Brazil dismantles gang that allegedly sent prostitutes to US, France, Dominican Republic

October 9th, 2009 Smuggler jailed 3 years for deadly voyage to PRSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A Dominican smuggler has been sentenced to three years in prison for a sea voyage carrying illegal immigrants to Puerto Rico that took the lives of three people. Simeon de la Cruz was captain of a vessel that landed in western Puerto Rico with roughly 70 immigrants in October 2007 after two women and a man drowned during the trip across treacherous waters from the Dominican Republic.

September 30th, 2009 DomRep debates access to property to reach beachSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Legislators in the Dominican Republic are debating whether to allow residents access rights to private property so they can reach beaches, rivers and lakes. President Leonel Fernandez recently submitted a proposal to amend the constitution, which currently bars people from entering such property.

September 30th, 2009 Dominican soldiers to settle along Haiti borderSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Authorities plan to relocate soldiers and their families to border communities that are home to thousands of illegal Haitian immigrants and increasingly fewer Dominicans. Dozens of families will move next year as part of a pilot program to reforest the area, repair run-down homes and teach locals how to read and write, Military Secretary Pedro Rafael Pena said Wednesday.

September 30th, 2009 DomRep extradites Colombian cocaine suspect to USSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A Dominican official says an alleged Colombian cocaine trafficker arrested in the Dominican Republic has been extradited to the United States. The official says Luis Alberto Santacruz Echeverri, known by the nickname "Lucho," was extradited Monday to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

September 30th, 2009 DR cops find ostriches, boars on fugitive's farmSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Police raiding a Dominican Republic farm allegedly owned by a drug fugitive found a menagerie of exotic animals including ostriches and a wild boar. Prosecutor Alejandro Moscoso says a warehouse on farmland outside Santo Dominigo allegedly owned by Puerto Rican fugitive Jose Figueroa Agosto was used to store drugs.

September 17th, 2009 Dominican agents check dictionaries, find cocaineSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Dominican authorities have intercepted packets presumed to be cocaine sewn in the lining of dictionaries. The shipment was left at a Dominican post office to be mailed to an address in Madrid.

August 23rd, 2009 SAO PAULO - Brazil will build five submarines in collaboration with France to protect its vast off shore oil reserves in the Amazon region, a media report said Sunday. The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has already approved the submarine project prepared by the defence ministry.

July 14th, 2009 Obama nominates new Peace Corps directorWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he will nominate a career international development specialist to be director of the Peace Corps. Aaron Williams is the vice president for international business development with RTI International.

June 17th, 2009 DomRep police: Smoke kills 2 who set cocaine afireSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Dominican authorities say two suspected drug dealers have died of smoke inhalation after trying to burn cocaine before police could find it. The spokesman of the National Drug Control agency says that Mauricio Encarnacion Castillo and Ramon Antonio del Rosario set the evidence on fire after exchanging gunfire with police conducting a raid.

June 1st, 2009 Brazil: Air France jet missing over AtlanticSAO PAULO, Brazil — Brazil's Air Force says an Air France jet bound from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean and a search is under way near the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha. An Air Force spokesman says the search and rescue mission was mounted Monday morning after the jet failed to make regular radio contact.

June 1st, 2009 Timeline of disappearance of Air France jetTimeline of events surrounding the disappearance of Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, according to Air France, Brazilian Air Force. All times in Brazilian local time: — 7:03 p.m.

May 9th, 2009 Angry protests in Haiti over slaying of countrymanPETIONVILLE, Haiti — Angry demonstrators hurled stones and tore down a sign at the Dominican Republic's consulate in Haiti on Friday to protest the decapitation slaying of a Haitian in Santo Domingo. Some 150 protesters massed outside the walled consulate, but Haitian police prevented them from entering the compound.

May 8th, 2009 Panel: 'Dear Pineapple' OK in Dominican RepublicSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A judicial panel says Dominicans are free to name their kids "Dummy Ruiz," ''Dear Pineapple" and other unusual monikers if they choose. The Central Electoral Commission has rejected a proposal to ban any names that could be confusing or give no indication of gender, such as Querida Pina (Dear Pineapple) and Tonton Ruiz (Dummy Ruiz).

May 6th, 2009 Haitian migrant decapitated in Dominican RepublicSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Dominican police are investigating the decapitation of a migrant from neighboring Haiti. Police Maj. Jose Llubres says the victim's body was found Saturday in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of the capital, Santo Domingo.

April 21st, 2009 Dominican Republic mulls ban on bizarre names SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The Dominican Republic is considering a ban on unusual monikers following an increase in the number of names based on car brands, intimate body parts and other things. The names range from the bizarre — "Dear Pineapple", "Iloveyou Lover" — to the commercial — "Mazda Altagracia" and "Toshiba Fidelina." A judge with the Central Electoral Commission said such names should be rejected because they are confusing and give no indication of a person's gender.