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President seeks Japanese investment President Hipolito Mejia, on an official 10-day visit to Japan and Taiwan, invited Japanese businessmen to take advantage of the central geographic location of the Dominican Republic by installing distribution centers there. The idea is for the DR to become a link from Japan to the United States or Latin America. Mejia said that telecommunication capability and trade sectors are open to receive increased Japanese investment. During a breakfast with Japanese businessmen, President Mejia invited Japanese investors to the Dominican Republic and guaranteed that they would feel right at home, due to the “peace and security that the country offers foreign investors.” Mejia, in the keynote speech at the breakfast meeting, highlighted the fact that his government has placed special emphasis on the training of human resources for tourism and has recently put into effect Law 158-91, which gives special privileges to investments in certain areas. Mejia also pointed out that in the Dominican Republic imported US$213-million of goods from Japan in 1999, and US$300-million in 2001, while at the same time Dominican exports to Japan were valued at US$9-million and US$17-million, respectively for the same two-year period. DR exports to Japan are primarily comprised of ferro-nickel, organic bananas and rum. During his second day in Tokyo, President Mejia also attended the opening of a tourism information office. |
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The dollar The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic infused $60-million dollars into the exchange system yesterday, in an attempt to control the spiraling devaluation of the Dominican peso. The day before, the Central Bank had withdrawn RD$1.5-billion pesos from the monetary system by issuing Certificates of Participation to the commercial banks. This new injection of hard currency to the local exchange system is seen as an attempt to persuade the exchange banks to follow the agreements reached just a few weeks ago. The plan had been to leave the exchange rate at RD$20.30 to the dollar for a period of 30 days with a review of the situation to follow on a weekly basis. However, within a week of arriving at this accord, it was broken by several of the larger exchange banks. Freddy Ortiz, speaking for the exchange banks, told reporters that of the US$60-million, only $15-million would go directly to the exchange banks and $35-million would go to the commercial banks for loans. This development, along with the issuance of the Certificates of Participation has caused some skepticism within the banking industry. Manuel Lopez Valdez, head of the Dominican Commercial Banking Association (ABCRD), told reporters while attending a Latin American banking conference in Bavaro, that he attributed the run on the peso to doubts that there are short-term solutions to the pressures on the dollar-peso rate. Other bankers, who requested anonymity, were more pessimistic. Some felt that the RD$1.5-billion peso move by the Central Bank would deprive the commercial banks of liquidity, without having any positive effect on the exchange rate. One banker, Felipe Mendoza, the head of Bancredito, felt that the measures were favorable, as they showed that there was order and close observation of what was going on in the financial world. Mendoza attributed the rise in the dollar to the reactivation of tourism and the industrial free zones. |
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Budget sent to Congress Congress received the RD$83-billion national budget yesterday. 43% of the allotments within the financial plan will go to social spending, with the NGOs slated to receive RD$720-million. According to Diario Libre, 2,964 NGOs will receive RD$720,987,189. The 409 NGOs under the aegis of the Ministry of Public Health (SESPAS) will receive RD$240-million and the 759 that fall under the supervision of the Presidency will receive RD$137-million. |
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Preventing dengue deaths The Ministry of Public Health has instructed public hospitals to intern all children arriving at the facilities with high fever and that the children be kept in observation for 24 hours, during which time a blood sample should be taken to test for dengue. Public Health says that most of the recent dengue deaths were due to misdiagnosis or because the child is not interned in time for adequate medical assistance. Deputy Minsiter Manuel Tejada said that physicians are confusing the illness with malaria and leptospirosis. He said they have registered 2,025 probable cases, confirmed 544, and that, so far, there have been 14 dengue-related deaths. Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes. |
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Report on the grenade explosion Minister of the Armed Forges Jose Miguel Soto Jimenez confirmed that it was a grenade that cost the lives of two 12-year olds and injured two others in Palmar de Ocoa on Sunday, 24 November. He explained that there is an air-shooting field in the area and that, apparently, one of the grenades did not detonate during exercises there. Instead, the explosive was retrieved by a fisherman who brought it to shore and used it as a weight in a gymnasium. The grenade found its way to the hands of children, however, where one of the boys placed a Christmas rocket on it, triggering the explosion that also toppled a wall. Soto Jimenez said that the shooting field would be closed because of its proximity to a populous area. He said that the Armed Forces will carry out a total clean-up operation of the area to avoid any like incidents. The Listin Diario reports that Palmar de Ocoa residents handed in five similar shells to the Navy after the tragedy. |
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No bail for Pepe, for now The judge in charge of the Pepegate case has overruled the Santo Domingo district attorney and sent the case to criminal court. The judge of the Eleventh Penal Chamber, Nancy Joaquin Guzman, returned the file to the district attorney’s office and denied bail for the accused, Pedro Julio Goico, a.k.a. Pepe. This means that Goico and his two alleged accomplices will remain in prison. In her decision, the judge said that the accused are responsible for criminal actions against Baninter (which has not pressed charges) and therefore worthy of being sent to the investigative courts. The District Attorney for Santo Domingo, Maximo Aristy Caraballo, said he may appeal the decision. |
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Dominican co-pilot convicted in Florida Another piece of front-page news tells of the conviction in the Southern District Federal Court of Luis Alejandro Madera Sanchez, a co-pilot for Caribair, for smuggling 455 kilos of cocaine in a plane en route from the Dominican Republic. Madera faces a sentence of at least 10 years incarceration and up to US$4-million in fines for each count of the indictment. The co-pilot was found guilty in the Fort Lauderdale courtroom for conspiring to import cocaine, for possession of cocaine, for possession with intent to sell cocaine and for importing cocaine. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for February with a maximum allowable sentence of up to 40 years in prison. According to authorities, Madera was the co-pilot of the plane that landed at Opa Locka airport, where Customs inspectors discovered the 455 kilos of drugs hidden in the tail section of the aircraft. The pilot of the airplane had already pleaded guilty to the same charges and will be sentenced in January. The announcement of the convictions coincides with ongoing US Drug Enforcement Agency investigations in relation to the irregular operation of an airplane and helicopter assigned to the presidential advance team, which is being detained at the San Isidro Air Base. [The head of the presidential advance team, Colonel Pedro Julio (Pepe) Goico, was recently arrested for credit card fraud.] News reports indicate that, while the pilots filed routes to domestic destinations, the aircraft was later diverted to fly to Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica and the United States. According to news reports, the abovementioned Caribair airplane was used by the advance team of the President prior to purchasing their own aircraft. http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/news/local/4613050.htm |
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281 people in next group to Spain Tonight 281 Dominicans will travel to Spain with their hopes for a better future. They re the lucky working-class people selected from 7,000 applicants for employment in Spain. With ages ranging from 25 to 38, they all have dreams of remaining in Spain to make a better life for themselves and their families. Yesterday, the Spanish Embassy issued the travelers their passports and their visas. All the workers in the group have been contracted to two labor agencies in Madrid. |
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Kidnap victim returns home Newspaper reports focused on the successful return of Eduardo Alberto Najri Molini, son of businessman Marcial Najri, who had been kidnapped over the weekend as he left a movie house in the Diamond Mall complex. According to sources, a RD$6-million ransom was paid to the kidnappers, although the National Police has not made any statements on the case. The Najri family is the owner of a group of companies, including the Ferquido fertilizer company and Delta Comercial, which represents the Toyota brand in the Dominican Republic. Najri Molini is also the nephew of the former Santo Domingo Senator. |
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Huge fire wipes out Hiper Olé The mega-store called Hiper-Olé, located on the San Isidro highway, East of Santo Domingo, was razed by fire yesterday afternoon. There were no injuries reported, but the damages were said to be in the multimillion-peso range. Fire units from Santo Domingo North, Santo Domingo West, Boca Chica, the Dominican Air Force at San Isidro, and units from the Navy assisted in extinguishing the blaze. The AMET and national police sealed off the entrance to the San Isidro highway, causing back-ups for kilometers along the Las Americas Highway. Edilmiro Rodriguez, general manager for the supermarket chain, told the newspapers that the fire did most of its damage in the warehouse area used for storage of household electrical goods, cloth and other merchandise. |
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Another tragic accident Three people died and 22 were injured in an accident between a large beer truck and a minibus carrying workers to the Bavaro-Punta Cana area. Some of the injured were taken to the Dario Contreras hospital in Santo Domingo and others were treated locally. The accident occurred on the highway between Higuey and Bavaro when the minibus stopped to pick up a passenger. |
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Plastic is again accepted at gas stations The association of gasoline retailers (ANADEGAS) announced yesterday that they had reached an agreement with most of the card-issuing banks and have instructed members to resume accepting credit cards for gasoline purchases. The president of ANADEGAS, Juan Ignacio Espaillat, warned, however, that about 8% of the customers will still not be able to pay with plastic, as the retailers’ organization was not able to conclude negotiations with all banks, according to the front-page story in Diario Libre. |
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Bernal urges new tourism model The president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association, Johnny Bernal, maintains that the time has come for the Dominican Republic to change its tourism strategy for a more competitive model, as reported in the Listin Diario. He said that the mass tourism model, whereby the industry is controlled by large foreign tour operators selling low-cost package holidays, is no longer a sustainable operation. He spoke during the “Strategy for the Competitiveness of the Puerto Plata Tourism Industry” that took place at the Gran Ventana Hotel in Playa Dorada. The Association of Hotels of Puerto Plata, the Playa Dorada Hotel Association and the USAID sponsored the event. Speakers at the event included Abraham Selman, Roberto Casoni, Melvin Mañon, Elena Brineman, Antonio Rodriguez Mansfield, Ventura Serra and Luis Lopez. Bernal says that the mass-market tourism concept, which is subject to constant price wars, is on decline worldwide. The only alternative, he said, is to compete with quality and differentiation variables for each destination. Bernal advocated the cluster competitiveness model, with a partnership between the public and private sector. “If the DR is to reach the competitive levels that globalization demands, the first step is to recognize the strategic importance that tourism has in the country’s development plans,” he said. He continued by saying that when planning municipal spending, only the native population is being taken into account, and not the flux of visitors the area receives. |
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Medal bonanza continues The Dominican Republic won 13 medals yesterday in the XIX Central American and Caribbean Games being held in El Salvador, including two golds. The Dominican Republic was disappointed, however, when their star weightlifter, Wanda Rijo, had to settle for silver instead in her specialty. In 1998, Wanda had become a national heroine when she won three gold medals. Yesterday, it was Karate that brought home the gold as Alberto Zabala and Heidi Rodriguez won their respective events. Late last night, a silver was obtained for the Table Tennis team competition. The results, so far, have exceeded the predictions, and the current total of 33 medals already represents 6 more than were forecast. |
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Licey ends the Giants run D'Angelo Jiménez hit a dramatic two run homerun in the 9th inning last night to lead the Licey Tigers to a 2-0 victory and help put an end to the Giants 9 game winning streak. The Giants fell 2 games short of the record for consecutive wins, established by Licey in 1987-88. |
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Homeruns power Escogido over the Bulls José Guillén y Wilson Betemit hit homeruns to lead Escogido to a 6-2 victory over the La Romana Bulls. The Lions win keeps them tied for 4th with Licey with the bulls trailing by 2 games in the standings. Wascar Serrano picked up his first win of the season for Escogido. |
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Aguilas gains 22nd win Santiago Ramirez pitched 3.1 innings of solid relief for his first victory of the year in leading the Eagles to a 5-4 victory and their league leading 22nd win. Guillermo Garcia knocked in Mendy Lopez with a single in the 7th inning to plate the decisive run. Jose Vargas struck out two in gaining his 6th save. |
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