08032023 NEWS AND SPORT

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Volume: 120 No.147, August 3, 2023

NO ROOF, NO FOOD IN FIRE AFTERMATH

Residents tell of struggle after shanty blaze

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A MOTHER of six is desperate after a fire ripped apart a shanty town on Monday, destroying the place she called home for more than a decade.

Juliane Olibrice told The Tribune she was one of the several people coping in

the aftermath of a fire in a shanty town off Joe Farrington Road. As the rain poured down her face, she said: “I’m working, but like, the little money I making can’t buy everything back. My children, where we sleeping, it’s raining now, and water leaking inside.”

‘Gun only seen after police taped off area’

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN testified in the Coroner’s Court yesterday that footage capturing the aftermath of Deangelo Evans’ policeinvolved killing in 2018 was erased after police confiscated her phone, but that she later retrieved the video with the help of Evans’ father.

Patricia Charles’ footage showed the 20-year-old Evans bleeding on the road as a crowd confronted

police in the chaotic aftermath of his shooting death on Masons Addition in 2018.

She testified yesterday that the gun that officers claimed Evans had before they killed him only appeared at the scene after police taped off the area. She said she and her young niece were walking

SEE PAGE FIVE

A MONDAY night blaze destroyed a shanty town structure that housed multiple families. Firefighters brought the blaze under control precentinting the spread to other homes, however, several families are now struggling to cope in the aftermath.

Photo: Moise Amisial

No roof, no food in fire aftermath

from page one

Ms Olibrice highlighted an unfinished building where she sought refuge to shelter her one-year-old baby and other children after the fire. The structure was among several dilapidated buildings flooded with water from the rain, full of burnt clothes and

rubble.

“Somebody gave me a blue tent to put on the roof, so I put it on the roof for the water,” she said. “Because with them children, I have a baby that’s one-year-old so she can’t get wet in the rain. If she wet in the rain, she gon’ get sick. So we trying the best, and people trying they best to help us.”

The shanty town was filled with children playing and roaming in the yard when The Tribune arrived, despite the precarious situation some now face. Asked if she and her children had eaten food recently, Ms Olibrice said: “People give my children.

A MOTHER of six is desperate after a fire ripped apart a shanty town on Monday, destroying the place she called home for more than a decade.

Photo: Moise Amisial

SEE PA GE THREE

Residents tell of struggle after shanty blaze

I don’t mind if I don’t eat if my children eat. I don’t mind that. I want people give them food. I let them eat.”

Outside the shanty town, there were stalls under which several women sold hot food and drinks to residents. Ms Olibrice said the vendors give a plate of food to children if they saw them hungry. She said she works at

Wendy’s, but her uniform and her children’s school uniforms were destroyed in the fire.

“I ain’t going to work this week because my uniform burn and I ain’t get no money to buy it yet,” she said.

Another resident, Junina Ougutisin, who spoke Creole that a Tribune employee translated, described the fire as “shocking”. She said she has high blood pressure and that the incident took a physical toll on her.

Despite losing all her belongings, Ms Ougutisin said she and her son stayed with a neighbour who lives not too far from the shanty town.

She said the fire deprived them of comfort. She said sleeping had been difficult, and finding clothing had been rough.

Ms Ougutisin said her greatest worry is getting her son ready for school in September.

Meanwhile, a single father of one said he had just buried the mother of

his child last year and is now facing a tragedy of a different kind. He said he slept on the ground on recent nights and borrowed clothes and a blanket to cover his son.

The shanty town residents said the property’s landlord did not offer assistance after the fire, noting they still have to find rent money this week. Ms Olibrice, the mother of six, said residents must rebuild their destroyed structures to survive.

US Embassy welcomes The Bahamas’ offer to send personnel to ‘help restore security in Haiti’

THE US Embassy in Nassau says the United States welcomes The Bahamas’ offer to “contribute personnel to help restore security in Haiti”.

“The United States, in partnership with Ecuador, plans to introduce a UN Security Council resolution authorising this mission,” the embassy said in a statement. “We remain committed to finding resources to support a Multi-National Force (MNF). We will also

engage the international community to provide funding, equipment, training, and personnel to the MNF.”

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that The Bahamas is committed to sending 150 officers to Haiti as part of a multinational force to curb the violence in that country.

For months, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has called for a “specialised armed force” from other countries to

curb the crisis in his country. According to the US State Department, the chaos there is worsening, with high reports of kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and poor health care infrastructure.

When she visited The Bahamas in June, US VicePresident Kamala Harris urged the international community to step up and help Haiti.

“The international community must continue to support the Haitian people

in light of the devastating humanitarian and security crisis in that country,” she said.

“The United States supports the development of a multi-national force to Haiti. And today I’m pleased to announce $53.7 million in new humanitarian aid for Haiti. In addition, our administration will support the extension of HOPE-HELP trade preferences for Haiti, which are due for renewal in 2025.”

THE FIRE Department working to control and contain the fire Monday night.

A BUILDING where several families resided was destroyed by fire Monday night leaving them without shelter and clothes and struggling to get back on their feet in the aftermath.

Photos: Moise Amisial

Rastafarian leader will appeal Supreme Court ruling on religious use of cannabis

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL Rastafarian leader said the community would support an appeal of a Supreme Court judge’s ruling that laws prohibiting the possession and use of marijuana do not breach their constitutional rights to freedom of religion.

Lorenzo Stubbs challenged Section 29 (6) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which prohibits drug possession, alleging the provision infringes on his right to practice his faith. He brought the case after he was arrested in December 2021 when police found 1.6 ounces of marijuana at his home.

On Tuesday, Justice Lorein Klein rejected his application, ruling that legislators were within their right to pass a law that does not include a religious exemption for marijuana use.

t hree c hinese men held on charges of human trafficking

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THREE Chinese nationals were jailed after allegedly being implicated in a human trafficking scheme in the Berry Islands earlier this year.

Acting Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley charged Xiyang Gao, 32, Li Qiang, 24, and Feng Guo, 32, with human trafficking.

Gao alone faced a charge of trafficking in persons.

All three men faced shared charges of conspiracy to engage in trafficking in persons, grievous harm and unlawful withholding of identification papers.

The trio were allegedly involved in the trafficking of Zhao Jinbo between March 1 and July 19 after the victim was found in Bird Cay in the Berry Islands. During this timeframe, the accused also allegedly withheld Jinbo’s Chinese passport and caused him serious injury.

Through the help of an interpreter, Magistrate Reckley informed the accused that their matter would be transferred to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Before being remanded at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, the trio were told of their right to apply for bail through the higher court.

Terrell Butler represented the accused.

Priest Jevon Thompson, chairman of the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress Bahamas Branch, located on Fire Trail Road, expressed disappointment in the ruling yesterday.

“We feel slighted,” he said.

“We feel disappointed, aggrieved, because, you

know, the matter has been taking place for a while, and we’ve been putting out challenges in the past.

“And we felt that this was a good opportunity for the judge to make a ruling in our favour from the judiciary aspect, and then the legislative or the government will have to follow.

“So, the judge seems to take a backseat and allow the legislature to make the first move. So, in other words, again, it infringes on our constitutional rights.

“So, we plan to appeal and take it to the other court, because, like I say, it’s been a long time now and it’s like kicking the football round and round from left to right, up and down all around, you know, between different governments.”

Some countries have legislated religious exemptions for marijuana use.

Members of the Rastafarian community still face challenges getting their criminal records for marijuana convictions expunged.

Priest Jevon said: “I feel like we behind the eight ball, really and truly. I mean, other countries throughout the diaspora moving in this direction and we just trying and waiting, and we really don’t know why.”

In June, Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the government would release its draft cannabis bills in July. However, that did not happen.

rights advocates to discuss concerns W ith govt over Protection against v iolence act

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

IN two weeks, women’s rights advocates will discuss their concerns with government officials about the Protection Against Violence Bill in a bid to amend the legislation, according to Lisa Bostwick-Dean, vice-president of Women United.

Social Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe said he will pursue further consultation with them on the legislation after the groups announced their opposition last week. The groups said the legislation is not as comprehensive as a previous version they worked on.

Mrs Bostwick-Dean told

The Tribune: “Women

United and others did meet with the minister on Monday of this week, and he indicated that he will have further meetings with concerned NGOs and discussions in order to take into account their concerns about the Protection Against Violence Bill.

“We have taken note of his statements in the press this morning and the statement by other concerned stakeholders such as the Christian Council, and we hope that the growing voices of concern will be listened to so that we can ensure that amendments will be made so that we can

ensure that we have the best possible legislation for the people.”

Last week, the Davis administration denied advocates’ calls for the government to suspend debate on the legislation.

“I think we were optimistic but we are, in truth, we thought that they would delay the passing of the Bill for the commentary to come back and any amendments made before the Bill was passed into law,” Mrs Bostwick-Dean said. “So that’s a little disconcerting, but I mean, we hope that they will honour their word and still take into account these concerns because the concerns are legitimate.”

Women’s

PRIEST JEVON THOMPSON, chairman of the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress Bahamas Branch, located on Fire Trail Road, expressed disappointment in the ruling yesterday.

Photo: Lynaire Munnings

“I feel like we behind the eight ball, really and truly. I mean, other countries throughout the diaspora moving in this direction and we just trying and waiting, and we really don’t know why.”

‘Gun only seen after police taped off area’

near Sandy Lane on May 27, 2018, when a police Jeep rushed by them. Not long after, she said gunshots went off like firecrackers. She claimed she saw Evans raise his hands in the air as two officers approached him before opening fire within two to three seconds.

She said she ducked for cover behind a wall and was about five to six feet away from where Evans was shot. She said she saw Evans fall face down. She said about 20 to

30 minutes after he was shot, a crowd of about 80 people swarmed the area as police began to cordon off the site.

She claimed it was then that a gun suddenly appeared near the victim’s hand.

She said police later confiscated the Samsung phone on which she recorded the developments.

She alleged that when her phone was returned to her, all the footage she had taken that day was cleared from her gallery. She said the officer who took her phone left a card so she could contact

police to give evidence about the incident.

She said she later gave that card and her phone to Evans’ father to recover footage of the shooting.

When the allegedly retrieved video was played in court yesterday, Ms Charles and several of Evans’ family members became emotional.

The footage showed Evans bleeding on the ground wearing a red jacket and white basketball shirt as two male civilians tried to help him. Meanwhile, a hostile crowd confronted the officers, shouting. Soon

afterwards, the footage ended abruptly.

Under questioning from K Melvern Rolle, Ms Charles said she could not remember seeing his two clients, Corporal Wright and Inspector Wilson. She said she blocked out details of the weapons they had. She said she only recalled that the officers wore navy blue and that she saw them go to their jeep before she started recording.

She denied the suggestion that her video was fabricated.

“I don’t gain nothing from lying. I have no

reason to lie cuz I ain’t gaining anything,” she said.

Asked why she didn’t present evidence to the police, she said she does not trust the police. She said she testified because she believes Evans’ family deserves justice.

Under examination by Romona FarquharsonSeymour, lawyer for Evans’ estate, Ms Charles said she remembered thinking: “Why would they shoot this boy?”

She said she never saw Evans with a gun.

Additionally, Evans’ great aunt, Ethel Rolle, testified that Evans was

living with her on Whitfield Street before his death.

She said the morning he was killed, she asked him to get something from the store. She said he got the wrong item and went back to the shop for the right product. She said when Evans returned, he told her he was going to see his cousin Eddy. She said about 45 minutes later, she heard gunshots and was later told by a woman: “The police shot Dee.”

She said the next time she saw Evans’ body was at a funeral home.

AG: GBV BILL WA S POTENTI A LLY CONFUSING A ND H A D DATED OR UNNECESS A RY PROV ISIONS

BY LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY Gen-

eral Ryan Pinder said the Davis administration advanced the Protection Against Violence Bill over the previously drafted Gender-Based Violence Bill because the latter was potentially confusing and contained either dated or unnecessary provisions.

He said the 2016 bill was not broad enough because it only addressed the needs of gender-based violence victims.

He said several organisations expressed concern about the bill’s lack of inclusivity.

Some women’s groups announced they opposed the bill not long before it was debated in the House of Assembly last week.

They said the legislation is less comprehensive than the 2016 bill that they had worked on over the years.

“The 2016 bill speaks entirely and exclusively to gender-based violence matters,” Mr Pinder said during the Senate debate. “It is our position, and that of esteemed professionals, that a regime focused only on genderbased violence has the potential to be confusing, and a broader application to violence is more appropriate.”

“I think it appropriate to mention that the suggestion to broaden the scope of the current bill to violence generally was done on recommendation from the Crisis Centre and the Department of Gender Affairs.

“They are esteemed experts that also weigh in on the issue between narrowing a regime to just gender-based or applying a regime to broader violence generally.”

Mr Pinder highlighted sections of the previously

drafted bill that are now deemed unnecessary.

“The 2016 bill provided for separate criminal offences that constitute acts of physical abuse and gender-based violence,” he said.

“I noted earlier that there are a variety of laws in place that address offences related to violence and gender-based violence. Having a separate list in the 2016 bill was regarded as inconsistent with current law and would provide an opportunity for confusion on the applicable law, offence and penalty. It was determined that these offences should be removed and that we should rely on the offences in existing law.”

Mr Pinder said one difference between the drafts relates to protection orders. The 2016 bill would repeal the Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Act, 2007. However, officials have concluded that doing this could have unintended consequences. Consequently, Mr Pinder said, they decided to create two separate bills, one for protection orders and another dealing with GBV matters. He added that the government proposes amending the Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Act to include a new definition of domestic violence that reflects contemporary realities.

He said: “This amendment would describe the victim as one who is ‘personally connected’ to the abuser rather than the present description of the relationship of the victim as a spouse, partner, child, or any other person who is a member of the household or a dependent.”

Mr Pinder also noted that the 2016 bill created the Department of Family and Gender Affairs, a provision that is no longer

necessary because the department has since been established.

Additionally, he said the 2016 bill would allow gender based support service providers to register as non-profits to help victims.

“We agree that these NPOs should have access to tax concessions,” he said. “However, it should not be as in the 2016 bill as there are other mechanisms already established with our revenue collecting departments to facilitate tax concessions to NPOs generally.”

Nonetheless, FNM Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis repeated her previous concerns about the bill, saying it is limited in scope and far less comprehensive than the 2016 legislation.

Although she supported the bill’s passage, she said: “We are concerned about gender-based violence. There is an increase in gender-based violence, and we need specific legislation to deal with gender-based violence. This legislation does not. Bahamians deserve a bill to provide for the protection of victims of gender-based violence and all connected matters.

“The women of this great country deserve an administration that takes them seriously, not an administration that ignores their own female expert; not an administration that dismisses without justification the work of stakeholders, many of whom are female; not an administration that does not take a woman’s allegation of rape and threats of death seriously and not an administration that does not have the testicular fortitude to protect wives from rape.”

ATTORNEY G ENERA L RYAN PI N D ER

The Tribune Limited

Founders worried about the judgement of history

DONALD Trump’s new indictment by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., for crimes related to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, counts as another blow to his reputation.

He might be convicted. But even if he’s not, a set of deeper issues has clearly emerged already: Many leaders and politicians today just cling to power. Heedless of the common good, they seem to forget that the judgment of posterity will come, inescapably.

One clear diagnosis of this problem came almost 40 years ago from Robert Bellah, the renowned American sociologist, when he spotted a momentous transformation. It was 1986, and President Ronald Reagan had entered his second term.

Bellah felt that public officials lived too much in the moment. He feared that politicians had become too ambitious and egotistical, and had come to disregard not only their own reputation, but also, to some extent, the future itself – since “reputation” is a relation among people and among generations.

If politicians think that “private ambition, material aggrandizement, and looking out for number one are the most important things,” Bellah wrote, then they are implicitly suggesting that you should change into “a bad person.”

The transformation lamented by Bellah may not be irreversible, but many public figures have come dangerously close to the tenet once attributed to Louis XV, king of France in the 18th century: “Après moi le déluge,” “After me the flood” – which means that they are largely insensitive to what will remain after they are gone.

And yet, as a historian and author most recently of a biography of George Washington, I’d like readers to know that when America was young, the situation was the exact opposite.

People, especially public figures, were highly concerned about their reputation, or “character,” as it was usually called.

How a person looked through other people’s eyes was an obsession in the 18th century.

An individual in society, Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith wrote in 1759, is “immediately provided with the mirror.” Everyone is “placed in the countenance and behaviour of those he lives with.”

The American founders were particularly concerned about their reputations. Moreover, the judgment of posterity terrified them.

When Washington was about to enter the presidency, he realized his moral stature would suffer. “The eyes of Argus are upon me,” he wrote to his nephew Bushrod Washington in July 1789. Argus Panoptes, the many-eyed giant of Greek mythology, was watching Washington, “and no slip will pass unnoticed.”

When his turn for the highest office came, Thomas Jefferson also shivered with ominous presentiments.

“I know well that no man will ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it,” he wrote.

Public officials will unavoidably fall from grace, Jefferson concluded: “The honey moon would be as short in that case as in any other, and its moments of ecstasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred.”

The founders had good reasons to tremble for their reputation – many of these men enslaved other human beings. At the same time, none of them tried to cling to the role of leader when their time had passed. That was because they dreaded the idea that public opinion would censor them as self-serving and cunning operators.

And, more important, it was because they didn’t want to become an embarrassment, a hindrance, a chunk of gravel in the very machinery of the nation. Washington, famously, set the example. In June 1799, Jonathan Trumbull Jr., the governor of Connecticut who had also served as Washington’s military secretary during the American Revolution, urged him to run for a third term. Many others had previously prodded him.

But Washington demurred. He was determined not to appear egotistical and be “charged” in the public eye “with concealed ambition.”

Perhaps even stronger, given the country’s heated political climate in the 1790s, there was also Washington’s awareness that he had become a problem himself.

“The line between Parties,” Washington wrote to Trumbull, had become “so clearly drawn” that politicians would “regard neither truth nor decency; attacking every character, without respect to persons – Public or Private – who happen to differ from themselves in Politics.”

Washington was aware that he was no longer the leader in the position to unify the nation in the way he did in the 1780s, at the end of the revolution. Even if he were willing to run for president again, “I am thoroughly convinced I should not draw a single vote” from the opposite side, he wrote Trumbull.

The founders were able to create a network of admirers who would serve as stewards of their reputation, while downplaying the missteps they made.

“Take care of me when dead,” old Jefferson begged James Madison, his friend of over 50 years, just a few months before he passed away.

For their part, flawed though these leaders were, they helped their friends and admirers by trying not to make them too uncomfortable. They stayed away from public controversy as much as they could. And when they believed they were done, they retired from the public scene –a political act in its own terms.

Even before entering the presidency, Washington wasn’t at all afraid to “tread the paths of private life.” He would do that eventually, right after his second term, in 1797, and “with heartfelt satisfaction.”

Washington had always accepted the unavoidable fact that, like every other mortal, he also would “move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my Fathers.”

Washington would be remembered as the American Cincinnatus. Just like Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, the mythic Roman statesman and military leader, Washington himself relinquished power –and he did so voluntarily.

Relinquishing power and retiring were the best way to ensure Washington’s glory and reputation.

Apparently, passing the scepter to the next generation and worrying over one’s reputation don’t come as naturally today –at least to some.

Maurizio Valsania Università di Torino

EDITOR, The Tribune.

LUCIFER is at work in our country. He has set out to destroy the traditional family and marriage between a man and a woman. We are in the process of importing the demonic values of North America and Europe. This I believe is the strategy. This demonic, satanic behaviour has infiltrated the preschools in America. It is only a matter of time before it lands at our doorstep in the next five to 10 years. Christianity is under attack.

America and Europe is on a crusade to force countries to accept the life-styles of transgenders gays and lesbians as an acceptable behaviour. President Joe Biden and his two percent

of the US primaries vice president Kamala Harris is, in my opinion, hell-bent on mutilating the genders of children, all for the sake of holding onto power. We must push back! To bring it home, a popular bookstore is selling books teaching kids how to live this lifestyle. We need the blood of Jesus to cover our children!

I applaud the Jamaican government for not giving accreditation to this lifestyle, i.e., the recent US diplomats of same-sex marriage. We know their

position. I challenge the government and the official opposition and all members of parliament to articulate their position on these important matters:

a) Do you support the teaching of this lifestyle in our schools?

b) Do you support the mutilating of children’s genders?

c) Do you support samesex marriage? We are under attack. The moral integrity of our country is at stake. We need the government and the opposition to take a position and publicly state that position.

STRACHAN

PAT

Nassau, August 2, 2023.

EDITOR, The Tribune. BAY Street and precincts … what might be unoccupied seems by authority Bay Street Development folks will apply for demolition orders and down those buildings will come. Someone did that to at least two buildings on Cumberland. For a few weeks sites used as parking lots then access blocked and now weeds - vegetation is growing tall and thick. Oh so much better even with the old building standing!

Dowdeswell Street - how many of the few standing buildings will the Authority demolish? Once a street of regal buildings now is a parking lot. How many east of Rawson Square will be demolished and left empty … probably weeds and vegetation will start growing or worse still plywood fence will be erected and soon every style of ugly poster will appear. Might it be best to paint these unused buildings … clean and maintain the

surroundings. If the roof has gone, remove it leave the roof off. For years the Downtown Development people have been totally impotent can’t even keep the basic elements clean - painted so now we found the solutionbring in the bulldozer clear the building away … don’t maintain … suggest rethink please.

MARJORIE SMITH Nassau, August 1, 2023.

EDITOR, The Tribune.

TOURISM is certainly not just Nassau and certainly probably the revenue level of certain Family Islands exceeds per cap the revenue of the visitor to Nassau so surely we should maintain — ensure product is at best year round? We don’t clear North Eleuthera Airport which feeds into the upscale destination of Harbour Island. News showed the state

of disrepair of the airport and simply the public has to critically ask where has the Director of Aviation been since September ‘21?

Useless posturing on social media daily when Rome (N Eleuthera Airport is in a shambles).

Repair of seats is that a big deal? Repair of Rest Rooms? Provisional repair of leaking roof give it a try, but do nothing for over 30 months or more except

promise and PR scenarios and posturing...sorry failing grade, heads should role. Blazers and white pants don’t solve problems.

Let’s see now? Oh, yes, there will be a big PR event, a gaggle of Ministers and more ‘resilience’ than you can imagine and more promises and promises.

K HUTCHINSON Nassau, August 1, 2023.

PARADISE Island lighthouse - the first lighthouse built in The Bahamas in 1817.

Photo: Deanna Lewis

Govt investigating oil spill at Buckeye

Bahamas jetty terminal in Grand Bahama

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

INVESTIGATIONS are underway after an oil spill in waters at the Buckeye Bahamas Hub jetty terminal off Pinder’s Point, Grand Bahama.

Around 6am yesterday, some of an estimated five to ten barrels of oil spilt into the surrounding water, though there was no impact on the shoreline.

The Ministry of Transport and Housing has launched an investigation into the spill.

In a statement, Buckeye Partners said fuel oil was released from a pressurised loading arm at Berth 8 at its marine terminal.

The company said it deployed booms and initiated product recovery measures per its emergency response plans.

It said the source of the release had been secured, with no ongoing product release.

“Buckeye has notified the Grand Bahama Port Authority, as well as the Bahamas Department of Environmental Health Services, and will coordinate closely with them and other authorities throughout the cleanup process,” the company said.

Buckeye said it would investigate the cause of the incident.

“As always, the safety of

our workforce, the communities in which we operate, and the environment is our top priority,” the company said. “We continue to actively monitor the situation, and we will provide additional information as it becomes available.”

The Ministry of Transport and Housing said Port Department officials have been monitoring response efforts.

Oil containment booms were erected around the source of the spill, where a vast vessel had been docked at the jetty. Smaller emergency response vessels were helping about two miles offshore.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources in New Providence are expected to travel to Grand Bahama on Thursday to assess the impact.

Although the spill amount is unknown, Iram Lewis, MP for Central Grand Bahama, expressed relief at the quick response to contain the spill.

“The emergency crew sprung into action, and it gives me comfort that the team was immediately deployed to mitigate any damage to the environment,” he said.

He said he was assured that crews would continue to monitor areas along the shore in the next few days.

After learning of the spill, Save the Bays, an environmental group, went into Hepburn Town, Eight Mile Rock, to assess the situation at Lover’s Beach.

From their initial observations, the organisation reported the spill did not reach the shoreline but that an odour was detected. Save the Bays chairman Joseph Darville, who is also chairman of Waterkeepers Bahamas, noted that Lover’s Beach is a vital marine resource for many local communities.

“During our assessment, we witnessed the presence of four boats approximately two miles offshore, seemingly working to mitigate the effects of the spill,” said Mr Darville. “This response effort extended for a considerable distance from the jetty.”

“We acknowledge the efforts of the authorities and emergency responders who swiftly addressed this incident. We urge the responsible agencies to ensure a thorough cleanup operation, verifying that all necessary measures are taken to prevent any lasting environmental damage.”

The Grand Bahama Port Authority is aware of the incident.

“The relevant governmental agencies have been notified, and all stakeholders have moved swiftly to address the spill,” the authority said.

NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS

The Board of Directors of Finance Corporation of Bahamas Limited hereby notifies its Shareholders that a dividend payment of fifteen cents ($0.15) per Ordinary share and a special dividend payment of nine cents ($0.09) per Ordinary Share will be paid on 10th August 2023 to all Shareholders of record as at 3rd A ugust 2023. Corporate Secretary

ENVIRONMENTAL activist Joseph Darville urged the “responsible agencies to ensure a thorough clean-up operation, verifying that all necessary measures are taken to prevent any lasting environmental damage.”

BUCKEYE boats spotted working to clean the oil spill from Berth 8 at their Grand Bahama facility.

Photo: Waterkeepers Bahamas

A TANKER berthed at Buckeye’s Grand Bahama facility.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

Mercy, rehabilitation and restorative justice

TODAY’S column, a reprint from 2021, is in memory of former Commissioner of Police Paul Farquharson, who died last week. He served as a police officer for most of his professional life, eventually becoming High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. His last great assignment, in service of his country, was as chairman of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee, which he spearheaded with passion, diligence and empathy. A man of integrity, he will be missed by family, friends, former colleagues and the wider community.

Because of his work and that of the committee, a number of Bahamians have had their lives and livelihoods restored and rejuvenated. A champion of justice, mercy and peace, may his good works and the spirit of compassion he brought to his last great mission, endure. His life and accomplishments are recalled with gratitude.

We boast of ourselves as a deeply Christian society, a people of faith in a God who sets captives free, whether a people in slavery or a fellow prisoner on the cross being crucified through the penalty of death.

Yet our criminal justice system is often retributive, punitive and harsh despite our personal invocation of “Lord have mercy!” Our system and penal code, which have seen some reform, are in desperate need of more wide-ranging and comprehensive reform.

A number of reforms were instituted during an administration of former Prime Minister Perry Christie, who spoke often

of the need for “second chances” in life. Dr Elliston Rahming, with a background in criminology, served as Superintendent of the Department of Corrections for a number of years, during which he instituted critical reforms.

We are often a very judgmental people, using the Bible to condemn others, especially those convicted of various crimes. Many in the country seem more committed to locking people up to punish them rather than as a pathway for possible reform, conversion and restorative justice.

Though we speak of the love and healing power of Jesus Christ, we are typically reluctant to offer this quality of mercy to offenders and ex-offenders. Why do so many Christians appear to believe that they are more deserving of God’s grace and mercy than those who are imprisoned in penal and corrections institutions?

Instead of the application and healing balm of the New Testament, we are quick to whip and punish offenders with

the narrow strictures and proof-texting of parts of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Much of our collective mindset in criminal justice matters is driven by a narrow fundamentalist approach and a human and Christian anthropology steeped in a harsh view of human nature and a limited appreciation of human possibilities and God’s salvific grace.

The efforts to reform the criminal justice system have been joined by two former senior members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, including current Minister of National Security Marvin Dames and former Commissioner Paul Farquharson.

A Roman Catholic and an Anglican respectively, the former officers know well the criminal realities, violence and brutality in the Bahamas. They understand the need to be tough on criminals.

Neither man wears rosecoloured glasses when viewing what needs to be done to protect society, especially from extremely violent offenders. But they also understand and have seen the familial and sociological realities undergirding certain criminal conduct. They are men with tough minds and compassionate hearts.

They know that the reform of prisoners and the deviation of certain offenders from prison may reduce recidivism and in turn decrease criminal activity and conduct. Rehabilitation reforms individual prisoners and protects society.

As chairman of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee, Mr Farquharson is leading an effort to help in the expungement of certain records for some ex-offenders. He recently noted that more than 100

Bahamians have applied to have their records expunged.

In a 2015 visit to a prison in Philadelphia in the US, Pope Francis urged: “It is painful when we see prison systems which are not concerned to care for wounds, to soothe pain, to offer new possibilities.

“It is painful when we see people who think that only others need to be cleansed, purified, and do not recognise that their weariness, pain and wounds are also the weariness, pain and wounds of society.”

Our moral hypocrisy and divisions in society are recalled in a Bahamian parable. Years ago, in a church on a southern Family Island, the pastor converted his community of faith into a jury to expel a vile sinner from the Body of Christ.

In this incarnation, the woman at the well was single, young -- and pregnant. In expelling her, they were also punishing her unborn child.

In their self-righteousness, these disciples of Christ judged that her iniquity stained their community like communion wine seeping from a broken chalice might bleed through an altar cloth. Purging the defiler was necessary for their salvation and purification. There was no room in the inn for this unmarried mother-to-be.

That Family Island church did not use stones to assault this teenager or her unborn child. Instead, they stoned her with a torrent of loathing intended to break her spirit and sever her umbilical cord from the worshipping community in which she had been nourished since infancy.

This jury of fellow sinners and Christians refused to see that her expulsion was akin to ripping the embryo in her womb, birth cord and all, from her body. Rather than throwing their stones and hypocrisy, the church could have recalled the words of Jesus addressed to the mob condemning the woman caught in adultery.

But that day, when the word became flesh, that girl’s flesh was too much

for the narrow interpretation of the words that rejected her from that community of faith.

The congregation turned pious mob painted a scarlet letter on the outcast-to-be. Then they expelled her from their gated-church-community.

Instead of their tongues wagging with mercy, many of the congregants gossiped about this mere girl for the same behaviour in which they often religiously indulged.

More morally reprehensible was the identity of the Grand Inquisitor presiding over her trial and expulsion. It was her pastor, the man for whom she was actually pregnant.

Yet, she alone bore the burden of the church’s wrath. The married older man, the father of her baby, escaped a public trial. Then as now, this young girl was cast as the temptress and the seductress.

The church community knew that she was pregnant for their pastor. Still, most blamed her for seducing their beloved pastor who, “in a moment of weakness”, succumbed to the temptations of this “bad” girl.

The pastor received a free get-out-of-responsibility pass. But, there was no public mercy for this young girl. Instead, her expulsion served the narrow interests of the church and the narrower interests of its pastor.

Rather than a plenitude of mercy, the congregation chose to scapegoat and save face. When he looked at the girl whose physical and emotional virginity he exploited, the pastor saw his own moral failings.

But to maintain his reputation and position, and to keep his pastoral garments pristine, he abandoned her and his moral responsibility. He dutifully led his congregation by hurling the heaviest and the first stone.

Mercy is a gift from God. It shatters our human pretensions, presumptions and posturing. It is a reciprocal gift that we bestow on one another. It is also a gift we owe ourselves when we fall short of the glory of our moral best.

The quality of our Christian witness mirrors the quality of our mercy. Mercy, it has been said, is the willingness to enter with compassion into the chaos and struggles of another’s life.

The God who gifted us with life, who sustains this gift, and who has conquered death, extends his mercy to every aspect of our spiritual existence. He extends his majesty and mercy through and beyond the circumstances of birth, life and death.

It has been said that, “Those who are not willing to give pardon and mercy are those who appear not to need it.” Fortunately, our capacity for mercy allows us to experience more fully the heart of God and the redeeming power of mercy.

It is one of those paradoxes of the Christian life that by entering with compassion into the chaos of another’s life, that much of the inner chaos bred by our own narcissism and self-centredness is redeemed beyond our wildest imaginings and longings.

Where there was once cowardice, there is now courage. Where there was once cynicism, there is now hope. Where there was once sloth, there is now rebirth. Where there was once judgmentalism, there is now understanding.

Rather than moral growth, the congregants of that Family Island church years ago stunted their hearts and spirits by refusing an invitation to mercy.

Mercy is a gift from God. It shatters our human pretensions, presumptions and posturing. It is a reciprocal gift that we bestow on one another. It is a gift we owe ourselves when we fall short of the glory of our moral best.

It is also a gift we may offer, and indeed owe, to set captives free, including those in prison who seek conversion and those who seek the expungement of certain criminal records in our criminal justice system.

May the God of mercy grant Paul Farquharson everlasting peace.

A reprinting of an article about the late former Commissioner of Police, Paul Farquharson

FORMER COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, PAUL FARQUHARSON

Social media can in fact be made better

IS SOCIAL media designed to reward people for acting badly?

The answer is clearly yes, given that the reward structure on social media platforms relies on popularity, as indicated by the number of responses – likes and comments – a post receives from other users. Black-box algorithms then further amplify the spread of posts that have attracted attention.

Sharing widely read content, by itself, isn’t a problem. But it becomes a problem when attention-getting, controversial content is prioritised by design. Given the design of social media sites, users form habits to automatically share the most engaging information regardless of its accuracy

and potential harm. Offensive statements, attacks on out groups and false news are amplified, and misinformation often spreads further and faster than the truth.

We are two socialpsychologists and a marketing scholar. Our research, presented at the 2023 Nobel Prize Summit, shows that social media actually has the ability to create user habits to share highquality content. After a few tweaks to the reward structure of social media platforms, users begin to share information that is accurate and fact-based. The problem with habit-driven misinformation-sharing is significant. Facebook’s own research shows that being able to share already shared content with a single click

drives misinformation.

Thirty-eight percent of views of text misinformation and 65 percent of views of photographic misinformation come from content that has been reshared twice, meaning a share of a share of a share of an original post. The biggest sources of misinformation, such as Steve Bannon’s War Room, exploit social media’s popularity optimisation to promote controversy and misinformation beyond their immediate audience.

Re-targeting rewards

To investigate the effect of a new reward structure, we gave financial rewards to some users for sharing accurate content and not sharing misinformation. These financial rewards simulated the positive social feedback, such as

Career Opportunity MANAGER, INFORMATION SECURITY

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CORE RESPONSIBILITIES AND REQUIREMENTS

Develop and Implement Information Security Policies

Risk Assessment and Management

Security Infrastructure Management

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Coordinate internal and external audits

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QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

At least five (5) years in an Information Security Officer, IT Risk Management or IT Audit role

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or a related field. Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, or CRISC are highly desirable. Proven experience in information security, risk management, and incident response, preferably in a leadership role.

In-depth knowledge of information security principles, technologies, standards, and best practices.

Strong understanding of regulatory requirements and compliance frameworks relevant to the organization's industry.

Proficiency in security tools, network protocols, vulnerability assessment, and penetration testing techniques.

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likes, that users typically receive when they share content on platforms. In essence, we created a new reward structure based on accuracy instead of attention.

As on popular social media platforms, participants in our research learned what got rewarded by sharing information and observing the outcome, without being explicitly informed of the rewards beforehand. This means that the intervention did not change the users’ goals, just their online experiences. After the change in reward structure, participants shared significantly more content that was accurate. More remarkably, users continued to share accurate content even after we removed rewards for accuracy in a subsequent round of testing. These results show that users can be given incentives to share accurate information as a matter of habit.

A different group of users received rewards for sharing misinformation and for not sharing accurate content. Surprisingly, their sharing most resembled that of users who shared news as they normally would, without any financial reward. The striking similarity between these groups reveals that social media platforms encourage users to share

attention-getting content that engages others at the expense of accuracy and

safety.

Engagement and the bottom line

Maintaining high levels of user engagement is crucial for the financial model of social media platforms. Attention-getting content keeps users active on the platforms. This activity provides social media companies with valuable user data for their primary revenue source: targeted advertising.

In practice, social media companies might be concerned that changing user habits could reduce users’ engagement with their platforms. However, our experiments demonstrate that modifying users’ rewards does not reduce overall sharing. Thus, social media companies can build habits to share accurate content without compromising their user base.

Platforms that give incentives for spreading accurate content can foster trust and maintain or potentially increase engagement with social media. In our studies, users expressed concerns about the prevalence of fake content, leading some to reduce their sharing on social platforms. An accuracy-based reward structure could help restore waning user confidence.

Doing right and doing well

Our approach, using the existing rewards on social media to create incentives for accuracy, tackles misinformation spread without significantly disrupting the sites’ business model. This has the additional advantage of altering rewards instead of introducing content restrictions, which are often controversial and costly in financial and human terms.

Implementing our proposed reward system for news sharing carries minimal costs and can be easily integrated into existing platforms. The key idea is to provide users with rewards in the form of social recognition when they share accurate news content. This can be achieved by introducing response buttons to indicate trust and accuracy. By incorporating social recognition for accurate content, algorithms that amplify popular content can leverage crowdsourcing to identify and amplify truthful information.

Both sides of the political aisle now agree that social media has challenges, and our data pinpoints the root of the problem: the design of social media platforms.

on www.theconversation. com

ReseaRch shows it is possible to RewaRd useRs foR shaRing accuRate infoRmation instead of misinfoRmation

Despite indictments, Trump still dominates GOP line-up and media

YOU have to hand it to Donald Trump. Even as polls continue to show that a clear majority of Americans don’t want him back in the White House or perhaps even to remain out of prison, this man exerts an irresistible force on the media in the US. And he continues to crush any and all Republican opposition to his renomination for president next summer.

Trump was indicted for a second time on Tuesday, this time in federal court in Washington, on charges related to his incitement of the January 6, 2021 riots that saw the American capitol breached by an angry mob of Trump supporters.

Trump was charged on four counts: conspiracy to defraud the US; conspiracy to threaten the rights of others; and one count each of conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding before Congress. Convictions on the first two would carry a sentence of up to five years in prison each; the other charges carry up to 20 years each.

There was more bad news for Trump. The judge overseeing his case in Washington is much different than Florida district judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to her position by Trump three years ago, has ruled in his favor a couple of times already, and was randomly assigned to oversee his trial on charges related to his alleged illegal theft of highly sensitive documents from the White House after he lost the 2020 election.

STATESIDE

The federal judge in Washington assigned to the election fraud has been quite tough so far on defendants who stormed the US Capitol in an attack incited by Trump’s claims of a stolen election. She has also ruled against Trump already.

Judge Tanya Chutkan has sentenced at least 38 people convicted of Capitol riot-related crimes. All 38 received prison terms, ranging from ten days to over five years, according to an Associated Press analysis of court records. Furthermore, Chutkan has matched or exceeded prosecutors’ recommendations in exactly half of her 38 sentences. In four of those cases, prosecutors weren’t even seeking any jail time at all.

This woman is tough.

Further dimming prospects of Trump evading the January 6 charges in court, Chutkan also ruled against Trump in a separate related case. In November 2021, she refused his request to block by asserting executive privilege the release of documents to the House of Representatives select investigative committee.

She rejected Trump’s arguments that he could

retain some control over documents from his administration even after President Joe Biden had cleared the way for the National Archives to accept the papers. She wrote that Trump could not claim that such a presidential privilege “exists in perpetuity.”

In a line from her ruling, Chutkan wrote: “Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff (Trump) is not President.”

Meantime, Trump is, counterintuitively, maintaining a really impressive hold on the GOP nomination for next year. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll showed that he is more than lapping the growing field of his potential rivals.

The poll, released Monday, showed Trump with 54 percent of GOP voter support. Florida governor Ron DeSantis trailed in second place with only 17 percent. No one else in the field polled at more than three percent. Though Trump is customarily guilty of preposterous bombast, particularly when talking about himself, he is right on this one when he claims to be obliterating his field of Republican opponents.

Furthermore, Trump

TWO SUCCESSFUL GOP GOVERNORS DECLINE TO RUN FOR PRESIDEN T

holds decisive advantages across almost every demographic group and region and in every ideological wing of the party, the Times survey found, as Republican voters seemed to ignore or minimise concerns about his expanding legal jeopardy. Trump led in this poll by wide margins among men and women, younger and older voters, moderates and conservatives, those who went to college and those who didn’t, and in cities, suburbs and rural areas, the Times reported. One voter from rural Virginia told a Times reporter that “DeSantis, I have high hopes. But as long as Trump’s there, Trump’s the man.”

Trump isn’t just dominating the news. On blogs and in whispered conversations, he dominates in similar fashion. Here are a couple of the rumors currently flying around in Washington backrooms, on patios (when the heat abates) and on numerous blogs: Remember 30 months ago, soon after Donald Trump finally agreed to vacate the White House and fly back to Palm Beach? Remember when Saudi

Arabian crown prince and prime minister Mohammed bin Salman reportedly overruled his advisers on the board of a Saudi sovereign wealth fund and allotted $2 billion to a new investment fund started by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner? The same Kushner whose financial travails in real estate in New York City had him facing a huge default on a Manhattan office tower he had incautiously purchased? Guess what MBS got in return for his $2 billion? A trove of secret documents stolen from the White House by Trump! Or how about this one?

Trump, still in the process of bilking his innocent and misguided supporters out of millions of small-contribution dollars and using their financial support to pay his legal fees to the reported

tune of $40 million so far, is secretly amassing his illgot wealth in Palm Beach. After he is convicted in the middle of next year’s presidential campaign, he will appeal. That will push the legal process initiated by special prosecutor Jack Smith past the 2024 election in which Trump will inevitably lose. But by the time he does lose, he’ll have loaded his own jet with cash, and he’ll take off for a foreign land with no extradition treaty with the US.

Just a couple of nations in that latter category are Saudi Arabia and Russia. More attractive alternatives might include Brazil, whose own extradition treaty with the US dates from 1961 but whose practical implementation has sometimes proven to be problematical for American law enforcement.

IN THE shadows of the Trump public relations phenomenon, Republican power brokers continue to wring their hands and hope for someone – anyone, almost – to emerge as a credible alternative candidate for president next year.

It won’t be Larry Hogan. And it won’t be Brian Kemp. Hogan is a popular former two-term GOP governor in Maryland, one of the bluest states in the country. There was early speculation that he would run as a reasonable, centrist alternative to Trump in Republican primaries next year. But Hogan recently said he would not run as a Republican.

“I finished my eight years as governor with a 77 percent approval rating.

Highest in the country. It was over 70 with Democrats, independents, and Republicans,” Hogan told Politico, the respected on-line political journal. “Of course, I’m not well

known across the country. But you’ve got to run a race to see what it would look like.”

There has been much speculation about Hogan running on a third-party ticket. He is currently chair of No Labels, an aspirational crossover group of legislators that may run a national campaign next year aimed at the many voters who support neither of the likely big party nominees –Trump and Biden.

Right now, Hogan said, more voters are open to backing a third-party ticket than in previous years. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 47 percent of voters would consider supporting a third-party candidate.

Kemp, who has managed to hold on to his job as Georgia governor as a reliable conservative who resisted Trump’s attempt to impugn and overturn the Peach State’s support for Biden three years ago, recently told reporters he

wouldn’t seek a presidential nomination in 2024.

Kemp won reelection easily in 2022 even as Democrat Raphael Warnock won a full Senate term and Trump’s resentful opposition did not seriously damage Kemp’s campaign.

“He was mad at me. I was not mad at him. I told him exactly what I could and couldn’t do when it came to the election and I followed the law and the Constitution. And as I’ve said before, that’s a lot bigger than Donald Trump.

It’s a lot bigger than me. It’s a lot bigger than the Republican Party,” Kemp said Monday.

Several Republicans remain in the 2024 nomination race as we approach an August 23 Republican presidential candidates’ debate. Others, like Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, have preferred a stealthier approach and have remained outside the circle of declared candidates.

with Charlie Harper

MARYLAND governor Larry Hogan (right) and Georgia governor Brian Kemp

REPUBLICAN presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, July 29, 2023, in Erie, Pa. The 2024 election will determine whether Trump returns to the White House. It could also decide whether he might face time behind bars.

Photo: Sue Ogrocki/AP

Bahamian climate scientist elected to IPCC

BAHAMIAN climate

scientist

Dr Adelle Thomas was elected to serve on the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Panel Change (IPCC) at its 59th session in Nairobi, Kenya on July 28.

Dr Thomas, a senior fellow at the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Research Centre at the University of The Bahamas and a senior scientist at Climate Analytics, was elected as a Vice-Chair of the IPCC Working Group two (WGII) after defeating the Mexican Candidate 72 to 69 votes for the last of four seats allotted to the American Region on the Bureau. The working group assesses

the impacts of climate change, from a world-wide to a regional view.

Dr Thomas has more than 16 years of experience in research and policy development on climate change adaptation and loss and damage in the developing world context, with a particular focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS). She has extensive experience in communicating and developing policy-relevant science, including in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and in national and sub-national policy processes. Dr Thomas has previously served as a member of the UNFCCC

Technology Executive Committee and currently serves as a member of the Technical Expert Group on Comprehensive Risk Management for the Warsaw International Mechanism Executive Committee (WIM ExCom). Dr Thomas has an array of experience with the IPCC having served as a Lead Author on many IPCC documents including the Special Report on 1.5°C. As vice-chair, her priorities will be among other things to ensure that high scientific standards of IPCC assessments are maintained and supporting increased representation and engagement of authors from developing countries.

WOMAN GETS THREE-AND-A-HALF YEAR SENTENCE FOR HIT-AND-RUN THAT LEFT KILLED A MAN

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN was sentenced to three and half years in prison yesterday after admitting to killing a man with her car on John F Kennedy Drive last February.

Justice Gregory Hilton presided as Altanease Rolle, 25, was sentenced for a charge of vehicular manslaughter.

Bjorn Ferguson represented the accused. He

previously ordered a social inquiry report on Rolle to assist the court in determining its sentencing.

Rolle reportedly drove dangerously while heading west around 1.40am on February 14, 2022, on JFK Drive. She struck and killed Sandy Rolle while he was on his way to work.

The 53-year-old victim died of injuries at the scene, while the suspect involved in the fatal hit-and-run failed to report the incident within 24 hours.

At the time of the incident, Rolle’s vehicle, a Toyota Passo, was unlicensed and uninsured. She allegedly did not have a valid licence.

While Rolle initially pleaded not guilty to the charge last October, she changed her plea to guilty on May 15. Justice Hilton ordered that Rolle serve a threeyear and six-month prison term at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

SIX MONTHS PRISON AFTER T W ELVE CURFE W BREACHES FOR MAN ON BAIL FOR SEX ASSAULT

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN on bail for sexual assault was sentenced to six months in prison after he admitted to breaching curfew 12 times.

Senior Magistrate Derrence Rolle Davis charged Chanton Butler, 23, with 12 counts of violation of bail

conditions.

Butler was granted $15,000 bail by the Supreme Court for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor after he allegedly slept with a 15-year-old girl in November 2021.

Butler’s residential curfew is 9pm to 6am. He breached that 12 times between March 20 to July

30, 2023.

He faced a previous bail violation conviction last September; he was placed on 18 months probation and fined $1,000.

He was sentenced to six months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services after he pleaded guilty to his most recent bail breaches.

Are you highly Adaptable, Results Oriented, Ability to Work in a High Performance Environment, Energetic, and Competitive?

Fidelity is looking for a passionate, sales-driven, networking professional to fll the role of:

CLIENT CREDIT ASSOCIATE

Job Summary:

The ideal Candidate must be a proven sales representative who is target-driven and possesses excellent communication and interpersonal skills. This role is primarily responsible for the sale of Fidelity’s loan and credit card products. An attractive salary PLUS incentives, referral fees and bonuses are earned.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• The solicitation and sale of loans, credit cards and other credit products to new customers.

• Solicit and interact with prospective clients regarding loan applications and other credit matters.

• Prepare credit applications (loans, overdrafts, credit cards) and perform credit facility renewals.

• The solicitation of customers for overdue loan and credit card payments.

• Backup and relief for other Lending roles or functions as required.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary with incentives, performance bonuses and referral fees

• Pension plan and medical insurance

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• High School Diploma.

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• Proficient at Microsoft Office Suite programs.

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Friday, August 18th, 2023

HUMAN RESOURCES

Re: Client Credit Associate, 51 Frederick Street P.O. Box N-4853 | Nassau | F: 328.1108 careers@fidelitybahamas.com

DR Adelle Thomas a senior fellow at the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Research Centre at the University of The Bahamas and a senior scientist at Climate Analytics, was elected as a ViceChair of the IPCC Working Group two (WGII) after defeating the Mexican Candidate 72 to 69 votes for the last of four seats allotted to the American Region on the Bureau.

Russian drone strikes hit Ukrainian border port key to grain exports

US to put forward UN resolution to authorise a

Kenyan-led police mission to fight gangs in Haiti

LINDA THOMASGREENFIELD, United States ambassador to the United Nations speaks during the UN Security Council meeting to discuss the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine, July 21, 2023, at United Nations headquarters.

UKRAINE

Associated Press

RUSSIAN drones on Wednesday hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports. The attacks followed the end of a deal with Russia that had allowed Ukrainian shipments to world markets from the Black Sea port of Odesa.

Since scrapping the deal, Russia has hammered the country’s ports with strikes, compounding the blow to the key industry. In the past two weeks, dozens of drones and missile attacks have targeted the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.

The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, said the city of Izmail, on the Danube River that forms part of the UkraineRomania border, was hit in the strikes.

Video obtained by The Associated Press showed explosions and a large fire in the distance on the Danube, captured by fishermen in Romania, a NATO member, on the other side of the river.

Three Ukrainian ports along the Danube are currently operating.

“The goal of the enemy was clearly the facilities of the ports and industrial infrastructure of the region,” Ukraine’s South operational command wrote in an update on Facebook. As a result of the attack, a fire broke out at industrial and port facilities, and a grain elevator was damaged.

Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that about 40,000 metric tons (44,000 tons) of grain, which had been expected by countries in Africa, China and Israel, was damaged in the attack.

Separately, Ukraine’s air force intercepted 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones fired by Russia over the country overnight, mostly in Odesa and Kyiv, according to a morning update.

All 10 drones fired at Kyiv were intercepted, said Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv City Administration. Numerous loud explosions were heard overnight as air defense

systems were activated. Debris from felled drones hit three districts of the capital, damaging a nonresidential building, Popko said.

“Russian terrorists have once again targeted ports, grain facilities and global food security,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted Wednesday morning on Telegram. “The world must respond.”

He confirmed that some drones hit their targets, with the most “significant damage” in the south of Ukraine.

Wheat prices rose about 3% and corn prices nearly 2% on Wednesday in Chicago trading following the new attacks, before erasing those spikes and trading down. It showed the continued volatility in world markets as Russia targets Ukraine’s ports and agricultural infrastructure.

Ukraine is a major supplier of wheat, corn, vegetable oil and other agricultural products important to the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia where people are struggling with high food prices and hunger.

Ukraine also can export by road and rail through Europe, but those routes are more costly than going by the Black Sea and have stirred divisions among nearby countries.

Russia and Ukraine agreed a year ago on a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that reopened three Ukrainian Black Sea ports blocked by fighting and provided assurances that ships entering the ports would not be attacked. Russia declined to renew the agreement last month, complaining that its own exports were being held up.

In a telephone conversation Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russia’s Vladimir Putin that he would seek to restore the Black Sea initiative to export Ukrainian grain, according to his office.

Referring to the deal as a “bridge of peace,” Erdogan told Putin that Turkey would “continue to carry out intensive efforts and diplomacy for the continuation of the Black Sea initiative.”

The statement said the two leaders had agreed on Putin visiting Turkey but did not provide a date. Erdogan has previously

UNITED NATIONS Associated Press

THE United States said Tuesday it will put forward a UN Security Council resolution that will authorize Kenya to lead a multinational police force to help combat gangs in Haiti that control much of the capital and are spreading through the Caribbean nation.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a news conference at the start of the US presidency of the council this month that “we welcome Kenya’s decision to lead the multinational force (and) we will be working on a resolution to support that effort.”

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry sent an urgent appeal last October for “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity” to stop the gangs. UN SecretaryGeneral António Guterres had been appealing unsuccessfully since then for a lead nation to help restore order to Latin America’s most impoverished country.

requirements for the police mission.

Thomas-Greenfield said the United States will work with other council members on a resolution “that will give the Kenyans what they require to establish their presence in Haiti.”

She gave no timetable but expressed hope that a resolution will be adopted unanimously, as the last two Haiti resolutions were.

An October 2022 resolution demanded an immediate end to violence and criminal activity in Haiti and imposed sanctions on individuals and groups threatening peace and stability — starting with a powerful gang leader, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier. A resolution adopted on July 14 asked Guterres to come up with “a full range of options” within 30 days to help combat Haiti’s armed gangs including a non-UN multinational force.

Thomas-Greenfield said the situation is “unusual, but what is happening in Haiti is unusual.”

that will be able to deal with the situation in the future.”

Haiti’s gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital. The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups.

Compounding the gang warfare is the country’s political crisis: Haiti was stripped of all democratically elected institutions when the terms of the country’s remaining 10 senators expired in early January.

Welcoming Kenya’s offer, Haiti’s Foreign Minister Jean Victor Généus said: “Haiti appreciates this expression of African solidarity and looks forward to welcoming Kenya’s proposed evaluation mission in the coming weeks.”

said Putin would come during August.

A Kremlin statement about the call said “readiness was confirmed to return to the Istanbul agreements as soon as the West actually fulfills all the obligations to Russia recorded in them.” It said preparations were continuing for “a possible meeting” of Putin and Erdogan.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday evening said the two leaders agreed to “in the nearest future determine exactly” where the meeting will take place and when.

Two civilians were wounded in shelling of the city of Kherson during the night, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said Wednesday. A summary from Zelenskyy’s office said a doctor was killed and five medical personnel were wounded in an attack on a city hospital in Kherson, but didn’t specify if the attack was on Wednesday or Tuesday.

A 91-year-old woman died in an attack on a village in the Kharkiv region, the presidential office said.

In the eastern region of Donetsk, four people were wounded in Russian shelling over the past day, according to Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.

The area around the city of Nikopol, across the river from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, was shelled three times, Gov. Serhiy Lysak said.

Overall in the war, Ukrainian authorities have so far confirmed the deaths of at least 10,749 civilians, and at least 15,599 more have been wounded, Yuri Belousov from Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in an interview with InterfaxUkraine that was released Wednesday.

“We understand that these numbers are the tip of the iceberg. Once we de-occupy our lands, the numbers will grow many times, possibly tens of times. I think in Mariupol alone there will be tens of thousands of deaths,” Belousov, who runs a department for combatting crimes committed during an armed conflict, said.

More than nine months later, Kenya was the first country to “positively consider” leading a force, offering to send 1,000 police to help train and assist the Haitian National Police to “restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations.” Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday it plans to send a task force to Haiti in the next few weeks to assess operational

“This is not a traditional peacekeeping force, this is not a traditional security situation,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “We have gangs that have overtaken the country, ... that are terrorizing civilians every single day.”

She stressed that “it is very much a police action to stabilize the country so that the country can get back on the path of democracy, that they can move forward with a political process that will lead to a stable government

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also welcomed Kenya’s offer and called on the Security Council to support a non-UN multinational operation in Haiti, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday.

The UN chief encouraged UN member nations, “particularly from the region, to join forces from Kenya” in supporting the country’s police, the spokesman said. Guterres said the estimate by the UN independent expert for Haiti, William O’Neill, that up to 2,000 additional anti-gang police officers are needed is no exaggeration.

Analytical, Self Motivated, Team Player, Results Driven

If you possess these qualities, we invite you to apply for the position of:

UNIT COMPLIANCE ASSOCIATE

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The successful candidate will be responsible for approving all account opening, relative to KYC requirements, as well as data changes for all existing customers with the approval of the Head of Compliance.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Review and approve applications for all new acceptable risk applicants prior to onboarding and new facilities for existing customers.

• Review applications for all high risk relationships and escalate to the Compliance Unit for approval prior to onboarding.

• Review and address all customer complaints, as well as prepare and submit the customer complaint report within required timeline.

• Participate and complete all quarterly in-branch Financial Crime Risk Trainings as assigned.

• Respond to all customer due diligence requests from the Compliance Unit within required timeframes.

• Responsible for the preparation and submission of various assigned reports to be submitted within the stipulated timeframes.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary with incentives and performance bonuses

• Pension plan and medical insurance

• Extensive training and personal development opportunities

Requirements/Qualifications:

• Designation by the Head of Compliance & MLRO as a Unit Compliance Associate

• High school diploma or equivalent vocational training

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in the Financial Services Industry

• Must have excellent communication skills (verbal and written)

• Proficient at Microsoft Office Suite programs

• Ability to work in a self-motivated environment with little supervision

• Ability to manage the administration of multiple tasks at one time

All applications will be held in strict confidence. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

Photo:Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP

A MAINTENANCE worker stands outside a damaged government building in Kyiv, Ukraine, yesterday, following Russian drone attacks.

Photo: Jae C Hong

World Athletics Relays 2024: From Paradise to Paris

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas will host the World Athletics Relays for the fourth time in 2024. The two-day event will get underway on May 4 and wrap up on May 5 as 32 teams will vie for a chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The event will feature five disciplines, including the men’s and women’s 4x100 metres, 4x400m and mixed relays. With this being the fourth time the country has hosted the grand event, there will be 1,600 athletes expected to compete which has huge implications for not only sports but also tourism.

Senator Randy Rolle, global relations consultant in the Ministry of Tourism, Investments, and Aviation, talked about the different opportunities that can arise out of a sporting event of this magnitude. “We can maximise our opportunities and capitalise on the benefits this event will bring, hosting the World Relays underguards our efforts and we aim to become the sports mecca of the Caribbean,” he said.

Rolle added with the amount of athletes expected to compete on Bahamian soil, it gives the opportunity to get into new

various markets, including international markets to access new potential travellers including athletes, sports event planners and sports enthusiasts.

Next year’s World Relays will automatically include the top eight relay teams in each discipline from the World Championships in Budapest August 19-27.

Additionally, the top 14 teams at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas will automatically punch their tickets to the Paris Olympic Games.

Mike Sands, president of the North American, Central American, and Caribbean Association (NACAC), explained the other criteria which allows entry in the 2024 World Relays.

“The host country may also enter one team in each discipline regardless of entry conditions, the remaining team up to 32 will be determined through the top list in the qualification period January 2023 to Sunday April 2024,” Sands said.

Following three successful hostings of the World Relays in 2014, 2015 and 2017, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) along with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Drumeco Archer intend to take a different approach to marketing next year’s event.

“We have placed these games in your hands. They belong to the Bahamian people, with my deep affections for young people, our team has taken

a very deliberate approach in promoting these games into the homes of every resident throughout every island,” Archer said.

The marketing campaign will target primary, junior and senior schools and billboards will now be intentionally placed in front of public and private schools because the pupils are the future, according to Archer.

“The World Relays is a world-class event for a world-class country…we are introducing two mascots that will be the face of the World Relays. These mascots will showcase our culture and bring great visibility to our brand,” he said. In efforts to bring mascots “Junkaloo” and

Chisholm Jr, page 20

BAAA RESCINDS 3-MONTH SUSPENSION OF SPRINTER TERRENCE JONES

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) made the decision late last night to rescind the threemonth suspension of Grand Bahama sprinter Terrence Jones.

The national champion was issued a letter detailing his team infractions and subsequent suspension on July 31 following competition at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Association (NACAC) under-18 and under-23 championships.

“Junkasue” to life, there will be a competition hosted for kids 14 years and older from August 7 to Sept 16.

The first place winner will receive a cash prize of $3,500, second place receives $2,000 and third place will earn $1,000.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg said it is a privilege to see the World Athletics Relays back to the Bahamian shores.

“This administration understands the exposure that sports can bring to this country and what events such as this will bring also with its economic boost, so we are looking forward to a great time…the road to paradise begins in The Bahamas,” Bowleg said.

Cycling governing body packing nearly all of its world championships into 11 days

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer

TADEJ Pogacar said his focus was on resting after the Tour de France, where the two-time winner was unable to keep up with Jonas Vingegaard over the final week in the mountains and finished a distant second to his biggest rival in Paris.

Turns out the break didn’t last long.

Pogacar confirmed this week that he will line up for Slovenia in the men’s road race at the UCI world championships, which begins today in Scotland with the first track events and continues for the next 10 days.

It will be the first time that cycling’s world governing body holds nearly all of its championships at one time and in one place, which UCI President David Lappartient hopes will build some momentum for the sport heading into next year’s Paris Olympics.

The course for the men’s road race hardly suits Pogacar’s climbing ability, but the 24-year-old will nonetheless join seven of his countrymen in contesting Sunday’s race. It will begin in Edinburgh and

head toward Glasgow, where most of the events are to be conducted, and features the kind of punchy climbs that favour the stars of the one-day classics.

That means names such as Remco Evenepoel, Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen figure to be near the front, though a U.S. team fresh off plenty of Tour success will try to animate the race and perhaps catch the more powerful teams off guard.

“We have three leaders, with Wout and Jasper, who are more for the sprint, and there’s me, who is capable of attacking from distance like last year,” said Evenepoel, the reigning champion, after his recent victory at Clasica San Sebastian. “It’s just proof that my form is there,” Evenepoel said of the win, “that I have the legs to be in front next week.”

The men’s road race, featuring many of the stars of last month’s Tour, will surely be a centrepiece of the world championships. other key events, which will take place through August 13: ROAD RACING

The Dutch team will be heavy favourites again in

the women’s road race and time trial, led by reigning world champion Annemiek van Vleuten, Demi Vollering and Marianne Vos.

But the team was similarly favoured at the Tokyo Olympics, only to lose track of an unheralded Austrian rider who dashed ahead of everyone to win the gold medal.

The Americans have a strong contingent for the women’s road race, and keep a close eye on Chloe Dygert in the time trial,

where the former world champ is once again a legitimate threat after a long comeback from a careerthreatening crash.

TRACK CYCLING

Olympic champion

Harrie Lavreysen will be going for a fifth straight world title in Scotland, and the Dutch speedster will join Jeffrey Hoogland and Roy van den Berg in trying to win back the team sprint title from Australia.

Filippo Ganna of Italy will also be worth watching

on the track in the individual pursuit before he heads outside to contest the time trial.

Dygert is also competing on the track in the endurance portion of events. One of her team pursuit teammates, Jennifer Valente, will be in the mix for the omnium world title after the American won a surprising gold medal at the Tokyo Games.

BMX

Hannah Roberts, who took silver in the inaugural Olympic freestyle event in Tokyo, will be go for a fifth world title, while U.S. teammate Justin Dowell will be among the favourites after the 2018 world champ finished second a year ago in Abu Dhabi.

The U.S. should be just as strong in BMX racing with reigning champion Felicia Stancil and two-time champ Alise Willoughby.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

The only Olympic mountain bike event is cross country racing, but the world championships expands to include a marathon cross country race, a short-track race, an electric mountain bike race, a team

SEE PAGE 17

Jones, along with other Bahamian athletes, were discussed in conversations about looming suspensions and yesterday the BAAA president Drumeco Archer said investigations were still ongoing despite the issuance of the letter.

The suspension would have dealt a major blow to Jones as he is set to compete at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, August 19-27.

Archer remained tightlipped about the matter concerning the threemonth suspension earlier yesterday.

“We are dealing with issues involving athletes. The matter is still under investigation. That is as much as I could say right now…everyone has a right to exercise their wish. This is the board that is responsible and acts in the best interest of the sports and athletes,” Archer said.

SEE PAGE 19

SPORTS NOTES

NO CEILINGS BASKETBALL BASKETBALL CLINIC

THE #NoCeilings with Coach Yo Foundation will hold a free basketball clinic at the Basil Neymour Court in Coral Gardens, Grand Bahama, 2-5pm on August 13. The clinic will be conducted by Grand Bahamian Yolett McPhee-McCuin, who is the head coach of the Ole Miss Lady Rebels basketball team. There will be three sessions for students of kindergarten to grade 1 from 2-2:30pm, grades 2-4 from 3:3:45 pm and grades 5-6 from 4-5 pm.

Each participant is being asked to come properly dressed in their basketball gear and bring their own basketball.

BASKETBALL BGDBA ACTION

THE Bahamas Government Departmental Basketball Association is scheduled to continue its regular season action at the AF Adderley Gymnasium on Friday.

Here is a look at the games on tap:

7pm - Police Royals vs Customs Taxmen.

8pm - BDOCS Challengers vs MOYSC Panthers.

9pm - Airport Authority Avengers vs Bains & Grants Town Cybots.

TOUR de France winner Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, and second placed Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar celebrate on the podium after the last stage of the Tour de France cycling in Paris, France, on July 23. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg, centre, speaks yesterday during a press conference to announce the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 2024 as BAAA president Drumeco Archer, far right, and Dr Daniel Johnson, look on. Photo courtesy of World Relays Committee

ROAD TO PARADISE BEGINS IN THE BAHAMAS’

Jonquel Jones and NY Liberty continue Eastern Conference dominance

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

GRAND BAHAMIAN

native Jonquel Jones and the New York Liberty continue to remain atop the Eastern Conference with a now 20-6 win/loss record.

The team’s latest win came against the ninth-overall Los Angeles Sparks.

Jones’ team earned their second straight win against the Sparks after defeating them in last Sunday’s matchup 87-79 and closing them out 76-69 at the Crypto.com Arena.

After having their dominant four-game win streak snapped by the Minnesota Lynx, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Jones and her team have gotten back to their winning ways.

In their most recent win, the Sparks kept up with the New York team, leading up to the halfway mark of the game. The former WNBA MVP’s team led by two points (34-32) as they prepared for the third quarter.

In the third period, the Sparks outscored the leading Eastern Conference team by a mere two points, beating them 20-18 in the quarter. However, the difference came in the fourth quarter of both teams’ second meeting in less than one week where the Liberty took control.

The 9-17 Sparks got edged out 26-15 in the final period of the game.

Jones, who has been on a tear as of late, played 29 minutes in the game to amass nine points and eight rebounds. The Bahamian forward remained flawless at the free throw line, going 5-for-5 at the charity stripe shooting an efficient 100% clip. The previous game

against the Sparks saw Jones put up a 13 points and 13 rebound double double with 10 of the total boards being grabbed down on the defensive end for the Liberty.

Following Jones’ Eastern Conference Player of the Week honours after some brilliant individual and team performances, All-Star forward Breanna

Stewart was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month. During the month of July, Jones’ teammate served up 24.5 points-per game (ppg), 8.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.

Additionally, while scoring almost 25 ppg, she shot 45% from the field and 41% from behind the arc.

The New York team remains focused and

WILT’S 1972 FINALS JERSEY EXPECTED TO DRAW MORE THAN $4M AT SOTHEBY’S AUCTION

COLLECTIBLES

broker Sotheby’s expects Wilt Chamberlain’s 1972 NBA Finals jersey to sell for more than $4 million in an upcoming auction.

Sotheby’s calls the jersey Chamberlain wore in the championship-clinching Game 5 victory over the New York Knicks the most valuable piece of his memorabilia ever to appear on the market.

The current record sale for a Chamberlain sports memorabilia item is $1.79 million in June 2023. It was for a jersey worn his rookie season with the Philadelphia Warriors.

Online bidding will run from August 28 to September 27.

The 7-foot-1 Chamberlain anchored the team that won the Lakers’ first NBA title. Playing with a broken hand, he had 24 points and 29 rebounds in Game 5 against New York and was named Finals MVP.

Chamberlain died at age 63 in 1999.

poised going 8-2 in their last 10 games. The Liberty will seek revenge against the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night at the Target Center.

However, they will face their biggest test of this stretch on Sunday as they face the league’s number one team and WNBA defending champions - the Las Vegas Aces.

Diana Taurasi scores 29, moves within 18 points of 10,000 in loss to Fever

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— Emma Cannon had a career-high 23 points with nine rebounds, Kelsey Mitchell added 21 points and the Indiana Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury 72-71 on Tuesday night to spoil Diana Taurasi’s 29-point performance.

Taurasi, the league’s career scoring leader, is now 18 points away from 10,000 points. Taurasi, who was coming off a season-high 24 points on Sunday, scored 23 of Phoenix’s 43 first-half points after making 8 of 10 shots, including 4 of 6 from distance.

Taurasi finished 10 of 16, with five 3-pointers.

Mitchell extended the lead to 70-61 with 5:06 left in the fourth quarter, but the Fever would not score again until Cannon’s shot in the lane with 59.5 seconds left to regain the lead.

Indiana guard Erica Wheeler was off on a 3-pointer and Phoenix took possession with 13.9 seconds left. Taurasi was short on a baseline jumper but Phoenix kept the possession with 6.8 seconds left. Moriah Jefferson got into the paint but her layup didn’t fall and

Aliyah Boston secured the rebound. Indiana (7-19) won at home for just the second time this season. Phoenix (6-19) had its road losing streak extended to 10 straight games.

SUN 79, LYNX 69

UNCASVILLE, Conn.

(AP) — Alyssa Thomas had 21 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists for her fifth triple-double of the season and the Sun beat the shorthanded Lynx. It was Thomas’ ninth career triple-double. Thomas, who also had a triple-double in an 87-83 loss to the Lynx on Sunday, became the first player in WNBA history to record a triple-double in backto-back games multiple times in a season. She also has more triple-doubles this season than any other WNBA player has in her career.

Tyasha Harris added 17 points off the bench for Connecticut (19-7). Tiffany Hayes had 16 points and DeWanna Bonner scored 15 on 7-of-19 shooting. Lindsay Allen scored 16 points and Kayla McBride added 15 points for Minnesota (13-14), which had a

three-game winning streak snapped. Minnesota was without star Napheesa Collier, who is sidelined with a sprained ankle.

ACES 93,

DREAM 72

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jackie Young scored 24 points, A’ja Wilson had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Las Vegas clinched a WNBA playoff spot with a win over Atlanta. Las Vegas (24-2) has won eight straight games to become the second team in WNBA history to start a season 24-2, joining the 1998 Houston Comets. The Aces still have 14

regular-season games before the playoffs start.

Cheyenne Parker scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half for Atlanta (1412). Allisha Gray was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. Rhyne Howard also struggled from the field, scoring six points.

LIBERTY 76, SPARKS 69

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Courtney Vandersloot scored 20 of her seasonhigh 23 points in the second half, Breanna Stewart added 16 points and 12 rebounds, and New York closed out its win over Los Angeles on a 10-2 run.

Vandersloot also had seven rebounds and six assists, and Stewart added four steals and three blocks.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting and Jonquel Jones had nine points and eight rebounds for New York (20-6). Nneka Ogwumike had 20 points and eight rebounds for LA. (9-17).

Ogwumike moved past Candace Parker (5,684) for the second-most points in franchise history, trailing Lisa Leslie (6,263). Jordin Canada added 13 points and six assists, and Layshia Clarendon scored 11 points.

“This jersey holds an extraordinarily significant place in the history of Los Angeles, not only adorned by the man many consider to be the greatest player ever to step on the court, but as a relic from one of the greatest franchises in sports history,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles.”

The jersey is being offered with a collection depicting it in magazines, newspapers, photographs, trading cards and more. It will be on display for the public at the Sotheby’s Los Angeles gallery from August 2 to August 31.

Chamberlain is a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and a four-time NBA most valuable player. He scored 100 points in a game in 1962 — a record that still stands.

CYCLING WORLDS FROM PAGE 16

relay and downhill championships. The usual names — mostly Swiss teammates Nino Schurter and Mathias Fluckiger — will set the pace in the men’s cross country race, while the women’s race is wide open. Puck Pieterse of the Netherlands won the most recent World Cup race, but veterans such as Jolanda Neff, Jenny Rissveds and Pauline Ferrand Prevot have experience on their side.

REST OF WORLDS

While the Olympic disciplines will draw most of the attention, worlds also will crown champions in several para-cycling events, junior and under-23 events, and lesser known competitions such as artistic cycling and cycle ball.

The UCI estimates that 2,600 athletes will compete during the week-plus event; another 8,000 amateurs are expected to ride in a Gran Fondo.

INDIANA Fever forward Emma Cannon (32) holds back New York Liberty guard Jocelyn Willoughby and forward Jonquel Jones (35) as the ball goes out-of-bounds during a game in Indianapolis. The Liberty defeated the Fever 95-87 in overtime. (AP

Photo/Michael Conroy)

MERCURY’s Diana Taurasi goes to the basket past Fever’s Lexie Hull on Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

GRAND EVENT: The organisers, stakeholders and government officials can be seen yesterday during a press conference to announce the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 2024.

Photo courtesy of World Relays Committee

Jamaica reaches knockout round for the first time

By EMILY DOZIER Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Jamaica advanced to the knockout round for the first time following a 0-0 draw yesterday that ended Brazil’s run in the group stage for the first time since 1995 at the Women’s World Cup.

The scoreless game in Melbourne also ended Brazilian great Marta’s World Cup career. She holds the all-time scoring record with 17 goals at the World Cup but couldn’t add to her tally in her sixth trip to the global tournament.

After conceding 12 goals in its Women’s World Cup debut in 1999, Jamaica shut out France, Panama and Brazil in consecutive games to finish second in Group F behind the French.

In addition to being ranked well below both Brazil and France, Jamaica progressed despite the financial struggles it faced before the tournament.

These difficulties resulted in Jamaica receiving support from fans through crowdfunding due to inadequate support from its federation. Nearly $100,000 was raised for the team through two fundraisers. After opening the tournament with a 4-0 victory over Panama, Brazil failed to get the victory it needed to extend Marta’s World Cup campaign.

KEY MOMENTS

With Marta starting the match for the first time in the group stage, Brazil maintained possession for most of the first half but struggled to test Jamaica goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer.

The second half saw Brazil lift the tempo as the team chased the goal needed to advance. Brazil recorded six shots on target but struggled to threaten Jamaica’s goal as Jamaica’s organised defence stifled the team throughout the game. Marta was replaced after 80 minutes with the game still in the balance.

A free kick from Andressa and a header from Debinha in stoppage time represented Brazil’s closest chance of scoring the winning goal. It was close, but close enough.

WHY IT MATTERS

With the draw, the Reggae Girlz advance to the Round of 16 in their second Women’s World Cup.

The team made its debut in 2019 but lost all three group-stage matches, including a 3-0 loss to Brazil. This time, Jamaica finishes unbeaten in Group F. Brazil’s loss means it is eliminated from the Women’s World Cup in the group stage for the first time since 1995.

With the exit from the tournament, Marta has played her final World Cup match after announcing her plan to retire prior to the tournament.

She bids farewell to the game’s biggest stage as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 17 goals.

THEIR OWN WORDS

“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life. To be able to do this is unbelievable to just watch it, while I’m alive. I thank the girls for doing this for

the country. The country should be proud.” — Lorne Donaldson, Jamaica coach.

“For me, that is the end, but it’s just the beginning for the others.” — Marta, Brazil’s veteran forward.

South Africa beats Italy to reach last 16 for first time

By STEVE MCMORRAN AP Sports

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Player of the match Hildah Magaia called the moment “lifechanging.” Coach Desiree Ellis flagged something deeper, though, after South Africa beat Italy 3-2 yesterday to qualify for the round of 16 at a Women’s World Cup for the first time.

South Africa had to beat eighth-ranked Italy to progress. A draw would have been enough to take Italy through. And in a turbulent final 20 minutes, both teams stood on the brink of qualifying.

The halftime score was 1-1 after Arianna Caruso’s penalty and Benedetta Orsi’s own goal. Magaia scored to put South Africa ahead 2-1 and left them on the brink of history, before Caruso equalised from a Cristiana Girelli corner.

At last, in the second minute of stoppage time, Magaia provided the assist for Themba Kgatlana’s match-winner and South Africa was through in a moment of huge significance for women’s sport in their country.

“They call me the breadwinner. So without the breadwinner, there’s no bread,” Magaia said. “I had to provide the bread for the nation.”

“This really means a lot,” she added, “especially knowing that we were so close to going home. It is an emotional one.”

Magaia’s comment carried literal force. In advancing to the last 16, each South Africa player will take home at least $60,000, a life-altering sum. Magaia said she now will be able to properly care for her mother.

A dispute over pay that clouded South Africa’s preparation and only was resolved on the eve of the world tournament, now is well in the background, one of many trials the team had to overcome to get to the World Cup.

All of that struggle was reflected in their jubilation at fulltime. As the second half seesawed they threw everything into a last bid for victory.

“I think there was a time on the line when we had five coaches and the captain giving direction, it was that tough,” Ellis, the veteran coach, said.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game but we knew what we were capable of.

“The girls are just freaking amazing. I mean I speak through every challenge they faced in the past,” she added. “We know that no-one gave us a chance today but we knew what we were capable of

and they fought like warriors out there.” South Africa qualified second out of Group G behind Sweden, which beat Argentina 2-0 in is last match yesterday and will face the United States in the next round. The South Africans will face the Netherlands on Sunday. In previous group matches, South Africa lost 2-1 to Sweden after leading 1-0 with a Magaia goal and drew 2-2 with Argentina after leading.

“I think this is for everyone back home,” Ellis said. “You know, people getting up in the early hours of the morning who were disappointed when we should have won against Argentina. This is for everyone.”

On a night of high drama and low temperatures, Caruso’s 11th-minute penalty and Orsi’s own goal kept it tight in the first half in Wellington, where a southerly wind dropped temperatures close to freezing and reduced the

crowd to around 10,000, mostly South Africans.

Arianna Caruso’s penalty in the 11th was cancelled out by an own goal in the 32nd. Magaia scored in the 67th to put South Africa ahead 2-1, but Caruso equalised and momentum swung back to Italy.

At last Jermaine Seoposenwe went forward and squared the ball to midfielder Magaia who, rather than shooting, crossed to Kgatlana to strike the ball home.

The tension continued as stoppage time exceeded 11 minutes, and then it was over. Some South African players danced, many embraced. Others, Kgatlana among them, seemed too overwhelmed.

Now South Africa can regroup and think how it will take its next step. Italy was disconsolate at the end, so close to progressing, but denied at the last moment. “It’s a defeat which is hard to swallow but South Africa played better than us and deserved to win,” Italy coach Milena Bertolini said.

“I believe that as far as Italian female soccer is concerned, I believe we do have a future. We have young players who have gained experience now and I believe that in future we have good prospects to improve and do better.”

Sweden wins Group G to advance to showdown with United States

By LUKE VARGAS Associated Press

HAMILTON, New Zealand (AP) — Rebecka Blomqvist’s second-half goal lifted Sweden to a 2-0 win over Argentina on Wednesday to advance the Blagult to a round-of-16 showdown with the United States in the Women’s World Cup.

Argentina was eliminated from the tournament.

Neither side looked close to scoring for much of the match until Blomqvist broke the deadlock with a headed goal at the 66thminute mark to help the blue and yellow finish 3-0 and win Group G.

Sweden, which rested nine starters to open the match, threatened at times in the first half. A combination of disjointed play and fouls prevented Sweden from taking early control of the game.

Playing at times in a pelting rain, Argentina did not create a real chance in open play, and suffered a blow

when veteran Florencia Bonsegundo was stretchered off in tears after a late tackle by Blomqvist in the 41st minute. Late in the match, Gabriela Chavez committed a foul while defending a corner kick.

Elin Rubensson converted the penalty kick in stoppage time to seal the victory for Sweden.

Swedish captain Caroline Seeger made her 20th Women’s World Cup appearance yesterday to equal Hedvig Lindahl’s tournament record for Sweden. Over 17,900 spectators packed Waikato Stadium, which holds just 18,009. The crowd was full of Argentina supporters who sang and chanted for all 90 minutes, plus stoppage time, on a brisk night in Hamilton.

KEY MOMENTS

Stout defence was on full display for over an hour, but Blomqvist managed to push the blue and yellow over the line against Argentina.

Sofia Jakobsson picked out the head of Blomqvist

perfectly on a cross from just outside the 18-yard box for the decisive goal.

WHY IT MATTERS

The clash between the United States, the twotime reigning World Cup

champions, and thirdranked Sweden will be their seventh meeting and tie the record for the most-played matchup in Women’s World Cup history. Argentina’s run ended

in the group stage just as it had in its three previous appearances, in 2019, 2007 and 2003. La Albiceleste are still without a tournament win.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

“We’re proud of the players, they gave it their all. We can sleep at ease. Of course we’re sad, that’s football. But our heads are very high, and we’ll continue down this pathway,” said Argentina coach German Portanova on the loss and his team’s tournament run.

“We had good patience today. We felt that of course we want to score goals and we want to create chances. I think we also felt that the chances will come, and when they came, we have to be ready and not be frustrated,” said Blomqvist.

WHAT’S NEXT

Sweden travels to Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday for the U.S. match. Argentina is knocked out of the Women’s World Cup.

WHAT’S NEXT Jamaica advances to play the winner of Group H next week in Adelaide, South Australia. Brazil’s tournament comes to a disappointing end.

DIANI’S HAT TRICK HELPS FRANCE BEAT PANAMA 6-3 AND ADVANCE ATOP GROUP F

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer

SYDNEY (AP) — France has had to roll with the punches at the Women’s World Cup.

The No. 5-ranked team was held to a surprise draw against Jamaica in its opening game and on Wednesday had the shock of going a goal down to Panama inside two minutes.

France recovered to win 6-3 and advanced to the round of 16 atop Group F, but celebrations were muted after being pushed by another underdog.

“From the get-go the most important thing for us was to finish at the head of the group after three games,” said France coach Herve Renard.

He spoke after the Jamaica game of the way in which the gap is closing in women’s international soccer. And yesterday was further evidence of that as Panama exposed France’s defensive weaknesses and Jamaica held Brazil 0-0 to advance as runner-up in the group.

“There was a huge shock this evening. If we can consider this as a huge shock,” Renard said. “This shows, you can see with your very own eyes, that the women’s game is kicking things up a notch.”

France could face twotime champion Germany in the round of 16. While that is a potentially daunting prospect, this World Cup has proven that reputations can count for little as the once-dominant nations are being seriously challenged and cut down to size.

As well as Jamaica, South Africa is another unexpected name in the knockout stage, while Colombia beat Germany 2-1 and leads Group H heading into the last match.

“I think still there’s some difference with some teams, but we can see a lot of new faces in this World Cup,” said Renard, adding that increased physicality in women’s soccer is playing a part in levelling the playing field.

France responded to going behind to Marta Cox’s 30-yard (metre) free kick by scoring five times by the 52nd minute. But it still conceded two more as Panama mounted an unlikely fightback late on.

The French had to thank Kadidiatou Diani, who scored a hat trick to put them well ahead by the time Panama came back into it.

Writer

SOUTH Africa’s Noko Matlou, left, and South Africa’s Gabriela Salgado celebrate after the Women’s World Cup Group G soccer match between South Africa and Italy in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

JAMAICA’S SOLAI WASHINGTON, celebrates with her teammate after the Women’s World Cup Group F soccer match against Brazil in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)

SWEDEN’S REBECKA BLOMQVIST, centre, embraces teammate Madelen Janogy after scoring her team’s first goal during the Women’s World Cup Group G soccer match against Argentina. (AP Photo/ Andrew Cornaga)

BAAA RESCINDS THREE-MONTH SUSPENSION OF GRAND BAHAMIAN SPRINTER TERRENCE JONES

FROM PAGE 16

Upon completion of the investigation, the BAAA officials declined to offer any further comments on the situation despite many looming questions surrounding the initial suspension and why it was rescinded.

Among some of the infractions listed by the BAAA in a letter sent to Jones included resistance in participating in 4x100 metre relay, refusing to celebrate with the team or participate in any photos, leaving the team in the middle of celebration and withdrawing from the 200m finals.

Before the now rescinded suspension was handed down following a decision made by the voting delegates of the BAAA, the sprinter wrote an apology letter to the executives taking accountability for his mis-steps.

“I am writing today about recent events at the NACAC Games in Costa Rica at which I took part

TERRENCE JONES

of representing my country after the 4x100m relay in which we placed second. I was asked to take pictures with the group which I respectfully declined at the time, I was really not in a good place,” Jones wrote.

He further went on to explain where his mental headspace was at the time of the NACAC U18 and U23 Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica.

“Within the past year being away at school the whole time, I lost my grammy. I was unable to be at home for her funeral and listening to my mommy

Germany South Korea ‘must-win’

By JENNA FRYER AP National Writer

AUCKLAND, New

Zealand (AP) — Marina

Hegering is fit to play for Germany against South Korea in a Group H finale that the Germans are treating as a must-win Women’s World Cup game. The defender missed Germany’s opening 6-0 victory over Morocco, as well as the shocking 2-1 loss to Colombia with an ankle injury.

Germany is ranked second in the world and has never failed to advance out of group play at the World Cup. A ninth trip to the knockout round would

be guaranteed today with a win over South Korea in Brisbane, Australia. A draw would also be sufficient for the Germans unless Morocco upsets Colombia in Perth, Western Australia. The Germans need Hegering because defender Sara Doorsoun, who started the first two matches, injured her thigh in the loss to Colombia and has been ruled out for the group finale.

“It means a lot to us because as soon as Marina is in training and able to perform properly, that’s fantastic value for our team,” coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said.

grieve was devastating… right before NACAC my uncle Tony passed away in Miami on Independence,” the letter continued.

enjoyed a brilliant track season, running a personal best of 9.91 seconds in the 100m and is the 100m national champion.

for his family. Following a Zoom meeting with the parents and other athletes, the BAAAs made the announcement.Jones has THE TRIBUNE Thursday, August 3, 2023, PAGE 19

‘JAZZ’ HITS SOLO HOME RUN TO HELP MARLINS WIN

MIAMI (AP) — Jesús

Sánchez hit a bases-loaded single with no outs in the 12th inning as the Miami Marlins rallied from a fiverun deficit and came back twice in extra innings for 9-8 win over the Philadelphia

SÁNCHEZ HITS BASES-LOADED SINGLE IN 12TH TO COMPLETE MIAMI’S 9-8 COMEBACK VICTORY OVER PHILLIES

Phillies last night in a matchup of NL wild-card contenders.

The Marlins faced a 5-0 deficit going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but forced extra innings when Jorge Soler slugged a solo homer with one out

in the ninth. After Philadelphia’s Brandon Marsh hit a two-run homer to lead off the 10th inning, Miami matched it.

Philadelphia also took a lead into the 11th before Miami newcomer Josh Bell singled through the infield with two outs to tie the score once again.

Philadelphia had won the first two games of the fourgame set.

Alec Bohm led the Phillies with a game-best four hits, including one that drove in a go-ahead run in the top of the 11th. He went 4 for 6 with three RBIs.

The Phillies went down in order in the 12th to Miami reliever Tanner Scott— the Marlins’ eighth pitcher of the game.

Philadelphia appeared to be rolling toward a third consecutive win against the Marlins when it scored twice in the fourth inning and added three more runs in the sixth.

Down 5-0 and getting little against starter Zack Wheeler, Miami began its comeback in the bottom of the sixth when Bell and Jazz Chisholm Jr homered to right on back-to-back pitches. Bell was acquired by the Marlins on Tuesday in a deal with Cleveland and went 4 for 5 with a walk in his Miami debut.

Jake Burger, also playing in his first game after being

acquired in a deal with the White Sox, went 2 for 4 with a walk.

Miami starter Braxton Garrett had allowed just one hit in his first three innings before Bohm led off the fourth with a single and moved to third on a double from Bryce Harper. Bohm scored on a single by Nick Castellanos and Harper scored on a hit by Bryson Stott.

The Phillies scored three runs in the sixth when reliever Huascar Brazoban issued a walk with the bases loaded and Bohm hit a tworun double into the corner in left.

The Marlins closed their gap in the eighth when reliever Jeff Hoffman walked Sánchez with the bases loaded to make it 5-3. Gregory Soto came on to pitch the ninth up 5-4 and, after getting one out gave up a homer to Soler that tied the game at 5. Luis Arraez went 1 for 6 and his batting average stands at .378.

In the bottom of the 10th with Miami trailing by two runs, Chisholm Jr moved to third on a balk and scored on a groundout from Avisail Garcia.

Burger then singled and moved to third on a double down the left field line by Sánchez before a deep fly to right by Jon Berti tied the score at 7.

VERLANDER GOING BACK TO HOUSTON HIGHLIGHTS FLURRY OF MLB TRADES AHEAD OF DEADLINE

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer

CHICAGO (AP)

—

In

a matter of days, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer went from teammates on the New York Mets to opposite sides of a Lone Star rivalry.

That’s how it goes this time of year.

Verlander was shipped from New York to Houston ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, returning to the Astros after he helped them win the World Series last year. The retooling Mets received minor league outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford in the deal.

Verlander’s reunion with the Astros headlined a deadline day that seemed more suited for the sellers than the buyers. With a handful of talented players staying on their underwhelming teams, there were no huge surprises.

Looking for another deep October run, Philadelphia acquired Michael Lorenzen from the Detroit Tigers. With the addition of the All-Star right-hander, the NL champion Phillies are planning to go with a sixman rotation.

A couple more NL East contenders also were active. The major league-leading Atlanta Braves strengthened their bullpen by adding reliever Brad Hand in a trade with the Colorado Rockies.

The AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles added Jack Flaherty to their rotation in a trade with St Louis.

The disappointing Cardinals also dealt shortstop Paul DeJong to Toronto, which acted quickly after Bo Bichette was sidelined by right knee soreness.

Looking to salvage an underwhelming season, San Diego acquired 43-year-old left-hander Rich Hill and first baseman/designated hitter Ji Man Choi in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Padres began the year with World Series aspirations, but they need

a strong finish just to make the playoffs.

The New York Yankees are facing a similar situation. They upgraded the organisation’s pitching depth by adding right-handers Keynan Middleton from the active White Sox and Spencer Howard in a deal with Texas.

Tigers left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson and Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernández were among a group of players who were thought to be on the market but remained in place after the deadline passed.

The White Sox also held onto ace right-hander Dylan Cease.

The 40-year-old Verlander agreed to an $86.7 million, two-year contract with New York in December. He was expected to team with Scherzer for a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation, but each of the ace right-handers had some injury issues and the high-priced Mets underperformed for much of the year. Scherzer was traded to Texas in a deal announced Sunday.

The Rangers and Astros are battling for the AL West lead, and the addition of a three-time Cy Young Award winner for each team should make that division race even more compelling down the stretch.

With Shohei Ohtani staying in his only major league home, at least through the deadline, the Los Angeles Angels also are fighting for a playoff spot. With All-Star Jonah Heim on the injured list, the Rangers acquired catcher Austin Hedges from the Pirates.

The Angels capped a busy trade deadline by landing reliever Dominic Leone in a deal with the Mets. Two NL contenders swapped relievers when the Milwaukee Brewers sent right-hander Peter Strzelecki to Arizona for left-hander Andrew Chafin.

JAZZ Chisholm Jr gestures after scoring on a solo home run in the sixth inning against the Phillies yesterday.

(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)