2001 – Page 72

Minister of Public Works Miguel Vargas said yesterday that construction of sports venues will continue in Mirador del Este Park. In effect, news reports indicate that contracts continued to clear the area for the construction today. Vargas said that former President Joaquin Balaguer who opposes the construction had been misinformed as to what it was …

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Former President Joaquin Balaguer says he will become a firm opponent to the Mejia administration if the President decides to go ahead with the construction of sports venues in the Mirador del Este Park in the east side of Santo Domingo. “If that is built there, the government can have me from here on as …

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The local representative of the 180-megawatt power barge that will supply energy to the North Coast and the Cibao has announced the plant will be installed in the port area of Puerto Plata. The plant originally would have been installed in the Maimon area but this was opposed on grounds that it could affect tourism …

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France Telecom Dominicana (Orange) has announced that users of its mobile phones will have wireless Internet access as of October. The DR will thus become the first country in the Americas to enjoy the new WAP-GPRSC technology. France Telecom invested US$150 million in its first year in the DR and has announced plans for another …

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Yesterday, police found the body of 58-year-old lawyer and financial consultant Rafael Orlando Batista Fernandez. He had been missing since Wednesday, 25 July, and was thought to have been kidnapped. The former vice president of the Banco Popular and owner of Ellis Viajes, a city travel agency, was last heard from when he called his …

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The National Council of Private Business feels that the authorities are not giving clear direction to the economy. CONEP says that private interests are steering government decisions, which does not present the most healthy panorama for the future. El Siglo newspaper reports that the business sector is concerned as the government has not been able …

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Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Morning, two US National Basketball Association stars, are vacationing in the DR. Ewing vacationed in Santo Domingo. Shakira, the Latin American pop star, is also reportedly vacationing in the DR. She chose to visit her new home at the exclusive Casa de Campo Marina.

Dominican Republic weight lifters placed third in the Pan American Weight Lifting championship over the weekend. The US won the event followed by Puerto Rico in second place. The US won four gold medals, seven silver and 11 bronze for 976 points. Puerto Rico won one gold, two silver and one bronze and accumulated 893 …

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Yesterday President Hipolito Mejia signed into law the General Electricity Bill at a ceremony at the National Palace. The bill provides a framework for the electricity industry. “I recognize that it is not possible in this case, nor in any other case, to make a shoe that fits all feet,” said the President. “What is …

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Yesterday, the Chamber of Deputies authorized the President to place US$500 million in sovereign bonds. Only the PLD deputies and Mario Fernandez Saviñon of the PRSC voted against the bill.