NASSAU, The Bahamas - The severe weather warning issued for Abaco, Northern Berry Islands and Bimini have been discontinued by the Bahamas Department of Meteorology at 10 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, 2013.

At  10:00 o’clock, radar and satellite observations indicate that the strong clusters of thunderstorms located over the mentioned islands have significantly weakened and were moving out of the area in a northeasterly direction.

Residents may still experience some shower and thunderstorm activity overnight, however no severe activity is expected.

Widespread localized flooding continues to be an issue and residents should stay out of standing water.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Commonwealth Bank announced today that its East Bay branch will re-open for normal business hours tomorrow, Thursday, May 23, while its Oakes Field branch will remain closed temporarily.

"The heavy rains that we had on Tuesday caused some flooding in the East Bay branch," said Commonwealth Bank President Ian Jennings. "We've been able to get in there and assess the situation, and we were fortunate. There was no significant loss of equipment. We remained closed on Wednesday to ensure that our customers would not be subjected to anything that would make them uncomfortable. We wanted to make sure it was completely dry."

Oakes Field -- the busy branch that is scheduled for renovation and expansion later this year -- was not so fortunate. Fire broke out after an apparent lightening strike hit the building. Firemen and police had to fight the fire during the height of Tuesday's stormy weather.   

"The police were there last night despite the weather so we were very appreciative," said Jennings. "We need to wait until they have completed their investigation and we can get in and do a full damage assessment."

In the meantime, customers are asked to visit any other Commonwealth Bank branch. There are eight others on New Providence and numerous off-site ABMs as well as those located at branches.

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. The one day trip to the capital started with a visit to Her Majesty’s Prison at Fox Hill where the young men got a glimpse of prison environment. Prisoners struck fear into the teens with stories of the hardships of incarceration and what led to it.

“After today I won’t be getting into trouble at all,” a student promised, “Jail was hard and scary.”

“I’m from Palmetto Point, Eleuthera," said Earla Bethel, President of DanBrad Ltd. "So I can identify with these youngsters and what it’s like to come from a quiet Family Island, trying to find their way in life. I am delighted to partner with Men of Faith & Teen Challenge in giving these young men some lessons of Life. It brings me great pleasure to give back to my community.”

NASSAU, Bahamas -- The public is advised that the Oakes Field and Grosvenor Campuses of The College of The Bahamas, including Chapter One Bookstore and the Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre, are closed today (Wednesday, May 22, 2013). As a result, all classes are cancelled today.

However, essential service personnel – the Physical Plant and Security departments – are required to report for duty as normal.

The College is expected to resume normal operations on Thursday, May 23^rd, 2013.