A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Tuesday in the Caribbean near the island of Barbados, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake hit at 0927 GMT about 170 kilometers (106 miles) north-northeast of the town of Bathsheba on Barbados, the USGS said.

A music awards show dubbed the "African Grammys" was hit by an embarrassing series of hitches culminating in the absence Sunday of star Chris Brown and an apology by the organiser.

The show had been delayed from Saturday to enable rapper Brown to attend, with organiser Ernest Adjovi initially blaming the delay on Brown missing his flight but later saying heavy rains and other logistical hiccups were behind the postponement.