2003 – Page 308

Both the Diario Libre and the Listin Diario are headlining the push to get terms of life imprisonment passed by Congress. Diario Libre says that the Judiciary Commission of the Senate has said it would report to the full Senate next week and promised that the new Penal Code would be a reality this month …

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Economist Frederic Emam Zade comments today in El Caribe newspaper on the hidden costs of state bureaucracy. He said that the annual state payroll is US$1.04 billion, but when office furniture, uniforms, power consumption, telephone and other expenditures are added in, the public employees cost taxpayers US$1.8 billion a year. He says that if the …

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Once again the theme of family violence has made headlines in El Caribe. There were 9,637 reported cases of family violence in 2002, approximately 3,315 more than in 2001. Women were the victims in 75 percent of the cases, however in the most recent incident, an eight-year-old girl was the victim of brutal child abuse …

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In a story carried by the El Expreso newspaper, officials of the state drug agency, the DNCD, have arrested a Dutch tourist who attempted to leave the country with 10 kilos of cocaine in his carry-on baggage. Mark Jacobus Maria Vreven sought to board a plane at the Las Americas International Airport with eight packages …

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Culture Minister of the British Virgin Islands Andrew Fahie headed a mission that visited the Dominican Republic this week to finalize the details on cultural exchanges between the two countries scheduled for this summer. The Dominican Republic and the British Virgin Islands have signed agreements for the exchange of folklore and educational programs. Fahie, as …

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The president of the Dominican Olympic Committee, Jose Joaquin Puello, goes on record in the Listin Diario today saying that the controversial project for the nationwide construction of sports facilities is a good one. "The multisport is a program that is more important than the Pan Am Games because the installations go to the grass …

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Miguel Tejada showed again why he was voted American League MVP, when he sealed the Caribbean Series game for the Dominican Republic in the sixth inning with two runs off two errors. The Aguilas Cibaeñas, champions of the Dominican Winter League, thus returned to their winning ways after stumbling 10 to 0 against the Indians …

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For most residents in Santo Domingo and Santiago, the nation?s two most prominent cities, no strike took place at all yesterday, despite a nationwide call for a general work stoppage. Organizers of the strike sought to stage the protest against the rising cost of electricity, fuel and the government?s economic policy in general. With the …

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President Hipolito Mejia spoke at the trade seminar between the Dominican Republic and Canada yesterday, saying that the Dominican Republic was ready to open free-trade talks with Canada. Mejia emphasized the strategic location of his country, as well as the integrity and modernity of its regulatory system, which guarantees international investors and the companies set …

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As reported in El Caribe, Canadian Ambassador Adam Blackwell told the audience at the ?Canada and Dominican Republic: Closer than ever? seminar that certain changes in the mining laws are required to entice serious investments in this area, specifically referring himself to Article 19. Blackwell said that Placer Dome, the massive Canadian mining consortium, is …

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