2003 – Page 273

The reshuffling that has resulted from Tolentino Dipp’s departure includes former Finance Minister Jos? Lois Malkum?s appointment as head of the Central Bank, to replace Frank Guerrero Prats, who is the new foreign minister. According to El Caribe, Malkum assumes his new post with vigor, asserting that as a reformist he plans to make extensive …

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Mario Mendez, economic editor for Hoy newspaper, says that the removal of Governor Frank Guerrero Prats from the Central Bank could be a signal that the government will try to actively restrain the depreciation of the peso, instead of letting it float on the trends of supply and demand, as Guerrero Prats had favored. Guerrero …

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In a preview of an investigation in sister-publication Rumbo magazine, Diario Libre focuses on the difficulties experienced by middle-class Dominican homeowners, who are subject to devastatingly high interest rates on mortgages and loans. More and more people are unable to keep up with their debt payments in combination with the rise in the cost of …

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Santo Domingo Mayor Roberto Salcedo confirmed yesterday that the Spanish company Proaseo was out of the picture and that the municipality is taking over responsibility for refuse collection and disposal in the capital. The municipality has hired 300 refuse collection trucks for the task of clearing the backlog of domestic and commercial waste that has …

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List?n Diario reports that the Dominican Municipal League is pressing for funds in order to purchase a helicopter, which its secretary, Amable Aristy Castro, considers necessary to improve communications between municipal councils in all parts of the country. There are 347 locations to cover, according to Castro. The League does not have the budget to …

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El Caribe features an interview with French Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Jean Claude Moyret, in which he expresses that he is conscious of the heavy burden imposed on the DR by the crisis in neighboring Haiti. He reassured that France is making moves to encourage European nations to take more responsibility to assist Haiti, …

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Hoy reports that Javier Cabrera, the executive director of Participaci?n Ciudadana, attributes young people’s lack of interest in politics to the ?inability of the political parties to provide solutions to the main national issues?. This statement was given at a meeting yesterday between young representatives of the principal political parties. Cabrera stressed the need for …

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Hoy quotes the Miami Herald’s coverage of the case known as Pepegate. The US newspaper speculates that the scandal may never be brought to justice due to the secrets that could be uncovered as a result. Under the headline of ?Someone Writes to the Colonel?, the Miami Herald describes Colonel Julio (Pepe) Goico?s career and …

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PRSC politician Angel Lockward, in jail for suspicion of fraud to the tune of RD$200 million, has applied to the Supreme Court for bail once more. Attorney General Victor Cespedes Mart?nez has promised to make a decision once he has received the paperwork.

Last night saw the triumphant exit of Joselyn Payano and Junior Holgu?n from Telecentro’s ?Glass House? in Calle El Conde. The couple endured 33 days under the public glare, with almost all their daily activities broadcast on television and exposed to a constant crowd of onlookers on the pedestrian precinct. Last night’s crowds swelled as …

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