2003 – Page 256

Hoy reports that the PRSC?s presidential candidate Eduardo Estrella has announced his campaign priorities for the 2004 election. Controls on Haitian immigration, employment promotion in small- and medium-sized businesses, development of agriculture, tourism and free-trade zones, and reducing the national debt are among the issues he lists as central points for a future PRSC government. …

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The Public Health Ministry is introducing more facilities to deal with suspected cases of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) as fears intensify following yesterdays warning by the World Health Organization that people should avoid travel to China, Hong Kong and Toronto. Although there has yet to be a single case reported in the Dominican Republic, …

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In a report that evokes Juan Luis Guerra’s ?Niagara en Bicicleta? lyrics, Diario Libre reveals that Las Americas International Airport?s medical staff have to make do with rum instead of disinfectant when treating passengers and employees. The eight doctors and twelve nurses who work at the country’s largest airport claim they have not been paid …

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List?n Diario’s financial section leads with the story that car dealers are reporting a massive drop in sales due to the devaluation of the peso and high interest rates on loans. ANADIVE, the national vehicle distributors association, has decided to cancel its usual car fairs held around the country at this time of year, as …

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El Caribe?s business section reports that 1.2 million employees have signed up for ADP private pension schemes, as required by the new social security legislation. This figure represents about 94% of all eligible workers, according to the director of the Association of Pension Fund Managers (ADAFP), Kirsis J?quez. The plans were originally criticized by trade …

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Diario Libre continues its focus on the high costs of running a business in the capital’s large shopping malls. One of the largest and newest malls, Torre Acropolis on Avenida Churchill, has seen six outlets close their doors in recent months. One of the businesses in question, Payless Shoes, is said to have closed because …

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The sixth Annual Santo Domingo Book Fair will be inaugurated by President Hip?lito Mej?a today at 7pm. With a front-page photograph captioned ?Dominican punctuality?, Diario Libre highlights the fact that with only hours to go, many of the stalls and pavilions are still under construction. This year’s event puts Cuba in the spotlight, which has …

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According to the Diario Libre and other papers, President Hip?lito Mej?a is not clear as to whether he will seek a second term of office. Yesterday morning, Mej?a attended a meeting of the PPH, the pro-Mej?a re-election faction within the PRD. The meeting was held the morning before a scheduled afternoon meeting of PRD presidential …

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El Caribe newspaper interviewed several of the leading presidential candidacy hopefuls after the overt move by the PPH to push ahead the re-election of President Hip?lito Mej?a yesterday. In a letter addressed to the party and delivered yesterday, the President for the first time says he is the leader of the PPH movement. In the …

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The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic announced yesterday that the balance of payments account showed a surplus of US$308.5 million for the first quarter of the year, in contrast to a US$90.5-million deficit for the same period last year. The Central Bank attributed the surplus to a reactivation of exports from the industrial free …

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