2005 – Page 96

President Leonel Fernandez appointed journalist Cesar Augusto Medina Abreu as Ambassador of the DR to Chile last night. Medina will substitute Miguel Angel Velasquez Mainardi, who died six weeks ago. Medina has had a lengthy career in journalism, having worked for Ultima Hora and Hoy, Uno mas Uno and Hoy Matinal. He is currently the …

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Policemen and Justice Department prosecutors are to be trained by professors from the University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. According to Diario Libre, the training will include criminal investigation, executive leadership, crime mapping, crime data collection, records maintenance and management, prevention of crime and forensic sciences. The university has also agreed …

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32% of the vehicles of the Metropolitan Transport Authority are either being repaired or have been trashed for being beyond repair. Clave Digital reports today that of the 1,081 vehicles of the institution, 322 units are in repair and 24 have been discarded. The online news service points out that the availability of vehicles is …

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A technical assistance agreement has been signed by Juan Ormazabal, of the Center of Renewable Energy (CENER) in Spain, and Juan Japa, of COOPCANA, an association of 2,800 Dominican sugar cane producers, for the development of renewable energy sources such as bio-fuel, ethanol, and biomass, as stated in a report in Diario Libre. The objective …

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Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito commended the Supreme Court of Justice for its decision to annul a court decision that had reduced the sentence to the four processed for the death of journalist Orlando Martinez (military Joaquin Pou Castro, Luis Emilio de la Rosa Beras, Mariano Cabrera Duran and civilian Luis Emilio de la Rosa …

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The Dominican government has expressed its condolences to the authorities and people of the United States for the loss of human lives and damage caused by hurricane Katrina in the southern states. El Caribe reports that Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso, sent a message to the US Embassy here expressing the condolences of President …

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The Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR) and its sister organization Dominicanos Unidos de Louisiana are urging everyone to please support the relief efforts in the Gulf States by donating to the American Red Cross. DANR president, Cid Wilson reports that most Dominicans successfully evacuated New Orleans but some families still remain and it’s unclear how …

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With a picture of flooded New Orleans on the front page, the headlines coincidentally tell of a major new dam that will halt flooding on the floodplains of the Yaque del Sur River. The dam site is located between Azua and Barahona and will cost an estimated US$260 million. The government, according to Frank Rodriguez, …

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The Director General of Customs fired 25 employees yesterday for their roles in contraband valued at RD$164 million. According to the assistant director of Customs, Luis Sanchez, the crew of six attempted to introduce contraband that included foodstuffs, appliances, women’s accessories, cloth and clothing through the industrial free zones of Herrera and Haina. The six …

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The “Que se dice” column joins in the ruckus over the contract that ceded the Santo Domingo seashore to a private company for 99 years. The column’s author jibes the contract revealed by the El Dia newspaper as being very similar to the old colonial tactic of giving bangles for gold, much akin to the …

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