DR1 Daily News - Friday, 29 July 2016

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Country gets new diplomacy law
Trust fund to help rescue museums
JCE has not received formal help request
Colonial City taxi drivers get better
Santiago consolidates its positioning as health city
Canadian fugitive with six identities to be deported
Case advances against two turtle traffickers
Man named Gaspar is suspect in Fornatora case
Centro Leon and Museo de Antioquia exhibit
Father?s Day on Sunday, 31 July
Christmas bashes at Hard Rock Caf?


Country gets new diplomacy law
The newly enacted Ministry of Foreign Relations and Foreign Service Law 630-16 creates a new juridical framework for the changes in foreign policy underway at the Ministry of Foreign Relations under Minister Andres Navarro.
Foreign Minister Navarro says that the challenge now is to rigorously apply the law for a more effective Dominican diplomacy.
The bill creates the Council for the Diplomacy and Consular Career.

Trust fund to help rescue museums
Culture Minister Jose Antonio Rodriguez is optimistic that a cultural trust fund created to improve Dominican museums will rescue many of these. It is expected to be able to end the abandon that affects emblematic museums such as the Museum of Dominican Man and the Museum of History and Geography.
Rodriguez said the details of the cultural trust fund would soon be announced.
http://www.diariolibre.com/revista/crean-fideicomiso-para-los-museos-dominicanos-EG4495161

JCE has not received formal help request
The formal request by Haiti for assistance from the Central Electoral Board (JCE) to contribute to the organization of the presidential election in Haiti has not yet been presented in a plenary session of the JCE. Despite the comments by the president of the JCE, Roberto Rosario, to the press earlier this week justifying the assistance, JCE judges Eddy Olivares and Jose Angel Aquino said they are unaware of the request by the government of Haiti and only had heard the comments made by Rosario. The assistance would be to help the Haitian government prepare for the election that is scheduled for 9 October 2016. The judges said only when a formal request is made will they make their position known concerning the assistance.
Rosario told the press that the Electoral Council in Haiti had requested the collaboration of the JCE after participating as observers in the general election of 15 May 2016. The JCE would provide equipment and staff training for the voting stations in Haiti.
The assistance to the elections in Haiti has been met with local opposition. As reported in El Nacional, Jesus Vasquez, secretary of the PRM opposition party said: ?To prepare for fraud is the only thing that this board can help Haiti with.? He warned the people of Haiti that if they accept the assistance from the JCE they could be setting themselves up for the electoral chaos that prevailed in the election process in the Dominican Republic.
Moreover, the civil society think tank, Centro Bono recommended that the DR should not directly offer assistance in the Haitian presidential election, but rather the Haitian government should request this assistance from international organizations. Recently, the United States government announced it would suspend a US$3 million assistance package originally committed to the Haitian government to assist in the presidential election process.
http://elnacional.com.do/miembros-jce-dicen-ignoran-haiti-pida-ayuda-para-comicios/

Colonial City taxi drivers get better
The Ministry of Tourism, as part of its Tourism Program for the Colonial City (PFTCC) funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is implementing a training program for taxi drivers who operate in the historic city center. The purpose of the program is to help taxi drivers improve service to visitors. The program is led by specialists of the local Unapec university and the Universidad de Nebrija of Spain.
Professor Antonio Munoz of the Universidad de Nebrija said that the taxi ride is the first and last impression the tourist gets when arriving and departing the country. He said the training of taxi drivers is essential to the improving of the quality of the Dominican tourism product. The training consists of 22 hours of instruction and includes modules on a variety of topics, including the importance of personal hygiene, the care and maintenance of their taxis, conveying to their customers wholesome values. There was even a session that helped taxi drivers brush up on Dominican history.
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/07/28/capacitan-taxistas-ciudad-colonial

Santiago consolidates its positioning as health city
The second largest city in the country, Santiago is positioning itself as a leader in health services and medical tourism. Consolidation and expansion of services have taken place at the well established private clinics and hospitals in the central city. These include Union Medica, Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago (Homs), Clinica Corominas, Centro Medico Cibao-Utesa, Clinica Dr. Bonilla, Instituto Materno Infantil and Centro Medico de Especialidades Santiago Apostol, among others.
Santiago hospitals service the Cibao region and its 14 provinces with a population of around 3.5 million people. Previously, patients had to visit the capital city of Santo Domingo in the south, but the new advancements mean local residents have access to quality services close to home.
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/07/28/santiago-avanza-como-polo-salud

Puerto Plata business mission to New York
A mission of Puerto Plata business people, coordinated by the Puerto Plata Chamber of Commerce, is visiting New York City next week to establish linkages for trade and investment. The president of the Puerto Plata Chamber of Commerce Sixto Peralta said that the visit is part of the social and business events on occasion of the 12th year of the Meeting of Puerto Plata Expats in the United States organized by the Provincial Committee of Puerto Plata Residents in the United States and Canada (Copropusa), as reported in El Nuevo Diario.
The focus is on fresh product, real estate and other initiatives.
Among other activities, on Thursday, 4 August 2016, the Puerto Plata Chamber of Commerce and Copropusa are scheduled to sign an inter-institutional agreement to strengthen business ties. On Friday, 5 August, Dominican consul in New York Eduardo Selman will receive the visiting mission from Puerto Plata. The consulate has agreed to take a more active role in the New York chapter of the Puerto Plata Chamber of Commerce.
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=490096

Canadian fugitive with six identities to be deported
A fugitive from Canadian justice, who held the several identities, including Matthew Bruce Medina, Matt Medina and Matthew Bruce Maynard was arrested on Thursday, 28 July 2016, by Interpol officers under the direction of the National Police.
The confidence trickster also used the identities of Mathew Bruce Gonzalez, Luis Jolicoer and Pac Perron, in a long list of alleged crimes including drug trafficking, associating with known criminals and forgery.
He was arrested on Av. Alemania in Bavaro, Punta Cana. The Attorney General Office had issued an order for his arrest as a response to a request received via the Ministry of Foreign Relations from the government of Canada. He was taken to the National Drug Control Agency office in Higuey for processing prior to his deportation to Canada.
http://pn.gob.do/noticias-principal...se-requerido-en-su-pas-por-diferentes-delitos
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...adiense-que-era-buscado-por-distintos-delitos

Case advances against two turtle traffickers
A Montecristi court announced the case against two Chinese, Shunghuan Wu and Shenghai Wu for transporting 1,372 turtle (Eretmochelys imbricada) parts in four bags is once again moving through the judicial courts. The Armada arrested the individuals on 23 November 2014, after receiving a tip. The two suspects were subsequently released on bail.
They are accused of violation of the Dominican Constitution, Environment Law 64-00, the Convention on Commerce of Threatened Species (CITES) and Decree 288-12 on the protection of marine turtles.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...-de-especies-marinas-en-montecristi-KD4489783

Man named Gaspar is suspect in Fornatora case
A private investigator hired by the family of missing US tourist 45-year old Darryl Fornatora wants Dominican investigators to follow up on a man named Gaspar who had befriended Fornatora shortly before he went missing when visiting Cabarete in Puerto Plata on what would have been a weeklong surfing vacation with his friend Matt Rigby.
While the case has been closed by Dominican law enforcement authorities, the family hired former New York City policeman Bo Dietl to continue the search. He believes the Dominican law enforcement officials reached the wrong conclusion ? that Fornatora had drowned when surfing. The two friends arrived on 25 January 2016, and Fornatora went missing on 27 January.
The Palm Beach Post reports that in one of their last conversations, Fornatora would have told Rigby that after visiting Sosua with Gaspar, Fornatora appeared ?very nervous? and ?paranoid? and blurted out: ?We have to leave the country right away. This is a setup. I messed up and they know where we live.?
As reported, Fornatora packed up his belongings and escorted Rigby to a souvenir shop in Cabarate, Dietl said. Fornatora told a woman outside the store that he was in danger and wanted to leave her with contact information ?in case anything happens.?
When Rigby came out of the surf shop, he couldn?t find Fornatora, he told investigators. Fornatora hasn?t been seen since.
Dietl is focusing again on Gaspar. He says that Gaspar told investigators that he took Fornatora to Sosua to show him ?a different surfing spot.?
But Dietl observes: ?I question why Gaspar brought Darryl to Sosua.? ?My detective sense from talking to my investigators ? I feel this Gaspar is holding back information that?s crucial to finding Darryl.?
http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news...er-gone-six-months-fundraiser-today-fo/nr5pz/

Centro Leon and Museo de Antioquia exhibit
The Centro Leon and Museo de Antioquia in Colombia present a temporary exhibit of Dominican and Colombian contemporary art in Santiago. The exhibition ? Las Zonas Grises (The Gray Areas) focuses on urban spaces. The Colombian museum?s curator, Nydia Gutierrez says that the art leads people to reflect on the economic, social and cultural transformations that are happening in the cities.

Father?s Day on Sunday, 31 July
Dominicans will be celebrating Father?s Day this Sunday, 31 July. The media are advertising sales barbecue sets, electronics and beverages, clothing, mattresses, cars and tires, and books for the occasion.

Christmas bashes at Hard Rock Caf?
It seems it is never too early to plan your Christmas holiday festivities. The Hard Rock Caf? in Santo Domingo?s Blue Mall announced a merengue dance extravaganza will be held on 23 December 2016, featuring Fernando Villalona and Sergio Vargas. The two leading merengue and bolero stars promise to perform all their greatest hits.
Tickets are on sale at Uepa Tickets, Supermercados Nacional, Jumbo and Hard Rock Caf? Santo Domingo. For more information, call 809 686-7771.

Read more about upcoming events at http://www.dr1.com/calendar

To read more news, see the DR1 News Archives at: http://dr1.com/premium/news/2016/index.shtml