05102023 NEWS AND SPORT

FTX e XTradiTion Under scrUTiny

Bankman-Fried wants charges dismissed on claim US violated treaty

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Sam Bankman-Fried

yesterday sought to dismiss multiple fraud, bribery and corruption-related charges stemming from FTX’s collapse on the grounds that the US has violated The Bahamas’ Extradition act and treaty.

The embattled crypto currency exchange founder, in numerous legal filings

with the southern New York federal court, argued that charges involving breaches of US campaign finance laws and the Foreign Corrupt Practices act (FCPa), plus bank fraud and operating an unlicensed money transmission business, should be struck out because they run afoul of key provisions in The Bahamas-US extradition treaty.

Bahamas FTX Lawyers ca LL Us lawyer’s tactics ‘underhanded’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FTX’s Bahamian liquidators yesterday accused their US adversaries of employing “underhanded” tactics to seize control of all the crypto exchange’s clients and assets - including those that fall under their winding-up process.

Brian Simms KC, the

Lennox Paton senior partner, and the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accounting duo of Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, are demanding that the Delaware Bankruptcy Court dismiss the march 20 lawsuit filed by the exchange’s US chief, John Ray, on the grounds that it is “void” and cannot proceed.

Office Of the Public defender acquittal rate lOw

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

PEOPLE represented by the Office of the Public Defender were convicted of crimes 78 per cent of the time between January 2017 and December 2022, according to OPD statistics. This figure does not include cases where the prosecution withdrew charges, as happened 34 times.

a zariO case details guns and ammO in shOOting

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE guns used in the police-involved killing of azario major were submitted as evidence yesterday as the inquest into the 31-yearold’s death continued in the Coroner’s Court. acting Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux presided as Sergeant Terriah Thomas, a certified firearms examiner, discussed her role in investigating the killing of azario on December 26, 2021.

The inquest was briefly interrupted by a bomb scare. an unknown caller reportedly called the

gOvt tO remOve shanty hOmes via building regulatiOns act

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

aTTORNEY Gen-

eral Ryan Pinder said the Davis administration would demolish shanty town structures using the process outlined in the Buildings Regulation act after the Supreme Court failed to deliver a favourable result to the government last week.

Chief Justice Ian Winder ordered the demolition of just two structures, far fewer than the 260-plus structures the administration wanted to be destroyed in New Providence and abaco.

Government lawyers said

The OPD was launched to fanfare in 2017, with the Court of appeal President Justice Dame anita

allen saying it would “go a long way in eliminating the delay often associated by non-availability of criminal defence counsel”.

Initially intended to assist people on remand, the OPD was expected to eventually open up to anyone who cannot afford a lawyer.

In a national report ahead of last week’s United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

AliciA WAll Ace: i t’s up to us to hold the govt responsible on hum An

Chinese Acrobat company performs in Grand Bahama and New Providence

AN acrobat troupe from China performs at Atlantis tonight - and audiences in Freeport got the chance to see the performers in action on Monday.

The Hunan Acrobatic Art Theatre is performing in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Bahamian

independence - with a performance showing strength, balance and agility. There will also be traditional folk music and aerial acts.

Yesterday, performers were in rehearsal in the space at the Atlantis Theatre as they prepared to

dazzle audiences on Paradise Island.

The Hunan Acrobatic Art Theatre was founded in 1959, and has performed around the world.

Organisers said that the show would “bring visual enjoyment and spiritual shock to the audience”.

The human Acrobatic Theatre practices yesterday for their performance at Atlantis tonight. The troupe is here to perform for The Bahamas 50th Independence celebrations.

Photos: moise amisial

Pinder: Marijuana Bill waits Minister of Health endorsement

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General

Ryan Pinder expected the Minister of Health to sign off yesterday on legislation to address marijuana before the draft bill is put on Cabinet’s agenda.

“The Minister of Health is doing his final review of the Cabinet paper in the suite of legislation and the presentation that we have prepared to go to cabinet,” Mr Pinder told reporters before the weekly Cabinet meeting.

“As soon as he signs off, we’ll have it on the Cabinet agenda. I’m hoping that I can speak to him today (yesterday) and get it signed off.

“It’s complete from our point of view.”

Last month, Mr Pinder said his office

would in two weeks present to Cabinet a document explaining the legal framework for cannabis regulation.

Cannabis legislation has been discussed for years. Administrations have not yet addressed the matter, even as several neighbouring countries have passed such laws.

After assuming office, the Davis administration promised to present marijuana legalisation to Parliament before the end of 2022, but that deadline was missed.

Mr Pinder has previously said the Davis administration intends to advance comprehensive legislation to regulate the medical cannabis industry and a different framework for industrial hemp.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder says the Marijuana Bill is waiting for the Minister of Health to complete his final review and sign off on it. After it is signed off it will be placed on Cabinet’s agenda.

AG s Ays Govt discussion expected on ‘how to evA luAte’ pAternity in liGht of rulinG

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General

Ryan Pinder expected

ministers to discuss how children born to unwed Bahamian men and foreign women could satisfy questions about paternity and other citizenship issues during yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting.

Last week’s landmark Privy Council citizenship ruling created the expectation that the Davis administration would

soon satisfy the interests of people affected by the verdict and fulfil its longpromised plan to address other discriminatory citizenship matters.

Mr Pinder said the Privy Council’s ruling that people are automatically citizens if born out of wedlock to Bahamian men and foreign women substantially impacts the administration’s proposed bill, which has not been released publicly.

“Well, certainly that (ruling) affects the bill substantially because one

of the elements of discriminatory treatment has now been extinguished by the Privy Council,” he said before a Cabinet meeting.

“Today, we’ll discuss in Cabinet what measures are in place. One, how to evaluate under Article 6 and the biological father in the case of the illegitimate children, and secondly, the way forward with remaining elements of discriminatory treatment and primarily discriminatory treatment when

sA int Au G ustine’s u niversity visits with Minister for Gr A nd B A h AMA

a Bahamian woman marries a foreign man and has that child outside of the country. But there are a couple of other (issues), including matters with adopted children and the like we’re looking at so hopefully we’ll have some clear direction from Cabinet shortly.”

Mr Pinder has repeatedly said the administration would not remedy discriminatory citizenship policies until the Privy Council ruled on the matter involving

children of unwed Bahamian men.

Citizenship issues were at the centre of referendums in 2002 and 2016.

Bahamians rejected those efforts to amend the constitution.

Mr Pinder said last year there would be no third referendum on the issue and that the government would amend the Bahamas Nationality Act to equalise citizenship access for children of men and women.

“Look at what happens in referendums,” he said

last year. “A lot of time the right thing doesn’t get done. We are about governing for the right thing. We will do it and do what is correct. And the judgment in this instance is that in this we go by legislation. And that’s just my opinion. I have detractors in that opinion and I have people with contrary opinions. That’s fine too. Everybody is entitled to their opinion but that is the opinion and my recommendation to the prime minister.”

Funeral Notice

A DELEGATION from Saint Augustine’s University paid a courtesy call on Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey on Monday in the COLLAB Unit of the Harold Degregory Building.

Representatives from the University of The Bahamas (UB) and the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) were also present during the visit.

Minister Moxey welcomed the delegation from Raleigh, North Carolina, to the island and noted the group would be engaged in a number of activities, including a tour of Coral

Vita, the Children’s Home and a session with the University of The Bahamas’ centre of entrepreneurship and innovation.

“As we continue to rebuild our economy after the pandemic and Hurricane Dorian, the worst recorded storm to make landfall in The Bahamas, we must focus on innovative and sustainable ways to drive growth and development,” she said.

She added that the sessions are particularly valuable as Grand Bahama is poised to become the home of maritime and logistics, events and entertainment

and innovation and she is confident the discussions will be fruitful and inspire all of the stakeholders to think creatively about how to drive economic growth to the island.

The visit is a follow-up from a previous visit last October and is intended to explore a long-term partnership.

Following the meeting, the group was taken on a tour of the former UB site that was ravaged by Hurricane Dorian, the current UB campus, the future UB site, which is presently under renovation, and the BTVI campus.

Bertha Gardner, 91 years old

of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba and formerly of Nassau, Bahamas and Coral Gables, Florida.

Service will be held at Caballero Rivero Funeral Home, 3344 SW 8th St., Miami, Fl., Monday, May 15th from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

Left to cherish her memories are husband, Richard H. Gardner; sons, Richard and Edward; sister, Dulce; grandchildren, Erik, Alexandra, Ted, Emilia and Bianca along with a host of relatives and friends.

Your family will miss you beyond measure. You were a beautiful soul dedicated to your family, friends and christian faith. While we miss your physical presence your spirit lives through us.

In lieu of flowers please donate in her name to: St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital Memphis, Tennessee or Hands for Hunger New Providence Community Centre Blake Road

Following the courtesy call on Minister for Grand Bahama, Ginger Moxey on Monday, the delegation from Saint Augustine’s University was given a tour of the former UB site, the current UB campus, the future UB site, and the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute campus.

Photo:lisa Davis/BIS

Govt to remove shanty homes via building regulations act

from page one

the structures were built in contravention of Justice Cheryl Grant Thompson’s previous order that no structure in a shanty town be constructed, erected or altered pending her ruling on the Minnis administration’s eradication policies.

“So that action was specific to the injunction that was given years ago, with respect to the shanty towns, and the judge ruled that the notice of the injunction was not adequately served on

the applicable people that were enjoined,” Mr Pinder said yesterday before a Cabinet meeting.

“That does not foreclose us from proceeding under violations of the Buildings Regulation Act. That was specific to the injunction, which we wanted to proceed to test the injunction and test that matter in front of the courts; however, we certainly have every right to proceed with violations of the Buildings Regulation Act.

“We intend to proceed along that process that

has a notice process, and there are some prescribed requirements under the regulations that we have to follow, so we still are going to proceed under violation of the Buildings Regulation.” Mr Pinder couldn’t say when the new process would begin.

“That is up to the committee (Unregulated Communities Action Task Force) to decide,” he said. “Certainly, as far as the Attorney General’s Office is concerned, we’ll put in the legal

requirements and the legal processes to give the government the authority to proceed. But as you can imagine, it’s a very sensitive matter with respect to social assistance, with respect to Bahamians living in these structures and the government’s response to that.

“All of those were in the remit of the committee, and I know they’re actively working on that, especially in conjunction with Social Services.”

According to the Buildings Regulation Act,

people can only build structures with valid permits. The law allows the Minister of Works to issue a notice demanding owners without proper permits to remove their structures. If the owners fail to do so after 28 days, the minister can have the structures removed after applying to a magistrate. A recent affidavit from Building Control Officer Crag Delancy said an “exponential increase in the amount of illegal structures” occurred even though Justice

Grant-Thompson’s Order prohibited such construction. He revealed that illegal structures expanded by 41 on the north side of SC Bootle Highway, Marsh Harbour; by 53 on the south side of SC Bootle Highway, Marsh Harbour; by 80 on the Farm near Treasure Cay, Abaco; by 13 in All Saints Way, New Providence; and by 15 and 27 in the New Providence communities of Montgomery Road and Butlers Way.

acquittal rate low at office of the Public defender

from page one

Universal Periodic Review, the government framed the OPD as fulfilling people’s constitutional right to a lawyer when they cannot afford an attorney.

For now, the OPD is filling a gap despite its limited human resources.

Since 2017, the body has represented clients facing charges of armed robbery, unlawful sexual intercourse, robbery, causing grievous harm, murder, kidnapping, burglary, rape, receiving, attempted murder, housebreaking,

stealing, causing harm and arson.

Sixty-one OPD clients accepted a plea bargain between January 2017 and December 2022, including 24 for armed robbery and nine for murder.

In that time, 23 people were convicted for armed robbery, and six were acquitted; three were convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse, and two were acquitted of that offence; 12 were convicted of murder, and two were acquitted of murder.

At the Court of Appeal, OPD appeals were allowed 59 per cent of the time.

Chief Public Defender Stanley Rolle, one of just six attorneys at the OPD, said they had provided legal services in about 400 matters since 2017.

“(Demand is) heavy in that there are not as many criminal attorneys at the criminal bar as there are with civil and the other fields,” Mr Rolle said yesterday. “I think one of the things that cause persons not to really utilize all of the other attorneys is the remuneration. Many people can’t afford it. Most of the people who come before us, they hold close to minimum-wage jobs.

Some don’t work every day. Some of them may have one or two children so it isn’t easy because they honestly can’t afford it.”

Mr Rolle said the OPD has seen an increase in potential clients this year.

“I think the court is really trying to reduce the backlog of cases,” he said.

“We’ve been trying to encourage persons to take a plea deal. The thing is, a client has to first make a choice, because it’s his decision. Our goal is to get the best possible outcome for you. So we look at the plea arrangement. “I think for myself, I

don’t think I took vacation from 2017 until we put those COVID-19 protocols in place. You don’t want to turn anyone away. We try to meet the courts’ calendar for a trial rather than delay, particularly if defendants are more than likely to be found not guilty.”

Mr Rolle continued:

“What we try to do in this office is try to strike a balance. The courts are sympathetic to the fact that we could use one or two additional attorneys, but the judges assist us to the extent that we are able to manage our calendars better.”

A goal of the government

with the OPD was to decrease reliance on the Crown Brief system, which pays defence lawyers per appearance, sometimes at a high cost. Mr Rolle said the Crown Brief system is still used sometimes.

“At one point, all matters were coming to this office,” he said. “But they still do the crown briefs, particularly in cases where it’s three persons in one matter and of the three persons in the matter, one of them is (against the other two). So, you know, it’ll be hard for us to really represent all three.”

fnM Gb woMen a ssociation donates food ite Ms to Gb children's hoMe

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE FNM Grand Bahama Women’s Association donated assorted food and toiletries to the Grand Bahama Children’s Home this week.

Association president Kathy Munnings said that a food drive was held among members and executives of the association to help the children at the

facility.

“We hope that this donation will assist in a meaningful way, and we encourage the staff to always trust in God because He will always provide.”

Ms Munnings said the association is committed to assisting people in need in the community.

“We will continue to reach out to those in need,” she said. Alice McGregor, second

vice president, said: “We want the community of Grand Bahama to know that we are for everybody, and our next stop is the Home for the Aged. We are moving throughout Grand Bahama and we want to assist wherever we can,” she said.

June Hutcheson, executive director of Grand Bahama Children’s Home, thanked the association. She said every donation counts as the home is at its

capacity. “We do need all the support (we can get), including monetary donations; every little bit helps to ensure the children have the best care. I am so happy to have you reaching out to the home.

She added: “We need the community to work with us to help the children.”

The GB Children’s Home cares for about 40 children up to 12 years

old. The home is jointly funded by the government, the Grand Bahama Port Authority, and the Grand Bahama community.

The executive director said they are desperately looking to have mental health training for staff to provide care and sensitivity to children.

She was pleased with the level of support from the community. “It has definitely increased over the last year because people

are now in a better place to give, and also with COVID lifting, people can feel free to come out and interact with the children. So, we hope that continues because the children love to have people come to visit them, and we encourage that,” she said. “We need for the children to know the community is rallying around them and that they are loved by the community,” she said.

The FNM’s Grand Bahama Women’s Association donated food items to the Grand Bahama Children’s Home.

ShaNTy homes seen in the Joe Farrinton Road area. AG Ryan Pinder says the government will look to proceed with demolition of shanty structures through the Building Regulations Act.

New healthcare workers union looks to represent ‘overlooked workers’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A NEW union representing “overlooked” healthcare workers is pledging to ruffle features to highlight their long-standing concerns about staffing shortages, inadequate working conditions and other issues.

The Bahamas Allied Healthcare Workers Union (BAHWU) was formed in April to represent pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, radiographers, phlebotomists, ultrasound technicians, mortuary technicians, medical laboratory technologists, and occupational therapists, among other health professionals.

BAHWU president Krista Burrows-Campbell said the workers had been overlooked and under represented by the Bahamas Public Service Union for too long.

“Our issues have not been addressed as we thought they should, and under the Bahamas Public Service Union umbrella, we were really put down, or really not looked upon as an important part of the healthcare system,” she said in an interview with The Tribune outside Princess Margaret Hospital yesterday.

“We’re here to bring knowledge to the people and to allow them to know that we are just as important as the doctors and the nurses because our assistance helps so they are better to treat (whatever it is with the patients).”

The union has more than two dozen members and is targeting a 600-plus membership increase.

“This is the beginning with our foot in the door and we will strive to obtain a level that we’re going to be the best union ever,” said

former Bahamas Nurses Union President Amancha Williams, the union’s labour consultant.

“We started small, but we’re going to end large and our focus is to bring awareness of the professional areas. You can’t go without the doctor and nurse, but you also can’t go without the phlebotomists, the X-ray, you can’t go without the PCA (patient care assistant), the mortician.”

Ms Williams said: “We’re asking persons to join in with us because we’re a force to be reckoned with. We’re saying to the minister and the (managing director) to hear us now.”

The union’s key issues would be advocating for promotions, better wages and career paths and an industrial agreement that has better benefits such as health insurance. There is also the issue of staff shortages.

“Currently, we are at a crisis point with staffing,” said April Cartwright, first vice president of BAHWU.

“We have very few staff here that are Bahamian in specialty areas (like)…X-ray, pharmacy and laboratory, and we have quite a great number of Bahamians who will be retiring in the next five to ten years.”

Ms Cartwright said workers want to push for scarcity pay.

“People have a saying now saying ‘this is the plantation.’ We don’t want that to be said about where we work,” said Ms Williams. “This is our workplace. We want to be happy when we wake up in the morning and be productive. That’s why we are here and … we’re hoping to have an industrial agreement completed no later than October.”

Govt to acquire 118 lots to build housinG in Gb

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

HOUSING Minister

Jobeth Coleby-Davis said the government would acquire 118 lots to construct homes in Grand Bahama.

“A private owner has 18 lots (in Heritage subdivision) with all the infrastructure in place already; once we acquire that property, we should start home construction,” she said during a visit to Grand Bahama last week. She noted that an additional 100 lots would be acquired from the Grand Bahama Port Authority.

“We got Cabinet’s approval to proceed with discussions on that acquisition. We are working towards acquiring (those lots). Those lots are not developed and do not have infrastructure, such as light and water,” she said.

Minister Coleby-Davis said the lack of infrastructure slows down the building and construction of the homes.

“We are seeking to begin moving on the 118 lots as soon as possible, now that we got clearance from the Cabinet,” she said. “I

can’t really give the timeline, but we have started acquisition already.”

She encouraged Bahamians interested in becoming homeowners to apply to the Department of Housing by visiting its website.

Applicants must provide a job letter, two forms of identification, and a pre-assessment from a bank.

“If the bank has already given you a pre-assessment to say based on your job letter and income, this is how much you may be able to afford in a mortgage, that letter would assist us in determining if they can qualify to afford a home and get a mortgage,” she said.

She recommends that people visit the DOH first for proper guidance. The minister said there is a demand for housing in the Heritage subdivision.

“Last year, we noticed that a lot of young professionals were asking about the Heritage Subdivision. They said that is where they are most interested and so because of that we went after the acquisition (of those 18 lots),” she said.

rememberinG

FLAGS will be flown at half-mast today across The Bahamas in tribute to the HMBS Flamingo.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis made the announcement yesterday, saying: “This observance signifies our collective mourning and unwavering respect for the brave servicemen— Able Seaman Fenrick Sturrup, Marine Seaman Austin Smith, Marine Seaman David Tucker, and Marine Seaman Edward Williams—who tragically lost their lives in the HMBS Flamingo incident.

“This symbolic act is not merely a display of

the sinkinG of the hmbs flaminGo

our mourning but also a long-serving testament to our unity and resolve as a nation. Again, we pause to remember the fallen, honour their sacrifice, and recommit ourselves to the principles they bravely defended and fought for.”

The HMBS Flamingo was sunk on May 10, 1980, when fired upon by Cuban MiG fighter jets

ForMer Governor General Dame Margarite Pindling leaves a wreath in 2018 to mark the anniversary of the deaths of four marines when the HMBS Flamingo was attacked in 1980.

Minister of Transport and Housing Jobeth Coleby-Davis shared government housing plans with residents of Grand Bahama.

the BahaMas Allied Healthcare Workers Union (BAHWU) was formed in April to represent pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, radiographers, phlebotomists, ultrasound technicians, mortuary technicians, medical laboratory technologists, and occupational therapists, among other health professionals.

Photos: austin Fernander

The Tribune Limited

Pintard missing in action on London trip

WHILE much of the attention paid to the Bahamian delegation that travelled to London for the coronation of King Charles III centred around the event itself, something else was illuminated too – the difference between our political leaders.

There was some criticism when FNM leader Michael Pintard took up the invitation to travel to the coronation – largely because in doing so he eliminated the possibility of holding the government delegation to account over its size or expenses. In partaking, he could hardly criticise.

But there was another element that the trip also revealed. Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ social media accounts were constantly busy, notifying of meeting the Lord Mayor of London here, tweeting about visiting the National Archives there, highlighting members of the Bahamian diaspora he encountered, and more.

There was also mention of opportunities that might come to The Bahamas as a result of such meetings.

By contrast, the FNM leader tweeted that he had a nice suit.

Now, granted, the government has a more substantial media team at its disposal – but the contrast was marked.

As far as members of the public could see, the Prime Minister was working hard during the trip, building links and opportunities for the public. The Opposition leader was there for the ride.

Mr Pintard was not seen to be making connections, or lining himself up to be seen as a future leader of the country.

Even with a limited amount of support to publicise whatever work Mr Pintard was doing in London – and so far we do not know what that was, if any

– the absence of updates did not do anything to show him in an engaging light. Being seen to be getting things done has been a problem for Mr Pintard here at home too. With a limited delegation in the House of Assembly thanks to the FNM’s substantial defeat in the last election, there is little serious pressure they can place on the government.

But Mr Pintard seems to be having issues closer to home before he can deal with the other side of the House –with former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis far from having gone quietly after that election loss. Indeed, to all observers, it seems as if Dr Minnis thinks he might yet lead the party once more. Mr Pintard has yet to assert himself enough to make that seem a forlorn hope.

As the coronation took place, the FNM held a party event at Marathon, with its leader far away on the other side of the Atlantic, nowhere in sight, with not even a message to supporters back home, it seems.

If Mr Pintard is to lead the party into the next election, then the FNM is going to need to raise its game to match the government’s messaging. It cannot run on a legislative record – that’s the government’s to claim – so it has to run on a strong opposition. That is absent at present, and that absence seems to start at the top, judging by Mr Pintard’s vanishing act as soon as he boarded the plane to London.

Whichever political side you support, a strong Opposition is always in the nation’s interest to hold the government to account.

It seems before the FNM can do that properly, it needs to resolve its own internal rifts. The sooner that can be done, the better for the nation.

PLP should be ashamed

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Privy Council’s Citizenship judgement and upholding Appeal’s Court Judgement by now CJ Winder.

The horrific inhumane action over 50 years of Independence lies totally at the feet of the PLP... the PLP should be ashamed but they will and

are trying to spin ‘look we reprieved you got you freedom!’. No successive PLP Governments for 26 years in basically successive Governments and following refused to acknowledge the correct interpretation of the Constitution. The FNM should be ashamed aka...why did they decide to challenge the then

our nurses

EDITOR, The Tribune.

BEFORE God and those assembled here, I solemnly pledge to adhere to the code of ethics of the nursing profession.

Once viewed as lowly doctors’ assistants, nurses are now recognised as highly specialised professionals with a wide range of skills. Today, becoming a nurse requires four years of study and extreme focus and dedication. This versatile career with dozens of specialties is a crucial link between patients and doctors.

It is with great respect we join the nurses on the twelfth of May as they celebrate the birthday of Florence “The Lady with the Lamp“ Nightingale.

Having spent extended stays as a patient in both Princess Margaret and Doctors Hospitals, I can fully appreciate the challenges that nurses face daily.

of seeing nurses go over and above the call of duty.

The community nurses as they visit the sick and elderly. I call them Nightingales. You would have to see them in action to appreciate what they do.

They have to visit homes and treat patients in which relatives leave their parents and siblings alone all day in untidy, unsanitary conditions, with very little concern for their welfare.

And then there is Sister Newton at the Flamingo Gardens Clinic, Nurse Novella at oncology, the nurses at A&E, and, the nurses at Fleming Street, and Nurse Ellis in the midwifery postnatal services.

They answered the call.

if you did you would see PMH differently. By the way how many of us have had the unfortunate experience of being in the Accident and Emergency ward on most of the weekends when shooting and accident victims are brought in at all hours of the day? Are the nurses to be blamed for the carnage?

Many times the ones complaining the most are the ones doing the least. They are the ones leaving their relatives at the mercy of the state.

For the record, some of the best meals I have had in a long time were at the PMH.

The steamed mutton was to die for.

Justice Winder decision in the Court of Appeal? Why? If this was a case for financial damages certainly the PLP would have to settle. Stop the spin Davis you owe the country a massive apology.

MARVA SMITH Nassau, May 5, 2023.

And that is why I can speak with authority when I say that nursing is the most dedicated, hardworking, underpaid, undervalued, and under appreciated of most professions anywhere.

Many of us faint at the sight of blood and are even scornful of our own excrement. Yet there is no other job that I can think of where persons are treated with such disdain.

Most times patients and their families fail to see the value that nurses bring. Nurses are there caring for us from the day we are born until the day we die.

They offer support and comfort during some of the most trying times, but all too often, we don’t say thank you. We take their service for granted.

The good thing about our nurses, just like their predecessor and heroine Florence Nightingale, they have answered the call to serve humanity. They are overworked, underpaid, and abused, yet they are still there bathing, feeding, and turning bodies and beds.

This isn’t about making a big deal about how well they do their jobs. It’s about caring, sharing, and having a shoulder to cry on. It’s those moments that can make a difference in a hospital experience.

It’s about answering the call. A call that causes them to understand that sickness and sorrow have no master. Throughout my day, I have the good fortune

The Health Minister Dr Darville has inherited a ministry burdened with myriad challenges. But it is nothing new to him, he has been there before.

My most recent stay in the Princess Margaret Hospital was in January of this year and it affirmed my way of thinking about the treatment one receives from the doctors and nurses.

They are doing a fantastic job.

During my time spent in the hospital on several occasions, I was cussed out for speaking to another patient about his lack of respect for the nurses.

“Come on pal she is your nurse, not your waitress, not your servant, or your punching bag. This is a hospital, not a Pub. Show some respect.”

We hear complaints about the treatment in the hospital all of the time but....

My question to everyone is it the treatment or the expectation?

Are we expecting the same treatment one would receive in a private facility with personal nurses?

Another concern is what are we doing to assist the nurses in making our loved ones sojourn more comfortable as they heal?

Are we reading the Bible to them, sharing scriptures, and praying with them?

Or running on about the treatment.

Yes, A&E, is a challenge but that is the way they are just about all over the world, especially in the Caribbean.

Have you ever seen the A&E at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida? Maybe

Say what you want, but based on my experience, I believe the Bahamas has some of the best nurses in the world and they should be appreciated and highly compensated for all they do.

I believe if the Minister could find the money, he would give the nurses an increase in pay right away. Because he is around them all of the time, he knows what they go through on a daily basis.

Every day, you hear people comparing the Bahamas with Miami. The streets are much better, how nicer the hospitals are, and how well they treat their aged citizens.

The wider community criticises the Ministry of Health for the condition of the healthcare facilities. But they do not want to pay for hospital visits.

Well, according to Minister Myles Laroda, National Insurance is in trouble, but as soon as he mentions an increase in payments the people go berserk.

However, where is the money going to come from to pay pensioners and take care of societal needs? Who is going to help the poor, the elderly, and those who through no fault of theirs are in need?

Thank God for the soup kitchens that are doing a great job helping to take care of those in need. But they can only do so much.

Thank you, Nurses, for all you are doing for all of your sacrifices. We love and appreciate you.

Happy International Nurses Day. You deserve it.

God bless you.

God bless the Bahamas.

ANTHONY PRATT Nassau, May 7, 2023.

A PERFORMER from the Hunan Acrobatic Art Theatre group performing in Freeport on Monday. See PAGE TWO for more as the troupe comes to Atlantis.

Royal Caribbean to hold public consultation event on June 8

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ROYAL Caribbean International (RCI) will hold a public consultation event on June 8 so residents can raise their environmental concerns about the company’s 17-acre Paradise Island Royal Beach Club project.

The Bahamas Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) will supervise the event, beginning at 6.30pm.

The proposed project has faced severe scrutiny since Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis announced its approval subject to environmental evaluations.

“Now that the company has received ‘approval in principle’ from the National Economic Council (NEC) – subject to appropriate environmental review – it is eager to address the environmental questions raised by the local community. Further details regarding the public consultation meeting will be announced in the coming days,” RCI said in a press statement yesterday.

“Jay Schneider, chief Product innovation officer, RCI, following a recent visit to Nassau, lauded the government’s strict environmental protection and planning policies. He acknowledged that questions already raised by the community would be addressed and that any discussions before NEC’s conditional approval would have been premature.”

RCI said once the public consultation is done, it would release an Environmental Management Plan.

“Once the public consultation period has closed — in line with the DEPP process — Royal Caribbean will publish a detailed Environmental Management Plan (EMP) that outlines how the company will thoughtfully restore the long-neglected stretch of land on the

western end of Paradise Island,” the company said.

Mr Schneider added that most of the 13 acres RCI purchased is far from pristine. He said the property is filled with neglected buildings, broken glass, debris, and trash along with overgrown vegetation.

“While clearing and clean-up will be one of the first steps in creating the beach experience, Royal Caribbean will go above and beyond the requirements of the

freeport m A n A ssisting police on m A rijuA n A find

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama

Police made a drug arrest on Monday following the discovery of suspected marijuana at a residence in Freeport.

A 43-year-old male resident of Seahorse Village is assisting police with their investigations.

According to reports, shortly after 7pm on Monday, May 8, officers of the Drug Enforcement Unit and Predator Unit executed a search warrant at a residence in Seahorse Village.

During a search of the home, officers allegedly found 3.8 ounces of suspected marijuana. A male

occupant was subsequently arrested and taken into police custody.

The estimated street value of the drugs is $560. In other crime news, police are investigating reports of gunshots in the Freeport area on Tuesday. Sometime shortly after 1am, police received reports of gunshots being fired in the area of Watling Road.

When officers arrived at the scene, they recovered a quantity of spent casings.

Witnesses told police that an unknown vehicle was seen speeding off after the shots were heard.

Police reported no injuries were reported, and investigations are continuing.

environmental management process related to land use and marine life by monitoring bird activity, noise levels and regular reporting of coral reef health,” RCI said.

“Recently, the cruise line released its six environmental pillars for

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 61-YEAR-OLD man was charged with indecent assault after allegedly acted inappropriately with his ten-year-old granddaughter last month.

It is alleged that between April 21 to 23, the accused slapped his

the development of the Royal Beach Club, that go above and beyond any other land-based tourism development in The Bahamas, including: zero waste-to-landfill, 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030, best-in-class wastewater treatment, no

granddaughter’s buttocks inappropriately.

After pleading not guilty, bail was granted to the accused at $7,000 with one or two sureties. The accused was warned not to interfere with the witnesses in this matter. He appeared before Magistrate Kara TurnquestDeveaux. His trial is set for August 11.

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 37-YEAR-OLD man was charged with rape after allegedly sexually assaulting a 27-year-old woman earlier this year.

Jason Ferguson appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt accused of forcing a 27-yearold woman to have sex with

him on January 3 in New Providence.

The Chief Magistrate informed Ferguson that his case would in the meantime proceed to the Supreme Court by way of a Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI). He was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. The defendant’s VBI is set to be served on September 7.

dredging, and no overwater cabanas, protecting the surrounding habitat, and local environmental monitoring.”

The Royal Beach Club Project has invited Bahamians to own up to 49 per cent in equity. The new project would offer jobs

for Bahamians during its construction and operation periods. The 17-acre beach club is made up of 13 acres of land owned by RCI and 4 acres of Crown Land. RCI said the Crown Land would be contributed as equity in the new venture.

Az A rio c A se det A ils guns A nd A mmo in shooting

from page one

Magistrate’s Court around 11.40am, saying the building would be blown up. The court was subsequently evacuated, and the inquest did not resume until after 3pm.

Sgt Thomas testified that on February 4, 2022, she received five bullets and several bullet fragments recovered from Azario’s body. In addition to receiving more than forty 9mm and 5mm bullet casings recovered from the scene, she said this year on April 17 she received four firearms that officers purportedly used in the incident.

She determined that all four weapons were operational. She tested the weapons using ammunition similar to those recovered from the scene.

After individually listing each bullet casing recovered from the scene, Sgt

AzArio Major was shot and killed by several police in December of 2021. His family is now in court seeking answers.

Thomas presented the list to the coroner, lawyers and jurors to review.

She is expected to continue her testimony when court resumes today.

Attorney Calvin Maynard represents four officers in the case. David Cash represents Azario’s estate.

Inquests are fact-finding endeavours that do not determine wrongdoing.

mA n Accused of indecent A ss Ault on 10 ye A r-old gr A nddAughter

no bA il gr A nted for m A n on ch A rge of sexuA l A ss Ault

Artist rendering of the RCI Beach Club plan for Paradise Island

It is up to citizens to hold the govt responsible on human rights issues

HUMAN rights are being discussed with more frequency in The Bahamas in recent years, due in no small part to the human rights violations taking place and the responses of non-governmental organisations and the general public. From reports of sexual violence and children becoming victims of gun violence to “policeinvolved incidents” and the destabilising effects of crisis after crisis, connections are being made between the atrocities we experience and the right to freedom and dignity without distinction on the basis of identity.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was published in 1948, has been translated into over 500 languages, and is the foundation of dozens of human rights treaties. In Article 2, it is clearly stated that everyone is entitled to the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration. These include life, liberty, and security of person, recognition as a person before the law, equal protection of the law, freedom of movement, nationality, to work, and to education.

Human rights treaties build and expand on the human rights articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, making them specific to particular groups of people who are frequently excluded and/ or marginalised and who have/had experiences that make their ability access to human rights more difficult. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

Against Women (CEDAW)

— perhaps the most widely referenced human rights treaty referenced in The Bahamas — is an example of this as it built and continues to build on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to specifically articulate the rights of women and the obligation of States to promote, uphold, and expand them.

Take, for example, Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is on marriage. It has three parts. The first part says, “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.”

The second part says it is only entered into with full consent of both parties.

The third part says “the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society[…]” Article 16 of CEDAW is on marriage, and it has two parts with the first part having eight subsections. The Article focuses on eliminating discrimination against women in marriage and family relations. As such, one of the subsections affirms that women and men have “the same rights and responsibilities as parents[…].

Another states that women and men have “the same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to choose a family name, a profession and an occupation”. While these rights could be assumed upon reading and understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the human rights treaty specific to (eliminating

By Alicia Wallace

discrimination against) women states them clearly. Other human rights treaties serve a similar function, putting human rights into the context of particular people and situations.

The Bahamas has ratified nine United Nations human rights treaties. These include the Convention of the Rights of the Child, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The most recent is the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment, ratified in May 2018, closely following the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review during which several UN member states — including Italy, France, Sierra Leone, and Indonesia —recommended The Bahamas ratify it.

Ratification of human rights treaties is agreement with the content, acknowledgement of the State obligation to take specific actions to promote, protect, and provide access to human rights, and a commitment to take those actions. This is not limited to United Nations mechanisms, but includes regional agreements and those by other multilateral organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO). For example, The Bahamas ratified Convention 190 (C190) on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work on November 25, 2022, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women — the first day of the Global 16 Days Campaign, also known as 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Many human rights treaties have committees of independent experts which are responsible for reviewing State reports and submissions from other stakeholders, posing questions, and facilitating constructive dialogues with States about their progress toward full compliance with the related treaties.

One process that works differently is the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). It does not have a committee of experts. Instead, it is a peer review in which United Nations Member States review one another.

Another unique element is that the UPR is attentive to other human rights treaties and State ratification of and compliance with them.

On Wednesday, May 3, The Bahamas was under review at the 43rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations in Geneva. This was part of the fourth cycle of reviews. The Bahamas submitted a written report and the Attorney General made a statement before the United Nations Member States. This was followed by 90-second

contributions by Member States which includes commendations on the progress made up to that point and recommendations for The Bahamas to act on before its review in the fifth cycle, approximately five years later.

The Bahamas failed to take action on most of the recommendations made at its third cycle

review.

The Bahamas has not ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all migrant workers and members of their families. The Bahamas has not ratified the Optional Protocol to the same Convention. It has failed to establish the Office of the Ombudsman in accordance with the Paris Principles, and it has failed to establish a national human

nationality rights, and abolition of the death penalty.

Several countries expressed concern regarding human trafficking and recommended that The Bahamas provide training to law enforcement and

there is a systemic approach to protecting the rights of children, that corporal punishment is not recommended in schools and that the last school administrators who used it was put on administrative leave, and that the Department of Social Services has a parent training program that includes information on different forms of discipline.

from UN Women (which is in progress and we await the final report from UN Women Caribbean MultiCountry Office which is significantly delayed), improvement of prison and detention center conditions, inclusion of climate justice in civics curriculum, and elimination of discriminatory stereotypes against women and girls.

rights institution (NHRI) in accordance with the Paris Principles. Several Member States called for the criminalisation of marital rape, implementation of the Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence, comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation to protect the human rights of all, including LGBTQI+ people, amendments to the Bahamas Nationality Act for gender-equal

judges to improve identification of trafficking victims, provide support to trafficking victims, provide financing for prevention of trafficking, and improve its coordination with non-governmental organisations and government departments to prevent trafficking. Recommendations related to trafficking were repeated in the fourth cycle review.

The Bahamas did, as previously mentioned, act on the recommendation to ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), a recommendation repeated from the second cycle review.

In his address, the Attorney General, of course, highlighted even the smallest steps taken toward recommendations. He noted that the death penalty had not been carried out for many years and that there is no plan for a formal moratorium on the death penalty. He claimed

Rather than admitting that The Bahamas has failed to establish a National Human Rights Institution, he talked about the Ombudsman Bill—tabled one week before the review, obviously for this purpose—and the laughable Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, also introduced the week before, which is far from a National Human Rights Institution and does not come close to meeting the Paris Principles.

At the 43rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review last week, United Nations Member States repeated many of the same recommendations from 2018. There were also new recommendations, and recommendations that were repeated with more specificity. The recommendations included amendments to nationality law for women to pass on citizenship to their children and spouses, implementation of the Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence, criminalisation of marital rape, amendment of the definition of “discrimination” in Article 16 of the constitution, establishment of a National Human Rights Institution, ratification of various human rights treaties including the Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, discriminatory law review and reform with support

The report on the Universal Periodic Review of The Bahamas in the fourth cycle will be made available on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights website this month. It will not only have the recommendations made to The Bahamas, organized by thematic area, but will have the response of the government. States can support (interpreted as accept) or note (interpreted as reject) recommendations. It is important to know the international human rights standards, how The Bahamas does or does not meet them, and how the government responds to the recommendations aimed at compliance with the international mechanisms with which it has chosen to participate. Recent news stories on the UPR process have chosen specific points to highlight for various reasons, obviously linked to the market for news, so it is especially important for those with interest in human rights to seek out, read, understand, and share complete information. Knowing our rights is critical, as is knowing the government’s perception of and response to its obligations. With this information, we are better equipped to make our demands and realise all of our human rights.

Photo: Joel Muniz

‘Knowing our rights is critical, as is knowing the government’s perception of and response to its obligations. With this information, we are better equipped to make our demands and realise all of our human rights.’

ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE BORN FREE AND EQUAL IN DIGNITY AND RIGHTS

WAYMO ROBOTAXIS MAKE MORE INROADS IN PHOENIX, SAN FRANCISCO

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer

Self-driving car pioneer Waymo announced last week that its robotaxis will be able to carry passengers through most of the Phoenix area for the first time.

The company’s cars will also start to pick up more volunteers for testing the autonomous vehicles traversing the more challenging conditions in San Francisco.

The expansion marks the next leg in an ambitious journey aimed at creating a safer and cheaper alternative to ride-hailing services that depend on humans.

The increased territory in the Phoenix area means Waymo’s robotaxis will now pick up and drop off farepaying passengers in an area spanning 180 square miles (466 square kilometres), doubling in size since late last year. Waymo’s robotaxis now cover four times more territory than when they began giving rides to fare-paying passengers in the Phoenix area in late 2020.

“We are feeling tremendous wind at our backs,” Saswat Panigrahi, Waymo’s chief product officer, said in

a briefing with reporters. Waymo, which began as a secret project within Google more than a decade ago, is now hoping to carry that momentum into San Francisco, one of the most densely populated cities U.S. that is also renowned for hilly roads and frequent fog that can flummox driverless

vehicles. Although Waymo has encountered problems both with San Francisco’s weather and unexpected stops that have blocked traffic, it’s continuing to test its robotaxis throughout the city at all times of the day by providing free rides to its employees and volunteers selected

from a waiting list to try the service.

“There are clearly additional learnings that we are responding to,” Panigrahi said of the various problems that Waymo has encountered in San Francisco.

The Mountain View, California, company is seeking approval from California

VIDEO GAME HALL OF FAME 2023 ENTRANTS ARE ANNOUNCED

regulators so its robotaxis can start charging fares for rides — something Cruise, a rival driverless service owned by General Motors, has been doing since last June, but only in parts of San Francisco during nighttime hours.

Cruise also recently began giving free rides through most of San Francisco around the clock to volunteer passengers while waiting for state regulators to approve its application to collect fares for service anywhere in the city.

If and when Waymo and Cruise get regulatory approval, San Francisco will become the first U.S. city with two commercial robotaxi services competing against ride-hailing pioneers Uber and Lyft, as well as traditional taxis with humans behind the wheel.

As part of Thursday’s announcement, Waymo said its robotaxis are providing an average of 10,000 weekly rides with no humans inside the vehicles other than passengers. Panigrahi said he expects Waymo’s robotaxi fleet to be giving 100,000 weekly rides by the summer of 2024.

FITNESS STUDIO POWERED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

By SEAN JONES, Richmond Times-Dispatch

HENRICO, Va. (AP) — Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are having more of an influence over our lives from shopping and streaming services to education, health care and the way we get information about the world.

A newly opened fitness studio is now harnessing that power with the goal of giving people an efficient and effective workout.

Married couple India and Eric Morgan opened a smart fitness studio in Henrico County in March, and appointments have been filling up. The Exercise Coach is part of an international franchise, and is touted as the first AI-enabled studio in the state.

The Exercise Coach uses bioadaptive robotic exercise equipment that’s calibrated specifically to someone’s fitness levels. The computerised machines modify their difficulty as the person progresses in strength and stamina.

“We are the right intensity for you because the machines are adapting to your strength level and physical abilities,” India Morgan said. “Even though, yes, it’s going to be a challenging workout, the goal is to progressively overload your muscles so you’re constantly building strength. It’s going to be something that you’re capable of doing because it’s curated to you.”

The franchise’s smart equipment comes from Illinois-based manufacturer Exerbotics. Its fitness instructors conduct one-on-one sessions or small group exercises with a maximum of four participants. The biggest benefit the company markets is that it can give people the results they need in two 20-minute workouts per week. A 48-hour break is recommended to recover from sessions.

There are seven total exercises across the 20-minute workout, each designed so that you couldn’t possibly do one more repetition by the end. The bulk of the session is spent on strength training, but it finishes off on high-intensity cardio for one to three minutes. The Morgans bring their

backgrounds in finance and health care to The Exercise Coach. India

Morgan was a registered nurse at VCU Health before opening the studio. She is currently pursuing a degree to become a nurse practitioner. She manages many of the day-to-day needs at the studio.

Eric Morgan is a financial consultant in the health care field, working with several hospitals on their fixed assets. He works on the operational side of the franchise.

Having been involved in sports their entire lives and prioritising their physical health, the Morgans came upon the studio idea while working with a franchise broker to open a new business. They tried out some of the workouts and liked the data they saw.

“The fact that (India) has a clinical background gave us an advantage because we agreed with the science and all of the metabolic pieces that were the actual foundation of this franchise,” Eric Morgan said.

With The Exercise Coach open for around seven weeks so far, the Morgans say they’re excited by seeing results start to solidify for some of the clients who have been there since the beginning.

“We can look back at their progress six, seven weeks and say, ‘OK, this is actually working for them,’” India Morgan said. “That is cool. We knew it worked for us; we’ve been doing it ourselves, but it’s cool to see it work for other people.”

A majority of the time slots have filled up with an average of around 50 sessions per day. The sessions themselves range in price from $25 to $50, depending on which package a person gets, though pricing is done monthly.

The goal isn’t to compare the studio with big-box gyms and bring in the highest number of users. The

franchise generally targets people who are either too busy for full gyms, don’t have the time or need guidance. A majority of the marketing budget is spent on reaching clients who are ages 40 and older. The robotic equipment provides lower stress on joints and ligaments while still delivering an intense workout.

“(Forty-plus) is our clientele. Their focus is overall health,” Eric Morgan said. “They have generally failed at a lot of different exercises or have been discouraged by a bunch of different exercises. Plus, it’s just simple. It’s to their abilities and it’s private, so you don’t have to go to a gym setting with a bunch of people.”

Tamara Parker started working out at The Exercise Studio within the first few weeks after its opening. Although she’s always tried to be active throughout her adult life, she said she had trouble with other workout routines. She’s been to gyms and done at-home workouts streamed from the TV.

“I don’t like the act of going to a gym and looking for equipment; someone might be on my equipment,” Parker said. “And, I don’t want to be around a bunch of other people when I’m working out. It’s just not comfortable for me.”

Streaming at-home workouts posed other problems. Parker, 55,

said it was lonely and she wasn’t always sure she was doing the exercises correctly. She stopped working out for a period about a year ago when her father died. The grief made it hard to have the energy to work out. At the same time, she developed unhealthful eating habits amid the stress.

“I just seemed to be really stuck in a rut. And I tried going back to the gym, but I just wouldn’t. I didn’t stick with it,” Parker said.

“I even hired a trainer, and I did all the trainings I purchased in that package, but then I never went back.”

Working out has also been a tough time commitment for Parker. She home-schools her 13-year-old daughter, runs a business with her husband and cares for her 92-yearold father-in-law, who lives at the family home.

She saw The Exercise Studio online and liked the idea that it offers shorter 20-minute workouts.

“In the beginning, I was like, ‘How does this work?’ It’s only 20 minutes; I don’t understand,” Parker said.

“But after I got into it, I realised 20 minutes was no joke. And I feel with each individual exercise, right as I’m getting ready to die, it’s done.”

Her goal was to get back to the fitness levels she had before she stopped working out. To date, she’s lost nearly all of the excess weight she put on and says she’s also seen positive mental health benefits from working out again more regularly.

The Morgans said they were a little surprised by the amount of demand the studio experienced right after opening.

They’re already working on opening two more studios in the Richmond area and have plans to expand with two to three more stores over the next three to four years. The next location is planned for near Richmond’s West End, and another will be in the city’s South Side.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP)

— The first commercial video game and the first one marketed to girls are headed to the World Video Game Hall of Fame, alongside a postapocalyptic nail-biter and a system that made gamers out of grandparents.

Computer Space, Barbie Fashion Designer, The Last of Us and Wii Sports were announced last week as the Hall of Fame’s class of 2023.

The Hall of Fame honors arcade, console, computer, handheld and mobile games that have influenced popular culture or the video game industry. This year’s additions bring to 40 the number of games to be enshrined since its opening at The Strong museum in 2015.

The winners were voted in by a panel of experts from a field of finalists that also included Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, FIFA International Soccer, Goldeneye 007, NBA 2K, Quake and Wizardry.

Nutting Associates’ coinoperated Computer Space appeared in 1971 as the first commercial video game and was recognised for proving that video games could reach paying audiences outside of the labs where they were being developed. It didn’t garner the kind of commercial success that would bring video games to the masses, according to the hall, but it did lay the foundation for the gaming industry: The developers went on to establish the gaming giant Atari Inc.

TOP FREE iPHONE APPS (US)

1. Temu: Shop Like a Billionaire, Temu

2. Instagram, Instagram, Inc.

3. TikTok, TikTok Ltd.

4. YouTube: Watch, Listen, Stream, Google LLC

5. CapCut - Video Editor, Bytedance Pte. Ltd

6. Facebook, Meta Platforms, Inc.

7. Gmail - Email by Google, Google LLC

8. Google, Google LLC

9. WhatsApp Messenger, WhatsApp Inc.

10. Snapchat, Snap, Inc.

TOP PAID iPHONE APPS (US)

1. Minecraft, Mojang

2. Shadowrocket, Shadow Launch Technology Limited

3. Geometry Dash, RobTop Games AB

4. HotSchedules, HotSchedules

5. Bloons TD 6, Ninja Kiwi

6. Incredibox, So Far So Good

7. Papa’s Freezeria To Go!, Flipline Studios

8. Heads Up!, Warner Bros.

9. Monopoly - Classic Board Game Marmalade Game Studio

10. Plague Inc., Ndemic Creations

PHOENIX Mayor Kate Gallego arrives in a Waymo self-driving vehicle in December at the Sky Harbor International Airport Sky Train facility in Phoenix. Self-driving car pioneer Waymo announced last week that its robotaxis will be able to carry passengers through most of the Phoenix area for the first time. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

TAMARA Parker of Hanover works with Salena Chiep, a lead coach of The Exercise Coach in Henrico, VA. The machines adjust people’s workout to their strengths and weaknesses in real time. (Daniel Sangjib Min/Richmond Times-Dispatch/AP)

Migrants flow north to US border ahead of policy changes

PANAMA Associated Press

The long wooden boats packed with migrants in orange life jackets arrived one after another, pushed down the Tuquesa river by outboard motors.

By day’s end, authorities had registered some 2,000 migrants at this remote riverside outpost on the edge of the Darien jungle that links Panama and Colombia.

Some had vague information — from relatives, social media, smugglers — about coming border policy changes by the United States government and were hustling to make it to that distant border.

on May 11, the United States government will end pandemic-related restrictions on people requesting asylum at the border — also known as Title 42, under which migrants have been expelled from the US more than 2.8 million times since March 2020.

The uncertainty around what happens after the end of the restrictions, as well as the prospect of new limits on asylum, was fodder for migrant smugglers to create an unnecessary sense of urgency for people making decisions with imperfect information.

Fearing a rush of arrivals, US officials have expanded legal pathways, urged would-be migrants to register before making the journey and proposed severely restricting asylum for people who travel through Mexico. They will deport those deemed not qualified with a five-year ban on reentry.

As migrants made the Darien crossing, there were no visible signs on either side that efforts the US, Panama and Colombia promised a month ago would stem migration at this bottleneck between regions. If anything, the flow seemed to have increased during a year

already on a record pace. María Chirino Sánchez, 34, left Venezuela one month earlier in a group of 10 relatives, including her husband, four children and dog Toby. Despite her job with a transportation company and her husband’s as a dental technician, they could not make ends meet. At the urging of relatives in the US, they sold their house for $4,000 and set out, having heard that “they are not going to let us enter after (May) 11,” she said. They ran out of food and had to beg for crackers to feed their children before exiting the jungle. like others, she said if she were sent back, she would not try this route again.

Chirino’s sentiment was nearly universal despite signs the well-trod route from Colombia has become more established than ever before. Venezuelans make up the largest group of those crossing Darien now, but AP journalists also saw haitians, Chinese and ecuadorians among others.

In necocli, Colombia, between 1,000 and 1,200 migrants a day board boats that ferry them across a gulf to Acandi on the Colombian side of the Darien, according to local human rights authorities.

There, mototaxi drivers wait to zip them to the trailhead — a route that is now being paved.

Camps have cropped up early in the route where migrants can pitch their tents and buy provisions. For those with the means, porters can be hired.

The journey is punishing. Migrants hike for several days over mountains in dense jungle contending with biting insects, venomous snakes, torrential rains and mud-slicked mountain passes. Swollen rivers sweep away those who slip. Bandits rob and sexually assault migrants.

Still, nearly 250,000 people did it last year and the United nations projects

another 400,000 could attempt it this year.

Some migrants said they could just no longer sustain their families in their countries. They fled political instability, unemployment or crime.

Many fled Venezuela’s political and economic crisis — now or years earlier — but others come from more distant countries.

Yu Tian travelled from Wuhan, China, to hong Kong, and then to ecuador where he boarded a bus to Colombia. “hundreds of thousands are leaving China,” said the tourism guide turned migrant.

At the ecuador-Colombia border, migrant trafficking groups recruit customers by telling them “right now you can go cross to the United States,” said Pedro de Velasco, a member of the KIno initiative, a binational nongovernmental organization at the US-Mexico border, who travelled to the ecuador-Colombia border to see why so many were arriving.

The smugglers charge $10,000, “but don’t tell them they’re going to be expelled,” he said.

In Panama, as 34-yearold oriana Serra neared the end of her Darien crossing with her two teen children, several men with pistols blocked their path, stealing the last of their money.

So when the family arrived at the river bank where boat operators waited to carry migrants downriver, she had no way to pay. They started the long walk to Bajo Chiquito, but somehow became separated from her 14-yearold son. hoping he arrived before her, she desperately searched for him among the arriving throngs.

At dusk, the boy finally arrived on a boat sent back upstream to look for him.

In Bajo Chiquito, migrants make their first registration with

Canada expels China diplomat for alleged threats to lawmaker

Panamanian authorities. Under the blazing tropical sun they pitch tents in any open space along the dirt streets or beside the river. Smoke from their wood fires hangs in the heavy humidity.

Children are everywhere, resting in tents, holding mothers’ hands, riding fathers’ shoulders. Migrants pause before setting out again the next day for camps farther downriver. From there, Panama buses them across the country to its border with Costa Rica where they will continue north through Central America and eventually to Mexico.

Mexican border cities are reporting increasing arrivals, many of whom are not waiting to see what happens after May 11. on Monday, US Border Patrol Chief Raul ortiz said that over the previous 72 hours, agents had made about

8,800 apprehensions per day — up from about 5,200 in March.

The US government for months has encouraged migrants to register with their online application CBP one rather than make the dangerous and expensive journey to the border. If applicants appear eligible for asylum and can line up a financial sponsor in the US, they receive an appointment at the border for further screening.

Back in Bajo Chiquito, with six more countries still to be traversed, migrants struggled to digest the ordeal they survived. As physically brutal as the crossing was — some migrants arrived on stretchers — many said they would carry more lasting memories.

Ángel garcés, a 28-yearold from Maracaibo, Venezuela remained shaken.

“If I had known it was like that, I wouldn’t come,” garcés said. “not just the physical exhaustion — what you see.” garcés said he averted his eyes when he smelled a body alongside the trail. The remains of 36 migrants were recovered from the Darien last year, but the real death toll is believed to be significantly higher. In March, the Red Cross donated 100 tombs in a local cemetery for the bodies of those who perish. garcés said he would advise anyone considering the journey, “don’t come, look for another route, try to do it the legal way, because the Darien isn’t for just anyone.” __ AP journalists Iván Valencia in Acandi, Colombia, eduardo hernández in Bogota, Colombia and María in Mexico City contributed to this report.

TORONTO Associated Press

The CAnADIAn government is expelling a Chinese diplomat whom Canada’s spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate an opposition lawmaker and his relatives in hong Kong.

A senior government official said Torontobased diplomat Zhao Wei has five days to leave the country. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. It’s wasn’t immediately clear if he’s left yet.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement that Canada declared Toronto-based diplomat Zhao Wei “persona non grata.”

“We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs,” she wrote.

“Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home.”

Canada’s spy service indicated that in 2021 opposition Conservative lawmaker Michael Chong

and his hong Kong relatives were targeted after Chong criticized Beijing’s human rights record. Canada’s spy agency has not released details publicly.

Chong has been critical of Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province. It became public after a globe and Mail report last week. Chong said he learned about it from that report, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denied knowing about it earlier.

“This should have happened years ago,” Chong said Monday.

“I hope that this makes it clear not just to the People’s Republic of China, but other authoritarian states who have representation here in Canada, that this crossing the line of diplomacy into foreign interference threat activities is utterly unacceptable here on Canadian soil.”

on Monday, China’s embassy in ottawa issued a statement that accused Canada of breaching international law and acting based on anti-Chinese sentiment. It said the move has “sabotaged” relations between China and Canada and promised unspecified retaliatory

measures.

China has previously insisted it does not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, but says it will respond to what it calls provocations.

The Canadian government took its time to decide whether to proceed, with both Joly and Trudeau warning about backlash from Beijing.

last week, Joly said that Beijing could threaten the safety of Canadians and the prosperity of the country in retaliation for any expulsion, but Joly now says that is worth that risk.

“This decision has been taken after careful consideration of all factors at play,” she wrote.

The revelation about Chong is the latest in a string of foreign interference attempts allegedly made by the Chinese government in Canada in recent years, including efforts to meddle in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Trudeau has appointed former governor general David Johnston to further study the issue, including whether a public inquiry is needed.

WASHINGTON Associated Press

WoMen should start getting every-other-year mammograms at age 40 instead of waiting until 50, according to a draft recommendation from a federal task force.

The US Preventive Services Task Force has long said women can choose to start breast cancer screening as young as 40, with a stronger recommendation that they get the X-ray exams every two years from age 50 through 74.

Tuesday’s update -– if the draft proposal is finalized -– would mark a shift in the influential panel’s guidelines although it’s not likely to end confusion. other health groups differ over when and how often to screen. “This new recommendation will help save lives and prevent more women from

dying due to breast cancer,” said former task force chair Dr. Carol Mangione.

The task force noted that Black women are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women, making mammograms at 40 an especially important step -– but also urged more research to better understand and combat the disparity.

The task force also noted that nearly half of all women have dense breasts, which means mammograms may not work as well, and called for more research into whether additional types of testing would help.

The draft recommendation applies to women at average risk of breast cancer but not those at very high risk due to certain genetic or other factors. It is open for public comment through June 5, after which the task force will decide whether to finalize it.

While cancer deaths have been declining for years, breast cancer remains the second leading cancer killer of US woman, behind lung cancer. health organizations have long had different screening recommendations, seeking to balance catching breast cancer early while avoiding too many false alarms, when the X-rays spot noncancerous blips.

The American Cancer Society says women ages 45 to 54 should get mammograms every year -– but can choose to start at 40 and then at 55, can choose to switch to every other year.

The American College of Radiology recommends annual mammograms starting at 40 for women at average risk of breast cancer -– but urges that young women get assessed for risk factors that require even earlier screening.

s tart mammograms at 40, not 50, a Us health panel reCommends

Migrants line up to take a boat after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia, in Bajo Chiquito, Panama Sunday.

Photo: natacha Pisarenko/AP

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a panel discussion at the Global Citizen NOW Summit on April 27, 2023, in New York. Trudeau’s government is expelling a Chinese diplomat whom Canada’s spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate an opposition lawmaker and his relatives in Hong Kong.

Photo: Mary altaffer/AP

MaMMograPher alMa garCia, right, demonstrates the process of a mammogram on marketing liaison Dalilah Garcia of the Neighbours Emergency Centre in Brownsville, Texas, on Monday, Sep. 18, 2017, inside a Mammos on the Move (MOM) mobile mammogram trailer. According to a draft recommendation from a government task force released on yesterday, women should start getting every-other-year mammograms at age 40 instead of waiting until 50. If the draft proposal is finalized it would mark a shift in the influential panel’s guidelines.

Photo: Migiuel roberts/AP

Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse, awards Jean Carroll $5m

NEW YORK

Associated Press

A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.

The verdict was announced in a federal courtroom in New york City on the first day of deliberations. jurors rejected Carroll’s claim that she was raped, but found Trump liable for sexual abuse and for defaming Carroll after she made her allegations public.

Trump chose not to attend the civil trial and was absent when the verdict was read.

Carroll nodded as the verdict was read. Afterward, her lawyers put their arms around her, and she hugged supporters in the gallery, smiling through tears.

Trump’s lawyer, joseph Tacopina, shook hands with Carroll and hugged her lawyer, roberta Kaplan. As the courtroom cleared, Carroll could be heard laughing and crying.

Trump immediately lashed out with a statement on his social media site, claiming again that he does not know Carroll and referring to the verdict as “a disgrace” and “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.”

The trial’s outcome was a validation for Carroll,

one of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment. she went public in 2019 with her allegation that the republican raped her in the dressing room of a posh Manhattan department store.

Trump, 76, denied it, saying he never encountered Carroll at the store and did not know her. He has called her a “nut job” who invented “a fraudulent and false story” to sell a memoir. Carroll, 79, had sought unspecified damages, plus a retraction of what she said were Trump’s defamatory denials of her claims. The trial revisited the lightning-rod topic of Trump’s conduct toward women.

Carroll gave multiple days of frank, occasionally emotional testimony, buttressed by two friends who told jurors she reported the alleged attack to them

in the moments and day afterward.

jurors also heard from jessica Leeds, a former stockbroker who testified that Trump abruptly groped her against her will on an airplane in the 1970s, and from Natasha stoynoff, a writer who said Trump forcibly kissed her against her will while she was interviewing him for a 2005 article.

The six-man, threewoman jury also saw the well-known 2005 “Access Hollywood” hot mic recording of Trump talking about kissing and grabbing women without asking.

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll, Leeds and stoynoff have done.

The verdict comes as Trump is facing an accelerating swirl of legal risks.

He’s fighting a New york criminal case related to hush money payments made to a porn actor. The state attorney general has sued him, his family and his business over alleged financial wrongdoing.

Trump is also contending with investigations elsewhere into his possible mishandling of classified documents, his actions after the 2020 election and his activities during the insurrection at the us Capitol on jan. 6, 2021. Trump denies wrongdoing in all of those matters.

Carroll, who penned an Elle magazine advice column for 27 years, has also written for magazines and “saturday Night Live.” she and Trump were in social circles that overlapped at a 1987 party, where a photo documented them and their thenspouses interacting. Trump has said he doesn’t remember it.

According to Carroll, she ended up in a dressing room with Trump after they ran into each other at Bergdorf Goodman on an unspecified Thursday evening in spring 1996.

They took an impromptu jaunt to the lingerie department so he could search for a women’s gift, and soon were teasing each other about trying on a skimpy bodysuit, Carroll testified. To her, it seemed like comedy, something like her 1986 “saturday Night Live” sketch in which a man admires himself in a

mirror.

But then, she said, Trump slammed the door, pinned her against a wall, planted his mouth on hers, yanked her tights down and raped her as she tried to break away. Carroll said she ultimately pushed him off with her knee and immediately left the store.

“I always think back to why I walked in there to get myself in that situation,” she testified, her voice breaking, “but I’m proud to say I did get out.” she soon confided in two friends, according to her and them. But she never called police or told anyone else — or noted it in her diary — until her memoir was published in 2019.

Carroll said she kept silent out of fear that Trump would retaliate, out of shame and out of a sense that other people quietly denigrate rape victims and see them as somewhat responsible for being attacked.

Trump weighed in on the case from afar, branding it “a made up sCAM” in a social media post early in the trial. us District judge Lewis Kaplan called the comments “entirely inappropriate” and warned that the ex-president could cause himself more legal woes if he kept it up.

Tacopina told the jury Carroll made up her claims after hearing about a 2012 “Law and order” episode in which a woman is raped in the dressing room of the lingerie section of a

Bergdorf Goodman store.

Carroll “cannot produce any objective evidence to back up her claim because it didn’t happen,” he told jurors. He accused her of “advancing a false claim of rape for money, for political reasons and for status.”

In questioning Carroll, he sought to cast doubt on her description of fighting off the far heavier Trump without dropping her handbag or ripping her tights, and without anyone around to hear or see them in the upscale retailer’s lingerie section.

The lawyer pressed her about — by her own account — not screaming, looking for help while fleeing the store, or seeking out medical attention, security video or the police.

Carroll reproached him.

“I’m telling you he raped me, whether I screamed or not,” she said.

There’s no possibility of Trump being charged with attacking Carroll, as the legal time limit has long since passed.

For similar reasons, she initially filed her civil case as a defamation lawsuit, saying Trump’s derogatory denials had subjected her to hatred, shredded her reputation and harmed her career.

Then, starting last fall, New york state gave people a chance to sue over sexual assault allegations that would otherwise be too old. Carroll was one of the first to file.

Official: Officer saved ‘cOuntless lives’ ending mall attack

TEXAS

Associated Press

THE sHooTEr with neo-Nazi leanings who killed eight people at a suburban Dallas shopping mall brought eight legally purchased guns to the scene, apparently chose his victims randomly and was shot dead by police within four minutes, authorities said Tuesday.

The Allen police officer who shot and killed 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, ending saturday’s attack, acted heroically and saved “countless lives” through his quick action, Hank sibley, the regional director of the Texas Department of Public safety, said at a news conference. He said the officer is still processing what happened and isn’t ready to have his name made public.

“If he hadn’t have been there, I think we’d have had a much more severe situation,” sibley said.

The investigation into Garcia’s motive is ongoing, but he expressed neo-Nazi beliefs, sibley said, adding that Garcia had no criminal history before he opened fire at Allen Premium outlets.

Garcia brought eight guns to the scene, including three that he had on him and five that were still in his vehicle, sibley said. Garcia obtained all of the weapons legally.

“The big question that we’re dealing with right now is, ‘What’s his motive? Why did he do this?’” sibley said. “Well, the big question is, we don’t know. That’s what the investigation is trying to find out.”

Posts by Garcia on a russian social networking site suggest that he planned for weeks before he launched the attack in Allen, a diverse community of about 100,000 people roughly 25 miles (40 kilometres) north of downtown Dallas.

Garcia researched when the mall was busiest — saturday afternoons — and posted photos on social media in mid-April of a store near where he ultimately began shooting people. Among those killed were two elementary school-age sisters, a couple and their 3-yearold son, and a security guard.

An Associated Press review of his online activity shows he displayed a fascination with white supremacy and mass shootings, which he described as sport. Photos Garcia posted showed large Nazi tattoos on his arm and torso, including a swastika and the ss lightning bolt logo of Hitler’s paramilitary forces.

The online statements have contributed to an emerging picture of Garcia. He was discharged from the Army in 2008 because of mental health issues and apparently had been working as a security guard, according to neighbours and an Army official.

Aric Toler, director of training and research at the international research collective bellingcat.com, said he identified Garcia’s profile on the site oK.ru by searching for active accounts with his birthdate located in the us The AP independently verified the account, which also featured an image of a traffic ticket with Garcia’s name and birthdate as well as paperwork from a motel where he stayed before the shooting at Allen Premium outlets in one of the Dallas’ most diverse suburbs.

Federal agents investigating what motivated the shooting have also reviewed the online posts, according to a federal law enforcement official who could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

The official also said Garcia had a patch on his chest when police killed him that read “rWDs,” an acronym for the phrase “right Wing Death squad,” which is popular among right-wing extremists and white supremacy groups. Investigators have also interviewed family members and associates of Garcia to ask about his ideological beliefs and are examining his financial records and other electronic media, the official said.

Garcia joined the Army in 2008 but was terminated three months later without completing his initial training, us Army spokeswoman Heather j Hagan said.

According to an Army official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues, he was kicked out due to mental health issues.

Garcia received an “uncharacterised” discharge, which is common for recruits who don’t make it through training or the first 180 days, according to a defence official who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues. That type of discharge — which is not dishonourable — would not set off red flags or require any reports to law enforcement.

on the Dallas block where Garcia lived with his parents until recently, neighbours said they thought he worked as a security guard but they weren’t sure where. The company that manages the mall where the attack happened didn’t immediately reply to messages seeking further information.

sibley said Tuesday that as far as he knew, Garcia hadn’t worked at the Allen mall, but that he wasn’t completely sure.

A woman who lives next door to Garcia’s parents’ house said she didn’t know her neighbours well but described them as nice and polite. Garcia was always friendly, waving and honking, she said.

A law enforcement official said investigators also have searched a Dallas motel where Garcia had been staying in the runup to the attack.

The shooting was the latest attack to contribute to the unprecedented pace of mass killings this year in the us just over a week before, five people were fatally shot in Cleveland, Texas, after a neighbour asked a man to stop firing his weapon while a baby slept, authorities said.

The community mourned the dead and awaited word on the seven people who were wounded. Medical City Healthcare said Monday it was treating six patients: Three were in critical condition, two were in fair condition and one was in good condition at a children’s hospital. Police said a seventh wounded person was taken to a different hospital. Allen is one of the area’s most diverse cities.

The area saw the largest Asian American growth rate of any major us metro area, according to us Census figures. Those statistics show that Allen’s population is about 19%

Asian, 10% Black and 11% Hispanic. Allen also is connected to another of Texas’ recent mass shootings.

Patrick Crusius lived there in 2019 before he posted a racist screed online

warning of a “Hispanic invasion” and drove to El Paso, where he opened fire at a Walmart, killing 23 people. Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and weapons charges in February.

Haitian fact O ry W O rkers Pr O test

E. Jean Carroll arrives at Manhattan federal court, yesterday, in New York. A jury in New York City deliberated in a civil trial over Carroll’s claims that Donald Trump raped her in a luxury Manhattan department store. Trump was found guilty of sexual abuse.

Photo: John Minchillo/AP

LargE crosses are constructed at a makeshift memorial by the mall where several people were killed several days earlier, Monday, in Allen, Texas.

Photo: Tony gutierrez/AP

FacTory workers march to demand salary increases in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday.

Photo: odelyn Joseph/AP

go

GSSSA SOCCER SEASON ROLLS ON

FROM PAGE 16

senior boys took down the Rattlers 3-2.

In a game that was more competitive than the score reflected, the Mystic Marlins opened up the game 1-0.

However, the Rattlers quickly countered after scoring a goal shortly thereafter to tie things up 1-1.

The Mystic Marlins mounted another attack to sneak a goal past the goalie

RICHARD

FROM PAGE 16

DREAM AGAIN BASKETBALL CAMP SET FOR JUNE 26 TO JULY 15

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FORMER professional basketball player turned coach JR Cadot is looking forward to continuing to develop the next generation of basketball players in the country.

to go up 2-1. Both teams had two points apiece going into the halftime to make things exciting in the second half.

The Mystic Marlins scored the final goal of the day to not only defeat the Rattlers but secure their first win of the GSSSA soccer season.

Vandyke Bethel, head coach of the Mystic Marlins, said he is happy to get their first win of the year as the boys are now learning how to play together and

work collectively as a team. He said the team has a long-term plan to build on the things that they have done this year going into next year.

The coach added that one of his biggest coaching strategies was to teach the boys how to play possession soccer rather than just kicking the ball all game.

In more senior action, the RM Bailey Pacers’ senior girls toppled the CC Sweeting Cobras 2-0. Meanwhile, their senior

boys dominated against the team, winning 11-1.

Juniors

The HO Nash Lions defeated the DW Davis Royals juniors girls 2-0. The matchup between the junior boys ended in a tie with both teams only scoring one point each.

The Timberwolves’ junior boys wrapped up the Scorpions 6-0. Meanwhile, the girls’ matchup ended in a draw with both teams going scoreless.

Today’s GSSSA soccer action will kickoff at the DW Davis soccer field between the CH Reeves Raptors and AF Adderley Tigers.

At the CH Reeves soccer field, the LW Young Golden Eagles will take on the DW Davis Royals.

For the seniors, the RM Bailey Pacers will take on the CR Walker Knights and the CC Sweeting Cobras will face off against the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves.

Cadot, who is now in the Philippines participating in the training camp, is scheduled to hold the Dream Again Basketball Camp through his Nexx Basketball Organisation from June 26 to July 15.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Cadot, a NCAA Division One College basketball standout and former pro player who was invited to participate in both the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls training camp.

The Dream Again camp will take place at the Hope Centre basketball courts at University Commons for boys and girls between the ages of eight and 18 years. The registration fee is $175, which also includes a camp t-shirt.

During the camp, the youngsters will be taught the basic skills in ballhandling, game situation, shooting, footwork and defence.

“It’s important that we work on developing the fundamental skills of the young players at an early age so that they won’t develop those bad skills that would affect them when they start to play for their high school teams,” Cadot said.

“We will take them through the various stages of basketball and try to encourage them to perfect their game. We will make it as exciting as possible because we believe that’s one of the ways to get them to enjoy the game.”

Among the list of instructors expected to join Cadot in the camp will be Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn, a former collegiate and men’s national team basketball player.

A former NBA academy coach and others out of the USA are expected to make an appearance at the camp.

“We are putting together some of the best coaches available for the camp,” Cadot said. “So we want the parents to know that their children will be given the best instructions available.” Space in the camp, according to Cadot, is limited, so interested persons are urged to register now at www.nexxbasketball. com, WhatsApp 535-9354, visit facebook & instagram @nexxbaksetbll or email nexxbasketball@gmail.com

Oklahoma to improve to 6-9 as they advanced to the conference final where they lost.

Lowe, who averaged 12.5 points and 10.9 rebounds, joined two other members of the Pioneers in making the NJCAA Region II Third Team All-Conference honours.

In comparison to Western Oklahoma, Lowe said he liked the small atmosphere of Northwood University, and it came with a full two-year athletic scholarship, so there was no way that Lowe was turning down the offer.

“They gave me an opportunity, so I took it,” Lowe said. “I sat down and I talked to my coach, Lonnie Griffin, and he said when I come in, he expects me to be one of the leaders because of my maturity as a player. “They have recruited a lot of young players out of high school and they don’t know what it takes to play at the collegiate level yet, so he wants me to help lead the young guys, keep them on the right track and provide the leadership to push the other players along.”

Northwood University is based in Canton, Ohio, and they play out of the G-MAC where they finished the season with a 2-26 record, so the 22-year-old Lowe will have his work cut out for him when he suits up for the Timberwolves.

Lowe, by the way, will be the first in his family to graduate from college and when he heads to Western Oklahoma, he intends to pursue another degree in sports management and entrepreneurship.

As the son of Dellareese and Richard Lowe Sr, Lowe Jr has three sisters, but none of them have participated in sports. He said he also hopes that his graduation will inspire other members of his family to pursue their higher education.

On making the transition to college, Lowe admitted that he was nervous at first because he didn’t know what to expect.

FRASER-PRYCE, MESSI WIN TOP LAUREUS GLOBAL SPORTS AWARDS

PARIS (AP) — Lionel Messi has won a top accolade as world Sportsman of the Year and picked up another award as a member of the team of the year following Argentina’s World Cup soccer victory in 2022.

the next generation in a positive way,” she said.

“Most people when they leave here for school, they go to areas where it’s highly populated, but I kind of enjoyed being in the environment that I found myself in,” he said. “I learned more about life and taking care of myself because I found myself in a totally different environment, being away from my family and friends. But it was a good learning experience for me.”

He thanked his family, coach Bowles, Doris Johnson Secondary High, his friends and especially Keith Sands and Ms Hanna from JS Johnson for their support in getting him to the level he’s at right now.

Jamaican sprinter ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce finally broke through to win the Sportswoman of the Year award on her sixth nomination. Fraser-Pryce’s 2022 exploits included winning the 100-metre gold at the World Athletics Championships for the fifth time.

The Laureus Sports Awards honouring eight winners were held live in Paris on Monday night for the first time since 2020. It was Messi’s second individual title after sharing that honour with Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton in 2020.

Fraser-Pryce, who has won three Olympic and 10 world championship gold medals, called her award “one of the greatest honours of my career.”

“When athletes have the spotlight, it’s important the example we set is the best it can be . . . we have a responsibility to influence

Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz’s victory at the 2022 US Open and his rise to the No. 1 ranking saw him take the Breakthrough of the Year award. Alcaraz, who celebrated his 20th birthday last week, won Sunday’s final of the Madrid Open.

Christian Eriksen was the recipient of the Comeback of the Year award after recovering from a cardiac arrest to return to Premier League football with Brentford and then Manchester United.

The world Action Sportsperson of the Year went to Americanborn Chinese freestyler skier Eileen Gu, who was 18 during the Winter Olympics in Beijing. She became the first athlete to win three medals in freestyle skiing at a single Olympics — gold in both the halfpipe and big air events, and silver in slopestyle.

Nominees for the Laureus awards are determined by international media and winners are voted on by 71 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy – athletes from the past 50 years.

BAHAMIAN Richard Lowe has committed to taking his talent to Northwood University to play for the Timberwolves men’s basketball team.

ON THE FIELD: The senior girls of the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins

up against the CI Gibson Rattlers yesterday at the CV Bethel soccer field.

PLAY ACTION: The Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) soccer season continued for the junior and senior divisions yesterday at the CH Reeves, DW Davis and CV Bethel soccer fields. Above, the senior boys of the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins matched up against the CI Gibson Rattlers yesterday at the CV Bethel soccer field.

Photos by Tenajh Sweeting

Embiid scores 33, 76ers beat Celtics 115-103 for 3-2 lead

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer

BOSTON (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 33 points and the Philadelphia 76ers easily took a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the Boston Celtics 115-103 last night.

The 76ers led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter as home fans booed the Celtics, and can close out the series and advance to the conference finals when they host Game 6 on Thursday night.

It was the third straight 30-point game in the series for Embiid, who also had seven rebounds, four blocks and three 3-pointers.

Tyrese Maxey added 30 points and six 3-pointers. James Harden finished with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 36 points but was just 11 of 27 from the field.

Jaylen Brown finished with 24 points. The Celtics went 12 of 38 from the 3-point line. The previous two occasions the 76ers were in a second-round series that was tied 2-2, they were blown out in Game 5 — a 36-point loss to Toronto in 2019 and 35-point loss to Miami last season.

Not this time.

The 76ers led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter and took an 88-72 lead into the fourth.

A quick flurry by the Celtics cut the deficit to 11, but Philadelphia responded with a 10-2 run to push it back up to 102-83.

Philadelphia made a concerted effort to get the ball to Embiid in the post from the outset. He was able to knock down midrange jumpers, helping to open

PHILADELPHIA

Nuggets beat Suns 118-102 in Game 5, regain series lead

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP)

— Nikola Jokic had a triple-double after making up with Suns owner Mat Ishbia and Michael Porter Jr sank five 3-pointers to help the Denver Nuggets beat Phoenix 118-102 last night in Game 5 to regain the series lead.

Joker had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for his 10th career playoff triple-double, breaking a tie with Wilt Chamberlain for most by a center in NBA history.

more from his bench, unleash MPJ and knock down open 3s.

Check, check, check, check and check. Porter bounced back from a bad night in Game 4 with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from long range. Denver outscored Phoenix 31-23 in fast-break points; Booker scored 28 points but missed 11 of 19 shots; Bruce Brown boosted the Nuggets’ bench with 25 points and the Nuggets sank 13 of 27 from long range.

Kevin Durant chipped in 26 points for Phoenix.

during the first half of Game 5 in their NBA

Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series last night in Boston.

the floor for his teammates as Boston’s big men were pulled out of the paint. struggled to find their shot throughout.

early rebounding advan tage and had success with Embiid running pick-androll sets at Al Horford.

tunities for Embiid and contributed to Philadelphia building a 15-point lead in

LAKERS CAN OUST CURRY AND WARRIORS, HEAT CAN FINISH KNICKS IN GAME 5S

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) —

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat three years ago in the most unusual NBA Finals ever, played neither during the normal season nor in their home arenas.

Those teams might be moving toward something else the league has never seen. Both have 3-1 leads and can advance to their conference finals tonight, which would leave them one round away from a potential unprecedented championship matchup pitting a No. 7 vs. a No. 8 seed.

The Lakers can get to the Western Conference finals by ending the championship reign of the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 in San Francisco, where they were routed in Game 2 before clamping down

the last two games. “I think we’ll be ready,” James said.

“One thing about when you play Golden State, you don’t have an opportunity to relax. You just don’t. So I’m not worried about us going in there comfortable. You just can’t do it versus Golden State, it’s not even — it’s not possible.”

The Heat can finish off the Knicks in New York and get to the conference finals for the third time in four years, this time as the lowest-seeded team in the field.

Defend like these teams do, and it doesn’t matter the number in front of your name.

The Lakers and Heat both seized control of their series by winning two straight at home. After uneven regular seasons that forced them to come through the play-in round, they have emerged as the dominant teams in the postseason,

JACKSON, HOLIDAY, LOPEZ HEADLINE NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM

NEW YORK (AP) —

Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr, of the Memphis Grizzlies, and Milwaukee Bucks’ Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez headlined the NBA’s All-Defensive team yesterday.

Also voted to the first team were Cleveland forward Evan Mobley and Chicago guard Alex Caruso.

Jackson, the NBA leader with 3.0 blocked shots per game, received 96 of 100 first-team votes and finished with 195 points for his second AllDefensive team selection.

Holiday was just behind him with 94 first-team votes and 192 points, earning a fifth career selection (three firsts, two seconds.)

Lopez, the runner-up to Jackson for Defensive Player of the Year, had 185 points and 85 first-team votes.

Boston guard Derrick White topped the second team, followed by eight-time All-Defensive selection Draymond Green of Golden State.

Toronto’s O.G. Anunoby, Dillon Brooks of Memphis and Bam Adebayo of Miami rounded out the team.

just as they were in the late summer and fall of 2020 at the NBA’s restart at Walt Disney World amid the COVID-10 pandemic.

Now they need one more strong effort in what’s often considered the toughest game of the series to win.

“Your competitive nature heightens in those closeout games,” Heat veteran Kyle Lowry said. “I’ve been in a lot, and I’ve been on both ends, so I’ve been in these situations before and I know how hard they are.

“But it’s all about focusing on the game plan and what you have to do, right? It’s going to be so crazy, ups and downs, but if you just focus on the game plan and what you know to do and bank on your principles and have your teammates’ backs, anything can happen.”

Los Angeles limited Golden State to 17 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 104-101 victory on Monday. The Lakers are 17-5 since March 19 and now need only to avoid their first three-game losing streak in three months to book their spot opposite Denver or Phoenix in the West finals.

Do so and they would match the 1987 Seattle SuperSonics for the lowest-seeded team to reach the West finals. A No. 7 seed never has played in the NBA Finals in the current postseason format that began in 1984.

There has been one No. 8, when the Knicks got there in 1999. These Heat continue to show how much they want to be the second, chasing down seven offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter to outwork New York and hold on for a 109101 victory Monday. “I guess maybe they want it more, I don’t know,”

Game 6 is Thursday night in Phoenix. The home team has won every game in the series. If that holds true again, the decisive winnertake-all clash will come Sunday back in Denver, where the top-seeded Nuggets own the NBA’s best home record at 39-7, including 5-0 in the playoffs.

After Denver lost two straight at Phoenix, Nuggets coach Michael Malone devised a five-point plan for the Nuggets to regain control of the series: patch up their transition defence, slow Devin Booker, get

The Nuggets turned a three-point halftime lead into a 91-74 cushion with a domiinant third quarter in which Jokic made seven of eight shots for 17 points and Booker was just 1-for-8 for 3 points.

The chippiness of the series reached a new level in the final minute of the third quarter when Nuggets swingman Brown antagonised the Suns as they huddled up on the court and Durant gave Jokic a forearm shiver. A double technical was assessed on Durant and Brown.

Knicks forward Julius Randle said.

“That’s been who we are all year and we’ve got to find a way to step up and make those plays if we want to keep this season alive.”

HEAT AT KNICKS

Miami leads 3-1. Game 4, 7:30 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, TNT

— NEED TO KNOW:

After averaging 124 points in their upset of top-seeded Milwaukee, tops in the first round, the Heat have won the other way in this series. They have limited the Knicks to 99.8 points per game and will try to improve to 15-0 in series in which they held a 3-1 lead. New York never has come back from a 3-1 deficit.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: Jimmy Butler. He scored 42 points in Game 5 of the last round to end a series on the road and it wouldn’t be any surprise if he did something similar to finish this one.

He had 27 points and 10 assists Monday and has scored at least 25 in 10 straight postseason games dating to last season.

— INJURY WATCH: Knicks backup guard Immanuel Quickley watched Game 4 from the bench in a walking boot because of a sprained ankle, forcing Jalen Brunson — battling his own ankle soreness — to play 44 minutes.

— PRESSURE IS ON:

Brunson, Randle and RJ Barrett. Miami’s Bam Adebayo has thoroughly outplayed New York’s centers, and the Heat are winning the battle of the benches. So it’s hard to see any way the series gets back to Miami unless the Knicks’ top three players all have big games.

LAKERS AT WARRIORS Los Angeles leads 3-1. Game 4, 10 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, TNT

— NEED TO KNOW: The Warriors have won 19 straight playoff series against Western Conference teams and overcame a 3-1 deficit once to do it, when they knocked off Oklahoma City in the 2016 Western Conference finals.

James’ teams have never lost a 3-1 lead.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: Golden State’s starting lineup.

The Warriors already have used five different ones in 11 postseason games, and Steve Kerr has to figure out which one he can put together that can score enough to take the pressure off Stephen Curry while still being able to defend and rebound with James and Davis in the front court.

— INJURY WATCH: Both teams’ rotation players are healthy.

— PRESSURE IS ON:

Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. Thompson has a reputation for big performances in Game 6s, but the Warriors won’t even get to one if he doesn’t play better than his 3-for-11 effort Monday, featuring a couple late illadvised 3-point attempts. It’s hard to tell if the struggling Poole will even get much of a chance, after being limited to 10 scoreless minutes in Game 4.

basketball

GOLDEN State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) walks off the court after being defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers 104-101 in Game 4 of an NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal on Monday night in Los Angeles. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

NUGGETS centre Nikola Jokic, right, goes up for a basket over Suns centre Deandre Ayton in the first half of Game 5 of their NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal series last night. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Bahamas wins opener against Guatemala

TEAM Bahamas players in action on Monday night against Guatemala in the featured game on day one of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship and World Cup Qualifier in the national beach soccer stadium at Malcolm Park. Photos by Austin Fernander/Tribune Staff

TEAM Bahamas rode the momentum of the crowd for

win and then

WINNING WAYS: Team Bahamas players celebrate last night after defeating Belize 6-2 on day two of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship and World Cup Qualifier in the national beach soccer stadium.

Bahamas tops Belize 6-2 to stay undefeated

FROM PAGE 16

period and highlighted by back-to-back shots inside the goal post from Kyle Williams and Evelt Julmis, who added his pair - the first on a penalty kick and the other on a defensive play to seal the deal.

“The first goal was a penalty. The second one, I didn’t know what happened. I was just blocking and I turned around and saw everybody celebrating,” Julmis said. “It was an awesome break for me. I’m proud of it.”

Considering that he didn’t play in the first game, Julmis said he went out and put his best foot forward. Hopefully, as the tournament progresses, he can continue to be effective.

In other games played, Panama def. the Dominican Republic 8-1, the United States def. Trinidad

& Tobago 6-2, Costa Rica def. Turks & Caicos 10-2, defending champions El Salvador def. Guadeloupe 10-1 and Mexico def. Guatemala 6-3.

The Bahamas, in Group B, is scheduled to play its their third match against Mexico at 7:30pm tonight.

Today’s action will get started at noon with Trinidad & Tobago taking on the Dominican Republic, followed by the USA vs Panama at 1:30 pm, Guadeloupe vs Turks and Caicos at 3pm, El Salvador vs Costa Rica at 4:30pm and Guatemala vs Belize at 6pm. The teams will have a break on Thursday and are slated to begin the playoffs on Friday.

The finals will be played on Sunday with the two participants advancing to the World Cup.

AFTER going to sudden death for a 2-2 (5-4) win over Guatemala in game one on Monday night, the Bahamas knocked off Belize 6-2 last night to remain undefeated with four points.

Photos by Austin Fernander/Tribune Staff

SPORTS

Bahamas tops Belize 6-2 to stay undefeated

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Coach Alexandre Soares liked the intensity level that the Bahamas men’s national team brought to game two of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Tournament and World Cup Qualifier.

After going to sudden death for a 2-2 (5-4) win over Guatemala in game one on Monday night in the Beach Soccer Facility at Malcolm Park, the Bahamas knocked off Belize 6-2 yesterday to remain undefeated with four points.

“We played better than yesterday. Yesterday we were probably nervous because of the start of the tournament,” Soares said. “The tournament is difficult, but we played very well and we won the game.”

James Thompson scored the initial goal and was followed quickly by another from Jean Francois to snatch a 2-0 lead before Belize answered with their first goal from Kenton Martinez to trail 2-1 at the end of the first period.

“It was a surreal experience. Definitely being able to display the many things we worked on in training, one being my responsibility to score some goals,” Thompson said. “It’s a good feeling to know that the hard work is paying off.”

Thompson added another in the second quarter and Martinez responded as they completed the second period.

The Bahamas went on cruise control in the third

SEE PAGE 15

Girls’ basketball tourney to be staged in memory of Jonique ‘Mini’ Webb

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

“MISSED, but not forgotten” is the theme that coach Terrance ‘Red-Eye’ McSweeney is using for the third annual basketball tournament for girls as the Diamond Basketball development programme honours the late Jonique ‘Mini’ Webb.

McSweeney, the founder and director of the Diamond Basketball Development Programme, will hold the memorial basketball tournament for Webb, who died on January 19, 2020.

The tournament, according to McSweeney, is being staged during the month of Webb’s birthday - May 10, 1989.

But instead of being staged at the Hope Center, McSweeney said they will be moving to the Charles W Saunders High School on Jean Street.

“This is an opportunity for young girls who are still in school, who came through the Diamond Basketball Development Programme,” McSweeney said.

“Jonique passed away on January 19, 2020 and ever

GSSSA SOCCER SEASON ROLLS ON

By TENAJH SWEETING tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) soccer season continued for the junior and senior divisions yesterday at the CH Reeves, DW Davis and CV Bethel soccer fields.

On the day, the seniors of the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins took on the CI Gibson Rattlers. Also, the RM Bailey Pacers matched up against the CC Sweeting Cobras.

For the juniors, DW Davis faced off against the HO Nash Lions and TA Thompson kicked things off with the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves.

Seniors

The senior girls of the CI Gibson Rattlers comfortably defeated the Mystic Marlins 3-0.

The Rattlers opened the bout 1-0 after Louisette Jean-Baptiste zipped past her opponents to score a goal. Her work was not done yet as she once again scored a goal to help her team advance to a 2-0 lead before halftime.

The team scored the final goal to increase the score by one to win 3-0 against the Mystic Marlins.

Michael Smith, head coach of the Rattlers, talked about how it felt to get the senior girls’ win.

“It’s a good win, the girls are young in the game, they are learning so this is going to boost their confidence going forward,” Smith said.

He added that Jean-Baptiste constantly attacks the goal in practice and, as the ball came to her in-game, she did her job and kicked it to the back of the net.

The Mystic Marlins returned the favour as their

BASKETBALL STANDOUT RICHARD LOWE COMMITS TO NORTHWOOD

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER leaving his fingerprints on Western Oklahoma State College for the past two seasons, Bahamian Richard Lowe has committed to taking his talent to Northwood University to play for the Timberwolves men’s basketball team.

Lowe, a 2020 graduate of Doris Johnson Secondary High where he played for the Mystic Marlins senior boys basketball team under coach Denycko Bowles, will be graduating on Friday with his associate’s degree in liberal arts.

since, we have been putting on the basketball tournament around her birthday,” he added.

McSweeney is calling for all aspiring, young female basketball players from grade five in the primary school to grade 11 in the high school to come out and participate in the free for all basketball camp that will run from 9am to noon.

“We want to continue to honour one of our very own, the late Jonique ‘Mini’ Webb,” McSweeney said.

“This is a small token of our appreciation of her

involvement in the programme over the years.

“From as early as 1995 up until she graduated from Jordan Prince Williams in 2006, she has been a part of our programme and she continued to support her even after she graduated.”

Webb was a versatile player who participated in basketball, softball, volleyball and track and field during her tenure at Jordan Prince Williams where she was listed as one of the top athletes to represent the Falcons. She also served as a secretary for the Baptist Sports Council.

After coming home to celebrate with his family and friends this summer, Lowe said he’s eager to return to the United States to begin his final two years of eligibility with Northwood University in August.

Lowe, however, admitted that he was surprised during COVID-19 that coach Bowles reached out to him and informed him that he had gotten a deal for him to play at Western Oklahoma State.

His freshman season was not what he anticipated as the Pioneers went 1-12 as he averaged 13 points and nine rebounds per game.

But the 6-foot, 8-inch Lowe, who plays power

forward

and centre, said during the summer, his coach Rolando De La Barrera took him to an AllAmerican Junior College showcase where he played

against the top 20 division II players in the USA. That enabled him to sharpen his game as he helped Western

TWO STRAIGHT WINS: Team Bahamas players celebrate last night after defeating Belize 6-2 on day two of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship and World Cup Qualifier in the national beach soccer stadium.

Photo by Austin Fernander/Tribune Staff SEE PAGE 12

DIAMOND Basketball’s third annual basketball tournament for girls will be held in memory of Jonique ‘Mini’ Webb.

POWER forward/centre Richard Lowe.