Dominican Republic

people in a line

Dominican Republic closes border with Haiti over water rights dispute

​​​​​​​Tensions have escalated between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The neighboring countries are now in a serious dispute over water rights. The Dominican government sealed the border and stopped issuing visas to all Haitian citizens until the dispute is resolved. 

Dominican Republic closes border with Haiti over water rights dispute
A police officer searches and checks the documents of a man living in the Kiwanis Community, during a preventive patrol in search of gang members in Soyapango, El Salvador, Aug. 16, 2022, amid a state of exception.

El Salvador imprisons dozens of foreign visitors in crackdown on crime

El Salvador imprisons dozens of foreign visitors in crackdown on crime
Vicky sits in a park in Madrid. She’s smiling because her hospice caretakers have arranged for her to fly home to the Dominican Republic to visit her mom and family one last time.

'What I really needed was a hug': Madrid hospice workers make sure the unhoused won't die alone

'What I really needed was a hug': Madrid hospice workers make sure the unhoused won't die alone
A team of naturalists trekked to Haiti’s longest mountain range, the Massif du Nord, to try to find the elusive flower.

Naturalists in Haiti rediscover the elusive magnolia flower

Naturalists in Haiti rediscover the elusive magnolia flower
man on beach

Ukrainian, Russian tourists stranded abroad

Ukrainian, Russian tourists stranded abroad
In this Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 file photo, a man guides a raft through a polluted canal littered with plastic bags and other garbage in Mumbai, India.

YouTube influencers work to stem the flow of trash to the seas

The world’s oceans are in trouble, and plastic is a huge part of it. A group of YouTube influencers is now helping to slow the estimated 20 billion pounds of plastic that get dumped into the ocean each year.

YouTube influencers work to stem the flow of trash to the seas
Volunteers assemble signs before a rally for Democratic US Senate candidate Jon Ossoff and former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro in Lilburn, Georgia, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. 

Latino communities targeted by disinformation ahead of Georgia’s Senate runoffs

Georgia’s Senate runoffs are set for Jan. 5. And just like with the presidential election, there’s concern about mis- and disinformation targeting the state's voters — including its growing Latino community.  

Latino communities targeted by disinformation ahead of Georgia’s Senate runoffs
Two men are shown helping a woman as they wade through a flooded street.

Storm Marco closes in on Louisiana as Laura buffets Cuba

After a day as a hurricane, Tropical Storm Marco brought a surge of high water to the Louisiana coast on Monday, setting the stage for Tropical Storm Laura to enter the Gulf of Mexico and move toward the same stretch of US coast later in the week, most likely as a hurricane.

Storm Marco closes in on Louisiana as Laura buffets Cuba
Ana Tijoux performs during a concert by female artists on the eve of International Women's Day, in the Zocalo in Mexico City, March 7, 2020.

French Chilean rapper's new track criticizes politicians' apathy over coronavirus

Ana Tijoux's new song “Pa Qué?” drew inspiration from statements early into the pandemic from politicians like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

French Chilean rapper's new track criticizes politicians' apathy over coronavirus
A boy swings from home base.

The promise and peril of the Dominican baseball pipeline

Dominicans alone now number more than one-tenth of all major league baseball players. But for those who don't make it to the big leagues, what do they have to fall back on?

The promise and peril of the Dominican baseball pipeline
The Dominican Republic took in Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in exchange for a promise to develop the land. Franz Blumenstein rides a donkey in Sosúa, Dominican Republic, 1940.

The Dominican Republic took in Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler while 31 nations looked away

A New Hampshire man stumbled on an overlooked moment of history: The forgotten Evian conference where only one of 32 countries — the Dominican Republic — agreed to help settle German Jewish refugees. The doomed Evian Conference is viewed as a beginning act of the Holocaust.

The Dominican Republic took in Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler while 31 nations looked away
Making habas con dulce

The Good Friday dessert with roots in the Dominican Republic that I will not give up

It’s a fading tradition, but habas con dulce is a Holy Week staple in my family, migrating with us from the island to the United States.

The Good Friday dessert with roots in the Dominican Republic that I will not give up
woman selling eggs

Haiti has a chicken-and-egg problem

Haiti’s egg problem is a stark symptom — and a symbol — of the cycle of poverty in which the country has been stuck for decades, if not centuries.

Haiti has a chicken-and-egg problem
One of the scenes on Sept. 21, 2017, after Hurricane Maria battered St. Croix, one of the US Virgin Islands.

Hurricane Maria slams into Turks and Caicos after devastating Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands

Puerto Rico is particularly damaged: The southeast coast suffered the worst, but no part of the island escaped Maria's wrath, including the capital San Juan where there was widespread flooding.

Hurricane Maria slams into Turks and Caicos after devastating Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands
Members of the civil defense run as Hurricane Irma howls past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands.

Hurricane Irma — the most enduring super-storm on record — continues on deadly path through Caribbean

Hurricane Irma, rampaging across the Caribbean, has produced sustained winds at 183 miles per hour for more than 33 hours, making it the longest-lasting, top-intensity cyclone ever recorded, France's national weather service said Thursday.

Hurricane Irma — the most enduring super-storm on record — continues on deadly path through Caribbean