NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) _ The Bahamas lawmaker who caused a mistrial in the John Travolta extortion case has been ordered to appear before the judge to explain why he announced an acquittal before the jury had declared a verdict, officials said Thursday.

Picewell Forbes was summoned to explain his remarks in a televised speech to a political party that prompted the judge to dismiss jurors after a month of testimony, two court officials told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue.

Judge Anita Allen said she had no choice but to order a new trial because Forbes' remarks Wednesday night gave the appearance that information had been leaked from the jury room.

Travolta flew to the Bahamas to take the stand twice against former Bahamian Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater and a paramedic accused of trying to extort $25 million from him following his autistic son's death at the family home in Grand Bahama last January. Bridgewater resigned her Senate seat after she was charged.

Forbes, who the officials said was scheduled to appear before the judge Friday, did not respond to requests for comment.

Anthony McKinney, an attorney for the lawmaker, told a local radio his client was merely repeating a rumor that he heard moments before giving a speech at a convention of his Progressive Liberal Party _ to which Bridgewater also belongs.

McKinney said Forbes planned to apologize to the judge and he said there was nothing to suggest a juror contacted Forbes or any member of the opposition party's leadership.

CARIBBEAN: Plane crashes in sea near Bonaire, all 9 passengers rescued, pilot presumed dead

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao (AP) _ A small plane carrying nine passengers, including Dutch tourists, crashed into the sea near the Caribbean island of Bonaire on Thursday, killing the pilot but sparing everyone else, Lt. Gov. Glenn Thode said.

The rescued passengers were being treated for minor injuries, he said.

Operated by Curacao-based Divi Divi Air, the plane was flying from Curacao to Bonaire when the pilot told the control tower that one of the two engines had stopped working, Thode said.

The pilot agreed to fly into Bonaire's Flamingo Airport, but about one mile (two kilometers) away, he reported the plane was losing altitude and he would have to make a "controlled ditch," Thode said.

The passengers managed to escape the sinking aircraft, but officials believe the pilot was still strapped into his seat when the plane slid into waters reported to be 150 meters (490 feet) deep, the official said.

Thode said the Royal Netherlands Navy was helping search for the plane.

The airline's Web site says it operates four twin-engine aircraft, including three nine-seat Britten-Norman Islanders. A woman who answered the company's phone said executives were not immediately available for comment.

Bonaire, which along with Curacao is part of the Netherlands Antilles, lies about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the coast of Venezuela.

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS: Man accused in wife's death says he used inheritance to court woman

TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands (AP) _ A Rhode Island man accused of killing his wife during a 1999 scuba diving trip testified Thursday that he spent part of her inheritance on courting another woman and taking her on a cruise.

David Swain's testimony came during a heated exchange with prosecutors, who accuse him of drowning Shelley Tyre during a vacation in the British Virgin Islands so that he could pursue another woman.

Swain denies the charge, but said he vacationed with Mary Basler after Tyre's death, and that they split travel costs. He said he also took two other trips with Tyre's money.

A forensic accountant has estimated the inheritance was worth $630,000.

Swain at times refused to answer questions, or would only speak if he was allowed to explain his answers.

Tyre's parents alleged in a civil suit that Swain, 53, killed their daughter because he was romancing another woman and because the couple's prenuptial agreement denied him money if they divorced.

A jury found him responsible during a 2006 civil trial, and Swain was later charged with murder. He was extradited to the British Virgin Islands in 2007 and has been in jail since.

Experts have testified that they believe Swain wrestled Tyre from behind, tore off her mask and shut off her air supply.

CARIBBEAN: Canadian missionary accused of abusing orphans in Haiti detained in DomRep

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) _ Dominican authorities have arrested a Canadian missionary charged with sexually abusing orphan teens in neighboring Haiti, the latest in a string of men accused of taking advantage of Haiti's deep poverty to have sex with minors.

Joao Jose Correira Duarte, a Portuguese-born orphanage administrator, was arrested Tuesday in the resort city of Puerto Plata by Dominican drug agents carrying out a Canadian warrant.

He is expected to be extradited to Canada this week, said Dominican national drug agency spokesman Roberto Lebron.

According to the agency, Correira began working in Haiti in 1995. He faces charges related to abusing at least 12 youths aged 12 to 17 in hotels in the Haitian capital, allegedly offering favors like clothes or paying rent for their relatives elsewhere in the country.

Dominican officials say a warrant was issued for his arrest in August, and that they were advised in late September that he was in the country and should be arrested.

They say he had been operating a diving school at a hotel in Puerto Plata, a beach resort city on the country's north coast popular with foreigners. Officials said Correira had previously worked as a waiter in the area.

It is not clear if he is suspected of similar abuses in the Dominican Republic.

CARIBBEAN: Immigration authorities release benefactor of anti-Castro Cuban militant

MIAMI (AP) _ A benefactor of anti-Castro Cuban militant Luis Posada has been released from immigration custody.

Santiago Alvarez's attorney Kendall Coffey said Thursday his client was thrilled.

Alvarez pleaded guilty in 2006 to weapons charges related to a government-alleged plot to overthrow Fidel Castro. The Miami developer then got more time for refusing to testify against Posada in an immigration fraud case. Prosecutors said Alvarez was on a boat that secretly ferried Posada from Mexico to Miami in 2005. Posada is wanted in Cuba on bombing charges and is accused in the U.S. of lying to immigration officials.

Alvarez, a U.S. resident, was eligible for deportation, but the U.S. doesn't generally deport Cubans. So, he had remained in custody until Wednesday.

HAITI: Protesters block roads to protest decapitations of 4 migrants in DomRep

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ Haitian police say protesters have set up roadblocks near a border crossing with the Dominican Republic to protest the decapitations of four migrants.

Police commissioner Vanel Lacroix, of Malpasse, says the migrants were killed Tuesday while burning trees to make charcoal in the adjacent Dominican border town of Jimani.

Their heads were cut off and bodies burned in the coal pit. A fifth man was shot but survived.

Haitians suffer discrimination in the Dominican Republic, where the decapitation of a Haitian earlier this year set off protests in Port-au-Prince.

Dominicans blame Haitians for cutting trees there to make charcoal, a practice that contributes to deforestation, erosion and flooding in Haiti.

CARIBBEAN: Authorities drop rape case against former leader of Turks and Caicos Islands

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Authorities have dropped a rape case against the former leader of the Turks and Caicos Islands, citing insufficient evidence.

The FBI and local police had launched a 19-month investigation after a Puerto Rican woman claimed Michael Misick raped her in his home last year, but the woman's lack of recollection hindered the case, Attorney General Kurt DeFreitas said late Wednesday.

Legal counsel from London also had reviewed the evidence against the former premier of the British Caribbean territory and recommended the case be dropped, he said.

Misick had denied what he called "outrageous allegations," and accused the woman of filing a false complaint against him after visiting his home in March 2008.

He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Misick resigned in March amid a corruption investigation that prompted Britain to place the islands under direct rule.

British legislators have said they received claims that Misick and four other government officials had gotten rich by selling government-owned land to property developers.

In August, Britain suspended the government and legislature and installed a London-appointed governor.

HAITI: 4 dead, 4 missing after heavy rains unleash landslide

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ Four people are dead and another four are missing after heavy rains caused a landslide in Haiti.

Civil protection official Nadia Richard says the downpour damaged 525 homes in Port-au-Prince's Carrefour slum. It is located at the base of a mountain where the landslide took place.

A mother and her two children were found dead in their home. Another body was found in the water nearby.

The downpour occurred late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

CARIBBEAN: Region to have first pick next week at tickets for Twenty20 World Cup

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) _ Tickets for next year's World Twenty20 in West Indies will go on sale first to Caribbean residents on Nov. 1.

There is one seating price at all three grounds in Barbados _ Kensington Oval, Providence Stadium and Beausejour Cricket Ground _ event spokeswoman Gayle Alleyne said on Thursday. Prices vary according to the stage of competition, she added.

Tickets will go on sale internationally on Nov. 15.

The tournament will be played in Barbados, Guyana, St. Lucia and St. Kitts from April 30 to May 16.