2001 – Page 40

News reports say the DR may suffer economic effects such as: Increase in the price of petroleum. Delays and reductions in dollars sent from the US to pay free zone workers in export manufacturing zones. General delays and some decline in volume of remittances. Increase in international uncertainty which will affect leisure travel, even from …

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Security was stepped up yesterday at the US Consulate and Embassy in Santo Domingo which closed to visitors after 11 am. Classes were suspended at the Carol Morgan School (reportedly this coincided with a programmed mid day suspension of classes), the ICDA and the American School. Otherwise, most schools and businesses remained open yesterday.

Codetel, the leading telecommunications company, reported that a switch located on the top floor of Tower II of the World Trade Center caused failures leading to congestion in telephone service yesterday. Codetel announced capacity for incoming and outgoing calls was restored hours afterwards and is back to normal.

The Second Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was suspended yesterday. Dominican nominees Eddy Herrera and Chichi Peralta are in Los Angeles for the event. Toño Rosario, who was also nominated, was in New York at the time of the tragedy. Major League baseball games, in which several Dominicans play, were also suspended yesterday.

Hoy newspaper reports Senator Dario Gomez (PRD-Santiago Rodriguez), who leads a movement of legislators seeking constitutional reform, says he supports the idea of a president being re-elected for a second consecutive term. This was outlawed in the 1994 Constitutional Reform. He says re-election would permit President Hipolito Mejia to run for a second term and …

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Orlando Gil, political analyst for El Siglo newspaper, asks why bother with the National Council of the Magistracy (CNM) session today if the president of the PRD, Hatuey de Camps, has already announced a consensus with former President Joaquin Balaguer over who the new judges will be. The National Council of the Magistracy is the …

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Guillermo Gonzalvez, director of the National Center of Tropical Diseases (Cenet) said that malaria cases in the DR this year are significantly lower than last year. He says there have been 720 cases reported (404 Dominicans and 311 Haitians). He says the Dominican government needs to sign a health agreement with the Haitian authorities to …

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Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch said she is unaware that President Hipolito Mejia has requested the transfer of RD$530 million from her budget. Reportedly, the President has sent a modification to Congress that would legally allow the Executive Branch to transfer RD$1.2 billion. About 50% of that money (RD$605 million) would be used to pay …

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The Central Bank said accumulated inflation for this year so far is 3.04%, from January to August. The annual inflation from August 2000 to August 2001 was 8.99%. Inflation for the month of August alone was 0.74%.