2007 – Page 23

The government has announced that it will open bidding for companies interested in appraising the value of the Shell’s 50% stake in the Dominican Refinery (Refidomsa). The announcement was made by Vicente Bengoa, the Minister of the Hacienda, after a long meeting with Shell Company officials. Bengoa stressed that the Dominican government wanted negotiations to …

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The Minister of Public Health is asking the general public to hold back on the use of fireworks over the Christmas season. This is a time when most Dominicans celebrate with nearly indiscriminate use of all types of fireworks. The minister, while recognizing the fact that children enjoy watching fireworks, also points out the number …

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This morning’s A.M. column on page two of Diario Libre allows editor Adriano Miguel Tejada to look at just how the Dominican Republic seems to be late in many important areas. After noting that Columbus first went to Juana (Cuba) and THEN arrived on Hispaniola, Tejada says that just as happened with the Admiral, the …

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The Rio Yaque del Norte got some help as the Ministry for the Environment, the Dominican Corporation of State-run Electricity Enterprises (CDEEE) and the Santiago Water Works (CORAASAN) inked an agreement to pay US$400,000 to small communities in the river watershed areas as an incentive for protecting the environment. The idea is to sustain the …

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The Popular Bank of the Dominican Republic has been awarded the title of “the best bank in the Dominican Republic for 2007” by a series of banking industry magazines: The Banker, Euromoney and Latin Finance. According to the announcement made by BPD president Manuel Alejandro Grullon, the award can be attributed to the loyalty of …

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The National Drug Control Department (DNCD) has nailed a stash of 585 kilograms (1,289 pounds) of cocaine found in a container from Venezuela that was awaiting transshipment at the Multi-Modal Port of Punta Caucedo. The container was supposed to be sent to the southern Spanish port of Cadiz. DNCD spokesman Roberto Lebron said that the …

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The director of the Seismology Institute at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, Juan Payero de Jesus, reports that the institute is working together with similar bodies in Cuba and Puerto Rico in order to work out strategies for dealing with tsunamis (also called “tidal waves”) and their effects on the Dominican Republic. Historically speaking, …

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In La Romana, the Toros del Este shut out the Leones del Escogido, 3-0, in the Francisco Micheli Stadium before a very happy home crowd. The Toros have won two of their last three games, and are now just a game and a half away from the fourth and final playoff position. Excellent pitching from …

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The government council, headed by President Leonel Fernandez, declared the repair and reconstruction work to all roads to the central city of Cotui an urgent priority, and declared that the distribution of drinking water was a “high priority.” Fernandez instructed the aqueducts authority (INAPA) to place this on the top of the agenda for Cotui. …

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Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa has confirmed that the government will be paying its employees more that RD$10 billion in Christmas bonuses this holiday season starting 10 December. Bengoa said that next Monday alone, employees at some of the government’s centralized and decentralized offices will receive RD$4.3 billion in bonuses and the same amount will handed …

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