is absolutely necessary for fathers to have leave to support the recovery of the mothers and to bond with their babies. Expecting a person who has just given birth to take care of themselves while caring for a newborn who must be fed, held, and changed with great frequency is absurd and inhumane. Where there are two parents, they both need to be involved from the very beginning. This is important for the health of the mother, the

health of the baby, and the change in societal expectations that women undertake all of the domestic and care work. Women and men both need to be involved in the lives of their children, and we all need to understand the importance of their equal involvement. Changing the law to ensure that father have access to paternity leave is one way to make it clear that reproductive labour must be shared.

There is tremendous stigma in the workplace related to women, maternity leave, and motherhood. Women are often reluctant to take maternity leave or to request additional leave when pregnancy-related health issues arise. Women’s careers are negatively affected by childbirth. Managers and coworkers complain about the planned absence during maternity leave, and it is not uncommon for managers to withhold opportunities for advancement. Some hiring managers are even reluctant to hire women who they suspect will have children, not wanting the business to be impacted by maternity leave or the responsibilities that everyone knows come with motherhood but seem to separate from fatherhood. Paternity leave would also shift this dynamic, making it clear that women and men are engaged in social reproduction and need to be involved in their children’s lives. The work of producing labourers for the continuation of the capitalist system should not be punished. Small business in The Bahamas are struggling for many reasons. The cost of doing business— inclusive of the failed systems and long wait times for completion of simplest of processes—in this country is prohibitive to most and destabilising for those managing to get through the tangle. From the cost to purchase or rent commercial property and maintain it to forced closure of businesses and reduced customer and client traffic due to crumbling public infrastructure, small and medium-size businesses have great difficulty getting to and staying in the black. One of the most seemingly flexible costs is human resources, and this can lead to exploitation of workers, especially when

they are young, in difficult situations, and unaware of labour laws.

It is no surprise that the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce made a statement against the extension of maternity leave. The Chamber has not shown any signs of progressive thinking or care for workers. The same Chamber opposed the four-day work week just months ago. The priority is, as the name suggests, the exchange of good and services. It does not care of the people whose labour makes commerce possible. The Chamber is not where we need to turn for commentary on human rights, healthcare, or the wellbeing of workers. Small business are often referenced as the scapegoat in claims that they cannot survive certain changes which, of course, are in the best interest of people rather than profit. Many small businesses simply cannot afford to be in business. It is not necessarily a sign of their own foolhardiness or failure. The Bahamas is a difficult place to do business. It is a difficult place to own a business.

A business that cannot afford to follow the law cannot afford to be in business. A business that cannot afford to pay a living wage cannot afford to be in business. A business that cannot afford to pay maternity leave cannot afford to be in business. A business that cannot afford to hire temporary workers when staff members are on parental leave cannot afford to be in business.

The needs of people cannot be secondary to the need for profit. There are many aspects of doing business in The Bahamas that need to change. Many changes can improve the economy and our participation in it. There are measures that can be taken to support small and medium-size businesses, to improve public infrastructure, to implement a living wage, and to support families. The extension of maternity—which ought to be no less than six months, especially if a primary goal to support breastfeeding—and the addition of paternity leave is necessary. It will be beneficial to families and communities, and it will move us toward gender equality. No small business can or should stand in the way of that.

NEW BRAZIL LAW RESTRICTS USE OF SMARTPHONES IN SCHOOLS

SAO PAULO Associated Press

B RAZ I L’ S President

Luiz I nácio Lula da Silva

on Monday signed a bill restricting the use of smartphones at school, following a global trend for such limitations.

T he move will impact students at elementary and high schools across the South American nation starting in February. I t provides a legal framework to ensure students only use such devices in cases of emergency and danger, for educational purposes, or if they have disabilities and require them.

“We cannot allow humanism to be replaced by algorithms,” Lula said in a closed ceremony at the presidential palace in the capital, Brasilia, adding that the bill “acknowledges the work of every serious person in education, everyone who wants to take care of children and teenagers in this country.”

I n May, Fundacao Getulio Vargas, a leading think-tank and university, said Brazil had more smartphones than people,

with 258 million devices for a population of 203 million Brazilians. Local market researchers said last year that Brazilians spend 9 hours and 13 minutes per day on screens, one of the world’s highest figures.

Education minister Camilo Santana told journalists that children are going online at early ages, making it harder for parents to keep track of what they do, and that restricting smartphones at school will help them.

T he bill had rare

TECHTALK

Associated Press

WITH a possible TikTok ban just days away, many US users are looking for alternative social media platforms to help them keep up with pop culture or provide the type of entertaining videos that popularized the shortform video app.

TikTok, which has been a cultural phenomenon, could be banned on Jan. 19 under a law that forces the platform to cut ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or shut down its US operation.

The fate of social media platform will be decided by the Supreme Court, which last week heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to the statute and seemed likely to uphold the law. The court could rule on the case as soon as this week. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has asked the justices to put the law on hold so he can negotiate a “political resolution” to the issue after he takes ofﬁce.

TikTok has more than 170 million users in the US, and if it does get banned, it’s not clear which competitors will beneﬁt the most. Some experts think established social media platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, could see the biggest inﬂux of users. But some users are looking for something different and could turn to other apps. Here are the different alternatives and what to know about them:

support across the political spectrum, both from allies of leftist Lula and his far-right foe, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Many parents and students also approved the move. A survey released in October by Brazilian pollster Datafolha said that almost two-thirds of respondents supported banning the use of smartphones by children and teenagers at schools. More than three-quarters said those devices do more harm than good to their children.

“(Restricting cell phones) is tough, but necessary. I t is useful for them to do searches for school, but to use it socially isn’t good,” said Ricardo Martins Ramos, 43, father of two girls and the owner of a hamburger restaurant in Rio de Janeiro. “Kids will interact more.”

H is 13-year-old daughter I sabela said her classmates struggled to focus during class because of their smartphones. She approved the move, but doesn’t see it as enough to improve the learning environment for everyone.

“When the teacher lets you use the cell phone, it is because he wants you to do searches,” she said. “ T here’s still a lot of things that schools can’t solve, such as bullying and harassment.”

As of 2023, about twothirds of Brazilian schools imposed some restriction on cellphone use, while 28% banned them entirely, according to a survey released in August by the Brazilian I nternet Steering Committee.

T he Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Maranhao

and Goias have already passed local bills to ban such devices at schools.

H owever, authorities have struggled to enforce these laws.

Authorities in Sao Paulo, the most populous state in Brazil, are discussing whether smartphones should be banned both in public and private schools.

Gabriele Alexandra H enriques Pinheiro, 25, works at a beauty parlor and is the mother of a boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. She also agrees with the restrictions, but says adults will continue to be a bad example of smartphone use for children.

I t is tough,” she said.

“ I try to restrict the time my son watches any screens, but whenever I have a task to perform I have to use the smartphone to be able to do it all,” she said. I nstitutions, governments, parents and others have for years associ

ated smartphone use by children with bullying, suicidal ideation, anxiety and loss of concentration necessary for learning.

China moved last year

to limit children’s use of smartphones, while France has in place a ban on smartphones in schools for kids aged six to 15.

Cell phone bans have gained traction across the United States, where eight states have passed laws or policies that ban or restrict cellphone use to try to curb student phone access and minimize distractions win classrooms.

An increasing number of parents across Europe who are concerned by evidence that smartphone use among young kids jeopardizes their safety and mental health.

A report published in September by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said one in four countries has already restricted the use of such devices at schools.

Last year in a US Senate hearing, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to parents of children exploited, bullied or driven to self harm via social media. H e also noted Meta’s continued investments in “industrywide” efforts to protect children.

With TikTok US ban days away here are some alternative apps

Xiaohongshu, or “RedNote”

Recently, some US TikTok users have ﬂocked to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu in protest of the looming ban. Like TikTok, Xiaohongshu, which in English means “Little Red Book,” combines e-commerce and shortform videos.

The app has gained traction in China and other regions with a Chinese diaspora — such as Malaysia and Taiwan — racking up 300 million monthly active users, a majority of whom are young women who use it as a defacto search engine for product, travel and restaurant recommendations, as well as makeup and skincare tutorials.

On Tuesday, the Xiaohongshu, called “RedNote” by American users and on some app stores, was the top downloaded free app in Apple’s US app store.

Lemon8

Lemon8, also owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, is a lesser-known lifestyle app that allows users to post pictures and short-form videos. Though the platform lets users post TikToklike videos, it leans more into pictures and has been described as a mixture of Instagram and Pinterest.

In the past few weeks, many creators have hailed Lemon8 as the place to go if TikTok is banned under federal law. Some have also recommended it through paid sponsored posts tagged

#lemon8partner, indicating a recent corporate push to generate more users.

But the law that targets TikTok also states the divest-or-ban requirement for ByteDance applies generally to apps that are owned or operated by the two companies or any of their subsidiaries. That means even though Lemon8 is not explicitly named in the statute, its future in the US is also in jeopardy.

Meta’s Instagram Instagram launched Reels in 2020, a TikTok-like feed of short videos users can create or scroll through. The feature has proven to be massively popular and some experts say creators are likely to set up shop there if a TikTok ban does happen. As of 2022, Instagram had 2 billion active monthly users. Meta no longer discloses user numbers for its individual platforms.

But could it replace TikTok?

That depends. While many creators currently post on both platforms, some experts say the youngest users are unlikely to migrate to a service made popular by their millennial parents. And while Meta’s algorithm is addictive, it’s still not TikTok.

In the past, some TikTok users have also blamed the surge of scrutiny on the platform on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, pointing to a Washington Post report from 2022 that said the tech behemoth paid a Republican consulting ﬁrm to undermine TikTok through a

nationwide media and lobbying campaign.

YouTube

Though TikTok dominates headlines as a driver of internet trends, Pew Research Center says YouTube is actually the most widely-used platform among teens and adults.

YouTube users can scroll through Shorts just as they can on TikTok or Reels on Instagram and Facebook, allowing them to watch hours of bite-sized videos. Many of the videos featured on YouTube are from TikTok or creators who post to several platforms.

That said, YouTube is still known for its longer-format videos so it may not have the variety of content that TikTok users are looking for — at least not yet.

Snapchat

Snapchat, launched in 2011 with its infamous disappearing videos, remains popular among teens and younger adults. The platform gained so much traction that Meta designed a similar feature in Facebook and Instagram called “Stories” that lets users post photos or videos that disappear within 24 hours. In 2020, Snapchat launched another feature that lets users “shine a light on the most entertaining Snaps, no matter who created them.” The platform is estimated to have roughly 692 million global monthly active users last year, according to eMarketer.

Twitch

For TikTok users who enjoy the “TikTok Live” feed that features livestreamed videos, Twitch could be a good alternative. The Amazon-owned platform is a leader in the streaming industry and allows users on the platform to watch some of the internet’s most popular streamers, such as Kai Cenat. Twitch is estimated by eMarketer to have over 36 million users.

Clapper

Clapper, a TikTok clone, has also been gaining some traction amid the looming ban. The app was launched in 2020 by Dallasbased entrepreneur Edison Chen, and focuses on Gen X and millennial users. In September of that year, the company described itself in a Facebook post as a “free speech” platform that did not “censor posts and comments.” But in blog post on its website from 2021, the company wrote it “stopped being a ‘Free Speech’ platform” in September 2020 and “changed its mission and goals” to focus on “community”.

Other little-known apps

For TikTok users who want to get away from the overcrowded spots, there are lesser-known apps like Triller, which is popular for music videos, and Zigazoo, which was designed with kids in mind. If none of these apps tickle your fancy, it’s also possible that other platforms could emerge in the next few months as companies attempt to attract users looking for a new place to go.

AN INDIGENOUS Tembe mother and daughters take photos on their smartphones outside a school in the Tenetehar Wa Tembe village, located in the Alto Rio Guama Indigenous territory of the Paragominas municipality in the Para state of Brazil, May 30, 2023. Photo: Eraldo Peres/AP

Hamas OKs draft Gaza ceaseﬁre

and the release of some hostages

CAIRO Associated Press

HAMAS has accepted a draft agreement for a ceaseﬁre in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two ofﬁcials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.

“I believe we will get a ceaseﬁre,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a speech Tuesday, asserting it was up to Hamas. “It’s right on the brink. It’s closer than it’s ever been before,” and word could come within hours, or days.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the war and secure the release of dozens of hostages captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered it. Nearly 100 people are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third are dead.

Any deal is expected to pause the ﬁghting and bring hopes for winding down the most deadly and destructive war Israel and Hamas have ever fought, a conﬂict that has destabilised the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

It would bring relief to the hard-hit Gaza Strip, where Israel’s offensive has reduced large areas to rubble and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million, many at risk of famine.

If a deal is reached, it would not go into effect immediately. The plan would need approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet and then his full Cabinet. Both are dominated by Netanyahu allies and are likely to approve any proposal he presents.

Ofﬁcials have expressed optimism before, only for negotiations to stall while the warring sides blamed each other. But they now suggest they can conclude an agreement ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of US President-elect Donald

Trump, whose Mideast envoy has joined the negotiations. Hamas said in a statement that negotiations had reached their “ﬁnal stage.”

In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted another 250. Around half those hostages were freed during a brief ceaseﬁre in November 2023. Of those remaining, families say, two are children, 13 are women and 83 are men.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants.

An Israeli airstrike on a house in central Gaza killed at least 11 Palestinians late Tuesday, hospital ofﬁcials said. Earlier strikes killed at least 18 people, including two women and four children, according to local health ofﬁcials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel says it only targets militants and accuses them of hiding among civilians.

A three-phase agreement

The three-phase agreement — based on a framework laid out by US President Joe Biden and endorsed by the UN Security Council — would begin with the release of 33 hostages over a six-week period, including women, children, older adults and wounded civilians in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel.

Among the 33 would be ﬁve female Israeli soldiers, each to be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 militants who are serving life sentences.

The Israeli ofﬁcial said Israel assumes most of the 33 are alive.

During this 42-day phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from population centres, Palestinians could start returning to what remains of their homes in northern Gaza and there would be a surge of humanitarian aid, with some 600 trucks entering each day.

Details of the second phase still must be negotiated during the first. Those details remain difficult to resolve — and the deal does not include written guarantees that the ceasefire will continue until

a deal is reached. That means Israel could resume its military campaign after the ﬁrst phase ends.

The Israeli ofﬁcial said “detailed negotiations” on the second phase will begin during the ﬁrst. He said Israel will retain some “assets” throughout negotiations, referring to a military presence, and would not leave the Gaza Strip until all hostages are home.

The three mediators have given Hamas verbal guarantees that negotiations will continue as planned and that they will press for a deal to implement the second and third phases before the end of the ﬁrst, the Egyptian ofﬁcial said.

The deal would allow Israel throughout the ﬁrst phase to remain in control of the Philadelphi corridor, the band of territory along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Hamas had initially demanded Israel withdraw from. Israel would withdraw from the Netzarim corridor, a belt across central Gaza where it had sought a mechanism for searching Palestinians for arms when they return to the territory’s north.

In the second phase, Hamas would release the remaining living captives, mainly male soldiers, in

exchange for more prisoners and the “complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza, according to the draft agreement. Hamas has said it will not free the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal, while Netanyahu has vowed in the past to resume ﬁghting until Hamas’ military and governing capabilities are eliminated.

Unless an alternative government for Gaza is worked out in those talks, it could leave Hamas in charge of the territory.

In a third phase, the bodies of remaining hostages would be returned in exchange for a three- to ﬁve-year reconstruction plan for Gaza under international supervision.

Blinken on Tuesday was making a last-minute case for a proposal for Gaza’s postwar reconstruction and governance that outlines how it could be run without Hamas in charge.

Growing pressure ahead of Trump’s inauguration Israel and Hamas have come under renewed pressure to halt the war before Trump’s inauguration. Trump said late Monday a ceaseﬁre was “very close.”

Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night in support of a deal

they have long encouraged.

“This is not about politics or strategy. It’s about humanity and the shared belief that no one should be left behind in darkness,” said a hostage released earlier from Gaza, Moran Stella Yanai.

But in Jerusalem, hundreds of hardliners marched against a deal, some chanting, “You don’t make a deal with the devil,” a reference to Hamas.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, families of Palestinian prisoners gathered as well. “I tell the mothers of the prisoners to put their trust in the almighty and that relief is near, God willing,” said the mother of one prisoner, Intisar Bayoud.

And inside Gaza, an exhausted Oday al-Halimy expressed hope from a tent camp for the displaced.

“Certainly, Hamas will comply with the ceaseﬁre, and Israel is not interested in opposing Trump or angering him,” he said. A child born in Gaza on the ﬁrst day of the war, Massa Zaqout, sat in pink pajamas in another tent camp, playing with toys.

“We’re eagerly waiting for a truce to happen so we can live in safety and stability,” her mother, Rola Saqer, said.

SMALL AIRBORNE EMBERS PLAY A BIG ROLE IN THE SPREAD OF WILDFIRES

ALTADENA Associated Press

WHILE authorities still don’t know what sparked the deadly ﬁres in the Los Angeles area, they do know one clear way the ﬂames have spread: embers.

At least 24 people have died in the ﬁres that have destroyed more than 12,000 structures since starting last Tuesday. The ﬂames have been fuelled by strong winds, which not only aid combustion by increasing the oxygen supply but carry embers to unburned areas.

Contrary to popular belief, experts say most homes destroyed by wildﬁres aren’t overcome by a racing wall of ﬂames, but rather burn after being ignited by airborne embers.

Here’s a look at what embers are and the role they play in wildﬁres.

An ember is a piece of burning debris. Once it becomes airborne, the more technical term is ﬁrebrand, said James Urban, an assistant professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic

Institute.

“If it’s a wildland ﬁre, it’s typically pieces of wood or other types of vegetation that are burning,” he said. “But when you have a ﬁre that’s burning through an urban area, it can be vegetation, it can be pieces of the house, it can be almost anything that burns.” They can range in size from tiny specks to larger chunks.

While many people might have seen stray embers rise from a campﬁre and even had one land on them, the embers involved in wildﬁres are drastically different, said Anne Cope, chief engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.

“Those embers can travel for miles, and it’s often the neighbourhoods that are closer to the wildlands that get inundated with just loads and loads — just showered with embers,” she said.

Wind allows embers to burn harder and release more energy, becoming a more potent ignition source, Urban said. The ﬁrebrands then accumulate

and sort of work together, gathering between the slats of wood fences or in shrubbery and igniting new ﬁres.

In 2017, embers blew across a six-lane highway in Northern California, igniting businesses and then jumping from house to house in the Coffey Park neighbourhood in Santa Rosa.

“A common thought before that was, ‘We don’t think embers are going to get all the way across that interstate, that’s a far distance, they’ll never get there,” Cope said. Well, never is a dangerous word.”

A single ember that lands on the ground might burn out within minutes but can also smoulder, Urban said. “And then a sudden change of conditions like wind gusts ignite flames and cause a lot of destruction,” he said. Together with San José State University, Worcester Polytech is part of a Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center. With funding from the US Forest Service and National Science Foundation, researchers are examining how firebrands

are produced and how that knowledge can be incorporated into models about how wildﬁres spread and defensive measures that can be applied to homes, Urban said. For example, his students have conducted experiments to see how vegetation management

around buildings might affect how quickly a ﬁre spreads between structures. “I’m optimistic in a way that there’s a lot of research coming out of this and we’ll be better prepared in other ﬁres,” he said. “We’re going to

DESTROYED buildings by Israeli bombardments are seen inside the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, yesterday.

Photo: Tsafrir Abayov/AP

EMBERS are blown off a burning tree as the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, California last week.

Photo: Nic Coury/AP

Gael Monﬁls outduels fellow

Frenchman in Aussie Open 1st-round match for the ages

MELBOURNE,

Australia (AP) — The pragmatic pro in Gael Monfils would like to have finished off his first-round win in straight sets against up-and-coming fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Australian Open.

The entertainer’s instinct in him got a lot of value out of clinching it in ﬁve.

In a duel between the 38-year-old Monﬁls and 21-year-old Mpetshi Perricard, it was age, experience and endurance that outweighed power and youth yesterday — helping nullify one of the biggest serves in tennis.

Days after Monfils became the oldest player to win an ATP Tour title by beating Zizou Bergs the final in Auckland, New Zealand, Monfils wasted match points in the third set and on Mpetshi Perricard’s serve in the fifth before finally closing out a 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory.

Monﬁls said he usually tries to avoid thinking about age gaps with competitors, “but I can tell you that tomorrow morning I will be (feeling) more 48 than 38.”

“I know ... I can sometimes have the double of the age of the guy. I have, yeah, I think 21 years of career, and he’s 21 years old, Giovanni,” he added.

“Of course numbers are there, but I’m ﬁghting, so I try not to put any number in my head.”

Monﬁls and Mpetshi Perricard entered the match at opposite ends of the career spectrum, but share a passion for their sport.

Both use between-thelegs shots at times during rallies — in one case, both in the same rally in the fourth-set tiebreaker — and sometimes take the unconventional approach to setting up points.

With a career record of 34-18 at the Australian

Open, where he reached the quarterﬁnals in 2016 and 2022, Monﬁls had the advantage against a player on debut at Melbourne Park.

Mpetshi Perricard had never advanced beyond the ﬁrst round at any major other than Wimbledon (where he reached the fourth round as a lucky loser last year) but he was seeded 30th after a breakout year in 2024 that included two titles.

Monfils, who has won more Grand Slam singles matches than any other French man, now also has a 20-19 win-loss record in five-set matches. He didn’t face a break point against Mpetshi Perricard in five sets, and coped with what is widely regarded as the best second-serve in tennis. He converted two of 12 breakpoint chances.

But he also had 18 double-faults, including one when he was serving for the match in the third set, and another on a match point in the third-set tiebreaker that let his younger rival back into the match, and extended it by 1 1/2 hours.

Afterwards, the pair cooled down and stretched together in the locker room.

“Sometimes on the bench I say to myself, ‘He is not 38,” Mpetshi Perricard said.

“Physically I don’t think he’s 38, but yeah, I mean, I’ll have to be better on some part to win this kind of match. I’m still young. I still can learn.”

There were some other dramatic five-setters, with fifth-seeded and tempestuous Daniil Medvedev, a former U.S. Open champion and three-time finalist

in Australia, edging Grand Slam rookie Kasidit Samrej 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 and No. 13 Holger Rune beating Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. No. 4 Taylor Fritz, runner-up at the U.S. Open and the ATP Finals and part of the U.S. team that won the United Cup last week, needed less than two hours for a 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 win over Jenson Brooksby. No. 8 Emma Navarro needed 3 hours and 20 minutes and rallied from 5-3 down in the third set to beat fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the women’s ﬁrst round. By contrast, sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina overpowered 16-year-old Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-1 and No. 9 Daria Kasatkina advanced in straight sets. Navarro, a semiﬁnalist at the U.S.

Open last year, described her win as “one of the more unique matches I’ve played in a while — it was just relying a lot, I guess, on my grit and toughness and ﬁght.” Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, had a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) win over No. 26-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, setting up a second-round match against Amanda Anisimova.

In her ﬁrst match since November, the 22-yearold British player had 15 double-faults, made 30 unforced errors and won just 30 per cent of points on her second serve.

But she was good enough in the big moments.

“I’m very proud of how I fought and how I overcame certain situations in that match,” Raducanu explained.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV DESTROYS A TV CAMERA ATTACHED TO THE NET DURING HIS 5-SET AUSTRALIAN OPEN WIN

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Daniil

Medvedev used his racket to smash a tiny camera attached to the net at the Australian Open while he was trailing someone ranked 418th before eventually avoiding a monumental upset and winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the ﬁrst round at Rod Laver Arena yesterday.

The No. 5-seeded Medvedev earned the title at the 2021 U.S. Open and is a three-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, including a year ago, but was hardly playing his best in the second and third sets against Kasidit Samrej, a wild-card entry from Thailand who was making his Grand Slam debut.

“I know I play better when I play more tennis,” Medvedev joked afterward. “So I was like, ‘Why play 1 hour, 30 (minutes)?’

Need a minimum of three hours, at least, to feel my shots better.”

The camera-destroying racket swings happened in what would be the last game of the third set, which Samrej claimed to take a two-sets-to-one-lead in the best-of-ﬁve match.

Medvedev’s display of anger came after he lost a 13-stroke point to trail 40-15. Samrej hit a shot that clipped the net, altering its trajectory and throwing off the Russian’s balance, before a

ZHENG LOSES, OSAKA RALLIES TO ADVANCE

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Distracted by a time penalty and unable to counteract No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund’s aggressive approach, Zheng Qinwen’s loss in the second round early today fell a long way short of last year’s run to the Australian Open ﬁnal.

Zheng lost the 2024 decider at Melbourne Park to Aryna Sabalenka and went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris and finish runner-up at the WTA Finals in a breakout season. But her first tournament of the year ended in a 7-6 (3), 6-3 loss on John Cain Arena against 36-year-old Siegemund, who attacked from the first point and put Zheng off her game.

Naomi Osaka, another two-time Australian Open champion, reached the third round of a major for the first time since 2022 when she weathered an early barrage from U.S. Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova before rallying to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. Osaka lost in the first round here last year to Caroline Garcia in her comeback from maternity leave but avenged that with a first-round victory over Garcia this week.

Osaka said she used a loss to Muchova at the U.S. Open as motivation.

“She crushed me in the U.S. Open when I had my best outﬁt ever,” Osaka joked in a post-match interview. “I was so disappointed. I was so mad. This was my little revenge.” Osaka will next meet Belinda Bencic.

BRAZIL’S FONSECA IS JUST 18 BUT HE UPSET THE NO. 9 SEED

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer

cross-court forehand passing winner left Medvedev unable to make contact. Medvedev went up to the net and brought his racket forward with full force five times, breaking his equipment while shattering a small black camera and sending pieces of it flying. That earned a code violation warning for racket abuse from the chair umpire. Soon enough, Medvedev had dropped the set, leaving him with plenty of work to do to avoid a massive upset in his first match of the 2025 season.

Medvedev quickly did turn things around, though, claiming 12 of the remaining 15 games, and 61 of the remaining 94 points.

He ﬁnished with 24 aces and fewer than half as many unforced errors as Samrej, 34 to 69.

“In the end of last year, this match, I probably would have lost it,” said Medvedev, who went 3-1 in ﬁve-setters at the 2024 Australian Open. “New year, new energy.” Samrej got treatment from a trainer because of a problem with his left leg late in the fourth set.

He was trying to become the lowest-ranked man to eliminate one of the top ﬁve seeded players at a Grand Slam tournament since the ATP’s computerized rankings began in 1973, according to the International Tennis Federation.

The biggest such result entering Tuesday was when No. 234 Alex Kim beat No. 4 Yevgeny Kafelnikov at the 2002 Australian Open. Samrej earned his way into this year’s Australian Open bracket by going through four rounds of a wild-card playoff for the Asia-Paciﬁc region in November.

He never had played against someone ranked higher than 78th until Tuesday and never has beaten anyone ranked higher than 157th.

“I watched his matches, and I didn’t see this level, so I was surprised,” Medvedev said.

“If he plays like this every match, his life will be good.”

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — João Fonseca deﬁnitively introduced himself to the world as the latest teen sensation in men’s tennis last night, upsetting No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the ﬁrst round of the Australian Open.

It was quite a debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the 18-yearold Brazilian, who is currently ranked 112th and made it into the bracket at Melbourne Park by winning three matches in qualifying rounds last week. The victory over 10-time major quarterﬁnalist Rublev, who is 27, lasted just under 2 1/2 hours and stretched Fonseca’s current unbeaten run to 14 matches. That includes taking the title last month in Saudi Arabia at the Next Gen ATP Finals for top players who are under 21, and another trophy this month at a lower-tier Challenger tournament in Canberra.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV, of Russia, reacts during his ﬁrst round match against Kasidit Samrej of Thailand yesterday. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

GAEL Monﬁls of France plays a forehand return to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France yesterday during their ﬁrst round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia.

(AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

The Pistons - yes, the Pistonsemerging as serious surprise story in the NBA this season

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

THEY lead the NBA in wins so far in January.

They’ll have a winning record at the midpoint of the season. They’ve won five of their last six games at home, and they’ve also won five of their last six games on the road. And chances are, you wouldn’t guess which team fits that billing.

It’s the Detroit Pistons. Yes, the Pistons.

Doormats and punchlines no more, the Pistons are adding themselves to the list of great surprises in the NBA this season.

They’re now 21-19 after winning Monday night against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, meaning they’ll hit the halfway mark of the season with a winning record for the ﬁrst time since 2017-18.

“We believe we can beat anybody,” Pistons centre Isaiah Stewart said.

“That’s our belief. We’re good enough to beat any team in this league. That’s the belief we’ve got and we believe in each other. We’re always pouring conﬁdence into each other to go out there and be the best versions of ourselves. When we have that collectively as a group, that’s a lot of energy — a lot of positive energy that we’re putting out there.”

The notion of the Pistons beating anybody — literally, anybody — a year ago would have been comical. That was the team that lost a record 28 consecutive games, the worst singleseason stretch in NBA history. They were 4-37 through 41 games, tying the sixth-worst start to a season ever. They were so bad that Pistons owner Tom Gores had to do the unthinkable and ﬁre a coach in Monty Williams with ﬁve years and $65 million or so left on his contract.

This year’s Pistons started 0-4 under new coach JB Bickerstaff. The

preseason expectations of being bad once again looked pretty secure. But they’ve now won 10 of their last 12 games and lead the NBA with seven wins so far in January. They could be a play-in team. They could be a playoff team. They might have an All-Star in Cade Cunningham. The way he’s playing right now, Cunningham — bidding to be Detroit’s ﬁrst All-Star since Blake Grifﬁn in 2019 — might want to go ahead and make plans for a trip to San Francisco next month for that very reason.

“I’m just thankful for my team, thankful for this coaching staff,” Cunningham said. “We’ve got to keep going. We’ve got a lot more work to do.”

The Pistons have already smashed last season’s win total of 14. They’re maybe a couple weeks away from rewarding bettors that went on the high side of their season-long win total that was set at 25.5 by BetMGM Sportsbook.

It’s happening with Cunningham — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft — now looking like a bona ﬁde breakout star, with season averages of 24.5 points, 9.4 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game.

“Our job is to put him in position to be successful. And then he’s got to go out there and do it,” Bickerstaff said.

“Over these 40 games now, he and I and his teammates have learned a lot about each other and how we can best help each other. And that’s what it’s about — each of us playing our role and doing what we’re supposed to do together and collectively to just help one another, make this team as good as we possibly can. Cade knows his role and what this team needs, and he’s executed perfectly.”

It does seem ﬁtting that Bickerstaff is getting to be part of something good, since he was ﬁred by a good team in Cleveland after last season. The Cavaliers

had an over-under of 48.5 wins entering the season; they’re an NBA-best 33-5 right now.

Oklahoma City, Houston, Chicago, Portland, Brooklyn and Atlanta are also among the teams on pace to top their expected win totals for the season. But they won’t get there in January, like the Pistons might. If that’s the metric

for measuring surprises, then the Pistons might be the biggest stunner so far this season.

“The best part about this team is ﬁnding different ways to win the game,” Bickerstaff said.

It’s been a long time coming. It’s not time to start selling playoff tickets quite yet, Detroit. But before now, the last time

the Pistons were even two games over .500 — barely above mediocre — was March 2019, nearly six years ago. These are good signs. Signs of progress. Signs of belief. For a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game in 17 years — that’s 173 players, 10 coaches and two arenas ago — there might be real hope this time.

KAWHI LEONARD IN NO HURRY TO END MINUTES RESTRICTION

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer

INGLEWOOD, Calif.

(AP) — Kawhi Leonard is in no rush to break free of the minutes restriction he’s been playing under since making his season debut recently.

“I’m taking my time,” the Los Angeles Clippers superstar said. “I done that in the past and it led me on the bench, so I’m good where I’m at.”

Leonard had six points on 3-for-9 shooting and ﬁve rebounds in 21 minutes of his third game, a 109-98 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday night. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter of a game in which the Clippers trailed by 13 early.

“Happy we got the win,” he said. “Good team win.”

The Clippers are 21-17 and sixth in the West.

“I’m just playing really and trying to do my job to help the team win,” Leonard said.

Leonard has totalled 26 points and 10 rebounds in 61 minutes over the three games. The two-time NBA Finals MVP started the season late while needing time to rehabilitate and strengthen his surgically repaired right knee that ended his previous few seasons early.

“I feel good and as long as I’m feeling good on the court, I’m able to move quickly, get to my spots,” he said. “That’s all I’m looking for.”

Leonard’s teammates are working to slowly incorporate him into what they built over the early part of the season. They were 19-15 before he came back.

“He’s just working his way into conditioning-wise, playing-wise, ﬂow of the game, like all of the above,” James Harden said. “He hadn’t had a training camp, preseason, none of that, so for us it’s just trying to make his job a lot easier.”

The Clippers provided few and typically vague updates on Leonard’s progress over the early part of the season, when he didn’t speak to media.

Thunder beat short-handed 76ers

(AP) — Shai GilgeousAlexander scored 32 points and Jalen Williams had 24 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-102 win over a Philadelphia 76ers team missing three AllStars last night. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George sat out with injuries as the Sixers continued their slide down the Eastern Conference standings.

The Thunder built a 21-point lead and have won 18 of 19 games headed into Thursday’s rematch against Cleveland in a matchup of teams with the best records in each conference. With the stars out, Justin Edwards led the 76ers with 25 points, and Jeff Dowtin Jr. had 18.

HAWKS 122, SUNS 117

ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young scored a season-high 43 points and Atlanta overcame Devin Booker’s 35 points to beat Phoenix. Kevin Durant scored 14 of his 31 points in the third quarter for Phoenix (19-20), which lost for the 11th straight time in

Atlanta. Durant added nine rebounds.

The Suns are still looking for their ﬁrst win in Atlanta since March 24, 2014. The Hawks (20-19) were without forwards De’Andre Hunter (left foot soreness), Larry Nance Jr. (right hand) and Jalen Johnson (right shoulder inﬂammation), who missed his fourth consecutive game.

The injuries left Atlanta rookie Zaccharie Risacher with the challenge of guarding Durant. Hawks coach Quin Snyder described the matchup before the game as an “unique experience.” Young, whose status was listed as questionable with an illness, made six 3-pointers and 11 of 14 free throws to carry the Hawks.

CAVALIERS 127, PACERS 117

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and Cleveland Cavaliers beat Indiana. Darius Garland scored 24 points and Evan Mobley added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Pascal Siakam scored 23 points and Bennedict

OKLAHOMA City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, centre, goes up for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers’ Guerschon Yabusele, left, during the second half last night in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Mathurin 19 for the Pacers, who had their six-game winning streak halted. Myles Turned added 17 points. The Cavaliers led 82-77 in the third quarter before going on a 10-0 run that included 3-pointers by Max Strus, Georges Niang

and Mobley. Cleveland led 100-89 after three periods. Indiana cut its deﬁcit to 111-106, but could get no closer. With Indiana trailing 120-111, Mathurin lost his cool and was ejected with a double technical with 3:58 left. Mitchell sank both

technical free throws and Mobley hit one of two free throws. The Pacers had ended the host Cavaliers’ 12-game winning streak with a 108-93 victory on Sunday night.

Indiana played without All-Star point guard Tyrese

Haliburton, who was sidelined with left groin strain.

BUCKS 130, KINGS 115

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his 50th career triple-double as Milwaukee beat Sacramento to snap the Kings’ seven-game win streak.

Antetokounmpo’s triple-double was his ﬁfth of the season. He had a sixth in the Bucks’ NBA Cup championship victory over Oklahoma City, but players’ statistics from that game aren’t ofﬁcial.

Damian Lillard had 24 points, Brook Lopez 21 and A.J. Green 16 for the Bucks, who never trailed and led by as many as 28.

DeMar DeRozan scored 28, De’Aaron Fox 20 and Keon Ellis 16 for Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis had 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Sacramento’s Malik Monk didn’t play due to a sore right groin. Bucks didn’t have Khris Middleton (ankle injury) or Gary Trent Jr. (hip ﬂexor strain).

DETROIT Pistons centre Jalen Duren, left, celebrates with guard Cade Cunningham (2) after a win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, January 6, in Detroit. (AP Photos/Duane Burleson)

DETROIT Pistons centre Jalen Duren (0) celebrates with fans after a win over the Hornets.

Patrick Mahomes watched the playoffs while awaiting his child’s birth. Now, he’s ready to play

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

(AP) — Patrick Mahomes

had his mind on the playoffs even as he was awaiting the arrival of his third child.

The Chiefs quarterback said yesterday that his wife, Brittany, let him watch some of the wild-card games Sunday while they were waiting for her to give birth. She wound up delivering their second daughter, which they named Golden Raye, to go along with 3-year-old daughter Sterling and a 2-year-old son that they nicknamed Bronze.

“Brittany crushed it,” Mahomes said before heading out to practice for Saturday’s divisional-round matchup against Houston, which blew out the Chargers in the wild-card round.

“It’s been cool to welcome another baby girl to the family and see how my

other kids reacted to her, and have a baby sister and stuff like that. So it’s been a lot of fun.

“And,” Mahomes added, “it was cool that football was on TV while I was in the hospital, so I was able to watch a little bit.”

Mahomes, a selfdescribed football junkie, was happy the schedule worked out for him.

The Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed and a ﬁrst-round bye before their Week 18 game in Denver, which Mahomes sat out with many of their best players. And that meant he was able to focus on the arrival of his child rather than worrying about a ﬁrst-round playoff opponent.

Asked whether baby No. 3 was easier than the ﬁrst two, Mahomes offered a wise husband-turned-father reply: “I don’t even want to say that because, like, Brittany’s doing everything.”

“It was cool that we got the bye, just because you can kind of really focus in on just being at the hospital, being in the moment,” he added. “It’s a special moment that a lot of dads and moms experience. And you don’t forget that stuff.”

Now, the two-time NFL MVP can focus on making some more memories. The Chiefs are trying to become the ﬁrst team to win three consecutive Lombardi Trophies. They were early 8 1/2-point favourites to beat the Texans, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook, and have the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl behind Detroit, the top seed in the NFC.

“I think every year is special,” Mahomes said. “Obviously you want to win three in a row and build those memories with the guys and the community. But every single year is special. And when

I look back at all the different Super Bowls that we’ve won, I look back at special moments that we’ve had and special games that we’ve had. And so, we’ll try to do the same this year.”

The Chiefs beat the Texans the weekend before Christmas, part of a gruelling stretch in which both played three times over 11 days.

And they’ve won four in a row over Houston dating to the 2020 playoffs, when they fell behind 24-0 in a divisional-round game at Arrowhead Stadium but rallied for a 51-31 victory — and went on to win Mahomes’ ﬁrst Super Bowl.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the bye week — and really, more than three weeks off for the most consequential players who sat out the game in Denver — has left his team as healthy as it’s been all season heading into their playoff opener.

“They’ve got good attitudes,” Reid said. “They were in last week and did a nice job with that. Even on the days off, a lot of them came in. But they’re excited. They know they’re playing a good football team.”

NOTES: CB Jaylen Watson (broken ankle) could play Saturday for the ﬁrst time since getting hurt Oct. 20 against San Francisco. “Not telling you he could play a whole game,” Reid cautioned, “but I think he has a chance to play for sure.” The Chiefs plan to rotate Joe Thuney and D.J. Humphries in practice before deciding on a starter at left tackle. Thuney slid out from guard late in the season with Mike Caliendo replacing him as the Chiefs tried to better protect Mahomes’ blind side. But that was while Humphries was dealing with a hamstring injury, and he will be healthy for Saturday. “I’m going to see how it goes this week,” Reid said.

LIONS PREPARE FOR NEW FOE IN THE COMMANDERS INSTEAD OF REMATCH WITH THE RAMS OR VIKINGS

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer

ALLEN PARK, Mich.

(AP)

— The Detroit Lions kicked back and relaxed during a three-day weekend, enjoying the beneﬁts of having the NFC’s No. 1 seed and being one step closer to possibly playing in the Super Bowl.

The rest helped, but not more than simply not needing to win to advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.

“The odds say that’s one less game that you’re playing to get to your ultimate goal,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. “That’s the beneﬁt, really.”

The top-seeded Lions (15-2) also hope home ﬁeld gives them another advantage against the sixth-seeded Washington Commanders (13-5) on Saturday night.

Washington’s win over third-seeded Tampa Bay spared Detroit a rematch with the Matthew Staffordled Los Angeles Rams or a third game against NFC North rival Minnesota.

“I do like the newness of it,” Campbell said. The Lions are also new to the Commanders, who have won ﬁve straight — each time on a last-minute or last-second play. But they haven’t seen anything quite like Detroit’s big-play ability on the ground and through the air.

“A lot of challenges, whether it’s speed and ability at wide receiver or their running back tandem, the quarterback who can rip it, an excellent O-line, the defence plays a lot of man-to-man and plays aggressive,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said. “We’ll deﬁnitely have our work cut out for us.”

The Commanders’ 23-20 win eliminated the Buccaneers, one of the two teams to defeat Detroit during the regular season. The Buffalo Bills also beat the Lions, winning 48-42 a month ago. That doesn’t mean Detroit, an 8 1/2-point favourite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, thinks it will have an easy evening against a Washington team led by rookie

quarterback Jayden Daniels.

“We’ve got a really good opponent here,” Campbell said. “They’ve got a dynamic quarterback. They’re playing good offence, good defence, really good coaching.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

The game will feature candidates for NFL Coach of the Year, and Campbell is well aware of Quinn’s ability to lead a team after facing him at their previous stops.

Quinn led the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 through the early part of the 2020 season, overlapping with Campbell’s years with the New Orleans Saints as an assistant.

“It’s not like we hang out on a daily basis or anything or talk like that, but I’ve known him for a while,” Campbell said. “Certainly when he was in Atlanta, having to play him twice a year, you gain a high level of respect for what they do.

“His teams are always going to be competitive and they’re going to be ready to go and they’re going to try to do things the right way. I’ve got a lot of respect for what he’s done, and I’m not

surprised that they’re where they’re at just knowing kind of the way he builds things, the way his attitude is.”

While Campbell downplayed the signiﬁcance of the bye week for his banged-up team, there’s no doubt the break will allow at least one player to return to the ﬁeld and others such as cornerback Terrion Arnold to get healthier.

The Lions expect running back David Montgomery to play against the Commanders — coming back from a knee injury that was originally expected to end his season — and rejoin Jahmyr Gibbs in perhaps the NFL’s best backﬁeld. Montgomery ﬁnished with 1,116 yards from scrimmage and scored 12 touchdowns in 14 games, the last of which was against the Bills a month ago.

“He’s a huge part of us,” Campbell said. “He a bell cow. He’s a tone-setter. He’s a catalyst.”

“There’s a place for him here, so there’ll be a place for him in this game. So, it’s going to be good to get him back.”

EAGLES ADVANCE IN PLAYOFFS EVEN WITH MODEST EFFORT FROM HURTS

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA

(AP) — Jalen Hurts felt little need to defend his pedestrian numbers in his ﬁrst game in three weeks because of a concussion.

The 131 yards passing. The 36 yards rushing. The missed throws. Going the entire second quarter without completing a pass.

The only numbers that mattered to Hurts were the ones on the scoreboard: Eagles 22, Packers 10.

“You know that doesn’t matter,” Hurts said of his statistics. “You know that doesn’t matter. It’s all about winning. That’s the only thing we’ve got to the point we are. So, it’s about ﬁnding ways to win.”

The NFC East champion Eagles just keep on winning — 13 of 14 overall on their way toward hosting a divisional round playoff game against the Rams on Sunday.

They have won often this season because of Hurts, NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley (who had a relatively quiet 119 yards rushing) and receivers

DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown. All were secondary pieces against Green Bay to a defence that harangued Jordan Love into throwing three interceptions — and seemed like it was just warming up.

“That’s what we’re known for, our defence,” cornerback Darius Slay.

“I know at the beginning of the year, we were not (getting turnovers) as we wanted to. As the season got on, you saw it, it really picked up. We’re a physical team that turns the ball over.”

It’s the kind of recipe for success that often leads to a deep run in the postseason. What’s working De-fence!

The Eagles had three interceptions (Zack Baun, Quinyon Mitchell and Slay) and one special teams fumble recovery (Jeremiah Trotter Jr.). The Eagles’ four takeaways were their most in a playoff game since they had the same number in a 2002 game at Chicago. Baun was the ﬁrst Eagles linebacker with an interception in a playoff game since DeMeco Ryans in 2014. Mitchell was the ﬁrst Eagles

rookie with a postseason interception since Roynell Young in the NFC championship game on January 11, 1981, against Dallas.

The lone problem: the Eagles scored only off the fumble recovery on the opening drive of the game. What needs help Hurts did enough to win. Did he do enough to keep conﬁdence high that the Eagles can win a Super Bowl?

His modest numbers were somewhat understandable, both as he returned from

a concussion and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore failed to get Hurts in a groove in the middle of the game.

The Eagles relied on their top-ranked defence to get past the Packers. The offence — as Brown noted earlier this season, the passing game — needs to ﬁnd its stride.

“As an offence, we struggled a little bit. I don’t think we had the game that we wanted to have on offence, but Jalen I think did a lot of good things,” Sirianni said.

Stock up Tight end Dallas Goedert. Goedert returned in the regular-season ﬁnale after a four-game layoff because of a knee injury. He showed his true value with a gritty touchdown run and bullied Carrington Valentine with three stiff-arms on the way into the end zone. “Nobody in this league is as violent and as physical as Dallas Goedert with the ball in his hands,” Sirianni said.

Honourable mention to self-help author Jim Murphy, who became an overnight sensation on Amazon’s bestsellers list with his book “Inner Excellence.” Wide receiver A.J. Brown was caught on the bench reading the book at the end of the game.

Stock down Jake Elliott is having a tough time making all his kicks. Elliott did hit ﬁeld goals of 32, 31 and 30 yards, yet he missed an extra point that kept the Packers within striking distance in the second half.

Elliott made only 28 of 36 ﬁeld goals overall this season and missed 6 of 7 from 50-plus yards — the kind of long distances so

many playoff games come down to in the end.

Injuries Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean suffered a devastating injury to his left knee that will knock him out of the playoffs. Dean could be seen using crutches and with his left leg in a brace. He limped off the ﬁeld in the second quarter, was carted off the ﬁeld and quickly was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Key number 3 — Sirianni has won three straight playoff games at Lincoln Financial Field. That is tied for the longest home winning streak in Eagles postseason history, joining Andy Reid (2000-03 and 2005-07) and Dick Vermeil (1979-81).

KANSAS City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes watches from the sidelines during the ﬁrst half against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, January 5, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DETROIT Lions head coach Dan Campbell on the sidelines during an NFL football practice on Saturday, May 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

GREEN Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) walk away after greeting each other after an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, January 12, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH MEN’S DEPARTMENT FAMILY FUN

EARLY

Some of the participants of the walk race enjoy a moment together.

Mackey Williams and Eve Maycock emerge as the overall champions

MACKEY Williams and Eve Maycock emerged as the male and female overall champions of the Macedonia Baptist Church Men’s Department Family Fun Walk Race. The 2.9 mile event was held on Saturday morning, covering a route from the church on Bernard Road, travelled west to Village and Soldier Road, turned around and headed east back to the church.

Both Williams and Maycock were awarded trips to Harbour Island on Bahamas Ferries for their winning performances, in addition to collecting their trophies and medals for ﬁrst place in their age group categories. Other participants received gift certiﬁcates from AID and Bargain Wholesale. Also, at the completion of the event, persons were able to get a free health

screening done by a group of nurses, led by Aleta Johnson-Rolle. Macedonia’s senior pastor, Rev Dr Hartman Nixon, expressed his gratitude to all those persons who showed up and participated in the event. He encouraged them to look ahead to a brighter year in 2025 and advised them in everything that they do, to put God ﬁrst and watch him work on

their behalf. The event served as a prelude to Macedonia Men’s Anniversary, The men’s anniversary is scheduled to take place on Sunday, January 26 with an 11am service in the parking lot of the church.

The men’s department, headed by Rev Brent Stubbs, will be using as its theme: “Stand Firm As You Labour For The Lord.” The text is from 1. Corinthians 15: 58.

Among the list of divisional winners:

Men under-15 - Kayden Dean and Karon Pinder.

Men under-40 - Donald Pinder, Miguel Dillett and Terrell Stubbs,

Men under-60 - Mackey Williams, Erle Bethel and Stephen Murray.

Men 60-and-over -Michael Dillet, James Simmons and Michael Butler.

Women under-15Vernae Dean.

Women under-40 - Dijon Johnson-Hepburn, Brittany Stubbs and Brentisha Stubbs.

Women under-60 - Liesl Hanna, Denise Strachan and Tina Russell.

Women 60-and-overEve Maycock and Laverne Nixon.

Pastors/Ministers/ DeaconsHarrison Thompson, Michael Butler and Sean Bastian.

‘Stand Firm As You Labour For The Lord’

18 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. This year’s meet will honour icon Michael Sands, the president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean NACAC) and is a former public relations and president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA). Sands is a standout sprinter for Penn State who went on to two Olympic Games in 1972 and 1976. He has held several national records, including the men’s 400m. Meet director Larry Clarke said they are delighted to honour this living legend for his contribution to the

sport. He indicated that the track meet will be one that people will not forget. BBSF RUN/WALK RACE THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation, now in its second year of existence, will hold its annual Family Fun Run/Walk race on Saturday, January 25. The dual event, opened to the general public, will get started at 6:30am from the Bahamas Baptist College/Charles W Saunders High School on Jean Street. The run will begin from Jean Street and head south to Prince Charles Drive. It will travel east on Prince Charles Drive to Fox Hill Road. On Fox Hill Road, the route will head north to Bernard Road, west on Bernard Road and south on Jean Street back to the ﬁnish line.

The walk will leave Jean Street and travel north to Bernard Road, head west on Bernard Road to Soldier Road, travel south on Soldier Road to Prince Charles Drive, head east on Prince Charles Drive and back to Jean Street and the finish line. The categories for both the male and female in both events will be under-15, under-20, under-40, under60 and 60-and-over. There will also be a Pastors/Ministers/Deacons category. Medals will be presented to the first three finishers in each age category, while the top finishers in each event will be presented with a trophy. There will also be a trophy for the church with the most finishers.

The registration fee is $10 per person and there will be a souse out priced at $10 for chicken or turkey.Interested persons are urged

to contact Ann Thompson at 425-3557 or email ann837609@gmail.com or Brent Stubbs at 426-7265 or email stubbobo@gmail. com.

RED-LINE

CLASSIC

THE Red-Line Athletics Track Club will hold its ﬁfth annual Sonja Knowles Classic over the weekend of January 25-26 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

The meet, sponsored by Slim Jim and Mahatma, will begin at 10am on Saturday, January 25 and conclude on Sunday, January 26, starting at 1pm. Meet director Tito Moss has indicated that they will offer some awesome customised medals for top three ﬁnishers, customised crystal awards for MVPs U7 to U20 boys and girls. He also noted that they will offer more events

for the under-7 to under-13 age groups, but they expect that the under-15 to the open and masters categories will be very competitive with heats and ﬁnals in all sprint events. The entry deadline is January 19. Interested persons are urged to send in entries to redlineathletics242@gmail. com and smnbutler@yahoo. com or contact Tito Moss at 425-4262. TRACK AND FIELD STAR PERFORMERS

MEET THE Star Trackers Track Club will hold its 22nd Star Performance Track and Field Classic on Saturday, February 1 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. The event, powered by Baker/ Greyco Limited, will be held from 9am to 5pm. The registration deadline is on Friday, January 24 at 10pm

at www.coachoregistration. com. Meet director Dave Charlton promises that the athletes and spectators will enjoy a very competitive meet that will be contested on time.

BBSF SOFTBALL LEAGUE THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation will hold its 2025 softball league, starting on Saturday, February 8 at the Charles W Saunders High School, Jean Street. The co-ed slow pitch league will allow each team up to a total of 15 players with the registration fee of $200. The deadline for team registration with rosters and team payment is Saturday, January 25, 2025. Interested persons can tournament director Thomas Sears at 424-2888 or email 242softball@gmail.com or Brent Stubbs at 426-7265 or emil stubbobs@gmail.com

By TENAJH SWEETING

Sports Reporter

A PAIR of Giants picked up dominant victories on Monday night as regular season play continued for the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) at the AF Adderley Gymnasium.

The Commonwealth Giants made it look easy against the TMT Giants, to secure an 80-62 victory in division one action.

The Your Essential Store (YES) Giants, the division two defending champions, kept rolling 89-59 against the Rhythm Rebels in the division two matchup.

The YES Giants improved their win/loss record to 2-0 for the season, while the Rebels tumbled to 0-2.

The CB Giants moved up to 2-1 to lead the division one standings while the TMT Giants sit in third at 1-2 for the season.

Division One Giants’ veteran players Dylan Musgrove and Jackson Jacob did the heavy lifting in the team’s relatively comfortable win over the TMT Giants on Monday night. Jacob was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points, five steals and three boards. He was efficient in the win, shooting 44.4 per cent from the field.

Musgrove was equally as impressive, turning in 20 points, eight rebounds, three dimes and three steals. He shot 9-for-15 in the contest.

If the beginning of the game was any indication of things to come, then the TMT Giants were in for a long night. The CB Giants pulled away with a 16-1 run to open the ﬁrst quarter before heading into the second quarter with a double digit lead, 17-7.

The TMT Giants ﬁnally showed up to play in the second quarter. After falling behind by double digits early on, they regained their footing in the ball game at halfway mark. They eventually stole the lead 21-20 following a pair of free throws drained by Dashaun Saunders.

The score was levelled at 31 apiece as the TMT Giants came together to outscore the CB Giants 24-14 going into the halftime break.

The CB Giants came out of the break ﬁring on all cylinders. Their lead touched double-digit territory once against when Jacob made a layup with 6:14 to go, pushing the score to 43-33. Despite shaving the deﬁcit down to just six points at one point, the TMT Giants found themselves down 54-43 with one quarter remaining.

Brandon Strachan, who is playing his ﬁrst season in division one, knocked down a long range bomb at the 1:50 mark of the fourth quarter to put the CB Giants in charge by 16. After this possession, the TMT Giants were unable to make up any ground.

Christoph McKenzie managed to drop a teamhigh 14 points and seven boards in the tough loss. He struggled with his shot, going 6-for-17 from the ﬁeld on the night.

Division Two The YES Giants had four players hit double digit numbers to hand out a 30-point beatdown to the Rebels.

The Rhythm Rebels were certainly off beat against the Giants.

Matthew Saunders and Kirklyn Farrington were the top scorers for YES. Saunders posted a gamehigh 21 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and three steals. Meanwhile, Farrington chipped in 19 points, six boards and picked up four steals.

Although the ﬁnal score was lopsided, the game started off fairly close in the opening period with the Giants leading 22-16 before the second. That was until the Rebels hit a rough patch on the offensive end, while the Giants cooked up a double digit deﬁcit (38-26) with 3:42 remaining before the intermission.

The Rebels managed to hang around on the

PRINCE STRACHAN COMMITS TO USC

FROM PAGE 16

Strachan had some memorable performances. He posted four receptions for 58 yards against Utah State and four catches for 49 yards along with a touchdown against San Diego State.

The Grand Bahamian wideout also had some bright spots during the 2024 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State. In the team’s 31-14 loss against the Nittany Lions, he secured four receptions for 40 yards and was on his way to scoring a 20-yard touchdown but had it called back due to a hands-to-the-face-penalty.

Despite the change of scenery, Strachan experienced a lot of team success with the Broncos in just two seasons. Boise State capped off the 2024 season with an historic 12-2 win/loss record while also going undefeated to win the Mountain West Conference Championship once again.

Broncos head coach Spencer Denielson spoke highly of Strachan in a press conference last week.

“I love Prince,” Danielson said “All I can speak to is I know Prince wanted to be here, but in this landscape there’s a lot of people involved that can pull at your heartstrings and mentality. But I love Prince and wish him absolutely nothing but the best.”

As for the Trojans, despite losing four of their top six receivers, Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane will return as the top receivers for next season.

Strachan is the 10th transfer addition to the Trojans roster this offseason.

scoreboard but still trailed 42-37 against the defending champions.

The game got out of hand for the Rebels in the second half. While the Giants were putting the game way out of reach, the Rebels seemingly had a lid on their basket.

Farrington made a crafty layup to extend the YES Giants’ cushion to 20 (5737) with 5:51 on the clock in the third period. The game was a foregone conclusion from that point as the Giants coasted to their second victory of the season.

YES picked up 14 steals to force 24 of the Rebels’ turnovers. They shot the ball 42 per cent from the ﬁeld and held the Rebels to just 29.3 per cent shooting.

Darius Dean picked up 17 points and two boards for the Rebels in the blowout loss.

NPBA action resumes tonight with a double header at the AF Adderley Gymnasium. It will be a battle between the TYT Rockets and Mason Rockets in division two at 8:30pm. The game will be preceded by the Everybody Wins Shockers taking on the Rebels in division one at 7pm.

PLAYERS in action during the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) regular season which resumed this weekend at the AF Adderley Gymnasium.

Photos: Chappell Whyms Jr

SPORTS

SECTION E WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2025

Multi-talented Bria Sands to be inducted

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ulti-talented

Mjumper Bria Sands will be rewarded for her stellar performances as a Running Eagle when she joins a list of athletes and a rugby team that will be inducted into Life University’s ﬁfth class of its Hall of Fame.

The ceremony will take place on Friday starting at 6pm in the Upper Gym on the Life University campus in Marietta, Georgia.

Sands’ induction class includes Sammy Nyamongo from the men’s track and ﬁeld; Alexandria “Spiff” Sedrick from women’s rugby and the 2000 Life University Men’s Rugby Super League championship team.

“It’s really an honour and a privilege to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at Life University,” Sands said.

“The education combined with athletics has truly shaped the person I am today.

“Of course this honour would not be possible without my parents, Elaine and Leevan Sands, and my siblings Leevan, D’ngelo, Vandia, Daniel and Janet. My family has truly been my rock during this journey.”

In thanking Life University Athletic staff, including but not limited to Jayme L. Pendergast, Sands paid homage to her coaches Nyles Stuart, Dominic Demeritte, O’Neil Wright and Kathy Faust.

Sands, 27, competed with the women’s track and ﬁeld teams at Life University from 2017-2021.

During her time as a Running Eagle, she claimed two Indoor MidSouth Conference Athlete of the Year honours, one MSC Outdoor Conference Athlete of the Year honour, and was the 2021 NAIA National Athlete of the Year.

Sands, the younger sister of Olympian and men’s national triple jump record holder Leevan “Superman” Sands, was a six-time NAIA All-American and claimed three individual National Championships, including the 2017 Indoor Track and Field Triple Jump champion. She was a two-time Outdoor Track and Field Champion in the long jump in 2017 and 2021.

She was also a twotime NAIA Runner-Up in 2019 and 2021 and she was named to seven MSC 1st Teams, one MSC 2nd Team, winning seven MSC Championships in the high jump, triple jump and long jump events.

“I deﬁnitely cannot forget the starting point of my athletic career with the Striders and coach Stephen Murray and then Leap of Faith with coach James Rolle,” Sands stressed. “I think this award is a

testament that life will have its obstacles, but remaining consistent and working hard will always pay off.”

Elaine Sands, who along with other family members are expected to be in

attendance, said she’s very proud of the achievement of her daughter.

“I am so elated. It really came as a shock when they sent her the notice by email,” she said. “When she received it, she called me and told me they were inducting her into the Hall of Fame.

“All of us are really excited for her because we know she worked really hard. Unfortunately, she did not continue. But I know she would have done well if she had continued in the sport.”

Sands, who is already in Atlanta ahead of the ceremony, said her only regret is that her husband, Leevan Sands Sr, won’t be there. He passed away on Monday, February 24, 2020, but was the number one cheerleader for his children in all of their endeavours.

Sands, who is currently employed as a veterinary assistant at Budget Vet in Conyers, Georgia, has posted a lifetime best of 20-feet, 1/4-inches or 6.16 metres in the long jump; 41-1/2 (12.51m) in the triple jump and 5-7 (1.70m) in the high jump.

Showing her versatility as a well-rounded athlete, Sands has also ran 7.92 in the 60m indoors and 12.57 in the 100m and 26.49 in the 200m outdoors.

SOFTBALL FEDERATION TO HOST HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY FOR THE CLASS OF 2024

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER having to post-

pone the initial date last year because of the renovations to Government House, the Bahamas Softball Federation is all set to host its Hall of Fame induction ceremony for the class of 2024.

It is now scheduled to be held 7pm Thursday at Government House with Governor General Cynthia “Mother” Pratt - a stellar softball Hall of Fame

inductee - as the patron.

“This Hall of Fame induction was in the making for quite some time.

“And I feel excited to ﬁnally be able to give these guys their just due for the game of softball, for the love of softball,” according to Marvin “Tougie” Wood, the ﬁrst vice president of the BSF.

“They have put in their dedication and we want to recognise the time that they have put into the sport to bring it up to where it’s at right now. I’m glad that the federation has decided to

THE SPORTS

stick with it and to ﬁnally bring it forth.”

Expected to be inducted are John ‘Bro John’ Williams, Leslie ‘Truck’ Johnson, Jerome Moxey, Perry Seymour, Winston ‘Strawberry’ Seymour, Stephen ‘Slugger’ Brown, Charles ‘Chuckie’ Smith, Roscoe Thompson, Trevor ‘Knuck’ Wood, Dwayne Pratt, Dwayne Mackey, Mario Ford, Martin ‘Pork’ Burrows, Jeffrey ‘Beef’ Hendﬁeld, Van ‘Lil Joe’ Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Anthony Fowler, Kirk ‘Spaghetti’ Tynes, Elvis

SOFTBALL

BBSF MEETING THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation is scheduled to hold a meeting 10am on Saturday, January 18 at the Bahamas Baptist College, Jean Street, for all churches interested in participating in the softball league that will start in February. During the meeting, registration forms for the family fun run/walk race, scheduled for 6:30am Saturday, January 25 from Jean Street, will be distributed, along with the remainder of the calendar for the year.

LOVE AND ROMANCE ROAD RACE

AT 6am on Saturday, February 8, Love and Romance will take to the asphalt at our 3rd annual couples, Valentines-themed 5k Fun, Run

PRINCE STRACHAN COMMITS TO USC

By TENAJH SWEETING

THE time spent in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) transfer portal was shortlived for Grand Bahamian wide receiver Prince Strachan.

The former Boise State starter is now headed to greener pastures in Los Angeles after committing to the University of Southern California Trojans on Monday.

The sophomore wide receiver can prove to be a key offseason addition to the Trojans’ roster in the Big Ten Conference after they lost key players including Kyron Hudson, Duce Robinson, Zachariah Branch and seasoned veteran Kyle Ford from last season.

Strachan, who is making his transition from the Mountain West Conference, had a strong second season with the Boise State Broncos down in Boise, Idaho.

The 6-foot-5 player took care of business during the 2024 season. He recorded 25 receptions for 304 yards along with one touchdown in all 14 games last season, which included ﬁve starts.

During his collegiate career, he has accumulated 37 catches for 578 yards to pair with three touchdowns. While playing with the Boise State Broncos,

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Walk Push. Hundreds of couplesadorned in their red and white sports outﬁt - will be running, walking, skating and biking together from Arawak Cay to Go Slow Bend and back. They will traverse along scenic West Bay Street, while being entertained with romantic instrumental music, local artists singing and civic groups cheering them on along the route. They return to the valentinethemed Race Village where they will receive awards, prizes and surprises. For more information, persons are asked to contact Marcel Major at 242-804-8595. DTSP WOLFPACK CLASSIC THE DTSP Wolfpack Track Club will hold its “I Come To Get Me” Track Classic on Saturday, January

Rolle, Fredrick ‘the Skipper’ Cornish, Mary ‘Cruise’ Edgecombe, Jean ‘Bubbles’ Minus, Zella Symonette, Jackie ‘Lil Stunt’ Moxey, Rhonda Colton, Monique Cooper and Aretha Mackey. Wood, who is in charge of organising the induction and one should be a Hall of Famer, said it’s one of the best classes ever assembled by the BSF. “I don’t think there could be a better group of persons than those who are being inducted,” Wood pointed out. “I’m elated that it took so long

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER hosting its inaugural event last year, New Providence Primary Public Schools Sports Association president Latoya Bain is eager for the staging of their second cross country championship.

The championship, which will be contested in three categories, is scheduled to get underway 9am on Saturday at Haynes Oval. And according to Bain, they are anticipating that more than the seven schools from last year will be competing.

“This is our second annual cross country championship,” Bain said. “We will

for some of these guys to get into the Hall of Fame. “But nothing before its time. This is what you call an A-1 exceptional class.” Joining Pratt for the ceremony will be acting director of sports Kelsie Johnson-Sills and assistant director Kerry Baker from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture; Bahamas Olympic Committee president Romel Knowles; BSF president Jenny Dotson and past presidents Churchill Tener-Knowles, Neko Grant, Burkett Dorsett and Ted Miller.

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be at the back of the Cricket Club where the competitors will be running up and down the hills, which should be very exciting.” Categories will compete in the under-8, under-11 and under-13 division for both boys and girls. The registration fee is $5 per athlete.

This year, there will be an overall winner and medals will be awarded to the top ﬁnishers in each category.

“We expect more teams to come out because last year we only had seven schools,” Bain said. “I expect at least 20 schools to come out and participate.

“This is a fundraiser for us so we need all hands on deck. We have our track and ﬁeld meet, which is a

huge event for us and we also have our end of the year celebrations, so we need the funds for those events.”

Bain is encouraging the public to come out and support their “little darlings.”

“We are anticipating some good competition and even more competitors. We had a lot of parents who came out last year. They were excited to see the little children running the hills. So I am expecting more children to come out and compete.”

Cross country is one of the list of sporting activities staged by the association during the course of the school year. The others include basketball, softball/ baseball, volleyball, soccer and track and ﬁeld.

MULTI-talented jumper Bria Sands.