DR1 Daily News - Monday, 22 August 2016

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Back to school in the DR
Verges is new Minister of Culture
DR OAS mission has more staff than USA mission
New Drug Control director
City mayor improves Colonial City safety
Call to stop San Francisco Ruins transformation
Copardom: In DR, labor laws are made for minorities
Review called for Villas La Boca Ecological Lounge
San Juan province mining contradicts President?s words
JCE judge declines assisting Haiti in October elections
St. Maarten wants to sign agreement with DR
The Amet agent and the prosecutor case
Drug trafficking raid shows up suspicious drug packages
Dominicans in the Olympics
Club Barcelona Atletico is DR champ
Violinist Antonio Rincon at the National Theater
Wason Brazoban and Diomary La Mala at the Barcelo
Aisha Syed at the Teatro del Cibao


Back to school in the DR
The school year in the Dominican Republic opens on Monday, 22 August 2016. An estimated 2.2 million students will be attending public schools and another 600,000 at private schools.

The Ministry of Education says that 1,290,000 of the 2.2 million public school students will benefit from the eight-hour extended day schools, which are open from 8 to 4pm. A total of 3,841 of these schools are now operating nationwide.

President Danilo Medina will be officially opening the school year at an event at the Escuela Pedro Henriquez Urena in Villa Mella, in the province of Santo Domingo.

The school year starts with a new Minister of Education, architect Andres Navarro. The Ministry has the challenge of improving the quality of education in public schools. At present, the DR scores poorly in international rankings, including TERCE and Informe Pisa.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/08/...-28-millones-estudiantes-convocados-las-aulas
http://eldia.com.do/andres-navarro-expone-sus-objetivos-de-gestion-a-viceministros-de-educacion/


Verges is new Minister of Culture
President Danilo Medina swore in novelist, poet and diplomat Pedro Verges, as new Minister of Culture on Thursday, 18 August 2016 in his office at the Presidency. At the time of his appointment, he was in Washington, D.C. where he served as the Dominican ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS).

The 71-year old ambassador Pedro Verges was serving as Dominican ambassador to the OAS based in Washington, D.C. He has served as ambassador in Spain (1996-2000), Germany (2005-2009) and Japan (2009-2013).

He is a well-known author, professor and member of the Dominican Language Academy.
His novel, ?Solo cenizas hallaras? won the Spanish Critics Narrative Award and the Blasco Ibanez award.

Verges? successor at the OAS embassy has not yet been announced.


DR OAS mission has more staff than USA mission
The Dominican ambassador to the OAS, Pedro Verges was recently called back to Santo Domingo to serve as Minister of Culture. Meanwhile, Acento reports on how the staff at his embassy, 21 people (according to the government website), is actually larger than the embassies of the United States and Brazil.

The report in Acento, nevertheless, says that as of July 2016 the Ministry of Foreign Relations (Mirex) payroll lists 28 officials assigned to the OAS delegation, with remuneration ranging from US$920 to US$12,000 a month. The staff numbers exceed those of the United States (17), Brazil (10), Mexico (9) and Canada (8). The Central American countries have five people per mission, with the exception of El Salvador that has six.

The Medina administration has nine minister counselors, four first secretaries, 11 counselors, an assistant, an ambassador and an alternate ambassador on its OAS staff.

In total, the OAS embassy payroll costs the Dominican government US$90,510 a month.
The Medina administration has not announced a replacement for Verges at the OAS Embassy in Washington, D.C.

http://acento.com.do/2016/economia/8374708-rd-mantiene-nomina-superior-la-eeuu-brasil-canada-la-oea/


New Drug Control director
Vice Admiral Edmundo Felix Pimentel is the new director of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD). He takes over from Major General Julio Cesar Souffront Velazquez.
Felix Pimentel previously served as chief of the Armada (Navy).

http://www.dncd.gob.do/nuevo-presid...-lucha-contra-el-narcotrafico-no-se-detendra/


City mayor improves Colonial City safety
In one of his first moves as new Mayor of the National District (Santo Domingo), David Collado has appointed Brigadier General Manuel Antonio Lachapelle as chief of the municipal police. A new force of 150 men and women is responsible for surveillance in the Colonial City. They have been assigned several vehicles.

The pilot project will then be replicated in other areas of the city, such as the Mirador Sur Park.

Collado highlighted the importance of the surveillance to ensure zero crime for residents and tourists. He said the city government would be working with the Specialized Tourism Force (Cestur) and the National Police.

Collado also said that he found that the city government was RD$1.7 billion in debt.

Collado has begun a city awareness campaign motivating residents to innovate.


Call to stop San Francisco Ruins transformation
138 architects and professionals and 14 residents? association presidents in Santo Domingo?s Colonial City have written to President Danilo Medina asking him to put a halt to the project for the transformation of the Ruins of San Francisco. The petitioners believe that the chosen redesign is a serious error that will affect a national monument and Dominican cultural heritage. The project involves major changes with extensive cement additions to the historic ruins.

The petitioners describe the winning project for the renovation of the Ruins of San Francisco by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo as ?horrendous,? adding that it will have ?disruptive effects on future visitors.?

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), an advisory body to UNESCO, has already expressed its rejection of the Moneo renovation project.
The signatories of the letter to President Medina include architects Leopoldo Franco, Risoris Silvestre, Omar Rancier, historian Edwin Espinal and tourism consultant Juan Llado.

http://www.listindiario.com/economia/2016/08/22/432156/piden-parar-proyecto-zona-colonial


Copardom: In DR, labor laws are made for minorities
The president of the Dominican Republic Employers? Confederation (Copardom), Joel Santos is calling for revisions to bring the labor code and social security up to date with the times.

He believes that health services should be managed under a single umbrella and that conciliation, not confrontation should prevail in the labor code, pointing out that at present, most cases are decided by the courts. He criticized the distortions caused by what he called the ?Mau Mau? lawyers who he says have hijacked the code by working against both the employee and the bosses.

He also favored more flexibility, while maintaining limits on working hours.
The Copardom president said that the high severance payments are an obstacle to long-term employment and that these payments often bankrupt small companies.

He said that laws in this country were designed for the minorities, without taking into consideration that three out of every four workers or potential workers are not duly covered by the Labor Code. He called for more inclusive reforms.

http://www.diariolibre.com/opinion/...stamos-legislando-para-las-minorias-BD4720535


Review called for Villas La Boca Ecological Lounge
The Association for the Protection of the Environment and Tourism in the Cabarete and Sosua Area (Asoprocaso) has criticized the decision to fast track a tourism project, on the grounds that it will cause serious damage to the ecology of the area.

Asoprocaso addressed the complaint in a letter to the new Environment Minister, Francisco Dominguez Brito. Asoprocaso president Michel Gay-Crosier reports that for the past two years they have been denouncing the occupation of La Boca lagoon, a protected area, where 25,000 square meters of mangroves and coastal-marine areas are reportedly being affected, in violation of Environment Law 64-00.

He is critical of the developers of Villas La Boca Ecological Lounge in the community of Islabon of the municipal district of Boca de Yasica. The project is located at the point where the Yasica River and Cabarete Beach meet.

Gay-Crosier says that a commission chaired by Ministry of Environment Biodiversity director Jose Mateo established that the project implementation would cause irreversible damage to all the ecosystems in La Boca. An Academy of Sciences commission also visited and rejected the controversial tourism project.

Gay-Crosier called for the new Minister to listen to engineer Mateo.

Thomas Callender, president of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Sosua and Cabarete (Asoreca) has backed the project, which is being developed on a 619,000m2 property. Project architect Enriquillo Urena says that the plan is to use 60,000 square meters for the construction of six two-floor ?eco villas.?

http://detrasdelrumor.com.do/empres...-proyecto-de-us30-millones-en-boca-de-yasica/


San Juan province mining contradicts President?s words
The coordinator of the Environmental Commission of the UASD state university, Luis Carvajal has expressed concern about ongoing attempts to turn San Juan de la Maguana into a mining province. He says that this contradicts recent statements by President Medina that his administration?s focus during his next four years would be on increasing availability of water for Dominicans and expanding farming. Minister of Energy and Mines Antonio Isa Conde has also said that water is more important for the country than gold.

Luis Carvajal said that the San Juan valley is already suffering from water shortages, and that any mining projects underway could mean the end of other productive activities in the region. He stated that the most advanced mining projects are by Goldquest and Unigold. ?In San Juan it is either gold or water as these are not compatible because of the number and scale of the concessions in the area,? he warned. He said that Central Mountain Range and protected areas are bordered by mining concessions granted by the Dominican government.

Farmers and representatives of other sectors in the San Juan de la Maguana province have already begun to take action against mining activities by Goldquest, a Canadian company that has carried out exploration work and reported good results. The company has announced that mining work could start in 2018, as reported in Hoy.

http://hoy.com.do/explotacion-oro-en-san-juan-atenta-contra-produccion/


JCE judge declines assisting Haiti in October elections
On the grounds that the term of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) judges ended on 16 August 2016 and they are waiting for the new Senate to appoint their replacements, Judge Eddy Olivares is calling on the board to decline a request from Haiti for assistance during the neighboring country?s 9 October election, or any other request. Olivares says that the judges are likely to be replaced before the Haiti election date.

In a letter dated 19 August 2016 and sent to JCE president Roberto Rosario Marquez, Olivares says it would not be prudent to approve such a ?delicate agreement? with Haiti especially because the previously used equipment would need to be audited.

He said that Haiti?s electoral commission was seeking an agreement for carrying out a pilot plan for automating the voting registry in Haiti. Olivares said that the Haitian electoral authorities? best option would be to request a demo from one of the companies that market electoral equipment and software.

In his letter, the judge also complained that Rosario did not notify the JCE plenary of the Haiti?s cooperation request and that other judges only found out when they read the news in the press.

http://elnacional.com.do/olivares-pide-a-jce-no-asesorar-a-haiti/


St. Maarten wants to sign agreement with DR
Prime Minister William Marlin of St. Maarten is interested in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the DR and St. Maarten, as reported in St. Maarten press. Prime Minister William Marlin had hoped that the agreement could be signed during his visit to Santo Domingo for President Danilo Medina?s inauguration, but Medina?s busy schedule did not allow for this.

Patrice Gumbs Jr. of the St. Maarten Department of Foreign Relations says one of the key reasons for attending the inauguration was ?to reiterate our willingness to engage with our regional partners based on these historical links? as has been underscored by Marlin.
The discussions about a bilateral agreement started three years ago between then Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams and Medina; from those talks, it was decided to enter into the MOU.

The areas to be covered in the MOU include education, economic cooperation, innovation and technology, disaster management, tourism, migration and healthcare.

Marlin has promised to invite Medina to St. Maarten to put into motion the mechanisms that will highlight ?the spirit? within which the MOU was derived.

Marlin underscored the strong ties between St. Maarten and the Dominican Republic and the need to give content to these historical links.

?The Dominican Republic is by far one of our most important regional partners. The historical and cultural links between the Kingdom countries in the Caribbean, and more significantly the strong ties between St. Maarten and the Dominican Republic, made the decision to attend the inauguration most obvious,? Marlin said.

Marlin headed the delegation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the inaugural. Others were Prime Minister Ben Whiteman of Curacao, Aruba Minister of Health, Social Welfare, and Labor Paul Croes, Kingdom Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Marijke van Druinen-Littel, and representatives of the Department of Foreign Relations Patrice Gumbs Jr. (St. Maarten) and Edwin Abath (Aruba).


The Amet agent and the prosecutor case
People are talking about the decision of a judge that ordered preventive custody to Metropolitan Transit Authority (Amet) agent 23-year old Richard Saba Nunez who clashed with an adjunct prosecutor Sourelly Jaquez over a traffic violation on 10 August 2016. The case is doing the rounds of the radio talk shows and social media.

What is known is that the prosecutor had incurred in a traffic violation when she parked her car on the sidewalk in Los Cacicazgos to visit a beauty salon. Jaquez then refused to remove her vehicle and to show her license to the Amet agent for the placing of a fine.

The agent was in the process of ordering a tow truck to remove the vehicle. The agent also violated the law when he ordered a tow truck to remove the prosecutor?s vehicle in her presence. In an editorial in El Dia, the newspaper says a decision from the Constitutional Court says Amet agents do not have the right to seize the vehicle of any person.

The prosecutor also is known to have attempted to grab the agent?s smartphone to impede the Amet agent from videotaping what was happening. Another video shows the prosecutor who falls. In the past, the videos have served to clarify several controversial cases.

An editorial in El Dia, says that the order of preventive custody added a third legal violation in the case, because this coercive measure should only be used when there is the risk of the person leaving the country, which it explains is very unlikely in the case of the Amet agent.

Amet has announced it would back its agent with legal support.

http://eldia.com.do/exceso-contra-un-agente-de-la-amet/
http://www.cdn.com.do/noticias/naci...obre-caso-agente-y-fiscal-que-alega-agresion/
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...-agente-no-se-excedio-contra-fiscal-EC4730035


Drug trafficking raid shows up suspicious drug packages
The Anti-Narcotics Agency of the Police (Dican) has seized 278 packages of white powder (suspected to be cocaine or heroin) in a series of raids in Los Cacicazgos, Urbanizacion Real in the National District. Seven people, including three Venezuelans and four Dominicans have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to an international drug-trafficking network. The substance was sent to the INACIF for verification.

http://pn.gob.do/noticias-principales/mp-y-pn-ocupan-278-paquetes-de-presunta-cocana-o-herona


Dominicans in the Olympics
The Dominican Republic?s best performance in the Rio Olympics was the bronze medal won by Luisito Pie in taekwondo (58kg) and the fourth place won by weightlifter Beatriz Piro. Pie?s achievement placed the Dominican Republic on the list of medal-winning countries, tying for the last 78th place.

New Minister of Sports Danilo Diaz announced he would be welcoming Pie and other members of the Dominican sports delegation to Rio at the Las Americas International Airport when they arrive at around 5pm on Monday, 22 August 2016.

On the final weekend of competitions, Katherine Rodriguez (67kg) in taekwondo and Moises Hernandez (80 kg) in judo, both tied for last in their sports.

In athletics, in the Men?s 4 x 400 meters relay, the Dominican team with runners Luguelin Santos, Luis Enrique Charles, Gustavo Cuesta and Yon Soriano finished fifth in the second heat with 3:01.76 failing to qualify for the second round.

https://www.rio2016.com


Club Barcelona Atletico is DR champ
Club Barcelona Atletico won the Dominican Football League (LDF) championship after defeating Cibao Football Club 3-1 in a match at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Center on Sunday, 21 August 2016.

An estimated crowd of 13,000 paying fans attended the event.
Urban singer Mozart La Para also performed at the tournament, which was sponsored by Banco Popular.

http://www.listindiario.com/el-deporte/2016/08/22/432202/barcelona-fc-nuevo-campeon-ldf


Violinist Antonio Rincon at the National Theater
Antonio Rincon will be playing with the National Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday, 24 August 2016.

Rincon is a first violinist with the West Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, Boca Raton Symphonia and Palm Beach Symphony in Florida). He will be playing the national premiere of Concerto for violin and orchestra by Khachaturian conducted by Maestro Guillermo Mota Curiel, who is the associate director and violinist of the National Symphony Orchestra.

The program for the evening also includes the Great Russian Easter Overture by Rimsky Korsakov and the Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet Suite, as well as Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto in D minor and Symphony No. 7 in D minor by Antonin Dvorak.

The concert starts at 8pm at the Carlos Piantini hall of the National Theater in Santo Domingo. Tickets are RD$800-RD$1,000 and RD$300-$800 balcony.


Wason Brazoban and Diomary La Mala at the Barcelo
Dominican singers Wason Brazoban and Diomary La Mala will share the stage of the Salon La Mancha at the Barcelo Santo Domingo (former Lina) Hotel on Friday, 26 August 2016. 10pm. Tickets are RD$1,000-RD$2,000.


Aisha Syed at the Teatro del Cibao
Regarded as one of the best Latin American violinists, Dominican Aisha Syed will be playing at the Gran Teatro del Cibao in Santiago in a benefit for the Campamento Padre Dubet and Adovohs foundations on Friday, 26 August 2016 at 7:30pm. Tickets are RD$800-RD$1,200.

Read more on ongoing and upcoming events at:
http://www.dr1.com/calendar


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