The signing of a Mutual Visa Exemption Agreement between The Bahamas and the People's Republic of China represents a "milestone" in the diplomatic relations between The Bahamas and China said Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell.

"Through the signing of this agreement, our tourism industry which is the cornerstone of this nation's economy will be strengthened. With this agreement, The Bahamas will join North America, Europe and Australia as one of the top destinations for over 70 million Chinese tourists who frequently travel internationally. Additionally, Bahamians who travel frequently to China for business and tourism opportunities will now be more easily facilitated," Minister Mitchell stated.

High Commissioner Eldred E Bethel is flanked by Officer Cadet RR Farquharson (left) and Officer Cadet VK Lopez of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force on Thursday 19 December following their graduation from the Britannia Royal Naval College.

Officers Farquharson and Lopez were among 96 Officer Cadets from nine countries passing-out from the Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon.

Two other Defence Force Officers are attending the Naval College and participated in Thursday's passing-out parade.

(Photo Credit: Bahamas High Commission, London)

A local bank is taking a leading role in nurturing future Bahamian leaders and propelling students toward academic excellence, according to The College of The Bahamas (COB). For a second consecutive year, COB officials lauded The Commonwealth Bank Emerging Leaders Award. Established in 2010 with a $500,000 endowment pledge over 10 years, the award program is already bearing considerable fruit.

In the latest report from COB, five of the 10 recipients of the coveted award achieved Dean's List standing in the past two academic years. Three have graduated.

Students highlighted by COB include Precious Bethell, Brill Carey, Shamara Burrows, Nicolette Knowles, Kenwood Cartwright, Giovanni Clarke, Gailin Rolle and Kendrick Anderson. The recipients of the award span various academic disciplines and hail from islands across the archipelago.

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, participated in an International Workshop on Disaster Risk Management Associated with Natural Phenomena, held recently in Mexico City, Mexico.

Senior Lieutenant Sonia Miller of NEMA, John Nixon of the Ministry of Tourism, and Phylicia Woods of Financial Services were among participants from the Caribbean and Latin America. The workshop, sponsored by the Government of Mexico was held November 25 to 26, 2013.

On a day when their exuberance and pride were at the summit, the newest alumni of The College of The Bahamas heard a message aimed at grounding their excitement in the realities of what it means to be an actively engaged Bahamian and a citizen of the world.

And the messenger was a university professor and Rhodes Scholar who challenged the Fall 2013 Commencement Class at its Commencement ceremony to recognize and appreciate the genius that surrounds them, to be accountable for their own excellence and to mentor young college and university students. Dr. Christian Campbell stood before the graduates, who numbered almost 300, and asked "How do we navigate a world and a country that are in some ways deeply unequal?"

With China's GDP growth rates skyrocketing to over 7.5%, creating new wealth not enjoyed in the Asian country in hundreds of years, more than 100 leading real estate brokers from the world's most desirable and glamorous locations -- USA, Brazil, France, Portugal, Spain, Canada, China, Australia-gathered in early December for the Luxury Property Showcase Shanghai.

Among them was the local firm of MCR showcasing waterfront properties in The Bahamas to a crowd of some 5,000 high net worth individuals - each qualifying for the by-invitation-only show. Carey's presentation focused on the high end offerings of Ocean Club Estates, Old Fort Bay, Lyford Cay, Sandyport and private islands. The formal 15-minute presentation in Mandarin and English was complemented by a display that one attendee said "made your country look so beautiful I want to live there in my future."

Recruiting thousands of Bahamians to work at Baha Mar is not just about reaching a target number. It's about creating an iconic global destination that reflects the soul of The Bahamas. "Baha Mar is about taking the best of The Bahamas - our people and our culture - to the world, said Kristin Wells, Baha Mar Academy Director.

During 2013, Baha Mar Academy, the training and recruitment arm of Baha Mar, has reached out to more than 6,000 Bahamian students and professionals in The Bahamas, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Most recently, Baha Mar Academy hosted a mix and mingle event for Bahamian students and professionals in New York City to share information about the diverse career opportunities that will be available at the luxury resort and to interview potential candidates.

"If you love The Bahamas, support The University of The Bahamas," said businessman Franklyn R. Wilson at a pivotal gathering to undergird university learning in The Bahamas. It was a profound statement indicative of the public-private sector collaboration at the nucleus of a construction project which once completed will stand as a landmark for higher education in the country.

On Friday, December 20th, Mr. Wilson, Chairman of Sunshine Holdings Ltd.; executives of RBC Royal Bank of Canada; Minister of Education, Science and Technology Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald; College Council Chairman Mr. Alfred Sears and College of The Bahamas senior administrators participated in the contract signing for the Franklyn R. Wilson Graduate Centre.

The P.A.C.E. Foundation (Providing Access to Continued Education) recently met its first building fund target thanks to the Sandals Foundation's donation of $76,500.

Sonia Brown, president of the P.A.C.E. Foundation, noted that refurbishment can now begin on P.A.C.E.'s new building - located on East Street - which is slated to become a complete facility for soon-to-be adolescent mothers to continue their education while pregnant. In addition to academic offerings, the facility is expected to provide administrative, and nursery services. "This significant donation from the Sandals Foundation puts us in the position of being able to commence renovations in January of 2014," Brown said.

Declaring it was proud to help impart lifesaving skills to children growing up on an island surrounded by water, the fast-growing environmental movement Save The Bays today presented a substantial grant to the YMCA SOS Learn to Swim program in Grand Bahama.

The contribution will pave the way for thousands of children to take an in-the-water course that could save lives. Some 13,000 pre-school and primary school students have already benefitted from the SOS (Swim for Ocean Survival) course, according to Grand Bahama YMCA Executive Director Karon Johnson, and this contribution will enable even more.

"We can't thank Save the Bays enough for seeing the importance of this program," said Johnson. "The course is designed to teach kids to survive, first and foremost, in an underwater situation. As they get older we work to introduce them to opportunities provided by competitive swimming and thirdly, we want to them to have the skills to enjoy our marine environment so they don't have a fear of the sea."

Recently, BORCO (Buckeye Bahamas) held their second annual Oil Spill Response training seminar in Grand Bahama. Russell Miller, Buckeye's HSSE Emergency Preparedness Manager, along with Buckeye's International trainer Jason Desantis, National Response Corporation (NRC) Southeast Regional Manager conducted the seminar.

Over thirty of BORCO's key employees in the Incident Command System (ICS), which is a part of the company's emergency preparedness team, participated in the training session. ICS covers personnel, policies, procedures, facilities, and equipment for both large and small emergencies.

"Here at BORCO, we want to both minimize the chance of oil spills and effectively prepare our staff to handle spills in the event they occur," stated Robert Gaffney, Vice President of International Operations for BORCO. "While we hope to never implement these practices for an oil spill emergency, the training session was most valuable in educating our staff about emergency procedures."

Less than three months after its launch, Caribbean Tobacco Enterprise (CTE) is reporting "excellent market interest" in a Bahamas-manufactured cigarette and said sales of the cigarette brand called Palms are exceeding initial expectations.

"When we first decided to serve a local market with export potential, we began sourcing top grade tobacco in order to produce a cigarette without harmful additives," said CTE investor Adam Dann. "We also wanted the packaging and image to be upbeat, reflecting the sunshine of The Bahamas.

But, Dann said, they knew they were up against one of the toughest markets of all - a product with intense brand loyalty.

So how old does a baby have to be to be born safely? When asked this question, over 50 % of women stated "between 34 to 36 weeks.

In 1970 the Second European Congress of Perinatal Medicine subjectively proclaimed that a baby born at the end of its 37th week of gestation to 41 completed weeks of gestation is a term birth.

Translated loosely, the five week period, three weeks before to two weeks after an estimated birth date, was thought to be a safe time for a baby to be born. Consequently, this understanding of term became the gestational milestone that physicians, midwives and families embraced. It was assumed that these late pre-term babies, because they were so near to term, had similar health outcomes to those of full term infants. However, current research exposes the fallacy of the belief that "newborn outcomes are uniform" after 37 weeks for all babies.

It was toy land for lots of wonderful girls and boys across New Providence and Great Exuma this holiday season as the Sandals Foundation continued its annual toy and treat giveaway during the month of December.

"Throughout the year, the Sandals Foundation undertakes projects that promote and support education in our Caribbean schools," said the Sandals Foundation's Director of Programmes, Heidi Clarke. "By the time the holiday season comes around, we intend to do what we can to ensure that the children, who have worked hard throughout the year, enjoy themselves and have some fun."

And fun was had. The Sandals Foundation team in Great Exuma threw Christmas parties for the kids at Roker's Point Primary, Stuart Manor Primary, Exuma School for the Gifted, Moss Town Primary, Forest Primary, Mt. Thompson Primary, Rolleville Primary, George Town Primary and Williams Town Primary Schools. In addition to the gifts, the students were feted by team members and guests from Sandals Emerald Bay.

This film has no tagline. A young dinosaur must go through the trials of growing up in a time of great beauty, but also immense danger. As his life is narrated by his best friend who happens to be present at some of the most important events of his existence.

Alex is an Alexornis bird who forms a symbiotic relationship with Patchi and narrates his story through the years as they migrate North to South and back again. Patchi is a Pachyrhinosaurus who grew up with his many siblings with a father who was the leader of there herd, but when circumstances finds him without parents and most of his siblings he most make new friendships to survive. Juniper is a from another herd who Patchi has taken a liking to and is helped by him after they are separated from the combined herd after an ambush by a Gorgosaurus pack. Scowler is Patchi's brother who has always been tougher than him and more interested in his own well being than the well being of the other dinosaurs in his herd.

The Honourable Alfred Sears, former Minister of Education, Science and Technology, opened the 7th Annual National After School Art and Craft Programme stating that, "We must recalibrate education so that many more Bahamians, particularly males can succeed at it."

The exhibition opened in early December in the foyer of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Thompson Boulevard and is currently on display at the programme's home on Wulff Road opposite AID. This year, students were challenged by current Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the Honourable Jerome Fitzgerald to use the historic period as inspiration for their work.

Report as of December 19, 2013

South Abaco: The wahoo fishing at Hole In The Wall was reported to be hot LAST week-end with some very big fish being caught and even more being lost to the man in the grey suit!

There have been a few wahoo caught off of north Eleuthera. There have been reports of lots of sharks off of James Point making it difficult to bring fish in.

North Exuma, Highbourne Cay: The fishing in the Exuma Sound was very good over the week end with lots of wahoo caught in the pocket off of Sail Rocks.

Executive members of the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2014 made themselves known to the public during an introductory press conference held at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium Thursday, Dec. 19. Keith Parker has been named executive chairman of the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2014 Local Organising Committee (LOC).

Mr. Parker said the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2014, set for May 24 and 25, will be the biggest sporting event to be hosted in Nassau, as it will bring together the world's best athletes. Mr. Parker said Mike Sands, BAAA president, has been named vice chairman on the LOC and has the responsibility to be in continuous liaison with the IAAF.

Prime Minister Perry Christie welcomes Mark Fender, left, and former golf pro Jack Nicklaus and his son Gary Nicklaus, during a courtesy call Dec. 20, at the Office of the Prime Minister, Cable Beach.

Also pictured is Khaalis Rolle, Minister of State for Investments.

(BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)