2004 – Page 145

Standard & Poor?s Ratings Services issued a commentary on Thursday, 17 June that examines the challenging political environment and difficult economic situation facing President-elect Leonel Fernandez. The article, titled ?Tough Choices and Difficult Challenges Ahead for Dominican Republic President-Elect Fernandez,? says the new government will face significant financing needs over the next two years and …

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Senator Tonty Rutinel Dominguez (PRD-Province of Santo Domingo) has resigned his post as president of the Commission for Reform and Modernization of Congress and the Chamber of Accounts. He alerted that those who put the kibosh on the reform process are now trying to change the Senate?s board of directors to give them enough leverage …

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The president of the Dominican Medical College, the physicians? union in the DR, declared the public health system in a state of emergency. Dr Waldo Ariel Suero was referring to the 173 hospitals that operate under the Ministry of Public Health and the Dominican Institute of Social Security (IDSS), facilities that primarily serve those who …

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Public transport vehicles using subsidized propane gas are in for more inconveniences. Local scarcities have resulted in long lines at filling stations, as reported in El Caribe. Hundreds of people stocking up on propane for domestic consumption are also having to queue up. The scarcity is being attributed to the government?s arrears to the propane …

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The south-eastern city of San Pedro de Macoris, best known as the hometown of several big-name baseball players (such as Sammy Sosa) and for its UCE university that trains foreign and Dominican medical students, has been shaken by two unusually violent incidents this week. On Wednesday, police confirmed the double murder of lawyer and PLD …

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Roger Beachy, the president of the Danforth Center in St. Louis, Missouri, along with the University of California?s Jian-Kang Zhu and Ingo Potrykus of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, are among a select group of world-renowned scientists to meet in Boca Chica this weekend for the RedBio 2004 conference that opens at the Hamaca …

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The Mercer Human Resources Consulting worldwide survey on the cost of living in 144 cities has ranked our capital city of Santo Domingo as a relatively low-cost location. The survey, which measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, was originally released in the DR through El Caribe newspaper. Mercer?s researchers analyzed …

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The Dominican Federation of Fencing has announced the inception of a fencing summer camp to introduce young Dominicans to the sport. Fencing was first practiced in the DR when the country needed to present a team for the Santo Domingo Pan American Games in August 2003. The fencing summer camp is designed for youngsters aged …

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The United States State Department has downgraded the Dominican Republic to Tier 2 Watch List ?for lack of aggressive law enforcement and the magnitude of its trafficking problem.? The category Tier 2 Watch List is given to countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards regarding trafficking of persons but are making …

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Jorge Ivan Ramirez, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce, urged the Dominican government to present the elusive tax reform bill to Congress before 15 July. Ramirez, who is also president of Verizon Dominicana, said that the Dominican people expect the state to confront the introducing keynote speaker Elena Viyella de Paliza, Ramirez said …

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