04242024 NEWS AND SPORT

‘Munroe said he would not work with me’ says ex-prison commissioner

RETIRED commissioner of the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services Charles Murphy claimed in court yesterday that National Security Minister Wayne Munroe had a personal agenda against him and failed to adequately explain why he sent him on administrative leave after the 2021 general election. Mr Murphy’s wife, Sheralyn Murphy, testified about the impact Mr Munroe’s decision had on her family. At one point during her testimony, she cried. After suing the

THE Ministry of Social Services introduced a diversity programme that is helping to prevent gay youth from being sent to juvenile detention centres because of their sexuality, according to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex advocate Alexus DeMarco. However, for some, like 41-year-old Berkitt Knowles, the trauma of once being held in a correctional institution because of one’s sexuality still lingers. DeMarco and Mr Knowles spoke to The Tribune after the United States,

Queen’s Staircase renovated and rededicated

Student fights with school resource officer at Eight Mile Rock High School

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

AN Eight Mile Rock High School student fought a school resource officer on Monday in a chaotic incident captured on camera. Grand Bahama police are now investigating the altercation. Michelle Bowleg, acting deputy director at the Ministry of Education in Grand Bahama, reported that four male students were suspended. The video showed the officer throwing blows and attempting to subdue the student while another adult male hit the youth with a stick. A crowd of students gathered around and watched as the violence unfolded. Ms Bowleg could not confirm whether anyone was injured during the incident. She said parents have been called in, and the students involved have been questioned. She said the incident stemmed from a conflict that occurred on Sunday in the park between four boys during a basketball game. “This conflict came into our school and, a fight ensued between the two groups, and I don’t want to say gang members, it would be alleged,” she said. “We did have a principal who was trying his best to see how he could resolve the conflict.” Ms Bowleg emphasised the importance of keeping students and teachers safe.

in schools and takes any such incident that disrupts the school environment seriously. “The school’s administrative team is working closely with police on Grand Bahama to address this incident,” the ministry said. “There are a number of students in police custody who are currently assisting officials with the investigation. Once the police have completed their investigations, the ministry will support actions that will ensure all those responsible are held accountable for their actions.

In an official statement, the Ministry of Education and Technical and Vocational Training stressed that it has a “zero tolerance” approach to violence

“The ministry continues to support SROs on public school campuses as their work has assisted in the reduction of school incidents, diverting students from engaging in criminal activities, and improving overall school safety.”

A SCREENSHOT from the viral video of the altercation between a student of Eight Mile Rock High School and a school resource officer on Monday.

CEO of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board Joy Jibrilu speaks during a rededication ceremony where renovations to the Queen’s Staircase were unveiled last night. Photos: Dante Carrer

U.S. National Centre for Atmospheric Research, NOAA, Aviation Weather Centre & UCAR Collaboratin g with Bahamas Aviation, Climate & Severe Weather Network to bring PM’s legacy to reality

IN an exclusive interview with The Tribune, Bahamas Aviation, Climate & Severe Weather Network’s President & CEO, Mr. Lyrone Burrows, with renowned U.S. Aviation, Climate & Severe Weather Scientist, Dr.Bruintjes,PhD, provided insight into how US. National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Aviation Weather Centre and Johns Hopkins plan to help bring the PM’s Aviation and carbon credits legacy to fruition.

“It’s a pleasure to have scientists of such calibre like Professor Bruintjes visiting us once again,” said Mr. Lyrone Burrows. “I feel confident, based on a deeping of the relationships we’ve had in various meetings with governmental agencies and other stakeholders, that such efforts will yield untold benefits for The Bahamas and its people.” Echoing such sentiments, Professor Buintjes shared that he was drawn to work with the company after seeing their presentation at a weather conference in Kingston, Jamaica in March of 2023.

Having worked in 120 nations during an illustrious tenure spanning 34 years, Professor Buintjes said: “I know the company’s founder has endured his fair share of doubters; but the applications being considered by virtue of the Memorandum of Understanding with NCAR and NOAA will be revolutionary. They will be the ‘First- in- the-World ” “BACSWN’s real-time visualizations will transform how weather is visualized,” added Dr. Bruintes “Bringing such Intellectual Property together with those of the US. National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and Aviation Weather Centre together will result in unique “creations that have never been envisioned and, in most cases, far surpass those of industrialized nations.”

“As Director Basden can attest, there has been tremdendous interest from other nations,” explained Dr. Bruintjes before Dr. Basden chimed in with a big smile -“All of my fellow meteorologists throughout the Caribbean are praying Bahamas passes on the opportunity so they can rollout such an ‘advantegard’ system in their own nations.”

“However, the vision was conceived by a Bahamian whose family’s legacy is one of service to your nation. As such, we are committed to helping the Government secure its sole, sovereign right to hundreds of millions of dollars in “Overflight Fees” per annum— not just what’s currently being charged — so the nation, like 186 other countries, can resolve the delapidated conditions of its outdated Aviation & Health sector infrastructure.

“While the challenges mentioned present major shortcomings for a nation whose economy is tourism focused,” warned Professor Roelof, “there are a number of external

factors which must, and can be addressed, by the entities BACSWN has assembled to assist the Government.

First and foremost: “I am unaware of any other circumstances where ICAO has allowed Flight Information Regions (FIR) of other nations to encroach upon another nation’s territory to the extent that The Bahamas doesn’t appear on any aviation map. (U.S. controls the top twothrids (2/3) while Cuba controls the bottom one-third. The Bahamas must gain control of the airspace above its sovereign archipelagic baselines, territorial seas, contiguous and economic exclusion zone,” said Dr. Bruintes.

Second: ”The cost of any aviation or designated health centre infrastructure improvements should not be placed on the backs of Bahamian taxpayers,” explained Professor Roelof. “We faced the same issue three years ago in Africa. Airlines were jumping up and down protesting

about the state of some of that continents’ infrastructure.

“We used a similar infrastracture plan as the one BACSWN has developed - which delegations from NCAR, NOAA and Aviation Weather Centre will audit and certify over the coming weeks for the Government’s use,” he added. “Once such requirements are met and presented, airlines are required to pay for the levy’s imposed to assist with the safe, expeditious and reliable use of each and every flight using Bahamian sovereign airspace.”

Third, while such challenges have no impact upon BACSWN’s ability to restart its consultations with the airlines vis a vis the standing-up and staffing a NextGEN Meteorological Watch Office, it does affect the Government’s ability to collect its sole right to such revenue as it is key, unavoidable “prerequisite for being able to ly charge Overflight Fees under the Chicago Convention

Minister ‘agenda’ against Murphy

government, Mr Murphy took the stand yesterday as Justice Carla Card-Stubbs presided.

He argues that Mr Munroe breached the Correctional Services Act when he sent him on administrative leave and believes the decision was irregular and unreasonable.

He said he was not allowed to address the minister’s concerns about him.

Mr Murphy controversially became prison commissioner after the Minnis administration sent Doan Cleare –– who was confirmed as prison commissioner on Monday and Bernardette Murray-Thompson on vacation leave.

Mr Murphy said yesterday that during his first meeting with Mr Munroe on September 27, 2021, which he claimed lasted ten minutes, the pair discussed the COVID-19 situation at the prison. He said he told Mr Munroe that COVID-19 cases were declining among staff thanks to contact

tracing and testing.

He disagreed with Anton Thompson, the defendants’ lawyer, that a comprehensive report given to Mr Munroe did not address COVID-19.

He insisted that COVID19 protocols were in effect at the prison when Mr Thompson said there was no semblance of a plan.

He said when Mr Munroe told him he was running the facility “illegally” by not having a deputy or assistant commissioner, he informed the minister he had recommended people for the posts.

He said the prison operated without a deputy or assistant commissioner for a year and a half in 2018.

He said although Mr Cleare and Mrs Thompson were not retired or removed from their positions, they were not present at the prison during his tenure.

He said the Ministry of National Security moved the pair and had them working on a special assignment at the ministry before the 2021 election.

He said he did not have the power to hire a deputy

or assistant commissioner and that he could only make recommendations to the Ministry of National Security about who could fill the roles. He said Mr Munroe did not confirm his recommendations for the posts.

When Mr Thompson brought up the arrest of Prescott Smith on September 22, 2021, Mr Murphy said he became aware of Mr Smith on September 24, 2021 when a court order from Supreme Court Justice Loren Klein ordered his immediate release.

Criticized for not releasing Mr Smith until September 27, Mr Murphy defended his actions, saying he followed prison protocol.

He said Mr Smith’s attorney brought an improper release order at 4.25pm on September 24, after the time when prisoners are allowed to be released, according to prison protocol. He said prisoners are not released on the weekend, therefore, Mr Smith was released on a Monday.

He said he ran the prison by “law and order”

and followed “rules and regulations”.

He acknowledged that Mr Munroe accused him of breaching Justice Klein’s court order during their meeting, but said when he tried to explain his actions, Mr Munroe cut him off.

He said Mr Munroe sucked his teeth and told him: “I’ll be honest with you. The government does not intend to work with you.” He said Mr Munroe also told him he does not intend to work with him.

Mr Thompson referred to minutes from that meeting and said Mr Munroe identified multiple instances where Mr Murphy refused to obey court mandates.

Mr Murphy responded that Mr Munroe never allowed him to respond to what he called “hypothetical” deficiencies.

Mr Murphy said he was not briefed before meeting Mr Munroe so he could bring additional information.

He said that in a subsequent meeting on September 30, 2021, he met Mr Munroe and the permanent secretary of the

Ministry of National Security and received a letter sending him on immediate administrative leave. He claimed that a week before getting the letter, both Mr Cleare and Mrs Murray-Thompson, the assistant commissioner, returned to the prison.

Mr Murphy said that although he had the prison commissioner’s title until his retirement on November 11, 2023, he did not get the benefits of the position.

When Mr Thompson suggested he took retirement leave on June 9, 2022, he said it was impossible that he was on administrative and pre-retirement leave.

He disagreed with Mr Thompson’s assertion that he suffered no loss while on leave, that Mr Munroe was not biased for what he did and that the minister had sufficient reason to send him on leave.

Mr Murphy’s attorney, Romona FarquharsonSeymour, questioned how he felt about being sent on leave. He said the respect he earned after 41 years of service was destroyed.

He said he lost the perks of the office, and the decision affected his wife and family emotionally and psychologically. He said he had to beg the government to fix his vehicle and was forced to drive the car on a dummy wheel for weeks. He said his requests to have the car serviced were denied.

He claimed Mr Munroe accused him of malfeasance in the media, causing him to face ridicule from the public and prison officers. His wife testified virtually that she retired early as a school principal in December because of the stress from her husband’s situation.

She said the stress broke down her body: she had two major surgeries last June and later learned she had breast cancer.

“Mentally, it has been a lot,” she said. “It took a toll.”

Mrs Murphy said she faced a barrage of questions about her husband’s situation and that people would always call her about it. She said their children were distraught.

Court upholds Archer libel conviction

Rolle-Davis convicted Mr Archer of intentional libel on November 2, 2022 and sentenced him to three months in prison. Mr Archer made the defamatory comments about the complainant between April 16 and 23, 2015. The complainant testified that Mr Archer also claimed she killed a baby and put it in a bucket. She said people commented on the posts and belittled her character. The Court of Appeal wrote: “The appellant’s argument that there was no evidence presented to the magistrate proving the publication of a defamatory post about the complainant having AIDS is without merit. The complainant’s testimony as well as that of her two witnesses and the documentary exhibits support the magistrate’s finding that the appellant publicly posted the statement “YOU HAVE AIDS AND YOU ARE SPREADING IT.”

“Without any evidence from the appellant or any witnesses called on his behalf, the magistrate was justified in finding the appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt once the legal requirements for intentional libel were met. A reasonable reader would interpret the false statement about the complainant having AIDS and spreading it as inherently defamatory, regardless of any preceding private exchange between the parties. Given the evidence presented at trial, the magistrate’s guilty verdict was reasonable and supported by the facts. There are no grounds to overturn the conviction.

“However, the magistrate did not give a detailed sentencing ruling. The magistrate’s ruling, which lacked a comprehensive explanation for imposing a custodial sentence of three months, failed to consider relevant sentencing factors and any comparators by which the court could measure the severity or otherwise of the sentence.”

WOMAN’S INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL FOR WRONGFUL TERMINATION FOR STEALING A CAN OF COFFEE DISMISSED

under her arm, and walked out.

THE

on the day in question when she removed a can of coffee from the cafeteria without the chef’s permission. She confirmed that she was in the video. She had got a big piece of foil, covered the coffee can, tucked it

She was shown another video in which she identified her colleague, Ms Panza, as the lady waiting outside the cafeteria for her.

She was then referred to a photograph exhibited in the witness statement of Ryan Knowles, the general manager, of a locker where a container of Maxwell House Coffee was seen.

The employee agreed that when she took the coffee in question out of the cafeteria, it had a lid on it, and that she intended to use it at her workstation.

She said she gave the coffee to Mrs Panza to secure for her in one of the guest lockers. The former employee denied it was still sealed or ‘brand new’ because it only had about two scoops of coffee left. She denied she was stealing and concealing the coffee. During re-examination, Ms Jolly said it was usual practice for her to go to the cafeteria to get coffee, which employers freely gave to staff. She would take her meals and coffee made to the workstation. Patrice Panza testified

that she worked at Half Moon Cay for eight years. She worked in the Cabanas, and Ms Jolly worked in the booth.

When shown the video where Ms Jolly tore off a sheet of foil and put the red can of coffee under the foil, Ms Panza denied that she asked Ms Jolly to get the coffee for her.

Ms Panza said she never looked inside the container Ms Jolly had given her. She said she saw it in the locker when she was getting ready to leave. Ms Panza was responsible for the keys to the 27 lockers reserved for guests. The witness agreed that she kept the coffee in the guest locker because the locker she used held her toiletries, a water heater, and some water she brought from home.

She agreed that staff was not allowed to use guest lockers, but denied that she hid the stolen coffee in guest locker 20 because she did not want to be found with the stolen item. When she left work, her bag was searched for the coffee, but none was found, and she left.

Ms Panza testified that Ryan Knowles found the coffee because she later told Clem and Gina where to find it in guest locker 20 or 21. She said it came about when Jaime and Mr Knowles wanted to know where the coffee was. In his testimony, general manager Ryan Knowles said the matter came to his attention after the cook complained that the brand new coffee she had only just put out that morning had gone missing. Following the complaint, Mr Knowles reviewed video surveillance footage of the events in the cafeteria and saw Ms Jolly removing the item.

When he confronted her about it, she admitted to removing it and presenting it to another.

Mr Knowles said the cafeteria had a policy stated in the employer handbook and the Rules and Regulations of Half Moon Cay, which was shared with the staff and Ms Jolly in particular, concerning stealing. He agreed that coffee was an amenity for which the staff did not pay and that they were allowed to come and make their coffee and take their cup to their workstation.

He agreed that there was no specific policy on the removal of a container of coffee. Mr Knowles said the coffee was found in a locker, and while it was not found in Ms Jolly’s possession, she admitted to taking it. He also added that the locker was for the use of guests and not for employee use.

Mr Knowles said when he initially saw on the cameras where Jolly had removed the coffee from the cafeteria, he wanted to give her time to return the stolen goods, so he did not contact her, but waited until it was time for her to board the clipper. He asked her to come off,

and her bag was searched in the holding area. No coffee was found, but it was later discovered in the locker, and he took pictures of it.

Mr Knowles denied that Ms Jolly was not given a proper hearing during the suspension process and that she was not called back before she was dismissed for stealing.

In terminating Jolly, management said it had determined that she was actively complicit in the scheme to steal the coffee container. It stated that the act was gross misconduct and/or dishonesty that could not be condoned.

In reviewing the law, Ms Godet said the tribunal must consider whether Ms Jolly was wrongfully and unfairly dismissed for being complicit with another in removing the coffee, which management considered theft, dishonesty, and gross misconduct.

Ms Godet wrote that Ms Jolly has clearly admitted that she did not ask permission to remove the item, particularly as it was intended for the benefit of other employees. “It seems almost tragic for employment to be lost for such a small act,” she said.

“To be sure, to lose one’s standing over what others may consider a bad judgment call is most lamentable and perhaps even harsh. Consider, however, the negative impact that would arise for any organisation if every employee took it upon themselves to remove food items intended for the collective for their exclusive use.” Ms Godet questioned whether the applicant honestly believed she was in good grace to simply remove the container of coffee. She was satisfied that management conducted a proper investigation.

‘Renovations to PMH emergency section to be completed soon’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PUBLIC Hospitals

Authority managing director Aubynette Rolle said renovations to the accident and emergency section of the Princess Margaret Hospital were delayed because of unforeseen structural issues but should be completed soon. She said contractors encountered spalling concrete and outdated pipes, the kind of issues “that normally happens when you’re not starting from a new facility”.

“You’re dealing with a older facility, but the majority of the work has been completed so as soon as we close up the ceilings and minor works, then we’ll be

able to move forward,” she said during a press conference yesterday.

She acknowledged the public and staff’s frustration over the project and thanked people for their patience.

She could not say when the project would be completed or how much the extra work would cost. She said officials are looking forward to moving into another A&E space after procuring the necessary furniture, fixtures and equipment.

“That is one phase of it which will allow us to cross over and have more space, be able to attend to patients, ensure privacy and confidentiality and then we have the ability to move cross and complete that section,” she said.

Conditions at PMH have drawn public ire for decades.

The facility is in its second phase of renovations, with officials repeatedly urging the public to only visit A&E if they have emergencies.

Health and Wellness

Minister Dr Michael Darville has called issues at PMH “age-old problems”. Yesterday, he told reporters his ministry is finalising a loan facility “by way of the Chinese concessional loan and the Chinese EXIM bank” to build a new $290m hospital in New Providence. “We intend to break ground on that facility within months because the responsibility falls at the government for land preparation and some minor civil works,” he added.

MINISTER of Health and Wellness Dr. Michael Darville and Public Hospitals Authority Managing Director Dr Aubynette Rolle during an official visit of Mao Weiming, Governor of Hunan Province, Peoples Republic of China, to Princess Margaret Hospital yesterday. Photos: Dante Carrer

Pray for Haiti’s success with transitional council

THE discussion about sending Bahamian troops to Haiti may have faded in recent times – but the first steps towards giving the country new leadership may well be taken today.

Haiti has been without leadership for a long time in practice – with last month’s resignation of Ariel Henry as Prime Minister stripping the last vestige of anyone in office with a claim to authority.

In truth, Henry’s position had long been in question anyway – but he remained in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise and as MPs and senators saw their terms expire without any kind of election process to choose their successors.

Today will see a landmark moment – if it can be carried out successfully and without violent interference from the gangs who control so much of Haitian territory.

A transitional council is due to be sworn in at the country’s National Palace. Its role is to select a new Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The ceremony was being prepared for yesterday in high security. Even as officials and police prepared for the event, the sound of gunfire could be heard nearby.

According to statistics, in the first three months of this year, more than 2,500 people were killed or wounded across Haiti, more than 50 percent up on the same period last year.

Those figures come from the United Nations, although there is every possibility that given the state of the nation, it is an under-estimate.

The UN special envoy for Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, yesterday warned that gang leaders and others had stated their intention to “violently disrupt the current political process”. Chaos works in the favour of the gangs, order risks undermining the hold they have on the nation at present.

Gangs have burned police stations. Hospitals. They have broken more than 4,000 prisoners out of jail. They have opened fire on the airport in Port-au-Prince. It is a mess, of that there is no doubt.

Left to suffer in it are the Haitian people themselves. Food supplies are

regularly cut off. Fuel supplies are limited. And doctors in the country have warned that medicine is in short supply.

Dr Rachel Lavigne, of Doctors Without Borders, talking about one case where a woman was convulsing, said: “The medication she really needs, we barely have … Everything is crashing.”

The largest public hospital has been forced to close, a number of dialysis centres have shut down. The Hospital of the State University in Haiti was due to reopen on April 1 –but gangs infiltrated it.

One hospital, south of the airport, reported that from the end of February until last week, it treated 200 patients with gunshot wounds and its beds were still full. It was desperately in need of fuel to run its generators or else it could close down.

The story only gets worse – with looters attacking pharmacies and a long list of medications in short supply for those who need them most.

What we must hope for – and a stable Haiti is something that is our business – and what Haitians must pray for is that the political process is successful.

What success looks like is open to question. It is a tough challenge to expect a perfect outcome from the chaos the nation is currently experiencing. But the region must support efforts to have a leadership that can honestly say it represents the people of the country. Not outside interests, not the interests of gangs, but the interests of the people.

The question may arise again as to whether Bahamian troops may be deployed – but before that can be asked, there needs to be a leadership that will ask it.

We do not want a neighbour that is suffering so much that it counts its deaths not just in murders, but in starvation and a shortage of medicine. We want a stable Haiti where people choose to stay and not to flee.

So we must hope for success in today’s swearing-in of the transitional council. For Haiti’s sake. For the region’s sake. And for the hope of a new beginning.

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE FNM has a legitimate shot to return to governance of our beautiful country. One of the greatest challenges to this is the appearance of disunity within the party. Despite the former Prime Minister’s attempts through his surrogates to argue that Pintard is unable to unite the Party, the facts say differently. Firstly, Minnis, in my opinion, never desired to step aside after the 2021 defeat. The only reason he did not run was because he knew he didn’t have the numbers for the November 2021 Convention. So he has been determined to take over the Party once again and has sought every opportunity to undermine the present leadership team.

The disunity his team highlights is a direct result of their agitation and failure to support the leadership in the manner he was supported when he led the FNM. Those who supported Ingraham are on board. Those who supported Tommy are on board. Those who supported Sir Cecil are on board and many who did not vote in 2021 are ready to support the FNM once again!

Pintard is no novice!

While Minnis was in his medical practice, Pintard, much like Tommy, Carl, Dion and others, was engaged in activism and being arrested in protests against the Pindling administration. The same so-called novice, Pintard, organised Minnis’ campaign against his internal opposition and helped develop his platform while he opposed the PLP, at a time when the FNM establishment had not yet embraced Hubert Minnis.

HAI Gifted HAM a safe seat (No good deed goes unpunished)

Despite Prime Minister Ingraham providing Minnis a safe seat and the leadership of a party he (Ingraham) led for 19 years, Minnis declared (unprovoked) that the Ingraham era was over.

Among the insults that followed, Minnis declined the help of former Prime Ministers Ingraham

and Christie to help the people of Abaco post Dorian and he never invited Ingraham to FNM Headquarters or to speak at memorials for nine years (a fact publicly confirmed by Mr Ingraham). Pintard on the other hand was sent by Ingraham to run against Perry Christie in Centreville and Philip Davis in Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador (even though he won the ratification of the East Grand Bahama Association after two rounds of voting). And, he went like a loyal FNM. Pintard still seeks Ingraham’s advice. Furthermore, Ingraham’s first return to FNM headquarters and Party events has been under Pintard’s leadership. Pintard resigned as Chairman

After being smeared by the PLP in their attempt to protect their relationship with the Canadian fashion mogul Pintard resigned as Chairman of the FNM so as not to be a distraction to his Party, and vigorously addressed the lies that were told.

At the heart of the controversy, the two young men Pintard’s enemies like to associate him with were working with the PLP. Today, they are still members of the PLP. Moreover, by Minnis’ own admission, these two young men were close enough to deliver fish to him at his residence. Note that they have never visited Pintard’s home or office. What’s more noteworthy is the fact that the fashion mogul lost all cases up to this point and is incarcerated. It appears that the mission Pintard was on helped Minnis and hurt the fashion mogul while Minnis (the recipient of the fish) tried to distance himself from Pintard, who did not murmur a single word; he stepped aside so as not to be a distraction for his then leader and Party. As fate would have it, since that controversy, Pintard

would be elected twice in a row, in a seat (Marco City) that had changed Party hands five straight times until he arrived (repeating only what David Thompson did in 1991 and again in 1992.

FNM Lost West GB and Bimini Bye-election Pintard led the FNM as it fought the Bye-election for the West Grand Bahama and Bimini seat and lost. The FNM lost a seat under Pintard that was held by the PLP for close to 40 of the 50 years it was contested. Minnis in the North Abaco Bye-election lost a seat that the FNM won in every election since Ingraham left the PLP (35 years).

And, in case anyone forgets, Minnis just led the FNM to one of the most humiliating defeats in Bahamian history with the lowest voter turnout in modern times. An estimated 30,000 plus FNM’s stayed home! It was a referendum on Minnis’ leadership!

How did Pintard who the Minnis team attacks relentlessly perform in 2021 versus Minnis? In 2017 Minnis won one of the four safest FNM seats in the country by 3,094 votes. Pintard in the same election after resigning as Chairman won a swing seat by 1,706 votes. In 2021 in the same seats, Minnis as Prime Minister won by 550 votes having lost approximately 2,544 votes – a staggering number and the largest negative swing in over 30 years. Pintard on the other hand, despite being in a swing seat won by the largest margin (981) of the seven seats won by the FNM. He lost approximately 700 votes. What I call the Minnis effect delivered historic defeats in safe seats where the candidates were loved but their leader not so much.

To paraphrase what Pintard said in an FNM meeting where Minnis was present, “There is the possibility of us not winning with me as leader, but it’s a guarantee that we will lose with Minnis”. RYAN THOMPSON

IMAM Omar Niass leads evening prayers with mostly Senegalese migrants, before the breaking of Ramadan fast and the serving of a festive meal called an iftar, at the Bronx’s Masjid Ansaru-Deen mosque in New York, March 15, 2024. The mosque, formerly the Imam’s home, has been a refuge since 2020 where hundreds of African migrants can find help while seeking asylum in the United States.

Photo: Bebeto Matthews/AP

AG AND HEALTH MINISTER TO MEET WITH PHARMACISTS TO DISCUSS CANNABIS CONCERNS

By KEILE CAMPBELL kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said he and Attorney General Ryan Pinder will meet with the Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association to address their concerns about the Cannabis Bill. He said much of the association’s concerns were addressed with the Pharmacy Council. “There is some miscommunication, but we’re prepared to meet the association to discuss the way forward because we want the bill to be palatable to everyone because we think it’s a very important bill to come forward as we’ve promised in our Blueprint for Change,” he said.

Darville say DNA protocols to be released ‘very shortly’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

MONTHS after the Davis administration reportedly finalised its genetic testing protocols for people affected by last year’s landmark Privy Council citizenship ruling, Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville still could not say yesterday when the guidelines will be publicly released, and people can begin the process of getting their passports.

“The DNA protocols were completed by the Ministry of Health. It went on to the AG’s office and Foreign

Affairs,” he said. “As far as we’re concerned, we have come up with a strategic way on how to deal with it so that it can be a transparent and very safe way to issue citizenship, and if I’m not mistaken, very shortly, those protocols will be released on how individuals who are seeking citizenship will be able to access it by way of foreign affairs.”

Some people affected by the ruling have been anxiously waiting for the government to say what they must do to get their Bahamian passport.

Dr Darville previously told reporters the protocols would be released before

the end of 2023, but that never happened.

In February, he confirmed the rules were completed and said finalising the protocols took longer than expected because officials had been grappling with how to prevent DNA fraud.

“There’s no system in the world that’s soundproof, but we believe we have something that is very academic,” he said. “It’s very safe, and we believe that it can substantiate the court order.”

Last May, the Privy Council affirmed that people born out of wedlock to Bahamian men are Bahamians at birth regardless of their mother’s nationality.

However, while many of these people have since obtained passports, those whose father is not identified on their birth certificates remain in limbo.

Dr Darville has said that people who fall in the latter category will first have to present samples to a lab registered under the Ministry of Health.

He said their samples would be forwarded “to one of the reputable labs in the United States, and the results would come back which will confirm within 99.5 per cent the paternity testing for that particular case.”

The compendium of cannabis bills contains an amendment to the Pharmacy Act to create a cannabis dispensary and a cannabis dispenser.

Dr Smith argued, however, that medical marijuana should be prescribed by a licenced physician or a licenced professional and dispensed by a pharmacist. He said training people for a few months to distribute marijuana “is a problem”. “The council made a statement and the association made a statement,” Dr Darville said. “We met with the council. We intend to meet with the association to listen to their concerns and hopefully incorporate some of their concerns in the final draft of the bill before they’re laid in Parliament.”

Earlier this month, the president of the Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association, Dr Marvin Smith, said his organisation opposes establishing dispensaries for medical marijuana distribution, though it supports legalising marijuana for medical use.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH PARTNERS WITH CHINESE GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE FREE EYE SURGERY

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Health and Wellness has partnered with the Chinese government to provide free life-changing eye surgery to hundreds, the latest in a series of initiatives to help Bahamians suffering from poor eyesight.

Health and Wellness

Minister Dr Michael Darville announced the launch of “The Brightness Action” initiative during a press conference yesterday marking the official visit of His Excellency Mao Weiming, Governor of Hunan Provincial People’s Government, to the Princess Margaret Hospital.

The programme is a collaborative effort between the Davis administration and the People’s Republic of China to restore vision to Bahamians yearning to see again.

“Brightness Action will provide the vital surgical intervention to restore eyesight to patients who seek ophthalmology services from the Public Hospitals Authority,” Dr Darville said.

“Through Brightness Action, we aim to raise awareness about the importance of good vision and empower individuals to prioritise their eye health.”

Through the initiative, Dr Darville said a team of eye specialists from China will be coming to The

Bahamas this summer to work with local doctors to treat some 200 to 300 patients suffering from cataract issues.

“We anticipate to start the programme as early as in the first week of June,” he said.

In addition to this, the PHA will receive valuable medical equipment to enhance the public health system.

In his remarks, Mr Weiming said this latest partnership represents China’s commitment to strengthening ties with The Bahamas. “By taking this opportunity, I sincerely hope that Hunan and The Bahamas can carry out multi-layered cooperation so as to make our due contribution to the further promotion of our bilateral relationships,” he said.

Last year, the Ministry of Health launched a cataract programme to help Bahamians needing eye surgery go to Cuba for the procedure.

Dr Darville said that programme is ongoing and noted this latest effort with the Chinese government will help to further reduce the current backlog. “I’m pleased to report that we’re working with a philanthropic group out of California who will come to The Bahamas to address some of the complicated glaucoma cases that exist in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas,” he added.

MAN DENIED BAIL ON CHARGE OF HOUSEBREAKING AND TRESPASSING

By

HEALTH AND WELLNESS MINISTER DR MICHAEL DARVILLE

Stop nonsense remarks and do what you promised, PM

Eliminate gender discrimination and criminalise marital rape

IT should not be surpris ing at this point. Another week, another idiotic statement in response to the call for the criminalisa tion of marital rape. This week, when asked about movement on the marital rape bill, the prime min ister made a number of disturbing comments.

First, he said, “Drafts are given for considera tion. So we have a draft that has been given for our consideration. We have not gotten around to it yet.” The bill to amend the Sexual Offences Act to criminalise marital rape has been in draft form since, if not before, 2022. We have had the bill for at least two years. This comes after four years of sitting on an inadequate bill drafted by the previ ous administration. This is not a new issue, and there are no new items for consideration. There is nothing complicated to think about or discuss.

Just last week, he stated that rape is rape, and that he has difficulty with cat egories and descriptions of rape. The marital rape bill removes a category and ensures that rape that is perpetrated by a spouse is legally treated as rape, as it should.

Next, he said, “As you would recall, I am guided by my ‘Blueprint for Change’. That sets out the basis for which I asked people to vote for me and marital rape was not contained in that. I’m not insensitive to it. I appre ciate it and I know.” The Blueprint for Change men tions women only twice.

On page 49, it states, “The PLP is committed to the United Nation’s Sustain able Development Goals that ensures quality edu cation, life long learning opportunities, gender equality and empower ment for women and girls; quality water, sanitation, and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.”

The Sustainable Devel opment Goals were adopted by the United Nations General Assem bly in September 2015 with full support from all Member States, includ ing The Bahamas. All of the 17 goals have targets, and those targets have indicators that facilitate monitoring and evaluation of progress toward the goals.

Sustainable Develop ment Goal 5, referenced in the Blueprint for Change, is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The first target is “End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls eve rywhere.” The indicator for this target is “Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrim ination on the basis of sex.” The second target is “Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, includ ing trafficking and sexual and other types of exploi tation. The indicators of this target are “Propor tion of ever partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psy chological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of vio lence and by age” and “Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence.”

Gender equality requires an end to gender based discrimination in law, policy, and practice. This, combined with the Con vention on the Elimination

By Alicia Wallace

RECOMMENDATIONS

YESTERDAY was World Book Day, and Equal ity Bahamas shared a list of recommended books. One set of books were selected from the Feminist Book Club reads, and one set were written by Pal estinian authors. Here are four books to consider buying or borrowing to read this month.

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

National Book Critics Circle Award Winner, a New York Times Notable Book, and winner of the 2024 OCM Bocas Prize for Fiction winner, this book is hard to put down. From the first page, Sin clair captures readers with the vivid depiction of her childhood and family life and her determination to get out and create a different life for herself.

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

Yara got married to break free from her conserv ative family. She went to university, got a job, and wants to teach full time. Her ability to participate in the work culture, which seems inextricably linked with upward mobility, is constrained by her domes tic and care responsibilities. It does not help that colleagues obviously buy into stereotypes about Pal estinian people, and this flattens her view of her own life into obligation and regret. She wants to prove that she isn’t the stereotypical Palestinian woman, and she wants to challenge, carefully, the norms that have been created in her own family so that she does not become her mother.

What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo

This is one of those books that, once you have read it, you are bound to think everyone should read. It is memoir infused with research, bringing scientific context to the deeply personal story Foo shared. Foo survived a childhood rife with abuse and abandonment. Though it took a long time, she got the diagnosis of complex post traumatic stress disorder (C PTSD) and soon realized that she could not just “rally” and move on. She put in significant work to understand the diagnosis and access the care she needed. The story is difficult in parts, yet full of hope.

You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

A queer Palestinian American girl is trying to be and love herself. This book takes us back and forth between the US to the Middle East, showing differ ent parts of her life. She struggles to live in a space between cultures and beliefs, trying to keep her identity and sense of self stable and strong. What happens when a mother tells her girl child, “You exist too much?” She has to reject it. She has to accept herself.

of All Forms of Discrimi nation against Women (CEDAW) and the rec ommendations made by the Committee, led to the government engaging UN Women to undertake a review of all laws to iden tify those that discriminate against women and girls. This is what led to the dis criminatory law review forum where the draft was, in a less than ideal way, discussed. The final report has not yet been deliv ered and approved, but we know the laws that were identified. The Sexual Offences Act was one of them and Section 3, which defines rape, was specifi cally identified as one that needs to be amended. Eliminating discrimination against women, which is required to achieve gender equality, necessitates the criminalisation of marital rape. The Blueprint for Change, then, includes a commitment to criminalis ing marital rape.

On page 52, the Blue print for Change states, “The Progressive Lib eral Party is committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination against men and women in The Bahamas.” The Bahamas ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1993. In 2018, it under went its sixth periodic review. Marital rape was raised, again, raised as a pressing issue. In its Con cluding Observations, the CEDAW Commit tee recommended that the Government of The Bahamas “Adopt, without delay, the amendments to the Sexual Offences Act expressly criminalising marital rape, remove any temporal limitations to the

At present, the law suggests that legal arrangement erases the humanity of the person who has been violated, and that they should endure that violence and have no legal recourse.

right to file a complaint for marital rape in the draft amendment to the Sexual Offences Act and establish a sex offender register and registry.”

In her report following her visit to The Bahamas, the (then) Special Rappor teur on Violence Against Women called on the Gov ernment of The Bahamas to “Revise or adopt new criminal law provisions to prohibit marital rape, including by ensuring that the definition of sexual crimes, including mari tal and acquaintance/date rape is based on the lack of freely given consent, and takes account of coercive circumstances, in line with general recommendation No. 35 of the Commit tee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.” These recommenda tions are connected to the aforementioned parts of the Blueprint for Change. Criminalising marital rape is required to follow through on the commit ment to the Sustainable Development Goals which include gender equality and to eliminate discrimi nation against men and women. We must not accept what the Prime Minister has said. This is the work that is required of his administration, and this is the work that is com mitted to carrying out in its own campaign document.

Finally, the prime min ister said, “My thing is that any time a couple... in blissful marriage reaches a stage where they are going to report their husband for rape, it seems to me that that marriage is irre trievably broken, meaning they are no longer married even though it may not have been so pronounced by a court.” The marriage is broken? Violence is destructive. Sexual violence destruc tive. Rape is destructive. The conversation about marital rape, contrary to popular belief, is not about marriage. It is about people. Specifically, it is about a person who is violated in a devastating, irreparable way by a per petrator who is not only known to them, but in a legal arrangement that is supposedly rooted in love, but often turns out to be obsession and/or posses sion. At present, the law suggests that legal arrange ment erases the humanity of the person who has been violated, and that they should endure that violence and have no legal recourse. Here comes the prime minister. He says the rape means the marriage is broken, such that they are no longer married, regardless of what the law or courts say. This shifted the line of questioning to divorce. It must be made clear that divorce is not a remedy for rape. Whether the marriage is broken or a person in the marriage fails to see the other person as a

human being with human rights, including the right to give and withhold con sent, divorce should be readily available. It should be more than possible. It should be easy because those people should not be together and should not be forced, by the law, to operate, in any way, as a married people. The vio lent act of rape, however, requires different action. Any person who is raped must be able to report the rape and have access to justice. Divorce and rape charges are not the same, they are not interchange able, and one does not replace the other. We need access to both. Everyone should be able to report acts of violence against them, have their reports taken, and see the justice system work for them.

In December 2017, the prime minister said, “I think we all accept…I know no right thinking Bahamian will accept that a person should be vio lated or in any form or fashion be abused.”

In February 2022, he said, “I’ve given the attorney general the mandate to follow the

recommendations that will flow from that confer ence[…] and we’ll see what the recommendations are from there, and we’ll move to enact what laws [are] recommended by them to the attorney general that is deemed appropriate by the Cabinet.”

In October 2022, he said, “Any assault on a woman, be it whether you call it rape, grievous harm or otherwise, the law should take its course. Report those incidents to the police.”

Help women who are raped by their husbands to report those incident to the police. Make rape a crime, regardless of the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim or survivor. Commitments have already been made. The bill has already been drafted. Stand in the shoes you so desperately wanted to wear. Do what you claimed, in your Blueprint for Change, you would do. Move toward the achievement of Sustain able Development Goal 5 for gender equality and eliminate discrimination against women. Criminal ise marital rape.

A university has a 3D printer big enough to print a home - and now it has an even bigger printer

ORONO, Maine

THE world’s largest 3D printer has created a house that can cut construction time and labour. An even larger printer unveiled on Tuesday may one day create entire neighbourhoods.

The machine revealed yesterday at the University of Maine is four times larger than the first one — commissioned less than five years ago — and capable of printing ever mightier objects. That includes scaling up its 3D-printed home technology using bio-based materials to eventually demonstrate how printed neighbourhoods can offer an avenue to affordable housing to address homelessness in the region.

Thermoplastic polymers are extruded from a printer dubbed the “Factory of the Future 1.0.” There could be even larger printers after the University of Maine breaks ground this summer on a new building, a spokesperson said.

ASPIRE TO LAUNCH RACING LEAGUE IN ABU DHABI

ON SATURDAY, April 27, Abu Dhabi will host a groundbreaking event, welcoming 10,000 spectators to witness the inaugural ASPIRE Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) at the iconic Yas Marina Circuit. This brand-new autonomous racing competition marks a significant milestone in motorsport history, billed as the largest league of its kind globally.

Eight teams will compete: Code19 Racing (one of the first independent autonomous racing entity from the USA), Constructor University (based in Germany and Switzerland), Fly Eagle (representing Beijing Institute of Technology from China and Khalifa University from the UAE), HUMDA Lab (a member of the Széchenyi István University Group from Hungary), KINETIZ (a collaboration between Singapore Nanyang Technological University and Kintsugi based in the UAE), PoliMOVE (representing Politecnico di Milano from Italy), UNIMORE (also from Italy - University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), and Technical University of Munich - TUM (from Germany), vying for a substantial prize purse of US$ 2.25m.

Heidi Shyu, under secretary of defense for research and engineering, said the printer “stands as a beacon of innovation”. The printer’s frame fills up the large building in which it’s housed on the UMaine campus, and can print objects 96 feet long by 32 feet wide by 18 feet high.

It has a voracious appetite, consuming as much as 500 pounds (227 kilograms) of material per hour. The original printer, christened in 2019, was certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest polymer 3D printer, the university said. It was used to create a

The massive printer “opens up new research frontiers to integrate these collaborative robotics operations at a very large scale with new sensors, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence,” said Habib Dagher, director of UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composite Center, where both of the printers are located. Those attending the event included representatives from departments of defense, energy and housing, as well as other stakeholders who plan to utilise the new technologies made available by the printer.

600-square-foot, single-family home made of wood fiber and bio-resin materials that are recyclable. Dubbed “BioHome3D”, it showed an ability to quickly produce homes. To meet the growing demand for housing, Maine alone will need another 80,000 homes over the next six years, according to MaineHousing. Dagher said there’s a shortage of both affordable housing and workers to build homes. The university wants to show how homes can be constructed nearly entirely by a printer with a lower carbon footprint. The buildings and construction sector accounts for roughly 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely due to the production and use of materials such as cement, steel and aluminum that have a significant carbon footprint, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Such printed buildings can be recycled, which is unique compared to current construction. “You can basically deconstruct it, you can grind it up if you wish, the 3D printed parts, and

reprint with them, do it again,” Dagher said before the event. “It’s not about building a cheap house or a biohome,” he added, referring to the first 3D-printed house made entirely with bio-based materials. “We wanted to build a house that people would say, ‘Wow, I really want to live there.’”

Looking ahead, researchers plan to tinker with the material consumed by the machine, including more bio-based feedstocks from wood residuals that are abundant in Maine, the nation’s most heavily forested state.

But it can be used for a variety of other creations and already has been used for a range of things, from boats to defense department structures. In the past, the university showed off a 25-foot boat created by the first printer.

As for the original 3D printer, it isn’t going away. The two printers can be used in concert to streamline manufacturing by working on the same project — or even part if necessary — and there will be even more of them working together in the future, officials said.

Cyberattacks are on the riseincluding on small businesses

By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer

CYBERATTACKS on businesses are rising, including small businesses. It’s a troubling trend because a breach can be very costly and time consuming if owners don’t have a plan to deal with one.

According to the Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report, the median cost per ransomware attack — which features a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid — more than doubled over the past two years to $26,000. That’s partly because there has been a dramatic increase in ransomware attacks, which represent 24 percent of all breaches.

Small businesses should first have a plan in place to prevent cyberattacks. The human element is the cause of 74 percent of breaches, so owners should make sure all of their employees use safeguards such as twofactor identification to make it harder to be hacked. Requiring employees to regularly change their passwords can also help. If your business has been breached, it’s best to work with a cybersecurity executive within your company or a trusted third party to assess what happened and the damage done. Trying to contain it without having the right technical knowledge can just make things worse. It’s also important to let the authorities know what happened. Attacks must be reported to federal authorities within 72 hours after a company is reasonably sure one has occurred.

The participating teams of coders and engineers will each have exclusive access to identical Dallara Super Formula SF23 cars, made possible through a partnership with Japan Race Promotions. These cars will be autonomised with autonomous racing stacks developed and integrated by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII). The sole variable lies in how each team utilises their coding skills, AI algorithms, and machine learning software development expertise to teach their cars how to drive. Currently recognized as the fastest open-wheel race car in the world after Formula One, these cars can reach speeds of up to 300 km/h.

For the first time, the race format is poised to feature four autonomous cars driving on the racetrack simultaneously – a feat never before attempted.

GOOGLE FIRES MORE WORKERS WHO PROTESTED ITS DEAL WITH ISRAEL

GOOGLE fired at least 20 more workers in the aftermath of protests over technology the company is supplying the Israeli government amid the Gaza war, bringing the total number of terminated staff to more than 50, a group representing the workers said.

It’s the latest sign of internal turmoil at the tech giant centered on “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 billion contract signed in 2021 for Google and Amazon to provide the Israeli government with cloud computing and artificial intelligence services.

Workers held sit-in protests last week at Google offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California. The company responded by calling the police, who made arrests.

The group organising the protests, No Tech For Apartheid, said the company fired 30 workers last week — higher than the initial 28 they had announced.

Then, on Tuesday night, Google fired “over 20” more staffers, “including non-participating bystanders during last week’s protests,” said Jane Chung, a spokeswoman for No Tech For Apartheid, without providing a more specific number.

THE UNIVERSITY of Maine’s first 3D printed home in Orono, Maine. The printer that created the house can cut construction time and labour. An even larger printer unveiled yesterday may one day create entire neighbourhoods.

Photo: Kevin Bennett/AP

Rolle gets 40 years jail for murder of Kessinger

Ford Explorer and a $500 safe containing a $5,000 Rolex belonging to Frank and Gabbi Wolf.

Rolle reportedly entered the deceased’s residence through a sliding door.

Once inside, he attacked the woman and strangled her to death with a chord. He then wrapped the body in a red blanket and buried her body in a shallow grave at a beach in Port Royal. Police later found the woman’s body with the white cord still around her neck.

Marcelo “Scar” Hepburn

testified that after the murder, Rolle asked for his help breaking into a safe stolen from the deceased’s residence. Rolle told Mr Hepburn he needed the money inside the safe to run away because the island was “hot” with police.

Mr Hepburn said he later regretted helping Rolle break into the safe.

Rolle burnt the safe and its contents after finding only documents and a luxury watch inside.

Police also found the jeep stolen from the residence burnt.

During his initial arrest, Rolle attempted to escape and cut his foot, running away from police barefoot

in his grandmother’s yard. Throughout his trial, Rolle maintained his innocence. He also claimed he was the victim of police brutality while in custody.

A jury of nine persons unanimously found him guilty of murder on January 31.

Justice Gregory Hilton ruled that of Rolle’s 40-year prison sentence, he had 33 years and six months left to serve, given the time he already spent on remand.

Geoffrey Farquharson represented the defendant.

Eucal Bonamy and Janet Munnings served as the prosecutors.

Diversity Programme prevents youth detentions on sexuality

from page one from page one

in its latest human rights report, reported a claim by non-governmental agencies that “self-identifying LGBTQI+ children were remanded to juvenile correctional facilities after their guardians deemed the children ‘uncontrollable’ based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression”.

Many were surprised by the claim.

Ms DeMarco said between 2015 and 2020, there were high reports of youth being placed in juvenile correctional facilities if they were perceived or known to be members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

However, she said, instances of this have waned.

“There has been an improvement within the Department of Social Services on diversity as human beings, so there has been an improvement as it relates to those children,” she said yesterday.

“They try to more protect those children now as opposed to in times past, putting them into the boys or girls industrial school if they notice or perceived LGBTQI.”

Mr Knowles, who identifies as a homosexual, said he grew up as a ward of the state from five until 22 years old.

He said he was a resident of a home in the 1990s when he was remanded to Simpson Penn Centre for Boys for about two years because of his sexuality.

He alleged that he was confined to a cell for three months and was only allowed to leave to shower.

Recalling his first day at the institution, he claimed: “The person who was in charge at that time, he asked me if I was homosexual, and I took offence to it because at that time I didn’t understand what it was.

“Then when he started to break down and whatever, I was like, yes, and I was beaten right there on the first day. He took a cane, and they beat me right there in front of everyone.

“They asked me a question, and I answered and based on my answer, I was beaten, I was ridiculed, I was laughed at, and I was pointed at.

“I didn’t feel good at all, but I guess that was the norm at that time, like that’s what they did with homosexual young men at that time.”

Mr Knowles said in addition to the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys, he was sent to the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre because “they thought maybe it was something wrong with me.”

“It did do a mental toll on me because I didn’t feel comfortable within myself,” he said.

“I thought I was a problem, so I removed myself away from the world for quite some time just so I could try to understand myself.” He said the experiences remain vivid and that others in a similar position are too embarrassed to publicly share their story.

GB signs knowledge and resource sharing agreement with China’s Hunan province

By KEILE CAMPBELL kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama and the inland province of China, Hunan – the birthplace of the founder of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Mao Zedong –– signed a sister island/ province agreement yesterday to share knowledge and resources. The Bahamas also received a donation of agricultural machinery. Grand Bahama Minister Ginger Moxey and the governor of Hunan Provincial People’s Government Mao Weiming signed the agreement on behalf of their respective regions. Minister Moxey said the agreement was borne from discussions between her and former Chinese Ambassador Dai Qing Li. “Hunan province boasts 11 industrial sectors and Grand Bahama Island is

the industrial capital of The Bahamas,” she said.

“Innovation development has been a driving force for Hunan, while Grand Bahama is poised to become the home of innovation for The Bahamas.” Ms Moxey underlined the agreement’s opportunities for Grand Bahama residents and said she is confident knowledge, ideas, and culture between the two regions will be shared. She said the formal signing aligns with the mission of Sister Cities International (SCI) to “promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation”.

“Through collaborative programmes and initiatives, this connection will support the government’s vision to diversify Grand Bahama’s economy to become the home of maritime and logistics, home of events and entertainment, and home of innovation,” Ms Moxey said. She said a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Hunan-based Central South University (CSU) and the University of the Bahamas (UB) exists to “expand educational and technical cooperation between the two universities”. Hunan Governor Weiming said that despite being far apart geographically, the two countries are “bosom friends with mutual respect and understanding as well as sincerity.”

“By establishing the relationship of sister cities, I believe both sides will develop further in terms of economic and trade cooperation, people-to-people exchange, as well as friendship, and we will embrace new opportunities and deliver concrete benefits for the two peoples,” the Hunan governor said.

GRAND Bahama Minister Ginger Moxey and the governor of Hunan Provincial People’s Government Mao Weiming show the signed agreement for their respective regions.

Photo: Keile Campbell

ALEXUS DEMARCO

Haiti’s govt scrambles to impose tight security measures as council inauguration imminent

PORT-AU-PRINCE Associated Press

ARMOURED vehicles roll slowly past Haiti’s National Palace as police scan the horizon for gangs. Every day, bullets whiz past the area, striking buildings and people alike.

Gangs control most of the territory that surrounds the palace, but a transitional council charged with selecting a new prime minister and Cabinet for Haiti is demanding that its members be sworn in at the palace.

The ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday even as officials scramble to impose tight security measures, according to two high-ranking regional officials with knowledge of the matter who asked that their names be withheld because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The push to hold the

ceremony at the palace is considered by some a show of force to suggest the Haitian government is still in charge despite marauding gangs who have previously attacked the palace and have promised to derail the ceremony as a daily barrage of gunfire persists in downtown Port-au-Prince.

“No one out here is safe,” said Josil Djaimeska, 33, as he waved his hand in reference to the sprawling public park known as Champ de Mars where he sat Tuesday morning near the palace.

Just steps from where he sat, a stray bullet struck Djaimeska late last week. The bullet is still in his calf, and he’s hoping a doctor will operate on him soon.

Shortly after he spoke, a pop-pop-pop of gunfire erupted briefly nearby.

More than 2,500 people were killed or wounded across Haiti from January to March, a more than

50% increase compared with the same period last year, according to a recent UN report. Much of the violence is concentrated in Port-au-Prince.

In a speech Monday at the UN Security Council, María Isabel Salvador, the UN special envoy for Haiti, said the council’s priorities should include a plan for near-term security.

“Gang leaders and other spoilers have stated their intention to violently disrupt the current political process,” she said. “I cannot stress enough the need to assist Haiti with its efforts to reestablish security.”

While gangs have long operated in Haiti, they now control 80% of Port-auPrince, and the coordinated attacks launched starting Feb. 29 have paralysed the capital and beyond. They have burned police stations and hospitals, opened fire on the main international

airport that remains closed since early March and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

“I am 63 years old and this is the first time I see something like this in Portau-Prince,” said Renoir Auxil, who now lives in an abandoned bathroom in the Champ de Mars park after gangs raided his neighbourhood.

He said the ongoing violence should not deter Haiti from moving forward.

“Whatever the circumstance is, they have to swear in the council,” he said. The transitional council consists of nine members, seven of them with voting powers. Those awarded a seat are Petit Desalin, a party led by former senator and presidential candidate Jean-Charles Moïse; EDE/RED, a party led by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph; the

Montana Accord, a group of civil society leaders, political parties and others; Fanmi Lavalas, the party of former President JeanBertrand Aristide; the Jan. 30 Collective, which represents parties including that of former President Michel Martelly, and the private sector. As preparations to install the council continue, sporadic gunfire broke out several times near the National Palace on Tuesday. It’s a sound that hundreds of people who were forced to flee their homes and are now living in a makeshift shelter close to the palace have gotten used to. But they are still talking about the shooting that occurred Sunday. One of their own was hit in the back by a stray bullet in the yard of the shelter while buying spaghetti. The man remains

hospitalized and requires surgery, said Chesnel Joseph, 46, director of the shelter, which previously housed Haiti’s Ministry of Communications.

Joseph once worked as a math teacher, but since nearly all schools in Portau-Prince have closed as a result of the violence, he is now unemployed.

Regional officials told The Associated Press that swearing in the council at the National Palace is considered too risky and that they are urging members to choose a safer venue.

While the venue of the ceremony is still being debated, some Haitians like Marie-André Blain, 46, doubt it will be held at the palace.

“There is no security in this country. You just basically pray to God,” she said. “If the higher ranks aren’t safe, we ourselves aren’t safe.”

Haiti health system nears collapse as gangs attack hospitals and ports stay shut

ON a recent morning at a hospital in the heart of gang territory in Haiti’s capital, a woman began convulsing before her body went limp as a doctor and two nurses raced to save her.

They stuck electrodes to her chest and flipped on an oxygen machine while keeping their eyes on a computer screen that reflected a dangerously low oxygen level of 84%.

No one knew what was wrong with her.

Even more worrisome, the Doctors Without Borders hospital in the Cite Soleil slum was running low on key medicine to treat convulsions.

“The medication she really needs, we barely have,” said Dr. Rachel Lavigne, a physician with the medical aid group.

It’s a familiar scene repeated daily at hospitals and clinics across Port-au-Prince, where life-saving medication and equipment is dwindling or altogether absent as brutal gangs tighten their grip on the capital and beyond. They have blocked roads, forced the closure of the main international airport in early March and paralysed operations at the country’s largest seaport, where containers filled with key supplies remain stuck.

“Everything is crashing,” Lavigne said.

Haiti’s health system has long been fragile, but it’s now nearing total collapse after gangs launched coordinated attacks on Feb. 29, targeting critical infrastructure in the capital and beyond. The violence has forced several

Haiti’s health system has long been fragile, but it’s now nearing total collapse after gangs launched coordinated attacks on Feb. 29, targeting critical infrastructure in the capital and beyond.

medical institutions and dialysis centres to close, including Haiti’s largest public hospital. Located in downtown Port-au-Prince, the Hospital of the State University of Haiti was supposed to reopen on April 1 after closing when the attack began, but gangs have infiltrated it.

One of the few institutions still operating is Peace University Hospital, located south of the shuttered airport. From Feb. 29 to April

15, the hospital treated some 200 patients with gunshot wounds, and its beds remain full.

“We urgently need fuel because we operate using generators. Otherwise we run the risk of closing our doors,” hospital director Dr. Paul Junior Fontilus said in a statement.

More than 2,500 people were killed or wounded across Haiti from January to March, a more than 50% increase compared with

the same period last year, according to a recent UN report.

Even if a hospital is open, sometimes there is little or no medical staff because gang violence erupts daily in Port-au-Prince, forcing doctors and nurses to stay at home or turn around if they encounter blocked roads manned by heavily armed men.

The spiralling chaos has left a growing number of patients with cancer, AIDS and other serious illnesses with little to no recourse, with gangs also looting and setting fire to pharmacies in the capital’s downtown area.

Doctors Without Borders itself has run out of many medications used to treat diabetes and high blood pressure, and asthma inhalers that help prevent deadly attacks are nowhere to be found in the capital, Lavigne said.

At the Doctors Without Borders hospital, medical staff recently tried to save a boy with a severe asthma attack by giving him oxygen, she said. That didn’t work, and neither did another type of medication. Finally, they ended up injecting him with adrenaline, which is used in emergencies to treat anaphylactic shock. “We improvise and we do our best for the people here,” Lavigne said.

People’s health is worsening because the daily medication they need for their chronic conditions is not available, warned Doctors Without Borders project coordinator Jacob Burns. “It becomes acute and then they run out of options,” he said. “For certain people, there are very, very few options right now.” Despite the pressing need for

medical care, the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Cite Soleil has been forced to cut the number of outpatients it treats daily from 150 to 50, Burns said, though all emergencies are attended to.

Scores of people line up outside the hospital each day and risk being shot by gang members who control the area as they await medical care.

Everyone is allowed to enter the hospital compound, but medical staff set up a triage to determine which 50 people will be seen. Those with less urgent needs are asked to return another day, Burns said.

On Friday morning, 51-year-old Jean Marc Baptiste shuffled into the emergency room with a bloody bandage on his right hand. He said police in an armoured vehicle shot him the previous day as he was collecting wood to sell as kindling in an area controlled by gangs.

Once inside, nurses removed the bandage to reveal a gaping wound in his thumb as he cried out in pain. Lavigne told him he needed a plastic surgeon, which the hospital does not have, and ordered X-rays to ensure there was no fracture.

On average, the Cite Soleil hospital sees three wounded people a day, but sometimes it’s up to 14 now, staff said.

Recently, five people wounded by bullets arrived at the hospital after spending all night inside a public bus that couldn’t move because of heavy gunfire, Burns said.

“Cite Soleil was long the epicenter of violence,” he said. “And now violence is so widespread that it’s become a problem for everyone.”

POLICE stop at a car to inspect in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday. Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP

MARC Baptiste is treated for a bullet wound at a Doctors Without Borders emergency room in the Cite Soleil neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Friday. Baptiste said police in an armored vehicle shot him the previous day as he was collecting wood to sell as kindling in an area controlled by gangs.

Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP

NPBA Finals: Discount Distributors Rockets win Division One title

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Discount Distributors Rockets added another chapter to their long-standing rivalry with the Commonwealth Bank Giants in division one play.

The Rockets upset last year’s defending champions 67-61 on Sunday night at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium in the final game of the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) 202324 season. The newly crowned champions dethroned the former title-holders, winning the best-of-five championship series 3-2 and avenging last year’s three-game sweep, courtesy of the Giants, in the 2022-23 NPBA Finals. Rockets head coach Barrington Carter, who also played with the team last year, was hoping to return the favour and sweep the Giants this time around but prevailing in five games still felt blissful.

“It feels excellent getting them back. It would have felt better to get them back in a sweep like they did but it was still acceptable to win it in five games,” Carter said.

He added that the victory says a lot about the current core of players on the Rockets’ roster because the reigning champions have not practiced this season but were able to go on the big stage and seize the hardware.

“This says a lot about the Rockets brand because the Giants team practices two times a week. My team has not practiced for the season so for us to go out there and win the championship without practice is big. If we could get in at least one practice a week going into the next season that would make us a serious team to be reckoned with,” he said.

The Rockets took charge down the stretch in the “win or go home” game and Roosevelt Whylly, Livingston Munnings and Georgio Walkes made sure of it.

The trio all finished with 15 points apiece with the hardware up for grabs. Munnings stuffed the stat sheet with a monster 15 points and 22-rebound performance.

Additionally, Whylly paired his 15 points alongside 10 boards. Walkes put together 15 points, 6 rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes played.

In the low scoring affair, the contest was too close to call following the opening quarter which saw both powerhouse teams exchange leads.

Michael ‘Furley’ Bain Jr was fouled by Rockets’ Dominique Beadle and stepped to the charity stripe and drained three consecutive free throws to give the CB Giants a slim 15-14 lead going into the second period.

Giants’ veteran Jackson Jacob, who finished with a game-high 16 points, converted on a layup at the 8:55 mark of the second which sparked a 6-0 run by the former champions. They advanced to a 24-16

advantage with less than 8 minutes remaining until the intermission.

The Rockets made up the ground as Abel Joseph made a jumper to put the team within 3 (33-30). The score was 35-30 at halftime, favouring the CB Giants. The victors remained within striking distance during the third quarter but were unable to take over on the scoreboard.

At one point, Munnings nailed a turnaround jumper to shave the lead down to just 1 (46-45) but Jacob retaliated with a fadeaway shot to derail any chances of a lead change.

Through three quarters of play, the Giants were still in control of the ball game until Whylly made three straight buckets for the Rockets in the final quarter of the 2023-24 NPBA season.

The six points put the Rockets in the driver’s seat 62-59 with 1:06 separating them from hoisting the trophy.

“The key was I told the guys if we stay together

and stay poised we would win. On one or two plays if we made a turnover we started to make noise amongst ourselves but I told them to stay poised and stay together.

“We played some good defence down the stretch.

Abel Joseph and Kemsey Sylvestre got some key blocks on Jackson so basically our defence won the game,” coach Carter said.

Jacob was then fouled by Joseph on a three-point attempt and connected on his three attempts at the line, closing in 61-62.

After this juncture, the CB Giants were unable to score again while the Rockets made 5-of-7 free throws in the game’s closing moments to secure the title in the clutch.

The Rockets’ championship celebration will be “one to remember”, according to coach Carter.

The Discount Distributors Rockets and Your Essential Store (YES) Giants are the 2023-24 NPBA Division I and II champions respectively.

PRESIDENT HORTON IMPRESSED WITH BASKETBALL NATIONALS

THE curtain closed on the Bahamas Basketball Federation (BBF) Round Robin Tournament hosted in Congo Town, South Andros, at the newly built South Andros Gymnasium over the weekend.

Division two teams from New Providence, Eleuthera and Andros took the court at the new facility but the Your Essential Store (YES) Giants would leave the tourney with bragging rights and the championship.

Eugene Horton, president of the Bahamas Basketball Federation, was impressed not only by the level of competition observed at the nationals but how smoothly the event ran.

“I was very impressed. I was especially impressed with the Andros community, Andros Association and the South Andros Gym. It was my first time seeing the gymnasium and it was one of the better ones in The Bahamas. Thanks to the folks in Andros, and the MP,” Horton said. He praised the Androsians for helping to ensure that the Round Robin was a success not only on the courts but on the island. “We did some prior training months in advance anticipating the travel to

South Andros. We were able to use a lot of the referees and statisticians in the community and get them involved.

“The tournament was pretty well run and everything flowed smoothly. The hospitality was top class,” he said.

One of the major takeaways from the tournament, according to the BBF president, was the potential exhibited by basketball players hailing from Andros and Eleuthera. The YES Giants repeated as the division two champions with a dominant 100-53 win over the Harbour Island Panthers and the South Andros Defenders placed third overall. “The YES Giants were one of the top teams so it was a pretty easy task for them. “Andros and Eleuthera were pretty good and I sent some recommendations to the University of The Bahamas to probably take a look at some of those guys. That is what the competition is for, to actually look at potential and see if we can get them to the next level whether it is college or somewhere else.

“There were pretty good candidates down there and it is now for them to get into organised basketball and move to the next level. The potential is

there. When you go to the Family Islands you really get to see the talent available down there because more people are able to attend,” he said. Although the division two teams showed great heart, the absence of the division one teams in the tournament was felt.

Last week president Horton confirmed that division one teams from Grand Bahama, Abaco and New Providence were unable to make the trip to South Andros due to its costliness.

He is planning to meet with the different basketball associations to find a solution that allows each team an opportunity to travel for the BBF nationals in the future. “We need proper planning and a fee structure for team entrance needs to be looked at. Some Family Island teams charge minimum for entrance but, at the end of the day, you have to pay for travel, referees and that is not really in the budget. I understand a lot of them play outside so they cannot really charge much. We have to look at facilities, discuss proper fencing and upgrades so that they can actually charge patrons to watch games,” he said.

Horton also believes that looking into the structure of fees can help teams earn the funds needed for travel.

“The fee structure is the main thing. I have been talking to the associations - Bimini, Grand Bahama, Abaco and South Andros. We will possibly come together this summer because you cannot just throw the increase in fee structure on the teams.

“The season starts in November so they have almost 7-8 months to get everything in order, put it out there and let the teams properly prepare for it. Once everything is organised, now you have some funds there. You can organise your concession, entrance and so forth to prepare for the next round robin,” he said.

The BBF executives will deliberate in the upcoming months to determine the next venue for the 2025 BBF Round Robin Tournament.

Horton is hopeful that the process can one day get to a point where Family Islands bid to host the tourney. “It should get to the point where the different Family Islands bid to host the Round Robin. South Andros can attest that when you have the Round Robin in different Family Islands, vendors, the community, hotels, transportation and food places benefit. It should be to a point where if I am in the Family Island, I am trying to get the Bahamas Basketball Federation to

CAITLIN Clark appears to be on the cusp of setting another record.

The most prolific scorer in NCAA Division I history and the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft will continue her association with Nike by signing a $28 million contract that spans eight years and includes a signature shoe.

The Wall Street Journal and The Athletic reported the pending deal, citing unnamed people familiar with the negotiations between the sportswear giant and Clark’s agents.

Excel Sports Management, which represents Clark, declined to comment. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Clark’s initial name, image and likeness deal, signed in 2022, expired at the end of the 2023-24 season.

The new deal would be the richest sponsorship contract for a women’s basketball player. Under Armour and Adidas also participated in contract discussions with Clark’s team in February, according to the WSJ and Athletic. Puma also showed some interest but walked away when told the bidding would start at $3 million per year, according to the WSJ.

Clark received offers of $16 million over four years from Under Armour and $6 million over four years from Adidas, with both including a signature shoe, according to the WSJ.

Clark earned about $3 million in NIL money at Iowa with deals she has had with State Farm, Gatorade and others, according to On3.com.

Clark’s agents were working on the new Nike contract even before she announced she would turn pro instead of return to Iowa for a fifth season under the COVID-19 exemption offered to players in college during the 2020 pandemic season. After averaging 31.6 points and leading the Hawkeyes to a second straight national championship game, Clark was drafted No. 1 by the Indiana Fever on April 15. She’ll earn a $76,000 salary as a rookie.

come there so it’s bidding and then a commitment. Hopefully, it could get to that point and the Family Island who could present the best proposal, we would go there,” he said. The 2023 BBF Nationals was hosted in New Providence.

She’s been the main driver for the dramatic uptick in women’s basketball interest with her mix of deep 3-point shots, flashy thread-the-needle passes and overall court presence. A women’s basketballrecord 18.9 million viewers watched Iowa’s loss to South Carolina in the NCAA title game, and a WNBA-record 2.45 million watched the draft.

FOUR BAHAMIAN COLLEGIATE TENNIS ATHLETES ARE SET FOR GRADUATION

THEY have all represented their countries admirably in team competition from under-12 competition to World Junior Championships to Jr Davis and BJK Cup to the Davis and BJK Cup. They were also crowned national champions of the Bahamas. They have competed together, travelled together and now Sydney Clarke, Elana Mackey, Donte Armbrister and Kofi Bowe are all set to graduate over the next few weeks from their respective colleges.

Clarke is graduating from the University of Alabama Birmingham.

In 2023 she received the Spirit of Service Award from the University of Alabama Birmingham Blazers.

In 2022 All Conference Second Team Singles and in 2021 she was selected to the Conference All Freshman team.

Clarke represented the Bahamas at the 2023 PanAm Games and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup and has represented on numerous national teams. She has recorded over 120 singles wins, a very impressive collegiate feat instrumental in her college advancing in the C-USA conference tournament.

Mackey is graduating from Mars Hill University. Her major is health and human performance.

Playing for the Lions, Elana was selected to the All-South Atlantic Conference Third Team in 2024 and in 2023.

In 2023 she was nationally ranked with her doubles partner, in that year she boasted a 13-5 record playing for the Lions.

4-time Billie Jean King Cup member, representing the Bahamas on numerous national teams. Armbrister is graduating from Hampton University. He is majoring in business management. He has won Freshman of the Year

his academic excellence, including being inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society. He has been instrumental in his team closing out the season with 5 wins out of their last 6 matches as they head to the Confer

with a minor in chemistry. In 2023, he captured the Most Valuable Player Award from Johnson University. Bowe has also represented the country well on many national teams.

round in 2004 en route to a 4-1 series victory.

“Everyone down the list has shown they’ll be willing to do whatever it takes to sacrifice whatever it is for betterment of the team,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 12 points.

Devin Booker scored 20 points, Kevin Durant added 18 and sixth man Eric Gordon had 15 for the Suns, who again failed to get their high-octane offence in gear.

“When they’re scoring on us and we’re not getting

the crowd noise came with it. Conley found Gobert with a bounce pass off the pick-and-roll for an easy slam and an 84-76 lead the Wolves later extended to 19 points, before the 17-year veteran point guard swished a corner 3-pointer that electrified the arena. The “Wolves in 4!” chant popped up in the final minutes. “The building’s been amazing. The fans have been unreal,” coach Chris Finch said. “Our guys have risen to their energy, and

The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association congratulates Clarke, Armbrister, Bowe and Mackey on achieving success in

the classrooms and on the courts. “We know being a student athlete in college is challenging and to do so at a high level is commendable,” the BLTA said. “We wish you the very best and God’s blessings on the next chapter of your lives.”

The athletes are set to graduate over the next few weeks.

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer

MADRID (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz is being cautious with his expectations at the Madrid Open and would be happy to play “three or four matches” in his return from injury. Alcaraz said yesterday he has trained well in recent days but didn’t want to fully confirm his participation at the ATP 1000 tournament in the Spanish capital where he is a two-time defending champion.

The third-ranked Alcaraz is coming off a right arm injury that kept him from playing in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. The Spaniard will try to win his first French Open title next month.

“Today I trained with a little more intensity and things went quite well,” Alcaraz said. “I don’t want to say 100% that I’ll play. With the sensations that I have right now, I’d be happy to play three or four matches.”

It would be Alcaraz’s first European clay-court event of the season. The 20-year-old Spaniard has a first-round bye and is scheduled to play Friday against either Alexander Shevchenko or Arthur Rinderknech.

“For me it’s really important to be at 100% here in this tournament,” Alcaraz said.

“Playing here is so special. It’s the tournament where a lot of family can come to watch my matches, a lot of friends as well, and for me it’s really special to play in front of my home crowd as well.”

defenders swarming into his space. The Timberwolves had trouble making them pay, shooting 9 for 32 from 3-point range. The bench production that helped them dominate the opener waned a bit. The whistles were tighter this time, leading to a costly three-foul first quarter for Towns that kept him out until halftime. But McDaniels, Gobert and anyone else wisely attacked the basket with abandon, making sure the Wolves could use their size

advantage inside. They passed their test of maturity, too. Booker slammed his forearms into McDaniels after a stray elbow, triggering McDaniels into an ill-advised shove that drew him a technical foul. But the fiery 23-yearold, who missed the 2023 first-round series against Denver with a broken hand after punching a wall out of frustration during the final regular season game, didn’t let that define his night. “Everyone on the team does a good job helping me manage emotions and stuff like that,” McDaniels said. “It’s a physical game. There’s nothing serious between us. Sometimes things happen.” McDaniels even crashed the boards at the constant

urging of his coaches, using his high-flying 6-foot-9 frame to grab eight rebounds.

Finch deadpanned that he’d been harping on McDaniels to do so for the last “250 games,” and the staff put him through football-style drills in practice during the week to get him in character. Jusuf Nurkic (10 points, 14 rebounds) helped negate some of Gobert’s award-winning and shotaltering defense. After the Timberwolves set a franchise playoff record with a plus-24 rebounding margin, the Suns had a 41-39 edge, but progress was elusive beyond that. “Don’t count us out,” Booker said. “It’s a series for a reason.”

MILWAUKEE (AP)

— Pascal Siakam scored

37 points and the Indiana Pacers overcame another fantastic first-half performance from Damian Lillard to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 125-108 on Tuesday night and tie their Eastern Conference firstround playoff series at a game apiece. Indiana snapped a 10-game playoff losing streak that began with a Game 7 loss to Cleveland in a first-round series in 2018. The Pacers were swept by Boston in 2019 and by Miami in 2020.

Two nights after scoring all 35 of his points in the first half of the Bucks’ 109-94 Game 1 victory, Lillard had 26 by halftime Tuesday and finished with 34. It wasn’t enough. Lillard didn’t get enough help with the Bucks once again missing two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a strained left calf. Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since he was hurt in an April 9 victory over the Boston Celtics. “(He) shot today, was on the floor a bunch,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said during his pregame media session. “He’s getting closer.” The series heads to Indianapolis for Game 3 on Friday. The Pacers led the NBA with 123.3 points per game during the regular season but posted their lowest point total and field-goal percentage (.396) while shooting 8 of 38 on 3-pointers in Game 1. This time, Indiana looked more like the team that won four of five regular-season matchups with the Bucks while scoring at

SYDNEY CLARKE, top left, Elana Mackey, top right, Donte Armbrister, above left, and Kofi Bowe, above right, are all set to graduate over the next few weeks from their respective colleges.

GOLDEN FLASHBACK....seven years ago

Bahamas gearing up to host World Athletics Relays

and Ryan Willie, along with reigning Olympic champions Poland, who will feature Kajetan Dusznski, Natalia Kaczmarek, Marika Popowicz-Drapala, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic, Maksymillian Szwed and Karol Zalewski. Other teams listed to watch out for are the Netherlands, Olympic silver medallists Dominican Republic and world silver medallists Great Britain. Gardiner has also indicated that he will be competing on the Bahamas men’s 4 x 400m team that will also include Clarke, Miller, Russell, Shakeem Hall-Smith, Lhevinne Joseph, Zion Miller and Zion Shepherd.

The Bahamas men have not had any success on the global stage in quite a while and it’s anticipated that this could be the year the team gets back to international prominence.

The USA is always a force to reckon with, but Belgium has set the stage with their triumph at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in March that they will be a strong contender, led by Alexander Doom. France, the Netherlands, Botswana, Great Britain, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago are threats to make it a real competitive showdown in the long run.

Many Bahamians will be eager to see how well the women’s 4 x 100 team,

comprising of world indoor 60m hurdles record holder Devynne Charlton, Shayann Demeritte, Printassia Johnson, Jasmiah Nabbie, Nia Richards, Camille Rutherford, Pedrya Seymour and Charisma Taylor, performs. Both Miller-Uibo and Strachan are only competing in the mixed relays and Tynia Gathier has retired. So it will be interesting to see how well this talented bunch of young competitors compete against the top tier teams coming in.

The USA, having won the World Championship title last year, will be here with Gabrielle Thomas, the world 200m silver medallist, Aleia Hobbs and Melissa Jefferson. Jamaica won’t

have their top stars, but Tia Clayton and Natasha Morrison will still make them competitive. Great Britain & Northern Ireland will also look to be contenders with some legs from Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Asha Philiip and Bianca Williams as will the Ivory Coast with the combo of Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith and Murielle Ahouré-Demps.

In the men’s 4 x 100m relay, the Bahamas will field a team from their pool that includes Jeremiah Adderley, Blake Bartlett, Carlos Brown Jr, Deedro Clarke, Samson Colebrook, Samalie Farrington, Warren Fraser and Ian Kerr.

It’s been a while since the Bahamas has been in the

conversation in the men’s 4 x 100m relay.

The USA, the highly favoured team, will be anchored by Noah Lyles, who led the Americas to victory at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Also included on their team are world 200m leader Courtney Lindsay and Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek.

Lamont Marcell Jacobs, who was featured at the Tokyo Olympics and the last World Relays, will be leading the team from Italy as they try to make their presence felt.

In the finals on day two, the teams will be vying for $1.4 million dollars in cash prizes and their Olympic lane seeding positions.

The top eight teams in the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m will also qualify to compete for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

All the other teams will compete on day two in the additional round where the top two teams in each heat will also qualify for the Paris Olympics.

But all eyes will also be on Jamaica, who will compete with Ackeem Blake, one of the rising young stars on the international scene. On the first day of the relays, a lot will be at stake as the top two teams in each heat will advance to the final day of competition, while also booking their tickets for the Paris Olympics.

GOLDEN MOMENT: The Bahamas team of Michael Mathieu, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan and Steven Gardiner celebrate after winning gold at the World Relays in 2017 - the last time the big event was held in The Bahamas.

Judoka Xavion Johnson 5th

After getting off to a fast start with some huge victories yesterday, Xavion Johnson faltered down the stretch and ended up fifth in the junior segment of the Pan American Judo Championships and the Oceania Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The joint championships being held at the Carioca Arena 1 April 25-28 is a part of the International Judo Federation (IJF) World Tour and a qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Paris, France, July 27 to August 11. Johnson, who along with Andrew

Munnings will be representing the Bahamas, competed in the junior 66 kilogram class where he won his first three matches yesterday.

He upset Mexico’s top seed, Jose Icelo, who is ranked at number two in the world as well as Fabricio Meyer from Chile, who is ranked at No.66, in the preliminary rounds.

But he suffered his first loss in the semifinals to American Jacob Yang, who is ranked at No.69 before he lost to Alfedo Valdivieso of Ecuador, who ranked at No.69 in the final round, to end up in fifth place.

“It was pretty good. I’m not going to lie. I beat the number two guy in the world in the second match, so it felt pretty good,” said Johnson, who is being sponsored by Bahamasair.

“To be honest, I came into the competition aiming to win. I’m happy with my performance, but I’m disappointed that I didn’t win the junior division.” Omri Kelly, travelling as the coach for the Bahamian judoka duo, said the 17-year-old Johnson fared very well in his matches yesterday, but he wasn’t able to sustain his composure in the final two matches. “He was on fire. Just one of two things he has to work on,” said first-time coach Kelly of Johnson, who appeared on one of the biggest stages so far in his judo career. “So for him to come out and have a performance like this, beating the number one seed in the world, just says a lot. But that’s just how judo goes.

You never know. Nothing is ever sure when you are out there competing.” Johnson opened up with a victory over Agustin Ledesma of Paraguay. He then won over Icelo and Meyer to complete the preliminaries with a perfect 3-0 win-loss record to win Pool A. “I think he was a little frustrated because, in both of them matches, he was down and he was able to come back,” Kelly said. “In the three matches he won, no one scored on him, so he was going pretty good until he got his first loss.

“I think the American scored on him, that kind of rattled him. In his loss fight, although he was down, he was able to keep his composure. He had a few good exchanges, but just couldn’t get over the hump.”

Johnson is hoping that he can make amends to his overall position in the seniors today. “I’m just going to come back with the same type of mentality that I used at the start of the junior competition,” Johnson said. “I want to get off to a good start and hopefully it will carry right over to the end.”

After establishing himself as one of the top juniors in the competition, Kelly said he’s looking forward to seeing how well Johnson will adjust to the competition against the seniors, starting today.

“The thing about us in the Bahamas is that we’re like sleeping giants. They don’t expect much from us, but we always have good

Bahamas gearing up to host World Athletics Relays 2024

THE Bahamas

gearing up to host some 32 teams in the men’s 4 x 100 and 4 x 400m relays and 30 in the women’s 4 x 100m relays for the return of the sixth World Relays. Those are three of the four disciplines that the Bahamas will be contesting when the relays are staged at the newly refurbished Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium May 4-5. The other discipline will be the mixed 4 x 400m relay where 30 countries and 90 athletes have registered to compete.

In total, 56 countries with 893 athletes have been registered to compete in the Relays, which makes its return to the Bahamas after the last two editions were held in Japan and Poland. Out of that list, a total of 42 countries will be competing in the competition with 428 athletes, while 32 countries will be participating with 213 athletes.

The significance of this year’s Relays is the fact that teams will be competing for qualifying spots in the men

and women 4 x 100 and 4 x 400m as well as the mixed 4 x 400m relays for the Olympic Games to be held in Paris, France, July 27 to August 11. The last time the relays were held in the Bahamas in 2017, the quartet of Steven Gardiner, Shaunae MillerUibo and Michael Mathieu clinched the victory for Team Bahamas. Mathieu has since retired, leaving Gardiner, MillerUibo and Strachan to be included in Team Bahamas’ pool with Alonzo Russell, Wendell Miller and collegian Lacarthea Cooper. The Bahamas, however, is expected to be challenged by world record holders United States of America, who have entered Matthew Boling, Brian Faust, Lynna Irby-Jackson, Bailey Lear