2004 – Page 24

On Saturday, Vicente Sanchez Baret, the PRD party president, former Customs director and one of the strongest supporters of President Hipolito Mejia’s re-election, was reported to have announced his resignation from the political organization, along with his family. His wife was the Minister of Women’s Affairs during the Mejia government. While in his written resignation …

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Journalist Juan Bolivar Diaz writes in Hoy newspaper that a major effort should be made to lessen the discretionary powers of the government so that never again could it use billions of pesos to purchase buses, vehicles, trucks and fork lifts to be distributed however it saw fit, among other ignominious acts, such as occurred …

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The Dominican community in the United States is the most generous to its relatives in the home country. According to lawyer Roberto Alvarez, the DR will have received some US$2.7 billion in remittances in 2004 from Dominican residing in the United States, as estimated by the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB). This is the highest volume …

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Puerto Plata’s Deputy Tourism Minister Cesar Jose de los Santos lamented last week’s ambush of a busload of US tourists on their way to Paradise Island, as reported in the Listin Diario. The vacationers were reportedly returning from a day of snorkeling on the sand bar near Punta Rucia in the province of Puerto Plata. …

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A 26-year-old Belgian named Defawe Louis was killed on Friday off the coast of El Cortecito beach in the East Coast province of La Altagracia while attempting a free dive. Two other divers, Bogdan Septimiu of Rumania and Pascal Balywf of Belgium, remain missing. El Caribe newspaper reports that the three were members of a …

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The Escogido baseball club delighted their fans by winning 21 to 2 runs against the Licey Tigers at the Quisqueya Ball Park. The Escogido set a new record of 18 homeruns in the sixth inning, breaking a former record held by the Tigres del Licey, who earned 13 runs against the Estrellas in 1954. This …

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The Dominican Republic’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist, Felix Sanchez, will be on hand for the opening of Santo Domingo’s scholastic track and field tournament to be held at 4pm at the Olympic Stadium. The event, which runs through 7 December, is organized by the Ministry of Sports. In an interview with the Listin Diario, the …

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10 year record lows for November are being felt in the mountain valley city of Constanza, La Vega province. Hoy newspaper reports that the temperatures in the first three weeks of the month regularly dropped to from 3 to 5 degrees Celsius (37-41 degrees Fahrenheit) in the early morning. The newspaper highlights the city’s hospital …

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President Leonel Fernandez gave a luncheon for members of the press and told them that 2005 would be the year of the Dominican Republic’s “recovery.” This was the term he used when El Nacional’s editor-in-chief asked him to sum up 2005 in just one word. Fernandez was optimistic with regards to the future of the …

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In order for the government to bring its finances into line for the IMF approval of a new two-year Stand By Accord, the authorities would reportedly have to raise taxes, reduce the subsidies to the propane and electricity sectors and increase the exchange commission that is collected on imports by 3%. Ironically, as these measures …

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