On Wednesday, May 22, the Caribbean's Regional Conference on the Protection of Vulnerable Persons in Mixed Migration Flows with a focus on "Promoting Cooperation and Identification of Good Practices" opened at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel. The two-day conference is sponsored by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Officials from nineteen Caribbean countries are participating in the conference that will address a number of issues including: cooperation and responses to mixed migration, data collection and analysis in natural disaster mobility, entry systems, rescue at sea, protection of trafficking victims and protection of collecting data.

Less than one month after officially launching speed increases of 500 per cent, Cable Bahamas has now released its much-anticipated REVON Extreme. This new level of service delivers home Internet speeds at up to 70 megabits per second, which is nearly nine times faster than the nearest competition. The company claims that it is the fastest Internet service that has ever been available to residential customers in The Bahamas. REVON Extreme is now available to all areas that Cable Bahamas serves in New Providence and Grand Bahama.

"Our goal is to deliver the best, fastest and truly most reliable Internet service to our subscribers," said Cable Bahamas Head of Marketing and REVON Product Manager David Burrows.

Super salesman Mario Carey looked out at the group gathered at 7am in a meeting room at the British Colonial Hilton knowing that he had only a few minutes to make one of the most important sales of his life -- to persuade an audience of Rotarians who had already given $25,000 to create the first specially equipped classroom for pre-school age children with autism to reach into their pockets again to salvage financially strapped autism support organisation R.E.A.C.H. and the upcoming summer camp.

"We get no money from government and all of our services are provided for free," said Carey, president of R.E.A.C.H.

Students from D.W. Davis Jr. High School learned Thursday what good table manners and table etiquette are all about. The 80 students and eight teachers gathered around two tables set for a four course meal, as resort trainers Kayla Hilton and Sharon Cartwright showed them the ins and outs of the table setup, table service and table manners.

Ms. Hilton explained to the students that the etiquette they learned is something they could take with them throughout their lives. "When we talk about etiquette we're talking about how we behave in public as well as how we eat at a table," she told the group of eighth graders.

WOMEN ON THE R.I.S.E is a celebration of women advancing throughout our country encouraging us to Reflect. Inform. Support. Empower. Our unique symposium is free and open to the general public and affords us the collective opportunity to engage one another.

The seminar will be held on Saturday, May 25th, 2013 at 9:30am at the Michael Eldon Building, The College of The Bahamas. Business attire is requested. For more information call 544-3279 or (242) 438-0708.

Baha Mar Ltd.announced Wednesday that Global Gaming Asset Management (GGAM), one of the casino industry's most successful management teams, has been retained to manage the Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, the centerpiece of the $3.5 billion Baha Mar integrated destination resort in The Bahamas, scheduled to open in December 2014.

GGAM's senior executives William P. Weidner, Chief Executive Officer; Bradley H. Stone, President; and Garry Saunders, Executive Vice President, were involved with opening and managing the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas and the Venetian Macao, and participated in the development the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore during their tenure with Las Vegas Sands. They formed GGAM in 2011, after ending their affiliation with Las Vegas Sands.

It was a 20-minute drive from the oceanfront luxury of the gated community where Ronnie and Antonia Meade live to a heavily patrolled, fenced in area off Fox Hill Road where some 20 students go to school but it took less than a minute for the two worlds to connect and for the kindness of one to touch the hearts of the other.

The Meades, who have quietly donated more than 400 mini iPads over the years, agreed to make one donation public when they heard of the tough breaks some of the kids at the Penn-Pratt Co-ed School had faced.

On Whit Monday, more than 100 Bahamians gathered at the top of Fort Charlotte for Hope Floats-a balloon release ceremony to remember Bahamians who have died from lupus. For the second year in a row, Lupus 242 partnered with event sponsors The Balloon People for the ceremony, which included poems, tributes by loved ones, and reading a list of names of Bahamians lost to lupus.

Shortly after 11 a.m., 100 biodegradable orange and purple balloons floated across the sky. Purple represents the strength and courage needed to fight lupus and the orange represents research and hope for a cure.

Over the past weekend students from Grand Bahama achieved outstanding results at the Bahamas Primary Student award ceremony held in Nassau on Saturday May 18, 2013 at 6 pm at the Golden Gates World Outreach Center. 123 Primary students representing the best of the best in the Primary Schools across the Bahamas assembled in Nassau May 17- 18, 2013.

The first event was a special medal ceremony held at Government House on May 17th at 6 pm where students from Grand Bahama and the Family Islands were honoured. Deputy to the Governor General, Oswald Ingraham, awarded medals to each of the students who are the top students in their schools.

CEO of Bahamian Brewery, James 'Jimmy' Sands, was on hand last week to welcome the thirteen delegates of the Honorary Consular Corps in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, who visited the island to hear about possible opportunities for investing in the Grand Bahama industrial sector.

"I am pleased to be here to welcome you myself to the brewery," said CEO Sands. "It's wonderful for you to see the progress we have made and our success in the brewery business. I am a very proud Bahamian and I hope to encourage other Bahamians to invest and achieve more here in Grand Bahama."

Many of our country's brightest minds leave to get formal education and never to return. However, others come back to The Bahamas, bringing top notch skills and state-of-the art services to our community. Top Las Vegas surgeon and Bahamian, Dr. Bernie Hanna, is one who has recently expanded his facility to open the Weight Loss Institute of the Bahamas, in Nassau and Freeport.

Concerned about the changes he has seen amongst the people here, Dr. Hanna said, "Retuning home several times a year, I have noticed the increasing obesity problem. I only feel obligated to return to make a difference by offering my services learned from abroad."

The 2013 hurricane season will officially start on June 1, 2013, and end on November 30, 2013. This season is expected to have 18 named storms; nine hurricanes with four of them being major hurricanes. In preparation for this year's hurricane season, the East Grand Bahama Constituency will host a Hurricane Awareness Seminar under the theme, "LET'S BE AWARE AND PREPARE," on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at Church Of The Ascension, West Beach Drive, and beginning at 6:00pm.

According to the Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. K. Peter Turnquest, seminar facilitator, a number of speakers will present various topics relevant to Hurricane Preparedness ranging from insurance matters, to property security, disaster preparedness and weather warnings.

MARSH HARBOUR, Abaco -- In only it's second instance, the 2013 event held in March more than doubled it's participation from the inaugural year. 185 eager athletes and families competed from across North America and the Bahamas, selling out the event host, the Treasure Cay Beach, Marina & Golf Resort. Participants competed in a 1-mile open water swim, Sprint and Olympic triathlons, and a 5k/10k fun run/walk. Cheer Bahamas also put on a Junior Cheer Clinic for the spirited youth.

Friends of the Environment, a local non-profit environmental organization devoted to preserving Abaco's fragile environment and working towards a more sustainable future, was one of the beneficiaries of the event. The other beneficiary of the event was the Rotary Club of Abaco, a local and international volunteer organization that provides support for many programs throughout Abaco.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Twenty five young males from Eleuthera piled into McDonald's recently to be treated to happy meals and a hearty helping of lessons they say they'll never forget -- what goes wrong when you don't go right. Together with Men of Faith, two leaders from Teen Challenge know what it is like to take the wrong path, to be homeless or sleep in an abandoned truck, to wake up in prison, challenged these young men to become tomorrow's leaders.

The young men, eleven and twelfth graders of Central Eleuthera High in Governor's Harbour, were brought to New Providence by the Men of Faith, a non-denominational group of volunteers.

MANGROVE CAY, Andros -- Swain's Cay Lodge announced Tuesday that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Only the top-performing 10 per cent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

"Swain's Cay Lodge is pleased to receive a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence," said Cheryl Bastian, owner of Swain's Cay Lodge

SEYMOUR'S, Long Island - The Ministry of Tourism and its partners have come together to further heighten the awareness of the invasive venomous Lionfish in Bahamian waters and steps to eliminate its impact on local species. One such avenue is the Lionfish Hunt II, a competition and cook-off between local fishermen and chefs, held May 17 to 18, 2013 at Seymour's Dock.

A predominately fishing economy, the island, which is 90 miles long and four miles wide, is split by the Tropic of Cancer. It is noted for the famous Dean's Blue Hole and steep rocky headlands. A concerted effort has been launched to heightened the presence of the Lionfish which has been sighted following the passage of the devastating Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Grade 6 students from throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas were invited to compete in a poetry contest, under the theme "Please Don't Let Them Hurt The Children." Two of the winners are students of Carmichael Primary School.

Pictured from left: Sherelle Richards, teacher; Celina Gray, 3rd place winner; Shantell McQueen, teacher; Zoe Cleare, 2nd place winner; and Barsha Smith RN, Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Unit, Department of Public Health.

Since setting the bar as the winner of the first Mission Catwalk season three challenge, Bahamian designer Theodore Elyett has been busy constructing replicas of the winning African print summer dress for a growing number of fashion enthusiasts.

In keeping with the season's theme 'Runway to Retail', Elyett quickly translated his catwalk winner into a high-street style coveted by locals and expats alike. The best-selling dress is a potent mix of a bold print with a classic silhouette sought after by 20-somethings to 50-somethings alike, including Mrs. Bernadette Christie, wife of the Prime Minister.

More than six dresses have sold in Jamaica where Mission Catwalk is filmed. Elyett's winning design was the first of the competition to retail at Lee's 5th Avenue in Jamaica, which carries reproduced looks of each week's winning design. An additional five dresses have been sold in New Providence to date.

Bahamas FilmInvest International, Coordinator of the Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase, released the titles of films selected to be featured in the 5th edition of the Film Showcase, scheduled for the month of June 2013 at Galleria Cinemas.

Films featured in the 5th edition of the Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase include Fans do Brasil, Elsa's Happiness, The Mystic of Baobab, Moi, Maryse Conde (Guadalupe), 1912 - Voices for a Silence Chap 1, Figueroa, Abdala (Cuba), Whore's Daughter, Town's Queen, The Faces of the Devil, Without you, with you, Miyoi the bear, No chucho pie for dinner tonight, Guardians of the water, Dudamel (Venezuela), From the Coffee Plantation to French Tumba (Haiti/Cuba), Sound, Sound, Tite Curet, Eyeri, a Musician with Magic (Puerto Rico), Tropic of Blood (Dominican Republic), Mas Man (Trinidad and Tobago), and Bad Friday: Rastafari After Coral Gardens (Jamaica).

On May 22nd, a Bahamian delegation was scheduled depart to Camaguey Cuba, to take part in a ceremony that will make official the donation of some of his works to the Oncological Hospital and to the Pediatric Hospital of the City of Camaguey.

Antonius Roberts, Bahamian master artist, whose career has been devoted to highlight through his works, the wonders of The Bahamas its nature and people, will witness the donation of the pieces that were identified after an exposition of his works and those of others Bahamian artists such as, Heino Schmith and John Cox in the prestigious Art Gallery "Larios" of Camaguey last February.

Hot on the heels of Manchester United legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, international soccer celebrity and soccer legend David Beckham retired. This was a shock to everyone as he had only signed with Paris Saint-Germain, PSG, in January.

His last game was on Saturday, 18th May where PSG won the league title. This made David Beckham the first English player to ever win a championship title in four different countries. Manchester United (England), Real Madrid (Spain), LA Galaxy (US) and PSG (France).

David Beckham started his career at fourteen years old playing for Manchester United youth team. He made his first Premier League appearance in 1992.

For those teams braving a rough crossing to Bimini, the First Annual Billfish Bonanza this past weekend was worth the chop with sails, blues, dolphin and tuna waiting for action. Official tournament hostess, Shelby Chesnes, Playboy's Miss July 2012, was on hand to greet teams and award trophies.

The Billfish Bonanza follows two recent, highly successful Bimini Wahoo tournaments also hosted by the Big Game Club, in which over 10 dozen anglers hauled in nearly three tons of fish.

By Gail Woon, Marine Biologist, Founder EARTHCARE

EARTHCARE is taking a stand against celebratory balloon releases, urging event organizers to find other "earth-friendly" ways to celebrate events that do not pose a threat to the country's fragile marine environment and birds.

Balloons are very harmful when ingested by birds and marine life such as fish, endangered sea turtles and marine mammals including whales and dolphins, which eventually will develop digestive problems and die. EARTHCARE is very concerned about balloon releases and condemns anyone who promotes or allows balloons to be released whether it be one, or many, into the environment.

Balloons can travel many miles in air and in water. These brightly coloured celebration symbols are dangerous long after the occasion is over. The strings and ribbons are very strong and entangle wildlife.