DR1 Daily News - Thursday, 21 June 2018

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DR1 Daily News next update on 25 June 2018
Commercial attaches appointed to Dominican embassies in 17 countries
Economist says Central Bank has been using reserves to stop devaluation
JCE calls a stop to premature campaigning for the presidency
The Green March takes over Monument in Santiago
Professionals warn that criminalizing abortion affects women’s health
Buffer Zone for Isabela de Torres is being destroyed
Industrialists agree to help manage solid wastes
UASD votes for a woman for rector
Somos Pueblo high fuel prices caravan goes well
Odebrecht case to be heard from 6 July at Supreme Court of Justice
It’s official: Father Rogelio Cruz expelled from the Salesians
Cops and robbers? No, cops are robbers!
No swimming in front of Santo Domingo
5.2 earthquake felt in Monte Plata
Summer solstice on Thursday, 21 June 2018
Tropical waves to bring rains but heat continues
Young Dominican singer gets Golden Buzzer on America’s Got Talent
Liuba Maria Hevia and Gema Corredera at the National Theater



DR1 Daily News next update on 25 June 2018
The next DR1 Daily News update will be published on Monday, 25 June 2018. The Monday issue will compile headline news for the previous Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Breaking news can be followed 24/7 in the Forums. See the DR1 Forum at http://www.dr1.com


Commercial attaches appointed to Dominican embassies in 17 countries
The government of the Dominican Republic announced yesterday that the first commercial attaches have been appointed to promote exports, attract investment and promote international cooperation using the platforms of 17 Dominican embassies abroad. The announcement was made by Foreign Relations Minister Miguel Vargas. Vargas added that the persons selected had been carefully vetted in cooperation with the private sector.

The first attaches will be sent to Austria, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Germany, Argentina, Israel, France, Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten as well as to the embassies and consular offices in Washington, DC and New York in the United States; Brasilia and São Paulo in Brazil and finally Genoa in Italy.

The new commercial attaches, according to Vargas, are not new hires for the Ministry of Foreign Relations, because they are already working in the foreign service. “We concentrated on their training and the specialization of their work,” said Vargas. The posts were created by Vargas in November 2017 and are aimed at promoting exports and attracting investments.

https://acento.com.do/2018/economia...17-encargados-comerciales-sedes-diplomaticas/


Economist says Central Bank has been using reserves to stabilize currency
International reserves are down 5.4% in May, going from US$7.18 billion to US$6.79 billion, according to Central Bank data, reports Diario Libre. It reveals that this is the lowest level of savings in hard currency since December 2017. Economist Pavel Isa speculating the government has been injecting international reserves into the exchange market for the stability of the Dominican pesos. The peso has kept at RD$49.40-RD$49.41 for about a month. Isa explained that the government needs to keep the peso stable to better afford the larger fuel bill now that international petrol prices are rising. “The Central Bank is under pressure, and the situation will remain that way,” he stated.

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...es-han-bajado-5-4-en-el-ultimo-mes-LH10178322


JCE calls a stop to premature campaigning for the presidency
The Central Electoral Board gave political parties five days to stop early electoral campaigning. In a note dated 20 June 2018, the JCE argues that none of the political parties has formally declared the opening of the campaigns for the promotion of presidential pre-candidates.

The JCE says they had already notified on 21 August 2017 that the electoral campaigning, present now on streets and in the media, is untimely and outside of the law. It requests the collaboration of the Ministry of Interior and Police, the provincial governorships, and the city governments to enforce the stop to political campaigning.

The note is signed by the president of the JCE, Julio César Castaños Guzmán, and the other member judges that are Roberto B. Saladín Selin, Carmen Imbert Brugal, Rosario Graciano de los Santos, and Juan Bautista Cuevas Medrano.

The ruling PLD party is the most active with millions invested already in billboards, political caravans and other promotional means.

Diario Libre shares comments on the measure from leading political party spokespeople:
Bautista Rojas Gómez, representative of the campaign of former President Leonel Fernandez faction in the PLD, stated: We are going to continue working in the Dominican Republic. This is a democratic and rights-abiding country. This is not his [referring to the president of the JCE]. That cannot come from him. He is but a weakly, irresponsible and a coward.”

Carolina Mejía, speaking for the PRM stated: It is a positive measure. We salute it and will instruct our membership regarding.”

Ramón Rogelio Genao, speaking for the PRSC stated: “The PRSC had described as shameful for the political class that without the electoral campaign being open ... and two years before the electoral processes, instead of governing and counterbalancing, we are caravaning.”
An editorial in Diario Libre called the decision a correct one.

http://jce.gob.do/web/pdf/PlenoJCE_Acta_12_2018.pdf
https://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2018/06/21/520735/jce-le-pone-freno-al-proselitismo-en-pld
http://eldia.com.do/la-jce-prohibe-proselitismo-adelantado-por-precandidatos/
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/06/...-5-dias-para-suspender-proselitismo-politico/
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/06/10/video-leonel-en-caravana-por-barrios-del-distrito-nacional/
https://www.diariolibre.com/opinion/editorial/decision-correcta-BI10180302


The Green March takes over Monument in Santiago
Leaders of the Green March civic movement managed to install a camp in the front area of the Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration, the Santiago de los Caballeros landmark. Santiago is the second largest city in the Dominican Republic.

This civic activity was organized to push the government to further investigate the Odebrecht bribes case. Odebrecht admitted to a New York City court that it paid government officers and the lobbyist Angel Rondón some US$92 million in bribes to secure contract work.

Raquel Rivera, Miguel Gonzalez and Antonio Rodriguez for the Green March told reporters that in spite of being pushed around by members of the National Police, they decided to stay in on the site, since they were not violating any laws or disturbing the peace. Rivera, with the president of the Hermanas Mirabal feminist movement, stressed that the Green March was seeking to put an end to both corruption and impunity in regards to the Odebrecht case as well as other instances of public corruption. Antonio Rodriguez, a union leader for construction workers, said that the confrontation with members of the Police was just one more example of an unfair system.

The president of the Santiago Lawyers Association, José Dolores Jimenez, told reporters that the Green March had the complete support of the association and that the action by members of the police force was not appropriate. He said: “In Santo Domingo there is a camp in front of the Attorney General of the Republic Office. It is logical that as citizens they can use the space in front of the Monument as long as they do not disturb the peace.”

The participants in this civic action spend their time playing dominoes, reading books and newspapers, listening to music and taking part in literary discussions. Just a few meters away are members of the National Police.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...-que-la-policia-se-lo-impidio-ayer-HH10175174


Professionals warn that criminalizing abortion affects women’s health
The issue of abortion has been in the international news lately, with arguably the most Catholic of all countries, Ireland, voting to allow abortions for specific reasons. On the other hand, Pope Francis has protested abortions, likening physicians who carry out abortions to Nazis who perpetrated crimes against humanity during World War II.

This week here in the Dominican Republic, the Ibero-American University (Unibe) sponsored a panel discussion on “The Woman: Her Rights and Public Health.” The panel noted that the Dominican Republic is featured among the countries in the region with the worst indicators on sexual and reproductive health. The panel mentioned a lack of sex education, the absolute prohibition of all abortions and the limited access to contraceptive methods as the main causes of the poor performance in sexual and reproductive health indicators.

The panel featured participants such as the director of the National Health Service (SNS), the head of the Dominican Medical Guild (CMD), members of the legislative branch and experts on international law.

The panelists argued in favor of decriminalizing abortions in three specific areas: when the life of the mother is in danger, when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest and when the pregnancy is not viable – which is to say the fetus cannot live outside the womb. One of the arguments put forward was the fact that according to official information unsafe abortions account for 10% of the deaths of pregnant women.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...rto-afecta-la-salud-de-las-mujeres-FH10175154


Buffer Zone for Isabela de Torres is being destroyed
Human rights groups and environmentalists in Puerto Plata are reporting that people are destroying the buffer zones around the Isabel de Torres National Park, and that the authorities are turning a blind eye. Mario Almonte, the local president of the Dominican Human Rights Committee, called for an end to the depredation of the natural resources in different communities in the province.

Almonte specifically asked that the President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, intervene in this case of “ecological crime” that is going on with impunity.

Making reference to national figures such as Gregorio Luperon and Juan Lockward, who honored the beauty of Isabel de Torres, Almonte said that one day nature would come to collect for the destruction of this National Park.”

He also said that a considerable area on the side of the hill had been razed by bulldozers and other heavy machinery to build the new school in the sector of los Dominquez and this included cutting down 100-year-old mahogany trees. The project did undeniable damage to the national park and represents an imminent danger to the children who will populate the school because the natural drainage coming down the mountain will certainly inundate the area of the school and possibly cause a landslide.

http://eldia.com.do/denuncian-que-d...cional-loma-isabel-de-torres-en-puerto-plata/


UASD votes for a woman for rector
Accountant and economist Emma Polanco Melo proclaimed on 20 June 2018 her win as the first woman to be elected rector at the state university, the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, the oldest in the Americas. She thanked the UASD community for trusting her. She committed to not let them down. “I will work for a decent university, that is quiet, a university that the people of the UASD can be proud of, but also all Dominicans,” she said.

She was elected with the vote of the Senior Cloister of the university that gathers the professors, 2% of the employees and 5% of the students, or 2,900 voters. She will serve the term 2018-2022.

Previously, she was administrative vice rector of the university. She has degrees in economy from the Universidad del País Vasco in Spain, and in accounting from the UASD.

https://www.uasd.edu.do/index.php/f...ria/327-curriculum-vitae-de-emma-polanco-melo
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...co-gana-rectoria-y-editrudis-reconoce-derrota


Industrialists agree to help manage solid wastes
The Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) and EcoRED have signed an agreement to cooperate in improving the management of solid waste. EcoRED, through its program “The installation of a recovery system for plastic in the Dominican Republic” has the support of the Coca-Cola Company and Benpensa Dominicana with an investment of US$400,000. The next step is the project called “Innovation and Remanufacturing in the Plastic and Construction Sectors” that the AIRD explains has the backing of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

According to a press release, both institutions will work during the next three years on implementing an economic circular model that will permit the recovery of industrial waste and post – consumer plastics for evaluation and reuse as raw materials.

One of the interesting facets to be created is a market for the exchange of reusable waste and the creation of a logistical structure needed to carry out the operations of gathering, stockpiling, and recovery of plastic waste.

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...jorar-gestion-integral-de-residuos-KH10175924


Somos Pueblo high fuel prices caravan goes well
Ironically traffic flowed better than usual for many on their way to work, as the Somos Pueblo-organized traffic slow down that crossed the Av. 27 de Febrero on Tuesday, from Ensanche La Fe to the Plaza de la Bandera took place. The organizers said they met their objective of demanding transparency in the setting of fuel prices. They argue the government’s application of the fuel changing mechanisms has become just another tax. The organization said a similar protest is organized for 28 June in Santiago.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...-protesta-por-precios-combustibles-CH10173100


Odebrecht case to be heard from 6 July at Supreme Court of Justice
Judge Francisco Ortega Polanco set for 9am on 6 July 2018 the opening of the Odebrecht bribes case in the Dominican Republic. A New York City court case concluded in December 2016 that the Brazilian company executives had admitted to paying US$92 million in bribes to secure contract work in the Dominican Republic. In the New York court case, Odebrecht admitted to paying $439 million outside Brazil, with the largest foreign bribes paid out in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Panama. Follow ups were begun then in each individual country.

Since January 2017, in the Dominican Republic the case is being handled by the Attorney General Office that on 7 June 2018 formally accused seven, including lobbyist Angel Rondón, lawyer Conrado Pittaluga and the five former government officers – senator Tommy Galán (San Cristóbal – PLD), former Public Works Minister Víctor Díaz Rúa, former PRD presidents of the Senate Andrés Bautista and Jesús Vásquez, and Juan Roberto Rodríguez, former director of the National Institute of Potable Water and Sewers (INAPA).

Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez acuses these of charges of taking bribes, prevarication, illicit enrichment, false statements and money laundering.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...-julio-se-abrira-el-juicio-por-caso-odebrecht
http://www.dw.com/en/odebrecht-bribed-across-latin-america/a-36887600


It’s official: Father Rogelio Cruz expelled from the Salesians
The Salesian Society has publicly notified the expulsion from the religious order of priest Rogelio Cruz. Father Rogelio has made a name for himself campaigning for youths and the poor and against mining operations.

On 8 February 2018, Father Rogelio told the media that he had been ordered to move to Colombia for a three month course. Father Rogelio said he learned of the decision by reading it in the media.

The priest, who is based in La Vega, rejected to leave the country. He argued the order wanted to send him abroad to impede his social activism and anti-mining related to the Loma Miranda and San Juan de la Maguana proposed mining operations. He openly accused officers of the gold mines Barrick Gold and GoldQuest of having lobbied for his removal. He feared for his life where he was being sent to in Colombia.

"By Decree of the Rector Major and its General Council based in Rome, Fr. Ramón Rogelio Cruz Fermín has been separated from the Society of Saint Francis de Sales and released from his commitments, religious vows and any other links with the Salesian Society" says the statement.

The explanation given is that the decision is based on Canon 601 of the Code of Canon Law, which establishes that "the legitimate expulsion ceases ipso facto the votes, as well as the rights and obligations arising from the profession."

Canon 601 establishes that "the evangelical counsel of obedience, undertaken in a spirit of faith and love in the following of Christ obedient unto death, requires the submission of the will to legitimate superiors, who stand in the place of God, when they command according to the proper constitutions. “

On Tueday, 11 June 2018, Father Rogelio had received the prestigious Atabey Award, for his individual contributions to the conservation of the environment.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...salesianos-expulsan-al-sacerdote-rogelio-cruz
http://hoy.com.do/separan-padre-rogelio-cruz-de-congregacion-por-violar-normas/
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/06/20/expulsan-al-padre-rogelio-cruz-de-la-sociedad-salesiana/
https://proceso.com.do/2018/06/11/celebran-decima-entrega-premios-atabey/


Cops and robbers? No, cops are robbers!
Four police officers, arrested on the orders of the District Attorney of West Santo Domingo, will appear in court on 21 June 2018 when a judge will decide on coercive measures after the officers were charged for having taken some RD$1.5 million that belonged to a businesswoman in los Alcarrizos who had been robbed. Police spokesman Frank Durand Mejia confirmed the information regarding the case as he explained that the woman had been robbed by a man with whom the officers made contact with and the money from the robbery never appeared.

Two colonels, Francisco Radhamés Vargas Ureña and Santiago Sanchez Galvez were detained together with Captain Martin Made Lara and second Lieutenant Ormandis Onesimo Alcantara Castillo. The four men are currently being held at the jail of Special Operations in Manoguayabo.

According to attorney Mayobanex Ferreras, who represents the businesswoman, on 5 June a thief broke into the woman’s house in Los Alcarrizos and took money and jewelry. The woman filed a complaint with the police and investigators from the Department of Criminal Investigation (Dicrim) arrested the thief and recovered what he had stolen, according to the lawyer. After this, allegedly the officers negotiated with the thief and they offered him RD$250,000 to stay quiet and they let him go. It is suspected that the police officers kept the rest of the stolen property.

The woman suspected the money was stolen by an individual she had hired to install surveillance videos in her home. He would later admit the robbery and returned part of the money.

A search of newspaper records turned up a 2010 report on then Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Radhames Vargas Ureña who had to post a RD$2 million bail bond, together with periodical presentation before the court and severe travel restrictions as coercive measures on an accusation of intent to distribute, together with an assistant district attorney Luciana Florentino and other members of the Police, some 4 kg of cocaine.

The case is now back in court. So far, the colonels have denied the accusations.

http://elnacional.com.do/coroneles-...e-dinero-en-los-alcarrizos-niegan-imputacion/
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...-acusados-de-robo-de-rd-2-millones-JH10175826
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...iales-pn-quedarse-con-millon-y-medio-de-pesos


No swimming in front of Santo Domingo
The discharge of sewage into the Caribbean Sea has contaminated the waters off the Malecon of Santo Domingo. A report in Diario Libre highlights there is high contamination of the waters, despite several surfers continuing the sport at Guibia Beach. The hot summer temperatures attract many youths to the beach. Journalists interviewed Dr. Sara Mota, president of the Dominican Society of Infectology, who said the youths had high immune system capacities. She recommended against swimming in the waters. The Santo Domingo Water Corporation has under construction a major sewage water plant for treating waters of the Ozama and Isabela Rivers to gradually reduce contamination of the river. The plant is scheduled to enter into operation at the end of the year.

https://www.diariolibre.com/medioam...sta-plagada-de-contaminacion-fecal-DH10177602


5.2 earthquake felt in Monte Plata
The Dominican Seismology Institute reported an earthquake with 5.2 intensity at 8:14pm on Wednesday, 20 June 2018. As reported, the earthquake was intensely felt in the province of Monte Plata, where reports are that store goods fell to the floor. The Dominican earthquake experts say this is the second earthquake felt in Monte Plata in less than a month. The first was on 3 June at 5:03am with an intensity of 4.9.
USGS had reported the earthquake at 4.5 magnitude, 8 km southwest of Sabana de Boya, in the northern part of Monte Plata province.

http://hoy.com.do/geologo-osiris-de...n-terremoto-identifica-zonas-mas-vulnerables/


Summer solstice on Thursday, 21 June 2018
The solstice is an astronomical event, caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and its motion in orbit around the sun. It marks the longest day of the year for those living north of the equator. The summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, or 23.5° north latitude. This has happened at exactly 6:07am Eastern Time on Thursday, 21 June. This time of the year enjoy the early dawns, long days, late sunsets and short nights. The sun is at its height each day, as it crosses the sky.

http://earthsky.org/earth/everything-you-need-to-know-june-solstice


Tropical waves to bring rains but heat continues
The National Meteorological Office (Onamet) is forecasting showers along with thunder and lightning for a large portion of the Dominican Republic. The low pressure waves coming from the East will bring rains to the Northwest, North, East, Southeast the central mountains and the border with Haiti. High temperatures will continue for the provinces of the Southwest, South and Southeast of the country. A tropical wave is crossing the Dominican Republic and another one is located over Puerto Rico and it will combine with a low level low pressure trough and increasing humidity and instability over much of the country. Onamet reminds people to stay hydrated, dress in light clothing and stay indoors from 11am to 4pm.

The Center for Emergency Operations (COE) is maintaining a yellow alert for the province of La Vega, especially Constanza, Santiago and Monsignor Nouel (Bonao), and its green alerts for El Seibo, Duarte, Hato Mayor, Espaillat, Sanchez Ramirez, Espaillat, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Hermanas Mirabal, Valverde, Puerto Plata and Samana.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/onamet-pronostica-aguaceros-por-vaguada-HH10172423


Young Dominican singer gets Golden Buzzer on America’s Got Talent
Amanda Mena, a young Dominican-born singer currently living in Boston, Massachusetts, and who confessed to being bullied when she was a newly arrived immigrant, was rewarded with a Golden Buzzer for her rendition of “A Natural Woman” during her audition for the reality talent show, America’s Got Talent. The judges’ praise was truly effusive. The judges commented: “I am blown away”, “You are a super natural talent,” “You have genuinely natural soul, this is an audition we will remember for a long time”, “That was incredible.” “You are amazing.”

Finally, judge Mel B commented: “This is what I am going to say to all those bullies”, as she smacked the Golden Buzzer. With the Golden Buzzer, Mena goes straight to the semifinals on live TV.

Back in 2014, Amanda won the second season of Telemundo’s “La Voz Kids.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLh-2w-Nq9Y
https://www.diariolibre.com/revista...en-el-reality-america-s-got-talent-EH10174624
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO0fLw_mTio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8oxjsp63cg


Liuba Maria Hevia and Gema Corredera at the National Theater
Cuban singer-composer Liuba María Hevia will be the guest performer on Monday, 25 June 2018, as part of the “Lunes de Amaury”, by maestro Amaury Sánchez, at the Juan Lockward Back of the National Theater. Liuba is regarded as one of the best performers of Nueva Trova Cubana. She will be singing Cuban trovas, tangos, boleros and other memorable Latin American genre songs.

On that same evening, Gema Corredera, another Cuban singer, will be performing. She is traveling here from Miami for the event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EGnjsq6Y2w
https://acento.com.do/2018/spk-espe...promete-espectaculo-memorable-amaury-sanchez/
 
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