President Medina orders legislators to keep working
Malecon clean up finished
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas meets with his colleague Josep Borrell in Spain
Faride Raful shows proof Polis Caribe commercials were aired when the Santana’s were in jail
Big time wasteful spending and political patronage at CEA
Interior & Police Minister disputes Victor Grimaldi’s destabilization plot
Tunnels and elevated sections to close
Most new construction takes place in Santo Domingo
Numbers of Venezuelans in the country increase
Cathedral cross is more than 500 years old
17 Haitians in one Honda Civic
Accident leaves one dead and three injured
Three months preventive custody for killer in car window cleaner incident
New car rental company to open
Dominican women’s volleyball moves to semi-finals
Masterchef reality show to choose best Dominican amateur chef
President Medina orders legislators to keep working
On Monday 23 July, 2018, President Danilo Medina by means of Decree 279-18 called for extending the present legislative session to give more time to deliberate on bills currently being considered in Congress, especially the Political Parties Bill and the Electoral Regime Bill. The timely passage of these two bills is necessary to organize the 2020 general elections. The decree states that other outstanding projects will also be discussed.
The extended legislative session will begin on 27 July and end on 15 August 2018, thus running into the second legislative term that begins on 16 August, Restoration Day.
On Monday, the ruling Dominican Liberation Party presented methods for the parties to elect their candidates to elective positions, one of the reasons for the delay in the passing of the bill. The bills have been discussed for over 20 years, as politicians in power have prevented the legislature from voting on the bills to accommodate it to their particular political interests.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...n-extraordinaria-para-conocer-ley-de-partidos
Malecón clean up finished
After 11 days of intense efforts, the Ministry of Public Works and the National District city government announced the waters of the Santo Domingo shoreline have been cleaned up. The effort followed after tons of plastics flowed down the Ozama River to the Malecón shoreline and filled the beachheads at Montesinos and San Gil Fort. Both beaches for decades have been off limits for bathing due to the contamination in the Caribbean Sea waters.
But when the net that holds the plastics garbage in the Ozama River at the level of the barge bridge was lifted by the Navy after the heavy rains on 10 July 2018 caused more garbage than usual to accumulate, the trash flowed down to the Malecon. And, the tons of accumulated garbage generated a bad rap for the country, as videos and photos were shared by the media around the world.
Environmentalists in the Dominican Republic and abroad have urged the nation to begin managing the use of plastics.
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/07/24/anuncian-que-el-malecon-esta-libre-de-desechos/
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas meets with his colleague Josep Borrell in Spain
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas was in Madrid for meetings with his colleague, Josep Borrell of Spain. The ministers of the Dominican Republic and Spain reviewed the bilateral agenda, with a focus on strengthening trade and investments. Discussions also focused on the juridical security in the country. This is the first bilateral meeting among both ministers after Borrell took on the position. Minister Miguel Vargas holds a seat on the UN Security Council.
Faride Raful shows proof Polis Caribe commercials were aired when the Santana’s were in jail
PRM deputy Faride Raful is pointing out contradictions by the government regarding payments to Brazilian publicist Joao Santana, who is in jail in Brazil for corruption. Raful’s previous request for a legislative special commission to investigate documents received from the Controller General Office showing payments made to companies tied to Santana and his wife, was met with a big no in the Chamber of Deputies.
Santana was the electoral strategist for President Danilo Medina’s campaigns in 2012 and 2016. He abruptly returned to Brazil in February 2016 to answer to charges of having played a central role in the massive bribery ring run by Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant. As reported, to carry out their bribes, Odebrecht admitted to having based the bribery division in Santo Domingo.
Now, Raful says that videos uploaded to Vimeo after February 2016 provide evidence the payments continued despite the legal case against the Santana’s and their eventual conviction.
She highlighted that several videos produced by Polis Caribe contradict recent statements by Administrative Ministry of the Presidency (Mapfre) that the government had cut contractual relations with the company when the Santanas were sent to jail.
Raful makes the point that the letter rejecting the need to investigate the payments to the Sananas stated that the companies were not contracted after they were jailed. But Raful presents screen shots of the website of the son of Joao Santana and Monica Moura , Ayle Santana (Polis Caribe) as evidence that Polis Caribe produced those commercials a year after Joao was in jail. “Who is lying?” she asks in a tweet. Several videos include credits with Ayle Santana as director and the presence of Polis Caribe Dominican Republic as an advertising agency. The videos are less than a year old.
The government in the statement to the Chamber of Deputies had said the business relations of the Dominican government with Polis Caribe had ended on 3 December 2015, a month after the start of the political campaign for reelection for President Danilo Medina. The reason for the reported severing of ties was that “it was inappropriate that who would be his campaign advisers had at the same time contracts with government institutions.”
Fadul claims that the Dominican government had paid Santana and his companies RD$1.4 billion, continuing to make payments through 2017, despite the husband and wife team being in jail in Brazil. The couple served as presidential campaign advisors to Medina into the 2012 and 2016 election.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...iones-del-gobierno-sobre-pagos-a-joao-santana
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...collapse-sows-chaos-in-the-dominican-republic
https://vimeo.com/205265840
Big time wasteful spending and political patronage at CEA
Investigative TV reporter, Alicia Ortega aired a show revealing nepotism, political patronage, wasteful spending, including padded payrolls under the administration of the State Sugar Council (CEA). The government division was divested of its sugar cane mills and operations, but instead of gradually shutting down has become a bastion of corruption, as evidenced by the report.
In the report, Ortega says that the administrative director of the CEA argues that his relatives had been hired prior to his appointment. The CEA has not been able to provide evidence of tenders held to comply with procurement rules.
The director Pedro Mota says that the assets are land and property owned by the sugar mills. Only two of the 12 sugar mills are in operation, Barahona that was leased to a Central American group and Porvenir that was returned by the owners. Nevertheless, the number of employees has been growing, despite these being in ruins.
Journalist Huchi Lora says that the sugar mills have been dismantled with the materials irregularly sold.
https://noticiassin.com/cana-pal-ingenio-una-llave-abierta-se-multiplica-nomina-del-cea/
Interior & Police Minister disputes Victor Grimaldi’s destabilization plot
The Dominican ambassador at the Holy See, Víctor Manuel Grimaldi Céspedes, has said that there is a proposal planned by “egoistic interests both local and transnational” to produce disturbances in the country beginning in August 2018.
Minister of Interior and Police, José Ramon Fadul, promptly debunked the plot. "We understand that the dire prediction made by [Grimaldi Cespedes] has no basis in truth here in the Dominican Republic. There is no danger of government instability or un-governability of the country," said the Interior minister.
The statement by Grimaldi were also rejected by Alfredo Pacheco, spokesman for the PRM opposition party, who said there is no evidence of what Grimaldi is saying.
According to Fadul, the Dominican government and its institutions have a great respect for freedom of expression, assembly and peaceful protests.
In a letter sent to Listin Diario, Grimaldi said that the plan is to destabilize the country in a similar fashion as has happened in other Latin American countries to put pressure on the government of President Danilo Medina.
Grimaldi said the consequences would be chaos and an attempt to break the democratic system. He also said that there were rumors that the reason behind the move would be to move the Haitians from the country, who would supposedly leave due to the crisis.
On 16th August the Green March movement has planned the march of a million people against corruption in the capital.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...maldi-denuncia-trama-para-desestabilizar-a-rd
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...niega-que-haya-un-plan-para-desestabilizar-rd
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/07/24/rechazan-denuncia-sobre-un-plan-para-crear-crisis-en-el-pais/
Tunnels and elevated sections to close
The Ministry of Public Works will be closing tunnels and elevated sections in Santo Domingo for cleaning and maintenance from Monday 23 July 2018 to Friday 27th from 10.30 at night to 5.00 in the morning.
Today, Tuesday 24 July, the elevated section on John F. Kennedy with Abraham Lincoln, and the Ortega y Gasset-UASD tunnel will be closed.
On Wednesday and Thursday the underpass on John F. Kennedy with Máximo Gómez will be closed and Thursday the underpass on Charles De Gaulle with Hermanas Mirabal in Villa Mella, and on Friday the Las Americas tunnel.
http://eldia.com.do/obras-publicas-cerrara-tuneles-y-elevados-esta-semana-por-mantenimiento/
Most new construction takes place in Santo Domingo
According to a press release from the National Statistics’ Office (ONE) of the almost five million square meters of construction carried out between October 2017 and May 2018, 47.2% is located in the National District and 52.8% in the province of Santo Domingo.
The director of ONE, Alexandra Izquierdo, presented the preliminary results of this new report that on construction and includes the neighborhoods of San Miguel, La Grúa, Villas Agrícolas, El Edén and Cerros de Arroyo Hondo, as well as Villa Mella, Guaricanos and Sabana Perdida, whereas before in the previous studies only the urban areas were included.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...cio-mas-en-provincia-santo-domingo-FF10407075
Numbers of Venezuelans in the country increase
Since last year, the number of Venezuelans denied entry to the country has increased many times. Between 2014 and 2016 there were only 124 Venezuelans were not admitted, but from 2017 through July 2018, 1,592 Venezuelans were denied entry to the Dominican Republic.
The number of Venezuelans coming to the country has also increased since 2014 due to the precarious living conditions in that country under the government of Nicolás Maduro, including lack of medicines and rampant inflation.
According to Immigration statistics, the number of deportations of Venezuelans is less than the number not admitted, standing at 216 from 2014 to May 2018.
The Venezuelan population in the Dominican Republic stood at 3,434 in 2012 according to the National Survey on Immigrants in the Dominican Republic, and the same report in 2017 showed 25,872 Venezuelans living in the country.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...enezolanos-no-admitidos-en-el-pais-LF10404258
Cathedral cross is more than 500 years old
Researchers have confirmed through science the authenticity of the Santo Domingo Cathedral mahogany cross, as reported in Diario Libre. The carbon 14-dating determined that the wooden cross dates back to 1498 and 1528.
It is known that the cross was placed at the church together with four others that no longer exist on 26 March 1514 as part of the blessing of the land where the church would be built. The ceremony took place in presence of Viceroy and Second Admiral Don Diego Colon and officers of the city government to mark the site.
For years there were doubts the cross was one of the original placed on that occasion. To confirm the authenticity, the Oficina de la Obra y Museos de la Catedral, in charge of the upkeep and restoration of the church, carried out the investigations, as part of ongoing archaeological and historical research. The technique used to date the cross was mass spectrometry with accelerators (AMS), a modern method of radiocarbon dating that is considered the most efficient way to measure the radiocarbon content of a sample.
Another analysis carried out on the cross was to determine its anatomical characteristics by means of the Comparative Anatomy of Wood method. It was established that the wood used for the cross is Dominican mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni). To do this, observations were made of the transversal, radial and tangential sections in the digital microscope.
The research was coordinated by Virginia Flores Sasso, PhD, Researcher of the PUCMM, in charge of the non-destructive testing laboratory of the Cathedral Work Office and by Esteban Prieto, director of the Office of the Cathedral and its Museums.
https://www.diariolibre.com/revista...nticidad-de-la-cruz-de-la-catedral-PF10404975
17 Haitians in one Honda Civic
The Army stopped a vehicle in Mao with 17 Haitian men inside. The driver, named Carlos Pistola, was arrested driving the grey Honda Civic with the license plate A511951 in Mao in the northwestern Valverde province. The man would be sent to justice, and the Haitians were sent to the Migration Agency for deportation to Haiti.
https://elnuevodiario.com.do/ejercito-detiene-carro-transportaba-17-haitianos-indocumentados/
Accident leaves one dead and three injured
Yesterday, Monday 23 July 2018, one person died and three were injured in an accident on the Duarte Highway. The accident occurred at the Jacaranda junction in the municipality of Bonao when a semi truck with a cargo of baby chicks lost control and struck an SUV.
The person who died was 54 year old Robin García Arroyo and those injured were Pablito Medina Florián, Ana Almonte Almánzar and Francisco Marmolejos. All the victims are from Moca, in the province of Espaillat.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...rto-y-heridos-en-accidente-de-patana-en-bonao
Three months preventive custody for killer in car window cleaner incident
A judge has handed down three months in preventive custody as requested by the Public Prosecution Service, against the municipal policeman who shot another man in the head and killed him when he had interfered in a discussion between police officers and car window cleaners last Wednesday 18 July 2018 in the morning at the intersection of John F. Kennedy and Los Próceres.
Judge José Alejandro Vargas sent Ángel Ogando Ogando, accused of the murder of Mariano Figueroa, father of two children, to serve the coercive measures in La Victoria jail.
A unit comprised of Sergeant Ogando Ogando, municipal police privates José Manuel Lorenzo Paula, Dionicio Gómez Valdez andRuddy Alberto Rosario Sánchez, and led by Air Force Captain Miguel Aladino Mancebo was patrolling for the municipal policy when they decided to arrest Johnny Garcia who was cleaning car windshields.
The victim intervened in the defense of Garcia and was shot in the head by Ogando Ogando who wrestled the shot gun away from the captain.
http://hoy.com.do/tres-meses-de-pri...ue-mato-ciudadano-que-defendia-limpiavidrios/
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...nicipal-por-asesinato-de-hombre-en-la-kennedy
New car rental company to open
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is opening in the Dominican Republic, with new locations opening in the country’s largest airports. As part of its ongoing expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean, the company has opened four new locations at Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), Las Américas International Airport (SDQ) in Santo Domingo, Cibao International Airport (STI) in Santiago, and Gregorio Luperón International Airport (POP) in Puerto Plata.
Although sister brand National Car Rental has been operating in the country since 1974, this move marks the establishment of the first locations for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Both brands are part of the Enterprise corporation.
http://www.travelweek.ca/news/enterprise-rent-a-car-enters-d-r-market-with-four-airport-locations/
Dominican women’s volleyball moves to semi-finals
The Dominican women’s volleyball team defeated Mexico 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-17) to qualify to play the semifinals in the Central American & Caribbean Sports Games taking place in Barranquilla, Colombia. The Dominican volleyball team is defending its title, having won the past four championships.
Five gold medals on Monday in Central American & Caribbean Games
Yamilet Peña in gymnastics, Crismery Santana (2 medals) in weight lifting and Moises Hernandez and Katherine Rodriguez won gold in the Barranquilla 2018 sports games. The Dominican Republic’s leading gymnast, Audrys Nin, finished with a bronze.
Crismery Santana competed in the 90 kilos category. She set two new records.
Yamilet Peña in gymnastics won the first gold ever for the Dominican Republic in the sport in a Central American & Caribbean Games.
Moises Hernandez won gold in 80 kms, and Rodriguez won in the 73 kilogram category.
The Dominican Republic, with 31 medals (8 gold, 7 silver and 16 bronze) is in 5th place in the Barranquilla 2018 Games standing, behind Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela.
http://barranquilla2018.com/
https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...egos-centroamericanos-y-del-caribe-GE10414453
Masterchef reality show to choose best Dominican amateur chef
As of Sunday, 5 August 2018, the Dominican Republic will be staging Masterchef TV show, this time named “Sabores del Caribe,” (Tastes of the Caribbean). The Dominican Republic is the first Caribbean country to host the popular reality show.
The reality show seeks to find the best amateur chef. Contestants will have to overcome tests set before them by jurors Saverio Stassi (Pat e Palo, Santo Domingo), La Chef Tita (Travesias, Santo Domingo) and chef Leandro Diaz (Caribbean Bites, Cap Cana).
The event is held on occasion of Santo Domingo being the “Gastronomic Capital of the Caribbean,” by the Academia Iberoamericana de Gastronomia.
Chef Díaz said the winner will be asked to present Dominican dishes with a vanguardist touch, but not losing their essence.
Some 3,500 persons registered to participate and after the first casting, 80 persons were chosen.
The shown will be transmitted by Channel 11, Telesistema on Sundays at 8pm.
For the show, 007 Media Group has invested in the installation of a new 17,700 square foot audience + stage facility, the largest in Central America and the Caribbean, and fourth largest in Latin America.
https://masterchefrd.com/
https://www.diariolibre.com/portada...dar-a-conocer-la-gastronomia-local-AL10397896
Malecon clean up finished
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas meets with his colleague Josep Borrell in Spain
Faride Raful shows proof Polis Caribe commercials were aired when the Santana’s were in jail
Big time wasteful spending and political patronage at CEA
Interior & Police Minister disputes Victor Grimaldi’s destabilization plot
Tunnels and elevated sections to close
Most new construction takes place in Santo Domingo
Numbers of Venezuelans in the country increase
Cathedral cross is more than 500 years old
17 Haitians in one Honda Civic
Accident leaves one dead and three injured
Three months preventive custody for killer in car window cleaner incident
New car rental company to open
Dominican women’s volleyball moves to semi-finals
Masterchef reality show to choose best Dominican amateur chef
President Medina orders legislators to keep working
On Monday 23 July, 2018, President Danilo Medina by means of Decree 279-18 called for extending the present legislative session to give more time to deliberate on bills currently being considered in Congress, especially the Political Parties Bill and the Electoral Regime Bill. The timely passage of these two bills is necessary to organize the 2020 general elections. The decree states that other outstanding projects will also be discussed.
The extended legislative session will begin on 27 July and end on 15 August 2018, thus running into the second legislative term that begins on 16 August, Restoration Day.
On Monday, the ruling Dominican Liberation Party presented methods for the parties to elect their candidates to elective positions, one of the reasons for the delay in the passing of the bill. The bills have been discussed for over 20 years, as politicians in power have prevented the legislature from voting on the bills to accommodate it to their particular political interests.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...n-extraordinaria-para-conocer-ley-de-partidos
Malecón clean up finished
After 11 days of intense efforts, the Ministry of Public Works and the National District city government announced the waters of the Santo Domingo shoreline have been cleaned up. The effort followed after tons of plastics flowed down the Ozama River to the Malecón shoreline and filled the beachheads at Montesinos and San Gil Fort. Both beaches for decades have been off limits for bathing due to the contamination in the Caribbean Sea waters.
But when the net that holds the plastics garbage in the Ozama River at the level of the barge bridge was lifted by the Navy after the heavy rains on 10 July 2018 caused more garbage than usual to accumulate, the trash flowed down to the Malecon. And, the tons of accumulated garbage generated a bad rap for the country, as videos and photos were shared by the media around the world.
Environmentalists in the Dominican Republic and abroad have urged the nation to begin managing the use of plastics.
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/07/24/anuncian-que-el-malecon-esta-libre-de-desechos/
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas meets with his colleague Josep Borrell in Spain
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas was in Madrid for meetings with his colleague, Josep Borrell of Spain. The ministers of the Dominican Republic and Spain reviewed the bilateral agenda, with a focus on strengthening trade and investments. Discussions also focused on the juridical security in the country. This is the first bilateral meeting among both ministers after Borrell took on the position. Minister Miguel Vargas holds a seat on the UN Security Council.
Faride Raful shows proof Polis Caribe commercials were aired when the Santana’s were in jail
PRM deputy Faride Raful is pointing out contradictions by the government regarding payments to Brazilian publicist Joao Santana, who is in jail in Brazil for corruption. Raful’s previous request for a legislative special commission to investigate documents received from the Controller General Office showing payments made to companies tied to Santana and his wife, was met with a big no in the Chamber of Deputies.
Santana was the electoral strategist for President Danilo Medina’s campaigns in 2012 and 2016. He abruptly returned to Brazil in February 2016 to answer to charges of having played a central role in the massive bribery ring run by Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant. As reported, to carry out their bribes, Odebrecht admitted to having based the bribery division in Santo Domingo.
Now, Raful says that videos uploaded to Vimeo after February 2016 provide evidence the payments continued despite the legal case against the Santana’s and their eventual conviction.
She highlighted that several videos produced by Polis Caribe contradict recent statements by Administrative Ministry of the Presidency (Mapfre) that the government had cut contractual relations with the company when the Santanas were sent to jail.
Raful makes the point that the letter rejecting the need to investigate the payments to the Sananas stated that the companies were not contracted after they were jailed. But Raful presents screen shots of the website of the son of Joao Santana and Monica Moura , Ayle Santana (Polis Caribe) as evidence that Polis Caribe produced those commercials a year after Joao was in jail. “Who is lying?” she asks in a tweet. Several videos include credits with Ayle Santana as director and the presence of Polis Caribe Dominican Republic as an advertising agency. The videos are less than a year old.
The government in the statement to the Chamber of Deputies had said the business relations of the Dominican government with Polis Caribe had ended on 3 December 2015, a month after the start of the political campaign for reelection for President Danilo Medina. The reason for the reported severing of ties was that “it was inappropriate that who would be his campaign advisers had at the same time contracts with government institutions.”
Fadul claims that the Dominican government had paid Santana and his companies RD$1.4 billion, continuing to make payments through 2017, despite the husband and wife team being in jail in Brazil. The couple served as presidential campaign advisors to Medina into the 2012 and 2016 election.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...iones-del-gobierno-sobre-pagos-a-joao-santana
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...collapse-sows-chaos-in-the-dominican-republic
https://vimeo.com/205265840
Big time wasteful spending and political patronage at CEA
Investigative TV reporter, Alicia Ortega aired a show revealing nepotism, political patronage, wasteful spending, including padded payrolls under the administration of the State Sugar Council (CEA). The government division was divested of its sugar cane mills and operations, but instead of gradually shutting down has become a bastion of corruption, as evidenced by the report.
In the report, Ortega says that the administrative director of the CEA argues that his relatives had been hired prior to his appointment. The CEA has not been able to provide evidence of tenders held to comply with procurement rules.
The director Pedro Mota says that the assets are land and property owned by the sugar mills. Only two of the 12 sugar mills are in operation, Barahona that was leased to a Central American group and Porvenir that was returned by the owners. Nevertheless, the number of employees has been growing, despite these being in ruins.
Journalist Huchi Lora says that the sugar mills have been dismantled with the materials irregularly sold.
https://noticiassin.com/cana-pal-ingenio-una-llave-abierta-se-multiplica-nomina-del-cea/
Interior & Police Minister disputes Victor Grimaldi’s destabilization plot
The Dominican ambassador at the Holy See, Víctor Manuel Grimaldi Céspedes, has said that there is a proposal planned by “egoistic interests both local and transnational” to produce disturbances in the country beginning in August 2018.
Minister of Interior and Police, José Ramon Fadul, promptly debunked the plot. "We understand that the dire prediction made by [Grimaldi Cespedes] has no basis in truth here in the Dominican Republic. There is no danger of government instability or un-governability of the country," said the Interior minister.
The statement by Grimaldi were also rejected by Alfredo Pacheco, spokesman for the PRM opposition party, who said there is no evidence of what Grimaldi is saying.
According to Fadul, the Dominican government and its institutions have a great respect for freedom of expression, assembly and peaceful protests.
In a letter sent to Listin Diario, Grimaldi said that the plan is to destabilize the country in a similar fashion as has happened in other Latin American countries to put pressure on the government of President Danilo Medina.
Grimaldi said the consequences would be chaos and an attempt to break the democratic system. He also said that there were rumors that the reason behind the move would be to move the Haitians from the country, who would supposedly leave due to the crisis.
On 16th August the Green March movement has planned the march of a million people against corruption in the capital.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...maldi-denuncia-trama-para-desestabilizar-a-rd
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...niega-que-haya-un-plan-para-desestabilizar-rd
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/07/24/rechazan-denuncia-sobre-un-plan-para-crear-crisis-en-el-pais/
Tunnels and elevated sections to close
The Ministry of Public Works will be closing tunnels and elevated sections in Santo Domingo for cleaning and maintenance from Monday 23 July 2018 to Friday 27th from 10.30 at night to 5.00 in the morning.
Today, Tuesday 24 July, the elevated section on John F. Kennedy with Abraham Lincoln, and the Ortega y Gasset-UASD tunnel will be closed.
On Wednesday and Thursday the underpass on John F. Kennedy with Máximo Gómez will be closed and Thursday the underpass on Charles De Gaulle with Hermanas Mirabal in Villa Mella, and on Friday the Las Americas tunnel.
http://eldia.com.do/obras-publicas-cerrara-tuneles-y-elevados-esta-semana-por-mantenimiento/
Most new construction takes place in Santo Domingo
According to a press release from the National Statistics’ Office (ONE) of the almost five million square meters of construction carried out between October 2017 and May 2018, 47.2% is located in the National District and 52.8% in the province of Santo Domingo.
The director of ONE, Alexandra Izquierdo, presented the preliminary results of this new report that on construction and includes the neighborhoods of San Miguel, La Grúa, Villas Agrícolas, El Edén and Cerros de Arroyo Hondo, as well as Villa Mella, Guaricanos and Sabana Perdida, whereas before in the previous studies only the urban areas were included.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...cio-mas-en-provincia-santo-domingo-FF10407075
Numbers of Venezuelans in the country increase
Since last year, the number of Venezuelans denied entry to the country has increased many times. Between 2014 and 2016 there were only 124 Venezuelans were not admitted, but from 2017 through July 2018, 1,592 Venezuelans were denied entry to the Dominican Republic.
The number of Venezuelans coming to the country has also increased since 2014 due to the precarious living conditions in that country under the government of Nicolás Maduro, including lack of medicines and rampant inflation.
According to Immigration statistics, the number of deportations of Venezuelans is less than the number not admitted, standing at 216 from 2014 to May 2018.
The Venezuelan population in the Dominican Republic stood at 3,434 in 2012 according to the National Survey on Immigrants in the Dominican Republic, and the same report in 2017 showed 25,872 Venezuelans living in the country.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...enezolanos-no-admitidos-en-el-pais-LF10404258
Cathedral cross is more than 500 years old
Researchers have confirmed through science the authenticity of the Santo Domingo Cathedral mahogany cross, as reported in Diario Libre. The carbon 14-dating determined that the wooden cross dates back to 1498 and 1528.
It is known that the cross was placed at the church together with four others that no longer exist on 26 March 1514 as part of the blessing of the land where the church would be built. The ceremony took place in presence of Viceroy and Second Admiral Don Diego Colon and officers of the city government to mark the site.
For years there were doubts the cross was one of the original placed on that occasion. To confirm the authenticity, the Oficina de la Obra y Museos de la Catedral, in charge of the upkeep and restoration of the church, carried out the investigations, as part of ongoing archaeological and historical research. The technique used to date the cross was mass spectrometry with accelerators (AMS), a modern method of radiocarbon dating that is considered the most efficient way to measure the radiocarbon content of a sample.
Another analysis carried out on the cross was to determine its anatomical characteristics by means of the Comparative Anatomy of Wood method. It was established that the wood used for the cross is Dominican mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni). To do this, observations were made of the transversal, radial and tangential sections in the digital microscope.
The research was coordinated by Virginia Flores Sasso, PhD, Researcher of the PUCMM, in charge of the non-destructive testing laboratory of the Cathedral Work Office and by Esteban Prieto, director of the Office of the Cathedral and its Museums.
https://www.diariolibre.com/revista...nticidad-de-la-cruz-de-la-catedral-PF10404975
17 Haitians in one Honda Civic
The Army stopped a vehicle in Mao with 17 Haitian men inside. The driver, named Carlos Pistola, was arrested driving the grey Honda Civic with the license plate A511951 in Mao in the northwestern Valverde province. The man would be sent to justice, and the Haitians were sent to the Migration Agency for deportation to Haiti.
https://elnuevodiario.com.do/ejercito-detiene-carro-transportaba-17-haitianos-indocumentados/
Accident leaves one dead and three injured
Yesterday, Monday 23 July 2018, one person died and three were injured in an accident on the Duarte Highway. The accident occurred at the Jacaranda junction in the municipality of Bonao when a semi truck with a cargo of baby chicks lost control and struck an SUV.
The person who died was 54 year old Robin García Arroyo and those injured were Pablito Medina Florián, Ana Almonte Almánzar and Francisco Marmolejos. All the victims are from Moca, in the province of Espaillat.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...rto-y-heridos-en-accidente-de-patana-en-bonao
Three months preventive custody for killer in car window cleaner incident
A judge has handed down three months in preventive custody as requested by the Public Prosecution Service, against the municipal policeman who shot another man in the head and killed him when he had interfered in a discussion between police officers and car window cleaners last Wednesday 18 July 2018 in the morning at the intersection of John F. Kennedy and Los Próceres.
Judge José Alejandro Vargas sent Ángel Ogando Ogando, accused of the murder of Mariano Figueroa, father of two children, to serve the coercive measures in La Victoria jail.
A unit comprised of Sergeant Ogando Ogando, municipal police privates José Manuel Lorenzo Paula, Dionicio Gómez Valdez andRuddy Alberto Rosario Sánchez, and led by Air Force Captain Miguel Aladino Mancebo was patrolling for the municipal policy when they decided to arrest Johnny Garcia who was cleaning car windshields.
The victim intervened in the defense of Garcia and was shot in the head by Ogando Ogando who wrestled the shot gun away from the captain.
http://hoy.com.do/tres-meses-de-pri...ue-mato-ciudadano-que-defendia-limpiavidrios/
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...nicipal-por-asesinato-de-hombre-en-la-kennedy
New car rental company to open
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is opening in the Dominican Republic, with new locations opening in the country’s largest airports. As part of its ongoing expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean, the company has opened four new locations at Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), Las Américas International Airport (SDQ) in Santo Domingo, Cibao International Airport (STI) in Santiago, and Gregorio Luperón International Airport (POP) in Puerto Plata.
Although sister brand National Car Rental has been operating in the country since 1974, this move marks the establishment of the first locations for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Both brands are part of the Enterprise corporation.
http://www.travelweek.ca/news/enterprise-rent-a-car-enters-d-r-market-with-four-airport-locations/
Dominican women’s volleyball moves to semi-finals
The Dominican women’s volleyball team defeated Mexico 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-17) to qualify to play the semifinals in the Central American & Caribbean Sports Games taking place in Barranquilla, Colombia. The Dominican volleyball team is defending its title, having won the past four championships.
Five gold medals on Monday in Central American & Caribbean Games
Yamilet Peña in gymnastics, Crismery Santana (2 medals) in weight lifting and Moises Hernandez and Katherine Rodriguez won gold in the Barranquilla 2018 sports games. The Dominican Republic’s leading gymnast, Audrys Nin, finished with a bronze.
Crismery Santana competed in the 90 kilos category. She set two new records.
Yamilet Peña in gymnastics won the first gold ever for the Dominican Republic in the sport in a Central American & Caribbean Games.
Moises Hernandez won gold in 80 kms, and Rodriguez won in the 73 kilogram category.
The Dominican Republic, with 31 medals (8 gold, 7 silver and 16 bronze) is in 5th place in the Barranquilla 2018 Games standing, behind Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela.
http://barranquilla2018.com/
https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...egos-centroamericanos-y-del-caribe-GE10414453
Masterchef reality show to choose best Dominican amateur chef
As of Sunday, 5 August 2018, the Dominican Republic will be staging Masterchef TV show, this time named “Sabores del Caribe,” (Tastes of the Caribbean). The Dominican Republic is the first Caribbean country to host the popular reality show.
The reality show seeks to find the best amateur chef. Contestants will have to overcome tests set before them by jurors Saverio Stassi (Pat e Palo, Santo Domingo), La Chef Tita (Travesias, Santo Domingo) and chef Leandro Diaz (Caribbean Bites, Cap Cana).
The event is held on occasion of Santo Domingo being the “Gastronomic Capital of the Caribbean,” by the Academia Iberoamericana de Gastronomia.
Chef Díaz said the winner will be asked to present Dominican dishes with a vanguardist touch, but not losing their essence.
Some 3,500 persons registered to participate and after the first casting, 80 persons were chosen.
The shown will be transmitted by Channel 11, Telesistema on Sundays at 8pm.
For the show, 007 Media Group has invested in the installation of a new 17,700 square foot audience + stage facility, the largest in Central America and the Caribbean, and fourth largest in Latin America.
https://masterchefrd.com/
https://www.diariolibre.com/portada...dar-a-conocer-la-gastronomia-local-AL10397896
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