2005 – Page 6

More than 2.5 million schoolchildren officially start their Christmas vacation today, as reported by Listin Diario. Christmas vacation in Dominican schools ends after Three Kings’ Day (Feast of the Epiphany) on January 6th. According to tradition, the Epiphany marks the day when the three wise men from the Orient arrived in Bethlehem bringing gifts of …

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Manny Acta, who is managing the Dominican “dream team” to the World Baseball Classic announced that a mini-camp will take place at the end of January once the roster of the Dominican team is announced. Rules establish that a maximum 60-man roster for each nation must be submitted by 17 January, and at that point, …

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Minister of Environment Max Puig, as reported in the Listin Diario, has said that the works carried out for the construction of Santo Domingo’s first metro line, “in a general sense are fulfilling with all the established environmental requirements, and thus are legal.” He said that the office in charge of construction, OPRET, had presented …

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The department of statistics at the Ministry of Further Education reveals that 5,184 foreigners are registered at Dominican universities, as reported in Listin Diario. Of these, only 325 are at the state university. Of the total of foreigners, 1,384 are registered at the PUCMM. Another 926 are registered in the Universidad Tecnologica de Santiago (UTESA). …

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The Dominican Navy has announced that it proposes to blockade the Mona Passage that separates the Dominican Republic from Puerto Rico over the Christmas season. The blockade is supposed to cover the most vulnerable points of the Dominican coastline, most specifically the area facing the Mona Passage. The Dominican Navy will also be cooperating with …

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Some of the leading business sectors of the Dominican Republic, including the Federation of Industrial Associations (FIA), the Dominican Chamber of Merchant Businesses and the National Young Business Association (ANJE), consider that the IMF’s idea that the price of electricity should be allowed to “float” on the local market is a good one, as long …

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The Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says that this has been a pretty good year for the Dominican Republic with its 7% growth rate, while warning that in 2006, the GDP growth will be just 5%. Added to this is a projected inflation rate of between 6% and 8%, but with …

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Dominican commerce with Canada is currently US$555.6 million on the deficit side of the balance sheet. Since 2002, the numbers have been – US$58 million; – US$49.3 million; -US$24; and for the first nine months of 2005 – US$383.5 million. Recently, the Dominican authorities have requested the restart up of trade talks that may lead …

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In the opinion of US Ambassador Hans Hertell, the need to review hundreds of documents makes the likelihood of starting up the DR-CAFTA agreement “nearly impossible.” Yesterday, according to Hoy newspaper, four Democratic congressmen asked President George W. Bush to explain the delays in the implementation of the DR-CAFTA agreements. In spite of the delays, …

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United States ambassador to the Dominican Republic Hans Hertell described the people who stormed the National Palace in Port-au-Prince during President Leonel Fernandez’s visit there last week, as “hooligans.” Hertell said that he didn’t feel that this was a true expression of the feelings of the Haitian people because “this is a group of people …

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