The Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, is in the Cuban capital, Havana, for an official visit aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries.

	Mr Moratino holding talks with Cuban officials

Mr Moratinos is to meet his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez, and may be received later in his visit by President Raul Castro.

However, the Spanish foreign ministry has said that Mr Moratinos will not be meeting any leading Cuban dissidents, something which it said was out of line with the terms of his visit.

In August, Cuba responded angrily when a delegation of European Union diplomats met the wife of a jailed opposition activist, Dr Darsi Ferrer.

Antigua to cut wage bill

The Antigua and Barbuda government has agreed to cut its wage bill by 20% over the next two years, under a proposed agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

It is part of a series of tough measures designed to help haul the country out of a severe cash crisis.

Other measures to be introduced by the Baldwin Spencer administration are a reduction of the public service over five to seven years, and the outsourcing of some government services.

A statement from the Ministry of Finance said Friday that the government plans to finalise arrangements for a US $30 million loan from the Caribbean Development Bank.

Concerns over US drug policy

A panel of the US House of Representatives wants to establish a commission on illicit drugs because of concerns that American policy isn't working.

Democratic Representative Eliot Engel, who proposed the idea, said that billions of US taxpayer dollars have been spent over the years to combat the drug trade in Latin America and the Caribbean.

But he complained that positive results are few and far between.

A House sub-committee heard that illicit drug flows were shifting eastward toward the Caribbean, as drug smuggling flights from Venezuela to Haiti and the Dominican Republic increased 167% in 2006 and 38% in 2007.

More pressure on Buju

Jamaican dancehall artiste, Buju Banton, remains under pressure from gay rights lobbyists to stop what they claim is the spread of anti-gay messages through his lyrics.

The latest round of criticism comes from activists in Miami, who have renewed calls for Buju to stop performing his 1990s hit 'Boom Bye Bye'.

Buju Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, met with a group of lobbyists last week but they failed to reach a compromise.

They reportedly asked him to, among other things, host a town hall meeting denouncing hate crimes against homosexuals as well as donate to the local gay community.

He is said to have refused.

Guyanese migrants scammed

Prosecutors in New York say a convicted bigamist scammed thousands of dollars from Guyanese immigrants and gave them advice so bad they now face deportation.

Wilmer Rivera Melendez posed as a veteran immigration lawyer and promised green cards but pursued avenues that would never yield them.

Prosecutors said the Puerto-Rican born man changed his phone number to evade his victims when they started asking questions, and even startled some by proposing they marry him in order to get legal residency.

Mr Melendez denies the allegations.

Records show he was imprisoned for bigamy in the US state of Georgia; prosecutors said he also was convicted in an office burglary in the US Virgin Islands.

Spain approves Caribbean trade agreement

The Spanish government has formally given its approval to the implementation of an economic partnership agreement between the European Union and Caribbean nations.

The deal covers such areas as trade, services, investment, intellectual property and development co-operation.

The Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said it should serve as a model for similar agreements.

The accord is now due to go before the Spanish Parliament.