Haiti

Cuban transport help coming

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Lamothe said his country has signed an agreement with Cuba to receive help in maintaining the government’s vehicles.

Lamothe said the deal will bring 34 Cuban mechanics to make repairs to school buses, garbage trucks and heavy equipment.

The government hopes getting more garbage trucks on the road will enable workers to haul off the piles of trash that clog the streets of Haiti’s capital, which has an estimated 3 million people.

Officials hope repairs to the school buses will boost student enrollment.


Haiti

Pakistani peacekeepers get sex conviction

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Two United Nations peacekeepers were sentenced to a year in prison with hard labor after a rare trial found them guilty of sexual abuse and exploitation, a U.N. spokeswoman said.

Spokeswoman Sylvie Van Den Wildenberg said the United Nations was informed that the two Pakistani police officers were convicted by a Pakistani military court in the Haitian port city of Gonaives and were discharged. No U.N. personnel or Haitian officials were present for the trial, she said.

U.N. authorities also were told that Pakistan intends to compensate the victims but had not determined the amount, Van Den Wildenberg said.

She added that Pakistan is withdrawing its 150 members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission. It was not clear if Pakistan planned to replace the unit.


Puerto Rico

REDjet airline ends flights

SAN JUAN — REDjet, the Caribbean’s first discount airline, has suspended all its services because of financial trouble.

CEO Ian Burns said he hopes the company will receive government subsidies as do other airlines to help it restart service.

REDjet had struggled to obtain permission from government regulators to operate in several Caribbean islands, including Trinidad and Jamaica. The company also had sought permission to fly to the U.S.

The Barbados-based airline company began serving the Caribbean in May.

The following news briefs were compiled from reports by The Associated Press