2000 – Page 159

The Ministry of Foreign Relations announced the suspension, without a postponement date, of the signing of the free trade agreement with the Caribbean (Caricom). Local soft drink companies opposed the agreement when Caricom negotiators requested that the soft drinks not be excluded from free trade treatment. The Ministry of Foreign Relations said the suspension was …

Read more…

Mamy, the 65-year old elephant, died on Sunday at the National Zoo of a heart attack. She came to the DR in the 50s from Asia and was one of the leading attractions of the Santo Domingo zoo. Veterinarians told the press that she had carried on normal activities on the previous day, eating normally …

Read more…

Elvis Crespo, winner of the Grammy Award for Best Merengue Performance ("Píntame" with sales of 4 million copies), arrived yesterday to La Romana. He came by way of the La Romana Punta Aguila airport. He will perform Saturday, 22 April in La Romana’s Altos de Chavón amphitheater. He arrived yesterday by way of the La …

Read more…

The local association of soft drink bottlers has mustered enough support to boycott the signing of the Caribbean Free Trade Agreement. The agreement was to be signed on Wednesday, 19 April in Santo Domingo. The main bottleneck is that the Caribbean nations (primarily Trinidad & Tobago) are standing by their objection to exclude soft drinks …

Read more…

US President Clinton released a statement on Friday, 14 April congratulating the US Congress for moving on the Africa-CBI trade legislation. He also urged Congress to complete the remaining work on the bill so that the final approval could occur during the first week after the Easter recess. President Clinton called the bill "a win-win …

Read more…