2008 – Page 58

Fuel prices have gone down for the fourth week in a row. The government authorized reductions of RD$8 for premium gasoline, RD$7 for regular gasoline, RD$12.40 for regular diesel and RD$12 for premium diesel. Even propane gas went down by RD$0.63 cents. Over the past four weeks, premium gasoline has gone down RD$43.70, regular gasoline …

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The Consul General of the United States, Michael R. Schimmel, revealed yesterday that during the last year at least one thousand Dominicans have been tricked by unscrupulous individuals (“buscones”) who promise work visas to the United States. He told Hoy newspaper that dozens of these tricksters have been arrested by the police, mainly in the …

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Magistrates of the Penal Chamber of the Appeals Court in Barahona have ratified a 20-year sentence for a Venezuelan citizen found guilty of violating Law 20-88 on Drugs and Controlled Substances. The judges sentenced Cristian Jose Gonzalez Gonzalez, 37, who is currently in the local jail. The foreigner was found guilty of trafficking 62.5 kilograms …

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A group of 40 (or 42) illegal immigrants, most from the Dominican Republic were shipwrecked off the coast of Miami Beach in South Florida over the weekend. Three were found dead in the Atlantic while rescuers are searching for nine others who are said to be missing. According to El Caribe, a spokesperson for the …

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In a separate incident, a group of 35 people that was lost at sea for 15 days had to eat one of their companions in order to survive, while one woman, one of five survivors, died in the hospital in Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The information was revealed by Tourism Minister Francisco …

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During his speech at the XVIII Ibero-American Heads Of State Conference being held in El Salvador, President Leonel Fernandez said that the biggest challenge for young people in Central America is education. Fernandez says that in the Latin American context education is only referenced as a percentage of national GDP and nothing else. According to …

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Education Minister Melanio Paredes is aiming to get 2.5% of the national budget for education, and says this is a feasible goal. Paredes says that by the end of the current administration the government will have spent between 4% and 6% of the GDP on education, which is the regional rate. Hoy notes that Paredes …

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Senate president Reinaldo Pared Perez and his Haitian counterpart Kelly Bastien have denounced the violence in Neiba earlier this week, which resulted in the deaths of three men and the injury of 11 others. While condemning the acts, Pared also guaranteed the safety of residents in Neiba, including any Haitians who are in the DR …

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Civil society group Participacion Ciudadana says that since taking office on 16 August 2008 President Leonel Fernandez has appointed 320 deputy ministers, while the law only calls for 52. In the same period 53 ministers have been appointed, of whom only 20 have the title of minister of state and the rest are ministers without …

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Hoy is reporting that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will loan US$40 million to the power distributors for the purpose of improving the electricity system. The funds will allow the three major distributors – EdeSur, EdeEste and EdeNorte – to purchase better equipment to improve their services to the public. The money will also be …

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