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PINTARD’S ‘BOLD’ PLAN AFTER LANDSLIDE WIN

• Minnis concedes after defeat by 486-163

• PLP hits out at FNM leader as ‘unhinged’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AFTER comprehensively defeating former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis at the FNM’s one-day convention on Saturday, Michael Pintard promised to make

“bold” transformative changes if the party is returned to power at the next general election –vowing to reform land policies, reduce taxes, and improve the ease of doing business in the country.

Mr Pintard promised to

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A SURVIVOR of the HMBS Flamingo attack and his family have been left homeless after a fire destroyed their home over the weekend - and the family is appealing for donations to help rebuild their home of 40-plus years. Retired Defence Force Captain Whitfield Neely,

one of the survivors of the ill-fated attack, saw his family of five’s life changed on Friday afternoon when their 45-year-old home, which he built, was ripped apart by a fire.

“Everything he built 45 years ago burned down in 45 minutes,” his son, Osano Neely, told The Tribune yesterday, adding the family is still uncertain about what

SEE PAGE SEVEN

By NEIL HARTNELL and Fay Simmons Tribune Business Reporters

CAPTAIN Whitfield Neely spraying water on the remains of his home. Photo: Osano Neely

FNM Party Leader Michael Pintard speaks during the 2024 FNM Convention held at Baha Mar on Saturday. Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

Pintard’s ‘bold’ plan

change the status quo and reverse some policies of the Davis administration, which he characterised as a government of excessive spending with little transparency and accountability.

“There is one law for the PLP and a different law for everyone else,” he told a crowd of jubilant FNM supporters at Baha Mar’s convention centre Saturday night. “We are different from them.”

Mr Pintard spoke after he was re-elected as the party’s leader, receiving

486 votes, 75 per cent of the total votes, while Dr Minnis got 163.

His victory was not surprising, given the number of prominent FNMs who endorsed him in recent weeks. Many of his supporters cheered even before Senator Michela BarnettEllis announced the official results.

After conceding defeat, Dr Minnis congratulated Mr Pintard.

“I plan to continue to be even more resolute in my commitment to serving the Bahamian people and keeping the Progressive

Liberal Party government accountable,” he said in a statement.

He was not present during the FNM’s night session on Saturday, but said he still supports the FNM and does not intend to resign his seat in Parliament.

Dr Minnis’ resounding defeat raised questions about what role he would play in the party’s future. He and Mr Pintard have a strained relationship at best, and some in the party looked forward to his loss with glee.

Noted FNMs told The Tribune they hope he

remains a force within the party and supports Mr Pintard in private and in public moving forward.

With the leadership issue now settled, Mr Pintard hopes to galvanise supporters and lead his party to victory in the next general election.

Mr Pintard, who had struggled to unify the party, called for togetherness.

He thanked those who voted for him and told those who didn’t that the party still needs them.

He said if elected as prime minister, his administration

would pursue a comprehensive land reform policy and would eliminate “outside toilets” in the country.

“If you are a landlord out there, there should be a minimum standard at which you are permitted to collect rent on rental properties,” he added.

“We will reduce the regulations that would tie businesses down in this country. There’s no reason to get approval for a business startup in Grand Bahama and still have to come to Nassau and get approval from the Cabinet of the Commonwealth of

the Bahamas.” Regarding tax reform, he pledged to remove VAT from certain healthy foods, medicines, and feminine and infant care products and to reintroduce it to properties exceeding $2m.

He said: “It cannot be right that at this stage in our development as a country, we have not found a more equitable way to protect those that are more vulnerable and get a little bit more from those who can and are willing to pay a little bit more.”

SEE PAGE THREE

DR Duane Sands reacts after finding out that he will retain the position of FNM Chairman.

FNM party leader Michael Pintard speaks during the 2024 FNM Convention held at Baha Mar on Saturday after being re-elected leader 486-163.

Photos: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

after landslide win

Regarding Family Island’s development, the opposition leader said the local government needs more powers and that his government would enact changes to ensure this. He is the latest party leader to pledge to give more power to local government. Dr Minnis did not follow through on a similar promise, and the Davis administration has yet to do so.

“It makes no sense that so many of the projects that could be executed in

the Family Islands completely supervised by local government, that local government is pop down and do not have the resources required to oversee existing projects or to authorise some basic works that need to be carried out in their communities,” Mr Pintard said.

He said a Pintard-led government would ensure every Family Island has at least one commercial bank and would require banks to justify to the regulators “the ever-increasing fees.”

“We would not allow the Bahamian people to be

effectively locked out of or priced out of the banking system in the country,” he added.

He also promised to repeal the government’s National Investment Funds Bill 2022 and establish “a world-class sovereign wealth fund.”

Further to this, a Pintardled administration would introduce legislation that “would prevent ministers from overreaching” in the public service,” he said.

“We believe that in the Department of Immigration, it is time to look at whether or not we can

entrench the director of immigration so that no minister can willy nilly decide whether they are going to get rid of them.”

Additionally, he said the party wants a more independent Parliament.

“We want to make sure that no executive in the country will treat the third arm of government like a pop-down entity or yet another ministry. FNMs, if we are going to be serious, then let’s be serious,” he said.

“We can’t only despise it when we’re in opposition, and when we get in

government, we do something else.”

He also repeated policy pledges to form a select committee on immigration and advance initiatives to protect our heritage and ecotourism. He warned the government against using intimidation tactics against FNM supporters, saying:

“For all of those young people who got that letter saying you can’t function in the FNM, when the three cubicles are empty next to you because three political operatives are not showing up to work, I

want to let you know and we serve notice on those ministries that we stand with our young people.”

The FNM’s leadership team includes Mr Pintard, deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright, and chairman Dr Duane Sands. Dr Sands retained his post after beating Elsworth Johnson, 431 votes to 221.

“We want to go together at the PLP to protect the interest of the Bahamian people and so we are going to be together no doubt about it,” he told supporters on Saturday.

Minnis claims he wasn’t given a ‘fair shot’ in FNM’s leadership race

By JADE RUSSELL

Staff Reporter

FORMER Prime Minis-

ter Dr Hubert Minnis said he was disappointed by the “skullduggery” and “intimidation tactics” surrounding the Free National Movement’s leadership race, claiming he wasn’t given a fair shot.

However, after losing the race with only 25 percent of the vote, his publicist, Kevin Harris, released a statement in which Dr Minnis congratulated Michael Pintard and reiterated his commitment to the FNM.

Earlier on Saturday, he said his team considered taking legal action, but he discouraged this because it would damage the party. He said many of his supporters wore neutral coloured shirts to avoid being intimidated.

“I told them listen, one thing you must do, do not come out and say you’re supporting Dr Minnis because you’ll be intimidated and you’ll be browbeat,” he said.

“There’s no reason for that. I was very disappointed with the amount of skullduggery that’s going on. I must be a threat to a lot of people. I don’t know who and why. Because everybody knows my focus is developing The Bahamas, building a better Bahamas.”

Pressed about the “skullduggery” to which he referred, Dr Minnis

claimed there had been fraudulent changes to documents.

“I know for a fact because individuals have sent copies of their delegates list to me as they sent it to the party,” he said. “When I look at the lists that come from the party, names have been changed. I called to find out from the head of the delegation why have the names changed.

“They’ve explained to me yes they’ve been threatened. They’ve been browbeaten and said to change so many names. They’ve stood firm without changing all and they ended up changing about two or three because of the pressure that was applied to them.”

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham walked in unity with Mr Pintard throughout the convention floor. He told reporters Dr Minnis’ time had passed, adding: “One and done.”

Asked about Dr Minnis’ claims of an unfair race, Mr Pintard said he reached out to Dr Minnis the night before the convention to say that regardless of the outcome of the race, he would be allowed to speak at the celebratory ceremony. Nonetheless, Dr Minnis did not attend that ceremony.

“We understand that sometimes when the tide looks as if it’s not in your favour, there may

be hurt feelings, but we believe we’ll get past that,” he said.

FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands called Dr Minnis’ claims of skullduggery “nonsense.” He said Dr Minnis should take his rightful position in the party rather than trying to

be the leader.

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said he was disappointed in Dr Minnis’ allegations.

“There’s absolutely no evidence of that,” he said.

“I’m surprised by the comment and disappointed by the comment. But as far as I know, and I think I know a little bit about what’s been happening, it’s been a very transparent process.”

Over 750 people registered to vote in the convention. FNM Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis, who organised the event,

claimed it was the largest convention the party has ever had. She said voting rooms had trifold boards and other privacy measures. Many voters said the process went smoothly and that they felt at ease casting their ballots.

KILLARNEY MP and former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis during the 2024 FNM Convention held at Baha Mar on Saturday.

FNM party leader Michael Pintard during the 2024 FNM Convention on Saturday. Photos: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

‘It’s over’: Delegates are ready to move forward with Pintard

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedai.net

SOME delegates at the Free National Movement’s convention on Saturday said although former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis had “good moments” as leader of his party and country, his time as leader is over.

One delegate said people are simply not interested in Dr Minnis anymore.

Hundreds of delegates, many dressed in the FNM’s signature red colour, crowded Baha Mar’s convention centre on Saturday. Some came from the Family Islands. Some brought babies in strollers. Many held signs touting Michael Pintard, who beat Dr Minnis with 75 per cent of the vote. At one point, some blew horns and chanted, “it over”.

Geoffery Stuart, 77, a meritorious council member (MCM) with the party since 1984 said:

“People have lost interest in Dr Minnis. Whatever good he has done that is fine, but that’s behind us now we’re moving forward with Michael Pintard.”

“People are saying there’s conflict in the party. This goes on within any organisation that has a voting process taking place. I don’t know why people are coming to that conclusion because people are

competing for a position, and each one who’s competing speaks against the other one negatively at that time, but it doesn’t mean they’re not friends or get along.”

Larry Wildgoose, 71, an advisory council member of the FNM (ACM), travelled from Central Grand Bahama to vote. He said he was supporting Mr Pintard in the leadership race, adding: “That’s the only thing going these days.”

“Dr Minnis, in my opinion, did the best he could have done, and he needs to get credit and recognition for the good that he has done. He has done some good stuff. Apparently, those days are over, and we need to continue with the current leadership.”

Mr Wildgoose said no member of parliament has given Grand Bahama the focus it needs. However, he said he is 100 per cent confident that Mr Pintard will “resuscitate” the island.

Captain Evertte Bootle, 83, an MCM, travelled from Abaco to support Mr Pintard. He said he believes Mr Pintard offers stability and mature leadership.

A strong supporter of former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, Mr Bootle said since Mr Ingraham’s successful tenure on Abaco, the island hasn’t received the attention it needs.

“Abaco has been neglected,” he said.

Hurricane Dorian wrecked Abaco and Grand Bahama in September 2019. Some criticised Dr Minnis’ response to the storm.

Kendall Culmer, a council member of the FNM, was one of the few people seen wearing a shirt supporting Dr Minnis.

“Let me put it this way,” he said. “Based on what was going on here all day, it is either one of the two or both - desperation on the part of the other person or rank intimidation on their part. But I am satisfied that in my view Dr Minnis will come out in the end.”

Mr Culmer said he believes Dr Minnis had done a list of good things for The Bahamas.

“Education is one where he made a special effort to get preschoolers into the educational system to make it better for them later on,” he said. “He also improved the healthcare system, where people can now have access to medical attention and medicine. He expanded the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport. This was a plus.”

“Also, in terms of education, he made the University of The Bahamas accessible to all Bahamians once you qualify. All of those people coming from Family Islands, he provided them with a $500 stipend so they can pay for living accommodations.”

Death Notice for Henry Alexander Gray, 68

of Coral Lakes, died at the Princess Margaret Hospital on Thursday, May 23rd, 2024.

He is survived by his, daughter: Fallon Gray; sons: Justin (Crystal), Jake and Kristopher (Lashan) Gray; grandchildren: Jafari Miller, Kristopher Jr., Xavier, Livingston Gray, Jordan, Jada, Aaliyah and Aurelia Gray and McQinzi White; sisters: Oleta Gray, Valderine Daxon, Theresa Lowe, Shandine and Rhoda Gray; brothers: Alexander, Citral, Patrick and Johsua Gray and Buster Evans; aunts: Constance Evan, Marguerite Ferguson and Beulah Fowler; uncle: Audley Fowler; and a host of other relatives and friends

FORMER Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham enters the voting hall.

FNM delegates and representatives arriving at the party’s 2024 convention held at Baha Mar on Saturday.

Photos: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

PLP hits out at FNM leader as ‘unhinged’

AFTER Michael Pintard retained leadership of the Free National Movement and delivered a victory speech, the Progressive Liberal Party called his performance “unhinged”.

The PLP said Mr Pintard held on to his leadership position “after two years of presiding over infighting, backstabbing, internal lawsuits and chaos”.

“He celebrated with a strange, unhinged series of untruths and attacks.

One can only imagine Hubert Minnis’ frustration, watching Pintard’s speech: How did I lose to this guy? Indeed, there are already whispers that any

temporary facade of peace within the FNM will be fragile and short-lived, as Pintard failed to offer Bahamians any reason to believe a man who has struggled to lead his fractious party could be a force for progress in The Bahamas.”

The PLP said Mr Pintard’s speech highlighted his deficiencies as a leader and thinker.

“He attacked a very popular and successful school breakfast programme that is helping Bahamian schoolchildren start their day off right. He ignored the government’s innovative National Youth Guard, real gains fighting crime, long

overdue action on shanty towns, major investments in health care and infrastructure, and the record number of visitors.”

“The current government rescued the country from fiscal crisis, and knocked a billion dollars off the country’s deficit –– reversing years of damage caused by incompetent and indifferent FNM governance. His call for reducing the size of government, which could only be referring to dismissing essential civil servants, shows a disturbing disregard for the livelihoods of those who serve our country.”

BPL WORKING TO COMPLETE ‘KEY’ REPAIRS TO GENERATION THIS WEEK

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

BAHAMAS Power and Light (BPL) officials said they are working to complete repairs this week on “several key assets” at its Clifton Pier power station to increase power supply in New Providence after a series of power outages this month.

The most recent outages affected parts of eastern New Providence last week, which officials blamed on several “faults” discovered by crews on the Eastern Road thoroughfare.

Arnette Ingraham, a senior manager at BPL, blamed recent road paving exercises for the faults and noted that not every power cut is a result of load shedding.

“Our crews had to go in and fix a number of faults,” she told The Tribune yesterday. “So even when they fixed one, they would find another one and that really exacerbated the problem in the eastern road area.”

“And then if I could point to one that we had also where there was a long outage in the southeastern New Providence, south-western New Providence area Cowpen Road, it stretched for a while. We had somebody hit an

HV line that had every single utility almost tied to it, so when things like that happen, people tend to think that it’s a loadshedding exercise, but those things are out of our control. All we can try to do is get to work right away as we always do to try to get everything back online.”

Ms Ingraham said BPL hadn’t conducted a loadshedding exercise since last Thursday but warned that load-shedding could happen if the company loses a unit or faces unforeseen circumstances.

She said the team anticipates getting at least 60MW of generation back on the grid by June and is confident BPL could meet summer demands with its current contingencies in place.

“We’re doing our best to make sure that we keep those units online, but they are aged and when things happen, especially when they’re working in overdrive during heightened heat conditions, the potential exists that they could go offline,” she said.

“What we do is that we work, our team works around the clock to make sure that they can get those units back up and running.”

Earlier this month, BPL reported widespread outages across New Providence

as it struggled with “unprecedented” demand for that time of the year.

Several consumers have claimed the outages left them with damaged or destroyed appliances.

When asked how many complaints the company had received in recent weeks, Ms Ingraham could not say but noted that damage claims are submitted to BPL daily.

“It is an active process,” she said. “We have damaged claims submitted daily to BPL, and we review them and those that we consider legitimate claims; it is BPL’s job to honour them.”

She said the company does not honour claims for damages caused by adverse weather or traffic accidents.

“So, what we always encourage our customers to do is do what is necessary to protect your property.

One of the first and primary steps is looking at the grounding in your home, especially when you have an older house,” she added.

“We also encourage our customers to take out insurance on pricey appliances, electronics, to make sure that in the event that there is any loss like lightning or some activity where BPL doesn’t cover it, the homeowner or the owner of that property is not at a loss.”

FNM party leader Michael Pintard speaks during the 2024 FNM Convention held at Baha Mar on Saturday. Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

BPL’s Clifton Pier station.

The Tribune Limited

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Pintard

WHAT’S NEXT?

Error in law on murder charges

EDITOR, The Tribune.

A FEW months ago when it seemed like we were having a murder every day, the Bahamian people were apoplectic, perplexed and the government appeared clueless as to how to tackle the problems, there was great anxiety amongst the citizenry which led to the obligatory renewed call for the implementation of the death penalty.

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sets sights on campaign

The FNM convention is done. The party has chosen its leader. Michael Pintard stays at the helm. Dr Hubert Minnis has been told his time is over, or “one and done” as Hubert Ingraham declared before the vote outcome.

Mr Pintard did the right thing when he gave his speech after the vote – looking towards what’s next.

Because that’s what matters now for the country’s voters, rather than picking over the bones of a leadership race between two men who obviously appeared to have significant strain between them.

So what will a government run by Mr Pintard look like?

He has set out some of his planned policies – land reform, for one, which is something he has talked about for a considerable time, so clearly something at heart rather than a quick response to the leadership race outcome.

He also talked about reducing taxes – though admittedly that can be a thing many a politician has promised in opposition then discovered it’s harder to do once you have to pay the bills in office.

The details of that would see elimination of VAT in a number of categories, and VAT has been a rallying point for the FNM throughout this administration.

Mr Pintard also pledged to improve the ease of doing business in the country – which, heaven help us all, we could all benefit from.

He also criticised the lack of transparency and accountability from the PLP government, which given the variety of topics which we are lacking answers

PICTURE OF THE DAY

from the government on is a very valid target. He also pledged to eliminate outside toilets – which is a legacy putting the lie to the claim that we live in a modern Bahamas.

Speaking of such a thing, he also talked of ensuring every Family Island has at least one bank, which would prevent Bahamians being disenfranchised depending on where they live.

It is a long way from a final platform, but it is certainly the beginnings of what people can expect from a campaign when we get closer to the election.

There is also talk of a more independent Parliament, and moves to prevent ministerial overreach.

His talk of the lack of transparency and accountability from the PLP would be better off if it was to be backed up by specific pledges on how he would do things differently, as well as promises on implementation of Freedom of Information – promises that are actually then lived up to.

Part of the to and fro we have seen from administration to administration has been because of a frustration from Bahamians of being kept in the dark, of feeling government is not accountable for the things it has done, of feeling that a government does what it likes and doesn’t bother telling the people about it.

Can we break that cycle? Can governments become truly accountable, actual representatives of the people rather than remote and unaccountable?

If we can, then that is truly what’s next on the agenda for the Bahamian people.

I thought it best at that time to put pen to paper and alert my fellow countrymen of the complexities of so doing.

At the time I too failed to notice a basic fault that’s so commonplace in our jurisdiction that it’s been overlooked by the Judiciary, the Director of Public Prosecutions and Defence Counsel.

Namely that for many years now in our system accused persons have been brought before the Bar with an invalid statement of offence which in my humble opinion, and most would say I’m anything but humble, all those persons charged with murder have been wrongly charged which renders the voluntary bill of indictment (VBI) proffered a nullity.

In other words, there a number of persons who have been convicted and sentenced for murder presently incarcerated that need to have those judgements quashed and those persons properly brought before the Court and retried.

I’m not going to endear myself to many Bahamians in pointing this out but if I sit back and do nothing I won’t have the blood of Sir Milo running through my veins and as an officer of the Court I wouldn’t be upholding my most solemn duty to the rule of law.

It’s a matter of the individuals’ constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights which always outweigh the rights of the state.

Is this opening up a hornet’s nest, yes it is but the nest was constructed by an arm of the state namely the Director of Public Prosecutions Office and all of the rest of us who are part of the system but were negligent in our duties.

Thus stated another way any Voluntary Bill of Indictment before the Court would be fatally flawed and the resulting trial would have proceeded on a fatally flawed VBI rendering the resulting conviction and sentence void if a person were charged with any other section than S. 290(1) or (2) of The Penal Code.

The section being charged in The Bahamas is a “sentencing section” and gives the various tariffs for persons charged with murder under Section 290(1) & (2) of the Penal Code Chapter 84.

Section 290 states in plain English.

Section 290(1) of the Penal Code provides that: “Whoever intentionally causes the death of another person by any unlawful harm is guilty of murder, unless his crime is reduced to manslaughter by reason of such extreme provocation, or other matter of partial excuse, as in this Title hereinafter mentioned”

Section 290(2) lays out the charge for murder under specific circumstances where the death penalty is available.

Section 291 starts of by stating “sentence for murder”.

Section 291 (a) maintains the ability to impose a death sentence for those charged under 290(2).

Section 291(b)(I) imposes a life sentence which is defined by section 291(6) as natural life.

Section 291(b)(ii) imposes a sentence ranging from between 30 to 60 years.

Therefore any person charged under section 291(B) is not being charged with murder unless the Court is allowed to infer from the

sentence sought what the crime is that the accused was before the Court. This can’t be the case. Even if that were the position which I do not accept, there are still many problems associated with this as section 291(b) has two subsections which carry vastly different tariffs and would in and of itself not sustain a valid charge.

The Privy Council in the Bahamian case of James Miller-v-The King 2022 UKPC 10 Privy Council Appeal No 0115 of 2019 highlighted the definition of murder.

In the judgment delivered on 13 March 2023 Lord Turnbull delivering the judgment noted the following at paragraph 11 (which is instructive): [11] “…….By way of contrast, the crime of murder is the intention to kill. Section 290 of the Penal Code provides that: Whoever intentionally causes the death of another person by any unlawful harm is guilty of murder, unless his crime is reduced to manslaughter by reason of such extreme provocation, or other matter of partial excuse, as in this Title hereinafter mentioned.”

There you have it from the Privy Council as to what the crime of murder is defined as. And it’s not section 291(b).

An accused person is entitled to know what they have been brought before the judicial system for and the particulars thereof.

Section 73 criminal procedure code act chapter 91 Bahamas Statute Law which is Identical to UK 1915 Indictments Act states as follows:

Section 3(1) of the Indictments Act 1915 provides that the indictment must contain “a statement of the specific offence or offences with which the accused person is charged, together with such particulars as may be necessary for giving reasonable information as to the nature of the charge”.

In The Bahamas, the sentencing section is not a charge in law and can not provide a reason why the individual is before the Bar and irrespective of what the particulars say you can not clean up the fault in the mistake of the charge. This is not a mere technicality it goes to the heart of the matter.

The inherent faults herein with respect to countless Bahamians could have been rectified had it been noticed at the onset of the proceedings but unfortunately this style of charging murder is so pervasive in murder cases in The Bahamas that this style has become the norm.

Archbold, Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice (40th Edn), page 52 paragraph 53: “In England it has been said: An indictment is defective not only when it is bad on the face of it, but also:

(i) when it does not accord with the evidence before the committing magistrates either because of inaccuracies or deficiencies in the indictment or because the indictment charges offences not disclosed in that evidence or fails to charge an offence which is disclosed therein, (ii) when for such reason it does not accord with the evidence given at the trial.”

As noted previously this is unfortunately standard procedure in The Bahamas and has been overlooked for far too long. It constitutes an infringement of an accused person’s constitutional right to a fair trial and other inalienable rights.

And at the point of conviction the rights have indubitably been infringed and prejudice sustained by the convicted person.

The House of Lords has ruled with respect to a valid indictment, and stated that being signed by a judicial officer in the UK as prescribed by the relevant legislation is a condition precedent the failure of which makes the indictment invalid.

In R v Clarke (Appellant) (On Appeal from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)) R v McDaid (Appellant) session 200708, [2008] UKHL 8 on appeal from: [2006] EWCA Civ 1196, wherein the various judgements of the Lords of Appeal were clear and particularly: Lord Scott of Foscote stated at paragraph 24: “My Lords, 24. I have had the advantage of reading in advance the opinion prepared by my noble and learned friend Lord Bingham of Cornhill. I regret but agree with his conclusion that the appeals of the two appellants must be allowed and their convictions quashed and agree with the compelling reasoning that has led him to that conclusion. My regret is that their convictions have had to be quashed on account of a defect in the proceedings that most would regard as a technicality.”

In applying the same to all the affected Bahamian nationals as much as the outcome of quashing the conviction and sentence may upset the Court’s and general public’s sensibility it nonetheless is necessary as the failure to lay a proper and valid charge is a breach of the condition precedent. As their lordships would have stated in various places in the above judgment it cannot be held that it was the legislative intention to proffer an indictment which did not properly and accurately charge an accused.

Does this have far reaching national implications. Absolutely. Is it going to cost a considerable amount of money to retry all of these persons, again absolutely. But the costs and the inconvenience can’t be a consideration.

Getting it right and the upholding of the rule of law must be paramount.

Will the government and the relevant authorities have to move expeditiously to cure this grave defect, yes that is a must. In this instance the government has very limited options and the introduction and passing of legislation will in my opinion not cure the defect.

I’ll go further and opine it’ll probably take two to three years to retry all the affected persons, and definitely some remedial measures must be taken forthwith as all those persons are technically entitled to bail as their constitutional right to a fair hearing within a reasonable amount of time has been infringed. Trust me I’ve not factored in the other collateral questions such as the right to a jury of twelve persons and the requirement of a unanimous verdict. But that’s a valid consideration.

I’m presently going to seek special leave to appeal to the Privy Council on this same ground in respect of a client. I should hope that it’s a question of such national importance requiring the quickest possible determination that the Office of The Attorney General would see the wisdom of joining the appeal so that such a vital question is answered. I am not convinced however it’ll be viewed as such.

My fellow Bahamians this is a situation that cannot persist and one where all of our collective voices and outrage must be brought to bear.

CRAIG F

Survivor of HMBS Flamingo sinking homeless after fire destroys his home

caused the blaze.

Mr Neely was at work when he received the call from his fiancée, who said the house was on fire.

Mr Neely said he immediately told his fiancé to get their nearly five-monthold daughter and leave the home, as they were the only ones inside.

“She went outside and called 911, and I called my father at about 2.55 because he was oblivious; he didn’t even know. I said daddy, our house is one fire. He said, what house and he hung up the phone, and he raced to the house.”

“And on my way, as I was passing the bowling alley, he called me back, and I could hear the agony in his voice, the mourning and he said, ‘we were losing everything’ and the tears just travelled down my face.”

Mr Neely said he met his father, whom he described

as a “happy-go-lucky” person, distraught at the burning home. By the time firefighters arrived, he said there was nothing that could be done because the “blaze was just too much”.

“When my father pulled up, the story was said that he stormed right into the side and was going to the kitchen because he told them, ‘I have to get my daughter and granddaughter,’ but they were already outside but I guess the hero in him jumped out once again because he said he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if something had happened.”

Mr Neely said the family is not sure what led to the blaze.

“When I got an account from my fiancé, she told me it was awfully quiet. She said she was hearing this snapping and cackling, and she said it doesn’t sound like something my father

would be doing. It didn’t sound like normal activity my father does in the backyard,” he said.

“And as she pulled the blind and looked out to the south, the flame was already at the windowsill, so chaos was going all around the house while she was in that room with the air condition on and the baby sleeping in the crib.”

He said by the time his fiancé opened the door, smoke was already filling the house, prompting her to take quick action to save her, the baby and their pets.

Mr Neely said the blaze had left the family displaced. His parents are now living with his sister, while he and his fiancé are staying with his godparents.

“We are all split up, and we are not used to this, but we will rise again,” he said.

Mr Neely has started a GoFundMe page to raise $250,000 to assist with rebuilding efforts.

Man accused of six counts of attempted murder and a string of robberies

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

A MAN was remanded in custody on Friday after he was accused six times of attempted murder and a string of robberies in New Providence over the past two years.

Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley charged Shaquille “Keely” Farrington, 28, with six counts of attempted murder and six counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Farrington faced further charges of armed robbery, stealing, arson to a machine, two counts of receiving, two counts of possession of an unlicensed firearm and two counts of possession of ammunition.

Farrington was charged alongside his mother Makella Stubbs, 46, as well as D’Vard Wright, 21,

Brandon Bowe, 25, and Kerby Dupremar, 27.

Ms Stubbs and Dupremar solely faced separate charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Wright faced charges of armed robbery, possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition and receiving.

Bowe was charged with two counts of receiving, stealing, possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Farrington and his accomplices allegedly attempted to kill Desmond Gilbert with a firearm on April 19, 2022 in New Providence.

Farrington and Bowe allegedly stole a brown 2013 Nissan Cube on March 23.

Farrington while armed with a mini Draco firearm is accused of attempting to kill Kesner Lexidor and

Trey Theoc at Booze & Tings at Arawak Cay on May 16.

Farrington and Wright while armed with a Draco AK-47 firearm allegedly robbed Cyril Minnis of his $5,000 gold Gucci Link neck chain along with his black strap bag containing his passport and wallet with his bank cards on May 17.

Later that same Farrington, Wright and Bowe were allegedly found with Mr Minnis’s stolen bag, wallet and passport.

Farrington and an accomplice are further accused of intentionally setting fire to a black 2019 Kia Sportage Jeep on May 24. This vehicle, which is valued at $11,055, belongs to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

On that same date, Farrington is also accused of attempting to kill Eunice Taylor, Danielle Taylor

AMERICAN MAN FINED FOR INDECENT ASSAULT AND EXPOSING HIMSELF TO A WOMAN LAST MONTH

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN AMERICAN man was fined on Friday after he admitted to indecently assaulting and exposing himself to a woman last month.

Assistant Chief Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans charged Micheal Beauregard, 57, of Fort Lauderdale, with indecent assault, indecent exposure and assault.

Beauregard indecently assaulted and exposed himself to a woman in New Providence on May 14. On that same day the defendant is further said to have

assaulted another man. The defendant was denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services during his initial arraignment on May 16. This came after Prosecutor Inspector S Coakley objected to bail, and cited that Beauregard posed a potential flight risk as a boat captain.

After two weeks on remand, the defendant reversed his earlier position and pleaded guilty to the charges.

Beauregard was fined $3,000 for the indecent assault along with further fines of $250 and $200 for the indecent exposure and

MAN ACCUSED OF THREATENING TWO PEOPLE WITH A FIREARM

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was remanded to prison on Friday after he was accused of threatening two people with a gun last month.

Magistrate Raquel Whyms charged Earvin Moxey, 31, with two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to put another in fear.

Moxey’s co-accused Patsey Braynen, 37, and Mark Wilkinson, 19, were charged with abetment to possession of firearm with intent to put another in fear.

Moxey allegedly threatened Jangitilla Cooper and Tyler Missick with a handgun to put them in fear on

May 24 in New Providence. Braynen and Wilkinson are alleged to have aided and abetted in the aforementioned incident.

The trio all pleaded not guilty to their respective charges.

Moxey was denied bail and was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. The remaining two defendants were granted bail at $5,000 at one or two sureties each. They must sign in at the Grove Police Station every Thursday by 6pm. They were also warned not to have any contact with any witnesses in this matter.

The trio’s trial begins on July 12. Alphonso Lewis represented the accused.

assault charges respectively. Failure to pay these fines would carry a one-year prison term.

and Davonte Moss with a handgun.

Finally on May 25, Farrington and his three male co-accused were allegedly found with a Draco AK-47 and a black AR-15 firearms in a burgundy Nissan Cube on Fire Trail Road. The suspects were also reportedly found with ski masks in the vehicle along with eight rounds of 7.67 ammunition and 20 rounds of .223 ammunition.

A further search of Farrington’s and Ms Stubbs’

residence allegedly uncovered a black FNS pistol and five rounds of .40 ammunition.

Farrington was informed that his charges would proceed to the Supreme Court by way of voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). His co-accused all pleaded not guilty to their respective charges. All four male defendants were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Ms Stubbs was the only

defendant granted bail at $5,000 with one or two sureties. Under the terms of her bail, Ms Stubbs must sign at her local police station the last Friday of every month.

Farrington is to return to court for service of his VBI on August 8.

The remaining three male defendants bail hearing is set for June 6.

K Melvin Munroe and Ian Cargill represented the accused. Inspector Deon Barr served as prosecutor.

Triple shooting over weekend leaves two men in hospital

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune News Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A TRIPLE shooting occurred on Saturday at East Bay Street, east of Fowler Street, resulting in two men being in hospital. Preliminary reports suggest that the victims, who were all passengers in a white Acura, pulled into the parking lot of a business establishment on East Bay Street when they were confronted by occupants of a white Nissan Juke,

shortly before 10am.

Police said two males exited the Nissan Juke opened fire on the victims’ vehicle, shooting them multiple times.

Two victims, ages 25 and 24, sustained gunshot wounds to their upper and lower extremities and were transported to the hospital, where they are currently in stable condition.

The third victim, a 15-year-old male, was grazed in his upper and lower extremities; he was treated and discharged from the hospital.

CAPTAIN Whitfield Neely spraying water on the remains of his house after blaze destroyed his home on Friday.

Photo: Osano Neely

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2024

The FNM has spoken, but will Minnis listen?

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

THE FNM has made its choice – Michael Pintard has been returned as the leader of the party. But is that the end of the in-fighting?

By rights, it should be. The atmosphere in the convention hall was strongly supportive of Mr Pintard –and if that wasn’t enough, the results were substantial enough that there should be no doubt of where the party support lies.

Mr Pintard secured 486 votes compared to his challenger, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, who landed 163. That gives Mr Pintard three-quarters of the votes of the party – 74.88 percent to be exact. If we were talking in general election terms, it would be a landslide in the House of Assembly.

More than that, Mr Pintard has had a catalogue of endorsements. Cabinet members who served under Dr Minnis, people that he handpicked to service in his government, even Kwasi Thompson who is a relative of his as well as someone that Dr Minnis encouraged in office, all lined up to say Mr Pintard was the man to take the party forward.

Romi Ferreira rolled

up at the end to join a list of names such as Peter Turnquest, Pakesia ParkerEdgecombe, Darren Henfield, Dion Foulkes, Dionisio D’Aguilar, Marvin Dames, Elsworth Johnson and more to back Mr Pintard.

Members of the Rebel Seven, the seven MPs who staged a coup of sorts to put Loretta Butler-Turner in charge as leader of the Opposition instead of Dr Minnis before he became prime minister have voiced support for Mr Pintard. Whether that is healing a rift that has lingered in the FNM for years or making the most of an opportunity to say we told you so, that’s for them to say. Strangely, third party leaders have also featured in this race. Former DNA leader Branville McCartney weighed in on Dr Minnis’ side, while his successor, Arinthia Komolafe and former DNA chairman Omar Smith opted for Mr Pintard. Cassius Stuart, who used to lead the Bahamas Democratic Movement, also piped up for Pintard – though I’m not sure who was waiting to hear that endorsement. And then came Papa. Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was effusive in his support for Mr

Pintard, saying “we need to put the whole question of leadership of the party behind us” and declaring his backing for Mr Pintard, who he called “the right candidate”.

As for Dr Minnis, he said: “Because of me, he became the leader. Because of me, he became the prime minister. To a large extent, to a large extent because of me. His time is past. One and done.”

On the other side of the equation, Dr Minnis had the support of Desmond Bannister, Renward Wells, and seemingly Mark Humes. And that was about it. Stack them up. The numbers of heavyweight FNMs. Look at the scales. Now look at the voting numbers.

It’s clear, right? The party has chosen Pintard. So where’s the worry? Well, for the party, it’s that Dr Minnis has shown little sign so far of pulling in the same direction – so will he do so in future?

Dr Minnis of course issued a concession statement after the results came in. Let’s look at it closely.

He said: “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Michael C Pintard on his victory and wish him well. I would also

like to congratulate all of the other candidates who were successful today, wishing each of you all the very best.

“As I committed during my campaign, it is my intention to continue to support the Free National Movement, and to this end, let me clarify that there is no truth that I intend to resign as the Member of Parliament for Killarney. I will continue to serve as their representative in the House of Assembly.”

He went on to thank the delegates, his team, his wife, and so on, before adding: “I remain optimistic about what the future holds, and I plan to continue to be even more resolute in my commitment to serving the Bahamian people and keeping the Progressive Liberal Party government accountable.”

On the face of it, it’s magnanimous enough –although earlier in the day at the convention he was complaining about alleged fraud and intimidation in the election process - but what’s missing?

Well, Dr Minnis says he will continue to support the Free National Movement –he does not say that he will support Mr Pintard. All he does for Mr Pintard is to “wish him well”.

Here was an opportunity to pledge his full-throated support to the party leader, to say he will back him and lend his voice to the campaign to unseat the PLP from office… and he didn’t take it.

Now you might say that’s an oversight or I’m reading too much into a statement released just after a defeat, but it is significant – and if Dr Minnis does not indicate that kind of support in the near future, then there is every reason to believe that the infighting will not stop.

Dr Minnis is now a two-time loser. He was so confident that he would be re-elected and stay as prime minister that he called an election early and the electorate told him to carry himself smartly out of office.

He was insistent in his campaign to become leader that he would defeat Mr Pintard and now threequarters of the party has told him no, sir. If he genuinely thought he was going to win in both those cases, then he has either incredibly bad judgement or incredibly bad advice. And given the number of people who have hopped across to Mr Pintard’s side, I’m not sure who is left to be giving him that advice.

There appears to be no pathway for Dr Minnis to regain leadership any time soon – certainly not this side of an election. If the FNM were to lose badly at the next election, then perhaps, but Dr Minnis is no blushing youth and time would not be on his side by the time the following election came around. It’s time for him to listen to the votes. The public said no, the party said no. His time is done. He can still serve with strength as an MP in the House – but no one is following him as leader any more.

It’s time for him to recognise that – and for the infighting to stop.

Mr Pintard meanwhile should not take this entirely as a clear victory parade. Despite all that long list of endorsements, despite real heavyweights backing him, despite the return to the fold of old faces… still a quarter of the party did not back him.

I hope the party recognises that 25 percent of the voting delegates still went for Dr Minnis despite all the public endorsements lined up for Mr Pintard. The party should consider what that tells us about Mr Pintard – because soon enough it will be the public having its say.

FNM leader Michael Pintard speaks to supporters after winning the leadership vote on Saturday.

Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis (right) is seen casting his vote at the one-day convention on Saturday. Photos: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

A split second, part 2

THERE’S an overwhelming sense of easiness and simplicity to life in Louisiana. In truth, as a black man this surprised me. Once girded by a dark underbelly of slavery, like so many states nestled in the deep south, a thousand stories couldn’t recount their hardship. This history is intricately and permanently woven into the roads, trees, buildings and citizens. But today, life is more hopeful and happier. Today, in spite of it all, to all manner of men, no matter where you’re from, there’s something about Louisiana that magically feels a little bit like home. Perhaps it’s the faint smell of crawfish and jambalaya that makes you crave a hot meal with family and friends. Like many a fairytale, streets are gracefully accessorized by large white magnolias as old as time. Scores of visitors can attest to the ease in which the taste of sweet tea, on a hot summer day, tempers even the most darkened hearts. Southern hospitality across the state remains unwavering in its vigor and while the days are slow and the weather is unpredictable, valleys of neighbors still sit on their porch and bid you good morning. But tragedy is unbiased in resolve and execution

No day is promised so be right with God, make good decisions, change people’s lives for the better, don’t be judgmental, be kind and building your legacy should start early.

and it still carries a weight as equally as heavy as it was decades ago. And in the worst of circumstances, there are tragedies so horrific that the best way to describe it is being dragged into hell. Living in hell is how Dawn would describe the past three years. Last week I shared part one of her breathtaking life story, played out in a small idyllic town in Louisiana. Today we conclude her family’s story and share the powerful lessons they were forced to learn.

On December 17, 2021, at 9:01pm, the unthinkable happened. Dawn, her three children (Lindy, Christopher and Kamryn) and her son’s girlfriend (Marissa) were hit by a drunk driver going the wrong way on a highway slamming into them at 90 miles an hour as they were driving home from her son’s basketball game.

At the moment we left off in last week’s column, Dawn’s eldest daughter, Katie, who had not gone with them on the trip a

few hours away, was still trying to find where the rest of her family was. Dawn and Marissa were taken to Lafayette General Hospital but there was no indication where the others were taken or how badly they’d been hurt. Ray and his sons (Shea and Kyle) stayed at Lafayette General Hospital to be with Dawn as Katie left with her husband and mother-in-law to find her brother and sisters.

A state trooper had already confirmed that the drunk driver had been killed on impact during the accident along with the driver of their car which had to be Lindy since she was 20 years old at the time and was the only person other than their mother who’d be driving. With no information to go on, they went to Opelousas Hospital, since it was the hospital nearest to the crash site, to ask in person if her siblings were there. Katie walked up to the front desk and spoke to the male charge nurse and physician on duty but in trying to describe what

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

her siblings looked like, the heaviness of the moment took its toll. Fighting back tears, Katie struggled to get the words out and her husband told her to just show them a picture.

Katie took out a picture of Lindy and Kamryn and the nurse told them to follow him. At that moment, Katie knew something was wrong. She saw it in his eyes, the crack of his voice and the expression on his face. They were escorted to a small room and in it, a body was placed in a white body bag, fully zipped. Katie couldn’t look so her mother-in-law asked for the bag to be unzipped. Fully expecting it to be Lindy, they were all horrified to discover that lying in the body bag was Kamryn, the youngest of all the siblings. Kamryn had arrived at the hospital via ambulance at 10:29pm and died at 10:33pm. All four of her limbs were broken and it’s suspected that she died from an injury to her neck.

Grief-stricken and confused, Katie screamed in anguish before asking if they had any idea where Lindy and Christopher could be. The nurse left to find out any information he could. Five minutes later he returned and said that he found Christopher. He was taken to Bunkie General Hospital and Katie immediately let out a sigh of relief, realizing in that instant that her baby brother was okay. But the nurse slowly shook his head and said I’m so sorry. He didn’t survive and they needed her to go to Bunkie General and identify his body. By this time, everyone was in complete shock and it took every strength in their body to ask about Lindy at which point the nurse responded that Lindy died instantly at 9:01pm and authorities were still trying to extricate her body from the car. In just five minutes, Katie found out that all three of her youngest siblings were dead.

In total, five people died that night, Katie’s three siblings, the drunk driver and after the accident, police tried to divert traffic and an elderly man was blinded by all the police, ambulance and rescue lights. He rear-ended the back of a state trooper’s car, instantly succumbing to his injuries and dying on scene. The troopers weren’t able to get Lindy’s body out of the car until 12:36am.

When Katie got to Bunkie General,

Christopher hadn’t been pronounced dead yet so the intubation tube was still in his mouth. He’d just gotten his braces removed so she could see his teeth clenching on the tube and she immediately began to cry. He was pronounced dead at 11:06pm. Dawn underwent surgery to repair her right leg and left carotid artery but her right Carotid laceration was too risky to repair and will have to be monitored for the rest of her life. She has no memory of the accident and was in a wheel chair for many months and required an extensive amount of rehab before she could walk again. She was in an out of consciousness and didn’t find out that her three children had died until two days following her surgery. She was released from the hospital on December 26th. When she entered the front door, the first thing she saw was all their Christmas gifts under the tree. Their funeral was held on January 4, 2022, and Dawn says that a part of her died that day. For two hours, her son Kyle wheeled her back and forth from one coffin to the next so that she could say goodbye. There were three hearses, three coffins and 18 pall bearers. When asked what that day was like, Dawn said to just think of three people in your life who you love more than anything and imagine them being gone all at once, without warning and in a split second. There is a void in her soul and the vast emptiness persists. Left strangled by the guilt of surviving, Dawn’s entire body is numb. Even now, there is a palpable grief that now lives within her, never adopting a single moment of dormancy and at any given time manifesting itself into a torrential outpouring of pain. Lindy had been born on October 24, 2001, and she shared her birthday with Dawn. She was creative and best described as a memory maker because she loved to photograph and video everything. She loved to dance and go to coffee shops with her mom and no matter how old she got, she’d sit on Dawn’s lap and hug her whenever she came home from college. Christopher was born on October 18, 2004, and was on his way to being valedictorian of his high school. He loved sports, was an amazing athlete and received first team all-state for basketball and the golden glove for baseball. He planned to play football in his senior year and he was studying to become a software engineer. Kamryn was born on January 26, 2006, and she loved to sing. She was incredibly kind and her heart bled to see anyone

suffering. Her last text to her mom was asking if she could please pick her up a pack of gummy bears. Dawn visits their graves every day since they died. Initially, she was so broken she couldn’t pray but she firmly believes that she was saved to share her story and make a difference in people’s lives by encouraging them to make better decisions so that this never happens to another family. Had that drunk driver decided not to get on the road that night, five people who died, including him, would probably be alive today.

Dawn says her days are incredibly difficult but her faith has been her lifeline that has gotten her through this tragedy. Together with her daughter Katie, Dawn is actively involved in the Simmons Family nonprofit organization formed on December 16, 2022 and focused on educating the public on the dangers of drunk driving. Telling their story, saying their names and knowing that it may save a life brings them healing.

Their family is learning to rebuild their lives having endured such an unfathomable loss. They’ve learned to understand and appreciate how fragile and precious life is and they never forget to hug one another and say I love you. Dawn’s take home message is multifaceted. She says to love your family and friends. Don’t hesitate to film life. No day is promised so be right with God, make good decisions, change people’s lives for the better, don’t be judgmental, be kind and building your legacy should start early. She insists that the decisions you make have consequences so pledge to not drink and drive, wear a seat belt and put the phone away.

Dawn longs for the past when Lindy, Christopher and Kamryn were still here but she says that God has given her a passion and a purpose that she will fight for until she takes her last breath. And as long as she has breath, she has hope that someone, somewhere will hear her message and another mother will be spared the pain that will forever live inside her.

This is The KDK Report.

• Moved by the interview he saw on Dr Phil, Dr Kenneth D. Kemp reached out to the surviving members of this family in Louisiana and though he had never met them, they opened up to him and shared this horrific story in the hope that it will send a warning to others, begging those who drink to excess not to drive. One man’s drunken state stole the lives of five people in an instant and changed a small town and its hopes forever.

The imperative for equal recognition in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

IN the ongoing discourse on international relations and human rights, one of the most enduring and complex issues is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Recent developments indicate a shift in the international stance towards this issue, particularly regarding the recognition of statehood for Palestine.

This evolution in policy underscores the global community’s attempt to foster a balanced approach towards achieving a two-state solution — a vision that has eluded numerous peacemakers over the years.

Historically, the majority of the world’s nations have recognized Israel as a sovereign state since its establishment in 1948.

However, recognition of Palestinian statehood has been contentious and uneven, with significant geopolitical implications.

Now, as of May 2024, 146 countries have officially recognised the State of Palestine.

The stance of powerful nations, particularly those in the West such as the United States (US), the United Kingdom, Canada, and key European Union members like Germany and France, has often been influenced by their own political and strategic interests. These countries have historically aligned with Israel, often citing the need for any recognition of Palestinian statehood to come through direct negotiations between the parties involved. This approach, while pragmatic in its aim to ensure peace through mutual agreement, has also been criticised for perpetuating an imbalance in negotiating power, which in turn has affected the dynamics of international diplomacy concerning this issue.

Recent statements from leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron, who expressed openness to recognising Palestinian statehood at a “useful moment”, signify a potential shift in this longstanding policy framework. Such developments are vital as they highlight a growing recognition of the need for a more equitable approach in addressing this conflict.

The recognition of Palestine as a state is not merely a symbolic gesture. It has profound implications for the rights of Palestinians in international law, their ability to engage in diplomacy, bargain in trade and investment, and pursue legal actions internationally in protection of their territory and autonomy. This move could pave the way for more balanced negotiations, potentially leading to a sustainable peace agreement.

However, the path to peace is fraught with challenges. Recent escalations in violence and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza have

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

underscored the dire consequences of prolonged conflict. Statements from global leaders and actions by countries in recognising Palestine reflect an urgency to address these issues comprehensively.

Israel’s security concerns and the historical context of its geopolitical stance must also be acknowledged.

However, the Israeli government’s actions, often described as measures for national security, have significant repercussions for the peace process because in Gaza they have crossed the line, in the view of many, that demarcates legitimate action in defence of national security.

The actions of the Israel army in Gaza, acting on the instructions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has brought the accusation of genocide into sharp focus. In a powerful essay in the New York Review of Books, Aryeh Neier, quotes the historian, Raul Hilberg’s argument that “the elimination of a people is ‘a step-by-step operation’. First comes defining the group, then expropriating its resources, then concentrating its members in one place, and finally annihilating them”.

In his essay, Neier concluded that “Israel is engaged in genocide against Palestine in Gaza”. There is, he says, “a sustained policy of obstructing the movement of humanitarian assistance into the territory”.

He went on to say that he believed that “Israel had a right to retaliate against Hamas for the murderous rampage it carried out on October 7”, but he also said that “to recognise this right to retaliate is not to mitigate Israel’s culpability for the indiscriminate use of tactics and weapons that have caused disproportionate harm to civilians”. He draws attention to the words of Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.”

I cite Neier because he is a Jew and a survivor of the holocaust against the Jewish people in Nazi Germany. He cannot be accused of being antisemitic. Further, his work at Human Rights Watch (HRW), which he co-founded in 1978, is globally respected.

The repercussions of Gallant’s actions extend far beyond the tragic loss

of 36,000 lives in Gaza. Despite clear warnings from its closest allies against missile strikes on densely populated areas, these advisories were ignored, leading to an attack on Rafah where over 46 civilians were killed — an incident Netanyahu later termed a “tragic mistake”, but did not halt the military action. This disregard for allied counsel and the resulting civilian casualties have precipitated a severe humanitarian crisis.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the intensification of hostilities and the evacuation orders by Israel “have displaced more than 940,000 people from Rafah” in May alone. That number is greater than the entire population of Barbados and six independent countries in the Leeward and Windward Islands of the Caribbean. There is, the UN says, “the unconscionable prospect of a man-made famine”.

Recent charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes, and the claims by US President Biden that there is “no equivalence” between them illustrates the complexities of balancing justice, accountability, and national interest.

President Biden’s position, along with the broader US policy, will play a critical role in determining the trajectory of the peace process. To gain support from the international community — where 146 nations advocate for the recognition of Palestine as a state — the US approach must be, and must be seen as, balanced and fair. This commitment to impartiality is essential for upholding the global consensus on the necessity of fairness in resolving this conflict.

The international community must foster an environment where both parties can negotiate as equals, unencumbered by the disproportionate influence or preconditions that have historically skewed the peace process. Only through a genuine and balanced dialogue can the long-standing aspirations for peace in the region be realised.

• Responses and previous commentaries at www. sirronaldsanders.com.

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS. The views expressed are entirely his own).

bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Stirp, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip yesterday.

Photo: Abdel Kareem Hana/ AP

Groundbreaking research improves options for soil quality in Long Island

IN today’s rapidly evolving world, university students have the potential to drive significant progress through dedicated research.

Aaliyah Adderley, a 2023 BSc in biology with a minor chemistry graduate of University of The Bahamas (UB), is a prime example of this potential realised. Her research into sustainable farming solutions has shown how academic pursuits can have a profound impact on local communities and industries.

As part of Aaliyah’s coursework for biology 480 and biology 490, she embarked on a research project with unanticipated far-reaching implications for the Bahamian agricultural sector. She studied the potential use of macroalgae, specifically sargassum species, as a biofertiliser. This type of seaweed, which appears annually in The Bahamas, was evaluated for its ability to enhance soil quality in Long Island.

GAIN AN EDGE

A NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

industry) can provide jobs for many individuals in the country.”

Those findings support prior data that algae, including various sargassum species, have improved soil health and increased plant growth performance including plant height and number of leaves, buds, flowers, and fruits.

The study, published in July 2023 and accessible on platforms like ResearchGate and Springer, is titled “Sargassum sp. as a Biofertilizer: Is It Really a Key Towards Sustainable Agriculture for The Bahamas.” It examines soil samples from South, Central, and North Long Island to determine if Sargassum can improve soil fertility and support sustainable farming practices. “Research is a significant component of agriculture,” says Aaliyah. “Research allows one to find optimum conditions for plant growth and high yields. Additionally, adopting sustainable and organic techniques will allow farmers to reduce the use of chemicals that negatively impact the soil, thus maintaining the longevity and health of farmlands. These techniques also protect the environment while improving soil quality and saving energy.”

while sargassum improved soil health by increasing nutrient concentrations, it negatively impacted plant development. These results align with previous studies showing that algae can improve soil health and plant growth performance. Aaliyah remains optimistic about the implications of her findings.

Aaliyah’s research focused on the impact of sargassum on soil quality and the growth of cherry tomatoes. The study yielded mixed results:

“I hope that my study will show local farmers and the government that with research, the agricultural industry can be improved,” she says. “With improvements throughout the country, we can decrease the amount of food imported. Additionally, utilising sargassum on a commercial level (fertiliser

“Aaliyah Adderley’s study on sargassum as a bio-fertiliser holds tremendous promise for The Bahamas, particularly in the agricultural sector,” said UB assistant professor of biology Dr Williamson Gustave. “Her innovative research not only addresses the pressing need for sustainable agricultural practices, but also underscores the potential dangers of using sargassum as a biofertiliser. This study has the power to revolutionise how we approach agriculture in our country and inspire further research into sustainable solutions.”

Beyond its immediate findings, this research underscores the importance of student engagement in scientific inquiry. It exemplifies UB’s vision to be a primary resource for research, innovation, and community engagement.

“I am exceptionally proud of Aaliyah’s dedication and the meaningful contribution she has made to the field of research,”

Cultural maintenance drives sustainable development and affirms our national identity

By JERVON SANDS

LAST week, Jervon Sands wrote about the idea of cultural maintenance and how it affects Bahamians. This week, he reaches out to fellow Bahamians for their thoughts.

Our further discussion on cultural maintenance opens with insights from Liam Miller. As we know, any endeavour of today’s world requires economic considerations to be made early on.

This is especially true in the context of promoting cultural resilience in response to modern challenges.

Miller believes that The Bahamas is at an inflection point, a time when important decisions must be made to ensure a prosperous and secure future. He recognises that our national identity is under threat from external influence due to our proximity to the United States.

It is true that our culture has experienced a diversification in recent years driven by global advancements in information technology. On its own this is not troubling; however, it becomes problematic when it causes the mindset of the Bahamian people to trend towards ideas that our national identity is inadequate and therefore must be supplemented by external influences.

Viewing the issue as an economist, Miller is convinced that much of our problems would be solved by focusing our energy

added Dr Gustave. “Her study not only demonstrates her passion for science, but also her commitment to addressing real-world challenges. Aaliyah’s work exemplifies the spirit of inquiry and innovation that we encourage in our students, and it sets a high standard for future research endeavours.”

can safeguard our nation’s future.

internally to drive Bahamian industries beyond tourism’s purview. Doing so would initiate the process of transitioning our economy from aggregate supply to aggregate demand which is proven to be more sustainable. While tourism may at the surface level appear closely linked to our national identity, closer examination reveals inconsistencies. For instance, tourism as an industry is inherently seasonal yet the Bahamian identity is one of continuous resilience as proclaimed in our national anthem, “steady sunward, marching onward to our common loftier goal”.

The impacts of Hurricane Dorian, the COVID-19 pandemic and the current geopolitical climate all reveal that today’s world is wrought with unexpected external shocks that prolong seasons of economic downturn for small island economies. Fortunately for us, young Bahamians like Liam Miller are not only problem identifiers but also problem solvers. He offers the following insights and recommendations for achieving sustainable development through a marriage of economic and cultural maintenance. The journey to stability begins with shifting our mindset from one dependent on external opportunities to one that is focused on building up internal actions that encourage growth.

These actions include addressing the faults in our education system so that Bahamian youth are informed about the importance of their national identity and imbued with serious appreciation for their cultural heritage. This foundation will inspire young Bahamians to further their education so that they

Exposing such a crop of young minds to the myriad of niche professional roles vital for the continuous prosperity of our nation will allow us to build capacity and fill the gaps that currently limit us from responding efficiently to the economic and climate crises we face. Moreover, young people are by nature innovative thinkers, encouraging them to pursue entrepreneurship in areas related to sustainable development will afford us access to brilliant and specifically designed solutions right at home.

Another young Bahamian thought leader, Ashawnté Russell operates in the climate action space. Russell believes that action hinges on dialogue. She also shares Miller’s sentiments that children are the future and therefore they should be included, without bias, in the discussions and decisions that will ultimately impact them. Further, it is because of this practice of excluding young people that we are losing them to external influences. Russell explained that intangible heritage like language is easily lost. It is strongly tied to our sense of cultural identity but is continuously being diluted by external influence from the US.

Our school system actively suppresses this aspect of our cultural identity by encouraging students to speak “proper English”. Much of our current

• “Gain An Edge” is a collaboration of Lyford Cay Foundations, the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) and University of The Bahamas (UB) aimed at promoting a national dialogue on issues surrounding education. To share your thoughts, email gainanedge@tribunemedia. net.

threats. Russell compared the climate emergency and global climate response to the case of a serial arsonist who is also a contractor. They torch your property, but you have to go back to them to rebuild it. “We are walking backwards while thinking forwards.”

Russell’s key message is that when a nation loses it sense of self to the point it is no longer attached to its cultural legacy then it becomes easier to ignore the realities of climate change. Without a strong sense of national identity our people won’t see the value in fighting to protect our islands from being lost in the future.

The world stage has been elevated since our debut as an independent nation. We have been left behind in terms of our economic development and our holistic growth as a nation. Achieving independence was only half the victory. We must accept that although our nation became liberated the world itself remains enslaved to conventional ideas that limit our prosperity. Most importantly, as we rush to catch up to the developed world, we must not forget to support young people who are the frontrunners, we must not forsake our sense of national pride nor the main tenants of our cultural heritage. For those are necessary tools for the maintenance of our national identity. Please connect with these

vocabulary features strong US influence or is entirely adopted from the US. Cultural phrases are dying and are now lost on the youth. In our society people resonate with a visual and tangible culture. Things like storytelling, music, bush medicine carry stories that will be lost if we fail to recognise these unique aspects of culture that we possess or hesitate to protect them from imminent

young Bahamian professionals via Linkedin if you have an interest in their work or would like to provide opportunities for them to continue strengthening The Bahamas within their respective fields.

• Jervon Sands

AALIYAH ADDERLEY

AALIYAH conducts research for her Biology 480 and 490 courses en route to earning her Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Biology with a Minor in Chemistry.

JERVON SANDS

LIAM MILLER

ASHAWNTÉ RUSSELL

State funeral held for Loftus

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

LOFTUS Roker was laid to rest on Friday as the nation’s elite celebrated and reflected on the role he played in the country’s history.

Family, friends, Cabinet ministers, and other government officials gathered at Christ Cathedral Church to say goodbye to Mr Roker, 88, who died on May 13. He famously served as Minister of National Security and Immigration under Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling and was one of the signatories to the Independence Agreement, which was signed on December 20, 1972, during a Constitutional Conference in London.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis described Mr Roker as a truthteller, however uncomfortable it might be. He said he chose integrity over convenience and Mr Roker’s leadership style as having a mix of “toughness and grace”.

Mr Roker, who was born in Delectable Bay, Acklins, was known for his tough approach to illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Mr Davis said he was honoured to rename Acklins Central the Loftus Roker High School in August last year.

“This act not only commemorated his legacy but also reconnected it with the soil of his birthplace, tying the past to the present in celebration of a life well lived,” Mr Davis said.

“He was not just a part

of our history. He helped to write it.”

CEO of Jones Communication and Bahamas Ambassador to the US, Wendell Jones, highlighted Mr Roker’s love for higher education.

Mr Jones said he believes no minister was more “courageous, principled, and honourable” than Mr Roker. “He believed in a Bahamas of equality where the walls of separation and discrimination based on race and colour could be eradicated,” Mr Jones said.

Archdeacon Keith Cartwright said Mr Roker was cut from a different cloth from what is happening in the world today. Mr Cartwright highlighted Mr Roker’s upstanding manner in public service.

“Many people were horrified, as Wendell told us, when they heard the name Roker in the immigration underground,” Mr Cartwright said. “But if we had a Loftus Roker today, all the foolishness and slackness we see going around here today wouldn’t be happening because he wouldn’t stand for it.”

“Loftus made sure that he kept his eye open, and so it was misinterpreted by many people. But Loftus wanted The Bahamas for Bahamians. I agree with him 110 per cent. If we’re not careful, we will give our country away.”

Mr Cartwright said the country would be better if more people had Mr Roker’s character.

Mr Roker leaves behind his wife, Ruby Louise Roker, niece, nephews, and other relatives.

THE CASKET with Loftus Roker makes its way to Christ Church Cathedral accompanied by th RBDF and RBPF on Friday. Photos: Nikia Charlton

GRANDNEICE Isabella Roker Reading scripture at Loftus Roker’s state funeral.

SPORTS

MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2024

Windsor and Lyford Cay win national soccer titles

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter

Soccer clubs from the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) and Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) gave it all they had at the 2024 Samuel P Haven Jr High School Soccer Nationals, but the last two teams standing would be Windsor High School and the Lyford Cay International Dragons.

Windsor stunned the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves, pulling off the 4-2 upset victory over the GSSSA team in penalties at the Roscow A L Davies Soccer Field in the boys’ championship showdown on Friday.

The Lady Dragons overwhelmed the St Andrew’s Hurricanes 7-0 to be crowned the girls’ national high school soccer champions.

In the third place matchups, the CR Walker Lady Knights would have their way against the Bishop Michael Eldon (BMES) Warriors 2-0 to wrap up the tournament third overall.

The Dragons overcame the Lucaya International

Buccaneers 3-2 to cement their club as the third best national high school team in the boys’ division. Windsor vs Anatol Rodgers Windsor fielded a boys high school team for the

first time at the Samuel P Haven Jr High School Soccer Nationals and it was truly all they needed. It was a tough championship game between the tournament’s top teams and it was highly

competitive from the opening kick-off.

The defenders from both teams made it difficult to score a goal, leaving the score knotted at 0-0 going into the second half. The teams would have at it

again and with the game’s intensity increasing, Windsor was awarded a penalty kick.

The newly crowned champions failed to

Hall-Smith misses Olympic cut

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SHAKEEM Hall-Smith ran away from the field in the men’s 400 metre hurdles over the weekend, but didn’t have anybody to push him at the end to get the Olympic Games qualifying time.

Hall-Smith highlighted a weekend of performances from a group of elite athletes, who are all preparing for the Olympics, scheduled for July 27 to August 11 in Paris, France.

Competing at the HBCU Pro Classic - the Edwin Moses Legends Meet at the Edwin Moses Track at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, HallSmith clocked a lifetime best of 48.79 seconds as he led from start to finish over the 10 flights of hurdles.

However, his time was just shy of the Olympic qualifying time of 48.70 as he held off a late surge by American Khallifah Rosser in 48.99.

Running blind out in lane eight, Hall-Smith said he was surprised by the time, but disappointed when he realised that he was that close to attaining the qualifying standard.

“Honesty, I didn’t know I was going that fast in the race,” Hall-Smith said.

“I was placed in lane eight and I knew there were some fast guys behind him, so I had to get out.

“After the first hurdle, I was on the back stretch mostly by myself and so I just ran it hard. I went into the second curve and just tried to run for my momentum on the straight away. I

SEE PAGE 15

THE SPORTS CALENDAR

June, 2024

PEACE ON DA STREETS

THE annual Peace On Da Streets Basketball Classic, dubbed “Shooting Hoops instead of Guns,” is scheduled for July 15-21 at the Michael ‘Scooter Reid” Basketball Center at the Hope Center. All games will start at 6pm each day.

Categories include 12-and-under, 16-and-under, 20-and-under, government ministry, church and open divisions. The event is being promoted by Guardian Radio and Radio House Outreach.

CLERGY VS POLITICIANS

AS a part of the annual Peace ON Da Streets Basketball Classic, organisers will once again stage the showdown between members of the

Clergy against the Members of Parliament.This game is scheduled for 8pm Sunday, July 21 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

JOHNSON’S BASKETBALL CAMP

GET ready for the annual Coach Kevin Johnson’s Basketball Camp 2024. Coach Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson has announced that his camp will run from June 24 to July 12 at the CI Gibson Secondary High School and will run daily from 9am to 1pm. Campers will get a chance to play and learn the fundamentals of the game of basketball from professional instructors. Interested persons can sign up by contacting coach Johnson at 636-9350 or email: coachkjjohnson@gmail.com

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark had just one basket and three points in the worst game of her young pro career, and the New York Liberty routed the Indiana Fever 104-68 last night.

Jonquel Jones, posting a double double, scored 18 points with 13 rebounds and four assists and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton contributed 20 points for the Liberty, who were nearing the end of the easy win when Clark left the game and Aliyah Boston departed a few minutes later after an awkward fall. Clark shot 1 for 10 and had five assists. The No. 1 pick in the draft played the

PAGE 16

CLEVELAND ENEAS WIN TITLE

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FROM day one to the end, Cleveland Eneas Primary left their imprint on the New Providence Public Primary Schools Sports Associations’ 44th Track and Field Championships. Cleveland Eneas Primary stamped their final approval on the 44th edition of the championships as they carted off the overall title on Friday at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

of their nearest rivals, Sadie Curtis Primary, who trailed in second with 152. Garvin

PAGE 15

BAHAMIAN Nashad Mackey had some big moments on the hardwood as a basketball player but these days he is making his impact on the sidelines. The former assistant coach of The Bahamas’ national basketball team will now transition into his new coaching gig at the University of South Carolina (USC) Upstate for their men’s basketball programme. The multifaceted coach is certainly no stranger to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) DI coaching ranks, moving on from his previous coaching role with the University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks. For Mackey, he is optimistic about making his mark with the Spartans under the tutelage of head coach Marty Richter.

“I am grateful to coach Richter for giving me the opportunity to be apart of his inaugural staff at USC Upstate. I am excited to get on campus, begin working with our student-athletes and laying the foundation of the programme. Spartanburg is a beautiful city and

the community is excited and ready to watch their men’s basketball programme turn things around,” he said. The former national basketball team player recently wrapped up his brief tenure with the Skyhawks. He played an integral role in helping the team to its first Ohio Valley Conference Regular Season Championship in 15 years. They also totalled 14 conference victories and 21 victories which was a programme record. Before this stint, he was an assistant coach at Daytona State College for one season. With Mackey on the sidelines, the Falcons wrapped up with a 27-4 record in the Central Conference of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Additionally, the team emerged as the Central SEE PAGE 16

MACKEY

CHAMPIONS: Lyford Cay

Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr

SHAKEEM Hall-Smith clearing the hurdles.

Hall-Smith misses Olympic cut, Charlton leads the way in JA

FROM PAGE 14

thought they would catch me, but I didn’t realise how far ahead I was until after the race.”

It was Hall-Smith’s seventh 400m hurdlers race for the year and although he came so close to qualifying, he said that he still has a few more chances to achieve the feat before he comes home for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ Nationals and final Olympic trials at the end of the month.

Devynne Charlton leads the way in Jamaica Over in Kingston, Jamaica, world indoor hurdles record holder Devynne Charlton led the way for a number of Bahamians in action on Saturday at the Racers Grand Prix.

Charlton, one of three Bahamians to have already surpassed the Olympic cut for the women’s 100m hurdles, won her specialty in the straight away as she cleared the 10 flights of hurdles in 12.64.

In surpassing the Olympic standard of 12.77,

Charlton pulled along a pair of Jamaicans as Yanique Thompson got second in 12.66 and Amoi Brown was third in 12.73 as they also attained the cut for the games. Ian Kerr, competing for AllStarz Athletix Management, came in fourth in 20.65 as he continues to hold his own against some of the world’s best.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards won the title in an Olympic qualifier in 20.13, surpassing the standard of 20.16. In the men’s triple jump, Kaiwan Culmer, representing BM Management, was fifth in the men’s triple jump with his best leap of 52-2 1/2 (15.91). Jamaican Jaydon Hibbert of Puma won with a world leading, season’s best, facility record and Olympic cut of 58-3 (17.75m). The Olympic standard is 56-6 (17.22m). Commonwealth Games champion LaQuan Nairn, competing for TrackWired, was also fifth in the men’s long jump with his best leap of 23-11 3/4 (7.31m). Jamaican Shawn-D Thompson of SprinTec, won with 25-7

officer for the NPPPSSA, headed by Latoya Sturrup, said the meet went extremely well.

1/2 (7.81m). The Olympic standard is 27-1 3/4 (8.27m). And two competitors were in the men’s high jump with Grand Bahamian Donald Thomas placing

D Division

Tynes Primary clinched third place with 139.

Coach Mariska Thompson said she couldn’t ask for a better performance from her squad at Cleveland Eneas Primary as they came off an outstanding performance from the Ministry of Education’s National Primary School Track and Field Championships the week before. “Our performances were exceptional,” said Thompson, who noted that they avenged their seven-point loss to Uriah McPhee last year. “We were really hungry to come back to gain the top finish.

“Overall, it was a balanced team with the throws, the jumps and definitely the track. That was the major difference in our outcome. We really wanted to regain our title.” Thompson said that the competition was not as stiff as she anticipated, but they were prepared to step it up a notch from day one.

“It was well attended by all of the schools, so hats off, not just to Cleveland Eneas, but to all of the schools,” she said. “The competition could have been a little more stiffer, but we were prepared to go all the way this year.”

In picking up second place, coach Franchesca McBridge said she too was thrilled by the performances from her Sadie Curtis team.

“A lot of my team wasn’t here, but those that came, I was very proud of them. They did a marvelous job,” McBridge said. “It’s graduation time, so my sixth graders could not compete as I wanted them to, but we had some good performances from those who came.”

McBride, who also serves as the public relations

NPSA: LADY OPERATORS BLANK LADY TRUCKERS 7-0, WILDCATS BEAT

UB LADY MINGOES 8-1

THE R&B Lady Operators and the Sunshine Auto Wildcats won the New Providence Softball Association ladies’ double header played on Saturday night at the Bankers Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

The Lady Operators blanked the Johnson Lady Truckers 7-0, while the Wildcats knocked off the University of the Bahamas Lady Mingoes 8-1.

Here’s a summary of the matches played:

Lady Operators 7, Lady Truckers 0: Brendia Ferguson was stingy on the mound, firing a threehitter in the win. She also helped her own cause by going 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Kendalia Turner went 1-for-3 with a home run, three runs batted in and two runs scored. Her little sister Mia Turner was 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored. Ciara Bowe helped out by going 1-for-3 with a run scored.

In a losing effort, Sari Albury, Nikeisha Saunders and April Davis were all 1-for-3. Saunders was tagged with the loss on the mound.

Lady Wildcats 8, Lady Mingoes 1: Thela Stevens gave up two hits for the win and she went 2-for-3 with a double and a homer with four RBI and a run scored to pace Sunshine Auto.

“I think it was a wonderful meet. The athletes did extremely well, especially in this heat,” she said. “All in all, it was a great event. We saw the talent of the kids, who were awesome in their performances.

“The competition was really stiff this year. I didn’t know it was going to be that good. It was goods to see that the children are still active and performing at a very high level.”

Among the leading performances in the meet were Laveah Johnson from Thelma Gibson in the girls C division; Derricks Smith from Sandilands Primary in the girls B division and Lafaye Curtis of Cleveland Primary in the girls A division.

On the boys’ side, the top performers were Kaydin Thompson of Cleveland Eneas Primary in the boys C division; Treyvon Major of Garvin Tynes in the boys B division and both Deangelo Hinsey of Centreville Primary and Milton Newbold of Palmdale Primary in the boys A division.

• Here’s a look at the final team standingsCleveland Eneas Primary, 291; Saide Curtis Primary, 152; Garvin Tynes Primary, 129; Palmdale Primary, 139; Thelma Gibson Primary, 124; TG Glover Primary, 118; Eva Hilton Primary, 111; Sandilands Primary, 98; EP Roberts Primary, 91; Uriah McPhee Primary, 88; Centreville Primary, 75; Carlton E Francis Primary, 68; Gerald Cash Primary, 64; Yellow Elder Primary, 62; Claridge Primary, 52; Gambier Primary, 25; Albury Sayles Primary, 22 and Ridgeland Primary, 10.

There were no high point winners in the various age group categories, but some of the top performances were as follows:

Girls 75m - Davonna Wright of Sadiee Curtis, 12.25; Chardonay Nesbitt, TG Glover, 12.29 and Thierra Brown, Albury Sayles, 12.60.

Girls 400m - Davanna Wright, Sadie Curtis, 1:28.58; Heavenly McKenzie, Cleveland Eneas, 1:30.25; Gabriel Clarke, Garvin Tynes, 1:30.52.

Boys 75m - Ricardo Bowles, Eva Hilton Primary, 11.26; Jawn Saunders, Palmdale Primary, 11.70; Lavage Bootle, Cleveland Eneas, 11.90.

Boys 400m - Justino Almonard, Garvin Tynes Primary, 1:24.28; Lavago Bootle, Cleveland Eneas, 1:24.96; Valdez Godet, Eva Hilton Primary, 1:25.30.

C Division

Girls 100m - Laveah Johnson, Thelma Gibson, 14.69; J’Lynn Bain, Sadie Curtis, 14.,86; Shanquaye Butler, Sandilands Primary, 15.21. 200m - Laveah Johnson, Thelma Gibson, 31,62; Charity Marshall, Cleveland Eneas, 32.44l J’Lynn Brown, Sadie Curtis, 32.93.

Girls 800m - Charity Marshall, Cleveland Eneas, 3:13.99; Dutchess Williams, Sadie Curtis, 3:19.24; Melody Thompson, Garvin Tynes, 3:20.99.

Girls long jump - Laveah Johnson, Thelma Gibson, 3.56m; Dutchess Williams, Sadie Curtis, 3:07m; Kayanna Dean, Palmdale Primary, 3:02m.

Boys 100m - Jaquan Jolomau, EP Roberts Primary, 14.19; Payton Brown, TG Glover, 14.40; Andre Ferguson, Palmdale Primary, 14.66.

Boys 200m - Kaydin Thompson, Cleveland Eneas Primary, 30.08; Payton Broen, TG Glover Primary, 31.20; Nathan Smith, Gerald Cash Primary, 31.42.

Boys 800m - Kaydin Thompson, Cleveland Eneas, 2:51.42; Daniel Ramsey, Eva Hilton

fifth with a clearance of 7-0 1/2 (2.15m), while Shaun Miller was seventh with 6-10 3/4 (2.10m).

It was a three-way tie for first with the Jamaica

Primary, 2:56.40; Jyden McPhee, Cleveland Eneas Primary, 3:00.12.

Boys long jump - Kaydin Thompson, Cleveland Eneas, 3.70m; Siddon Sawyer, Palmdale Primary, 3:57m; Racquan Saunders, Thelma Gibson Primary, 3.47m.

Boys softball throwLael Nairn, TG Glover Primary, 31.80m; Lathone Swain, Centreville Primary, 31.36m; Zahmir Monchal, Sadie Curtis Primary, 25.52m.

Girls Softball ThrowJ’Lynn Bain, Sadie Curtis, 2860m; Gabriel Francois, Albury Sahl4rs, 16.72m; Mauriyah Pierre, Sandilands Primary, 16.34m.

B Division

Girls 100m - Derricka Smith, Sandilands Primary, 13.50; Romanta Miller, Gambier Primary, 13.98; Tiana Baker, Uriah McPhee, 14.40.

Girls 200m - Romanta Miller, Gambier Primary, 2.18; Derricka Smith, Sandilands Primary, 30.41; Dana Johnson, TG Glover, 31.41.

Girls 400m - Aciyah Clarke, Thelma Gibson, 1:14.01; Jasmine McPhee, Uriah McPhee, 1:14.23; Demiya Lundy, Centreville Primary, 1:16.80.

Girls 1,200m - Hadassah Griffin, Thelma Gibson, 4:46.86; Iyanna Rolle, Cleveland Primary, 4:59.29; Jazzaria Key, Ridgeland Primary, 4:59.20.

Girls High jump - Janae Phillipe, Garvin Tynes, 1.24m; Tamaia, Brown, Claridge Primary, 1.18m; Derricka Smith, Sandilands Primary, 1.15m. Girls Softball Throw - Jurica Black, Thelma Gibson Primary, 29.72m; Asia Pierre, Uriah McPhee Primary, 27.23m’ Kenniyah Williams, Gerald Cash Primary, 24.92m.

Boys 100m - Treyvon Major, Garvin Tynes Primary, 13.33; Waiden Bain, Sadie Curtis Primary, 13.62; Emmanuel Oscar, EP Roberts Primary, 13.88.

trio of Raymond Richards, Christoff Bryan and Lushane Wilson, all soaring 7-2 ½ (2.20m). The Olympic standard is 7-7 3/4 (2.33m).

Boy 200m - Waiden Bain, Sadie Cutis Primary, 28.40; Treyvon Major, Garvin Tynes Primary, 29.12; Renaldo Mackey, TG Glover Primary, 29.50. Boys 400m - Deon Fowler, Cleveland Eneas Primary, 1:07.99; Koen Brown, Sadie Curtis Primary, 1:08.35; Dorin Ayton, Thelma Gibson Primary, 1:11.53.

Boys 1,200m - Liam Bethel, Palmdale Primary, 4:23.44; Deon Fowler, Cleveland Enes Primary, 4:23.44; Micke Deneus , Centreville Primary, 4:44.85. Bohys high jumpParnildo Patton, Thelma Gibson Primary, 1.21m; Nicely Brown, Sadie Curtis Primary, 1.21m. Boys softball throwRamon Rahming, Carlton Francis Primary, 40.30m; Waiden Bain, Sadie Curtis Primary, 38.83m; Ailan Curry, Eva Hilton Primary, 35.30m. A Division Girls 100m - Shantavia Henry, Yellow Elder Primary, 12.84; Tacaj Curry, Eva Hilton Primary, 13.11; Chrisnae Miller, TG Glover, 13.29.

Girls 400m - Tacaj Curry, Eva Hilton Primary, 1:06.74; Lafaye Curtis, Cleveland Eneas Primary, 1:12.99; Sheldanique Forbes, Cleveland Eneas Primary, 1:13.00. Girls 800m - Lafaye Curtis, Cleveland Eneas, 2:44.95; Rickia Pratt, Sadie Curtis Primary, 2:52.43; Arianna Heastie, Yellow Elder Primary, 2:52.58. Girls long jump - Shanylaah Collie, Palmdale Primary, 4.00m; Zaylin Williams, Cleveland Eneas, 3.72m; Gabrielle Williams, Uriah McPhee Primary, 3.56m. Girls shot put - Jamia Bain, Carlton E Francis Primary, 6.79m; Aisha Daniel, Palmdale Primary, 6.01m; Leanna Ferguson, Garvin Tynes Primary, 5.60m. Boys 100m - Deangelo Hinsey, Centreville Primary,

Shavette Taylor was a perfect 3-for-3 with a triple and a run scored and Kenya Forbes was 1-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored to help out.

Brianna Hield was 1-for-2 with a triple and a run scored and Nabria Hamilton was 1-for-2 for UB. Keishana Coakley suffered the loss.

• Here’s a look at this week’s schedule

Tuesday 7pm - Black Scorpions vs Johnson Lady Truckers (L).

8:30pm - Renegades vs Chances Mighty Mitts (M).

Wednesday 7pm - Sunshine Auto Wildcats vs R&B Operators (L).

8:30pm - Renegades vs Cyber Tech Blue Marlins (M).

Thursday 7pm - Sunshine Auto Wildcats vs Cyber Tech Ladies Blue Marlins (L). 8:30 pm Cyber Tech Blue Marlins vs Titans (M).

Saturday 7pm - UB Mingoes vs R&B Operators (L). 8:30pm - Cyber Tech Blue Marlins vs Chances Mighty Mitts (M).

12.35; Jaamal McSweeney, EP Roberts Primary, 12.65; Joseph Thervil, Sandilands Primary, 12.90. Boys 400m - Deangelo Hinsey, Centreville Primary, 1:03.27; Rashard Francis, Gerald Cash Primary, 1:07.45; Jaden Perry, TG Glover Primary, 1:07.84. Boys 800m - Kenson Sactel, Cleveland Eneas, 2:33.72; Jaden Perry, TG Glover Primary, 2:36.67; Joseph Thervil, Sandilands Primary, 2:37.13. Boys long jump - Milton Newbold, Palmdale Primary, 4.59m; Jason Moncur, Uriah McPhee Primary, 4.52m; Jamal McSweeney, EP Roberts Primary, 4.50m. Boys triple jump - Milton Newbold, Palmdale Primary, 9.24m; Deangelo Hindey, Centreville Primary, 9.00m; Ryan Strachan, Cleveland Eneas Primary, 8.65m. Boys shot put - Lebron Beneby, Carlton E Francis Primary, 8.57m; Makhai Munnings, TG Glover Primary, 8.51m; Tevin Tucker, Garvin Tynes Primary, 8.47m.

DEVYNNE Charlton in Jamaica.

KAIWAN Culmer and Ian Kerr in Jamaica.

Windsor and Lyford Cay

win national soccer titles

FROM PAGE 14

capitalise on the penalty kick thanks to Anatol’s goalkeeper Watdley Lozier. However, Windsor’s Kai Perez stayed on the attack and launched the ball past Anatol’s defenders to put the team up 1-0.

Ronaldo Green, head coach of Windsor, said it was “evident” that his team would win the game.

“It was evident that we were gonna win. I think Anatol is a strong team but our team was well coached and well prepared to win the game,” he said.

The Timberwolves refused to go down without a fight as Mckenzie Chery fired the ball from the left side of the penalty area to score the equaliser with the less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

The game went into extra time and coach Green made the tactical decision to switch goalkeepers, in anticipation of the penalty shootout, which paid dividends in the end.

Windsor went on to win the penalties 4-2 to clinch the national title.

“Our team is quite young. I think we did a great job. Going into the game, Anatol were a bit rougher, faster and stronger but my team is a bit more technical. We did our job and brought the trophy home,” coach Green said.

Perez was awarded as the Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Anatol’s goalkeeper Lozier took home the Golden Glove honours and Chery was given the Golden Boots trophy.

Lyford Cay vs St Andrew’s It was a battle of the East and West soccer clubs but it would be the Lady Dragons hauling the girls’ national trophy to the western side of the island in the end.

Lyford Cay asserted their dominance early against the Hurricanes who had not scored a single in-game goal in the tournament. The Dragons went up 4-0 before the halftime break and Issa Bournas was once again electric on the turf.

She scored her first of four goals at the 14th minute and followed it up with another at the 27th minute. For her initial goal, she got the edge on a St Andrew’s defender and launched the ball from just outside the penalty area. On her second attempt, she dribbled past three defenders to walk right into a goal and put the team up 4-0.

Co-head coaches Annisa Albury and Sara Ilgenfritz were grateful to see the Lady Dragons accomplish their goal for the season.

“We set out from the beginning of the season to do this. This group of girls are amazing. Last year, when we fell short we had a bunch of girls who came out for the national tournament and they showed up again this year. They have been the heart and soul of our team and it’s just been an amazing road to get

NASHAD MACKEY SET TO JOIN USC UPSTATE COACHING STAFF

FROM PAGE 14

Conference champions and completed the season with a no.8 national ranking. With noteworthy accomplishments over the course of his coaching career, he outlined his goals for the Spartans, who finished last season with a 5-11 record in the Big South Conference.

here. Every single step of the way this has been our destination so it feels really good to complete what we said we were gonna do,” Ilgenfritz said.

According to coach Albury they were familiar with the Hurricanes and their style of play which gave them more confidence.

“We played St Andrew’s in the regular season and then in the quarterfinals. We knew what we were going up against but we knew they were gonna come out hard. The mindset was just we’re comfortable and we can do this and it was just fantastic,” Albury said. Bournas was selected as the MVP and Golden Boots winner.

Her teammate Lilian Haynes received the Golden Glove trophy. The group now intends

to celebrate with a motorcade.

Third place The Lady Knights were eliminated a bit earlier than expected at the High School Soccer Nationals but were determined to at least finish in the top three and they did.

Valtinique Simmons managed to put the team up 1-0 at halftime and Lyric Saunders followed it up with a goal of her own in the second half to knock off the BMES Warriors.

Coach Dan Weightman said losing to the Lady Dragons in the semifinals gave his players motivation headed into the third place match.

“The girls lost yesterday in the semis in a very close and well-played game. It is very hard to play a third place game after that because you gotta get the emotions back up but these

girls really came together as a team and said today is gonna be our day,” he said.

Coach Weightman added that they are looking forward to bouncing back next year.

“They played as a team and our goal scorers really came through today with some fantastic finishes. Hats off to our goalie. She made a lot of quality saves and got the clean sheet. It is great to end the season on a winning note and we are looking forward to coming back next year,” he said.

Although Lyford Cay would have loved to have two teams celebrating championship victories, the boys team would have to settle for the third place this year.

The Dragons held off the Buccaneers 3-2 in a matchup that came down to the wire.

Head coach Phil Carroll said this was a rebuilding year but he is proud of the group nonetheless.

“It was a stronger performance than what we put in last night as a group. We showed a bit more confidence and composure. It is a young squad as we lost nine 12th graders last year so this was a rebuild basically. We have a lot of eighth and ninth graders in this group so this bodes well for the future. It was a year of progression and rebuilding but I am proud of this group,” he said.

The Bahamas Football Association (BFA) extended a special thanks to the Ministry of Education, Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin as well as the staff members, teams and supporters of all schools that participated in this

tournament.

“It’s a completely new staff and roster. The goal is to get the guys on campus in a few weeks and begin developing good habits, building chemistry, implementing a few concepts, and getting bigger and stronger in the weight room. As an assistant, my job is to be an extension between players and the head coach, mentor them academically and equip them for the next phase of their lives. The goal is simple – show up everyday with a servant attitude,” he said.

Coach Mackey was proud of his tenure with the Skyhawks and wants to bring some of those same attributes down to Spartanburg, South Carolina.

“UT-Martin was an unique experience, working with a staff I’ve known for quite some time and getting the opportunity to coach a few players I’ve coached and mentored in the past. We were fortunate to capture an OVC Championship which was the first one in 15 years. My biggest takeaways would be to continue to add value, find ways to be creative, solve problems, have a positive attitude and always be dependable,” he said.

The graduate of EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University got his initial start in coaching back in 2020 as a graduate assistant for the Eagles. He then returned to the Falcons to work alongside head coach Joey Cantens and has continued to climb the coaching ranks ever since. He is quite fond of the new experiences that happen along the way and is looking forward to a bright future with the USC Upstate men’s basketball programme.

“New experiences are always fun. I am excited to work under a coach in Martin Richter, who has won at every level, and develops his staff and players. It’s a privilege to have these opportunities in coaching and even more thrilling having the experience this early in my career,” he said.

Coach Mackey remains poised and optimistic moving into his newest endeavour.

JONQUEL FROM PAGE 14

first few minutes of the fourth quarter before exiting, holding her ear for a little bit as she left the court. The Fever had another scary moment a few minutes later when Boston went down awkwardly after she was fouled. She gingerly walked off the court and back to the locker room.

Indiana was playing the second game of a back-toback set. The Fever (2-9) beat Chicago on Saturday afternoon by one point.

The Fever have had a brutal stretch to the start the season with 11 games in the first 20 days, including playing New York three times now.

The Liberty took advantage of the tired Fever, racing out to a 31-13 lead after one quarter. LaneyHamilton and Breanna Stewart each had seven points in the opening 10 minutes as New York pushed the pace.

Clark was scoreless in the first quarter before starting off the second period with a logo 3-pointer. She was constantly hounded defensively by Laney-Hamilton and Kayla Thornton.

year’s national soccer

IN the third place matchups, the CR Walker Lady Knights would have their way against the Bishop Michael Eldon (BMES) Warriors 2-0 to wrap up the tournament third overall. The Dragons overcame the Lucaya International Buccaneers 3-2 to cement their club as the third best national high school team in the boys’ division.

CHAMPIONS: Windsor stunned the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves, pulling off the 4-2 upset victory over the GSSSA team in penalties at the Roscow A L Davies Soccer Field in the boys’ championship showdown on Friday.

Photos: Chappell Whyms Jr

Porzingis on track for return as Celtics get set to face Mavericks

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer

BOSTON (AP) —

Whether injured Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will be ready in time for the start of the NBA Finals this week is still to be determined.

But signs are pointing to him being able to return to the court sooner rather than later during Boston’s matchup with the Dallas Mavericks.

The 7-footer hasn’t appeared in a game since sustaining a strained left calf in Game 4 of Boston’s first-round playoff series against Miami on April 29. But 4-1 victories over the Heat and Cleveland in the second ground, followed by a 4-0 sweep of Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals, have given the Latvian extended recovery time.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has refrained from making predictions on when he expects Porzingis to be available. But he was clear that his team is better with Porzingis in the lineup, despite compiling a 9-1 record without him this postseason.

“When KP is at his best, he’s been tremendous for us and we expect that from him and we know he’ll give that to us,” Mazzulla said. Porzingis last spoke publicly on May 4, saying of the injury, “It’s something, it’s not nothing,” and adding that it would take “a little bit of time” to recover from.

His official status since then has been day to day as he slowly began rehabbing for a chance to face the Mavericks team he played for from 2019-22.

Porzingis took to social media this week to provide his most significant update, posting on the X platform, “I’ll be back in the lineup very soon. See you in the finals.”

Two days later, when the doors were opened to the media Friday after a practice session, Porzingis was one of only a handful of players still on the court, going through extended 3-point shooting drills with assistant coaches and trainers. He wore a compression sleeve on his injured left leg.

Then, on Saturday he participated in light 5-on-5 play with his teammates –his most extensive on-court workout since sustaining his injury.

Mazzulla said Porzingis “did everything the team did” during Saturday’s practice and was expected to go through a more intense session on Sunday.

Assuming he clears that benchmark, it would mark the most promising sign yet that the Celtics could soon get back the the scorer and rim protector that Boston

traded longtime stalwart Marcus Smart for this past offseason.

When healthy, Porzingis has provided on both ends of the floor, averaging 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks during the regular season while appearing in 57 games. Before his injury in the Miami series, he averaged 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.

Porzingis missed seven games earlier this season with what the team called left calf injuries. He also missed time with a smattering of other issues this season, from inflammation and bruises in his right knee, right hamstring problems, a sprained left ankle and a sore back.

Those ailments added up to 25 missed games in which Boston went 21-4.

Celtics guard Derrick White, who was voted to the NBA All-Defensive third team along with teammate Jrue Holiday, said Porzingis’ presence on the defensive end is hard to replicate.

“He does a great job of just making things difficult,” White said. “It’s always nice to know that he’s back there, whether he blocks or he doesn’t block. He makes them think about it. That’s been really

great having him on our side, just doing the things he did day in and day out.

Once he comes back and gets in the flow I think it’s going to be nice.”

Holiday said one of the reasons the Celtics have been able to excel without Porzingis during this stretch is because they remember what it was like going through those periods during the regular season without him.

A roadmap to follow for the men’s basketball competition during the Paris Olympics: ATHLETES TO WATCH

—LeBron James, United States: The NBA’s all-time scoring leader seeks his third Olympic gold medal (2008, 2012) and returns to the Games for the first time in 12 years. At 39, James presumably is playing in his final Olympics.

—Kevin Durant, United States: He is seeking to become the first four-time men’s basketball gold medalist, after helping the U.S. win gold at Tokyo in 2021, Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and London in 2012.

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

KYRIE Irving was not making a threat, nor was he boasting, nor was he saying anything that would be considered outlandish. It was the final week of the regular season. He and the Dallas Mavericks had just clinched a division title and Irving was asked to talk about what it means.

He didn’t look back. He looked ahead.

“We just know that the job isn’t finished,” Irving said in Miami that night. “And we’re just getting started.” Turns out, he was right. The Mavericks — who spent most of February and March looking destined for the play-in tournament, a team that was barely better than a mediocre 26-23 after 49 games — figured things out just in time, and a trip to the NBA Finals is their reward.

Dallas will visit Boston in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. It’s a matchup of the teams with the NBA’s two best records since Feb. 1; Boston has gone 39-9 in that span, Dallas 36-15. Boston also had the best record in the

league before Feb. 1 (3711), while Dallas was only 14th best in that stretch (26-22).

“It doesn’t happen a lot of times (where) you go from the lottery to the finals,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “But we truly believe that we had the pieces.” A year ago, they didn’t. When this season started, they didn’t have all the pieces they needed, either. But since swinging trades for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington in February, the Mavericks have been one of the best teams in the league — and going 16-2 in one late stretch of the regular season only reinforced Irving’s belief that something good was happening.

“That’s the type of confidence that I felt the majority of this playoffs, just no matter what’s going on — in the beginning of the game, middle of the game, before the game — our words of affirmation and positivity go a long way,” Irving said. In the current NBA playoff format, which goes back to 1984, Dallas is only the fifth team seeded No. 5 in its conference or lower to make the finals. Miami

did it last year as a No. 8 seed, Miami did it again in 2020 as a No. 5 seed, New York did it in 1999 as a No. 8 seed and Houston did it in 1995 as a No. 6 seed. Of those teams, only the Rockets went on to win a title. But this Dallas team has been playing as well as anybody.

The Mavericks are 11-1 in these playoffs when they score more than 100 points.

AP SOURCE: PELICANS WILL USE FINAL LAKERS’ 1ST-ROUND PICK FROM ANTHONY DAVIS TRADE IN 2025

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP)

That said, Holiday said the preference is to have him available when the finals tip off on Thursday. He doesn’t think re-integrating him back into the lineup will be an issue.

“KP is one of the best scorers. He’s one of our best rim protectors,” Holiday said. “And I feel like we’re all mature enough to get back in the groove or have him fit right back in whenever he comes back. And we do want KP back. We can’t wait for him to be back and be a part of this on the court.”

“I go back to the regular season where sometimes KP was out and Al (Horford) was in and vice versa. We literally went through it before,” Holiday said. “We kind of went through all scenarios before of what could happen or what would happen or whatever. And it kind of shows.”

They’ve won five in a row on the road during this postseason run, matching their longest such streak from the regular season. They have a player in Irving who has won the finals before, a coach in Kidd who won a title as a player — with Dallas, no less — and arguably the best player in this postseason in Luka Doncic, who is headed to the title series for the first time. Irving

was right. The Mavs were just getting started. And now, they have a chance for the perfect finish. “I think we’ve got a great team,” Doncic said. “But most importantly, we’ve got great guys, some great guys on the team. From players to coaches, everybody on the team, we have great guys and that’s the most important thing. We stay together and we just play basketball.”

—Victor Wembanyama, France: The NBA rookie of the year and runner-up for defensive player of the year (behind French teammate Rudy Gobert) will be one of the faces of the Paris Games.

—Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada: The runner-up in this season’s NBA MVP voting behind Nikola Jokic of Serbia (another likely Olympic player this summer) will be asked to help deliver Canada a medal. It’s not out of reach, as proven by Canada’s bronze at the World Cup last summer.

—Stephen Curry, United States: The NBA’s all-time 3-point leader will make his Olympic debut at age 36.

STORYLINES TO FOLLOW

—The drive for five. Can the U.S. win gold for a fifth consecutive Olympics, or has the world caught up to the Americans? France figures to have perhaps the best chance at ending the U.S. reign. And four teams will clinch their spots and round out the 12-nation field in July, barely two weeks before the Olympics begin, so they’ll have some momentum.

—Wemby. Victor Wembanyama’s first season in the NBA didn’t disappoint, and now he’ll take his game to the biggest stage in the sport.

—South Sudan. Officially a nation for only about 13 years, the African country is headed to the Olympics for the first time.

KEY DATES

—July 27-Aug. 3, group games.

—Aug. 6, quarterfinals.

—Aug. 8, semifinals.

—Aug. 10, gold-medal and bronze-medal games.

REIGNING CHAMPION

The U.S. beat France for the gold medal at the Tokyo Games, the fourth consecutive Olympic title for the Americans.

— The New Orleans Pelicans have opted to wait until 2025 to use the last of the three first-round draft choices they received from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the 2019 Anthony Davis trade, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Saturday because no announcement had been made about the decision, which means the Lakers will retain their selection in the first round of this year’s draft on June 26, when they are slated to pick 17th overall. It also leaves the Pelicans with only their own firstround pick at No. 21 in this year’s draft. Under the terms of the Davis trade, the Pelicans cannot wait beyond 2025 to use the pick, which is the last remaining Lakers asset they are owed from that deal. The blockbuster trade shortly before the 2019 draft sent the Pelicans three Lakers players: Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. Only Ingram remains with New Orleans, but he is entering the final season of his contract.

The Pelicans won the draft lottery in 2019, when they selected Duke star forward Zion Williamson first overall. They then used the Lakers’ No. 4 overall pick in a trade for the eighth and 17th overall picks, as well as the 35th overall choice in the second round. With those, they drafted center Jaxson Hayes, guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker and guard Didi Louzada, none of whom are still with the Pelicans.

BOSTON Celtics centre Kristaps Porzingis. (AP)

KYRIE Irving, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks will visit Boston in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. (AP)

Rangers blank

‘Jazz’ and Marlins 6-0 for second consecutive shutout win

MIAMI (AP) — Andrew Heaney threw six scoreless innings, Adolis García homered and singled and the Texas Rangers beat the Miami Marlins 6-0 on Sunday.

Jacob Latz, David Robertson and Grant Anderson pitched an inning each to finish the Rangers’ second consecutive shutout win. It is the first time since September 2016 that the Rangers have back-to-back shutout wins.

Rangers shortstop Corey Seager singled in five atbats to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Seager also has a 25-game on-base streak.

Marcus Semien had three walks and singled, while Josh Smith had two hits for the Rangers.

“If we play our game and pitch like we’re capable of pitching, we can play with anybody,” said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, whose club has won five of six. “And they believe that. They’re world champions.”

Heaney (2-6) allowed four singles and struck out seven. It was his longest outing since also going six innings against Oakland on May 6.

“That’s the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Heaney said. “Mechanically, I felt everything was coming out of the same slot, same tunnel. Everything was direct toward the plate and staying on the plate for a long time. It was a good feeling.”

The Marlins dropped to an NL-worst 21-39. They

haven’t scored since the eighth inning of their seriesopening win on Friday.

“Obviously, back-toback shutouts is not ideal,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “Just not too much offensively today. We lacked the big hit the last couple of games.”

Texas got its offense going against Miami starter Trevor Rogers (1-7) with a three-run first inning.

Robbie Grossman and García hit RBI singles before Grossman scored from third on a double play grounder.

“That’s the characteristic of this club — to score runs early,” García said. “We try to remain aggressive and that’s how we’re defined.”

García’s leadoff shot in the sixth made it 4-0. The

blast landed in the leftcenter field seats for his 13th homer.

The multi-hit game was Garcia’s first since May 15. Garcia also ended a sevengame homerless streak.

“I always have a winning mentality and when things are not going well, it affects me sometimes,” García said. “This is a good club and I try to do the best for my teammates.”

The Rangers increased their lead on Leody Taveras’ run-scoring single and Travis Jankowski’s RBI groundout in the ninth.

After giving up four consecutive singles to start the

game, Rogers settled down. He allowed four runs and six hits and struck out three.

“At that point it was all about survive and advance, giving my team every opportunity to stay in the ball game,” Rogers said of overcoming the first inning.

“I was very happy to get through six innings today.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: Right-hander Max Scherzer (back surgery, thumb soreness) is hopeful of throwing batting practice next after his bullpen session Saturday.

UP NEXT Rangers: Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 2.84) will start the opener of a three-game series at Detroit on Monday. Left-hander Tarik Skubal (7-1, 2.01) will go for the Tigers.

Marlins: Left-hander Jesús Luzardo (2-2, 4.18) will start the opener of a two-game home set against Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Right-hander Ryan Pepiot (3-2, 3.88) is scheduled to start for the Rays.

Marlins: Placed righthander Sixto Sánchez (right shoulder inflammation) on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Saturday and recalled Emmanuel Ramírez from Triple-A Jacksonville.

NO MARATHONS AS SWIATEK AND GAUFF SPRINT INTO QUARTERFINALS, SINNER AND ALCARAZ WIN

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer

PARIS (AP) — After the French Open marathon came the sprints.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek swept into the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in just 40 minutes after a crushing 6-0, 6-0 win against Anastasia Potapova. U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff took only 60 minutes to rout unseeded Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-2. The 20-year-old American looked set for an even quicker victory when she led 5-0, but Cocciaretto fought back, getting a hearty cheer from the crowd after winning the next game.

Swiatek wound up with 48 points to just 10 for Potapova. The match ended when Potapova hit a forehand into the net on the first match point.

“I was just really focused and in the zone,” Swiatek said. “It went pretty quickly, pretty weird.”

Their match started at around 11 a.m. on Court Philippe Chatrier. That’s just eight hours after men’s defending champion Novak Djokovic finished his fiveset, 4 1/2-hour marathon against Lorenzo Musetti just after 3 a.m. in the latest finish in tournament history. Swiatek said late finishes don’t just end with the match and are not healthy.

“Usually it takes us, like, four hours to even chill, and you need to do recovery, media. It’s not like the work ends with the match point,” she said. “I was always one of the players that said that we should start a little bit earlier.”

Gauff thinks the issue needs to be addressed.

“It’s a complicated thing,” she said. “But I definitely think for the health and safety of the players it would be in the sport’s best interest to try to avoid those matches finishing, or starting, after a certain time.”

Gauff says there’s also a fine balance to be struck.

COCO GAUFF, of the U.S. celebrates winning her fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto at the Roland Garros stadium yesterday. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

“Obviously I don’t want to complain too much about it because we are very blessed and privileged to be playing for a lot of money. There’s people working real jobs under worse conditions for less money and just trying to get by,” she said. “It’s just tough for me knowing where some of my family come from and where things are, and I think about the people

hearing this. Yes, if I was a person working, I would be upset to hear, you know, players complain.”

Potapova attributed her crushing defeat to the constant rain delays in recent days sapping her energy.

“Unfortunately in the last couple of days I started feeling not well, eating not well. Last night I did not get an hour of sleep. It’s very tough to be honest.

Especially when you want to play good you have to try to keep everything inside,” she said. “But unfortunately if you keep it inside it doesn’t go away, it just keeps growing. The stress inside my body kept growing and unfortunately today was the day when it exploded.” Saturday didn’t help much.

“Yesterday I spent all day on site because I had doubles. We came at 9:00 (a.m.) and at 7:00 p.m. it got (postponed). I spent all day here without hitting a ball,” she said. “That’s not the preparation for the fourth round of a grand slam against the world number one.”

Swiatek remains on course for her third consecutive French Open title and fourth overall. The top-ranked Pole plays Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova after the fifth-seeded Czech beat unseeded Serb Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2. Gauff faces No. 8-seeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who

advanced to her second straight French Open quarterfinal after beating unseeded Dane Clara Tauson 6-4, 6-4. In the men’s draw, twotime Grand Slam title winner Carlos Alcaraz and 2021 French Open runnerup Stefanos Tsitsipas set up a quarterfinal showdown, while No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov got to the final eight in Paris for the first time in 14 appearances and will meet No. 2 Jannik Sinner next. Dimitrov eliminated No. 8 Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3), and Australian Open champion Sinner recovered from a terrible start to beat unseeded Corentin Moutet 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

Sinner got broken in each of his first three service games — after holding in 41 of 43 during his first three matches — and fell behind 5-0 just 22 minutes in, before getting going. The third-seeded Alcaraz beat No. 21-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.

NO ONE AT THE FRENCH OPEN LOVES IT WHEN MATCHES GO PAST 3AM AND NO ONE CAN AGREE ON A SOLUTION

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer

PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek provided a simple explanation for why she requested that the French Open not put her on the schedule during one of its night sessions, which often turn into way-past-midnight sessions.

“I just like,” the No. 1-ranked player explained, “to sleep normally.”

Catching the right amount of z’s is no easy task in Grand Slam tennis these days, for the athletes or those watching them compete. Current players, ex-players and the folks who run the sport tend to agree that it’s hardly ideal to carry on into the wee hours of the morning, something that keeps happening over and over.

The latest example is defending champion Novak Djokovic’s five-set victory at Roland Garros against Lorenzo Musetti, a contest that began after 10:30 p.m. on Saturday and didn’t wrap up until after 3 a.m. on Sunday.

Not great for the players. Or the fans on hand or trying to follow along from afar. Or the stadium workers. Or the on-court officials. The biggest problem? No one can get on the same page when it comes to finding a fix.

“It’s a complicated thing,” U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff said Sunday.

“But I definitely think for the health and safety of the players, it would be in the sport’s best interest to try to avoid those matches finishing — or starting — after

a certain time. Obviously, you can’t control when they finish.”

There are those who argue there should be curfews in place everywhere, the way Wimbledon halts action at 11 p.m. — and others who think that’s not practical for TV purposes or for players who would rather just finish what they started.

There are those who propose beginning day sessions before 11 a.m. or noon in the main stadiums — and others who believe players would rather not be out there in the morning, a time when few sports take place, while spectators and those putting on the events might object, too.

There are those who suggest men should play best-of-three-set matches instead of best-of-five

— and others who maintain the longer format creates additional drama and is essential to the allure of major tournaments.

Then again, as Swiatek noted: “I don’t know if the fans are watching these matches if they have to go to work the next day, or something, when the matches are finishing at 2 or 3 a.m.”

During the French Open, which began May 26 and ends June 9, one of the hurdles has been the weather: Showers on five consecutive days, including Saturday, created havoc with the schedule.

“There are lots of factors that weigh into this stuff. Solutions are difficult, because you have to put yourself in everyone’s seat,” said Jim Courier, who won two of his four major

trophies at the French Open in the early 1990s.

“So you pick your poison. There’s no good answers when it rains as much as it has.”

One of the reasons Djokovic vs. Musetti got going so late in the evening was that it was preceded by another third-round match that was supposed to have been completed Friday but was suspended, so it was moved to Court Philippe Chatrier to take advantage of its retractable roof.

“Some things could have been handled a different way,” said Djokovic, 37, who is pursuing a record 25th career Grand Slam singles title.

“There’s beauty, as well, I guess, (in) winning the match ... at 3:30 a.m. — if it’s the last one of the tournament. But it’s not. So I’m going to have to switch (on) all of my young genes and try to recover as quick as possible.”

The group he co-founded to support the sport’s athletes, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), has tried to draw attention to the need for a way around the late-night madness.

“It’s certainly a player health issue. Also a fan and viewer issue. Meaning a business issue, too,” PTPA Executive Director Ahmad Nassar said Sunday.

“It’s also a representation issue.”

The WTA and ATP pro tours said in January that the number of matches finishing after midnight “has risen considerably in recent years,” prompting them to test new rules governing late sessions.

Those do not apply to the Slams, though.

“Individually, we all study our event and track match times and: How big an issue is it, really? There are certainly outliers and exceptions all the time. Look, we continue to study and continue to look for creative solves. But if there were easy, obvious ones, we all would have aligned,” said Lew Sheer, CEO of the U.S. Tennis Association, the organization that runs the U.S. Open.

“If there are tweaks we can make to improve it, we’ll certainly consider and look at those,” Sheer said.

“But I don’t think there’s something definitive coming this year.”

MIAMI Marlins centre fielder Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr. catches a fly ball hit by Texas Rangers’ Wyatt Langford during the sixth inning of a baseball game yesterday in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene inducted into Hall of Fame

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE accolades continue to pour in for renowned Bahamian track and field coach Rolando “Lonnie” Greene in the United States of America.

In his latest achievement over the weekend, Greene was inducted into the State of Arkansas’ Hall of Fame on Friday night in Little Rock, Arkansas, along with seven other coaches connected to the Arkansas track and field community.

“Anytime you are honoured, honestly, by people or just your peers for the work that the Lord has allowed you to do is truly a blessing,” Greene said.

“None of us got into this profession to get an award. We got into the profession because we appreciated what others have done for us when we were these young kids’ ages and how unselfishly they gave of themselves to help us.

“Yeah, we get a salary because that’s how we feed our families, but, at the end of the day, it’s a labour of love to see a young man or a young woman come through and make us all proud by their performances.”

It was Greene’s second major Hall of Fame induction, coming off his first at the Drake Relays where he actually made a name for himself. But he said this one was special because he met his wife in Arkansas and his children were born there.

“In reality, I really became a man in the state of Arkansas,” he said. “So even though I was a young 21–22-year-old coach, I truly became a man, husband and a father, so this one was really special.”

Now the head coach at the University of Kentucky, Greene said he didn’t really know how successful he was until he sat and heard his accolades read off to him during the ceremony.

“When you hear people talk about it, you’re like wow,” he explained. “I was just trying to be successful. But I never thought that 25 years later they would be calling me back to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“I think of people like Devynne (Charlton) and the other athletes who I had to coach. None of us get into sports because of the accolades.

“We just want to see the athletes get better. But it’s good when you are recognised for your accomplishments,” stated Greene.

Greene spent 16 seasons at the University of Arkansas, starting in 1996 serving as an assistant coach with the women’s programme for four years before being promoted to associate head coach in 2000 overseeing the sprints, hurdles, horizontal jumps, and multi events.

He brought great success to the Razorback track and field programme, earning multiple USTFCCCA coaching awards including being named USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2004.

With the Razorbacks, Greene coached four student-athletes to five NCAA event titles, 36 athletes who earned 114 All-America honours, 16 Southeast Conference champions, two Southeastern Conference Runners of the Year, an SEC coFreshman Runner of the Year, and two USTFCCCA South Central Region Runners of the Year.

Arkansas finished in the top-25 at both the NCAA Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships in five of the last six seasons of his tenure.

The Razorbacks finished fourth in 2011 and tied for fifth in the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships while posting three top-15 finishes in the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

This week in Eugene, Oregon, Greene will be back at the NCAA Championships with his next crop of athletes from Kentucky.

And although it’s a young group of athletes, he feels that the future is bright for them.

“Our goal is just to go in there and be the best that we can be,” he insisted. “On the men’s side, we want to be one of the top 10 teams, the same for the women.

“If we can do that, we would have a very successful year. But the team is laden with so many young athletes. I can’t wait for 2025 when these freshmen will be a year stronger, mentally, emotionally and physically, so we can get more things done.”

Once he’s done with NCAA, Greene said the focus will shift on getting Charlton ready for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National Championships at the end of the month and of course the trip to Paris, France in July for the Olympic Games.

Like he did at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland where Charlton captured the title with her world record breaking performance in the women’s 60m hurdles, Greene said he intends to be there to assist the team’s coaching staff as she goes for another title or at least a medal in the 100m hurdles at the Olympics.

Greene, a former athlete turned coach, thanked God for giving him the ability to do what he loves, his loving wife, LaTayna Stewart-Greene, and their children, Charisse, Cameron, Isaiah and Jacob and grandchildren Tylan and Caleb, for their moral support and all of the athletes whom he’s been able to assist to get him to where he’s at right now.

COACH Rolando “Lonnie” Greene’s plaque.

COACH Rolando “Lonnie” Greene posing with his plaque, far right.