DR1 Daily News - Monday, 26 September 2016

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President Medina travels to Colombia
Medina meets Las Terrenas business people
Vaccinating dogs and cats to prevent rabies
Santo Domingo tunnels shut down for maintenance
OISOE contractor never got last payment
Santo Domingo more expensive than the Cibao
Teenage pregnancies keeps poverty rate high
Engineer dies of heart attack discussing Jarabacoa road
DR wins U23 Pan Am Cup for third time
Spanish celebrations start 28 September



President Medina travels to Colombia
President Danilo Medina is traveling to Colombia on Monday, 26 September 2016 to attend the signing of the historic peace agreement with FARC rebel groups in the city of Cartagena. He is traveling with Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas, Administrative Minister Jos? Ram?n Peralta, Presidency spokesman Roberto Rodr?guez Marchena, and La Barquita urban renewal project director Jos? Miguel Gonz?lez. His entourage will also include his personal assistant Carlos Pared Perez and his security corps chief Major General Ad?n C?ceres.

Medina will join over a dozen presidents, including the heads of state of Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Chile, Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru, who have confirmed their attendance to witness the signing of the peace agreement between the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) of Colombia.

The deal brings to an end an armed conflict that lasted more than 50 years.


Medina meets Las Terrenas business people
President Danilo Medina visited Las Terrenas, Samana on Sunday, 25 September 2016 and met with local businesspeople and community members.

The Presidency reported that the issues discussed included the sewage treatment plant, a hospital, garbage collection, cemetery, access roads, the judicial-institutional framework and ongoing developments in the tourism industry.

The Presidency reported that most of the business sector representatives who met with the President were French.

Las Terrenas mayor Alex Garc?a, businessman Frank Jorge El?as, and personal assistants of the President Carlos Pared Perez and Robert de la Cruz also attended the meetings.

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...na-da-nuevo-impulso-a-turismo-en-las-terrenas


Vaccinating dogs and cats to prevent rabies
The governmental National Zoonosis Center (the former Anti-rabies Institute) has launched a two-day operation to vaccinate a million dogs and cats for rabies. The center's work focuses on preventing diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.

With the target of one million, the vaccination campaign is expected to reach 90% of the total dog and cat population, which is estimated at 1.2 million nationwide. The vaccinations are free.

The government is spending RD$32 million on the program, which starts on Monday, 26 September 2016 with the support and involvement of several government institutions.

Around 20,000 people will take part in the operation, including 11,000 hired by the National Zoonosis Center. Staff from the ministries of Education, Public Health, Public Works, city governments, churches and other organizations are also working on the vaccination campaign.

Center director S?ntola Mart?nez Rodr?guez says there has not been one single case of human rabies in over a year. The vaccination campaign is part of the center's prevention work. The center sees around 1,300 people who have been bitten by rabies-infected dogs every year.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...a-un-millon-de-perros-y-gatos-contra-la-rabia


Santo Domingo tunnels shut down for maintenance
The Ministry of Public Work has published a schedule for traffic flow restrictions through tunnels and overpasses in Greater Santo Domingo. The tunnels and overpasses will be closed from 8am to 5pm and from 10:30pm to 6am from Monday 25 September to Tuesday, 26 September 2016. Drivers using those routes should allow extra time to get through.

Daytime works will take place at the Las Americas tunnel, the underpass at Av. N??ez de C?ceres and the Malec?n, and at Las Americas leading to the V Centenario racetrack.

In the evening works will take place at the overpasses at Av. 30 de Mayo (Km 12), M?ximo G?mez and Nicol?s de Ovando, and Las Americas Expressway and Ortega y Gasset tunnels.


OISOE contractor never got last payment
The widow of David Rodriguez Garcia, the architect who committed suicide a year ago, under heavy pressure due to the debt he took on in order to fulfill the contract he won to remodel a public school in Monte Plata, denies having received the final payment of RD$6.6 million owed for the construction work valued at RD$21 million. The OISOE said it made the pending payment at the time.

A citizen’s rights group, Colectivo Poder Ciudadano recently visited the late architect’s home and was able to ascertain the facts of the situation. The government also failed to fulfill its promise made by the governor of La Romana to donate a home to the family.

The family is still under pressure from the suppliers that led Rodriguez to commit suicide.

Poder Ciudadano and the relatives believe that the former director of OISOE, engineer Miguel Pimentel Kareh and former technical director, engineer Jos? Florencia Est?vez, are responsible for the suicide and are being left out of the filed case in court that is looking into an alleged mafia that operated at the OISOE. “This just is another example of the impunity that prevails in the country,” says Poder Ciudadano in a press release.

In his suicide note, Rodr?guez accused two OISOE employees, Alejandro Isidro de los Santos and Joel Soriano Fabi?n of extortion to take loans to complete the public school in Peralvillo, Monte Plata.

The Administrative Corruption Agency (PEPCA) subsequently tried Alejandro de los Santos, Joel Soriano and Julio Rafael Perez Alejo (who provided the cash) and Juan Ernesto Romero Perez for allegedly being part of an organized ring that extorted architects and engineers who had won bids for the construction of schools through OISOE.

Rodr?guez’s relatives are uncertain about the way in which the case is being handled. They point out that the process was begun by Miguel Surum Hern?ndez who is now the president of the Dominican Bar, a position he reached with the support of the opposition political party PRM. They are concerned of his actions since now they say he has joined the ruling PLD.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...uenta-del-arquitecto-que-se-suicido-FJ5029430
http://acento.com.do/2016/actualida...res-arquitecto-se-suicido-oiose-ano-tragedia/


Santo Domingo more expensive than the Cibao
New Central Bank statistics reveal that the cost of living is around 29.3% higher in Greater Santo Domingo (National District + Province of Santo Domingo) than in the Cibao region (Santiago and other central provinces). The contrast between the east (49.34% lower) and south of the country (64.77% lower) is even greater.

The Central Bank refers to the Greater Santo Domingo region as the Ozama region. In August 2016, the basic economic basket was estimated at RD$35,340.70, compared to RD$27,332.12 in the Cibao, RD$23,664.17 in the east and RD$21,447.85 in the south.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/09/26/vivir-gsd-cuesta-29-mas-que-region-del-cibao


Teenage pregnancies keeps poverty rate high
21.2% of Dominican female teenagers between the ages of 15 to 19 years have been or are pregnant, says a report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

Another 20,558 girls under the age of 15 have already given birth. The report reveals that 58.6% girls from poor families are married or cohabiting before they are 18.

The Unicef study was presented to the Chamber of Deputies Permanent Human Development Commission last week. Researchers concluded that the high rate of early teenage pregnancies at early age is the biggest cause of poverty in the Dominican Republic.

Unicef's representative in the Dominican Republic, Rosa Elcarte says that 26.8% of the children in the poor population segment don't make it to high school and 12.8% of children between the ages of five to 17 years are working in activities that are inappropriate or illegal for their age.

http://almomento.net/alta-tasa-adolescentes-embarazadas-es-mayor-causa-de-pobreza-rd/247396


Engineer dies of heart attack discussing Jarabacoa road
The contractor for the Jarabacoa-Manabao road in La Vega province, engineer Juan Mart?nez suffered a heart attack while discussing the work with employees.

Martinez, who lived in La Vega, was taken to the Octavia Gautier de Vidal Hospital in Jarabacoa where doctors were not able to revive him.

Construction of the mountain road had been stopped on five previous occasions.

http://www.citysantiago.com.do/2016...gado-construccion-carretera-jarabacoa-manabao


DR wins U23 Pan Am Cup for third time
Two-time defending champions, the Dominican Republic women’s U23 volleyball team has defeated Argentina to win the U23 Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup in San Vicente de Ca?ete, Peru.

The win was with a sweeping victory over Argentina 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) in front of a crowd of more than 4,000 fans at Lolo Fernandez Coliseum on Sunday, 25 September 2016. The Dominican team had lost to Argentina 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 29-27, 25-22) in the round-robin.

Norceca reported that the Dominican team now has defeated Brazil, Colombia and Peru in the finals of the three celebrations of the event, which is always held in Peru.
Brayelin Martinez finished the match with 20 points, followed by her sister Jineiry Martinez who had 13, including three blocks.

The Dominican team had ended with a 4-1 round-robin record (losing only to Argentina), the same as Argentina and Peru, but with a better points-difference ration for the top seeding ahead of the semifinals.

With its win, the Dominican Republic secured a spot in next year’s FIVB U23 World Championship. Argentina won the second available spot that was contested at the Pan Am Cup.

Brayelin Mart?nez of the Dominican Republic won her second consecutive Most Valuable Player title at a U23 Pan Am Cup. She also won the award in 2014. Another Dominican, Yonkaira Pe?a was the winner in 2012.

Winifer Fern?ndez, from the Dominican team, was the best digger of the event.


Spanish celebrations start 28 September
Spain is celebrating its fourth year of the “Semanas de Espana” (Spanish Weeks 2016) with a series of events in Santo Domingo from 28 September through 12 November 2016.

The series of cultural events includes an exhibition of engravings by Salvador Dal? at the Galer?a Nacional de Bellas Artes and a performance of La Vida es Sue?o by Calder?n de la Barca at the Centro Cultural de Espa?a. There are also exhibitions on Miguel de Cervantes celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of the author of Don Quixote.

The program also includes flamenco shows, dance, fashion and more.

http://ccesd.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/calendario.pdf

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
 
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