2008 – Page 117

President Leonel Fernandez swore in former Vice President Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal as the country’s minister of environment. Fernandez Mirabal has behind him the Plan Quisqueya Verde, which is regarded as one of the most successful reforestation projects ever implemented in the Caribbean and Central America. Upon swearing in to the controversial and difficult post, …

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Senator Amilcar Romero said that the Financial Free Zone Bill just passed in Congress and pending enactment by President Fernandez will attract investments for US$650 million, and create 26,000 jobs from now until 2011. The bill paves the way for new investments in financial and banking activities and services, insurance and re-insurance, financial markets and …

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Up to 18-hour blackouts are being reported throughout the DR. This time the blackouts are attributed to the passing of Tropical Storm Hanna. Strong winds knocked down power lines, interrupting service. Energy distributor EDE Este announced that 70 circuits were not working as of yesterday, which translated into 138,000 users without power. EDE Este officials …

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Manuel Diez Cabral, president of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic, said that the agreement for US$460 million in financing by the government to the power distribution companies is just a way of prolonging the critical situation, not resolving it. “Not only does it increase the foreign debt, but it uses treasury funds …

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Lawyer Marisol Vicens writes today in El Caribe that missing from the electricity negotiations, where the government is deciding on its next steps for dealing with blackouts and high electricity costs, were the consumers. Neither industrial nor residential consumers were present, only the government and generation and distribution companies. She criticizes the lack of transparency …

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Sociologist Ramon Tejada Holguin resigned from the National Ethics Committee. He cites the lack of political will to fight corruption in government, and the lack of coordination of civil society organizations represented in the commission.

On 29 September the DR and Canada will resume negotiations for a free trade agreement. Talks have been on the table for some time and many thought once the DR finished the European Partnership Agreement with the European Union, the Canadian talks would run smoothly. For reasons unknown, after the first round of talks were …

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Canadian mining company Diagnos has received permission from the Dominican government to explore the 253 square km Maple property located at 15 kms of La Vega in the central part of the DR. The property is regarded as having high potential for gold and other precious and base metals. The exploration project will be completed …

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The Armed Forces assigned a special security force to protect Peravia Senator Wilton Guerrero who gained national attention for denouncing that government, police and judicial officials in the DR are accomplices in drugs trafficking. Guerrero had previously made limited accusations and provided limited proof, but earlier this week the Senator accused the governor of Peravia, …

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Yankees star Alex Rodriguez has reached a milestone in his career moving ahead of Mike Schmidt with 549 career homeruns. Rodriguez is now 12th on the all-time sluggers list. Rodriguez also passed Bill Dickey for most homeruns in a Yankee uniform, 206. Rodriguez’s career highlight homerun was also special for another reason. His swat was …

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