2007 – Page 73

The Santo Domingo prosecutor’s office has formally charged two young men of murdering an Italian man, Mauricio Banci, in Boca Chica. Cousins Omar Santana Perdomo, 18, and Pedro Luis Perdomo, 20, were formally charged with killing Banci during a robbery at the home of Orlando Sabatini, another Italian who was wounded in the attack. A …

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The search for an effective vaccine against the AIDS virus will continue, but the latest STEP trial, a Phase III trial, has revealed that the current Adenovirus 05 is not effective. Seventy of the 3,000 volunteers worldwide have become infected with HIV. Merck & Co, the sponsors of the trials, has suspended the drug trials. …

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As of 21 November, Dominican consumers should find their shelves lined with products in Spanish labeling. The supermarket chains will be responsible for ensuring that the regulation is implemented. The Office of Weights and Measures (Digenor) says that this labeling will allow people to identify foods that are safe to consume.

The two individuals accused of carrying US$250,000 in cash on their persons with the aim of taking it out of the country have been formally accused of money smuggling by the Director General of Customs. Juan Carlos Genao Dorrejo and Guillermo Martinez Gil were formally charged with trying to take the money to Panama. Genao …

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The number of Dominicans born in the United States is on the rise according to the Quisqueya Foundation. US-born Dominicans now comprise 40% of the total Dominican population in the US. According to Frank Valenzuela and Hector Frias, between 2000 and 2006 the Dominican population born in the United States grew from 345,000 to 549,000. …

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The Dominican Winter Baseball League gets under way tonight in Santo Domingo, Santiago and La Romana. Listin Diario has published a Baseball Supplement that contains pictures, short stories and a complete calendar for the 2007-2008 season. Given the fact that Santiago will host this year’s Caribbean Series, the tournament is especially important for the great …

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Today’s the day for the decision on whether the DR or Costa Rica will take the seat on the UN Security Council that will be vacated by Peru. According to Diario Libre, although no one really knows how many countries will vote for the DR, the country is counting on the vote of 62 countries. …

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The Office for the Reorganization of Transit (OPRET) is challenging the assertion made by geologist Osiris De Leon that the subway cars being purchased for the Santo Domingo metro cost double what they cost the Shanghai Metro project in China. OPRET sub director Leonel Carrasco justified the much higher cost saying that the comparison is …

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State-run Electricity Company (CDEEE) administrator Radhames Segura has announced the signing of an agreement with AES Dominicana for the construction of a 40km natural gas line from Andres, Boca Chica to San Pedro de Macoris. Speaking yesterday, Segura said that the gas line would feed the plants at Cogentrix that are due to be converted …

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Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa is working on ways for the government to apply the announced governmental incentives for job creation in the free trade manufacturing zones (FTZ). The incentives are based on the amount of jobs created. Bengoa has said that each company will receive RD$2,000 for each job created. Free zone employment has declined …

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