2003 – Page 267

According to the figures of the hotel owners’ association, ASONAHORES, the war with Iraq has not affected the Dominican Tourist industry so far. Diario Libre reports that with the exception of Santo Domingo most tourist areas show a rise in hotel occupancy compared to the equivalent period last year. In contrast, Hoy quotes the head …

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List?n Diario publishes a full-page letter to its editor, Miguel Franjul, signed by the Bishop of Barahona, Rafael Leonidas Felipe N??ez, and representatives of environmental and development organizations in the Southwest region. The letter calls for better protection by the authorities of areas of environmental importance that are threatened by commercial interests and activities, such …

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The apparent success of last Sunday’s ?Malecon Libre?, in which Santo Domingo’s seafront avenue was closed to vehicular traffic, has prompted the municipality to declare it a weekly event for an initial pilot-period of three months. The public responded with enthusiasm last Sunday, with many hundreds flocking to the promenade to stroll, roller-skate, cycle and …

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Two people are in police custody accused of the kidnapping of Oscar Lama, the 30-year-old son of a leading businessman of the same name. Lama Jr. was held by his abductors for several days last February and released after his family paid a RD$3- to RD$4-million ransom. A third suspect, believed to be an employee …

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Students and faculty at Mundo Maria Montessori in Santo Domingo held a World Peace event on Thursday to pray for an end to the current conflict in Iraq. The walls of the school were filled with headlines and pictures from the events of the past two weeks in Iraq. Students then wrote over the clippings …

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Hoy newspaper reports President Hip?lito Mej?a’s declarations yesterday that it would be ?inhuman? for the Dominican Republic not to share the resources along the border with Haiti, which has had much of its aid frozen by donor countries and is ?falling to pieces?. The President was referring to the ongoing concerns for Haitians in the …

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President Hip?lito Mej?a participated yesterday in the ?Gobierno de la Ma?ana? (The Morning Government) radio talk-show, where he announced he would remove his suit for supposed defamation against commentator Julio Martinez Pozo. On 3 February, President Mej?a had called the program demanding to speak to Martinez Pozo, shortly after the latter had commented that a …

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Airport authorities will monitor arriving passengers and order those exhibiting suspicious symptoms to undergo medical examination and, if necessary, treatment in specialized centers, the papers report. This is in response to the worldwide mounting panic about the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic that has recently extended beyond Asia, where most cases and fatalities originated. …

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The three-day strike of the medical staff at Salvador B. Gautier Hospital has today extended to the Presidente Estrella Ure?a Hospital in Santiago. At Jaime Oliver Pina Hospital in San Pedro de Macor?s the staff have planned a walk-out for tomorrow to also show their support of the striking doctors. These demonstrations are despite an …

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Municipal League President Amable Aristy Castro announced that plans to purchase a helicopter for his transport to visit city governments nationwide has been abandoned in view of the negative reactions received. As well as widespread media criticism, the plan was disparaged by Interior & Police Minister Pedro Franco Bad?a, who called it a ?disproportionate? expense. …

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