08232023 NEWS, SPORT AND BUSINESS

PM: ABORTION IS PERSONAL CHOICE

In the case of rape it’s a ‘medical matter’ Davis ‘would have to consider’

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said he believes abortion is a personal choice.

He said changing the law so someone who is raped can get an abortion is a “medical matter” he “would have to consider”.

Abortion in The Bahamas is currently illegal in

all cases except to save a mother’s life, although underground activity exists.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe revealed last week that a woman gave abortion pills to her 11-year-old daughter after the girl’s stepfather allegedly raped her. The mother was charged with various offences this week, including causing harm for the

Lawyer’s ‘disservice’ in a zario finding cha LL enge

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A JUDGE told the lawyer representing the officers who killed Azario Major that he was doing his clients a “disservice” by insisting the inquest finding should be quashed because the coroner did not consider his constitutional motion claiming that

Agony for Gardiner

Leader accuses PM of ‘Mistruths’ on roof coLL a P se

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune

News

Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Leader Michael Pintard accused Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis of an “astounding collection of mistruths and deflections” related to the partial collapse of a structure under construction at

pretrial publicity prevented a fair inquiry.

Supreme Court Justice Franklyn Williams told the lawyer, Keevon Maynard, there was no precedent for his appeal of the Coroner’s Court inquiry.

A jury returned a homicide by manslaughter ruling in May after four officers killed Major in 2021.

cooPer assures ‘no f yre festiva L’ coMing here

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AS the Fyre Festival makes international headlines over a potential reboot, Tourism Minister Chester Cooper gave an assurance yesterday that the event would never be approved again in The Bahamas. Billy McFarland, the infamous organiser of the

doomed festival, announced in a YouTube video that Fyre Festival II would be relaunched at a Caribbean destination next year, with events planned worldwide.

According to the event’s website, tickets range from $799-$7,999.

“This is a big day because as of right now, Fyre

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FTX’S Bahamian liquidators will aim to resolve multiple disputes with their US counterparts when mediation begins next month following the appointment of a retired US judge to act as referee.

AN AGONISING moment for Steven Gardiner as he pulls up with a season-ending injury in a Men’s 400-meters semifinal during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, yesterday. See SPORTS for more.

Photo: Petr David Josek/AP

Ceremony held for first graduates of Niccolo P Small Meteorology programme

THREE cadets received top honours, with Barrington Hawkins (left) receiving the Jeffrey Simmons Award, Donnell Saunders (centre) receiving the Kenneth Lightbourn Award, and Kendal Isaacs (right) receivng the Spirit of Donna Duncombe Award.

MINISTRY of Transport and Housing held the closing and recognition ceremony last night for the recently launched Niccolo P Small Meteorology Cadet Programme, under the auspices of Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis. The ceremony was held at Maragaritaville. Photos: Moise Amisial

PM: ABORTION IS PERSONAL CHOICE

from page one

purpose of committing an abortion.

To some women’s rights advocates, the failure of the 11-year-old girl to legally get an abortion shows the law is draconian.

When The Tribune described the case to the prime minister and asked if the government would consider amending the law, Mr Davis said: “That will be a medical matter for me to consider. For me, where the issue of abortion is a highly emotive one. It’s a personal choice, and we leave that to the persons who get impregnated, and I don’t want to impose my views on a personal choice. But suffice it to say, I will support a personal choice of anyone in respect of those matters.”

Mr Munroe noted last week that the Progressive Liberal Party did not commit to amending abortion laws in its pre-election manifesto.

“All social change should only come after serious consultation,” he said.

In 2020, Dr Leon Dupuch, the past head of Princess Margaret Hospital’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, expressed alarm at the number of women and girls reporting

to the hospital after an attempted abortion went wrong. He said many of the cases were tied to unsupervised use of pills.

Last week, Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas, said The Bahamas should comply with CEDAW’s recommendation to decriminalise abortion in all cases.

“In The Bahamas, genderbased violence is a public health crisis, with rape and incest –– reported and unreported –– happening in large numbers, sometimes resulting in pregnancy,” she said. “Survivors are not only women, but children, and it is ridiculous and inhumane to expect women or children to suffer through unwanted pregnancies and giving birth when it is medically possible to safely terminate pregnancy.”

However, two prominent pastors, Mario Moxey of Bahamas Harvest Church and Reverend Dr Phillip McPhee, the recently appointed leader of the Bahamas Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention (BBMEC), said they would oppose amending abortion legislation.

“We believe in the sanctity of life, and it’s important that we protect the life even in situations where there is rape,” Mr Moxey said.

Cooper assures ‘no Fyre Festival’ coming here

SANDS: COLEBY- DAVIS SHOULD ‘rebuke’ supporters for heckling t erneille burrows

FREE National Movement Chairman Dr Duane Sands said Elizabeth MP Jobeth Coleby Davis should publicly rebuke her supporters who “heckled” an activist that announced her attempt to become Elizabeth’s next MP.

Last night, Mrs Coleby Davis told reporters: “I can’t predict what people do in their own free time. I wish her all the best.”

Dressed in PLP paraphernalia, including “Elizabeth Matters” shirts, a group of people who support the Transport and Housing Minister surrounded Terneille Burrows as she spoke to the press at Elizabeth Estates Park on Monday.

One PLP supporter told Ms Burrows to “find somewhere else to go and run”.

“What ought to have been an event that demonstrated the vibrancy of our democracy was instead marred by gangsterism,” Dr Sands said in a statement.

“As a former MP of Elizabeth, chairman of the FNM and as a Bahamian, I condemn this crass and boorish behaviour categorically. It was absolutely disgraceful. Ms Burrows has every right to express her intentions without harassment and intimidation. She ran for office in Elizabeth previously, and we enjoyed mutually respectful interaction. That will not change going forward. I expect to see appropriate rebuke of her agents, disavowal of their actions with a public condemnation and an apology from MP Coleby Davis.”

Festival II tickets are officially on sale,” he said. “It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here, and it really all started during the seventh-month stint solitary confinement.”

He did not reveal the location or other details about the event.

Mr Cooper said he is unaware of any application to host the event in The Bahamas for a second time.

The festival’s collapse in 2017 was featured in Netflix

and Hulu documentaries.

Mr McFarland was dubbed a “serial fraudster” and sentenced to six years in a US prison. He admitted to defrauding investors of $26m and more than $100,000 in a fraudulent ticket-selling scheme.

He only served four years and was released last May.

Maryann Rolle, a restauranteur in Exuma who lost thousands when the festival collapsed, said she would not oppose the festival’s return so long as McFarland

pays vendors what they are owed.

“I feel he just needs to pay the vendors, and we move forward and take all this pain and ill feeling away from us about the Fyre Festival, and the only way he can do that is if he creates something new,” she said.

“I know how hard I worked during that festival and I just feel like they need to pay and the only way they can pay is if he redeems himself and starts a new approach to it; get

some monies to pay us.”

She added: “The only way the vendors and people who took in those bills will be paid is if the government becomes involved, put his foot to the fire and stand in the gap for us as a people here. Us trying our own is not going to work.

“I would tell the government they need to bring this man in, let him continue his festival that he had the vision to do and let him pay the vendors. That’s the only way we would ever get paid.”

Man shot in Malcol M rd area last night, dies at hospital

POLICE are investigating a shooting incident that has left a male dead. The incident reportedly occurred shortly before 9pm at Deliverance Way off Malcom Road.

The victim was taken to hospital via private vehicle, where he succumbed to his injuries.

At press time there was no additional information available.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said he believes

raped can get an abortion is a “medical

Photo: Moise Amisial

from page one

TENTS at the Fyre Festival site set in plce for the event that didn’t happen.

FNM CHAIRMAN DR DUANE SANDS

FNM leader accuses PM of ‘mistruths’ on roof collapse

provide insurance for the contractor’s business interests, then no self-insurance exists. How many other illegal contracts are currently in place with nothing more than a handshake and a wink? We demand that the prime minister provides evidence that the tenders committee did its review and approval. We further demand that the government provide a full accounting of all projects for which there are only ‘oral contracts’ in place and for which there is no appropriate insurance coverage.

“It is my understanding that a senior member of the engineering team did not support the construction of the truss with the size of the lumber used, neither did the technical team support the

construction of the pavilion in that particular area of the campus for reasons that included the safety and security of the student population. If this is the case, who overrode the prudent advice of the public officers at the ministry? We cannot have a renegade government that believes that it is above the law and can do as it pleases. If there are more examples of this wanton recklessness and illegality, then the responsible ministers must resign. Enough is enough.”

In 2015, a fire destroyed a dormitory at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Sciences Institute in North Andros. It was later revealed that the building was not insured. Mr Davis was the minister of works at the time.

RM Bailey Senior High School.

On Friday, the Ministry of Works released a statement that included details that it did not intend for the public. The ministry asked the press not to publish the information, which included an admission that the contractor did not have a contract, risk, or liability insurance.

Mr Davis later told the press the contractor had an oral contract that was supposed to be “reduced to writing”.

He said the contractor decided to self-insure until “all of the dots and t’s were

crossed”.

“The opposition is dismayed by the astounding collection of mistruths and deflections the prime minister and his minister of works have sought to drop on the Bahamian people once again in the aftermath of the roof collapse at the RM Bailey Construction site,” Mr Pintard said yesterday. “First, the prime minister and Minister Sears, with a straight face, told the Bahamian people that the roof collapse that everyone saw was not in fact a collapsed roof. The PLP is now at the point where they will say anything to cover their obvious ineptitude. Fortunately, the Bahamian people know very well what they saw.

“Then, the prime minister suggested that the contractor had an oral contract for a project that would be valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars at minimum. This is rubbish, plain and simple. The Procurement Acts of 2021 and 2023 require that a project of this size be approved by the agency’s Tenders Committee or the Public Procurement Board, depending on the contract value.”

“The committee and board would not give consideration to an oral contract proposal, nor would they approve a waiver of the requirement for proper insurance coverage. By law, no procurement contract

can be awarded unless the process prescribed by law is followed –– anything else is an illegal contract.

“The issue of so-called ‘self-insurance’ held by the contractor is almost certainly a grand fiction concocted on the spot by the prime minister,” it was alleged. “He knows well from the BAMSI debacle that the standing government policy is that all public projects of this type require express insurance coverage. The contractor has no option to ‘take on the risk’. Unless the prime minister can provide evidence that the contractor has established a separate legal entity appropriately funded to

SEARCH FOR MISSING AIRCRAFT NEAR ELEUTHERA C ALLED OFF

SEARCH efforts for an aircraft that went down after leaving Fort Lauderdale for Eleuthera with one person on board have been called off.

The aircraft departed Fort Lauderdale Airport and was expected to arrive at North Eleuthera International Airport shortly before 2pm on Sunday.

Although the US Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force launched search and rescue efforts for the Cessna 402, which was reportedly last seen 17 miles west of Eleuthera,

their efforts were unsuccessful.

RBDF Commodore Raymond King reportedly said rescue teams searched for more than 21 hours, covering just under 20,000 square miles.

“The Royal Bahamas Defence Force also used three assets, two vessels and our aircraft.

“Regrettably, to this point, we haven’t found the aircraft,” Commodore King said.

He noted that the United States Coast Guard had also suspended search efforts.

TWO MEN GET $10K BAIL FOR STEALING A SAFE FROM AN

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey @tribunemedia.net

TWO San Salvador men were granted more than $10,000 bail yesterday after they were accused of breaking into an Inn last weekend and stealing a safe containing over $12,000.

Magistrate Raquel Whyms charged Terrance Storr Jr, 24, and Dave Major, 25, with shopbreaking and stealing. Storr alone faced an additional charge of receiving.

The pair are accused of breaking into the Riding Rock Inn and Marina in Cockburn Town between 8.30pm on August 18 and 6.45am on August 19. The

INN

accused allegedly ran off with a $500 Silver Sentry Valueguard 1380 safe with $12,848 in cash.

Later that Saturday, Storr was arrested after he was allegedly found with $1,774 in cash, which police suspected was stolen.

After both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, Storr was granted $14,000 bail while Major’s bail was set at $12,000 with one or two sureties. Under the conditions of their bail, both men must sign in at the Cockburn Town Police Station weekly.

The trial in this matter will be transferred later to the circuit court in San Salvador.

CHINESE GOVT PARTNERS WITH MINISTRY OF EDUC ATION FOR SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

A SERIES of scholarship programmes has been set up in partnership with the Chinese government, and Bahamian students are being encouraged to apply.

The Chinese government scholarships are sponsored by the Ministry of Education in The Bahamas, and cover both major studies and preparatory studies in Chinese language.

Each of the undergraduate, Master’s and Doctoral students will receive one to two years of language prepartion. Undergraduate students studying between four and five years will have a scholarship lasting between four and seven years, with two to five years for Master’s students studying their major for two to three years, and Doctoral students studying for three to four years would have a scholarship lasting between three and six years. There are also scholarships for general scholars

and senior scholars of up to a year of study and a year of preparation, with scholarships lasting up to two years.

A total of 289 Chinese universities offer a range of academic programmes, including in science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, economics, legal studies, management, education, history, literature, philosophy and fine arts for scholarship recipients at all levels.

For more details on the universities and programmes on offer, visit http://www.csc.edu.cn/ studyinchina or http://www. campuschina.org. Applicants should apply online on http://www. campuschina.org with all application documents to be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at technicalassistance@bahamas. gov.bs and also the Chinese embassy at nassau@csm. mfa.gov.cn.

from page one

ONE of the buildings at RM Bailey High School had a roof partially collapse. The contractor has since repaired the roof. However, Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard accused Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis of an “astounding collection of mistruths and deflections” related to the partial collapse.

Lawyer’s ‘disservice’ in Azario finding challenge

At the start of the inquest, Mr Maynard filed a constitutional motion to stop the inquiry because of the pretrial publicity. Yesterday, he argued that Acting Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux had no right to refuse that constitutional motion. He said the coroner should have been compelled to refer the matter to the Supreme Court.

“I believe that you are doing your clients a disservice,” the judge told him. “Now, having said that, Mr Maynard, press on if you will.” Justice Williams said the acting coroner was within her right not to refer his initial constitutional motion to

the Supreme Court because the inquest was under way. “This is not a matter for mandamus,” Justice Williams said, referring to an order for a lower court to do something. “The horse has opened the gate on your case. Because what you were trying to do, which I think the coroner was quite correct in not referring your matter, what you were doing was pre-emptive. You were attempting a preemptive strike on what you believe to be the likely outcome of that inquest.

“Now, I’m not saying that the outcome was correct. I’m just saying what you were doing, and as far as this court is concerned, you could not do that because it was an inquiry. It was not a trial. And it

could be inferred because it was an inquiry, it could not be presumed that there was any unfairness to your clients.

“There was no verdict. There was no evidence either of someone stating or indicating that the jurors had come to a decision or that any directions that the coroner was giving were prejudicial or unfair. Under these circumstances, you could raise the issue, but there was no evidence of that. It was an inquiry which had not heard all of the evidence being marshalled.

“And you come to this court, and you are asking for mandamus but clearly, and I don’t say this to impugn you, but clearly you don’t understand what mandamus is for. And you

do not understand the role of this court in the circumstances. I’ve asked you for authority for what you’ve purported, you’ve not given any. You’re asking to set a precedent. The courts can’t do that. The court does not make law.”

Patrick Sweeting, who marshalled evidence in the inquest, represented the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions yesterday. He moved to have Mr Maynard’s application dismissed.

A decision on the motion is expected on October 30.

If the judge rules against the officers, Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier is expected to consider whether to charge the officers.

Coleby Davis to meet with Hope Town District Council on boat fees

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

TRANSPORT and Housing Minister JoBeth Coleby Davis said officials would meet the Hope Town District Council this week to discuss the increase in boat registration fees, which they called outrageous.

Chief councillor Jeremy Sweeting said the increases would ultimately affect the island’s fishermen, tour guides, and rental companies. He said some Abaco boat owners “boycotted” the increase.

“We are actually preparing to have a meeting with them they reached out to the ministry,” Mrs Coleby-Davis said yesterday. “And we just responded, our port-acting controller was actually on vacation last week. And so, we’re trying to organise to host that meeting with them this week so we can understand much of what their queries and concerns are because then we’d be able to take it and address it with the ministry finance team to further assist.”

Mr Sweeting noted in a press release over the

LAWYER WITHDRAWS AFTER DISPUTE WITH CL IENT IN MURDER TRIA L

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE lawyer for two brothers standing trial for murder unexpectedly quit as their attorney yesterday.

Dwayne Lodimus, 29, and Anton Lodimus, 25, are accused of shooting and killing Elroy “Skully” Burrows, 40, of Podoleo Street, on March 19, 2019. The victim was buying a drink from a bar on Mackey Street when the gunmen allegedly approached and killed him.

Attorney Sonia Timothy Knowles and her junior, Tonique Lewis, represented the men. The trial before Justice Renae McKay was nearing completion. Prosecutors had signalled a desire to begin closing submissions soon.

Sergeant Richardson Curry testified that she

was present during a police interview of one of the defendants.

Footage of that interview showed one of the brothers telling police that he and his sibling had recently bought a car from the deceased.

Security footage depicting the scene of the incident on Mackey Street was also shown. The deceased is seen walking on the sidewalk before someone dressed in black runs towards him.

Before Sergeant Curry could be cross-examined, one of the Lodimus brothers and Mrs Knowles appeared to disagree about something. The attorney later withdrew as the defence’s counsel.

The judge told the jury what had happened and adjourned the case. Uel Johnson and Perry McHardy are the prosecutors.

weekend that an owner of a 20ft boat would previously pay an annual fee of $20 to have their boat registered.

“As a result of the new increase in fees,” he said, “that same boat owner would now pay $700 plus an additional $75 for an inspection. This increase from $20 to $775 is an increase of 3,775 percent!”

“Surely, this goes against the pledge made by Prime Minister Davis in his ‘wrap up’ remarks that concluded the budget debate where he stated there wouldn’t be any ‘major new taxes’.”

A JUDGE told the lawyer representing the officers who killed Azario Major that he was doing his clients a “disservice” by insisting the inquest finding should be quashed because the coroner did not consider his constitutional motion claiming that pretrial publicity prevented a fair inquiry.

TRANSPORT and Housing Minister JoBeth Coleby Davis said officials would meet the Hope Town District Council this week to discuss the increase in boat registration fees, which they called outrageous. Photo: Moise Amisial

The Tribune Limited

Davis facing yet another issue not on the agenda

SHORTLY after the current administration came to office, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis was asked whether marital rape legislation would be on the agenda. At the time, he replied that he had too many other things to be thinking about.

That response prompted something of an uproar, and even by April this year, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe was saying that such legislation was not in the manifesto at election time and so it should not be a significant priority for the Davis administration.

The strength of the reaction, however, was such that it seems that marital rape legislation has very much been on the party’s agenda – back in January, Social Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe was saying consultation on such laws would be done in weeks. Weeks have come and gone and no such legislation has appeared, however.

Certainly, discussions on the issue have very much been taking place in the public forum – with various opinions being expressed on the issue.

There is certainly a sense that perhaps the government was bounced into the issue in response to calls from a chorus of voices – among those calling for marital rape to be criminalised is Mr Davis’ wife, Ann Marie, who said in January that she agreed that “marital rape should be criminalised and included in the new bill that’s coming out”. In June, when Pastor Rex Major said he was troubled by the concept of marital rape “because people could lie, and the easy way to get out of this husband which I don’t want any more is I gon’ tell people he rape me.” Ann Marie Davis invited him to become more informed about marital rape.

Which brings us to the issue of abortion.

First, Mr Munroe spoke up about a case that is now before the courts, saying that police should investigate both the alleged rape of an 11-year-old

girl and the abortion procedure reportedly carried out afterwards.

Again, he referenced the party’s election manifesto, saying that the PLP did not commit to changing abortion laws.

Last night, Mr Davis was asked by The Tribune about the subject, to which he responded that abortion is a personal choice.

To be clear, abortion is not legal in The Bahamas – so if it is a personal choice, it is one that faces legal consequences.

Mr Davis also said that changing the law so that rape victims can get an abortion is a “medical matter” that he “would have to consider”.

Where marital rape went from not being on the government’s agenda to becoming legislation that – supposedly – was to be put forward, is the issue of abortion set to follow?

The similarity between the situations is striking – and sure to garner a strong response from all sides of the debate.

Will the government be bounced into putting the issue on the agenda this time?

If the issue of marital rape has proven to be too controversial to bring the legislation to the House as yet, then the issue of abortion is even more so.

But as Parliament enjoys its current break after being prorogued, the government may find itself approaching its fresh session with an unexpected addition to its schedule.

And all of this comes as a woman is facing charges of harming her daughter by committing an abortion. Quite what the effect on a legal case is from a Prime Minister expressing his view that the action committed is a personal choice rather than a crime is new territory.

One thing is for sure, a topic seemingly nowhere near the agenda a week ago is now much more of an issue for the government to face.

Show some love for the victim

EDITOR, The Tribune. THE comments made by Pastor Mario Moxey and Rev. Philip McPhee in The Tribune on 18 August 2023 are, in my opinion, vile, inhumane and dangerous, and should be publicly denounced. Moxey and McPhee violently move the hurt body of an eleven-year-old into a symbol of immorality in service of their political agendas. She is a symbol because her pain, innocence and personhood are (again) erased, this time in rhetoric. Her abortion is the centre of their moral crisis, not her violation. While Moxey stated in conversation that he did publicly condemn the assault (but those comments were not printed), this does not change the devastating ethical implications of his rhetoric and position.

Moxey claims, “We believe in the sanctity of

AFTER concerns were raised over the increase in boat registration fees by Hope Town District Council chief councillor Jeremy Sweeting, readers had their say on the issue.

Themessenger said:

“Well said Mr. Sweeting!

“These gangsters have no conscience, they don’t file their disclosures, they don’t pay their property taxes or utility bills but none of them are fined or jailed as required by law nor are their homes and businesses repossessed or disconnected.

“But they expect the average Bahamian who owns a twenty-foot runabout or a struggling fisherman to pay all those and still pony up $775 a year for boat registration and have the nerve to call themselves the party of the people?

“I agree with your fellow Abaconians Mr. Sweeting, every single Bahamian boat owner should boycott and not pay this outrageous and

life, and it’s important that we protect the life even in situations where there is rape.” However, “the sanctity of life” he heralds does not include The Girl, her quality of life, her physical and mental health, her future. She is not protected in their sermons. When he says “the sanctity of life,” he does not even mean the life of a fetus. He really means “the sanctity of power”-of “the law,” “the Word,” and, above all, their positions. When he says “sanctity,” he does not mean “sacredness.” It is my opinion that he really means “inviolability,” but this inviolability of the life of power hinges on the violation of The Girl.

When he says, “it’s important that we protect the

life,” he does not mean The Girl. She is not “the life.” Moxey declares, “We got to uphold the laws, not try to amend our laws to accommodate these types of violations.” When he says, “these violations,” he does not mean the violation of The Girl. The Girl was raped. McPhee makes it clear, “If you want me to give you my personal view, I don’t think we should take the life of a child.” But he does not mean The Girl’s life, and how it was taken by her mother’s boyfriend. The whole structure depends on the assault, silencing and obliteration of The Girl. The hurt Girl sullies the sanctity and the pulpit feeds on her hurt. These men, who claim to live as Jesus did, apparently do not love The Girl.

CHRISTIAN CAMPBELL Writer, Scholar, Professor August 21, 2023

unconscionable increase, after all what could they do arrest us all, confiscate every boat?

“These people couldn’t organize a drunk up in a brewery or run a conch stand!”

TheOracle added: “I understand the Port Dept is issuing registration “extensions” while they re-evaluate the rate hikes. As is typical, someone in Government had a “bright idea” which wasn’t that bright after all. All driven by a “money grab” by the Ministry of Finance.”

Bcitizen said: “The Bahamas is a island nation and for many people who live on the smaller cays a small

20ft runabout is basically your car and main method of transportation to commute to a larger island. This is another one size fits all Nassau centric view that anyone who has a boat is loaded. It is not necessary to own a boat in Nassau unless your a fisherman. Seven hundred is too much for smaller boats when a basic car is about $200 a year?”

DWW added: “Meanwhile in Florida at 75 foot boat cost $150 per year to keep regular. @$$backwards is still PLP.”

While Limeyconch said: “Our 55’ mothership we use for Regattas and Junior Sailing programs was $224 per year to register, last week we are told $3700!! You cannot be serious! Boycott the system until the brain fart fades away and get some sensible numbers for boat owners!!”

HOG Island (Paradise Island) lighthouse.

Photo: Deanna Lewis

Prison plans resubmitted with ‘significantly’ reduced costs

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

CORRECTIONS Commissioner Doan Cleare said plans for new prison facilities had been resubmitted to the Ministry of Finance with a reduced cost, though he declined to say how much money has been saved or what has been eliminated from the project.

“The pricing has been reduced significantly, and we tried not to eliminate things that are totally necessary,” Mr Cleare said.

He cited plans for mental health facilities and classrooms as examples of what could not be eliminated because of their importance.

In May, National

Security Minister Wayne Munroe revealed that the government expanded its construction plans for the corrections facility, moving from a $40m high-medium security facility to a $90m “correctional institution, administrative, housing and medical facility”. He later revealed that the Ministry of Finance asked that the project cost be reduced.

Officials say facility upgrades are vital to getting accredited by the American Correctional Association.

“Based on what I’m hearing, you know, emanating back from the government, we have done our job, and they are appreciative of what we have done,” Commissioner Cleare said yesterday.

He said the prison houses some 1,500 inmates, over 200 mentally challenged. He said a mental health facility is essential because the number of people with mental challenges continually grows.

He said the project’s financier, Walker’s Group, will meet a prison construction company based in the United States to determine the schedule for the project.

Mr Cleare told reporters in September 2022 that the new facility will be completed in the next 17 months.

Yesterday, Mr Munroe said he had not seen the revised plan from prison officials. He said officials would likely give him a presentation when he returns from leave.

Months later, investigation into leaked photos still ‘ongoing’, says Skippings

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

CHIEF Superintendent of Police Chrislyn Skippings claimed police are still investigating the leak of gruesome crime scene photos of a mother and daughter murdered in April.

She could not say why the investigation was taking so long.

“I will have to check into that,” she said, “but I know that we are still investigating.”

The partially decomposed bodies of Allison Thompson and her 14-year-old daughter Trevorniqua were found in an apartment on Ross Corner on April 14.

After the killings, ghastly photos showing the bruised and decaying bodies of the mother and daughter were shared on social media.

At the time, relatives said they were considering legal action over the leak of the photos, which they believed only could have come from the police.

Officials, including Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander, vowed to investigate the matter, but no update has been provided since.

CHIEF Superintendent of Police Chrislyn Skippings claimed police are still investigating the leak of gruesome crime scene photos of a mother and daughter murdered in April.

Photo: Moise Amisial

It’s about respecting the rights of women

LAST week, we were notified that a serial sexual offender would be released from prison. We are also told that he was not and is not rehabilitated and that it has been clear that he will continue to sexually violate women. The Minister of National Security said the sexual offender is “unable or unwilling to control his urges to commit sexual offences”.

The minister seems to believe he has done us a favour by giving us this information with which we are expected to “protect” ourselves. This is, unfortunately, consistent with what we have seen from the government of The Bahamas in its complete failure to address gender-based violence and its insistence on talking about “protection” rather than taking action to end violence through, for example, comprehensive sexuality education in all schools, conflict resolution in all schools, reform of discriminatory law, improved and integrated reporting mechanisms, and survivor support services.

In addition to the offences for which he was charged, the sexual offender “groped and indecently assaulted the female prosecutor in the court who was prosecuting him[…] in the presence of the magistrate”.

By Alicia Wallace

He also sexually assaulted female correctional officers and a reporter while in prison. Based on the information provided, it does not seem that he was charged for those additions. The onus was, apparently, on the victim to report and press charges, even though at least one of them took place in the presence of a magistrate. All of the details regarding the sexual offender are infuriating, in addition to his being released. Implicit in the announcement itself is that we are expected to protect ourselves from this sexual offender. We are supposed to remember his name and face, and we are supposed to actively avoid him. If we see him in a grocery store or a bank while we are in line and he appears to be coming our way, what are we to do? According to the minister, the sexual offender expressed that “[…]any woman he regards as attractive who is near him

is liable to be groped and indecently assaulted”. How are we supposed to know if we are targets? Why are we expected to know, or to guess, or to somehow know the exact action to take?

The announcement of this sexual offender’s release invoked fear. It has also raised questions about the way the government views women and girls, sexual offences, and the “justice” system. Why is it possible for such a deranged and dangerous person to be released from prison, and without being rehabilitated or demonstrating any willingness to change his behaviour? This is the way the system was cobbled together for dysfunction. Rapists and other sexual offenders are sent to prison to get the treatment the public generally thinks they deserve, living in inhumane conditions, and are released into the public where we do not even have the expectation of safety. Punishment

is not rehabilitation, and we put ourselves at risk when we allow the punished and non-rehabilitated to rejoin society where they are likely to reoffend. What is going to be done about this?

In addition to putting our “protection” in our own hands, the announcement from the Minister of National Security on the release of the sexual offender included victim blaming. This is, unfortunately, not unusual as we are steeped in rape culture which convinces people that people are raped and experience other forms of sexual assault because of something they have done or failed to do. Victim blaming is common in the “advice” the police share verbally and in writing in newspaper multiple times per year. They tell us, in short, to make our worlds smaller and our lives more insular to avoid being violated by men.

The Minister of National Security, speaking of the released sexual offender, said, “Women invite him to touch them when they wear short clothes, or wear tight clothes, or smile, or lick their lips, or bend over, or move their hops, or blink their eyes, or cross their legs.”

This may be what the sexual offender said, but it should not have been repeated by the Minister of National Security in this way, and certainly not without a clear indication that this is ridiculous and that rape and other forms of sexual assault are not about sexual attraction or sex, but power and control. Repeating this nonsense perpetuates rape culture and the idea that women and girls and all victims of sexual violence are responsible for preventing sexual violence. The Minister of National Security determined that the sexual offender “[…]is a danger to the public at large. In order to protect the public, we are notifying the public of his release[…].” Somehow, making this announcement is “protection”. We have the information, and now it is on us to act.

What about when our protective actions are “illegal”?

There was a recent report of an 11-year-old child who was raped by her mother’s husband or boyfriend. (Different language has been

used in different reports).

The Minister of National Security, when speaking on this case, suggested that the police investigate the abortion that was provided to the child because it was “illegal”.

Predictably, anti-rights people under the banner of “the church” stated their position against access to this critical healthcare, even for children who were raped and whose bodies are not fully developed and not ready for pregnancy, much less birth. They continue to be selective in where they see “sanctity”, apparently deeming the life of the 11-year-old less than holy.

The same anti-rights religious leader who campaigned for people to vote no in the 2016 referendum and who opposed criminalisation of marital rape said: “We got to uphold the laws, not try to amend our laws to accommodate these types of violations.”

It is clear that these people do not care about women and do not care about children. They want to dominate, control, and have power over women and girls. Our health and wellbeing are non-factors to these anti-rights people. They are committed misusing and abusing biblical text to compel us to suspend and ignore our rights and to suffer through this life, for the promise of a better afterlife while they enjoy power and control in this one. No religion or religious text, in this secular State, should be more powerful than the human rights to which we are all entitled.

It is the government that is responsible for making this clear, and it is the government that has allowed anti-rights people to take centre stage and set dangerous narratives while it kow-tows to their nonsense.

Abortion is healthcare. It is a person’s right to decide that they do not want to be pregnant and do not want to carry a pregnancy to term. There are many reasons a person may have to terminate a pregnancy, and those reasons are not owed to anyone. The Bahamas currently criminalises abortion with the exception of a few circumstances. Our laws are antiquated and anti-rights, and they must change.

In 2018, The Bahamas participated in the periodic review of the Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which it ratified in 1993.

The CEDAW Committee read the reports from the government and Equality Bahamas which submitted a shadow report, and it prepared questions for the State. There were oral statements from representatives of the nongovernmental organisations and there was an interactive dialogue with the State. Following the review, in its concluding observations, the CEDAW Committee made a set of recommendations to The Bahamas to move it toward compliance with the Convention. Those recommendations included the decriminalisation of abortion in all cases and the provision of access to high quality post-abortion care, especially where there are complications due to unsafe abortion.

It is important to understand that, as long as there are unwanted pregnancies, there will be abortions. Decriminalising abortion ensures that it is available through and with the supervision and support of healthcare providers. When it is criminalised, it is more difficult to access, and people find other ways to terminate pregnancies.

If we are truly considered about saving lives, and if we care about women and girls, and if we believe in the sanctity of life, we will call for the decriminalisation of abortion and ensure that abortion is legalized in cases of rape and incest. This is not about religion.

This is about ending violence, reducing trauma, increasing access to healthcare, and respecting the rights of women and girls. There is no holiness in rape or incest. There is no sacredness in the violence that is the pregnancy of a child. See the sanctity of women and children, even in our distress, our pain, our struggle to survive, and consider that the sanctity of our lives is what entitles us to access our human rights. Know that this is far more important than personal opinions or belief systems. We have the right to be free from violence, and when that right is violated, the least the government can do is ensure that we have access to justice and healing, and they must be determined by us.

This is about ending violence, reducing trauma, increasing access to healthcare, and respecting the rights of women and girls.

LIFELIKE ROBOTS, ANDROID DOGS WOW VISITORS AT BEIJING ROBOTICS FAIR

BEIJING (AP) — Winking, grimacing or nodding their heads, robots mimicked the expressions of visitors at a robot expo in Beijing.

They were among the creations dazzling people attending the annual World Robot Conference, where companies showed off robots designed for a wide range of uses, including manufacturing, surgery and companionship.

The animatronic heads and humanoid robots on display at the EX Robots booth this week personified the image of what robots are supposed to be in the popular imagination, with synthetic skin and lifelike facial expressions complimented by moving arms and hands.

CEO Li Boyang said they’re ideal for roles that require interacting with the public, such as in museums, tourist attractions, school settings and “companion scenarios.”

Doggie droids — a mainstay of high tech fairs — were out in force. Canine robots shook hands with fairgoers and performed handstands on their front paws.

Elsewhere at the fair, robotic arms served Chinese tea, prepared ice cream cones, bounced ping pong balls and gave visitors back massages.

Harvesting robots demonstrated how they could pick apples off the branch, while an artist robot drew portraits of visitors.

Industrial robot arms for factory production lines also grabbed focus. One of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s goals is to move the country’s vast manufacturing sector away from low-cost creation of cheap goods into more high-tech production, and industrial robots will be an important element of that plan.

SAN FRANCISCO LAUNCHES DRIVERLESS BUS SERVICE FOLLOWING ROBOTAXI EXPANSION

By TERRY CHEA

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)

— First came the robotaxis.

Then the driverless buses arrived.

San Francisco has launched an autonomous shuttle service -- less than a week after California regulators approved the expansion of robotaxis despite traffic and safety concerns.

The free shuttle will run daily in a fixed route called the Loop around Treasure Island, the site of a former U.S. Navy base in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The Loop makes seven stops, connecting residential neighbourhoods with stores and community centres. About 2,000 people live on the island.

The all-electric vehicle, which doesn’t have a driver’s seat or steering wheel, is staffed with an attendant who can drive the bus with a handheld controller if necessary. The county is offering the shuttle service as part of a grant-funded pilot programme to assess how autonomous vehicles can supplement the public transit system.

“Having the attendant on board makes everyone feel comfortable,” said Tilly Chang, executive director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.

“This is just a demonstration

MARK ZUCKERBERG S AYS A WEB VERSION OF T HREADS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS

NEW YORK (AP) — Threads users, get happy – you will finally be able to use the social media platform without an app.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Threads post on Tuesday morning that a web version of the app will be rolling out over the next few days.

The move will allow the nascent platform, dubbed the “Twitter Killer,” better compete with Elon Musk’s platform, which is now called X.

Meta spokesperson Christine Pai said in a statement that the new logged-in web experience will let users post, view their feeds and interact with other posts from their desktops. And that the team is working to “bring this experience to parity with mobile and will be adding more functionality to the web experience in the coming weeks.”

Since it burst into the scene in early July, Threads has amassed a massive initial user base, including well known celebrities and brands, precisely because it is an expansion of Instagram.

The app gives Instagram users the option to automatically follow the same accounts they do on the photo-sharing app, which makes it easier for them to replicate a similar type of engagement on Threads. Popular online content creators, such as YouTuber MrBeast - whose actual name is Jimmy Donaldsonhave joined the app. But while many popular internet celebrities rushed to sign up, it’s not clear how many of them are returning regularly.

for now to see, what does it look like and how does it work to have a driverless shuttle in a low-volume, lowspeed environment?”

San Francisco is one of a growing number of cities worldwide that are testing the safety and potential of self-driving vehicles to transform public transportation.

The shuttles are operated by Beep, an Orlando, Florida-based company that has run similar pilot programmes in more than a dozen U.S. communities, including service at the Miami Zoo, Mayo Clinic and Yellowstone National Park.

“These shuttles are built for first-mile, last-mile, short connectivity routes. They’re

not intended to take the place of a bus system,” said Beep project manager Shelley Caran. “The autonomous vehicle will have a better reaction time than a human and it will offer a more reliable service because they won’t be distracted.”

During a test ride Wednesday, the shuttle drove slowly and cautiously in autonomous mode. An attendant manually steered the vehicle around a utility truck that blocked part of the road.

“I didn’t feel unsafe,” said Dominic Lucchesi, an Oakland resident who was among the first to ride the autonomous shuttle. “I thought that it made some abrupt stops, but otherwise I felt like I was

riding any other bus for the most part.”

The boxy shuttle, which can sit up to 10 passengers, will operate 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day and circle the Loop every 20 minutes. The city has two shuttles — one can charge while the other ferries passengers.

The autonomous shuttle pilot project was launched after the California Public Utilities Commission voted to allow two rival robotaxi companies, Cruise and Waymo, to offer around-theclock passenger service in San Francisco. The approval came despite widespread complaints that the driverless taxis make unexpected stops, cause

traffic backups and block emergency vehicles. On Wednesday, the city asked the commission to pause the robotaxi expansion.

Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, reported on social media that one of its robotaxis crashed into a city fire truck Thursday night, sending one passenger to the hospital.

Experts don’t anticipate the same problems with driverless buses because they’re expected to be staffed with drivers or attendants for the foreseeable future.

“Trained operators are going to be required even as we increase automation,” said Nikolas Martelaro, autonomous-vehicle researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. “So the question there may not be how worried should someone be about losing their job versus what should they be thinking about the potential training that’s required.”

Autonomous driving technology could make buses safer, but requiring drivers or attendants on-board could undermine one of their perceived advantages: reduced labour costs.

“We still have to find a market for them,” said Art Guzzetti, vice president at the American Public Transportation Association. “We’re doing it to make the trip better, more efficient, not to take the worker’s job.”

JOHN WARNOCK, WHO HELPED INVENT THE PDF AND CO- FOUNDED A DOBE SYS TE MS, DIES AT AGE 82

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated

Press

SALT LAKE CITY

(AP) — John Warnock, who helped invent the PDF and co-founded Adobe Systems, has died. He was 82.

The Silicon Valley entrepreneur and computer scientist died Saturday surrounded by family, Adobe said in a statement. The company didn’t give a cause of death or say where Warnock died.

“John’s brilliance and innovations left an indelible mark on Adobe, the technology industry and the world,” Adobe said.

Warnock worked for Xerox before he and colleague Charles Geschke created a company around a rejected idea in 1982. Nearly a decade later, Warnock outlined an early version of the Portable Document Format, or PDF, transforming the way documents are exchanged.

A DRIVERLESS shuttle stops for a passenger on San Francisco’s Treasure Island as part of a pilot programme to assess the safety and effectiveness of autonomous vehicles for public transit.

(AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Robots on display at the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, last week.

(AP Photo/Andy Wong)

The Tropics heat up over the Atlantic, Southern Bahamas eyes on Franklin

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL weather forecasters are monitoring Tropical Storm Franklyn, one of five systems being tracked in the Atlantic.

“As it stands now, the ones we are concentrating on right now that has potential to impact over the next couple of days, that would be Franklin and potentially for the south-east Bahamas because, based on its track, we expect it to move just east of Turks and Caicos by Thursday,” said Mary Walker, the chief meteorologist in the Department of Meteorology.

“That’s if it gains any traction in strength because I think it’s at three miles per hour which is considered stationary. It would put the storm just east, according to the track, just east of Turks and Caicos.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Franklyn was said to be moving northwest near 3mph.

Forecasters predict the storm would reach the southern coast of Hispaniola on Wednesday before moving off the northern coast of that country.

Ms Walker said

although the system does not currently pose a severe threat to The Bahamas, the country could still be impacted.

“Even though it’d be east of Turks and Caicos, you know how close we are to the Turks and Caicos Islands, and we will definitely, if it continues on its track, experience some effects of the storm,” she said.

“That’s rainfall, moderate to heavy rainfall and maybe the chance of tropical storm force winds depending on how close the centre comes to the southeast Bahamas.”

As for the other systems in the area, post-tropical cyclone Emily and tropical depression Gert, she said there was no cause for concern.

“Gert and Emily,” she said, “they’re being downgraded right now. What I mean is they’re not building to the point where they’re given much attention. Now I’ve seen on the forecasted track that they were giving them a large percentage of development, but that hasn’t occurred.”

She urged Bahamians to stay vigilant and remain prepared because this is peak hurricane season. The 2023 hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.

IN the satellite image above active systems are seen across the Atlantic, into the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

Tropical Depression Harold has already moved ashore over Texas, while Tropical Storm Franklin is currently making it’s way over Hispaniola. While Gert has dissipated in the Atlantic, remnants of Emily will continue its passage northward into the Atlantic. Meanwhile a new disturbance emerges from the coast of Africa with an above average chance for development.

RIGHT: People walk through a street flooded by the rains of Tropical Storm Franklin in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, yesterday

Photo: Ricardo Hernandez/AP

Frantwion Alberto Newton, 23

a resident of South Beach Estates, will be held at Deliverance Tabernacle, Sea Link Drive, South Beach, will be held on Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. Officiating will be Bishop Mark Knowles, assisted by other Ministers of the Gospel. Interment follows in Woodlawn Gardens, Soldier Road.

He is predeceased by Grandparents: Allydice & Stafford Brown and Emerson Newton.

Left to cherish his memories, Mother: Jacquelyn Brown Newton; Father: Francis Albert Newton; Grandmother: Geraldine Anderson Newton; Aunts: Mary Brown, Vonnie (Horace) Smith of Holland, Florida, Eileen Storr (New York City), Valarie Storr, Denise (Leland) Lavarity, Ellamae, Nadine and Yolanda Newton, Sandra (Vernon) Miller; Uncles: James (Hiram), Kevin, Lawton, Ulam, Lonnie and Newton (Lynn) Brown, Sanford (Ramona) Newton, Horace Smith, Vernon Miller and Leland Lavarity; Grand Aunts: Virginia Hart (Jeff) Stubbs, Roevilla, Deborah Newton, Rhoda Simms; Grand Uncles: Bishop Neville E. Hart, Rev. Dr. Perry (Doris) Newton, Rev. Jefferson (Brenda) Newton of Kansas Missouri and Jeff Stubbs; God Parents: Rochelle Bethell, Vanesa Morrison and Minister Keith Burrows; Cousins: Bishop Davin (Tamaki) Dave Toussaint, Glen (Yasmin) Johnson Levaughn Levarity, Anthony, Antonio, Santino Miller, Kedria & Kedrick Hall, Sanford Jr., Sanchez Newton, Bernadette (Jeffery) Turnquest, Reodina Barnett Glendina (Dwayne) Harris, Philippa (Kendrick) Moss, Aaron Forbes, Latisha (Shavaras) Rolle, Sherise (Supt. Ricardo) Adderley, Ellensise, Dorry, Keva, Kevin Jr., Kevanna, Ellwood, Samantha, Tiffany Brown, Quay, Angel, Latika and Christopher Brown, Brown, Jermaine, Wonn, Margaret Smith of Florida, Nedika, Nedia Rolle, Rujene, Ingrid. Bradford, Chantel, Valarie, Laurie, Yolanda, Hertz, Charlie, and Supt. Will Hart. Penny,Tina, and Carla Bastian, Victoria & Joshua (Angle) Turnquest, Troy Jr., Tredino Taylor (US NAVY) and David Harris, Benjamin & Breana Moss, Aaronika, Shaniqua, Serenity Forbes, Ashley Tynes, (WP) Tishshana Bastian, Shavantae & Shavares Rolle, Shiloh Adderley, Ellwood Jr., Dwayne, Alex and Gerard Ferguson, Teron & Torrin Saunders, Michaela Saunders; Other relatives and friends include: (Special Friend) Ms. Rayven Andrews, Coaches: Mr. Simmons, Mr. Nixon, Cpl. Demeritte, Mr. Saunders, Mr. Dean, Mr. Mark Hanna Mr. Chris Burrows, and Mr. Dexter Cambridge, Principle Nixon of West Minister, Sylvin Omeally, Ewyen, Mr. Outten, and Peter Rahaming; Mrs. Michelle Ryan, Mrs. Margaret Rolle, Hart, Newton, Daniels, Seymour, Josey, Rolle, Brown, Smith, and Rose families. Evanda Bascom, Stephanie, Verna Brown, Wayne Key, Gia Knowles, Krystal, Dianne Darville, Stephanie Munroe, JPW Basketball team, D.A.D’S Basketball Club, S.C. McPherson’s Basketball team, West Minister College Basketball Jr. team, Under the Bridge basketball crew, Glens Court families, Willie, Bats, Pearl Eye, Yellow Corn, and Rafi, Ushers Board, Soup Kitchen Crew, Rev. Milton & Dr. Linda Lightbourne, and Ebenezer Methodist Church Officers and members Doctors and Nurses at ER - Princess Margaret Hospital.

Friends may pay their last respects at Demeritte’s Funeral Home, Market Street, from 10-5:00 p.m. on Wednesday & on Thursday at the church from 9:00 a.m. until service time.

HAROLD

FRANKLIN

(formerly Emily)

REMNANTS OF G ERT

Dominican Republic shutters schools and offices ahead of Tropical Storm Franklin

SAN JUAN

Associated Press AUTHORITIES in the Dominican Republic

shut schools and government offices Tuesday as Tropical Storm Franklin took aim at the island of Hispaniola that it shares with Haiti and threatened to unleash landslides and heavy floods. The storm was expected to make landfall on the island Wednesday and drop up to 10 inches (25 centimetres) of rain in both countries, with up to 15 inches (38 centimetres) in isolated areas. Heavy rainfall is of great concern to Haiti, where severe erosion in many places can lead to catastrophic flooding. A storm surge of up to three feet (one meter) also was forecast.

Dominican officials announced the closures of schools, government offices and businesses until Thursday. It also planned to close its main international airport and five others through Wednesday. In Haiti, where a day of heavy rain from a thunderstorm in June left more than 40 people dead, government officials urged caution but did not announce closures, though schools are already shuttered for summer holiday until mid-September.

In the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, 42-year-old mechanic Pedro Julio de la Cruz said he and his family were mulling whether to stay with relatives who live on higher ground since he and his elderly mother and aunt live near the Ozama River in a community that

floods often. “We haven’t slept much,” he said, noting they were concerned because it started raining Monday night.

The storm on late Tuesday afternoon was located about 210 miles (340 kilometres) south-southwest of Santo Domingo. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving northwest at 7 mph (11 kph).

Franklin had lost speed and was disorganized, and could linger on top of Hispaniola for much of Wednesday before exiting to open water late in the day, according to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

At least 24 of the Dominican Republic’s 31 provinces were under red alert as the storm approached, with the Public Works Ministry announcing that it dispatched 3,000 workers to more than a dozen provinces to prepare for Franklin. However, the government said the heavy rainfall forecast would not be a problem for the country’s multiple dams since water levels were low.

In the Haitian capital, Jerome Jean-Pierre, 46, who sells cold sodas from a wheelbarrow, said he heard about the storm on the radio and planned to stay indoors. He said he hoped Franklin would not impact Haiti like Hurricane Matthew did in October 2016.

“That was really horrible,” he said. “I saw a lot of people washed away.”

Mackenson Barbouze, a 34-year-old professor, said the timing of the storm

is bad because Haiti is already struggling with a surge in gang violence, with more than 200,000 people forced to flee their homes.

“It will create chaos on top of what we’re dealing with,” he said, adding that the aftermath of storms is particularly bad in Haiti because the government is unable to respond quickly.

“Most of the agencies are dysfunctional. They have the words, but they don’t have the power to get it done.”

On Tuesday afternoon,

Haiti’s civil protection director Jerry Chandler said crews were mobilizing to help displaced people living in shelters or on the street, saying they needed to be “extremely careful.”

Prime Minister Ariel Henry also urged caution and warned people to stock up on water, food and medication and to stay out of the water until Thursday. The government is doing everything it can to help,” he said. “I know there are a lot of people who are worried, but we

need to have confidence that we will act fast if necessary.”

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the entire southern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, as well as the entire northern Dominican coast. A tropical storm watch was posted for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Meanwhile, a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico strengthened overnight to become Tropical Storm Harold, which hit the southern

coast of Texas on Tuesday.

On Aug. 10, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration updated its forecast and warned that this year’s hurricane season would be above normal. Between 14 to 21 named storms are forecast. Of those, six to 11 could become hurricanes, with two to five of them possibly becoming major hurricanes, the NOAA said. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

A TE A M OF KENYA N OFFICI A LS IS LOOK ING AT HOW TO HELP HA ITI FIGHT R A MPA NT GA NG VIOLENCE

HAITI

Associated Press

A TEAM of Kenyan officials is in Haiti to explore how best to help the troubled Caribbean nation fight the scourge of gang violence, following up on Nairobi’s offer to lead a multinational force in the task.

The force is meant to assist Haiti’s understaffed and under-resourced police department, with only about 10,000 officers for the nation’s more than 11 million people.

Earlier this month, the United States said it would introduce a UN Security Council resolution that would authorize Kenya to lead a multinational police force and provide 1,000 officers. No timetable for the resolution has been given.

The first meeting between

Haitian officials and the 10-member Kenyan team took place on Monday, according to a government stated issued late that night.

“We are here to assess the needs of the National Police of Haiti, better understand the situation and do our best to help the Haitian people,” said George Orina, with Kenya’s ministry of foreign affairs.

Before arriving in Haiti on Sunday, the Kenyan delegation met with countries and groups in New York that are trying to decide how best to help Haiti.

From January 1 until Aug. 15, more than 2,400 people in Haiti were reported killed, more than 950 kidnapped and another 902 injured, according to the most recent UN statistics.

Gangs are now estimated to control up to 80% of the

capital of Port-au-Prince, with more than 200,000 people displaced after gangs pillaged and burned their homes.

The Kenyan officials said the countries they met with understand “the Haitian demands and the urgent need to put an end to a situation which is paralysing the functioning of the country and putting the future of its citizens in danger.”

The Kenyan’s fact-finding trip to Haiti wraps up on Wednesday.

Kenya’s government first said in late July that it could send 1,000 police officers to train Haiti’s National Police, “restore normalcy” and protect strategic installations.

The request for the immediate deployment of a foreign armed force was first made by Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry in October.

KIM JUNG UN BL A STS PREMIER OVER FLOODING, POSSIBLY TRYING TO DEFLECT ON ECONOMIC WOES

SOUTH KOREA

Associated Press

NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Un severely rebuked his premier and other senior officials over what he called their irresponsible response to recent flooding of farmlands along the country’s western coast, state media reported Tuesday. Summer floods in North Korea often cause serious damage to farmlands due to poor drainage and deforestation. Observers say Kim’s lambasting of top officials likely aims to shift blame to them for the country’s economic hardships and food insecurity, or could set the stage for a reshuffling of senior leadership.

Kim on Monday visited a western coastal tideland where seawater recently destroyed the embankment, flooding more than 270 hectares of rice paddies. After inspecting the situation, Kim accused officials of “very irresponsible neglect of duties,” according to the

official Korean Central News Agency.

Kim criticized Premier Kim Tok Hun for showing “the attitude of an onlooker,” KCNA said. He berated the vice premier for failing to perform his duties faithfully, and he accused the director of the tideland reclamation bureau of concealing fuel oil that was supposed to be used for construction projects.

“In recent years the administrative and economic discipline of Kim Tok Hun’s Cabinet has become seriously out of order, and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the state economic work with an irresponsible work manner,” Kim Jong Un said, according to KCNA.

Kim called the recent flooding a man-made disaster, citing a botched construction project that was supposed to improve drainage in the area. Kim said the project went forward even though a substantial leak was discovered. He ordered stern disciplinary steps for those responsible for the flooding damage.

North Korea watchers say Kim Jong Un’s moves are unusually strong given there were no reports of human casualties. They say Kim could use the flooding as a chance to reshuffle top officials in a bid to reinforce public confidence in his government as he struggles to revive an economy reeling from COVID-19.

“Kim Jong Un appears to be searching for extreme steps to divert public complaints that have been heightened due to worsened public livelihoods and economic situations,” said Tae Yongho, a South Korean lawmaker, who served as a minister at the North Korean Embassy in London before his defection in 2016.

Outside experts believe North Korea’s current food shortages and economic troubles have deepened due to draconian pandemic curbs, UN sanctions and North Korea’s own mismanagement. But there are no signs of an imminent famine or major public unrest that could threaten Kim’s grip on

IN this Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, 9:40am ET satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Tropical Storm Franklin approaches Hispaniola island. Authorities in the Dominican Republic prepared to shut down much of the country Tuesday as the storm took aim at the island it shares with Haiti.

Photo: NOAA/AP

A POLICE officer holds a resident who was shot in the head during violent gang clashes, as he carries him away on a moto-taxi in the Carrefour-Feuilles district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday.

Photo: Odelyn Joseph/AP

SPORTS

Devynne Charlton advances to semifinals

Lowers her national record in 100 metre hurdles

Steven suffers season-ending injury

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Devynne Charlton lowered her Bahamian national record yesterday to advance to the women’s 100 metre hurdles semifinals, but Steven Gardiner pulled up and he was unable to complete his men’s 400 metre race.

The duo were the only two of the Bahamian 11-member team to compete on day four of the World Athletics Championships as the drama continues to unfold in Budapest, Hungary.

Since the championships got started on Saturday, the Bahamas has already seen the exit of quarter-milers Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Alonzo Russell as well as sprinter Terrence Jones in the opening rounds of their respective races.

Charlton moves on

In an impressive run over the 10 flights of hurdles, Charlton showed that she’s in tip-top shape and geared up for the challenge ahead of her in winning the first of her two elusive medals at the World Championships and the Olympic Games.

Only former world record holder Kendra Harrison from the United States of America was faster in winning the third of five heats in a world’s leading time of 12.24 seconds as she pulled Charlton through for second in her new national record time of 12.44.

Charlton said she’s right on track to completing her task. “I did not have to really run with anybody, just do a clean run and if you run like that, big things can happen,” Charlton said.

“I feel I still have more in the tank for the following rounds. The world record is definitely possible at these championships. The hurdles pool is so deep right now. As long as you make it to the final, anything can happen for any of these ladies.”

The pair went into today’s semifinals with the top two times over a field of quality competitors with reigning world champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan having the third fastest time in 12.48.

Among the rest of the qualifiers were Puerto Rico’s Jasmine CamachoQuinn in 12.50 in fifth, Jamaicans Megan Tapper in 12.51 in fifth and Danielle Williams in 12.51 in sixth and American Nia Ali in seventh in 12.55, followed

by rising collegian stars Jamaican Ackera Nugent and American Masai Russell, who finished in eighth and ninth in identical times of 14.60.

What a line-up going into the semifinals.

Gardiner makes exit

After easily winning his first round heat in the third fastest qualifying time of 44.65, Gardiner seemed poised to strut it out on the home stretch for another victory in his semifinal heat yesterday.

In the last of the three heats, Gardiner pulled up and away from American Quincy Hall on the back stretch to take control of the race going through the final bend.

But as he came off the curve and into the home stretch, Gardiner hobbled on his right leg and eventually pulled up and dropped to the track in agony as he was unable to finish the race.

On his Facebook page, Gardiner wrote about his disappointment after he was wheeled off the track for medical attention, but he

expressed his gratitude for the love and concern displayed by so many people.

“Heartbroken but will not give up. Today during my 400m semifinal I suffered a grade 1 sprain of the tendon extending into the knee of the right posterior thigh,” he wrote. “Unfortunately this will be season ending. But I’ll be okay.

“I would kindly like to thank the Budapest medical staff, Team Bahamas, my management team (@ ontrackmgnt) coaches and fans and sponsors for always believing in me.”

Hall went on to secure the win in 44.43 and Jamaican Sean Bailey took the second automatic qualifying spot in 44.94. With Gardiner, the 2019 world champion and the reigning world champion gone, the field is left wide open.

Another Jamaican Antonio Watson took the top qualifying spot in a personal best of 44.13, Great Britain’s Matthew HudsonSmith posted an area record in 44.26 for the second fastest and veteran American relay specialist Vernon Norwood occupied the third in a personal best of 44.26.

However, Grenada’s former world champion Kirani James is still alive with his fifth best time of 44.58 and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk follows with 44.65 with the fastest losing qualifying time.

Still in contention for The Bahamas

Today will be a busy day for the Bahamas with the bulk of the team competing. NCAA champion Rhema Otabor will get the ball rolling in the morning session

as she makes her senior global debut in the women’s javelin as the eighth of 18 competitors in Group B with a personal best toss of 196-feet or 59.75 metres.

A total of 18 competitors are also entered in Group A and combined, the automatic qualifying feat is 201-9 (61.50m) or the top 12 performers will move onto the final on Friday.

LaQuan Nairn, the Commonwealth Games champion, will follow with his second appearance at the World Championships when he competes in the men’s long jump qualifying round as the third of 19 competitors in Group B. He has a lifetime best of 26-11 3/4 (8.22m) or a season’s best of 26-7 1/4 (8.11m).

A total of 20 competitors will be participating in Group A. The automatic qualifying distance is 26-9 (8.15m) or the top 12 competitors will book their tickets to the final on Thursday.

Veteran sprinter Anthonique Strachan will be running out of lane nine in the first of six heats of the

women’s 200 metres. She enters the event with a lifetime best of 22.15 that she posted this year. The first three of each heat and the next six fastest times will make up the field advancing to the semifinal.on Thursday for a chance to get into the final on Friday.

In the evening session, two more Bahamians will be in action.

Versatile collegian Charisma Taylor will be the sixth of 18 competitors competing in Group B with a personal best leap of 48-10 (14.88m). Another 18 competitors will also make up Group A. The automatic qualifying leap is 46-11 (14.30m) or the top 12 performers will advance to the final on Friday.

And Charlton will run out of lane six in the first of three heats to earn her second straight World Championship berth into the final on Thursday. The first two of each heat and the next two fastest times will fill out the lanes for the final. The championships will wrap up on Sunday.

AGONY AT WORLDS: Steven Gardiner, of The Bahamas, is wheeled off the track after being injured while running in a men’s 400-metres semi-final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

TOP: Devynne Charlton in action.

NFL Flag Bahamas in search of more coaches, officials

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Football League (NFL) Flag Bahamas continues to make preparations ahead of the flag football season, this time hosting an officiating and coaching clinic next month.

The event will get underway from 6pm to 9pm on September 7 at the Thomas A Robinson national stadium.

Persons can expect to learn the rules of NFL Flag Football under the tutelage of the director of officiating at RCX Sports and NFL Flag, Tom Laneve.

Chris Prudhome, president of NFL Flag, talked about what potential participants can gain through the NFL Flag Bahamas coaching and officiating clinic.

“Participants can expect to learn important personal and professional skills that will help them on and off the field…skills such as knowledge of the rules, mechanics, health

and fitness, and character development [that] are important aspects of the game of flag football,” he said. The course is open to persons over the age of 18 with a passion, understanding and love for the game of flag football.

The president added that the course will not be easy but will be worth it in the end as the opportunities that come with being NFL certified are endless.

Following the announcement of NFL Flag Bahamas in June, the league has made the necessary preparations by hosting various clinics and spreading the word on Fox News about the youth and adult season scheduled for October.

The officials recently hosted the first ever NFL Flag Bahamas football clinic on July 11, teaching the basic flag football skills and testing the agility of future players.

“In order for the season to be successful, all coaches and officials must be NFL certified, hence why this

officiating and coaching clinic is so important,” Prudhome said. Individuals that are interested in becoming a coach or referee for the first Caribbean country to join the NFL Flag can use

the registration link https:// register.ryzer.com/camp. cfm?id=252546. Before attending the officiating and referee clinic on September 7, persons are advised to attend the NFL Flag Rules Zoom call on

August 29 or August 31. The Bahamas was the first Caribbean nation to come onboard with NFL Flag as the country continues to attract international talent and events to the “sporting paradise.”

RANGERS TWICE LET LEAD SLIP IN 2-2 DRAW WITH PSV EINDHOVEN IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAYOFF 1ST LEG

GLASGOW, Scotland

(AP) — Rangers twice let a lead slip away in a 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of a Champions League qualifying playoff yesterday.

PSV captain Luuk de Jong’s header in the 80th minute — though he appeared to know little about the decisive contact he made — was a second leveller for the 1988 European Cup winner which hosts the return game next week. In other playoff first legs, Royal Antwerp held on with 10 men from the

50th minute for a 1-0 win over visiting AEK Athens, and Copenhagen won 1-0 in Poland against competition debutant Raków Czestochowa.

Second-leg games are on August 30 and winners advance to the lucrative 32-team group stage which is drawn the next day in Monaco.

Rangers and PSV played to another 2-2 draw in Glasgow as they did at the same stage in Champions League qualifying exactly one year ago. Then, Rangers went on to win 1-0 in Eindhoven.

The Scottish club first led in the 45th when Senegal forward Abdallah Sima sent a rising shot past goalkeeper Walter Benítez. It resulted from PSV midfielder Ibrahim Sangaré losing the ball inside the penalty area.

Sangaré made amends by equalising in the 61st.

The Ivory Coast international, who has been a reported transfer target for Bayern Munich and Liverpool, placed his rightfooted shot when in space near the penalty spot after teammate Ismael Saibari cleverly faked to shoot.

WNBA teams ready for sprint to postseason with coveted spots on line

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

WNBA teams are ready for their sprint to the finish of the regular season with coveted playoff spots and positioning up for grabs.

Las Vegas, New York and Connecticut have already clinched spots in the postseason. The Aces hold a three-game lead on the Liberty for the top seed with the teams set to meet one last time in the regular season on August 28. Las Vegas is beginning a difficult four-game road trip over the next week that ends in New York.

The Aces also have a White House visit on Friday to celebrate last season’s championship thrown in there as well.

New York, which took over the top spot in the AP WNBA power poll for the first time this season, has a three-game lead on Connecticut for the second-seed.

SERENA GIVES BIRTH TO SECOND CHILD - A DAUGHTER

(AP) — SERENA Williams has given birth to a baby girl, she posted yesterday on Instagram, almost exactly a year after her last match as a tennis star.

Adira River Ohanian is the second child — and second daughter — for the 41-year-old Williams and her husband, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian. Their first, Olympia, was born in 2017.

Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles during a career that transcended her sport, revealed at the Met Gala in May that she was pregnant.

When she told the world in August 2022 she was preparing to close her playing career, Williams cited a desire to grow her family as one of the main reasons for walking away from tennis.

Rangers led again in the 76th when substitute Rabbi Matondo finished a fast break with a sweeping first-time shot. The advantage lasted less than four minutes before veteran Netherlands forward De Jong struck.

Another Dutch forward, Vincent Janssen, gave Antwerp victory in its first game in the competition since the European Cup in 1957.

Janssen, the former Tottenham forward, scored with a low left-footed shot in the 16th. Antwerp had defender Jelle Bataille sent

off in the 50th for a bad foul.

AEK will host the second leg next week at its stadium near where one of its fans was killed in violent clashes with visiting Dinamo Zagreb fans two weeks ago.

Copenhagen protected a ninth-minute lead gifted when Raków’s Romanian defender Bogdan Racovitan deflected a cross into his own net.

Three more playoff first legs are today: Maccabi Haifa vs. Young Boys, Molde vs. Galatasaray, and Braga vs. Panathinaikos.

“Believe me,” Williams wrote last year in an essay for Vogue magazine, “I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labour of expanding our family.”

The 2022 US Open was her last tournament. She reached the third round in New York by beating second-seeded Anett Kontaveit before losing to Ajla Tomljanovic on Sept. 3.

Those teams play on Thursday and once more on September 1.

Dallas is in fourth place with a two-game advantage on Atlanta. There are only four game separating the Dream from ninth-place Chicago with most teams having seven or eight games remaining.

Los Angeles has been the hottest team of the group, winning four straight, including handing the Aces their first regular season loss at home this year. The Sparks are currently in the eighth spot. The first round of the WNBA playoffs is a bestof-three format still with the better seeded team hosting the first two games of the series.

AP WNBA POLL

Buoyed by its win in the Commissioner’s Cup title game, New York took over the No. 1 spot in the power poll. The Liberty routed the Aces on their homecourt 82-63. Las Vegas won the

regular season matchup two days later 88-75.

Dallas moved into third with Connecticut and Atlanta came after the Wings. Atlanta, Los Angeles and Minnesota were the next three. Washington, Chicago and Seattle. Indiana and Phoenix rounded out the poll.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Arike Ogunbowale averaged 23.5 points, 6 assists and 4.5 rebounds to help Dallas win both its game last week, including a 20-point victory in Connecticut. Other players receiving votes included Nneka Ogwumike and Layshia Clarendon of Los Angeles and Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana.

SHOE GATE

Liberty guard Sabrina

Ionescu’s shoes went missing after New York beat Las Vegas in the Commissioner’s Cup last week. Ionescu went on social media on Thursday afternoon saying

that her shoes, which had custom-made insoles, were taken from the arena.

“Never thought I would get my shoes stolen from an opposing arena... Please just bring me my insoles back. RIP to my Sabrina 1s,” Ionescu wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

There was still no update yesterday on what happened to the shoes according to the Liberty. The case had been referred to the Las Vegas police.

GRINER WATCH

Brittney Griner missed last week’s games against New York and Indiana because of health and safety protocols for COVID. The Mercury hope to have her back this week.

GAME OF THE WEEK New York at Connecticut, Thursday. The third meeting between the second and third place teams in the standings. The

Liberty hold a three-game lead over the Sun and have won the first two matchups.

The two teams will play one more time on September 1 in New York.

LAS Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (22) reacts after making a basket against the Los Angeles Sparks during the first half on Saturday in Las Vegas.

( Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

NFL Flag Bahamas has hosted various clinics and spread the word on Fox News about the youth and adult season scheduled for October.

SERENA Williams arrives at the 54th NAACP Image Awards on February 25 at the Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

FAMILY ISLANDERS MAKE APPEAL FOR BETTER BASEBALL FACILITIES

By TENAJH SWEETING

FAMILY Islanders are making a special appeal to the government for better baseball facilities on their respective islands.

Family Islanders from Cat Island, Abaco and Bimini all expressed concerns about the state and lack of sporting facilities that exist on each of their islands.

Mike Holmes, chairman of the Cat Island Sports Council, talked about the dire need for baseball facilities. “We have no facilities on the island to

play baseball on and all of our facilities are not functioning, and run down,” Holmes said.

Although facilities are being built for basketball, softball and track in the northern and southern parts of Cat Island, none of them are functioning at this time for children or adults to be able to use them.

The chairman of the sports council said the issue is not a lack of talent on the island, but the kids simply need a chance to expose their talents.

“Baseball or any other sporting discipline would greatly enhance the development of the kids and

adults on Cat Island. The kids can’t wait for something to do on the island. Any sporting complex, facilities, and discipline will enhance the development of our kids greatly,” the chairman said.

Troy Deanza Feaste, president and founder of the Abaco Youth Baseball and Softball League, talked about the state of facilities on Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

“I think the lack of facilities is having a serious impact on bringing in more talented kids. The hazardous conditions like not having a backstop, proper fencing around the field, dugouts are not properly

protected, it’s a lot of things that can be improved to make the field better,” he said.

Currently operating from one field - for softball and baseball - on the island is not enough, according to Feaste. “I think if we had better facilities we could bring in more kids. I don’t think that one field is sufficient to build a proper programme because we have softball girls using the same facility as baseball.

“So we have to share the field [and] there are sometimes 80-120 kids out there all learning the sports,” Feaste said.

World-record hurdler Tobi never had doubt she’d be at worlds to defend title

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer

BUDAPEST, Hungary

(AP) — History’s fastest 100-metre hurdler waved to the crowd, crouched into the starting block, cruised through her preliminary heat at world championships, then acted like she had no idea what all the fuss was about.

To everyone outside of Tobi Amusan’s inner circle, making it to worlds to begin defence of her title yesterday and maybe even improve on her world record later in the week was never a sure thing.

The Nigerian hurdler’s status was in limbo until she received a favourable decision late last week in a case involving missed doping tests.

“I’m here competing and that’s all that matters. Next,” she said when asked whether the uncertainty had bothered her. Was she planning on coming to worlds the whole time, even after she learned last month that she had been accused by regulators of an anti-doping violation for missing three tests over 12 months?

“Was I planning to come and defend my title?” she said. “Next question.”

Last year at worlds, Amusan shocked fans not so much with her worldrecord time of 12.12 but with when she ran it. The record came in a semifinal, when most 100-metre hurdlers are saving energy for a final later in the evening. She won the gold in a time of 12.06 that did not

go into the record books because the tailwind was too strong. Now, she is embroiled in a so-called “whereabouts” case. Because the most effective anti-doping testing comes outside of actual competitions, thousands of elite athletes must provide detailed logs of where they’ll be during parts of each day so they can be approached for the “nonotice” tests.

If an athlete isn’t where he or she says she’ll be in the log, it can count as a

missed test. Three missed tests in the span of a year can result in a sanction, but there have been imperfections, loopholes and quirks in the rulebook that have allowed athletes to avoid penalties.

When Amusan went on social media to reveal her case on July 19, she said she would appeal it, and that she was “tested within days of my third ‘missed’ test.’”

Last Thursday, after she won the appeal, she posted that she would not be sanctioned and “I am thrilled to put this behind me.”

Despite the dilapidated state of the two fields in Cooper’s Town and Murphy Town, they were recently informed that the latter would transform into a ‘state of the art’ baseball field similar to the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

“That is a collaboration between the government and a non-government organisation. We are waiting to see if that is going to materialise soon,” he said.

Jeffrey Davis, former sports administrator, said although Bimini has a decent baseball field, more can be done to develop the sport on the island. “The game needs revival among

the youth. Bimini needs a little league park on South Bimini and a track and facilities,” Davis said.

“Our sports council is functional but no one works for the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture (MOYSC) in Bimini. The Family Island MPs have been grossly negligent in securing adequate school and community sports facilities, as small as Bimini is we built our own facilities.”

The representatives of Abaco, Cat Island and Bimini all have the common plea of wanting better development and improved facilities for sports on their respective islands.

But there are a handful of anti-doping regulators who might still have a say about that.

Both the World AntiDoping Agency and the Athletics Integrity Unit, which oversees doping in track, will have a chance to review the decision, which is expected to be released today, and decide if they want to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The AIU’s chair, David Howman, said his agency would first wait to see if WADA appeals the case to CAS.

If not, AIU would put the case in front of an

independent panel to determine if it should make the appeal.

“We have some concern that it might set a precedent that would make it difficult for future cases,” Howman said.

The agencies have 30 days to make their decision, and if it is appealed, Amusan’s future would be in limbo with CAS for months, maybe years.

For this week, though, she is clear to race.

“I’m just thankful I’m here in Budapest and able to race, using my talent,” she said. “It has not been the best but I’m here.”

FAITH PUSHES PACE AND PULLS AWAY TO DEFEND 1,500 METRE TITLE AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Faith Kipyegon’s race strategy isn’t all that complicated. What works is that she’s among the few who can execute it.

“Get to the front and go faster,” the Kenyan runner explained.

Her pace, the one that she’s used to set three different world records at three different distances this season, also brought her a second-straight 1,500metre title on a muggy Tuesday night at world championships.

Popping out quickly to the lead, then daring the other 11 runners to reel her in, the 29-year-old Kipyegon’s tactics are not for the faint of heart.

More often than not in these races, early leaders fade. Not this one. Kipyegon finished in a time of 3 minutes, 54.87 seconds to beat Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia by almost a second. Sifan Hassan, running from back in the pack, as is her custom, surged into third place.

“I told myself, ‘You are the strongest and just keep going,’” Kipyegon said.

Whether it’s winning races or setting records, Kipyegon has been in quite a zone this summer. Over a 50-day span, she set world marks in the 1,500 metres, 5,000 and the mile.

In Budapest, Kipyegon says, it’s all about medals, not records. No time for rest, though. Kipyegon will be back on the track this evening

for the start of the 5,000 metres. She got a bit of a reprieve when officials decided to move the event to the night session due to excessive heat forecast for this morning.

The Dutch runner Hassan will be in the field, too, and running her third event at worlds, much as she did at the Olympics two years ago where she won two golds and a bronze.

It’s a decision she’s starting to lament.

“Before I decided to these three events, I did not look at how fast the girls are this year,” said Hassan, who regrouped for a medal yesterday after a fall near the finish in the 10,000 metres over the weekend cost her a chance at one.

“When I looked at the start list for my heat, I was

TAUSAGA WINS GOLD IN DISCUS

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Discus throw is a game of centimetres. So when Laulauga Tausaga launched a throw that beat her personal best by more than four metres (13 feet) at world championships yesterday to win the title, she stunned the crowd — and herself.

“I just screamed,” Tausaga said about the throw that made her the first American woman to win a world gold medal in discus. “I was like, I don’t know how to contain this emotion.”

Tausaga took the title in Budapest with a fifth-round throw of 69.49 metres (228 feet), beating her old mark by a whopping 4.03 metres. That throw vaulted her past her teammate and world leader Valarie Allman for a first-place finish she hadn’t seen coming.

“I had such a rough beginning to my season

and, you know, I didn’t think I was gonna be able to come out of it,” the 25-yearold Tausaga said. “I’m just proud, very, very proud.”

For Allman, silver seemed like a letdown given she had spent most of the evening in first place. A couple things made it feel better. She finished one notch up from last year’s worlds. And she lost to an athlete from her own country.

“If I could pick someone that I would want to win, I would absolutely be so honoured to be sitting at the podium with another American,” Allman said.

Tausaga was born on Oahu, moved to San Diego when she was seven and then picked Iowa for college because, she said, it was “time for me to get, you know, locked in in a snowstorm.”

The Hawaii native, who is part Samoan, said she

was pained to see “the devastation that happened to Maui” during recent fires that destroyed the town of Lahaina and killed more than 100 people with hundreds still missing.

“I’m constantly praying for them,” she said. “Pacific Islanders stick together.”

In her final round, Allman had one last chance to outdo her teammate, but fell short. So when Tausaga took to the ring for her final throw, already assured of a world title, she had tears in her eyes. Her first four rounds included two fouls and a throw of 52 metres.

“That was one of the best series of my life, considering I had two fouls and I was able to make it up,” she said. “I’m just glad to say that I mentally got over that hump.”

Not bad for an athlete who wasn’t all that interested in sports growing up. She dedicated the gold

medal to her mom, who pushed her into sports.

“I just wanted to stay home and be a bookworm,” Tausaga said. “She was like ‘No. ... You are getting very strong, so we might as well go do something.”

It started with volleyball, but that didn’t stick. Then, basketball, but she didn’t have the speed. Tausaga started throwing shot put in high school, which was her ticket to college. At Iowa, she started throwing the discus, which was her ticket to Budapest and the gold medal.

“It was almost like a lucky streak,” she said. “Something would happen, and every time it got sweeter and sweeter, where people invested in me and I was able to get further in life. I’m just so thankful for my mother, all the way to the coach I have now and everyone who has supported me through everything.”

wondering why I put myself in this position. “I would never have imagined that I would win a medal.”

Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali rose to the occasion once again at a big meet in defending his steeplechase world title. It pairs perfectly with his gold from the Tokyo Games. For Lamecha Girma, the world record holder in steeplechase, it’s yet another silver medal. He’s finished runner-up three times at worlds and once at the Olympics.

“I still aim to win gold at the world championships or Olympic Games,” Girma said.

“Nothing has changed in my goals. Maybe, I become even more motivated for next year.”

LAULAUGA TAUSAGA, of the United States, reacts after winning the gold medal in the women’s discus throw final during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest yesterday.

Matthias Schrader)

TOBI AMUSAN, of Nigeria competes in a women’s 100-metres hurdles heat during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, yesterday. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

FAITH KIPYEGON, of Kenya, celebrates winning the gold medal in the women’s 1500-metres final during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

HARDEN FINED $100,000 FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS ABOUT STATUS WITH 76ERS

NEW YORK (AP)

— The NBA has fined Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden $100,000 for public comments he made about his status with the team.

Harden made public comments on Aug. 14 and Aug. 17 saying he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless he were traded to another team. The league talked to Harden as part of its investigation and confirmed that his comments referenced Harden’s belief that the 76ers would not grant his trade request.

DeMarco: ‘We should not take this for granted’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AS the FIBA Pre-Qualifying Tournament came to a close on Sunday night with the Bahamas winning the title over Argentina, a few players were highlighted for their performances.

The tournament concluded in La Banda, Argentina, with the Bahamas pulling off an 82-75 victory over Argentina to advance to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July for the Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Head coach Chris DeMarco was quite thrilled in the fact that the team completed its mission.

“We accomplished our goal. We moved on,” was how DeMarco summed up the team’s performance. “Now we can get ready for the next step, which is to qualify for the Olympics.”

At the end of the tournament, the three National Basketball Association players for the Bahamas were listed among the top five players who shone the brightest in Santiago del Estero, while Travis Munnings was listed among three others who posted breakout performances in the tournament.

Eric Gordon, the newest member of the NBA to suit up for the Bahamas, was the first to be highlighted for his performance.

He had tournament statistics of 17.8 EFF; 20.3 PPG; 65.0 3PT% and was listed as the leading scorer with 20.3 points per game.

He led the Bahamas with their championship

LUKA Doncic is going to tell Slovenia’s story from the Basketball World Cup in movie form.

The Dallas Mavericks’ star, who will lead Slovenia in this World Cup that starts Friday, revealed that he’s been working on plans for a behind-the-scenes accounting of the team’s journey throughout FIBA’s biggest tournament.

“I’m proud to announce ‘Everything It Takes,’ a documentary shorts series about my Slovenia national team,” Doncic wrote on social media yesterday.

“Episodes will premiere across my channels over the next few weeks as we compete for The FIBA Basketball World Cup,” he wrote.

Slovenia finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics. The nation’s biggest basketball win came in 2017 when the Goran Dragic-led

victory with 27 points as the 34-year-old shot 54.5 percent from the field and 13-20 (65 percent) on threepointers and averaged 2.3 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per night.

Deandre Ayton, who will team up with Gordon for the first time this season in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns, had tournament statistics of 25.3 EFF; 15.5 PPG; 13.8 RPG.

Despite quiet offensive performances over the weekend, Ayton led the tournament in efficiency (25.3) after averaging 15.5 points, 13.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals.

As the team’s centre, Ayton notched a 10-point, 21-rebound double-double in the final and his work on the defensive end was a big part of The Bahamas’ title run.

Buddy Hield, the sharp shooting guard from Grand Bahama, had tournament statistics of 16.3 EFF; 19.8 PPG; 4.8 RPG.

Hield’s scoring dropped with every game of the tournament, going from 25 against Cuba to 17 (Argentina), 15 (Uruguay in the semifinals) and 8 in the final.

Although he didn’t display his shooting stroke, going just 29.3 percent on 10.2 attempts per game, Hield’s presence caused terror among opposing defences and the threat of his stroke opened things up for his teammates and allowed Bahamas to lead the tournament in scoring at 92.2 points per game.

The Indiana Pacers guard also chipped in 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3

club took the gold medal at EuroBasket.

THEY’RE HERE

The US team arrived in Manila yesterday and got some shots up a few hours after getting settled in their hotel. The team flew from Abu Dhabi, landed in Manila around 9:30am Tuesday (9:30pm Monday EDT) and got a police escort to weave through Manila’s notorious traffic on the way to the hotel.

Here’s a list of all the opening games of all 32 teams:

FRIDAY Group A (at Manila): Angola vs. Italy, Dominican Republic vs. Philippines Group D (at Manila): Mexico vs. Montenegro, Egypt vs. Lithuania

Group E (at Okinawa): Finland vs. Australia, Germany vs. JapanGroup H (at Jakarta): Latvia vs. Lebanon, Canada vs. France

steals per game and finished tied for 6th in efficiency (16.3).

As a starter, forward Travis Munnings was listed among the breakout performers with his tournament statistics of 13.8 EFF; 11.5 PPG; 66.7 FG%

Munnings was the unsung hero of The Bahamas’ title run as he complemented Ayton, Gordon and Hield, who drew most of the attention.

The 28-year-old Munnings completed an excellent tournament as a jack-of-all-trades weapon, averaging 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from the threepoint line. Munnings, who plays professionally in France, was also clutch in the final, finishing with 16 points and draining a pair of key threepointers in the first half.

“Travis Munnings has been an asset for our national team,” said DeMarco, who spent the past five years working with the team. “He’s a talented player. “He’s a leader at his role, but it’s just a shame that he’s not playing at a higher or the highest level

SATURDAY

Group B (at Manila): South Sudan vs. Puerto Rico, Serbia vs. China Group C (at Manila): Jordan vs. Greece, U.S. vs. New Zealand Group F (at Okinawa): Cape Verde vs. Georgia, Slovenia vs. Venezuela Group G (at Jakarta): Iran vs. Brazil, Spain vs. Ivory Coast

HOW TO WATCH THE BASKETBALL

WORLD CUP

— In the U.S.: The first three U.S. games (Aug. 26, Aug. 28, Aug. 30) will be on ESPN2. Aug. 26 and Aug. 28 games will begin at 8:40 a.m. EDT; the Aug. 30 game begins at 4:40 a.m. EDT.

— There are streaming options for other games.

WHO IS PLAYING

There are two AllNBA players in the field: Slovenia’s Luka Doncic

because he’s an incredible team player. He’s been able to make a valuable contribution to our team.”

DeMarco, an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors, said he’s also been pleased with the management and coaching staff that the Bahamas Basketball Federation has been able to assemble.

He noted that with LJ Rose as the team manager and Moses Johnson and Mikhail McKLean as assistant coaches, they have put together a solid squad that was able to get the job done in Argentina.

“Every one of our players were able to contribute,

(Dallas) and Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City). They’re among six All-Stars from last season in the World Cup field, the others being Finland’s Lauri Markkanen (Utah) and U.S. players Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis) and Anthony Edwards (Minnesota).

BETTING GUIDE

The U.S. is the overwhelming favorite to win the World Cup, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, with the Americans’ odds listed at minus-130 (meaning a $130 wager on the Americans would return $230, if they won). Australia and Canada are tied as the second choice, both at plus750 (a $100 wager would return $750), followed by France at plus-1,000. Want some value? Try Slovenia; Luka Doncic’s team has odds of plus-3,000.

Harden picked up his player option for next season in June, but the 76ers have not found a deal, prompting Harden’s anger.

Among other things, he called 76ers president Daryl Morey a liar at a promotional event in China.

“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of,” Harden said at the event. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of.”

The National Basketball Players Association issued a statement supporting Harden.

“We respectfully disagree with the league’s decision to discipline James Harden for recent comments he made, which we believe do not violate the rule against public trade demands. We intend to file a grievance and have the matter heard by our Arbitrator.”

Harden has been one of the league’s top players for the past decade, having won three scoring titles and the 2018 league MVP award.

He led the league in assists last season. But he hasn’t won an NBA title, and with him turning 34 this week, time is running out.

BUDDY Hield’s presence caused terror among opposing defences and the threat of his stroke opened things up for his teammates and allowed The Bahamas to lead the tournament in scoring at 92.2 points per game.

and they have been able to accomplish that.

so we just have to continue building,” DeMarco said. “I believe in this team and the goal is to go to every tournament and compete.

“We have the talent to be successful and we should not take this for granted. This goes back a long way and what has become Bahamas Basketball and the Bahamas national team is not something that was easy to do.”

DeMarco commended those coaches and players who made the sacrifices in the past to help pave the way for the success that the team has achieved so far. He said it’s all about building something special

WHAT TO KNOW

What you need to know about the Basketball World Cup, and US road to getting here:

— The basketball-crazed Philippines is about to have a shining moment

— USA Basketball’s coaching staff for the World Cup is an All-Star team

— Getting used to FIBA rule differences is part of the challenge for NBA players

— As World Cup nears, U.S. team says it’ll embrace any doubters

— U.S. finishes exhibition season with perfect 5-0 record after rallying to beat Germany

— The U.S. brought some help to finish World Cup preparations

QUOTABLE

“I have goosebumps right now.” — Philippines basketball fan RJ Tan, after seeing the U.S. team walk

As they prepare for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July, DeMarco said they will have to find a way to get the players together a little earlier than they did for this tournament so that they can gel and be better prepared for the competition.

He noted that in qualifying for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the first time, DeMarco said the competition will only get harder, but he’s confident that they can put together another solid squad that will be able not just to compete, but to be a contender to qualify for the Olympics from July 26 to August 11.

past him into their Manila hotel Tuesday.

THE SCHEDULE

— Aug. 25-30: 1st Round

— Aug. 31-Sept. 3: Second Round, and classification for 17th through 32nd place

— Sept. 4: No games

— Sept. 5-6: Quarterfinals — Sept. 7: Playoffs for 5th through 8th place — Sept. 8: Semifinals — Sept. 9: Playoffs for 5th through 8th place — Sept. 10: Gold medal game, bronze medal game

FORWARD Travis Munnings (6) and Lourawls Nairn (11) in action for The Bahamas against Argentina.

Photos: FIBA Americas

Wall Street ticks higher ahead of updates on inflation, profits

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

WALL Street ticked lower Tuesday ahead of two potentially market-shaking events later in the week.

The S&P 500 slipped 12.22, or 0.3%, to 4,387.55 to give back some of its rare August gain from a day before, which was powered by Big Tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 174.86 points, or 0.5%, to 34,288.83, and the Nasdaq composite edged up by 8.28, or 0.1%, to 13,505.87.

Stocks have struggled this month as yields have shot upward in the bond market, which cranks up the pressure on other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased a bit Tuesday, a day after reaching its highest level since 2007.

Nvidia, one of Wall Street's most influential stocks, swung from an early gain to a loss of 2.8% ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday, one that could be pivotal for the stock market.

The chipmaker has been at the center of Wall Street's frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, which investors believe will create immense profits for companies. Nvidia's stock has already more than tripled this year, and it likely faces a high a bar to justify the huge move.

Analysts expect Nvidia to say on Wednesday that its revenue swelled by nearly $4.5 billion to $11.19 billion during the spring from a year earlier.

Dick's Sporting Goods plunged 24.1% after its profit for the latest quarter fell well short of expectations. It also cut its forecast for earnings over the full year, citing "inventory shrink." That's a term the industry uses to refer to theft and other losses of goods that never become sales.

Macy's fell 14.1% despite reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected. It also stood by its financial forecasts for the full year, though it said economic conditions look uncertain.

On the winning side of Wall Street, Lowe's gained 3.7% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The home improvement retailer also stood by its forecast for results over the full year, and it said it gave over $100 million in bonuses to its front-line workers.

Microsoft edged up by 0.2% as U.K. regulators consider a revamped bid by the company to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard, which would be one of the biggest deals in tech history.

NOTICE ANTONY ML LTD.

Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Registration Number 203488 B

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 21st day of August, A.D. 2023.

Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. Te Liquidator is Mr. Mauricio Antonio Freua, whose address is Rua Visconde De Cachoeira, 65 AP91, CEP 04512030, Brazil. Persons having a Claim against the above-named Company are required on or before the 20th day of September, A.D. 2023 to send their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the Liquidator of the Company, or in default thereof they may be excluded from the beneft of any distribution made before such claim is proved.

Dated this 23rd day of August, A.D. 2023.

MAURICIO ANTONIO FREUA Liquidator

Flags flying from the front of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Wall Street is drifting Wednesday and stocks are mixed a day after their latest tumble in what’s been a messy August. Photo:J. David Ake/AP

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield ticked down to 4.32% from 4.34% late Monday. It's the center of the bond market and helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans.

The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more on expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose to 5.04% from 5.00%.

More fireworks could come later this week, when Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to give a highly

anticipated speech. He'll be speaking Friday at an event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the site of several major policy announcements by the Fed in the past.

Based on the action in markets for volatility, traders are bracing for the Jackson Hole speech to be a bigger potential deal than Nvidia's earnings report, according to Barclays strategists led by Stefano Pascale and Anshul Gupta.

In recent years, everything from commodities to bonds to foreign stocks has become more vulnerable to outsized moves around Jackson Hole, the strategists say.

The Fed has already hiked its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001 in hopes of grinding high inflation down to its target of 2%. High rates work by slowing the entire economy bluntly and hurting prices for investments.

Inflation has come down considerably from its peak

above 9% last summer, but economists say getting the last percentage point of improvement may be the most difficult.

The hope among traders is that Powell may indicate the Fed is done with hiking interest rates for this cycle and that it could begin cutting them next year. But strong reports on the economy recently have hurt such hopes. A solid job market and spending by U.S. households could be feeding more fuel into pressures that push upward on inflation.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mostly higher. Stocks rose in China to recover some of their sharp losses driven by worries about its faltering economic recovery.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed 1%, though it remains down 11.4% for August so far. Stocks in Shanghai added 0.9% to trim their loss for the month to 5.2%.

STREET signs at the center of the New York City financial district frame the U.S.

Solar panels to surround Dulles Airport will deliver power to 37,000 homes

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press

TRAVELERS taking off and landing at Dulles International Airport outside the nation's capital will soon see an array of 200,000 solar panels laid out near the runways — the largest renewable energy project ever built at a U.S. airport.

Dominion Energy and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority ceremonially broke ground on the 835-acre project Tuesday.

The solar farm is just a small part of a huge push by Dominion to add 16,000 megawatts of solar capacity — enough to power 4 million homes — by 2035 as it seeks to comply with a state law requiring 100% of its non-nuclear energy production to be zero emission by 2045.

Rural counties in Virginia, though, are pushing back against the solar expansion, as residents complain about the loss of farmland, wrecked viewsheds and construction noise. In recent months, Henry, Pittsylvania, Clarke and Shenandoah counties have all taken steps

to restrict or regulate new solar projects.

Bev McKay, a supervisor in Clarke County, said it's unfair rural counties bear the brunt of hosting solar farms.

Urban areas "are huge users of electricity and there is no reason that the urban areas cannot generate their share of solar energy instead of depending on the rural areas to do it for them," he said at a Board of Supervisors meeting last month, according to the meeting minutes.

Others bristle at the increased costs. Dominion and the State Corporation Commission have estimated a 72% increase in electricity costs between 2020 and 2035. And Gov. Glenn Youngkin has suggested the law mandating clean energy production should be revisited.

At Tuesday's groundbreaking, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., praised local leaders for getting the Dulles project done and spoke of the need to build such projects. But he acknowledged in an interview that his office is receiving increasing complaints about solar farms, and he said the solar

By HALELUYA HADERO AND MATT OTT AP Business Writers

THE union representing 340,000 UPS workers said Tuesday that its members voted to approve the tentative contract agreement reached last month, putting a final seal on contentious labor negotiations that threatened to disrupt package deliveries for millions of businesses and households nationwide.

The Teamsters said in a statement that 86% of the votes casts were in favor of ratifying the national

contract. They also said it was passed by the highest vote for a contract in the history of the Teamsters at UPS. The union said more than 40 supplemental agreements were also ratified, expect for one that covers roughly 170 members in Florida. The national master agreement will go into effect as soon as that supplement is renegotiated and ratified, it said. UPS said voting results for deals covering employees under two locals are expected soon.

"Our members just ratified the most lucrative agreement the Teamsters

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that CONSTANTINO GARO SANTANA of New Providence, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of August 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that LUIS MIGUEL CORDERO of New Providence, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of August 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that WELKENDY KNOWLES of Blueberry Hill, Fox Hill, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of August, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

projects are just part of the solution to meeting energy needs in a sustainable way.

"This is an issue that's not going away and that's why you can't have a single solution," he said.

Virginia is one of 10 states, along with the District of Columbia, that mandates 100% clean or renewable energy production with deadlines ranging

between 2030 and 2050, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Solar energy is a large part of the state's plan, but not the only part. Virginia's law allows nuclear energy to be part of Dominion's portfolio, for example. The Dulles project adds 100 megawatts of solar generating, plus 50 megawatts

of battery storage, enough to power about 37,000 homes. It is expected to create 300 jobs and be completed by 2026.

Dominion says it has already added about 2,000 megawatts of solar power in operation. It has another 7,000 megawatts, including the Dulles project, in various stages of development. That means Dominion will

still need to find dozens of additional sites across the state in coming years to reach its 16,000 megawatt target.

Edward Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, said the company works closely with local governments to ensure the projects are palatable. For example, he said some of the earliest projects lacked vegetative buffers to minimize the visual impact. Now that kind of buffer is standard.

"We want to make sure those counties are satisfied" with how the projects are developed, he said. For the Dulles project, though, its visibility is a feature, not a flaw. Officials cited the symbolic importance of a massive solar project that will be visible to travelers at the airport, which serves as the region's hub for international travel.

"The image that they now will see when they look out the window upon landing and see the solar panels that have been installed at this airport is exactly the type of forward image we want to make sure that the world sees," Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said.

have ever negotiated at UPS," Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien said in a statement. "This contract will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers."

He said the contract set a new standard for pay and benefits.

"This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide, and nonunion companies like Amazon better pay attention," O'Brien said, giving a nod to the union's growing ambitions to take on the e-commerce behemoth.

Voting on the new fiveyear contract began Aug. 3 and concluded Tuesday.

After negotiations broke down in early July, Atlantabased UPS reached a tentative contract agreement with the Teamsters just days before an Aug. 1 deadline. It came as large and small businesses were working on contingency plans in the event of a strike, which would have spiked shipping prices and scrambled supply chains.

UNITED Parcel Service driver Hudson de Almeida steers through a neighborhood while delivering packages, June 30, 2023, in Haverhill, Mass. The union representing 340,000 UPS workers said Tuesday, Aug. 22, that its members voted to approve the tentative contract agreement reached last month, putting a final seal on contentious labor negotiations that threatened to disrupt package deliveries for millions of businesses and households nationwide. Photo:Charles Krupa/AP

Earlier this month, the delivery company reported its revenue fell for the second quarter as package volume declined amid negotiations with the union. The shipping industry has also been impacted by unpredictable consumer spending.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RODLIN LAZARD, of P.O Box CR 54386 Gamble Heights, New Providence, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of August, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that PEDRO AUGUSTO CEPEDA of P. O. Box SB-51056, #21 Rapper Road, Kool Acres, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 16th day of August, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that NATASHA JEAN of Black Wood, Eleuthera, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of August, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

The company, which has lowered its full-year revenue expectations by $4 billion, had said it expected bargaining to restart if members rejected the deal. But that outcome could have also opened the door to a strike with the potential to cause widespread disruption.

Under the tentative agreement, full- and parttime union workers will get $2.75 more per hour in 2023, and $7.50 more in total by the end of the five-year contract. Starting hourly pay for part-time employees also got bumped up to $21, but

some workers said that fell short of their expectations. UPS says that by the end of the new contract, the average UPS full-time driver will make about $170,000 annually in pay and benefits. It's not clear how much of that figure benefits account for.

As part of the deal, the delivery company also agreed to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a full holiday, end forced overtime on drivers' days off and stop using driver-facing cameras in cabs, among a host of other issues. It eliminated a two-tier wage system for drivers and tentative deals on safety issues were also reached, including equipping more trucks with air conditioning.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ALEJANDRO MARTINEZ DIAZ of New Providence, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of August 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that DESTINEE LASHAE WALKER of Clermont, Florida, United States of America is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of August, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

THIS artist rendering provided by Dominion Energy on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, shows the Dulles Solar and Storage project, located in the southwest corner of Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va. Travelers taking off and landing at Dulles International Airport outside the nation’s capital will soon see an array of 200,000 solar panels laid out near the runways, the largest renewable energy project ever built at a U. S. airport. Dominion Energy and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority ceremonially broke ground on the 835-acre project Tuesday. Photo:Dominion Energy/AP

UPS workers approve 5-year contract, capping contentious negotiations that threatened deliveries

Have home prices bottomed?

While low housing inventory stymies sales, bidding wars prop up prices

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer

THE U.S. housing market remains in a deep sales slump, but the worst declines may be over when it comes to home prices.

While home sales have fallen 22.3% through the first seven months of the year versus the same stretch in 2022, prices are being propped up by buyers competing for a near-record low inventory of properties on the market.

The national median sales price rose to $406,700 last month, marking its first annual increase since January and the second month in a row that it's been above $400,000, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

Home prices didn't start falling on an annual basis until February, and even then the decline was modest, with the steepest drop 3% in May. That fivemonth streak of annual drops ended last month, when the median sales price rose 1.9% versus July last year. It's now a eye-popping 45% higher than it was in July 2019.

So, where do prices go from here? Homebuyers hoping for a big drop may be disappointed.

"At least when it comes to home prices, it looks like the housing recession is already over," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist, adding that he sees a greater chance of an increase in prices versus a decline in the coming months.

Mike Simonsen, president of Altos Research, which tracks data on the U.S. residential real estate market, echoed that outlook.

"For people who are on the sidelines there's nothing in the data yet that suggests home prices are falling further," Simonsen said.

A shortage of homes for sale has kept the market

competitive, driving bidding wars in many places, especially for the most affordable homes. About 35% of homes sold in July fetched more than their list price, according to the NAR. That's in line with sales data for April through June.

While still low by historical standards, the inventory of homes on the market has been ticking higher as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has risen to just above 7%, discouraging more would-be homebuyers. If mortgage rates remain elevated and inventory continues rising, the combination could weigh on home prices and cause the national median sales price to dip this fall, said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.

"I think we're going to see an overall kind of pullback in a segment of buyers for whom 7% mortgage rates are just off the table," she said. "At the same time, we've started to see some movement on listings. And so, while I think we might have hit a bottom in terms of prices, I think it's possible that we'll see another dip in prices this fall for those couple of reasons."

Other housing experts see little change in the U.S. median home price this year.

"Given that it still takes an outsized share of paychecks to buy a home at today's prices and mortgage rates, but inventory remains low, I would expect home prices to move largely sideways," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor. com.

Despite the resiliency of home prices throughout the market's downturn, the current slump has shown few signs of easing.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell 2.2% in July from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.07 million, NAR said.

Promotion Board chief: ‘Revenge tourism’ over

FROM PAGE A22

Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA).

That's the slowest pace since January and below the 4.15 million pace that economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Existing home sales sank 16.6% compared with July last year. It was also the lowest home sales pace for the month of July since 2010.

The annual sales decline was steepest in markets across the Northeast and Midwest, where sales slumped 20% or more, the NAR said.

One positive for home hunters: The inventory of homes for sale rose 3.7% in July from June, ending the month with 1.11 million homes on the market. That was still down 14.6% from a year earlier, however.

Homes listed for sale in July typically sold within just 20 days, with 74% staying on the market for less than a month.

All told, the number of homes on the market amounted to a 3.3-month supply at the current sales pace. In a more balanced market between buyers and sellers, there is a 5- to 6-month supply.

The combination of high borrowing costs and intense competition for the most affordable homes on the market is keeping many first-time buyers on the sidelines. They accounted for just 30% of home sales last month, though that was up from 27% in June, the NAR said.

"There's virtually no inventory at the lower price point," Yun said.

The latest housing market figures are more evidence that many wouldbe homebuyers are being shut out by the persistently low home inventory and rising mortgage rates.

The average rate on a 30-year home loan hovered just below 7% last month and has continued climbing, reaching 7.09% last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.

There was also a 64.7 percent increase in link-outs or connections from the Promotion Board’s website to a member resort’s platform, with 1.2m such connections for the first seven months of 2023, and a 103 percent jump in returning visitors to 677,800.

Chester Cooper, the deputy prime minister, earlier this week said The Bahamas is headed for its “best year” for tourism with arrivals trending some 30 percent higher pre-COVID levels. Mrs Jibrilu did not disagree, adding: “Everything has been leading

to this and it just doesn’t happen overnight. So after 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, we were on trend to already perform better than 2019.

“When you do everything and the marketing is in the right place, when it’s data driven and we’re not guessing, it makes it a lot better and certainly when you come into 2023 and we have the pent-up demand, where we’ve been performing very well and we have a great product, we couldn’t do any better.”

While the closures of the British Colonial and Melia Nassau Beach (now being demolished) have reduced room inventory, Mrs Jibrilu

added: “We have to be mindful that the deputy prime minister is also including cruise tourism where those numbers were automatically expected to grow. That was forecast with the opening of the Nassau Cruise Port.

“When we see that level of traffic to the website, we know that that will convert, ultimately, into the growth and, in fact, that’s what attracted the airlines to consider The Bahamas when they started seeing that level of interest in traffic to the website,” Mrs Jibrilu said. New routes are being added by the likes of Jet Blue, United Airways and Silver Airways.

Bahamas in partnership with Canada’s ‘largest tech park’

FROM PAGE A23

to explore the potential for collaboration with The Bahamas, and adopt global best practices for creating a platform to support innovation.

The visit provided the foundation for the partnership with Hub350 and KNBA, which the Government believes will help develop technology-based solutions for tourism, agriculture and education - techtourism, agritech, and edutech - climate resilience and sustainability to drive economic growth.

“Harnessing the power of technology, this partnership is a significant step towards creating a brighter, more sustainable future for The Bahamas,” stated Ms Black, the High Commission’s first secretary. The partnership is also focused on how Bahamian educational institutions and firms based at Hub350 can co-create programmes for student and faculty exchange, dual enrollment

opportunities and scholarship programmes.

“We at KNBA are pleased to announce our partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation and the Ministry for Grand Bahama,” said Julia Frame, KNBA’s director of partnerships. “Soft-landing here in Canada’s largest tech park will open doors to facilitate global expansion opportunities for Kanata North member companies, opportunities for the park’s 30,000-plus workers to work remotely in the beautiful islands of The Bahamas, and talent attraction as a global opportunity to bring

talent to the park to explore opportunities to live, work, play, learn and innovate.”

“We are excited to have Hub350 as a partner in Innovate242, as we develop a robust tech ecosystem focused on research and sustainable development in the blue, green and orange economies, and establish The Bahamas as the ‘centre of innovation for the Caribbean’,” said Mrs Moxey. The Kanata North Business Association is a non-profit organisation that represents and advocates for more than 540 member companies in the area.

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Bimini airport PPP proposal is revived

for the management and operation of Bimini’s main aviation gateway.

Confirming that Bimini is not among the 14 Family Island airports in the $263m-strong package put out to bid via a public Request for Proposal (RFP), he added: “The development of airports is an ongoing process. As you know, there were airports targeted specifically, the 14 for PPPs.

“Bimini was not part of the 14 airport PPPs but, outside of that, there were some airports targeted for development. I do know there were active discussions in terms of development. Dr Romer said suggestions that Resorts World Bimini, operator of the island’s

largest resort property, is involved in the PPP group are incorrect, adding that “they are not listed as an active developer in the airport process. “Resorts World is not the proposed developer for that south Bimini airport. Resorts World is not targeted to be the developer of that airport,” Dr Romer added.

Tribune Business has separately seen a section from a presentation by a group called Bimini Airport Development Partners. Its members are said to include Phoenix Infrastructure, a US-based infrastructure advisory and investment firm with offices in Washington D.C and New York; Plenary Group, another US infrastructure group, and an airport and fixed-base FBO operator called Avports.

The slide describes Phoenix Infrastructure as a “black-owned infrastructure investor and developer with experience in airport development and economic impact within its projects”. Its website shows air transportation and airport operators (FBOs) are among its specialist areas of interest. It was founded in 2015 by two University of Chicago Business School colleagues, Jeremy Ebie and Chris Baeza.

Plenary was said to be a “best-in-class” long-term infrastructure investor and developer with projects across the US, Canada and the Caribbean”. Its website describes it as “one of the world’s leading investors, developers and asset managers of public infrastructure projects” or PPPs, numbering 59, and it is

owned by an institutional investor, CDPQ, with more than $300bn in assets under management. It focuses heavily on hospitals, bridges and other public sector facilities.

Avports, meanwhile, was described as a “best-inclass airport operator with a focus on small to mid-sized airport facilities across the US, Latin America and the Caribbean”. Headquartered at Dulles Airport in Dallas, it is involved at multiple US airports in locations such as Los Angeles, Detroit, St Louis and Westchester.

However, Ms Arthur, Bimini’s administrator, while confirming Phoenix Infrastructure’s involvement, said it was instead partnering with Resorts World’s owners, the Malaysian conglomerate, Genting,

and Gerardo Capo’s RAV (Bahamas). “This is a public-private partnership between the Government of The Bahamas and RAV Ltd, Genting Americas and Phoenix Infrastructure Group,” she said.

Phoenix Infrastructure provides the common link for, in 2021, it was named as the entity providing the financing for Genting and RAV to take over management and operations of Bimini’s airport. Algernon Cargill, the then-director of aviation, told this newspaper at that time: “We’re very excited about it. This will be a PPP with that group that is similar to other PPPs. The plans are already in the preliminary stage.

“They’re looking at lengthening the runway and building a brand new

IMF: ‘PROGRESS’ BUT MORE NEEDED ON CRISIS REGIME

to resolve a domestic systemically important bank or other potentially systemically important bank,” the Fund added.

“It is suggested that the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance develop a public funding contingency plan in parallel with the Central Bank’s development of the bank resolution manual. The contingency plan should be informed by the resolution guidance in the manual pertinent to the resolution of systemically important banks. The mission recommends that the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance aim to complete the public funding contingency plan by about mid-2023, if possible.”

Elsewhere, the IMF urged that the powers granted to the Central Bank to appoint a statutory administrator to take over troubled licensees also be overhauled via reforms to the Banks and Trust Companies Regulation Act. In particular, it noted that the authority granted to the Central Bank to own a socalled “bridge bank” - an entity established to run an insolvent bank until a buyer can be found - creates a conflict with its role as regulator.

“There are some significant deficiencies in the Banks and Trust Companies Regulation Act that need to be addressed,” the IMF warned. “It is noted that the Act does not enable a statutory administrator to be appointed to

a holding company or to a bank’s subsidiaries.

“The lack of this power would impede the ability to implement a group resolution where, for example, a bank is owned by a holding company, or is otherwise part of a group of companies, and where critical functions or services are performed by one or more of these entities. Given the increasing tendency for banks, especially large banks, to operate via group structures, often of a complex nature, the existing law is an impediment to effectively resolving a bank on a group basis.”

The IMF added that the Act, as well as the Central Bank of The Bahamas Act, was “also problematic in the statutory provisions relating to bridge banks and

asset management companies”. It explained: “The Central Bank Act empowers the Central Bank to establish and own a bridge bank, while the Banks and Trust Companies Regulation Act refers to the ability of the Central Bank to licence a bridge bank.

“Standard international practice is for a bridge bank to be established by the resolution authority and licensed by the supervisory authority (Central Bank in both cases). The law in The Bahamas is consistent with these practices. However, standard international practice is for a bridge bank to be owned by the Government or by bailed-in creditors.

“It is inappropriate for a supervisory or resolution authority (Central Bank in

this case) to be the owner of a bridge bank given that this creates conflicts between its supervisory and resolution functions and the ownership function. It also exacerbates moral hazard risk and poses a risk of a competitively non-neutral regulatory framework applying to the bridge bank to the potential disadvantage of peer banks,” the Fund added.

“Similar arguments apply in the case of an asset management company. It is reasonable that the Central Bank has the power, as resolution authority, to establish an asset management company if that is assessed as being justified on cost/benefit terms. However, the asset management company should not be owned by the Central

Royal Caribbean: Crew will ‘never’ work on PI

FROM PAGE A24

businesses will have to evaluate how they leverage their existing workforce or hire incremental employees to fulfill their contractual requirements.”

As an example, Royal Caribbean said a “Bahamian laundry business may need to scale their workforce to accommodate the incremental demand of our business to their existing facility in New Providence”. And, asked point blank by Mr Smith whether “you bring foreign crew from your ships to work on Coco Cay”, the cruise giant retorted that its private island is in line with general industry practice.

“At Perfect Day at Coco Cay, our labour practices are consistent with the rest of the cruise industry and all permanent workers meet all appropriate Bahamian labour and Immigration requirements,” Royal Caribbean responded.

“Bahamians make up the majority of the workforce and in roles at all levels of the operation - director of operations, food and beverage venue manager, head of human resources, island experience manager, operations manager, cabana attendant and more.”

Mr Smith, who is still pursing approvals for his Paradise Island Lighthouse and Beach Club project, and is appealing the Supreme

Court verdict that he does not possess and valid and binding Crown Land lease on Paradise Island, told Tribune Business he was far from convinced by Royal Caribbean’s answers.

Challenging the cruise line to “come clean”, he urged it to publicly release its Heads of Agreement with the Government for Coco Cay so that Bahamians can judge for themselves. “If they’re really transparent, lay the Heads of Agreement for Coco Cay. Let the Bahamian people decide,” Mr Smith argued. “Let Royal Caribbean be as transparent as they portray themselves as, and let Bahamians see the Heads of Agreement

they have for Coco Cay so we can see their track record.”

Meanwhile, replying to other questions posed by Mr Smith, the cruise line promised that there will be no restrictions imposed on when Bahamians can visit and utilise the 17-acre Royal Beach Club. “The Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island will be available exclusively to cruise tourists from Royal Caribbean group cruise lines and local Bahamian residents,” it added.

“There are no planned restrictions on the days and/ or times Bahamian residents will be able to visit the Beach Club.” Royal Caribbean added that the project, one fully operational following its planned launch in summer 2025, will create “hundreds of jobs” for locals in a variety of areas and roles.

“The proposed Beach Club is an unprecedented

public-private partnership, crafted in close collaboration with the Government of The Bahamas, where Bahamians will be invited to own up to 49 percent equity in the Royal Beach Club,” the cruise giant reiterated.

“Bahamian equity will consist of two parts: Equity granted to The Bahamas National Investments Fund for the fair market value of the four acres of Crown Land, and equity raised through a Bahamian investment fund available to Bahamian investors.

“Bahamian businesses and entrepreneurs will also have the opportunity to manage the vast majority of the experience with a focus on sourcing goods and services directly from New Providence - everything from environmental management and monitoring, waste management, logistics, supply chain, energy, storage and

terminal. We’re being very deliberate in our discussions to ensure we have take a well-developed proposal before we submit it to Cabinet for approval. They’ll be the managing partner for the airport, Genting and RAV Bahamas. It’s something we’ve been planning for a couple of months. We’ve had several meetings, but contracts have not been executed.” The plans in 2021 involved extending the runway from its present 6,000 feet to 8,000 feet, so that it can easily accommodate commercial passenger aircraft as well as private jets. The total investment being eyed was said to be $40m.

Bank but, rather, by those whose funds are used to capitalise it - again, either bailed-in creditors or the Government.”

The IMF also urged that the Banks and Trust Companies Act be amended so that it allows a statutory administrator to immediately implement a rescue plan or strategy already devised by the Central Bank. “

“Absent the power for immediate implementation of the Central Bank;s resolution strategy, there is the risk of adverse market reaction and further losses being incurred as a result of a significant interval between the appointment of a statutory administrator and the announcement of the resolution option to be implemented,” the Fund warned.

warehousing, laundry, security, medical, landscaping, beach management, food service, beverage service, entertainment, retail, curated experiences, water sports, beach sports and more,” Royal Caribbean continued.

“Overall, the new venture will generate hundreds of jobs from its construction through long-term operation. We expect to pay market competitive salaries for all roles, both direct and indirect employment with partners managing the vast majority of the operation.”

Pointing to 1 percent of the Royal Beach Club’s gross revenues being used to fund improved attractions and experiences, via the tourism development levy, the cruise line concluded: “We are hopeful that this type of public-private partnership and the new tourism levy will be a model for all future land development on Paradise Island, New Providence, and throughout The Bahamas.”

FTX’s Bahamas liquidators gain mediator in Ray battle

asserted in papers filed on August 18.

FTX Digital Markets is the Bahamian subsidiary currently under Supreme Court supervision, with Brian Simms KC, the senior Lennox Paton partner, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accounting duo, Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, acting as joint provisional liquidators. Mr Ray and his team, in their own filings with the Delaware Bankruptcy Court yesterday, confirmed that mediation of the disputes with their Bahamian counterparts will begin next month.

“The ‘phase one’ mediation with FTX Digital Markets’ joint provisional liquidators is likely to occur in September,” they affirmed. Judge Fitzgerald’s appointment comes in response to Judge John Dorsey’s order, delivered on June 9, 2023, that a mediator be appointed to act as arbiter in the jurisdictional battle for control of FTX’s liquidation and restructuring between The Bahamas (joint provisional liquidators) and Delaware (Mr Ray).

He ordered that both sides “retain a good mediator” with experience of digital assets and crypto currency to try and resolve their disputes and come up with co-operation protocols and agreements that the

case is “begging for”. While Judge Fitzgerald’s appointment could help bring the parties together, given the depth and breadth of their disputes and differences this will likely be a major ask.

For Mr Ray, in late March, moved to deny the Bahamian provisional liquidators access to any assets caught in the crypto exchange’s multi-billion dollar collapse via a lawsuit filed in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court. He made clear his intent to seize control of liquidation proceedings by describing FTX Digital Markets, the Bahamian subsidiary, as an “economic and legal nullity” that served merely as an “offshore front” to enable Sam Bankman-Fried and his closest associates to channel proceeds from their purported fraud away from US regulatory oversight.

Asserting that FTX Digital Markets “never earned a dollar of third party revenue”, the head of the 134 FTX-related companies presently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is seeking declaratory judgments in the US that the Bahamian subsidiary and its liquidators have “no ownership” interest in or rights to the crypto/digital assets, fiat currency and intellectual property claimed by those entities in his control.

And, in a further attempt to cut the Bahamian

liquidation proceedings off from any assets, Mr Ray also wants the Delaware Bankruptcy Court to find that all asset transfers to FTX Digital Markets “are voidable actual or constructive frauds” and that his team be permitted to recover them.

However, the Bahamian provisional liquidation trio subsequently countered through their own legal counterclaim seeking multiple grounds of relief from the Delaware Bankruptcy Court.

Besides seeking an order that he has breached their co-operation agreement, the Bahamian liquidators also want that court to affirm that Mr Ray and his team have breached the Chapter 15 recognition and asset freeze previously granted to FTX Digital Markets and themselves so that their asset recovery efforts in the US had legal standing. They are also demanding an unspecified sum in damages.

The Bahamian liquidators are accusing Mr Ray and his team of “interfering” over the US Justice Department seizure of some $151m of FTX Digital Markets assets that were held in US-based bank accounts. This, they assert, has left them “deprived of crucial assets needed to properly administer the FTX Digital Markets estate in an amount no less than $151m.”

Warning that their inability to access these funds has left them unable to secure, and preserve, “hundreds of millions of dollars” of assets in FTX Digital Markets’ name, Mr Simms and his colleagues are alleging that critical sources of recovery for investors and creditors continue to rapidly lose value.

And yet another breach of the January 6, 2023, “settlement and co-operation” agreement that the two sides worked out over the Christmas holidays appears to have been committed by Mr Ray and his team. That deal committed him and the Bahamian provisional liquidators to “work together in good faith during the next six months in co-ordination with appropriate stakeholders in their respective proceedings to develop alternatives for the potential sale, reorganisation or other monetisation of the international FTX.com platform”.

However, the “official committee” of unsecured FTX creditors revealed in last Friday’s legal filings that Mr Ray’s team have already “launched a process” to seek bids for both the crypto exchange’s international and US platforms without seemingly any involvement from the Bahamian provisional liquidators and in apparent breach of the January 6, 2023, agreement.

REAL ESTATE ‘BULL CAN ONLY RUN FOR SO LONG’

FROM PAGE A24

that the real estate industry is feeding-off the improved tourism numbers, together with increased airlift and accessibility to The Bahamas, with the US west coast set to open-up this Christmas via new service from Jet Blue and Alaska Airlines out of Los Angeles and Seattle.

Morley Realty, in its analysis of MLS data, found that the number of closed residential homes sales on New Providence during the three months to end-June 2023 was down 21 percent yearover-year - at 59 compared to 75 in the prior yearalthough this was flat against the 2023 first quarter.

Many of the other major islands showed similar trends. Abaco’s closed home sales during the 2023 second quarter were down 33 percent year-over-year, standing at 20 compared to last year’s 30, and Morley

Realty added: “The volume of closed home sales has remained relatively consistent since the 2022 fourth quarter but remains down from the first three quarters of 2022.” Eleuthera’s closed home sales for the three months to end-June 2023 were down

almost two-thirds compared to the prior year, standing at ten versus 27, while Grand Bahama during the same period saw “the lowest volume of closed home sales in the past six quarters [which] was one-sixth of the 2023 first quarter volume”.

Summing up, Morley

Realty said in referring to these islands plus Exuma: “The Bahamas real estate market data from the 2023 second quarter showed continued signs of a market slowdown, primarily because of the year-on-year decline in the number of closed sales in each of the five island markets in both home sales and land sales. “This slowdown has been expected, knowing full well that the abnormally strong market and related frantic pace seen in 2021 and the first half of 2022 could not be sustained. While the volume of year-on-year closed sales may be down, the volume in each of the last two quarters appears to be at pre-pandemic levels.”

Responding to this conclusion, Mr Christie said: “I can agree with that. PostCOVID was kind of what I call the abnormal years. They were abnormally great

for the real estate space, and they were record years - not just for real estate companies but the country.

“We saw record numbers in regard to the real estate space post-COVID and now, today, I don’t think the market has slowed down. I think the market is adjusting and correcting itself... It was an extraordinarily robust market, but I think we all knew and understood the bull can only run for so long. Now, fast forward to today, the market is correcting itself.”

Mr Christie, pointing out that it was not just The Bahamas but the entire global real estate community that has benefited from the postCOVID property boom, added: “Some people may think the market is slowing down. I tell them ‘no, it’s not slowing down’. It’s just correcting itself to something that’s sustainable.

“The demand is still very strong, and probably the biggest challenge we have in the luxury space is inventory. Unfortunately, I think it’s going to continue in that vein for some time. Just a lack of inventory, and that’s driving the price points. If you have a client looking

to spend between $2m to $5m now, it’s difficult to pair them with the right property because the options are extremely limited.

“There’s a bit more inventory in the $10m-plus, but even there demand is outstripping inventory. For us, the business is still robust. What we have seen is the transaction level may have dropped, but the transaction value has increased. The numbers are balancing out at post-pandemic levels.”

Predicting that strong demand in the high-end Bahamian real estate market will continue, Mr Christie said recent wealth reports he has reviewed show that the world presently has its greatest-ever number of millionaires and this is forecast to grow by 40 percent between now and 2026.

Describing this as “a big jump and a positive jump”, he also noted that some $96bn of global wealth is reported to be on the move looking for new destinations and investments. All this, he argued, bodes well for The Bahamas and its ability to attract and grow its target high net worth individual market.

“Following urging by the Committee, on May 18, 2023, the debtors launched a process to solicit proposals for the potential sale, restart or reorganisation of the debtors’ exchanges,” the official committee disclosed. “The responses thus far have been encouraging, and on June 27, 2023, the debtors began receiving letters of interest from third parties.

“Regrettably, however, the committee’s members have yet to be granted access by the debtors to the bids (beyond a two-page non-substantive summary of these bids) or even the names of the bidders.” The respective FTX exchanges, especially their technology platforms and intellectual property rights bound up with these, are thought to be among the best sources of recovery for the crypto exchange’s stricken clients and creditors.

Mr Ray and his team are also forging ahead despite Judge Dorsey’s previous warning that there are serious legal issues to be determined before assets can be distributed and returned to FTX creditors.

These include who are customers of FTX Trading and the other entities under Mr Ray’s control, and who are the customers of FTX Digital Markets in The Bahamas.

Other questions, he noted, are whether assets are held by the Chapter

“What they look for is destinations that afford them the same lifestyle they’re used to, and destinations that are tax friendly and tax neutral. When you narrow it down, The Bahamas ticks a lot of those boxes and is top of the list for many of those high net worth individuals,” Mr Christie added.

“The Bahamas is a very strong name and a very strong brand when it comes to high net worth individuals and globally. I think we do a fantastic job attracting them, and that will continue and we will grow and attract a lot more.”

Mr Rodland, echoing much of what Mr Christie said, added that availablefor-sale real estate inventory is “at an all-time low” and “those exorbitant price points we were getting” post-COVID are now not quite at the same levels.

“It’s just not what we were getting post-COVID,” he told Tribune Business. “It was a rush, it was an anomaly, and we’re now on the back end of the spike. That’s the best way to describe where we’re at right now. Everybody wants to go back to post-COVID, to the record numbers and people paying exorbitant prices for property, but we’re not in a bad position.

“I think The Bahamas has a very good position in

11 entities or FTX Digital Markets, the latter of which was supposed to take over as operator of FTX’s international platform, and if these assets ‘“are held on trust for the benefit of creditors” or if they belong to the respective companies and liquidation estates.

Meanwhile, the “official committee” of unsecured FTX creditors has also voiced concern over the amount of money being claimed in fees by Mr Ray and his multiple legal and financial advisers as this is threatening to reduce the potential recovery and payout for victims.

“The Chapter 11 Cases are, however, on track to be among the most expensive in history, with more than $330m spent on professional fees through the first eight months of these cases. With a monthly professional fee burn rate of over $50m, these cases cannot afford a unilateral plan approach,” the “official committee” asserted in a July 31 document. And, in a subsequent August 18 filing, it said Mr Ray and his team are incurring costs of $45m per month or $1.5m per day.

FTX creditors and former clients also face the prospects of further costs, and time expended, if Mr Ray and the Bahamian provisional liquidators are unable to resolve their differences. This also threatens to deplete recoveries.

comparison to other jurisdictions and has a lot to play for. That has a lot to do with the market. I feel like the brands we have attracted to the country, and airlift and accessibility of the island, all that is better. If we can focus on the ease of doing business it would be even better.

“The ease of doing business, we need to fix that, but we’ve improved our product tremendously. It will help a lot. We get complaints about that, but I know it is something the Government is trying to work on. The market is doing OK, and has a lot to do with our competitiveness in the region and product we have. Tourism has done very well and, as a result of that, real estate has done very well. That has a lot to do with the brands, the hotel brands that we have attracted.”

Describing Bahamian real estate’s prospects as “still healthy”, Mr Rodland added that the industry will benefit from the “spin-off” created by tourism and increased airlift. “I’m bullish on The Bahamas between now and the end of the year and into the first quarter next year,” he said. “There’s a lot of factors in play between now and the end of the year, but we’re in a good position. I’m super bullish on The Bahamas right now. There’s a lot to be thankful for.”

BAHAMAS TO UPGRADE RENEWABLE ROAD MAP

THE Government yesterday signed an agreement to "update" the road map for ensuring that 30 percent of The Bahamas' energy needs are derived from renewable sources by 2030.

Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance's financial secretary, speaking at the contract signing with the Caribbean Centre for Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), said the agreement will lead to the creation of an integrated resource resilience plan.

This will map out The Bahamas' energy generation over the next five years and get the country closer the National Energy Policy goal of 30 percent of energy from renewables by 2030. Mr Wilson added that increasing the amount of energy produced from renewable sources will positively impact the environment and help produce lower, more stable electricity costs.

He said: "We're here today to sign the contract between the Government of Bahamas and CCREEE for the integrated resource resilience plan. So this plan is a plan in terms of uses of energy generation for The Bahamas over the next five years. We have an existing plan that's 10 years old. This plan is going to update it and lead The Bahamas in achieving its goals of 30 percent by 2030

“It's going to lead to a more stable cost of electricity… It will obviously have a very, very important impact on the climate, because we will be burning less fossil fuels and go into more renewable energy. And the third thing is it's going to lead to, in some aspects, lower costs, so your stability in costs and then you also have a lower cost, which are two different things. So, hopefully, a lower cost. Those are three big things that renewable energy can bring if done correctly.”

Shavonn Cambridge, Bahamas Power & Light's (BPL) chief executive, said the upgraded road map will guide how the utility company integrates renewables into its energy mix efficiently. It will be

applied in New Providence and the Family Islands, with the majority of financing provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

He said: ”Basically, what the integrated resource and resilience plan does is look at the assets that the utility has, and the goals that we have in terms of migrating to more efficient production, particularly the integration of renewables, and they do that in the most efficient manner.

"It looks at how do we retire existing assets, or how do we look at any additional capacity that we need and the integration of renewables. And this plan is not only just for New Providence, but it also faces how we as a utility evolve throughout The Bahamas and the integration of renewables in the most efficient and effective manner.

“This project, as with several other renewable energy initiatives, we're working in partnership with the IDB, as well as the Government of the Bahamas..but the majority of the funding is being done in collaboration with the IDB.”

Mr Wilson said that in addition IDB financing, the Government plans to use public-private partnerships (PPP) to facilitate the rollout of renewable energy. Bids for renewable energy solutions throughout The Bahamas have recently been put out to tender.

Dr Gary Jackson, CCREEE's executive director, said the organisation is focused on helping its members reach their renewable energy goals efficiently. He added that, due to the impact of climate change, it is important for The Bahamas to increase its ability to recover from catastrophic events quickly and the plan will improve the country’s recovery time.

He said: "The Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency was established by the [CARICOM] heads of government back in 2018, and we're here to help member states in navigating the energy transition that they seek. The integrated resource incidence plan is an important part of The Bahamas' future, given as the chief executive mentioned, the multiplicity of activities in relation to

energy supply and becoming more efficient in delivering that energy to its end users.

“But what is more important is understanding the climate impacts. You will have experienced Dorian, and one of the things that we want to look at within this plan is looking at mitigation and adaptation strategies that you may need to have, given high heat that you're experiencing now and the hurricanes that you may experience.

"We may not be resilient in a way that that you will be able to reduce the impact, but you'll be able to rebound from the impact in a faster recovery time, in a faster way based on the multiplicity of activities that you will have within this plan.”

Dr Jackson added that each plan caters to the policy framework and constraints of the host country, and the timeframe for implementation will vary based on technological and environmental constraints.

He said: "In our development, we operate within the policy framework of The Bahamas. For any country that we go in, we work within the policy framework. So those benchmarks will be based on what the policy says. But when we run the models, because it's very technical, when we run the models we will look at where the constraints are in determining if those actual targets can be met within the timeframe, given the constraints of your transmission system, your distribution system, and the type of supply that we will look at.

“So with solar, with wind, if it's offshore technologies, like ocean energy, we'll look at all the constraints and make a determination. Each technology has a pathway in terms of development, so some can be done in two years, some can be done in five years, some might be ten years, because you have to do your resource assessments. You have to understand the bathymetry, which is the sea levels, and an environmental impact to do those determinations.”

VAT’s $350m gap causes ‘challenge’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A GOVERNANCE reformer yesterday acknowledged it would have been a “challenge” for the Government to bridge the $350m gap to its full-year VAT target during the final two months of the 20222023 fiscal period.

Hubert Edwards, head of the Organisation for Responsible Governance's (ORG) economic development committee, told Tribune Business the concession by Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance's financial secretary, that the Government is likely to under-shoot its VAT goal for the recently-closed fiscal year could be a sign of revenue “weakness” that raises concern about the likelihood of hitting higher 20230-2024 targets.

“They are under-shooting the projection on VAT, that is basically what the financial secretary said. So if they are under-shooting their projection then obviously that would be a little bit of a challenge, which we would not want because we want them to hit the target," he added.

Mr Edwards was responding to this newspaper's revelation that the Government was unlikely to meet its full-year VAT target for 2022-2023 because, with two months left in the period, it had collected some $1.063bn to leave a near-$350m gap to

the $1.412bn goal for the period.

The Government’s monthly fiscal snapshot for April 2023, released last week, revealed that with just two months of the 20222023 fiscal year left, that near-25 percent or $350m gap appears to be too steep to bridge. The 2022 comparative period shows that VAT collections for May and June stood at $94.5m and $85.2m, respectively, representing a collective $179.7m.

A repeat performance would take full-year VAT revenues to just over $1.242bn for the 2022-2023 full-year, some $170m short of target. Mr Wilson told Tribune Business that the Government’s tax and revenue agencies are targeting the Family Islands, marine industry, tourism and services sector with more stringent compliance measures to ensure VAT hits its $1.591bn target for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

But several sources yesterday, noting that VAT was projected to account for almost 50 percent or half the Government’s $2.857bn total revenues in 2022-2023, said that despite the undershoot collections of this tax are projected to increase by almost $180m yearover-year to $1.591bn for the current 2023-2024 fiscal year. This raises questions as to how the Government will hit this hiked target.

Mr Edwards, though, said it was more important for the Government to hit its total revenue and total tax targets. Total revenues

PROMOTION BOARD CHIEF: 'REVENGE TOURISM' OVER

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board's (NPIPB) chief executive yesterday said the destination requires a "concerted marketing effort" to outpace the competition now that post-COVID “revenge tourism is over".

Joy Jibrilu told Tribune Business that the Promotion Board's July numbers, which showed an 81.7 percent increase in visitors to

and total tax revenue, at $2.356bn and $2.079bn, respectively, stood at 82.4 percent and 81.9 percent of full-year target after the first ten months, and appear much more in reach.

"The financial secretary also said that barring the VAT being off, there were other areas will compensate for the shortfall and, within the context of the circumstance, as far as I’m concerned it is the overall number which is of the greatest concern," Mr Edwards said.

“If you can make the top-line projection, the cumulative projection, then there would be no negative impact on the deficit at the end of the day. I think that is what’s most important. However, if this undershooting represents any weakness in the projections going forward, because we are talking about 20222023, if this is an indication of any weakness, then they would raise some concerns for 2023-2024.

"We’re hoping that that’s not the case, because if it is then obviously the persons who are watching at the ratings agencies and other entities will be put on high alert. The extent to which the collection has lagged, then obviously the Government agencies would have to work harder - and work in a more consistent wayto ensure that collections are maximised.

“The projections for 2023-2024 in many ways, as the financial secretary indicated, are ambitious, and he indicated, too, that they are achievable. So we will have to judge the level of achievability on the actual performance. By the end of the first quarter in September we should have a fair idea as to how the revenue has trended.”

its website year-over-year and a 72.8 percent increase in new visitors, reflect its efforts to market Nassau and Paradise Island to potential travellers. Some six million persons have visited nassauparadiseisland. com for the year-to-date, with 4.9m new visitors.

“This is really because of the focused marketing we have been putting on the [US] West Coast to attract and build demand for all of the airlift that’s coming out. So we've put in a concerted marketing effort and

it's reflected in those numbers," she said.

Airline seat capacity into the destination increased by 17 percent year-overyear for July 2023 with an average of 40 non-stop flights per day arriving at

FINANCIAL Secretary Simon Wilson addresses the media during the contract signing with the Caribbean Centre for Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE).

Bahamas in partnership with Canada’s ‘largest tech park’

THE BAHAMAS has partnered with Canada's "largest technology park" in a deal that will allow up to 30,000-plus workers from its member firms to operate remotely from this nation.

The Government, in a statement, said the tie-up with Hub350 and the Kanata North Business Association (KNBA) aims to foster innovation and advance The Bahamas' own ambitions to become a technology hub in its own right.

The partnership announcement follows the early 2023 visit by a Bahamian ministerial delegation, headed by Chester Cooper,

deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, to Hub350. He was accompanied by Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama, and the Bahamas High Commission, headed by high commissioner, V. Alfred Gray, and first secretary, Nahaja Black.

Also present for the visit were Zane Lightbourne, minister of state for education, and Wayde Watson, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The visit to what is billed as Canada's largest technology park aimed

SEE PAGE A19

Citi Bahamas awarded digital banking honour

CITI Bahamas says it has been honoured as the best corporate/institutional digital bank in The Bahamas by Global Finance magazine at the 24th annual World’s Best Digital Banks in Latin America awards.

The institution, formerly known as Citibank, received top awards in 25 out of 32 award categories in Latin America. It won the best corporate/institutional digital bank award in Argentina, The Bahamas, Brazil, Costa Rica,

Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Mexico (Citibanamex).

The bank, part of the Citigroup conglomerate, also received eight awards in the regional sub-categories that recognised digital products and services offered to clients, including its online cash management services, investment management services, information security, mobile banking app and payments.

“Citi has always prided itself on being the best for our clients. We invest time speaking with them to understand their needs and working with our global teams to design and implement digital solutions that enable our clients to meet their international objectives,” said John A. Lopez, Citi country officer for The Bahamas.

“This is the second year in a row that our bank has received this award locally.

I am proud of the work that our team has put in over the past year, and happy to see the confidence that our clients have placed in us to provide the service they deserve.”

Winning banks were selected based on strength of strategy for attracting and servicing digital customers; success in getting clients to use digital offerings; growth of digital customers; breadth of product offerings; evidence

of tangible benefits gained from digital initiatives,; and web/mobile site design and functionality.

“Transformation continues to be critical for treasurers and chief financial officers in the fastgrowing digital economy," said Driss Temsamani, head of digital for the Americas at Citi Treasury & Trade Solutions.

"Citi is committed to helping clients drive their digital transformation

across Latin America and connect directly to the bank through our award-winning CitiDirect and CitiConnect platforms, assisting clients in their real time payments, decision making, cash forecasting, liquidity management, working capital, risk management, fraud,and cyber security."

Citi said it is continuing to invest in platforms and tools such as Citi Global Instant Payments, which provides connectivity to instant payment schemes globally.

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Real estate ‘bull can only run for so long’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMIAN property market is “correcting itself” to more sustainable pre-COVID highs, realtors agree, with 2023 second quarter New Providence home sales down 21 percent as “the bull can only run for so long”.

Several principals spoken to by Tribune Business have backed the conclusion by Morley Realty, based on data obtained from the Bahamas Real Estate Association’s (BREA) Multiple Listing System (MLS), that the fall-off in closed property sales during the 2023 first half reflects a return to

pre-pandemic highs experienced in 2018 and 2019.

Both Gavin Christie, Corcoran CA Christie’s managing partner, and Tim Rodland, managing partner and broker at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate MCR Group Bahamas, said they “agree” that the property market

is “on the back end of the spike” post-COVID and adjusting after the “anomaly” experienced for much of the past two years. Describing this as a natural correction, rather than a “slow down”, Mr Christie said persistent shortages of available-for-sale properties in the high-end mean

Bimini airport PPP proposal is revived

By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters

A PRIVATE-PUBLIC

partnership (PPP) proposal to transform and take over management of Bimini’s airport has been revived and presented to residents last week for community feedback, Tribune Business can reveal.

Evak Arthur, Bimini’s island administrator, confirmed to this newspaper that members of the PPP consortium provided

residents with renderings of what the upgraded facilities will look like at a Thursday night Town Hall Meeting that was called to discuss the proposed “expansion” of the airport as well as Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) plans for its Ocean cay private island destination.

“The presenters made their presentations along with pictures of what the international airport would look like. Of course this is just the initial phase where they want the community

and residents of Bimini

to be fully aware of what is going on,” the administrator replied via text to Tribune Business inquiries.

“The residents had their concerns, which I’m sure will be addressed in the follow-up meeting. But no one outrightly said no.”

Dr Kenneth Romer, the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation’s deputy director-general, and acting director of aviation, confirmed to this newspaper that there have been “active discussions” over

that while transaction volumes have decreased their sales values have increased which has “balanced the numbers out”. He added that, at present, it is especially difficult to pair buyers in the $2m-$5m range with their

ideal properties due to the lack of inventory. Mr Rodland, meanwhile, said he remains “super bullish” on The Bahamas when compared to other jurisdictions. He added

FTX’s Bahamas liquidators gain mediator in Ray battle

the Government partnering with private investors, infrastructure developers and airport operators

Royal Caribbean: Crew will ‘never’ work on PI

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

ROYAL Caribbean has pledged that “at no point” will foreign crew from its ships be working at the $100m Royal Beach Club after being challenged over whether such practices occur at its Coco Cay ‘Perfect Day’ destination.

The cruise giant, responding to questions from Bahamian entrepreneur Toby Smith, whom it competed with for the same three-acre Crown Land parcel, asserted that “the vast majority” of its western Paradise Island investment “will be operated by Bahamian businesses and partners”.

What was meant by “vast majority” was not defined in the answers Royal Caribbean provided to Mr Smith’s questions as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) public consultation for the Royal Beach Club. Challenged by the Bahamian entrepreneur over whether cruise ship crew were allowed to work on land at Coco Cay, its private island destination in the Berry Islands, the cruise line merely said it complied with Bahamian labour laws and regulations.

“At no point will crew from our ships work at the Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island,” Royal Caribbean pledged in its answer to Mr Smith. “Our goal is that the vast majority of the Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island will be operated by Bahamian businesses and partners. In addition, the management of the Beach Club will be Bahamian starting with the president of the joint venture, Philip Simon.

“The Beach Club’s Bahamian management team will be responsible for the eventual procurement process to vet and select those partners that can fulfill the bespoke parts of the operation. Each of those

IMF: ‘Progress’ but more needed on crisis regime

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised The Bahamas for “considerable progress” in developing a regime to prevent and address banking industry failures but also warned much work remains to be done.

The Fund, in its findings and recommendations on the country’s “financial crisis management” and resolution framework, said there was “a need to clarify” how and when taxpayer monies can be used to rescue or bail-out a stricken financial institution and how this funding source is ultimately to be repaid.

Acknowledging that systemically important institutions, such as the commercial banks, should in the first instance be saved with internallysourced funds, the IMF said there were circumstances in which taxpayer funding may be required. Government help was required within the past decade to twice bail-out Bank of The Bahamas, via two bond injections collectively worth $267m, as well as a rights issue that was almost entirely picked up by the Public Treasury.

“There may be circumstances in which public funding is required, such as in the case of banks with limited scope for bail-in due to most liabilities being in the form of deposits or where bail-in could potentially destabilise the financial system. In recognition of this, the authorities need to establish plans for how any public funding, if required, would be applied in the case of systemically important banks,” the IMF said.

“The resolution law in The Bahamas provides scope for public funding of systemically important banks. However, the public funding provisions in the law are in need of review and reform. In particular, there is a need to clarify the purposes for which public funds may be used, the pre-conditions for the use of public funds, the source of public funding (with any funding being sourced from the Government) and the means by which funding outlays can be repaid.

“There is a need for the authorities to develop a contingency plan for public funding, if it is required. The authorities have not as yet prepared a contingency plan of this nature. It is recommended that the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance jointly develop a contingency plan to provide guidance on when and how any public funding might be applied

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FTX’s Bahamian liquidators will aim to resolve multiple disputes with their US counterparts when mediation begins next month following the appointment of a retired US judge to act as referee.

The selection of Judge Judith Fitzgerald, who is said to possess more than 25 years’ experience as a bankruptcy judge in Pennsylvania’s western federal district, was disclosed in court filings by FTX US chief, John Ray, and two different committees of unsecured creditors representing customers owed multi-billion dollar sums in the aftermath of the crypto exchange’s collapse.

The revelation came as the “official committee” of unsecured FTX creditors requested that Judge Fitzgerald’s expertise also be employed in mediating differences between themselves and Mr Ray’s team over the latter’s initial Chapter 11 reorganisation

plan for restructuring the failed crypto exchange and taking it out of bankruptcy protection in the Delaware courts.

“For their part, the debtors [Mr Ray] agreed that mediation would be helpful, was something they had contemplated and raised conceptually with the Committee in prior discussions, and yesterday proposed using Judith Fitzgerald, who was appointed to mediate the issues between the debtors, the Committee and the joint provisional liquidators of FTX Digital Markets, to also mediate plan issues,” the “official committee”

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TIM RODLAND

GAVIN CHRISTIE

DR KENNETH ROMER

ROYAL BEACH CLUB RENDERING

BRIAN SIMMS KC

$5.70 $5.75 $5.81 $5.94