2007 – Page 119

More than 100,000 tubes of the recently banned Chinese toothpaste were found in several Chinese-owned motels in Santo Domingo. The brands Mr. Cool, Excell, Maxan, and Hei are reported to contain toxic chemicals that can seriously harm users. Among the chemicals is diethyl glycol which is used in anti freeze. The packaging contains instructions in …

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The couple that used the “House of Horrors” for multiple murders and torture were convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison, as was one of their accomplices, Vicente Pablo Valdez Valdez. A former policeman, Wilson Castillo German was sentenced to 20 years for his part in the horrendous murders of several people in the …

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Barely two weeks after Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina was “elected” president, the city of Santo Domingo was destroyed by a very strong hurricane, named for the saint’s day: San Zenon. The death and destruction caused by the hurricane, magnified by the fact that the eye passed over the city, leading thousands of people to take …

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20-year old INTEC engineering student Sebastian Mera Cabral took the 2007 Sunfish World Championship last week at the Brant Beach Yacht Club in New Jersey. Mera defeated Malcolm Smith, a three-time world champion, in the 100-boat regatta. This is the first time the DR wins the World Sunfish Championship. Mera finished with just 26 points, …

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Twenty-two leading Dominican fashion designers, and a colorful spectacular by Spain’s Agatha Ruiz de la Prada make up the Dominicana Moda 2007, a festival of fashion taking place this week at the Hotel Embajador. The shows are benefits for multiple causes and tickets cost RD$500 (Tel 809 540-2536, 809 566-1114). Opening tonight, Monday, 3 September, …

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Government revenues were again up this month, with RD$19.40 billion, which is RD$723.9 million more than estimated, according to the Budget Department (DIGEPRES), published in El Nuevo Diario. Likewise, spending for the same period was RD$18.67 billion. During July, the government received foreign revenues for RD$90.7 million and RD$1.07 billion. The breakdown of collections by …

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At the invitation of the Vietnamese government, Dominican Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso is paying a visit to Vietnam from 28 August to 2 September. This is the first time a Dominican foreign minister has visited Vietnam since diplomatic relations were established in July 2005. The visit aims to enhance the relationship of friendship …

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The Office for the Reorganization of Transport (OPRET) has announced the closure of the capital’s Malecon seafront boulevard between Maximo Gomez and Abraham Lincoln avenues on Saturday from 3pm to Monday at 6am. Rainwater and sewage works for the Santo Domingo metro will carried out in the area. Access will be possible using north-south roads. …

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Environment Minister Omar Ramirez Tejada has reinstated the Quisqueya Verde Plan (Green Quisqueya) along the border with Haiti. As reported in El Dia, he announced a plan to invest CAN$25 million in the tree planting that begins in October. He said that the plan would be carried out jointly with the Canadian venture to rescue …

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Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez defended himself during questioning in the Chamber of Deputies yesterday, indicating that he has always been transparent in his dealings as a real estate businessman. The Chamber of Deputies had summoned him alleging conflicts of interest between his work at the Ministry as an industry regulator and his work as a …

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