DR1 Daily News - Tuesday, 20 September 2016

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President Medina travels to New York
Book Fair opens, Mario Vargas Llosa gets his award
New Digital Republic Commission
Presidency assesses impacts of DR-CAFTA and US 2014 Farm Bill
Preventing Mayaro virus
Crime unchecked in public schools
Opposition parties withdraw from talks
More cows being vaccinated
FINJUS: fire officials who do not comply with the law
Codetel leads, but Orange has more Internet accounts
General complains about police raid
Tropical Storm Karl expected to head north
Ana Torroja to open Hard Rock Live



President Medina travels to New York
President Medina left Las Americas International Airport at 2:15 pm on Monday 19 September 2016 to attend the 71st General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. The summit focusing on refugees and migrants is taking place from 19 to 23 September.

He is accompanied by First Lady Candida Montilla, his personal assistant Carlos Pared Perez, Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jose Ramon Peralta, and the head of the Presidential Security Corps, Adan C?ceres. Minister of Foreign Relations Miguel Vargas Maldonado and Presidency spokesman Roberto Rodr?guez traveled ahead to New York for the assembly.

The Presidency says that Medina will be attending the General Assembly on Tuesday, 20 September and participating in several bilateral meetings on Wednesday, including one with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) of which the Dominican Republic currently holds the temporary presidency. A news report said he will be speaking on Wednesday, 21 September.

http://almomento.net/danilo-medina-viajara-hoy-a-ny-para-asamblea-general-de-onu/245477
http://www.un.org/en/ga/71/meetings/


Book Fair opens, Mario Vargas Llosa gets his award
Vice President Margarita Cede?o cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the 19th Santo Domingo International Book Fair on Monday 19 September 2016. The event at the grounds and centers of the Plaza de la Cultura continues through 2 October 2016. Minister of Education Andr?s Navarro and Minister of Culture Pedro Verg?s accompanied the Vice President.

During the opening ceremony held at the National Theater, Minister Verg?s and his predecessor Jose Antonio Rodr?guez presented the Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a Award to 80-year old 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, Mario Vargas Llosa. The coordinator of the award is Luis Brea Franco. A jury panel chaired by Rodr?guez selected Vargas for the award. Rodr?guez has since been appointed Dominican ambassador to Unesco, based in Paris.

Speaking at the event, Minister Pedro Verges stated:
?It is my hope that over the chagrin of some, today?s award ceremony serves to strengthen Vargas Llosa?s confessed affection for our country and the admiration that Dominicans feel for his literary work.?

Verges was referring to the opinion expressed by Vargas Llosa in an op-ed piece in Spanish newspaper El Pa?s where he criticized a Constitutional Court ruling that confirmed a previous Supreme Court ruling on Dominican nationality. The Constitutional Court ordered the implementation of migration legislation that would for the first time legalize the status of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, mainly from Haiti, and their descendants.

Upon receiving the award, Vargas Llosa said he was honored and would not forget the applause he had received upon being handed the award.

http://www.diariolibre.com/revista/...argas-llosa-al-enterarse-del-premio-IY4980192
http://www.diariolibre.com/revista/...a-xix-feria-internacional-del-libro-GF4979923
http://www.diariolibre.com/revista/...no-olvidare-lo-que-ha-ocurrido-aqui-FY4980733


New Digital Republic Commission
The Executive Branch has created The Presidential Commission to Implement the Digital Republic Program via Decree 258-16.

The Commission, which comes under the Ministry of the Presidency is responsible for the design and promotion of inclusive strategies in the teaching and learning fields of Internet technology as well as for narrowing the digital gap in order to ensure universal access to IT.

The decree establishes that within 60 days the Commission must present a work plan with its tasks, expected results and a budget as well as an action plan and a description of the indicators needed to assess results.

The Commission will be made up of the Minister of the Presidency as its chair, the Vice President, and representatives of the Industry and Commerce, Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology and Public Administration ministries. It will also include representation from the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL), the Presidential Office of Technology, Information and Communication (OPTIC) and the Dominican Electricity Transmission Company (ETED).

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/politica/el-gobierno-crea-la-republica-digital-LM4970937


Presidency assesses impacts of DR-CAFTA and US 2014 Farm Bill
The Presidency Decree 260-16 signed on Saturday, 17 September 2016 creates the High-Level Commission to Assess DR-CAFTA?s Impact on the Farming Sector. The effects of the gradual tariff reduction and trade liberalization in sensitive agricultural products will be assessed.

The commission is made up of the Minister of the Presidency and representatives of the ministers of Industry and Commerce, Foreign Relations and Agriculture, as well as Osmar Ben?tez, executive president of the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD). The commission must submit a report to the President in 45 days. After a meeting to be held with President Danilo Medina, the commission will be authorized to begin a bilateral consultations process with the DR-CAFTA members. The commission has also been instructed to study the impact of the United States Farm Bill 2014 on Dominican farming. The act authorizes nutrition and agriculture programs in the United States for the 2014-2018 period.

90 days after the Decree?s publication date, the Commission needs to present its conclusions of the consultations and present a proposal to President Danilo Medina for an action plan for mitigating the effects of the free trade agreement.

The DR-CAFTA has been in effect since March 2007.

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...aluar-impacto-dr-cafta-en-sector-agropecuario
http://www.usda.gov/documents/usda-2014-farm-bill-highlights.pdf


Preventing Mayaro virus
The Dominican health authorities are advising the public to take measures to prevent the possible arrival of the Mayaro virus, which was recently detected in a patient in Haiti.
Deputy Health Minister Jose Manuel Puello says the virus is spread by mosquitoes such as the aedes aegypti, which is endemic in the country and which also transmits dengue, chikungunya and zika.

He said that researchers from a Florida university had recently found the virus in Haiti where it had never been seen before.

There is no vaccine against the virus whose symptoms are fever, inflammation, joint and eye pain and a skin rash. The only way to prevent its spread is to eliminate this type of mosquito.

Puello said that the Public Health Ministry was planning a new campaign to eliminate the mosquito?s breeding grounds.

http://eldia.com.do/piden-a-la-pobl...ante-la-posible-llegada-del-virus-del-mayaro/


Crime unchecked in public schools
An interview with a schoolteacher, Altagracia Turb?, in Listin Diario has painted a worrisome picture of the situation in the nation?s public schools. She said that students were carrying weapons into schools since the security monitoring programs ended. Turb? told the newspaper that students are selling and taking drugs in the classroom and that rape is not unusual.

Minister of Education Andres Navarro responded by ordering the creation of a security cabinet to monitor public schools and surrounding areas. The cabinet will be made up by the Public School Police and the Ministry security corps.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...delincuencia-irrumpe-en-las-escuelas-publicas
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...sponde-ante-casos-de-delincuencia-en-escuelas
http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2016/09/16/435582/estudiantes-en-problemas


Opposition parties withdraw from talks
The opposition parties have announced that they have withdrawn from the talks on the Political Parties and Electoral bills that are being mediated by Monsignor Agripino Nunez Collado in the hope of reaching a consensus to enable the long due bills to be passed.

They accuse the ruling PLD of being behind the registration of Roberto Rosario and other members of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) with the aim of appointing them for the 2016-2020 term.

The decision was taken hours before the time limit for registration for the posts, 6pm Monday 19 September 2016 was reached.

The opposition parties claim that the government is merely going through the motions of dialogue while taking steps behind the scenes to appoint the JCE judges as they wish it to be unilateral, so the same thing will happen as in what they describe as ?the collapse of the electoral system? during the 15 May general election.

They warned that the government is seeking total control of the electoral system including those in charge and judges.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...-para-seleccion-jueces-y-aprobar-ley-partidos


More cows being vaccinated
According to estimates by the Dominican Dairy Producers Association (Aproleche), around 2.5 million head of cattle in the country have now been vaccinated.
Of this total, 69,944 were vaccinated last year for a 253.89% increase over 2014 when 19,764 were inoculated.

Aproleche president Eric Rivero said that the number of vaccinations in 2015 was significant and is evidence of the national plan to eradicate bovine diseases within a five-year period.

The main diseases affecting cattle are brucellosis and tuberculosis. Last year the Cattle Industry Commission (Digega) reported that 214,188 cattle were checked for brucellosis with 1,507 testing positive, and 333,772 were checked for TB with 6,006 showing signs of the disease. This is a low rate in comparison with other countries.

According to Marcelino Vargas of the National Cattle Association, the cattle industry has been trying to obtain a federal license for exporting beef to the United States and is hoping it will be granted in early 2017. He said that Central and South American cattle producers sell cattle meat at a price per kilo that is 60% higher than Dominican beef and that during the 1980s when the country did have a license, there were exports of more than 40 million pounds of beef a year to the United States which he said could be doubled now.

http://www.diariolibre.com/economia...a-253-89-en-un-periodo-de-tres-anos-ML4973943


FINJUS: fire officials who do not comply with the law
The executive vice president of the Institutionalism and Justice Foundation (FINJUS), Servio Tulio Casta?os has asked President Danilo Medina to dismiss any government officials who do not comply with the law that requires them to declare their assets.

Casta?os added that FINJUS was opposed to the reappointment of Roberto Rosario at the helm of the Central Electoral Board (JCE). He says this would affect governance in the country.

http://hoy.com.do/finjus-pide-a-danilo-medina-cancele-funcionarios-que-no-cumplan-con-la-ley/


Codetel leads, but Orange has more Internet accounts
The latest information newsletter of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute reveals that Codetel (Claro) continues to be the leading telecom provider in the country. Nevertheless, Orange has gained market share and taken the lead in number of Internet accounts with 48.09% compared to Codetel?s 47.34%.

Codetel leads in landlines (70.57), mobile phones 51.53%, pre-paid plans 49.87% and plans with 57.27%.

The report states that overall as of June 2016 there were 10,183,787 telecom lines in use (fixed, mobile, and IP) for an increase of 260,907 net lines in the past 12 months (from June 2015 to June 2016). Of these, 8,851,539 are mobile lines of which 92.33% are operated by Codetel and Orange.

http://indotel.gob.do/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Boletín-Data-Tel-JUNIO-2016-WEB.pdf
http://www.diariolibre.com/m/econom...en-un-20-77-en-un-ano-segun-indotel-KE4978509


General complains about police raid
Retired general Rafael Percival Pe?a has complained about what he described as the violent police raid on his home the previous evening, saying that he had opened the door to SWAT team members with M16 rifles pointing at his chest.

He said that around 45 to 50 police agent were behind them, on the roofs of neighboring buildings, accompanied by several senior members of the Central Criminal Investigations Unit (DICRIM). He said that if he had not had security cameras recording the situation, he would have been killed.

Speaking on Monday 19 September 2016, Percival Pe?a declared that if this situation continued he would have to seek asylum in a foreign embassy in the country, describing it as persecution.

The confrontation took place as his son, former lieutenant John Emilio Percival Matos is being sought by police in connection with last week?s armed robbery in Bella Vista Mall, in which one security guard was killed and another was seriously injured.

Percival Pe?a said that penal implications are individual and his son is 34 years old, and if he was involved in the heist he should hand himself in to police and face the consequences of the law, and not the death penalty.

Meanwhile, the Police are urging Matos and Brayan Peter Felix Paulino to turn themselves in to avoid a shootout, issuing a warning to the public that the two suspects are heavily armed.

The police added that they have two other men in custody in connection with the heist, Francisco Alberto de Jesus Caraballo and Rafael Antonio Peralta Lora.

Police spokesman General Nelson Rosario Guerrero has also revealed that the same suspects, including Percival Matos were behind an armed robbery against a bank messenger in Villa Mella on 4 August 2016. He said they have carried out several raids looking for Percival Matos and evidence as to his whereabouts, including his wife?s and his father?s houses.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/09/...-esta-fuertemente-armado#sthash.nwzkTzdv.dpuf
http://hoy.com.do/percival-pena-adv...-vinculacion-de-su-hijo-a-asalto-bella-vista/
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...involucrado-en-asalto-a-mensajero-de-un-banco


Tropical Storm Karl expected to head north
Although Tropical Storm Karl does not currently pose any threat to the Dominican Republic, the Meteorological Office (Onamet) says it is tracking its progress. On Monday evening, 19 September 2016 Karl was located around 1,435 kilometers to the east of the Lesser Antilles, moving westwards at 20 kilometers an hour with winds of 65 kilometers an hour, but was expected to turn to the north west and move to the north of the island.

However, due to a tropical wave, storms and heavy rains are expected to affect the country on Tuesday, 20 September 2016 as it moves from Puerto Rico across the country.

The rains will mostly fall in the provinces of La Altagracia (Higuey), La Romana, San Pedro de Macor?s, Hato Mayor, El Seibo, Monte Plata, Sanchez Ram?rez (Cotu?), Santiago, La Vega, Peravia (Ban?), Monse?or Nouel (Bonao), Duarte (San Francisco de Macor?s), Hato Mayor, Samana and Greater Santo Domingo and could extend to more as the wave moves westwards.

There is also a large system leaving the African coast that is expected to develop into Tropical Storm Lisa but that too is expected to move to the north of the islands.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...en-lo-que-resta-del-dia-y-el-martes-CH4977602
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/157613-2016-Hurricane-Season/page14


Ana Torroja to open Hard Rock Live
Spanish singer Ana Torroja will be the first to open the new Hard Rock Live venue at the Blue Mall in Santo Domingo. The facility opens on Friday 21 October 2016 with her show.

The venue, which is equipped with the latest sound, lighting and audio technology and ample seating capacity, will specialize in hosting large events.

The Santo Domingo venue is the first Hard Rock Live to open outside the United States.

There are already Hard Rock Live venues in Biloxi, Mississippi, Hollywood and Orlando in Florida, Las Vegas in Nevada, and Northfield Park in Ohio. Torroja's show is part of her world tour Conexion and she will be performing for two nights, Friday 21 and Saturday 22 October.

Torroja was the lead singer of the pop trio Mecano, one of Spain?s most popular bands of the 1980s and 1990s. When the group split in 1998, Torroja embarked on a solo career.

For information on upcoming events:
http://www.dr1.com/calendar

Archived News stories:
http://dr1.com/forums/forumdisplay.p...-Headline-News

Archived Travel News stories:
http://dr1.com/forums/forumdisplay.p...p-Tourism-News