NASSAU, Bahamas -- Their Excellencies the Governor General and Lady Foulkes will be out of the country from September 13 to 17, 2010, for the purpose of attending Mexico's 200th Anniversary of Independence celebrations in Mexico City, Mexico.

The Hon Frank H Watson will be appointed to serve as Deputy to the Governor-General during His Excellency absence.

NASSAU, The Bahamas -- The Bahamas and the Republic of Cuba officially resumed technical discussions on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two countries, Monday, September 6, 2010.

Already, two rounds of talks have been held; the first round of preliminary discussions, which established the framework for future meetings, was held in Nassau in 2005.

This was followed up by a technical meeting, which took place in Havana, Cuba on June 12, 2009, when the Bahamian delegation comprised of senior Bahamian officials with technical expertise in the area of law of the sea and maritime affairs, met with Cuban officials.

As was the case at the previous technical meeting, the Bahamian delegation, which participated in this third round of discussions included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of the Environment, the Department of Marine Resources, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Bahamas National Geographic Information Systems Centre, as well as other senior government officials with expertise and experience in relevant fields.

“The resumption of discussions between The Bahamas and Cuba in order to delimit the maritime boundary between the countries, as required by the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, is a matter of priority,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Minister of Health Dr the Hon Hubert Minnis announced that Caribbean Wellness Day will be observed on Saturday, September 11 in The Bahamas and other CARICOM member countries.

“I am proud to announce that The Bahamas will once again join other countries within the region to observe Caribbean Wellness Day,” Dr Minnis said during a during a press conference held just before Cabinet Ministers met in Parliament, Wednesday, September 8.

Caribbean Wellness Day will be celebrated under the theme ‘Love Your Body, Portions Count’ and will feature a cross-section of activities for the whole family including food demonstrations, health screenings and counselling, informational booths, sample giveaways, sports activities, physical activity competitions and entertainment.

The health extravaganza will be held on the compound of the Ministry of Health on Poinciana Hill from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm.

The event commemorates the signing of the Port of Spain Declaration on September 15, 2007 by the CARICOM Heads of Governments in order to demonstrate the countries’ commitment to decreasing the epidemic of chronic diseases in the region.
 
This initiative will focus on chronic non-communicable diseases including heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cancer and diabetes – the leading causes of illness and premature deaths in the Caribbean today.

NASSAU, The Bahamas -- The Bahamas Government condemns all forms of human trafficking and is making preparations to create public awareness on such issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.

On Thursday, September 2, 2010, the Hon Brent Symonette, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration met with Amy Rofman, Officer of the United States Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking of Persons, to discuss the 2010 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on The Bahamas.

Under the 2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), the United States Secretary of State is required to submit to Congress, an annual report referred to as the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The main objective of the Report is to stimulate action and to create partnerships around the world in the fight against modern day slavery.

Since the 2009 TIP Report, countries established as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims of severe forms of trafficking are included in the Report and are assigned to three tiers.

The Bahamas is classified as a Tier 2 country; the Report alleges that The Bahamas is a destination for Caribbean nationals, particularly of Haitian and Jamaican nationality, who  are subject to forced labour and forced prostitution by trafficking perpetrators.

Haitian trafficking victims have been noted, as targets for forced labour in agriculture, domestic service or forced prostitution, while Jamaican and other foreign women are reportedly subject to forced prostitution. Based on the contents of the Report, luring mechanisms such as offers of employment serve as a means to facilitate acts of human trafficking, particularly in the latter case.