PUERTO RICO
Torpedo found at recycling centre

NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC:
Police in Puerto Rico are trying to find out who dropped off a 6-foot-long (1.8-meter) military torpedo at a metal recycling centre along the island's north coast.

Police said in a statement Saturday that explosive experts seized the torpedo from the Vega Aluminum centre in the town of Quebradillas.

Authorities said they have disposed of the torpedo but didn't provide other details including whether they had to detonate it.

Officials said workers at the centre called police on Friday to alert them about the weapon.


BAHAMAS
China invests more than $50M in stadium

NASSAU, Bahamas:
The Bahamas is unveiling a national stadium that China built for more than $50 million as the Asian country ramps up investment across the archipelago.

Government officials from both the Bahamas and China are expected to inaugurate the 15,000-seat Thomas A. Robinson stadium late Saturday. Sports Minister Charles Maynard said the stadium was a gift with no strings attached.

The stadium was built using only Chinese materials and labour and further cements the growing relationship between the two countries. China also expects to build a $50 million sports and recreational village around the stadium.

China's state-owned Export-Import Bank is building the $2.6 billion Baha Mar resort complex in New Providence and has agreed to provide a $41 million loan to build a new port and bridge in the Bahamas.


DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Five accused in drug killings sentenced

SANTO DOMIN, Dominican Republic :
Three Dominicans hired as hit men by an alleged drug boss known as the "Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean" have been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

A panel of three judges issued their ruling late Friday after a seven-month trial that included testimony from 75 witnesses. Two other suspects received between 15 to 20 years in prison and four others were found not guilty, with judges citing insufficient evidence.

The nine suspects were accused of killing five people and launching other armed attacks from December 2009 to May 2010 through alleged orders from boss Jose Figueroa Agosto, who was arrested in Puerto Rico in July 2010 after a nearly 10-year manhunt following a 1999 prison escape.

Prosecutors had sought a maximum 30-year sentence for all nine men. Judge Pilar Rufino did not say whether prosecutors would appeal the ruling of the four men released.

The five killings occurred in broad daylight in busy locations across the capital of Santo Domingo. Prosecutors accused Figueroa of paying $30,000 per killing. The charges against him related to the killings were later dropped because he was not available to stand trial and attorneys wanted to prosecute the other suspects.

Figueroa is in a New York prison awaiting trial. He is accused of shipping Colombian cocaine to the U.S. mainland through Puerto Rico and still faces several murder charges in the Dominican Republic.

Figueroa has been compared with Escobar, a notorious Colombian cocaine kingpin who was killed in 1993.