2006 – Page 31

President Leonel Fernandez closed the celebrations of Music Week with the announcement that a Museum for Dominican Music is to be created. The museum, which will be administered by the Ministry of Culture in coordination with the Museums Department and the Fine Arts Management Office (Direccion de Bellas Artes), will compile, catalogue, conserve, research, expose …

Read more…

President Leonel Fernandez has inaugurated the multipurpose Eco Red program, which will install community computer centers in different parts of the country. The program, which is run through the First Lady’s Office, has taught 40,000 people how to use computers. The First Lady, Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez says that a further 500 people have received …

Read more…

The Gallup-Hoy poll published this week shows that 74% of the Dominican public believes that the new fiscal reform proposed by the government will hurt the poor more than any other. This figure is just one of many statistics pointing to the declining popularity of President Leonel Fernandez in recent weeks. The President’s overall approval …

Read more…

The latest on the fiscal reform is that President Fernandez has decided not to levy ITBIS tax on seven basic products – coffee, sugar, butter, margarine, chocolate, cooking oil and yoghurt. To compensate for not taxing certain food products, the government is contemplating increasing customs taxes on vehicles, plus increased taxation on premium and regular …

Read more…

In a meeting with European politicians, Senate leader Reynaldo Pared Perez explained that the burden of the debt that has to be paid annually, which will amount to over RD$65 billion in 2007, is the main obstacle for finding solutions to the nation’s biggest problems. Pared Perez, speaking to a delegation of politicians from Spain, …

Read more…

Dr. Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman, president of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) has made it clear that the JCE will not allow the children of illegal Haitians born in the country to be declared as Dominican citizens. The new JCE head, speaking in Diario Libre, said that his organization would fulfill the requirements of Law …

Read more…

National Police Chief Bernardo Santana Paez has announced that 15,000 agents will be on patrol as from next week, for increased public protection during the holiday season. Santana, quoted in Diario Libre, said that the increased security would be targeted at the busiest public areas.

Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez declared his opposition to gays in the military yesterday because according to him, the presence of homosexuals in the armed forces would negate the structure of the chain of command. He is quoted in El Caribe newspaper as saying that the moment a lieutenant and a general get married …

Read more…

Nine people died at Jazzy’s Elite strip club on Avenida Espana in the early hours of Monday morning. A short circuit in the breakers caused by overheating cables resulted in an explosion followed by a fire. According to the fire department, this incident has highlighted a serious problem in these types of establishments. Fire officials …

Read more…

Austrian citizen Marcos Elvis Cuevas Grinood, 40, was shot and killed last night during an attempted robbery. Cuevas was shot once in the chest while he was in his apartment in Santo Domingo’s Anacaona Avenue. He was taken to the Real Medical Center on Ave. Romulo Betancourt Avenue where he was pronounced dead. Hoy reports …

Read more…