PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – The State Department in the United States says that it has been notified of the kidnapping of two US citizens who were on a trip to visit family here.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Rum producer and spirits distributor J. Wray & Nephew Limited (JWN), a member of the Campari Group, has paid tribute to the enslaved people who worked on the Appleton Estate Plantation during slavery. The company unveiled a monument at the Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience (JSAERE) in St. Elizabeth last week.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Three days of national mourning have been declared in Haiti following the recent death of former Prime Minister Gérard Latortue.

NASSAU, Bahamas – The Bahamas government says it has joined a brief filed by Mexico in the United States Court of Appeal in the First Circuit, in support of a US$10 billion suit to hold US gun manufacturers liable for the harm caused by their products.

ROSEAU, Dominica – Dominica’s cultural icon, Dr. Alwyn Bully died on Friday following a prolong illness, the state-owned DBS radio has confirmed. He was 74.

Washington, DC - Mrs. Sybil Leslie, the educator, author and “cultural ambassador of Jamaica” this past February 9 became one of the latest to enter the exclusive rank of centenarian, with family and friends celebrating and Governor General Sir Patrick Allen “most heartily” helping to mark the milestone.

NEW YORK, New York – The Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley is scheduled to deliver the keynote address on reparations during a global conference next month in Baltimore, Maryland.

BERLIN, Germany – Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett was on Wednesday honored with a “Lifetime Achievement Award For Promotion of Sustainable Travel & Tourism” by the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) International Travel Awards. The award was presented at the PATWA World Tourism & Aviation Leaders’ Summit at the ITB Berlin.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The former employee of the investment firm, Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), Jean-Ann Panton,  has been remanded in custody until February 24 after she appeared in the Supreme Court on Friday on several charges arising from the alleged multi-million dollar fraud at the company whose clients included eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Minister of Science, Energy and Technology Daryl Vaz has indicated that everything is in place to phase out the importation, export, manufacture, distribution, and sale or purchase of incandescent light bulbs from April 1 this year.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – The Grenada government Tuesday said more than 21,000 low-income households are to benefit from lower electricity rates as it implements an EC$10 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) subsidy for the next 12 months.

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States has imposed visa restrictions on Haitians involved in street gangs and other criminal organizations, saying that the additional steps are necessary to support Haiti by continuing to promote accountability for individuals who foment violence, corruption and instability.