NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC - The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of eight bodies on the beach in Grand Bahama early Saturday. They initially found six bodies including that of a child on a beach at Holmes Rock, shortly after, two more bodies were discovered near a sunken boat, half a mile from the shore. According to the police, it’s believed that all eight were illegal immigrants who were trying to make their way to the United States.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The shareholder governments of the regional airline, Liat, are discussing proposals that would allow Venezuela to have an interest in the airline, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has announced. Skerrit said Caracas has expressed an interest in investing in the regional airline company and that a draft agreement has already been provided to shareholders for their consideration.

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s business leaders propose charging Haiti at the World Trade Organization and other international bodies for imposing non-tariff barriers to local exports, in the heels of Port-au-Prince’s months-long ban on the imports of eggs, chickens, and plastic products as of last week. Haiti’s Private Sector Economic Forum approved the restrictions against Dominican products Last week, and also asked their government to bolster controls at the border.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - The planning for Caribbean Agriculture Week (CAW) 2013, the 12th edition of the Region’s premier agricultural event, will be hosted by the Government of Guyana, October 4-12, under the theme `Linking the Caribbean for Regional Food and Nutrition Security and Rural Development’.Preparations are moving apace for the event to be held at the Guyana International Conference Centre. The local steering committee (comprising members of the Ministry of Agriculture and other ministries, CARICOM, FAO & IICA) met on July 18 and decided on a number of planning issues.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CARIBBEAN Heads of Government held their 34th annual summit earlier this month in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Reports from the three-day meeting indicated among other things that all the speakers at the opening ceremony paid tribute to the Community on its 40th anniversary and cited its accomplishments while agreeing that more needed to be done. That, according to the Communique issued following the summit, acknowledged the appropriateness of the theme of the anniversary: 40 years of Integration: Celebration and Renewal.