DR1 Daily News - Friday, 21 October 2016

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Medina: US is 10-lane highway for drugs
President Medina receives new ambassadors
President Medina’s millionaire cabinet ministers*
Valdez Albizu: Economy grows 6.9%
Tax agency warns Chinatown shops to pay taxes
Talks underway for trade agreement with Cuba
City drainage needs injection of funds
Santo Domingo East’s Christmas Lights Spectacular*
Texaco celebrates 100 years in Dominican market
Rains to continue
Aguilas win opening game of winter baseball
El Bailazo at Sambil Mall
Comedy at the National Theater
Rock concert in Punta Cana



Medina: US is 10-lane highway for drugs
President Danilo Medina has responded to US Ambassador Brewster’s recent comments describing the Dominican Republic as a growing transshipment point for drugs to the United States by comparing the US to a 10-lane highway for the drugs that enter the DR for shipment to the US. Brewster said that drug operations were endangering investments in the country.

Medina said: “There is talk that the Dominican Republic is a bridge for drugs. For that matter, then the United States is a 10-lane highway for the destination of the same drugs.”

In his remarks, US Ambassador Brewster also spoke of administrative corruption that could affect US investments in the country and any prospective investors in the Dominican market. Medina responded to questions from journalists by asking: “What corruption?” He said the US ambassador should be specific and not speak in general terms.

Medina was speaking on Thursday, 20 October 2016 while receiving credentials from the new ambassadors of the Netherlands, Japan, Honduras, India, Poland and Belgium at the Presidential Palace.

http://eldia.com.do/medina-pide-a-estados-unidos-le-muestre-los-casos-de-corrupcion/
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...-ee-uu-es-avenida-de-diez-carriles-de-destino
http://elnacional.com.do/danilo-res...-droga-ee-uu-es-una-avenida-de-diez-carriles/
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/10/20/video-danilo-eeuu-una-avenida-10-carriles-para-recibir-drogas


President Medina receives new ambassadors
President Danilo Medina has received credentials from new ambassadors Robertus Johannes Hendrikus de Leeuw of the Netherlands, Hiroyuki Makiuchi of Japan, Claudia Sim?n of Honduras, Tsewang Namgyal of India, Agnieszka Fridrychowicz Tekieli of Poland and Patrick van Gheel of Belgium. Medina was accompanied by Foreign Relations Minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado and deputy minister of bilateral affairs Cesar Medina during the ceremony held on Thursday, 20 October 2016.

Netherlands ambassador Robertus Johannes Hendrikus de Leeuw has held several posts at the Ministry of Foreign Relations in The Hague and overseas since 1974. He was appointed director of the Department of Heritage Property of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1996, was consul general in Chicago, USA from 2001 to 2005 and held the same post in Guangzhou, China from 2005 to 2007. He was also consul general in Dusseldorf, Germany 2007 to 2010. He later held the post of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Regionalization Director in The Hague. Since 2012 he has served as Consul General in Dubai.

Japanese ambassador Hiroyuki Makiuchi has held a variety of posts in his diplomatic career that began in 1980 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2001 he was named first secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Spain, in 2003 and 2005, 2010 he held the same post in Colombia, Uruguay and Bolivia. He was principal assistant director for Central American and Caribbean affairs in 2012 and regional coordinator for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs in 2013.

Honduran ambassador Claudia Sim?n is a graduate in business administration from the University of Florida. She hails from the private sector where she managed an events company. As assistant to the Honduras First Lady Ana Mar?a Hern?ndez, she worked on early childhood and breastfeeding programs.

India’s ambassador Tsewang Namgyal is an Economics graduate from the University of Delhi. He joined the Indian foreign service in 1992 and has held a number of positions abroad and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1994-1996 he was third secretary of the Embassy of India in Cairo. He has held diplomatic positions in Tunis, Brussels, Manila, Singapore and Ottawa. Since 2015 he has been ambassador in Cuba, and in February 2016 he was appointed concurrently as Ambassador of India to the Dominican Republic based in Havana.

Polish ambassador Agnieszka Fridrychowicz Tekieli is a graduate in international relations from the University of Warsaw, with a masters in international relations. She has held the posts of minister counselor and deputy director at the Ministry of Foreign Relations before being posted to the Dominican Republic. She underwent diplomatic and consular training in 1999-2000 and went on to work started working at the European Union’s MFA Department. In 2004-2008, she served as First Secretary at her country’s Permanent Representation to the European Union. In 2008-2009, she worked at the Africa and the Middle East Department, and was the Minister’s Plenipotentiary for the Barcelona Process – Union for the Mediterranean. Between 2009 and 2014 she was Head of Political Section of the Polish Embassy in Madrid, also serving as Charg? d’Affaires (2012-2013). In 2014-2016, she worked as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Infrastructure.

Belgian ambassador Patrick Van Gheel is a law graduate whose foreign service career started in 1998 at the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. From 2012-2015 he was director of Trade Service Policy World Trade Organization serving in the Directorate General for European Affairs. From 2008 to 2012 he was the first secretary at the Permanent Representation to the UN and WTO in Geneva and served as his country’s Permanent Representative to the OECD. He is a graduate of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. He has also served as Belgian ambassador to Cuba.

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...artas-credenciales-de-seis-nuevos-embajadores


President Medina’s millionaire cabinet ministers
The Acento news site is publishing a series of features on the wealth of the cabinet ministers in the Medina administration.

Featured so far are:
Minister of Foreign Relations Miguel Vargas Maldonado with RD$694 million.
Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jose Ramon Peralta with RD$269 million.
Attorney General Jean Alain Rodr?guez with RD$224 million
President of Indotel, Jose del Castillo Savi??n with RD$124 million.
Minister of Hacienda Simon Lizardo with RD$24 million.

http://acento.com.do/2016/politica/...cion-jurada-posee-una-fortuna-rd-19-millones/


Valdez Albizu: Economy grows 6.9%
The governor of the Central Bank, Hector Valdez Albizu reported a 6.9% increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Dominican Republic for January-September 2016.

The growth by sectors was:
Mining (22.3%), Construction (12.2%), Farms (10.6%), Financial Intermediaries (10.4%), Health (8.2%), Other Service Activities (7.1%), Commerce (6.7%), Education (6.3%), Hotels, Bars and Restaurants (5.9%), Transport (5.3%), Local Manufacturing (5.3%), among others.

Valdez released the recent data during the 69th anniversary celebration of the Central Bank.

http://www.bancentral.gov.do/notici...DEL_DISCURSO_69_ANIVERSARIO_BCRD_20102016.pdf


Tax agency warns Chinatown shops to pay taxes
New Tax agency (DGII) director Magin D?az has told the press that the Medina administration will not be sending a tax reform bill to Congress but will be taking administrative measures to correct existing distortions and thus increase its revenues. These measures include eliminating the fuel subsidy for members of the transport cartels, increasing road toll and vehicle permit fees and reducing tax evasion.

He said that the DGII was working closely with the Central Bank, Ministry of Hacienda and the Ministry of Economy to quantify tax evasion and identify non-paying businesses and individuals. Data up to 2015 will be available by the end of the year.

He said that his administration would be focusing on transparency and clamping down on tax evasion through the use of high-tech equipment and enforcing regulations. He said the DGII is the country’s leading revenue collector.

He added, nevertheless, that once the government signs the Electricity Pact, priority will be given to the signing of the Tax Pact.

D?az said they have already shut down around 100 businesses for tax evasion. He announced the shutdown of 30 businesses in Chinatown on Thursday, 20 October 2016 of around 50 to be closed. D?az estimates tax evasion at 35-40% in the Dominican Republic.

The Tax Agency director, who was appointed to the job in August 2016, said that tax collections were up 18% in September this year compared to last year.*

http://www.listindiario.com/economi...dispone-cierre-de-50-negocios-en-barrio-chino
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=503595
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=503584
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/159308-Going-after-the-Chinese


Talks underway for trade agreement with Cuba
Cuba and the Dominican Republic have begun talks leading up to the signing of a Partial Scope Trade Agreement. The DR has a similar agreement with Panama.

Cuban ambassador in the Dominican Republic Carlos de la Nuez Lopez said that the first phase would see a reduction on some items in order to encourage more exports from the Dominican Republic to Cuba. De la Nuez made the remarks during a presentation on the advantages Cuba offers to investors during an event organized by the Dominican Traders Federation (FDC) on Thursday 20 October 2016.

FDC president Ivan Garcia complained that Dominican exports have to pay tariffs of more than 200% to sell to Cuba when other countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America can sell their products to Cuba with zero tariffs. The high tariffs are a major barrier to increased trade from the Dominican Republic.

According to trade statistics, in 2015 trade totaled US$80 of which US$54 million are Dominican exports to Cuba and US$27 are imports from Cuba.

http://hoy.com.do/rd-y-cuba-inician-negociaciones-para-firma-de-acuerdo/


City drainage needs injection of funds
The torrential rains that have been falling in the National District since Wednesday, 19 October 2016 reflect the need for improvements in the city’s drainage systems. National District (Santo Domingo) Mayor David Collado said on Thursday, 20 October 2016 that the city government does not have the funds to repair the city’s rainwater drainage system and that the funds should come from the central government.

Collado said that the city government was working with the Ministry of Public Works and the City Water Corporation (CAASD) to improve rainwater drainage. A private company has been contracted to work on the city’s 689 main drains.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/10/...-del-gobierno-para-solucionar-drenaje-pluvial


Santo Domingo East’s Christmas Lights Spectacular
Mayor Alfredo Mart?nez of Santo Domingo East municipality is inviting the public to the relocation of Mayor Roberto Salcedo’s Bright Lights Spectacular from the Iberoamerica Park to the Mirador del Este Park grounds. The mayor says that he has 500 parking spaces for visitors to the attraction. Local residents near Iberoamerica Park had protested that the lack of parking in the area caused major traffic chaos.

New National District Mayor David Collado said the RD$40 million cost of the lights show would be better spent on improving lighting in low-income neighborhoods in the National District.

Mayor Mart?nez has not said what he will be spending, only that private sponsors would pick up most of the cost. He said that they were expecting four million visitors to attend the renamed “Vive la Navidad” village.

In addition to hundreds of thousands of lights, the attractions include a giant Christmas tree, a train station, Santa’s house, chocolate house, enchanted forest, and more.

Mayor Mart?nez made the announcement on Thursday, 20 October 2016 during a press conference at the Santo Domingo East municipality offices.

He said the lights show would be open from the first week of December through 8 January 2017, Monday to Sunday, from 6pm to midnight.

http://eldia.com.do/brillante-navidad-en-santo-domingo-este-se-hara-con-inversion-sector-privado/


Texaco celebrates 100 years in Dominican market
Fuel distribution company Texaco is celebrating its 100th anniversary in the Dominican market. With 140 stations nationwide, the first Texaco gas station opened in March 1916.*
The company markets the difference in yield the additives Techron and Techron D make in the diesel and unleaded premium and regular gasoline it sells.

In the Dominican Republic, Texaco is managed by GB Energy, which purchased Texaco operations in the DR, Jamaica and St. Maarten in 2012 and operates 200 gas stations all together. *The GB Group first entered the energy industry in Haiti in 2003 prior to entering the market in other Caribbean countries.

In an interview with the Grupo Corripio news media on Thursday 20 October 2016, executives Pablo Portes, regional CEO; Bruno Vincent, CEO in the Dominican Republic, and social corporate responsibility director Walkiria Caama?o and spoke of the company’s vision for the future.

In the Dominican Republic, Texaco handles 4.2 million of the 32 million barrels of fuel, with its competitor Total with around 4.0 million. They said that over the years, there has been a decline in sales of regular unleaded gasoline and an increased in propane gas sales. The company also services hotels, restaurants, laundries whose equipment runs on propane gas, in addition to vehicles.

http://eldia.com.do/una-empresa-con-100-anos-en-el-mercado-local/
http://eldia.com.do/572631-2/
http://gbgroup.com/our-businesses/energy/texaco-dominicana/


Rains to continue
The weather service (Onamet) forecasts more rain and thunderstorms nationwide caused by a low-pressure system since early this week. Weather alerts for flooding and mudslides remain in place. The Emergency Operations Center (COE) has issued yellow and green alerts for the National District and 26 provinces. Onamet director Gloria Ceballos estimates that more than 100 millimeters of rain have fallen in recent days.

http://www.onamet.gov.do


Aguilas win opening game of winter baseball
The Aguilas Cibae?as have won the opening game of the 2016-2017 Winter Professional Baseball Championship in the Dominican Republic. The Aguilas defeated the Gigantes del Cibao 4-2 at the game held at the Cibao Stadium in Santiago on Thursday evening, 20 October 2016. The Aguilas fans were thrilled by a three-run homer by Francisco Pe?a in the seventh inning of the game.

The tournament continues with games at the five stadiums nationwide in Santo Domingo, San Pedro de Macor?s, La Romana, San Francisco de Macor?s and Santiago.

See the game schedules at: http://www.lidom.com/home/calendario/
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/10/21/abren-torneo-con-victoria-gracias-jonron-francisco-pena


El Bailazo at Sambil Mall
The events hall of Sambil shopping mall on Av. John F. Kennedy presents the concert “El bailazo” with merengue, salsa and urban music performers. The concert is set for Friday, 21 October 2016 at 10pm.
Enjoy the music of Manny Manuel, Porfi Baloa y sus Adolescentes, Chiquisalsa, Criollo House and Ra?l & Fito.
Also Ruth ‘La Cantante”, Carlito Wey and Fulton Vasquez.
Tickets are for sale at Uepa Tickets, Movie Max, CNN Servicios, Supermercado Nacional, Jumbo for RD$2,165 general admission, RD$2,710, RD$4,115 and RD$5,415 special seating.


Comedy at the National Theater
The cozy Juan Lockward Bar at the National Theater in Santo Domingo is staging "A $2.50 el Cuba Libre", the Dominican version of Venezuelan playwright Ibrahim Guerra’s dramatic comedy. Starring Fifi Almonte, Judith Rodr?guez, Olga Bucarelli, Yorilla Castillo and Hony Estrella opening up about their frustrations in life. Friday, 21 and Saturday, 22 October 2016 at 8:30pm. Tickets at the National Theater Box office.


Rock concert in Punta Cana
Rock Sinf?nico 2016, the symphony of rock, is set for Saturday, 3 December 2016 at the Barcel? B?varo Convention Center in Punta Cana. The show is directed by Amaury S?nchez conducting the Santo Domingo Philharmonic Orchestra. Twenty classical musicians plus 11 experienced rock musicians will be on stage, including the country’s leading rock stars: Tony Almont (Toque Profundo), H?ctor An?bal Estrella (Transfusi?n), Eddy Alba (Uranio) and M?ximo Mart?nez (New Page-Tabukek). They will be playing all-time great classics like “Born to be Wild”, "November Rain", "Aqualung", “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, “Smoke on the Water”, “Carry on my Wayward Son”, “Owner of a Lonely Heart”, and "Stairway to Heaven".

Barcel? is offering package tours including transportation and lodging.
Tickets for the show alone are available online at RD$1,900 and RD$2,300 at Ticket Express.

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


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http://dr1.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/92-Travel-amp-Tourism-News