DR1 Daily News - Wednesday, 23 August 2017

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Strengthening economic ties with the Netherlands Antilles
Tax reform needed according to the IMF
Illiteracy figures declining
JCE president says DR is birthing room for Haitians
Hospital director admits irregularities in birth documentation
Penal Code returns to Chamber of Deputies
Better data for better decisions
CAASD gets into the water business
Dominican to direct regional small business organization
Former Treasury Minister suffers stroke
Workers die in Cabo Rojo
Avocado seed has medicinal properties
DR loses to Venezuela in Little League World Series
DR defeats China in U18 Girls Volleyball World Championship
Fausto Rey sings at Millo by Rafa Rosario
Tibetan bowls music therapy
Cuban Liuba Maria Hevia to Escenario 360


Strengthening economic ties with the Netherlands Antilles
President Danilo Medina could make a first visit to the Netherlands Antilles -- Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten -- during the first quarter of 2018, as reported in Willemstad. The visit would be part of Medina administration efforts to increase trade between the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands Antilles.

In an important step towards this objective, the Ministry of Foreign Relations said a Political Dialogue Act was signed in Willemstad, Curacao on Monday, 21 August 2017 between the Dominican Republic, Curacao, Aruba, St. Marteen and the Netherlands. The act calls for the creating of working groups for economic cooperation, health tourism, sustainable development, island connectivity, and in other areas.

The agreement was signed by Dominican Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas; Curacao Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath; the Prime Minister of St. Marteen William Martin, and Netherlands Caribbean regional envoy Liesbeth Mol, during the “Follow-up Meeting of Curaçao and Netherlands Antilles Working Groups Agreement.”

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry of the Dominican Republic said the document promotes trade missions to attend important events hosted by each of the countries, among them: agro-alimentary (Dominican Republic); Aruba Green (Aruba), and Smart Investment Summit (Curacao).

The officials also agreed to start preparations for the tentative visit by President Danilo Medina to Aruba, Curacao and St. Marteen during the first quarter of 2018.
http://curacaochronicle.com/politics/dominican-dutch-antilles-officials-talk-economic-cooperation/


Tax reform needed according to the IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the Dominican Republic needs to propose a medium-term plan to increase the amount of tax revenue, while providing a more certain tax regime for taxpayers. The proposal is made at a time talks have yet to begin for the drafting of the National Statistics Pact as ordered by the National Development Strategy Law (Ley Estrategia Nacional de Desarollo END 1-12 that dates back to 2012.

The IMF said that the country collected revenues worth just 13.66% of the Gross Domestic Product in 2015, some 11% below the OECD average and 5% below the Central American average.

The IMF says: "The tax system of Dominican Republic needs a comprehensive structural reform, aimed at simplifying the system and widening the tax base. The reform should eliminate the large number of exemptions under the value-added tax (VAT), property, and other taxes, and rationalize tax incentives. For instance, reducing VAT and property tax expenditure in the Dominican Republic to the average level in the region – including by phasing out the large list of goods and services exempted from the VAT, while maintaining the exemption for education, health, and basic food – could result in an increase in revenue by 1.3 percentage points of GDP."

"The fiscal adjustment needs to be underpinned by comprehensive reforms that address structural weaknesses in the tax base and expenditure quality. Numerous past reforms have not yielded durable increases in the tax base due to either their ad hoc nature or lack of political will to follow through with the reforms. Over time, these have led to increased complexity and unpredictability of the tax system, without meaningful increases in revenues."

https://www.taxnews.com/news/Dominican_Republic_Needs_Tightened_Tax_Regime_IMF____75034


Illiteracy figures declining
According to the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ramón Peralta, there are only 176,000 illiterate people in the country and of these 110,000 have already begun learning how to read and write.

Peralta says this is down from around 852,000 when the government began the war on illiteracy at the start of the first Medina administration in 2012.

He said the country goal is to be declared a country free of illiteracy by the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO). This would be a first for the Dominican Republic.

http://elnacional.com.do/peralta-af...nas-para-que-rd-quede-libre-de-analfabetismo/


JCE president says DR is birthing room for Haitians
The president of the Central Electoral Board (JCE), Julio César Castaños Guzmán, said on Tuesday, 22 August 2017 that the Dominican Republic has become the “birthing room” (he used the word ‘paritorio’ in Spanish) for Haitians, referring to the large number of Haitian women that cross the border to give birth at Dominican hospitals. Birthing services are free for the poor in Dominican public hospitals and services are better, regardless of the status or nationality of the person who seeks these services.

Castaños said the births to non-resident mothers need to be registered in the Foreigner Book that gives the baby the right to a birth certificate issued in the country, but not to Dominican nationality.
http://eldia.com.do/la-jce-hara-valer-su-facultad-para-reglamentar-tiempos-de-campana/


Hospital director admits irregularities in birth documentation
The director of the Francisco Moscoso Puello Hospital, Doctor Francisco Torres Lebrón, has admitted that irregularities have been found in the documentation procedures in the Luis Eduardo Aybar Hospital, but he says there is no evidence of a massive fraudulent documentation operation.

His comments came following a complaint from former judge Juan Miguel Castillo Pantaleón who alerted that data from the deceased in the two hospitals were used to document the mother as a Dominican and subsequently to issue Dominican birth certificates to Haitian children.

Doctor Torres Lebrón issued a press release saying that the controls were applied but explained that when the Luis Eduardo Aybar Hospital was being remodeled, 42 of the books of births and deaths were taken to the Moscoso Puello Hospital.

Castillo Pantaleón explains that the lack of controls of deaths at public hospitals has made it possible for criminals to take advantage of the situation and steal the identities of the deceased for resale to be used for the declaration of undocumented foreigners. With the identity of a deceased Dominican woman, a baby born to a Haitian woman can be declared as Dominican.

http://listindiario.com/la-republic...regularidades-en-libro-de-registro-del-morgan
http://eldia.com.do/malhechores-roban-la-identidad-de-cadaveres/


Penal Code returns to Chamber of Deputies
A commission with members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate was named to debate the Penal Code during the opening sessions of Congress this week. The Penal Code has been debated for over 20 years in the legislature, but has not passed primarily because of the strong positions regarding abortion.

José Luis Cosme (PLD-María Trinidad Sánchez) and Hamlet Melo (PLD-La Altagracia) submitted two initiatives without the articles on abortion. The new president of the Chamber of Deputies had suggested the separation of the abortion articles from the Penal Code could be a solution for the passing of the bill.

Magda Rodríguez (PLD-Valverde) and 40 other deputies, including the spokespersons for the PLD and PRM presented another bill that includes the exceptions to the ban on abortion in the case of incest, rape, congenital malformations of the fetus and when the mother’s life is in danger.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...-aborto-del-cp-para-poder-aprobarlo-JJ7975586


Better data for better decisions
Puerto Plata senator José Ignacio Paliza (PRM-Puerto Plata) announced the submitting of a bill to create and regulate the national statistics system. He highlighted the important role that reliable and accurate data play in organized countries. He said in the Dominican Republic the body that designs and executes public policies is the same agency that measures the outcomes of these policies, making this confusing and not transparent. He proposes the creation of a modern legal framework as a basis for a more efficient state.

The bill proposes the creation of a National Statistics System (SNE), transforming the present National Statistics Office (ONE) into the National Statistics Office that would be an independent and autonomous organization in charge of centralizing statistical data. The bill also proposes the creation of a National Statistics Council (CNES) at the head of the new statistics system. He also proposes the preparation and implementation of the National Statistics Plan (PEN), a permanent program for changes in the national statistics policies.

http://hoy.com.do/jose-paliza-prese...ara-crear-el-sistema-nacional-de-estadistica/


CAASD gets into the water business
The Santo Domingo Water and Sewage Corporation (CAASD) announced on Tuesday, 22 August 2017, that it will begin supplying bottled watered to government offices and in the future to hospitals and schools in Greater Santo Domingo.

“We are working to be able to supply the public offices of Greater Santo Domingo in the future,” said deputy director of operations of the CAASD, Luis Salcedo. Salcedo said that potability index of the water processed by the CAASD is more than 98%. He said that the CAASD spends RD$140 million a year to treat the water it serves. He says contamination happens primarily due to inadequate management after it is served through the pipes.

https://elnuevodiario.com.do/caasd-afirma-potabilidad-del-agua-98/
http://elcaribe.com.do/2017/08/22/caasd-abastecera-agua-botellones-instituciones-hospitales/


Dominican to direct regional small business organization
Miosotis Rivas Peña was chosen by the board of directors of the Centro para la Promoción de la Micro, Mediana y Pequeña Empresa en Centroamérica (Cenpromype), a leading small business organization. She replaces Ingrid Figueroa of El Salvador, who occupied the position for 11 years. The election took place in Panama City.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Small Business press release explains Rivas Peña is an economist, specialist in research and public policies at a national level and for the Central American and Caribbean region. At the time of her appointment, she was the national programs officer for the United Nations Women Programs in the Dominican Republic. Prior to that position, she was technical secretary for women for the Counsel of Ministers of Women for Central America and the Dominican Republic (Commca/Sica) based in San Salvador, El Salvador.

A university professor at INTEC in Santo Domingo, Rivas Peña has worked extensively in development, gender equality, regional integration, economic development, competitiveness, human rights, structural adjustment, public spending, poverty programs, human development, international trade and others.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...consejo-de-promocion-mipymes-en-centroamerica


Former Treasury Minister suffers stroke
Former Minister of the Treasury, Vicente Bengoa, has been admitted to the Clinica Abel Gonzalez having suffered a stroke. According to information received, he is in intensive care, although thought to be out of danger.

It has been said that he has appeared to be very agitated for several days, which could have provoked the stroke.

http://listindiario.com/la-republic...interno-tras-sufrir-accidente-cerebrovascular


Workers die in Cabo Rojo
Two workers died in Cabo Rojo, Pedernales when they were buried under rocks while they were filling a truck on Monday night, 21 August 2017.
One of the workers was Haitian and the other Dominican and they both died from suffocation.

The workers made a living clandestinely loading construction material at night from the quarries in the El Puente area after they were dismissed when the mining companies Cementera Andinio e Ideal closed in Pedernales.

The gravel and sand are transported at night, as the Ministry of the Environment has prohibited the taking of the material.

http://elnacional.com.do/mueren-2-atrapados-por-un-derrumbe-en-pedernales/


Avocado seed has medicinal properties
Delicious avocados are abundant in the Dominican Republic. Now a recent study released at the 254th American Chemistry Society conference on 21 August 2017, reports findings that have uncovered more nutrition and medicinal benefits found in the least appreciated part of the avocado – the seed husks. New research shows that the seed husks, that are usually discarded along with the seed, are “hidden gold mines packed with a previously unrecognized plethora of chemical compounds.”

New research presented at the ACS conference indicates that these compounds could eventually be used to treat a host of debilitating diseases, as well as to enhance the allure of cosmetics, perfumes and other consumer goods. The researchers presented their work at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS, the world’s largest scientific society.

Researcher Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D. and his students Valerie Cano, Orlando Castillo, Daniel Villicana and Thomas Eubanks at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley sought to find out more about what manufacturers are really throwing away when they discard these seed husks.

The researchers ground about 300 dried avocado seed husks into 21 ounces of powder. After additional processing, the powder yielded about three teaspoons of seed husk oil and slightly more than an ounce of seed husk wax. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis, the research team found 116 compounds in the oil and 16 in the wax. Many of these compounds do not appear to be found in the seeds themselves.

Among the constituents in the oil was behenyl alcohol (also known as docosanol), an important ingredient used in anti-viral medications; heptacosane, which might inhibit the growth of tumor cells; and dodecanoic acid, which increases high density lipoprotein (known as HDL) and, as a result, could reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.

In the wax, the researchers detected benzyl butyl phthalate, a plasticizer used to promote flexibility in numerous synthetic products from shower curtains to medical devices; bis(2-butoxyethyl) phthalate, which is used in cosmetics; and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), which is a food additive.
Moving forward, Bandyopadhyay says his team will modify several of these natural compounds so that they can be used to create better medications with fewer side effects.

Bandyopadhyay acknowledges funding from the Center of Excellence in STEM Education (College of Sciences) at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

The American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, DC, and Columbus, Ohio.

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/...ne-of-medicinal-and-industrial-compounds.html


DR loses to Venezuela in Little League World Series
The Dominican Republic, the Caribbean champions, representing the region in the 2017 Little League World Series, failed to defeat Venezuela to move on in the tournament that is taking place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, USA from 17-27 August 2017. The DR lost 3-2 to the Venezuelan team that represents Latin America in the championship.

16 teams from around the world are participating, including eight from the United States, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Canada in the Americas.

http://www.llbws.org/
http://www.llbws.org/media/news/latin-america-region-walks-off-against-caribbean-region.htm


DR defeats China in U18 Girls Volleyball World Championship
The Dominican Republic girls under 18 volleyball team defeated China in the continuing of the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U18 World Championship played in Rosario, Argentina. The game score was 13-25, 11-25 and 21-25. In Dominican team is playing in Group D. During the first classificatory round, the DR lost to Japan and Turkey, but has defeated Peru and China.

The DR national women’s team U23 defeated the Cuban team in a friendship tournament held at the Volleyball Pavilion in Santo Domingo. The match ended 17-15, 15-12, 15-13 and 15-2.

http://u18.girls.2017.volleyball.fivb.com/en/teams/dom-dominican republic
http://eldia.com.do/voleibol-sub-23-de-republica-dominicana-se-impone-a-cuba-3-0/


Fausto Rey sings at Millo by Rafa Rosario
Dominican crooner Fausto Rey is booked for Bohemian Wednesday Night at Millo by Rafa on Wednesday, 23 August 2017. The show starts at 9pm. Millo is located in Naco at Calle Florence Terry Grisworld, Tel 809 540-2208.


Tibetan bowls music therapy
Casa Holos is inviting to an evening of meditation to the sounds of the Tibetan bowls played by visiting psychologist Rodolfo Jeckeln from Argentina. The meditation will be at 8pm on Thursday, 24 August 2017. The activity also includes the experience of past life regression and group connection. The cost is RD$500 per person.

Casa Holos is located at Calle Leonardo Da Vinci 5, corner Rafael Sanzio in Renacimiento. Tel 809 482-8011.


Cuban Liuba Maria Hevia to Escenario 360
Cuban singer Liuba Maria Hevia has included Santo Domingo in her world tour “Vidas Paralelas Tour”. She will perform on Saturday, 2 September 2017 at 8:30pm at Escenario 360, at Galeria 360 shopping mall. She has announced guest performances during her show of Carlos Varela, Víctor Víctor, Pavel Núñez and others.