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PM: PHARMACISTS MUST OBEY RULES

Davis warns sector over price controls even as meeting held

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis said yesterday the government expects the pharmaceutical sector to fully comply with the new price control regulations in the coming days despite receiving pushback from the sector.

Mr Davis spoke after pharmacies shut down operations across the country on Tuesday after failing to

come to an amicable agreement with the government over their expanded price control regime that includes the reduction of the profit margin on price-controlled drugs.

The new rules came into effect last month and were set to be enforced on November 1, but out of fear of being found in breach of the law for non-compliance, many pharmacy operators decided to close their doors.

SEE PAGE THREE

ONE DEAD, ONE HURT IN SOUTH ANDROS SHOOTING PROSECUTOR AND FNM CHAIR

READY TO SERVE THE NATION

IMMIGRATION officers at yesterday’s passing out ceremony. See PAGE TWO for more.

A DOUBLE shooting in Andros left one man dead and another wounded last night, police said.

Details were limited up to press time, however police said the incident took place in Kemp’s Bay. Leon Lundy, Central, South Andros and Mangrove Cay MP, released a statement last night calling the news of the killing “distressing” for the peaceful community.

“This is unprecedented for a small, close

community like South Andros,” Mr Lundy, parliamentary secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, said. “There is a reason we call them the Family Islands, where for the most part, there are peaceful, striving families living in a settlement where everyone knows everyone. The concept of borrowing sugar from your neighbour is not foreign. I am shocked, I am angered, and I am grieved.”

SEE PAGE FIVE

Photo: Austin Fernander

CALL FOR AUDIT OF AIRPORT’S RESPOND TO MUNROE CRITICISM ADVERTISING CONTRACT AWARD

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net PUBLIC prosecutions director Garvin Gaskin said he and his team will continue to “press for the due advancement of the criminal justice system” in the wake of criticisms about his performance from National Security Minister Wayne Munroe.

He added that he had only recently returned in September from seven

months vacation leave, but was looking forward to “appropriately addressing” any “deficiencies” in the legal and law enforcement systems.

Free National Movement chairman Duane Sands also responded to Mr Munroe’s criticisms on the management of the department yesterday, calling Mr Munroe’s choice of words “out of order” and completely inappropriate.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AN “immediate independent audit” into the award of Lynden Pindling International Airport’s multi-million dollar advertising contract is being urged amid allegations it did not follow the bid criteria and National Investment Policy.

Bravo Airport Advertising, one of the unsuccessful bidders, demanded that a

probe be undertaken to “shine a light” into a tender process that ultimately resulted in the deal being awarded to a newly-formed company, RG Media (Bahamas).

It argued such an audit was essential after concerns over whether the winning bidder had the five-ten years’ advertising experience demanded by the Nassau Airport Development Company.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

BOAT IN EXUMA EXPLOSION ‘POOR QUALITY’

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE Exuma tour boat that exploded in 2018 leaving an American woman dead and several others injured was made of poorquality aluminium and had no insulation in its wiring which likely caused the fire after it came in contact with fuel, a police officer testified yesterday.

Calling the explosion

THE BOAT on fire in 2018. “disastrous”, Inspector Dwayne Lewis outlined several issues with the vessel that could have contributed to the deadly tragedy.

Inspector Lewis and a medical examiner gave testimony yesterday in the Supreme Court during the trial of two men charged in connection with the 2018 Exuma boat explosion.

Clayton Patterson-Smith and Roderick Watson, represented by Murrio Ducille, are on trial before Justice Jeanine Weech-Gomez on charges of manslaughter by negligence and causing harm by negligence.

SEE PAGE FIVE

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PAGE 2, Thursday, November 3, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

SCENES from the Immigration passing out ceremony, including Labour Minister Keith Bell presenting top recruit Ashley Collie with an excellence award.

Photos: Austin Fernander

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‘CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IS NOT ABUSE’ SAYS BISHOP

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BAHAMAS Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander says that he does not view corporal punishment as abuse.

His comments follow a study in the International Journal of Bahamian studies that revealed that people in The Bahamas influenced by biblical teachings were found to be most likely to support the use of corporal punishment on their children.

The study by William Fielding and Virginia Balance of the University of The Bahamas used the responses of 1,570 participants.

Of that number, 1,295 respondents or 58.8 percent thought that it would be in the best interests of their child to be disciplined using corporal punishment, and 9.6 percent indicated that they would use an object to inflict the punishment.

When Christians and non-Christians’ views were looked at, Christians - 52.2 percent - agreed that it was acceptable for children to be physically punished by their parents, while 48.2 percent of non-Christians had the same views. Fiftyfive percent of Christians disagreed that it should be illegal for parents to use corporal punishment.

When asked by this newspaper his thoughts on corporal punishment, Bishop Fernander said he believes that it should be a deterrent, but also a last resort.

He said: “I do not consider corporal punishment abuse as I have had the privilege of being a teacher, senior master and administrator. I do believe, as I have been on both sides with the removal of corporal

punishment and the adding of corporal punishment.”

He added: “I think that there should be a deterrent and there should be stages of deterrent. We are never trying to take it to a place of abuse, but there must be a penalty that is given for infractions.”

Given that 90 percent of the population in The Bahamas identifies as Christian, any attempts by the state to regulate the practice of corporal punishment will need to be promoted by pastors to make messages on non-violent discipline of children acceptable to their parishioners, researchers found.

It was found that in The Bahamas there is considerable disagreement as to whether anyone has the right to tell a parent how to raise their children, which the report noted that this suggests that participants feel that society should not intrude upon what happens in the home.

Bishop Fernander believes that parents should find a parenting method to which they deem most trusted, however he insisted that corporal punishment should be the last resort when disciplining children.

“I think everybody must find their own parenting method, obviously the use of corporal punishment is something that I would say is the last resort. It should not be done in anger or any kind of malice, it should be administered as a deterrent, and not something simply to bring pain,” he recently told The Tribune.

He believes the study was flawed as he said the statistics seemed to be equal despite one’s religious beliefs as both parties recognise the “benefit of using a balanced corporal punishment”.

POLICE INVESTIGATE BABY DEATH POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a six-month-old baby boy who died shortly before 11am on Tuesday.

According to initial reports from police, the infant was taken to hospital in a private

vehicle where he appeared unresponsive.

While at hospital the infant was examined by physicians who reported no vital signs of life.

Foul play is not suspected in this incident.

However, a police investigation is continuing.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 3, 2022, PAGE 3

from page one

to come into full compliance in the coming days. In raising the minimum wage and expanding price controls, my government is holding firm in protecting the interests of the Bahamian people.”

Similar comments were echoed by Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis on Tuesday who insisted the government will not reverse its decision to enforce new price control expansion.

He said the government expects the changes to be implemented and warned that operators who fail to adhere to the policies will face the consequences.

Under the government’s initial proposal, price-controlled mark-ups range from 15 percent to 18 percent for pharmaceutical wholesalers. For retailers, the range is from 35 percent to 40 percent.

Both sectors have opposed the changes and have since submitted proposals with alternatives that could simultaneously offer relief to Bahamians and not hurt their businesses.

Asked if he was concerned about continued pushback from stakeholders, Mr Davis told reporters in a separate interview: “I am not concerned about it.

I am trying to get them to appreciate that this should be a shared burden.”

PM: Pharmacists must obey rules Some stores reopened Tuesday afternoon and the remaining reopened yesterday after the government agreed to meet with industry representatives the same day, on the stipulation that the businesses end their action.

The outcome of those meetings was not clear.

However, Prime Minister Davis told parliamentarians in the House of Assembly yesterday morning that his administration was of the view that pharmacies would uphold the law and continue business as usual.

He also acknowledged the frustrations many business owners face given the high cost of living, but explained that “the bottom line is the costs of this global inflation crisis must be a shared burden.”

He was adamant that the burden must not be placed on the backs of struggling Bahamians alone and appealed to businesses to do their part in helping to share the load.

“We are very mindful of pressures facing Bahamian businesses,” Mr Davis said as he led debate on a resolution to increase the country’s minimum wage.

“Similarly, when we

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis at yesterday’ Immigration passing out ceremony. added diapers and more profit, just a little less than and businesses. But the bottom line is - the costs of food items to our price con- they would otherwise.

“We have listened to their this global inflation crisis trol list, we are signalling to businesses that we expect concerns, and we have been must be a shared burden, the savings from reduced flexible about some of the not one that falls primarcustoms duties to be passed details. We will continue to ily on Bahamian families on to Bahamians. Business review the impact of price that’s working to get by. owners will still make a controls on both consumers It’s a shared burden. That’s

Photo: Austin Fernander my cry to all -so that’s all I’m asking - let’s share this burden.

“Madam Speaker, the new price controls on medications are in effect.

Pharmacies will remain open and we expect pharmacies

DARVILLE: PHARMACIES WERE CONSULTED

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville insisted yesterday that the government consulted with pharmacies before implementing changes to its price control regime, calling assertions from the opposition that the government did not do so “untrue.”

Dr Darville was responding to East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson in the House of Assembly yesterday who accused the government of expanding price controls with “absolutely no prior consultation with the effective stakeholders”.

However, the health

minister called the comments “misleading” and insisted that he met with pharmacy stakeholders personally concerning the new policies.

“The honourable member for East Grand Bahama is misleading the Bahamian people,” Dr Darville said. “He made a statement that there was no prior consultation with the members of the pharmacy council and private pharmacists. That is untrue.

That is absolutely untrue. I am speaking from the government perspective and I’m sitting from a point where I know.

“There has been consultation - I consulted with them personally. I met with them and the minister of

economic affairs met with them. What you’re saying is untrue.”

Marco City MP Michael Pintard pointed out to Dr Darville that what he said in Parliament did not correspond to what pharmacy operators and food retailers had said publicly.

“Members of the business community, inclusive of those from the pharmaceutical industry, and food stores made the point that the government did not, one, conduct a study and two, they did not consult. If the member is asserting that persons who are not here to defend themselves are lying he ought to produce the minutes of the meeting,” Mr Pintard said.

“But those persons are

not here to defend themselves and they said publicly that you did not consult with them.”

However, Dr Darville, who rose on a point of order, told the FNM MP that he was speaking “on what he read.”

He added: “I am speaking about what I know.”

Asked by Mr Pintard to lay the meeting minutes, the health minister replied: “I don’t have to lay a meeting. I’m telling you that we had the meeting. I was there. I was there. I had a meeting and the meeting I had was with the pharmacists that comes under the association so when you mention the word ‘lie’, you should withdraw that. It’s offensive.”

Still, Mr Pintard said he stood by his remarks and said he only asked Dr Darville a question.

“Madame Speaker, my question then to the member is given all of what we heard from our own ears from the pharmaceutical association, is he saying that they misled the public?” Mr Pintard continued.

In response, Dr Darville repeated his earlier marks, saying “this member had a meeting with the pharmacists, the pharmacy council as well as the association.”

He added, “The minister of economic affairs had a meeting with the pharmacy and the council. That is the facts.”

When asked if this was prior to the decision relating to the price control changes, Dr Darville replied: “Prior to the decision.”

To this, Mr Thompson then tabled and read the contents of a letter dated

October 31 written by the Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association (BPA), advising the public of their temporary closure.

“This document was sent in response to a lack of consultation from the government,” Mr Thompson read from the letter.

Private pharmacies reopened after shutting down operations across the country on Tuesday after the government agreed to a meeting with government officials yesterday.

Their action was in response to the government’s expanded price control regime, which includes the reduction of the profit margin on pricecontrolled drugs.

The pharmaceutical industry, along with the food retail sector, has since submitted proposals with alternatives that could offer relief to Bahamians, but at the same time not hurt their businesses.

PAGE 4, Thursday, November 3, 2022

CREWS at work repairing a pothole yesterday.

THE TRIBUNE

Sears reveals road projects including pothole ‘blitz’ Photo: Austin Fernander

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net WORKS and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears announced yesterday two major road improvement developments, including a three-week “blitz” to repair potholes in New Providence.

This comes after Mr Sears and other officials, as well as representatives from Bahamas Striping Group of Companies, were in Exuma on Friday to tour road works there.

Mr Sears said yesterday that over the next several months, Bahamians will see a major national initiative to deal with potholes that litter the roads of the country.

“What you will see over the next several months, a major national initiative to deal with the quality of the roads, the patching of the potholes and the paving of the roads, not only here in The Grove, but throughout New Providence, as well as the Family Islands,” he said.

Mr Sears said his ministry is commencing a blitz roadworks operation in various areas of New Providence, including The Grove, where a paving crew was present yesterday to patch potholes in the area of Fourth Street.

“With respect to New Providence we will be within the next several weeks, we will have a three-week blitz. We will engage additional contractors and the 12 zones, we will cover them and ensure that the potholes in New Providence are addressed,” he said.

“We will expand the

capacity of the road paving crews within the ministry as well as with drainage crews so that we have a quick response in addition to the contractors. We also will bring in more inspectors through the various parts of New Providence to ensure the quality of work is up to the specification.”

Mr Sears added: “The Cabinet is addressing the issue of additional supplies, dumpsters, trucks and other supplies to ensure that the blitz and the work that you will see will be sustained over this year into next year and continually into the future.”

For the island of Eleuthera, Mr Sears said yesterday that he has secured 100 tons of coal patch for road works that he announced along with Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs Minister Clay Sweeting yesterday.

“I’m pleased to announce that 100 tons of coal patch will be delivered to you, Minister (Clay Sweeting) so that the pot hole situation in Eleuthera can be addressed. You, sir, will be getting 100 tons of coal patch within the next two weeks,” Mr Sears said.

“We have with our budget several million dollars to deal with the issue of roads. We have a paper which has been sent to the Ministry of Finance to get additional funding and once that final figure is determined, we’ll announce it,” he said.

Mr Sweeting yesterday expressed his gratitude for the progress of road and infrastructure works on the

Family Islands.

“We sent ten tons there (Eleuthera) just a few months ago, just to get an idea of what 100 tons would be able to accommodate. So this would be able to fix the pressing problem of road issues temporarily as we look at a permanent solution for the persons there in Eleuthera,” he said.

“This speaks to the amount of investment being put into the Family Islands, especially Eleuthera, as we look forward to foreign direct investment,” Mr Sweeting said.

In New Providence, Mr Sears also said his ministry recently had a community consultation in the area of Village Road about the ongoing road works, which was constructive and amicable.

He said his biggest priority is to meet the December deadline.

Mr Sears then mentioned that there are plans being made to commence an extensive road works project in Eleuthera, similar to that of the $60m infrastructure project ongoing in Exuma. He said he plans to deal with the airport on the island as well.

In addition, he mentioned previous visits to the Glass Window Bridge and the Gregory Town dock and wharf in Eleuthera with plans to renovate those areas.

Mr Sears added that he recently met with Eleuthera developers and a team from Disney, then visited Florida to make sure Disney’s plans for the Eleuthera Lighthouse Point project on the island are in full compliance with the laws of The Bahamas.

SOCIAL SERVICES STAFF WANT MINISTER OUT

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

PUBLIC servants from the Ministry of Social Services gathered outside the Bahamas Public Service Union yesterday to protest against Social Services and Urban Development Minister Obie Wilchcombe, as they accused the minister of “neglecting” the social service workers.

Kimsley Ferguson, Bahamas Public Service Union president, told reporters yesterday that the workers have had “longstanding”

concerns about their careers and working conditions, however the government has neglected their issues.

“Some of the concerns that they (public servants) do have, are that they are only essential when it’s convenient to the government,” Mr Ferguson said yesterday.

According to the union’s president, he had previously met Mr Wilchcombe to express the concerns of union members, but to no avail.

“I would’ve expressed

all of these concerns, the minister advised that he would’ve gotten back to me in about three weeks. Three weeks has now turned into 11 months, ten months, somewhere there about,” he said.

Yesterday, the protestors chanted: “We want our money and we need it now.

We need our promotions, and we need it now. We demand to be respected and we want it now. Obie Wilchcombe got to go, Obie Wilchcombe got to go, Obie got to go, Obie got to go!”

NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS

The Board of Directors of Finance Corporation of Bahamas Limited hereby notifies its Shareholders that a dividend payment of eight cents ($0.08) per Ordinary share in respect of Q3 2022 results and a special dividend payment of eight cents ($0.08) per Ordinary Share will be paid on 17th November 2022 to all Shareholders of record as at 10th November 2022.

Corporate Secretary ®/™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 3, 2022, PAGE 5

Row in House over wage rise

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net THE House of Assembly became heated at times yesterday when government MPs and members of the opposition engaged in a back-and-forth while debating a resolution to increase the national minimum wage.

The row first erupted after Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis ended his contribution to the debate in Parliament.

For much of his speech, Mr Davis explained his administration’s efforts for seeking higher wages for Bahamians which, he said, was “progress on the path to a livable wage.”

He also said while the wage increase will not eliminate the economic hardship faced by many, “it is something” that can go towards food, school fees and other financial obligations.

“It’s been a long time since the minimum wage was last raised - seven years

ago, in fact. In 2015,” the prime minister told parliamentarians. “You see, the party opposite didn’t even consider raising the minimum wage during their time in government. They didn’t support an increase in 2015, and they’re full of complaints now. They reflexively oppose anything we do, no matter how beneficial to the people.”

St Barnabas MP and Free National Movement deputy leader Shanedon Cartwright sought to respond to Mr Davis’ remarks, but was cut off by some government MPs who told him that it was not yet his time to speak during the debate.

However, this led to a shouting match that prompted House Speaker Patricia Deveaux to remind parliamentarians of the rules of the lower chamber.

She also explained that she will not be disrespected.

Tensions simmered down after Speaker Deveaux issued her warning but then

became heated again when Minister of State for the Public Service Pia GloverRolle, who seconded the resolution, was delivering her contribution.

“We have the economy recovering at a rapid pace and we see that job numbers are moving in a positive direction,” the state minister said yesterday.

“Now, it is time to ensure that people are paid wages that can better cover their expenses. There can be no debate that this minimum wage increase was needed.

In fact, it was needed years ago,” she said.

“It is the first increase in seven years. The last increase was made during the last PLP administration.

In fact, in the past 20 years, PLP administrations have been the only governments to increase the minimum wage.

“There are working Bahamians, old enough to vote, who, for their entire lives, have only seen minimum wage increases implemented by the PLP.”

The latter remarks were not well received by the opposition.

Rising on a point of order, Mr Cartwright started to form a rebuttal, insisting the remarks were misleading, but was again interrupted.

“Sit down,” said a seated member.

Both sides engaged in another shouting match, prompting the House Speaker to again intervene.

“I’m speaking to all sides today,” Ms Deveaux stressed. “There will not be an abuse of point of orders today - it will not be tolerated today.

“Continue please. When any member gets to their feet please indicate to me what is the breach because I remember a member told me I was losing control last week. Well, I am letting them know that I’m back in control.”

Mrs Glover-Rolle continued her criticisms of the former administration, saying: “It does beg the question though: as a

political party that hasn’t increased the minimum wage even once in the past 20 years. You hear what I say St Barnabas? Let me repeat that - as a political party that hasn’t increased the minimum wage even once in the past 20 years, what is the FNM the party of? We are the party of the people and the FNM is the party of what?

“I’ll let the Bahamian people answer that question.”

That country’s minimum wage is being raised from $210 to $260 per week.

The higher wage will be retroactive in the public service going back to July of this year. For those in the private sector the change will begin in January 2023.

“As for when minimum wage earners will see their increases on their bank accounts, public sector workers will see those increases in a few weeks,” Mrs Glover-Rolle also said.

“This will include retroactive payments all the way

back to July. I know there is a concern that the increase has not been reflected in salaries yet. You can rest assured that your pay is accumulating and you will receive what you are due before year’s end.”

For his part, Kwasi Thompson, MP for East Grand Bahama, said the opposition fully supported increases to the national minimum wage.

However, he said the FNM really wanted the government to implement a livable wage for Bahamians as they had promised and chided them for their “lack of actions” in this regard.

“So, I challenge the government to do more,” he added. “Even with the increase of minimum wage, it has not kept up with the real cost of living and inflation. We are still not at a point where the minimum w age can deal with the real cost of living and deal with inflation. Minimum wage is still going to be insufficient to cover the real cost of living in The Bahamas.”

time that the triple blow of higher electricity prices, increased food costs and the rise in employment wages has been known to “close down businesses”.

“Under normal conditions an increase in minimum wage would be manageable alone,” Mr Foulkes said in a statement sent to this newspaper this week. “Unfortunately while having to deal with the BPL fuel surcharge increase at the same time, as well as the rising cost of goods, the timing is of great concern.”

He said that although Fusion supports this minimum wage increase, he hopes the Davis administration will offer some relief to

businesses.

“Fusion Superplex supports the minimum wage increase. We have noticed a sharp increase in the price of everyday supplies for our restaurants. This obviously means the entire Bahamian people are suffering from an increase in prices at the local food stores. Meanwhile inflation reduces the spending power of the dollar.

“Yes, we have to make an adjustment to meet the new minimum wage (requirement). And, yes, it will cost us significantly.

But we hope the government will offer businesses some tax incentives to help reduce the shock,” Mr

Foulkes said.

He added that as prices go up business will continue to drop.

“Fusion’s revenue is directionally proportional to the attendance. But our margins are inversely proportional to cost. So as prices go up people spend less. So what we have here are three major cost factors increasing, first, the cost of goods sold (supplies), second, utility (power) and third, labour,” Mr Foulkes said.

“Each one of these factors alone has been known to bankrupt businesses.”

However, Mr Foulkes said that as attendance rises, he expects that 2023 should be a profitable year for Fusion Superplex.

“By the end of the year, we should be back to

pre-pandemic levels in all the outlets with the support of the public. But financial performance is not just revenue, it is best described by operational margins,” he said.

“The way Fusion has survived this period of higher cost and lower revenue is by a comprehensive restructure of its operating methodologies: more efficient ways of production, better maintenance programmes and, yes, some reduced staffing where needed.

“My brilliant management team and my hard-working employees have kept us open for the Bahamian public. Because Bahamians love our products and services, we notice our restaurants and other revenue outlets are on a

strong rebound.”

Earlier this month, Mr Davis announced that for BPL customers who consume less than 800 kWh (kilowatt hours), the fuel charge is increasing by two cents per kWh, “which will result in an increase this quarter of less than $20 per month.”

For those who consume more than 800 kWh, the increase will be 4.3 cents per kWh. Several days later Mr Davis announced an increase in the country’s minimum wage from $210 to $260 per week.

The higher wage will be retroactive in the public service going back to July of this year and for those in the private sector, the change will begin in January 2023.

CINEMA COMPLEX WARNS OF TIMING OF MINIMUM WAGE

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

FUSION Superplex’s chief executive officer said the timing of the minimum wage increase is “of great concern,” adding he hopes the government can offer businesses tax incentives to assist with the impact of this latest financial blow.

This comes after Carlos Foulkes said last month that he anticipates an increase in the facility’s power bill of about $466,000 in 2023, assuming the business’ consumption patterns from this year remain the same due to Bahamas Power and Light’s bill hike.

Mr Foulkes said at the

BOAT IN EXUMA EXPLOSION ‘POOR QUALITY’

from page one

It is alleged that on June 30, 2018, the two, due to negligence, were responsible for the boat explosion that caused the death of 39-year-old Maleka Jackson. Four other passengers aboard the recreational vessel at the time of the incident were also injured.

During his testimony, Insp Lewis told the court that in his inspection of the vessel that he saw no evidence of a bilge pump or a fuel gauge.

The officer also stated that the aluminum used to make the vessel was not of a high quality as it should not have disintegrated to the point that it did as a result of the fire if it were of a better quality. He said the top deck of the vessel was completely disintegrated in the fire and that a higher quality metal would have mitigated damage to passengers.

In reference to the overall construction of the

vessel, the inspector said that it was not in keeping with industry standards.

After stating that no insulation in the boat’s wiring was a probable cause for the fire after it came in contact with the fuel, he called it negligent for the fuel filters to be so close to the electrical machinery.

When asked to classify the size of the explosion by the prosecutor for the Crown, Raquel Whymms, Inspector Lewis said it was “disastrous”. He further said that evidence suggests that due to the extent of damage, the fire likely started on the starboard side near the bow.

The officer said that there was no registration number attached to the vessel nor was there any indication of fire extinguishers or lifejackets being aboard the vessel during the incident.

During his testimony, Inspector Lewis identified one of the accused in court as the boat owner.

Earlier yesterday, Dr

Karen Sands, a pathologist at PMH, discussed her involvement in the case. Dr Sands told the court that on July 3, 2018 she conducted the autopsy on Ms Jackson for which she listed her cause of death as complications of blunt force trauma to the lower extremities.

After the death certificate signed by Dr Sands was entered into evidence, she went into detail of her findings in the autopsy report.

She said the victim suffered from multiple contusions and abrasions to her legs as well as having the tibia and fibula in her right leg fractured with tissue necrosis, as well as the bones in her left leg being broken.

Dr Sands said that Ms Jackson’s left leg was almost completely severed and held on by skin as a result of a traumatic near amputation in the boat tragedy.

The prosecution announced yesterday that it had closed its case.

The trial will continue today.

ONE DEAD, ONE HURT IN SOUTH ANDROS SHOOTING from page one

He expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and prayed that the surviving victim has a speedy recovery.

This shooting is the latest

in a series of violent incidents in the country.

On Monday, a woman in her 40s was fatally shot after she was prompted to come outside of her home by a phone call.

That incident came after three people, including

two men on bail for serious crimes, were shot dead in separate incidents over the weekend.

Anyone with information on these crimes is asked to contact CID at 5029991/2 or Crime Stoppers at 328-(TIPS)-8477.

PAGE 6, Thursday, November 3, 2022

The Tribune Limited

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N Korea fired dozens of missiles - what now?

FOR days, North Korean officials have raged over US-South Korean military drills, promising a violent response.

That response came this week, when the North fired nearly 30 missiles in the span of two days, including a short-range weapon that splashed down near the South Korean sea border and an intercontinental ballistic missile that forced Japan to issue an evacuation alert and halt trains. was a significant escalation in a year that has already seen the most North Korean missile test launches ever, and it raises an important question: How much further will they go?

North Korea’s playbook has traditionally been to continually ratchet up provocations until it gets US attention — and can then negotiate for sanctions relief or other concessions from what it sees as a position of power.

The bar for getting attention these days may be higher, with the United States focused on upcoming elections and Russia and the West consumed by the war in Ukraine. That could mean the North has to do more to get the reaction it wants — but it also increases the possibility that Pyongyang could end up pushing South Korea too far. Already there is growing discussion in Seoul about creating an indigenous nuclear program.

North Korea observers have long sketched out the various levels Pyongyang uses to express its anger. At the bottom of the list is fiery rhetoric in state-controlled media. That may then progress into shorter-range missile launches of the type seen Wednesday.

After that would come longer-range tests, including ICBMs, like the one fired from the capital area of Pyongyang on Thursday, or intermediate-range missiles like the ones that the North has sent hurtling over the Japanese archipelago in the past, deep into the Pacific.

At the top of the list is a test detonation of one of their nuclear devices.

Each new level cranks up already soaring tensions on the Korean Peninsula, where hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides and the United States square off along the world’s most heavily armed border.

And while bloodshed these days is fairly rare (2010, by contrast, saw 50 South Koreans killed in attacks), this many troops operating with these types of powerful weapons in a relatively confined geographic area increases the chances that a miscalculation could lead to a clash.

One of the 23 missiles fired Wednesday landed close enough to a South Korean island for air raid sirens to sound and residents there to evacuate to underground shelters. Another landed 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the Koreas’ shared border.

Anxiety was already running high because hours earlier North Korea threatened to use nuclear weapons so that the United States and South Korea would “pay the most horrible price in history.”

Initially assessing that the ICBM fired on Thursday would fly above its northern territory, Japan issued alerts to residents in the prefectures of Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata, instructing them to go inside firm buildings or underground. The country’s military later said it lost track of the missile above waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan and that there were no flyovers.

For months, South Korean and US officials have been expecting North Korea to test a nuclear bomb. It would be the seventh such test, and be met with a push at the United Nations for even stronger sanctions. Whether Russia and China, nations that have traditionally protected the North, will allow further UN punishment is unclear.

It’s important to note that each North Korean weapons test — whether of the shortest range missile or a nuclear bomb — inches Pyongyang’s scientists closer to their ultimate goal of a fully functional nuclear arsenal capable of targeting every city on the US mainland.

A recent analysis based on satellite imagery showed that the North has made dramatic progress on new construction at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station.

In addition to expanding its ability to send up satellite launch vehicles, the station could “support technology development also useable by North Korea’s emerging intercontinental ballistic missile programs,” wrote Joseph S Bermudez Jr, Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.

The latest launches follow a string of North Korean tests of nuclear-capable missiles. And a new North Korean law authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons in a broad range of situations, though there’s widespread doubt the North would use those bombs first in the face of US and South Korean forces.

North Korea says it is responding to US-South Korean military drills that it views as a rehearsal for an invasion.

But Pyongyang is also well aware of what’s happening in the world — especially as it relates to its rivals. US President Joe Biden is preparing to travel to Asia for a series of summits, and is facing crucial midterm elections this month.

A lot is vying for Biden’s attention, but Pyongyang has also previously timed its weapons tests around American elections, presumably in the hopes of pushing itself higher on presidents’ foreign policy to-do lists.

There’s also the war in Ukraine, where Russia has suffered a series of setbacks recently. North Korea may realize that Moscow, which has been a supporter of the North and its military for decades, could benefit from the distraction the missile tests create for Washington.

And the barrage also comes as South Korea mourns the deaths of more than 150 people when a crowd of Halloween revelers surged — the country’s largest disaster in years.

But another North Korean nuclear test could also be a risk for the North itself, Jeffery Robertson, an associate professor of diplomatic studies at Yonsei University, wrote recently.

“Over the last thirty years, a rough balance has been established between South Korea’s vastly superior conventional capacity (and its alliance with the US) and North Korea’s nascent nuclear weapons capacity,” he said.

But should South Korea pursue its own independent nuclear weapons capacity, “this balance ceases to exist.”

Don’t expect that to stop North Korea in the short term, though, as Pyongyang looks to use its full array of weapons to get what it wants.

By FOSTER KLUG Associated Press

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

TOP recruit Ashley Collie at yesterday’s Immigration passing out ceremony.

Photo: Austin Fernander

Stop playing victim over climate change EDITOR, The Tribune.

UNTIL I read the letter in Tuesday’s column written by one Porcupine, I was beginning to think that I was alone in being both embarrassed and amused

by Rochelle Newbold, our government’s special advisor on climate change, “calling out” (ie begging) “developed countries” (ie white ones) for their supposedly lopsided contribution to global warming.

The “developed” country that Ms Newbold was referring to in this instance was Denmark, which has been ranked as having the highest achievement in terms of climate change policies on earth, followed by Sweden.

In The Bahamas, by contrast, home solar systems were, until very recently, prohibited to protect the monopoly of our gasguzzling state electricity producer, while successive governments continue to extend the cruise industry

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net (where each vessel accounts for the carbon emissions of 12,000 automobiles) into the remotest parts of our archipelago.

Naturally, then, Denmark’s Carbon Dioxide emissions per capita for 2019 were 5.11 metric tons, while The Bahamas’ for the same year were 7.29 metric tons.

In fact, per capita, Bahamians are worse contributors to climate change than any major western European country apart from Germany, an industrial powerhouse which only slightly edges us out (at 7.91 metric tons per person).

It never ceases to amaze me how ready black governments are to adopt an essentially white supremacist narrative that sees

blacks and their societies solely as subjects or victims of events, incapable of responsibility for their condition, while only white people and societies are capable of agency.

It is time we started to take responsibility for ourselves and our own lifestyles on climate change, rather than just jumping on the blame-whitey bandwagon that these empty talking shops have become.

After all, every major study of the effects of climate change has warned that low lying states like The Bahamas will be the first to disappear as polar ice dwindles and seas rise.

If that isn’t enough reason to begin practising what we preach on carbon emissions, then we are truly beyond redemption.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, November 2, 2022.

We live in a crazy world EDITOR, The Tribune.

I USED to play cowboys and Indians as a child, and dressed up as a highlander, corporal in the Canadian Forces (went to Army Surplus Store), a Sufi in dress, and a British gentleman with bowler hat and all.

Cultural appropriation, eh?

We work in social groups everywhere, whether it be a social club, a place of work, a house of worship or the women’s or guys bowling team. A simple look, twist of our head, undue attention placed on something that has attracted our attention and “Bam”, we may have upset someone, created a social frenzy or a fist fight. I once worked with an Ad Agency who fired a fella who simply said the receptionist look great, fantastic...WoW. Yah, compliments are now out of fashion, and we have to think out in advance what we may say to others. Big Brother is with us even if

most of us do not want to admit to it.

Joke (warning)- How do you keep a blonde in the shower all day? You give them a shampoo that says “rinse, wash and repeat”.

When applying for a Palestinian passport, in the section that says occupation...do you just put Israeli?

Smiling yet? In a world of confusion, uncertainty and many hurt feelings, what else can we do but learn to laugh at ourselves and hopefully do so with others. Social media has many of us by the throat, having said something seemingly all right in the past, but inappropriate today. Have people become much more sensitive? Has the media and internet empowered them?

The person I mentioned, who complemented a beautiful woman at work, who was then let go, spent some time in an institution trying to deal with the

massive onslaught of total strangers who heard about his “indiscretion” online.

We seem to be surrounded by busy bodies, or perhaps many of us have a lot of free time. Who knows?

We all want this world to be a better place, but we never find the perfect one. We face all sorts of crazy situations and characters we do not like, so we feel messed up.

Wynonna Judd said, “Life is about living, loving and finding life’s worthwhile purpose”. I guess all the craziness, folly, distress and fear we experience are speed bumps on the way to something divine, something worthy and life giving.

Peace our Brothers and Sisters, and laugh a bit, smile a lot and give of yourselves to others in need.

STEVEN KASZAB Bradford, Ontario, Canada October 31, 2022.

THE TRIBUNE

PROSECUTOR AND FNM CHAIR RESPOND TO MUNROE CRITICISM from page one

On Tuesday, Mr Munroe said officials are displeased with how the Director of Public Prosecutions was administering the office, noting they were not satisfied that the office was aggressively filing appeals for people fined for bail violation. He also highlighted the DDP’s absence, or that of another higher-level official, in certain murder cases.

Mr Munroe told reporters he asked the Minister of State for Legal Affairs Jomo Campbell to arrange a meeting between himself, Mr Gaskin, and the commissioner of police.

Yesterday, Mr Gaskin responded to Mr Munroe’s comments. “I will, respectfully, not comment on any matters that are sub judice (before the courts), as it is improper to do so. My team and l will continue to effectively press for the due advancement of the criminal justice system,” he said in a brief statement.

“Having returned from seven months vacation leave, during the second week of September 2022, l look forward to factual and progressive discussions, with a view to appropriately addressing any and all interconnective issues and deficiencies in the legal and law enforcement systems,” Mr Gaskin said.

Mr Munroe told reporters on Tuesday officials took issue with people who were brought to court for violating their bail and only given fines instead of being remanded.

He said they are also not happy with what appeared to be a lack of appeals from the DPP’s office in this instance.

Dr Sands yesterday criticised Mr Munroe’s choice of words on the DPP. “Alas, the minister of national security’s ‘foot in mouth’ disease struck again today,” he said. “The honourable member for Freetown, Wayne Munroe, KC, has attacked the independent Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

“A noted senior and decorated attorney - who clearly ought to know better - has shamefully placed concerns about the Director of Public Prosecutions in the public domain.

“The minister alleges that

these concerns have arisen from the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Minister Munroe’s lack of discretion and complete disregard for the independence of this critical part of our democracy will no doubt result in an erosion of the public’s confidence in the DPP. “We call upon the travelling PM to rein in Minister Munroe and implore the Attorney General Ryan Pinder to defend the independence of the DPP forthwith,” he said.

When The Tribune contacted Mr Munroe yesterday to respond, he questioned if the opposition wanted him to lie to the Bahamian people.

Mr Munroe said the police commissioner and the police themselves are not satisfied with the performance of the DPP’s office.

“So, his (Dr Sands’) view is that I should lie to the Bahamian people?” Mr Munroe queried.

“As a person who serves the people, I have an obligation to tell them the truth.

The FNM isn’t big on telling people the truth, I’m big on telling people the truth. Even if it’s something that doesn’t reflect well on me, you tell the truth at all times.”

Mr Munroe argued if Dr Sands is able to point out where in his comments there was some form of discrepancy or dishonesty then he would be prepared to address it. Mr Munroe said he is planning to meet with the DPP on Friday.

The issue of accused violent offenders getting bail has been a point of contention in discussions about the fight against crime .

A ruling from the Court of Appeal in late 2019 outlined circumstances where people accused of murder should get bail, such as in a case where the person has not been tried within a reasonable time.

Additionally, the person should be granted bail having regard to relevant factors such as if the defendant would fail to surrender to custody or appear at his trial, commit an offence whilst on bail, or whether the defendant should be kept in custody for his own protection, and considering the nature and seriousness of the offence and the nature and strength of the evidence against the defendant.

RIBBON TO HIGHLIGHT VIOLENCE

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development has partnered with civic organisations during the month of November to raise awareness about violence against women.

Yesterday, in the House of Assembly, Minister of State for Social Serves and Urban Development Lisa Rahming said through the global movement of the White Ribbon Campaign, the country aims to end male violence against women once and for all.

Throughout November, local entities, including The Bahamas Crisis Centre, The Rotary Club, Zonta Club and The International Men’s Day Bahamas will be working to reduce violence within the nation.

“A white ribbon will be worn in solidarity to stop the violence in our nation, particularly against women and girls,” she said in the House of Assembly yesterday.

“Madam Speaker, The Bahamas will join countries all around the world celebrating White Ribbon Day.” Social Services and Urban Development Minister Obie Wilchcombe launched the campaign at the Ministry of Social Services last Thursday by placing a white ribbon at the entrance to the ministry’s headquarters.

Ms Rahming encouraged men to speak out against violence as it makes the crime “more powerful” and dissolves any argument of sexual prejudice.

“Male violence against women and children is a cry for men to change their behaviour and take action.

As a male led initiative, for white ribbon, seeks to empower men to not only champion the cause for women and girls, but also champion the cause against violence against men and boys,” Ms Rahming said yesterday. She also mentioned two women who were shot dead earlier this week.

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Thursday, November 3, 2022, PAGE 7

PRISON STILL DEALING WITH LAWSUIT

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said officials are still engaged in the litigation with Prescott Smith, who alleges that they unlawfully imprisoned him.

Commissioner Charles Murphy was sent on leave in September 2021 pending an investigation into matters at the prison, including the handling of Mr Smith, a prisoner who caught COVID-19 during lock-up.

In explaining Commissioner Murphy’s suspension, Mr Munroe said in a statement last year that there are three areas of concern regarding the facility. One of the matters was concerning Mr Smith, a man who was being kept at the prison in a possible breach of a Supreme Court order.

Yesterday, Mr Munroe said the case will move forward and the court will give a decision about whether Mr Murphy is liable.

“We’re still engaged in the litigation with Prescott Smith, who alleges that we unlawfully imprisoned him.

That case will move forward, the court will give a decision about whether or not Mr Murphy is liable. I am liable because - as the minister responsible, I have general superintendence of

the Bahamas Department of Corrections.

“This is the only institution that supposedly I have general superintendence. I don’t have command of the police force. I don’t have command of the defence force, but the (law) gives me responsibility for this facility and so we will see what happens with that litigation.

“All of the matters that we’ve met and we’ve moved to correct. So the doctor wasn’t permitted to put in place proper COVID protocols. Immediately, he’s been permitted to put in proper COVID protocols. He’s been elevated to the point that he gives medical advice and we mandate that it be followed - little simple things like that, that were not happening, have been corrected.”

It was recently reported the Ministry of Finance decided not to fund an independent inquiry into Mr Murphy’s actions while heading the correctional facility.

Romona Farquharson, Mr Murphy’s attorney, accused the government of defaming his reputation while having no intention of investigating allegations about his tenure.

However, the minister said an investigation and an independent investigation are two separate things.

He said there has been an investigation.

“You have an

independent investigation, for instance, when it was first determined to say that if you cause The Bahamas government to spend a million dollars to pay officers who you wrongly sent home - we should not be paying you a gratuity, we should not be paying you a pension. You have the ability to search as public servants, pension gratuity and pay.

In the private sector, I certainly would have made the investment. This isn’t the private sector - this is the public sector,” he said.

“So there has been an investigation, we are being sued. That’s a question beyond doubt, we are being sued. I do believe Commissioner Murphy is named in that suit. So you don’t require an independent person to tell you that the officers who were sent home without process - that’s a fact we know about it. The doctor in his documentation of what he wanted to do and wasn’t permitted to do and there was no budget initially for simple cleaning material to clean the prison on a continuous basis.

You have an investigation and you find that out.

“The purpose of an independent investigation has to do with disciplinary and surcharging basis. It was determined he is on preretirement leave so there was no appetite for it. We don’t have the luxury of

doing anything other than complying had we not corrected these things and I, as minister, would be responsible. I don’t think I want to be responsible for proper medical protocols not being put in place. So I wouldn’t tolerate that I’m not going to put my liberty at stake for somebody else doing nonsense. And since that Act makes me responsible I do what I have to do to safeguard my duty, my obligation, and in fact my freedom.”

It was announced that Mr Murphy would be placed on leave and be replaced

by Acting Commissioner Doan Cleare. Last year, Mr Cleare had been ordered to return to the prison along with Bernadette Murray, another deputy commissioner who had been sidelined by the previous administration.

Asked how soon before a substantive commissioner is named, Mr Munroe replied: “That is a matter when there is an acting commissioner because we always had two deputy commissioners. That’s the amazing thing about it. We had two deputy commissioners to properly discipline somebody. There would have had to have been a deputy commissioner in the correctional institution. They decided to keep them out of the correctional institution.”

RED CROSS BRINGS BACK HIGH TEA EVENT

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Red Cross Society is reintroducing its high tea fundraiser next month under the patronage of the wife of the Governor General, Lady Clara Smith.

In the history of The Bahamas Red Cross, high teas were held in the gardens at Government House but this year it will be held at Holy Trinity Activity Centre in Stapleton Gardens.

The event is scheduled for December 4, under the theme of “Bahamian Celebrity Christmas High Tea

Party” and will be hosted

by Lady Darling, a former patron and past president of The Bahamas Red Cross Society.

“I am delighted to host this tea party, because it’s going to kick off the Christmas season,” she said at a press conference yesterday.

“We’ve got past presidents, past patrons, past fundraising chairmen, and some of the women that are in high society as we would call it in this country.

We should highlight these ladies and our people in general that have worked with us and other organisations to raise funds and

keep these organisations going,” she added.

The event will feature the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Pop Band, a table competition with a grand prize, hat parade, fashion show, table favours, and raffle prizes, and great food.

The proceeds will support the various outreach initiatives of the Red Cross, but most particularly, Meals on Wheels.

“The proceeds for this very spectacular event will go towards our programmes specifically, our Meals on Wheels programme. We serve on a

daily basis between 150 to 117 hot meals in New Providence and probably another 60 meals daily in Grand Bahama,” said Alicia Pinder, Red Cross director general.

“As you could well appreciate, food has gone up a bit, but we do not want the quality of food to go down, as we expect to continue serving nutritious meals that are helpful to those who we consider the most vulnerable because they rely on us.”

For tickets, contact the Bahamas Red Cross at 242323-7370 or email anesbitt. brcs@gmail.com.

PAGE 8, Thursday, November 3, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

SUPPORTING THE DUNDAS AND PERFORMING ARTS “TO enter a theatre for a performance is to be inducted into a magical space, to be ushered into the sacred arena of the imagination.” – Simon Callow

A FRIEND recalls going to the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts for the first time decades ago to watch a live performance of a play, returning thereafter over the years for a smorgasbord of productions ranging from dramas to musicals.

There were things he could not grasp at the young age of 12 when he first entered the Centre on Mackey Street, an oasis of sorts for cultural expression featuring Bahamian and international offerings.

But he remembers his overall impressions of the

performances. They were luscious, exciting, entertaining. The roaring and stentorian voices of the lead actors filled the theatre and his imagination.

The costumes, the sets and the music transported the audience and the boy beyond The Bahamas. The vibrations of the crowd laughing together at a pratfall or crying at a moment of loss created a shared experience.

This first taste of theatre, encouraged by his mother, led to a lifetime of theatregoing at home and abroad.

The Dundas was the spark.

Years later, his delight in and appreciation of theatre were enhanced by a beloved friend who had spent a lifetime in the

theatre, directing, producing, crafting and managing a mosaic of performances seen by thousands.

LIFEBLOOD

forums to engender respect, but not from any action-oriented conviction. Theatre arts sponsor critical but safe modelling of life to foster peace-learning.

“Yet, the National Performing Arts Centre languishes in the style of rot and doubtful utility and the Dundas struggles on chutzpah and shaky funding.

The National Library is still in utero awaiting skillful, honest midwifery to breach the light of day.

“Know that the arts, philosophy and rhetoric are incubators of divergent thinkers who can take mental leaps into undiscovered realms and generate innovation. Early exposure in this regard is a gateway to genius and constructive citizenship.”

Theatre is at the heartbeat and lifeblood of a healthy, developing, cosmopolitan society. Every major city in ancient Greece had at least one theatre, akin to a vital organ in the human body. “[Greek] theatre offered an experience which brought together elements of myth, ritual, religion, dance, music and literature.”

Theatre stirs empathy. It mirrors the scars, warts and goodness of a society. The performing arts promote human and cultural development, inducing pleasure and enjoyment as well as discomfort and, sometimes, revolution.

Theatre is a locus where The history of the the language of words and Dundas is recounted in part emotions may blend into an on its website, including in elixir or alchemy that often a piece coauthored by Dr exposes souls and con- Nicolette Bethel and Philip sciousness to unexpected A Burrows. revelations and transTheir plea is compelling: formation beyond one’s “All things considered, the conceits, delusions, preju- Dundas Centre for the Perdices, repressions. forming Arts is a success.

Theatre serves as a However, much remains to dynamic space promoting be accomplished… All of much more than instru- these improvements require mentality of the arts. There one commodity which is in is a broader aesthetic short supply at the Dundas intrigued by truth, goodness — money. and beauty, discoverable “Dundas productions and interrogated through barely raise enough revcomedy, satire, tragedy and enue to keep the theatre other genres of life and the running, despite the donaimagination. tion of Those ‘Dundas productions members’ who have time and barely raise enough poured their personal revenue to keep the lifeblood resources.” into the theatre running, The webtheatre and site also despite the donation performing urges: “The arts in The of members’ time and Dundas Bahamas is entirely personal resources.’ deserve our self-supcollective gratitude and porting. It receives no deep appreciation. regular contributions from But these artists, the Bahamian government creatives and cultural or from corporate Bahaentrepreneurs – past and mas. The primary source of present – deserve more revenue is the Winston V than ritualistic encomiums. Saunders Theatre. Without The Dundas and the per- that revenue, the Dundas forming arts need a flow of may have to close its doors sustainable resources and for good.” dedicated civic and intellecThe Dundas is in great tual support. need of funding for recurThe recent brouhaha over rent and production and the suggestion of bringing capital expansion. TheaBroadway performances to tre is expensive and labour The Bahamas was a sort of intensive. unintentional set piece cum In 1992, the annual subfarce showcasing a desper- vention to the Bahamas ate lack of understanding National Trust was $25,000. of the richness of Bahamian This rose over the years cultalent and the aspirations minating in 2007 to a one and needs of the perform- million dollar a year subing arts communities. vention by the Government In a recent presenta- of The Bahamas. The driver tion, “Planet Afire: Critical behind this was former thinkers and literary artists, Prime Minister Hubert Climb Down from Olympus Ingraham. and Stop Fiddling While it The National Trust has Burns,” poetess and author a statutory relationship Patricia Glinton Meicho- with the Government but las laments the paucity of retains its independence in greater support for the managing the national park creative commons: “The system, a unique relationOrange Economy is the ship that dates back to its new black in The Bahamas, inception. the faux haute couture of The National Centre for cultural awareness. the Performing Arts is gov“Nowadays, the term fea- ernment-owned, while the tures heavily in the sound Dundas is “a private notbites of politicians, mostly for-profit company set up mouthed in international in trust for the Bahamian

HISTORY

people”. How might the Dundas and various performing arts groups secure greater funding?

Such groups should maintain their independence free of state control over what they wish to produce.

There is a long history of governments given annual grants to non-profits.

The Dundas and the government may wish to enter into some sort of memorandum of understanding or agreement whereby the Centre is given an annual grant to support various basic recurrent costs and general staff, including a manager.

SUPPORTED

The Bahamas Government has supported the arts in various ways, though there is more that can be done in terms of enlightening officials and getting other creatives and stakeholders to become advocates on one’s behalf.

While it is necessary to hold governments accountable, it is essential to build broader community support for an institution and not mostly continuously scold government officials.

The Dundas is important to our cultural life and deserves and needs government assistance to put it on a path to greater sustainability. The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, a public institution, may serve as an example, in some ways, for the future sustainability of the Dundas and the groups which utilize the facility.

Similar to the BNT and the NAGB, the Dundas requires greater corporate and foundation support to further dynamise the performing arts in The Bahamas. The Dundas is a “magical space” and a “sacred arena of the imagination”.

As we approach our 50th anniversary year of independence, one substantive goal is to create a medium - to long-term plan for the further development of the creative arts, including the performing and written arts.

The Dundas and the performing arts require myriad capital, including bold and creative ideas and thinking from the board and members of the Dundas on its proposed future and what it may need to do to elicit greater public and other support.

The centre will require several million over the next few years for its development and recurrent needs. There is more than enough capital in The Bahamas to realise the dreams of those who have populated the Dundas with their talents and endless drive since the opening of the Centre.

Supporting the good work of the performing arts is in our national interest.

How do we now resource the work with the funds and willpower that is needed?

More, in the weeks ahead.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 3, 2022, PAGE 9

POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN THE US T

HE stunning home invasion and severe wounding of American House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul last week proved that the U.S. can still shock itself. The assailant’s background and the awful response to the attack by Republicans who should know better are noteworthy for their discouraging revelations about current American society. More on that a bit later.

Political-related violence epitomized by the assault on the U.S. capitol by an armed mob in January seemed both to represent the culmination of long-simmering tensions and to herald a new era of peril for federal elected officials. But political violence has a long-rich tradition in an American culture steeped in literature and cinematic confrontations involving cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers. All of it is underpinned by the prevalence of and reliance upon firearms.

Four American presidents have been assassinated while in office: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901) and John F Kennedy (1963). Ronald

Reagan was very lucky to escape a point-blank assassination attempt outside a Washington, DC, hotel lobby in 1981.

Public records indicate that more recently, there were six serious, documented plots against the lives while they held office of US president Bill Clinton; two against George W Bush; seven against Barack Obama and two against Donald Trump.

According to transcripts released to the press by the FBI of its interview with Pelosi attack suspect David De Pape, he “stated that he was going to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and talk to her. If Nancy were to tell the ‘truth,’ he would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to break ‘her kneecaps.’ In the course of the interview, De Pape said he viewed Nancy as the ‘leader of the pack’ of lies told by the Democratic Party. De Pape also later explained that by breaking Nancy’s kneecaps, she would then have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other Members of Congress there were consequences to actions.”

De Pape has been living on the physical and ideological fringes of American society for several years. Investigators found his computer littered with Q’Anon

POLICE investigators work outside the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul Pelosi in San Francisco, Friday. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

nonsense and other dangerous fantasy thinking.

The US Justice Department has charged De Pape with the attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and an assault on the immediate family member of a federal officer. He faces a maximum of 50 years in federal prison if he is convicted on the federal charges.

San Francisco’s district attorney Brooke Jenkins told reporters that “It’s very sad to see that we are once again at a point in history where people believe that it is OK to express their political sentiments through violence.

It really demonstrates that we have to calm things down. We have to decide that we are going to be more respectful as an American society, that it is OK to disagree. But it certainly is something that has unnerved us all.”

The attack on Pelosi occurred on Friday night.

Over last weekend, Tesla and Space X guru and world’s reputed richest man Elon Musk officially took over at Twitter.

He announced his arrival with a bang, linking to some wild conspiracy theories about De Pape and Paul Pelosi.

While top Republican leaders managed to limit their public comments to compassion and sympathy,

HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi is escorted to a vehicle outside of her and husband Paul Pelosi’s home in San Francisco, Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

several leading GOP morons actually gloated over the Pelosi family trauma.

Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, a wealthy Washington suburbanite who was surprisingly elected last year, declared after the incident that “there’s no room for

violence anywhere, but we’re going to send her back to be with him in California.”

Of course, Texas Senator Ted Cruz had to jump in.

He retweeted a thread from a far-right activist that challenged the notion that the alleged

assailant was a militant right-winger. Trump, starting to seriously stir again on social media, said nothing. Others will find a way to blame liberals for the attack.

There were many disgraceful Tweets and statements. When will the US regain its senses?

HALFWAY POINT IN THE NFL 2022 SCHEDULE

T

HE giant of American sports, the NFL, has reached the halfway point in its 2022 schedule.

The November 1 trading deadline has passed. At this point, the league’s 30 teams are going to have to finish out their schedules with the players they have on their active and reserve rosters, except for injured players that will return when healthy. There is also the potentially notable exception of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was suspended by league commissioner Roger Goodell for the first 11 games of this season after more than two dozen Houston-area massage therapists accused him of sexual misconduct.

While the Browns have stumbled to a 3 – 5 record so far without Watson, their big win over Cincinnati on Monday night suggests that there’s enough potential on the team for Watson’s return to have a significant affect on the final league standings this year. But how do things look elsewhere now?

Among the biggest stories in the league so far are the significantly sub-par seasons of Hall of Fame quarterbacks Tom Brady, aged 45, and Aaron Rogers, aged 38. Both megastars are at the helm of teams that presently have 3 – 5 records and sit third in their respective divisions.

Brady has just divorced supermodel Gisele Bundchen after 13 years of a celebrated marriage, and Rogers split with ineffably cute actress Shailene Woodley earlier this year. So it’s been pretty much of a bummer for both hero QBs. Much better news comes out of Philadelphia, where the Eagles have soared to a league-leading 7 – 0 record under a new coach, maturing young quarterback Jalen Hurts and brilliant wide receiver A J Brown, acquired in an off-season trade with Tennessee. Given the present overall mediocrity in the league, you’d think the Eagles would have left their division rivals far behind.

That is not so. Dallas and the surprisingly good New York Giants both sit at 6 – 2 and, while most observers still expect the Giants to sag into invisibility at some point, the Cowboys have looked good for most of their games and should win at least a wild-card ticket into the playoffs.

Giants’ new coach Brian Daboll is the early coach of the year frontrunner, and

the Dallas defense has been impressive.

The Eagles’ NFC East division has the league’s best overall mark, with the equally surprising AFC East now just behind.

Buffalo leads the AFC East and may be the league’s best team now. The Bills seem to have no particular weaknesses, and have already beaten the defending champion Rams and perennial contenders the Kansas City Chiefs, both on the road.

The Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets are only one game behind Buffalo, and although no one expects them to overtake the Bills, both might reach the playoffs in January.

Things didn’t look very good for the Fins during the offseason after their quirky owner fired a popular head coach and their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, had not shown so far in his career that he was sufficiently consistent to lead a winner. But Miami has inflicted Buffalo’s only loss this year and looks set for a good run to the playoffs. And the Dolphins’ front office acquired star Broncos’ pass rusher Bradley Chubb in a trade this week, signaling that Miami has high hopes in 2022.

Elsewhere, the Minnesota Vikings are running away with their division; Kansas City’s quality is showing in improved performances each Sunday, and the Seattle Seahawks are so far leading their division with career backup QB Geno Smith at the helm of an unexpectedly efficient offence.

Several teams are probably already counting this as a lost season. In the AFC, Houston, Jacksonville, Indianapolis (all playing in the same weak division), along with Pittsburgh, Denver and the Raiders fall into this category so far. Over in the NFC, only Arizona, Carolina (which has already fired its head coach) and Detroit seem to have packed it in for 2022.

That’s only thirty percent of the NFL teams that may not have realistic playoff hopes this year.

The league sets many of its competitive rules to produce suspenseful races to the postseason, and from the look of things halfway through 2022, we should have good races to cheer as this season progresses.

And best of all, the Dolphins seem headed for success this year.

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PAGE 10, Thursday, November 3, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Munroe hails importance of K-9 units

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe in Parliament yesterday.

Photo: Moise Amisial

THE Bahamas Department of Correctional Services held an opening ceremony for The Bahamas Inter-Agency K-9 Seminar yesterday.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said there are canine units in all of the law enforcement agencies – such as the police, customs, and the defence force.

“The security of this nation, the people and our territory is this administration’s foremost mission and in fact our constitutional duty — we are obligated to make our nation safer and more prosperous,” he said.

“The former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush is quoted as saying this. Great countries need to secure their borders for national security purposes, for economic purposes, and for the rule of law purposes.

“Therefore, training of this kind, especially into agency service training, the Ministry of National Security fully endorses as it broadens the skill set of our country’s security personnel by readying you with any plan to meet any potential security threat.”

Mr Munroe said the government has mandated that each law enforcement canine unit establish a breeding facility to expand and ensure the continued success of the programme.

“I have tasked all of the agencies to see if we can cooperate and have a national canine centre

where we can make best use of resources and seek not to replicate resources at the same time providing each agency with the tools they need in terms of canine operators,” the minister said.

“This interagency canine seminar provides an opportunity for all of you law enforcement agencies, and your canine technicians, along with other quasigovernmental and non-governmental canine partners to unite once again, for information sharing regarding the latest developments and technology for canine maintenance, health, relevant laws concerning canine use and ownership and the effective ways for operating a canine unit.”

During the seminar, agencies will be able to critically analyse the canine units, and when necessary with information provided, mitigate any existing weaknesses and threats that their units may be experiencing,” he said.

The Freetown MP spoke on the broader topic of national security in relation to the region. He emphasised it is evident that the global and local dynamics have shifted.

He explained: “A new crisis demands our attention therefore you must be able to effectively defend our vital national interests.

Hence to ensure this the government of The Bahamas has made it a priority to train and adequately equip the armed forces and partners in combating and deterring criminality, and to

defeat security threats that emerge.”

He spoke about crime in nearby Turks and Caicos.

“If you permit people to run amok in the Turks and Caicos, how easy is that for them to come up to The Bahamas? The thing that people run on about Haiti — we spent a lot of money interdicting Haitians coming to The Bahamas.

Let’s say we withdraw all our people to the Bahamian border, did nothing to help anyone else — how long do you think it would be before we’re overwhelmed by the people abroad? It is always better if you have to fight a battle that it’s often cleaner to do it before it reaches your shores and so the persons who reflect on it.

“Anyone who does not understand that crime is transnational, and has a strategy of being only local will reap what they sow, which is you will be selfish, and you will reap the rewards of selfishness which is trouble in your homeland.

The Americans expend so much money in this country not really because they like us that much, you know, but because it protects their homeland. And that’s just simple. It’s not very complex.”

Several Bahamian police officers were recently sent to TCI to help with that nation’s crime problem.

When asked how long he anticipates the officers will be stationed there, he said: “The deployment order signed by the Governor General is from October 5 to December 28.”

MAN CHARGED OVER ARMED ROBBERIES

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was charged yesterday in connection with a string of armed robberies in the nation’s capital, one of which was a botched robbery ending with another man being shot.

Harry Deus, 32, faced Senior Magistrate Derence A Rolle Davis on multiple charges. These include attempted armed robbery, attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition, five counts of armed robbery and two counts of deceit of a public officer.

Between September 23 and October 26, while primarily being armed with a handgun and once with a silver knife, Deus is accused of robbing five people of cash and various other items. The total value of these thefts is estimated at $69,335.

It is further alleged that on October 24 Deus shot Anthony Rolle in a failed robbery attempt.

Then on October 27, it is said that authorities found the accused with a black 9mm Taurus pistol as well as with seven unfired rounds of 9mm ammunition. Deus is also accused of giving a false statement to two of his

arresting officers on the same day.

Due to the severity of the offences, Deus was not required to enter a plea in court. He was told that his matter would be fast tracked to the Supreme Court.

Deus was also told that as the magistrate lacked the jurisdiction to grant him bail he had the right to apply for it in the higher court.

Until bail is granted to the accused, he will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

The VBI in this matter is due for service on December 12.

MAN ACCUSED OF SEX WITH BOY, 15

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was accused yesterday of having sexual relations with a 15-year-old boy.

Jonathon Brown, 37, faced Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans on a charge of unlawful sexual

intercourse with a minor of the same sex. It is alleged that the accused slept with the boy on October 28.

Due to the gravity of the offence Brown was not required to enter a plea in court. He was informed his matter would proceed to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

As the magistrate lacked

the jurisdiction to grant him bail, Brown was told he had the right to apply for it through the higher court.

Prosecutor ASP Lewis asked the magistrate that the accused be placed in a secure cell while on remand for his own safety.

Brown is expected to return to court for service of his VBI on March 9, 2023.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 3, 2022, PAGE 11

OATH KEEPERS GROUP TRIED TO CONTACT TRUMP

DAYS after the January 6, 2021, insurrection, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes tried to get a message to then-President Donald Trump that urged him to fight to stay in power and “save the republic”, according to trial testimony yesterday.

Rhodes said in his message — given to an intermediary — that the Oath Keepers would support the Republican president if he invoked the Insurrection Act and called them up as a militia.

The message never made it to Trump. The intermediary — a Texas software developer and military veteran who testified he had an indirect way to reach the president — was taken aback by it and went to the FBI instead.

MARJORY Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defence table during his sentencing hearing yesterday.

Photo: Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/AP

Parkland school killer is sentenced to life in prison FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida Associated Press PARKLAND school shooter Nikolas Cruz formally received a sentence of life without parole yesterday after families of his 17 slain victims spent two days berating him as evil, a coward, a monster and a subhuman.

Cruz, shackled and in a red jail jumpsuit, watched Judge Elizabeth Scherer but showed no emotion as she sentenced him to 17 consecutive life terms for the February 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in suburban Fort Lauderdale, and an additional 17 terms for the attempted murders of those he wounded.

Scherer had no other choice; the jury in Cruz’s three-month penalty trial voted 9-3 on October 13 to sentence him to death, but Florida

law requires unanimity for that sentence to be imposed.

Cruz acknowledged under questioning by the judge before sentencing that he is on medication but could understand what was occurring.

The sentencing came after two days’ worth of parents, wives, siblings and others of slain victims and some of the surviving wounded walking to a lectern 20 feet to address him face to face.

The judge commended the families and wounded who testified, calling them strong, graceful and patient.

“I know you are going to be OK, because you have each other,” Scherer said.

The judge’s voice broke as she read the first of the 34 life sentences, but she her voice gained strength and volume she moved down the list. Some parents and

other family members wept as she read.

Families and the wounded spent two days verbally thrashing Cruz, wishing him a painful demise in prison and lamenting that he could not be sentenced to death.

“Real justice would be done if every family here were given a bullet and your AR-15 and we got to pick straws, and each one of us got to shoot one at a time at you, making sure that you felt every bit of it, and your fear continued to mount until the last family member who pulled that last straw had the privilege of making sure that they killed you,” said Linda Beigel Schulman, mother of teacher Scott Beigel. “That’s real justice for you.”

Beigel Schulman said she takes some comfort in knowing that Cruz is headed to a maximum-security prison where he will have to worry

constantly about his safety for the rest of his life.

“From what I hear, child killers are highly frowned upon and hated in prison,” Beigel Schulman said to Cruz. “I welcome the day that I’m told that you’ve been tortured and taken out for your cold-blooded, premediated, calculated, heinous murders, because you deserve no less.”

David Alhadeff, the uncle of Alyssa Alhadeff, told Cruz via Zoom from his classroom in Maryland that he deserves “the opportunity to rot away”.

“You deserve the opportunity to absorb the look of terror on your face once you leave this courtroom,” Alhadeff said.

“You deserve the opportunity of knowing that justice will prevail at some point, causing you great anguish, minute by minute, day by day.”

EMAILS SHOW EFFORT TO TARGET JUDGE

LAWYERS who aided former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election regarded an appeal to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as “key” to their chances of success, according to emails ~made public yesterday.

The email exchange from December 31, 2020, shows the lawyers discussing ways to delay the certification of results in Georgia, a closely contested state won by Democrat Joe Biden. One lawyer, Kenneth Chesebro, suggested that an appeal to Thomas, as the justice who handles emergency appeals from Georgia, could “end up being the key here”.

“We want to frame things so that Thomas could be the one to issue some sort of stay or other circuit justice opinion saying Georgia is in legitimate doubt,” Chesebro wrote.

PAGE 12, Thursday, November 3, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

THE TRIBUNE

RELIGION

RELIGIOUS NEWS, STORIES AND CHURCH EVENTS

EVANGELISTIC TEMPLE BRINGS BACK “WOMEN AFTER THE HEART OF GOD” CONFERENCE

By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

T

HE women’s ministry of Evangelistic Temple is expecting a shift to take place once it brings back the “Women After the Heart of God” conference, now in its 19th year, aimed at impacting women from all spheres of life.

The conference has attracted countless women over the past two decades, but unfortunately had to be put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, with the conference returning, organisers are looking forward to the coming together of women from all backgrounds, denominations and walks of life.

Under the theme entitled “Shift”, the conference takes place November 9-12 at Evangelistic Temple, Collins Avenue and Fourth Terrace, Nassau.

The nightly sessions take place November 9-11 beginning at 7pm. It concludes with a morning session at 8am on November 12.

This year’s theme, organisers said, focuses on discovering the profound truths found in God’s word regarding disobedience, overwhelming disappointment and deliverance.

The conference will feature speakers Rev Eileen Johnson, of Lighthouse Fellowship Church of God who will lead on the opening night; Elder Minalee Hanchell from Great Commission Ministries; Pastor Sheniqua Davis of New Birth Church, and Minister Katherine Hamilton of Bethany Assembly.

President Minister Vernita Lopez, president of the Temple’s Women’s Ministries, said the conference could not be returning at a more ideal time; a time when women are facing so many trials and tribulations.

“Many persons are engulfed and overwhelmed in some situation or another, whether it be a tumultuous marriage, loss of a loved one, sickness, financial distress, poverty, homelessness, mental pain, sorrow or anguish, employment issues, the disappointment of children, or

PASTOR SHENIQUA DAVIS

MIN KATHERINE HAMILTON

ELDER MINALEE HANCHELL

REV EILEEN JOHNSON

other significant issues, to name a mere few,” she said.

“In essence, everything that would block their vision of the Saviour who is able to deliver them from every single circumstance once they heed His call. Like many, they try to escape, taking a different route than the prescribed path and plan of God. As a result, they find themselves trapped, spiralling deeper into an ocean of despair.

This is not the desire of God for our lives. He wants to save us from certain shipwreck, deliver us from drowning in an ocean of worries and anchor us in a safe haven of rest in Him as He desires to be the chief navigator of our lives.”

Minister Lopez said the conference seeks to reveal the heart of God to women and show them that God is compassionate to their plight.

“God has a heart of deep compassion for the vilest sinner and is eager, ready and able to transform any life that would willingly surrender everything to Him, no matter how grave the offence.”

She extended an invitation to every woman throughout the length and breadth of the islands to come and be re-energised in their faith.

“The Holy Spirit is the miracle working transformer. No matter how frantically overwhelming

your situation may be, the God of all creation has the perfect answer and solution to your circumstance that is more than enough for any need you may have. He is the true and only deliverer,” she said.

Minister Lopez promises that every session of the conference will be spiritually, emotionally and mentally impactful.

She also said it was through earnest prayer that each speaker was selected for this event. She believes they are “anointed for this hour; to deliver a word of life and renew hope to those who are feverishly seeking release from their current hopeless situations.”

“If you enter these doors bewildered and confused, expect to leave fulfilled and enriched with purpose.

Enter weary and leave rejuvenated, refreshed, and renewed. Enter disillusioned and leave with focus and purpose. Come as you are, and leave transformed in His presence,” she said.

The entire family is invited to the Wednesday opening night session. For the convenience of mothers, nursery services will be available at all evening sessions.

For more information, contact 242- 322-8304 or visit Evangelistic Temple’s website or Facebook Page.

was like, ‘Wow, Mommy, you know what we really are blessed!’ That made me so happy.”

Tiny said as parents we have to encourage our kids

to be happy with whatever they have, whether someone gives them “a two-dollar race car or a $100 fancy remote controlled one.”

Using Psalms to help kids learn importance of gratitude

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net NOVEMBER is the month to show gratitude, and nowhere is the theme of thankfulness and praise used more than in the Book of Psalms.

Many parents struggle to teach their children how remain grateful for all the things that they have, and may even struggle to

maintain that feeling themselves as they navigate modern-day life.

One way the entire family can work on this is by using this month to read a Psalm each day which features something about being grateful. (Just go to Google to get daily suggestions.)

“My family did this last year,” said Tribune reader Myra, “and it was such a great experience. We did it as we drove to school each

EBENEZER’s ushers.

morning in traffic. I would read the verse and then both my sons would say something that they were grateful for, no matter how small or insignificant it was.

It gave me insight into what was on their minds and important to them.

“For example, one day my youngest said that he was thankful that lunch that day would be curry chicken.

That was how I learned that he had tried curry at school

and liked it, I didn’t even know that he did. So, one day I bought the stuff and he helped me make curry at home, which turned out to be a fun day with him.”

Keisha agreed that making her children focus on all that they do have helped them forget about what they do not have.

“We did something where we had to say what we were thankful about last year and by mid-month my daughter

PRESIDENT LESLIE CURTIS, Deaconesses Elsiemae Smith and Lucille Flowers.

MARION CLARKE, Rev Lynden Clarke’s wife Carlis, and Sammy Clarke (family of the late Rev Dr Irvin Clarke, Sr).

EBENEZER IN EXUMA CELEBRATES 130 YEARS; OPENS NEW EDUCATION CENTRE

By Vanessa C Smith REV Stephen Smith and congregation of Ebenezer Union Baptist in Rolleville, Exuma, recently celebrated the church's 130th anniversary under the theme "Great Expectations".

The month-long celebrations included sermons from distinguished speakers, some of whom descended from the settlement of Farmer's Hill, Exuma.

President of the Exuma District Convention Leslie Curtis led the way during the worship service, followed by Rev Deno Cartwright for a time of prayer and consecration.

Apostle Phalmon Ferguson of United Faith Ministries International brought a Rhema word,

APOSTLE PHALMON FERGUSON, wife Sophia, Rev Stephen Smith and congregants. followed by Rev Lynden Clarke, pastor of Palestine Union Baptist Church, and

Pastor Kendrick Ferguson of the Freewill Christian Centre in Miami, Florida.

The celebrations culminated with the opening of the Rev Dr Irvin Clarke

Conference Centre, which will house the Ebenezer Educational and Development Programme catering to both adults and children.

Generous donations were made by second home owners on the island, Chuck and Susan Jenkins, in the form of laptops, desktop computers, an overhead projector system and other electronic resources for training and teaching.

Pastor Kendrick Ferguson also donated school bags and books for the students.

Police Superintendent Garth Rolle delivered the anniversary sermon and spoke about Ebenezer's legacy.

He said the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the means of our great expectations, which

is our inheritance. The inheritance is imperishable, undefiled and cannot fade away.

President of the Exuma Christian Council Rev Dr John Rolle said: "This is a time of celebration. God has been good. I commend you Rev Smith for remembering the work and labour of love of the late Rev Dr Irvin Clarke, Sr by naming the Conference Centre in his honour. We must always remember the great men who have gone on before us. God is raising up a cadre of leaders with an indomitable spirit like Pastor Stephen Smith. We must recognise God's awesome presence. Continue to be faithful, continue to remain steadfast and go on for the King.”

SPORTS PAGE 14

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2022

Pro golfer Cameron Riley 6th overall

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

C

ameron Riley had the top finish of his professional golf career thus far at his latest appearance on the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour.

Riley finished in sixth place at the APGA Tour Charlie Sifford Centennial Tournament, October 25-26 at the Clubs of Kingwood course in Houston, Texas. He shot a total of 146 (+2) for the event after consecutive rounds of 73.

Kamaiu Johnson was the winner at 141 (-3), Marcus Byrd finished second with an even score of 144 (E), while Christian Heavens,

Michael Herrera and Wyatt Worthington II all tied for third at 145 (+1).

His next appearance on the tour will be the APGA Tour Fall Series Cham- CAMERON RILEY pionship in Los Angeles, November 7-11.

The second year pro has competed in 12 events on the AGPA Tour thus far in 2022.

Houston was Riley’s third consecutive top 10 finish and best since a no.7 placing at the TPC Las Vegas on April 12.

At the Ascension APGA Classic, September 8-9 at Glen Echo Country Club in St Louis, Missouri, he finished tied for 10th with his best rounds of the year, rounds of 69 and 68 for a score of 137.

Later that month, he finished with a score of 144, tied for ninth, September 20-21 at the APGA Philly at the Bluestone Country Club.

At the aforementioned TPC Las Vegas in Nevada on April 12, Riley finished tied for seventh.

“In Las Vegas I was close to the lead for a while but had some bad breaks on the last three holes,” Riley said.

He also produced a ninth place finish at the TPC Sugarloaf, June 20-21 in Duluth, Georgia with

identical rounds of 73 for a score of 146.

Riley made his APGA debut in August 2021 with a 35th place finish at the TPC Sugarloaf.

He also competed at the Tour Valley Forge, White Oak GC and Wilshire CC. Established in 2010, the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour is a non-profit organisation with the mission to prepare African Americans and other minority golfers to compete and win at the highest level of professional golf, both on tour and in the golf industry.

The APGA hosts professional tournaments, career development

SEE PAGE 17

Astros pitch 2nd no-hitter in World Series history

By BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cristian Javier and Houston’s bullpen combined on just the second no-hitter in World Series history, silencing a booming lineup and boisterous ballpark as the Astros blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 last night to even the matchup at two games each.

The only previous nohitter in the World Series was a perfect game by Don Larsen of the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956.

Javier and three relievers weren’t perfect, but they were close. Plus, they’d done this before: Javier, the starter in a combined no-hitter against the New York Yankees in June, was pulled with a no-hitter in progress after 97 pitches this time.

Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly each followed with a hitless inning, ensuring this year’s championship will be decided this weekend back at Minute Maid Park.

The quartet of pitchers posed with catcher Christian Vázquez near the visiting dugout moments after the game, each putting a hand on the game ball for a photo. Game 5 is tonight in Philly.

Houston ties matchup at 2-2

Astros ace Justin Verlander will again chase that elusive first World Series win when he faces Noah Syndergaard.

They can only hope to pitch as well as Javier.

By the time the 25-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic exited, the only hit maker on the Philadelphia side who showed up on the scoreboard was rocker Bruce Springsteen, pictured surrounded by Phillies fans.

And a few innings later, as fans started leaving Citizens Bank Park, there actually were boos for postseason star Bryce Harper and the Phillies.

First lady Jill Biden, a noted Phillies fan, was among those in the crowd of 45,693 who had little to shout about.

Alex Bregman delivered the hit Houston desperately needed, a two-run double in a five-run fifth

SEE PAGE 16

Klay, Page 19

DEYTON ALBURY CANS 22 IN SEASON OPENER

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net DEYTON Albury was a role player for the Chipola College men’s basketball programme as a freshman, but began his sophomore campaign.

Albury posted a collegiate career high with 22 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals for Chipola in their season opening 84-75 win over the Coastal Alabama North Eagles at the Milton H. Johnson Center in Marianna, Florida.

Chipola trailed 39-31 at the half, but Albury was instrumental in a 13-4 run to help Chipola regain the lead. His pair of free throws gave his team a 44-43 lead with 16:42 left to play.

Chiploa head coach Donnie Tyndall highlighted Albury’s performance when touting the resilience of his team. “I was proud of

SEE PAGE 18

GARLAND RETURNS TO LIFT CAVS OVER CELTICS IN OVERTIME

HOUSTON Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier throws during the first inning in Game 4 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday in Philadelphia.

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland scored 29 points in his return after missing five games with an ugly eye injury, Donovan Mitchell added 25 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 114-113 in overtime last night for their sixth straight victory.

Garland added 12 assists, including an alley-oop to Mitchell in OT that put the Cavs up 112-109 in their second victory over the Celtics in less than a week.

Jayson Tatum’s basket with 1:04 left pulled Boston within a point, and thanks to some poor possessions

by Cleveland, the Celtics had a chance to win it at the buzzer before Jaylen

SEE PAGE 19

T20 WCup: Kohli Kansas suspends Self helps India to 5-run for 4 games in ongoing win over Bangladesh infractions case ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — India moved in sight of the T20 World Cup semifinals by beating Bangladesh by five runs in a rain-affected thriller yesterday thanks to another impressive knock by Virat Kohli and an unfortunate run-out of Litton Das in the chase.

Kohli continued his strong form at the tournament by scoring 64 not out off 44 balls to help India to 184-6 off its 20 overs.

Lokesh Rahul also weighed in with a 32-ball 50.

Bangladesh started its reply brilliantly and was 66-0 after seven overs — with Das on 59 off 26 balls — when the teams were forced off for nearly an hour because of rain. The revised target was set at 151 in 16 overs, according to the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer

INDIA’s Virat Kohli bats during the T20 World Cup cricket match against Bangladesh in Adelaide, Australia, yesterday.

(AP Photo/James Elsby) Off the first ball after the delay, Das slipped as he turned for a second run and appeared to hurt his arm. Then, off the next ball, he again slipped as Bangladesh sought a second run and was run out for 60 at

the non-striker’s end from a direct throw by Rahul.

It proved the turning point as Bangladesh was restricted to 145-6, with Arshdeep Singh taking

SEE PAGE 15

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas suspended Hall of Fame coach Bill Self and top assistant Kurtis Townsend for the first four games of the season yesterday, along with imposing several recruiting restrictions, as part of the fallout from a lengthy FBI investigation into college basketball corruption.

Norm Roberts will be the acting coach for the defending national champions beginning with their opener Monday night against Omaha. Self and Townsend also will miss games against North Dakota State and Southern Utah along with a

BILL SELF (AP) high-profile showdown between the No. 5 Jayhawks and No. 7 Duke in the Champions Classic.

Self and Townsend will rejoin the team to face North Carolina State at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on November 23.

The school already had barred the two coaches

from off-campus recruiting this past summer.

It will also reduce the number of official visits during the 2023-24 academic year, reduce the total number of scholarships by three over a three-year span and reduce the number of permissible recruiting days during the upcoming year by 13 days.

There were no official visitors this year for Late Night at the Phog, the annual celebration to kick off the season.

“Coach Townsend and I accept and support KU’s decision,” Self said in a statement. “We are in good hands with Coach Roberts, and I am

SEE PAGE 16

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 3, 2022, PAGE 15

AJ Storr suits up for Red Storm in Big East

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net FOUR star freshman guard AJ Storr leads a highly touted incoming class expected to propel the St John’s Red Storm back into contention of a competitive Big East Conference.

Storr gave the Red Storm faithful a glimpse of his future impact when he came off the bench to score a team high 13 points in just 20 minutes of his team’s 85-55 exhibition win over Adelphi at Carnasecca Arena in Queens, New York. He shot 5-9 from the field, including 2-3 from three-point range.

It was his first time playing in front of the St John’s faithful following his debut in August on the St John’s Foreign Tour in the Dominican Republic.

He scored eight points against the DR senior national team, six points against the U22 national team and six points against club team GUG. St John’s head coach Mike Anderson was bullish on the prospect at Red Storm media day.

“[This is] probably the most talent that I’ve had since I’ve been here, more guys that fit what we’re doing. This team here has all the components of some of the best teams I’ve had.

I’m excited by this team.

I’m looking forward to this team going out and showing not only this university, but this city - the whole country - what St John’s is all about.”

Storr, a four-star recruit and the no. 95 prospect in the nation according to ESPN, heads to St John’s following a season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The highest-rated high school prospect of the Mike Anderson Era, the 6-foot-6 guard chose St John’s over reported offers from Kansas, Illinois, LSU and Oklahoma among others.

“AJ is an unquestioned talent and I think he has the ability to really shape the direction of our programme moving forward,” Anderson said. “He has a tremendous work ethic to go along with an ability to score at a high level. AJ is a high character young man who comes from a great family. We are excited for

QC Comets junior boy in action during the sudden death playoffs.

QC COMETS JUNIOR BOYS, SENIOR GIRLS ADVANCE TO CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES IN SUDDEN DEATH PLAYOFFS

FOUR star freshman guard AJ Storr came off the bench to score a team high 13 points in just 20 minutes to propel the St John’s Red Storm to a 85-55 exhibition win over Adelphi at Carnasecca Arena in Queens, New York. him to join the St John’s basketball family.”

On the AAU circuit, Storr was a member of

Vegas Elite in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL). He averaged 12.1 points per game.

THE Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools Sports Association sudden death playoffs got underway yesterday at the Freedom Farm Baseball League.

The Queen’s College Comets junior boys and senior girls teams both advanced to the championship series in their respective divisions.

The second seeded junior boys defeated the third seeded NCA

Crusaders 11-1. The other half of the junior boys semifinals will be played today when the undefeated St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine takes on the Temple Christian Suns.

In senior girls’ play, the Comets defeated the Big Red Machine to advance.

They will face the winners of the matchup between the undefeated Crusaders and the fourth ranked St John’s Giants.

AUGER-ALIASSIME, RUBLEV IN ATP FINALS AS FRITZ, HURKACZ LOSE PARIS (AP) — Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andrey Rublev qualified for the ATP Finals after Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz, the other contenders for the two remaining spots, lost in the second round of the Paris Masters yesterday.

The eighth-seeded Auger-Aliassime outlasted qualifier Mikael Ymer 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (6) to next play wild-card entry Gilles Simon, who overcame the ninth-seeded Fritz 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

Auger-Aliassime saved 14 of 17 break points and converted four of five to extend his winning streak to 14 matches. Fritz failed to convert three set points on

Simon’s serve at 5-4 in the opening set.

The American also failed to convert any of the three break points he had at 3-2 in the final set. He made 36 unforced errors to 16 for Simon, who is ranked 188th and plans to retire after this tournament.

Teenager Holger Rune stunned the 10th-seeded Hurkacz 7-5, 6-1 to meet Rublev, who reached the third round on Tuesday.

Before the Paris Masters, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic had already qualified for the eight-man tournament in Turin from November 13-20.

Alcaraz, Tsitsipas, Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti also advanced to the third round in Paris.

De Minaur upset fourthseeded Medvedev 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 to next face Frances Tiafoe, who beat Jack Draper 6-3, 7-5.

De Minaur beat Medvedev for the first time in five meetings.

After rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final set, De Minaur failed to convert his first two match points at 5-4.

He hit a return out on the first match point and made an unforced error on the second.

But the Australian got two more chances at 6-5. Medvedev saved the

third match point with a service winner before double-faulting on the fourth and angrily throwing his racket to the ground.

“I’m glad I played a very tactical match,” De Minaur told Tennis Channel.

“I just tried to wait for my right ball and just back myself and back my volley.

It’s something that I tried to implement a lot more.

I don’t do it as often as I would like, but I’ve got some decent volleys.”

Medvedev, who won the Paris Masters in 2020 and was runner-up last year, dropped serve in the first set by overhitting a smash in the final game.

But the Russian capitalised on unforced errors by

De Minaur to break twice in the second set.

The top-seeded Alcaraz downed Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-4 to rack up more points in his chase for the year-end No. 1 ranking.

Alcaraz lost a break in the eighth game but hit a forehand pass on the run to break again for a 5-4 lead before grabbing the first set with a forehand winner.

The Spaniard whipped another forehand winner to take Nishioka’s serve at 4-4 in the second set.

Alcaraz hit 30 winners to 7 for the Japanese and will next play Grigor Dimitrov who dispatched lucky loser Fabio Fognini 6-0, 7-5.

The fifth-seeded Tsitsipas beat Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4

to lead the ATP tour with 58 wins this year.

Tsitsipas raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set. He then hit a forehand winner across court to break Evans in the opening game of the second, before converting his first match point with an ace.

“I’m happy with the level of tennis I brought when I had to,” Tsitsipas said. “I was moving well, I was dictating well.

“I combined everything, including my defense, the transition to offense. I was serving well, I was very calm in important moments, and it paid off.”

Musetti defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2 to next face third-seeded Ruud.

SWIATEK’S TOP-10 STREAK REACHES 13, GARCIA BEATS COCO GAUFF

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek performed so well against nearly every opponent all season that it should come as no surprise she’s been perfect when facing the best of the best since early January.

Swiatek extended her winning streak against opponents ranked in the top 10 to 13 matches — the longest such singleseason run in 15 years — and opened her bid for a first WTA Finals title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Daria Kasatkina in round-robin play Tuesday night.

Swiatek has asserted herself as a dominant force in women’s tennis, claiming two Grand Slam titles and eight tournament trophies in 2022. Her 65-8 match record leads the tour, too.

That includes a 5-0 mark against Kasatkina this year.

“Sometimes, against players like that, there comes a little bit more

T20

FROM PAGE 14 2-38. It was a closer game than we would have liked,” said Kohli, who was named man of the match. “It was another good day with the bat. I am happy the World Cup is in Australia because I can play my shots here. I love playing in Adelaide.

I feel at home and want to keep batting.”

India climbed above South Africa to the top of Group 2 in the Super 12s with six points from four games. Second-place South Africa plays fifth-place

doubt,” said Swiatek, who will try to make it 14 in a row against top-10 foes when she takes on No. 6 Caroline Garcia, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over 18-year-old American Coco Gauff.

“But then it’s a good thing to remember my strengths, and I’m kind of leaning on that and remembering that I learned a lot throughout this whole season,” said Swiatek, who put together a 24-5 edge in winners against Kasatkina.

“I can use that experience and there’s no reason why I would play worse than in practice.”

This one was pretty much over at the outset, when Swiatek raced to a 3-0 edge.

She quickly adapted to the indoor hard court set up at Dickies Arena, and that start, she said, “gave me confidence for the rest of the match.”

Said Kasatkina, who went 0 for 3 on break chances: “The margin was too big” at the beginning of each set.

“I knew it was going to be hard to balance being

aggressive and not making a lot of mistakes, because she can reset the rallies,” Swiatek said. “I’m pretty happy that at the beginning, I was able to be proactive but, on the other hand, really solid.”

She is 13-1 against members of the top 10 this year, with the lone loss coming

Pakistan in Sydney on Thursday in a match that will have major implications for the group.

Bangladesh, which is third on four points, will play Pakistan in its final game.

Before the rain break, Das was putting India’s pace attack to the sword.

He hit three sixes and seven fours, reaching his half-century off 21 balls. It was the second quickest half-century of the tournament.

He put on 50 runs off 32 balls, with Najmul Shanto only contributing three runs to the initial partnership.

Overall, they put on 68 runs

off 44 balls either side of the weather interruption.

When the rain intervened, Bangladesh was ahead on DLS, having needed a par score of 49-0 at that point.

Afterward, however, Bangladesh plunged to 99-3 after Suryakumar Yadav held two sharp catches to send back Shanto (21) and Afif Hossain (3) in quick succession.

Shakib al Hasan was out for 13, while Nurul Hasan kept Bangladesh going with 25 not out off 14 balls.

With 20 needed off the last six balls, Singh helped to seal the win for India.

against then-No. 1 Ash Barty on Jan. 8.

Barty’s retirement at age 25 in March allowed Swiatek, a 21-year-old from Poland, to climb atop the rankings.

No. 4 Gauff, the runnerup to Swiatek at the French Open in June, will now face No. 8 Kasatkina, who

reached her first Grand Slam semifinal in Paris before losing to — yes, you guessed it — Swiatek.

A year ago at the WTA Finals, Swiatek’s debut in the season-closing tournament for the top eight women ended after the group stage. Garcia also has made it to this event just once before: She was eliminated in the semifinals in 2017.

“The past couple of years have been very rough,” said Garcia, at 29 the oldest player in the field at Fort Worth. “I’m really, really happy to be back. Five years is quite a long time in a career, but you try to manage as best you can.”

Garcia is also the only player at the WTA Finals who has defeated Swiatek this year, doing so in front of a partisan crowd at the Poland Open in July.

“It’s definitely a good experience to take,” Garcia said. “To be aggressive is probably the best to try to beat her. When she has time to do her things, it’s very

complicated. She changes direction so well. She moves very well on court; with her sliding, she looks like she covers two courts.”

Swiatek has earned the same number of titles this season as the other seven women combined.

That doesn’t mean she is only thinking about collecting hardware.

She often practices visualization before heading out on court, although she said she did not do that Tuesday ahead of facing Kasatkina.

“I’m not the kind of person who’s going to visualize myself with trophies. I don’t think it’s going to lead anywhere,” Swiatek said.

“So usually, it’s (about) technique and perfect preparation for the shot.”

She was grateful for the fans waving the Polish flag or wearing the country’s red and white colors, but she also noticed the thousands of empty seats in the venue, saying in her on-court interview: “Hopefully we’re going to see a full house soon.”

Earlier, put in to bat, India had Rohit Sharma dismissed for 2, despite surviving a dropped catch.

Kohli and Rahul then added 67 runs off 36 balls for the second wicket.

Rahul was the aggressor in the partnership as he struck four sixes and three fours. He brought up his first half-century of the tournament off 31 balls.

Shakib (2-33) got rid of Rahul immediately after his milestone.

Kohli then added another 38 runs with Yadav, who hit 30 off 16.

Shakib bowled Yadav as well, leaving India at 116-3

in 13.3 overs. India lost a flurry of wickets toward the end, falling to 150-5 in 17 overs.

Kohli hit eight fours and one six, and reached his third half-century of the tournament off 37 balls.

India scored 54 off the last five overs, despite losing Hardik Pandya (5) and Dinesh Karthik (7) cheaply.

Ravichandran Ashwin scored a handy 13 not out off six balls.

In the first game of the day, also in Adelaide, fast bowler Paul van Meekeren took three wickets to lead the Netherlands to a

five-wicket win over Zimbabwe, ending the African side’s chances of making the semifinals.

It was the Dutch side’s first win in the Super 12 tournament after three losses.

Van Meekeren (3-29) and his pace partners Brandon Glover (2-29) and Bas de Leede (2-14) were influential in curtailing the Zimbabweans, who were dismissed in 19.2 overs for 117 after winning the toss and deciding to bat.

In reply, the Netherlands scored 120-5 with 12 balls remaining. Max O’Dowd top-scored with 52 runs.

IGA Swiatek of Poland reacts after winning her match against Daria Kasatkina of Russia during round-robin play on Day 2 of the WTA Finals tennis tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday.

Swiatek won 6-2, 6-3.

(AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)

PAGE 16, Thursday, November 3, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Milan back in Champions League last 16, PSG faces tough draw

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer IT took nine years for seven-time European champion AC Milan to finally win its way back into the Champions League knockout rounds with a 4-0 victory over Salzburg yesterday.

Paris Saint-Germain’s quest for a first European title got potentially tougher because it is now unseeded in the round of 16 draw Monday despite winning 2-1 at Juventus.

A stoppage-time goal for Benfica in a 6-1 win at Maccabi Haifa knocked the French champion off the top spot in Group H on an obscure seventh-tier tiebreaker rule — overall goals scored away from home.

PSG and its superstar strike force of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar can now land in a blockbuster pairing with a group winner like defending champion Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Manchester City.

“It’s a problem for them, too. We’re not worried,” said PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who acknowledged being unaware of the situation until after the game.

Milan will likely care less about being unseeded as a group runner-up. A smooth win over Salzburg ensured finishing above the Austrians and advancing from Group E with Chelsea, which beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1.

Veteran forward Olivier Giroud scored a goal in each half to lift Milan into the round of 16 for the

first time since the 201314 season. The nine-year gap included some Europa League campaigns, failures to qualify at all, and a oneseason ban for breaking UEFA financial rules.

Leipzig also advanced to the knockout stage by beating Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0 and ending the Ukrainian club’s improbable run in its adopted home stadium in Poland during the Russian invasion.

Leipzig finished second in Group F behind Real Madrid — which routed last-place Celtic 5-1 — despite starting in September with two losses against Shakhtar and the Spanish defending champion.

Shakhtar’s European campaign will continue in February with a place in the Europa League playoffs given to thirdplace teams in Champions League groups.

Juventus also goes to the Europa League despite earning just three points in total, the same as Maccabi Haifa, because it held the tiebreaker over the Israeli club.

Manchester City trailed at halftime before rallying to beat Sevilla 3-1 and Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 at Copenhagen in Group G where all the final standings were resolved last week.

TIGHT TIEBREAKER PSG went unbeaten with a 14-point tally that was more than four other group winners but not enough to top historically tight Group H. Benfica and PSG each won four games, each drew 1-1 hosting the other, each

PSG’s Kylian Mbappe applauds fans at the end of the Champions League group H soccer match against Juventus at the Allianz stadium in Turin, Italy, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) scored 16 goals, and each had a goal difference of plus-9.

The top spot was decided on the seventh level of tiebreaker — who scored the most goals in three games away from home.

PSG had six, Benfica got nine including Joao Mario’s on Wednesday in the second minute of stoppage time.

MBAPPE’S RECORD When Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring for PSG at Juventus it was his 40th career goal in record speed in the Champions League — six for Monaco as an 18-year-old in 2017, and 34 for PSG. At 23 years, 317 days Mbappé is the youngest

player to reach the 40-goal mark, almost six months younger than Lionel Messi was and nearly four years ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s pace. Still, Ronaldo’s sustained brilliance in his 30s has taken him to a Champions League record 140 career goals.

ROUND OF 16 DRAW The pairings will be drawn Monday at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland more than three months before the first-leg games start February 14.

Group winners are seeded and will host the second legs played from March 7-15. No one can be drawn against another team from their home country or a team they

already played in their group.

Seeded teams: Napoli, Porto, Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Benfica.

Unseeded teams: Liverpool, Club Brugge, Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, AC Milan, Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain.

EUROPA LEAGUE PLAYOFFS The eight third-place teams in Champions League groups go into a separate draw Monday for the Europa League knockout playoffs.

They are: Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sevilla, Juventus.

Those teams will be unseeded and playing the first leg at home on February 16 against runners-up in Europa League groups that finish today. Return games are on February 23.

QATAR PROTEST For the second straight Copenhagen home game in the Champions League, a protester ran on to the pitch wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Boycott Qatar.”

Denmark, which will go to Qatar this month in World Cup group with defending champion France, has been a focus for highlighting the host nation’s treatment of migrant workers building projects essential for the tournament.

The national team is taking a black kit option to Qatar as a symbol of “mourning” for construction workers who died.

ASTROS REWRITE HISTORY WITH WORLD SERIES NO-HITTER FROM PAGE 14 inning, and that was plenty for the Astros.

Completely in charge, Javier struck out nine, walked two and hardly allowed any loud contact. He tamed a club that had been 6-0 at home this postseason while hitting 17 home runs, including a Series record-tying five in a 7-0 romp in Game 3.

Very still on the mound, Javier carved his own quiet spot in the middle of the Phillies’ storm. Backing off onto the grass, straightening his hat, rubbing the ball, taking deep breaths, he proceeded at his own pace.

Next year, Javier won’t be able to work quite this way.

Major League Baseball is instituting a pitch clock — 15 seconds to throw with the bases empty, 20 with someone on base — and Javier often surpassed those limits on this evening, drawing boos from a crowd eager for action.

Anyhow, it worked at the start.

When Javier held the Phillies scoreless through the first three innings, it was no small feat. No visiting pitcher had done that during the postseason in this bouncing ballpark.

In Javier’s last start, he shut out the Yankees on one hit in 5 1/3 innings in the Bronx during the AL Championship Series.

This performance by Javier came a year after Atlanta’s Ian Anderson was taken out after pitching five hitless innings against Houston.

Soccer’s ‘most important project’ begins, not the World Cup

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The goal is to get soccer balls to 700 million elementary school children, most of them in the poorest or most remote corners of the world.

India alone needs 1 million balls, which will likely have to travel the length and breadth of the country by road to reach kids at about 10,000 schools.

“Can you imagine China?” said Fatimata Sow Sidibe, the director of FIFA’s Football For Schools project.

Overshadowed by the buildup to the World Cup, soccer has embarked on probably its most ambitious global youth development programme, with the monumental aim of delivering balls and a coaching programme to nearly half of the world’s children between the ages of 4 and 14.

Football For Schools was launched in 2019 but came to a grinding halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was relaunched this year and has an initial budget of $100 million from FIFA, about 1% of what Qatar reportedly spent just on

SELF

FROM PAGE 14 confident that he will do a great job on the bench leading our team. I am proud of the way our guys have handled this situation and I look forward to returning to the bench for our game against N.C. State.”

The infractions case against Kansas stems from a federal investigation in 2017 that led to the conviction of shoe company executives, a middleman who worked with them and several assistant coaches.

Kansas was among the schools named in the case, along with Arizona, LSU, Louisville and N.C. State.

The Kansas case hinged on whether representatives of apparel company Adidas were considered boosters — the school contends

its stadiums for this year’s World Cup. And yet, “this is the most important project in the world of football,” said Steve Pila, who is managing the Football For Schools rollout in South Africa, one of the pilot countries.

Football For Schools aims to send 11 million Adidas soccer balls to tens of thousands of schools, by air, sea and road.

Schools will also get access to training routines via a free cellphone app. That changes the game because it allows any teacher to coach with the help of dozens of practice sessions designed for kids and available at the tap of a finger.

Many schools aren’t just short of balls. They also don’t have a dedicated soccer coach.

“Even a teacher in the most rural area is able to take young boys and girls together and, at the palm of your hand, you have something to do with them,” Pila said.

Pila said South Africa’s biggest problem is not enough good coaches and this “fills that gap just a little.”

Simple, and hopefully effective.

Development programmes are difficult to judge, especially

they were not — when two of them arranged payments to prospective recruits. The school never disputed that the payments were made, only that it had any knowledge that the inducements were happening.

Auburn received four years of probation through a traditional NCAA infractions process for a similar case, but Kansas joined other schools in appealing its case to an Independent Accountability Review Panel, which was among the proposals made by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2018 to reform the sport.

The panel works outside the purview of the NCAA and was designed to handle particularly complex cases.

But its work has been painfully slow — NCAA president Mark Emmert acknowledged the process

CHILDREN practice at the Goma Academy of Leaders in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 24.

(AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa) But youth programmes are when targeting such young kids.

Any results are long-term and priceless. All indications are that sometimes intangible. Football the world’s best players, the drivFor Schools is unlikely to have a ing force of the game and the noticeable impact on the world focus of the $200 billion World game by the time the next World Cup in Qatar, become the best Cup in the United States, Canada because they had regular expoand Mexico comes and goes, or sure to soccer before the age of even the one after that. It’s a 5-10- 10. Lionel Messi was playing at a club in Argentina at the age of 4, year project at least.

“Nobody is investing in this way before Barcelona came callbecause there is no immediate ing. Cristiano Ronaldo was in a return of investment,” Sow Sidibe youth team on the Portuguese island of Madeira at 7. said.

takes “way too long” — and Kansas decided to self-impose restrictions while continuing to wait for the IARP to announce its decision.

“We are hopeful these difficult self-imposed sanctions will assist in bringing the case to a conclusion,” Kansas athletic director Travis Goff said in a statement, and declining any additional comment. “Until then, we will continue to focus on supporting our outstanding men’s basketball student-athletes and coaches.”

Kansas had already doubled down on Self by signing him to a new contract in April 2021.

Under the terms of the five-year deal, Self gets one additional year after the conclusion of each season — in effect, making it a lifetime contract. It

guaranteed him $5.41 million per year with a base salary of $225,000, a professional services contract of $2.75 million and an annual $2.435 million retention bonus.

The contract includes a clause that states the school cannot fire Self for cause “due to any current infractions matter that involves conduct that occurred on or prior to” the signing of the deal. And while he would have to forfeit half of his base salary and professional services pay while serving any Big 12 or NCAA suspension, it’s unclear whether that includes any self-imposed suspensions such as the one handed down Wednesday.

“Throughout this process, we have had ongoing conversations with all the involved parties,” Kansas chancellor Douglas A.

FIFA believes there are more than half a billion willing young children out there who still don’t have enough contact with the world’s most popular game.

“We are spreading the net now,” said Mzimkhulu Fina, the chairman of schools soccer at the South African Football Association.

Poor regions are the focus.

So far, Football For Schools has launched in 18 countries, most of them in Africa, South America, Central America and Oceania.

The Caribbean is next.

India is a big target for next year, where the project hopes to allow 1.8 million more Indian children to kick a soccer ball, Sow Sidibe said.

She hopes that all 211 member countries of FIFA will eventually take it on.

Africa is especially rich in potential, with more than 400 million children aged 10 or younger growing up on a continent where soccer has no equal as a sport.

It also has some of the steepest challenges; poverty but also the remoteness of rural areas where talent scouts aren’t dropping by to whisk promising players off to academies.

Girod said in a statement.

“We believe the actions we are announcing today move us closer to resolving this matter.”

Making the Kansas case more complex, though, is the rapidly shifting landscape of college sports.

Some of the alleged infractions from the 2017 investigation would no longer be against the rules following name, image and likeness legislation, which has allowed athletes in all sports to begin making money from endorsements and other off-the-field business arrangements.

Meanwhile, the days of postseason bans and crippling scholarship reductions as punishments appear to be ending.

Memphis was placed on three years of probation in August and slapped with a public reprimand and fine

for violations in the recruitment of James Wiseman, now with the Golden State Warriors.

But the Tigers escaped any scholarship penalties or postseason bans because the IARP said it did not want to punish current athletes.

Even as the IARP continues to work on several cases, the NCAA’s Division I Transformation Committee earlier this year put forth a recommendation to end the process. The proposal was swiftly adopted by the Division I Board of Directors.

“We look forward to commenting further when this process is fully resolved,” Girod said of the IARP process. “Until then, I want to reiterate our unwavering support of Coach Self and our men’s basketball programme.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 3, 2022, PAGE 17

Eagles are largest of eight road favourites in Week 9

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer JALEN Hurts and the undefeated Eagles are looking for the first 8-0 start in franchise history while the rest of Philadelphia is focused on beating another team from Houston.

When the Eagles (7-0) visit the Texans (1-5-1) tonight, the Phillies will host the Astros in Game 5 of the World Series. It will be a potential Series-clinching game for the Phillies if they won Game 4 last night.

The Eagles rarely take a backseat to another team in Philly, but they understand they haven’t accomplished anything yet.

“Dawg mentality is that nothing matters of what happened before,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.

“We’re ready to go get ready to go 1-0 this week.

That’s something that it’s just a mindset that we have as an organisation.”

The Eagles are the largest among eight road favourites in Week 9. They’re 13 1/2-point favourites, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

Pro Picks considers this a second bye in three weeks for the Eagles.

EAGLES, 34-13 Los Angeles Rams (plus 3) at Tampa Bay Tom Brady and the Buccaneers (3-5) are struggling.

They’ve lost five of six, the offence can’t score, the defence is poor and coaching has been a problem.

The Rams (3-4) have their own issues, but Aaron Donald could dominate a weak interior offensive line in a rematch from last January.

UPSET SPECIAL: RAMS, 22-20 Los Angeles Chargers (minus 3) at Atlanta The Chargers (4-3) are supposed to be championship contenders. The NFC South-leading Falcons (4-4) are supposed to be rebuilding. This week both teams play like it.

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer

BEST BET: CHARGERS, 31-20 Green Bay (minus 3) at Detroit Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have lost four in a row and are 3-5 for the first time since Brett Favre was in Green Bay. The Lions (1-6) have lost five in a row after the “Hard Knocks” hype. The Packers are due for a breakout win.

PACKERS, 30-23 Seattle (plus 1) at Arizona Kyler Murray has been a major disappointment and the Cardinals (3-5) are 11-17 at home under coach Kliff Kingsbury. Seahawks QB Geno Smith is thriving in his first full season as a starter since 2014, leading Seattle (5-3) to first in the NFC West.

CARDINALS, 27-24

Miami (minus 5) at Chicago Dolphins (5-3) reloaded at the trade deadline, bolstering both sides of the ball.

The Bears were sellers and buyers.

DOLPHINS, 24-20 Carolina (plus 7 1/2) at Cincinnati Joe Burrow and Bengals (4-4) need a rebound after the Browns whipped them.

BENGALS, 27-16 Las Vegas (minus 1 1/2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) have lost five straight.

Raiders (2-5) went from nearly knocking off eventual AFC champion Cincinnati in the playoffs to last place.

JAGUARS, 20-17 Indianapolis (plus 5 1/2) at New England

This isn’t Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady anymore.

PATRIOTS, 23-20 Buffalo (minus 12 1/2) at New York Jets The Bills (6-1) outscored the Jets 72-27 last season.

But these aren’t the same old Jets.

BILLS, 28-17 Minnesota (minus 3 1/2) at Washington The Commanders (4-4) have won three in a row, including two straight with Taylor Heinicke.

Kirk Cousins beat his former team the only other time he faced them.

VIKINGS, 24-19 Tennessee (plus 12 1/2) at Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid is 20-3 after a regular-season bye. The Titans (5-2)

have won five in a row. One streak will end.

CHIEFS, 27-17 Baltimore (minus 2 1/2) at New Orleans The Ravens (5-3) are aiming for two straight road wins against the NFC South opponents. It won’t be easy against the Saints (3-5).

SAINTS, 26-24 2022 RECORD Last Week: Straight up: 7-8. Against spread: 7-8.

Season: Straight up: 71-52. Against spread: 65-57-1.

Thursday Night: Straight up: 5-3. Against spread: 4-4.

Monday Night: Straight up: 5-4. Against spread: 4-5.

Best Bet: Straight up: 6-2.

Against spread: 6-2.

Upset Special: Straight up: 3-5. Against spread: 4-4.

HURTS LOOKS TO IMPROVE PHILLY TO 8-0 AGAINST HOMETOWN TEXANS

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Hurts was born in Houston and grew up about 25 miles from NRG Stadium.

As a child he dreamed of playing at the stadium the Houston Texans call home.

Tonight, he’ll finally get that chance when he leads the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles (7-0) against the lowly one-win Texans (1-5-1).

“I never had the opportunity to go play in Reliant as a kid, now known as NRG,” he said. “I spent a lot of time in the Houston Texans facility, my godfather being on staff as a child, and I have a lot of memories at that place, so it’ll be exciting.”

Houston coach Lovie Smith knows Hurts will be amped up to play so close to home, but he isn’t going to roll out the welcome wagon to meet the young star. “Guys are really excited about it, to have a chance to come back, hometown, close to home,” he said. “That is always special. Every player that you talk to would say that.

We’re not into homecoming, so we don’t want him to have a great homecoming coming back.”

Hurts and the Eagles look to improve to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. The 24-year-old Hurts has been great for Philadelphia, winning 19 consecutive regular-season games, the longest active streak in the NFL. He threw a career-high four touchdown passes last week to lead the Eagles to a 35-13 win over Pittsburgh and his 300.3 yards of offence a game leads all NFC quarterbacks.

DESHAUN WATSON TO START VS. TEXANS AFTER SUSPENSION, GM SAYS

EAGLES quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) passes during the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in Philadelphia.

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Smith said it’s difficult to contain Hurts and that he presents a unique challenge because of his scrambling ability.

“It’s hard,” Smith said.

“He’s maybe the most improved ballplayer in the league this year. What he can do, there’s a lot of good quarterbacks that can throw it, but he brings so many more things to the table. I think for us, it’s better keeping him in the pocket.”

Hurts has taken a big jump this season and has 10 touchdowns with just two interceptions a year after finishing with 16 TDs and nine picks. It’s an improvement that Philadelphia offensive coordinator Shane Steichen expected to see this year.

“I had no doubt about it,” he said. “The way he has been playing, the way he goes about his process and his business, it’s tremendous. The guys feed off it. You see it on the practice field, you see it in

the meeting rooms, and to carry it over every Sunday and being consistent, that’s what you want in a quarterback, and he’s doing that now.”

The Eagles are not only undefeated on the season, they’re also a perfect 5-0 against the Texans. Philadelphia and Minnesota are the only teams Houston has never beaten.

UNDEFEATED TALK The Eagles have been pretty quiet about a potential quest to go undefeated.

The 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the only team that finished unbeaten with a 17-0 mark that could stand another 50 years or more given the parity and length of the modern NFL season.

The 2007 New England Patriots came close, going 18-0 before a Super Bowl loss.

Even as the wins pile up, and the Eagles approach the midway point unbeaten, they’ve offered no bulletin board material on what it

might mean to match the Dolphins.

“The common denominator of great teams is they focus on one day at a time and they don’t think about the past, they don’t think about the future,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.

“They think about where we are and how we’re going to go 1-0 this day, and completely focus on that.”

RUNNING WILD The Texans have ranked near the bottom of the NFL in run defence all year and their performance last week was their worst of the season. Houston allowed 314 yards rushing behind a 219-yard performance by Derrick Henry in the loss to Tennessee.

It was the second-most yards rushing the team has allowed in franchise history and has Houston averaging an NFL-worst 186 yards rushing allowed a game — 30 yards more than the 31st-ranked Bears.

YOUTH IS SERVED The Texans started a franchise-record eight rookies against the Titans.

It passed the previous high of six rookies which was done three times in Houston’s first season in 2002.

The Texans started three rookies on offence and five on defence last week.

NOT-SO-MIGHTY QUINN Three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn played 20 defensive snaps and had one quarterback hit in his Eagles’ debut against Pittsburgh only days after he was acquired from Chicago. The 32-yearold Quinn is off to a slow start with just one sack a season after he broke Hall of Famer Richard Dent’s Bears’ record with 18 1/2 sacks. There could be a “Quinn quirk” this season

— because the Bears and Eagles already had their bye weeks, he could play 18 games this season. The Eagles expect Quinn to eventually show flashes of his old self in their current scheme.

“He’s an extremely intelligent player and he’s played a lot of ball. It’s just putting it into the verbiage of that,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said.

“He really walked right into that room and fit right in, and it helps everybody in that room.”

STAYING PUT There was much speculation that veteran Houston receiver Brandin Cooks

RILEY

FROM PAGE 14 and mentoring sessions. “The tour provides opportunities that are unmatched by any other developmental tour in the world. It gives us a huge platform to thrive and pursue our dreams and is backed by the PGA Tour, so they also reward us with incentives for good play (like sponsors exemptions for PGA tour and Kornferry tour events),” Riley said. “The sense of camaraderie and acceptance that I feel playing on the tour has motivated me a lot when the times have been tough out there playing. It is a huge stepping stone for minority golfers chasing their dreams of making it to the PGA tour, through providing great tournaments with good prize money, resources needed to make it to the next level and exposure to potential sponsors and opportunities to propel you through. I am forever indebted to it.”

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will return from his 11-game NFL suspension for sexual misconduct allegations and start in Houston against his former team on December 4, general manager Andrew Berry reiterated yesterday.

During his bye week news conference, Berry said Watson has “done everything and more” since returning to the team’s facility last month and will play immediately when he’s eligible next month.

Watson played four seasons with the Texans, who traded him to the Browns in March. The 25-year-old was suspended by the league on August 18 after being accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women in massage therapy sessions.

Two grand juries in Texas declined to indict Watson on criminal complaints.

The three-time Pro Bowler agreed to a settlement with the league for violating its personal conduct policy.

He accepted the suspension, a $5 million fine and to undergo professional counselling and treatment.

Watson can begin practicing on November 14, and as long as he meets provisions in his deal with the league, he’ll return to face the Texans, who drafted him in 2017 before trading him to the Browns for three firstround draft picks.

Watson initially turned down Cleveland’s offer — Carolina and Atlanta also courted him — before owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam enticed him with a five-year, $230 million contract that’s fully guaranteed.

Berry said the Browns anticipate Watson being ready to play in what will be his first regular-season appearance in 700 days.

could be traded before Tuesday’s deadline, but he ended up staying put. Smith got annoyed with repeated questions about the possibility of a trade on Tuesday and reiterated that Cooks was part of the team and that he planned for him to be involved in the game plan against the Eagles.

“Do we like Brandin?

Yes, that’s obvious,” Smith said. “Any more than that, Brandin is a part of our football team. So, what else is there to say about it?”

The organisation also aims to develop minority college and professional golfers in the APGA Tour Sifford Development Programme which includes free clinics, mentors, equipment and complimentary entry fees for young golfers. The APGA Tour also partnered with inner city youth organisations and offers diversity symposiums where leaders of the minority golf community gather to discuss ways to best diversify the sport.

In his history-making senior season with the Florida A and M Rattlers, Riley helped lead the programme to a season of milestones which included the programme’s first appearance at the NCAA Regionals. Riley won an individual title - the first of his NCAA career - and his Rattlers team took first place at the Black College Golf Coaches Association (BCGCA) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Invitational for the second consecutive year.

PAGE 18, Thursday, November 3, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

LIV gets no world ranking points and it’s starting to show

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer LIV Golf filed its application for world ranking points a month after it played its first event, and none was awarded for the inaugural season as the Official World Golf Ranking considers it.

The effect of not earning ranking points — except for two majors and a few European tour events — is becoming clear with each week.

LIV Golf signed 18 players who were among the top 50 going into 2022. With two months left in the year, now there are only 11. Of those players, nine were in the top 25 to start the year.

Now there are three.

Dustin Johnson was No. 13 when he signed. Now he is at No. 31, one spot behind Corey Conners.

Nine players have fallen out of the top 100, a group that includes Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter and Matthew Wolff.

Still to be determined is how much the majors will rely on the world ranking as part of their criteria.

But even if the majors left everything the way it was last year, 35 of the leading 48 players from LIV Golf would not be exempt for the Masters, U.S. Open or British Open next year.

The PGA Championship bases a bulk of its field on “special invitations,” and those invitations tend to go to players in the top 100.

Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and most likely Johnson would be the only ones assured of playing in all four majors.

All have won majors from 2019 or onward, and those typically come with a fiveyear exemption to the other majors.

TIGER’S MILWAUKEE ACE Tiger Woods played to the crowd when he made a hole-in-one at the Greater Milwaukee Open in his professional debut in 1996.

He tossed the ball into the crowd. It bounced off the hands of Bob Gustin’s brother-in-law right into his lap.

Even more fortuitous for Gustin was getting Woods to sign the Titleist Professional 90.

Gustin has kept the ball in a glass case with all the tournament information on a gold plaque. And now it’s going to auction.

The “1996 Tiger Woods Hole-in-One Golf Ball” will be in Heritage Auctions’ Fall Sports Catalog on November 17-19.

A full ticket from the tournament where Woods made his pro debut sold for $99,000 in February.

Gustin said he would be splitting the proceed with David Beck, his brother-in-law.

“He’s the one who shouted, ‘Throw it over here!’ He’s the only who it deflected off of before it came to me,” Gustin said.

“We both had a part in me ending up with this ball, so we’ll both enjoy it after it goes to someone else.”

Woods had made only three aces on tour, all early in his career. He made his most famous hole-in-one on the 16th hole of the Phoenix Open the following year, and his third one at the Sprint International in 1998.

LYDIA MOVES ON Lydia Ko is making another coaching change, leaving Sean Foley after more than two years. Ko said the split was for “logistical reasons.”

The split comes during one of Ko’s most consistent seasons. She has risen to No. 3 in the world and leads the race for LPGA Player of the Year (by one point) and the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average.

“When I first met Sean, I was in a place where I didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself and in my game,” Ko wrote on Instagram.

“Over the past two years he has helped me evolve as a better player and person.

Our time together was full of so much learning, laughter.

“Last month, we decided to go our own ways as a coach and player due to logistical reasons, but Sean will always be a close friend.

Sean has been and will be a mentor to me.”

CAMERON SMITH, left, and Dustin Johnson, right, celebrate after the final round of the LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club on Sunday in Doral, Florida. Johnson’s 4 Aces GC team won the team championship.

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) NEW NO. 1 Jin Young Ko lost the No. 1 ranking this week to Atthaya Thitikul, largely due to an injured left wrist that kept her out for two months and led to her withdrawing when she returned two weeks ago at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.

Ko now has a chance to do something no one else has since the women’s world ranking made its debut in 2006. No one has reached No. 1 five times.

Ko, Sung Hyun Park and Inbee Park each have gone to No. 1 on four occasions.

Ko is hopeful of returning for the final two LPGA events in Florida.

She has been No. 1 for 156 weeks, two weeks short of the record set by Lorena Ochoa.

Ochoa reached No. 1 only once and stayed there

until her surprise retirement in 2010.

ASIAN TOUR Chase Koepka has played in Bangkok, Saudi Arabia and Miami in the past four months. Now he’s headed for Morocco to play in the International Series event on the Asian Tour.

Never mind that Koepka won more money on LIV Golf this year — $4.3 million — than the Asian Tour event offers in total prize money ($1.5 million).

Koepka is among six players who earned more in LIV Golf than the total prize find in Morocco this week. The others are James Piot, Turk Pettit, Wade Ormsby, Sihwan Kim and Phachara Khongwatmai.

The Morocco field includes 15 players who have competed in at least one LIV Golf Invitational event this year, including

Andy Ogletree. He played in the inaugural LIV event outside London, finished last and made $120,000.

HAVE GAME, WILL TRAVEL In the non-major division, Rory McIlroy winning the CJ Cup at Congaree and The Summit allowed him to join Tiger Woods as the only players in the past 20 years to twice defend a title on a different course.

McIlroy also won the Canadian Open at Hamilton in 2019 and at St. George’s in 2022 (two years were cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic).

Woods won a World Golf Championship in Ireland (2002) and north of Atlanta (2003), and then Harding Park (2005), The Grove outside London (2006) and Doral (2007). Throw in the majors over the past 20 years and the list expands.

Woods twice defended his PGA Championship title at different courses (MedinahValhalla in 1999-2000 and Medinah-Southern Hills in 2006-07) and the British Open (St. Andrews-Royal Liverpool in 2005-06).

Brooks Koepka won the U.S. Open in consecutive years at Erin Hills and Shinnecock Hills and the PGA Championship at Bellerive and Bethpage Black).

STAT OF THE WEEK Including his bonus for winning the season points race, Johnson averaged $1,484,907 for every round he played on LIV Golf this year.

FINAL WORD “How could they ignore us now?”

— Talor Gooch at the conclusion of the LIV Golf season.

COLUMN: LIV GETS THROUGH INAUGURAL SEASON WITH HURDLES AHEAD

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer DUSTIN Johnson says his hands “were not real steady” over a 3-foot par putt at Doral for the final meaningful stroke of a LIV Golf season in constant search of meaning.

The putt meant more to his team than to someone who had made more than $100 million in 15 years on the PGA Tour, and who was about to make $35 million more in five months.

“That was a little more stress than I was looking for,” Johnson said.

ALBURY

FROM PAGE 14

our guys for showing some grit and toughness and finding a way to win when things weren’t necessarily going our way,” he said. “We continued to drive the ball late and not settle for jump shots and Deyton had some very timely offensive rebounds… We had a fantastic crowd, and quite honestly, probably don’t win the game tonight without them.

So again I want to give a very sincere thank you to our fans.”

Chipola continues their schedule this weekend with a back-to-back against Southwest Mississippi Community College on Friday and Polk State College on Saturday.

Albury will be joined by a second Bahamian

How steady were those hands on that 3-foot putt on the bumpy 18th green at Chambers Bay that cost him the 2015 U.S. Open?

That’s a question for cynics of Saudi-funded LIV Golf who aren’t sure what to make of the new league.

That’s because golf has never seen a model such as this with team scores and 48-man fields and shotgun starts.

It certainly hasn’t seen this amount of guaranteed money.

LIV Golf went from “dead in the water” in February to launching its

on the Chipola roster this season - Paul Greene.

Greene transferred to Chipola following his first season of college basketball with the Three Rivers Community College Raiders.

He was named NJCAA All-Region XVI Second Team after he averaged 7.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in 29 appearances on 42 percent shooting from the field. The former St George’s Jaguar also played at the prep level in Canada with J Addison Prep and was nominated as a BioSteel All-Canadian.

As a freshman, Albury averaged 4.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in 33 appearances.

Chipola advanced to the national tournament with a 73-64 win over Indian River State

54-hole product with a shotgun start in June to joining the antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour in August to a final event Sunday decided by Johnson and Cameron Smith, its best two players.

And now it goes away for three months — gone, but not silent.

Still to come is the 2023 schedule expected by the end of the month, and more Saudi cash thrown at PGA Tour players to try to lure them away to a league where the money is real and the relevance is to be determined.

College Saturday night to win the FCSAA State Title.

Chipola has captured the State Championship and advanced to the NJCAA Final Four in the last two seasons. “In addition to the opening night game against Coastal Alabama, we have seven home games in the month of November, including three weekends of tournament play against quality competition.” Tyndall said.

“With only four returning players this season, we have put together a challenging schedule that should be very exciting for our fans. I believe this nonconference schedule will get us prepared for Panhandle Conference play which, in my opinion, will be the most balanced it’s been in quite some time.”

It has time on its side.

“We’re not going anywhere” has become the latest mantra for LIV Golf, and it’s far more legitimate than “golf is a force for good.”

LIV Golf has unlimited money that has bought everything but credibility. One measure of success will be how badly it is missed when it starts up again, and even that will be hard to appraise because so few people were watching in the first place.

Finding a broadcast partner, even if LIV Golf has to buy time, will be more valuable than any other player it can sign.

“We have to start commercialising the product,” Atul Khosla, the president and COO of LIV Golf, told reporters at Doral. “Got to get on TV. Need to get corporate partners. These are milestones that we need to hit.”

The plan is for 12 teams, four players and one reserve. The league will be based on a franchise model, with the captain getting a 25% stake and taking part ownership in building the team brand.

As critical as it is to get a television deal, equally important is corporate sponsorship, and that will take companies willing to accept being linked to the league’s source of funding from the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund.

Another hurdle is the Official World Golf Ranking, which might only be relevant depending on how the major championships determine their criteria.

If nothing changes, as many as 12 players from LIV Golf would be eligible

DUSTIN Johnson pumps his fist after putting on the 18th green during the final round of the LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) for the Masters. At least four others are likely to fall out of the top 50 in the world by the end of the year, a key category for Augusta National.

The USGA (U.S. Open) and Royal & Ancient Golf Club (British Open) are not expected to announce qualifying criteria until sometime early next year.

R&A chief Martin Slumbers tipped his hand in an interview with Golf Digest.

“We’re not banning anyone,” Slumbers said.

“We are not going to betray 150 years of history and

have the Open not be open.

The name says it all. And that’s important.”

The majors suddenly have more power than ever in golf. The PGA Tour has suspended players who join LIV Golf, while the European tour is waiting on the courts early next year to decide whether it can similarly punish such players.

If that’s the case, the majors might be the only golf tournaments all year that bring together the best from every tour.

“Maybe the consequence of where we are is that we only get to see all of the very best players together four times a year,” Slumbers said. “So we’ll enjoy it four times a year.”

LIV Golf signed up 26 players who were among the top 100 at the end of last year. Without access to ranking points, seven players (including Bryson DeChambeau) have dropped out of the top 50 and nine (including Phil Mickelson) are now out of the top 100.

If LIV Golf marches on in a team concept, should the world ranking even matter to them? At that point, it’s only about access to the majors.

The biggest hurdle of all might be the stigma that this is more about entertainment than sport.

Players are happier, and there are plenty of reasons for that. They’re getting more money than ever.

They only play 54 holes without a cut. Gone is the cut-throat competition so many faced on established tours. That’s what golf was.

For the majority of fans, that’s what golf still is.

THE TRIBUNE

NBA

FROM PAGE 14

Brown’s 18-footer went off the back of the rim.

BUCKS 116, PISTONS 91 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 12 rebounds and the Bucks matched a franchise record with their seventh straight win to open the season, beating the Pistons.

Milwaukee’s 7-0 seasonopening run matches the starts of the 2018-19 and 1971-72 teams. Jrue Holiday, who was uncertain to play because of a nonCOVID-19 illness, added 26 points for the NBA’s

Thursday, November 3, 2022, PAGE 19 only undefeated team.

Jordan Nwora scored 12 off the bench.

RAPTORS 143, SPURS 100 SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in just 28 minutes, and the Raptors beat the depleted Spurs for their largest victory of the season.

CLIPPERS 109, ROCKETS 101 HOUSTON (AP) — Paul George scored 28 points, Marcus Morris added 21 and the Clippers beat the Rockets - their second win in a row over Houston following a 95-93 victory on Monday that snapped a

four-game skid. Los Angeles was without Kawhi Leonard, who did not make the road trip because of stiffness in his surgically repaired right knee. It’s the fifth straight game he’s missed, and his time off will stretch to six games Friday when the team visits San Antonio.

BULLS 106, HORNETS 88 CHICAGO (AP) — Javonte Green scored 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting, leading a strong performance by Chicago’s reserves and helping the Bulls beat the Hornets. Patrick Williams had 16 points and Nikola Vucevic added 14 points and 13 rebounds

SPLASH BROTHER: Klay Thompson sports an authentic Bahamas senior men’s national team jersey during his pregame warmups prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Heat.

Photo: 10th Year Seniors

KLAY WEARS BAHAMAS JERSEY, SETS THREE-POINT MILESTONE

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net ON a night when Klay Thompson became no.17 on the NBA’s All-Time 3point field goals made list - he gave a nod to his Bahamian heritage and the Thompson family legacy.

Thompson sported an authentic Bahamas senior men’s national team jersey during his pregame warmups prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Heat.

He went on to score 19 points and made four threepointers to bring his career total to 1,931. Despite the career milestone, he said the opportunity to wear the Bahamian jersey on the international stage was one of the highlights of the night.

Thompson has an endorsement deal with Anta Sports - a sports equipment company - that runs through the 2026 season.

The company came on board this year to provide merchandise and uniforms to the Bahamas senior men’s national team in the latest windows of the FIBA World Cup ‘23 Americas Qualifiers.

His older brother, Mychel, has been a member of the Bahamian national team for the past eight years and Klay said he seeks to build the relationship between the two brands more. “It means the world to me, I look forward to doing more as my career winds down one day.

Obviously [Mychel] playing for the national team is a great source of pride for our family and I just know [Anta] saw that and they know how much it means to represent our heritage,” he said. “I just look forward to repping the 242 for the rest of my life.”

Following the Warriors’ NBA title win in June, Thompson was draped in the Bahamian flag during the postgame celebration and again displayed the flag at the team’s celebratory parade in California.

“I just know how much it meant, not only to my family but to every

Bahamian worldwide. My dad, I would watch film of him when they won back in ‘88 and he went back to Nassau, parading through downtown and it just gave me chills seeing that. It’s an honour to carry on his legacy, being a Thompson and knowing how much the country means to us, I was just glad to hoist that flag probably in the biggest moment of my career,” Klay said.

He hinted at a possible celebration highlighting his four titles with the Warriors and the two his dad Mychal won with the Lakers in ‘87 and ‘88. “That would be sweet, let’s speak that into existence,” he said. “We should take all six down there and celebrate.”

In his first healthy offseason in years, Thompson spent time back home in The Bahamas with friends and family, crediting the water for assisting his healing process.

“The ocean has just been a sanctuary for me where I would forget about everything, but there’s no better waters than the Bahamian waters, I promise you that.

That clear blue is magical, it’s heavenly.”

The basketball aspect of the Thompson family legacy is often celebrated in The Bahamas, but Klay said this season presented a new opportunity to explore the throughline between generations that have suited up for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Klay was often seen at a Dodgers game cheering on his younger brother Trayce who moved into a starting role in his second stint with the club last season.

“My late uncle Colin was drafted by the Dodgers in the 70s, I think he got a little homesick and went back to Nassau, but for Trayce to live out that dream, wear Thompson on his back with the Dodgers, it’s special,” he said. “It’s not much more fun I have than going to watch him play. Although they came up short against the Padres, seeing him play out there in centrefield was so surreal.”

Thompson has missed 941 days of action on the

court in the last two seasons as he recovered from a torn ACL and a ruptured Achilles tendon.

“That rehab stuff was hard, it was the hardest thing I ever had to go through, but I’m still not satisfied, I still want to reach another level,” he added.

“Two and-a-half years off, coming back and being able to win again, it makes me hungry for more so I really want to do it again.”

as Chicago cruised to its second straight win despite an off night for stars DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.

HAWKS 112, KNICKS 99 NEW YORK (AP) — Dejounte Murray scored a career-high 36 points and the Hawks overcame a 23-point deficit to beat the Knicks. Trae Young added 17 points despite missing time in the second half

because of a left eye contusion, before returning wearing protective glasses with 7:04 left in the game.

WIZARDS 121, 76ERS 111 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis had 30 points and nine rebounds, Bradley Beal added 29 points and the Wizards took advantage of Joel Embiid’s absence for a victory over the 76ers. Kyle Kuzma also added 18 points for

Washington, which didn’t trail for the final three quarters of the game.

HEAT 110, KINGS 107 MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro’s 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left became the game winner, lifting the Heat past the Kings.

Herro had a game-high 26 for the Heat, who won for the second straight night after topping Golden State on Tuesday.