DR1 Daily News - Tuesday, 22 November 2016

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May 3, 2000
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President meets US elected legislators
Decapitating Juan Pablo Duarte?
JCE has new judges
Road Safety Week begins
Back to school in flooded areas
Floods update
Girl drowns in Juan Dolio
New tropical depression forms
Carib Wind helps with Sosua and Cabarete relief
Many people subject to exit bans
Omega throws farewell lunch for inmates
One-year pre-trial custody for Inversia heads
Complaints against Frenchman?s imprisonment
Diario Libre Contemporary Art Contest
Jazz concerts in December



President meets US elected legislators
President Danilo Medina and several members of his team met with the recently elected congressman for the 13th Congressional District (New York), Dominican-born Adriano Espaillat on Monday, 21 November 2016. At the meetings at the Presidential Palace, Espaillat was accompanied by US Ambassador, James W. Brewster, embassy personnel and elected US state government officials. These included Marisol Alc?ntara, who replaces Espaillat in the New York State Assembly in the State Senate seat in the 31st district of Manhattan, Julissa Ferreras, Council member for the 21st District of the New York City Council (Queens) and Marcos Crespo, who represents the 85th Assembly District, which includes the Soundview, Clason Point, Longwood and Hunts Point sections of the South Bronx in the New York State Assembly, among others.

The Presidency website reports that Medina and Espaillat discussed several issues together with members of the Dominican government.

?We wanted to reach out to President Danilo Medina who has always been a friend of the Diaspora,? said Espaillat. The first Dominican-American to be elected to the US federal congress in history, Adriano Espaillat begins his term as a US representative on 3 January 2017.

During the visit to the Presidential Palace, Espaillat was accompanied by US Ambassador James Brewster. Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo, Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jos? Ram?n Peralta and legal advisor Flavio Dar?o Espinal were also present at the meeting.

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...siempre-ha-sido-un-amigo-de-la-diaspora-video
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...o-espaillat-y-el-embajador-brewster-BD5522223


Decapitating Juan Pablo Duarte?
The Presidency photographer insists on decapitating Dominican founding father Juan Pablo Duarte in the photographs he takes of prominent visitors to the Presidency. The photos are later distributed via the Presidency website and press service.

A large portrait of Duarte appears behind the personalities, but the way that the photographer frames the image means that Duarte?s head is cut off.

A recent photo with an example of this featured US representative-elect, Adriano Espaillat and President Medina.

See the recent photo here:
http://elnacional.com.do/presidente-recibe-a-adriano-espaillat/


JCE has new judges
Amidst criticism from the opposition and approval from civil society, business and religious groups, the Senate has sworn in the members and substitutes of the new Central Electoral Board (JCE) headed by Julio C?sar Castanos Guzm?n.

They were sworn in by Senate president Reinaldo Pared P?rez on Monday 21 November 2016.

The new JCE judges are presiding judge Julio Casta?os Guzman as president, Carmen Imbert Brugal, Rosario Graciano, Henry Mej?a and Roberto Salad?n. The substitutes are Jos? Miguel Minier, Jos? Lino Mart?nez, Lu?s Garcia, Rafael Evangelista and Juan Bautista Cuevas.

Upon taking office, Casta?os said he would work towards reaching a consensus for the approval of the Political Parties Bill and the Electoral Reform Bill.*

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...mbros-de-la-junta-central-electoral-ML5519608
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=508458


Road Safety Week begins
The Metropolitan Transport Authority (Amet) launched Road Safety Week on Monday, 21 November 2016. The ceremony took place at the intersection of M?ximo G?mez and 27 Febrero avenues in Santo Domingo. Francina Hungr?a, the brave engineer who was blinded during an armed robbery in her vehicle, was present, dressed in an Amet uniform in support of the campaign. Hungr?a has been actively campaigning raise awareness of the needs of blind people and help them live more independent lives.

Amet spokesman Diego Pesqueira said that despite constant traffic violations, the institution is determined to educate the public about preventing traffic accidents. Hungr?a appealed to drivers to respect the rights of pedestrians.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/11/21/amet-inicia-semana-seguridad-vial


Back to school in flooded areas
The Ministry of Education has announced the reopening of schools across the country except in cases where the buildings have been damaged by the rain.

The Ministry said that they have seven specialist teams in the worst affected provinces to assess the damage to the schools affected by flooding and mudslides. Minister of Education Andr?s Navarro has announced that repairs would begin as soon as the rains have subsided and will be carried out as quickly as possible.

http://hoy.com.do/educacion-llama-a-clases-en-todo-el-pais-excepto-en-planteles-afectados/


Floods update
According to the Emergency Operations Center (COE) bulletin dated 21 November 2016, the number of communities cut off by the floods has risen to 106 with at least 8,055 people still displaced from their homes and 568 in official shelters. Twenty-three bridges have been affected and 100 homes destroyed, 1,611 homes are flooded and 125 partially destroyed.

Flood alerts are still in place for several provinces, with eight on yellow alert: Monte Cristi, Puerto Plata, Duarte (San Francisco de Macor?s), El Seibo, Hato Mayor, La Altagracia (Higuey), Maria Trinidad S?nchez (Nagua) and Espaillat (Moca) and on green alert are S?nchez Ram?rez (Cotu?), Azua, Peravia (Ban?), La Romana, Santiago, San Pedro de Macoris and Saman?.

According to the National Meteorological Office (Onamet) a frontal system over the Mona Channel and one over the west of Haiti mean more rain could fall in the provinces of Dajab?n, Valverde (Mao), Montecristi, Puerto Plata, Santiago, La Vega, Monse?or Nouel (Bonao), Espaillat (Moca), Maria Trinidad S?nchez (Nagua), Duarte (San Francisco de Macor?s), Saman?, Hato Mayor, El Seibo, La Altagracia (Higuey), La Romana, San Pedro de Macor?s, San Crist?bal, Peravia (Ban?), Independencia, Pedernales and Barahona.

The summary of flood damage states that in the province of Santiago, the community of Palo Quemado on the tourist route has suffered with nine homes destroyed by a mudslide and 15 almost collapsed. In Villa Gonz?lez 16 homes have been destroyed, five partially destroyed, and 546 affected by the overflowing of the Arenquillo River.

In Puerto Plata province 4,540 homes have been affected.

In Mar?a Trinidad S?nchez, 66 communities have been cut off due to the overflowing of the Boba River and in Duarte province due to the rising waters of the Yuna River several communities are also cut off.

In Valverde province the Amina River has risen above the level of the bridge and farmland is flooded.

In the eastern province of El Seibo the communities of El Cuey and Rancho Grande are cut off. In La Altagracia province several houses have been destroyed and affected by the overflowing of the Duey, Kicimani, Maim?n, Yab?n and Anamuya rivers.

The floods have now reached the southeast of the country with several neighborhoods under water in the province of San Pedro de Macor?s.

A mudslide in the municipality of El Valle has cut off the community of Arenita and overflowing rivers have cut off several communities between San Pedro de Macoris and Hato Mayor.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/aumenta-a-106-numero-de-pueblos-aislados-por-lluvias-KE5521297
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...idades-aisladas-y-a-8-mil-623-los-desplazados


Girl drowns in Juan Dolio
A 14-year old girl drowned off the beach in Juan Dolio on Sunday afternoon, 20 November 2016.
Doris Ramirez Almonte, who lived in Miramar, was with her father and a four-year old girl when she drowned. Her father said that she suffered from epilepsy but it is not known whether this contributed to her drowning.

Her body was taken to the morgue in the Antonio Musa hospital in San Pedro de Macoris.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...te-de-14-anos-se-ahoga-en-playa-de-juan-dolio


New tropical depression forms
The National Hurricane Center in Miami (NHC) has announced that the sixteenth tropical depression of the season has been formed in the south west of the Caribbean, in front of the coast of Nicaragua and is expected to develop into a tropical storm or hurricane that will be named Otto.

The system is moving slowly towards the west and is not expected to pose any danger to the Dominican Republic.

This is expected to be the final storm of the hurricane season, which saw 14 tropical storms of which six became hurricanes.

http://elnacional.com.do/se-forma-la-decimosexta-depresion-tropical-al-suroeste-del-caribe/


Carib Wind helps with Sosua and Cabarete relief
Carib Wind store in Cabarete has prepared a temporary logistics center in Cabarete to receive, classify, channel and distribute donations for victims of the recent flooding in Puerto Plata province in coordination with the Dominican DREAM project. Donations of items can be sent via Metro Pac and Caribe Tours (Sos?a).*

Maria Jose Barshi of Carib Wind store says that now that the sun is back out, they are encouraging displaced people to return to repair their homes to return to their normal routines as soon as possible.*

Carib Wind is preparing baskets with mattresses, sheets, towels, mosquito nets, repellent, cleaning materials ? bucket, mop, chlorine, detergent, garbage bags, personal hygiene items ? soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toilet paper, disinfectant soap, and five-liter water bottles.

Anyone who wants to help accomplish this goal (be it contacts with wholesalers or manufacturers to secure better costs), please write to mj@caribwind.com

To send any of these items to Puerto Plata, send via Metro Pac or Caribe Tour attention Dream Project Cabarete, Tel 809 571-0497.

Contributions in cash are most welcome and these can be made via the website at http://www.dominicandream.org or via the Banco Popular bank account: D.R.E.A.M (RNC 430041612, RD$ account # 777992579).

They will return a formal receipt with tax deduction if name and RNC of the company, email address are sent.


Many people subject to exit bans
According to the El Nacional newspaper, more than 200,000 people are subject to exit bans from the Dominican Republic including at least 100 members of the military and police, 15,000 foreigners, bankers, former government officials, former diplomats, former mayors, former city councilors and baseball players.

The exit bans were imposed on the grounds of corruption, fraud, drug trafficking, rape and other crimes.

Most of the foreigners with exit bans are from Puerto Rico, the United States, Colombia, Venezuela, Spain, Canada and France.

Some of the bans date back 15 years and as reported many should be lifted as the original situations that led to their imposition have changed.

http://almomento.net/procuraduria-mas-de-200-mil-dominicanos-tienen-impedimentos-de-salida/263765


Omega throws farewell lunch for inmates
Urban singer Antonio Peter de la Rosa, better known as Omega El Fuerte, has thrown a farewell lunch at La Victoria jail before his scheduled release on 23 November after serving his sentence for domestic violence against his ex-partner Sahira Valerio.*

Omega shared photographs of the event via his Instagram account, which has been active during his incarceration.

He was sentenced to five years in jail, of which four years and four months were suspended.

Even before being released the singer has started looking for concert performances charging 300,000 pesos in Santo Domingo and 400,000 in the provinces. *

http://www.listindiario.com/entretenimiento/2016/11/21/444019/omega-celebra-su-salida-de-la-victoria


One-year pre-trial custody for Inversia heads
Judge Honorio Antonio Suza?a has sent the president of Inversia financial company Teodoro Rafael Hidalgo M?ndez and his wife Michel Mar?a Evertz Esteveza to one year of pre-trial custody. They are accused of fraud, asset laundering, conspiracy and violation of the Monetary and Financial Law.

Hidalgo was sent to the San Pedro de Macor?s jail and Evertz to the Najayo-Mujeres jail.

The couple is accused of defrauding 233 depositors of RD$1.2 billion entrusted to their financial company, which was not regulated by the Superintendence of Banks.

http://elnacional.com.do/imponen-un-ano-de-prision-preventiva-a-propietarios-financiera-inversia/
http://acento.com.do/2016/actualida...inversia-supuesta-estafa-mas-rd1000-millones/


Complaints against Frenchman?s imprisonment
The Dominican Group for Human Rights (BDDH) has denounced the Dominican State at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for violation of international conventions in the case of Frenchman Christophe Naudin who is in jail for alleged complicity in the escape of the two French pilots sentenced for drug trafficking.

It is stated that both the Dominican State and Egypt violated the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) when Naudin was extradited in March 2016. In particular the process started with recording phone calls without legal permission. Naudin was protected by an Appeal Order issued by a court in Paris but the Egyptian government agreed to his extradition to the Dominican Republic.

Naudin has been held in Najayo jail since 10 March 2016 and claims that he was kidnapped by the Dominican authorities as he had not broken any law.

According to Naudin, the two French pilots were sentenced to 20 years in jail due to an unfair legal process and prosecutors who manipulated the judges in order to cover up the involvement of other Dominicans and to make the United States believe that the Dominican authorities were effective in the fight against drug trafficking.

http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=508428


Diario Libre Contemporary Art Contest
Diario Libre is inviting emerging artists to enter its annual Contemporary Art Contest. The deadline to submit works is 3 February 2017. The contest is open to artists up to the age of 38. Read the terms and conditions at http://www.dlartecontemporaneo.com

This year?s jury is made up by Rosangela Pellerano, president of the Fundaci?n Diario Libre, Bingene Armenteros and Fernando Casanova. International guest jury members are Melanie Reim, professor at Altos de Chav?n and president of the masters in illustration program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and Veronique Chagnon-Burke, professor at Christie?s Education.


Jazz concerts in December
One of the most pleasant spots in Santo Domingo, the Fiesta Sunset Jazz at the rooftop nightclub of the Dominican Fiesta hosts live performances by jazz bands every Friday as of 8:30pm.

The program for December is:
Friday, 2 December: Peter Novelli - Blues on the Funky Side
Friday, 9 December: Eric Litman - Christmastime is Here
Friday, 16 December: UNPHU School of Music Ensembles

Other dates in December:
Thursday, 22 December: A Green Christmas with Frank Green & Jazz?tabueno
Thursday, 29 December: Farewell to 2016 with Benny & the Cupids

For more details on these concerts, see http://jazzendominicana.blogspot.com

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


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