2003 – Page 89

As reported in last week’s DR1 news, the Attorney General, along with the Supreme Court and the National Police, have established three “complementary” measures regarding the need to obtain a judge’s warrant for arrest before detaining an accused person. According to El Caribe, the police and the assistant DAs can arrest a person without a …

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The extensive flooding in the north of the country, which has already claimed at least ten lives, is now in danger of causing more dengue fever outbreaks, according to health experts. Hoy newspaper reports that Radhames Lora Salcedo, who heads the National Emergency Committee, called on the Health Ministry to do more about the threat. …

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Listin Diario newspaper leads with the story, also carried in some of the other papers, of the grisly murder of San Cristobal businessman Jose Castro. It appears that the 48 year old father of five was killed by his wife, his two teenage children and a domestic employee, who planned the killing together in response …

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The Listin Diario reports that the District Attorney for the National District (Santo Domingo) has instructed his team to arrest any men found to have abused or beaten their partners. These orders circumvent the new rules that require a judge’s warrant to make an arrest. Women’s groups had protested that the new legalities would expose …

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An agreement on the much-anticipated tax reform legislation could not be made between senators and business proponents, yesterday. In spite of having called the meeting with the country’s lawmakers, the businesspeople arrived at the table with no new proposals. According to Listin Diario reporter Manuel Azcona, the head of the Senate Finance Committee, Alejandro Santos, …

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Bienvenido Alvarez Vega, Hoy newspaper’s editor, writes today on the insistence of the government to make the private sector, primarily the business community, pay additional taxes in order to cover the financial hole left by the mismanagement of commercial banks. Vega says the Mejia administration has already geared its economic policies in this direction. He …

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The economic section of the Listin Diario reveals an United States Agency for International Development (USAID) report that indicates a possible loss of 46,000 jobs if the Dominican Republic fails to enter a free trade agreement. On the other hand, such an agreement would preserve employment for 16,640. The study conducted by the agency shows …

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President Hipolito Mejia authorized the duty-free import of books and magazines, proclaiming them educational material needed for teaching and cultural enhancement. The good news is contained in Decree 1078-03, which was released by the President’s Legal Advisor, Guido Gomez Mazara in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace yesterday. Book importers nevertheless say that the tax …

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The sliding peso and its effects on inflation and the cost of living in the Dominican Republic continues to make headlines today. Hoy newspaper reports that the Dominican currency was being sold yesterday for a record RD$43.50 to US$1. Meanwhile, the Central Bank is listing a rate of RD$40.58, which is used by most commercial …

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The headlines from today’s El Caribe tell the sad story of HIV patients living in the Dominican Republic. According to Alicia Ortega, there have been 32,000 deaths from HIV-related illnesses since the onset of the AIDS crisis. The Epidemic Vigilance Department of the Public Health Ministry estimates that by 2005 there will be 78,000 deaths …

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