2007 – Page 121

The Ministry of Education is taking education into the 21st Century with the introduction of “Wiki Dominicana.” The online interactive encyclopedia, based on the extremely popular Wikipedia, will be an ongoing project edited by readers. The site, which is similar in style to the original Wikipedia site, seeks to connect Dominicans through the Internet. www.wikidominicana.edu.do

In comments earlier this week in Santiago on occasion of the inauguration of millionaire facilities for university students, President Leonel Fernandez explained that the government could not invest more in education because of the massive public debt it had inherited from its predecessor, the Hipolito Mejia administration. In his column in El Caribe today, news …

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Clave newspaper reports on hefty increases in government propaganda during the Fernandez administration’s first three years. The newspaper points out that despite the 2007 Austerity Law that requires the government to reduce advertising spending by 25% of the 2005 level of advertising, the opposite has been the case. For the first half of 2007, government …

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According to a transparency in government index presented by civil society group Citizen Participation (PC), the Attorney General’s Office (at 78.40%) is the most transparent government office and the Ministry of Agriculture (at 12.23%) the least. Also analyzed were the ministries of Education-SEE (45.66%), Public Health-SESPAS (34.56%), Public Works-SEOPC (66.49%), Labor-SET (48.47%), Environment-SEMARN (35.26%), Foreign …

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Haitian Ambassador Fritz Cineas says that Haitians make up 85% of the laborers in the country’s construction sector. In an interview for Hoy, Cineas added that Haitians work as electricians, plumbers, carpenters and even site managers. Cineas also highlighted the work of Haitians in the development of the country’s agricultural sector, especially the sugar, coffee …

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“Offspring of Haitian parents born in the DR are as Haitian as I am, when I was born in Port-au-Prince,” said Haitian Ambassador Fritz Cineas in an interview published by El Dia newspaper. He said it is not up to Haiti to decide the nationality of children born in the DR, because that is clearly …

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US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Roland Bullen has commended the work of the Dominican authorities and ports in their work against illegal trips to Puerto Rico. The interim ambassador says that illegal trips from Higuey province to Puerto Rico have been reduced. Bullen added that since 2006, 42 illegal vessels have been intercepted before entering US …

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The National Hotel & Restaurant Association (ASONAHORES) is proposing that the DR should introduce a special reduced taxation regime for tourists, similar to that in effect in competitor countries. This would call for lowering ITBIS (VAT), air fees and administrative charges that affect the DR tourist sector’s competitiveness. Asonahores president Luis Lopez made the comments …

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As the Baninter fraud case first phase draws to a close, government prosecutors are calling for 20 years in jail and a fine of RD$2.5 million for former Banco Intercontinental (Baninter) president Ramon Baez Figueroa and bank advisor Luis Alvarez Renta, accused of being the principal figures responsible for the collapse of the Dominican Republic’s …

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Dominican singer/songwriter Juan Luis Guerra was the big winner in the 8th Latin Grammy Awards nominations announced yesterday. He leads with five nominations, followed by Calle 13 and Ricky Martin with four apiece. The nominations recognize established and emerging artists and spotlight creative collaborations. Guerra’s five nominations were for Album Of The Year and Best …

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