2005 – Page 126

Recent activities taken on by President Leonel Fernandez have surprised many observers. It seems, according to El Caribe, that the other day, when Fernandez spoke at the FNP party’s 25th anniversary, he displayed more emotion than usual in his speeches. He was both upset and very energetic. What was even more surprising was the fact …

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The Ministry of Public Works has announced a plan to do away with the many crossings along the Duarte and 6th of November highways. These improvised crossings are some of the deadliest places along these busy roads. On just 30 kilometers of the “6th of November” highway that leads to San Cristobal, there are more …

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The subsidies the government provides on propane gas and electricity, a heavy financial burden for the National Treasury, do not always go to the neediest. In other words, according to Alexander Pena of El Caribe, the expenditure of the RD$20.86 billion budgeted for this year, 2.4% of the GDP, along with US$700 million, does not …

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The government plans to spend US$23 million on promoting the Dominican Republic’s image this year. The country has been and will be represented at 87 tourism fairs around the world between last year and this year. According to El Caribe, however, there are still some problems. Basically, the problems stem from a lack of continuity …

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The Attorney General of the Dominican Republic, Francisco Dominguez Brito, said that the deportation of 5,000 Haitians from the United States and the escape of another 2,000 from Haitian jails is cause for concern for the Dominican Republic. He said, “There is a risk that these people, who can no longer find anywhere to commit …

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International organizations have found that a network of traffickers of young children, working with Dominican drivers and military personnel along the border with Haiti have become a major headache. Many of these children are sent to beg in the streets of Santo Domingo and other large cities. Others live with relatives who already reside in …

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US Ambassador Hans Hertell has joined the many voices expressing disagreement with the definition of the Dominican Republic as a failed state, given by Foreign Policy magazine. Hertell said that the US would not sign a free trade agreement with a failed state. The DR-CAFTA is pending for approval in the US Congress and by …

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Columnist Bernardo Vega explains some of the logical conclusions he experienced in his travels around the world and then applies these to a current situation. In Mount Hagen in New Guinea, the white man first arrived in 1932. Vega says that he met a very old man who explained to him why the local tribes …

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A thesis presented at the Catholic University of Santo Domingo (UCSD) is estimating the number of people infected with AIDS/HIV to be 2.4% of the population. A total of 141,630 adults are living with HIV and new cases are expected to reach 29,000 in 2005. Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the researchers think …

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Unscrupulous people are stealing thousands of baby parrots from the parklands of Bahoruco and Jaragua in the southwest. The baby parrots are then sold to buyers in the large cities for RD$2,000 each. Reports from the parklands suggest that during May and June alone over three thousand chicks were stolen from their nests. When ten …

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