Barbados: Clinton Pledges Aid.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged $124 million in American aid to the Caribbean region over the next two years to combat a surge in drug-related violence. Meeting with Caribbean leaders in Barbados, Mrs. Clinton said the region needed American help to crack down on ''the highest rate of interpersonal violence in the world.'' Responding to concern among the leaders that oil from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico could reach their shores, she said, ''We earnestly hope that does not happen.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]