Barbados: On the day that the European Union released Barbados from its tax avoidance blacklist, the island’s Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, has warned of a need to put financial regulatory systems in order because playing ‘catch-up’ can be costly. Comment

Travel: The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) says registration for this month’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace, to be held at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, is “strong.” Comment

Queens: The Phagwah parade of New York has a new date set for mid-April. Normally held in March, this time around it will be held on April 14. Organizers of the Queens-based event say brisk temperatures last year prompted the decision to delay it for a later date to maintain its regulars, said the parade’s co-chair. Comment

The American Caribbean Maritime Foundation (ACMF) has recently appointed Vincent M. DeOrchis and Robert E. O’Connors as board members according to Montgomery McCracken, a full-service law firm with offices in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. Comment

It has been almost two decades since the Grammys were held in New York City. The actual absence of the music industry’s biggest awards show has been 18 consecutive years with the exception of 2003 when music legends went west to collect their prizes. Comment

Grenada: ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – The Grenada Football Association plans to build on the foundation of a successful 12-month period by kicking off 2018 with a series of activities. One of those initiatives is the introduction of the Pure Grenada Cup. Comment

Sports: The second Grenada Invitational Track and Field Meet will be held at the Kirani James Athletic Stadium in St George’s, Grenada on Saturday April 21, 2018. Comments (1)

Sports: The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has announced that the tournament in Guyana in 2017 raked in US$14,183,035. CPL said the event which was staged between Aug. 4 and Sept. 9 had a huge economic impact on the South American country. Comment

Sports: West Indies’ two highest-ranked players, Kraigg Brathwaite and Kemar Roach, have lost ground but remained in the top 20 of the International Cricket Council (ICC) player rankings released recently. Comment

Sports: West Indies has started planning for the ICC World Cup qualifiers to book their place in the 2019 One-Day International (ODI) showpiece in England. Comment

Haiti: PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ Haitians showed their anger over recent words and actions by U.S. President Donald Trump with a protest Thursday outside the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Comment

Brooklyn: Eric Gonzalez was inaugurated as the 33rd District Attorney of Brooklyn during a rousing ceremony at the Weylin in Williamsburg on Sunday, during which he outlined his vision of keeping Brooklyn safe and strengthening communities’ trust in the criminal justice system by ensuring fairness and equal justice for all. Comment

Movies: “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro’s surreal, cross-species love story landed the most Academy Award nominations (13), including for Best Director, Picture and Original screenplay, as well as trio of acting categories. “Dunkirk” (8) was next, followed by “Three Billboards” (7), “Darkest Hour” (6) and “Phantom Thread” (6). Comment

Arts & Theater: The revival of the 1990’s musical “Once on this Island,” is the sole Caribbean-based show currently on Broadway. It returned to the stage in December, close to three decades after its first run. It is a one of a kind production and its rebooted comeback is even more exciting, said the show’s marketing partner. Comment

St Vincent: The main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is continuing its long battle to overturn the results in the Dec. 9, 2015 general elections in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Comment

Barbados: Barbados’ National Union of Public Workers remains defiant in the face of media reports that the two-day strike by public sector workers last week was ineffective, stating that there is more to come if its demands are not met. Comment

Manhattan: They stepped in resistance to his s---. Local Haitians and their supporters railed against the president during a Brooklyn-to-Manhattan protest march on Friday, a week after Trump allegedly called Haiti a “shithole country,” and hours before he rang in the one-year anniversary of his inauguration. Comment

Guyana: Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke honored the late Rev. Dr. Evelyn Rose John, with a citation posthumously, which chronicled the life of this remarkable woman, and read by Patricia Jordan Langford, president of the Guyana Tri-State Alliance during a home going service on Friday, Jan. 19. Comment

Movies: Zenzile Miriam Makeba had the misfortune of being born black in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1932, which relegated her to second-class citizenship. In fact, she spent the first six months of her life behind bars with her mother, a sangoma (witch doctor), sent to prison days just after her birth. Comment

National: Instead of a national celebration for accomplishments made during the first year of the Donald Trump administration, on the first anniversary of the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States, women demonstrated in record numbers in protest of the sexist, misogynistic and crude leadership also plagued by federal scrutiny and investigation. Comment

St Vincent: The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ex-Teachers Association of New York was, clearly, not oblivious Sunday of reported racist remarks attributed to President Donald J. Trump against Haiti and African nations. Comment

If you could prevent cancer in yourself and your children, would you? Several cancers—including cervical cancer, the fifth most common cancer among women—are highly preventable. What these cancers have in common is their cause—the human papillomavirus, or HPV for short. Comment

Viewpoints: We the Garifuna people are among the 400 million people on this earth who speak one of the 6,000 indigenous languages that exist. Most of us are struggling to preserve our languages that we have been speaking for centuries before the Europeans came to our lands and established their colonial rule. Comment

Caribbean art will be the focus of a lecture at the American Folk Art Museum on Jan 21. The museum’s annual Anne Hill Blanchard lecture will host, “New Research on Self-Taught Art in the Caribbean.” The series presents scholars to discuss the work of three Caribbean artists and their impacts. The Caribbean is home to some of the world’s finest art and this event will allow that work to be celebrated, said the museum’s director of education. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Caribbean Haiti President Jovenel Moise will become the next chairman of the 15-member regional integration movement next month. Comment

Haiti: As if Haiti has not endured enough at the hands of the Trump administration in the United States, the French-speaking Caribbean country has been slapped again with the ending of Washington’s guest worker program for Haitian nationals. Comments (1)

Music: A new season is in session. The Harlem Stage performing arts theater has announced their lineup for their spring season, which started on Jan. 16 and kicked off with “Ella! A Centennial Celebration.” The new season has several shows and even some free forthcoming performances and workshops. Comment

Food: They’re going more Caribbean! A Harlem eatery is introducing a new menu inspired by Caribbean cuisine. The owners of Cove Lounge joined a partnership with the Broadway revival of the musical “Once on This Island.” As an official partner for the show, starting Feb. 1 the restaurant is adding new Caribbean dishes and drinks to their menu, said the co-owner. Comment

Music: Hard work, a will to succeed and not being afraid of taking chances is helping Brooklyn based, Jamaican rapper Safaree succeed in the entertainment business. On Sunday, Feb. 18, Safaree will be presented with the “Blue & Bougie Impact Award” at Mingles Cafe, in the Bronx, New York for the fascinating year he had in 2017. Comment

Arts & Theater: An East New York-based art organization has announced a $16,000 fellowship for Brooklyn artists. ART’s East New York (AENY) is introducing the The Van Lier [re]Activate Fellowship as part of their ReNew Lots project for artists and artisans living in eastern Brooklyn. Comment

UNITED NATIONS, Jan .18, 2018 (IPS) - The continued erratic and outrageous comments by President Donald Trump – and his attempts to undermine the United Nations – are threatening to cause irreparable damage to the world body. Comment

American Folk (PG for mild epithets and mature themes) Romance drama revolving around two strangers (Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth) who fall in love and make beautiful music together after being stranded in an airport on the West Coast in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. With David Fine, Bruce Beatty and Krisha Fairchild. Comment

Barbados: Barbados’ 10,000-member National Union of Public Workers were set to stage a two-day strike, after the island’s government failed to meet a deadline to agree to wage increases the union has been demanding since 2009. Comment

Immigration: In the past week, Caribbean community governments have been forced to grapple with two major issues of international concern and of course one had to do with the outrageous remarks by President Trump about Haiti, African immigrants and a preference for the lily white people from Norway settling in the United States. Comment

Grenada: Barbados and Grenada have reason to celebrate as they are getting off the European Union so-called blacklist of non-cooperating countries on taxation but that leaves behind, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago in immediate peril of sanctions. Comment

Guyana: Newly elected City Council District 28 member, Adrianne Adams, the first woman to represent the district, expressed sadness at the death of Guyanese-born, Stacy Singh, formally of Richmond Hill, who became the first homicide victim of 2018 in New York. Comment

St Vincent: The daughter of Vincentian body-building legend, Winston “Winty” Roberts, says her father’s death was “unexpected.” Comment

Brooklyn: When a woman in the third row at the Brooklyn Academy of Music took a knee during the singing of the national anthem on the day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. it clued the audience that the 32nd annual tribute was going to be significant and memorable. Comments (1)

Trinidad and Tobago: Trinidad-born immigrants’ rights activist Ravi Ragbir — who was arrested by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials amid peaceful demonstrations in lower Manhattan on Jan. 11 and taken that same day to Krome Detention Facility in Miami, Fla. — will be returned to the New York area, where he will be held pending the outcome of his legal case, Immigration officials announced Wednesday, Jan. 17. Comment

Haiti: Hundreds of demonstrators rallied at Times Square to protest against President Trump’s derogatory comments on Jan. 15. Last week the president allegedly made derogatory remarks disapproving immigration from El Salvador, Haiti, and Africa and referenced those nations and the continent as “shithole.” Comments (1)

Brooklyn: More than 100 Haitian-Americans marked the eighth anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake at Borough Hall on Jan. 12. Guests at the eighth annual Interfaith Memorial for Haiti’s Earthquake Victims, observed a moment of silence at 4:53 pm — the exact time a devastating 7.0 magnitude quake rocked the island nation, and many had some words for President Trump in light of his comments deriding immigrants from Haiti and the African continent, said one organizer. Comment

People: Potential rivals may have backed away from running against New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in 2018, but a new primary challenger emerged on Monday to his running mate, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, according to reports. Comment

St Vincent: The Brooklyn-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ex-Teachers Association of New York on Sunday, Jan. 14 honored one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers. Comment

Jamaica: It’s a refuge for the working professional. A Jamaican repatriate and former Flatbush resident is launching a multi-city retreat series this year. Author and consultant Kwayera Archer created ‘Immersion Retreat,’ which kicked off in Ochos Rios, Jamaica on Jan. 11 Comment

People: About 90 Pan-African organizations and leaders in the Caribbean have declared United States President Donald J. Trump “persona non-grata” for reported racist remarks he made last week about Haiti and African nations. Comment

Sports: NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Davis’ fullcourt heave after the third quarter was too late to give him points, though it gave him that unstoppable feeling great players get. Comment

Sports: West Indies head coach Stuart Law has warned cricket pundits not to write off Chris Gayle because he may not have fired in the recent limited overs series against New Zealand. Comment

Sports: The West Indies team has slipped to fifth in the latest ICC Twnety20 rankings following their 2-0 defeat to New Zealand in the three-match series which ended recently. Comment

Haiti: Last year, President Donald Trump gave an ultimatum to North Korea’s President Kim Jong Un that if he did not cooperate with US dictates, the Asian leader and his people would “be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” Comment

Immigration: Depression, anxiety, frustration: This was my reality as an undocumented young woman living in the United States. For many years the love and support of my family was the only thing that sustained me. In 2012 my life changed with the implementation of the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Comment

Haiti: PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Eight years ago, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake upended life in Haiti, killing more than 300,000 people by some estimates and destroying hundreds of thousands of homes. For many of those left homeless, life hasn’t yet returned to normal. Comment

Books: It’s all there in front of you. Plain as day. Plain as the nose on your face with nothing left to tell, it’s all in black and white — or is it? When it comes to racism, says author Ijeoma Oluo, it’s complicated and in her new book “So You Want to Talk about Race,” there may be shades of gray. Comment

Arts & Theater: When people get angry, they tend to speak their mind. Their emotions explode in words that they have been suppressing for some time. Psychologist Dr Jeffrey Huntsinger proved this theory after conducting experiments at Loyala University in Chicago in the USA in 2012. Comment

Movies: On Jan. 6, 1994, while waiting to compete in the U.S. Figure Skating Championship competition, top-ranked Nancy Kerrigan’s (Caitlin Carver) knee was smashed by a billy club-wielding hit man named Shane Stant (Ricky Russert). After the cowardly attack in the halls of Detroit’s Cobo arena, the assailant quickly escaped with the help of a waiting getaway car driven by Derrick Smith (Anthony Reynolds). Comment

Barbados: The financial news continues to be bad for Barbados as the island a few days ago suffered another international credit ratings downgrade, this time from the regional based agency, Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS). Comment

Sports: Cricket West Indies (CWI) has launched the first part of a new strategic plan — a cricket fan research. West Indies and cricket fans throughout the region have the chance to have their say in improving how fans can follow and enjoy local and international cricket. Comment

Haiti: GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Calling President Donald Trump’s remarks about Haiti and African immigrants as repulsive, the 15-nation Caribbean single trading bloc at the weekend flayed Trump for his outburst, calling them unenlightened views. Comment

Barbados: Madame Justice Sandra Mason was sworn in as Barbados second female governor general on Wednesday, Jan. 10 before a packed Senate Chamber, including members of the government and the opposition. Comment

Manhattan: The African Burial Ground National Monument’s visitor center, 290 Broadway in Manhattan is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 am – 4 pm and has special programming year round. It is truly a center that celebrates the African Diaspora. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Antigua The Antigua government is set to begin the US$90 million St. John’s port modernization project this month as it moves to increase employment opportunities on the island. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane D. Williams was arrested last week in lower Manhattan by NYPD officers while protesting the detention by federal immigration authorities of Trinidadian community leader Ravi Ragbir. Comment

Movies: Delirium (R for violence and disturbing images) Harrowing horror flick about a just-discharged mental patient (Topher Grace) who inherits a haunted house from his recently-deceased parents (Robin Thomas and Daisy McCrackin). With Patricia Clarkson, Genesis Rodriguez and Callan Mulvey. Comment

Haiti: Lawmakers, Haitians and other Caribbean nationals in the United States have expressed profound outrage over President Donald J. Trump’s alleged disparaging remarks on Thursday about Haitians and Africans. Comment

Barbados: A sewage issue that has been literally bubbling for years was within a week hurled into the international glare with the United States and Canada and the UK advising their nationals visiting Barbados to be mindful of a health risk. Comments (2)

National: Prosecutors in Boston said two men convicted in the shooting death of an innocent bystander at Boston’s Caribbean Carnival in 2014 have been sentenced to life in prison. Comment

Travel: The Caribbean remains a top tourist destination. Last month, the Caribbean saw a strong holiday season despite some countries in the region being battered with hurricanes last year. The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association reports that many hotels reported 90 percent occupancies in December. Despite many countries still recovering from damage left by Hurricane Irma and Maria, it was only a best under. Comment

St Kitts and Nevis: St. Kitts is one of 22 destinations that Bloomberg Businessweek says will be “especially hot” this year. Mentioned second, St. Kitts is the only Caribbean destination on the list titled “Where to Go in 2018.” Comment

St Kitts and Nevis: St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister, Dr. Timothy Harris, and Cuban Ambassador to the Federation, Abelardo Fabio Hernández Ferrer, have reaffirmed the commitment of their respective governments to further strengthen the shared bilateral relations between both countries. Comment

Music: With the arrival of 2018, the long-running smash SISTAS: The Musical had its seventh New Year’s celebration at St. Luke’s Theatre in the heart of the Theatre District. Comment

Sports: West Indies Head coach Stuart Law said West Indies had some “soul-searching” to do after they suffered a 119-run crushing defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the recent Twenty20 International final, to end the eight-match tour without a single win. Comment

Sports: NEW YORK (AP) — After a two-year hiatus, C. Vivian Stringer has Rutgers back in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. The Scarlet Knights jumped into the AP Top 25 on Monday at No. 21, riding an 11-game winning streak. Rutgers was last ranked on March 2, 2015. Comment

People: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres issued “an alert” for the nations of the world to come together in the new year to battle warfare, hatred, nationalism, xenophobia and other ills. Comment

Antigua: Just as the regional commission on marijuana is in the Bahamas for public consultations this week, an influential Caribbean head of government is calling on governments to take cognizance of the global push to allow for possession of small amounts for personal use rather than fill jail houses with innocent youths across the region. Comment

National: A federal judge in California has issued an injunction ordering the Trump administration to maintain the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for now, even as the President moved to end the program in September. Comment

Haiti: With the piercing sounds of sirens and traffic, immigration activists, local politicians, and clergy braved bitter weather at the prayer vigil and rally protesting the detention of Jean Montrevil. Comment

People: The Rev. Reginald Euclid Moore, a very vibrant Methodist Church minister who served in the Chateaubelair-Kingstown Circuit in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the 1970s, is now battling for his life in a Harlem nursing home. Comment

Barbados: Women swept away the top prizes given out for exemplary prose when the Barbados Frank Collymore Literary Endowment awards a few days ago celebrated its 20th anniversary of formally recognising the work of outstanding writers. Comment

Brooklyn: It’s a handbook for commuting while black. A social justice community organization recently released a book to help black New Yorkers navigate the city’s subway system. The National Action Network’s “Black Commuters’ Guide: Brooklyn” is a comprehensive book that highlights the disparity in fare evasion arrests in Brooklyn, and the stations where they are most likely to happen. Comment

Music: Rebel Salute, Jamaica’s iconic concert series, will stage its 25th annual showcase on a plantation in the parish of St. Ann on Jan. 12 and 13 Comment

St Vincent: Vincentian Winston “Winty” Roberts, a pioneer and significant player in the bodybuilding scene, passed away on Dec. 21, in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, according to Toronto’s Muscle Insider. Comment

Haiti: UN officials said 2017 was a particularly deadly year for its peacekeepers, who nevertheless completed objectives in Africa and has refocused its work in Haiti Comment

Travel: As several Caribbean islands struggled to recover from the ravages of two strong September hurricanes, major U.S. airlines cut seats on flights to the region by nearly 10 percent in December, compared to a year earlier, industry reports said. Comment

Guyana: Stacy Singh, 26, of Richmond Hill, Queens, was found fatally stabbed in her home around 2 pm Jan. 1. The body of her husband, Vinny Loknath, 46, had been found at 11 a.m. not far away in Forest Park, hanging from a tree. Police are investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide. Comment

New York: Brooklyn Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte joined members of the minority and women-owned business enterprise community in criticizing Gov. Cuomo’s veto of legislation that MWBE proponents contend would have allowed small businesses to remain competitive Comments (1)

Music: Harlem Stage, the legendary uptown venue that for more than 30 years has promoted the creative legacy of Harlem and artists of color from around the corner and across the globe, is proud to present its Spring 2018 season of performances. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Trinidad and Tobago will soon have its first female president. Come March this year, retired Court of Appeal judge Paula Mae Weekes will make history when she is inaugurated as the first woman to be elected president of Trinidad and Tobago. Comment

Jamaica: Funerals began Monday for many of the victims, including Jamaicans, who perished in a massive fire in the Bronx on Dec. 28. Iholt Francis had been planning a trip from Jamaica to New York to visit his twin brother to celebrate their 28th birthday. Instead, he arrived last week to take his brother off life support, according to reports. Comment

Guyana: Neil Chan, a larger than life figure who launched Solo Sounds International, and dominated the landscape of Arts and Entertainment in Guyana, commanding large costume and float parade bands at Mashramani in the 70s and 80s in Georgetown, died on Jan. 5. He was 88 years old. Comment

Viewpoints: Dear Speaker Johnson: “For of those to whom much is given, much is required.”-President John F. Kennedy Congratulations on your elevation as the second most powerful person in NYC government! Indeed, the discrimination you overcome for being openly gay and HIV-positive has fortified you for the fights ahead. Your history and the issues that you have worked have stood in solidarity with communities of color, the marginalized and the vulnerable. Like you said, “That is where you come from. That is what my life’s work has been about.” Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Dear Mr. Massive Gosine, Permit me to extend my sincere thanks for your recent kaiso, “Rowley Mother Count.” Carefully, I listened to its articulation. The word ‘count’ was pronounced faithfully, meticulously, cautiously, abiding strictly to the rules of English phonetics. I do not regard this as an accident. I regard it as your careful, wary efforts to not exceed the norms of simple courtesy. It cannot be otherwise, for, as we all know, a righteous woman is a joy and boon to the nation. Comment

Haiti: I found out that I was a different from my fellow immigrant classmates in high school, as I applied for college and scholarships. At the time I didn’t understand why I had to pay the same tuition as someone who lived in another state. And I didn’t understand why I couldn’t meet any of the scholarship requirements. Comment

Books: You’re not backing down. There’s a line in the sand and nobody’s crossing it on your watch. When something isn’t right and you can fix it, you’re going to defend it, too, even if it costs you. As you’ll see in “Facing Frederick ” by Tonya Bolden, if you lived in the mid-1800s, you’d be in good company. Comment

On Jan. 9, 2014, a coal industry cleansing agent called MCHM started leaking from an above-ground storage tank into West Virginia’s Elk River. The major chemical spill was covered up by Freedom Industries, the company that owned and operated the tank. Comment

Sports: Former West Indies cricket coach Phil Simmons has been appointed head coach of Afghanistan. He took over the job from which was left vacant when the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) terminated the contract of Lalchand Rajput, just three months after the former Indian batsman was appointed. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: The Trinidad and Tobago government has taken a decision not to support a bid to host matches in the Twenty20 Women’s World Cup, which will be played in the Caribbean this year. Comment

Barbados: Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s decision not to call early elections has angered a private sector leader, who demanded that the government must seek a new mandate from the people to boost the island’s sagging economy. Comment

Travel: Citizenship Invest, a Dubai-based firm leading in obtaining second passports, has seen a spike in the demand for passports to the Caribbean and Europe among passport holders in the United Arab Emirates. Comment

United Nations chief of policy advice and planning Greg Puley has issues a warning that Caribbean and other governments internationally should act early to mitigate the destructive impacts of El Nino and La Nina Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Barbados A new governor of the Barbados Central Bank (BCB) took up office from January 1 2018. Finance Minister Christopher Sinkler announced that Christopher Haynes has been appointed as Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados effective Janauary1. Comment

People: America’s only revered King — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — and the only non-president American citizen to be granted a national holiday will be commemorated throughout the nation with music, dance, art, film, poetry, panel discussions and on the west coast, a parade in Los Angeles, California. Comment

Guyana: Her caregiving never stops. A Brooklyn nurse uses her free time to care for people abroad. Guyanese-American nurse technician Angela Grant often uses two to three weeks of her vacation time to provide charity to the needy in Guyana and a few other countries in the Caribbean. She says her drive to care for others overrides her personal desires. “People always ask me why don’t I just enjoy my vacation, but I won’t be able to do that unless I’m changing a life in some way or changing the direction of some lives,” said Grant. Comment

Movies: Abe & Phil’s Last Poker Game (R for profanity and sexuality) Baby-daddy comedy about a couple of childless retirees’ (Martin Landau and Paul Sorvino) competition to convince a nurse (Maria Dizzia) that he’s her long-lost father. With Pamela Dubin, Alexander Cook and Kayla Harrity. Comment

Haiti: Even as New York’s Haitian community prepares to mark their nation’s 214th anniversary of independence, they are angered by purported remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that Haitians “all have AIDS” Comment

Antigua: In the wake of the devastation Hurricane Irma wrought on Barbuda,a new law allows Antiguans to vie for ownership of ancestral lands previously owned exclusively by Barbudans. Comment

National: Elimination by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission of net neutrality would have a detrimental effect on the ways money and information travel to and from the Caribbean region. Comment

Brooklyn: Braata, a Queens-based Caribbean cultural organization, looks forward to another year of staging theater, concerts and other events in the Caribbean community. Comment

Caribbean: British national Kurt Russell broke his neck and is in a coma after a freak fall from a balcony as he helped perform a moving job on the Dutch island of St. Martin Comment

New York: Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams, who unsucessfully vied to be Council Speaker, has called for more diversity in top positions in New York City government and agencies. Comment

Haiti: President Donald Trump says the U.S. and Haiti “share a long history of close relations,” even as he reportedly said “all Haitians have AIDS,” and is being blasted by a Brooklyn politician for moving to eliminate Temporary Protected Status for tens of thousands of Haitians living in the U.S. Comment

Haiti: Leaders of the Caribbean Community are moving toward forming what would be the world’s first climate resilient region to deal with the effects of droughts, hurricanes, floods and other potentially catastrophic weather Comment

Brooklyn: The weeklong, Pan-African holiday of Kwanzaa was celebrated across the local Caribbean community, specifically on Ujima, the fifth day of Kwanzaa, by the Coalaition to Preserve Reggae Music. Comment

Cuba: Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart says he does not intend to call early general elections, and plans to serve out his full five-year term in office. Comment

Assemblyman Nick Perry says he’s received “many calls” from East Flatbush constituents worried about zoning changes that are resulting in one- and two- family homes being torn down and replaced with multi-unit homes and apartment buildings. Comments (2)

Dominican Republic: Calling them “contributing members of society,” New York Gov. Cuomo pardoned 18 persons — including a Domincan national who had been twice-convicted in 1993 of drug selling charges — “to reward their rehabilitative efforts and remove the barriers their criminal records present to their immigration status.” Comment

Venezuela: A study by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute shows that coastlines on Caribbean islands show signs of wear, but expressed hope that some of the damage can be reversed. Comment

Guyana: The Organization of American States and the government of Guyana have announced that Guyana will host the Inter-American Congress of Tourism, the first-ever high-level OAS meeting to be held in the Caribbean nation. Comment

Guyana: The imprisonment of Guyanese national Mark Denny for 30 years for a crime he did not commit — and his impending deportation — is yet another example of the inequities inherent in the U.S. criminal justice system. Comment

Puerto Rico: Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said 2017 ended with the fewest number of homicides, shootings and shooting victims in the borough since record-keeping began Comment

People: Killer hurricanes, race-tinged riots, a deadly massacre, the death of a young civil rights activist, the shooting death of a pop star’s relative, and other tragedies marred life across the nation and around the globe in 2017 Comment