Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie said a physical presence of the People's Republic of China through its Chancery will further deepen relations between both countries, established on May 23, 1997. He was addressing the Sixty-third Anniversary of the National Day of the People's Republic of China and the dedication of its new Chancery offices on East Shirley Street, Friday, September 28, 2012.

The event also commemorated the15 years since The Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the People's Republic of China established diplomatic ties

A humanitarian, people caring approach to business is written into the Sky Bahamas Mission Statement and CEO, aviation Captain Randy Butler, recently demonstrated this commitment by financially partnering with the Hands for Hunger programme in the Paradise Plates fund raiser. "We are guided by the principle that success in business is dependent on putting humanitarian issues to the forefront of our thinking," said Captain Butler.

Paradise Plates, Hands for Hunger's annual fundraising event was held recently at the Atlantis Crown Ballroom and attracted a record turnout. The popular fundraiser gave guests the opportunity to see some of the island's top restaurant chefs in action, sample a wide variety of local and international food, wines, and browse a silent auction while enjoying entertainment that included a Junkanoo finale.

Professionals from a wide cross section of Bahamian society gathered on Wednesday, September 26th at the U.S. Chief of Mission's "Liberty Overlook" residence to recognize the five recipients of the U.S. Embassy's 2012 State Alumni Youth Outreach Small Grants Program.

The goal of the small grants program is to foster youth leadership development through support to community-based projects led by alumni of U.S. Department of State exchange programs, which include the Fulbright and Humphrey Fellowships, the International Visitor Leadership Program, Summer Institutes, and SportsUnited Leadership through Sports Program.

The Hon. Paul L. Adderley was given a hero's send-off during a State Funeral which reflected upon his dedication to his profession and defending the sovereignty of this country. The Mass of the Resurrection was held at Christ Church Cathedral on Friday, September 28, for the former Acting Governor-General, Cabinet Minister and Parliamentarian, aired live over the national broadcast station, ZNS.

His Excellency Sir Arthur Foulkes and Lady Foulkes led the list of guests, which also included Cabinet Ministers, the Leader of the Opposition Free National Movement, Members of Parliament, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and other government officials.

Definition of DISCLOSE:

Bahamian women are practicing residential landscaping as an escape from the mundane stressors in their environment and daily lives.

The Bahamas National Pride Association on September 27 gave awards to three homeowners who displayed leadership in national pride in 2012. Rochelle McPhee, of Sunshine Park, is a cancer patient who felt inspired by the award and her doctor's compassion to release her to receive it, says she wants to share her plants with others in the community.

Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) continues to celebrate it's 50th Anniversary with an Alumni Reunion Weekend to be held on November 2 - 4th, 2012. "We wanted to create a series of events to celebrate our accomplishments as a school, and to help restore connections with alumni that may have lost contact over the past 50 years," said Principal, Stacey Bobo.

The LCIS Alumni Committee has been very busy locating past students and encouraging them to attend the reunion weekend. "Social media like Facebook has been invaluable," said Rebecca Massey, Development Coordinator at LCIS. "We have been able to reach past students and faculty as far away as China and Australia and we have used Facebook to reconnect some classmates that have not been in touch for many, many years."

For the third consecutive year, members of the U.S. Mission to The Bahamas hosted more than 250 Special Olympics Bahamas athletes and volunteers on Saturday, September 22, to honor the indomitable spirit of the woman who started the Special Olympics movement, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

In celebration of Eunice Kennedy Shriver (EKS) Day, which is celebrated around the world each year, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires John Dinkelman transformed the front lawn of the U.S. Chief of Mission's "Liberty Overlook" residence into a mini "Camp Shriver" with games, food and music. U.S. Mission officers and their family members were on hand to demonstrate their support to Special Olympics by serving food, refereeing games and dancing along aside the athletes.

We have been researching and tagging sea turtles in the Bahamas for many years. In 2009 we even passed legislation to protect these creatures, making it illegal to kill them or take their eggs. Why are we doing all this? Is it really worth the effort? What is it about these turtles that make them so important? Well for starters they are one of the most ancient groups of creatures that inhabit our planet, but that alone is not the only reason we should respect them.

Sea turtles have been roaming the seas and shorelines of the earth for over 100 million years. There are 7 species of sea turtles in the world and 3 of them reside in the waters surrounding Grand Bahama.

Oh, they are so adorable when dressed up, little girls in flowery dresses, while little lads wear the well fitted suit with bow tie and colourful vest. However, brides often face the dilemma of what to do with the wee ones on their wedding day. Many times brides overlook this aspect of wedding planning only to have a situation that makes her guests uncomfortable with a large number of children running havoc at the wedding reception. Your first decision is whether or not you want any children at your wedding. If the answer is no, then make sure you include this information on your invitation. State "Adults Only" on your wedding invitation, this will give your guests ample notice to plan a play date for their children while they attend your wedding.

Occasionally, there are those friends and family members who have a naughty habit of thinking that the bride meant everyone else but them, and so they bring their children with them to the wedding, ignoring the notation on the invitation.

With more than 40,000 square feet of designed interior space, all fully air conditioned and outfitted to receive customers, Grand Bahama Island is preparing to unveil its very first major indoor shopping mall. "The economic benefits of the Circle Mall project is good encouragement for the unemployment numbers, economic injection and quality of life amenities for the Grand Bahama," indicated Ian Rolle, President of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA) when asked regarding the Mall's upcoming grand opening.

"This is a great addition to the island," commented Rolle. "It is the first for Freeport and it is already beginning to bear fruit. "I am told that, directly and via its tenants, the Circle Mall has created over 150 new jobs. Further, another 30 or more persons were employed specifically for the build-out of the various spaces for rent." Rolle added.

FIDA is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) in consultative status with the United Nations. In March of 2011 the United Nations launched UN WOMEN, an organization within the UN which focuses on the progress of the world's women, in the pursuit of Justice. FIDA was organized in Mexico City in 1944, to promote the principles and aims of the United Nations in their legal and social aspects. FIDA works to establish friendly international relations on a basis of mutual respect and equality and to promote the welfare of women and children.

It's been a tough few weeks at the Humane Society. Last Monday staff, management and volunteers were all saddened by the news of our long time office dog Sponge passing Sunday night. She looked very peaceful and Dr. Gibbs said it appeared that she simply went to sleep and didn't wake up. Even though she didn't have the best life before coming to us, Sponge opened her heart and began trusting humans again as time went on.

This experience last week allowed us at the shelter to think of all the older dogs here like Sponge, who are always overlooked for the cute puppies or the active younger dogs. Today we thought we would feature some of the long time residents from the shelter that the public can come in to sponsor, take home to foster or even come in to spend some time with them.

As residents of the third rock from the sun, it is the responsibility of all of us to keep our environment clean. It is also our responsibility to pass this spirit of accountability for our planet on to the next generation. Much of the trash on our streets and in our neighborhoods ends up in our waterways, beginning a long, slow march to the ocean. And this trash, slowly degrading our ocean, impacts the food we eat and the water we drink. This important life lesson is being embraced at Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic School as many of the students are doing their part to keep our coastline clean. The students learn the value of stewardship and begin to understand their responsibility in saving the earth for themselves and others.

MSS Sixth graders as well as members of the school's civic groups (Guides and Scouts) and their teachers have hit the ground running by being a part of the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup.

Ian Rolle, President of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA) addressed business, religious and tourism leaders gathered at the Pelican Bay Resort on Monday, for a Religious Tourism Summit hosted by the Celebrate Freeport Committee. "Indisputably, our island's close proximity to North America presents opportunities, but let us also remember that the world is our marketplace," President Rolle encouraged attendees during his presentation.

"The global religious tourism market is more than 18 billion dollars strong, with some 300 million persons traveling for faith based activities each year," he said.

There is going to be full employment in Bimini, Prime Minister Perry G. Christie has predicted. He was speaking at the Bahamas Economic Recovery Strategy Meeting Thursday, September 27, at the British Colonial Hilton. Mr. Christie also questioned the need for government incentives as a means of encouraging investments in the country.

The meeting also heard from of Khaalis E. Rolle, Minister of State for Investments; Chester Cooper, president, Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, and Stuart Bowe of the Bahamas Hotel Association.

Following a report in the media quoting the Prime Minister regarding developments at Sandals Emerald Bay, Sandals Resorts International takes this opportunity to clear the air on the matter, in order to avoid any misunderstanding.

It is a fact that the hotel is facing severe difficulty in continuing operations at Emerald Bay because of the multitude of high costs associated with operating from the Family Islands of the Bahamas. Some of these costs could never have been anticipated and make the Emerald Bay resort unlike any other we operate.

RDA is elated at the Judgment by the Court of Appeal. This Ruling vindicates the Guana Cay battle cry "respect the locals". Hence, from now on, no Central Government authority, Office of the Prime Minister, Nassau public authorities, Town Council, District Council or other public authority can make any decisions affecting residents without taking into account how it might affect a local resident. This Ruling emphasizes that people have rights and they must be respected as part of the process by public authorities in making decisions.

This case between RDA and BEC is part of a continuing series of cases which first started with Save Guana Cay against Bakers Bay in which challenges are continuing to be made against Central Government planning which does not take into account local issues.

FLIFF on Location: Grand Bahama Island 2012 will take place in Freeport from October 25 - 28 at the Pelican Bay Hotel in their state-of-the-art Canal House facility. Celebrated actors, directors, producers and writers will once again arrive by sea and air from the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) and film fans will have an opportunity to meet them and view a variety of international films, along with Bahamian-made films.

"We look forward to building on last year's inaugural, which was well received by the filmmakers," said Mr. Gregory von Hausch, Founder of FLIFF. "All of the films to be screened in Grand Bahama Island are also being screened in Fort Lauderdale, and it's wonderful to share them with a broader audience."

More than two weeks after Hurricane Jeanne had left for Florida the island still looked like a battlefield. The Power Company spent $12 million in replacing lines and poles and the cost of the hurricanes was tentatively estimated (under-estimated?) at $100 million. Arriving at the new airport terminal it was evident that at least two feet of water had flowed through the building that had been built six or more feet higher than the previous terminal. The old terminal was in ruins and already a start had been made on its demolition. The control tower was clearly badly damaged with most of its windows blown out and boarded up. US Customs personnel had taken a hiatus and all the airport shops were closed and a slow start was being made on renovating premises that had only been open for a month or so.

Travelling into Freeport damage to trees was immediately evident. Many of the large ficus trees, despite their giant size and impressive aerial prop root system, had been toppled, the few Norfolk pines had been denuded of branches a looked like totem poles and considerable numbers of the Caribbean pines in the pine barren had been snapped like match sticks, yet palm trees generally had withstood the storm well.

During the thrilling Grand Bahama Regatta lead sponsor of the event, Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company (BBB), discovered their Grand Bahama champion and the next day crowned the first "Man in the Boat" National Sculling Champion of The Bahamas.

Competition began on Friday evening with the Lorenzo Johnson GB Sculling Races, in memory of the company's former Assistant Brewer who passed away last year. "As time approached for our races the winds began to pick up and the sculling was intense," said Lynden Johnson, Marketing and Sales Manager. "Lots of entries thought sculling would be easy, but it's a technical sport and the stronger contestants shined." Winner of the GB race was Stephen Rolle with second place going to David Rolle and third place to Clayton Moxey.

This Friday evening (October 5th) sees the start of the 2012-13 season at the Freeport Rugby Football Club with the annual Presidents Cocktail Party. The event provides the opportunity for members and potential members to pay their fees for the upcoming season.

The club is a non profit organisation and relies heavily on memberships etc to run the programs for the year (see schedule below) and keep the club open. Affordable memberships are available for all players/families and persons who just want to contribute to the club. Everyone is invited to come along and sign up on the night.

Just one point separated the top two finishers in last the 2012 Bahamas Laser Junior National Championships. At the end of seven races that had to be held in a single day due to severe weather conditions, Paul de Souza emerged as National Champion. His friend and rival Spencer Cartwright came in an extremely close second and Allande "AJ" Forbes, who earlier this year represented the Bahamas in the Optimist World Championship along with Paul and Spencer, finished an impressive 3rd overall.

The Laser Nationals were held at the Grand Bahama Sailing Club in Freeport on September 22 and 23. Weather on the Saturday made it impossible to sail and the competitors made the best of the rain day.

Girls' soccer gets under way again on Grand Bahama this Saturday (Oct 6) with a big boost. Organisers are following last year's record-breaking season - which saw just under 300 signed up before a waiting list was closed - with a big investment.

Twelve new goals are waiting to be shipped from the US to go with the six bought last year and it will mean that each of the three leagues will be played with state of the art equipment.

The original Nassau Speed Weeks, held between 1954 and 1966, were a huge part of the motorsport calendar and one of the highlights of the traditional off-season, hosting many of the top drivers from across the world, with the racing fraternity of North America meeting with European stars. Iconic race cars such as the Ferrari GTO, Birdcage Maserati, Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport, Chaparral, AC Cobra and Ford GT40 were driven by stars including Roger Penske, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Innes Ireland, Ricardo Rodriguez, Mark Donohue and Stirling Moss.

Bahamas Speed Week Revival 2012 will take place between 24th November and 2nd December. Building on the success of 2011's revival, this year's programme has been expanded to include a Gala Concert, Auto Trade Show, Miss Speed Week Pageant, Out Island Excursions, Beach Party and much more.

Dear Editor:

Bahamians were no doubt shocked to hear Prime Minister Perry Christie last week say the Sandals Resort at Emerald Bay in Exuma was in danger of closing its doors. This came as stunning news to the average Bahamian, who before now, was not given reason by the Bahamas Government to fear such a thing with Emerald Bay, the lifeline of employment on the island of Exuma, employing hundreds of Bahamians.

At a function in the nation's capital last week, Mr. Christie said: "Today in Exuma we have challenges of a place like Sandals where the developer Butch Stewart has put an incredible amount of money into it and developed an incredibly beautiful product, but it is fighting to try to stop from losing an enormous amount of money and could close [the hotel] and we have to try and see what model can work."