Hip-hop boss Jay-Z was so determined to sign teen singing sensation Rihanna to his Def Jam label - he refused to let her leave his office until she had put pen to paper.

The results are in. There's a new Barbados party monarch champion. And this time, it's a woman. Natahlee Burke in her patriotic stance, dethroned last year's champion Edwin Yearwood.

Tony Matterhorn has landed a job on Liberty 98.1 FM, a radio station in Barbados where he has been spinning dancehall tunes fresh from Jamaica.

Sizzla may not be able to perform in Barbados next week. This according to Tmothy Slinger of the Nation Newspaper Barabados.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) - The prime minister of Barbados has announced plans to make the Caribbean island a republic, replacing the Queen of England as the official head of state with a locally elected president.

Call them the ghetto messengers. They are Red Out, a local three-man reggae group that was brought together to enter the Revo-dub-a-lution competition, the semifinals of which will be held tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Ring Bang City, St Lawrence, Christ Church.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Alicia Keys will headline the Barbados Jazz Festival in January which also includes veteran saxophonist Gato Barbieri on the lineup, organizers said.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- Barbados seized two shipments of guns destined for Caribbean police departments that were scheduled to pass through the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. ambassador said Monday.

A report published yesterday in the Trinidad Guardian states that members of the West Indies cricket team could cash in on a US$630 000 (approximately TT$4 million) bonus.

Barbados was placed under a hurricane warning as of 8 am yesterday, after Hurricane Ivan began taking a westerly path to the Windward Islands.