2005 – Page 119

Dominican swimmer Marcos Diaz, 31 years, and his delegation have arrived in Tarifa, Spain, where they have found strong winds and 16C temperatures, according to El Caribe. As well as the challenge of swimming across the Straits of Gibraltar in the next few days, a new world record has been announced for the swim that …

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The director of the Tax Department (DGII) Vehicle Division, Alfredo Mirabal, has stated that legal action against drivers who fail to renew their vehicle license stickers within the established deadline is not the department’s responsibility, according to El Caribe. Stickers will continue to be available until 31 August, with a RD$300 surcharge. Mirabal explained that …

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The Executive Branch has announced that it agreed to the creation of two new ministries with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – one for Treasury and Finance and the other for Planning and Development – which are expected to start operating in 2007. The new Treasury and Finance Ministry will manage all expenses and foreign …

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President Leonel Fernandez has stated that he is open to studying the most appropriate public transport system for Santo Domingo, and classified the current system as "chaotic, disorganized, inadequate and expensive" and said that the only solution to this problem would be the construction of a system such as the metro. He said that although …

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The government has apologized for the disruption caused by two long blackouts yesterday following an explosion at an electrical sub-station located on Cesar Nicol?s Penson Avenue, in Gazcue, Santo Domingo, which affected thousands of users, including the Presidential Palace. A second blackout affected the rest of the country – 81% of all circuits – as …

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District Attorney Jose Manuel Hernandez Peguero has warned that nothing will stop his work against crime, according to a report in Diario Libre. He believes the threats he has received will not stop him from continuing his work in the justice department. He also informed that he has requested that the revision petition made to …

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El Caribe reports that the PRD is demanding that the government present a national competitiveness plan as a pre-condition to the introduction of the DR-CAFTA agreement, as decided by the party’s top organizational board (known as the "Presidium") during its session yesterday. Former president Hipolito Mejia, who leads one of the party factions, did not …

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Diario Libre reports that charges are being filed against the two men accused of raping and murdering Bulgarian-American Emilia Gradeztka, a medical student at Universidad Iberoamericana, last Saturday. Yesterday in Neyba, the police arrested Carlos William Montero Geronimo, a co-worker of Nilson Lemos Jaquez, who has admitted taking part in the crime. The 28-year-old student …

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The DR immigration authorities have arrested three Cuban citizens who tried to board a flight to Miami, Florida, after detecting that they were using false US passports. Diario Libre reports that the Cubans were identified as Yinellys Roura Acosta, Antonio Diaz Machado and Maria Felicia Hernandez Diaz. They were caught while trying to board American …

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Colombian rock star Juanes is performing an exclusive acoustic concert tonight in the 500-seat La Fiesta Theater at Santo Domingo’s Jaragua Hotel. Juanes’ "Mi sangre 2005" tour consists of two types of shows: large scale and acoustic concerts. He performed the same concert to an audience of 500 two days ago. This is an intimate …

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