BRIDGETOWN — Barbados stopped pledging allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II today as it shed another vestige of its colonial past and became a republic for the first time in history. Several leaders, dignitaries and artists, including Prince Charles and Rihanna, attended the ceremony that began late Monday in a popular

BRIDGETOWN — Barbados, a former British colony, will next week ditch Queen Elizabeth as head of state, breaking its last remaining imperial bonds with Britain nearly 400 years since the first English ship arrived at the Caribbean island. Barbados casts the removal of Elizabeth II, who is queen of Barbados

FREDERIKSTED — Lt. Governor Tregenza Roach, prior to leaving the territory on a personal matter, called on Virgin Islanders to pay homage to native son D. Hamilton Jackson today. “In celebration of Liberty Day, we recognize the legacy and impact of David Hamilton Jackson on the U.S. Virgin Islands. As

It was 143 years ago on October 1, 1878, when Crucian agricultural laborers set fire to Frederiksted town and western plantations on St. Croix. The objective was to burn all the way east to “Bassin jailhouse,” known today as Fort Christiansvaern. In those days, Christiansted was called Bassin by Crucians.

LONDON — British ships ferried over three million enslaved African people across the Atlantic Ocean. Lloyd’s of London insured many of those vessels, the people chained below deck sometimes categorized as “perishable goods,” alongside cattle, by the market’s underwriters. Lloyd’s involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade is not included in

CHRISTIANSTED — Today is October 1st, the start of the new fiscal year and what has been known as Contract Day in the Virgin Islands. “Today we salute those who came before us,” St. Croix Senator Kenneth “Kenny” Gittens said. “Those who set the example of standing up for fair

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Journalist Netfa “Tafa” Romain, who died Tuesday, is being remembered as a creative powerhouse who used his talents to promote and uplift the territory. “It is with great sadness that I received this news,” Governor. Albert Bryan said Wednesday. “I know Netfa from the early days with

WASHINGTON — TIME Magazine commissioned American artist Andy Warhol to paint a portrait for its March, 1984 cover story on Michael Jackson. That portrait of Michael now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C. Jackson visited St. Croix in May 1998 to scout

SAN JUAN — Puerto Ricans who self-identify as having very light skin tones have better health outcomes than counterparts who self-identify as having the darkest skin tones, according to a peer-reviewed scientific study that evaluated the impact of racial discrimination on physical and emotional well-being. The investigation conducted by two

PORT OF SPAIN — “Black Panther” U.S. actor Michael B. Jordan said he would rename his recently launched rum, “J’Ouvert,” after nationals in the Caribbean accused him of cultural appropriation. J’Ouvert — which refers in Creole to the crack of dawn — is the name of the first official day