In December, 2012, Phylicia Woods, Financial and Trade Officer, Ministry of Financial Services and Donyelle Ward, 3rd Secretary, the Bahamas High Commission in London attended the 25th Geneva Week in Geneva, Switzerland.

The representatives from The Bahamas participated in consultations on outstanding matters that will assist the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in its accession to the World Trade Organisation. Duty Free and Quota Free and Market Access, Preferential Rules of Origin, Intellectual Property, Agricultural Negotiations, and recent developments in WTO Jurisprudence were some of the matters discussed.

Here's the news that the entire Americas has been waiting for - positive proof that its property industry is not simply surviving - it is thriving! During 2012, the Americas submitted a wide range of impressive entries for the International Property Awards in association with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Yamaha.

The hotly contested competition culminated in leading developers, real estate agents, architects and interior designers from across the length and breadth of the Americas gathered at the J W Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London for the announcement of the winners.

A group of fifteen students and a student advisor from the University of Maryland are in The Bahamas as part of the university's Alternative Winter Break program. While in The Bahamas, the students will take a hands-on approach that will focus on maintaining and constructing infrastructure conducive to conservation of the ecosystems and landscapes of the islands. They will also partner with local organizations to encourage visitors and residents alike to be more cognizant about environment conservation.

Each year The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation offers The Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award at the Annual Heart Ball. This award has been presented since 1968. The Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award was initiated by The Heart Foundation to applaud and give recognition to individuals who have selflessly given of themselves to promote human welfare and dignity, thus making life better for their fellow man.

At the 2012 Heart Ball Ms. Marjorie Davis received The Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award. She is known for her work as an educator, and Girl Guides leader. She joined the ranks of noble giants such as Lady Camille Barnett, Mr. Lowell Mortimer, Ms. Mary Profilo and Dr. Donald Gerace. These persons were all chosen from a pool of worthy candidates, to be the winners of this award.

College administrators recently gave new students entering The College of The Bahamas this spring sage advice on how to make the most of their college experience and successfully transition into higher education. This semester, approximately 500 new students enrolled at The College.

"Each and every one of you, when you graduate, will graduate from an institution that will not be The College of The Bahamas, but that will be The University of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. What that university will look like, what it will feel like and the quality of its impact in the global arena will be defined, not only by me and the members of the Council, but it will also be defined by you," College Council Mr. Alfred Sears told new students during a welcome ceremony.

In observance of Majority Rule Day held under the theme "Let the children tell the story," the Minister of Education, Science and Technology the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development the Hon. Philip "Brave" Davis, attended a special assembly on Thursday January 10 at the C.I. Gibson Senior High School.

"You are making history because this is the first time that students in our 173 public schools have celebrated this important date," said Minister Fitzgerald. He said when history is written, it will reveal that on Thursday 10 January, 2013, for the first time, some 50,000 students observed Majority Rule Day by a special assembly.

Do you know what birth doulas do?

THE WHO, WHAT, AND HOW OF DOULA DELIGHT, the birth doula service in Freeport.

Who We Are: Doula Delight birth doulas are professional birth assistants with more than 40 hours of obstetrical training (equivalent to the class time of a university nursing maternity course).

What We Do: Doula Delight doulas educate parents about the processes of pregnancy, labor, birth, newborn care and the choices they will have to make to move through those events. Birth doulas support parents in their educated labor/birth/parenting and feeding choices. As professional birth assistants, birth doulas advocate for parents' educated and expressed desires (verbal and written) for labor, birth, breast feeding, newborn, and postpartum care.

During the final months of 2012, conservation leaders, researchers and nature enthusiasts from the Caribbean and Bahamas joined forces to celebrate and promote public awareness surrounding the miracle of bird migration.

While there are threats of development and illegal hunting that continue to endanger the habitat of birds, nearly 350 species of these birds make their annual migration between their summer homes in the U.S. and Canada and their winter homes in the Caribbean, Bahamas and South America.

By the Grand Bahama Children's Home

We had a visit from Toby and Gemma Cafferata today at the home. They were celebrating their 9th birthday and came to the home to donate over $800 to the G.B. Children's Home. (They do this annually for us, instead of gifts for themselves).

We are so proud of these twins who are teaching us all how important it is to give back.

While many dogs and cats we take in are fairly healthy, we do take in a number of animals with various injuries. While we can't always help them, sometimes we can and we think that animals with disabilities can live just as fulfilling a life as a human with similar problems.

Cassie was brought in by her owners with a severe head injury right before Christmas. There was a lot of swelling and she was bleeding from both eyes. Dr. Gibbs saved her life, but her eyes were permanently affected and she is now completely blind.

Imagine the bewilderment of a formerly sighted animal, who can't understand (as a person could) why her world has gone dark. Her family did not want a blind cat so we are looking for an extra special home for Cassie.

The new year has started well for three Freeport Jet Wash customers. Last week, the December winners of the on-going Parts Promotion were announced, and Michael Johnson, Delroy Boothe, and Ivothan Roberts were all big winners.

Combined, they received a $1000 in-store credit to spend in any of the Freeport Jet Wash (FJW) departments: Parts, Service, Gas or New Car Sales. Winner Michael Johnson noted, "This is a really good way to start the new year. I come here all the time and its great to be rewarded for shopping at home!"

So what do your New Year's resolutions look like? Did eating healthier in 2013 make the list?

For most of us this is a resolution we make each year. Without doing any research I think it is pretty safe to say that most of us fall off the "eating green" wagon soon after we make the commitment. One of the excuses we can no longer use for our inability to stick to a righteous resolution is that the island does not have enough healthy food choices to keep us engaged in our quest for better health.

This might have been the case several years ago, but in 2013 Grand Bahama's food stores now offer a plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables along with more healthy options than ever before. We even now have a food store that caters to the island's vegetarian and vegan customers by offering only products that are organically grown and processed.

The Awareness and Capacity Building and Information Exchange workshop held January 7th and 8th in South Andros was coordinated by the South Andros Chamber of Commerce in collaboration and with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grant Programme (SGP) who provided the grant, The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Bahamas National Trust (BNT) and The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce.

The workshop focused on sharpening fundamental skills used in preparing grant applications through the project concept process to the project proposal.

L. N. Coakley High School students show their support for Local Government Junior Council candidate Whitney Curtis, during the 'mini rally' at the programme's Opening Ceremony, in Moss Town, Exuma, on January 9, 2013.

Fourteen L. N. Coakley students spoke as candidates for the posts, allowing their peers to vote for their choices for the nine junior council spots later that day.

Sandals Emerald Bay hosted its second Emergency First Response CPR & AED training sessions at the resort offering training to its team members and the general public on the island.

"As Exuma is not a major city with limited medical assistance we strongly believe in educating our staff and general public in Emergency First Response CPR & AED," Sandals Emerald Bay General Manager Jeremy Mutton said.

North Andros High School is setting the pace in linking agriculture to the tourism sector. Through an agreement with Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort and Casino, North Andros High is providing that four-star operation with fresh fruits and vegetables.

"I am very impressed," said Glenn Sampert, Sheraton's general manager. "The fields are larger than what I expected to see, the shade houses and other aspects of the operation are really surprising and I am happy to be here and meet with the students. We already had some produce last year and we were very happy with the results."

Dozens of dancers prepare for the January 20th third annual 'Love That Child' musical extravaganza sponsored by BOB to raise funds for three children's homes in Nassau. Set for 3 pm on Sunday, January 20th, at the Rainforest Theatre, Wyndham Nassau Resort, this year's show brings together young local and international entertainers to join voices and forces to benefit children's homes, thanks to the award-winning bank's sponsorship.

For the first time, the Elizabeth Estates Children's Home will be among the beneficiaries, joining the Children's Emergency Hostel and Ranfurly Homes for Children.

The stories of successful pediatric heart surgeries and survival because of the generosity The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation are endless. In fact, to date the Heart Foundation has helped over 4,000 persons and hopes to help many more.

The children pictured below are past patients who have had successful heart surgeries; that is all but one, Ru'Shon Fox (left). But Ru'Shon is not the only child in need of heart care. Whilst the stories of success are endless, the resources are very limited. As such, Ru' Shon and others are awaiting heart surgery and needs financial support to obtain much needed surgeries both locally and abroad.

Popular UK fashion blogger Poppy Dinsey visited Sandals Emerald Bay this past week to write a piece which will explore the Sandals experience from the point of view of a traveling single person. Ms. Dinsey created and contributes to the international fashion blogger WIWT.com (short for "What I Wore Today"), which covers beauty and fashion and has more than 350,000 unique visitors monthly.

She is also a contributor for top outlets such as Cosmopolitan magazine and MSN travel, both of which have commissioned Dinsey for a travel piece aimed to reach a combined audience of nearly 19,000,000 readers.

Supporting the National Parks of Abaco, the Bahamas National Trust presents 'Art For The Parks' January 25-27th at the Abaco Beach Resort in Marsh Harbour. With over 20 local artists and artisans displaying their talent, a fresh market, environmental games, and a heritage lecture series, the event will prove to be both educational and entertaining.

For more information, click to see the poster below or call Kadie Mills at the BNT Abaco office (242) 367-6310.

An exhibition detailing the struggle towards Majority Rule was unveiled at the Harry C Moore Library of the College of The Bahamas on the 46th Anniversary of Majority Rule, which came about on January 10, 1967.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell represented the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, Prime Minister by delivering the opening remarks at the ceremony held Thursday, January 10, 2013. "On behalf of the Prime Minister, I wish to pay tribute to all who are responsible for this exhibition this evening and are helping to continue the narrative and to tell the old, old story of how we have overcome," Mr. Mitchell said.

The Prime Minister has committed to establishing Majority Rule Day as a public holiday.

This is an abridged version of a study by F. Paul Peterson of the fairly recently discovered burial place of St Peter in Jerusalem. The work has gone through four editions suggesting that new findings have been added or errors had to expunged from the original. As will be seen Mr Peterson conducted considerable research on this subject and visited Rome and Jerusalem and met with archaeologists and several Roman Catholic priests and others who generally confirmed to him that St Peter was buried in Jerusalem and not Rome. In the original text an anti-Catholic bias is discernible but I will let Mr Peterson's words speak for themselves. I hope I have not done him a disservice by shortening his dissertation. Several other publications have also had articles on the discovery including Newsweek and the London Telegraph. Interestingly very few have disputed the portent of the discovery.

Saint Peter's Tomb in Jerusalem

I heard what seemed to me to be one of the greatest Biblical discoveries since the time of Christ, namely that St Peter was buried in Jerusalem and not in Rome. After talking to many priests and investigating various sources of information, I was finally greatly rewarded by learning where I could buy the only known book on the subject, which was written in Italian. It is called, "Gli Scavi del Dominus Flevit", printed in 1958 and written by P. B. Bagatti and J. T. Milik both Roman Catholic priests.

The prominence of The Bahamas in the region as a softball power will hopefully again be realised as the country prepares to host the initial English Caribbean Ladies Softball Championship and World Games qualifier in Freeport, Grand Bahama. The event will be held at the softball stadium of the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on the rescheduled dates of January 23-27.

The class of English Caribbean women's softball, namely Jamaica, the British Virgin Islands, the Turks & Caicos Islands, Aruba, and Belize have been attracted to The Bahamas for this special event after the original host had to withdraw its offer and the event was in danger of being canceled. It would have been an opportunity lost for women's softball in The Bahamas and the English Caribbean region.

FORMER MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE
RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT STATEMENTS ON POSSIBLE $700 MILLION DEFICIT

Suggestions by the Christie Administration that it may need to borrow an additional $100 to $200 million due to unaccounted for expenses is at best incredulous and at worse an act of absolute deception. Members of the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Assembly should conduct an immediate investigation into this claim.

By its suggestion, the Christie Administration is either saying that it was so incompetent in preparing the 2012/2013 Budget to have missed as much as $200 million in expenditure that the entire budget should now be held suspect; or that it has been so reckless in managing the expenditure of the country that it now requires as much as $200 million in additional borrowings to compensate for this recklessness.

Dear Editor:

Tonight is more than a national disgrace for The Bahamas. Just under two weeks before the government holds a "referendum" on the illegal numbers racket in The Bahamas, Prime Minister Perry Christie gives an interview to the Nassau media (click here to listen to full audio) - and the statements he made have tongues wagging all over the nation tonight - and not in a good way.

Those statements include:

1. The Prime Minister saying he will not tell Bahamians not to work for illegal enterprises if they want to, because they need jobs. There is no doubt that Bahamians need jobs, but the Prime Minister of the country has now publicly stated today that if Bahamians want to work for illegal enterprises, he as the leader of a parliamentary democracy and a country of laws, would "never, ever" tell them not to break the law. What a stunning, impeachable statement coming from the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the person whose sworn oath is to uphold the laws and Constitution of his country.