1996 – Page 24

For the first time in the history of the contest, a woman born outside Italy has been crowned “Miss Italia 1996”. Denny Mendez, born in Santo Domingo, but who became a naturalized Italian citizen four years ago, won the contest despite strong objections by some judges who maintained that the selection of a woman with …

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The 1996-97 school year began under difficult conditions in the public system. According to the newspaper Hoy, there is a shortage of 150,000 desks and 2,500 classrooms in the public schools throughout the nation. The general secretary of the Asociación Dominicana de Profesores, Melanio Paredes, warned that the lack of student desks could not be …

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President Leonel Fernandez gave RD$7,000,000 to the engineers working on the repair of the Estadio Julian Javier, home of the new professional baseball team, the Gigantes del Nordeste. The team is to begin play on 25 October, the first day of the Professional Winter Baseball League. The engineers of the Ministry of Public Works and …

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Telemicro (Circuito Independencia), which currently operates on the Channel 6, is still waiting for the government-owned Radio Television Dominicana to give up Channel 5 so it may begin broadcasting on that frequency. Radio Television Dominicana, currently transmits its strongest signal on Channel 4. With a resolution approved last year by the Department of Telecommunications, all …

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President Leonel Fernandez, through the attorney general of the National District Guillermo Moreno, said that the killers of Narciso (Narcisazo) Gonzalez, will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. No evidence of who was involved in the 26 May, 1994, disappearance of Mr. Gonzalez has surfaced, although most suspect that he was arrested …

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The Ministry of Public Health has announced a campaign to vaccinate children of 14 years of age and younger, together with women in childbearing years, against tetanus, meningitis, measles, and hepatitis B. There will be over 30,000 volunteers involved in the scheme, who will work with doctors and nurses from the ministry at 4,000 places …

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President Leonel Fernandez has appointed a government commission to reappraise the contract under which the Shell Company operates the Dominican Petroleum Refinery. According to presidential decree No. 410, a commission consisting of the president of the Refinery, Rhadames Segura, the Minister of Finance, Daniel Toribio, Hector Valdez, the governor of the Central Bank, the assistant …

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The president of the Spanish government, Jose Maria Aznar, made an official visit to the D.R. on 3 September, meeting with President Leonel Fernandez on the 3rd and 4th before leaving on the 5th. Among the issues discussed between the two heads of state released in the news media were the increase in Spanish financial …

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The proposed reforms to the Constitution taking place in Congress have divided the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, even between Congressmen of the same political parties. One of the biggest amendments being discussed is the extension from four to six years of the current Congress, in order to coincide with the presidential elections which …

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President Leonel Fernandez has ordered an increase in the pensions for former civil servants who received less than RD$5,000 per month. The measure was greeted with great satisfaction by some beneficiaries, some of whom only received between RD$300 and RD$400 per month, despite having worked for the government for up to 30 years. The minimum …

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