DR1 Daily News - Wednesday, 23 November 2016

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President Medina inaugurates new production plant
President Medina promises to fix flood damage
President Medina hands money to rural communities
Repairs at 90 public schools
Customs Agency announces Xmas tax exemptions
Time to get your Quick Pass
Marbete late charge increase
New communications’ head at JCE
Latest flood report
It’s not the rain, it’s the deforestation
Dominicans can’t travel to many countries
Dharmendra Basita heads Indian Chamber of Commerce
David Ortiz speaks out against MLB draft in the DR
Firearms case to be declared complex
Texas Rangers prospects to be questioned
Frank Ceara at Hotel Jaragua
Japanese photography exhibition
Jandy Ventura on Wednesdays at Jalao



President Medina inaugurates new production plant
President Danilo Medina led the inauguration of a new pharmaceutical plant at the Dr. Collado Laboratories on Tuesday, 22 November 2016, in the Duarte Industrial Park at kilometer 22 of the Duarte Highway.*Jose Antonio and Marcial Najri Cesani, top executives of the Najri Group that owns the plant, were the event’s hosts.

The plant covers an area of 1,500 meters and has sections for manufacturing solids, semi-solids and liquid pharmaceuticals.

Other guests included Public Health Minister Altagracia Guzm?n and Customs Director Enrique Ram?rez.

Laboratorios Dr. Collado is a major supplier of the governmental low-cost pharmaceuticals program, Promese.

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...-200-empleos-presidente-asiste-a-inauguracion


President Medina promises to fix flood damage
President Danilo Medina says there is a great deal of work to be done to repair and replace infrastructure damage caused by the recent floods and overflowing rivers in the Cibao area. Medina pledged extensive government support to help the areas to recover. Speaking on Tuesday, 22 November 2016, he pointed out that the rains had to stop before any repairs could get underway.

Last week, Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo said that the rain damage was estimated at around RD$5 billion.

First Lady C?ndida Montilla was in Puerto Plata on Tuesday to personally assess damages and offer support. She was accompanied by the director of the Presidencial Social Plan Iris Guaba and the bishop of Puerto Plata, Monsignor Julio C?sar Corniel Amaro.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...odamos-en-los-danos-por-las-lluvias-ID5533930
https://primeradama.gob.do/la-primera-dama-lleva-esperanza-amor-y-ayuda-a-puerto-plata/


President Medina hands money to rural communities
President Danilo Medina has handed over the second payment of RD$116 million to 40 rural beneficiary organizations of the Economic and Rural Development Program (Prorural) in 20 provinces in the Cibao and the East. The funds will benefit around 16,000 families. The event took place at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday 22 November 2016.

The director general of Multilateral Cooperation (Digecom) Antonio Vargas Hern?ndez, said that the program is part of agreements between the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD) and Digecom.

International Agricultural Fund (FIDA) president Ladislao Rubio praised the progress that has been made in the agro industrial sector thanks to government support, adding that there was enormous potential in the local area.

Bernardina Fern?ndez, representing the rice producers of the Bajo Yuna area thanked President Medina for his support for the country’s producers, especially in areas with fewer resources.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...-a-organizaciones-rurales-del-cibao-y-el-este


Repairs at 90 public schools
The Ministry of Education has announced that 90 public schools in the northern region need repairs in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew and the November rains. In some cases, the schools have had to be closed for the safety of students and staff.

Minister Andres Navarro says that the areas with damaged schools include Puerto Plata (18), La Vega (9), Santiago (6), Tenares (1), Montecristi (2), Las Terrenas (5), Nagua (4), Espaillat (3), Barahona (11), San Crist?bal (3), Cotu? (3), Valverde (3), San Pedro de Macor?s (4), Hato Mayor (2), La Romana (1), Azua (1), San Jos? de Ocoa (1), Santo Domingo (5), Bonao (2), Dajab?n (2) and San Francisco de Macor?s (2).

Damage includes collapse or partial collapse of fences, damage to bathrooms and electric installations, roof leakage, ground damage, wall cracks and other structural problems.

Navarro says that the Ministry will be renting temporary locations so that teaching can continue while the installations are repaired.

The Emergency Operations Center announced yellow and green alerts for Montecristi, Puerto Plata, Duarte, Mar?a Trinidad S?nchez, El Seibo, Hato Mayor, La Altagracia and Espaillat provinces on 22 November 2016. However, the number of displaced people has been reduced to 5,140 down from a peak of more than 40,000 earlier this month.

http://hoy.com.do/educacion-reparara-mas-de-90-escuelas-afectadas-por-lluvias/
http://www.coe.gob.do


Customs Agency announces Xmas tax exemptions
The Customs Agency has announced that as of 1 December 2016 and through 7 January 2017, Dominicans who reside abroad and visit can bring “gifts” valued at up to US$3,000 to friends and relatives, providing they have not visited for the past six months for the tax exemption to be valid.

Only one type of item (for example electronics) is permitted per arriving person and one gift per family.

This time the DGA is allowing the items to be shipped by courier companies or consolidators. However, the person who picks up the goods at the DGA office with the supporting documents needs to comply with the same rules as individuals bringing the items in as part of their luggage.

There are restrictions in that motor vehicles, firearms, and industrial or farm raw materials are not allowed.

http://www.diariolibre.com/economia...-dominicanos-envien-regalos-navidad-DY5526454


Time to get your Quick Pass
The Ministry of Public Works (MOPC) is encouraging drivers to purchase the Quick Pass, the pre-paid account used for all electronic toll collections. The transponder attaches to the vehicle and is read by antennas mounted above the roadway. Toll payment is automatically deducted from the customer's account.

The Ministry says the pass can now be purchased at the Direcci?n General de Tr?nsito Terrestre (DGTT) offices in Santo Domingo. Two booths have been set up in the lobby and the parking lot of the offices at Av. Tiradentes and H?ctor Homero Hern?ndez Street from 8am to 4pm. Credit card and cash payments are accepted.

The Quick Pass can also be purchased at the toll booth stations on Las Am?ricas, Duarte, 6 de Noviembre and Carretera S?nchez highways, as well as at the RDVIAL offices in Edificio La Cumbre, the main CardNET office, and 50 other authorized sales points.

For more information, call 809 222-9274, ext 1 or see http://www.pasorapido.gob.do
http://elnacional.com.do/en-la-dgtt...-e-instalacion-de-paso-rapido-por-los-peajes/


Marbete late charge increase
The Tax Agency (DGII) has announced that vehicle owners who have delayed renewing their driving permits will be charged RD$900 in penalties for not paying on time this year. This is up from RD$600 last year.

The office said that many vehicle owners had still not renewed the sticker. So far only 225,690 stickers have been purchased, or 19% of the total vehicular park.

The DGII has provided 471 payment collection points nationwide, in addition to facilities at more than 1,000 savings and loans branches. The stickers can also be renewed online.*The renewal period began on 3 October 2016 and expires on 7 January 2017.

http://www.dgii.gov.do/noticias/Paginas/DGIIAplicaraRecargoMarbete.aspx


New communications’ head at JCE
Journalist Laura Castellanos is the new director of communications at the Central Electoral Board (JCE), the government department in charge of organizing general elections and the civil registry. The JCE has a new board.*She replaces Felix Reyna who is retiring after 14 years in the post.

Castellanos said that the new judges were currently learning about their new roles. She said that they have guaranteed that there would not be major job firings.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...rectora-de-comunicaciones-de-la-jce-CD5533848


Latest flood report
The Emergency Operations Center (COE) has announced that more people are returning to their homes after the floods but that 5,140 are still displaced of whom 94 are in shelters and 40 communities are still cut off.*Four roads, four bridges and 1,028 homes are still affected, and 100 homes have been totally destroyed.*

As the forecast is for the rain to continue, the COE still has 17 provinces on alert. Yellow alerts are in place for Montecristi, Puerto Plata, Duarte (San Francisco de Macor?s) and Mar?a Trinidad Sanchez (Nagua) while El Seibo, Sanchez Ram?rez (Cotu?), Azua, Hato Mayor, Peravia (Ban?), La Romana, La Altagracia (Higuey), Santiago, San Pedro de Macor?s, Espaillat (Moca), Monte Plata and Saman? are on green alert.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...ares-en-el-cibao-quedan-5-mil-140-desplazados


It’s not the rain, it’s the deforestation
Writing in the Somos Pueblo website, Phillip Lehman, a professional diver who has lived in the country since 2006, outlines what he believes are the real causes of the current catastrophic flooding. The Ministry of Public Works has estimated the damage caused by the November flooding at RD$5 billion. The Ministry of Education has reported that 90 public schools were damaged.

Lehman writes that the cause is not the rain, but the systematic destruction of pristine rain forests because of slash-and-burn farming practices, urbanization and charcoal production. He forecasts serious flooding every time there is an above average amount of rainfall in the future because it now takes less for the ground to be saturated.

Meanwhile, an editorial in Hoy highlights that one of the major reasons for all the damage is that buildings have been constructed in extremely vulnerable areas, and that the quality of infrastructure works is poor. “The damage needs to serve as a timely laboratory to analyze causes and take on commitments for quality in design and construction,” says the editorialist.

The editorialist points out that now is the best time to establish whether the low water volume rivers that caused major damage overflowed because of the intensive extraction of construction materials. An inventory needs to be made of the places where human settlements should be banned, concludes the writer.

http://somospueblo.com/tree-wars-by-phillip-lehman/
http://hoy.com.do/indagar-causas-y-corregir-errores/


Dominicans can’t travel to many countries
According to a report by Henley and Partners, the Dominican Republic is one of the countries in the world whose citizens are subject to the tightest restrictions on travel.

Looking at 104 different passports, the Dominican Republic is in 83rd place of countries with the passports that give the least access to visa-free travel.

Dominicans can only travel visa-free to 54 countries out of a possible 218 nations, putting them below travelers from Indonesia, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

Looking at Latin America as a whole, only Haiti has more travel restrictions than the Dominican Republic.

Travelers with the greatest freedom are Germans who can visit 177 countries without a visa, followed by Finland, France, Italy, Spain and Great Britain with 176. The United States has 174 and Canada 172.

http://www.diariolibre.com/mundo/do...-de-los-peores-pasaportes-del-mundo-GF5520495
https://www.henleyglobal.com/files/download/HP/hvri/HP Visa Restrictions Index 160223.pdf


Dharmendra Basita heads Indian Chamber of Commerce
The Indian Chamber of Commerce elected its board during the general assembly held last week. Indian businessman Dharmendra Basita was elected president for a two-year term. Other members of the board are Christopher Marshall, Edmundo Gil, David M?rmol, Chrissever Contreras, William Lockward, Victor de la Cruz, Leonel Castellanos and Angelita Guzman. Honorary board members are Tsewang Nangyal, Campos de Moya, Fernando Gonz?lez, Eulogio Santaella and Jabar Singh.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce has around 50 active members. It has the backing of the Indian ambassador Tsewang Nangyal based in Havana, Cuba, honorary consul Campos de Moya, the president of the British Commonwealth Roundtable in the Dominican Republic Fernando Gonz?lez and Hans Dannenberg, Dominican ambassador in India.

The new president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Basita moved to the Dominican Republic in 2006 to work for a pharmaceutical firm, and now works independently, representing various Indian firms. Speaking at the general assembly, Basita highlighted that these are the best of times to work with India because of the 7.5% growth and the tax reform to be implemented soon that is further expected to boost the growth by 2% in the long run. He said the Chamber would work to identify subgroups to make the best use of synergies with businesses in India. He added that this will be done by conducting a detailed study of the business profile of the two countries and this information will be shared. He pointed out that one of the biggest challenges ahead is the language barrier that has resulted in India business preferring to work with English-speaking countries in the Americas.

Also speaking at the event, Jabar Singh spoke of Indian business links in pharmaceuticals, conventional energy and renewable energy, foods and beverages, IT, agribusiness, mining, transportation, electronics and tourism. He highlighted that the Dominican Republic has the potential to be the door increasingly used by Indian companies to enter Latin America. He said Indian companies could test the Latin American market in the compact market of the Dominican Republic of 12 million consumers. He commented that Latin America is the new frontier for Indian companies to expand their business.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce provides commercial assistance to businesses interested in entering the Dominican market and Dominican companies interested in sourcing in India. It also offers scholarships for studies in India to its members via its program iTec, information available on the website: www.itecgoi.in

To contact the Indian Chamber of Commerce, see www.indiaccdr.com
Email: info@indiaccdr.com


David Ortiz speaks out against MLB draft in the DR
David Ortiz called for President Danilo Medina and Minister of Sports Danilo D?az to go to bat against the announcement of the draft system by Major League Baseball in the Dominican Republic in 2018. Ortiz says that the team owners seek savings in the contracting of new players. He said this would affect all the people who work on training future baseball players. He said that now the 30 MLB teams are hiring around 600 prospects, but this number would be significantly affected if the draft were enforced.

Ortiz was speaking during the announcement of the 9th David Ort?z Celebrity Golf Classic in Cap Cana, a benefit for the David Ort?z Children Foundation that will be held from 1-4 December 2016 at the Punta Espada Golf Course in Cap Cana, Punta Cana. He said the Boston Red Sox recently donated US$3 million.

Ort?z says that friends who have confirmed their attendance include CC Sabathia, Scottie Pipen, F?lix Hern?ndez, Carlos Delgado, Josh Donaldson, Luis Tiant, Adam Jones, George L?pez, Bobby Orr, Dasha Polanco, Aly Raisman, Jerry Rice, Craig Sager, Gary Sheffield, Tim Wakefield, Josh Wolf, Aubry O’day, Roberto Clemente Jr., Bandon Siler, Barry Larkin, Anthony Mackie, Robby Scott, Marcus Pauly D., Andr?s Galarraga, Rachal Dratch, Jeannette Marque, Pedro Mart?nez, Robinson Can?, Edwin Encarnaci?n, Jos? Bautista, Nelson Cruz, Pl?cido Polanco and Hanley Ram?rez.

The funds will be go towards heart operations for Dominican children at the Plaza de la Salud hospitals.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/11/...-terminar-perdiendordquo#sthash.vE4clN36.dpuf
http://www.listindiario.com/el-depo...de-golf-david-ortiz-estara-en-un-ano-especial
http://www.davidortizchildrensfund.org/the-9th-annual-david-ortiz-celebrity-golf-classic/


Firearms case to be declared complex
Attorney General Jean-Alain Rodr?guez says the illegal arms shipment discovered at Haina Port on 14 September 2016 will be declared complex to give the prosecution more time to investigate the case. The firearms consignment is allegedly linked to a legislator. Rodr?guez says that the investigations are making satisfactory progress, and possible links have been found to transnational organized crime.

His office had asked the Supreme Court of Justice to assign a special judge to the case and Judge Juan Hirohito Reyes, who was appointed, has authorized several court orders allowing the prosecutors to carry out raids, confiscate documents and move forward in the investigation.

To date, four people are subject to coercive measures in connection with the case, Fe Esperanza Matos Ventura, Edwin Francisco Tam?rez Cuevas, Noquel Matos Benjam?n, and Radham?s Mu?oz.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...so-que-involucra-diputado-en-trafico-de-armas


Texas Rangers prospects investigated
The Dominican authorities have announced that they are investigating a group of Texas Rangers prospects who reportedly posted an image on social media showing a sexual assault on an underage teammate.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office said that there is a legal warrant for the players to be handed over for questioning but that so far there have not been any arrests.

The incident is said to have occurred at a Texas Rangers training complex in Boca Chica. A spokesman for the team said that there were aware of the incident and had opened an investigation. In addition the team says it is cooperating with the local authorities and with Major League Baseball.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...e-rangers-prospects-in-assault-case/94278676/
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...on-sobre-abuso-en-complejo-de-texas-MX5536943


Frank Ceara at Hotel Jaragua
Singer-songwriter Frank Ceara has announced his “Llenarte de besos, el espect?culo” show at the Teatro la Fiesta at the Hotel Jaragua in Santo Domingo. The show is produced by Christian Victoria. Accompanied by a 10-musican band conducted by Maestro Pen Biang Sang, Ceara will sing a selection of romantic classics in several tropical music genres, including merengue, bachata and boleros. Frank Ceara is one of the Dominican Republic’s most talented popular singers.


Japanese photography exhibition
The Embassy of Japan and the Ministry of Culture are sponsoring a Japanese photography exhibition at the National Gallery of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Santo Domingo. The exhibition is open through 18 December and displays the works of 10 Japanese photographers. The photographs show the impact of the 2011 earthquake in Tohoku, and of farming in the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese festivals, and natural scenes in the same region. Curator Izawa Kotaro says the aim is to create awareness of the plight and bravery of the people of Tohoku.


Jandy Ventura on Wednesdays at Jalao
Merengue singer Jandy Ventura is booked for Wednesday evenings at Jalao in Parque Colon in Santo Domingo’s Colonial City starting on Wednesday 30 November through the month of December. Jandy Ventura will be announcing special guests for each performance. Ventura is the son of legendary merengue singer Johnny Ventura.

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

Archived News stories:
http://dr1.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/91-Daily-Headline-News

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