ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) _ Disgraced Texas financier R. Allen Stanford is being stripped of his knighthood in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, the head of the government panel that approves the awards said Monday.

The National Honors Committee voted unanimously to revoke Stanford's title for embarrassing the nation by running an alleged Ponzi scheme out of his Antigua-based offshore bank, Chairwoman Jacqui Quinn-Leandro said.

Stanford, once a benefactor of the Antiguan government, is in jail in Texas awaiting charges for allegedly defrauding some 28,000 investors out of $7 billion by selling them what U.S. authorities say were bogus certificates of deposits.

Stanford received his knighthood in 2006 from the governor general _ the representative of Queen Elizabeth II in the country _ and was widely known as "Sir Allen" in the Caribbean nation. Critics have alleged he used the title's prestige to help lure investors to buy CDs from his offshore bank while promising rates of return that were consistently higher than most financial institutions.

Quinn-Leandro said the six-member honors committee, made up of senators and members of Parliament, voted last month and formally informed Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of its decision in an Oct. 26 letter, but did not make a public announcement.

CUBA: As economy sags, gov't says it will spend at least 32 pct less on US food in '09

HAVANA (AP) _ Cuban purchases of U.S. food will fall by at least a third this year as the island slashes imports to stabilize an ever-weak economy further hammered by the global economic crisis, a top trade official said Monday.

Igor Montero, head of the state import company Alimport, calculated that the communist government would spend less than $590 million on American food in 2009 once banking, shipping and other transaction costs are included. That's down at least 32 percent from last year's $870 million.

Montero blamed the economic crisis, but also took a swipe at Washington's 47-year-old trade embargo, even though it exempts food, arguing that America should begin buying Cuban products and allowing its citizens to visit the island as tourists.

He said 2009 will mark the first year American food imports to Cuba have not increased since the U.S. Congress authorized direct sale of agricultural products to this country in 2000.

Because of a dispute over financing, Cuba refused to import even a single grain of rice until a hurricane caused food shortages in November 2001. After that, the U.S. quickly became Cuba's top source of food and will retain that title in 2009, despite falling sales.

Cuban officials have begun a campaign to increase domestic food production as falling imports have squeezed product supplies at the country's farmers and supermarkets. But so far, those efforts have led to little increased output.

Last year Cuba spent a record of more than $710 million for U.S. agricultural products of all kinds _ a figure lower than the one Montero gave because it does not include transaction costs _ according to the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. That was 61 percent more than in 2007, the council reported.

JAMAICA: Police commissioner resigns as island struggles with 'spiraling' violent crime

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ Jamaica's police commissioner has resigned as the Caribbean nation struggles to curb a murder rate that is among the world's highest.

Information Minister Daryl Vaz says he cannot comment on the reasons for Hardley Lewin's resignation but he says the prime minister is concerned about the spiraling crime rate.

More than 1,200 homicides have been reported in Jamaica through September, and officials say homicides have risen dramatically in recent weeks. Gang violence is blamed for 90 percent of the slayings on the island of 3 million people.

Lewin was appointed commissioner in 2007 after 30 years in the Jamaican military.

He resigned Sunday night and Vaz said Monday that Lewin's successor will likely be named this week.

TRINIDAD: Police find body of German near home where British couple brutally beaten months ago

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) _ A German man has been found dead in the Caribbean island of Tobago.

Assistant Police Commissioner Allan Crooks says officers are interviewing four people in connection with the killing of 49-year-old Peter Taut. He says Taut's body was found Sunday night in a shallow grave at his home in the neighborhood of Bacolet along Tobago's southern coast. It is the same neighborhood were a British couple was attacked with a machete in August.

Crooks said Monday that he would not comment on a possible motive.

The German embassy did not immediately return a call for comment and Taut's hometown was not immediately clear.

Local media reported that Taut was an engineer who had been living in Tobago for several years.

PUERTO RICO: Legislature moves forward with adoption proposal that favors married couples

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Lawmakers in Puerto Rico have taken a first step toward adopting legislation that would give priority to married couples seeking to adopt.

Nineteen senators voted in favor of the measure Monday while eight opposed it. The proposal now goes to the House of Representatives.

Opponents say the measure discriminates against those who are single and couples who live together without being married.

Secretary of Family Affairs Yanitsia Irizarry says she has concerns about the proposal's language and plans to meet with the governor.

The proposal also would create an adoption registry office and allow mothers to give up newborns less than 72 hours old at hospitals without being charged with abandonment.

US VIRGIN ISLANDS: Report: Man killed was National Guard member awaiting Gitmo deployment

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) _ A man slain in the U.S. Virgin Islands was reported to be a member of the National Guard apparently awaiting deployment to Guantanamo Bay.

Police say 24-year-old Lewayne Fraser of St. Thomas was shot several times early Saturday as he rode in a car with another man who also was killed. No one has been arrested.

The Virgin Islands Daily News says Fraser was supposed to deploy to Guantanamo on Monday with a National Guard battalion.

Police spokeswoman Melody Rames could not confirm whether he was in the Guard. National Guard spokeswoman Karen Williams did not return messages asking for comment.

PUERTO RICO: Coast Guard searches for sailboat of Georgia man on voyage to Florida

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for an American man who was reported missing as he sailed from Puerto Rico to Florida.

A Coast Guard statement says a family member of 68-year-old Charles Collins alerted authorities over the weekend.

The Georgia native has been living aboard the 34-foot (10-meter) Egide for three years. His family says he planned to leave Puerto Rico on Oct. 15, with possible stops in the Bahamas on his way to Florida.

The Coast Guard said Monday it has been looking for signs of Collins at ports in Puerto Rico and Florida. It asked boaters to be on the lookout for his white sailboat with a green stripe.

The Guard did not know his hometown in Georgia.

GUYANA: Government seeks suspension of police commander after teen suspect allegedly tortured

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) _ Guyana's top government officials are calling for the suspension of a police commander in charge of officers who allegedly doused a teenage murder suspect with alcohol and set him on fire.

Paulette Morrison oversees the west coast police division of the South American country.

National Security Minister Clement Rohee said Monday that she should immediately be suspended for what he called improper supervision of officers. The entire Cabinet is backing the request.

Two policemen have been arrested on suspicion of torturing the 14-year-old in custody while investigating the fatal beating of a former governing party official.

Doctors say the teen will likely be in the hospital for at least four months.

CARIBBEAN: Chris Gayle returns as West Indies captain in full-strength squad to tour Australia

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) _ Chris Gayle was reinstated as West Indies captain on Monday to lead a full-strength squad on a three-test tour of Australia later this month.

The 30-year-old Jamaican was appointed after he and other leading players had withdrawn from a home series against Bangladesh in July and the Champions Trophy in September due to a long-standing contract conflict with the West Indies Cricket Board.

Only four players that made themselves available during the strike action _ allrounder Darren Sammy, batsman Travis Dowlin and fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Gavin Tonge _ were selected to tour Australia from Nov. 18.

Gayle, who has played 82 tests, will open the batting with 19-year-old Adrian Barath, the only player in the squad without international experience.

Barath, from Trinidad & Tobago, had been chosen in a 13-man squad for the test series against Bangladesh before the dispute between WICB and the West Indies Players' Association.

Jerome Taylor returns to lead the pace attack, and will be aided by Ravi Rampaul, Roach and Tonge.

Taylor's usual new ball partner, Fidel Edwards, has been forced to miss the series after injuring his knee while playing for Deccan Chargers during last month's Champions League in India.

Shivnarine Chanerpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and allrounder Dwayne Bravo are also back from strike action.

Australian-born Brendan Nash will return home for the first time as a West Indies player since making his debut 18 months ago.

CARIBBEAN: BetOnSports.com founder arrested in Puerto Rico is sentenced to 4 years, 3 months

ST. LOUIS (AP) _ The founder of the online gambling site BetOnSports.com was sentenced Monday to more than four years in prison, ending a lengthy investigation and prosecution into one of the world's largest offshore sports gambling companies.

Gary Kaplan, 50, must also forfeit $43.6 million in illegally obtained revenue as part of a plea agreement. He also has agreed not to block another $7 million being forfeited by associates. Prosecutors said Tuesday that Kaplan still has tens of millions in Swiss bank accounts.

Kaplan pleaded guilty in August to racketeering conspiracy, violating the Wire Wager Act and conspiring to violate it. Prosecutors had been investigating offshore sports gambling since 1997, and BetOnSports since 2001.

Kaplan, sentenced to four years and three months, could end up spending another year behind bars. He has been jailed for two years and seven months since his March 2007 arrest in Puerto Rico.

Kaplan's attorneys had argued for leniency, including home confinement, and said he would like to pursue charitable projects to help the community.

But U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson said Kaplan's two prior felonies, bookmaking and forgery, and a misdemeanor showed her he "continued to disrespect" the law. She said he broke laws he didn't agree with, knowing his activity was illegal.