2008 – Page 210

The DR and Cuba are working towards signing a Partial Scope Agreement to enhance trade. President Leonel Fernandez held a meeting with the Cuban delegation at the World Food Summit in Rome to discuss strengthening trade between both countries. The First Vice-President of the Cuban Council of State, Ramon Machado Ventura headed the Cuban talks …

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Yet again public hospital doctors in the southern provinces of the DR are going on strike. Although the strikes have received little attention from the government, doctors are using the action to exert pressure as part of an ongoing fight to obtain a wage increase and other benefits. The announcement came from Waldo Ariel Suero, …

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The government, through the National Council on Urban Affairs (CONAU), has announced that it will begin to relocate 2,000 families living on the vulnerable banks of the Ozama and Isabela rivers in Santo Domingo. The project, which was first announced in 1993, aims to rebuild the surrounding areas into a desirable residential area. The dredging …

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Eminent US naturalist Edward Osborne Wilson has urged the DR to increase funding for its protected areas, given that the country still boasts the greatest biodiversity in the Caribbean. He argued that protection makes economic sense because several valuable species inhabit these areas, which are of great interest to the scientific community and medical researchers. …

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The Progressive Environmental Movement is angered at the fact that another World Environment Day is here and the government has yet to punish those responsible for dumping the so-called rockash or fly ash in Samana and Manzanillo. Engineer Paino Abreu Collado says that although six years have passed since the case came to light, there …

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The Ministry of Environment has ordered the MSC-Trinidad ship to be towed out of Barahona Port because it contains residual oils that have been deemed highly toxic. Victor Garcia, Deputy Minster at the Ministry of Environment, said that the substance is sludge. The Ministry also ordered an internal investigation into the Ministry’s Environmental Management Department …

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American Airlines has announced another round of flight cuts to the Dominican Republic as of September 3, part of a global effort to reduce costs significantly to compensate for the spike in fuel prices and a weakening economy. American had already announced the suspension of American Eagle flights from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Samana …

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The 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report from the US State Department highlights the DR as a Tier 2 country and urges the country to increase efforts to bring human traffickers to justice. The report also urged the DR to emphasize pursuing “complicit high-ranking government officials” who partake in this illegal activity. “The Dominican Republic is …

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Former National Police private Fray Pablo Villaman Toribio is now out on RD$20 million bail. Villaman was imprisoned after a shooting at Santo Domingo’s Loft nightclub, which left three people dead. Villaman will be barred from leaving the country and is expected to make periodic appearances in front of magistrates. The shooting incident occurred in …

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The Dominican Volleyball team is on a roll after beating the Mexican team 25-19, 25-15 and 25-7 in the Pan American Volleyball Cup taking place in Tijuana, Mexico. The Dominican team has only lost once in the tournament, against Argentina, and with the victory against Mexico has secured a spot in the 2009 World Grand …

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