2008 – Page 207

Delegates from 50 Western Hemisphere countries are meeting at the Santo Domingo Hilton for the 32nd assembly of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The meetings run through Friday, 13 June.

The United States Embassy says that the US has increased its aid to the DR from US$29.4 million in the 2007 fiscal year to US$45.2 million in the 2008 fiscal year, a 54% increase. The funds are directed at programs to strengthen democracy, health, education, farming, environment and biodiversity, as well as trade under DR-CAFTA. …

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The effect of the recent reduction in the number of flights forthcoming from the United States starting September has generated “collective alarm” in the tourism and export sectors. Many representatives of the most affected sectors are waiting for a meeting of the Civil Aviation Board to discuss matters. The most affected sectors are tourism, but …

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The Agro-Business Board (JAD) is supporting the efforts of the Airport Department, which said it was looking to charter a cargo plane in order to maintain and even expand the export of vegetables to markets in the United States. The news, which JAD president Ramon Peralta disclosed to reporters from Hoy newspaper, emphasizes some of …

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Former President Hipolito Mejia has decided to reactivate his political team known as the PPH, in an attempt to “participate and influence” the internal processes of the PRD party. According to El Caribe, the group’s spokesperson Hector Guzman said that the group associated with former President Mejia is “conscious of the importance of its role …

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National Police chief Rafael Guillermo Guzman Fermin will move to Santiago tomorrow to lead efforts aimed at controlling an outbreak of criminal activity in the area. Guzman Fermin said that there has been a “weakness and carelessness” in the police work in the region, hit by no less than 16 robberies and several deaths in …

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Industrialist Celso Marranzini Perez has suggested a large pay increase for the Police Force as a way of reducing the temptations that corrupt some of its members. He was sharply critical of the fact that the starting pay for policemen is just RD$3,000 per month, equivalent to less than US$100. The former president of the …

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Former National Police colonel Lidio Arturo Nin Terrero, implicated in the transport of more than a metric ton of pure cocaine (1,387kg) has turned state’s witness and reached a plea bargain with the prosecutors of Quirino Paulino Castillo, the accused drug lord and major trafficker who owned the shipment under Nin Terrero’s care. As a …

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The National Meteorological Office (ONAMET) is forecasting continued rains throughout much of the Dominican Republic and the Committee for Emergencies (COE) has maintained Green and Yellow alerts for large parts of the country. A tropical wave crossing the Mona Channel is causing this rainfall, and the alerts affect the provinces of Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde, Dajabon, …

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The Dominican Republic women’s team won a much-needed gold medal at the Pan American Cup organized by NORCECA league in Mexicali, Baja California. The DR team defeated Brazil 26-24, 30-28, 22-25, 19-25 and 15-11. Sidarka Nunez, Bethania de la Cruz and Cindy Rondon were the high scorers who led the team to win the Pan …

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