09212023 NEWS AND SPORT

Roberts reveals assessment of 15 common items

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SUPER Value’s principal yesterday said a review of 15 commonly-bought items revealed The Bahamas sustained food inflation of around 30 percent over the past two years.

Rupert Roberts told Tribune Business that the simple assessment, involving products shoppers purchase on a weekly basis such as bread, rice and poultry, exposed that the extent of food price increases between 2021 and

REVISED COST OF PRISON CUT BY $30-40M

2023 was triple or three times’ what some of his buyers had projected.

He also predicted that surging global oil prices will send Bahamian gasoline prices to $6.25 per gallon within weeks, saying the ever-increasing cost of living will take a growing cut of Super Value’s sales and those of other retailers.

He added: ““Customers are retraining us. Anything that’s too expensive we will not buy or re-order.”

S&P REVENUE WARNING IF GOVT IS TO MEET TARGETS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

STANDARD & Poor’s (S&P) last night argued that the Government will likely struggle to meet its debt reduction targets “without material new revenues, significant cost-cutting or well above average economic growth”.

The rating agency made no change to this nation’s creditworthiness, but said debt produced by Hurricane Dorian and COVID means “previous fiscal consolidation plans” are insufficient to achieve government fiscal goals unless economic growth is strong enough.

NATIONAL Security Minister

Wayne Munroe defended the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s new arrest incentive system yesterday, comparing it to schemes for teachers or people who work in banks.

He said there is no budget to give cash awards to officers. It remains unclear how the officers will be rewarded.

Mr Munroe previously dismissed reports of the incentive scheme as “fake news”. Yesterday, he said he was referring to officers getting cash prizes when

he did this. “Nobody is paid for it,” he told reporters. “And that was what I was responding to. They have no budget to pay anyone for it.

“What

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE cost of expanding the Bahamas Department of Corrections has been reduced by about 40 per cent, down from the previous $93m, according to acting Corrections Commissioner Doan Cleare.

“There are lots of savings,” he said. “And I will wish for the government to release the final cost that we have done. But I’ll say this: we have cut off at least about $30-$40m of the cost.”

In July, Mr Cleare revealed the government asked prison officials to reduce the cost of the upgrade.

COLONIAL HOTEL TO RECRUIT 300

FOR OPENING

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings @ tribunemedia.net

THE British Colonial Hotel anticipates reopening the doors of the renovated hotel in December and plans to recruit more than 300 staff.

The Department of Labour, in conjunction with the hotel, will host a job fair, recruiting for supervisory roles, hotel management, line staff, and front and back-end roles.

The fair will be held at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium on September 26 and 27 from 9.30am to 4pm.

POLICE INVESTIGATE AFTER MAN FOUND DEAD ON CRUISE SHIP

POLICE on New Providence are investigating the death of a 29-year-old American man of Carbon Dale, Illinois, on a cruise ship. According to reports, shortly after 10.30am on

Wednesday, while on board the ship, the passenger was found unresponsive near the pool deck. He was examined and later pronounced dead by the ship’s doctor.

UNLICENCED FIREARM AND AMMUNITION CONFISCATED

POLICE on New Providence confiscated an unlicenced firearm and a quantity of ammunition on Wednesday. According to reports, at around 11.45am, officers attached to Operation Ceasefire, acting on information, proceeded to a vacant property in Elizabeth Estates where they discovered a brown bag which contained a bronze homemade pipe gun with four live .22 rounds of ammunition.

Munroe defends scheme he said was fake news

from page one

Mr Munroe said other organisations have provided employees with different forms of incentives.

“If you go to the bank, there will be an employee of the quarter,” he said.

“Every school you go to, there’s a teacher of the year, and they get special parking.”

Asked if he approves of the incentive system, he said he doesn’t run the operation of the police

force.

“I know that when they send me recommendations for promotions, which we’re undergoing now, they assess officers’ performance because clearly, you want to promote the performing people because that’s the whole point of it,” he said. “As I understand, that operation is about interdicting guns off the street so surely you want to judge my performance by how many guns I interdict.” The system awards points to teams based on the

number of arrests made for major or minor offences. It also awards points for stopping and searching people and for issuing tickets.

“In the bank, you judge a banker’s performance by how many loans they write or how many delinquencies they do,” Mr Munroe said. “The commissioner has said this is something to incentivise performance, and the public is to be kept safe by uninsured, unlicensed cars being off the street, guns being off the street, criminals being off

REVISED COST OF PRISON CUT BY $30-40M

from page one

The expansion comes as the prison chases accreditation.

“As you all know, it was some $93m, and a part of that $93m what people fail to understand was the $12 million court, so that was taken out. Also, too, we have scaled back some of the sizes of the administration complex. We have saved a few million dollars there. We have scaled back on the solar system.”

The cost of building the new prison facility has fluctuated multiple times.

In May, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe revealed that the construction plans moved from a $40m high-medium security facility to a $90m “correctional institution,

administrative, housing, and medical facility”.

Mr Cleare noted the initial $40m didn’t cover a medical facility, mental hospital, central intake for booking, or classrooms. He noted the American Correctional Association, the body concerned with accreditation, gave input on the design for the new facilities.

“Based on what they were saying, this should have cost over $200m based on their designs,” he said. “We did some numbers, some major numbers, and we were able to get it down to the $90m. And then the prime minister said we must cut it again.”

“We have cut down on the size of some things, but we have not eliminated anything,” he added. “We may have had an administrative complex of about 17

different office spaces. It is down now to ten. So there were not much changes per se because you cannot cut nothing, because we seek certification.”

“That’s the dilemma that we were facing. You can’t be certified and then cut things out that are needed, like a mental health hospital. We have done our job, and now we are awaiting the government’s decision.”

Mr Cleare said he expects the construction of the facility to move quickly.

“The current remand court is now sitting on the grounds where the new prison is supposed to go,” he said. “So, we have to build the court first, the new remand court, and the new appeal court. Once that is constructed, then it is anticipated that the new prison will commence.”

MUNROE HAS FAITH DESPITE RULINGS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AFTER several adverse Coroner’s Court inquest findings against police this year, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said he remains confident in the “system”.

Most police-involved killing inquests have resulted in homicide-by-manslaughter conclusions this year, raising the prospect that the officers involved could be charged with serious crimes.

Yesterday, Mr Munroe was asked if he is concerned about the trend and whether it warrants a conversation with senior police officials about the use of force.

He replied: “They have instructions in the college on the use of force continuum. The Coroner’s Court serves as a function. The DPP in reviewing the outcome of Coroner’s Court inquest serves their function and the criminal justice system serves as function.”

“As I’ve said previously, there are a number of officers who the public would’ve seen charged immediately with homicide in the family islands and here. There are officers whose cases went to the Coroner’s Court inquest.”

“Some are completed. Some are not. My approach is very simple. We have a system. The persons who the police arrest and charge are subject to that system. When allegations are made against police, the police also get the benefit of that system.”

The most recent case before the Coroner’s Court involved 20-year-old Deangelo Evans, who was allegedly killed by police on Sandy Lane off McCullough Corner on May 27, 2018.

In addition to Evans’

case, Coroner’s Court jurors in May determined that Azario Major’s December 26, 2021, killing was a homicide by manslaughter.

Likewise, in June, jurors concluded that Shanton Forbes’ March 25, 2018, killing was also a homicide by manslaughter. In the case of Courtney Thompson, 36, who was shot in the neck on January 26, 2018, jurors determined the killing was justified.

Meanwhile, jurors returned an open verdict in

the street. People who are wanted under warrants of arrest being arrested and taken off the streets. Surely, you incentivise the police to perform to those targets.” He added: “I imagine that in the promotional exercise coming up, one of the measures of people to be promoted will be their performance. I would hope it is driven by their performance.”

Last week, Human Rights Bahamas said the police force should disclose the reward officers

will receive through the new arrest incentive programme, calling the competition ill-conceived.

“We are already dealing with an alarmingly high rate of police brutality claims and officer-involved killings,” HRB said. “Officers are routinely accused of threatening and torturing suspects to obtain coerced confessions, and videos of police misconduct of various kinds have proliferated in recent times.

“At the same time, violent crime has placed even

the most well-meaning and professional officers under extreme stress to achieve results.

“There is no question that such an incentive scheme runs a huge risk of enticing officers to make false arrests on little or no evidence, seriously violating the human rights of members of the public as a result. It could easily spin out of control with catastrophic and farreaching consequences for the public’s faith in law enforcement.”

OFFICERS CERTIFIED TO HELP MENTAL CARE

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THIRTY correctional officers were certified yesterday to help care for mentally ill inmates.

The Correctional Behavioural Health Certification Awards ceremony was held at The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, with dignitaries, family, and friends gathering to celebrate. “We just don’t want

training, we want certification,” said acting Prison Commissioner Doan Cleare.

“And that’s what we are doing now. We have finished 30. We are now about to enrol 30 more. It is our goal to have at least 200 correctional officers certified in mental health management because right now, we were only concerned about maximum and the remand centre with mental health challenges, but it’s now spreading to medium security.”

National Security

Minister Wayne Munroe praised the officers.

“Congratulations to the 30 who have earned their certificates,” he said. “I understand that two are pending. And even of that, 32 to 40 were selected. And so that tells me that this is not a rubber stamp exercise: this is an exercise where the 30 of you, with the two pending, would have truly passed the course because eight people didn’t, and we look forward to you leading by example.”

the case of Ronald Mackey, who was killed on November 25, 2017.

Last week, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander told reporters the RBPF is learning from the inquests that determine an officer was at fault.

“Every day that we see deficiencies, these things are addressed,” he said.

“That’s why we have our policy and review team review our policies and our strategies and how we deal with matters.”

NATIONAL Security

Minister Wayne Munroe at yesterday’s presentation. Photos: Moise Amisial

Programme aims to make GB tech hub

By DENISE MAYCOCK

TECH Edge, a new upskilling tech programme, was launched in Grand Bahama yesterday to help Freeport develop into a technology and innovation hub. Through a strategic partnership with QUESS and the University of the Bahamas North, the Grand Bahama Port Authority will target some 50 Bahamians for tech training and employment placement for nearshoring opportunities.

During an announcement on Wednesday, Ian Rolle, President of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and Port Group Ltd, said he expects the programme will significantly influence the employment situation in Grand Bahama, particularly in the tech space.

“What would probably happen after being involved in the training process is

that we will have a number of entrepreneurs arise out

of this programme,” he said.

“This is very unique to the Bahamas in that this programme we train you and we place you.”

The Tech Edge programme will commence on October 16 and continue for eight to 12 weeks. Candidates will receive training in one of three subject tracks: Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, and Mobile App Development. QUESS Corp Limited (Quess) will provide training and also place successful candidates with job opportunities either locally, with Quess Corp, or with one of their 3,000 clients worldwide.

Mr Rolle said that trained Bahamians with the right skill set are needed to attract companies with tech jobs to Grand Bahama.

He thanked QUESS for partnering with the GBPA and UB North.

Daniel Friker, CEO of QUESS North America, indicated that the island’s proximity to the US and its business-friendly environment were very ideal for their company.

QUESS is India’s leading business service provider. The company has grown to become one of the largest employers with over 525,000 consultants deployed across nine countries and over 3,000 customers in various industries, from FINTECH to banking,

and IT, according to the company’s CEO.

“This public-private venture is really predicated and built on several examples around the world where cities and locations have partnered to not only work with industries and train the type of talent that they need, but to then actually make investments and employ them properly,” he said.

“What is going on in the macro-economic environment is companies want flexibility, and customers are asking you what type of talent you have access to, and what are the onshore, offshore, and nearshore rates,” he said.

Derek Newbold said the Tech Edge up-skilling programme represents the culmination of the GBPA’s efforts to improve the local skill set on the island. Participants can qualify for an international certification with the new skills they will obtain, he said.

“This will go a long way in helping to transform GB into a bona fide jurisdiction where you have tech-related companies who might be looking at nearshoring opportunities, now having access to a labour pool they can actually source from,” he said.

Since 2015, GBPA has sponsored a TCI programme in high schools, a STEM programme known as SEED (STEM

Empowerment and Educational Development) for grades seven through nine, and the ICT programme in partnership with BTVI.

Dr Donovan Moxey, CEO of Integrated Business Solutions International, the consultant for the project, said the Commercial Enterprises Act allows investments in techbased companies to come to the Bahamas and quickly set up their operations.

“That is why QUESS is looking at this particular space and others that we are working on,” he said.

“When you look at growing the Tech sector, you cannot grow it organically with your own people, which is why attracting these tech companies here and bringing workers here is so important.”

Dr Moxey explained that the legal framework is in place through the BH1B visa programme that was put in several years ago.

He stressed that the Bahamas also has a huge advantage over other countries in the region due to its proximity when considering the whole idea of nearshoring.

Plans are also to create a STEM Professional Database to attract Bahamian students and professionals working abroad in the tech sector back home.

The consultant said Bahamians anywhere in the world, including those locally, would be able to put their skills in the database that would be available to companies looking to come to the Bahamas and recruit workers.

Dr Moxey believes Freeport is the ideal location given the tax benefits of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, the legislative framework, the infrastructure of the city to support 250,000 people, and the presence of the University of the Bahamas with its campus focused on technology.

Rickelle Albury, Acting Director of the Division of Advancement at UB North, said the Tech Edge Programme helps to allow its students to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving technology industry.

“Partnering with the GBPA on this initiative was a no-brainer as it directly aligns with our recently launched UB Ignite Programme for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” she said.

FROM left are Dr Donovan Moxey, consultant, Integrated Business Solutions International; Rickelle Albury, acting director, Division of Advancement at UB North; Derek Newbold, chief investment officer at GBPA; Ian Rolle, president of GBPA and Port Group Ltd; Daniel Friker, CEO QUESS North America; and Trevor Simmons, business development officer, GBPA.

Photo: GBPA

Advocates raise concerns after separate infant deaths

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

CHILD advocates are worried about the recent suspicious deaths of two infants in separate incidents.

On September 12, the body of 22-month-old Anwar Miller was discovered inside a bedroom in an apartment complex on Family Street, off Soldier Road.

Anwar’s body had

no visible wounds, though there was skin discolouration.

Following the incident, the landlord of the apartment complex, identified as Anwar’s father, Jermaine Miller, suffered a cardiac arrhythmia and died.

Seven days later, on September 19, a sevenmonth-old baby girl was brought into Princess Margaret Hospital unresponsive shortly before 9pm.

A male family member

brought the infant into the hospital, and a doctor later pronounced the child dead.

Yesterday, police officials had no update on the cause of death of either infant.

“It’s a crying shame, and people don’t realise the value of a child’s life,” said Patrice Hanna-Carey, a child advocate and head of the Hanna-Carey Cares Foundation.

“It’s a crying shame when parents feel like their lives are more important, or what

POLICY UNIT TO HELP BAHAMIANS TAKE POSTS HELD BY FOREIGNERS

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings @ tribunemedia.net

LABOUR and Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle wants to create a policy unit to help qualified Bahamians serve in positions foreigners hold.

During his 2023/24 budget contribution, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the government would crack down on granting work permits.

“I think with only about eight days in, I’m already looking at how we can implement a policy unit that speaks to the enforcement

of our notice of vacancy process,” Ms Glover-Rolle said yesterday.

“That’s ensuring that the Bahamian understudies who are identified are eventually assimilated into roles, to ensure that the positions that are held by foreigners, if there is a capability for future Bahamians to work in those roles, that Bahamians have the fair opportunity to apply and work in those positions. So that’s going to be one of the priorities for me, amongst many others.”

The Department of Labour scrutinises work renewal applications to determine whether

they have going on is more important than a child, because the child is young.”

Mrs Hanna Carey called on parents to seek solutions before situations turn to neglect or even death.

“There are systems in place, even though it seems like there is none,” she said yesterday. “We have church. We have state. We have neighbours. We have friends. There’s really no more excuse for any individual. The law will not fail

to hold into account every parent and guardian of every child.

“There is more than one avenue to seek out for help. Don’t stop until you get the assistance that you need. Our children are suffering. And now they’re not only suffering to the extent where it may be some compromise for their health, but now we are seeing where they are faced with the ultimate death.”

“We’re calling for everyone

in our populace to stop the hurt that you are feeling, stop transferring it onto our children, no more infant deaths, so much sudden infant deaths, no unexplained infant deaths,” she said.

“Whenever you see instances that have escalated to child abuse, neglect, violence against children or sudden infant deaths, then that in itself tells us that there is something very wrong within our nation.”

COLONIAL HOTEL TO RECRUIT 300

through our Labour on the Blocks 2.0 initiative, which was launched on May 7 2022.

complex, said the British Colonial Hotel has been reimagined.

Newly appointed Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said the initiative would reduce the need for foreign labour by allowing qualified Bahamians a “first shot” to seek employment in the hospitality industry.

“As always, the Department of Labour’s mission is to foster good industrial relations between employees and employers,” she said yesterday at a press conference.

“Our Public Employment Services’ primary duty is to assist job seekers with obtaining gainful occupation.

“One of the main vehicles for achieving this objective is the hosting of job fairs

“These job fairs are critical to linking a pool of potential qualified candidates with recruiters and employers. Job Fairs also offer job seekers the opportunity to build a network, meet industry professionals, enhance their interviewing skills, and improve on presenting and selling themselves in an informal setting.

“In these fairs, the Department of Labour can better identify and ensure qualified Bahamians are given first priority in evaluating and securing employment.”

Craig Martin, managing director of The Point

“Our corporate parent has put in over $100m into this project to not just paint the project but to do a complete renovation,” he said.

“So, I think people are going to be surprised when this opens up in the beginning of December this year, that they’re going to see a brand-new hotel inside.

“It’s just not a quick fix-up to this hotel. This time, it’s a complete renovation. Brand new lobby, five new restaurants in the hotel, brand new meetings space and completely renovated guestrooms and hallways. So basically, it’s going to be a new package.”

qualified Bahamians are willing and available to do the job.

Officials assess whether employers have identified Bahamian understudies to take over from expatriate staff once their work permits expire. They consider how many renewals have been previously granted.

Earlier this year, Labour Director Robert Farquharson said that 40 per cent of the 12,000 work permits issued this year relate to jobs Bahamians can fill. However, the failure of Bahamians to apply for various jobs contributed to the issuance of work permits.

from page one

LABOUR Minister Pia Glover-Rolle.

Photo: Moise Amisial

The Tribune Limited

Awards for arrests is misguided

IT is interesting to see National Security Minister Wayne Munroe leap to the defence of a Royal Bahamas Police Force scheme he previously dismissed as fake news when asked about it by The Tribune He now claims that in his two-word reply, he was referring to police officers getting cash prizes – which was not what was being suggested anyway. There were awards, of some form as yet unspecified. But Mr Munroe said yesterday: “Nobody is paid for it. And that was what I was responding to. They have no budget to pay for it. What was being suggested was they were being paid in money. As far as I’m aware, they’re not paid money.”

“As far as I’m aware” is an interesting choice of words too. By now, one would hope the minister would have taken the time to learn inside out what the scheme involved.

He added: “As I understand, that operation is about interdicting guns off the street so surely you want to judge my performance by how many guns I interdict.”

Mr Munroe is wrong. Gun seizures are part of the scheme, but so are various other aspects of police duties, including arrests, traffic stops, even the number of sick days.

The issue is that, as has been raised by human rights groups, any incentive scheme that might encourage an officer to make an arrest to score extra points rather than purely on the merit of the situation itself is ill-conceived.

Human Rights Bahamas said: “We are already dealing with an alarmingly high rate of police brutality claims and officer-involved killings. Officers are routinely accused of threatening and torturing suspects to obtain coerced confessions, and videos of police misconduct of various kinds have proliferated in recent times.”

The group added: “There is no question that such an incentive scheme runs a huge risk of enticing officers to make false arrests on little or no evidence,

seriously violating the human rights of members of the public as a result. It could easily spin out of control with catastrophic and far-reaching consequences for the public’s faith in law enforcement.”

Indeed, since the scheme was revealed to be in existence, two former law officers spoke of how they had left the force in previous years frustrated by targetdriven policing leading to unnecessary arrests. Each spoke of how this scheme was, in their view, exactly the wrong path to take – and looked terrible in the eyes of the public.

Mr Munroe sought to compare the scheme to incentive schemes in other professions – such as teachers.

He said schools name a teacher of the year and they get special parking. Yes, that’s true, but the teacher is being rewarded for helping student to excel, not for depriving people of their liberty.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with awards for good performance –indeed, it is to be encouraged. Quite what the award is being given for is the question – and giving awards for the number of arrests you make is in poor taste at the very least, and runs the risk of a devastating impact on human rights at the worst.

Mr Munroe’s response, and that of Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander, seems to suggest that neither understands the concerns that have been raised. Both are intelligent individuals, they ought to grasp the worries about the situation.

The best thing that could be done is to scrap this badly thought-out incentive scheme, and put in place another, one that does not revolve around the number of arrests.

Officers who excel should feel valued. Officers who shine should be held up as an example to their colleagues. But not in some competitive league where people’s rights become nothing more than an opportunity to score points. That is the problem, and that is why it should change.

Te Great Cabinet Shu fe

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IN WORLDWIDE politics it has always been fashionable to ‘blame’ the outgoing administration for the apparent political failures and omissions of good governance. When a current administration shuffles cabinet posts and individuals the opposing party will cry wolf and suggest that such changes reflect lipstick being applied to a pig.

The recent adroit reshuffle by the Most Hon Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, KC, MP, our hardworking and innovative Prime Minister, was met with a broad and unrealistic assault by the still shell shocked opposition FNM. A rant and rave generated by the putative leader and Chairman of that entity? Both of whom were reshuffled, for want of a better term by former leader, the Most Hon Dr Hubert A Minnis once upon a time.

Brother Pintard was obliged to step down as National Chairman while the erstwhile Dr Duane Sands was ‘banished’ while serving as Minister of Health. Their replacements were not, in my view, good ones. The Hon Renward Wells, the then MP for Bamboo Town, was appointed Minister of Health and he appeared to be oblivious of the bare necessities in being such a minister, God bless his soul. Thank God, by the same token that a good alternative National Chairman was found. It is also a surprise that Minnis did not appear to apply lipstick to a pig, but rather to a huge and hairy wild boar from North Andros.

The recent shuffle by the PM is just what the doctor ordered and is designed to bring rationalisation and heighten efficiency going forward with the second half of the agenda for the Davis administration. Cabinet shuffles lie within the domain of the PM of the day. It is no different with

Mr Davis. The changes were well thought out and came at the right time in my view. May I suggest why with your leave? This is a great cabinet shuffle.

The Hon Alfred M Sears (PLP-Fort Charlotte), a highly trained and skilled lawyer, was in over his head, in my view, when he held the Ministry of Works & Public Utilities. It is a strange phenomenon in The Bahamas and perhaps elsewhere that merely being a lawyer is the fount of all knowledge and progressive traits. Brother Sears meant well, I am sure, but the PM made an excellent decision in transferring him to the Ministry of Immigration & National Insurance. His legendary legal skills will serve the nation well on this new posting.

I am particularly pleased that the Hon Pia GloverRolle (PLP-Golden Gates), who served with distinction as Minister of State for Labour and the Public Service, has now been elevated to the substantive post of Minister of Labour, inter alia. She has a bright future within the PLP going forward. The choice by the PM of the Hon Jomo Campbell (PLP-Centreville) to serve as Minister of Agriculture & Marine Resources is yet another bold example of pragmatism on the part of the PM. Campbell comes from a long background of farmers, starting with his late paternal grandfather who cultivated extensive plots here in New Providence and Cat Island, to my personal knowledge. He will do us proud, I am sure.

Brother Clay Sweeting (PLP-Central & South Eleuthera) is a seasoned businessman and well understands the infrastructural necessities throughout The Bahamas generally and his home island in particular. My good friend, the

Hon Keith Bell (PLPCarmichael) was under political assault for many weeks and months for gestures of goodwill but perhaps, in hindsight, ill advised politically. One or two missteps, however, in my view, is no necessity to be jettisoned from cabinet. As a senior former police officer and a real estate and housing lawyer I have no doubt that he will excel as Minister of Housing & Urban Renewal.

The high costs of fuel and energy in our wonderful nation has become and has been a vexing problem for quite awhile. We all also know of the innate desire and goal of most Bahamians to own their own home. As Minister of Transport & Housing, the Hon JoBeth Coleby-Davis (PLP-Elizabeth) gained a tremendous amount of experience in those areas. Under her watch scores of new and affordable homes were built. She is now able as Minister of Energy & Transport to apply her hard work ethics on a larger level.

It is also to be noted that several current Ministers were retained in their cabinet positions, as they should have. I am particularly impressed with the mighty works being done by the Hon Wayne Munroe (PLP-Free Town) as Minister of National Security.

The Hon Glenis HannaMartin (PLP-Englerston) as Minister of Education has also performed well. The other appointments announced by the PM will go far in the ultimate delivery of the commitments made by the PLP in its contract with a grateful Bahamian nation. The PM himself and the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon I Chester Cooper (PLPExuma) are, of course, in a class all by themselves. The nation is in good hands.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, September 9, 2023.

Electric vehicles

EDITOR, The Tribune.

UNDER the Minnis Government reduction of Customs Duties was applied to a purchase of an electric vehicle... the Davis Government I recall reduced VAT and Duty, might be wrong, but to me at a time when the Treasury needs every dime why are we giving these concessionary exemptions and incurring loss of revenue?

An EV is not cheap, it is not something the run of the mill employed cash

strapped person would be running out to purchase.

EV’s are luxury items in my books!

So the pro-factor exclaim we improve the environment - yes, if you had at least 20,000 or more on the road … a couple of tractor heads gushing dark emissions kills that improvement in a second and we do nothing about that which would cost the Treasury not a dime, but immediately improves the air quality.

We see lined up at OPM a long line of new

vehicles…

EVs? How much duty - VAT and Taxes from buying gas will be lost?

Where is the environment improvement? EV’s weigh more than the usual gas vehicle so more wear and tear on our fragile roads with so many pot-holes the repair crews are unable to catch up. Really, Editor, where is the benefit rationale in this policy? Don’t see it. M

Nassau, September 17, 2023.

FLYING men of Papantla perform the “Danza de los Voladores”, in Mexico City, yesterday. The ceremonial dance was created in pre-Hispanic times to appease the gods in hopes they would bring back the rains and put an end to a severe drought.

Photo: Marco Ugarte/AP

MAN REMANDED TO PRISON FOR FIREARM, AMMUNITION CHARGE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was remanded to prison yesterday for allegedly having a loaded gun on Second Street earlier this week.

Magistrate Raquel

Whyms charged Malcolm Rolle, 21, with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Police on mobile patrol stopped the defendant after he was caught acting suspiciously outside a business on Second Street around

2am on September 18. A search of Rolle allegedly uncovered a black Taurus G2 9mm pistol with the serial number erased, along with a black magazine containing ten rounds of 9mm ammunition.

The accused was on bail for a pending armed robbery charge at the time of his arrest.

After pleading not guilty to the gun charges, Rolle was sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until his bail hearing on September 22.

MAN CHARGED WITH INCEST

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 22-year-old man was behind bars yesterday accused of molesting his 14-year-old sister last week.

Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain charged the man, whose name is being withheld to protect the victim’s identity, with incest.

The accused allegedly had unlawful sexual intercourse with his underaged sibling on September 13 in New Providence.

The accused was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. His case will be moved to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment to be served on October 31.

TEENAGE BOY CHARGED WITH GRIEVOUS HARM

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A TEENAGE boy allegedly stabbed a fellow RM Bailey student during a brawl at a bus stop on Marathon Road last week.

Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr, charged the 13-year-old boy with grievous harm. He name is being withheld because he is a minor.

The defendant’s mother appeared with him in court, and Keith Seymour represented him.

Police reports indicate

By REBECCA SANTANA and ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)

— The Biden administration said Wednesday that it was granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are already in the country — quickly making them eligible to work — as it grapples with growing numbers of people fleeing the South American country and elsewhere to arrive at the U.S. border with Mexico.

The move — along with promises to accelerate work permits for many migrants — may appease Democratic leaders who have pressured the White House to do more to aid asylum seekers, while also providing grist for Republicans who say the president has been too lax on immigration.

The Homeland Security Department plans to grant Temporary Protected Status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the country as of July 31, 2023, making it easier for them to get authorisation to work in the U.S. That’s been a key demand of Democratic mayors and governors who are struggling to care for an increased number of migrants in their care.

That’s in addition to about 242,700 Venezuelans who already qualified for temporary status before Wednesday’s announcement.

The protections for Venezuelans are significant because they account for such a large number of the migrants who have been arriving in the country in recent years.

Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the last decade, pushing at least 7.3 million people to migrate and making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain. The vast majority who fled settled in neighbouring countries in Latin America, but many began coming to the United

Salsa Mexican Bar & Grill, a new, authentic Mexican restaurant is making a splash in Nassau’s culinary scene. The new establishment is located dockside in the Elizabeth on Bay plaza downtown.

Ryan Delva, restaurant partner, said, “We’ve been listening to the feedback of Bahamian foodies for a while regarding the absence of a restaurant dedicated to solely authentic Mexican cuisine. We’re happy that we were able to answer that call by providing a space with a beautiful view and great ambiance to enjoy just that.”

that the 16-year-old victim was involved in a physical argument with another juvenile around 4.19pm.

The defendant is accused of intervening in the fight and stabbing the victim with a knife in the leg and lower back.

The stabbing victim was listed in stable condition in hospital.

The juvenile pleaded not guilty to the charge. His bail was set at $2,000 with one or two sureties on condition he obeys a daily residential curfew from 4pm to 6am.

His trial starts on November 14.

In addition to the restaurant space featuring nods to Mexican culture and design and wall art by Bahamian artists, it also boasts the country’s largest tequila list with 100 different types of tequila available for sampling, sipping or shooting by connoisseurs.

Delva added, “Our opening night attendance exceeded our expectations. It was fun and we got some

great feedback from the attendees.

We’re also proud to get a unique Bahamian artist in on some of the design features and we’re looking forward to sharing our tequila holdings with locals and international visitors

alike. We hope to become the place to enjoy delicious and authentic Mexican food and the best tequila in The Bahamas.”

Salsa Mexican Bar & Grill is open Wednesdays to Sundays, 12pm to 12am, and reservations are encouraged.

States in the last three years through the notoriously dangerous Darien Gap, a stretch of jungle in Panama.

Venezuelans who arrive in the U.S. after July 31 of this year will not be eligible for the protection. Those who are now eligible have to apply to get it.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas granted the expansion and an 18-month extension for those who already have temporary status due to “Venezuela’s increased instability and lack of safety due to the enduring humanitarian, security, political, and environmental conditions,” the department said in a statement.

The administration said it would accelerate work authorisations for people who have arrived in the country since January through a mobile app for appointments at land crossings with Mexico, called CBP One, or through parole granted to Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who have financial sponsors and arrive at an airport.

It will aim to give them work permits within 30 days, compared with about 90 days currently.

The promise of accelerated work permits does not apply to people who cross the border illegally and seek asylum, who, by law, must wait for six months to receive work permits.

Mayors and governors have been clamouring for President Joe Biden to figure out a way to get newly arrived migrants to be able to work legally, so they can support themselves.

Democratic officials in New York, Massachusetts, Chicago and elsewhere have complained about the strain that newly arrived migrants are putting on their resources, especially in New York, where the government is required to provide housing for anyone who needs it. The city is currently paying to house about 60,000 newly arrived migrants.

New Mexican restaurant serves up a treat downtown

UNDER PRESSURE OVER BORDER, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO PROTECT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELANS

Good friendship: A source of inexhaustible love and joy

This column is an abridged version of a reprint from 2018 with some changes.

“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” – Muhammad Ali

Friendship is so essential to human thriving, happiness and joy that the Greek sage Aristotle wrote extensively on the subject, as have other philosophers, authors and wise men and women throughout the ages.

Friendship is one of the primary relationships in life. Many gays and lesbians, who were cast aside by their parents and families in earlier and current generations, often found new families and life-sustaining friendships in the LGBT community, especially during the worst days of the AIDS crisis.

Were it not for the friendship of others in the LGBT community, many gays and lesbians would have led lives of sometimes deeper isolation and desperation.

We tell friends things that we are afraid to tell family members, often because of the fear of being rejected or judged. Friends are often safe havens of compassion and acceptance.

In the Gospel of John 15:12-15 Jesus reminisces on friendship: “12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has

no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

“14 You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

The friendship he enjoyed with Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary was so profound that, moved by the loss of his friend and the grief of the sisters, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

This friendship and the friendship with others in the Gospel, including Peter, reveal the sinews and bonds of genuine friendship: shared values, the love of the other for their own sake, sacrifice and generosity, forgiveness and reconciliation and irrepressible and inexhaustible joie de vivre in the company of friends. Jesus showed us through his example that friendships are necessary

to live a life of holiness and goodness, a life of meaning and hope. The imitation of Christ is found in friendship. As the saying goes, one can’t choose one’s family, which suggests that the bond of family is not easily or should not be broken. But the other part of the adage, often less considered, is that we choose our friends.

That we are free to choose our friends recognizes something essential: the voluntary nature of friendship which involves self-donation and the good of the other for the sake of the other.

A very dear friend recalls the death of a lifelong friend from the days of primary school, who struggled for years with a debilitating disease. The dying friend, in a coma in the hospital, likely unaware of her surroundings, was not alone at the end.

In her dying hours and moments, a group of friends watched over her so that she would not be alone at the hour of her death.

Some people enjoy great accomplishments, including climbing the heights of politics and business, but often bereft of genuine friendships. These are among the saddest people in life.

Aristotle distinguished three types of friendship of which we are all familiar: friendship of utility or use; friendship of pleasure; and true friendship, for which he used the Greek word, philia. It is noteworthy that the opposite of philia is phobia.

There are some whom we considered dear friends but who turn out not to be genuine friends because they lacked the capacity for a certain reciprocity or integrity. True friendships continue to deepen and to evolve throughout one’s life.

In Aristotle and the Philosophy of Friendship, Lorraine S. Pangle writes of Aristotle’s treatment of friendship:

“Friendship is perhaps the highest summit of the moral life in which virtue and happiness are united. Friendship is a worthy outlet for the talents and energies of great-souled people.

“Friendship likewise completes and goes beyond justice. The goodness shown in noble friendships seems higher than justice because it is entirely dependent upon one’s own character and choice and is not defined or compelled by law.”

Pangle continues:

“Acts of friendship seem both more truly generous and more conducive to one’s own happiness than acts done strictly because they are moral.

“Acting for the sake of what is good means having primary regard for

one’s own virtue and the good of one’s own soul, whereas acting for a friend seems to be self-forgetting. And spontaneous acts of friendship tend to be more pleasant than impersonal acts of virtue for the doer as well as for the recipient.”

Self-absorption and ingratitude are circles of hell, in which self-pity and selfishness corrode our capacity for self-donation and friendship.

The accumulation of material goods, the endless hunt for status or the perfect body, unquenchable expectations, and ceaseless comparisons to others and envy, do not bring happiness.

But genuine friendship creates more happiness and peace and joy than most other things in life. Good friendship is a source of inexhaustible love and joy, which are never depleted but endlessly replenished, unlike the many endless cul-de-sacs and dead ends in which some often desperately seek measures of happiness and meaning.

Recall the times and experiences we have had with friends in late night phone chats, in long walks, in travelling, in sharing a meal, when tedium and daily struggles are suspended for the moment and we are able to enjoy the company of a friend, with no agenda and often no resolution to the struggles at hand.

An anonymous adage urges: “Friendship doubles joy and halves grief.”

Winnie the Pooh’s advice?

“A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.”

A recent documentary on the late comedian and actor Robin Williams chronicled his triumphs and struggles. At the heart of the film is the rich texture of his friendships, which brought him relief and comfort and sustenance in a life often saddled with addiction, depression and mental disability.

In the soundtrack of Man of La Mancha (Cervantes’ “Don Quixote”) there is a wonderful treatise on friendship in the song titled, “I Really Like Him”.

The character Aldonza, a working lady, is viewed by Quixote as a woman of beauty and virtue. She views Quixote as mad, deranged and delusional. Aldonza is perplexed by

Sancho Panza’s devotion to Quixote.

Aldonza to Sancho: “Why do you follow him?

Sancho: “That’s easy to explain. It’s because... a... because...

Aldonza: “Why?”

Sancho: (Singing) “I like him! “I really like him.

“Tear out my fingernails one by one

“I like him!

“I don’t have a very good reason

“Since I’ve been with him cuckoo nuts have been “In season!

“But there is nothing I can do “Chop me up for onion stew “Still I’ll yell to the sky

“Though I can’t tell you why “That I like him.”

Aldonza: “But what do you get out of it?

Sancho: “What do I get? Why already I’ve gotten... I’ve gotten --”

Aldonza: “You’ve got nothing! Why do you do it?”

Sancho: “. . . (Singing) “I like him!

“I really like him

“Pluck me as a scolded chicken!

“I like him!

“Don’t ask me for a why or wherefore

“Since I don’t have a very good because

“Or therefore

“You can barbecue my nose

“Make a giblet of my toes

“Make me freeze

“Make me fry

“Make me sigh or

“Make me cry

“Still I’ll yell to the sky

“Though I can’t tell you why “That I... like... him!”

Such is the joy of true friendship, which, like in all other relationships, we are ever striving to be more generous and more loving, moving beyond hurts and disappointments to the summits of joy and understanding.

CHALLENGES FACING SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE KEVIN MCCARTHY

“Beleaguered. That’s how I’d describe him. Beset from all sides. Unable to find a way to navigate through the mess that he has created for himself.”

A pundit was thus discussing the third person in the presidential succession in the United States today, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the honourable Kevin McCarthy, Republican congressman from California.

Indeed, McCarthy must be developing ulcers as he tries to manage a tiny fourvote GOP majority in the House. This 58-year-old man, married for over 30 years, has represented for more than a decade a central California district based on the oil and gas industry and agri-business centre known as Bakersfield.

Bakersfield is made for Republicans. This ninth largest city in California is a regional hub for energy production, heavy farm output, and country and western music.

The latter is because the city and surrounding area were inundated in the 1930s by refugees from the Depression-era American Dust Bowl. Those refugees were predominantly from Texas and Oklahoma. They brought their music with them.

Buck Owens, with 21 number one hits on the country music charts, and Merle Haggard, famous for the Vietnam War-era anthem “Okie from Muskogee,” are the headliners of the country music ‘Bakersfield sound.’

The Bakersfield sound became one of the most popular and influential country genres of the 1960s, initiating a revival of honky-tonk music and

influencing many subsequent country music trends.

So, all things considered, McCarthy has a solid, secure GOP seat in the House. But his perch as leader of the House of Representatives has not been secure for even a moment since he was chosen as Speaker in January.

He certainly knew what to expect when he so ardently sought the speaker’s gavel. His two immediate predecessors, John Boehner of Ohio and Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, became politically beholden to and effectively hostages to the remnants of the Newt Gingrichspawned radical right-wing Tea Party and its successors. This extreme, alienated movement, part of which is now known as the Freedom Caucus, has essentially morphed into the nuclear core of the MAGA, Trumpat-any-cost coalition that so intimidates Republicans from all over the political spectrum. It also generates millions of dollars in small donations every month for Trump, often from some of the poorest parts of the country.

Now McCarthy is squarely in their sights. There is much speculation as to exactly why this is so. Some observers say that he wanted the speaker’s job so desperately that he became almost a laughingstock for his obsessive ambition.

Others believe he is simply not suited for a position that requires strength and

commands skills but also the ability to identify and pursue practical compromise in the interests of keeping the government running.

McCarthy is facing three challenges. First, he is personally reviled by a small group of Freedom Caucus and other congresspersons who have never favored him to be speaker of the House and did not vote for him in January.

A ringleader of these is 41-year-old Matt Gaetz, who has represented the furthest-west Florida congressional district centred on Pensacola since 2017, and is widely tipped to be a candidate to be Florida’s governor in three years’ time.

Gaetz has for several years been the target of federal investigations. The House Ethics Committee reopened in June its investigation into Gaetz, allegedly for his paying a minor for sex, according to published reports. These days, though, Gaetz is making headlines for attacking McCarthy.

The speaker’s second challenge is the silly game of chicken often played for political gain in the American Congress. Whenever the national debt ceiling needs to be raised to pay for federal appropriations, or the current federal budget authorization expires, Congress must take action to enable the government to carry on. Republicans have

for many years turned this into high-stakes theatrical politics, and this year is no exception. A proposed budget bill to fund government operations beyond September 30 is now languishing due to the opposition of a handful of Freedom Caucus members who are holding out for more concessions

“He is constantly watching over his shoulder, fearful the far-right flank of his party will relieve him of his job while making concessions to appease these members.”

for their priorities. They want deep federal spending cuts and attention to several other policy priorities, including tougher southern border restrictions.

The current compromise budget proposal would lead to immediate, dramatic spending cuts across the federal government, with agency budgets being slashed by eight percent, except for the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which would be funded at current levels.

McCarthy’s goal is to vote on the bill today, but even if he succeeds, the Democratic-controlled Senate won’t agree, and the resulting impasse is a

hot mess that neither political party wants because it doesn’t want to take the blame for a suspension of transfer payments like social security cheques that would follow a government shutdown.

Many members in the House Freedom Caucus have said they won’t vote for a stopgap budget continuing resolution unless it includes language to address “woke policies” and “weaponisation of the US Department of Justice,” which is engaged in prosecuting Donald Trump and dozens of others for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Other dissidents have said they won’t support any continuing resolution at all, on general principles.

“I don’t know,” McCarthy said Monday when asked if the current budget measure will be passed in the House. “It’s a good thing I love a challenge,” McCarthy continued when asked about the bill’s prospects in the Senate. “Every day will be a challenge. We’ve got a long week. We are not at September 30th yet but as I tell everybody, I’ve never seen anybody win a government shutdown.”

Others, including Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, echo those sentiments. And there are reports that moderates from both parties are quietly negotiating a settlement without McCarthy’s direct involvement.

Chaos looms.

McCarthy’s final challenge is to his current position. Part of his deal with the devil to ascend to the speakership was his acquiescence in a measure that gives any member of the House the right to introduce a bill of no confidence in the speaker,

forcing a vote on whether to replace him or her.

So any House member can initiate this humiliating procedure at any time. Several radical-right members of the House have suggested they are willing to do so, absent further McCarthy concessions.

“Real leadership takes courage and willingness to fight for the country, not for power and a position,” Indiana Republican Victoria Spartz said.

“The Republican House is failing the American people.”

There was no breakthrough over the weekend with Sen Ron Johnson (R-Wis), who is holding up a trio of government funding bills because he wants them to be voted on individually rather than as a package, according to people familiar with the situation.

Frustrated Republicans and Democrats said Johnson’s blockade is wasting time and will lead to what Johnson says he doesn’t want: the spending bills being rolled into one omnibus measure that receives one vote.

“An initial motion to vacate might not be likely to succeed,” Gaetz told reporters.

The reason?

“There’s 200 of us or so — maybe more — that will stick by the speaker,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).

So what’s the fuss?

Well, McCarthy’s actions suggest he is worried about losing his job.

He is constantly watching over his shoulder, fearful the far-right flank of his party will relieve him of his job while making concessions to appease these members.

Last week, as talk on the Hill grew that he may face a motion-to-vacate vote, he pushed back at the idea with a bit of salty language to try to quell the talk during a House GOP conference meeting.

It’s the 18 mostly moderate Republicans who represent districts Biden won and who secured the Republican majority who could feel the electoral repercussions of a shutdown or an impeachment inquiry that goes off the rails.

Since becoming speaker, McCarthy has worked repeatedly to appease the conservatives most likely to support a motion to vacate, instead of with a governing bipartisan majority. McCarthy’s approach is different from the previous two Republican speakers, who didn’t work so hard to accommodate the far right and were nudged out of their jobs.

The approach has brought Washington to the brink of a government shutdown and put Republicans in swing districts — whose victories last year delivered McCarthy his slim majority — in tough positions.

SPEAKER of the House Kevin McCarthy. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FRANCE ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET FOR KING CHARLES III’S STATE VISIT

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Britain’s King Charles III praised France’s “wonderful welcome” at a grand dinner held in his honour Wednesday night at the sumptuous Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, marking his state visit meant to underline the friendship between both nations. In a toast mostly pronounced in French, the king said that “once again, France and the French people have shown a warm welcome and profound kindness, for which we are most grateful.”

Charles and his Queen Camilla were greeted with great pomp earlier Wednesday in a ceremony at Paris’ Arc de Triomphe by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.

The trip to France originally was planned for March but had to be postponed becasue of widespread demonstrations against Macron’s pension changes.

“It’s up to all of us to

reinvigorate our friendship to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” Charles said in Versailles.

Macron called the visit “a sign of friendship and trust that we truly appreciate and that deeply touches us.”

Women in flowing gowns and men in tuxedos walked down a red carpet rolled out on the cobblestones of Versailles. Some of the guests paused and posed for photographers in a scene reminiscent of the Cannes Film Festival.

Camilla and Brigitte

Macron appeared to have coordinated, wearing navy blue evening dresses. Among those invited were British actor Hugh Grant, writer Ken Follett, Rolling Stones’ singer Mike Jagger, sport figures including football player Didier Drogba and the head of the Paris Olympics organisation committee, Tony Estanguet, as well as many CEOs and senior politicians.

The menu included blue lobster and crab followed by Bresse poultry and a gratin of cep mushrooms prepared, respectively, by

French chefs Anne-Sophie Pic and Yannick Alléno. Both have been awarded three Michelin stars. The cheese course featured France’s Comté and Britain’s Stichelton blue cheese. For dessert, world-famous pastry chef Pierre Hermé prepared his rose macaroon cookie, made of rose petal cream, raspberries and lychees. Earlier at the Arc de Triomphe, Macron offered Charles a warm welcome, often putting his hand on his arm and his back. Both smiled as they chatted together. National anthems were played before a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The jet fighters of the Patrouille de France and Britain’s Red Arrows, the acrobatic teams of the two air forces, flew together above the monument, leaving a trail of red, white and blue smoke in the Parisian sky.

Both the royal and the presidential couples appeared to struggle with a strong wind, which tousled

Macron’s hair and forced Camilla to hold on tightly to her pink, beret-style hat.

Paris city centerwas under high security for the occasion, with thousands of police officers and surveillance drones being deployed.

Small crowds gathered behind a wide range of barriers on the ChampsElysees to get a chance to see the royal parade.

Charles and Macron, followed by Brigitte and Camilla in another car, drove to the presidential

palace under escort from the horses of the French National Guard, waving at the crowd.

Macron and Charles held a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace, where they were expected to discuss their joint commitment to better protect biodiversity and combat global warming.

The agenda was also due to include talks on Russia’s war in Ukraine and the migration issue as Italy’s southern island of Lampedusa was in recent days overwhelmed by people

setting off from Tunisia. Charles and Macron wrapped up their meeting with a short walk to the nearby U.K. ambassador’s residence. As Parisians gathered along the way, some could be heard calling, “Long live the king.” Samia Krari, a law student, said she waited for Charles because “it’s the first time he’s coming in France as the king of England so that’s something that is fabulous. We want to be there for this special occasion.”

FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Britain’s King Charles III attend a state dinner in the Hall of Mirrors at the Chateau de Versailles, west of Paris, Wednesday in Versailles. (Benoit Tessier/Pool via AP)

UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT, AT SECURITY COUNCIL, LASHES OUT AT RUSSIA BUT AVOIDS FACE-TO-FACE ENCOUNTER

By EDITH M. LEDERER and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

JOB VACANCY

A prominent car dealership is seeking an SENIOR AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN/ WORKSHOP FOREMAN

The ideal candidate must have a wide range of experience in the automotive business as well as good written and oral communication skills.

QUALIFICATIONS:

diagnostic equipment

real world experience in the automotive field. management skills

for all dealership-owned tools at all times. tools.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

times.

giving detailed explanation; status, location, etc. all tools as required. when required. allotted. lead the team. multitask.

control checks. passed on to the service advisor to be communicated to the customer. completed is recorded on the repair order. wheel alignments, transmission diagnostics. equipment, process/procedures and staff dress code.

AN ATTRACTIVE COMPENSATION PACKAGE

WHICH INCLUDES:

Interested persons should send resumes and supporting documents to: P. O. Box N-9240 Nassau, Bahamas OR

Or email address: bahamasmedia@gmail.com All applications must be submitted on or before September 21st, 2023.

UNITED NATIONS

(AP) — Ukraine’s president accused Russia of waging “a criminal and unprovoked aggression” that undermines all norms of war and the U.N. charter Wednesday at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council that started with a clash over his speech.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the council that his proposal to end the 19-month war starts with adherence to the charter that ensures the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all 193 U.N. member nations. He stressed that restoration of all Ukrainian territory is the key to peace.

Before the meeting started, there was intense speculation about whether Zelenskyy and Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, would clash, speak or totally avoid each other. But no confrontation happened because Zelenskyy left the council soon after his address.

The verbal fireworks began at the start of the meeting, before Lavrov arrived, when Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia protested the council president’s decision to allow Zelenskyy to speak ahead of the 15 council members.

He said Albanian President Edi Rama, this month’s council president, was trying to turn the meeting into “a one-man stand-up show,” adding that it would be “nothing more than a spectacle” — a dig at Zelenskyy’s past as a comedian.

Rama cited the council rule allowing a nonmember to speak first. He added that “this is not a special operation by the Albanian presidency,” eliciting laughter with a dig at Russia’s insistence on referring to its offensive against Ukraine as a “special military operation.” After another heated exchange over whether Nebenzia had referred to Rama as Albania’s prime minister and a NATO member instead of as the council president, Rama declared: “I take note, and we’ll continue with our session.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres then briefed the council, reiterating that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was “in clear violation of the United Nations charter and international law.”

The war “is aggravating geopolitical tensions and divisions, threatening regional stability, increasing the nuclear threat and creating deep fissures in our increasingly multipolar world,” the U.N. chief warned.

Guterres again condemned the war and repeated his call for “a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine in line with the U.N. charter and international law — for Ukraine, for Russia and for the world.”

Zelenskyy was the next speaker, sitting behind the Ukraine plaque at the Security Council’s horseshoeshaped table in his traditional fatigues.

He called the invasion “a criminal and unprovoked aggression by Russia” that was “aimed at Ukraine’s territory and resources.”

“But it’s not just that,” he said. “The terrorist state is willing, through its aggression, to undermine all the grounds of international norms meant to protect the world from the wars.”

Ukraine has long accused Russia of being an illegal successor to the former Soviet Union, which collapsed in the early 1990s, and

Zelenskyy went after Russia again for claiming the Soviet Union’s Security Council seat “through backstage manipulations.”

The Ukrainian leader accused Russia of “mass atrocities” of human rights and said action should be taken to prevent Moscow from using its veto at the Security Council. The U.N.’s most powerful body is charged with ensuring international peace and security, but it has been blocked from taking any action on Ukraine because of Russia’s virtually certain veto.

Zelenskyy called for reforms to allow the 193 members of the U.N. General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, to suspend or strip the veto power of one of the five permanent members of the Security Council for egregious violations of the U.N. Charter.

The assembly has condemned Russia’s invasion and demanded the withdrawal of its forces and a reversal of its annexation of Ukrainian territory, but its resolutions are not legally binding.

Ukraine has come under pressure from some council members, including China, to engage in talks to end the war, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides.

Zelenskyy laid out two key concrete steps to ensure Ukraine’s future security: a complete withdrawal of all Russian troops, mercenaries and military and paramilitary “formations,” and ships, from Ukraine’s internationally recognised territory and its Black Sea waters. That step would be followed by “full restoration” of Ukrainian control “over the entire state border and exclusive economic zone.”

“Only the implementation of these two points will result in an honest, reliable and complete cessation of hostilities,” he said.

In a high-profile speech Tuesday to the General Assembly during its annual meeting of world leaders, the

Ukrainian president accused Russia of using food, energy and even children as weapons in the war — and he warned other leaders that “when hatred is weaponised against one nation, it never stops there.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the council that Russia “has shredded the major tenets of the U.N. charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international humanitarian law — and flouted one Security Council resolution after another.”

The invasion violates the charter’s “central pillar” of respecting every country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.

“Russia is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity on a daily basis.” he said.

Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin declared from the outset that the Kremlin’s aim is to erase Ukraine from the map and restore Russia’s lost empire. Lavrov blamed the West for “a shaking of global stability as well as the exacerbation and the fomenting of new hotbeds of tension.” He said “the U.S. and its satellites have egregiously and openly interfered in the domestic affairs of Ukraine,” heightening the risks of global conflict.

He insisted that Russia has “fully” respected the provisions of the U.N. charter “in an interconnected way.”

The atmosphere was charged last year when Lavrov and Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba were both at a council meeting during the 2022 General Assembly gathering.

The two foreign ministers did not exchange any words. Lavrov arrived only minutes before his turn to speak and left immediately after. But beforehand, there was tension over the seating arrangement — a placard marking Ukraine’s seat was moved after Kuleba apparently objected to its placement next to Russia’s spot.

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a high level Security Council meeting during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Wednesday. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

RUSSIA’S Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a high level Security Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine, Wednesday, at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

THE SECURITY Council holds a high level meeting on the situation in Ukraine, Wednesday, at the United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

COMMUNICATION OUTAGE HITS FLOOD-STRICKEN CITY IN LIBYA, FURTHER COMPLICATING SEARCH EFFORTS

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — A daylong communication outage in a flood-stricken city in eastern Libya further complicated the work of teams searching for bodies under the rubble and at sea Wednesday.

The country’s chief prosecutor, meanwhile, vowed to take “serious measures” to deliver justice for the victims of the floods, which killed thousands of people and devastated the coastal city of Derna more than a week ago.

The outage was caused by fiber-optic cables being severed Tuesday, Libya’s state-owned telecommunications company said. Engineers were investigating to determine whether it happened because of digging for bodies or was sabotage, the company’s spokesman, Mohamed al-Bdairi, told a local television station.

Internet and phone service were knocked out, with residents and journalists unable to reach those inside Derna. Authorities said communications with the city were restored Wednesday evening.

Heavy rains triggered deadly flooding across

eastern Libya earlier this month.

The storm overwhelmed two dams in the first hours of Sept. 11, sending a wall of water several metres high through the centre of Derna, destroying entire neighbourhoods and sweeping people out to sea.

The floods inundated as much as a quarter of the city, officials have said.

Thousands of people were killed, with many dead still under the rubble or at sea, according to search teams. Government officials and aid agencies have given varied death tolls ranging from about 4,000 to over 11,000.

At least 40,000 people were displaced in the area, including 30,000 in Derna, according to the U.N.’s migration agency. Many

people have moved to other cities across Libya, hosted by local communities or sheltered in schools.

Local authorities said they have isolated the worst damaged part of Derna amid growing concerns about potential infection by waterborne diseases.

Health authorities have launched a vaccination campaign that initially targeted search and rescue teamed along with children in Derna and other impacted areas.

Hundreds of angry protesters gathered outside the main mosque in Derna on Monday. They lashed out at the political class that has controlled Libya since the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a 2011 NATOsupported uprising.

PEOPLE look for survivors after flooding in Derna, Libya, recently. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad, File)

TEAM BAHAMAS FALLS 6-1 TO GRENADA IN CONCACAF ‘ROAD TO GOLD CUP’ OPENER

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas’ senior women’s national football team went down 6-1 to Grenada in game one of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)

Women’s Road to Gold Cup.

Team Bahamas got their feet wet for the first time in three decades on home soil at the Thomas A Robinson stadium last night against the away team, who returned to the international level for their second consecutive year.

The home team’s relatively young club applied strong defensive pressure in the first half but the experience of Grenada trumped them in the second period, leading to their first loss of the competition.

Ricqea Bain, head coach of the senior women’s national team, talked about the way they played in their first time back on the soccer scene after 30 years.

“We started the game a little nervous. This is our first international match as a senior team, we began the knock the ball around, [and] knock the nerves off. Unfortunately, the other team was able to secure the match but we were able to score our first international goal,” she said.

The head coach added that despite the loss the team made some strides in executing passes through the midfield, finishing a goal and are looking not only to score more goals in Grenada but also work on development.

Team Grenada has been preparing for their second

appearance in the Concacaf competition since February and they showcased their experience in the opening game. The now 1-0 team was the first to strike in the initial half. Within the first 12 minutes of game one, Grenada’s Nia Thompson launched the ball to the back of the net to connect on her first of two goals in the game. Shortly before the culmination of the first half, Demitra Mcclure of Team Bahamas retaliated at the 44:00 segment of the game. She got the step on her

defender and darted the ball past Grenada’s goalkeeper Keoana Salandy to follow up a goal scored by Grenada’s forward Roneisha Frank. Mcclure scored the lone goal for the home team and made the score 2-1 going into the break.

Jake Rennie, head coach of Grenada, talked about the difference in gameplay between the two teams in the first and second half.

“I think we could have done much better but then again it is our first game in a long time. It was okay we were able to come out 2-1 in the first half and

the second half was much better, we changed the pace of the game, moved the ball around a little, got chances we scored and took it away from The Bahamas,” Rennie said.

Although the coach was happy with the win he felt his team came out a bit flat to start the game, but they picked it up in the second half.

In the second half, the visiting Group C team scored the majority of their goals toward the tail end of the game.

Thompson collected her second goal of the game at

the 74:00 juncture to push the Grenada lead to 3-1. A mere two minutes later, Brianna Capron was issued a red card for a hard foul to a Grenada player at the 76:00 mark.

The away team remained unphased and midfielder Malia Ramdhanny got in on the scoring action three minutes later and advanced the score to 4-1. With the clock winding down, Team Bahamas’ chances to score dwindled while Grenada kept the momentum going.

Game one wrapped up with the latter earning two more goals from midfielder

Ronniellia Bubb and forward Abigail Williams in the game’s final moments. Despite the tough opening game loss, Team Bahamas will have the chance to redeem themselves in their away match against Grenada 4pm this Sunday, September 24.

The senior women’s team is playing out of League C and Group C along with Grenada and the US Virgin Islands.

The group’s winner will advance to play the victor of Group B to determine which lone team will advance to the Gold Cup.

$100m men Kane and Bellingham give good value to Bayern and Madrid in Champions League debut wins

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer

GENEVA (AP) — Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham made $100 million moves in the offseason and proved their worth yesterday in Champions League debuts for their new clubs.

England captain Kane and his likely successor Bellingham scored key goals for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, respectively, to show why they are adored already by their new home fans.

Kane’s precisely taken penalty quickly restored Bayern’s two-goal lead against Manchester United early in the second half of a 4-3 win. The final result was due to a late and fruitless flourish by the club that wanted to sign Kane from Tottenham and keep him in England.

“Towards the end of the game it got a bit frantic,”

Kane told US broadcaster CBS Sports, suggesting Bayern “probably should have been 4- or 5-1 up after we got the third.”

Bellingham landed just where he wanted in Madrid and his 94th-minute goal in a 1-0 win over newcomer Union Berlin made it six goals for the former Borussia Dortmund star in six straight wins to start the Spanish giant’s season.

Back home in England, Arsenal returned to the Champions League after a six-year absence as if it had never been away. PSV Eindhoven was thrashed 4-0 in a no-doubt win sparked by England winger Bukayo Saka’s goal in the 8th.

Late goals got Italian teams off to good starts in the last-ever group stage before the new Champions League format takes effect next year.

Serie A champion Napoli won 2-1 at Braga thanks to an own-goal in the 88th by Mali defender Sikou Niakaté.

Lautaro Martínez was key to Inter Milan’s run to the final last season and the Argentina forward struck in the 87th to take a 1-1 draw from Real Sociedad.

Galatasaray got goals in the 86th and 88th to deny Copenhagen a valuable away win in Istanbul — it ended 2-2 — and Europa League winner Sevilla was held 1-1 at home by Lens, which is last in the French league.

Salzburg surprised Benfica by winning 2-0 in Lisbon.

OLD MASTERS

Real Madrid was playing its 477th game in the European Cup or Champions League. Union Berlin was playing its first. Madrid’s European adventure

started on September 8, 1955 — a 2-0 win against Servette in Geneva — in the third game ever played in the European Cup. Then, Union was playing behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany, outside the top tier, and known as SC Motor Berlin.

The experience told.

Union resisted Madrid’s first 29 goal attempts but the 30th proved too much when Jude Bellingham pirouetted to finish a game of pinball in the goalmouth and shoot into an empty net.

It was the second time this month he scored a decisive stoppage-time goal.

“I hope I keep on scoring goals in minute 94 or 95,” Bellingham said. “Although it might do my heart, and the club, good to scorer earlier.”

Madrid next goes to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on October 3 to face Napoli.

UNITED’S STRUGGLES Manchester United and manager Erik ten Hag have now lost three straight games and four of their last five.

The cause was not helped by goalkeeper André Onana spilling Leroy Sané’s shot into the net to gift Bayern a 28th-minute lead.

After Serge Gnabry double the lead, United players came out early for the second half and huddled for a pep talk from captain Bruno Fernandes.

It appeared to have worked with a goal in the 49th from Rasmus Højlund, the 20-year-old Denmark striker bought for $82 million from Atalanta in the

role Kane might have filled. Kane’s penalty seemed to have sealed the win, but Casemiro scored two late goals either side of a fourth for Bayern by French 18-year-old Mathys Tel.

BIZARRE RED CARD Benfica impressed in the group stage one year ago but an unusual, almost farcical, red card cost the Portuguese champion dearly against Salzburg. António Silva was sent off in the 13th for a handball on the goal line.

After a shot was blocked, the ball looped in the air, bounced high in the goalmouth, grazed the crossbar on the way down and was swatted away by the defender. Silva held his head in his hands before walking off the field. Salzburg had already missed one penalty kick taken by Karim Konaté but Roko Šimic took the next and scored. The Croatian who turned 20 this month set up 19-year Israel forward Oscar Gloukh for an easy score early in the second half.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

The third-tier Europa Conference League kicked off with Lille beating Slovenian champion Olimpija Ljubljana 2-0. Canada forward Jonathan David scored the first from a 43rd-minute penalty. European new- comer KÍ Klaksvík, the first group-stage team in any competition to come from the Faeroe Islands, and Slovan Bratislava also are in the group. The rest of the Conference League starts on Thursday (today).

REAL Madrid’s Jude Bellingham scores his side’s first goal yesterday during the Champions League group C soccer match between Real Madrid and FC Union Berlin at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid.

(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

PLAY ACTION: The Bahamas women’s national soccer team lost 6-1 to Grenada last night in their opening game of the Concacaf Gold Cup at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Photo: Moise Amisial/Tribune Staff

Pro Picks: Big week ahead for 49ers, other favourites

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer

FOURTEEN NFL teams are 1-1 and Pro Picks also has an even record through two weeks.

It takes a couple of games for most teams to find their way and to figure it out.

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t need much time picking up where they left off.

The Niners (2-0) opened with a pair of road wins and now have won 12 straight regular-season games. Their only loss in the past 15 games was in the NFC championship when they lost both quarterbacks to injury.

Brock Purdy has looked sharp in his return from elbow surgery, Christian McCaffrey has been dynamic and San Francisco is clicking heading into tonight’s home opener against the New York Giants (1-1).

After being outscored 60-0 in the first 90 minutes of the season, the Giants rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Arizona last week.

Daniel Jones delivered in the clutch and Saquon Barkley had a pair of scores before injuring his ankle.

New York has no chance without Barkley, who will miss the game. The 49ers are 10 1/2-point favourites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Pro Picks doesn’t expect a Giants team that has been outclassed in six of eight quarters to keep it close. Looking at the 49ers to kick off a big week for favorites around the league.

49ERS, 30-16

BUFFALO AT WASHINGTON

Line: Bills minus 6 1/2

Josh Allen successfully played hero ball after an awful opener for the Bills (1-1). Sam Howell was impressive in leading the Commanders (2-0) to a comeback win. Buffalo is 18-2 when facing opposing quarterbacks with 16 or fewer career starts since 2019.

BEST BET: BILLS, 29-17

PITTSBURGH AT LAS

VEGAS

Line: Raiders minus 2 1/2

The Steelers (1-1) have as many defensive TDs (two) as offensive and can’t stop the run. The Raiders (1-1) are also having problems on offense.

UPSET SPECIAL:

STEELERS, 19-16

LOS ANGELES

CHARGERS AT MINNESOTA

Line: Vikings minus 1 1/2

A pair of 2022 playoff teams looking to avoid

an 0-3 start. The Chargers are moving the ball on offense but Brandon Staley’s defense still stinks. The Vikings are beating themselves with turnovers. Cousins is 6-12-1 in September with Minnesota.

VIKINGS, 27-24

NEW ENGLAND AT NEW YORK JETS

Line: Patriots minus 2 1/2

Bill Belichick and the Patriots are 0-2 for the first time since 2001. New England has to avoid turnovers to win its 15th straight vs. the Jets. New York’s defense failed to step up in the first full game without Aaron Rodgers. Zach Wilson looked like the guy the Jets desperately wanted to replace.

PATRIOTS, 20-16

HOUSTON AT JACKSONVILLE

Line: Jaguars minus 8 1/2 Trevor Lawrence and Jacksonville’s offense are out of sync but the Jaguars (1-1) are playing better on defense. Rookie QB C.J. Stroud is exciting to watch but Texans (0-2) are overmatched.

JAGUARS, 27-18

INDIANAPOLIS AT

BALTIMORE

Line: Ravens minus 7 1/2

The Ravens (2-0) are coming off an impressive win in Cincinnati and Lamar Jackson is picking up a new offensive system nicely. QB Anthony Richardson and Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly are in concussion protocol for the Colts (1-1).

RAVENS, 27-13 ATLANTA AT DETROIT

Line: Lions minus 3 1/2

The Falcons (2-0) are off to a surprising start and rookie RB Bijan Robinson looks like the real deal. Now they face a team with playoff aspirations coming off a disappointing loss. The Lions haven’t solved their defensive issues yet.

LIONS, 29-20

DALLAS AT ARIZONA

Line: Cowboys minus 12 1/2

The Cowboys (2-0) dominated both New York teams, outscoring them 70-10. Still, Dak Prescott and the offense haven’t fully clicked. The woeful Cardinals (0-2) blew a 21-point lead in the second half against the Giants in what might have been their best chance to get a win anytime soon.

COWBOYS, 31-12

DENVER AT MIAMI

Line: Dolphins minus 6 1/2

Even Sean Payton can’t get the Broncos (0-2) on the winning track, though Russell Wilson at least looks

GIANTS SEEKING A MORE COMPLETE GAME VS 49ERS

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer

SANTA CLARA, California (AP) — Matching the biggest comeback win in franchise history was cause for celebration for the New York Giants.

But they know it won’t be nearly as easy climbing out of a big hole this week when they take on the powerhouse San Francisco 49ers (2-0) tonight as it was against the bottom-dwelling Arizona Cardinals.

“We can’t afford to do that against any team,” safety Xavier McKinney said about falling into a deep hole. “We can’t keep having slow starts. We’ve just got to correct it. It’s only so much talking that we can do about it, we’ve just got to go out there and execute the things that we’re practicing and the stuff that we go over in these meetings. That’s what we’re going to be looking to do. But we definitely cannot keep doing that.”

Accomplishing that for the Giants (1-1) will be a lot harder without star running back Saquon Barkley, who will miss at least this week’s game after spraining his ankle late in the win against Arizona.

better than last season.

Tua Tagovailoa has led a balanced offense for the Dolphins (2-0).

DOLPHINS, 24-20

CHICAGO AT KANSAS CITY

Line: Chiefs minus 13 1/2

Travis Kelce and Chris Jones returned and so did the winning ways for the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (1-1).

The Bears (0-2) are headed for their 13th straight loss. Only question is how many points it’ll take.

SEAHAWKS, 26-16

TENNESSEE AT CLEVELAND

Line: Browns minus 3 1/2

Deshaun Watson hardly looks like a guy worth the $230 million the Browns (1-1) gave him and now he can’t give the ball to Nick Chubb. Cleveland’s defense under Jim Schwartz has impressed. Ryan Tannehill rebounded from an awful game to lead the Titans

(1-1) to a comeback win that snapped an eight-game losing streak.

BROWNS, 20-17 NEW ORLEANS AT GREEN BAY Line: Packers minus 2 The Saints are 2-0 for the first time since 2013 thanks mainly to a stingy defense. They need Derek Carr and the offense to find a rhythm. Injuries have already hit the Packers (1-1) hard. Jordan Love is the NFL’s highestrated passer.

PACKERS, 22-17

PHILADELPHIA AT TAMPA BAY Line: Eagles minus 4 1/2 Jalen Hurts and the Eagles (2-0) haven’t looked sharp yet they’re undefeated. The Buccaneers (2-0) are better than expected. Baker Mayfield is playing efficient and the team has playmakers on both sides. Eagles look to avenge a playoff loss to Tom Brady and the Bucs in January 2022.

EAGLES, 27-20

LOS ANGELES RAMS

AT CINCINNATI

Line: Bengals minus 2 1/2

Hard to believe these two teams met in the Super Bowl just two seasons ago. The rebuilding Rams (1-1) hardly resemble the squad that walked away with the Lombardi Trophy.

The Bengals are 0-2 for the second straight year but uncertainty surrounding Joe Burrow’s calf makes it difficult to imagine they’ll rebound the same way and end up back in the AFC title game.

BENGALS, 23-20

CHIEFS, 31-13

CAROLINA AT SEATTLE

Line: Seahawks minus 5 1/2

Bryce Young and the Panthers (0-2) are predictably struggling in the passing game. Geno Smith got the Seahawks (1-1) going in an impressive comeback win at Detroit.

ITALY REBOUNDS TO BLOW OUT URUGUAY AT RUGBY WORLD CUP

NICE, France (AP)

— Italy rebounded from a 10-point halftime deficit to blow away Uruguay 38-17 yesterday and set up a potentially decisive clash against New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup.

All the talk about Pool A has been about New Zealand and France, but Italy has dispatched Namibia and Uruguay with bonus points and has a chance to send home the All Blacks — whom Italy has never beaten — when they meet next week.

“We could not have asked for more,” Italy winger Monty Ioane said. “The boys are confident, we’re ready to take on anyone. The next two are the biggies. It’s an awesome opportunity to go against the best teams in the world. But we are not worried at all as long as we just focus on ourselves.

“The All Blacks have a crazy attacking style, but we have just got to be prepared with our defence. In return, we have a crazy attacking system as well. It’s just who turns up on the day.”

In the first half against Uruguay, Italy didn’t look like it could tie the All Blacks’ boot laces.

After conceding the first try in a nervous first quarter, Uruguay turned

the pressure back on Italy and the Azzurri buckled. They lost two players to the sin-bin and played with 13 men for nine minutes.

Uruguay earned two tries and finished the half with a 45-meter drop goal.

Uruguay led 17-7 and good for the Rugby World Cup’s first shock.

But captain Andrés Vilaseca was given a harsh yellow for a high tackle and the difference between Italy, aiming for the quarterfinals, and Uruguay, aiming for a rare Rugby World Cup win, became sharply evident.

Italy pounced with four tries in 15 minutes to earn the precious bonus point and a fourth straight test win for the first time since 1994.

“It was a really tough game,” captain Michele Lamaro said. “I told all the Uruguayan guys they can be proud of their performance, they put us under a lot of pressure but in these moments, what counts the most is how strong is the team, and in the second half we showed that and smashed everything we could. “I’m really proud of the boys and I’ll share this moment for the rest of my life with them.”

Italy took the lead from Uruguay in the seventh

minute when wing Lorenzo Pani took crash ball off a scrum and scored on his Rugby World Cup debut.

Uruguay flyhalf Felipe Etcheverry dragged his first two penalty kicks wide and intercepted Lamaro but was dragged down short of the tryline by opposite Tommaso Allan.

But Italy was under pressure on its line and lock Niccolò Cannone was yellow-carded for a cynical

foul. Moments later, Uruguay mauled over the line and Italy prop Danilo Fischetti was ruled to have collapsed it. A penalty try was awarded and Fischetti joined Cannone in the sinbin. Uruguay exploited the two-man advantage just before it ended when Etcheverry offloaded for a corner try by wing Nicolas Freitas, who by then had been playing with a broken nose for 25 minutes.

Etcheverry converted from the touchline and added a 45-meter drop goal with the last kick of the half to send Uruguay racing off the field with a 17-7 halftime lead.

The match turned again at the start of the second half when Vilaseca was sinbinned. Italy made the man advantage count. Hooker Giacomo Nicotera was held up by Uruguay scrumhalf

That puts even more pressure on quarterback Daniel Jones to play the way he did in the second half against Arizona and not like the first six quarters of the season.

“Daniel has got his job to do, just like the running backs have their job, the receivers, the offensive line,” coach Brian Daboll said.

“It’s individually taking care of your responsibility, whatever that may be and doing your job at a high level.”

The Giants didn’t do that to start the season. They got off to one of the worst starts in recent history in the NFL, losing the opener 40-0 to Dallas and then falling behind 20-0 at the half to the Cardinals and 28-7 in the third quarter.

New York was the first team in 45 years to allow at least 60 points before scoring for the first time in a season. The Giants then scored 31 points in the second half behind 317 yards of offence and three TDs from Jones.

The 49ers have struggled at times in recent seasons slowing down mobile quarterbacks and view the matchup with Jones as a big challenge.

Santiago Arata, but two minutes later Lamaro bashed through three defenders to score his first test try. Lamaro was quickly followed with tries by wing Montanna Ioane after a chargedown by Allan, and No. 8 Lorenzo Cannone while Uruguayans were hanging off him.

With bonus-point try banked, Italy hammered the Uruguay line and Paolo Garbisi fed midfield partner Juan Ignacio Brex into a gap to score their fifth try.

Allan added the extras as usual. He has slotted 13 goalkicks without a miss in two games. When he was rested, Garbisi took over to nail a late penalty kick.

“It was a really epic battle. We gave the best we could,” Uruguay flanker Santiago Civetta said. “There were a lot of mistakes, more than what we wanted, and Italy exploited those errors. That is the explanation — they were better than us.

“It is quite frustrating to be honest. We dreamt really big about this match. Big dreams sometimes come true, sometimes they don’t.”

ITALY’S MONTANNA IOANE, right, reacts after scoring a try during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Italy and Uruguay at the Stade de Nice, in Nice, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

49ERS running back Christian McCaffrey, top, avoids a tackle by Rams defensive back Jordan Fuller (4) during the first half Sunday.

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Team Bahamas ready to compete at CAC Bodybuilding Championships

FROM PAGE 20

Team Bahamas features members, including veteran Godfrey Stephen Robinson, Reginald Delancy and Orick Nesbitt for men’s bodybuilding.

Briceton Anderson will compete in men’s fitness and Kareem Brancaccio in men’s fit model, Ricardo Gibson in men’s physique (Class C), Judah Forbes in men’s physique (Class D), Brandon Bastian in men’s physique (Class F), Anthon Moxey in men’s classic physique (Class B), and Andrew Gibson in men’s classic physique (Class C). Anderson will also get into competition in men’s physique Class B. For the women, veteran Dorcas Cox will compete in the women’s body fitness (figure).

Additionally, Denica Thompson and Andrecka Dames is in Class B for women’s wellness and Ivanique Kemp in the same category for Class D.

With the majority of the national bodybuilding team being first-timers, they are excited to compete for The Bahamas at the bodybuilding championships.

Anderson, who is competing in men’s fitness and physique, talked about his expectations. “I am really excited and privileged. First of all I must thank the

executive team for giving me the privilege to be here and I am honoured to represent the country and I am looking for no less than two medals,” he said.

Among the veterans are Robinson, Nesbitt, Forbes, and Cox. Nesbitt said he is

Castellanos hits 2 homers, makes pivotal throw for an out, as Phillies beat Braves

ATLANTA (AP) — Nick

Castellanos hit two home runs and saved the game yesterday with a brilliant throw as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves in 10 innings, handing the NL East champions their fifth loss in six games.

The Braves rallied from a four-run deficit and had a chance to walk off with the win in the ninth after pinchrunner Luke Williams stole second and third.

Orlando Arcia hit a fly ball down the right-field line that appeared deep enough to bring home the tagging Williams. But Castellanos made the catch in foul territory, spun around and threw home in time for Garrett Stubbs to tag the runner on the right shoulder before his foot touched the plate.

Craig Kimbrel (8-6) claimed the win and Matt Strahm earned his second save.

In the 10th, Bryson Stott lined an opposite-field double down the third-base line that brought home two runs off A.J. Minter (3-6).

DIAMONDBACKS 7, GIANTS 1

PHOENIX (AP) — Merrill Kelly threw 6 2/3 strong innings, Corbin Carroll hit his 25th homer and stole his 50th base of the season, and Arizona won its fifth straight game by beating San Francisco.

Kelly (12-7) gave up one run on three hits, walking two and striking out five.

Arizona’s four-run seventh put the game out of reach. Carroll and Ketel Marte led off with back-toback homers off reliever Ryan Walker, extending Arizona’s lead to 5-1. Gabriel Moreno and Emmanuel Rivera added

simply excited to represent the country. “I am excited to go to Aruba and represent The Bahamas and do bodybuilding and heavyweight and hopefully bring back the gold,” he said. National bodybuilding champion Robinson

has made his return to the sport following his last stint in 2016 and he is ready for the 50th Bodybuilding championships. “This is a pleasure being back on the team since 2016. Last time I made the top six, this time I am in a

heavier division but I am hoping to get back in the top six, once I get to the top six, then I will take it from there in trying to secure gold, silver or bronze,” he said.

The Bahamas’ return to the CAC Bodybuilding

Championships will commence tomorrow at the Aruba Marriott Resort Stellaris Casino at Palm Beach, Aruba. The competition is scheduled to come to an end for the 14 athletes next week Monday.

RBI singles. San Francisco right-hander Logan Webb (10-13) gave up three runs on nine hits and two walks over six innings, striking out four. The Giants have lost five of their past six.

Carroll is the second player in MLB history with more than 25 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season in an age-22 season or younger, joining César Cedeño, who had 25 homers and 56 stolen bases in 1973.

TWINS 5, REDS 3

CINCINNATI (AP) —

Jorge Polanco’s two-run single capped a three-run ninth inning, helping Minnesota overcome Hunter Greene’s 14 strikeouts to beat Cincinnati.

With Minnesota trailing 3-2, Willi Castro singled leading off the ninth against Reds closer Alexis Díaz (9-5), then stole second and took third on catcher Luke Maile’s throwing error.

Kyle Farmer followed with a tying single.

Polanco hit a basesloaded, two-out single off Sam Moll that scored Farmer and Christian Vázquez. Griffin Jax pitched the bottom of the inning for his third save.

Greene allowed one run – Castro’s second home run in two days in the seventh – and three hits with one walk over seven innings.

Jhoan Duran (3-6) allowed a walk with two strikeouts to get the win.

ASTROS 2, ORIOLES 1

HOUSTON (AP) — Mauricio Dubon’s RBI single with one out in the ninth inning lifted Houston to the win over Baltimore, helping the Astros avoid a sweep and stay a half-game

ahead of Texas for first place in the AL West. Yainer Diaz doubled to right field off Danny Coulombe (5-2) to start Houston’s ninth, and he moved to third on a groundout by Chas McCormick. Dubon then singled into the gap in right field to score Diaz.

Closer Ryan Pressly (4-5) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.

Anthony Santander doubled and drove in Baltimore’s only run with a single in the first inning as the team’s lead over the Rays in the AL East fell to two games.

NATIONALS 13, WHITE SOX 3

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lane Thomas hit a grand slam for Washington in a rout of Chicago.

Joey Meneses and Dominic Smith also homered for Washington, which had a season high in runs and won back-to-back games for the first time since taking three in a row from Aug. 24-26.

Gavin Sheets drove in two runs for Chicago, which has dropped nine of its last 12 games and 14 of 19.

Thomas broke the game open after Jesse Scholtens allowed Luis García’s single, hit Jake Alu and walked CJ Abrams to load the bases in the third inning. Thomas hammered a curveball to left for his 26th home run and second career grand slam to put Washington up 8-1. Thomas also walked twice and was hit by a pitch.

Josiah Gray (8-12) gave up a run on five hits in five innings and struck out four for his first victory since July 22. Reliever Tanner Banks (0-4) took the loss.

RANGERS 15, RED SOX 5

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Marcus Semien drove in three runs and scored for the AL-best 115th time, Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver hit back-to-back homers and playoff-chasing Texas beat Boston.

Rookies Josh Jung and Evan Carter each added two-run homers for the Rangers, who remain a half-game behind Houston for the AL West lead and tied with division foe Seattle for the American League’s third and final wild-card spot.

Left-hander Martin Perez (10-4) struck out five while allowing three hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Jon Gray.

Boston, last in the AL East after losing 12 of 15 games, dropped its fifth consecutive series even after jumping ahead 4-0. Adam Duvall hit a threerun homer in the first and Bobby Dalbec had a leadoff shot in the second.

The first seven Texas batters reached base in the bottom of the second off Brayan Bello (12-10).

ROYALS 6, GUARDIANS 2 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nelson Velázquez hit a three-run homer, Angel Zerpa shut down

Cleveland in relief of Zack Greinke, and Kansas City rolled to the victory and a three-game sweep.

Zerpa (3-3) got the final out of the fourth inning and allowed three hits the rest of the way.

He struck out four without a walk.

Bobby Witt Jr. and Edward Olivares also drove in runs to send the Royals on their final road trip having won six of their past seven games.

Lucas Giolito (8-14) allowed four runs, three of them earned, on seven hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings.

PADRES 3, ROCKIES 2

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Luis Campusano tied the game with a bases-loaded single with one out in the seventh and Ji Man Choi followed with a sacrifice fly for his first RBI with San Diego, who beat Colorado to extend their season-best winning streak to seven.

Josh Hader pitched the ninth for his 31st save, retiring Brendan Rodgers with a runner on third.

Luis Garcia (2-3) got the win and Rockies starter Chase Anderson (0-6) took the loss.

A day after breaking up San Diego’s combined nohitter leading off the ninth, Rodgers homered to leftcenter with one out in the first off Seth Lugo.

The Rockies made it 2-0 when Sean Bouchard singled in rookie Nolan Jones with two outs.

Xander Bogaerts, who had three hits, hit a leadoff single off Anderson and scored on Soto’s groundout. MARINERS 6, ATHLETICS 3 OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dominic Canzone homered and drove in four runs as Seattle beat Oakland to complete a three-game sweep and maintain their position in the tight AL West race.

Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh added back-toback homers to give Seattle 200 home runs in a season for the seventh time in franchise history.

Raleigh also doubled, giving him 52 extra-base hits, the most by a Mariners catcher in a season.

Seattle remained tied with Texas for the third AL wild-card berth and onehalf game behind Houston in the AL West.

The Rangers and Astros both won.

Rodríguez reached 100 RBIs, becoming the third player age 22 or younger with at least 30 homers, 30 stolen bases and 100 RBIs in a season, joining Alex Rodriguez (1998) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019).

George Kirby (11-10) scattered eight hits across seven innings, allowing three runs and striking out three. Justin Topa pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save.

In his major league debut, Joey Estes (0-1) allowed six runs, five earned, on six hits with two strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

GO TEAM BAHAMAS: The Bahamas Bodybuilding Wellness and Fitness Federation team commuted to Aruba yesterday for the 50th Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding Championships set for September 21-25.

6-5 in 10

PHILADELPHIA Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos, left, celebrates with Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs (21) after a win against the Atlanta Braves yesterday in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

CHISHOLM JR AND MARLINS CELEBRATE LATEST HISTORIC DOUBLE GRAND SLAM FEAT

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN Jasrado

“Jazz” Chisholm Jr and the Miami Marlins celebrated his latest historic feat, being the team’s first player to notch grand slams in backto-back games.

The franchise gifted the 25-year-old with a surprise side-by-side commemorative card photograph of the big moments that were framed together and presented to him.

Additionally, his celebration extended to the first 8,000 fans that attended the Marlins’ game against the New York Mets at the Marlins Park last night.

The team’s promotion allowed the supporters to receive the iconic Jazz Double Grand Slam Commemorative card to mark the historic moment in Marlins history.

The Bahamian baseball star was grateful as he talked about how it felt to be on the right side of Marlins team history. “Thank you guys, without you guys we would not be here. Thank you guys for the opportunity for letting me play in Miami. It has always been a dream since I was a kid [and] to actually make history in Miami is actually one of the coolest things I have ever done,” he said. Chisholm Jr has been having quite the September locally and internationally.

The face of the Major League Baseball The Show video game had a big showing on the weekend in the team’s three-game sweep of the league-leading Atlanta Braves.

The first grand slam of the weekend and season came against the Braves on Saturday. The Marlins won the game 11-5. In the win he came away with one run scored and four runs batted in (RBIs).

The centre fielder was the second player since 1900 to pull off a grand slam and steal three bases in the team’s win. Just one night later, Chisholm Jr did it again, this time to beat the Braves comfortably 16-2.

In the victory he amassed four runs scored along with four RBIs. His latest accomplishment came in the bottom of the third inning where he sent a ball from Braves’ Charlie Morton over the wall of the right centre field to extend the lead to 5-0 for the Marlins.

On the season, he has amassed a career-high 18 home runs, 45 runs and an on base plus slugging percentage of 0.759.

Collectively, the Marlins are trying to make it back to the playoffs for the fourth time in their 31 years of existence.

The team’s last playoff appearance was in 2020 in the bubble.

Chisholm Jr seems to be poised to make it happen for his team as they vie for the last two wild card spots to book their ticket to the MLB National League playoffs.

Up to press time, the Marlins sat one spot outside of the top three wild card teams with a 79-73 (win/loss record).

The team will play their next trio of games against the 85-66 Milwaukee Brewers Friday night at 6:40pm.

NEWTON AND GRANNITO MEET WITH MINISTRY OF SPORTS OFFICIALS IN COURTESY CALL

BAHAMAS Lawn

Tennis Association president Perry Newton and International Tennis Federation (ITF) representative Gustavo Grannito paid a courtesy call on the director of the Ministry of Sports, Mrs Kelsie Johnson-Sills, and sports officer Adam Miller.

The meeting focused on the work of the BLTA and the collaboration of the ITF to help build tennis in the Bahamas.

The meeting also highlighted the part of the ministry in helping in the development of the sport and working alongside the national association. The meeting was very productive.

Mr Grannito also toured the National Tennis Centre (NTC) and had an opportunity to meet with some of the facility coaches and directors.

The National Tennis Centre, which is privately funded and operated, is seeking to be recognised by

the ITF under the ITF recognition programme which assesses facilities and its programmes.

President Newton noted that “this is a very important step for tennis in The Bahamas.”

“The ITF recognition means that the NTC has met the administrative and operational requirements set forth by the recognition criteria.

“The NTC directors have been diligent in defining the administrative structure and programme offerings of the facility and will continue to seek to evolve and improve and incorporate the guidance by the ITF.

“The ITF is a vital support in the growth of tennis through its guidance and encouragement. We are truly appreciative of the support from the international governing body. We thank Mr Grannito for taking the time out to visit the NTC and to impart his knowledge and experience with us.”

MIAMI Marlins’ Jasrado

“Jazz” Chisholm Jr reacts after hitting a grand slam during the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, September 17, 2023, in Miami.

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Grenada tops The Bahamas 6-1

BODYBUILDING TEAM OFF TO ARUBA

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE some challenges ahead of their travels, the Bahamas Bodybuilding Wellness and Fitness Federation’s (BBWFF) 14-member team has now journeyed to Aruba to compete at the 50th Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding Championships.

With some fresh faces in the contingent, Team Bahamas is hoping to bring home some hardware after competing against 40 other countries at the championships from September 21-25.

Leonardo “Nardo” Dean, the team manager, is confident in Team Bahamas’ ability to perform this time around after they withdrew from the competition in 2022 due to lack of funding.

“I am here along with pretty much a new team and new athletes.

“But we have veteran Stephen Robinson leading the athletes.

“Whenever they hear The Bahamas is coming to the CACs they know it is going to be problems because we have been regional leaders for years and we continue to do so,” Dean said.

SEE PAGE 18

ON THE REPLAY: The Bahamas women’s national soccer team lost 6-1 to Grenada last night in their opening game of the Concacaf Gold Cup at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Photo: Moise Amisial/Tribune Staff

AND MORE PHOTOS