PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has defended the TT$32 million (one TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) spent on restoring the Office of the Prime Minister, which he is scheduled to occupy starting this month.

NEW YORK – A Haitian-born Democratic district leader has officially declared his candidacy for the New York State Senate in the 21st  District, joining a growing list of Haitian-born or Haitian Americans who hold, or are seeking, elective office in New York.

NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Bahamas has approved an estimated eight billion dollars in international investments as of May, including the $100 million Carnival Cruise Port for Grand Bahama and new developments throughout the island chain.

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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has called on the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) to develop research and programs that will help the oil rich twin-island republic deal with “current challenges” in an evolving and changing global environment.

NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Bahamas is seeking to become the third Caribbean community (CARICOM) country to be elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Dr. Patrick I Gomes, secretary general of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group, says it will be in the Caribbean community (CARICOM) countries favor to quickly negotiate new trade agreements with the United Kingdom as it moves to leave the European Union.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The 14th edition of the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) ended here late last month with the country’s culture minister saying there had been significant achievements during the 11-day event.

NASSAU, The Bahamas  – Cornelius A. Smith has been sworn in as the 11th governor of The Bahamas.

More than 50 years ago the hit television series “Have Gun Will Travel” tracked the life of a “gentleman gunfighter” in the American West. Last month, an in-depth investigative report by the New York Times showed that title has taken on a far more ominous meaning today, with deadly effects for one Caribbean nation.

BASSETERRE, St Kitts – St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) candidate for St Christopher 8, Dr Terrance Drew has accused prime minister Dr Timothy Harris and the area’s parliamentary representative, Eugene Hamilton “of hoodwinking the people” in relation to land(s) in the Brighton area, and subsequently, the sale of lands under the Lands for Debt Swap.

KINGSTON, Jamaica– Jamaica is moving to establish an earlywarning system (EWS) on drugs.